Category: more cake, please

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Cake #46 Gingerbread Bundt with double rum glaze

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If you know me at all, you know that one of my favorite things to bake, especially at Christmas time is a gingerbread blondie.  It’s one of my absolute best baked goods that I love!  So it’s only natural that I might want to to try making a gingerbread Bundt!  I found a wonderful recipe on Pinterest from King Arthur Flour’s website.

One thing I was looking for was a cake recipe that made a really warm and spicy batter, so that I would top it with a bright, cool flavored rum glaze!  and in fact I wanted to do two different glazes!  Crazy, right?  The first was a sugar rum glaze I poured over the cake while it was still warm in the pan.  the second one, I made with cream and rum flavor and painted it on to create a nice crunch glaze like what you might find on a Donut.  yum!!!

Here’s the recipe:

CAKE #46 – Gingerbread Bundt with double rum glaze
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons gingerbread spice; or 2 1/2 teaspoons ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup water

GLAZE #1
1/3 cup rum or water
1/2 teaspoon gingerbread spice; or 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar

GLAZE #2
2 tbsp cream – or two preferred consistency
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp rum extract

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 10- to 12-cup bundt-style pan.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, gingerbread spice, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the molasses.
Add the flour mixture in three additions alternately with the water, starting and ending with the flour. Mix just until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
Bake the cake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, make the glaze by stirring together the water spice and sugar. Set aside.
Remove the cake from the oven, cool it in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack.
Brush the cake with the glaze, and allow it to cool completely before serving.

 

 

a bit of history · in my kitchen · more cake, please

Cake #45 – Queen Elizabeth Cake

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My mom often reminisces with me about her experiences as a child, learning to cook and bake with her mom. One of the things she remembers is helping her mom make Queen Elizabeth Cake.  The thing is, normally the QE cake is not a Bundt cake.  but today, in my kitchen it was!

I should be clear – this is not the cake my mom used to make with her mother.  This is a bundt cake that might remind you of the Queen Elizabeth Cake.  I wanted the flavors to remind my mom of something special!  I hope it does!

This is what I did:

Ingredients:

Golden cake mix
coconut pudding mix
4 eggs
one cup chopped dates
one tsp baking soda
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup oil
1 cup almond milk

 

Topping:
3 tbsp butter
5 tbsp grown sugar
2 tbsp creamer
1/2 cup coconut
chopped nuts

 

Instructions:

preheat the oven to 350.  Chop dates and sprinkle the baking soda over them in a bowl.  Then pour 1 cup boiling water over the dates and let them cool.  Mix the remaining ingredients together – on medium speed for 2 minutes.  then, fold in the date mixture into the cake batter.  spray flour/butter into the Bundt pan.  Sprinkle coconut over the bottom and sides of the pan.  then spread batter into then pan and bake for 45-55 minutes.

When the cake is done and partly cooled remove from the pan to an oven save cake round or plate.  Then make the topping by melting the butter in a small pan and add sugar, creamer and coconut and bring to a boil form about 3 minutes.  Spread topping over the cake.  At this point you should set the oven on broil and put the cake back into the oven to brown.  I accidentally put my cake on the wrong round that I could not put back in the oven, so I wasn’t able to put mine into the oven.  So sad.  but I did sprinkle chopped pecan over the topping!

Here’s hoping my mom really enjoys it!

 

 

home schooling · more cake, please

Cake # 40 – Apple Cider Donut Bundt (second try)

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This week I looked over the calendar and realized it was time to begin  testing some fall flavor ideas.  There’s a chocolate root beer pound cake I would love to try.  And a few spice and pumpkin cake recipes I’m looking forward to.  But first – there was a cake I wanted to make again and make it my own.

I first made the Apple Cider Donut Bundt for a friend earlier in the summer and I tried to make it mostly the way recipe assigns – but, I knew I wanted to do a few different things and see if I could improve the cake from something delicious into something incredible.

Well, I’ll tell you – I sent this baby to a youth event and it was consumed with fabulous reviews.  My daughter who has seen and tasted a lot of cake this year says this one may indeed be a keeper!  I may need to take her advice!

Here it is:  Cake #40. Apple Cider Donut Bundt.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup apple cider
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons pure vanilla butternut extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup Bundt pan. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together 1 and 3/4 cups brown and white sugar, cider, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and eggs. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; whisk until combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet; let cool 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

Invert warm cake onto rack. Brush small sections of the cake with melted butter, then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar. (I did this several times – butter, sprinkle sugar, butter, sprinkle sugar)Let cool completely before serving. Cake can be stored, covered, at room temperature up to 2 days.

Give it a try!  I bet you won’t regret it!  happy fall, y’all!

 

in my kitchen · more cake, please

Cake #37 popcorn snack bundt

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On this cake journey, Ive found myself wishing for a diversion- something different.  I don’t always indulge in that desire because there are just too many cake recipes to test!

But this week, I let myself try a new idea!  A popcorn cake!    It was kind of like salty snacks meet rice krispy treats and combine into a cake! It was super yummy – the kids loved it and it was pretty simple, although sticky, to make! Really, it is a lot like a giant popcorn ball.   It seems like the perfect treat in the fall!

I used the recipe from cookiesandcups.com – its a great site with lots of good recipes!   Next time, I’m going to experiment and make this recipe more my own – maybe with other mix-ins, and some peanut butter somewhere in the gooey mixture.

Cake #37 Popcorn cake.

Ingredients:

  • 2 bags of microwave popcorn, popped with unpopped kernels removed
  • 2 cups M&M’s and Reese’s pieces
  • 1½ cups broken pretzel sticks
  • 16 oz mini marshmallows (8 cups)
  • ½ cup butter

Instructions:

  1. Prepare a large tube or bundt pan by spraying with cooking spray. (I actually lined my pan with press and seal instead – and the cake came out of the pan no sweat) In the bottom of the pan sprinkle a few m&ms to make the top of the cake look colorful.
  2. Microwave the 2 bags of buttered popcorn, dump in a large bowl and pick out the unpopped kernels.  Add the other mix -ins- 2 cups of M&M’s and 1½ cups broken pretzel sticks to the bowl.
  3. Melt 1 stick of butter over low in a large saucepan and then add in a 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows (8 cups). Stir until melted and smooth and remove from the heat.
  4. Allow it to cool for about 2 minutes, while stirring constantly and then pour it over your popcorn mixture.
  5. Stir until all the ingredients are combined and then press into the prepared pan (I make sure I grease my fingers really well for this step).
  6. Cover with foil and let your cake set for at least an hour to cool and set up.
  7. When you are ready to serve the cake, Flip your pan over onto your serving platter. Your cake should come out pretty easily if you lined with press n seal.

 

friends and loved ones · in my kitchen · more cake, please

Chocolate mascarpone Bundt and a happy birthday!

melodyannday3 Comments

Cake #36 was a delight to make because it was for my husband’s birthday – we chose a recipe for Chocolate Mascarpone Bundt Cake.   And, yes, it was very yummy!  Michael’s parents came over for a birthday dinner and shared cake with us!

There’s not a lot to say here, simply because it was a good recipe – and it turned out well!  However, I would say – don’t bake it the full time as recommended.  I baked this one just over and hour and I’m afraid it was just a tiny bit dry around the edges!

Chocolate is so complicated when it comes to baking because it is hard to tell when it is finished baking.   I believe that if there is cocoa in the recipe, the cake bakes and then dries out quickly.

Here is the recipe from thebakingfairy.net.    It is definitely worth attempting!

Cake #36 Chocolate Mascarpone Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

  • ⅔ cup {10.5 tbsp} unsalted butter, softened
  • 1¾ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 oz mascarpone cheese {about ¾ cup}
  • 1¼ cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup cocoa powder
  • 1¾ all-purpose flour
  • 1½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a bundt pan very well.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.
  • Add in the eggs and vanilla, and beat until fluffy. Stir in the sour cream and mascarpone, and mix until combined.
  • Add in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and beat until creamy and fluffy.
  • Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, and bake for 60-70 minutes (I wish I had only baked it for about 55 minutes, instead of 60), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let cake cool slightly in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

happy birthday, Michael!

 

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Cake #35 Milk Chocolate Pound Cake

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One would think that at week #35 I might be growing weary of cake.  I certainly expected to be reticent by now.  However, I don’t know how I could be with this in my oven!

Cake #35, looks and smells like the epitome of a perfectly light and sweet, chocolate pound cake. Thankfully, I needed to make a thank you gift for a friend and this seemed to fit the bill!  She said she only wanted a few pieces – and since I’m actually really wanting to try this one myself, we will go halve-sies.   (I don’t even know if that’s a word, but I’m saying it anyway.)

The batter was light and fluffy – and the cake calls for milk chocolate, so we are not dealing with a dark, rich, chocolate cake.  It uses one of my favorites : a can of Hershey’s syrup.

(My apologies about these photos!  I used my phone – and they are okay, but just not as good when I use my camera.  I got so excited about the cake, I almost forgot to take any photos, so in a hurry I grabbed my phone!  better pics next time, I promise!)

   

Here’s the recipe for Cake #35: milk chocolate pound cake

( I found this recipe on Pinterest as Granny’s Chocolate Cake, on the blog : cookingbythewater.wordpress.com. It is super simple, but, I think it is going to be very, very yummy!  I will say that I’m hopeful it isn’t dry after baking so low and slow… )

Ingredients
2 sticks margarine (softened)
1/2 cup Crisco
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 – 16 oz. can Hershey’s chocolate syrup
.
Directions
Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Cream margarine, shortening, and sugar.
Add eggs one at a time, and beat well.
Add vanilla.
Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with milk.
Add chocolate syrup.
Mix well.
Bake in greased and floured 10-inch tube pan for 1 hour 45 minutes.

in my kitchen · more cake, please

Cake #34 Lemon Pound Cake and a happy birthday!

melodyannday4 Comments

Cake #34 – Lemon Pound Cake – is actually the famous recipe from Lady Bird Johnson.  I can tell you, it is baking right now and smells fabulous!

This cake is shipping out later this week to our friend Shannon, up in Columbus, for her birthday!  I’m so excited to share a cake with her.  She said she loves lemon, so I’m hoping this fits the bill!  What I’m looking forward to is this fabulous glaze I’ll paint on when the cake is cooled – it is different than other glazes I’ve made before!  I think it is really going to make the cake’s flavors POP!    One confession:  I did not sift 3 times.  only once.  In Shannon’s honor, I’m breaking the rules!  lol!

LADY BIRD JOHNSON’S LEMON CAKE

3/4 Cup Softened Butter
1 1/4 Cups Sugar
8 Egg Yolks
2 1/2 Cups Flour
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Cup Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 t. lemon juice
1 Teaspoon Grated Lemon Rind

 

Preheat your oven to 325° F.  Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks until light and lemon colored.  Blend into the creamed mixture.  Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Resift 3 times.  Add the sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk.  Beat the batter thoroughly after each addition.  Add the vanilla extract, lemon rind and lemon juice.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Bake in a greased Bundt pan in the oven for 1 hour or until the cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and cool 19 minutes before inverting on serving platter.

 

LEMON GLAZE

2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 T. fresh lemon juice
1-2 t. buttermilk
Zest of one fresh lemon

friends and loved ones · in my kitchen · more cake, please

cake #32 Kentucky butter cake with caramel pecan bourbon sauce

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A few weeks ago, a good friend of ours had a birthday.  I found out what kind of cake he might like and planned to make something yummy for him.  Do you know what happened?

I made a disastrous version of the cake.  It was terrible!  It was so bad I just could not even bring myself to blog about it.

Today I redeemed myself – I made a Kentucky Butter Cake with caramel pecan bourbon sauce.   And, I think it may be a winner!  The caramel sauce alone I could eat every day for the rest of my life it tastes so delicious.

I will be honest and tell you that I’m not sure the sauce has the exact texture I wanted, so I’ll be experimenting with it more.  However, in today’s form it was anything but terrible.

I used the same Kentucky Butter Cake recipe from cookies and cups blog that I’ve used before.  It is definitely a keeper.  Look back a few posts to cake #26 for that recipe!   But, here’s the recipe for the caramel pecan bourbon sauce – I hope it works well for you – and I promise, I’ll keep you updated on any success I have with it.

Southern Pecan Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup pecans
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon bourbon divided
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 10-12 minutes until browned and fragrant. Transfer pecans to a cutting board and chop.
  2. In a medium saucepan, add sugar, corn syrup and 3 tablespoons bourbon. No need to stir. Have the whipping cream measured and next to the stove at the ready. Place saucepan over medium to medium high heat (depending on how hot your stove runs). Bring mixture to a rolling boil and watching the sugar mixture deepen in color. It will go from a light corn-syrup color, to light brown to amber. The change between light brown and amber is quick. Be ready for it. When it achieves a deep brown (not burnt) color, pour the cream into the center of the pan. It will steam and bubble vigorously — that’s ok. When it calms, remove it from the stove. Stir in the salt and chopped pecans. Let it cool for about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining teaspoon of bourbon. Transfer to a glass storage container. You can store sauce in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

 

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cake # 30 Crunchy Chocolate Chip Bundt

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Well, this is my second cake this week, because, I’ve gotta catch up!  I decided to make one for my family, because they seem to think I never make a cake for them.  I thought about it for a bit, and chose the Chocolate Chip Bundt – maybe we can eat it for breakfast over the course of some busy mornings this week?

I have this sign that says “eat cake for breakfast” so, I’m trying to live by that.

The cake appears to be similar in texture to that of a muffin, and it is crunchy because there is a pecan-brown sugar topping.  I think it looks pretty yummy.   It is not difficult to put together, and would definitely be worth making, maybe even for breakfast!  🙂

Cake #30: Crunchy Chocolate Chip Bundt (from the blog bakeorbreak.com)

Ingredients:

FOR THE TOPPING:

  • 2/3 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

FOR THE CAKE:

  • 2 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 12 ounces semisweet chocolate mini chips

instructions:

TO MAKE THE TOPPING:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.
  2. Stir the pecans, butter, and sugar together with a fork. Sprinkle the mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan.

TO MAKE THE CAKE:

  1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  2. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla until fluffy (3-5 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
  3. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Begin and end with flour mixture. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat just until blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
  4. Bake 50-55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
  5. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cool completely on wire rack.
 
in my kitchen · more cake, please · Uncategorized

cake # 29

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Cake #29 is a lovely Lemonade Cake with Fluffy Lemon Frosting.

My hubs bought me this delightful magazine by America’s Test Kitchen called, “Great American Cakes.”  He also got me a new bundt pan!  Let me tell you,  I have love, love, loved looking thru it and figuring out which cake to make first in the new pan.

I decided on the Pink Lemonade Cake – which by the way, mine was not pink.  The recipe was a little more complex and a lot more high maintenance than I like to tackle.  But, this one was worth it.

Now, I have to be honest and tell you that I did not follow the recipe in total – and so, when it said to NOT prepare the pan with butter and flour, I did not believe it – and I did it anyway.  Unfortunately, that resulted in the cake not coming out of the new pan very well.  However, fluffy lemon frosting to the rescue, right?

We have a friend coming over tonight, so, we will share the cake with him.

As I said, the recipe is super long, so – I will share the ingredients here, but – you can look the instructions up on ATK, if you want the full recipe!

Ingredients:

Cake:
5 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
1 recipe of fluffy lemon cream cheese frosting

Frosting:
8 tbsp butter
8 oz cream cheese
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract