Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

                                                  Makes 12 servings.

PUMPKIN CAKE

Ingredients

4 large eggs

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can (1 lb.) pureed pumpkin

Cream Cheese Frosting (SEE RECIPE BELOW)

Pecans or Walnuts (chopped or halves)

Directions
Place eggs in the large bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes until eggs warm to room temperature. 

Preheat oven to 350 F 

Sift flour with baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

With electric mixer at high speed, beat eggs with granulated sugar the mixture is light and fluffy. 

Beat in oil and pumpkin and blend thoroughly.

 

With the electric mixer at low speed, beat in flour mixture, beating only until flour is moistened.
Pour into ungreased 10-inch tube pan without removable bottom.

 

Bake 45-50 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed with fingertips.
Remove cake from oven and cool completely in pan on wire rack.
Using a long, narrow rubber spatula, carefully loosen cake from pan; remove.
Place on cake plate.

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Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
2 pkg (3 ounce size) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions
In small bowl, at medium speed, beat cream cheese with vanilla until smooth and soft.
Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until light and fluffy.

Frost top and side with cream cheese frosting.
Use the tip of the spatula to swirl the frosting toward the center of the plate.

For decoration, place walnut or pecan pieces (or halves) around the top of the cake.

Serve cake immediately or store tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to serving.

Homemade Blueberry Muffins

This recipe is based on the basic muffin recipe from the NYS Wine & Culinary Center.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup milk
6 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups fresh blueberries
cinnamon sugar*

Preheat the oven to 425 F
Line cupcake pan with 12 cupcake papers

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt)
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs then add the sugar and whisk briskly to mix.
Add the milk, melted butter and vanilla to the egg mixture and whisk to blend.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, and mix together with a few light strokes, just until the dry ingredients are almost all moistened.
Add the blueberries, then mix them in using a rubber spatula, and only mix until ingredients are all moistened. Batter will be lumpy - do not over-mix.

Spoon batter into muffin cups and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of each muffin.

Bake about 12 minutes - until a toothpick inserted into 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean.
Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from the pan.

Delicious warm!

*Cinnamon sugar: mix 1/4 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Blueberry Bundt Cake

Ingredients

Crisco (for the pan)

Flour (for the pan)

3 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh blueberries, picked over to remove any stems

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk

Confectioners’ sugar (for sprinkling)

Directions

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.

2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until blended.

3. On wax paper, toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture.

4. In an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter for 3 minutes. Add the granulated sugar in 3 additions, beating for 1 minute after each. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.

5. With the mixer set on low speed, beat in the flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl often with a rubber spatula.

6. With a large rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries.

7. Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

8. Bake the cake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean when withdrawn. The baked cake will pull away from the sides of the pan.

9. Set the cake on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto another cooling rack to cool completely. Before serving, dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar.

Makes one 10-inch cake

Baker's Fudge Brownies

4 squares Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans


Heat oven to 350 F (325 F for glass baking dish). Line 13X9-inch baking pan with foil extending over edges to form handles. Grease foil.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Stir sugar into chocolate mixture until well blended. Mix in eggs and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour and nuts until well blended. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do NOT overbake. Cool in pan. Lift out of pan onto cutting board. Cut into squares.