I have been dreaming of gingerbread cake! I have never made one from scratch so I am thinking of giving it a go.

I saw that peppermint cheesecake -- it's stunning!! I don't eat cheesecake but many in my family do. Perhaps I'll give it a try too! We'll see how the next few weeks go!

There is a spice cake recipe in the same issue with a cranberry filling between the layers and I thought when I saw it that the filling would be EXCELLENT with gingerbread. Just in case you need something else to make.

I'm making the cheese cake and a cranberry orange trifle with pound cake and custard and cranberry and oranges and a bit of cinnamon ice cream...lit is dreamy!

I never practice recipes. I subject my guests to the first run and hope for the best. So far, it's always worked out. And if it doesn't, they'll be a funny story at the next dinner.

ok, I should NOT have opened this thread! I knew you were going to be tempting us with naughty treats and I looked anyways! Got any of those recipes handy? That peppermint cheese cake sounds amazing!

edited to add....I know, I know...I probably need to just go buy the magazine right? LOL

I will gladly post it lukki, look here in the am or later tonight!

hhireno i have to practice new foods because i am not a great cook to start with. I almost left the eggs out of the cheesecake, but i kept thinking it was too stiff.....duh!

Thank you! I said that because you mentioned other good recipes too...you'd be typing all day! LOL Very sweet, I appreciate it.

This looks too good to not try! Thank you for posting kswl2.

http://www.southernliving.com/food/southern-living-december-2015-recipes/chocolate-peppermint-cheesecake-recipe-image

I''ve been thinking about Upside Down Cake for some reason. I used to make Gingerbread cake every Christmas eve when the first 3 kids were little. There was also an Oatmeal spice cake everyone, even the kids. Funky, funny you should mention Gingerbread, and kswl would mention spice. I don't think the Peppermint Cheesecake would go over with everyone. Our 'regulars' for Christmas don't seem to care for spearmint or peppermint.

I'm the same as hhireno -- don't test recipes in advance, but I haven't seen my SL yet and will be looking for it. I made a chcolate mint cheesecake years ago. It was a favorite, but you start off with a box of Frango Mints, and that makes it pretty expensive on top of the fact that you have to have a group to justify making a cheesecake that is so large and rich. Will be happy to try one that is truly from scratch.

Kswl...ummm that sounds delish. I might give it a try for Christmas Eve.

bonnie.. Thanks for posting the recipe.

Oh thanks for the tip on the other recipe in the issue, KSWL! I will need to check it out! (SL is the only subscription I still keep up-- even though I am decidedly NOT a southern girl!)

I think spice cake/cranberry sounds great-- so sure, why not gingerbread too?

I had no idea they posted their recipes on line Bonnie, thank you for do that! That looks really yummy but it's festively pretty too!

I made this Gingerbread Trifle last year and it was to die for. And I have no idea why this whole post is a hyperlink now...

Haven't made this cake in years. It's equally good with cranberries or blueberries.

Drenched Berry Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup milk

1 egg

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries or blueberries

Sauce:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

¾ cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan.

Sift the flour, sugar, and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the butter, milk, and egg. Beat for 2 minutes or until smooth. Stir in the berries. Pour into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For the sauce:

Melt the butter in heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar, cream, and vanilla bean. Stir to mix well. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean. Serve the cake with each individual slice generously topped with the warm sauce.

Cindy, I was at TJs this week and they were sampling gingerbread with just a dollop of plain mascarpone. It was so good that I bought the mascarpone. Hubs doesn't like gingerbread so I bought their pumpkin cranberry crisps to spread it on.

Thank you for posting that recipe Bonnie Ann, I was ready to type it all in, not realizing they post the recipes online!

Lukkirish, instead of putting the whipped cream on the pie as shown I kept them separate (obviously we couldn't eat that whole pie in one sitting!). I think it would also look festive with chocolate shavings on top of the whipped cream along with crushed peppermints. It is incredibly rich, and really, really good!

that berry cake looks FABULOUS!!

Note to self - do not come back to this thread. But

kswl - the recipe for cranberry orange trifle with pound cake sounds amazing if you happen to have a link for it.

I'm like hhireno - I always try out at least one new recipe when we have company over.

Just for you, bfenton

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cranberry-orange-trifle

My kids and DH prefer cinnamon ice cream on top oftheirs instead of the whipped cream.

Confession: I sometimes (often) use an Oetker instant vanilla pudding mix instead of making the custard. Also, i have found no difference using Cointreau or Grand Marnier, whatever you happen to have on hand is ok.

Thanks for being the trailblazer for the choc-peppermint cheesecake kswl! I finally got to my Dec SL issue yesterday and saw it. I wondered if it would be as good as it looked.

I made the old SL 3-layer carrot cake for DGD's 16th birthday (her requested favorite cake) and it turned out so yummy. It's a winner for sure and was nearly gone. I left out the coconut (lots of folks in our family who don't do coconut), was generous with the grated carrots, and it was fine.

Thanks outside, i am usually not a trailblazer in this area :-)

Someone on the cookie thread posted about the Magic Christmas Bars and now i have to make them! Considering using unsweetened chocolate though and toasting nuts beforehand. I love desserts but not when they are more than a tiny bit sweet---guess that is why fruit desserts are my fave.

kswl2,

I made the chocolate peppermint cheesecake today for my bridge group's Christmas luncheon tomorrow. However, since my oven tends to run about 25 degrees too hot, I lowered the temp and watched it carefully. I set the timer for 40 mins first, then added another 5 mins., then another till it was in 50 mins. The center seems "jiggly" like the recipe said it would but the edges started cracking. I took it out and let it set for about 15 min. I was afraid it wasn't done in the center so when I finished my bread for dinner ( had to let the broiler cool down, I put it back in for 7 more min. It looks set now but I am wondering if the cracked part is going to make it fall apart when I take off the sides tomorrow. It is still cooling. I will make the topping tomorrow to add to it. You don't think it ruined it to put it back in the oven, do you?. It was still warm, not cold by any means.

Also, what chocolate wafers did you use? I ended up with chocolate graham crackers as I couldn't find anything else but cookies like Oreo's.

Kswl, thank you so much for the idea! My family loves it, but I don't care for whipped cream, the idea of the chocolate shavings is brilliant! They make a desert look so pretty anyways. I'm excited, baking has never been my forte but I suspect my family will be pleasantly surprised this year! Ha!

Mboston, i have seen many a cracked top on a cheesecake that tasted just fine---better than fine, as amatter of fact! Mine was a little cracked and it did not fall apart when cutting or serving. I refrigerated my cheesecake overnight before i cut it, i think the recipe says to cool it for at least a couple of hours before serving IIRC.

I also dont like a "runny" cheesecake but a more cakey type---if that makes sense as it is not a real cake :-) Mine was in the oven an hour.

editing to add that i used nabisco chocolate wafers, they come in a long sleeve type packaging. Not very sweet, which makes them ideal for the crust.

Lukki, so glad you like the cheesecake----i think it is really delicious!

Yum yum! The cheesecake turned out perfectly. I did make the whip topping and its subtle flavor was a nice touch. I would definitely make it again. I added the broken pepermint candy pieces to the top of the whip topping and along the sides of the plate. Very pretty to serve.

Those Famous chocolate wafers can be hard to find -- sometimes on the cookie aisle, sometimes near the ice cream toppings or ice cream -- depends on the store, but that's what I'd look for. Chocolate Teddy Grahams seem less graham crackery than the chocolate grham crackers.

Kswl2, so not sub unsweetened chocolate for semisweet in magic bars. You can go to a bittersweet chip if you like really dark chcolate, but the chips are still prominent enough that unsweetened would be really unpleasant. They are rich, but not cloyingly sweet (they would be with milk chocolate chips). The condensed milk just holds them together -- it won't blend with the chips and make them any less bitter.

Thanks lascatx---I will try with bittersweet chips instead. I love desserts but the less sweet the better, iykwim!

Mmm, that drenched berry cake looks great although I think I would a bit of booze to half the sauce for the adults in the house.

I have a gingerbread recipe that I really like (butter is cut into the flour and spices and some of that is set aside for a light streusel topping). I never thought of mascarpone on top but now I think I will have to get some.