Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping

INGREDIENTS

APPLES:

 3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

 2 tablespoons sugar

 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

STREUSEL TOPPING:

 1 cup (7.5 ounces) packed light brown sugar

 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour

 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

 1/2 cup (1.75 ounces) quick cooking oats

 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter, softened

SHORTBREAD BASE:

 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour

 1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) packed brown sugar

 1/4 teaspoon salt

 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

 1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) butter, softened

CREAM CHEESE LAYER:

 2 (8 ounces each) packages cream cheese, softened

 1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) sugar

 2 large eggs

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

CARAMEL SAUCE:

 4 tablespoons butter

 1 cup (7.5 ounces) packed light brown sugar

 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

 Pinch of salt

 1 tablespoon vanilla (can cut down to 1 teaspoon for less vanilla flavor)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil (helps with cleanup but isn't necessary). Lightly grease the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. For the apples, in a small bowl, stir together the chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. For the streusel, in a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix with a pastry blender or two forks (or your fingers) until crumbly. Set aside.
4. For the shortbread base, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but evenly and well combined. Press the crust evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges.
5. For the cream cheese layer, while the crust is baking, in a large bowl with an electric handheld mixer (or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat the cream cheese with the 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix until evenly combined, scraping down the edges of the bowl as needed. Pour over the warm crust.
6. Give the apple mixture a good stir and spoon over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling is set.
7. For the caramel sauce, add the butter, brown sugar, cream, and salt to a saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook while stirring gently for 5-7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. If the caramel sauce has been refrigerated, warm slightly to pour over the bars.
8. Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).

PREP TIME 1 HOUR  

COOK TIME 50 MINUTES  

TOTAL TIME 1 HOUR 50 MINUTES

YIELD: 9X13-INCH PAN

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Raspberry Cream Pie

Ingredients

CRUST: (can use premade crust instead)

1-1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafers (about 45 wafers)
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted

FILLING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

TOPPING:
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
2-1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, divided

Directions

1. Combine the wafer crumbs, pecans and butter. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in. pie plate.
2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Fold in whipped cream. Spread into crust. Chill until serving.
3. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in water and 1-1/2 cups raspberries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Transfer to a bowl; refrigerate until chilled.
4. Spread topping over filling. Garnish with remaining berries.

Note: Could try to make this a lemon Raspberry Pie by flavoring the cream with lemon.

Tres Leches Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups (7.5 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter

1 cup (7.5 ounces) granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Foil muffin tin liners

Milk Mixture:

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

12-ounce can evaporated milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Topping:

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup powdered sugar

Dash of vanilla extract

Fresh berries, for topping

Instructions

1.      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with foil liners (don't use standard paper liners; the milk mixture will soak through). This recipe makes about 16 cupcakes so you can line another 4 muffin cups in a second pan as well or bake a second batch.

2.      In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.

3.      In a microwave-safe bowl (you can also do this in a pan on the stovetop), melt the butter. Whisk in the sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is no longer warm to the touch. Whisk in the egg, buttermilk and vanilla until well-combined.

4.      Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and whisk until the batter is mostly lump-free without overmixing (maybe 20-30 strokes of the whisk total).

5.      Portion the cupcake batter evenly in the tins. Don't overfill! For this recipe, in particular, it is best to have the baked muffins sit slightly below the rim of the muffin cup to help when adding the tres leches mixture. Use a #20 cookie scoop to portion the cupcake batter - about 3 tablespoons batter, or slightly less, per muffin cup.

6.      Bake the cupcakes for 14-16 minutes until the tops spring back lightly to the touch.

7.      Remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. When cool, use a thin skewer to poke holes all over (and I mean, all over) the cupcake. Go crazy, but don't poke all the way through the cupcake liner.

8.      For the milk mixture, in a large liquid measuring cup or in a blender, whisk together or blend the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream. The milk mixture needs to be drizzled or spooned over the top of each cupcake one at a time. I find it works best to pour the milk mixture in batches into a squeeze bottle and slowly squeeze the milk mixture onto the top of the cupcake while simultaneously pressing the milk mixture into the top of the cupcake with an small offset spatula. This tedious step can probably be sped up by using a thicker skewer to poke the holes. I use a fairly thin skewer which means the milk mixture doesn't soak in quite as quickly. You'll want to use about 2-3 tablespoons of milk mixture per cupcake (depending how soft and soaky you want them).

9.      Refrigerate the cupcakes for at least an hour, or cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 12 hours.

10.  When ready to serve (up to two hours ahead of time but not before that), prepare the topping by whipping the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract together until stiff peaks form. Dollop

11.  the sweetened whipped cream on top of each cupcake and finish it off with a fresh berry. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 1-2 hours until serving.

Yield: about 16 cupcakes

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

From Mel’s Kitchen Café

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/divine-tres-leches-cupcakes/