Archive for the 'Cakes & Pies' Category

07
Mar
10

Tunnel of Fudge…cake (Fudge Ribbon Cake)

By laurelg1 11 Comments
Categories: Cakes & Pies, From a Mix and Recipes
Tags: , , ,

 

Today I was on a chocolate baking frenzy. I woke up early, too early. My body has an internal alarm clock that usually goes off around 4 am. So I took advantage of my time this morning and baked two different chocolate desserts. I needed on for our Bible study, and my oldest daughter was scheduled to bring “something sweet” also.

I spent a lot of time trying to decide what kind of cake I would make. Finding that I was completely out of powdered sugar pretty much sealed the deal on this cake. I would definitely make it again. It was easy to prepare and quite impressive! The cake is from the Eagle Brand milk people. The recipe call for sweetened condensed milk, hence, the reason they have it on their site! (duh!)

I was hesitant about how the “swirl” would take place with the described preparation. I was amazed though at how the cream cheese mixture dispersed all the way through the cake batter to the top of the cake (i.e. the bottom of the pan). There was a nice 1/2″ or so “tunnel” on the top of the finished product. Kudos to the Eagle Brand company for good directions!!!

The changes I made to the recipe were: 1) I used a dark fudge cake mix, and 2) The ganache… remember, I didn’t have any powdered sugar, so I had to compromise. I used a recipe from Anna over at Cookie Madness, one of my favorite daily blog visits. Check her blog out!

Fudge Ribbon Cake (via Eagle Brand Milk)

Cake Ingredients

  • 1 (18.25 oz.) box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients called for on box
  • 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache (from Cookie Madness)

  • 3 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli Bars)
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
  • 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray 10-inch fluted tube pan with flour no-stick cooking spray.

Cake Directions:

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese, butter and cornstarch in medium bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour evenly over cake batter. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan. Cool. Drizzle with Chocolate Glaze or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

  

Ganache Directions:

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. In a heatproof bowl, combine the remaining 3 ounces of chopped chocolate with the corn syrup and butter. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Let the ganache glaze cool until thick but still pourable, about 5 minutes.

Pour the ganache over the cooled cake.Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, at least 30 minutes, before serving. I set some of the ganache aside and once the first layer cooled, I topped it with some re-headed ganache lending a more decorative look.

**Looking back over this post, I noticed that I made an intial mention of sweets for my daughter… but didn’t mention what it was. I threw together a (lazy) Duncan Hines brownie mix together. It’s nice to have from scratch brownie recipes, but it’s also nice to have a quick fix that tastes great!

04
Mar
10

Chocolate Turtle Cake (Betty Crocker)

By laurelg1 2 Comments
Categories: Brownies & Bars, Cakes & Pies, From a Mix and Recipes
Tags: , , , , ,

As a last-minute “birthday cake” I found this recipe on my iPhone while working out. Yes, I iPhone while on the elliptical…  Anyhow, one of my apps is a Betty Crocker recipe search. I was looking for a quick easy recipe to put together. I didn’t have a lot of time, or to be honest desire, so this recipe fit the bill. A plus was I had all the ingredients called for.

The recipe is highly rated on the Betty Crocker site. Some of the reviewers noted that the caramel hardened quite a bit once cooled, but I didn’t have that problem at all. The cake is very moist, but not “mushy”. It is very rich too, I do suggest adding whipped topping or ice cream to mellow out the richness of the cake a little. I served the cake warm with vanilla bean ice cream. It was wonderful.

Photo from the Betty Crocker site

(I still have to photograph the dessert and post it, but I dislike posting recipes without pictures to influence you to make it!)

Chocolate Turtle Cake

A Betty Crocker Recipe -

Ingredients:

  • 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil’s food cake mix
  • 1 1/3 cups water
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 bag (14 oz) caramels
  • 1/2 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 bag (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup) *I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate discs
  • Ice cream or Whipped cream, if desired
  • Caramel and chocolate topping, if desired
  • Chopped pecans, if desired

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease or spray bottom of 13×9-inch pan.

In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low-speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour half of the batter into pan. Bake 22 minutes (25 minutes for dark or nonstick pan). Refrigerate remaining batter.

Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan**, heat caramels and evaporated milk over medium heat, stirring frequently, until caramels are melted. Stir in pecans. Pour caramel mixture over warm cake in pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Spread with remaining batter. Bake 25 minutes (29 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cool at least 30 minutes. Serve with ice cream, drizzle with topping and sprinkle with pecans. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

**I microwaved the caramel according to the directions on the bag. It resulted in the same product a saucepan would have.

21
Feb
10

Birthday Bling & Buttercream

By laurelg1 1 Comment
Categories: Cakes & Pies, From a Mix and Recipes
Tags: , , , ,

Today my oldest niece is celebrating her 17th birthday and since I can’t seem to sleep until a decent hour, I figured I could throw a cake together for her birthday. So at 5 this morning the oven went to 350 degrees…

I needed something easy, yet fun. I know I won’t win any prizes with this one… especially considering the icing was thrown together at the last-minute and the cake hauled around town all morning, with a maniac driver I might add. But I had fun, and my niece had fun. Hey, we all had fun.

The cake just a good ‘ole yellow cake mix, but the frosting is homemade. It is a classic buttercream (from Wilton), my go to frosting recipe. I’m not even sure I measure the sugar anymore, I just add until I get to my desired consistency. Though I wouldn’t recommend that. I do recommend the taste test. Add sugar until you reach your best taste – that could be extra sweet, or just minimally sweet. I tend to go to extra sweet!

A little food coloring and some Wilton decor later, I have this. Here’s to hoping my niece has a great day!

Classic Buttercream Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla, clear if possible
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Mix butter and shortening until creamy. Add vanilla, then add sugar about 1 cup at a time. Add milk until desired consistency.

I know, not much on the directions. For the whole story, check out the recipe at the Wilton site.

26
Dec
09

Pecans, part two

By laurelg1 9 Comments
Categories: Cakes & Pies and Recipes
Tags: ,

Pecan Pie

Another homemade baking first for me (joining the pecan roll) is this beautiful pie. I never realized how simple pecan pies were to make. I looked for a trusted recipe from other bloggers and found this one from The Traveler’s Lunchbox. Since I had a jar of Lyle’s Golden Syrup that I have yet to use, I knew this was the recipe to try. I loved the way this pie turned out and the compliments innumerable. If you like pecan pie, try this recipe.

Perfect Pecan Pie (Recipe from The Traveler’s Lunchbox)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups (200g) shelled pecan halves
  • 1 cup (250ml) golden syrup, or if you must, white corn syrup
  • 1 cup (200g) firmly packed dark brown sugar (the darker the better)
  • rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons (75g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature, slightly beaten
  • 9-inch unbaked deep-dish pie shell
  • unsweetened whipped cream, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread the pecans on a large baking sheet and toast in the oven until just fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the golden syrup, sugar, salt, butter and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in the eggs. Pour the mixture into your 9-inch unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle the cooled pecans over the top. Place on the center rack in the oven and bake for about 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the center puffs slightly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the crust begins to brown too much, cover it with foil.

Serve warm or at room temperature, with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.

 

  

25
Dec
09

Pecans, pecans, pecans…

By laurelg1 5 Comments
Categories: Cakes & Pies, Candy and Recipes
Tags: , ,

 Two things brought on this recipe. One was the fact a friend gave me 4 quart size bags of fresh picked Georgia pecans. The second, being that I had to find something to do with 4 quart size bags of fresh picked Georgia pecans! So, amongst the millions of choices, I went with two holiday favorites. Pecan pie and one of my brother’s favorites, pecan logs.

I have never made a homemade pecan pie before, I have only cheated and bought a prepared Cracker Barrel pie (which is quite good, by the way). I searched several million sites for a recipe and narrowed it down. My final decision was based on the syrup used in the recipe. I bought some Lyle’s Golden Syrup from World Market and had yet to use it. So this recipe was perfect. Check out the link for the entire recipe and a great blog… **post with pics to follow**

The other recipe I chose, the pecan logs, was a first too. Like I said, my brother really likes these rolls. Anytime we eat out at Cracker Barrel, I am pretty sure he buys one. I found this Taste of Home Recipe while just browsing a cookbook and went with it. It IS a winner! It really was not difficult and just slightly time consuming. Oh, and I burnt my fingers a couple of times on the candy and the caramel, so be careful. By the way, this candy is VERY sweet, so you don’t need much to satisfy!

Enjoy the pictures and if you choose to prepare either recipe, enjoy. Merry Christmas!

Holiday Pecan Logs (A Taste of Home Recipe)

Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoons plus 1/2 cup butter, softened, divided
  • 3-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 package (14 ounces) caramels
  • 1 tablespoon milk or half-and-half cream
  • 2 cups chopped pecans

Directions:

Butter an 8-in. square pan with 2 teaspoons butter; set aside. Combine confectioners sugar and milk powder; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, sugar and corn syrup; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Stir in confectioners’ sugar mixture, about a third at a time, until blended.

Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Continue stirring until the mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. Spread into prepared pan. Cool. *Let it cool enough to handle, but not completely, or you will have to re-heat it.

Cut candy into four strips; cut each strip in half. Shape each into a log; wrap in waxed paper and twist ends. Freeze or refrigerate until firm.

Meanwhile, in a microwave, melt caramels with milk, stirring often. *Heat for 3 minutes, stirring every minute. You will have to reheat it a few times too.  logs in caramel mixture, then in pecans. Wrap in waxed paper. Store at room temperature in airtight containers. Cut into slices with a serrated knife. Yield: about 3-1/4 pounds.

*Suggestions:

  1. Make sure you roll the candy while it is still warm. I waited until the candy was completely cool before rolling and it was hard as a rock. I heated it in the microwave for just about 30 seconds and it was then easy to roll.
  2. Use a medium to large sized bowl to heat the caramels. Cover the roll with caramel but leave the ends open. Once you have covered the sides with pecans, dip the ends in the caramel then dip in the pecans. Otherwise you have nothing to hold on to and your precious fingers will burn!
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