Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I am always up for trying a new baked good.  This sounded wonderful for Thanksgiving (a little behind on the blogging I know!) It smelled delicious, looked delicious, but the bottom 1/4 of both cakes were thick, almost like they settled...  HELP!  If you try this recipe what did you do differently?!  Other than that the rest of it is YUMMY, especially the frosting :)

I got this recipe from Pinterest, check it out here!  I just made a 2 layer cake instead of cupcakes, baked for about 35-40 minutes, also checking if a toothpick could come out smoothly, and it did...

Chocolate Lava Cakes

Two words. Paula Dean.  This is probably one of my favorite recipes she has and is definitely my go to dessert or any/all occasions!  Everyone loves chocolate cake, so why not make everyone their own little cake of gooey goodness.  This dessert is great because you can make up the batter ahead of time and keep in ramekins in the fridge.  Once dinner is being served.  Take out the tray of ramekins from the fridge and preheat the oven.  Once everyone is done with dinner, hit the coffee and pop in this delicious chocolaty treat.  

This recipe will make 4 large cakes 5 oz. ramekins or 6 small cakes.  I doubled the recipe for 8.

Ingredients

• 6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
• 2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons orange liqueur ( I DO NOT add the orange liqueur!)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. If the top does not look firm, give it another minute or two.  The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.  Top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  ENJOY :)  

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting!

Olive oil and flour for the pan 
1-1/4 oz. (1/2 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I use Droste)  
1 tsp. vanilla extract 
1/2 tsp. almond extract 
4-1/2 oz. (1 cup) all-purpose flour 
1/4 tsp. salt 
1/4 tsp. baking soda 
3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature 
2/3 cup olive oil 
1-1/3 cups sugar 

---

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Heat the  oven to 325°F. Generously oil 2 small round cake pan with crisco and dust it lightly with flour.
In a small saucepan, boil about 1/2 cup of water. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder through a strainer over a small bowl. Stir 6 Tbs. of the boiling water into the cocoa until it's smooth and glossy (if the mixture  is very thick, you can add as much as 2 Tbs. more boiling water; when I tried this cake with Hershey's cocoa, I needed to do this). Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Set aside to cool slightly. In another small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs  and yolk, olive oil, and sugar. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium-high speed until thick, lemon colored, and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the warm (not hot) cocoa mixture until it's well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl once. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it but with no wet batter, 55 to 60 minutes. Put the pan on a rack and carefully run a paring knife around the inside edge to release the cake. Let cool for 10 minutes. Using a second rack to sandwich the cake pan, flip the pan over. Carefully lift the pan from the cake and let the cake cool completely.

---

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!)
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Instructions

1. Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Turn off the mixer. Add 3 cups powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the dry ingredients do not blow everywhere) until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time.

Assemble:  Lay top of cake down on to platter.  Put a layer of frosting on top.  Lay other layer of cake on top, top down.  Frost cake spreading frosting from top middle down to sides. 


Enjoy :)