Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Frosting

 Ingredients:

Frosting -
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, room temperature (I used low-fat)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam
3/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

Cake -
3 cups cake flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
7 large eggs
2 TBSP vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream (I used low fat)
6 TBSP plus 1/3 cup seedless strawberry jam
2 1/4 lbs strawberries, hulled, sliced (about 6 cups), divided

MAKE THE FROSTING

1) Put a small/medium bowl in the freezer to chill. In a separate large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in sugar, then jam. Remove that chilled bowl from the freezer and beat cream in that chilled bowl until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into frosting. Cover; chill for a couple of hours until it’s firm enough to spread. (If you are in a hurry, you could put the frosting in the freezer to chill quickly.)

MAKE THE CAKE

2) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch high sides. (I used 10″ cheesecake pans – aka springform pans – because they were the only round pans I had with high enough sides and they worked great!) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add sour cream, and beat for 30 seconds. Add flour mixture in three additions, beating to blend after each addition. Divide batter into prepared pans.

2) Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pans, then turn cakes out onto a rack to cool completely. I threw the two cake layers in the freezer for about an hour to make the cake assembly easier.

3) Using a serrated knife, divide each layer in half horizontally. Place one half, cake side down, on a cake plate.

4) Spread 3 TBSP of strawberry jam over the cake, then spread 3/4 c of the frosting over the jam. Arrange 3/4 c of the sliced strawberries on top of the frosting in a single layer. Repeat two more times with cake layer, jam, frosting, and strawberries.

5) Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down. Spread two cups of frosting over the top and sides of the cake in a thin layer, then frost with remaining frosting. Stir remaining jam to loosen, then spoon teaspoonfuls onto the top and sides of the cake. Use the back of a spoon to swirl jam decoratively into the frosting

No Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake

Ingredients
3 lbs. fresh strawberries, sliced 
2 (8 oz.) tubs whipped topping (regular or light) 
1 (14.4 oz.) box graham crackers 
1/4 cup milk chocolate chip morsels

Directions
1. Spread a small amount of whipped topping on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan. Place 5 graham cracker sheets down the middle and break 2 more sheets into crackers to fit down the sides. Lightly cover the top of the graham crackers with more whipped topping and then a layer of sliced strawberries. Repeat three times, until you have four layers of graham crackers (you may be a few crackers short on the top layer, but that's ok). You'll end with a layer of strawberries on top.

2. Place milk chocolate chip morsels in a plastic bag. Microwave in 10 second intervals until melted. Snip the end of the plastic bag and drizzle chocolate over top of cake.

3. Refrigerate covered for at least four hours, or until the crackers have softened completely. Cake will last well for two days. It will still be good on the third day, but the strawberries will start to get juicy and leak into the whipped topping. It will still taste good, but it won't be as pretty.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients:
42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds (4 8-oz packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 275°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

Honey Crusted Chicken Breasts

Ingredients
1 spray(s) cooking spray 
2/3 cup(s) lite honey mustard dressing 
... 1/8 tsp table salt 
1/8 tsp black pepper 
2 tsp dill, freshly chopped 
1 medium uncooked scallion(s), finely sliced 
1 cup(s) cornflake crumbs 
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), four 4 oz pieces 

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a shallow pan with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine honey mustard dressing, salt, pepper, dill and scallions; remove 1/3 cup and set aside.
Place cornflake crumbs in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken into dressing mixture and then cornflake crumbs; place in prepared pan.
Bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink in center, about 15 minutes.
Drizzle remaining dressing mixture (the 1/3 cup that was set aside) over chicken breasts and serve. Yields 1 piece of chicken and about 1 1/3 tablespoons of dressing per serving

Foil-Pack Chicken and Broccoli Dinner

Ingredients
1 package Stuffing mix; chicken flav
1 1/4 cup Water 
24 ounce Boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets; 6oz each 
4 cup Broccoli Florets 
1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese 
4 slices Cooked bacon; crumbled 
4 tablespoon Ranch dressing 



Preparation

- Oven to 400
- Spray 4 large sheets of heavy-duty foil with oil.
- Combine stuffing mix and water.
- Spoon 1/4 of the stuffing mixture onto the center of each foil sheet.
- Top stuffing with a 6oz. chicken breast half.
- Top chicken with 1 c. broccoli.
- Sprinkle with 1/4 of the cheese and 1 slice of bacon, crumbled.
- Drizzle with 1 T. ranch dressing
- Bring up foil sides and fold to seal, leaving room for heat circulation inside
- Place packets on a cookie sheet and bake 25-30 mins
- Remove packets and let stand 5 mins
- Cut sits in foil for steam before opening.

butter pecan cake

Ingredients

For the frosting: 
◦2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
◦1 & 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans 
◦11 ounces cream cheese, softened 
◦1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 
◦16 ounces powdered sugar 
◦2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

For the cake: 
◦6 ounces white chocolate, chopped 
◦1/2 cup boiling water 
◦1 cup unsalted butter, softened 
◦1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar 
◦4 large eggs, separated 
◦1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
◦1 cup buttermilk 
◦1 teaspoon baking soda 
◦3 cups sifted cake flour 
◦toasted pecan halves for garnishing, if desired

Instructions

To make the frosting: 

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add pecans and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until toasted – about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. 

Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Stir in buttered pecans and vanilla. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. 

To make the cake: 

Place white chocolate in a bowl and pour boiling water over it, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool. 

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans and line with wax paper. Grease and flour wax paper.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in melted white chocolate and vanilla. 

Combine buttermilk and baking soda. Add flour to butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk mixture. Begin and end with flour. Mix at low speed after each addition until blended. 

Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold into batter. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. 

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. 

Spread frosting between layers and on the top and sides of cake. Garnish, if desired. 

Store in refrigerator.

Root Beer Float Cup Cakes

Ingredients

Cake: 
2½ cups old-fashioned style root beer (like A&W or Dads) 
2 tsp. vanilla extract 
2 cups dark brown sugar 
1 cup butter 
2 eggs 
3 cups all purpose flour 
1 Tbs. baking powder 
2 tsp. baking soda 
1 tsp. salt 
Root Beer Glaze: 
4 cups confectioners sugar 
½ cup root beer 
3 Tbs. vegetable oil 
(another option for adults is replace 1 cup of the root beer with 1 cup of root beer schnapps yummy lol)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a bowl, mix together , root beer, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.4. Add eggs, mix until smooth
5. Sift in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
6. Mix with hand mixer on low, while slowly pouring in root beer mixture.
7. Mix until smooth and lump free.
8. Pour into lined cupcake pan. (Use foil cupcake liners to avoid “leakage” later.) Fill nearly to the top, you may think its over-filled, but it puffs up perfectly this way. Don’t be tempted to use more than 24 cupcake cups.
9. Bake for 15- 20 minutes, until golden brown and cake springs back when touched.
10. While cupcakes are baking, prepare your butter cream and root beer glaze. For glaze, put all ingredients into a bowl and mix with a whisk until smooth and lump free.
11. To assemble, start by letting cupcakes cool, still in the pan.
12. While still slightly warm, pour 1 Tbs. of root beer over each cupcake. Pour on slowly to allow to soak in.
13. Once the root beer has soaked in and let sit for a few minutes, pour a couple tablespoons of glaze over each cupcake.
14. When the glaze sets up a bit and isn’t too runny, put a “scoop” of buttercream atop each. For an added touch, you can even place a root beer barrel candy on each one.