Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

I have been MIA for quite some time and I can assure you that my posts will be very sporadic over the next month.  I will try to be in touch as much as possible but there is lots going on over here! While I should be packing and planning for a cross country move to Colorado on July 1st...

Most of my free time over the past month has been spent baking.  I have turned out dozens upon dozens upon dozens of cookies, bars and other treats all to raise money for the American Cancer Society and Hood to Coast Relay.  The support from friends, family and people I've never even met has been truly overwhelming. Thanks to y'all, I've raised $3,000+ and baked 75+ dozen goodies.  Amazing!!!  

I've also been busy planning Molly's bridal shower.  I can't believe the littlest sis is getting MARRIED!!  We'll be having the most perfect little Southern Brunch this Sunday to celebrate the bride-to-be.  I can't WAIT to share the details next week!!  

Oh and about these muffins, since we'll be having a gourmet brunch this weekend, I wanted to be sure you had something to make for yourself TOO!  These muffins are not a new recipe but they've recently made a comeback in our household.  Any excuse to incorporate dessert in breakfast is fine by me... Enjoy!

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

 

So I said I wasn't making Molly a cake for her birthday.  Well I just couldn't help myself....

 

Everyone is entitled to unlimited cakes, cupcakes and treats on their birthday so she got just that....

 

#1:  Mike made her a delicious Funfetti Cake that we all enjoyed after her birthday dinner.

#2:  Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes inspired by our favorite cake at Cru Cafe in Charleston, SC!

#3: Last but definitely not least, a fresh strawberry cake from Columbus's Golden Delight Bakery from my Aunt and Uncle.  Also, a family favorite!

 

That's THREE cakes.  I'd say she had a good birthday.

Anyways, about these cupcakes.... as mentioned above, they were inspired by the famous cake served at our favorite lunch spot in Charleston, SC.  They make limited cakes each week and once they run out, you are out of luck.  So when you go (and you must), make sure to order the Orange Sherbet Cake as soon as you sit down!  So until I can get my Cru Cafe fix, and it looks like that might be a while, I'll be relying on this recipe!

Mini Chocolate-Covered Cheesecake Bites

 

I have a thing for bite-sized desserts (cake balls, brownie bites, mini apple tarts, etc. etc.).  There is something so great about them -- they just always seem to look the cutest.  Not to mention, they are the perfect little bite to satisfy that sweet tooth, with a little less guilt.  So you say you're over cake pops?  Well, I still think they are genius!

 

I made these cheesecake bites last month for Valentine's Day.  Bite-sized perfection.  A simple cheesecake covered in chocolate.  Oh and as you can see in the picture below, these bites even include my favorite part about cheesecake -- the graham cracker crust! 

"Spice Cake" Cake Balls

 

Did you know its National Pumpkin Day?  I did not, but we love pumpkin over here so we'll celebrate!  Its very fitting that I was planning to post these cake balls today.  They actually aren't pumpkin but I decided to make "Spice Cake" cake balls with cream cheese frosting and they tasted like pumpkin cake balls!  These would be great with Halloween decorations a la Bakerella.  Enjoy :)

 

A few of my favorite pumpkin recipes.

Old-Fashioned Banana Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I recently started a job and everyone learned very quickly that baking is "my thing".  I was lucky enough to take on the task of baking for the October birthdays.  There was mention of banana cupcakes so I went on the hunt for a great banana cake recipe.  I kept coming across Ina Garten's recipe for Old-Fashioned Banana Cake.  It had received nothing but great reviews so I went with it.  Everyone loved them!!

The cupcake itself is denser but its still very moist.  The orange zest and coconut really takes these over the top -- and of course, cream cheese frosting makes everything better.  My mom and I agreed they would be great for a brunch.  You could omit the cream cheese frosting and just top with a dusting of powdered sugar.  You could also decrease the sugar to make muffins. 

If you are looking for a more traditional banana cake recipe -- make these Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting that are one of Molly's favorites!

 

Smoky "Pimento" Cheese Sandwiches

You know when you make something because you know it will be good, but more because it is easy and you are attempting to prepare 15 other dishes?  When I made these sandwiches, I put them in that category (FYI -- pimento is in quotes because this recipe doesn't actually contain any pimentos!).  However, they turned out to be a hit amongst everyone!

The smoked gouda cheese and sun-dried tomatoes create an unbelievable smoky flavor.  This would also be great served with crackers or pita chips as an appetizer.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Croissant crust, cream cheese filling and cinnamon and sugar.  If you've never tried this combination, make these bars, now.

I had never heard of Sopapilla Cheescake until just recently.  My friends were having a Mexican themed evening of appetizers and drinks so I wanted to bring a "traditional" Mexican dessert to keep with the theme.  I was perusing various recipes in search of a dessert idea and this was one of the most common recipes that came up during my search.  Now I can see why -- they are heavenly.

They can obviously be served as a dessert but these bars would also be a great addition to a brunch menu.

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

You have probably all guessed by now that I love to bake with pumpkin.  I've never met a pumpkin treat that I didn't love.  These are no exception.  I made these for my family when they were visiting for Thanksgiving and everyone raved.

I'm a firm believer that pumpkin can be used through the entire holiday season!  The cookbook in which I found these cookies clearly agrees -- calling them "North Pole Pumpkin Cookies."  I hope you add these to your Christmas cookie tray this year.

Cheesecake Ice Cream

This ice cream is not only super creamy and delicious, but one of the main reasons it is so appealing is because of its versatility.  You could use this ice cream as a base and add just about anything to it that you like.  Stir in graham crackers and blueberries and you've made blueberry cheesecake, add chocolate chips and peanut butter and and you have a version of chocolate peanut butter torte.  I decided to serve it with a fresh strawberry on top to keep it simple but the variations are limitless for this creamy ice cream!

One Year Ago:  Our favorite Zucchini Bread - whole wheat with raisins and walnuts

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

My almost-10-year-old neighbor, Ivy, helped me bake these bars.  She made all of the filling and is quite the little baker!

Please do yourself a favor and make these ASAP!  These are rich and light at the same time and the flavors are perfect for the summer.  The graham cracker crust has a touch of cinnamon in it, which gives these an extra bite of flavor.  These bars will definitely be made again soon!

Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

As Molly mentioned before, Sarah celebrated her birthday this past weekend.  I love digging through recipes deciding what to bake for the special day.  This year, after stumbling upon Dulce de Leche Cupcakes, my mind was made up.

Since sweets are still out for me, I could only rely on the words of those who were able to enjoy these -- I heard words like "great flavor" "delish!"  Sarah said the icing was amazing.  I anticipated that -- what's not to like?  Cream cheese, dulce de leche.

I don't know how much more I can bake without being able to taste test!  I asked Sarah fifty times if they tasted OK because "I hate giving treats to people unless they turn out perfect."  Did I really say that?  FACT.  A little OCD?  Yes... maybe.

For a tutorial on making your own dulce de leche (that's what I did!), check out Our Best Bites easy oven method.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Heavenly.  This pound cake melts in your mouth, literally.  The texture is somewhere between a pound cake and angel food cake and the cream cheese gives it amazing flavor.  I can't recommend this highly enough!

The author of this cookbook recommends using this pound cake to make dessert paninis -- think chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallows...yummmm.

One year ago: Roasted Vegetable-Rosemary Chicken Soup

The BEST Carrot Cake

Let me start by saying that this is not your average carrot cake; this is amazing!  The cake itself uses browned butter, yuumm.  The filling is a dulce de leche buttercream...I don't think I need to explain how amazing that is.  And finally, the frosting is a brown sugar cream cheese frosting; it compliments the flavor of the carrot cake perfectly.

I didn't get the best pictures ever because we ate about 3/4 of it before I got around to taking pictures, which is why I don't have a picture of the entire cake.  But I decorated it by putting toasted walnuts around the edge of the cake and piping icing around the outside of the top of the cake.

This is what I made my mom for her birthday and it was a huge hit!  Everyone loved it and some people even had two slices!

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramelized Pecans

Happy Birthday, Dad!

I was back in Columbus last weekend and I was so excited I would have the chance to make the perfect birthday cake for my Dad (even if it was a week early).  I love baking when I go back home -- its where I fell in love with baking!  My mom just so happened to make this Pumpkin Cake for a friend's birthday the week before and everyone loved it.  I wasn't surprised because who doesn't love pumpkin with cream cheese?  I was sold when I heard caramelized pecans.  

I actually never tried this cake because I had to scurry out the door to get to the airport.  I will take everyone else's word for it -- AMAZING.  Apparently the caramelized pecans were a hit... as in, people were picking them off of the cake.  Those tasty pecans were my mom's own creation -- I trust that pretty much any recipe she sends my way will turn out delicious.

White Chocolate Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

I love a good cupcake!  I find that some cupcakes are too crumbly and overpowered by sugary frosting.  These cupcakes are perfect -- not too sweet, a little bit on the "denser" side and great flavor.  

The brown sugar frosting would be perfect on any cupcake -- pumpkin, apple, chocolate, vanilla or my favorite -- red velvet.  Molly just so happened to use the same exact frosting on her Applesauce-Spice cupcakes (great minds think alike)!

Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins with Pecan Streusel

Hopefully you aren't sick of pumpkin yet because this might be the best recipe thus far!!  If there is one thing that makes it on your brunch menu this holiday season, it should be these muffins.  I never even got the chance to try one but I brought them to work and everyone raved... and they were gone in less than two hours.  

I decided to make mini muffins.  I ended up with 24 mini muffins PLUS 6 normal size muffins.  Depending on how many people you need to serve, this is a good option.