Rich and Creamy Cheesecake With Caramel Drizzle

Okay, lets talk about CARAMEL....

My husband says it all wrong and he knows it bugs the snot out of me, 

  lot of things do lol.

I tell him all the time...

It's CAR-A-MEL

 NOT CAR-MEL

You can't leave out the A...it is not a silent A. 

BUT....it sure is yummy isn't it.

We wont even get started on how he says Pecan. 

I'm from Louisiana, and I will quickly correct him.

After all, that's what good wives do....right?

How do you pronounce it?

Well even if you pronounce it wrong, you should still make this cheesecake.

It's fantastic.....I think I ate half of it....ALONE.

Classic Cheesecake

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbsp. sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:

2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla

4 eggs

Directions: 

Pre-heat oven to 325˚ 

Combine graham cracker crumbs, 3 Tbsp. sugar and butter.  Press mixture onto bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla on medium speed until well mixed. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add eggs one at a time, mix just until blended after each egg. 

Pour filling in pan, over the crust.

Bake for 55-70, or until the center is almost set. Remove from oven and let set 10 minutes on a wired rack. Loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cake completely cool before removing rim.

Refrigerate the cake, loosely covered for 4-6 hours.

Before serving drizzle cake with warmed caramel sauce. 

Daisy Cupcakes for Miss B

My daughter has been asking me to make her some carrot cake cupcakes.....okay more like begging.

I just started decorating cookies maybe a month ago and honestly, I didn't feel like making cupcakes at all.

To prevent her from growing up and saying I wasn't mother of the year I just had to do them.....not that ten  years from now she would even remember that I didn't make them.    Just in case she did I figured I better get in that kitchen and make some cupcakes for her.

She's a very sweet, kind girl. She always helps others. BUT......boy,  is she a BLONDE sometimes.

That girl keeps me laughing all the time.

Just a few days ago she came to me and asked me if I remembered a place from when she was a little girl.  She described the place as a park that had a dinosaur footprint in the ground.  I could only assume she was talking about our zoo, who had put in that new exhibit where the kids could dig for dinosaur bones and such. .....totally MAN made by the way.

I described the place to her the best way I could to see if we were on the same page with the location.  Apparently we were NOT.

She said NO this was a real dinosaur footprint.  I said Miss B, we have never seen a real dinosaur footprint in our life.....not EVER!

"What", she exclaimed.....I've been telling all my friends for the past two years about seeing dinosaur footprints.  I couldn't help but LOL.....that's laugh out loud in teen talk.

She was so upset and all I could do was laugh.  Apparently I was not funny either.  I knew I had to make those cupcakes to make up for laughing at my daughter's mistake.....just in case ten years from now she does remember I didn't make them.

I had to be sure to get a few pictures for proof as well.

Now I know they aren't "fall" themed cupcakes, but it's what Miss B likes.

She loves lime green and her favorite flower is a daisy.

So in my heels, which are very cute I may add, I went to bake some cupcakes for my oldest daughter.

Miss B......if you're reading......thanks for always making me laugh.

To make Daisy cupcakes you'll need:

Cute babies in cupcake pj's

a box of your favorite carrot cake mix (or make it from scratch)

cream cheese frosting

white fondant to cut daisies

yellow fondant for flower centers

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

2 8oz pkgs of cream cheese softened

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp pure vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add powdered sugar a little at a time until well combined. Place in fridge and allow to get firm again. Right before you want to pipe your cupcakes take frosting out of refrigerator and whip it a bit in your mixer. Pipe on top of cooled cupcakes.

For more great cupcakes you should check out Kristan's blog, 

Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

. She always has the cutest cupcakes.

~Throw on your heels and get to baking~