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Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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pumpkin sheet cake with cream cheese icing

I’ve heard that there’s a canned pumpkin shortage going on.  I hope not, because you are going to want to make this cake.  It’s perfectly pumpkin-y with a soft, cream cheese frosting that makes you want to lick your lips, your fork, your plate and the pan.

The recipe makes a good-sized sheet cake so you can share it with a bunch of friends, or pop some in the freezer for another time.  You’ll still have plenty to eat for yourself.  I altered the recipe from the Amish Friends Cookbook.  My mother-in-law bought it for me for my birthday.  I love Amish cookbooks.  They’re 87.3% desserts with a few main dishes thrown in so as not to be too decadent.  They also have recipes for odd things like a drink called Hay-Time Switchel and Vinegar Punch.  [Read more…] about Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

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banana-chocolate-chip-cookies-done-half

I have a confession.  I don’t always use the bananas that get too ripe on my counter.  I watch them spot and darken and shrivel.  Then, instead of baking them into banana bread, I throw them away.  There. Now you know the kind of person I am. 

But the other day, I did rescue some old bananas from certain garbage.  I wasn’t in the mood for Banana Bread or Cream Cheese Banana Bread with Orange Glaze, so I did a search on Tasty Kitchen and came up with this recipe.

[Read more…] about Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

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This cake is perfectly Christmasy. It smells wonderful while it bakes and it tastes yummy too.

I found the recipe on a message board I frequent. The woman who posted it said it originally came from Fine Cooking Magazine. It’s easy to make.

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time55 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • ½ lb. butter very soft
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ¼ tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 cups cranberries fresh or frozen - at room temp. (if frozen, thaw, rinse, drain and dry them)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg yolk at room temp.
  • 2 large eggs at room temp.
  • ⅔ cup sour cream at room temp.
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1¾ cups cake flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ tsp. baking soda

Instructions

  • Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature. I used White Lily flour the first time I made the cake (NOT the self-rising kind) and I thought it came out a bit less dense than the cake flour version, but both were good.
  • Position the rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat it to 350°
  • Lightly butter the sides and bottom of a 9" cake pan. (I don't have a 9" cake pan so I used a 10½" iron skillet. My friend used a springform pan.) You want the sides of the pan to be at least 2½" high.
  • Put 1½ sticks of butter in a bowl.
  • With a wooden spoon cream together the butter, sugar and one egg yolk.
  • Switch to a whisk and mix in the additional eggs one at a time. Whisk until the sugar begins to dissolve and the batter is smooth.
  • Whisk in the vanilla, sour cream and salt.
  • Sift in the cake flour, baking powder and baking soda directly into the wet ingredients. I don't have a sifter so I just ran a fork through the flour mixture before adding it. Stir until all the ingredients are combined and the batter becomes satiny.
  • Put the remaining 4 Tbs. of butter into the pan and set it in the oven to melt.
  • Then mix the brown sugar and cinnamon into the butter. Spread this out as evenly as you can and put the rinsed and drained cranberries over the top.
  • Spread the batter over the top of the cranberries and pop it into the oven.
  • Bake for 50-60 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes and then dump it out on a plate.

 

Don’t forget to lick the sticky yummy stuff from the pan!

EAH

Spicy Pumpkin Pie

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pumpkin pie done

I love pumpkin pie. I will eat many pieces of it, even having it for breakfast. Pumpkin is a vegetable, right? I do like my pie spicy though and this one takes care of that.

What you’ll need:

2 eggs
1 can pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 2/3 cup milk (or 12 oz can evaporated milk)
1 unbaked pie shell

Beat the eggs with a whisk. Add the sugar and then pumpkin, mixing well. Add the spices and mix until the spices are well distributed. Add the milk and mix. (I used 2/3 cup of half and half and 1 cup of milk) Pour the great smelling mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Sometime I’ll share how to make a very easy homemade crust, but I was too lazy for that this time so I used a Pillsbury refrigerated crust.

Bake the pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake another 45-50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Try not to eat it all yourself.