Hello Fall!

Hello Fall! Well maybe not quite yet. It is 101 out there today after all. But it is the first day of September and Fall weather is just around the corner! It is my favorite time of year with the soups, caramel apples, pumpkin lattes, sweaters, and boots. The Househusband and I found ourselves incredibly busy this summer and with the gardens and farming winding down we are looking forward to enjoying the Fall.

I have also found myself with very little time to party although my baby brother's wedding is next weekend and there will be lots to post from that :) We did have a shower here at work earlier in August for a girl in my department that is getting married. There were lots of people that helped. For decorations these cute flowers were displayed on the tables that matched the colors of the wedding.

 I was in between trips so had very little time to plan so I went with what I like to call the party basics for the dessert table. The desserts consisted of cupcakes, Texas sheet cake, mini cheesecakes, and brownies. They make for a great display and are oh so delicious! I have listed the recipes below.

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes
2 8oz packages cream cheese
2 Eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
24 vanilla wafers
1 can cherry pie filling

Beat cream cheese, eggs, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla until creamy
Line muffin tins with cupcake liners
Layer a wafer in the bottom of each
Add cream cheese filling and bake at 350 for 20 minutes
Top with cherries after baking, chill at least 4 hours.
*Note: I made these as mini cupcakes. To do this just crush up the vanilla wafers and add a layer  to the bottom of each liner instead of the whole cookie.

Chocolate Sheet Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 recipe Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting

1. Grease a 15x10x1 inch or 13x9x2 inch baking pan, set aside. In medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt: set aside
2. In a medium saucepan combine butter, cocoa powder and 1 cup of water. Bring mixture just to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add the cocoa mixture to the flour mixture and beat with an electric  mixer on medium to high speed until thoroughly combined. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 25 minutes for the 15x10x1 inch and 35 minutes for the 13x9x2 inch pan or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.
4. Pour warm Chocolate Buttermilk frosting over the warm cake, spread evenly. Place cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly.

Chocolate buttermilk frosting
In a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup butter, 3 T cocoa powder, and 3 T buttermilk. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add 2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Blog to you soon!
Lucy