Cranberry and Rosemary Topped Layer Cake

This is probably my favorite cake I've made to date- and I've made a lot of cakes.

I wanted to make a Thanksgiving cake and I was sick of pumpkin and carrot, (is that blasphemy during the Thanksgiving season?) so I decided to just wing it and make up a cake.

I completely fell in love with this result! With its wine soaked cherry layer interior and classic cream cheese frosting, it was (dare I say) the highlight of the Thanksgiving dessert table.

Unfortunately (and please don't throw things at your screen in your anger), I genuinely do not remember the recipe for the cake itself.  I made it up on the spot, and didn't bother writing down how much of each ingredient I was adding. I will make it again though, and when I do, I will make sure to measure out the amounts of ingredients as I put them in.

I do know I made the topping though! The cranberry topping was, of course, the focal point of this cake.  Making the topping was very easy, and I plan to put it to good use for future cakes.

Cranberry and Rosemary Topping:

1 package cranberries
1 rosemary branch
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Wash your cranberries. I used about half a package for a 9 in. cake. 

2. Boil a pot of water, turn down the heat so it is not a rapid boil, and throw in the cranberries. The point of this is to make the cranberries edible, instead of rock hard. Boil them until they start to feel softer- quickly take them off, drain the water, and dry them in a bowl covered with paper towels. Making sure they don't pop is critical, because if they do, you will just have a cranberry mush on your cake. They should give slightly when you pinch them, but should not be completely pop-able.

3. While the cranberries are still warm, throw them in a bowl of powered sugar and toss until coated evenly.

4. Arrange the cranberries on the cake. Resist the urge to make a tall pyramid- they will tumble when you cut into them. 

5. Place as much (or as little) rosemary within the cranberry topping as you wish. 


This cake is definitely going to be a Thanksgiving staple for me, and I plan to put the topping to good, repeated use.

-Oksana

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Oksana and I typically use a 9-inch springform pan to make a standard-sized pumpkin cheesecake. But this Thanksgiving we wanted to mix it up a bit and we made these adorable mini cheesecakes. The recipe is exactly the same, so you can either make a full size cheesecake or do the minis. We used standard muffin tins for the mini cheesecakes (2-3 muffin pans - not exactly sure because I am actually writing this post a few months after the fact and I forgot how many we used. Oops!)

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 8 oz. graham crackers, finely crushed (2 cups of crumbs)
• 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 7 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin purée
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Topping (optional):

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together crumbs and sugar. Mix in the melted butter until the crumbs are moist and stick together when you squeeze a handful. 

3. Press crumbs into a 9 inch springform pan, or cupcake liners. For cupcake liners, I would recommend only having crust at the bottom. For the 9 inch springform pan, you can either just do the bottom only or go two inches up the sides.

4. Bake for 10-15 minutes until slightly darkened. Let cool. Lower oven temperature to 300. 

5. In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese separately until softened. Add the remaining ingredients. Be sure to add the eggs last and not over beat the mixture once the eggs are added. 

6. Pour filling into the cooled crust and bake at 300 until the edges are slightly puffed and the center jiggles like Jell-O when lightly shaken. 

7. If you are making a large cheesecake, you can add a sour cream topping to mask the inevitable crack that will form once this cheesecake begins to cool. I still haven't figured out a fool-proof method of preventing the crack. For the sour cream topping, whisk a little over a cup of sour cream with 1/4 cup of sugar and pour over cheesecake. Bake until set for another 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing. Garnish with toasted pecans before serving. 

If making mini cheesecakes, you can top it off with a cream cheese frosting. Apparently, the cream cheese frosting is a family secret so I can't disclose the ingredients. Haha!

For more cheesecake general tips and tricks, refer to this post about our Tiramisu Cheesecake. Original recipe can be found here. 

- Yana