Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt Cake with Espresso Whipped Cream

I love fall. I love the colors the leaves turn. I love the crisp air as I watch football. I love mums. I love apples and warm spices. I love the NC State fair. I love boots and sweater dresses. But most importantly, I love PUMPKIN. Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes, International Delight Pumpkin Spice creamer, Krispy Kreme pumpkin donuts, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins (not pumpkin cream pasta sauce though...attempted to make that once and it was a disaster, so never again!), pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bread, pumpkin butter bars, etc. You kind of get where I'm going with this.

So, while trolling Pinterest I found a recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt Cake recipe, that included a recipe for homemade espresso whipped cream. My mouth instantly started watering. I love a simple bundt cake...way easier than a regular cake, plus it has a fun shape to it. And this one, my friends, was a winner. Most importantly, hours later, my apartment still smells of delicious pumpkin and spice.

You start by combining 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and 2 tsps pumpkin pie spice in a medium mixing bowl.

In your mixer, combine a softened stick of butter (1/2 cup) and 1 cup sugar for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

After adding in two eggs, you'll add in 1 cup of pure pumpkin puree.

Then add in half the flour mixture, 1 cup milk, and then the rest of the flour mixture, mixing until incorporated after each addition.

Once your batter is prepared, pour it into a greased bundt pan, and pop it in the oven at 350 for 50-55 minutes! Easy peasy!

The espresso whipped cream was the easiest thing to make too. You just combine 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons ice cold coffee (I used some Starbucks...it's not technically espresso, but it's what I have ha), and 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder.

Just mix with your whisk attachment on your mixer on high speed for 4-5 minutes (tip: start on a low speed and as it stiffens, increase the speed).

And then you slice yourself a piece and top it with some whipped cream and OH.EM.GEE.

Seriously amazing. It really does taste almost like a PSL (with a hint of cocoa from the whipped cream). The cake is dense, yet moist, the absolute perfect texture. I kind of wish I hadn't told one of my coworkers I was bringing it in to the office tomorrow morning because I would totally have kept it and eaten all of it myself all week!

Luna Bar Research

Remember when you were a kid and you did those science fair projects? As a non-sciency person, I would generally do something simple and fairly cheesy. I remember doing one where I tested people's ability to taste salty/sour/sweet flavors. Why? Who knows. I guess I thought I was being creative? As an adult not in a field where I need to conduct experiments like those, there's really no need for them. Or so one of my best friends, Megan, and I thought!

We also like mimosas!

In an effort to have a somewhat more healthy snack, as well as one that is more filling, and have something with protein for a post-workout snack, Megan and I started looking into different protein bars. When I was in high school and working at Planet Smoothie, I would often get a Luna bar to eat while I was there since we sold them in the store. I had become addicted to the Nutz Over Chocolate, so I decided to revisit my Luna bar obsession. After expressing my love of the Nutz Over Chocolate to Megan, she decided to start trying them too. We both started trying different flavors, and thus began our scientific research on which Luna bar is the best.

According to Luna's website, there are 15 different flavors. They also have minis, gluten-free, and fiber bars, but we focused our research on the classic bar. This may not be the most scientific way of going about it, but we immediately ruled out the ones we thought sounded gross: Chocolate Dipped Coconut, LemonZest, and Toasted Nuts 'n Cranberry. Also, the research is not fully complete because we are missing Blueberry Bliss and Peanut Honey Pretzel, but we're going to ignore that little fact and say our research is basically complete. A 10 bar sample is pretty darn good if you ask me.

We divided up the flavors and had a few different categories: level of sweetness (rated 1-10, 1 being low sweetness), texture, and overall thoughts. Here are our findings:

Caramel Nut Brownie
Reviewer: Carolyn
Sweetness: 7
Texture: Crispy and oaty, but brownie like
Would you have it again: Sure. Not my first choice, but not bad.
Thoughts: Overall, I liked it. The caramel frosting was on top and the bar part was kind of like an oaty brownie. It was a little too sweet for me for a post-workout/breakfast protein bar, but I think it's good for a lunch time dessert, or mid-afternoon sweet pick-me-up that's a little healthier than a cookie.

Chocolate Chunk
Reviewer: Megan
Sweetness: 6
Texture: chunky like granola
Would you have it again: Yep.
Thoughts: Overall, this one was pretty good. It was the most savory bar I have tried, mostly because the chocolate "chunks" are pretty sparse. In fact, I think calling them chunks is a bit of an exaggeration. The nutty oat and granola-like taste along with the chocolate make for a good snack or breakfast bar.

Chocolate Peppermint Stick
Reviewer: Carolyn
Sweetness: 8
Texture: A little rough because of a lot of oats, chewy and soft
Would you have it again: More than likely
Thoughts: This tasted like an oaty version of a Thin Mint. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that because you'll just eat one bar instead of a whole sleeve of cookies, and get some vitamins with it. Like with the Caramel Nut Brownie, this is definitely more of a "dessert" protein bar.

Chocolate Raspberry
Reviewer: Carolyn
Sweetness: 8
Texture: Chewy, brownie like
Would you have it again: Definitely.
Thoughts: I've always liked the chocolate raspberry flavor combination. This is no exception. It's not a super fruity flavor, which is preferable, and it has the icing on top. It's definitely satisfying, but also more like a dessert.

Iced Oatmeal Raisin
Reviewer: Megan
Sweetness: 9
Texture: soft and a bit chewy because of the raisins
Would you have it again: Yes!
Thoughts: I really liked this one!  I love oatmeal raisin cookies, so it wasn't that surprising and this one didn't disappoint.  There wasn't a fake sweet taste either, the icing on top was light but delicious. I like the texture that the raisins added.  This one is a good dessert bar, a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, if you will.

Nutz Over Chocolate
Reviewer: Carolyn and Megan
Sweetness: Carolyn: 3; Megan: 6
Texture: Carolyn: Solid, chewy in a good way, slightly crispy; Megan: perfection
Would you have it again: Carolyn: YOU BET. Megan: YES!
Thoughts: 
Carolyn: Old favorite, still my favorite. There is just something so perfect about this bar. It's not uber sweet, it's incredibly satisfying, and I could eat it any time, especially post-workout.
Megan: This is my absolute favorite one, the timeless classic as far as Luna bars go. :)  I think it's probably the most popular one because it's in every store that carries these bars by the box. You'll find a sweeter bar, but this one is the perfect balance between something savory with a lot of protein and sweet so you enjoy eating it.  It's a treat that I love to have after a workout, yet I could see it being an afternoon snack to solve your (tame) sweet tooth. And isn't chocolate and peanuts the perfection combination, anyways?

Peanut Butter Cookie
Reviewer: Megan
Sweetness: 4
Texture: The top part was really thick and gooey, bleh
Would you have it again: No.
Thoughts: Having "cookie" in the title of this one was misleading!  You might think that you'll be in for a sweet treat, but do not be fooled!  This was just tons of thick peanut butter on top of peanuts.  It was too overwhelming and monocromatic of a taste for me, especially not to have any of the "dessert" factor.  

S'Mores
Reviewer: Carolyn and Megan
Sweetness: Carolyn: 10; Megan: 7
Texture: Carolyn: Solid, chewy, slightly crispy, a lot like Nutz Over Chocolate; Megan: the marshmallow was a little bit gooey, and lots of chunky things happening on top
Would you have it again: Carolyn: only because I have a box to finish and I don't want to waste them. After that, nope. Megan: Nah.
Thoughts:
Carolyn: I'm a lover of all things s'more...except this bar. The marshmallow taste was too strong and too fake and not as balanced as it should be with the graham and chocolate flavors. I'll eat them if I have to (and so I can finish off the box) but I'm not really planning on buying them again.
Megan: The marshmallow taste in this one was just weird---it tasted artificially sweetened, like it was made with Splenda or something similar, although I checked the ingredients and it wasn't!  It overpowered the entire taste of the bar and just made it not pleasant.

Vanilla Almond

Reviewer: Carolyn
Sweetness: 3
Texture: Solid, chewy in a good way.
Would you have it again: Yes!
Thoughts: This was by far the closest to the Nutz Over Chocolate...basically the vanilla version of it! Not too sweet, but not too bland. The perfect alternative when you're not in a chocolate mood.

White Chocolate Macadamia 

Reviewer: Carolyn
Sweetness: 5
Texture: Chewy, slightly crispy, oaty
Would you have it again: More than likely.
Thoughts: This is probably the next closest in flavor power to the Nutz Over Chocolate and Vanilla Almond, which is important in my book. White chocolate is a pretty mild flavor with just that hint of sweetness, and it really does taste kind of like a white chocolate macadamia cookie! I'm not a huge fan of white chocolate, but I would eat this again.

Our decision at the end? It's still all about the Nutz Over Chocolate. DUH.

Have you had any Luna bars? Any that we haven't tried? Different opinions? Sound off!

(And yes, this blog post did  just happen)

S'Mores Bars!

So much for me being an on-time blogger. This is what happens when you're a busy girl! But I am finally blogging about one of my favorite baking treats! S'more's Bars!

I don't think it's any sort of secret how obsessed I am with s'mores...which is slightly odd considering I can't tell you the last time I had a real s'more. But I love all things s'more (well, almost...the s'more Luna bars are not good). I've made a killer s'mores pie before, I reeeeeally want to make some s'more's cupcakes at some point, and I keep pinning other s'mores type recipes. And of course, the deliciousness of s'mores bars. I think my favorite part of making these was my niece and nephew's reactions to them. Henderson was super excited about eating them after just seeing a picture, and Bellamy, after finishing her piece, kept asking for more. Just another reason I love to bake.

You'll want to pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, and set out a 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick) so it can come to room temperature. Then you'll want to crush 6 graham crackers. This part is fun. I always love using my heavy duty rolling pin. It's a good way to get out any aggression too. 

Mix together 1 and 1/3 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp of salt, and the graham cracker crumbs.

In your mixer, combine your room temperature butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup brown sugar.

Then you'll add in one egg and one teaspoon vanilla.

Mix in the dry ingredients and you have your crust!

You'll want to press half the crust into your 8x8 pan, and then you'll layer your two king sized chocolate bars (I used dark chocolate because let's face it, it's WAY better than any other type) and one 7oz jar of marshmallow fluff (which made me start craving fluffernutter sandwiches).

Then you'll create a top layer with the rest of the crust mixture. I found the easiest way to do this was take sections, flatten them in my hand, and then just kind of place them around the top.

After baking for 30 minutes, you have this AMAZINGNESS. OMG. Even my apartment smelled of s'mores. It's heaven. I wanted to bottle that smell up for later, but I guess I'll just have to make them all the time instead.