Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
Monday, May 8, 2017
Friday, May 5, 2017
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Old Fashioned Pound Cake
Old Fashioned Pound Cake
Move over Sara Lee there is a new pound cake in town! Thats right folks I have for you today THE. BEST. POUND. CAKE. EVER!!!! All the credit for this recipe goes to the brilliant Carole Walters of Great Cakes. I am baking my way through this cookbook along side a beautiful group of fellow bakers called, The Cake Slice Bakers.
This pound cake not only has the perfect texture - dense with a soft crumb - but the flavor was just divine. The crust that surround the cake was also perfect. It was like a thin cookie surrounding the cake. My oldest daughter called it a "pound of yumminess". I think shes got the right idea. :-)
As with every other recipe from Great Cakes that Ive made so far I loved how this recipe came together. It may take a little bit longer to put the batter together for this cake but the final result is just perfect. The butter is beaten until light and fluffy and then sugar is added in slowly, one tablespoon at a time. Eggs are also beaten in one at time to ensure complete incorporation into the batter. I chose to add in 1 tsp of almond extract along with the vanilla extract. I loved this addition of almond extract as it added just a hint of almond flavor to the cake.
As I sliced into this cake I began to think of all the delicious treats I could make with it. I envisioned a beautiful truffle or parfait layered with cubes of pound cake, fresh berries, custard and whipped cream. Or for a simple version I could serve sliced pound cake with a lovely berry sauce drizzled over it. Hot tea to dip my pound cake slice in would be just fine too.
I took a couple of slices and cut hearts out with a cookie cutter. I then presented my girls with a plateful of pound cake hearts and little bowl of Nutella for them to spread on top of the yummy hearts. What delicious fun for all of us!
Old Fashioned Pound Cake
recipe from Great Cakes by Carole Walter
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (dont have cake flour on hand? you can make your own HERE)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup superfine or strained sugar (I used regular granulated sugar and it worked great)
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract (my addition)
1/4 cup milk
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray loaf pan (9x5) with baking spray and set aside.
2. Sift together sifted cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside flour mixture.
3. Cut butter into 1" slices. Toss butter slices into a large bowl of an electric mixer and beat on low to soften. Increase speed of mixture to medium high to cream butter until light in color and smooth - about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.
4. Add in sugar 1 Tbsp at a time. This will take about 6-8 minutes to complete. Scrape sides of the bowl occasionally.
5. Add the eggs, 1 at a time at 1-minute intervals. Add in vanilla (and almond extract if you wish) and blend well. At this point the batter may appear curdled. Not to worry as the addition of the dry ingredients will remedy this.
6. On low speed add in 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by 1/2 the milk. Then again another 1/3 of the flour and the remaining milk ending with the last of the flour. Mix only until incorporated after each addition. Scrap the sides of bowl to make sure all ingredients have been included.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Bake in middle of the oven centered on the rack for 60-70 minutes. If cake appears to be getting dark too fast cover lightly with tin foil. Cake will be done with toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.
8. Cool cake in pan for 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a platter to serve. Enjoy!!
Happy Old Fashioned Pound Cake Baking!
Available link for download
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Friday, March 31, 2017
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie COFFEE CAKE
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie COFFEE CAKE
Yes, you read that right.....this is a coffee cake filled with yumminess with all the delicious-ness of an oatmeal raisin cookie. Hands down one of the BEST coffee cakes I have made in a LONG time. Of course it doesnt hurt that I am a sucker for oatmeal raisin cookies along with any type of coffee cake. Put these two sweets together and you have a master piece I tell ya!
There are some recipes that I make and after putting in my time, energy and taste buds towards the finished product I decide not to make the recipe again....and then there are recipes that put me over the edge with happiness with all the applauds of yumminess ?from myself and those that I share it with. I will definitely be making this recipe again. I recommend it to all of you to do the same. Especially if you are a coffee cake and an oatmeal raisin cookie fan.....its a LOVELY combination of both.
I also really liked how there was a thick ribbon of cinnamon and brown sugar goodness that ran through the middle of this cake. Raisins and chopped nuts studded the middle of the cake too making it a true oatmeal cookie delight.
Because Valentines Day is just around the corner I couldnt resist making this coffee cake in a heart shaped pan.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake
(recipe found on the lovely and oh so scrumptious blog, A Whisk and a Prayer)
Cake Ingredients:
2 cups AP flour
2/3 cup oats (regular or quick cooking)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling/Topping Ingredients:
1/4 cup AP flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut into small chunks
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" round (or heart shaped) spring form pan.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.
4. Add in 1/3 of flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Then mix in 1/2 the milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract followed by another 1/3 of the flour mixture. End with remaining wet ingredients and then the last of the flour. Set aside as you make the filling/topping.
5. Make the filling/topping - In a medium bowl combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add in 1/4 cup butter chunks. Using the back of a fork or a pastry cutter blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse sand.
6. Pour 1/2 of the cake batter into prepared pan. Then sprinkle 1/2 of the filling/topping mixture. Sprinkle over filling/topping raisins and chopped nuts. Pour remaining cake batter over raisins and chopped nuts. Top everything off with the remaining filling/topping mixture.
7. Place coffee cake into oven and bake for a good 45-50 minutes (my heart shaped cake took almost a full hour to bake), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake on a wire rack until it comes to room temperature and then remove sides of spring form pan.
So, so numilcious!!!
Happy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake Baking!
Available link for download
Saturday, March 11, 2017
orange thyme upside down cake
orange thyme upside down cake
When I started this blog a few years ago, I had no idea that I'd become part of this crazy community of folks all across the world, all brought together by one thing: a love of all things related to food. And this love has bled into my offline life in weird and wonderful ways. To wit — last summer, a fellow blogger and myself doggedly spent hours trying to hammer cookie dough in between two wire racks to make stroopwafels (spoiler alert: our method didn't work at all). And this last weekend, I spent my Saturday night with another close blogger friend figuring out the best way to fix a $300 Le Creuset pan, getting wayyy too excited when we finally managed to do so.
In some ways, I'm lucky to have been accepted as one of them. Because in real life, I'm not exactly sure if I would have even fit in at all. I've written about this before, but the blogging community is full of the nicest, sweetest folks ever. So nice that I kinda feel like a jerk around most of them. In fact, I know I'm the asshole in the group. Despite what this blog may have you believe, I'm really not as happy and sunny as I am here in real life. In the offline world, I swear a lot. I'm short tempered and get easily pissed off by lots of little things. Like people who don't take off their backpacks on crowded public transportation systems during rush hour, or the fact that Creed didn't get nominated for a "Best Picture" Oscar.
So I try to compensate for it in other ways. On Hummingbird High, for instance, I try to be the best version of myself — optimistic and friendly, relaxed and laid back, confident yet polite. But since those attributes don't come easily to me, I find myself looking up to the bloggers who are the epitome of those qualities.
One of those bloggers is Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen. Her corner of the internet is where I want to be, always. The company is sweet, the food is beautiful, and there's a cute corgi frolicking about. Her cookbook, The Year of Cozy, embodies the very values I was talking about above. Because not only is it filled with her tasty recipes, it also offers creative DIY projects and fun tips on how to live a happy, healthy life, encouraging folks to have different adventures and make new friends.
Adrianna actually sent me her cookbook a few months back, but like I said — being the jerk I am, I could only get around to baking something from it now. And I really wish that I could've found the time much earlier, because her recipe for this orange thyme upside down cake is just perfect. Take advantage of those blood oranges, yo. 'Tis the season.
also featured:
crate and barrel berry box white colander || dollar tree cake plate || anthropologie crocheted pot holder || herriot grace porcelain dessert plate || wusthof legende utility knife ||
crate and barrel welcome salad plate
crate and barrel berry box white colander || dollar tree cake plate || anthropologie crocheted pot holder || herriot grace porcelain dessert plate || wusthof legende utility knife ||
crate and barrel welcome salad plate
Some baker's notes:
- Blood oranges can be bitter to begin with, but they can turn extra bitter during the baking process. If bitterness is not your jam, I recommend with going with a variety of navel oranges, clementines, and satsumas instead. Since those oranges tend to be sweeter than blood oranges, I recommend cutting down the sugar in the topping from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup instead. Make sure to peel the oranges before you even start slicing them — it makes your life a lot easier. Believe me, I learned the hard way.
- The original recipe called for making the cake in a cast-iron skillet, but since my cast-iron skillet is fairly new, I thought it would be under-seasoned and ill-equipped for the job. So instead I used a 9-inch cake pan and found that it worked quite well. Be sure to use a 9-inch pan with high sides (at least 3-inches), and one without any patterns on the bottom (or else you'll end up with a cake like mine, whose top is faintly imprinted by my cake pan's fluted bottom).
Available link for download
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Sunday, February 12, 2017
ONE Bowl Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
ONE Bowl Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
My girls love being in the kitchen with me. Stirring, measuring, rolling and mixing are all skills that they have become comfortable with and are quite good at doing. Yes, there is often a thin layer of flour or sugar on the counter when all is said and done but the smiles on their faces and confidence in their step makes the mess worth every inch.
Recently my girls and I decided that we really should make a chocolate cake. We had already made a lovely chicken dinner all together so why not finish it off with a fantastic chocolate cake! I grabbed this recipe from Taste of Home and within 15 minutes the girls and I had placed our cake into the oven. Boom! The hardest part was waiting for it to bake....and then of course cool so we could frost it.
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We all agreed that this cake was THE. BEST. ONE bowl chocolate cake we had ever made (even though it was really the first one we had ever made). It was moist, chocolaty and very tasty. A chocolate perfection. The frosting and sprinkles made it extra special as it really could be eaten without such decadence but who eats chocolate cake without frosting? Not our household. Cake and frosting are always paired together.
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Grab your kiddos and have some fun in the kitchen baking up this cake. It is truly simple to make. And of course delicious too! Definitely well worth the wait for it to bake, cool and frost.
ONE Bowl Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
(recipe from Taste of Home)
Cake Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup hot water
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 baking cocoa
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 TBSP milk - to get desired consistency
Sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips - if you wish to make your cake extra special
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x13 pan and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together first 6 ingredients. Add in eggs, oil and buttermilk. Mix well all together and then add in hot water and mix to combine.
Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Make frosting by beating butter until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes. Add in powdered sugar and then cocoa and vanilla. Add in milk 1 TBSP at a time to achieve desired consistency.
Frost cake and sprinkle with sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips etc. Enjoy!
Happy ONE Bowl Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Baking!
Available link for download
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