Egg Nog Fudge with Chocolate Ganache

Egg Nog Fudge with Chocolate Ganache

This was one recipe I picked up on Pinterest that I knew I had to try.  I have never been a fudge maker at Christmas.  Sugar Cookies, Shortbread and Nanaimo Bars are my thing (can you tell I'm from BC?)  But I love Egg Nog.  It's my little treat to sip after the kids are in bed in December.

My Egg Nog treat

OH MY GOODNESS!  This fudge was so delicious!  (I'm not one to type in capitals so you know I mean it!)  I give credit to the originator of this recipe at Rook No. 17 - thank you!

For the fudge

2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup salted butter, cut in to pieces

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup evaporated milk

10 ounces white chocolate, chopped (white chocolate chips can be substituted)

3 cups (7 oz.) mini marshmallows

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg  

2-3 Tablespoons dark rum or bourbon

For the ganache

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (chopped, or high quality chips)

1/2 cup heavy cream

Ground nutmeg for garnish

An 8x8 pan (must be at least 2" tall), or a 9x9 pan

Candy Thermometer*

1.  Prepare your pan by lining bottom and sides with foil.  Allow foil to overhang at least two sides, so it can be used to lift the fudge from the pan in the end.  Spray foil with non-stick spray or lightly coat with butter. 

2.  Stir together the sugar, butter pieces, condensed milk, and evaporated milk in a 3 1/2 quart saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, over medium high heat.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until a candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees F (soft-ball stage).  The thermometer will shoot up to around 224 rather quickly, but it can take up to 20 minutes to slowly climb the remaining 10 degrees.  Be patient, stir frequently, and keep your burner set the lowest setting of "high" to maintain a boil, but prevent burning.

2.  Immediately remove pan from heat.  Remove thermometer.  Stir in the white chocolate until it has melted and incorporated completely.  Next, stir in the mini marshmallows until they have melted and are thoroughly incorporated.  The mixture will be quite thick.  Lastly, stir in the rum and nutmeg.

3.  Pour mixture in to prepared pan.  Cool for 15 minutes.

4.  While fudge is cooling, prepare the ganache by placing the chocolate in a medium bowl.  In a saucepan, or in the microwave, bring cream to a boil.  Pour boiling cream over the bowl of chocolate.  Allow to sit for 2 minutes.  With a small whisk or fork, gently bring the cream and melted chocolate together until thoroughly combined, smooth and shiny.

5.  Pour chocolate ganache over the fudge (which will be warm, but will have set by now).  Use a small offset spatula to smooth and level.

6.  Cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle lightly with ground nutmeg for garnish.  Allow the fudge to continue to cool, on a baking rack, until it comes to room temperature.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

7.  Lift fudge from pan by the overhanging foil.  Gently peel back and remove the foil.  With a sharp knife, cut in to 1" squares.  Wipe knife in-between slices to keep pieces looking neat and clean.  It is easiest to cut the fudge when it is cold. 

Store fudge in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped for up to 2 weeks.  Best when served at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Fudge

This was my first fudge and it was very easy and very yummy.  My kids loved it.
Here's the recipe:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla,
3/4 cup peanut butter.

Bring sugar and milk to a boil. Boil two and a half minutes. Keep stirring to prevent burning on the bottom. Remove from heat and stir in PB and vanilla. Pour into a 9x9 pan and let set.  I keep fudge in the fridge or freezer so it stays set properly.

Mango Lassi Popsicle

I'm absolutely in love with two flavors right now: Mango and Cardomom.  This has both - yummy! 
I have to thank Desserts for Breakfast for this recipe - they have a Strawberry-Honey Yogurt one on there too that looks just a delicious.

2 cups ripe mango, chopped
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp sugar (I substituted 2 Tbsp of honey instead which worked well)
BIG! pinch of ground cardamom
big pinch of salt

Blend everything up in the blender.  Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.
As a side note, my picky picky 5 year old who "hates" fruit - loves these popsicles!

New York Cheesecake

I hadn't baked a New York cheesecake in years, but when my son asked for one for his 8th birthday, how could I refuse?  This cake was a mix of 2 recipes.  The crust is just a basic graham cracker crust, very simple and the cake part I got from a Cheesecake Factory copycat recipe, very delicious.

Here's the recipe:

Crust:
23 graham crackers, crushed (my kids loved using the rolling pin for this-just put the crackers in a ziplock bag and smash away)
1/4 cup of margarine or butter, melted
Mix the two ingredients together in a bowl.  Once well mixed, use the mixture to cover the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.  Bake at 325* for 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

The Cake:

• 1 1/2 lbs cream cheese
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 16 ounces sour cream
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

1. Beat cream cheese together (I did all the mixing in my Kitchen Aid)
2. Add sugar and beat in slowly.
3. Next add the eggs in one at a time. Make sure each is fully beaten in before adding another one.
4. Next add flour, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix well.
5. Add sour cream and beat in.
6. Pour the mixture into the crust
7. Place in the oven on the top rack for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
8. Turn off oven, open the door ( just a crack) and leave cheesecake there for one hour.
9. Place the cheesecake in the fridge for about 8 hours ( the more you wait the flavors will become better).
10. Enjoy!

Cooking With Kids - Homemade Marshmallows

One of my summer goals is to cook more with my kids.  I had them look through a couple of my kid-friendly recipe books and pick the recipes they really wanted to try.  I'm not surprised that their first pick came from the River Cottage Family Cookbook.

This is one fantastic cookbook.  It is written in a way that makes cooking accessible for kids.  Every ingredient and cooking tool you need for each recipe is listed at the top and the instructions are easy to follow.  Although it is kid-friendly, it is not "kiddish".  Meaning that the food inside is something that would appeal to kids and adults alike.  The idea is that you would work together as a family to get to know how to work with food from scratch.  I just love it and everything I've tried from it has been delicious.
I'll give you my simplified directions here - their directions are much more descriptive than mine.

Ingredients
1 tbsp confectioners sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
canola oil for oiling the pan and knife
1 packet gelatin powder
2-3 drops red food coloring (optional)
2 egg whites
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water

-sift sugar and cornstarch together into a small bowl.  Rub an 8 inch square pan with a little of the oil, then sprindle some of the sugar mix on top to dust the pan - set both the bowl and pan aside
-bring a kettle of water to almost a boil.  Mix 1/2 cup of water with the gelatin powder and stir until gelatin is disolved.  Add a couple of drops red food coloring to the mix if desired.
-Put egg whites into a stand mixer near the stove
-Put the granulated sugar and water into a medium saucepan.  Put it over low heat and mix until all the sugar granules are dissolved.  Clip a warmed candy thermometer to the pan and raise the heat to boil the sugar and water together.  While this mixture is heating, start mixing the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
-Boil the sugar until it reaches 252* (hardball stage) and immediately turn off the stove
-Pour the gelatin into the pan of syrup and mix with a wooden spoon.
-Turn the mixer back on low and very carefully add the syrup to the egg whites.
-Mix everything together (you can raise the speed a bit here) and keep mixing until everything is thick and bulky but still pourable (if you lift up the beaters a ribbon of marshmallow should sit on the surface for a few seconds before sinking back down).
-Pour the marshmallow into a prepared pan and let set in a cooled place for an hour or two.
-Dust the cutting board with the rest of the cornstarch mixture.  Coat a putter knife with a little oil.  Ease the marshmallow onto the board.  Sift extra cornstarch/sugar mix on if neccessary. Cut the marshmallows into squares (you probably need to oil the knife after each cut)

My kids were very impressed with this recipe and everyone had a chance to pitch in.  Great family project :)

Filled Crescent Rolls

Here's another idea i picked up on Pinterest.  I made 3 variations of filled crescent rolls.  All were tasty and given a "thumbs up" by my kids for lunch.  All use Pillsbury Crescent Rolls to make, adding a filling before rolling it up to bake as directed

Variation 1 - cheese filled
Variation 2 - cheese & hot dog
Variation 3 -peanut butter and chocolate chip

I think the possibilities here are endless.

Cookie Pizza

I had this glorious plan that each day of the March Break I would do something creative with my kids.  While we didn't get to every day, we did get to a couple of days crafty.  This one was the highlight.  The idea is so simple really.  Take your favorite cookie recipe, spread all the dough out onto a pizza pan, bake it and then decorate.  It was such a hit with my family!  My husband asked why he'd never had this deliciousness before.  So I figure we'll be making it again sometime soon :)
I used Mrs. Field's Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe which is from her Best Cookies Cookbook (one of my favorites).  I did have to bake it for longer than I would for individual cookies (about twice as long - but keep checking to make sure you don't burn it).  The topping is some leftover cake icing I had in the freezer and the kids had a blast with the Smarties and sprinkles on top.  I used a pizza cutter to slice it up (and of course a side of milk for all!)

Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
 
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well with wire whisk. Set aside. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugars at medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until just blended. Do not overmix. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed until just mixed. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes.  (For the pizza, I spread all of the dough out onto a pizza sheet.  I turned the it in the oven after 20 minutes and kept checking every 10-15 minutes until it looked nicely browned).

                                                     My son can't quite believe his eyes!

                                              My kitchen assistants looking pretty pleased!

Cake Balls

These big lumps are not balls of play-do. These are for lack of a better term 'Cake Ball". Kind of like Cake Pops without the lollipop stick. I made them for my son's class at the end of the school year for his birthday. (You can tell, I'm way behind at blog posting recipes over here!). The long and the short of it is that this is what I did with a bunch of frozen leftover cake (cast offs from birthday cake molding) and leftover fondant from my other son's Mickey Mouse Cake, also frozen. The kids enjoyed them and I would make them again. Very sweet and very good! This recipe is really random in not having measured ingredients, here's my best guess. 1 cake or the equivalent in leftover cake (I used about 4 cups of cake?) 1 block of cream cheese (250ml or 1 cup) - softened 1 tbsp milk marshmallow fondant (recipe here) Tear the cake into pieces and place into a large bowl. Mix with the softened cream cheese and milk. You can use your hands to really squish and blend everything in. Take bits of the cake mixture and roll into balls. Place onto a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and place into a freezer overnight. The next day, roll out the fondant. Cut into strips, larger than the width of your cake balls. Place cake ball on the the end of a strip and roll up to cover with the fondant. Use your fingers to make edges meet and smooth out the surface. Keep cold until ready to serve.

Canada Day Strawberry Shortcake

Isn't that cute?  This is the second time I've used this recipe.  I found it on food.com.  The first time I made it using her directions.  This time I made my own little changes and decorated it to look like our flag. The cake part is more like a sweet biscuit than a traditional strawberry shortcake cake.  You can make this and leave the cake as is, putting whipped cream and strawberries over all of it.  Or, you can slice into two cakes, layering it with cake, whipped cream and strawberries, cake whipped cream and strawberries.  Both ways are yummy.

1 beaten egg 
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup Splenda or sugar 
1/2 cup butter, softened (real butter is so much better than margarine in baking)
2 cups flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup whipping cream, whipped (I usually add a tbsp of sugar to sweeten it a bit)
sliced strawberries (as many as needed)

Preheat the oven to 450*.  In a medium sized mixing bowl beat the egg.  Add the milk and sugar and mix together.  Whip in the butter.  Add the flour and baking powder.  Mix well.  Using your hands kneed the dough for a minute.  Bake in a 9 x 9 inch pan for 15-20 minutes.  Cool.  Remove from pan.  From here you can either decorate it with the whipped cream and strawberries, or, slice it into two, then layering the cake, whipped cream and strawberries.  Enjoy!

Sheep Cupcakes

Aren't these cute! This was my craft idea for last night's messy church at my church. Messy church is a once a month event that we have for families. Each "Messy"
involves a craft, an interactive lesson and dinner for families. Last night's theme was "The Good Shepherd knows his sheep". I knew we hadn't had a food craft in a while and have never done cupcakes, so I googled sheep cupcakes to see what I could find. I found the idea for these on the Food Network's Site. Their cupcakes are slightly different than the ones we did. You can see theirs here. We couldn't quite find all of the decorating ingredients that they used (the candy eyes and the gumdrop noses) so we improvised and used mini M&M's. I also didn't make their cupcake recipe so I don't know what that part tastes like. I did make their icing, but had to abandon it as it was too thick and tearing the cupcakes apart. Fortunately, I discovered this as I was making the sample 45 minutes before the event started and had time to head out to the store and pick up some ready made. The ready made worked well and was easy for the kids to use. The kids and parents really loved this craft. And that is what I would recommend it for, a craft. It is very time consuming - unless you are the kind of person who loves to spend all afternoon decorating cupcakes like this.

How to make:

Make the cupcakes first, try out the foodnetwork.com recipe, your favorite recipe or cheat like me and use a box mix - let cupcakes cool.

For decorating:
-frosting
-marshmallows (1 per cupcake)
-mini marshmallows (24-30 per cupcake)
-mini M&M's (3 per cupcake)
-purple mini jellybeans (4 per cupcake)
-pink mini jellybeans (2 per cupcake)
-licorice shoelaces (cut into 1cm and 3cm pieces - 1 each per cupcake)

Frost the cupcake. Stick a large marshmallow on top to be the sheep's body. Use the frosting like glue for the rest of the stick on ingredients, putting the frosting on it first and then sticking on. Start with the Mini M&M's for eyes and nose. Use the 1 cm licorice shoelace for the mouth. Start at the bottom and work your way up and around with the mini marshmallows to make the sheep's wool. Use the 4 purple jellybeans for feet and the pink ones for ears. Take the 3cm licorice shoelace, curl it and stick it on for a tail. So cute!

Inside Out Caramel Apples

Like a lot of good recipes, this one was passed on from a friend who saw it somewhere else.  My friend found it on Random Thoughts of a Supermom (original post here).  They looked easy and yummy and seeing as I haven't had much success making real caramel apples, I thought I'd try it out.  Okay the picture does not do the yumminess of this justice at all.  But trust me, it's tasty.  My 6 year old thought so to.

Basically you take an apple (or several apples).  Slice the top off, scoop out the inside core.  Put a few sliced mini carmels inside with some chopped peanuts, a little dab of butter and bake at 350* for 30-40 minutes (until the apple is soft).  Very tasty on a fall night.

Peanut Butter Bars

I am a Reese's Pieces addict.  I absolutely love munching on them - too much!  These squares were my attempt to make something similar in my own kitchen and they were a pretty good match.  Very yummy.  As you can see my 3 year old loved them too.

Crust
24 Graham Crackers, crushed finely
1/4 cup melted margarine
1/4 cup melted chocolate chips

Mix everything together and spread out over an 8 inch square baking dish.  Bake at 350* for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Middle
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything together. *Add the sugar to the peanut butter one cup at a time to get a good consistency.  Spread over the crust once the crust is cool.

Topping
1/4 cup melted chocolate chips

Spread over the middle while the chocolate is still hot.

Allow the squares to set for an hour in the fridge.  I've been keeping these in the freezer which works great too.

Volcano!

For my husband's birthday this year we had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Some of you may know it. It's a themed out restaurant based on (you guessed it) the Rainforest. You know you are in a certain stage of your life when your birthday lunch choice is really more of a treat for your kids than you. We actually did go out for a nice dinner sans kids the week after for our anniversary. As expected the kids loved all the animatronics and the 'storms' that happened every half hour. The price of the food was incredibly marked up (you are paying for the entertainment value of the restaurant!) On the menu that we didn't order, but saw many of was their signature dessert, the Volcano. This $15 baby (yes $15 for dessert) was always brought our by the servers announcing "Vooolllllcaaaannnnoooo" throughout the restaurant. Talk about showing off. Who was the special person that got such a treatment? And they really were flying out of the kitchen that particular day. We opted not to order a volcano. In my mind I did think that it looked easy enough to make...hmmmm.
So I did.
This is what I did:
1 box brownie mix - follow box directions to make brownies, or make your own from scratch - let cool.
On a large plate, scoop up lots of vanilla ice cream into the centre of the plate. Slice your brownies length-wise and form a pyramid over the ice cream. Spray whipped cream 'lava' down each of the brownie sides. Drizzle more 'lava' in the form of chocolate and caramel sauce (heated if possible). Stick a sparkler in the top, light it and call out "Vooooolllllccaaaannnnoooo!" as you carry it out to the guest of honour. Bring lots of forks, this is a lot of dessert, a must share (and then plenty left over).

BTW - my oldest boy thought this was fabulous and loved making it for his dad. My DH thought it was ingenious.
*I don't know why it looks like there were 2 sparklers in the picture above, there really was just one.


This is me being goofy just outside the Rainforest Cafe. I'm supposed to be looking scared of the big snake in the tree, but it looks like I'm being scared of the silly frog instead.

Easy Cinnamon Buns

I got this recipe from Keeper Worthy Recipes, who got it from Ezrapoundcake.  See a good recipe really travels around well.  What makes these great (besides being delicious) is that there is no yeast involved.   They are start to finish less than an hour to do.


Filling:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Mix together in small bowl and set aside.


Biscuit Dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
2tbsp packed, brown sugar
2 tsp baking powfer
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp heavy cream (I only used half and half and it worked just fine)

Mix all the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.  Add 1 1/2 cups of the cream and stir until dough is smooth and forms a ball.  Use your hands (floured) to kneed a few times.
On a floured surface, roll dough out until it forms a 9x13 rectangle.  Brush remaining cream over it.  Sprinkle cinnamon mixture over the dough evenly.  From the long side, roll dough into a cylinder.  Slice into 9 equal rounds.  place the rounds cut side down into a n 8 inch square baking dish or pie plate.  Bake 30 minutes at 400*


Icing:
6 tbsp powdered sugar
6 tsp heavy cream

While biscuits are baking, mix the icing together.  Drizzle over top the buns when they come out of the oven.   

Peanut Butter Bars

Warning - these are extremely easy to make and extremely addictive to eat! 

I found this recipe on the side of the PC Brand Honey Nut O's box.  Oh my goodness, I love them.  I probably shouldn't make them again, but I will.  They are very yummy.

3 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 cups Honey Nut O's
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Melt the marshmallows, peanut butter and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.   Stir until smooth.  Stir in Vanilla.  Add the cereal, mix well.  Press into a 9 inch square pan.  Shake chocolate chips over top.  Allow to cool (I put mine in the freezer so the chocolate chips wouldn't melt).  Cut into bars.  I am storing this in the fridge as it is pretty warm right now.

Jeremy's Cars Cake

While I may be taking it easy cooking full force right now, there was no way that I was going to buy a birthday cake for my son's 3rd birthday. I used my wacky cake recipe (which I always use for my kids birthday cakes - it always turns out). The Cars characters came out of a pack of toys I fluked out to find. It was tricky to find a pack that had McQueen, Mater and Doc altogether. The road is lined with Reese's Pieces (my snack habit right now, Jeremy loves them too). An easy way to make a cute cake.

Nanaimo Bars

These are my very favorite treats, anytime of the year. I don't make them often because you can imagine how much weight I'd gain if they were always around the house. So I make them at Christmastime and just one batch. Someone once commented to me that of course I like these because I'm from BC. Are these a BC treat? I don't know? I've seen them other places. Anyone know?

1/2 C butter (soft)
5 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 C graham wafer crumbs
1 C coconut
1/2 C chopped walnuts
4 tbsp butter
3 tbsp milk
2 1/2 tbsp vanilla custard powder
2 C icing sugar
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1 tbsp butter

Place 1st 5 ingredients into a glass bowl. Set bowl in a pan of hot water. Stir until butter is melted. Mix in next 3 ingredients.
Pack into an ungreased 9x9 pan.
Combine next 4 ingredients - cream together. Spread over mixture in pan. Chill.
Melt chocolate and butter. Spread over top of the other layers. Chill.
I usually freeze this all at this point and then cut once everything is set.

*edit - what doesn't wikipedia know? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanaimo_bars They are a very Canadian, very BC dessert

Yummy, yummy applesauce

I saw this recipe over at Tried and True Cooking with Heidi last month. She calls it "The Best" Applesauce. It looked wonderful and I figured it had to be better than the apple mush I tried to pass off as applesauce last year. It was! So delicious. I first made it for my boys and one of their friends a couple of weekends ago and made it again by request of my oldest son last week. He loves it. He says it's his favorite snack ever. My youngest loves it too, which is great for Mr. Picky who won't eat much of anything that isn't bread or chocolate.

Here's the recipe:

4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar (she suggested Splenda and that's what I used too)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher if you want chunky sauce, or put in the blender for a smooth sauce. I quite like a smooth sauce, so I used my hand blender and it worked like a charm. Thanks Heidi for this one!

A Tale of Two Pies - Pumpkin Chiffon and Apple

Canadian Thanksgiving was a couple of weeks back and I've been terrible about posting my recipes. At least I'm getting these ones up in time for my American friends to read about before their own Thanksgiving celebrations next month!
I also have a pie confession - I used pre-made pie crusts. Yes, I COULD make my own, but no. Thanksgiving is a big meal and really, the pre-mades are a lot better than mine for what I need.
So yes, 2 kinds of pie. Pumpkin is my favorite and seeing as we just went apple picking the weekend before, apple had to be on my list. Here's the recipes.

Pumpkin Chiffon



1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/3 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, separated
2 unbaked pie shells (9-inch)

Mix pumpkin, sugar, spices and salt together. Add milk and egg yolks. Mix well.
In another bowl, beat egg whites until firm. Fold into pumpkin mix and pour into pie shells - there's enough filling for 2 pies. Bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Apple Pie




7 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon (this makes it very cinnamony - you can use less)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 unbaked pie shells

Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine sliced apples with sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Fill pie crust with apple mixture and dot with softened butter. Place top pie shell on top and crimp edges together. Make some slits in the top crust for steam to escape. *If you wish try my friend Ang's trick. She uses a vanilla egg wash on top (combine an egg white with a little vanilla and brush on top of the pie - makes it look lovely and smells delicious when baking). Bake for 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 350°F and bake for 45 minutes longer.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I had this huge craving for pineapple upside down cake last week and while I was on Cheryl's site (Cooking Dunkin Style)there was a link within to her pineapple upside down cake. I adapted it a little, but stayed pretty true to her recipe.
While I was making this I was reminded of cooking over the campfire for Girl Guides. Did anyone else make pineapple upside down cake in a can back then? This one is much more sophisticated I'm sure :o)

1st - heat up the stove to 350 - melt margarine or butter in your cake pan (round is best) (a few spoonfuls) add brown sugar and smooth together over the bottom of the pan (another few spoonfuls). Take out of the oven and set aside until later.

In a mixing bowl mix together the following:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened - I used margarine
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup milk
Mix all the wet ingredients together first and then add the dry
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1st - add pinapple rings to the bottom of the cake pan. Set a marichino cherry inside each if you wish.
2nd - pour the cake batter over top and spread out evenly.
3rd- Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, run a thin knife around the edge, and invert the cake onto a plate.

*I used a spring-form cake pan when making this. I recommend setting it on top of a
baking sheet as some of the margarine leaked out a bit when melting. If you do use one of these, just let the cake cool for 15 minutes and then turn over onto a plate, release the triggers to let the cake out.