Tag: Fall

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Published on by Dagny

I love Trader Joe’s cake mixes. They have the best crumb. In the past I’ve been able to get lots of different flavors, but since Covid they basically only have the yellow cake mix. So I decided to try and experiment and see if I could convert yellow cake mix into different flavors of cakes. My first attempt was chocolate. I added unsweetened cocoa and a little extra milk to get it to the right consistency. I almost always add instant coffee to anything chocolate, so I added that as well and it was delicious. So this time I decided to try and make a pumpkin spice cake from a yellow cake mix. Using Trader Joe’s yellow cake mix I added pumpkin purée, molasses, and pumpkin spice and used Starbucks pumpkin spice creamer for the milk. It came out awesome here’s the recipe. Of course I ate this with my Starbucks cold brew with the pumpkin spice creamer in my jack-o’-lantern mug. I don’t care that it’s only August 30. 🎃

Ingredients

1 box Trader Joe’s yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled
1/2 cup pumpkin purée
1 tablespoon vanilla, the real stuff, not imitation
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 a teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 a teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 a teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of salt
1 cup(ish) Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Creamer
1/4 cup of molasses

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Dump the yellow cake mix into a bowl and add the two eggs, melted butter, the pumpkin purée, the vanilla, and all of the spices and the salt.

Add the molasses to a measuring cup, then fill the measuring cup with creamer until it reaches 1 cup. Stir the two together, then add it to the cake mix mixture. Using a stand mixer, hand mixer or whisk beat all the ingredients together well.

Spray two bread pans with nonstick baking spray and divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes. The box said 28 minutes for an 8” round. I had to add an additional 10 minutes with my oven. The middle should spring back slightly.

Allowed to call slightly, then dump out to coal completely.

I think this would be great with cream cheese spread on a slice. It would also have been good if I had added pecans or walnuts, maybe some golden raisins. If you like it sweeter, you could add white chocolate chips or sprinkle raw sugar on top of the batter before baking. It will make a nice sweet, crunchy top. You can also make a simple glaze with the pumpkin spice creamer and powdered sugar. Just pour powdered sugar into a bowl and drizzle a little bit of the creamer in there at a time it doesn’t take very much, so start off with a tiny amount, and slowly add until it’s the consistency you want and drizzle that over the loaf. If you’d like your pumpkin bread really spicy just add additional spices. When I tasted the batter it tasted almost too spicy to me, but once it baked it toned down. Right before you put the batter into the oven just taste it. If it tastes just a little bit too spicy it’s probably perfect.

Fall Apple Cranberry Peanut Butter Fluff

Published on by DagnyLeave a comment
IMG_9783

So into the fluff stuff on Pinterest. I love things that can be  easily customized. One basic recipe that you can switch in and out ingredients. This fluff “salad” does that perfectly. Not really clear why it’s called a salad. It’s whipped cream, pudding and/or Jell-O and marshmallows with some fruit added in. Sounds like dessert to me.

The basic recipe is

1 regular size tub of cool whip (I like the real cream one but I’m sure they will all work)
1 package of pudding or Jell-O (I like the new Jell-O brand all natural ones)
And/Or
1 package of Jell-O
1-2 cups mini marshmallows
1 can or jar of something with liquid like crushed pineapple, peaches, pears, apple butter etc.
Diced fruit, dried fruit, chopped nuts etc.

Fold the pudding and/or Jell-O into the cool whip. Be sure to fold not stir or you’ll deflate the whipped cream. Then fold in the liquid part.

You need the liquid because the pudding and Jell-O will absorb the moisture from the whipped cream and this liquid will make it less stiff and help dissolve the mix.

Then fold in the fruit, dried fruit, nuts, marshmallows or whatever you’re using.

My first try

Orange Mango Pineapple Fluff

1 tub cool whip
1 package Jell-O brand natural orange mango Jell-O
1 cup diced fresh mango
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1 cup mandarin oranges each segment cut in half
1 cup mini marshmallows

Folded the Jell-o into cool whip then the other ingredients. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

I bought the little cups of already diced fruit so there was no prep or liquid. I noticed the Jell-O didn’t completely dissolve after it was refrigerated for a couple of hours. It did after it was refrigerated over night. It still tasted awesome after 2 hours but probably use the canned pineapple next time for the liquid. And maybe mix the pineapple with the Jell-O first to dissolve it then fold into the cool whip.

Fall Apple Cranberry Peanut Butter Fluff

1 tub cool whip
1 package Jell-O brand natural vanilla pudding
1 – 9oz jar apple butter
1 heaping teaspoon natural peanut butter
1/2 each Granny Smith and Fuji apple; diced and soaked in lemon water then drained
1 cup pecans chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
1-2 cups mini marshmallows
Fold the pudding mix into the cool whip, fold in everything else one at a time. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Tastes like fall!