Posted by Beth on Apr 22, 2020 in Blog, Bready or Not, breakfast, bundt, cake, cake mix, cheese galore, lemon | Comments Off on Bready or Not Original: Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon Bundt Cake [cake mix]
This is a simple-yet-fancy recipe that uses 1) cake mix, 2) a bundt pan, and 3) ends up tasting like a giant lemon Twinkie. YUM.
![Bready or Not Original: Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon Bundt Cake [cake mix]](https://www.bethcato.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cream-Cheese-Stuffed-Lemon-Bundt-Cake13_sm.jpg)
This is one of those cakes that looks like it requires tons of works, but it really doesn’t. Because of the addition of fresh lemon and lemon curd, the chemical taste of cake mix is completely masked, too.
![Bready or Not Original: Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon Bundt Cake [cake mix]](https://www.bethcato.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cream-Cheese-Stuffed-Lemon-Bundt-Cake8_sm.jpg)
The filling is an easy step, too. I hate piping, but it was not prob here. I used a gallon Ziploc, snipped off the corner, ta-da!
![Bready or Not Original: Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon Bundt Cake [cake mix]](https://www.bethcato.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cream-Cheese-Stuffed-Lemon-Bundt-Cake16_sm.jpg)
This cake would be great for breakfast, brunch, snack, or dessert. Whenever, really.
![Bready or Not Original: Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon Bundt Cake [cake mix]](https://www.bethcato.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cream-Cheese-Stuffed-Lemon-Bundt-Cake14_sm.jpg)
Make this when you have numerous people to share with. It’s just so, so tempting and delicious. Like Twinkies. BUT BETTER.
![Bready or Not Original: Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon Bundt Cake [cake mix]](https://www.bethcato.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cream-Cheese-Stuffed-Lemon-Bundt-Cake12_sm.jpg)
This recipe is over halfway through my April of lemon recipes!
Lemon Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Glazed Lemon Ginger Bars
Cranberry Lemon Biscotti
Cream Cheese Stuffed Lemon Bundt Cake [today]
Lemon Frangipane
![Bready or Not Original: Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon Bundt Cake [cake mix]](https://www.bethcato.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cream-Cheese-Stuffed-Lemon-Bundt-Cake10_sm.jpg)
Bready or Not Original: Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon Bundt Cake
This Bready or Not Original recipe is super-easy with a fancy result that tastes like a giant lemon Twinkie!
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Keyword: bundt cake, cake, cream cheese, lemon
Author: Beth Cato
Filling
- 8 ounce cream cheese 1 box, softened
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large lemon zested and juiced
Cake
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 3/4 cup lemon curd
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon lemon curd
Make the filling
In a small bowl, mash together the cream cheese, white sugar, lemon zest and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice; reserve the remaining juice for the glaze. Once the filling is combined, spoon it into a piping bag with large tip or a gallon Ziploc bag with the corner cut off.
Make the cake
Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Apply nonstick spray to a large bundt pan.
In a big bowl, cream together the butter and eggs. Add the cake mix, scraping bottom of bowl as needed. Add the lemon curd, beating until mix turns fluffy.
Spoon about half the cake mix into the prepared pan. Pipe the filling in a circle around the top of the batter. Try to keep the filling from touching the sides. Add the rest of the batter on top and smooth it out.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test.
Cool on a wire rack about 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a wire rack to completely cool.
Make the glaze
Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 Tablespoon lemon curd to form a thick yet oozy glaze. If necessary, add more juice or water to thin, or more confectioners' sugar to thicken. Drizzle atop cake.
Store under a cake dome or plastic wrap in fridge.
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Posted by Beth on Apr 21, 2020 in anthology:story, Blog, online publication | Comments Off on InterGalactic Medicine Show now available to read online, for free
InterGalactic Medicine Show was a highly-acclaimed sci-fi and fantasy publication with a 14-year run. It shut down last summer. Most of the stories were available to subscribers only… until now. The full library is now open to the public.
I tried to get into the magazine for years and finally succeeded with “The Sweetness of Bitter” in issue #35.
#SFWAPro
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Posted by Beth on Apr 15, 2020 in Blog, Bready or Not, breakfast, chocolate, cookies, lemon | Comments Off on Bready or Not Original: Cranberry Lemon Biscotti
This lemon-themed month needs some breakfast food. How about some Cranberry Lemon Biscotti?

The lemon here isn’t hardcore. Zest throughout the dough adds freshness, and the dried cranberries are soaked in the juice to rehydrate. This gives the cranberries an especially pleasant zing.

For years, I was intimidated by biscotti, but now I enjoy coming up with a couple new recipes a year. Really, the trickiest thing about this is how sticky the dough is when it’s time to shape it.

I like the addition of white chocolate drizzle to add a touch more sweetness, but that’s optional.

The end result is a biscotti with a bright, sunny flavor that complements plump, tart cranberries, all in crispy, bready form that’s especially good dunked in coffee or tea!
This recipe is midway through my April of lemon recipes!
Lemon Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Glazed Lemon Ginger Bars
Cranberry Lemon Biscotti [today]
Cream Cheese Stuffed Lemon Bundt Cake
Lemon Frangipane
Bready or Not Original: Cranberry Lemon Biscotti
This biscotti is full of bright, sunny flavor complemented by plump, tart cranberries. They are especially good dunked in coffee or tea!
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: biscotti, chocolate, cookies, lemon
Author: Beth Cato
- 1 lemon
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 4 ounces white chocolate optional, to drizzle on top
Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Zest and juice lemon. Set aside zest, and soak cranberries in juice.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat eggs with white sugar. Add oil, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and zest. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients.
Drain lemon juice out of cranberries; discard juice. Fold cranberries into dough to equally distribute.
Divide dough in half. Place each piece spaced out on parchment. Dough will be very sticky, so shape with plastic spatula or greased or floured hands into 1-inch high flat rectangular logs.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes. Use a long bread knife and slice down--don't saw--into long, even cookies. Space out cookies upright, if possible, or lay on sides.
Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes; if cookies are laying on sides, flip them to other side halfway through. Biscotti should be golden and somewhat crisp.
Let biscotti sit out for anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours so that they can cool off and dry out even more.
If adding white chocolate on top, melt chocolate in microwave or on stovetop (keep in mind, white chocolate can burn fast!). Use a fork to drizzle chocolate, or dip an end of each biscotti into the chocolate. Let set again for an hour or so, then pack into sealed bags or plastic containers.
Biscotti can keep in sealed containers for as long as a month.
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Posted by Beth on Apr 13, 2020 in Blog, Bready or Not, breakfast, cookies, pie | Comments Off on Bready or Not Classic: Oatmeal Cream Pies
I prepared two classic recipes to repost while I was on vacation this summer. That isn’t happening now. Therefore, I’m sharing them earlier with the hope that my fellow #stressbakers can enjoy them. Eat well and stay safe out there!
Today I present something seriously delicious: Oatmeal Cream Pies, aka Sandwich Cookies.

These things are about the size of a sandwich, too, and about as filling because of the chewy oatmeal cookies. You have two tablespoons worth of dough with a teaspoon of marshmallow cream between them. So yeah.

I don’t think I’d make smaller cookies, though, for sheer reasons of space and time. The recipe makes over four dozen cookies, which makes for over two dozen sandwich cookies. This is a recipe to make for a lot of hungry adults or kids!

If you love commercial-made cream pies like the ones from Little Debbie, these homemade ones will blow your mind. They have that same taste and texture, but with some extra chewy freshness.

I highly advise that you use tablespoon and teaspoon scoops for this recipe, too. It helps a lot if the cookies are of uniform size and that the amount of filling is equally distributed.

Modified from Taste of Home.

Bready or Not: Oatmeal Cream Pies
These taste like Little Debbie's Oatmeal Pies, but incredibly fresh. The cookies are chewy, and the filling is perfectly sweet--like a fluffier Oreo filling. These are time-consuming to make simply because of the sheer number of cookies. Modified from Taste of Home Feb/March 2001 issue.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cookies, oats, sandwich cookies
Servings: 30 cream pies
Author: Beth Cato
Cookies:
- 1 1/2 cups shortening
- 2 2/3 cups brown sugar packed
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
Filling:
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
- 7 oz marshmallow creme 1 jar
- 1 - 3 Tablespoons milk or half & half
Preheat the oven at 350-degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and brown sugar until they are light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
In another bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; gradually add this dry mix to the creamed mix. Stir in oats. If you're using a stand mixer, you'll probably need to stir the last of the oats in by hand. This is a lot of dough!
Use a tablespoon scoop to dole out the dough onto a cookie sheet, keeping two inches between each spoonful. These will spread.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes; they brown very fast, so keep an eye on them at the end. Remove them when they are turning golden brown. Let sit on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transitioning them to a rack to cool.
To make the filling, start by sifting the confectioners' sugar into a large bowl. Add the shortening and marshmallow crème. Add a tablespoon of milk and gradually add more as needed to get it to spreadable consistency. Use a heaping teaspoon to dollop filling onto the base of a cookie. Spread it with a knife, top with another cookie, and press together to get cream to the edges.
End result: about 30 large sandwich cookies.
OM NOM NOM!
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