Happy Birthday Sweetheart

Laura always has certain fondness for cake and a few years back I made a Pumpkin Spice Cake with a buttery Amarula cream cheese frosting that became her new favorite!

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This is one of those recipes that you need three bowls… one for the dry, one for the wet ingredients and one for the frosting.

Wet ingredients bowl:
1/2 cup Amarula Liquor
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 can 15 ounce solid pumpkin
4 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend

( my blend is 6 parts, cinnamon; 2 parts each of nutmeg, allspice and cloves; 1 part each of mace, cardamon and ginger)

Dry ingredients bowl:
2 – 2 1/4 cups bread flour ( start with 2 then check)
2 cups fine sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Basic process:
gradually blend the dry into the larger bowl with the wet ingredients
Baking:
350 degrees for around an hour
Frosting:
3 ounces cream cheese, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 cups powdered sugar. (Or as needed to be firm bu pourable)
ADD enough Amarula Liquor to make the frosting thick but pourable ( around 1/4 cup)

top off with sliced Almonds

RESULTS:
I made this for my wife’s 62nd birthday and all 130 pounds of her had three huge servings… And it’s gone!when she thought she’d just have a ‘taste.’

amarula pumpkin spice cake

Amarula Pumpkin Spice Cake
Amarula Pumpkin Spice Cake Rocks!

This is one of those recipes that you need three bowls… one for the dry, one for the wet ingredients and one for the frosting.

  • Wet ingredients bowl:

1/2 cup Amarula Liquor
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 can 15 ounce solid pumpkin
4 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend

( my blend is 6 parts, cinnamon; 2 parts each of nutmeg, allspice and cloves; 1 part each of mace, cardamon and ginger)

  • Dry ingredients bowl:

2 – 2 1/4 cups bread flour ( start with 2 then check)
2 cups fine sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda


  • Basic process:

gradually blend the dry into the larger bowl with the wet ingredients


  • Baking:

350 degrees for around an hour


  • Frosting:

3 ounces cream cheese, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 cups powdered sugar. (Or as needed to be firm bu pourable)
ADD enough Amarula Liquor to make the frosting thick but pourable ( around 1/4 cup)

top off with sliced Almonds

  • RESULTS:

I made this for my wife’s 60th birthday and all 130 pounds of her had three huge servings… when she thought she’d just have a ‘taste.’

  • Bon Appetite!

amarula bread pudding with gingerbread and barenjager brandy sauce

CLICK on the above picture for my general bread pudding recipe... but to see how this one is made, you must watch the movie below!

My daughter Karen reported on a wonderful gingerbread bread pudding made by Emeril in his legendary restaurant Delmonico’s in New Orleans. From Karen’s ‘super taster’ experienced palate and from the pictures, I had a fairly good idea on how it was made.

I confess that I sometimes eat bread pudding as a meal replacement so I really didn’t want to make my bread pudding with 100% gingerbread… especially my very flavorful gingery gingerbread. So, I cubed my gingerbread and added it as part of the total composition of breads ( the others being: croissants, sour dough bread and apple cinnamon muffins). I also reduced the cream slightly and added a cup of Amarula… which was wonderful. I made a sauce of Barenjager (it’s natural sweetness adds a lot to a sauce) and brandy!

BTW this is not a great video… but hopefully it gives you an idea

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zryh0d0Buf8[/youtube]

Bon Appetite!

white chocolate amarula cheesecake

Simple for lovers of white chocolate and amarula!

My bride of nearly 39 years loves white chocolate and who can blame her? The best is made – in my humble opinion- by Peters Chocolate Company and when you want the best… this is the go-to chocolate for me!

Nothing very fancy in my cheesecake unless you call ‘richness’ something unexpected… but we have amarula liquor and white chocolate in both the filling and the cap. Delicious!

Here is the basic recipe that I tweaked to make this one happen.

Roger