German Chocolate Cheesecake

As I've mentioned before on my blog - I love making different kinds of cheesecakes - the possibilities are almost endless. This cheesecake was for my mom - she loves German Chocolate Cake. As I was looking through my cheesecake book 125 Best Cheesecake Recipes by: George Geary, I came across the German Chocolate Cheesecake and thought it was a great idea to combine two amazing desserts - and the combination of coconut, chocolate, and pecans is a big winner in my opinion :) It turned out very good, but beware: it's very rich!

Ingredients:

Crust -

• 1 1/4 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
• 1/4 cup pecans, coarsely ground
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling -

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 egg yolks, stirred
• 1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
• 3/4 cup pecan halves
• 3 packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You will need a 9-inch cheesecake/springform pan with 3-inch sides (ungreased). For the crust, in a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs, pecans, and butter. Press into bottom of cheesecake pan and freeze.

2. For the filling, in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, melt brown sugar and butter for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. 

3. Slowly drizzle stirred egg yolks into mixture. Return to medium heat and stir for about 3 minutes. 

4. Add coconut and pecan halves. Cool for about 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

5. In a large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

6. Stir in vanilla and melted chocolate. Fold half of the coconut mixture into batter. Set remainder aside for decorating.

7. Pour batter over frozen crust. Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes or until the top is light brown and the center has a slight jiggle to it. 

8. Cool on a rack for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before decorating or serving.

9. Spread remaining coconut mixture on top of cake. (I used a marbled vanilla + chocolate butter cream topping)

Note: You can prepare the coconut mixture up to 3 days prior to use. Stir well before using. You can also substitute toasted almonds for pecans.)

Oreo/ Chocolate Truffles

If there's been one recipe I've been wanting to try for the longest time (besides making a pie or tart, which I STILL haven't), it's truffles. It all started a few years ago when I had the Oreo truffles at a cousin's engagement party...with the first bite, I fell in love (with the truffle). They are so delicate but easy to make with some practice...I love the rich chocolate center and the number of toppings that one could choose to dip them in. They are great for any occasion, and can easily be given as a gift in an elegant looking box. I'm going to be honest, I was the most excited about all the different toppings I was going to be using, and looking forward to seeing a tray full of colorful, delectable treats. For my first attempt, I would say the experience wasn't so bad at all. The only challenge was dipping the balls into the chocolate when I was making the Oreo ones (more on that later). Out of the two truffles I made, the Oreo truffles were definitely the winner but I loved both. Here are the links to both recipes: Chocolate Truffles and Oreo Truffles.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Truffles coated in a variety of toppings such as chopped pecans, sprinkles, cocoa powder, and dessicated coconut

Oreo Truffles

Chocolate/Cream Cheese Truffles

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 3 cups of semisweet chocolate chips OR 19 oz of semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted (I prefer using baking chocolate NOT chocolate chips because it has better consistency)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 
• Toppings (chopped nuts, dessicated coconut, cocoa powder, sprinkles, etc.)

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioner's sugar until well blended.

2. Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla until no streaks remain. Refrigerate for about 1 hour. 

3. Shape into 1-inch balls and dip and in topping of choice.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:

• 1 package Oreo Sandwich Cookies, divided
• 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
• 2 (8 oz) packages of semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted 

1. Crush 9 of the Oreo cookies into fine crumbs (either using a food processor, or you can put the cookies in a resealable plastic bag and use a rolling pin); set aside these cookie crumbs for later use.

2. Crush the remaining 36 Oreo cookies to fine crumbs also, and place in a medium bowl. Add the cream cheese, and mix well until blended (I used a hand mixer and it was mixed within seconds).

3. Roll the cookie/cream cheese mixture into balls, about 1-inch in diameter. Place the balls in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. 

4. Take the balls and dip in melted chocolate. Place each chocolate-covered ball on a wax paper-covered baking sheet. If you have leftover chocolate, you can store it in a covered container at room temperature for another use.

(Note: This part is tricky! Use a fork and spoon to lift up each ball and roll it around in the melted chocolate OR use the fork to life the ball and use the spoon to pour the melted chocolate on each ball until it's completely covered in chocolate.)

I only used 8 oz of chocolate here since I halved the recipe

The best way to melt baking chocolate - using a double broiler  or melting the chocolate in a pot over another pot of simmering water

YUM! steaming melted chocolate

freshly dipped Oreo truffles 

5. Sprinkle the top of the chocolate covered balls with the remaining cookie crumbs. Refrigerate the truffles for about 1 hour or until firm. Store the leftover truffles in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Banana Pecan Torte

I know it's been awhile, and I apologize to those of you who like to take the time to come here and look for new recipes! It's great to be back, baking something new to share with everyone!

To start off, as mentioned in my earlier banana-related posts, I'm sure there's many of us out there who seem to have ripening bananas that we can't get rid of any faster. And I'm also pretty sure there are many of us out there who are sick of using them to make banana bread!

Well, I was going through one of my recipe books, The Taste of Home Baking Book, and went through the index looking for all things starting with banana to try and change things up. When I turned to the page of this recipe, the first thing that caught my eye was the picture of the 3-layer cake. Anything with layers and frosting makes me excited because it looks impressive. Well I'm happy to say, that it not only looks good, it tastes good too! The torte turned out to be moist and there were just the right amount of pecans. The cream cheese frosting was not so strong because it was mixed with butter, and the frosting really complemented the banana flavor of the cake. If you're not a fan of pecans or you don't have any, you can always substitute with walnuts and it would taste just as amazing!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup  butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3-4 medium)
• 2 tsp vanilla flavoring
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Frosting:

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Topping:

• Toasted chopped pecans

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Beat in bananas and vanilla.

You may need to use more or less bananas depending on their size. Make sure you  have 2 cups! I had to use about 4  medium sized bananas.

4. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately  with buttermilk. 

5. Stir in pecans.

Make sure to toast your pecans for a few minutes in the oven  at about 300 degrees F. Do not  leave them any longer than a few minutes because nuts get burned very quickly!

6. Pour into three greased and floured 9-inch round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 

These have been greased with butter and lightly floured. 

Make sure you fill all 3 cake pans evenly!

7. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

8. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add vanilla. Spread between the layers and over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with pecans. Store in the refrigerator.

Banana Nut Muffins

It's been one of those days again...a day when there's bananas going bad and you have to think desperately what to do with them so they don't have to be thrown away. Well, lucky for those of us out there who face this problem often (I know I do), there's tons of great recipes out there for bananas. I have a few that I want to try out. But today, I decided to try this muffin since it makes for a nice breakfast and something you can have with tea or coffee. All I have to say is, these are super moist and delicious...you cannot go wrong with making these! The recipe is from the Food Network website...here's the link: Banana Nut Muffins: Tyler Florence. For an extra pop and more yummy flavor, I added chocolate chips in a few muffins...chocolate and banana = the perfect combo. Also, I didn't have pecans, so I substituted them with walnuts. Pecans or Walnuts, with or without chocolate chips, it doesn't matter...these are amazing. Enjoyyy =)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 overripe bananas
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and prepare a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. 

3. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. Put aside. 

4. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining 2 bananas and brown sugar together for a good 3 minutes. 

5. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. 

6. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.

7. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. 

8. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

9. Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. 

10. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tip: Add chocolate chips to make it even more yummy: