Fudge and Peanut Butter x3

How yummy does that fudge peanut butter cake look!? I would do just about anything for a slice of that right now! I found this recipe on Bakers' Banter which is the King Arthur Flour Test Kitchen Blog. Someone please make up an excuse to come over and make this cake with me... pleaseee.?

Buckeye Peanut Butter-Fudge Cake

Cake

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 tablespoons Instant ClearJel or cornstarch
• 3/4 cup Double Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-Process cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups water

Filling

• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk

Icing

• 1 1/3 cups chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Cake

• 14 ounces granulated sugar
• 8 1/2 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 ounce Instant ClearJel or cornstarch
• 2 1/4 ounces Double Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-Process cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 5 1/4 ounces vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 10 ounces water

Filling

• 1 pound confectioners' sugar
• 14 ounces peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 ounces milk

Icing

• 8 ounces chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
• 4 ounces heavy or whipping cream
• 1 3/8 ounces light corn syrup

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour (or grease, then line with parchment, then grease again) two 8" x 2" round cake pans. Note: These pans need to be at least 2" tall; if you have non-standard, shorter 8" pans, substitute 9" round pans.

2) To make the cake: Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla, beating until smooth.

3) Gradually add the water, beating until smooth.

4) Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

5) Bake the cakes for 35 to 38 minutes (a bit less if you use a 9" pan), or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn them out of the pans to cool completely on a rack.

6) To make the filling: Mix the sugar, peanut butter and vanilla till crumbly. Add the milk and mix till smooth, adding more milk if necessary to make a spreadable filling.

7) Divide the cooled layers in half horizontally, to make four layers. Place one layer on a serving plate, and spread with filling. Repeat with the next two layers. Top with the final cake layer.

8) To make the icing: Combine the chocolate chips, cream, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave till the cream is very hot, and the chips are soft.

9) Stir till the chips melt, and the mixture is smooth.

10) Spread the icing atop the cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.

11) Serve in thin slices; the cake is very rich.

12) Yield: one 8" layer cake, about 12 to 16 servings.

Frosted Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

I just found this recipe and it sounds so delicious(!) I had to post it. Who wouldn't love a lemon poppyseed cookie? Letalone a lemon poppyseed cookie with a sweet yet tart glaze on top! I cannot wait to try them out. I found this recipe on bakingbites.com. Baking Bites .com is perhaps one of my most favorite baking sites i've come across. Some of my better cookie recipes have come from that site.

It’s a bit hard to say what makes lemon poppyseed such a good combination in baked goods. Zesty lemon flavors are always good, of course, but the poppyseeds don’t contribute much in the way of flavor. They do, however, add a hint of additional texture to a cake or muffin and that crunch is a nice break from otherwise soft pastries. Perhaps it’s the subconscious idea that the teeny tiny amount of opiates in the seeds will make you feel good (and fail a drug test, if what I’ve seen on Seinfeld is true!). In reality, it’s probably a combination of some of these things: a bit of crunch from the seeds, a bright acidity from the lemon and the sweetness of the dough that surrounds them.Anyway, the combination is a good one and that’s all you really need to know before baking these lemon poppyseed cookies. The lemon flavor in the cookies comes from fresh lemon zest. It’s fairly subtle at first, but really pops once you add a lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar glaze to the top of the finished cookies. The cookies are soft and a little bit cakelike, rather than crispy. They remind me a little bit of scones or teacakes and go great with iced tea.

These are drop cookies that come together very quickly. There isn’t a whole lot of juice called for in the recipe, and one lemon is really all you need. You’ll get a better flavor with fresh zest than with lemon extract, so it’s worth picking up a fresh lemon if you don’t have one on hand. You can also try these cookies with lemon, orange or other citrus fruits for a little variety.

Frosted Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp poppyseeds

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in egg.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then stir in poppyseeds. Drop by 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are set and just begin to brown at the edges (the bottoms may be lightly browned, but not the top of the cookies)
Cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool before glazing.

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Whisk together juice and sugar until icing is a smooth, pourable consistency. Add additional juice if yours is too thick to drizzle easily or additional sugar if it is too thick.
Drizzle over cookies. Cookies should not be hot, but it is ok if they are not completely at room temperature before frosting.
Cookies must be cooled to room temperature before being stored.

Makes 2 dozen.

Sorbet.

The joys of having an ice cream machine!! Super healthy sorbet whenever you want it! Great for a snack anytime, or dessert.
I seen this kiwi sorbet recipe in the gourmet magazine a few months ago and i'v been dying to try it out. Finally! I did today. It's so good!!! It's so smooth, sweet and tangy all rolled into one. I absolutely will make this again and many more times after that! It's so pretty too!

Kiwi Sorbet
2 lbs kiwi (about 8 kiwis)
3/4 C sugar

Peel the kiwi and cut them into quarters
Put them in the food processor with the sugar
Pulse kiwi and sugar together until almost smooth
Put the kiwi puree into a bowl and into the fridge until chilled
Put it in your ice cream machine and let it go, don't over churn it or it will not be smooth.
When it's ready it will be fairly soft still so transfer it to the container you want to store it in and then put it in the freezer until it's set up all the way.
ENJOY!