Ricotta Orange Pound Cake

This is wonderful! I made this for my co-workers, and it turned out to be a big hit. I forgot to take a picture, so I managed to snag a picture of the last two slices.
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Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange, zested
3 tablespoons orange juice
Fresh fruit

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and orange juice until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with fresh fruit.

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Source: Bethany, master baker, from http://bethanyjg.blogspot.com/ (original source Giada De Laurentiis)

Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart

This is the ugliest pie I have ever made!! The crust is terribly ugly. The pie was so delicious and wonderful, but if I had to do it again, I would have used a store-bought frozen crust. However, this pie is wonderfully decadent.

For the crust: (or you can just buy one)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup ice water

For the filling:
6 oz. dark chocolate
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. milk or cream
fresh strawberries (approx. 2 pints), sliced

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Rub in butter with fingertips (or mix with stand mixer/food processor) until mixture is crumbly and resembles wet sand. Stir in water, adding an additional tablespoon if necessary until dough starts to come together and clumps easily. Press dough into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out dough on a well-floured surface and press into a 9- or 10-inch tart pan. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and place a piece of aluminum foil over the pastry. Fill the foil with pie weights and bake for 12 minutes at 350°. Remove foil and weights and continue baking for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely before filling.

Melt 4 oz. dark chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. When melted, pour into the pastry crust and spread evenly to coat the bottom with a thin layer of chocolate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until cool and firm.

Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk in a large bowl until smooth. Pour into the cooled crust. Top cream cheese layer with sliced strawberries. Melt remaining dark chocolate and drizzle over berries. Refrigerate the tart for at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Source: http://annieseats.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/strawberry-cream-cheese-tart/

Chocolate Chip Poundcake

This is my twist on a great recipe.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup chocolate chips

2 cups butter, softened
2 3/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg or cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Combine flour, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix at low speed after each addition just until mixture is blended. Stir in vanilla and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack.

Source: Thanks, Celeste!! http://sugarandspice-celeste.blogspot.com/

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

I made this for DH, because he said he was craving "something sweet." It turned out great, and I got to combine DH's two favorites - chocolate and peanut butter - with ingredients I already had around the house.

Ingredients:

4 cups (30 large) marshmallows
3/4 cup peanut butter
4 cup Rice Crispy's
4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Melt butter, peanut butter, and marshmallows in pan over medium heat. Grease a casserole pan. When everything melts, add the rice cripsy's and chocolate chips. Mix and pat into greased pan.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I also made these for our potluck luncheon at work. This was my first time trying the recipe. I liked them, but they were very very sweet. The cream cheese frosting tasted more like candy than cake frosting. However, I would still recommend them, as most people liked them.

Cupcakes:

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the eggs and the sugar together in a bowl. Stir in the oil and pumpkin. Mix well. In a separate bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together. Stir into the pumpkin mixture, and mix well. Pour into greased cupcake pan (or you can use the liners). Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until knife in center comes out clean. Let cool for 1 hour.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 - 2 teaspoons vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese together in mixer. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla. When the cupcakes are cool (after about 1 hour), frost with the frosting.

This recipe makes about 20 - 24 muffins.

Source: Bliss~Felicite cooking blog - lifeinblissfulness.blogspot.com