Citrus Cream Cheese Sauce

Citrus Cream Cheese Sauce
cream cheese
2 oranges, zest and juice
2 limes, zest and juice
1 lemon, zest and juice
salt
white pepper
honey

Blend all ingredients together to form a smooth and cream sauce. It should be thicker than whipping cream but thinner than mayonnaise if that makes sense. Basically it is easily spreadable but not pourable. Adjust seasonings to make it as sweet, salty, spicy, or citrusy as you wish! Goes great both on fish dishes and desserts!

Poached Bass with Beans, Potatoes, and Citrus Cream Cheese

• Striped Bass poached in court bouillon (white wine, fish stock, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, herbs and spices)
• Pan-sauteed yellow string beans and green broad beans
• Baby red potatoes roasted in garlic, thyme, parsley, paprika, and olive oil
• Citrus cream cheese sauce
• Purple basil

Strawberry Chocolate Cheesecake Trifle

Here is a dessert special I did the other day for work just using leftovers we had around. It is basically a miniature trifle in a mason jar. On the bottom I put some small pieces of coconut cake. I topped that with a fresh local strawberry compote, followed by chocolate cheesecake cream, then a lemon cookie crumble and a fresh strawberry. This made for layers of contrasting flavors and textures. 

Chocolate Cheesecake Cream
Beat some cream cheese until smooth. Beat in some cocoa powder and sugar. Then gradually pour in some cream and keep whipping until the mixture is stiff. 
I don't have amounts for this recipe - but I would say it's about equal amounts cream cheese and whipping cream. Then add enough cocoa powder and sugar to flavor.

DAD Cake

I'm a day late for Father's Day, which is what happens when you work in the industry, but today I made a Father's Day cake. I used yesterday's lemon cake recipe and cut one round in half to form two 'D's' and the other I cut into an 'A' shape. Then I placed them on a baking sheet. Rather than frosting around them all in in between all the little crevices, I opted for a 'polka-dot/star' pattern. I used my signature cream cheese frosting (goes really well on a lemon cake). I kept some white, added a little cocoa powder to some to make it chocolate, and tinted the rest in a few different shades of blue, my father's favorite color. Then I used star tips to pipe randomly onto the cake. I thought it was a fun, simple, and pretty way of frosting it!

Best Cream Cheese Frosting

I've just recently nailed a recipe for the best cream cheese frosting; and the best part is it is probably the easiest recipe too. It makes a cream cheese frosting that is not too heavy, not too sweet, the perfect consistency for frosting and filling a cake, and a great texture for coloring and piping. It requires just two ingredients and no measuring!

Best Cream Cheese Frosting
2 blocks cream cheese (500g) the blocks I used were each 250 grams, so this recipe requires a total of 500 g cream cheese, but I'm sure one pound would work the same. Be sure to use the 'brick' cream cheese and not the soft ones sold in tubs for spreading on bagels I actually used 'light' cream cheese (reduced fat) for this recipe with no issues
1 bag icing/confectioners' sugar (1 kg) I sifted my sugar directly into the bowl as I usually do with frosting as I like them as smooth as possible, but it may not be necessary depending on the brand of sugar. You can also presift it into a separate bag and then just pour into the bowl from that bag.

Cut the cream cheese into cubes and allow to soften to room temperature.
Using a stand or handheld electric mixer (or a lot of muscle) beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy and no lumps remain, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.

Gradually (about one cup at a time) add in the sifted icing sugar and mix until fully incorporated.

Alterations below will change the flavor and consistency of the frosting as desired. Please keep in mind the color may also change. Although cream cheese is not pure white, the frosting turns out quite white in color so adding vanilla extract or carrot juice will certainly modify the color!

To Flavor It Up
add any of the following at the end
Extract (vanilla, almond, lemon)
Zest (lemon, orange, lime)
Spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg)

To Thin It Out
if a thinner glaze is preferred to a thick frosting, simply add a liquid from the list below and mix to the desired consistency.
Juice (lemon, orange, lime)
Juice for color (cherry, carrot, beet)
Coffee
Milk or cream

Frosting can also be tinted any different color!

Carrot Carrot Cake

I've actually made quite a few carrot cakes in my time, but here is a classic one. The carrot cake is just a plain one - no additions of walnuts, raisins, coconut, pineapple, or anything else. It is moist and tasty. The cream cheese icing is the best one I've made yet. And I opted for a classic, four layer, modestly decorated version.

Carrot Carrot Cake
2 cups packed grated carrot
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup oil
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated (white) sugar 
3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon(or your favorite spice, or omit)
1 batch best cream cheese frosting (see tomorrow's post)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch round pans.
Mix together the carrot, applesauce, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar, then the remaining dry ingredients. Spread batter evenly in prepared pans.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until cake tests clean. Cool in pans ten minutes, then gently unmold onto a wire rack and cool completely.
Slice each cake in half horizontally. 

Place one layer down on a plate or cake board. Spread with an even layer of cream cheese frosting.*
Repeat layers until all are used. Then completely frost the top and sides of the cake.**
For the carrots and decorations, divide the remaining icing in three, keep one portion white, color one portion light green and the remaining portion light orange.

To decorate my carrot cake, I used an icing comb to create lines on the side of the cake.
I added a white shell border around the bottom using an open star tip.
I added alternating white rosettes around the top - big and small.
Then I piped carrots using a plain open round tip, and the greens using a leaf tip.
Just for a little more color and decoration I used a drop flower tip to pipe orange flowers on the side of the cake and a grass tip to add some green grass. 

* With a tall, heavy, rich cake like this I personally do not like to put a lot of icing in between layers. I think there is enough icing on the top and sides of the cake and with the decorations. Therefore I put enough frosting just to keep the layers together. However, some bakers recommend layers of 2:1 cake to filling or even 1:1 with lighter cakes.

**Depending on how good you are at frosting cakes you may need to do a layer of 'dirty icing' before frosting the final layer. 

Simple Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a classic, well-loved dessert. Here is a simple recipe for a baked cheesecake, that uses only four ingredients for the filling. It uses a good portion of cream cheese and no other fillings such as sour cream, but simply cream cheese, and low-fat cream cheese at that. 

Simple Cheesecake
one 9-inch crust (see NOTE)
4 packages light cream cheese spread, softened
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 325◦F. 
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium-low speed until light and smooth. Beat in the vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just blended, scraping the bowl as necessary. Pour into prepared crust. 
Bake for 45-60 minutes until cake is set, but center is still slightly jiggly. Cool slightly, then remove or loosen from pan and cool completely. Chill for several hours until cold. 

NOTE: Any type of 9-inch prepared or baked crust can be used for this cheesecake, depending on what type of flavor you would like.
For a homemade crust, a general rule is to combine 1 1/4 cups cookie or cracker crumbs with 1/4 cup melted butter or hard margarine, and 2-4 Tablespoons of sugar if using crackers or less sweet cookies. 
Graham crackers, chocolate wafer cookies, gingersnaps, and shortbread cookies all work well. 

Halloween Cobweb Brownies

Here is another Halloween recipe edition. It is simply a basic brownie recipe with the cream cheese swirl topping. There are plenty of recipes like this around, and any one of them will work. It is the procedure that changes slightly. Instead of putting dollops of the brownie batter alternately with the cream cheese batter into the pan; pour all of the brownie batter into the pan, then pour the cream cheese batter on top. Then use a butter knife to swirl the two batters together into a cobweb design. Then sprinkle black and orange Halloween sprinkles over top. This is a picture of the brownies before they were baked. 

They don't look much different once they are baked, and they taste just like any other cream cheese brownie - with a Halloween twist!

Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

What to do with more leftover raspberry filling? Make it into swirl brownies of course! Cream cheese swirl brownies are delicious, and the addition of a little fruit makes them even tastier. These are reminiscent of the strawberry version I made here {Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies}. The brownie base is a dark chocolate vegan brownie base, that uses all whole wheat flour, but you cannot even tell!

Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl Brownies
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons granulated (white) sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 cup milk of any kind
1/3 cup oil
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips
1/2 recipe raspberry cream cheese filling (see yesterday's post)

Preheat oven to 330◦F. Line an 8x8 inch square pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, sugars, powder, and salt. 
In a separate small bowl, stir together the milk, oil, vanilla, and flax.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then stir in the chips.
Spread a thing layer (using about one third of the batter) into the bottom of the pan.
Dot spoonfuls of the filling over top (about one third of filling).
Repeat, alternating layers, placing spoonfuls of each on top. Then gently swirl the mixture with a butter knife.
Bake for 25 minutes, until the edges are just set, and center is no longer liquidy but only slightly jiggly. Cool completely, then refrigerate until cold. Squares will firm upon cooling. 

Lemon Raspberry Whoopie Pies

The lemon whoopie pies from yesterday's post were actually designed to be lemon raspberry whoopie pies. Lemon and raspberry is such a classic, refreshing flavor combination. However, not everyone enjoys raspberry, which is why I made some whoopie pies with just a plain cream cheese filling. However, these pies have the rasperry filling. Adding some fresh, local raspberries to the filling made it slightly more liquidy, but that's okay, because these berries were real gems - small, sweet, and ruby red in color. Although traditional whoopie pies only have the filling and no icing on top, I had a little extra and wanted to add to the presentation a bit, so I put a little on top of the pies too for extra flavor. 

Raspberry Filling
1/2 package (125 grams / 4 ounces) light cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons soft margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups icing (confectioners') sugar
1/2 tub (125 grams) fresh raspberries (approximately 1/4 cup), washed and gently patted dry

In a small bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Beat in the vanilla, then gradually beat in the sugar. Gently fold in the raspberries. Raspberries are delicate, but it is perfectly fine if some break apart and separate, as this will prevent large pieces of raspberry and will tint the entire filling a nice light pink.
The measurement for icing sugar is an estimate, because I rarely measure icing sugar myself. The filling should nor be runny, but just spreadable. 

Cream Cheese Yogurt Glaze

This is the frosting I used for my hummingbird cake. It is more of a glaze, and that's why is perhaps looks a little soft or runny on the cake. It is definitely not meant for piping and decorating. It's got a nice, light cream cheese flavor and a silky smooth texture. It only takes a few minutes to whip up. The cream cheese flavor and smooth texture is enhanced by the addition of a little Greek yogurt - which also makes this glaze a little lighter. Be sure to use Greek yogurt, as regular yogurt is too thin. Vanilla yogurt would probably work for a slightly different flavor. 

Cream Cheese Yogurt Glaze
1/2 block (125 grams or 4 ounces) light (reduced fat) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
2-4 cups icing (confectioners') sugar

Beat the cream cheese and yogurt together until smooth. Gradually mix in the icing sugar sugar until of desired consistency. If it becomes too thick, it can be thinned out with a little more yogurt or some milk. If you want it to be thick, start off with a little less yogurt. My measurement for icing sugar is pretty vague, because I never measure, I just go by consistency. 

Mom's No-Fail Cheesecake

This is the cheesecake recipe my mother has been making for years. Now that warmer weather is here and berry season is beginning, maybe she will make it again soon since it is always so much better topped with fresh strawberries and their juices. Blueberries and cherries are nice as well. This cheesecake recipe is a basic plain one. It is baked, and I find baked and no-bake cheesecakes do differ a slightly in texture, though both are good. This is a plain cheesecake - no added vanilla flavoring, sour cream, or anything fancy. Just a heavy dose of cream cheese. That's what makes it so good and easy. Like most baked cheesecakes, this one always risks the danger of cracking, though it usually doesn't and it can easily be masked with topping if necessary. My mother always bakes this cheesecake on a simple graham cracker crumb crust, which I think is really the go-to for cheesecakes. This basic cheesecake recipe could easily be vamped up into many different flavor combinations. For example, a chocolate crumb crust with chocolate sauce, a shortbread crust with whipped cream topping, or an oatmeal crust with a caramel apple topping. The possibilities are endless! 

Light & Lovely Cream Cheese Frosting

I realized I forgot to share the recipe for my lighter cream cheese frosting I used to frost my Easter cupcakes (see {Easter Cupcakes}). Here it is, a slightly healthier alternative recipe I created myself. I promise, it does not sacrifice any cream cheese flavor. 

Light & Lovely Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 package (125 grams / 4 ounces) light cream cheese (reduced-fat)
1/4 cup soft tub margarine
1/4 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3+ cups icing (confectioners') sugar

Make sure the cream cheese and margarine are softened, then beat together. Beat in yogurt and vanilla. Gradually beat in the sugar until icing is thickened and of desired consistency (it can always be thinned out with a little milk or water later, if needed). Use to frost cakes as desired. Cream cheese icing is often a little softer, so it is not as good for piping, but may be used for some basic piping.

Alternative: soft tofu can be used as a base and thickener in this, and other, fro stings, instead of or in addition to the yogurt. It contributes to the "cream cheese" flavor just as the yogurt does. Tofu may require the use of a food processor to ensure the frosting is completely smooth. If using yogurt, be sure to use Greek as regular is too thin. On a similar note, soft tofu also works well to add protein to smoothies and thicken them.

Carrot Cake Bars

Carrot Cake Bars
CAKE LAYER
3/4 cup butter or hard margarine, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated (white) sugar, divided
3 large eggs, divided
2 large carrots, shredded (about one cup)
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose (plain) flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 package (250g/8 ounces) cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line a 9x13 inch rectangular baking pan.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs and carrots. Gradually beat in 1 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Spread in prepared pan.
In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, one egg, and two Tablespoons flour. Drop by spoonfuls over batter in pan and swirl gently with a knife.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool then chill. Store in the refrigerator. 

These bars are reminiscent of carrot cake, without all the work of making cakes, frosting, and assembling. The are quick and easy and remind of Easter, but would also be nice in the fall or anytime. It is almost like a cheesecake on a cake-like crust! 

Easter Cupcakes

Happy Easter Everyone!
In lieu of an elaborate Easter cake, which is what I normally make every year, I decided to go with some simple Easter cupcakes this year. I have already done bunny cakes, a chick cake, and a basket cake, but I have never done them as cupcakes, and I had a few more ideas up my sleeve as well. I made some red velvet cupcakes, as I have already made several carrot cakes and chocolate cakes, and red velvet is I flavor I have never made before; for which I will definitely be sharing the recipe soon. Then I made some cream cheese icing, which is a classic pairing for red velvet cake. Cream cheese frosting is a bit softer and more difficult to pipe with, but it is a good flavor for spring, and a good choice if you don't need to pipe borders or anything. Next I went to town on the decorations. 
Clockwise, starting from "12 o'clock":

• Bunny Butt cupcake with green icing in a grass tip and white icing in a star tip. If you don't get it, just search bunny butt cupcakes or cakes and you'll see many similar, but more elaborate, creations.
• Bunny cupcake using white frosting, candy coated chocolates, and frosting coated thin cookies as ears.
• Bird's Nest cupcake with chocolate cream cheese frosting in a grass tip, yellow piped chicks, and candy coated chocolate eggs.
• Chick cupcake with yellow frosting in a swirl tip and candy coated chocolate eye and beak.
• Egg Nest with green grass tip piping and candy-coated chocolate eggs.
• Lamb cupcake (not Santa) with white frosting in an open round tip and candy eyes and nose.
• Easter Basket cupcake with chocolate cream cheese frosting piped in a basket weave design and chocolate eggs. If you have a piece of licorice on hand, use it for the basket handle (I didn't have any).
• Easter Egg with white frosting and candy and sprinkle decorations.
• Happy Easter cupcake in the center with green icing base and yellow piping.

I made two of each cupcake, but only one Happy Easter cupcake. Pictured here are all of the "better halves". I also have individual pictures of each, so if you want to see a close-up, let me know.

Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

My mother seems to like to make coffee cakes. She used to be well known for always having freshly baked muffins on hand, then often she would have banana chip cake around. She was also well known for making delicious banana loaf, blueberry coffee cake, rum cake, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. But lately she has been trying out many different new coffee cake recipes. It began with this one: {Cinnamon Cream Cheese Loaf Cake}. Then evolved to a chocolaty version: {Chocolate Cream Cheese Loaf Cake}. Then she tried: {Sour Cream Coffee Cake}. Which is different because it does not contain a cream cheese filling, but is made with sour cream to keep it moist and has a cinnamon streusel in the middle. Finally comes this one. This is basically the same as the previous chocolate version, but with chocolate chips added to the cream cheese filling and a few modifications to improve it. It is delicious warm or cold. And it definitely gives a good dose of chocolate. The two cinnamon coffee cakes are delicious too, but chocolate will always be my favorite flavor, especially when it comes to sweets. 

These coffee cakes all have several things in common; they are baked in an 8x8 inch square pan, they contain a dairy ingredient (either cream cheese or sour cream) to keep them moist, they have a filling, they are good warm or cold, they are not too hard to make, my mother makes them all and she did a darn god job - they are delicious. 

Mom's Chocolate Cream Cheese Loaf Cake

Remember the {Cinnamon Cream Cheese Loaf Cake} my mother created not too long ago? (If not, just click the title for the link). She creatively manipulated an existing recipe to create something new and tasty. Well, she took that same recipe and changed it yet again, and of course, this time she used chocolate. Since it was chocolate, of course I enjoyed it, though I did notice some differences between this one and the cinnamon version. This version is less sweet due to the addition of cocoa and no additional sugar, which doesn't bother me because dark chocolate is my favorite. This version also seemed slightly drier, which may be due to the addition of cocoa as well, but it was not a big difference. My mother also had a bit more difficultly spreading the layers, maybe because more than half of the chocolate layer was spread on the bottom, but I really like the look of the swirl effect. Next time, I think she may try adding some miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips to the cream cheese filling to amp up the chocolate flavor and add a little more sweetness. 

Chocolate Cream Cheese Loaf Cake
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
1 package (8 ounces / 250 grams) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Beat in the oil, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients. 
In a separate small bowl, beat the filling ingredients together until smooth.
Spread half of the batter in prepared pan. Top evenly with the cream cheese mixture. Spread carefully with remaining batter, or gently swirl them together. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This can be served warm, but is much better well chilled just like a cheesecake. 

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Loaf Cake

This is a little recipe my mom whipped up, seeing a block of cream cheese in the fridge and using it as inspiration. She used a basic loaf recipe to start, but changed it up a lot. This makes a nice, comforting snack cake. The cake itself gets some flavor from cinnamon, and is slightly moist, but it's the cream cheese filling that really makes it decadent and pulls it all together. It's rather quick to make and I think it even gets better with age, not that it sticks around for very long.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Loaf Cake
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
1 package (8 ounces / 250 grams) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Beat in the oil, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients. 
In a separate small bowl, beat the filling ingredients together until smooth.
Spread half of the batter in prepared pan. Top evenly with the cream cheese mixture. Spread carefully with remaining batter. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This can be served warm, but is much better well chilled just like a cheesecake. 

Chocolate Caramel Miniature Pies

Here is the recipe for the mini tarts from yesterday's post. They are fairly easy to make, but a bit tedious. I suppose this would also work as one larger tart and would be less work, but mini tarts are so much cuter!

24 mini pie shells
Caramel Filling
1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
4 teaspoons water
1 Tablespoon butter
1/3 cup whipping cream
Chocolate Filling
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Pi Symbols
1 Tablespoon butter (hard margarine is okay, but not as tasty), softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
icing (confectioners') sugar
milk

Caramel Filling: In medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water and the sugar. Cook for 10-12 minutes until mixture turns dark golden brown, brushing the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Remove from heat, stir in butter and cream until mixture stops bubbling. Return to low heat and cook and stir until smooth. Place 1/2 teaspoon into each tart shell.

Chocolate Filling: Add chocolate chips to remaining caramel mixture, heating over low heat if necessary. Top each tart with 1 teaspoon chocolate mixture. Chill until set.

Pi Symbols: Cream the butter well, then cream in the vanilla until blended. Gradually add icing sugar alternately with milk, until desired amount and consistency is achieved  You won't need a lot of icing just to decorate these tarts. Place in a pastry bag fitted with a plain open tip and pipe pi symbols on the tarts.

These tarts should be stored in the refrigerator, but served at room temperature. Surprisingly the caramel and chocolate mixture does not get too hard in the fridge, but let them sit for at least a few minutes out of the fridge before eating for best flavor. 

Mini Choco Caramel Pi Pies

Happy Pi Day! Pi day is being celebrated today across the world at 1:59:26, or anytime today really. It is Pi Day because it is March 14th or 3/14, the first three digits of Pi (the next five are 15926 in case you didn't guess). I like to make at least one pie for this occasion every year, but I also like to go even further and make Pi pie. Pi pie is any flavor pie that includes the pie symbol somewhere on it - it could be in the form of a cut-out in the crust, an extra piece of dough, a sprinkle of icing sugar, or a drizzle of icing or chocolate. Here are some delicious mini pies I made to celebrate  One little two bite pie has the goodness of chocolate and caramel in a neat handheld package. These mini pies begin with the cream cheese crust I featured yesterday. they are filled with a dollop of caramel filling, followed by a heaping dollop of chocolate filling. I topped them with a little vanilla buttercream in the shape of pi symbols. Here is the process:

The cream cheese pie shells.

Followed by the caramel filling.

Topped off with the chocolate filling.

And finished off with vanilla buttercream pi symbols.

Happy Pi Day!!!