Tag Archives: cakes

April 10, 2012

Southern Caramel Cake with Jack Daniels

Caramel cake is a Southern specialty that you can find in almost any community or church cookbook below the Mason Dixon. Jack Daniels is a classic Southern mash whiskey and it is one of those things that finds its way into numerous Southern recipes from cakes to cookies. Praline is certainly Southern in both flavor and origins. What happens when you combine them all into one magnificent cake?

Suddenly you will say y’all. The front porch will be referred to as the veranda. The theme music from Gone with the Wind will play whenever you sweep down the stairs. And your irritating neighbors? Well, bless their hearts. Continue reading →

Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake with Butterfinger Filling

What’s better than moist, dark, chocolaty goodness? Moist, dark, chocolaty goodness that has a pop! of Butterfingers.

When I asked Sean what type of cake he wanted for his birthday he said, “Chocolate.” O.k., THAT was predictable. How many chocolate layer cakes can a person make and have them be unique? Answer. Not that many.

What to do. Shiloh tried to talk Sean into her favorite cake, the Holy Cow Cake. I wondered if there was a way to get some of that flavor into a layer cake. The best that I could come up with with a Butterfinger filling.

Let me digress for a moment here. Like most big families we have a lot of birthdays. Sometimes it seems like it is just one celebration after another… and it is! January, February, March, April, July, August, October, November, December…and some months have more than one event. I used to do every party separately but I must be getting old – I try to condense them into just one for the month. When I can.

I went into labor with Sean while I was hosting a Gingerbread House party for my children’s friends. There must have been 20 people or more at that party. I would stop every once in awhile to catch my breath during a contraction and then continue with the festivities.

A group of other homeschool moms that I knew online prayed me through that day and sat by their computers waiting for frequent updates as to my progress. It was in the days before Facebook or Twitter and I posted on the old fashioned message board.

“Doing o.k.”

“Party is going well. Contrax are getting harder…”

The party was finally over, the kids had their gingerbread houses, and Sean was born at home later that evening. All almost 11 pounds of him.

Whenever I think of that day I think of how cool the Internet is. I mean, I have so many close friends, some of whom I have never met. This particular group of homeschool moms that I belong to have been friends since at least 1995. We have prayed for eachother through births, deaths, divorces, remarriages, problems with kids, and more. Between us we have experienced it all I think.

I don’t talk to all of them anymore; some I keep up with on Facebook, some are lost to me but I can’t think of Sean’s birth without remembering each of them and sending out a quick warm hug to them in my mind.

Anyway… Chocolate cake. I used Hershey’s Original chocolate cake recipe. It is a good one and always comes out very moist. I used the Special Dark Cocoa and that added more chocolate taste. The frosting and filling was a version of the fudge frosting I posted last week.

It was fabulous – you will want to keep it refrigerated if it is a very warm day because the frosting will melt off.

Fudge Cake

makes 2 – 9 inch layers

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon’s baking soda
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water or coffee

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line with wax paper.
Grease pans again and dust with flour.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well blended.
Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in hot coffee.
Batter will be thin.
Pour into prepared pans.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until done.
Cool completely.

Frosting

3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream

Beat butter until creamy.
Add the cocoa, sugar, salt, and vanilla.
Mix well until blended.
Add the cream and beat until fluffy and spreadable.
Reserve 1 cup and use the rest to frost the cake.

Filling

Reserved Frosting
1` cup chopped Butterfinger bars

Mix together and chill.

Spread thickly between cooled cake layers.

Frost with frosting.

Serves 10

images:marye audet

5 Comments

Filed under Cake

Tagged as birthday cakes recipes, butterfingers, cakes, chocolate cake recipes, chocolate fudge frosting, chocolate recipes

October 26, 2010

Banana-Bourbon Pecan Upside Down Cake

Upside down cakes are classic desserts. They are quick and easy; no need to frost – just add a dollop of whipped cream and you are good to go.

Although pineapple upside down cake is THE classic, and many people’s first choice, I like to experiment with other fruit. Bananas are one of my favorites because they are rich and creamy, super sweet and really add depth of flavor to a variety of baked goods. They are also not incredibly expensive.

This cake is old-fashioned yumminess. The banana topping is warm and sweet, boozy and rich… real comfort food. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for the perfect ending to almost any meal.

I left the pecans in halves because I like how it looks but you could certainly used them chopped for more pecan-i-ness.

Banana Bourbon Upside Down Cake

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
2 Tbs bourbon
2 large ripe bananas, sliced
1 cup pecan halves
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.
Melt butter in a saucepan and allow it to turn golden brown.
Stir in bourbon and brown sugar until smooth.
Pour into a 9 inch cake pan, covering the bottom.
Arrange sliced bananas and pecan halves over the brown sugar mixture.
Blend dry ingredients, set aside.
Cream sugar and butter until fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time mixing thoroughly after each.
Add mashed banana mixing thoroughly.
Add flour mixture alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.
Spread batter over the bananas and pecans in the pan
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let cool for 5 minutes and turn out on cake plate

serves 8

images:marye audet

4 Comments

Filed under Cake

Tagged as banana upside down cake, cakes, Dessert, easy recipes

September 21, 2007

Classic Yellow Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Frosting

There is something comforting about yellow cake. I am not sure exactly what does it for me, the cheerful golden color, the delicate taste? Something. It goes with everything, it is easy to make and if you are in need of a birthday cake it is always a good start. Add a deep, rich chocolate frosting and you have all that is childhood on a plate.
My mother was not much of a cook. She just didn’t take any enjoyment in it. However my best friend lived across the street in the midst of a large, boisterous family. I was enchanted by the activity in that house. The smells that wafted from the kitchen, the freedom they had to do crafts in the den, or to bake cookies or whatever. I was not allowed in the kitchen for fear I would make a mess.
Amazing things appeared in that kitchen, things that I had never imagined existed. Cream puffs, eclairs, marble cakes and cookies to dip in large glasses of cold milk were displayed in their glory on table and counter. One day when I was about six I mentioned that I felt bad because it was my mother’s birthday and I was not allowed to mess up the kitchen. She had not had a cake for her birthday that I could recall and I wanted her to have one.
Mrs Willett, (that was the name of this wonderful woman, and yes, if you are a Willett from Warrington, Pa. I am talking about you) immediately offered the use of her kitchen and her supervision and allowed my friend, Chris, and I to create a cake.
Now that I have 8 kids myself I understand the time sacriifice that that loving act was. I learned that I loved cooking that day and I learned that some things were much more important than a clean kitchen.

Yesterday I tested a yellow cake recipe for Cooks Illustrated. I did not care for it nearly as much as I like this one, which is a good thing because I can’t post the test recipes anyway. By the way, anyone can test recipes for them and it is fun! They often have a link when they are looking for new testers. It isn’t compensated of course but how cool is it to say that you have tested a recipe that you are reading in their magazine?
cake

Classic Yellow Cake

1/2 cup butter
1-1/4 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1-1/4 cups buttermilk
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Grease and flour two 9″ round pans. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
classic yellow cake

Frosting

1/2 cup butter
4 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup cream

Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave, or in the top of a double boiler. In a large bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and 1/2 cup of the cream. Blend in the melted chocolate mixture. Add remaining cream, a little at a time, until desired consistency is achieved. Let stand until spreadable . Frosting will thicken as it cools.

4 Comments

Filed under Cake, Dessert

Tagged as cakes, chocolate frosting, layer cakes, recipes, vanilla cakes, yellow cake

August 15, 2007

Chocolate Sheet Cake

Well, tonight is home group at our house again. If anything I am more unprepared than I was last week…I am starting to think that this is the way my life is now-chaotic and unorganized. What a kick in the pride!

One of the things I am learning from the chaos is that everything does not have to be an event to be pleasant and good. The people that come to our home group enjoy simplicity as much (and maybe more) as the stellar concoctions I have come up with in the past. There is a reason that sheet cakes, bundt cakes and such turn up at church potlucks time after time.

chocolate sheet cake

This is simplicity. I am in the process of making it so I will come back and add photos later. The cake is moist, rich and deliciously chocolaty. And best of all…simple. So sorry, no chipotle today…I think my family is chipotled out. BUT…seriously….chipotle would be really good in this…

Chocolate sheet cake

1 cup water ( or coffee)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

4C powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk or cream

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 15 1/2 x 10 1/2×1-inch baking sheet. Whisk 1 cup water, 1/2 c butter, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Whisk in sugar, flour, salt, then buttermilk and eggs. Spread batter in prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle batter with semisweet chocolate chips. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cake in pan to rack.

Meanwhile, melt remaining 1/2 cup butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Whisk in powdered sugar, whole milk, remaining 3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Spread frosting over warm cake. Sprinkle with nuts. Cool cake completely in pan.

Serves 24

O.k..now that I have made it…

I did end up tweaking the frosting. Well..it wasn’t even a tweak. I used 4 c powdered sugar, 1/2 hershey’s special dark cocoa, 1/2 c butter, 1 tsp almond extract, 1/3 c coffee, 1 tbs chili powder, 1 tsp cinnamon

I am calling it aztec chocolate frosting. It paired very well with the dark chocolate cake..The pictures weren’t very good and the cake was gone before I could get more pictures. ….