by Joanne Fluke
Remove your pie from the oven and let it cool by setting the drip pan and the pie pan on a wire rack.
When the pie has cooled to room temperature, refrigerate it at least 3 hours before serving.
Yield: 6 large or 8 medium slices of incredibly delicious pie. I can almost guarantee you’ve never had anything like it before!
Cakes & Cupcakes
CHERRY CHEESECAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
FOR THE CRUST:
2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs (measure AFTER
crushing)
¾ stick melted butter (6 Tablespoons)
1 teaspoon almond extract
Pour the melted butter and almond extract over the cookie crumbs. Mix with a fork until they’re evenly moistened.
Cut a circle of parchment paper (or wax paper) to fit inside the bottom of a 9-inch Springform pan. Spray the pan with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray, set the paper circle in place, and spray with Pam again.
Dump the moistened cookie crumbs in the pan and press them down over the paper circle and one inch up the sides. Stick the pan in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the cheesecake.
FOR THE TOPPING:
2 cups sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
21-ounce can cherry pie filling20 (I used Comstock Dark Sweet Cherry)
Mix the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Set the unopened can of cherry pie filling in the refrigerator for later.
FOR THE CHEESECAKE BATTER:
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
3 eight-ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature
(total 24 ounces)
1 cup mayonnaise
4 eggs
2 cups white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 11-ounce bag)
2 teaspoons vanilla
Place the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the blocks of cream cheese and the mayonnaise, and whip it up at medium speed until it’s smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 2 minutes. (Chips may retain their shape, so stir to see if they’re melted – if not, microwave in 15-second increments until you can stir them smooth.) Cool the melted white chocolate for a minute or two and then mix it into the batter gradually at slow speed. Scrape down the bowl and add the vanilla, mixing it in thoroughly.
Pour the batter on top of the chilled crust, set the pan on a cookie sheet to catch any drips, and bake it at 350 degrees F. for 55 to 60 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, but DON’T SHUT OFF THE OVEN.
Starting in the center, spoon the sour cream topping over the top of the cheesecake, spreading it out to within a half-inch of the rim. Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
Cool the cheesecake in the pan on a wire rack. When the pan is cool enough to pick up with your bare hands, place it in the refrigerator and chill it, uncovered, for at least 8 hours.
To serve, run a knife around the inside rim of the pan, release the springform catch, and lift off the rim. Place a piece of waxed paper on a flat plate and tip it upside down over the top of your cheesecake. Invert the cheesecake so that it rests on the paper.
Carefully pry off the bottom of the Springform pan and remove the paper from the bottom crust.
Invert a serving platter over the bottom crust of your cheesecake. Flip the cheesecake right side up, take off the top plate, and remove the waxed paper.
Spread the cherry pie filling over the sour cream topping on your cheesecake. You can drizzle a little down the sides if you wish.
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
WARNING: THERE ARE PEANUTS IN THIS RECIPE. MAKE SURE YOU ASK IF ANYONE IS ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS BEFORE YOU BAKE AND SERVE THIS CAKE !!!
Hannah’s 1st Note: Lisa says she got the idea for this cake by watching Marge make her Cocoa Fudge Cake. Since Herb is crazy about Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Lisa’s cake combines peanut butter and chocolate.
Butter and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch sheet cake pan. (You can also spray it with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and then just lightly dust it with flour. You can also do what Lisa did and spray it with a product that mixes nonstick cooking spray with flour.)
Hannah’s 2nd Note: I was really leery of the nonstick cooking spray mixed with flour, but Lisa says it works just fine.
2 cups white (granulated) sugar
2 cups flour (don’t sift – just level it off with a knife)
1 cup butter (2 sticks, ½ pound, 8 ounces)
1 cup peanut butter (Lisa used Skippy creamy peanut butter)
1 cup water
½ cup cream (or evaporated milk, if you’re all out of cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)
Hannah’s 3rd Note: Lisa used the mixer down at The Cookie Jar to make this cake. She says you can also do it by hand if you don’t have an electric mixer.
Mix the sugar and the flour together at low speed.
Put the butter, peanut butter, and water into a medium-sized saucepan. Turn the burner on medium heat and bring the mixture ALMOST to a boil. (When it sends up little whiffs of steam and bubbles start to form around the edges, take it off the heat.)
Pour the peanut butter mixture over the sugar and flour, and mix it all up together.
Rinse out the saucepan, but don’t bother to wash it thoroughly. You’ll be making a frosting, and you can use it again before you thoroughly wash it.
Whisk the cream, vanilla extract, baking soda, and eggs together in a small bowl.
SLOWLY, add this mixture to the large mixer bowl and combine it at medium speed. (You have to go slowly with this step because you have the hot peanut butter mixture in your bowl and you’re adding an egg mixture. This cake wouldn’t be wonderful if you ended up with peanut butter flavored scrambled eggs!)
Scrape down the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula, remove it from the mixer, and give it a final stir by hand.
Pour the batter into the 9-inch by 13-inch greased and floured cake pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes. When the cake begins to shrink away from the sides of the pan and a long toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, it’s done.
Hannah’s 4th Note: Lisa uses my Neverfail Fudge Frosting on this cake. It’s given as an alternative frosting at the end of Marge’s Cocoa Fudge Cake recipe, but I’ll write it down again here.
NEVERFAIL FUDGE FROSTING:
½ cup (1 stick, ¼ pound, 4 ounces) salted butter
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
cup cream
½ cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped salted peanuts (optional)
Place the butter, sugar, and cream into a medium-size saucepan (You can use the one from the cake that you didn’t wash.) Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat to medium and cook for two minutes.
Add the half-cup chocolate chips, stir them in until they’re melted, and remove the saucepan from the heat.
Stir in the vanilla.
Pour the frosting on the cake and spread it out quickly with a spatula. Whether you’re pouring it on a warm cake or a cold cake, just grab the pan and tip it so the frosting covers the whole top.
Sprinkle the chopped salted peanuts (if you decided to use them) over the top of the frosting.
If you want this frosting to cool in a big hurry so that you can cut the cake, just slip it in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a half-hour or so.
Hannah’s 5th Note: Lisa says to tell you that this cake is absolutely yummy if you serve it slightly warm. It’s also wonderful at room temperature. If you keep it in the refr
igerator, take it out 45 minutes or so before you plan to serve it.
COCOA FUDGE CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
Hannah’s 1st Note: Marge says to tell you that she got this recipe from two girls she met on the bus to Fargo, Sandy and Patricia. They used margarine, but since Marge is from a dairy state and she knows that there’s no acceptable substitute for butter, she uses regular salted butter in her cake. She says she made a couple of other changes too, but it’s been so long she doesn’t remember what they are.
Before you start, grease and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan. (You can also spray with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and then dust it lightly with flour.)
2 cups white (granulated) sugar
2 cups flour (don’t sift – just level it off with a knife)
1 cup butter (2 sticks, ½ pound)
1 cup water
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)
In a large bowl, stir the sugar and the flour together. Set it aside on the counter.
Put the butter, water, and cocoa powder into a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat.
Pour the cocoa mixture over the sugar and flour, and mix it all up together. (You can do this on medium speed with an electric mixer if you wish.)
Hannah’s 2nd Note: Marge says you shouldn’t be a neatnik and wash your saucepan. If you make the frosting, you’ll use it again.
Whisk the milk, vanilla extract, baking soda, and eggs together in a small bowl. (I used a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup.)
Add the egg mixture to the large bowl. Stir it until it’s thoroughly incorporated.
Pour the batter into a 9-inch by 13-inch greased and floured cake pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes. When the cake begins to shrink away from the sides of the pan, it’s done.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: This cake is delicious without frosting, or just lightly dusted with powdered sugar. If you want a frosting, try the one below. Start making it 5 minutes before the cake is due to come out of the oven and the frosting and the cake will be ready at the same time.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
½ cup (1 stick) butter
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
one-pound box of powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
Place the butter, cocoa powder, and milk in a medium-size saucepan (The one from before that you didn’t wash.) Bring them to a boil, stirring constantly.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla. Stir in the powdered sugar, a half-cup at a time, until the frosting is thickened but still “pourable.” (If that’s not a word, it should be.)
Pour the frosting on the hot cake, and spread it out quickly with a spatula.
Hannah’s 4th Note: Interruptions happen and it’s not always possible to finish the frosting at the same time you take the hot cake from the oven. For that reason, I’ve come up with an alternative fudge frosting, one that can be poured over a piping hot cake, a warm cake, or a stone cold cake. Here it is:
NEVERFAIL FUDGE FROSTING
½ cup (1 stick, ¼ pound, 4 ounces) salted butter
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
cup cream
½ cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Place the butter, sugar, and cream into a medium-size saucepan (You can use the one from the cake that you didn’t wash.) Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat to medium and cook for two minutes.
Add the half-cup chocolate chips, stir them in, and remove the saucepan from the heat.
Stir in the vanilla and the chopped pecans, if you decided to use them.
Pour the frosting on the cake and spread it out quickly with a spatula. Whether you’re pouring it on a warm cake or a cold cake, just grab the pan and tip it so the frosting covers the whole top.
If you want this frosting to cool in a big hurry so that you can cut the cake, just slip it in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a half-hour or so.
Hannah’s 5th Note: Marge says that this cake smells so good, you might have to keep it under lock and key until it’s cool enough to cut.
FUDGE CUPCAKES
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce each)
½ cup raspberry syrup (for pancakes – I used Knott’s red
raspberry)21
¼ cup white (granulated) sugar
1 and cups flour (don’t sift)
1 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, room temperature (one stick, ¼ pound)
1 and ½ cups white sugar (not a misprint – you’ll use 1 and
¾ cups sugar in all)
3 eggs
cup milk
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with double cupcake papers. Since this recipe makes 18 cupcakes, you can use an additional 6-cup muffin pan lined with double papers, or you can butter and flour an 8-inch square cake pan or the equivalent.
Microwave the chocolate, raspberry syrup and ¼ cup sugar in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave again for another minute. At this point, the chocolate will be almost melted, but it will maintain its shape. Stir the mixture until smooth and let cool to lukewarm. (You can also do this in a double boiler on the stove.)
Measure the flour, mix in the baking powder and salt, and set it aside. With an electric mixer (or with a VERY strong arm), beat the butter and 1 and ½ cups sugar until light and fluffy. (About 3 minutes with a mixer – an additional 2 minutes if you’re doing it by hand.) Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to make sure they’re thoroughly incorporated. Add approximately a third of the flour mixture and a third of the milk. (You don’t have to be exact – adding the flour and milk in increments makes the batter smoother.) When that’s all mixed in, add another third of the flour and another third of the milk. And when that’s incorporated, add the remainder of the flour and the remainder of the milk. Mix thoroughly.
Test your chocolate mixture to make sure it’s cool enough to add. (You don’t want to cook the eggs!) If it’s fairly warm to the touch but not so hot you have to pull your hand away, you can add it at this point. Stir thoroughly and you’re done.
Let the batter rest for five minutes. Then stir it again by hand, and fill each cupcake paper three-quarters full. If you decided to use the 8-inch cake pan instead of the 6-cup muffin tin, fill it with the remaining batter.
Bake the cupcakes in a 350 degree F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes. The 8-inch cake should bake an additional 5 minutes.
FUDGE FROSTING:
2 cups semi-sweet (regular) chocolate chips (a 12-ounce
package)
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
18 cupcakes, or 12 cupcakes and 1 small cake, cooled to room temperature and ready to frost.
If you use a double boiler for this frosting, it’s foolproof. You can also make it in a heavy saucepan over low to medium heat on the stovetop, but you’ll have to stir it constantly with a wooden spoon or a heat-resistant spatula to keep it from scorching.
Fill the bottom part of the double boiler with water. Make sure the water doesn’t touch the underside of the top.
Put the chocolate chips in the top of the double boiler, set it over the bottom, and place the double boiler on the stovetop at medium heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate chips are melted.
Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk and cook approximately 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the frosting is shiny and of spreading consistency.
Spread it on the cupcakes, making s
ure to fill in the indentation on top of the cupcake with frosting.
Give the frosting pan to your favorite person to scrape.
These cupcakes are even better if you cool them, cover them, and let them sit for several hours (or even overnight) before frosting them.
Hannah’s Note: If you want to make these in mini-cupcake tins, fill the cups full and bake them at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes.
HANNAH’S SPECIAL CARROT CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
2 cups white (granulated) sugar
3 eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil (not canola, or olive, or anything but
veggie oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream (or unflavored yogurt)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon (or ½ teaspoon cardamom and the
rest cinnamon)
1 and ½ teaspoons salt
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, juice and all22
2 cups chopped walnuts (or pecans)
2 and ½ cups flour (don’t sift – pack it down when you measure)
2 cups grated carrots (also pack them down when you measure)