What's Cookin'?

Before you know it, Christmas will be here! Along with Christmas comes all the baking and cooking for all the family get-togethers. I've discovered a few recipes that have been big hits.

I ususally bake cakes to take for pot-luck and reunions. I've given up on dieting, so I've adopted the prayer of "Lord, if you can't make me skinny, please make my friends fatter than me." I figure that the least I can do is help Him out by baking cakes, right?

First is the gooey cake recipe, which have custard-like centers. It's a basic recipe that can be adapted to whatever your favorite flavor is. I've only made the pineapple gooey cake and the peanut butter gooey cake. I've found that the peanut butter cake requires a slightly shorter baking time. They have both been big hits in my family! Here's a picture of the pineapple gooey cake.

Pumpkin Gooey Cake

Cake: 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix; 1 egg; 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling: 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened; 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin; 3 eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 8 tablespoons butter, melted; 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.
Serve with fresh whipped cream. (We just eat ours plain, cuz I almost never have whipped cream on hand.)

Variations:

For a Pineapple Gooey Cake: Instead of the pumpkin, add a drained (I don't drain mine!) 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above. (Omit the spices.)

For a Banana Gooey Cake: Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above. (Adjust spices as desired.)

For a Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above. (Omit the spices.)

Here's a recipe from my mother for a very moist Coconut Pecan pound cake.

Coconut Pecan Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a bundt cake pan and set aside.

Mix together:

1 box yellow cake mix (I use Duncan Hinds Extra Moist.)

4 eggs

1 cup oil

1 container prepared Coconut Pecan Frosting

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pour into greased bundt cake pan and bake for about45-50 minutes or until top springs back to the touch. Turn out onto cake plate and let cool before serving.

Added on September 17th: I baked this cake this morning, but I used a carrot cake mix instead of a yellow cake mix. YUMMY!

Enjoy!