Printable Recipe
So I've been in the mood for chili recently, and my go-to recipe usually is Hovies Chili . Actually, my son usually makes this - he loves it. However, I've been wanting to try something different and went searching through some magazines. I found this one in a Taste of Home magazine that is similar to a recipe given to me years ago, by a friend. That chili was very good, and while I haven't tried this recipe yet, I'm hoping this will be good, too.
1 medium green pepper, chpd
2 medium onions, chpd
1/2 cup chpd celery
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 pounds hamburger
2 (28-oz) cans tomatoes, undrained and cut up
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp chili pwd
1 tsp garlic pwd
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 (16 oz) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
In a skillet, brown the hamburger along with the green pepper and onions, drain. Place the hamburger mixture in a large pot and add the remaining ingredients, except for the kidney beans. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add the kidney beans and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes longer.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Steak Soup
Printable Recipe
This is a very good soup, that I doctored up quite a bit. I'll give the original recipe, and include the changes I made alongside in italics, as well as the notes I wrote when I made this for the first time, at the end.
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 pounds lean boneless round steak, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used stew meat, but you could also use chuck)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium onion, chpd
2 cloves garlic (I did not add)
5 cups water
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 1/2 cups medium egg noodles, uncooked
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (I did not add)
2 cups (8 oz) shrd Cheddar cheese (I did not add)
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add meat and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Brown meat on all sides, stirring occasionally. (Do this in batches, if needed, so that you get a better sear on the meat.)
Add the onion and garlic; cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp pepper, and paprika. bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Stir in the egg noodles and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until meat is tender and noodles are cooked.
Ladle soup in to individual bowls and top with the shrd cheese.
Notes:
I cooked the noodles in the broth as is called for, and all of the broth was pretty much absorbed by the noodles. So I added 1 can Campbells Beef broth and about 1 1/2 cups water. It was much better, but still lacked something. I wanted to doctor it up a bit, but did not want to give it an Italian flavor by adding oregano, basil and thyme. So I added a pinch of allspice, and it was great!
I found the Worcestershire to be a bit overwhelming so maybe next time, add a bit of lemon juice to counter this, maybe 1 tsp. I also found it a bit too peppery, so cut down on the pepper added, to maybe 1/2 to 3/4 tsp.
This can also be made using chuck roast, instead.
This would be good thickened with a flour/water paste, and served over mashed potatoes.
This is a very good soup, that I doctored up quite a bit. I'll give the original recipe, and include the changes I made alongside in italics, as well as the notes I wrote when I made this for the first time, at the end.
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 pounds lean boneless round steak, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used stew meat, but you could also use chuck)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium onion, chpd
2 cloves garlic (I did not add)
5 cups water
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 1/2 cups medium egg noodles, uncooked
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (I did not add)
2 cups (8 oz) shrd Cheddar cheese (I did not add)
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add meat and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Brown meat on all sides, stirring occasionally. (Do this in batches, if needed, so that you get a better sear on the meat.)
Add the onion and garlic; cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp pepper, and paprika. bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Stir in the egg noodles and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until meat is tender and noodles are cooked.
Ladle soup in to individual bowls and top with the shrd cheese.
Notes:
I cooked the noodles in the broth as is called for, and all of the broth was pretty much absorbed by the noodles. So I added 1 can Campbells Beef broth and about 1 1/2 cups water. It was much better, but still lacked something. I wanted to doctor it up a bit, but did not want to give it an Italian flavor by adding oregano, basil and thyme. So I added a pinch of allspice, and it was great!
I found the Worcestershire to be a bit overwhelming so maybe next time, add a bit of lemon juice to counter this, maybe 1 tsp. I also found it a bit too peppery, so cut down on the pepper added, to maybe 1/2 to 3/4 tsp.
This can also be made using chuck roast, instead.
This would be good thickened with a flour/water paste, and served over mashed potatoes.
Biscuit Pizza Bake
Printable Recipe
This recipe is from a Taste of Home magazine. Here is a picture of it from their website.
1 pound hamburger
2 (12-oz) tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 (15-oz) can pizza sauce
1 cup chpd green pepper
1/2 cup chpd onion
1 (3 1/2-oz) pkg pepperoni
1 cup (4 oz) shrd Mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 oz) shrd Cheddar cheese
Brown hamburger, drain and set aside. Quarter all of the biscuits and place in a greased, 3-quart baking dish. Top the biscuits with the pizza sauce and sprinkle the hamburger the biscuits and sauce. Layer with the green pepper, onion, pepperoni and cheeses. Bake at 350°, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.
This recipe is from a Taste of Home magazine. Here is a picture of it from their website.
1 pound hamburger
2 (12-oz) tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 (15-oz) can pizza sauce
1 cup chpd green pepper
1/2 cup chpd onion
1 (3 1/2-oz) pkg pepperoni
1 cup (4 oz) shrd Mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 oz) shrd Cheddar cheese
Brown hamburger, drain and set aside. Quarter all of the biscuits and place in a greased, 3-quart baking dish. Top the biscuits with the pizza sauce and sprinkle the hamburger the biscuits and sauce. Layer with the green pepper, onion, pepperoni and cheeses. Bake at 350°, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Roast Beef Au Jus
Printable Recipe
Yet another recipe for Beef Au Jus. I haven't made this in a long time, but this is very, very good! This should be prepared the day before, so plan accordingly.
1 (5-pound) eye of round, brisket, rump or sirloin tip roast
garlic salt
paprika
Lawry's seasoned salt
2 - 3 onions, sliced
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 (14-oz) can Swanson beef broth
2 cups water
The day before:
Place roast in a roasting pan and pour vinegar over the roast, then sprinkle very liberally with the seasonings and rub them into the roast. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour. Add the 2 cups boiling water and beef broth to the pan and place sliced onions on top. Turn down over to 300° and bake for 4-5 hours longer. Cool. Refrigerate overnight, and the next day, thinly slice and serve in the broth, or serve the broth alongside.
Serves 20
Yet another recipe for Beef Au Jus. I haven't made this in a long time, but this is very, very good! This should be prepared the day before, so plan accordingly.
1 (5-pound) eye of round, brisket, rump or sirloin tip roast
garlic salt
paprika
Lawry's seasoned salt
2 - 3 onions, sliced
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 (14-oz) can Swanson beef broth
2 cups water
The day before:
Place roast in a roasting pan and pour vinegar over the roast, then sprinkle very liberally with the seasonings and rub them into the roast. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour. Add the 2 cups boiling water and beef broth to the pan and place sliced onions on top. Turn down over to 300° and bake for 4-5 hours longer. Cool. Refrigerate overnight, and the next day, thinly slice and serve in the broth, or serve the broth alongside.
Serves 20
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup
Printable Recipe
This is made in the crock pot.
3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
1 large carrot, chpd (3/4 cup)
1 medium onion, chpd (1/2 cup)
1 (14 1/2-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14-oz) can chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet peas
1 cup frozen home-style egg noodles (they come in a 12-oz bag)
Spray a skillet with cooking spray and cook chicken pieces for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until brown. Mix the chicken and all of the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the peas and noodles in a crock pot. Cover and cook on the LOW setting for 6 1/2 - 7 hours, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Stir in the peas and noodles. Cover and cook on the high setting for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.
Serves 6
This is made in the crock pot.
3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
1 large carrot, chpd (3/4 cup)
1 medium onion, chpd (1/2 cup)
1 (14 1/2-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14-oz) can chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet peas
1 cup frozen home-style egg noodles (they come in a 12-oz bag)
Spray a skillet with cooking spray and cook chicken pieces for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until brown. Mix the chicken and all of the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the peas and noodles in a crock pot. Cover and cook on the LOW setting for 6 1/2 - 7 hours, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Stir in the peas and noodles. Cover and cook on the high setting for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.
Serves 6
Ginger Pork Wraps (Crock Pot)
Printable Recipe
These wraps are very good. When I made them, I did not cook it for as long as is called for. I also used country-style pork ribs (boneless ribs), as opposed to the boneless rib roast, since I was unable to find a roast at the time I made these. They still turned out very well.
2 1/2 pounds pork boneless loin roast
3 tbsp grated gingerroot
3 tbsp honey
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (I did not add this)
3 cups coleslaw mix
2 tbsp rice vinegar
12 flour tortillas (8-10" in diameter), warmed
Remove fat from pork. Mix the gingerroot and honey in a 3 1/2 or 4 quart
crock pot. Add the pork; turn to coat it with the honey mixture.
Cover and cook on LOW setting for 6 - 8 hours, or until pork is tender. (I think I only cooked it for 5 hours, but that could have been due to the fact that I used boneless ribs, instead of a roast.)
Remove pork from crock pot. Shred meat, using two forks and return to crock pot. Stir in the hoisin sauce.
To serve, toss the coleslaw mix and rice vinegar until well mixed. Spread about 1/3 cup of the pork mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top with the coleslaw mixture and roll up tightly.
Makes 12 wraps
These wraps are very good. When I made them, I did not cook it for as long as is called for. I also used country-style pork ribs (boneless ribs), as opposed to the boneless rib roast, since I was unable to find a roast at the time I made these. They still turned out very well.
2 1/2 pounds pork boneless loin roast
3 tbsp grated gingerroot
3 tbsp honey
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (I did not add this)
3 cups coleslaw mix
2 tbsp rice vinegar
12 flour tortillas (8-10" in diameter), warmed
Remove fat from pork. Mix the gingerroot and honey in a 3 1/2 or 4 quart
crock pot. Add the pork; turn to coat it with the honey mixture.
Cover and cook on LOW setting for 6 - 8 hours, or until pork is tender. (I think I only cooked it for 5 hours, but that could have been due to the fact that I used boneless ribs, instead of a roast.)
Remove pork from crock pot. Shred meat, using two forks and return to crock pot. Stir in the hoisin sauce.
To serve, toss the coleslaw mix and rice vinegar until well mixed. Spread about 1/3 cup of the pork mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top with the coleslaw mixture and roll up tightly.
Makes 12 wraps
Cherry Bread
Printable Recipe
In going through my recipe files, I found this recipe that I got from a lady I worked with over 40 years ago. It's easy to make, and is real good. I don't measure the glaze ingredients, but just throw them together. This is a repost from 2009, to bring it back up to the top of the blog.
1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
1 can Cherry pie filling
1-2 tbsp granulated sugar stirred into the pie filling (otherwise it is a little on the tart side
1-2 tbsp granulated sugar stirred into the pie filling (otherwise it is a little on the tart side
butter, softened
additional granulated sugar
Glaze
butter
pwd sugar
milk
dash vanilla or cherry juice if adding maraschino cherries to the top
Glaze
butter
pwd sugar
milk
dash vanilla or cherry juice if adding maraschino cherries to the top
Topping
maraschino cherries, drained
Directions
1. Thaw the bread dough and roll out into a rectangle on a sheet of parchment paper, making sure not to roll too thin. I have found that once the bread is thawed out, it is still difficult to roll out. To help this problem, I place it in the microwave on the parchment paper on the defrost setting, for about a minute.
2. Place the (rolled out) bread dough on top of the parchment paper onto a rimmed cookie sheet. Spread the pie filling down the center of the bread dough.
3. Cut strips down the sides of the rectangle at an angle and cross them over the pie filling, sort of like you would a braid.
4. Butter the top of the dough and sprinkle with a little sugar.
5. Set cookie sheet in a warm place and allow dough to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
6. Bake at 350° for about 30 - 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly.
7. Make a thick glaze, and drizzle over warm cherry bread. Cut into strips or squares once cooled, and store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Fudge
Printable Recipe
I've been making this for years. It is excellent.
1 cup butter
4 cups sugar
2 (5-oz) cans evaporated milk (1 1/3 cups total)
1 (12-oz) pkg semi sweet chocolate chips
1 (7-oz) bar Symphony Milk Chocolate, broken in pieces
1 (7-oz) jar marshmallow creme
1 tsp vanilla
Line a 9 x 13" pan with foil, extending the foil over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil and set aside. Butter the sides of a heavy-duty saucepan. In the saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and evaporated milk. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Reduced heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips, chocolate bar, marshmallow creme and vanilla. Stir until well combined and melted. Beat by hand for one minute. Spread in the prepared pan. Score into 1" squares while still warm. Cool. When fudge is completely cooled, remove fudge from pan and cut completely into squares. Store in a tightly-covered container, in the refrigerator.
I've been making this for years. It is excellent.
1 cup butter
4 cups sugar
2 (5-oz) cans evaporated milk (1 1/3 cups total)
1 (12-oz) pkg semi sweet chocolate chips
1 (7-oz) bar Symphony Milk Chocolate, broken in pieces
1 (7-oz) jar marshmallow creme
1 tsp vanilla
Line a 9 x 13" pan with foil, extending the foil over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil and set aside. Butter the sides of a heavy-duty saucepan. In the saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and evaporated milk. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Reduced heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips, chocolate bar, marshmallow creme and vanilla. Stir until well combined and melted. Beat by hand for one minute. Spread in the prepared pan. Score into 1" squares while still warm. Cool. When fudge is completely cooled, remove fudge from pan and cut completely into squares. Store in a tightly-covered container, in the refrigerator.
Homemade Caramels
Printable Recipe
In the spirit of the upcoming holidays, I thought I'd post some candy recipes. This recipe needs a candy thermometer. Makes 2 1/2 pounds.
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup light corn syrup
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the brown sugar and salt. Stir in the corn syrup, mixing well. Gradually add the sweetened condensed, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over medium heat until candy thermometer reaches firm ball stage (245°). This should take about 12 - 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Pour into a well buttered 9 x 9" square pan. Cool and cut into very small pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap, or candy wrappers.
In the spirit of the upcoming holidays, I thought I'd post some candy recipes. This recipe needs a candy thermometer. Makes 2 1/2 pounds.
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup light corn syrup
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the brown sugar and salt. Stir in the corn syrup, mixing well. Gradually add the sweetened condensed, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over medium heat until candy thermometer reaches firm ball stage (245°). This should take about 12 - 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Pour into a well buttered 9 x 9" square pan. Cool and cut into very small pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap, or candy wrappers.
Honey Roasted Potatoes
Printable Recipe
I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com They are a great side dish.
1 lb new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered (Since some new potatoes can be rather large, I cut them into smallish chunks)
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with PAM. Place potatoes in a single layer. Combine the butter, honey, dry mustard and salt and pepper. Drizzle over the potatoes and toss to coat. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, until tender. Stir half-way through baking time.
I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com They are a great side dish.
1 lb new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered (Since some new potatoes can be rather large, I cut them into smallish chunks)
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with PAM. Place potatoes in a single layer. Combine the butter, honey, dry mustard and salt and pepper. Drizzle over the potatoes and toss to coat. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, until tender. Stir half-way through baking time.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Chicken Noodle Soup
I've been searching for a good Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, and found this one at A la Carte . She has a new site now, called Tide and Thyme (dot) Com. The picture in the post looks great. While you're there at her new site, take a look at her Minestrone Soup recipe. That looks great, too! So these are two recipes are going on my "Must-Try recipes from other people's blogs" list. I guess I'm really in the mood for soup!
Apple-Spice Layer Cake with Caramel Swirl Icing *a MUST-TRY recipe*
Printable Recipe
I'm going through all the recipes on this blog, in order to create a Printable Recipe link for each one. When I came upon this one, I thought I'd bring it up to the top because it's fall and we'll be entering the holiday season soon, so it seems to be the perfect time of year to make this.
Cake
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
3 cups sugar
2 tbsp molasses
6 large eggs
3 cups cake flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt (not table salt)
2 tbsp cinnamon (yes, tbsp)
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1 cup sour cream
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 tbsp vanilla (yes, tbsp)
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (optional)
Icing
1 (14 - oz) bag caramels, unwrapped
4 tbsp heavy whipping cream, divided
2 tbsp PLUS 1 1/2 cups butter, softened, divided
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups pwd sugar
1 cup (8 - oz) mascarpone (Italian cream cheese, available at most grocery stores)*
2 cups pecan pieces, toasted (optional)
Place one oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and a second rack in the top third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 9" cake pans with butter or cooing spray, then line each with a parchment paper round and grease the rounds.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the molasses. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, soda, salt and spices to blend. Add the flour mixture and sour cream alternately to the batter. (Start and end with the flour mixture, adding the flour mixture in three increments and the sour cream in two increments.) After each addition, mix on low speed just to combine the ingredients. Stir in the shredded apples, vanilla and ginger.
Spoon the batter (it will be thick) evenly into the prepared pans. Place two cake pans side by side on one rack, and the third pan on the other rack, so that no layer is directly over another. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, until firm to the touch. Monitor the layers carefully for doneness; each one may be done at a different time. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pans and unmold the cakes onto wire racks to cool completely, 15 - 30 minutes, before frosting.
If desired, the cakes can be kept frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for 3 weeks. Defrost them at room temperature before unwrapping. Frost immediately.
To make the Icing
In a medium stainless-steel bowl, combine the unwrapped caramels, 2 tbsp of the cream, and 2 tbsp butter. Place over a saucepan filled with 2" of simmering water. Stir the caramel mixture until smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat. Let cool, stirring mixture every few minutes, until cool to the touch, about minutes. (If the mixture is too warm, it will melt the buttercream frosting when it is stirred in later.)
While the caramel is cooling, make the buttercream: using an electric mixer, beat 1 1/2 cups butter on medium-high speed for about 1 minute, until pale in color. Add the remaining 2 tbsp cream, vanilla and pwd sugar, and beat for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the mascarpone and beat on medium-low speed until incorportated. Do not overbeat the mascarpone, or it will separate. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooled caramel mixture to drizzle over the cake once it is frosted. Stir together the remainder of the caramel into the frosting, using large strokes to create caramel swirls throughout. Don't stir it up too mich, or ribbons of caramel will disappear.
Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread a thick blanket of frosting on top. Add the second layer and spread thickly with frosting. Add the third layer and cover the top and sides of the cake with an even layer of frosting. Use a small spoon to drizzle the reserved caramel over the top of the cake. pat on the toasted pecan pieces to cover only the sides of the cake.
* I would think that you could use regular cream cheese in place of the mascarpone.
I'm going through all the recipes on this blog, in order to create a Printable Recipe link for each one. When I came upon this one, I thought I'd bring it up to the top because it's fall and we'll be entering the holiday season soon, so it seems to be the perfect time of year to make this.
Apple-Spice Layer Cake with Caramel Swirl Icing
This comes from the cookbook "The Pastry Queen Christmas". I wish you could see the picture of the cake in the book. YUM! I haven't tried this yet, but once I do, I will report here how it tastes. I know the directions look lengthy and complicated, but for the most part, they are just wordy, is allCake
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
3 cups sugar
2 tbsp molasses
6 large eggs
3 cups cake flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt (not table salt)
2 tbsp cinnamon (yes, tbsp)
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1 cup sour cream
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 tbsp vanilla (yes, tbsp)
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (optional)
Icing
1 (14 - oz) bag caramels, unwrapped
4 tbsp heavy whipping cream, divided
2 tbsp PLUS 1 1/2 cups butter, softened, divided
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups pwd sugar
1 cup (8 - oz) mascarpone (Italian cream cheese, available at most grocery stores)*
2 cups pecan pieces, toasted (optional)
Place one oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and a second rack in the top third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 9" cake pans with butter or cooing spray, then line each with a parchment paper round and grease the rounds.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the molasses. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, soda, salt and spices to blend. Add the flour mixture and sour cream alternately to the batter. (Start and end with the flour mixture, adding the flour mixture in three increments and the sour cream in two increments.) After each addition, mix on low speed just to combine the ingredients. Stir in the shredded apples, vanilla and ginger.
Spoon the batter (it will be thick) evenly into the prepared pans. Place two cake pans side by side on one rack, and the third pan on the other rack, so that no layer is directly over another. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, until firm to the touch. Monitor the layers carefully for doneness; each one may be done at a different time. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pans and unmold the cakes onto wire racks to cool completely, 15 - 30 minutes, before frosting.
If desired, the cakes can be kept frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for 3 weeks. Defrost them at room temperature before unwrapping. Frost immediately.
To make the Icing
In a medium stainless-steel bowl, combine the unwrapped caramels, 2 tbsp of the cream, and 2 tbsp butter. Place over a saucepan filled with 2" of simmering water. Stir the caramel mixture until smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat. Let cool, stirring mixture every few minutes, until cool to the touch, about minutes. (If the mixture is too warm, it will melt the buttercream frosting when it is stirred in later.)
While the caramel is cooling, make the buttercream: using an electric mixer, beat 1 1/2 cups butter on medium-high speed for about 1 minute, until pale in color. Add the remaining 2 tbsp cream, vanilla and pwd sugar, and beat for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the mascarpone and beat on medium-low speed until incorportated. Do not overbeat the mascarpone, or it will separate. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooled caramel mixture to drizzle over the cake once it is frosted. Stir together the remainder of the caramel into the frosting, using large strokes to create caramel swirls throughout. Don't stir it up too mich, or ribbons of caramel will disappear.
Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread a thick blanket of frosting on top. Add the second layer and spread thickly with frosting. Add the third layer and cover the top and sides of the cake with an even layer of frosting. Use a small spoon to drizzle the reserved caramel over the top of the cake. pat on the toasted pecan pieces to cover only the sides of the cake.
* I would think that you could use regular cream cheese in place of the mascarpone.