Cherry Cheesecake Cake

This is not really a cheesecake, but rather a cake dressed up in a cheesecake costume.  It added some decadence to my husband's 30th birthday celebration (actually, the cake pretty much WAS the celebration, and a good one at that).  Happy birthday, babe.

The Ingredients:
Icing:
8 oz "cream cheese" (I used Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese)
1/3 c margarine, room temperature
4 1/3 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
3/4 t lemon zest

Cake:
2 1/4 c flour
1 T + 1 t cornstarch
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/4 c sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c margarine
1 T vanilla
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 c almond milk

Toppings:
1 1/2 21-oz. cans cherry pie filling (or an equivalent amount of homemade filling would be even better)
8 graham cracker sheets, crushed

The Process:

For the icing:

1. Beat together cream cheese, margarine, lemon zest, and vanilla until well combined.
2. Add powdered sugar in batches and beat at high speed until very smooth.
3. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together sugar, cream cheese, margarine, vanilla, and lemon juice until very smooth, then add the almond milk and beat until just combined. 
4. Add the flour mixture to the cream cheese mixture in batches and beat until incorporated.
5. Divide batter between 2 well-greased 9-inch round cake pans, and bake for about 40 minutes or until the edges of the cake start to pull away from the pans.
6. Let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pans, then continue to cool on a baking rack.  Don't assemble until the cake is completely cool.

To assemble:

1. Place the bottom cake layer on a plate or serving tray.  Spread a thin layer of icing on top to keep the cherry filling from bleeding into the cake, then pipe some icing around the perimeter of this area to keep the cherries from oozing out the sides.  Add about 3/4 can of pie filling within the icing perimeter.  Top with 2nd layer of cake.
2. Ice the edges of the cake.
3. Ice the top of the cake, again piping an icing perimeter to hold in the cherries. Spread on the remaining 3/4 can of cherries.
4. Press the graham cracker crumbs into the sides of the cake.  My method for this was basically to smash them in by the handful, which proved messy but effective.
5. Store in the refrigerator unless your kitchen is very cool—the icing will melt in warm temperatures (as I learned trying to ice the cake in a 95 degree kitchen, thus the droopiness evidenced in the photo).

Lemon Poppyseed Smoothie

I adore lemon poppyseed muffins, but I almost never make them.  This smoothie hits the major flavor points of the muffins but is healthier and only takes about 2 minutes to make.

The Ingredients:
2 c almond milk
1 banana
1 scoop protein powder
3-4 T rolled oats
1 T peanut butter
2 t ground flax
1/2 t lemon extract (or substitute about 1/2 T lemon zest)
2 1/2 t poppyseeds
1 pinch cinnamon

The Process:
Toss it all in a blender & blend until smooth.  I make it the night before and let it sit in the fridge in a mason jar overnight.

Cinnamon Raisin Waffles

These waffles offer all the pleasure of a cinnamon roll, without the hassle of yeast dough.  I ate them plain because there's only so much sugar I can handle in the morning, but I dare you to drizzle some powdered-sugar icing on top.


The Ingredients:
3/4 c raisins
3 c flour
2 T baking powder
2 T arrowroot
1 t salt
3 c + 2 T almond milk
1 T vanilla
2 t apple cider vinegar
1/2 c (packed) brown sugar
1/2 c (1 stick) margarine, melted
2 1/2 t cinnamon

The Process:
1. In a bowl or measuring cup, soak raisins in nearly-boiling water while preparing the remaining ingredients.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, arrowroot, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, combine almond milk, vanilla, and cider vinegar.
4. In yet another bowl, combine brown sugar, margarine, and cinnamon.
5. Whisk almond milk mixture into flour mixture.
6.  Drain raisins and stir them into the batter.
7. Add cinnamon mixture and stir just a few times, leaving some swirls of darker and lighter batter.
8. Cook on a well-oiled waffle iron.

Israeli Couscous Salad

No recipe for this one, but I thought the picture came out nice.  It's a simple salad of Israeli couscous tossed with toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, peaches, edamame, thinly-sliced red onion, and cilantro, with a red wine vinegar & agave nectar dressing.

The Easiest Pasta Salad

 

Pasta salad is one of the first things I taught myself to cook when I was a teenager.  I still make it pretty much the same way: just cook a box of rotini until al dente, and when it's done immediately rinse it under cold water until it's cool.  Toss with whatever veggies, beans, tofu, etc. you have on hand (this is a good way to use up odds and ends).  Add 1-1.5 cups of Italian dressing, toss to coat, and refrigerate awhile...this is one of those things that seems to taste better the longer it sits, so it's nice to make a big batch on weekends and pack it for weekday lunches.