Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

THIS. IS. SO. DELICIOUS.

typing in caps means it's really, really important

This is a Paula Dean recipe (hence the word 'butter' in the title) I found last fall and it's always been a HUGE hit.  It's been described to me as "it tastes like heaven" and "the best thing I've ever put in my mouth."  I know that's putting high expectations out there, but I have faith it will deliver for you.  Please make this dessert at your next fall gathering.

Ingredients
Cake:

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1 stick butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 (16 oz) bag powdered sugar
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter in a bowl and mix well.  Pat then mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13x9" baking pan.
3. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.  Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until mixed well.   Spread the pumpkin mixture over the cake batter and bake 45-55 minutes.  Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

My mouth is drooling at the thought.

Blueberry Cake

So as I wait for the wedding photos to arrive, I'm going to share with you this tasty Summer-ish cake recipe.  I call it Summer-ish because it's very light, contains fruit, and has no icing.  Now that's my kind of cake.  The best part?  Since it has fruit in it, i've convinced myself that it's perfect to eat at all occasions, (breakfast, snack time, etc), and not just for dessert.  Here goes:

• 1 cup + 1 Tb. flour


• 1 cup sugar


• 1 tsp. baking powder


• 1 stick butter, softened


• Zest 1 lemon, plus it's juice


• 1 tsp. vanilla


• 2 eggs


• 2 cups blueberries


• Powdered sugar (for dusting)

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease and flour a 9" round pan.


2. In a small bowl, combine flour with baking soda and a pinch of salt.


3. In a large mixing bowl, combine lemon zest, sugar, butter, and vanilla until fluffy.  Add eggs and flour and beat until smooth.  Pour batter into pan.


4. In a medium bowl, combine berries with 1 Tb. flour and lemon juice.  Spoon into batter.


5. Bake for 1 hour.


6. Once it's done and cooled slightly, dust with powdered sugar before serving.

This is seriously one of mine and David's favorite treats I make, and I encourage you to make it for someone you love as soon as possible.

As promised...

I'm a woman of my word, and this post is dedicated to sharing a delicious cupcake recipe.   But for those of you wondering,  we received all good news concerning David's health: NO CANCER!  God is the ultimate healer, and David and I definitely felt the outpouring of prayers from all of you.  Rejoice!  And now onto something yummy:  Strawberry & Mascarpone Cheese Cupakes...Rejoice some more!

Here's what you'll need:

1 box of vanilla cake mix

1 8 oz container of mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup  strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp lemon juice

• Grab your box of cake mix and cook according to the cupcake directions on the back of the box.  Once done baking, set aside and let them cool.


• In a food processor, combine strawberries, cheese, sugar, and lemon juice and blend until smooth.  If you're a poor student like myself and lack a food processor, chop up the strawberries as small as possible and just get a fork and mash everything up as fine as possible.


• Transfer the strawberry mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a small tip. Push the tip gently into the bottom of a cupcake and squeeze in the strawberry mixture until the cupcake plumps.  Again, I lack a pastry bag, so I took the round handle end of a serving spoon to create a hole...as you can see, i'm extremely professional *insert a sarcastic, dramatic eye roll here*


• Take the remaining strawberry mixture and spread on top of the cupcakes.

Disclaimer:  This recipe is an accidental adaptation of Giada de Laurentiis' recipe.  Her recipe has a sugar glaze that you make at the end, but for some reason the first time I made it, I totally left that part out somehow...but I enjoyed the way I made them so much, why change it?  So if you're into the sugar glaze thing, check out the real way she makes them.

Seriously, I have fallen in love with this recipe.  I'm not a fan of icing, so to have a substitute for that as the topping is just perfect for someone like me.  They're light, fruity, fluffy, and you won't be able to stop eating them.  You've been warned.



This post has made me realize two things:  1) I want to make these cupcakes a third time, and 2) I really hope someone's gracious enough to buy me some kitchen items off my wedding registry (hint, hint).

Hope everyone y'all are having an amazing day.