Tag Archives: cake

Strawberry Shortcake

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This is my favourite basic white cake recipe.  It is quick and easy to do – light, fluffy, and tastes great.  In the spring it is the perfect way to make strawberry shortcake for any occasion.

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CAKE

1 cup white sugar
1⁄2 cup butter (soft)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3⁄4 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Grease and flour a 9×9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.  If you want to make a 9 x 13 cake, or a layer cake, double this recipe.

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk until batter is smooth.

Scoop batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch, and a toothpick or tester comes out clean.

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This might just be sweet little Stella’s first whipped cream beater to lick …. but shhhh – don’t tell anyone, Mom and Dad are away!

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5 YEARS LATER – Stella is just as sweet, but now she’s serving up the desserts!

Mexican Chocolate Cake with Pecan Glaze

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A hint of cinnamon, a whiff of coffee, and a moist delicious chocolate cake - doesn't get much better than this!

A hint of cinnamon, a whiff of coffee, and a moist delicious chocolate cake – doesn’t get much better than this!

CAKE
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup cold coffee, or espresso
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don’t have it – use 1 tbsp lemon juice and fill to 1/2 cup with milk)
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bundt cake pan well and dust with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.

Melt butter (2 sticks) in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then whisk in cocoa. Add coffee and whisk until smooth, then remove from heat. Whisk in separately sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl, then sift again into cocoa mixture and whisk until just combined (don’t worry if there are lumps).

Pour batter into cake pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 45 to 55 minutes. (Leave oven on just to roast pecans.)

Cool cake in pan on a rack 20 minutes, then loosen edges with a thin knife and invert onto a plate.

GLAZE

2 cups chopped pecans (71/2 ounces) Roast lightly until slightly browned – set aside.
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
5 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over low heat, then stir in half-and-half and confectioners sugar. Add chocolate and cook, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and salt. Cool glaze until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Spoon glaze over top and sides of cake (cake will still be warm) and spread with a small offset spatula or knife to cover completely.

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Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

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This cake just keeps getting better – didn’t have quite enough banana, but I had made some apple sauce for baby Stella Rose, just enough to bump up the fruit to the 3 cups – so moist and delicious!

chattykathychatsandcooks

P1110037 P1100740 This was one of those favorite school box recipes. The kids loved it for years – and it was one of Meghan’s favorites so when she got married this year, I made it once again and it was just as popular.

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups bananas

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time – beating well with each until the battery is light, creamy and fluffy.  Add vanilla and banana.  Mix until smooth. 

Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Add to butter, egg, banana mixture alternately with the sour cream. 

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon

Spread half in a greased and floured 9×13 baking pan. Sprinkle half the brown sugar, cinnamon mixture over…

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Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes

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Warm desserts are perfect on cold nights, and warm chocolate oozing out of these cakes with a bit of vanilla ice cream are a real treat – add a few raspberries for a bit of tartness.

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

4 ounces semi sweet baking chocolate

1/2 cup butter

1 tbsp good red wine (I like Cab Sauv)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup icing sugar

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

6 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp ground Saigon Cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 400

Butter 4 6 oz custard cups and place on baking sheet

Microwave chocolate and butter in bowl at 30 second intervals just until butter is melted and you are able to melt the chocolate into it smoothly.  Stir in wine, vanila, and icing sugar until smooth.  Stir in eggs and yolk.  Add flour and spices.  

Pour batter into custard cups.

Bake for 13 minutes (until sides are firm but they are soft in center).  Let stand 1 minute.  

Carefully loosen edges (with knife if necessary) and invert onto serving plate.  Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with fresh raspberries and a small bit of vanilla ice cream.

Peach Cream Cake

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1 cup soft unsalted butter

2 cups white sugar

3 large eggs

2 3/4 cups unbleached flour – divided

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sour crem

1 tbsp vanilla

1 cup diced fresh (or frozen but not defrosted) peaches

1 cup icing sugar

2 tbsp whipping cream

1 tbsp orange juice

Prehat oven to 375

Grease and flour a 10 in Bundt pan

In medium bowl, sift 2 1/2 cups flour, baking soda and salt

In bowl of stand mixer cream butte and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla.  Mix well.

Scrape the bowl, then slowly add the flour mixture to thewet mixture, scape again.

Toss the peaches with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour.  

Scoop 1/3 of the batter into bundt pan and scatter 1/3 of the peaches, repeat twice, finishing with the batter.

Put in the oven, and turn the temperature down to 325.  Bake for 60-75 minutes, – make sure a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool for at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and allow to finish cooling.  

Once cool – blend the icing sugar, whipping cream and orange juice and drizzle over top.

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Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

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P1110037P1100740This was one of those favorite school box recipes. The kids loved it for years – and it was one of Meghan’s favorites so when she got married this year, I made it once again and it was just as popular.

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups bananas

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time – beating well with each until the batter is light, creamy and fluffy.  Add vanilla and banana.  Mix until smooth. 

Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Add to butter, egg, banana mixture alternately with the sour cream. 

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon

Spread half in a greased and floured 9×13 baking pan. Sprinkle half the brown sugar, cinnamon mixture over and top with half the chocolate chips.  Add the rest of the batter, and complete with another topping of brown sugar, cinnamon and chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick – when inserted – comes out clean.

This can easily be converted to muffins if you don’t have enough over ripe bananas hanging around the kitchen counter …. today I only had half the bananas so I made 12 muffins by cutting the recipe in half.  Fabulous …. 

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Limoncello Cake Pops

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Cake pops are such a fun little bite of deliciousness.  These ones were made for a stagette/shower – the brides colors are purple and yellow so of course we had to make the cake pops to match – they were fantastic.

A piece of styrofoam works well to stand the cake pops in, but if you want to get creative, like my daughter Hayley, drill holes into a 2 x 6, sand it well, give it a light brushing of stain, and finish it with decorative edges!

As well as the cake and icing ingredients you will need chocolate (whatever color you like – for this one we used purple chocolate wafers), lollipop sticks and whatever you would like to decorate with.

LIMONCELLO CAKE

Preheat oven to 325

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 stick butter

2 oz cream cheese

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 tbsp limoncello

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

Soften the butter and cream cheese – beat well.  When incorporated well add the sugar and beat until it is creamy in color and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time beating well each time, finally adding the limoncello.  In a separate bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the buttermilk and the flour mixture alternately to butter.  Gently fold in the lemon juice and zest until just blended.

Bake at 325 in a greased, lined 8×8 cake pan for about 20-25 minutes, then cool completely.

ICING

1/2 stick butter

6 oz cream cheese

4 cups icing sugar

2 tbsp limoncello

Bring butter and cream cheese to room temperature and beat well.  Add limoncello and whip.  Beat in icing sugar until it is as thick as you would like.

ASSEMBLY

When cake has completely cooled crumble it into a large bowl – make sure there aren’t any large bits.  Add the buttercream icing until it can be easily rolled into a ball.  (no larger than 1 inch)  You may not need all the icing.

Roll all the cake/icing mixture into little 1 inch balls and set in container – freeze if you don’t have time to complete the next step.

Melt chocolate over warm water just until smooth and creamy – taking care not to get any water into the chocolate.  A small canning jar works really well for this – set into a pot of gently simmering water.

Dip the lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and press deep into the cake ball.

Amy and Tyler were a great help making cake pops!

Allow to harden (we found it easiest to place the cake with stick into the freezer until that part was completed)  Only take out what you need so it all stays cold.

Then dip the cake pop into the melted chocolate until coated nicely – gently turning it and tapping on the edge of the jar the chocolate is in so the excess chocolate falls away.  If you want to press any cake decorating sprinkles etc on, now is the time.

A large piece of styrofoam is perfect to set the lollipop sticks in so that the chocolate hardens without touching anything.  Once hardened they are pretty sturdy, and you can further decorate or just put on display.

If you don’t have a styrofoam block for display, using a covered cardboard box works well too but it will be a little harder to get the cake pops to all stand at attention …

Boston Cream Pie

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Boston Cream Pie

This Boston Cream Pie is much easier to make than many desserts, and will quickly be a family favourite.

Boston Cream with fruit

Look what I did here.  Topped with fruit instead of chocolate.  Make a slurry out of juice and cornstarch, cook over medium heat until thickened, and spread that lightly on top of the cake just enough to set the fruit onto, then cover the top of the fruit with what’s left.  So light tasting, and even though it isn’t spring here yet, this made me feel like it’s on the way!

CAKE

Preheat oven to 350                       

  • 1 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 6 tbsp butter
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs

(I have listed these ingredients in random order to show you just how simple this cake is – throw everything in a bowl and mix!)  It will quickly become your “go to” cake any time you need a simple white cake. If you really feel the need to get technical, mix the butter, eggs and vanilla together until light and fluffy, then add the rest.

Mix well with hand beater at low speed until mixed, then high speed for 2 minutes.  Pour into greased and floured 9″ round cake pan.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, check with cake tester.  Cake should be just baked enough to be pulling away slightly from the sides of the baking pan, and tester should come out clean.  Let rest for 10 minutes then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

CREAMY CUSTARD FILLING 

  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch

In heavy saucepan, whisk all ingredients until incorporated very well then cook over medium-low heat until mixture thickens and boils, about 20 minutes.  Boil 1 minute stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp vanilla.

I have also done this part in the microwave – stir every 2 minutes until mixture has thickened well.  Make sure you use a large bowl as the mixture will raise and lower several times while it cooks.

Cover right on the surface of the pudding with saran until cool, but not set, about 30 minutes.

CHOCOLATE ICING

  • 2 squares semisweet chocolate
  • 1 tbsp butter or margarine
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 2-3 tbsp milk

In heavy saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter.  Remove saucepan from heat.  With wire whisk beat in 1/2 cup icing sugar and 2-3 tbsp milk until smooth and easy spreading consistency.

ASSEMBLY

With serrated knife, cut cake horizontally in half to form 2 equal layers.  Place 1 cake layer on cake platter, spread evenly with the cooled custard.  Top with 2nd cake layer, pressing down gently but firmly.  Cover top of cake with chocolate icing.  Try to spread chocolate cover to the edges so it drips down over the sides.  Refrigerate until serving time.

This cake is so versatile.  If you have a large crowd, double the recipe and make it 4 layers high!  So impressive looking – for extra flair, save some of the custard and spread it around the outside of the cake, then press in sliced toasted almonds.  You can also make one cake with chocolate  (add 1/4 cup cocoa powder to cake batter or use your own favorite chocolate cake) and add your toasted almonds to the top.