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Archive for the ‘Cakes’ Category

Have you seen the giant cupcake?  It’s a special mold that makes a huge cupcake that looks just like the smaller version!

A giant cupcake can be frosted to resemble a regular cupcake or you add one to a regular sheet cake for an amazing creation.  Finished cupcake measurements are approximately 7-1/4 by 7-1/2 inches.

The pan can be purchased at Amazon.com.  A giant cupcake pan consists of 2 molds – the bottom of the cupcake and the top. Before constructing your giant cupcake, a good idea is to put a layer of frosting between each half so you are less likely to have slippage during frosting.

Below are some of my favorite giant cupcake creations, found on Flickr.com.

Pumpkin desserts don’t have to be saved for the autumn months!  Canned pumpkin is available year-round. Pumpkin rolls are a great choice for brunch or any day you have a craving for something creamy and spicy.

Cake
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
¾ cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Filling
1 – 8 oz package softened cream cheese
1/3 cup softened butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Grease and flour a 15 x 10 x 1 inch jelly roll pan and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and pale. Gradually add 1 cup of sugar and beat for 5 minutes on medium speed. Stir in the pumpkin and lemon juice by hand.

Combine together the flour and next five ingredients. Then gradually add the dry flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture mixing well between each addition. Spread the batter evenly in the jelly roll pan. If you choose to use nuts, evenly sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top of the batter. Bake at 375 degF for 12 minutes.

The following step is a MUST in order to prevent the cake from splitting and breaking when you roll it up with the filling. On a large flat surface, spread out a thin cloth kitchen towel and sprinkle it lightly with some powdered sugar (maybe 1 to 2 tablespoons). When cake is removed from the oven, immediately loosen it from the sides of the pans and turn it out onto the powder sugar sprinkled towel. Starting at the narrow end of the cake, roll up the cake and towel (TOGETHER). Cool completely on wire rack with the cake seam side down.

To make the filling, beat together the cream cheese and butter on high speed. Mix in the vanilla and gradually add the powdered sugar beating until thoroughly combined and smooth. Unroll the cooled cake and remove the towel. Spread the cake with the cream cheese mixture and carefully re-roll. Present to guests on a plate with the seam side down. You can garnish with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, cinnamon or a large dollop of whipped cream. Be sure to store in the refrigerator.

A delicious cake for any time of the year, this mildly spiced cake is best when created from scratch and then topped with mouth-watering cream cheese frosting!

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 pound carrots (8 to 10 medium carrots), peeled and shredded on a box grater or in a food processor (about 2 3/4 cups)
• 2 cups pecans (1 cup finely chopped for batter, 1 cup coarsely chopped for decorating sides of cake)

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper, and butter parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
2. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat 3 minutes. Add vanilla, water, and carrots. Beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture, then finely chopped pecans.
3. Scrape batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen, and turn out cakes onto rack. Turn right side up, and let cool completely.
4. Using a serrated knife, trim rounded top of 2 cakes. Place one trimmed cake, cut side up, on a serving platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with second trimmed cake, cut side down. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with remaining cake. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Gently press coarsely chopped pecans onto sides of cake. Refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 1 day, covered) before serving.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

• 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and brought to room temperature
• 2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Cream Cheese Frosting Directions:

1. Beat cream cheese and vanilla with a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add butter, beating until incorporated after each addition.
2. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, and beat until fluffy and smooth. Frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days; bring to room temperature and stir well before using.

The Perfect Treat for a Halloween Party!

Ingredients:

*1 package (about 18 oz.) of your favorite flavor cake mix (we use pumpkin or apple spice mix for Halloween)
*1 tub (16 oz.) vanilla or cream cheese flavored ready-to-spread frosting
*orange food coloring
*1 tube black decorating gel or melted chocolate
*black string licorice
*25 large gumdrops
*24 Halloween themed baking cups

Instructions:

1. Get out a couple muffin pans (enough to hold 24 cupcakes) and place your Halloween-themed paper baking cups inside the tin holders. Also preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a mixing bowl, follow the package instructions to prepare the cake mix batter. Spoon the batter into the muffin baking cups and bake as directed on the cake box (follow the instructions for 24 cupcakes). Cool the cupcakes on a baking rack.

3. In a mixing bowl, mix the tub of ready-made frosting with some orange food coloring until you achieve the desired color. Frost the 24 cupcakes. Be sure to reserve a tablespoon or so of orange frosting to make the spider eyes. NOTE – you can leave the frosting white to make black and white webs if you prefer.

4. Using the black decorating gel, make a series of concentric circles on top of the frosted cupcakes. Then use a toothpick or knife to pull the black gel from the center of the cupcake to the outward edge of the cupcake about 8 times around the cake. This will create the web appearance.

5. To make the spider, take one large gumdrop and attach 3 pieces of black string licorice on each side to create the legs (tip…use a toothpick to make small holes for the licorice insertion into the gumdrop).  Use the reserved orange frosting to make a the eyes on each gumdrop with a toothpick dipped in the frosting. Place a large gumdrop spider on the top of each cupcake.

Photo courtesy of cutco.com.

If you don’t have time to do your own Halloween goodie baking, check out our Halloween party cookie gift basket which is overflowing with iced cookies in the shapes of monsters like mummies, cyclops, and witches.

This recipe was adapted to fit two 9 inch layer pans, but you may also use a Bundt pan and bake 58 to 62 minutes. The frosting is best applied when warm. If frosting has cooled, you can gently reheat it on the stove top or in the microwave before icing the cake.

For the cake

• 1 (8.25 ounce) package plain devil’s food or dark chocolate fudge cake mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package chocolate flavor instant pudding & pie filling
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels

For the frosting

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 5 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans, or spray with a cooking spray with flour. Set aside.
2. To make the cake: In a large mixing bowl, blend the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, water, and oil with an electric mixer on low speed one minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 to 3 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if necessary. The batter should look thick and well combined.
3. Use a spatula to fold in the chocolate morsels, making sure they are well distributed throughout the batter. Pour half the batter into each prepared pan.
4. Bake 28 to 32 minutes, until the cakes spring back when lightly pressed with a fingertip and just start to pull away from the sides of the pans. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the sides of each cake and invert them onto the rack to cool completely, 20 minutes more.

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 1/2 cup white sugar
• 4 eggs unbeaten (add one at a time)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 packed grated carrots

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add ingredients in the above order, mixing well after each addition. Pour into greased pan. Bake for 1 and 1/2 hours. Cool and icing.

Carrot Cake Icing

• 3 1/2 to 4 cups icing sugar
• 8 ounce cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tsp vanilla

Cream cheese and butter. Beat in sugar gradually until you reach your desired stiffness. Mix in vanilla.

• 1 spice cake mix [1 layer]
• 1 cup apple pie filling
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• 4 tbsp. Graham wafer crumbs ice cream or plain yogurt for garnish

Prepare cake mix according to package. Pour into an 8 in. square pan. Spread pie filling over top, sprinkle with cinnamon.Bake according to package instructions. Let cool on cake rack. Cut into squares.Sprinkle with wafer crumbs and serve with ice cream or yogurt.

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar and salt. Slowly whisk in the butter and milk until mixture is smooth. Put in ungreased pan.

Topping:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups hot water

Sprinkle the brown sugar and cocoa powder over top of the cake (the entire cake). Bake for 35 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cups partially skimmed milk
• 3 eggs, separated
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup raspberry jam
• 2 tbsp. icing sugar

In a bowl, mix flour with milk and let stand for 30 minutes. In another bowl, beat egg yolks, melted butter and sugar. Add to milk.Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and add to batter. Cook thin crepes in a nonstick frying pan, using up all the batter.Spread raspberry jam and stack them. Sprinkle crepe with icing sugar.  With a red hot steel skewer, make lines on icing sugar. [10 servings]

• 2 cups mixed candied fruit, chopped coarse

• 1 cup candied cherries, halved

• 3 cup raisins

• 1 cup currants

• 1/2 cup bourbon

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

• 6 eggs, at room temperature

• 1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

• 3 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg

• 1 tsp. ground cloves

• 1/2 baking soda

• 3/4 tsp. salt

• ½ cup brandy

In a large bowl, combine the candied fruits, raisins, currants, and bourbon. Mix well, cover, and marinate 3 hours on the counter.

Cream together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the melted chocolate, walnuts, and the marinated fruit along with the bourbon. Blend for a minute and add the flour, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until all is incorporated. Pack the heavy batter into a greased 10 x 4-inch tube pan. Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 2 hours and 10 minutes. Remove to a rack. When the cake is cool enough to handle, remove it from the pan and cool on the rack.

Place the cooled cake in a stainless-steel pot with a lid and drizzle half the brandy over it. Cover and allow resting on the counter for 1 week. Slice and serve. This cake will keep for months in the fridge.