Pumpkin Pie Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Hi there! Welcome to my new digs! Isn't it pretty???

I've been playing around with the idea of getting my blog designed for me for quite some time. As a birthday/anniversary present to myself, I decided to go ahead and finally take the plunge! And I finally found someone I was really excited about to design it for me!

Sharon over at Redbud Designs was amazing to work with! And I can't say that I'm the best customer...at all. I really had no idea what I wanted. I knew a color scheme and I wanted this space to have a 1950's malt shop type of feel. Other than that, I gave her pretty much nothing! And this is what she came up with! I definitely think she hit the mark!

Many things are the same, but I now have a "browse by topic" drop down box, a fun new blog button, a pretty "print this recipe" button, and I'm loving having my Instagram feed on the sidebar. I'm a bit obsessed with Instagram. LOL! The only thing I feel is missing is maybe some place to share what books I'm reading now. I may have to email Sharon about that.

AND! A friend of mine gifted me my own domain name for my birthday! Now you can type in www.joltsandjollies.com and you will be brought directly here! It makes things a bit easier I think, don't you??

For a while now I've been trying to decide what direction I wanted to take this blog. A while back I decided to create an every day kind of blog. But I don't seem to have time to dedicate to both blogs. So I may just incorporate the two together here. After all, this is where my heart lies. I love sharing recipes with you all. But maybe you will start seeing more about every day things.

I'm definitely interested in opinions and thoughts though. Would you be terribly annoyed if I talked to you about books every now and again? Or had some random post about military living? Or the kids?

I'm always looking to learn, grow, and develop. So any tips or ideas you all can give me would be great!

So. I think that's enough of that...for now. ;-)

Let's talk about pumpkin pie bars!

I have a little baking group on Facebook. I actually started that group before I was a member of The Cake Slice Bakers. At one point, a member of the group would choose a recipe and we would all make it as the "challenge" recipe. However, life gets in the way and we couldn't all keep up. Now it's turned into a place where we can share recipes and idea with one another.

Last month, however, someone shared a recipe for pumpkin bars and we all jumped on it. Most everyone made the recipe as it was written. But all the pictures and reviews of the bars seemed very fluffy and cake like. That wasn't what I wanted.

As I read through the reviews, I decided to make a more gooey bar. Mine didn't come out like cake, it came out more as pumpkin pie. It was definitely gooey...and moist.

The bar themselves were pretty good. But I paired mine with a maple cream cheese frosting that was to die for!! Truly, the frosting was definitely the star of the show. I couldn't get enough of it! I put little dollops on each of my bars but I think spreading it would be amazing too! However you choose to add the frosting, just make sure you have enough on each bar to have frosting on each bite. You won't regret it. Shoot...you may even just end up grabbing a spoon and forgetting about the bars all together. But hopefully not.

Let's get baking!

Whisk together your flour, leaveners, and some choice spices. Set aside.

Now beat together the pumpkin, sugar, eggs, and oil until thoroughly combined.

Add in the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time. Mix until well combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Scrape the batter into your prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake it up then let it cool completely.

Now make your frosting...this is the best part! Cream together the butter and cream cheese, then beat in some vanilla, maple, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a bit of salt.

Mix in a couple cups of powdered sugar, then taste it. If you want it thicker, add more. Mine worked with 2 cups.

When your bars are cool, slice them up, dollop the frosting on top (unless you want to spread it, that works too), serve, and enjoy!!



Pumpkin Pie Bars
Adapted From allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with baking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, on medium speed, mix together the pumpkin puree, sugar, eggs, and oil until combined.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture 1/3 at a time and mix until thoroughly combined.
5. Scrape batter into baking dish and spread into an even layer using a rubber spatula.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the middle no longer jiggles and a tester inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
7. Allow to cool completely before frosting**.
8. Slice, serve, and enjoy!!

**Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from The Cake Book

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon maple extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch nutmeg
• Pinch salt
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, on medium high speed, cream together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Beat in the vanilla, maple, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt until well combined.
3. With the mixer on low, beat in 2 cups of the powdered sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until well combined.
4. Check for desired consistency and taste, add more powdered sugar as desired.

Bourbon Pecan Pound Cake with Bourbon Glaze

Okay everyone...

Sing it with me now...

I like big bundts and I cannot lie! You other bakers can't deny!

This is one big bundt cake. And I love it!

It's been a while since I've been able to bake with my Facebook Baking Group but I'm so happy to have gotten back into the swing of things with this cake.

One of the members of the group found this recipe in her local newspaper and she shared it with the group.

The cake can be made into a couple loaves and be shared with friends, but I chose to make mine in my bundt pan because...well...you know why. ;-)

This cake was super moist. The bourbon (I used Jim Beam) gave it that little something extra. I loved the texture of so many pieces of pecan throughout the cake. And hello! You can't have a big bundt without a glaze!

This cake would be a beautiful addition to your holiday table. Or shared with friends and neighbors.

No matter why or how you enjoy this cake...just enjoy this cake. You won't be sorry!

Let's bake!

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Mix in the egg yolks.

Stir in the extracts, butter flavoring and bourbon. Yeah baby!

Mix in the flour a bit at a time.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and gently fold them into the batter.

Then stir in some nuts.

Sprinkle more nuts in the bottom of the bundt pan.

Then pour the batter over the nuts. Smooth it out and sprinkle with more pecans.

Bake that baby up until a tester comes out clean then let it cool.

Throw together your glaze, pour it over the cake and top with a bit more of the pecans for garnish.

Slice, serve, enjoy!!

Bourbon Pecan Pound Cake with Bourbon Glaze

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Ingredients:

For the cake

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 9 large eggs, separated
• 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 1 teaspoon butter flavoring
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 2 cups chopped pecans, divided, plus more for garnish 

For the glaze

• 2 cups powdered
• 2 Tablespoons bourbon
• 7 Tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 10-12 cup bundt pan with baking spray.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on medium high speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the egg yolks and beat until well incorporated.
4. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, the butter flavoring, and the bourbon.
5. Mix in the flour a half cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
6. In a separate, medium metal mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.
7. Fold half a cup of egg whites into the batter to lighten. Then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites until well incorporated.
8. Stir in 1 cup of the pecans.
9. Sprinkle 1/2 a cup of the pecans in the bottom of the bundt pan. Pour the batter over the pecans and smooth out with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of pecans evenly over the batter.
10. Bake for 1 1/2-2 hours or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
11. Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.
12. Make the glaze: stir powdered sugar, bourbon, and cream together until well incorporated. 
13. Pour glaze over the top of the cake allowing it to fall down the sides. Sprinkle a bit more of the pecans on top of the glaze. Let stand 10 minutes or until set.
14. Slice, serve, and enjoy!!

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Summers at my grandma's house in Lawton, Oklahoma are some of my very favorite memories of my childhood and growing up.

Her house was like that "coming home" feeling. And let me tell you...as an Army Brat, getting that feeling is hard to do.

We always arrived at about 2 or 3 in the morning. The sky was dark, yet the air was hot and sticky. Our parents would wake us up and we would reluctantly open our eyes. We would groggily stumble up the steps to the front porch. The only nighttime sounds were that of the bug zapper on grandma's porch. Illuminated by that faint purple/blue glow of the bug zapper we would reach the front screen door and peer inside (grandma always left the wooden door open at nights in the summer) and there was grandma, sleeping on the couch waiting for us. She would wake up and let us in and we instantly knew we were home.

Now grandma is gone and that feeling of restlessness has returned to my soul. Especially since I married an Army man myself.

Where is home? I'm not sure. Well...actually I am sure. I do know where home is. Home resides in the hearts of The Hubble and Little Butt. (cue loving sighs).

Anyway. You're probably wondering what all of this has to do with this cake.

Well...see...my grandma had a garden in her back yard. Now...don't underestimate. This was not your normal back yard garden. The woman had to have had at least an acre of the back yard sectioned off for her garden.

She grew everything. From tomatoes and cucumbers to peaches and, yes, apples.

One of our favorite snacks growing up was a cut up green apple with salt. Yes, I know, it sounds weird. But give it a try before you diss it.

The problem is that we ate those apples until our fingers were pruned and we were in desperate need of hydration.

Now, in my adult years, I really don't care for apples at all. (I recently found out my Older Sister has the same aversion to the fruit that I do)

From time to time I will crave a sweet red apple with some sharp white cheddar cheese, but it's rare.

I don't tend to choose apple pie. I cringe away from apple sauce. I don't tend to buy apples for our home (that was The Hubble's job if he wanted any).

So when this cake was suggested by a member of my Facebook baking group I was a little leery.

It took me over a month to work up the desire to make this cake, but make it I finally did.

I will admit that I took the big chunk of apple off of my piece and left it on the plate when I was finished with the cake itself. ;-)

The cake was actually quite good. It was moist and tender, but dense. It's definitely a hearty cake and I can see it being perfect for the Fall season.

I, personally, think the cake is rich and did not need to serve my piece with the extra caramel as suggested by the recipe. But maybe you are like my JerBear and believe that the more sugar in a dish, the better.

Who knows. But if you like apples, or even if you don't, I suggest you try this cake.

Let's bake!

We'll start by making the caramel. Heat up some corn syrup and sugar in a large skillet.

Good God when they say LARGE use a large skillet! Use a large stockpot if you have to because see what happens next:

When it's nice and amber, remove it from the heat and add in the butter and cream. Let it sit for a minute then pour some in a glass measuring dish....

The mixture starts to bubble...then it rises, pretty much like crazy! If you don't have a large enough skillet, I can tell you from experience that the mess this makes is spectacular! Here's a visual: my Niece, running from the stove shouting "What do I do? What do I do?!?!" Me responding "There's nothing you can do, just keep stirring! We'll clean it later!"

And pour the rest in the pan.

Arrange the apples, top side down in the pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the orange juice, sour cream and vanilla.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.

Mix in the eggs, one at a time.

In an alternating fashion, add half the sour cream mixture...

Then half the flour mixture, repeat.

Stir in the chopped apples.

Evenly spread the batter over the apples in the pan. Bake it up until nice and golden. Immediately invert the pan onto a platter (watch out! The caramel spreads quickly).

Slice it up and serve it with the extra caramel on top. Or not...it's perfect without the extra. Enjoy!!


Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
Retrieved from Food Network


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Ingredients


For the Caramel and Apples:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 large Golden Delicious apples (1 3/4 to 2 pounds)

For the Batter:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs

Directions

1. Butter a 9-by-3-inch round cake pan. 
2. Make the caramel: Cook the sugar and corn syrup in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is dark amber, 7 to 10 minutes.
3. Reduce the heat to medium. Carefully add the cream and 4 tablespoons butter (it will splatter) and cook, stirring, until combined, about 3 minutes.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat and let sit 1 minute. Pour 1 1/2 cups caramel into a glass measuring cup and set aside. 
5. Pour the remaining caramel into the prepared pan and set aside until set, about 30 minutes.
6. Cut 3 apples into quarters and cut out the cores with a paring knife. (I also peeled the apples)
7. Arrange the pieces skin-side down in the pan (overlapping them slightly) to form a ring about 1/2 inch from the edge. Save any pieces that do not fit for later.
8. Halve the remaining whole apple crosswise. Scoop out the seeds with a melon baller or measuring spoon, leaving the stem on the top half. Chop the bottom and any of the leftover quartered apples into pieces; set aside.
9. Arrange the apple top, stem-side down, in the center of the pan. If the quartered apples shift, just push them back into place.
10. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
11. Make the batter: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. 
12. In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream, orange juice and vanilla.
13. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
14. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. Slip them into the mixer bowl, one at a time, and beat until the mixture is pale and creamy, about 5 more minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beater with a rubber spatula.
15. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the sour cream mixture, then half of the flour mixture. Repeat. 
16. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula; finish combining the batter by hand.
17. Spread the batter over the apples in the pan. Top with the chopped apple. (I added the chopped apples to the batter)
18. Bake on the middle oven rack until the cake is brown on top and springs back when pressed, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes (don't worry if the top is dark). 
19. Cool in the pan on a rack.
20. Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a skillet wide enough to hold the cake pan. Carefully run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan several times, then rest the pan in the water to soften the caramel, about 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the water and dry. (I skipped this step and inverted the cake immediately while it was still hot from the oven)
21. Invert a plate on top of the cake, then flip over the cake and plate. Using pot holders or a towel, wriggle the pan off. 
22. Soften the reserved 1 1/2 cups caramel in the microwave, about 2 minutes. Drizzle the cake with some of the caramel. Slice and serve with the rest.
23. Enjoy!

Black Forest Cupcakes

Last month, my facebook baking group chose a black forest cake as the group recipe.

The girl who hosted the month said that black forest cake was traditionally served at Okterberfest celebrations. She thought this recipe would make a great October selection for the group.

I was very excited about the recipe...except for the fact that I don't really care for chocolate...or cherries. Other than that? This recipe was awesome! LOL!

As the group began baking this cake some members were having difficulties with the frosting. Other's had issues with the cake itself.

So I decided to make the cake into little cupcakes.

Seeing as how I don't like cherries or chocolate and was none too thrilled about the combination of flavors in this dessert, I took these to a dinner party. 2 out of 3 people thought they were delicious.

One woman who tried the cupcake mentioned that the German idea of 'sweets' was not the same as the American idea. The Germans tend to favor desserts with less sugar than the Americans.

That being said, these are a great treat for those of you out there who do not care for body twitching sugary desserts.

Either way, the recipe was fun to make and I liked how they turned out looks wise. I enjoyed making the recipe into cupcakes instead of a 3 layer cake.

Here's how I made these cupcakes:

Grab your ingredients: eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, bread flour, cocoa powder, pastry flour, vegetable oil, cream of tartar, cornstarch, butter, whipping cream, cherry brandy and cherries (I could not find fresh so used canned. You can also use jarred if you wish).

We are going to start by making the cake. Place 5 eggs in a mixer and whip on high speed for 5 minutes.

Once the eggs are whipped up, add the sugar, salt and vanilla and mix well to combine.

Take the bowl off the mixing stand and place it atop a pot of simmering water. Heat the mixture to between 110 and 115 degrees F.

Once the mixture is heated, place it back on the mixing stand and whip for another 15 minutes to stabilize the mixture.

While the mixer is mixing for 15 minutes, go ahead and sift together the bread flour, pastry flour and cocoa powder.

Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. While folding, slowly add in the oil.

Continue folding until all the ingredients are well combined.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured muffin pan. Immediately place in the oven and bake until the cake springs back to the touch, about 18-20 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

While the cake is baking, make the syrup. Combine the sugar, water, cherry brandy and cream of tartar in a small saucepan. Cook on low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cover and let simmer about 2 minutes then remove from heat to let cool.

Next up, the cherry filling. Place the cherries and cherry brandy in a small saucepan and stir to coat the cherries.

Cook over medium low heat until most of the brandy evaporates, about 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool.

Now we can work on the pastry cream. Reserve 2 Tablespoons of the milk. Then combine the rest of the milk with half the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil.

In a small bowl, combine the reserved milk with the cornstarch and whisk to make a slurry, or thin paste.

Then whisk in the rest of the sugar and the eggs.

Temper (or warm up) the egg mixture by slowly whisking in some of the heated milk to the mixture.

Now pour the warmed egg mixture into into the pot of boiling milk. Bring back to a boil, whisking constantly, and cook for 1 minute.

Remove the mixture from the heat. Then whisk in the butter and vanilla until the butter is melted and everything is combined.

Pour the cream into a large pan, cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool.

Now that everything is cooked and cooled it is time to start assembling the cupcakes! Take your cooled cupcakes and cut them in half horizontally.

Grab your cooled syrup and a pastry brush. Brush generous amounts of the syrup onto each cupcake half (or you can try to drizzle/pour the syrup over the cupcakes but I was too scared to do that).

Spoon some of the cherries onto the bottom of each syrup covered cupcake. Then spread some of the pastry cream onto the tops of each cupcake. Place the tops onto the cherry covered bottoms.

Whip the heavy cream and sugar on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Using whatever method you enjoy, top the cupcakes with the whipped cream. I placed my whipped cream into a pastry bag with a 1M decorating tip and swirled it. You can get a similar effect by putting the whipped cream in a large ziplock bag and cutting off the corner. Or you can spread or spoon it on.

Decorate with cherries or sprinkle cocoa powder on top.

Serve to your friends. And enjoy!!

Oh! And if this recipe interests you, come on over to our group and join us!

Black Forest Cupcakes
Slightly adapted from Food Network

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Ingredients

For the cake:

• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon bread flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon pastry flour
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon oil

For the syrup:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 4 teaspoons cherry brandy
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the cherry filling:

• 1 quart fresh cherries, pitted and halved
• 1 cup cherry brandy

For the Pastry Cream:

• 1 1/3 cups milk, divided
• 1/3 cup sugar, divided
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the whipped cream topping:

• 1 pint heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

For the Cupcakes:

1. Heat a skillet full of water to a bare simmer. 
2. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, whip eggs on high speed for 5 minutes. 
3. To the eggs add sugar, salt and vanilla and combine. 
4. Set the bowl into the hot water bath to heat the mixture to between 110 and 120 degrees F.
5. Stabilize the mixture by whipping on medium speed for 15 more minutes.
6. Meanwhile sift together the bread flour, the cocoa powder, and the pastry flour. Prepare the baking pans by greasing 2 cupcake pans and dusting with flour.
7. Gradually fold the sifted dry ingredients into the egg mixture by hand. Slowly pour in the oil while folding.
8. Fill the muffin pans approximately 2/3 full with the batter and place immediately in the oven. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes. (The surface of the cake should spring back when touched.) 
9. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then remove to wire racks to let cool completely.

For the syrup:

1. Combine the sugar, water, cherry brandy, and cream of tartar in a small saucepan. 
2. Cook over low heat stirring only until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is hot. 
3. Cover and simmer gently for 2 minutes. 
4. Remove from heat, uncover and let cool.

For the cherry filling:

1. Place cherries in a small saucepot and add brandy, stirring to coat cherries. 
2. Heat over medium low heat until most of liquid evaporates, then remove from heat and let cool.

For the pastry cream:

1. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the milk then combine the rest of the milk with half the sugar and bring to a gentle boil. 
2. In a small bowl whisk the 2 tablespoons of reserved milk into the cornstarch to create a slurry. 
3. Add the other half of the sugar and then the eggs to the slurry and whisk to completely combine. 
4. Temper the egg mixture with the boiling milk. (This is done by spooning some of the milk into the egg mixture to equalize temperatures without cooking the eggs.) 
5. Return all liquids to the pot and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook for 1 minute. 
6. Remove the milk mixture from the heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract. 
7. Pour into a large pan, put plastic wrap directly on the surface, and allow to cool.
8. Slice each of the cupcakes (horizontally). 
9. Place the cupcake halves onto baking sheets (which have a rim) and pour or brush cherry syrup over the layers, allowing them to soak.

For the cream topping:

1. Whip the heavy cream and sugar with an electric mixer on high to a stiff peak.
2. Assemble the cakes by spreading a layer of the pastry cream on the top half, then placing brandied cherries on the bottom half. Place cupcake halves together. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
3. Frost top layer of cake with whipped cream topping and garnish with cherries or sifted cocoa powder.