Simple Cake Mix Pumpkin Bar

I was planning to post the English biscuit cake recipe this week, however I have a few recipe requests for the pumpkin bar pic I posted on Facebook. It is a very simple recipe. You will need a box of yellow cake mix, a jar of pumpkin butter, some butter, eggs and a little bit flour and sugar. The most troublesome part was to have 2-3 bowls ready to prepare the layers, otherwise it's quite simple. I got this recipe a few year ago at the William Sonoma Store at Mall of America. They were doing a tasting of a new brand of pumpkin butter. I ended up making this every fall, the house smells so good while it is baking. This is a perfect fall treat!

This is not a traditional pumpkin bar. There is a soft cookie like layer on the bottom, the filling resemble pumpkin pie with a strudel topping. I use this recipe in the summer too. I can easily replace the pumpkin butter with mango butter. Fold in 1/4 cup of shredded coconut with the topping. You now have a tropical mango bar! Have fun and experiment! The house smells so good while it is baking in the oven! 

Simple Strudel Pumpkin Bar
A box of yellow cake mix
1 jar Pumpkin butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
3 eggs
1/8 cup milk
1/2 stick (4 oz) softened butter
1 tbsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder

Direction
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray or grease a 13"x9" baking pan. Set aside
Remove 1 cup of cake mix and place in a small top to make a strudel topping later

  Pour the reminding cake mix into a large bowl, add 1 egg

 Slowly add in 1/2 cup melted butter. Mix well

 The mix will be crumby. Pour the mix into the prepared pan

 Press the mixture tightly into an even layer

 In the same bowl, combine pumpkin butter, 2 eggs and 1/8 cup of milk

 Whisk well, set aside

 To make the strudel, combine the reserved 1 cup cake mix, with flour, sugar and cinnamon

 Cut in 1/2 stick of the soften butter

You can use a pastry fork to combine the ingredient to resemble crumbs.

 Pour the pumpkin mix on top of the cake mix layer, even out the filling.

 Sprinkle the strudel topping evenly on top of the filling.

 Bake for 35-40 min until golden brown

 Remove from oven and let the bar cool for about 10-15 mins, cut into square and serve

Make 12-16 very generous serving

Enjoy
Aloha

Kiddies Sugar High Popcorn Cake

Photographer Jeffrey Austin hosts a fun cocktail party at his studio home every Christmas. It is always a fun event. The guests will dress up or come in their own uniqueness. The most fun through the years was to see his son Liam. He is the cutest little boy. I always love how he is all dressed up. This little boy is going to break some hearts when he grows up.

I thought of Liam when I was baking for my gang at the old office. I thought it would be fun that he gets his very own treat this year, so I decided to make popcorn cake. This is adapted from a recipe from Emeril's Miss Hilda popcorn cake. I modified it a bit. I use less butter and less marshmallows. I added Jelly beans since they looked like big light bulbs. Christmas can't be without those big old fashion light bulbs!

I posted Liam's cake a few days ago and my fellow alumni at Chaminade is requesting the recipe, so Miss Moni, this is for you. By the way, it is a great recipe to do with a kid, so get Princess Bella ready for some kitchen fun.

Note: I didn't put any jelly beans in this today. Some very big kid is going to eat this for me, I don't think his wife will appreciate the sugar high. Speaking of the food posted here, a few readers were wondering what I did with the food, did I eat it?
 The answer: if it is a small recipe, yes I will have it for dinner and lunch.
If it is meat, I usually pack it and include it in Mr Wonderful also weekly meals package. (I have been banned from cooking, he said his freezer is full...)
If it is baked goods, I feed it to my office, the halau or an brave soul who wants to be my taster :)

Kiddies Popcorn Cake
1 10 bag of marshmallows
3/4 stick (6 oz) butter
10 cup white popcorn. I found the store bought white popcorn in the snack section works very well. It gives that cake a bit of the sweet and salty taste
1 cup M&M
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
3/4 cup jelly beans (optional)
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate melted
Directions
Spray or oil 1 12 cups bundt pan or a coffee cake pan. I am using a coffee cake pan here. Set aside

In a very large bowl or pan. add 10 cups of popcorn. I am using a soup pot here, the bigger the pot, the easily it will be. make sure you have plenty of room, especially when you are making this with kids
Have M&M, jelly beans and peanuts ready the side
Just before you make the marshmallows "glue" sprinkle a few M&M and jelly beans on the bottom of the pan.

In a large microwave safe batter bowl, combine butter and marshmallows

Set microwave to 2 min, and let it cook it. check after 1.5 min
The marshmallows will puff up and double its size.

Remove from microwave and stir the butter and marshmallows together vigorously.

Add the marshmallows "glue" to the popcorn, stir to combine.

Add, candies and peanut quickly. Mix well.

It will be gooey and sticky. You have to work quickly with this step. It would be helpful to have a "helper"

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan.

Even out the mixture

Cover with a piece of wax paper, press down to pack the popcorn.

Remove the wave paper.

Cover with a fresh piece and set aside for about 2 hour for the cake to set.

Garnish:
Melt 2 oz of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in a microwave save bowl.
Remove the wax paper from the cake, set a side, we are going to reuse this.
Loosen up the side of the cake by running a thin knife along the sides.
Over with the wax paper and invert onto a large plate or working board.
Drizzle the cake with melted chocolate.

Once the chocolate is set, remove cake from the wax paper. Wrap it up tightly with tinfoil to store, or slice into wedges and let the kids have fun! 

Enjoy!
Aloha

Plum Time

It was a nice surprise to find 4 plum trees in the back of Mr. Wonderful property. He planned those a few years ago and each year, his sister would come by and pick the plums for canning. With all the rain this year, there were over abundant of plums on the tree. When we got from our trip, the fruits were in need to be picked.

He picked a bagful for me. As usual, he worked this weekend. I am home testing and writing. Plum is a versatile fruit; it can be a great dessert ingredient, as well as a wonderful addition to a savory dish.

I am going to make some plum jam and my version of Chinese plum sauce.

Plum Jam

3 lbs of plums

2.5 cups of sugar

Juice of a lemon

4 ½-pint mason jars

2 1-pint jars

Directions:

Sterilize Jars in dishwasher with sanitized cycle, or you can wash and boil the jars and cap. Drain.

 To remove the skin of the plums:

In a large pot, bring ½ pot of water to a boil. Divide the plum in a few batches, depending on the side of your pot.

Fill a separate bowl with cold water ¾ way up.

Drop the plums in the hot water, let stand for about a min. If the plums are not over ripe, wait for another min of so.

 Remove the plum from hot water 

Drop them in the cold water.

 Peel the skin off.  Cut the flesh of the fruit and remove the stone.

 Making Jam:

 Place 5 cups of plum “meat” in a medium pot. 

Add sugar

 Add lemon juice

 Bring to a boil and let it cook till thicken, about an hour.

You can make the jam to a thicker consistence by adding no-sugar pectin if you like.

Fill the jars. 

 You can process the jam in a hot water bath, or freezer for later used. Store in the fridge.

I also made a variation today by taking ½ cup of the jam and add ½ cup of blueberry.

 Bring to boil and let it cook for about 20 mins. Fill the jars as above

There were a few not too perfect over ripe plums in the batch.

I simply cut off the bad and over ripe pieces to make some Chinese plum sauce

 Chinese Plum sauce

A cup of cut up plums, it’s ok to have skin and stone attached

½ cup of apple cider vinegar

½ cup of sugar

1 tsp grounded ginger

½ tsp grounded clove

1 ½-pint mason jar

Directions:

In a non-corrosive pot, mix plum with apple vinegar and sugar.

 Add grounded ginger

 Add clove

 Bring to a boil and let it cook for about 30 mins. Remove the stone if you preferred.

 Transfer the hot sauce to the mason jar.

 Process in a hot water bath if you prefer or store in the fridge.

Enjoy

Aloha