Eggnog Bundt Cake with Maple Icing

This is the perfect cake to make for Christmas Eve. Get your pajamas on and bundle up by the fire while watching your family's favorite Christmas movies or singing Christmas songs. Serve this Eggnog Bundt Cake with some warm hot chocolate or iced cold milk.Yummy! Merry Christmas!

Cake Ingredients:

1 - 18 oz. yellow cake mix
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups Eggnog
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.

In a large stand mixer bowl, add cake mix, melted butter, eggnog, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into prepared bundt pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack. When cake has cooled, place on serving plate.

Glaze Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
milk - enough to make thick glaze

In a bowl, add the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add just enough milk to create a thick pourable glaze while whisking until smooth. Pour glaze over top and let drip down sides. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Mommy's Kitchen

Banana Spice Cake with Vanilla Bean Glaze

You may have noticed that I took a little break from blogging (5 months to be exact). I decided that sharing my love of cooking and baking brings too much happiness and joy to my life (and my family's tummies) to continue this blogging break. I hope that my readers have stuck around and are still interested in following me on this journey through our family's kitchen.

There are so many amazing recipes that I have pinned from Pinterest and tried these past several months. I'm truly inspired by all the wonderful home cooks out in the world. I LOVE Pinterest and plan on adding my recipes to my Big Mama's Favorites board as I post them on the blog and Facebook.

Now, let's talk about this cake! This is a simple cake that uses a box mix that is dressed up with bananas and a scrumptious thick vanilla bean glaze.  It's very moist and full of flavor. I think this was the perfect dessert to welcome Fall, and the perfect ending to our cheese enchiladas last night. I'm ready for some cooler weather and can't wait to make all my favorite soups.

Cake Ingredients:

1 - Betty Crocker Super Moist Spice Cake Mix (15.25 oz)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
4 large bananas (about 1 1/2 cups) mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a non-stick bundt cake pan.  In a large stand mixer, add the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Add the bananas and mix just until combined.

Pour the cake mix into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 42-45 minutes, or until wooden skewer comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack.

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
milk, enough to create thick glaze

In a bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste.  Add milk slowly until the consistency is a thick pourable glaze. Transfer the cooled cake to a plate and spoon or pour glaze over top.  Enjoy!

Classic Yellow Bundt Cake with Flavor Variations

This simple bundt cake can be combined with any of your favorite summer fruits and whipped cream to create gorgeous, satisfying desserts.  You can also use this base recipe and add some lemon or orange flavors for a brighter flavor.  Just look at my favorite combination...

This cake stays moist stored at room temperature in a cake carrier for several days and still tastes great. The longest it lasted at our house is 4 days...before it was all eaten.

Classic Yellow Bundt Cake:

3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

In a glass measuring cup, stir together the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.

In a large stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, and beat until combined.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture.  Repeat with 1/2 of the remaining flour mixture followed by the remaining buttermilk mixture. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix just until combined. Scrape down the sides as needed.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan (batter will be thick) and smooth out the top with rubber spatula.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until long wooden skewer inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.

Let the cake cool in the pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then flip out onto wire rack to cool completely.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm.  Enjoy!

Flavor Variations:

Lemon Bundt Cake:
Increase the amount of lemon juice to 3 Tbsp and add 3 Tbsp lemon zest to the buttermilk and vanilla mixture.

Orange Bundt Cake:
Add 2 Tbsp orange juice and 2 Tbsp orange zest to the buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon juice mixture.

Marble Bundt Cake:
Melt 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, and 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder together in microwave, stirring often until smooth, about 1 minute.  Divide the cake batter into 2 bowls and stir the chocolate mixture into one of the bowls.  Pour the plain cake batter into the bundt pan, then top with the chocolate cake batter. Use a butter knife to swirl the batters together.

Recipe adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

Cake Ball Sundae Cones

We spent St. Patrick's Day making these fun Cake Ball Sundae Cones from my new book Cake Pops Bakerella.  

We used a boxed strawberry cake mix and vanilla frosting for the cake balls, and vanilla coating for the outside.  Fun sprinkles and a skittle on top made them look so cute.  My girls loved them as you can tell from their big smiles.

Ingredients:

1 box cake mix, plus water, oil, and eggs per box instructions
1 can vanilla frosting
2 or 3 bags Wilton candy melts (I used white and pink vanilla flavor)
sprinkles and skittles

Bake cake in a 9x13 pan per box instructions.  Let cool.

Crumble cake into a large bowl, then add the frosting.  Stir well until it all comes together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll the cake into large balls just large enough to cover the ice cream cone opening.  Freeze for 1 hour.

You will need a place to set the cones upright for the melted chocolate to set up.  I used a wire cooling rack balanced on top of two plastic cups.  You can also use some styrofoam or empty egg carton with holes punched big enough for the bottom of cone to balance without falling over.

In the microwave, melt one bag of the candy melts in a deep bowl.  Dip each cake ball in the melted chocolate, then use a spoon to carefully set on top of cone.  You want the chocolate to drip down the sides of cone (this will seal it). Decorate with sprinkles. Place into your drying station so the chocolate can set up.  Repeat with all cake balls, melting more chocolate as needed.

Melt the other bag of candy melts in contrasting color.  Spoon over each dried cake ball and add a skittle on top.  Let chocolate set up.  Enjoy!

These can be stored at room temperature, but are best eaten the same day as the cones will lose their crispiness and become very chewy.

{Diet} Coca Cola Sheet Cake

So...today is my 40th Birthday, and since I love chocolate so much, I thought I would share this delicious, rich chocolate cake with you.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

For the Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup Coca Cola (I used Diet)
1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a large 15x3x1 inch jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, whisk together the butter, cocoa powder, coca cola, and buttermilk until it comes to a boil.  Remove from heat and whisk into dry ingredients.  Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until toothpick tester comes out clean.

For the Icing:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup Coca Cola (I used Diet)
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, whisk together the butter, cocoa powder, and Coca Cola.  Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth. You could always add some chopped up pecans now, if you prefer.  Pour over the warm cake.  Let cool until the icing has set.  Enjoy warm.




Recipe from May Flaum

Valentine's Day Red Velvet and Brownie Cakes

Valentine's Day is next week so I created a dessert that is perfect to make for your loved ones.  I used boxed brownie mix and red velvet cake mix to speed up the process, but you can use your favorite brownie and red velvet cake recipes.  I used my favorite homemade chocolate buttercream frosting to pipe between the layers and on top. 

Ingredients:

1 - box Red velvet cake mix plus ingredients to make (water, oil and eggs)
1 - box Brownie mix plus ingredients to make (water, oil, and eggs)

Bake the Red velvet cake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes in a 16x12x1 inch parchment lined sheet pan (leave overhang to lift baked caked out easily).

Bake the Brownies at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes in a 9x13 inch parchment lined cake pan (leave overhang to lift baked brownies out easily).

Let cool completely in pans on wire rack.  Remove the cake and brownies by gently lifting using the parchment paper.

Use heart shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes.  You could use different sizes too.  You will only need 1/2 of the red velvet cake if you plan on using brownies on all of them. 

Note:  I made Red Velvet Cake Truffles with the leftover cake.  All you have to do is add just enough canned cream cheese frosting to bring it all together (I used about 1/3 can).

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk (maybe less, maybe more)

In a large stand mixer bowl, beat the butter for a minute. Add the sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder and mix until combined. Add the vanilla extract, then slowly add the milk, a little at a time, until the right consistency is achieved. Piped frosting needs to be thicker than frosting that will be spread using offset spatula. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until thick and fluffy.

Assemble the brownies and cakes and pipe or spread frosting in between the layers and on top.  Decorate with Valentine's sprinkles.  Store in airtight container lined with wax paper at room temperature.  Enjoy!

Neapolitan Birthday Cake

This special birthday cake for my Mom In Law starts with a layer of fluffy vanilla cake, homemade strawberry jam filling, strawberry cake, and topped off with chocolate frosting. The outside frosting edges were piped using a ruffle design. 

Fluffy Vanilla Cake:
Recipe from Sweetapolita

5 large egg whites, room temperature
3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature (divided 1/4 and 1/2 cup)
2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 T + 1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
12 T unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper.

In a bowl, stir together the egg whites, 1/4 cup of the milk, and vanilla extract.  Set aside.

In a large stand mixer bowl, add the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and stir on low speed until well combined.

Add the butter and other 1/2 cup milk and mix on medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of bowl, then slowly add the egg/milk/vanilla mixture in 3 batches beating on medium speed for 20 seconds after each addition. 

Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the top with an offset spatula.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Run a knife along edges to loosen  and invert onto wire racks lined with parchment or paper.  Turn the cake top side up and let cool completely.

Cakes can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then in a freezer bag and stored in freezer for up to 2 months.  I only used one of these cakes, and froze the other one.

Strawberry Cake
Recipe from Sweetapolita

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 (3 oz) box strawberry gelatin
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 T pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup strawberry puree (made by blending up frozen sweetened strawberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper.

In a large stand mixer bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and box of strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

In a glass measuring cup, stir together the milk and vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the creamed butter and beat on medium speed for 20 seconds.  Add 1/2 of the milk mixture and beat on medium speed for 20 seconds.  Repeat with remaining flour and milk.

Add the strawberry puree and mix just until combined.

Pour batter into the two prepared cake pans.  Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.  Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Run a knife along edges to loosen and invert cakes onto parchment lined wire racks.  Turn cakes top side up and let cool completely.

Cakes can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then in a freezer bag and stored in freezer for up to 2 months.  I only used one of these cakes, and froze the other one.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk (maybe less, maybe more)

In a large stand mixer bowl, beat the butter for a minute.  Add the sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder and mix until combined.  Add the vanilla extract, then slowly add the milk, a little at a time, until the right consistency is achieved.  Piped frosting needs to be thicker than frosting that will be spread using offset spatula.  Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until thick and fluffy.

To assemble cake, place the fluffy vanilla cake on cake plate.  Spread with a layer of homemade strawberry jam (store bought works too).  Top with strawberry cake.  Frost with the chocolate buttercream frosting.  

This is what I did with the frosting:

Spread a thin layer of chocolate frosting on sides of cake and a thick layer of frosting on top.  Add remaining frosting to piping bag fitted with a medium size petal tip #103.  You can watch this video tutorial to learn how to pipe on ruffle edge.

Enjoy!

Cake Batter Truffles

I've made Red Velvet Cake truffles, Oreo truffles, and Peppermint Brownie truffles.  But these truffles deserve a standing ovation.  They are absolutely incredible.  Seriously, they taste like cake batter cookie dough, and who doesn't like cookie dough!  I found this recipe at Chef In Training.

I made a batch of these truffles for our Christmas Eve party.  We always have family over to hang out, eat dinner, sing Christmas songs with the kiddos, make cookies for Santa and food for his reindeer.  It was a fun night that lasted long into the am, so I bet the sugar helped us stay focused while putting together tons of toys for our girls after they went to bed.

Truffle Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cake mix
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
dash salt
4 T milk
2 T sprinkles

Truffle Coating:

16 oz. Vanilla flavored white almond bark, or white candy melts
Sprinkles for decoration

In a large stand mixer, beat together the softened butter and sugar.  Add the flour, cake mix, vanilla, salt, and milk and mix just until combined.  Add the sprinkles and gently stir.  Put bowl in refrigerator to chill dough for 15 minutes.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Place in freezer for 30 minutes. 

Melt almond bark or candy melts in the microwave.  Use a spoon to dip truffles into melted chocolate and place back on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Immediately top with sprinkles.  Store truffles in refrigerator in airtight container until ready to serve.  Enjoy!

Banana Upside Down Spice Bundt Cake

This is a play on a pineapple upside down cake and cinnamon banana bread.  I used a spice cake mix and added mashed bananas to the batter.  The topping is a brown sugar sauce and sliced bananas.  My girls loved it!  Also, check out my Upside Down Apple Spice Cake with Coconut.

Cake Ingredients:

1 box (15.25 oz) Betty Crocker Spice Cake Mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup Canola oil
3 eggs
2 medium bananas, mashed

Topping:

2 medium bananas, sliced
5 T unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a non-stick bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.  

In a large stand mixer, add the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs.  Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Add the mashed bananas and beat to incorporate.

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and add the brown sugar.  Turn heat to low and let simmer for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.  

Place the sliced bananas in the bottom of the bundt pan.  Pour the brown sugar sauce over the bananas, and then pour in the cake batter.

Bake for 38-42 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Immediately invert onto serving platter.  Enjoy!

Mini Banana Bread Loaves

I splurged on a new kitchen gadget for myself last week...a mini loaf pan.  I just love anything in individual serving size form.  Banana bread was obviously the first thing I planned to make.  I combined my recipe for banana bread and banana muffins to come up with this recipe.  They were moist and delicious, and my family loved them!

Ingredients:

3 bananas, smashed
1 banana, diced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a mini loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large stand mixer bowl, beat together the smashed bananas, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.  Add the melted butter and mix well.  Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix.  Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into the wet ingredients.  Turn mixer on just to combine. Carefully stir in the remaining diced banana with spoon or spatula.

Pour mini muffin loaves 3/4 of the way full into prepared pan.  You will have a little batter leftover.  I made a jumbo banana muffin also!  Bake for 28-32 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Country Cake

Strawberries are plentiful and affordable at the grocery stores and farmers markets right now.  They also happen to be our favorite fruit.  I made this Strawberry Country Cake last summer and have been looking forward to making it again.  It's like a huge family size strawberry short cake.  I like my "short cakes" like a cake instead of like a biscuit.  This cake is moist and just the right sweetness to compliment the sweet strawberries.

This recipe makes 2 cakes, and you only need 1 for this recipe.  You can either freeze the extra cake, or you can dust it with powdered sugar or drizzle a glaze over top and serve it to those in your family who don't like strawberries (my hubby!).

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Filling Ingredients:

1 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb. strawberries, hulled and sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans.  Then line them with parchment paper and butter and flour the lined pans.

In a large stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add the sour cream, zests, and vanilla and mix well, scraping the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt.  Slowly add to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined and smooth.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick in center of cake comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges of pans and invert cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.

You can make the filling while the cakes cool.  In a large stand mixer, use a whisk attachment to whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form.  Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until firm peaks form.

Slice one of the cakes in half with a long serrated knife.  Place the bottom half onto a cake plate, spread with 1/2 of the whipped cream, and add a layer of strawberries.  Place the top half of cake onto strawberries, spread with the remaining whipped cream, and decorate with strawberries.  Dust with powdered sugar and serve.  Enjoy!

Note:  Cover leftovers with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.  The extra cake can be wrapped in plastic wrap, then in foil, and stored in the freezer. 

Recipe Source:  Ina Garten - Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Apple~Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Cinnamon Glaze

It's no secret my girls and I love anything with cooked apples and cinnamon.  I even created a new category for Apples/Cinnamon recipes.  I was trying to think of a recipe to use up some huge Granny Smith apples from the fridge.  I originally was thinking of incorporating them in a Snickerdoodle bundt cake, but the recipes I found did not look as moist as a Spice cake.  So when I'm not sure what to make, I google it.  Google is my friend and I enjoy looking at the images first, then choosing from there. 

This recipe is adapted from a favorite recipe site...marthastewart.com!  I did make some recipe changes.  I substituted some of the white flour with whole wheat flour, and used apple pie spice and cinnamon instead of just cinnamon.  I also added cinnamon apple sauce to make sure it stayed moist.  I used apple juice and cinnamon in the glaze for even more flavor.  It was amazing, my kids told me so, and who can argue with 3 picky little eaters!

To give you an idea of what this cake tastes like, think moist spice cake, apple pie, and apple fritters all mixed up.  This cake is best served warm with a little extra glaze drizzled over top.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp apple pie spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon apple sauce
4 large eggs
5 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 T apple juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the white flour, whole wheat flour, apple pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, apple sauce, and eggs until smooth.  Add the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined.  Use a rubber spatula to fold in the apples.  Pour batter into a 12-cup Bundt pan and smooth top

Note:  The batter will be very thick and just barely coat the apples.  The apples with release their moisture and the batter will become cake.  Don't worry!

Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 15 minutes.  Invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, stir together powdered sugar, apple juice, and cinnamon.  Spoon over top of cooled cake.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Ruffle Cake

When I asked my hubby what I should make for our Valentine's Day dessert, he said "cheesecake!"  I politely told him, that I don't really like cheesecake, and asked what was his 2nd choice.  Without hesitation, he said "strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting!"  Oh, this brings back memories.  This is the cake I made for him when we were dating, and is so easy.  It's a boxed strawberry cake mix and tub of cream cheese frosting...pretty easy, huh?  And since I didn't have to spend any time making the cake or frosting from scratch, I might as well make the cake look pretty. 

This was my attempt at decorating with the ruffle design I saw over at Leslie's The Hungry Housewife, which was the most beautiful cake I've ever seen.  I used this video tutorial to learn about piping this ruffle design. 

I baked the cake using two 8-inch cake pans, and then added a layer of cream cheese frosting between them.  I used another tub of cream cheese frosting to decorate the sides and a tub of strawberries and cream frosting to decorate the top and cake pedestal.  Practice makes perfect, and I need more practice.  Next time, I will use homemade frosting, probably Leslie's swiss meringue buttercream.  It looks so satiny smooth and delicious!

German Chocolate Cake

I made this German Chocolate Cake for a friend to celebrate his birthday.  This is a very rich 3 layer German chocolate cake, layered with a sweet coconut and pecan filling, then frosted with a chocolate ganache.  I refrigerated it overnight to help it set up, so hopefully, it didn't fall apart too much when they cut into it.  This baby was heavy when it was assembled.  I sure wish my hubby would have remembered to bring me a piece home to try.  They said it was good and very rich!  Well, it's supposed to be rich...how could it not be with all those layers of goodness!  Just take a peek at the ingredient list.

I found this recipe over at David Lebovitz, so I knew it had to be good.  His recipe says to use two 9-inch pans, and to cut each layer in half before layering and assembling.  I just used the three 8-inch pans that I had, and changed the baking time.  Watch the cakes closely as they do bake up fast.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons water
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ¼ cup + ¼ cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
3 ounces butter, cut into small pieces
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut, toasted (I used sweetened)

For the syrup:

3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 T dark rum

For the chocolate icing:

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 ½ ounces unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream

To make the cake:

1. Butter three 8-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. Melt both chocolates together with the 6 tablespoons of water. Use either a double-boiler or a microwave. Stir until smooth, then set aside until room temperature.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and 1 ¼ cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate, then the egg yolks, one at a time.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

5. Mix in half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then the buttermilk and the vanilla extract, then the rest of the dry ingredients.

6. In a separate metal or glass bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft, droopy peaks. Beat in the ¼ cup of sugar until stiff.

7. Fold about one-third of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until there’s no trace of egg white visible.

8. Divide the batter into the 3 prepared cake pans, smooth the tops, and bake for about 22-26 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Watch them closely.

Cool cake layers completely. 

While the cakes are baking, make the icing, the filling, then the syrup.

To make the icing:

1. Place the 8 ounces of chopped chocolate in a bowl with the corn syrup and 1 ½ ounces of butter.

2. Heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Let sit until room temperature, then refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the filling:

1. Mix the cream, sugar, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Put the 3 ounces butter, salt, toasted coconut, and pecan pieces in a large bowl.

2. Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the spoon (an instant-read thermometer will read 170°.)

3. Pour the hot custard immediately into the pecan-coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature. (It will thicken.)

To make the syrup:

1. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the dark rum.

To assemble the cake:

Remove the cake layers from the pans. 

Set the first cake layer on a cake plate. Brush well with syrup. Spread 1/3 of the coconut filling over the cake layer, making sure to reach to the edges. Set another cake layer on top.

Repeat, using the syrup to brush each cake layer, then spreading 1/3 of the coconut filling over each layer, including the top.

Ice the sides with the chocolate icing, then pipe a decorative border of chocolate icing around the top, encircling the coconut topping.  David says:  It may seem like a lot of chocolate icing, but use it all. Trust me. You won’t be sorry.

Note:  I did have some of the syrup left over.  Just use enough to moisten the cake, not drench it.

Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve...

Red Velvet Cake Truffles

At first glance, these look like the Christmas Oreo Truffles I recently made, but the inside is filled with moist red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting.

I found this recipe over at Bakerella while searching for some treats to make for some very special people at my daughters' school.  Lots of people love red velvet cake, and the red is so festive for this time of year.  These are so easy to make, but are a bit time consuming, so be prepared to spend some time in the kitchen.  Grab all your helpers in the house to roll the cake into balls.  This makes about 50 truffles, so there's plenty to share with the special people in your life.

Ingredients:

1 Box Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix
1 1/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tub cream cheese frosting
1 package white chocolate bark
1 package milk chocolate bark
sprinkles
chocolate chips for decorating

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray and line a 13x9 cake pan with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, add the cake mix, water, vegetable oil, and eggs and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour into the cake pan and bake for 35-38 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely.  It will cool even faster if you invert it over onto a large cutting board and break it apart with your hands after it's cool enough to handle.

When the cake has cooled completely, add it to a large bowl and break up into small pieces.  Add the cream cheese frosting and stir well to combine.  Put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Roll cake mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet.  Continue on...and on...and on...until all the cake has been rolled.  Put them into the freezer for 1 hour to chill well.

Remove one of the cookie sheets from the freezer.  Leave the other one in there for now.  Melt half of the chocolate bark at a time in a microwave proof glass bowl and work in small batches.  Use a spoon to help you dunk it in the chocolate and tap off the excess.  Lay back on the cookie sheet, using a toothpick to help you push it off the spoon.  Decorate immediately with sprinkles (if using) because the chocolate coating dries very quickly.  Continue on until they have all been coated and decorated.  You can also melt some chocolate chips and use a plastic baggie with the tip cut to drizzle on some pretty chocolate decorations.

Have fun and enjoy! 

Upside Down Apple Spice Cake with Coconut

So here's my prep list for tomorrow to get ready for Thanksgiving:

Cranberry Sauce
Sweet Potato Casserole
Pecan Pie
Coconut Cream Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Topping
Caramel Apple Pie
Dinner Rolls

All of these dishes have to be cooked before I go to bed tomorrow.  And my list for Thanksgiving morning is just as long!  All 3 of my girls are home from school this week for Thanksgiving break.  So can you believe I decided I just had to bake up something sweet today while my little Jordyn was taking her nap?  Call me crazy but I just LOVE to bake now!

I'm stuck on apples and cinnamon lately.  It's finally Fall, even though it's been in the upper 70's all week.  I'm looking forward for the cold front that's supposed to arrive on Thursday and stay through Friday.  I want to make all of my Fall time favorite soups and baked goods.

I bought a Spice Cake mix at the store yesterday and I decided it was going to be the focus of my mad baking experiment.  It's just so flavorful and versatile in the fall!  And you don't have to measure out all those darn dry ingredients and have flour and cinnamon all over your kitchen.  I hope you enjoy the cake I created!  It's not too late to add it to your Thanksgiving dessert table.

Cake Ingredients:

1 - Betty Crocker Spice cake mix
1/2 cup cinnamon apple sauce
1 1/4 cup water
1 T vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup diced Granny Smith apples

Apple Topping:

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced (dice up 1/2 cup for cake mix)
1 T butter
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Caramel Topping:
4 T butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a bundt cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a large stand mixer, add cake mix, apple sauce, water, vegetable oil, and eggs.  Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Stir in the coconut and diced apples.  Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, add the 1 T butter, sliced apples, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Saute until just pliable, about 3 minutes.  This will make it easier to arrange them in the bundt pan without breaking them.  Remove and set aside.  

Use the same sauce pan to melt the 4 T butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar.  Cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes. 

While this is cooking you can arrange the apples in the bundt pan.

Pour the caramel sauce over the apples. 

Then pour the cake mix over the caramel. 

Bake for 42-45 minutes, or until the cake springs back to the touch.  I also tested mine with a long skewer just to make sure it was done in the middle.  This is a very moist cake.

When the cake is done, place a plate over the top and carefully turn it over.  Be careful not to burn yourself in any of the caramel drips out...I speak from experience.  Enjoy!

Linked up at:
Siggy Spice - Thanksgiving Dessert Extravaganza
Tuesdays at the Table - All the Small Stuff

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

YUM...brown sugar topping with pineapples and cake...brings back so many childhood memories.  My mom made the best pineapple upside down cake.  She would always use a cast iron skillet so the topping was nice and caramelized on top.  This is my mom's tried and true recipe.  I just used muffin tins instead of a cast iron skillet. 


I really like individual little desserts.  My girls can easily help themselves and they look pretty fancy.  I decided to try this recipe using jumbo muffin tins and regular muffin tins.  This recipe will make a batch of 6 jumbo size or 12 muffin size cakes.

Note: This recipe can be doubled and baked in a sprayed non-stick bundt pan for 32-35 minutes, or until cake tester or skewer comes out clean.


Cake Ingredients:

2 eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
4 Tbsp pineapple juice
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Topping:

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick or 4 Tbsp)
2/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
1-can pineapple rings
6-maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray your muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a mixing bowl, add eggs, white sugar, and pineapple juice.  Beat for 2 minutes.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to the wet ingredients and turn mixer back on for 2 minutes. 

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and add the brown sugar.  Stir on low heat for one minute.

Spoon a layer of the warm brown sugar mixture into the bottom of each muffin tin, then place a pineapple ring on top.  Add a cherry in the middle of each pineapple.    Pour cake mixture over to fill muffin tin 3/4 of the way full.  If you are using regular muffin tins, you will need to cut down the rings to fit or just use pineapple tidbits.

Bake jumbo cakes for 25 minutes.  Bake regular cakes for 20 minutes.  If you choose to make a large cake, bake for 22-25 minutes in a 10 inch cast iron skillet.  The cake is done with a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.


This is the hard part...waiting for warm cakes to finish baking.  

Remove from the oven.  Let cool in pan for 3 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of each cake to help loosen in case it sticks a little.  Place a wire cooling rack on top, and quickly flip over on top of sheet tray to catch extra drippings. 

Place wire rack of cakes on sheet tray to cool. 

Now it's time to Enjoy!