Cinnamon Ripple Sweet Potato Cake!!

This year at Thanksgiving, I was in charge of the side dishes (probably more work, but way less pressure!)  I knew I wanted to do some sort of sweet potato goodness for dessert, but I didn't know what. (Luckily I had a back up sweet potato casserole recipe, that is always a crowd pleaser.)

So on came the TV and I switched it to The Food Network, knowing that they wouldn't let me down.  Well low-and-behold,  what was on next?! Paula Deen!!!  I KNEW that she would have something good, as it was her Thanksgiving dessert show! And that is how I found this recipe. (Also, there is NOTHING healthy about this recipe.  I could have probably substituted something for all the butter, but With the in-laws coming, I didn't want to risk it. ) ( I only experiment with that stuff when it's immediate family, I don't want to subject anyone else to the possibility of a poor outcome!)

Cinnamon Ripple Sweet Potato Cake!!

Here is a pic of the ingredients. (I know, the sour cream threw me off too!)

Mix 1/2 C packed brown sugar, 1/2 C chopped pecans, and 1 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl, and set aside (aren't you already excited?!  I know I was!!)

Blend 2 sticks of butter (see, nothing healthy, thanks for the coronary Paula) (You know I still love you!) and 2 C of sugar (It just keeps getting un-healthier) until it is nice and creamy

Add 3 eggs (Why, hello Lipitor!) , one at a time, blending well in between each egg.

Add 1 C mashed cooked sweet potatoes (It is about 1 medium sweet potato) (But, I'm lazy, so I just bought canned, cooked sweet potatoes, and just mashed them up with a fork)

Then, add 12 oz sour cream (pretty much a whole tub) and 1 tsp vanilla. Beat until well mixed.

In a medium bowl mix 3 C flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt (you can also add 1/4 tsp nutmeg, but I don't like nutmeg, so I omitted that)

Add the flour mix into the sweet potato mix a little at a time, mixing in between times until it is all mixed together to form a batter. (Just a heads up, it is thicker than regular cake batter, so it won't pour as easily)  

Spoon 1/2 of the batter into the bottom of a greased/floured bundt pan, and sprinkle the brown sugar/pecan mix evenly over (fyi: this is only 1/2 done, it should be around the whole cake.)

Then spoon the rest of the batter on top of the pecan mix

and bake at 350 Degrees for 1 hr. (when a knife is stuck in the middle it should come out clean)

(I know, it's not super pretty...yet)

Next we will make the Rum Glaze

Mix 2 C confectioners' sugar, 1/2 C heavy whipping cream, and 3/4 tsp rum extract (I didn't have rum extract so I substituted vanilla) (I read online that you can also use 3x the amount of actual rum as what it calls for the extract [so it would be 2 1/4 tsp rum] )

Then just drizzle over the top of the cake, and serve!

(Now it is beeeeauuutiful!!)

It was super tasty, and all the girls at work raved about it!  It is sure to be a hit at your holiday party!!

Next time I make this I will probably substitute some things to make it healthier:

Instead of 2 sticks of butter--1 stick of butter and 1/4 C plain applesauce or 1/4 C more sweet potatoes (Butter adds taste and moisture, so you can use applesauce or sweet potatoes [also bananas work well, depending on the recipe])

Instead of 2 C of sugar-- 1 C of sugar and 1 C of sugar substitute (or what ever the equivalent of that is depending upon what the package says) Also, I might reduce the amount by 1/3 so instead of 2 C use 1 1/3 C.

Instead of 3 whole eggs--use 4 egg whites, or the equivalent in egg substitute (like EggBeaters)

For a printable version of this recipe, click here!!

Original Recipe can be found here

Toasted Cornbread, Bacon, and Chestnut Stuffing

I have been holding onto this recipe, pretty much since Rachael Ray Magazine started. It was in her first Thanksgiving edition, so that was about 4-5 years ago. But I never had to actually prepare anything until this year, so what better year to break it out!

There is quite a bit going on here, but I divided it up into 2 days worth of work.

The day before Thanksgiving, I prepared the corn muffins, and chestnuts.

The recipe calls for 2 8 oz packages of corn muffin mix, so I just bought the cheapest one, as they are going to be mixed with other things.  So just prepare the muffins according to the back of the package

I just added milk, oil, and eggs, according to Marie Callender,

Filled up a greased muffin tray 2/3 of the way full, and baked about 13 minutes (I don't remember what the oven was set on, but every muffin package will be different)

Then I just put them in a tupperware to save until the next day (one less thing I have to do on Turkey Day)

Now on to the chestnuts (Which were rather difficult to find) (three stores later)

All I could find were raw chestnuts, so I had to roast them myself. Which was much easier than I was expecting it to be.

First just wipe them off with a damp paper towl

Next cut an 'X' in the top of it (It's easiest when you lay it on the flat side) (also, the shell isn't too hard, so with a regular steak knife, I was able to do it easily)

Like So

Once all of them had been scored, I placed them in a pan, and roasted them for about 25 minutes at 425 Degrees.

This is what they will look like coming out of the oven.  Wait about 10 minutes for them to cool (just enough for you to touch them) and peel the shells off (It's best and easiest to do that while they're still warm)

This is what they are supposed to look like.  (I had about 3-5 rotten ones in a 1 lb bag, they are brown throughout)

Then I just popped them into the fridge to await the rest of the preparation on Turkey day!

Thanksgiving rolled around, and the rest of the prep-work began!

I crumbled up the muffins, and placed them on an un-greased baking sheet and popped them into the oven for about 10 minutes to toast.

While they are in the oven, whisk together the chicken broth, half and half, and the eggs.

Fold in the toasted cornbread with the milk/egg/broth mix, until it is all soaked up.

Meanwhile, I cooked the bacon (in a skillet) until the edges were just starting to get crispy, drained most of the grease off of the pan, and added the butter and about 1/2 chopped onion. (You can also add celery at this point, but I don't care for it, so I left it out.)

and cooked them until the onion was starting to get tender. Then add the chestnuts, thyme and sage, then stir in the cranberries, parsley and muffin mix.

At this point, my mom came over, and I promptly neglected to take anymore pics. Oops.  I'm still pretty bad about that, but I acknowledge this short-coming and will do my best to remedy it.

At this point, let this mixture stand for about 30 minutes, while the oven pre-heats.

Add stuffing mix to a greased casserole dish (9x9) and cover and bake for 40 min. Uncover and bake until golden for another 15 minutes. 

I just have to say that this stuffing was DELICIOUS!!!!!  Even Matt liked it...I think. He had a small bite, which I learned was a HUGE step!  Apparantly he isn't a fan of stuffing. Huh...I thought EVERYONE loved stuffing! 

It was the right mix of sweet and savory.  The cranberries really added a pop to it, and almost made it like a dessert.  If I make it again, I would go low-fat, and it was VERY rich.

But all in all, I think it was a HUGE success.  Even though, only my mom and I ate it.  Who cares! More left overs for us!!

For a printable version of this recipe click here!!
Original Recipe can be found here