Pineapple Upside-down Rum Cake

For my birthday cake this year I created a recipe that combines two delicious cakes: Pineapple upside-down cake and a traditional Caribbean rum cake.

Ingredients:
Cake:
2 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. softened butter
1 pkg. (3.4 oz) vanilla pudding mix
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. milk
4 eggs
1/2 c. dark rum
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 c. pineapple juice (from can)

Topping:
4 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 can pineapple, crushed or tidbits, drained
2 Tbsp rum

Glaze:
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. rum
1/4 c. water

1 c. coconut

Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
For the topping, mix pineapple, butter, sugar and rum together and place in the bottom a fluted pan that has been sprayed and floured. Reserve 2/3 c. pineapple juice for the cake batter.

For the cake, cream butter and sugar. Add the rest of the liquids and beat until well combined. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, pudding mix, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the liquids and beat until smooth. Pour the batter over the pineapple topping.

Bake 55-60 minutes.

Meanwhile spread the coconut onto a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for around 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on it so they don't burn.

For the glaze, mix the butter, water, and sugar together and microwave until boiling. Stir in the rum. When the cake has finished baking, poke holes all the way through the cake. Drizzle 3/4 of the glaze over the cake, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Add the toasted coconut to the rest of the glaze. Flip the cake out onto a plate. Top with the glazed coconut.

Apple Chips

Ingredients:
3-4 apples
Cinnamon, optional

Recipe:
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F.

Slice the apples very thin. Thicker slices may need to be baked longer. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and arrange the apple slices on the paper. Sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon if desired. Bake for 2 hours flipping the apple slices after one hour. Let cool. Apple chips should be crisp, if some are still soft, bake those a little longer.

After storing mine they got soft again, I think some of the thicker slices still had moisture in them. I popped them back in the oven though and they crisped back up again.

Apple Pie

Months ago I went to an orchard and made so many apple recipes with the fresh apples that I hand picked. I decided to make a pie, but I wanted to save it for later. I froze the unbaked pie and recently baked it so now I get to enjoy apple pie in January with the same fresh apples picked in the fall.

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Stars!

Ingredients:
2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter
5-7 Tbsp ice cold water
6 c. thinly sliced, peeled apples
3/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Recipe:
Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter and shortening until you get coarse crumbles. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture clings together. Press into a ball and divide the dough in half. Shape each into a 1/2 in. thick round, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 10-15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss the apples with sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Roll out one dough round to fit into a 9 inch pie plate. Fill with the apple mixture and roll out the other dough round to place over filling. Trim and flute the crust edges.

Cut several slits near the center to let steam escape. I cut out leaves and overlaid them on the holes.
Bake 45-50 minutes.

*I froze the unbaked pie and it kept for several months. Just make sure to wrap it tightly before freezing. Bake frozen pie at 475 degrees F. for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake 45 minutes longer.

Stuffed Baked Apples a la Mode

Ingredients:
4 large apples
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. oats
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1/8 c. raisons
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
Vanilla or caramel ice cream

Recipe:

Core the apples and remove a little bit extra so that they can be stuffed. Sprinkle the apples with lemon juice. Mix the rest of the ingredients (excluding the ice cream) and over-stuff the apples. Place them in an oven safe dish and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees F.

Let cool slightly before topping with ice cream.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

Ingredients:
6 apples (you can use a variety)
1/2 c. apple cider
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt

Recipe:
Core, peel, and cube apples. Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and stir. Cook on low for about 10 hours. This makes a 1 pint jar. I would recommend canning your apple butter if you plan to make more.

Blueberry Cream Souffle

Here is another recipe from my anniversary brunch.

Ingredients:
1 pkg cream cheese
5 c. french bread, cubed
1 c. fresh blueberries
4 eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 c. maple syrup

Blueberry Syrup:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. blueberries
1/2 tsp vanilla
(makes 1 cup)

This recipe is halved so that I could make smaller portions and bake it in my souffle dishes. Double it to make in a large casserole dish.


Recipe:
Place the bread cubes and blueberries in a large bowl. Cut half of the cream cheese into small cubes and toss with the bread cubes and blueberries.  Spray the soufflé dishes, and over-fill with the bread mixture.

Soften the rest of the cream cheese in the microwave. Wisk together the cheese, eggs, milk, and syrup until well blended. Pour over the bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Before baking bring to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the syrup. In a saucepan on the stovetop, blend the sugar, corn syrup, and blueberries. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the vanilla.

Let the baked soufflés cool for a few minutes before serving, and top with blueberry syrup.

Fresh Peach Bellini

Ingredients:
2 peaches
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
Champagne or sparkling wine

Recipe:
Cut the peaches into small pieces and place them in a blender along with the lemon juice and sugar. Blend until pureed. Spoon about 2 oz of peach puree into a champagne flute and top with sparkling wine.

Apple and Blueberry Turnovers

I had some leftover apple and blueberry pie filling, but I didn't have enough to make a whole pie so I made turnovers instead.

The recipe for the crust is the same I use for my pies which you can find here on my blog under Easy Pie Crust.

Then all you need is the pie filling of your choice.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. After making the dough, roll it out and cut into squares. Put a little pie filling in the center of the square and fold it over. Seal the edges by pressing down with a fork. Slice about three holes on top of the turnover and put on a cookie sheet to bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Taffy Apple Pizza

I made this dessert for my friend's rehearsal dinner, and people were grabbing pieces off the plate even before I got in the door.
Then when I got home I was wishing that I had some leftovers so I just made another batch. It's a really simple recipe and super delicious.

Crust:
1 (about 18 oz) pkg of refrigerated sugar cookie dough

Topping:
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c peanut butter
3 granny smith apples
caramel topping
(optional) 1/2 c chopped peanuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out cookie dough to 1/4 inch on a cookie sheet or circular pizza pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes then loosen the cookie from the pan.



Combine cream cheese, vanilla, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Spread over cooled cookie.


Peel, core, and slice apples and arrange over cream cheese mixture.


Drizzle caramel over the top and if you want sprinkle with nuts.

Cherry Rhubarb Pie

I've been holding onto a jar of cherry rhubarb pie filling from Door County for some time now. I was in the mood for pie so figured I'd finally use it.

So no, the pie is not made from scratch, but I always make my own crust which you can find the recipe for under "Easy Pie Crust."

Orange Julius

Tastes just like the ones at the mall. If you want I'm sure you could add different flavors of juice if you want more variety.

6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
1/2 c suger
1/2 tsp vanilla
about 10 ice cubes

Blend juice, milk, water, sugar, and vanilla together in blender.



Gradually add ice cubes and blend until smooth. Add or subtract the number of ice cubes depending on the desired thickness.

Caramel Apples

Ingredients:
1 bag of caramel squares
Granny smith apples
wooden sticks
Optional: milk chocolate and toffee bits for dipping



It's super easy to make caramel apples. All you have to do is heat up the caramel squares with 2 tablespoons of water until they're all melted.


I didn't use the whole bag because I only wanted to make a few small apples.

Dip your apples into the melted caramel, and make sure it gets fully coated.

Then I dipped them in chocolate and Heath bits!
Put them on wax paper or aluminum foil to cool, and maybe even put them in the refrigerator if you dipped them in chocolate otherwise the chocolate will melt from the hot caramel.