Another Wednesday, another recipe full of pumpkin-goodness! I have two fairly simple desserts recipes that are both big crowd-pleasers that I’ll be sharing with you in time for Thanksgiving. Spoiler: they both include pumpkin! I love pie at Thanksgiving, but sometimes I want something a little different.

I discovered this Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle two years ago and it became an instant favorite. I’m a sucker for a good trifle, especially one that involves angel food cake, because they’re so light, which is perfect for after a big holiday meal. The Summer Berry Trifle is a classic, but I wanted a go-to trifle during the fall and winter months as well.

This Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle recipe is super easy and has just three layers. The first is the angel food cake. You can buy store-bought angel food cake, make it from a box mix or make your own homemade version. I personally like to stick to the box mix version since you just mix it with water and bake – crazy easy! One of these days I’ll try a homemade angel food cake, but when I’m throwing it into a trifle and busy with other holiday prep the box mix is good enough for me.

The next layer is a pumpkin cheesecake filling. Yes, it’s as incredible as it sounds. It’s creamy, warmly spiced and packed with pumpkin flavor. Finally, we have a cinnamon whipped cream because whipped cream is amazing, but cinnamon whipped cream is on the next level. I used whipped topping, but I included instructions for homemade whipped cream as well so feel free to use whichever you prefer!

I used this 7.5” trifle bowl from Crate and Barrel, which as you can see is bursting at the top so you could definitely get away with a larger trifle bowl not looking too empty. Or just pile more cinnamon whipped cream on top! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle

 

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Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 prepared angel food cake (I use a box mix), cut into chunks using a serrated knife
• 4 cups whipped topping, see note
• 16 ounces cream cheese, light or regular
• 15 ounces pure pumpkin
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, plus more for topping
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice then beat until combined. Fold in 1⅓ cups whipped topping.
2. Combine the remaining 2⅔ whipped topping with the ground cinnamon.
3. Layer ⅓ of the angel food cake chunks into the bottom of the trifle bowl. Top with ½ of the pumpkin mixture, smooth into an even layer. Top with ⅓ of the cinnamon whipped cream, smooth into an even layer. Repeat the layers two more times so that you end with the whipped cream on the top. Sprinkle with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

If you would prefer to use homemade whipped cream instead of whipped topping, you will need 4 cups of whipped cream. Beat 2 cups of cold heavy cream with ¼ cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon until stiff peaks form.
Box mix tip: I don’t have an angel food cake pan so when I make the box mix for this recipe I use a 9x13” pan. I put parchment paper on the bottom then bake it at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. The top should be golden brown and not sticky. Then turn the pan upside down using 4 cans of the same height under each corner and let it stay like that until it cools. Once it’s mostly cooled, run a butter knife around the edges then the cake should fall right out.

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Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

Happy Monday before Halloween! I don’t love Halloween solely because of the candy, but all those Kit Kats and Reese’s are definitely a big factor! No matter what age you are, you’re bound to have leftover candy after Halloween. It may because your kids collected way more than they need so you snagged a stash for yourself. It may be because you bought several Costco size bags of candy, but no one in your neighborhood felt like coming to your house since it’s on a “hill” – speaking from experience.

It may be because you went trick-or-treating at Disneyland’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, which Matt and I did two years ago and it was so much fun! Or maybe you just took advantage of all the after-holiday sales while you were hungry and felt at the time you really had to have all four bags of those fun size chocolate candy bars. Either way, now you have a bunch of candy and while it’s great to eat on its own you can only do so much of that before you never want to look at a candy bar again.

Enter this Halloween Chocolate Lasagna. I hesitate to call it a Chocolate Lasagna since I think the name makes people not want to try it, but according to the internet and Pinterest that is what this layered chocolatey dessert is called. The bottom layer is a no-bake Oreo crust. Next up we have a sweetened cream cheese layer that’s been folded together with some whipped topping to make it light and fluffy. If you don’t want to use store bought whipped topping you could always fold in some homemade whipped cream so I put those directions in the recipe as well. The next two layers are creamy chocolate pudding and then whipped topping. Don’t forget the Halloween candy! You can use whichever chocolate candies you prefer. I chopped up Kit Kat, Reese’s, Milky Way, Snicker’s and 3 Musketeers and sneaked them in between the pudding layer.

This dessert is addictive, especially with the candy added in as a fun surprise. It tastes incredibly light while you are eating it, but it’s also very rich at the same time. Everyone who had this ate it up and they even each brought a bowl-full home.

The first time I ever heard of Chocolate Lasagna was last year when Matt’s mom made it for Christmas. The minute I saw all the whipped cream and chocolate I knew I was going to be in love. We kept the leftovers and by we I mean I may or may not have told Matt he couldn’t have any 😂. When I thought of turning it into a leftover Halloween candy dessert I asked Matt’s mom to send me the recipe so I could share it with all of you. And so I could get to eat it again since I had been dreaming about it since last Christmas. If you are looking for other leftover Halloween candy ideas, check out my Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies!

Leftover Halloween Candy Chocolate Lasagna

 

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Yield: 20 - 24 servings

Ingredients

• 1 14.3-ounce package of Oreo cookies, about 36 Oreos (not double stuff)
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk, cold (use any fat percentage of milk except non-fat)
• 12 ounces frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip), defrosted
• 2 4-ounce packages chocolate instant pudding
• 3¼ cups milk, cold (use at least 1% milk)
• About 3 cups chopped leftover Halloween candy
• Halloween sprinkles, for decorating

Directions

1. Crush the Oreo cookies using a food processor or by placing them in a large freezer bag and crushing them with a meat mallet or rolling pin. They don’t need to be fine crumbs, but there shouldn’t be any huge chunks of cookie. Pour the cookie crumbs into a large mixing bowl and stir in the melted butter until combined. Pour the crumb mixture into a 9x13 baking pan and press the crumbs to form an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate while you work on the rest of the layers.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in the sugar and the 2 tablespoons of milk then beat until combined. Fold in 1¼ cups of the whipped topping and spread in an even layer over the Oreo crust.
3. In a medium mixing bowl (or the same one used for the Oreo crust), combine both chocolate instant pudding mixes with the 3¼ cups cold milk. Whisk until the pudding starts to thicken. This will take several minutes; be sure to scrape from the bottom as you whisk. Spread half of the pudding in an even layer over the cream cheese layer. Top with the chopped candies then pour over the remaining half of the pudding and smooth with a spatula. Let sit in the fridge for at least 5 minutes so the pudding can firm up more. Spread the remaining whipped topping over the pudding layer. Place in the fridge for 4 hours or the freezer for 1 hour before serving. Add the Halloween sprinkles right before serving (the colors on the sprinkles may run if you add them ahead of time).

Notes

If you would prefer to use fresh whipped cream instead of frozen whipped topping, follow this substitution. Beat 1¾ cups cold heavy cream (in a cold metal mixing bowl with a cold beater is preferred) with ¾ cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until you have stiff peaks. This will make about 4 cups whipped cream.

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Lauren Uncategorized 2 Comments

Yes, this is real life. We’ve taken a layer of cheesecake and stuffed it inside pumpkin bread. Not just plain cheesecake, but cookie butter cheesecake. This, my friends, is the one baked good you need to make this fall. And then again in the winter. And maybe even this spring and summer because you won’t have gotten enough of it yet.

The pumpkin bread on its own is the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had. It’s moist, well spiced and packed with pumpkin flavor. A lot of pumpkin bread recipes end up being bland and too light on pumpkin flavor so I love that I found my perfect go-to recipe. It also has just the right amount of sweetness for me since I definitely have a sweet tooth.

If that wasn’t good enough on its own, there’s that cookie butter cheesecake swirled throughout the bread! I like the typical pumpkin and cream cheese pairing, but to me the plain cream cheese tends to overpower the pumpkin sometimes since its slight sourness is in such contrast with the warmly spiced pumpkin. I thought the brown sugar and cinnamon spices of the cookie butter would complement the pumpkin really well. And they do!

The cookie butter might even make it taste a little too good. I usually share all the treats that I make, but this was one I had a tough time parting with. I gave away two slices and the rest got cut up, wrapped and put into the freezer. Although I’m not sure why I bothered freezing it since it will most likely be gone by the time I even post this recipe. [Update: it’s most definitely all gone].

If you’ve never bought cookie butter, you can find it in a lot of stores now. I buy the Lotus Biscoff brand, which you can find on Amazon here, and Trader Joe’s has their own brand that’s pretty good as well. Already obsessed with cookie butter? Make my Lemon Cookie Butter Cheesecake Parfaits pronto! Maybe even swapping the lemon curd for some pumpkin puree? Okay, I think I just found a recipe to post for next fall!

Cookie Butter Cheesecake Stuffed Pumpkin Bread

 

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Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

for the cookie butter cheesecake swirl

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup cookie butter
• ¼ cup plain yogurt (any fat percentage, Greek or regular)
• 1 large egg

for the pumpkin bread

• 1⅓ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

for the cookie butter cheesecake swirl

1. Beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add the cookie butter, yogurt and egg to the bowl and beat until combined. Set aside.

for the pumpkin bread

1. Make sure your oven rack is positioned in the bottom third of your oven then preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5” loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add the sugar and pumpkin puree. Whisk to combine then whisk in the oil, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and egg. Add in the flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
4. Scoop out and reserve 1 cup of the pumpkin batter. Pour the remaining batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it evenly. Use a spoon to scoop the cookie butter cheesecake mixture onto the pumpkin batter in the pan. Take the reserved 1 cup of pumpkin batter and pour it in a line down the center of the pan. Using a knife, swirl the batter and cheesecake layer by inserting the tip of the knife into the batter and dragging/swirling it about 5 times.
5. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the top of the loaf is cracked and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack for 30 minutes then carefully invert onto a plate or another cooling rack before flipping upright. Let cool completely. This will take at least another 1½ hours. Dust with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Notes

You can substitute sour cream for the yogurt.

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Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for my referral. This does not affect the retail cost of the item. Thank you for supporting Lemon & Mocha!

Lauren Uncategorized 4 Comments

We’re starting Monday off with a bang! This super simple no-bake Lemon Blackberry Ice Box Cake is channeling summer as we try to soak up the last week of August. I love lemon flavors all the time, but I especially love eating it in the summer since it makes me think of fresh ingredients and sunshine. Combine the lemon with some fresh plump blackberries and we are in full summer mode over here!

I made this cake because I wanted to participate in Sally’s Baking Challenge over on Sally’s Baking Addiction. If you aren’t familiar with her blog, she posts a new challenge recipe every month to inspire more people to bake. I participated last month making cherry hand pies you can check out over on my Instagram and I had so much fun that I decided I wanted to participate again this month. The challenge for August is a chocolate chip cookie layer cake, which sounds amazing, but it is HUGE. Since there’s so many challenge months I missed out on, I decided to head into the archives and make a dessert from a past challenge.

Last year, she posted one for a lemon blueberry icebox cake. Matt’s not a blueberry fan so we settled on blackberries and that’s how this cake came to be on your screen right now. Well after I made it, photographed it, edited it and loaded it up of course. While all that was happening, this light and tart cake was devoured so it’s safe to say it was a big success. Don’t be fooled by the challenge part; icebox cakes could not be easier since there is absolutely no baking involved.

Even though I’ve eaten plenty of them, I’ve actually never make an icebox cake before. An icebox cake is typically made by layering cookies and whipped cream then placing it in the freezer. The cookies soak up moisture from the whipped cream and develop a soft “cake-like” texture. This version has multiple layers and each of them have me doing a happy dance.

First, for our cookies we’re using graham crackers. You will need about six full-sheet graham crackers, which is just shy of one whole sleeve. For the whipped cream layer we are making a quick homemade lemon whipped cream. Beat together heavy cream, powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until you have soft peaks – done! I love a pillowy homemade whipped cream, but the brightness from the lemon takes it to a new level.

Finally, we have our homemade blackberry sauce that you can make with a saucepan in under ten minutes. We’re going to layer each component multiple times so you have a show-stopping cake slice like the ones pictured here that will have everyone thinking you spent hours in the kitchen. Below is a quick shot I took to show you how I layered the graham crackers; it doesn’t have to be perfect.

I can’t wait for you all to try this one! I’ll be busy over here dreaming up other icebox cake variations to make in the near future.

Lemon Blackberry Icebox Cake

 

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Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

for the blackberry sauce

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

for the cake

• 2 cups heavy cream
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 6 full-sheet graham crackers, a little less than 1 standard sleeve
• Lemon zest and blackberries for garnish, optional

Directions

for the blackberry sauce

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, lemon juice and warm water until the cornstarch dissolves. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the blackberries and sugar. Continue to stir until the blackberries have started releasing some of their juices, then add the cornstarch mixture. Stir for another 2-3 minutes while the blackberry sauce starts to thicken, mashing up some of the blackberries as you stir. Remove from the sauce from the heat and stir in the lemon zest. Set aside until it’s completely cool. Feel free to put it in the fridge if you want to speed up the cooling.

for the cake

1. Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, making sure there is overhang over the edges so you’ll be able to easily life out the cake. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the heavy cream, powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest on medium-high speed with the whisk attachment. Continue to beat until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Soft peaks are when peaks are just starting to hold, but flop over quickly.
3. Make an extremely thin layer using a couple tablespoons of the whipped cream you just made on the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. This is to help the bottom layer of graham crackers stick. I'm going to describe the layering order here, but there is a quick list in the recipe notes section for reference. First, use about 2 graham crackers to make a single layer (see reference photo in the post). Next, a layer of whipped cream using about ¾ cup of the whipped cream. Then, layer half of the blackberry sauce. After the blackberry sauce comes another whipped cream layer of about ¾ cup followed by another single graham cracker layer. Layer another ¾ cup of whipped cream followed by the remaining blackberry sauce. Then another ¾ cup of whipped cream, a single graham cracker layer, and finally the rest of the whipped cream. Done!
4. Once you have all your layers, you can top with lemon zest and blackberries for garnish, if desired, then cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours. The icebox cake can be frozen 2-3 days before serving.
5. When you’re ready to serve, let it soften in the fridge for 1 hour before serving or allow it to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Use the plastic wrap overhang on the sides to remove the cake from the pan and cut into slices. All leftovers (if you have any!) should be stored in the fridge.

Notes

Layer the following components in this order:
- Single graham cracker layer (about 2 crackers)
- Whipped cream layer using about ¾ cup of the whipped cream
- Blackberry sauce layer, using half of the blackberry sauce
- Whipped cream layer (3/4 cup)
- Single graham cracker layer (about 2 crackers)
- Whipped cream layer (3/4 cup)
- Blackberry sauce layer (remaining half of blackberry sauce)
- Whipped cream layer (3/4 cup)
- Single graham cracker layer (about 2 crackers)
- Whipped cream layer (the rest of the whipped cream)

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Lauren Uncategorized 8 Comments

I’m back with my annual 4th of July red, white and blue dessert! This year I decided to switch it up. As much as I love berries, they can get expensive, especially if you are cooking for a crowd. Also, berry desserts can sometimes be tricky to make ahead. Instead, I made a tie-dye white Texas sheet cake loaded with red, white and blue batter and tons of festive sprinkles.

I’m surprised I’ve kept it together this far into my post because I am SO EXCITED about this cake! I will try to explain to you how buttery and moist this vanilla cake is, but I know I won’t be able to do it justice. It tastes like funfetti box mix cakes, but with no box mix involved. Check out the photos and look at those big crumbs! Yum!

The vanilla icing slightly hardens on top and the thin layer of icing creates the perfect frosting to cake ratio since the cake is also very thin. The thin layer of icing is also good because it is definitely sweet. This cake is for all the butter and sugar lovers out there! Any baked good is dangerous around me, but this sheet cake was especially addictive.

This is the best type of cake to make for a crowd because the cake is the size of a standard jelly roll pan or half sheet pan. Matt and I ate some, then I gave away multiple slices each to six of my girl friends and I STILL had a whole bunch that I packaged for the freezer! If you do have leftovers it does freeze well, but if you bring this cake to a big party I promise you there will be nothing left!

The tie-dye batter was really easy and didn’t add much extra time. I divided the batter into three bowls and left one white while dying the other two red and blue. I then poured the white batter into the prepared sheet pan and smoothed it out. Then I drizzled the red batter followed by the blue batter and swirled it all around with a butter knife. Ta-da! Red, white and blue tie-dye cake batter!

The 4th of July sprinkles and mini flags definitely give it that extra patriotic look though – you can find those here and here. I cannot wait for you all to try baking this cake! Make sure to save me a slice ;-).

4th of July Tie-Dye White Texas Sheet Cake

 

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Yield: 16-20

Ingredients

for the cake

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• ½ cup yogurt, see note
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Red and blue food coloring

for the frosting

• 4½ cups powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

for the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a half sheet pan, 13” x 18”. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar and baking soda. Add the beaten eggs, yogurt and vanilla then stir until just combined.
3. In a small saucepan, melt the 2 sticks of butter over medium heat. Add the buttermilk and salt. Bring to boil, removing from the heat as soon as it starts to boil. Let cool slightly then pour into the flour mixture. Stir until just combined and smooth.
4. Pour ⅓ of the batter in a bowl, ⅓ of the batter in a second bowl and leave the remaining ⅓ in the original bowl. Use food coloring to dye the batter in one bowl red and the other bowl blue. Leave the third one as is. Pour the batter you didn’t dye into the prepared sheet pan. Smooth into an even layer. Pour the blue batter over the white batter. I zigzagged back and forth. Repeat with the red batter. Using a butter knife, lightly swirl the batters around. Don’t over-mix or they will be one color instead of tie-dye.
5. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, while the cake is cooling make the frosting (the frosting needs to be added when the cake is still a little warm).

for the frosting

1. Sift the powdered sugar into a medium mixing bowl then mix in the salt.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the milk and bring to a boil, removing from the heat as soon as it starts to boil. Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the butter mixture into the bowl with the powdered sugar. Stir until smooth. If it’s too thick, add a little more milk. Pour over the cake as soon as it has cooled for 20 minutes and spread in an even layer. Try to do this quickly as the frosting will start to set as soon as you start spreading it.

Notes

You can use any plain yogurt. Vanilla might also be okay, but I haven’t tried it with that. I used nonfat plain Greek yogurt. If you do not want to use yogurt you could also substitute sour cream.
To make your own buttermilk pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar (I like to use lemon juice) in a liquid measuring cup then add enough milk to equal 1 cup. The fat percentage of the milk does not matter - I use nonfat milk. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before using in the recipe.
The fat percentage of the milk in the frosting does not matter. I used nonfat milk.

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Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for my referral. This does not affect the retail cost of the item. Thank you for supporting Lemon & Mocha!

Lauren Uncategorized 2 Comments