Bake Me More

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.

If you are looking for a quick, easy yet decadent (fool em all) dessert, this one’s calling your name. I have made this before and it turns out wonderfully. I have had a packed schedule all week and while I would love to make a torte from scratch, it just wasn’t going to happen today. So improvising let me here:

Dark Chocolate Brownie Torte with Chocolate Ganache

Brownies:

• 1 Box Dark Chocolate Brownie mix – 8″ size (I used Ghirardelli)
• Oil, Eggs and Water as called for on box
• Zest of 1 Orange

Prepare 8″ round cake pan with cooking spray. Follow baking directions for fudge-like brownies and bake. When done, remove and let cool for 10 minutes then remove brownie from pan to serving dish. Prepare ganache.

Ganache:

• 1 Bar (4 oz) Dark Chocolate Baking Bar, broken into small pieces (60% cacao)
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Place chocolate in small bowl and microwave  in small.

Microwave cream uncovered on high until boiling. Pour over chocolate and stir until smooth.  Cool for 10 minutes, the ganache will thicken. Pour evenly over torte. (You can heat on the stove top as well)

Allow torte to cool completely (or you will need a spoon!) Garnish with orange peel if desired.

Of course, I had already tossed the orange peel when I got to this step, so no decor!

It’s Independence Day 2009. We are celebrating with family and a hot grill. On the menu? Hamburgers, brats and hot dogs of course. Since this is a dessert post, that’s the most I will talk about dinner.

This is a well known cake among cake mix cakes, and I have no lost pride in using one. As always, it is a wonderful finale to dinner.

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Ingredients: 

• 1 (18 oz) white or yellow cake mix
• 1 (4 serving size) strawberry jello mix
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup fresh strawberries, slice and mashed

Strawberry Frosting:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 16 – 24 ounces powdered sugar
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup mashed strawberries

 Cake Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray three 8″ pans, or two 9″ pans.

Combine cake mix and dry jello powder in mixing bowl, stir to combine. Add oil, water, eggs and strawberries. Mix thoroughly, about 2 minutes on medium. Pour evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan then remove to cooling rack.

Frosting Directions:

Combine the butter, sugar and strawberries and beat until smooth. Layer and frost. Store cake in refrigerator for most flavorful results.

The last time I posted (which seems like forever-ago) it was the Honey Bun Cake. In the mean time, I have been very active working at a summer camp. Of the hats I wear there, one is helping in the kitchen. So much of my time has been consumed with feeding 100 plus people three times a day. Back on track though to the Honey Bun Cake. My dad asked me to make something for him to take to church. The class he attends employs what I might consider people of older persuasion (ha ha). So I didn’t want to just give him a 9 x 13 pan to take. Enter the Sock it to Me Cake. Essentially it is the Honey Bun Cake, aka Cinnamon Roll Cake, aka… baked in a Bundt pan. Same cake, more formal look.

I don’t have any internal pictures of the cake, but seeing that I received an empty container, I figured it must have been pretty good. My dad thought sure he’d bring leftovers home… he says most of the time they just “nibble” in his class. I might bake another one, just so I could see what the inside looked like!

I made some very minor alterations on the cake to ensure the moisture in the cake. I don’t know why… it was cleaned out while still warm… but anyway. I shopped around quite a few recipes and thought these changes would be nice. I have underlined my changes.

Sock It to Me Cake

Cake:

• 1 yellow or butter cake mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons vanilla (I forgot to add this!)

Filling:

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons reserved cake mix

Icing:

• 3 tablespoons butter, very soft
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 – 3 tablespoons milk (more may be needed)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a Bundt pan with baking spray.

Combine the filling ingredients and set aside. Many recipes call for 1 cup of pecans, but I don’t like nuts…

Combine all of the cake ingredients and stir until smooth, (most of the lumps should be gone). Pour one half of the cake batter into the pan and top with the brown sugar filling. Carefully spread the filling over the batter. I try to leave a little space around the outside of the cake. Top with remaining batter and place in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes, slightly longer maybe, but mine was perfect at 50. A toothpick should come out clean.

Let stand in cake pan about 10 minutes then transfer to serving dish. While the cake is cooling, prepare icing. Combine all of the ingredients and stir until smooth. More milk and/or sugar may be added to desired consistency. Before icing, poke holes over top of cake with a thin skewer (this is to let the icing pervade the center of the cake, ensuring moisture). Pour icing over the top.

This is a quite popular breakfast cake. The availability of a recipe is quite popular too. I have been making this cake for quite some time with the recipe from a Betty Crocker cake mix cookbook. It is also on their website, and on other blogs and sites. You may also see it named cinnamon roll cake (check out the link, great blog!). No matter what, it is a very simple recipe to throw together with very few ingredients. I am going to make it soon with a from scratch cake mix, I just didn’t have a lot of spare time this morning to do so.

Oh, one more note. There are some minor variations to this recipe out there in the foodie world. Betty Crocker says to use 2/3 cup oil, others use 3/4 cup oil and some even use applesauce to replace some or all of the oil. I haven’t done the applesauce method with this cake, but I have with others and it lends a very moist cake. As for the oil, I have used both amounts and haven’t seen any real difference. It is personal preference I guess. Betty also adds half the batter then the brown sugar/cinnamon, then tops with the remaining batter. I think it is easier to swirl it, as the batter is very thick.

Honey Bun Cake 

adapted slightly from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

• 1 Yellow cake mix
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans (I don’t use)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions: 

Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9 x 13 pan, or a Bundt pan.

Stir cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream until well combined. Spread the batter in the pan.

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon (pecans if using) and sprinkle over the top of the cake. Use a knife to swirl the sugar mixture throughout the batter. Note, the batter is really thick, but the more you swirl, the better your cake.

Bake for 30 minutes or until brown. Remove the cake from the oven and let stand for about 10 minutes before icing. I like to poke holes throughout the cake while warm so the icing can soak into the cake.

For the icing, combine the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Add more milk or sugar as needed. Add vanilla if desired. (I don’t usually add it). Pour the icing over warm cake and serve.