Emily and Mandy made this when they saw each other a few weeks ago and I made it for Valentine's and both were a big hit.  This cake is SUPER rich and really delicious.  Beware, there are a lot of steps so make sure you have some time before you get started!  

For the cake:
16 oz semi sweet chocolate (like baker's squares)
1 cup unsalted butter
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

For the white chocolate topping:
1 cup white chocolate chunks/chips
1 cup whipping/heavy cream
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/3 cup powdered sugar

For the raspberry sauce:
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup sugar (you can start with less and add more to your liking)

To make:
In a sauce pan over medium low heat, melt the semi-sweet chocolate and butter until completely melted.  Stir constantly so the chocolate doesn't burn.  Once the chocolate is melted, remove the pan from the heat and set aside until the chocolate cools (half hour).

Pre-heat your oven to 400F.  Line the bottom of a spring form pan with parchment paper and grease the sides (if you don't have parchment you can grease the bottom too).  

Next, beat your eggs with your mixer for about 5 min - they should triple in volume.  Fold the eggs into the cooled, melted chocolate until completely combined.  Stir in the vanilla and pour into the prepared spring form pan.  Bake for 15 to 20 min - no more!  The center should be jiggly and the edges should be set.  If you bake it too long it will dry out.  Cool the cake on a wire rack for an hour, then in the fridge for another hour or so (should be completely chilled before putting the white chocolate topping on it).

After the cake has chilled in the fridge, start your white chocolate topping.  Melt the white chocolate chips with 3 tablespoons in a sauce pan over medium low heat, again stirring constantly until completely melted.

In your mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Slowly add the melted white chocolate to this until completely combined and smooth and set aside.  In your mixer the remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form (making whipped cream) and then fold into the white chocolate mixture and spread over the top of the chocolate cake. 

Set the cake back in the fridge to chill for another hour (or even overnight).  

Make your raspberry sauce while your cake is chilling.  Put your raspberries and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbly and beginning to reduce.  If the sauce is too watery/thin you can add a sprinkle of corn starch to thicken it up a bit.  Remove from heat and use to drizzle over your cake when serving.  *If you want, you can strain out the seeds - I did cause raspberry seeds drive me nuts!

Enjoy!   

I don't think these cupcakes even warrant a description - look at them, they look fabulous!  And very professional too, I must say - way to go Em!  This recipe is from Mandy, modified by Em and then every cupcake was licked by 2 year old Van :)

You can make these cupcakes plan vanilla (as shown in the pictures with the little blonde cutie pie) or you can drop a dollop of strawberry or raspberry jam in the batter to give them a berry filled surprise!  

For the cupcakes:
1 stick butter, soft
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup yogurt or buttermilk
Optional: Straw/raspberry jam, about 12 Tbs

Makes 24 mini or 12 standard size cupcakes.  

Preheat to 325.  Prepare pans (either grease or line with paper cups).  Beat butter and sugar
until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Toss together the dry ingredients then add to butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk until everything is incorporated.  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 way full and put a dollop of jam in the middle (if using) and then bake 25-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (keep in mind the toothpick isn't gonna be "clean" if you insert it into the berry center!).  Cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Frosting:
2-2.5 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2-1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
2-4 Tbs milk

Beat the ingredients until light and fluffy (about 5 min).  If your frosting is too thick/pasty add milk, if it's not fluffy enough/light enough add more butter, if it's too soupy/thin add more sugar.  The frosting should be light and fluffy when it's made right :)

Enjoy as much as this little guy did!

I made this for Christmas at my in-laws this year and it was a big hit!  I have heard multiple times that making cheesecake is really difficult, but this recipe from the Joy of Baking website was not hard, did not take that long and tasted FABULOUS!  Try it, I dare you!

Serves about 12-14 people

You will need:
For the Cranberry Swirls (and sauce for serving):
1 - 12 ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries 
1/2 cup  sugar
2 cups water
zest of one lemon or orange

For the Crust:
2 cups of graham crackers, finely crushed (I used blender to crush them)
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

For the Cheesecake Filling:
3 - 8 ounces packages of cream cheese at room temperature 
1 cup  sugar
1 Tbs flour
4 eggs, room temperature
1 Tbs heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

To make:
First make your cranberry sauce, you will use this for the swirls and the sauce to serve the cake with.  In a medium sized saucepan, place cranberries, sugar, and water. Then, over medium-high heat, cook the ingredients until boiling, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium low and gently boil the filling, stirring often to prevent the filling from burning, until it becomes thick and syrupy and reduced to about 2 cups. This takes about 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the zest, and let cool completely before using. (I am not a fan of chunks in my cheesecake so I put this sauce into the blender after it cooled a bit and pureed it until it was smooth and delicious - I highly recommend doing this to get rid of any cranberry chunks). Set the sauce in the fridge while you work on everything else. 

Now for the crust...grease a 9 inch round spring form pan and line the bottom with parchment (you don't HAVE to do this but it makes for easier clean up and serving!) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven.

In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Now for the money maker...in the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the cream and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. 

Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour half the cheesecake filling into the pan.  

Take one-half cup of the cranberry sauce you made and place spoonfuls over the cheesecake batter and then swirl gently with a knife. 

Top with the remaining cheesecake batter. Spoon another one-half cup of the cranberry filling over the cheesecake batter and swirl gently with a knife. (The extra cranberry sauce is saved to drizzle over the cake when serving). Depending on your pan, your cake make leak or drip, so either place it on a bed of foil or on a thin baking sheet and place in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F  and continue to bake for another 60 to 70 minutes or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. Remove from oven and carefully run a knife or spatula around the inside edge of pan to loosen the cheesecake (helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).

Let the cake cool before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating.  This cheesecake tastes best after being refrigerated at least eight hours or overnight.  Now kick back, relax and bask in the benefits of your baking talents!     

I have made this cake 3 times all ready this season and am making it again this weekend because it is that good!  Try it out before apple-picking season is over and enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups diced apples (peeled and cored, about 3 apples)

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350F.  Grease either a 13x9 inch baking pan, or 2 round cake pans, whichever you prefer.  Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients and then add the apples.  Pour the wet mixture over the dry and stir to combine.  Batter will be rather thick.  

Pour into baking pan or cake pans, whichever you are using, and cook for 50-55 minutes.  

To serve, I like to top with powdered sugar (sprinkled over top through a sifter) and whip cream.  Mmm!!

I have made a few red velvet cake recipes and so far this is the best I've found.  My only complaint would be that the color was not a deep red like I anticipated.  But the flavor is great, and it was SO moist, which I think is much more important than the color.  Next time I will try adding an additional pack of red food dye to see if that's the missing link.  I made it for my son's 1st birthday and it was a hit - AND a huge mess to clean up.  He had an icing mohawk for the rest of the party and red velvet cake somehow made it's way into his diaper.  All signs of a good 1st birthday... and a good cake!

What you'll need:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (plus more to grease cake pans, if using)
1 cup buttermilk, at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp
2 Tbls red food coloring
1 tsp white distilled vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Crushed pecans for garnish (optional)
1 pound cream cheese, softened
4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions for the cake/cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 3 cake pans, or cupcake tin, whichever you are using.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.

Directions for the frosting:

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand-held electric mixer in a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.)Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, raise the speed to high and mix briefly until fluffy (scrape down the bowl occasionally). Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff, before using. Frost the cake or cupcakes. Sprinkle the top with the pecans, if using.