Mini Mondays: Mini Bundt Cakes

There are very few things in this world that get me more excited than anything in miniature form.  Seriously, please try to find something mini that is not adorable.  It's not possible.  So in honor of my love of all things miniature, I have decided that the first Monday of every month shall henceforth be known as Mini Mondays.  At least in my world it will be.  Without further adieu I give you....

Miniature Bundt Cakes

What you need:

1 pkg white cake mix (no pudding added)

2 tsp cinnamon (or more)

6 oz white chocolate squares, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

Frosting:

1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/4 butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350*.  Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, or microwave.  If you use the microwave, be careful not to burn it (stop and stir often).  In a large bowl combine the cake mix, milk, butter, eggs, vanilla and almond extract, and melted white chocolate.  Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.  Pour batter into mini bundt pan.  Cook for about 12 minutes (may be more or less depending on your oven, so I'd check it at 10 minutes to be safe).  Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes.  Take the mini cakes out of the pan and let them finish cooling on a wire rack.  While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting.

Frosting:

Cream the butter and cream cheese together until creamy.  Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar.  You may need a little more (or less) powdered sugar to get the desired consistency.  

Once the cakes have cooled enough you can go ahead and frost them.  

Sidenote: You can make this cake in a traditional bundt cake pan, just bake it for 45-50 minutes.  Still delicious, but not nearly as adorable.  Just sayin'

I made these for my coworker's birthday.  Everyone in the office loved them, and no one could guess they were made from a cake mix.  I think the almond extract adds a really great, unexpected flavor to the cake.  Try to eat just one, I dare you.    

Cheesecake? Yes, please.

Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts.  It's so rich and decadent.  For a long time, pretty much the only time I would have cheesecake is on Thanksgiving when my dad and I would make chocolate cheesecake together.  Then Cole and I started dating and I think I made 5 different cheesecakes within the first 2 or 3 months of our relationship.  He says that's why he decided to keep me around.  Well, that and my charming personality.

Although, I love experimenting with cheesecakes and coming up with different flavors (such as a mint cheesecake with a brownie crust) I always go back to the traditional cheesecake.  I actually attempted to make this one semi healthy by using fat free cream cheese and light sour cream.

Cheesecake

What you need: 

For the crust:

2 cups finely crushed nilla wafers

4 T butter, melted

Filling:

1 1/2 lbs cream cheese

1 1/3 cups sugar

5 eggs

16 oz sour cream

1/4 cup flour

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp lemon juice

What you do:

Mix together the crushed nilla wafers and melted butter.  Press into buttered springform pan.  Try to line the sides as much as possible.  I love the crust, so my recipe actually doubles the crust from the original recipe.  Trust me on this.  Double crust is where it's at.

Preheat oven to 325*  Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Add the sugar a little at a time and continue beating until creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Next add the flour, vanilla and lemon juice and mix well.  Add the sour cream last and beat well.  Pour the cream cheese into the springform pan.  Place on the top rack of the oven and cook for 1 hour 15 min.  When time is up, pop open the oven door and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour.  After 1 hour remove from oven and let the cheesecake cool to room temperature, then cover and put in the fridge to chill for at least 24 hours.  

I'm totally lame and forgot to take any other pictures of this cheesecake.  It turned out great though, only one little crack on the top.  Next time I make this I'll take a picture of the final product and update this post.  I have to make a cheesecake at least every couple of months to keep the boy around ;-)