Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Brownies

I’ve been thinking about Thanksgiving food. Especially Thanksgiving desserts. Although this is not a traditional Thanksgiving dessert, it came up high on my list.

I also decided that I needed to make it today

---

1 pkg Duncan Hines dark chocolate brownie mix

1 egg

1/2 c. Muscle Milk chocolate protein shake

1 & 1/2 tbsp heavy cream or 2 tbsp half & half

1 banana

Mix together in blender:

Chocolate protein shake, 1 banana, a bit of cream, & may want to add a bit of water. Should equal about a 3/4 cup altogether. Skip the otherwise called for oil & water.

---

Bake according to directions & allow to cool (if you can wait!)

---

Peanut butter cream frosting:

1 softened pkg of cream cheese

1/3 to 1/2 c. Sour cream

4 tbsp “PB2” powdered peanut butter (you can put a bit more perhaps?)

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

I used my electric whisk to whip this all together.

Once brownies are cooled, spread peanut butter cream frosting over them.

As per usual, my presentation isn’t that good. But they taste yummy.

Brownie with peanut butter cream frosting

Peanut butter cream cheese brownies

Peanut butter brownies

Caramel Mocha Cake

This is another cake I made 1 year ago, & brought it to work. Another one of my famous (at work) doctored Duncan Hines cakes.

Caramel Mocha Cake with Espresso Cream Frosting & filling

1 & 1/2 TBSP ground espresso dark roast (decaf).

1 TBSP Watkins Caramel Extract

1/2 TSP vanilla extract

1/4 C. So Delicious unsweetened vanilla coconut milk. mixed with:

3/4 C. Brewed cold coffee. Mix with 1/4 C. coconut milk

All of the above ingredients added to yellow cake mix.

1 pkg Duncan Hines classic Butter Golden cake mix (sub melted coconut oil for butter).

1/2 C. Unrefined coconut oil (soft/melted).

Topping & filling for layer cake:

2x 16 oz heavy whipping cream

1/2 C. Powdered sugar

1/4 C. Unsweetened bakers cocoa powder (mix cocoa powder with dry powdered sugar – before adding to whipped cream – for best results). I also mixed in a little dry decaf espresso but I don’t remember how much I put.

Bake cake mixture divided into 2 square cake pans.

Once cake is cooled, layer in cocoa-whipped cream. Then add a topping of the cocoa-whipped cream.

Decorated cake with Kraft caramel bits, white chocolate chips, & pecans. Finished cake was not overwhelmingly sweet tasting. I even could have used a touch more caramel extract.

Layered Caramel Mocha Cake

Doctored up Duncan Hines Caramel Mocha cake

Half eaten caramel mocha cake

Pineapple coconut layer cake & semifreddo

This is something that I made 1 year ago, for a work potluck party.  Although  people have suggested it, part of the reason I don’t have a restaurant or something, is because I don’t make the same things consistently. I kind of wing it when I make something. Therefore I don’t remember 100% how I did all of the cake add-ins to this. It will probably not be the same if I tried to make it again.  Which is why I only do this for me, & sometimes to bring to work.

Once again, I got the idea for making semifreddo from Create TV’s A T K. I’ve never even tried to make ice cream or custard prior to this. So this was quite the nerve-wracking undertaking making this for work. But it all turned out good.  Everything disappeared at work.  At least I finally invested in a cake carrier prior to bringing this one to work. 😃 It was getting pretty awkward bringing my desserts to work prior to that.

Homemade semifreddo & pineapple coconut layer cake! About gone! 😚

Everything that went into my homemade semifreddo and pineapple coconut cake, plus the eggs & coconut cream not pictured.

I’ve learned that Duncan Hines is an excellent base to doctor a cake from. I’ve never made a cake from scratch, and I have no intention of trying to start making cakes from scratch now. I once read an article about how some professional Bakeries start from mixes (often Duncan). Also, that people who swore they could “tell the difference” in scratch vs box mix, couldn’t actually tell the difference when put to the test.  I do make other things like cookies from scratch. I always add things to a box mix, like milk instead of water. I believe I added a bit of crushed pineapple & coconut cream into this mix. I divided & baked into 3 round layer pans. I also don’t have the kind of fine coordination skills to cut a cake into layers without making a disastrous mess.

I often make the filling & the frosting the same thing. I don’t like a very sweet frosting. This is mostly cream cheese with heavy whipping cream.

I purposely added lemon juice, because I didn’t want it to be too sweet with everything else I was adding to the cake, and the filling/frosting, and the semifreddo

Finished semifreddo. Just a bit of vanilla and banana extracts, and shredded coconut, topped with pineapple.

Although I got the original idea from watching create TVs America’s Test Kitchen, I didn’t want to make a chocolate semifreddo, so I looked for another recipe. I came across a YouTuber Laura Vitale. I watched the custard part several times while making it, as this was brand new to me. I did adapt the recipe slightly. I didn’t have vanilla beans, I used a bit of vanilla extract, a bit of banana extract. I added shredded coconut & just a bit of coconut cream to it. Since I was bringing it to work, I also doubled the recipe. The Duncan Hines mixed I used was the butter golden mix, although I used melted coconut oil.

My hand scribbled double recipe I adapted. Semifreddo

My adapted semifreddo recipe continued.

Homemade semifreddo with vanilla & banana extract, a bit of cream of coconut, & shredded coconut. Topped with pineapple.

We All Scream for Ice Cream….

Alternately titled, how to survive a Texas summer.

Ice cream is the key

Bluebell Ice Cream with crushed pecans on top

Lots of ice cream

Bluebell cookie two step

When it’s 105°, ice cream is the answer. To all of the questions.

Blue Bell cookie two-step ice cream with crushed pecans on top

Ice cream.

Margarita Cake ~ Experimental baking

This is one of my experimental desserts I made for a work potluck. It’s my version of a “Margarita Cake”.

Call me crazy, but sometimes I like to experiment with jazzing up a boxed cake mix. For the first of 2 cake layers, I mixed pureed strawberries into a white cake mix, and added a bit of strawberry jam.

For the other layer, I added margarita mix, lime juice and fresh squeezed orange juice. I did not add any tequila to this particular experiment, but there are recipes that include tequila too!

I topped the cake off with my favorite blend of cool whip, cream cheese, & powdered sugar frosting, as well as some strawberry & lime slices. I also stirred in Master of Mixes margarita mix, with a bit of green food coloring into the frosting.

For fun, I decorated a few plastic cups like margarita glasses with salted rims, & a slice of lime for people to use instead of boring cake plates.

Do you need new bakeware? I know I’m about due for some new baking pans. I’d love to be able to buy the entire Sur La Table store. They have a nice “Platinum Professional Bakeware 6 pc” for $120.

Check out deals on quality bakeware:

Shop all top rated cookware favorites at Sur La Table!

Margarita cake

Margarita Cake for Cinco de Mayo! Strawberry cake & Lime layered cake!

Ingredients for Margarita Cake Cinco de Mayo! Strawberry cake & Lime cake layered !!