Colonial Apple Cider Cake

I was asked to make this for Joel's class for the Colonial Week Celebration that the fifth grade has every year. It was amazing. I had trouble getting it out of the pans. I think maybe the apples kind of caramelize in the baking and make it stickier. Just generously grease and flour your pans and allow adequate time for cooling and you shouldn't have the same issues that I did.

4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I used golden delicious)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 pound butter, melted (2 sticks)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze:

1⁄2 cup apple cider

2 tablespoons apple jelly

2 teaspoons cinnamon (I reduced this and only used 1 teaspoon. Two seemed like too much to me.)

powdered sugar, for dusting

Place apples in large bowl. Pour sugar over apples and let stand for 10 minutes to extract

moisture from the apples. Add eggs and butter; scrape bowl. Add all but glaze

ingredients; mix well. Pour batter into greased and floured bundt pan or two 9-inch

cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 60 to 75 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes

out clean. Allow cake to cool. 

Dissolve the apple jelly with the cider by warming them together. Mix in one teaspoon cinnamon. Brush this mixture over cake with a pastry brush. Continue brushing until all the glaze is gone. Dust liberally with powdered sugar.

Silky Peanut Butter Frosting

Posted by request. I found this recipe from Ina Garten online and made it for Joel’s birthday cake. It is silky, velvety, satiny smooth and oh so peanut buttery. David made a dark chocolate cake that we frosted with this and It was a huge hit with our family. It is reminiscent of Amy’s Peanut Butter Mousse but I thought it was different enough to warrant its own post and it makes just enough to generously frost one two-layer cake.

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

With an electric mixer, mix together first five ingredients until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the heavy cream and mix on high until light and smooth.

I went kind of easy on the filling between the two layers because I was unsure of how much frosting the cake would need but I could have added a more. No matter, what was left over was quickly devoured by my children so not a bit of it was wasted. This is going to be a new family favorite.

Italian Cream Cake

A friend sent me this scratch recipe and asked me to make it for her birthday. It's a fantastic recipe, and I wanted to have it transferred from the hand written form I have it in now. Sean has requested this for his birthday cake twice now!

1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup oil
2 cups sugar
5 eggs, SEPARATED
7 ounces of coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Combine the oil, butter, and sugar. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Dissolve the baking soda in to the buttermilk, allow it to sit for a few minutes and grow in size. Alternately add flour and buttermilk mixture in your mixer.
In a seperate bowl, beat the egg whites until they are frothy, not stiff. Fold egg whites in to batter with a spoon or spatula, (not mixer). Fold in 3/4 of the coconut and nuts.

Pour into 2 greased -9 inch pans and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven.
Prepare the icing.

After ten minutes out of the oven, allow your cake to cool, wrapped in cellophane for 5-8 hours before icing.



Cream Cheese Icing
1 stick or 1/2 cup of butter
8 ounces of cream cheese
1 lb of powdered sugar
milk to add for consistency

Mix these ingredients until smooth. The milk will need to be added if it is a dry day. You don't want your icing to be too stiff.

Ice cake and cover with remaining coconut and nuts.

Lemon-Blueberry Bundt Cake

I need to go blueberry picking.  Or to Wegmans.

from All You magazine

Cake:
3  cups  all-purpose flour
2  teaspoons  baking powder
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/2  cup  lemon juice
1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
1/2  cup  buttermilk
16  tablespoons  (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2  cups  sugar
2  teaspoons  grated lemon zest
4  large eggs, at room temperature
2  cups  blueberries 

Glaze:
2  cups  confectioners' sugar
1  tablespoon  buttermilk
2  to 4 Tbsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with melted butter (I use cooking spray), add a few tablespoons of flour and rotate pan to evenly coat, tapping out excess.

Sift 3 cups flour with baking powder and salt into a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, vanilla and buttermilk. In a second large bowl, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add about 1/4 of flour mixture, followed by 1/4 of buttermilk mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Repeat, alternating dry and liquid ingredients, until batter is thoroughly combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Transfer batter to pan, spreading evenly.

Bake until a tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold cake.

Make glaze: Mix confectioners' sugar, buttermilk and 2 Tbsp. lemon juice in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Glaze should be pourable; if it's too thick, add lemon juice, 1 tsp. at a time, until it reaches desired consistency. Pour half of glaze over warm cake. Let cool for 1 hour, then pour remaining glaze over cake and serve.

Ina Garten's Blueberry Crumb Cake

There are no words for how yummy this cake is. 

For the streusel:

1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted (I use salted butter)
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (I decreased this to 1 1/4 c.)


For the cake:

6 Tbl. unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest (I substitute a splash of lemon juice)
2/3 c. sour cream
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. fresh blueberries (I use almost 2 cups)
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling (I don't bother with this)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. It will look strange at first, and you will wonder if I've led you astray with this recipe, but I promise it will all come together.  Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries (I toss my blueberries with about a tablespoon of flour before adding -- it prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the cake) and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

Ding Dong/ Twinkie Filling

5 TBSP flour
5 TBSP sugar
1 cup milk

Cook over medium heat until thick, let cool in fridge

Combine and beat for 6 min;
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Add cooled milk mixture and beat for 5 more minutes

Marshmallow Fondant

This recipe has become part of my arms, so I am sitting here think, thinking, about how I actually do it... Hmm...

You will need;

1 bag of 16 ounce mini marshmallows (Most bags come in the 10.5 ounce size, so make sure you are using 16 ounces.)
3 1/2 TBSP water
1/2 TBSP glycerin (You can get this in the wilton isle of your craft store. If you don't have access to it, use an extra 1/2 TBSP of water)
1 TBSP butter flavoring
2 lbs of 10x powdered sugar
shortening

GENEROUSLY grease a microwave safe bowl with vegetable shortening. Add your marshmallows, water, glucose, and butter flavoring.

Microwave for 1 minute. Using a greased spoon, stir the marshmallow mixture.
Microwave an additional 30 seconds. Stir again. You will continue to microwave in 30 second increments until it is completely smooth.
(It never takes me more than 2 minutes, total.)

If you are planning on coloring the entire batch of fondant, now is the time to add your coloring. Mix until even.

Here are you two options for mixing in the powdered sugar;

Option #1 Kitchen Aid mixer (preferred)

Generously grease your kitchen aid bowl and kneading hook. Pour marshmallow mixture in to the bowl and slowly add your 2 lbs of powdered sugar.
It will start to pull away from the bowl, but it will still be REALLY sticky when you are done.
Place the warm fondant on a large piece of plastic wrap that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
Cover completely in a tight ball shape. Put covered fondant inside a ziploc bag. Let sit for at least 8 hours. It will be soft and pliable when you are ready to use it.

Option #2 Hand kneading

Slowly mix in your 2 pounds of powdered sugar. You will need to knead in the sugar like you are kneading bread. (It is helpful to lightly cover your hands with shortening.)
It will still be REALLY sticky when you are done.
Place the warm fondant on a large piece of plastic wrap that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover completely in a tight ball shape.
Put covered fondant inside a ziploc bag. Let sit for at least 8 hours. It will be soft and pliable when you are ready to use it.

Fondant can be used to cover cakes or to mold in to fun shapes and dry. It's great!

Gingerbread

Not to be confused with the cookie variety. This recipe from Lion House Recipes is another fall/winter favorite at our place. It is wonderful served warm out of the oven with freshly sliced bananas and real whipped cream. It's also good cold--if it lasts that long.

1/2  cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon powdered cloves
1 cup very hot water

Cream sugar and butter well. Add egg and molasses. Beat well. Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture (I usually just stir them together with a fork). Add hot water and beat until smooth (batter will be very thin). Pour into a well-greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven  for about 40 minutes or until cake tests done.

Creamsicle Cake

I was thinking about it a couple of weeks ago and came to the conclusion that there must be a recipe for a Creamsicle Cake out there so I went searching. I found a good recipe and tweaked it ever so slightly (basically I whipped my own cream instead of using Cool Whip) and it is pretty dang yummy. It’s just a tad labor intensive (I know it’s nothing compared to what Amy does but I’m a little bit lazy when it comes to cake) but I’d say it’s worth the effort every once in awhile. ;)

1 yellow cake mix
1 envelope unsweetened orange kool-aid (drink mix)
2—3 oz. packages orange jell-o
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix cake mix and kool-aid and bake cake according to package directions. Cool then poke holes all over cake with the handle of a wooden spoon.

Dissolve 1 package of the orange jell-o in 1 cup boiling water and stir in 1 cup cold water. Pour jell-o over entire cake and refrigerate for 3 or 4 hours.

When cake has absorbed the jell-o and is set, make the topping. Mix remaining package of jell-o, pudding and one cup milk until smooth. Set aside. Whip cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form (careful not to whip it into butter!). Gently fold pudding/jell-o mixture into the whipped cream. Spread on chilled cake and refrigerate until ready to serve.

You could pretty much use any flavor of jell-o you wanted. Raspberry and lime both sound good to me. Come to think of it you could probably use any flavor of cake you wanted too. How about chocolate cake with cherry jell-o and chocolate pudding for the topping or maybe white cake with raspberry jell-o and white chocolate pudding topping? The sky’s the limit!

Lemon-Cornmeal Cake

This tastes even better the next day!

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. each baking soda and salt
2 sticks (1 c.) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
1/4 c. lemon juice
4 eggs
1 c. buttermilk or plain yogurt

Sugar glaze:

1 c. sugar
1/3 c. lemon juice

Heat oven to 325. You'll need a 10-cup tube pan or 12-cup Bundt (gotta love the Bundt!) pan coated with baking spray. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl beat butter, sugar, lemon zest and juice with mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until blended. With mixer on low, alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk until batter is smooth. Scrape into prepared pan; level top with spatula.

Bake 55-65 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sugar glaze by whisking ingredients just until combined. Invert cake from pan onto rack over a baking sheet. Brush glaze all over hot cake until absorbed (sugar crystals will be evident). Cool completely. Transfer cake to a serving plate and cover. Let cake rest several hours, or overnight, before serving. Store cake covered at room temperature up to 4 days.

Sweetheart Bakery Cake

At one time, there was a shop in Rochester called the Sweetheart Bakery.  They made a cake very similar to this one, and it was delicious!

1 yellow cake mix
1 box instant French vanilla pudding
1 1/4 c. milk
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
small can of crushed pineapple, well drained (I actually end up using a bit more than this)
12 oz. tub of Cool Whip
chopped walnuts
Maraschino cherries

Bake cake according to package directions in a greased jelly roll pan/cookie sheet with an edge.  Beat together pudding, milk, and cream cheese;  spread on cooled cake.  Distribute pineapple evenly over the top and frost with Cool Whip.  Sprinkle walnuts and halved Maraschino cherries over the top.

Chocolate Cherry Cake

This is one of my "go-to" desserts when I need something quick, tasty, and easy!

2 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract (I've used vanilla, too)
1 can cherry pie filling
1 boxed chocolate cake mix

Beat eggs and add extract and pie filling.  Stir in cake mix (batter will be very thick).  Spread into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 26-32 minutes.  Cool and frost (I use this recipe).