Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Spiced Cream Cheese Glaze

Have you started your Thanksgiving menu plan yet? Are you putting it off until the last minute? Have you already had it planned for weeks? We just decided that we are staying home and hosting this year, so I am just starting my planning. Thankfully (pun intended) I’ve hosted Thanksgiving twice now so I know what works and what doesn’t. Since I’m not sure how the cooking will go with the baby, I’m going to stick to mostly tried and true recipes. The few new things I will be adding will be tested in the next few weeks. If they work I’ll be sharing them here! One thing I wanted to add this year was a new pumpkin dessert. (Because you know I don’t have enough pumpkin recipes). And this cake is making the cut.

This Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Spiced Cream Cheese Glaze is so good. The kind of good that leaves you standing over the kitchen sink eating “just one more” sliver to, you know, “even things out”. Because you can’t have a slightly crooked slice… I really had to laugh when just 15 minutes after I snuck a[nother] piece I noticed Jesse lingering at the kitchen sink. When I asked him if he was eating bundt cake he had a totally busted look. It can’t be helped. This cake is delicious.

 

 

Tuxedo Layered Cheesecake

In the Weekend Dish Post I wrote on Sunday I talked about how crazy it is that it is already August. It’s not crazy just because it’s a month before my due date. And it’s not crazy just because it’s already the 8th month of the year. It’s also a little bit crazy because it’s my birthday month. And not just any birthday. My 30th birthday. The big 3 – 0. I have officially said goodbye to my 20s and hello to my 30s. I needed to celebrate. With cake. A rich, chocolatey, over-the-top cake.

This cake met all 3 of my birthday cake requirements. I was initially inspired by Cheesecake Factory’s Chocolate Tuxedo Cream Cheesecake and I had hoped to recreate it, but the paranoid pregnant lady in me decided to avoid the eggs in the vanilla cream mousse. I think what I came up with instead was even better. Who doesn’t love a tall layered birthday cake?

 

 

 

Looking for more birthday cake ideas?

Chocolate Hazelnut and Salted Caramel Birthday Cake
Classic Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Cookies and Cream Oreo Cake Birthday Cake
Not-Ice Cream Sundae Birthday Cake

Peanut Butter Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chip Streusel

I’m sure it’s no surprise to regular readers that Jesse and I have a thing for the chocolate/peanut butter combination. Yes, it is a true love affair. So, when Jesse asked me to bake something a few weekends ago and I asked, “Like what?” it’s not that surprising that his answer was, “Something with chocolate and peanut butter.” Referring back to all of those links I just shared, I have a lot of chocolate/peanut butter recipes under my belt. Which is awesome when I want a tried and true recipe to quickly whip up, but when I’m wanting something new I can share on here, it makes things a bit more challenging.

At this point, coming up with new chocolate/peanut butter combinations is challenging. So I sat and pondered. I thought of cookies, and cupcakes, and brownies… Then I started to think of Jesse’s other favorite sweet treats. Towards the top of his list of favorites is Cinnamon Crumb Cake. When I tell him I’m making crumb cake he gets a look in his eyes, like a kid hearing the faint music of an ice cream truck. So I wondered if there were a way for me to combine the chocolate/peanut butter combo with a crumb cake of sorts. After a bit of researching I found something that looked inspiring. She put chocolate chips right in the crumb topping?! Perfect! Of course, I am a huge fan of the recipe I always use (something about that mile high, truly crumby, crumb topping!), so I used her idea as base to adapt my usual recipe.

Trying not to brag here, but the results were AMAZING! The cake had a nice moist and tender crumb with just the right density (even though I was slightly worried it could be too dense with the addition of peanut butter). The crumb topping was thick and warm with just the hint of cinnamon that was perfectly paired with the chocolate chips. I liked mine drizzled with just a little bit of chocolate syrup, Jesse said it didn’t need it. He declared that it was one of the best baked goods I’ve ever made. And I think he might be right!

 

 

 

Classic Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting

And we’re back! My kitchen is unpacked, the cabinets are stocked, and the oven has been fired up! It feels good to get back to baking and the timing worked out perfectly for Jesse’s arrival back to the States and a pretty important birthday.

Two weeks ago Jesse said goodbye to his 20’s and hello to his 30’s. Unfortunately, I was in the US and he was still in China. Since I didn’t get to make him a cake on his actual birthday, I knew I would I have to have one waiting for him upon his arrival in San Diego. I usually try and make him a fun over-the-top cake (including last years Cookies and Cream Oreo Cake) but this year with everything going on, I just couldn’t get together any over-the-top ideas. So I decided to go basic and classic.

My best friend, Michelle, and I have a running joke that Yellow Cake and Chocolate Frosting is the official cake for boys. It seems like almost all of the boys we know list in their top 3 favorite cakes, if not their all-time favorite. This holds true for Jesse, too. “Mmmm,” he muffled through a half-full mouth, “One of my favorite cakes.”

It works out perfectly for me because I’ve been meaning to add a Classic Yellow Cake to my Baking Basics series. Everyone needs a good yellow cake recipe under their belt, and I this is mine. I love, love, love this recipe. The recipe doesn’t call for extra steps, such as folding in egg whites or using extra egg yolks, so it comes together pretty quickly. And the result is a buttery sweet cake with a soft, tender crumb that is still dense enough to work as a layer cake.