Thanks to Ina Garten, one of my favorite Food Network people, for this recipe.  Her recipe calls for sour cream, which I did not have.  I substituted 3/4 cup of buttermilk and 1/3 cup softened butter.  I think it would have been fine to use 1 cup of buttermilk without the additional butter.

This cake can be eaten for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or for breakfast.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Sugar Peach Cake

Courtesy of Ina Garten, foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup of softened butter
• 1 cup + 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 large can of peaches, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup pecans

This cake is by no means a classy or visually impressive dessert.  It’s not something that you would serve at a fancy dinner party, but it would be a crowd pleaser at a pot-luck or at a small, casual family dinner.

When you search “gooey butter cake” on Google, your first results will most likely be Paula Deen recipes.  However, she is not the inventor of the cake.  It originated in St. Louis in the 1940s and is typically not a dessert cake, but a coffee cake.  This Paula Deen version is too rich and sweet to be served as a coffee cake, in my opinion.  I found a recipe today for one made from scratch that I plan to try soon.  The base is made with a yeast dough that rises around the edges of the butter, cream cheese and sugar filling.

The cake mix makes this recipe very quick.  However, the cake mix with the combination of butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and toffee make this cake very rich and incredibly sweet.  Some people may not like it (like Ben) for this very reason.  I am OK with crazy sweet desserts, so I liked this cake.  It should however be served in small pieces so that no one goes into a sugar coma.  Here is a link to the recipe.

Gooey Toffee Butter Cake

(Courtesy of Paula Deen, Foodtv.com)

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 (16-ounce) box confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup almond toffee bits or chocolate toffee bits

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9 by-2-inch baking pan.
2. For the cake: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.
3. For the filling: Still using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners’ sugar and beat well. Reduce the speed and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. Fold in toffee bits.
4. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don’t be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don’t bake it past that point!
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way.

I am starting to truly like cool weather and I’ve always loved the things associated with this time of year.  Changing leaves, pumpkins, sweaters, warm socks, soup, and before you know it, it’s Christmas!  Anyway…

The cooler weather inspired me to bake something warm, rich and chocolate-y yesterday, so I found a basic and easy brownie recipe, halved it to better serve 2 people, and made use of what I had in my pantry.

The results were tasty and I enjoyed eating the brownies while they were still a little warm and gooey with a glass of milk.  The coffee flavor complements the chocolate well.  I like to combine chunks of dark and white chocolate in baked goods, and I find it perfect in these brownies.  The addition of pecans might be nice, but I think the simplicity of these brownies is perfect.

White and Dark Chocolate Coffee Brownies

Ingredients

• 2 ounces dark or unsweetened chocolate
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces of chopped white chocolate
• 4 ounces of chopped dark chocolate

• Directions
• Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8×8 baking pan.
• Melt butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning the chocolate.  Once melted, remove from heat.
• Combine sugar, chocolate mixture and eggs in a mixing bowl and whisk until combined.  Add in vanilla and instant coffee.
• Mix in flour and salt until combined, then stir in chocolate.
• Pour batter into greased pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Top will be set.
• Cool on a wire rack, then cut into squares.