cake for you. cake for me.

Ally, here.

The 4th of July just passed. This is a holiday that requires overindulging in copious amounts of food. Preferably meat, cooked outside on the grill. And dessert. Lot's of red, white, and blue dessert. And what's more American than cheesecake?


Okay, there are a ton of more American desserts, but I really wanted to make cheesecake. Unfortunately, I don't have a springform pan. So I decided to make mini cheesecakes in a muffin pan. It took a little bit of creativity, as I was working with a recipe for the real deal. But it worked wonderfully! And I topped them with raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries to make them a bit more patriotic.

Here's what you need:

crust:
-15 crushed graham crackers
-1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
-9 tablespoons butter, melted

filling:
-2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-5 whole eggs
-2 egg yolks
-1/4 cup sour cream
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla


Here's what to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

3. Combine crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter.

4. Use a little more than one spoonful of crust in each muffin cup. Press into cup until it forms a thick crust, filling the bottom of the cup.

5. Bake for 6 minutes and cool.

6. Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

7. Mix the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until well-blended. Mix in the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until creamy. I recommend putting the mixture in a cup with a spout for easy pouring.

8. Pour evenly into muffin cups, filling almost to the top.

9. Bake for 7 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 225 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cakes appear to be set in the middle.

10. Open the oven door and let the cakes sit for 20 minutes. Remove cupcakes from oven and let them sit at room temperature until cooled. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

11. Top with assorted fruits.


It sounds kind of complicated, but trust me, it's worth the time spent changing oven temperatures and moving the cupcakes from place to place. Plus, with individual sized portions, this is the perfect dessert for parties. You're going to love it.

pizza. fruit. does it get any better?

Ally, here.

For the past 21 years, I've hated cream cheese. I don't know why, but I have refused to eat anything involving the substance. Cheesecake, cream cheese frosting, you name it.

I have changed my ways. And it has been so good.

The fiancé (a cream cheese lover his entire life) is thrilled. I crave cheesecake on a regular basis. But lately, with all of this summer fruit floating around, I've been in the mood for fruit pizza.

Fruit pizza may be one of the best desserts ever. Or breakfasts (if you are my mom). The fruit makes it seem healthy, so you won't feel guilty for indulging in an extra slice.


Here's what you'll need:

-2 rolls refrigerated sugar cookie dough
-1 1/2 packages cream cheese
-3/4 cup sugar
-the fruits of your choice (I used pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, and raspberries)

Here's what to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread 3/4 of the cookie dough on a round pizza pan. Use the remaining dough for individual cookies (to make into little pizzas).
3. Bake as directed on package.
4. While the cookie cools, mix cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Prepare the fruits of your choosing.
5. After cookie cools, frost with cream cheese and sugar mixture. Top with assorted fruits.

You can get really creative with your decorating, so go wild! If you are making this for a party, I'd recommend making individual sized fruit pizzas by baking a few dozen cookies, rather than one giant pizza.

Try it. You're going to love it.

finals food: cake

Becca, here.

Let's talk cake. More specifically, Rainbow Cake.

First of all, let's take a moment and thank Ally for bringing this recipe to me one year ago, this month.

If you like cake. You will like this.
My roommates demand it.
And since this is finals week,we take the opportunity to eat good "study food"
...get ready for some more Finals-Week-Blogging coming your way.

For the sake of seeing the evolution of my rainbow cake...here is the Wall of Rainbow Cake Fame.

This Cake: It will blow you away at how easy it is.

But a fair warning: it WILL be gone within 24 hours. If it lasts that long.

This particular cake comes from the classic Rainbow Cake recipe, but also draws a whole lot of inspiration (once again) from iambaker.

Enjoy...


Fruit of the Rainbow Cake

2 boxes of white cake mix
3 cups of Sprite Zero
1 small container of white icing
1 small container of cool whip
1 mango
1/2 pint of strawberries
3 kiwi's
3 handfuls of blueberries
Food dye (yellow, red, green, blue)

1. Combine both cake mixes and Sprite Zero in mixing bowl
2. Beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes
3. Separate the batter into 4 different bowls
4. Cut up fruit and place in each bowls, separately.
(I put a few drops of matching colored dye into the bowls, just to make sure the fruit layers would be distinguishable)
5. With a hand mixer, blend in the dye and fruit into the bowls.


6. Grease two 9-inch cake pans. Begin with one color and put half in one pan, and half in the other. Scoop the next batter, and place directly on top (it will resemble a dart board when all layers are in place). Continue until all the colors have been placed.

7. Bake in 350degrees until a fork comes clean.

Enjoy rainbow cake # who knows...

& let me know how yours turns out!