Cakes

Two-Step Pound Cake

4 C. all purpose flour

3 C. sugar

2 C. butter, softened

¾ C. milk

6 lg. eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

• Layer Ingredients & Mix: Preheat oven to 325º. Place flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla (in that order) in 4 quart bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer. Beat at low speed 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes.
• Pour & Bake: Pour into a greased and floured 10” (16 cup) tube pan, and smooth. Bake at 325º for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely (about 1 hour).

Southern Living, May 2010

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

²/₃ C. chopped pecans

¼ C. butter, softened

2 T. sugar

2 ¾ C. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 C. butter, softened

1 C. firmly packed dark brown sugar

½ C. sugar

1 T. vanilla

4 lg. eggs

1 C. buttermilk

1 (12 oz) pkg. semisweet chocolate mini-morsels

Garnishes: whipped cream, cherries

• Preheat oven to 350º. Stir together first 3 ingredients in a small bowl, using a fork. Sprinkle in a greased and floured 12-cup bundt pan.
• Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
• Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla at medium speed with a heavy duty electric stand mixer 3 to 5 minutes or until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed. Beat in chocolate mini morsels (mixture will be thick). Spoon batter into prepared pan.
• Bake at 350º for 50 to 55 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour). Garnish if desired.

Southern Living, May 2010

Upside-Down Caramelized Apple Cake

½ C. chopped pecans

2 lg. Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into ½“ thick slices

1 T. lemon juice

2 tsp. vanilla, divided

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon, divided

½ C. butter, softened & divided

2 tsp. brandy

1 C. firmly packed light brown sugar

¾ C. granulated sugar, divided

2 lg. eggs, separated

¾ C milk

½ C. sour cream

2 C. all-purpose baking mix (tested with Bisquick)

¹/₈ tsp. ground nutmeg

• Preheat oven to 350º. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 5 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 375º.
• Toss apple slices with lemon juice, 1 tsp. vanilla and ½ tsp. cinnamon.
• Melt ¼ C. butter in a 10” cast iron skillet over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in brandy. Sprinkle with brown sugar.
• Sprinkle pecans over brown sugar mixture. Arrange apples in 2 concentric circles over pecans.
• Beat ½ C. sugar and remaining ¼ C. butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add milk, sour cream and remaining 1 tsp. vanilla, beating just until blended.
• Whisk together baking mix, nutmeg and remaining ¼ tsp. cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add nutmeg mixture to butter mixture beating just until blended.
• Beat egg whites in a large bowl at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually heat in remaining ¼ C. sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Spread batter over apples in skillet.
• Bake at 375º for 50 to 54 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted halfway into center of cake comes out clean. Cool in skillet on a wire rack 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of cake to loosen. Invert cake onto a serving plate, replacing any topping that sticks to skillet on cake.

Southern Living, January 2010

Spiced Rum Cake

1 pkg. 2-layer size spice cake mix

1 C. milk

¹/₃ C. cooking oil

¼ C. sour cream

¼ C. rum

4 eggs

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 recipe Rum Glaze (see recipe below)

• Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and lightly flour a 10” fluted tube pan; set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, milk, cooking oil, sour cream, rum, eggs and pumpkin pie spice. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until just moistened. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center come out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Spoon Rum Glaze over cake. Makes 12 servings.

Rum Glaze: In a small bowl combine 1 C. sifted powdered sugar, 1 tsp. melted butter and 1 T. rum. Stir in additional water (1 to 2 tsp.), one tsp. at a time, until glaze is a thin consistently.

Amaretto Cake with Cinnamon Swirl

1 C. sliced almonds

1 T. ground cinnamon

3 T. almond paste

1 pkg. 2-layer size white cake mix

1 (4-serving size pkg.) white chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix

1 (8 oz.) carton light sour cream

4 eggs, lightly beaten

½ C. cooking oil

½ C. amaretto or ½ C. water plus 1 tsp. almond extract

1 recipe Glaze

• Preheat oven to 350º. Generously grease a 10” (12 cup) fluted tube pan, In food processor combine almonds and cinnamon. Cover; process until nuts are finely chopped. Coat bottom and sides of pan with half the mixture. Add almond paste to remaining mixture in processor. Process until combined.
• In large mixing bowl combine cake and pudding mixes, sour cram, eggs, ½ C. water, oil and amaretto. Beat with mixer on low speed to combine. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Spoon half the batter into pan. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon-almond paste mixture over batter. Spoon remaining batter on cinnamon mixture
• Bake about 55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Place on rack over waxed paper. Using wooden skewer, poke several holes in cake. Prepare Glaze. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Glaze: In small saucepan combine ¹/₃ C. water, ¼ C. sugar and 2 T. butter. Stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes.

Brandied Apple and Black Walnut Cake

2 C. flour

2 C. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground mace or ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground cloves

2 C. finely chopped peeled apples

3 slightly beaten eggs

¾ C. chopped black walnuts or English walnuts, toasted

½ C. buttermilk

¼ C. cooking oil

1 recipe Apple Glaze

1 recipe Brandied Cream Cheese Frosting

• Grease and lightly flour two 9x1 ½“ round baking pans, set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, mace and cloves. Stir in chopped apples, eggs, walnuts, buttermilk and oil. Spread batter into prepared pans.
• Bake in a 350º oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.
• Place a cake layer on a serving platter Spoon hot Apple Glaze over top of layer. Let stand about 20 minutes or until set.
• Meanwhile, prepare Brandied Cream Cheese Frosting. Spread about ¾ C. of the frosting over glazed cake layer. Top with the remaining cake layer. Frost cake top and side with frosting. Cover and store any remaining cake in the refrigerator. Makes 16 servings.

Apple Glaze: In a small saucepan, stir together 2 T sugar, 2 T brown sugar, 2 T. butter, 1 T. buttermilk and 1 tsp. light colored corn syrup. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Cook and stir for 3 to 3 minutes or until reduced to ¼ C. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 T. apple brandy, apple juice or apple cider.

Brandied Cream Cheese Frosting: In a large bowl, beat one 8 oz. pkg. softened cream cheese, and 1 T. apple brandy, apple juice or apple cider with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 C. sifted powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually beat in an additional 2 to 2 ½ C. sifted powdered sugar to make a frosting of spreading consistency.

Cakes

Blueberry Almond Cake

1 stick butter, melted

1 C. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 C. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ C. sliced almonds

½ C. blueberries

• Preheat oven to 350º.
• Butter a cast iron pan or a 9” cake pan generously – this helps attain the covered golden crust.
• Beat the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
• Add 1 egg at a time, until you find that the mixture looks homogenous and the eggs are thoroughly incorporated.
• Add the vanilla.
• Sift together the flour and baking powder and fold it into the egg mixture. Stir in the blueberries.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, scatter the sliced almonds, and bake for 25-30 minutes (even lesser when using a small pan), until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Serve warm.

Summer Fruit Tea Cake

1 C. flour (or 1 ½ C. flour if you can’t find the almond flour)

½ C. almond flour

1 1/5 tsp. baking powder

2 ½ T. orange zest

¼ tsp. salt

½ C. butter, just melted

1/3 C. sugar + 4 T. sugar (or as per your taste)

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond or orange extract

¼ C. milk

¾ C. cherries, pitted and halved

1 ½ C. blueberries

1 ½ C. peaches, about 3 peaches – chopped

Lightly toasted sliced almonds + confectioner’s sugar for topping

Butter and flour to grease and dust the pan

• Combine the flour, baking powder, orange zest and salt together in a bowl. Rub the zest with the flour to with your finger tips to release the oil.
• With a mixer/whisk, cream the sugar and butter together on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated between additions, while scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally; whisk in the milk; then stir in the vanilla and the almond extract.
• Add the flour mixture in 2 or three shifts, mixing just until a lump free dough forms. It will not be a very runny dough. Refrigerate for about 40 minutes. While waiting, prepare your fruits.
• Preheat the oven to 350º. Butter a shallow 9” baking dish or tart pan. Divide the batter in such a way that one part is slightly greater in amount than the other. Spoon out the bigger amount of the batter evenly on the baking tin.
• Scatter the chopped fruits over the batter. Spoon over the other part of the batter over the fruits unevenly.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until lightly golden on the top. The toothpick inserted should come out clean.
• Cool completely before slicing. Sprinkle sliced almonds and confectioner’s sugar before serving.

Strawberry-Orange Shortcake Tart

1 ¾ C. flour

¼ C. plain yellow cornmeal

2 T. sugar

¾ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

6 T. cold butter, cut into pieces

1 lg. egg, lightly beaten

2/3 C. buttermilk

1 T. orange marmalade

1 (16 oz.) container fresh strawberries, cut in half

½ C. orange marmalade

2 c. heavy cream

2 T. sugar

Garnishes: fresh mint sprigs, sweetened whipped cream

• Preheat oven to 425º. Place first 6 ingredients (in order) in a food processor. Process 20 seconds or until mixture resembles coarse sand. Transfer to large bowl.
• Whisk together egg and buttermilk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened and a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 3 to 4 times. Press dough on bottom and up sides of a lightly greased 9” tart pan.
• Bake at 425º for 20 to 22 minutes or until golden and firm to touch.
• Microwave 1 T. marmalade at HIGH 10 seconds; brush over crust. Cool 45 minutes.
• Stir together strawberries and ½ C. marmalade.
• Beat heavy cream with 2 T. sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Spoon onto cornmeal crust; top with strawberry mixture.

Cakes

Magic Pumpkin Nut Cake

3 eggs

1 lb. can of pumpkin

¾ C. vegetable oil

½ C. water

Beat together and then add:

2 ½ C. flour

2 ¼ C. sugar

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 ¼ tsp. salt

¾ tsp. nutmeg

¾ tsp. cinnamon

1 C. yellow raisins

½ C. chopped walnuts

• Pour the batter into three buttered one-pound coffee cans and place in oven standing up. Bake at 350º for an hour and 15 minutes or until a straw from a witch’s broom, inserted in the cake, comes out clean.

Cool the cakes, turn them on their sides and frost with:

4 oz. cream cheese

3 T. butter

1 tsp. lemon juice or vanilla

½ box powdered sugar

Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Syrup Cake

1 C. sugar

1 C. syrup

¾ C. cooking oil

2 ¾ C. flour

2 eggs

2 tsp. soda

1 C. warm water

Add spices. Mix sugar and syrup, add eggs and oil, then flour. Put soda into warm water and add to mixture. Bake in loaf pan about 30 minutes at 325º.

Cakes

Butternut Squash-Apple Cake with Ginger Streusel

For the streusel:

2 oz. Australian crystallized ginger cubes (about 1/3 C.)

3 T. turbinado sugar

½ C. pine nuts

For the cake:

1 ¾ C. unbleached white flour

2/3 C. turbinado sugar

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. sea salt

½ C. sunflower oil

3 lg. organic eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. finely grated orange zest

1 C. butternut squash puree (* see note)

1 med. McIntosh apple – peeled, cored and cut in ¼” pieces

1 C. organic Hunza golden raisins

1 – 9” non-stick round cake pan – buttered

Preheat oven to 350º.

Step 1: In the bowl of a food processor, place the ginger, sugar and pine nuts. Pulse several times until all ingredients are finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Step 2: In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir well and set aside.

Step 3: In a medium bowl whisk the oil, eggs, vanilla, orange zest and butternut squash puree until well blended.

Step 4: Stir the apple pieces and raisins into the flour mixture until well blended. Add the squash mixture to the dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon, mix until just moistened. Spoon batter into the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before unmolding. Serve at room temperature.

*Cook’s Note: To make fresh butternut-squash puree, cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place cut side down in a large baking dish with spring water (¼” up the sides of the squash). Bake at 400º for 45 to 60 minutes until very tender. Let cool, scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor. The puree can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

A little side note: Now, I don’t know about y’all but I probably can’t find half of these things. So, I’ll just use the what I can find at the grocery store. But it does sound like a really yummy cake and I can’t wait to make it.

Laura’s Best Recipes, September 2010

Cakes

Raspberry Nut Pound Cake

Cream together:

1 C. margarine, softened

1 ½ C. sugar

Add one at a time beating well after each addition:

4 eggs

Reserve:

1 T. flour

Sift together:

3 ¼ C. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cream of tartar

½ tsp. baking soda

Blend together:

1 (12 oz.) jar or 1 C. seedless red or black raspberry jam or preserves (sometimes it’s hard to find seedless, the ones with seeds are fine but quite crunchy)(Red makes a more attractive cake than the black)

Add, blending well:

1 C. sour cream

Beginning and ending with dry ingredients, add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with berry mixture.

Add, beating well:

2 tsp. vanilla

1 ½ T. wheat germ, if desired

Dredge in flour and fold in:

1 ½ C. pecans or walnuts

Spoon into greased and floured 10” tube pan or two 9x5x3 pans.

Bake in oven 325º for 1 hour and 15 minutes for tube pan or 1 hour for loaf pan.

Sally Starr, Dallas, TX 1990

Cakes

Lemon Cake Squares

1 box lemon cake mix

1 egg

1 stick butter, melted

Mix together – pat into 9x13 greased pan.

Topping:

1 box powdered sugar

2 eggs

8 oz. cream cheese

Mix together and pour over top of mix. Bake at 350º for 35 minutes.

Almond Strawberry Cake

2 (18.25 oz.) boxes white cake mix

1 (8 oz.) can almond paste, crumbled

1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen sliced strawberries thawed

2 T. orange zest

½ C. freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 C. unsalted butter, softened

7 C. confectioners’ sugar

¼ C. heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. almond extract

Garnish: edible flowers

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray 3 (9”) square cake pans with nonstick baking spray with flour.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Add almond paste, beating until combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

In a medium saucepan, combine strawberries and orange zest, stirring well.

In a small bowl, combine orange juice and cornstarch, whisking well to dissolve any lumps. Add to strawberry mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently for 8 to 10 minutes, or until mixture is thickened. Cool completely.

Spread cooled strawberry mixture between cake layers. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until chilled.

In a large bowl, beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer for 3 to 4 minutes, or until creamy. Gradually beat in confectioner’s sugar until fluffy, adding whipping cream as needed. Add almond extract, beating well. Spread icing on sides and top of cake. Garnish with flowers, if desired.

Celebrate Magazine

Cakes

Pistachio Bundt Cake

1 box white or yellow cake mix
1 box pistachio instant pudding mix
½ C. orange juice
½ C. water
4 large eggs
½ C. vegetable oil
1 tsp. almond extract
¾ C. chocolate syrup
Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350

  º

  . Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan (or a 10-inch tube pan).
• In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, orange juice, water, eggs, oil and almond extract. With an electric mixer, blend at low speed until moist. Beat for an additional 3 minutes at medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally, until well blended.
• Pour about two-thirds of the batter into the pan. Add the chocolate syrup to the remaining one-third of the batter. Mix well. Pour over the batter in the pan. Run a knife through the batter to marble it.
• Bake for 1 hour. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Loosen cake with a blunt knife and turn onto a cake plate. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

Recipe by Bonny Wolf from Talking With My Mouth Full: Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories (St. Martin’s, 2006)