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A little wacky and intensely flavourful.  I made this for a New Years party with great success.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 tbs vanilla

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter

Filling:

2 pears sliced into very thin pieces

1/2 cup crushed walnuts

juice from 1 clementine

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°.  Cook filling ingredients in a saucepan until pear slices are soft.

Add flour, salt, and baking soda.  In a separate bowl, mix together sugars, eggs, vanilla.  Mix in sour cream and butter.

Add dry ingredients bit by bit into the second bowl.  Mix in apple cider slowly at the same time.

Grease two pans and pour batter in.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, then set out to cool.

Once cooled, add a thin layer of pear filling and ice the cake (I still can’t for the life of me figure out actual measurements for icing…), then decorate with clementine peel and extra pear slices along the sides.

Tags: apple cider, cake, cinnamon, pear, pears, recipe
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All the best parts of pumpkin pie and all the best parts of cheesecake.

Ingredients:

Crust*:

1 1/2 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs

1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:

3 packages cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups pumpkin pie mix

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup pumpkin pie mix

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons from cheesecake batter

Preheat oven to 350° F.   Pat crust into bottom of pan and bake for 6-8 minutes.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Add sugars a bit at a time.  Mix eggs, pumpkin, and milk together in a separate bowl and then beat the mixture slowly into the cream cheese.  Beat in cornstarch.

Grease sides of pan and pour batter in.  Set aside two tablespoons of batter for topping.  Bake for 55-60 minutes.

Mix sour cream, pumpkin, extra batter, and vanilla.  Pour overtop cake and smooth over the surface.  Bake for 5 more minutes.

Set aside to cool.  While still warm, decorate with butterscotch chips and white chocolate chips.  Refridgerate at least two hours.

* The crumbs up the side in the photo aren’t part of the crust, that was an extra two (maybe even three, come to think of it) cups of gingersnap crumbs pressed against the cake after it cooled.

Tags: cheesecake, dessert, halloween, pumpkin, pumpkin cheesecake, recipe, thanksgiving
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Very light, very moist, and very easy to make.

Ingredients (makes one dozen cupcakes):
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 325°. Place paper cupcake cups in muffin trays.

Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in butter and coconut milk. Whisk until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared muffin trays. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.

Icing:
1/8 cup butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar (or until the right consistency)
1/4 cup coconut milk
zest from one half lemon

Decorate with shredded coconut.

Tags: coconut, cupcakes, lemon, recipe
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Widely recognized as my best cookie recipe.  Can be done with or without peanut butter.

Ingredients (makes two dozen cookies):
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peanut butter*
1/2 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup butterscotch chips**
1/2 cup chocolate chips**
1 ounce square semisweet chocolate cut into small chunks
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 tablespoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two cookie sheets.

Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, mix eggs, vanilla, butter, and sugar. Beat the the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then add spices, butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips.

Ball up cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Place them on prepared sheets and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

* Add an extra 1/4 cup flour if you choose to not use peanut butter

** I don’t think I’ve ever actually measured chips in cookies, so this is just an estimation. Add more or less chips to your liking.

Tags: cinnamon, cookies, nutmeg, peanut butter, recipe, spice
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Seriously addictive, flavourful, easy-to-make pies.  Perfect party treat.  One downside:  You will need to bring more of them than you think.

Ingredients:
(Makes one dozen mini pies)
Coconut pudding:
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup milk
2 eggs
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons butter

Mini pie shells
1/2 cup crushed Maltesers candy *
1 1/2 tablespoons shredded coconut *
12 Toblerone pieces

Bake pie shells according to package instructions.

Whisk together milk and coconut in a saucepan until it begins to simmer. Whisk eggs, sugar, and flour in a separate bowl. Drizzle 1/3 of milk mixture in and whisk together. Add mixture into saucepan. Whisk constantly for 10 to 15 minutes until it thickens and bubbles. Make sure to scrape against the bottom of the saucepan frequently.

Cool to room temperature. Press plastic wrap onto the surface and chill for at least three hours.

Pour pudding into prepared pie shells. Decorate with crushed Maltesers, shredded coconut, and a Toblerone piece.

* My batch were only decorated with pieces of Toblerone, which works just as well, though not as visually appealing.

Tags: coconut, coconut cream pie, mini pie, pudding, recipe
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This is my recipe from taking the best bits of all the chocolate coffee cakes I could find online.  For a true chocolate lover.

Ingredients:

4 ounce squares semisweet chocolate, melted

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup softened butter

4 eggs

2 tablespoons instant coffee

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Grease two pans.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt.

Mix sugar, butter, instant coffee, and vanilla in a separate bowl.

Beat dry ingredients into wet ingredients while slowly adding buttermilk.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Remove and cool.

Icing:

3 ounce squares semisweet chocolate, melted

2 teaspoons instant coffee (dissolved in milk)

3 tablespoons milk

1 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups icing sugar

Ice cake and decorate with small cherry slices and one sliced strawberry.

Tags: cake, cherry, chocolate, coffee, espresso, mocha, recipe, strawberry
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This is my recipe from searching lots online and taking the best bits from all the chocolate orange cakes I could find.  A very moist, very flavorful, and exotic cake.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 single ounce squares semisweet chocolate

3 tablespoons orange zest

4 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Prepare the pan by greasing and arranging orange slices on the bottom.

Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and yogurt.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Slowly combine the two bowls by pouring dry ingredients onto wet ingredients and mixing well.

Separate the batter into halves.

Add two melted squares of semisweet chocolate into one half, and the orange zest and juice into the other.

Marble the batter over the orange slices in your prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes.

When ready, take it out and let it cool.  Refrigerate if possible.

Flip cake (after flattening the now-bottom with a knife as necessary or choosing a serving platter with a rounded bottom) so that orange slices face upwards.

Glaze:

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Decorate with orange or lemon peel and small slices of cherry.  Drizzle melted chocolate.

Tags: cake, cherry, chocolate, dessert, marbled, orange, recipe
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