Flour-less Chocolate Cake

Posted: April 26th, 2011 | Filed under: Cake | | 1 Comment »

Not sure if you remember or not – but four times a year I have the task of planning and cooking for our church’s elder led prayer dinner – I love it. Its a fun challenge (even if I do get a little freaked out right before). And this time around, I’ve started really early. I’m in charge of the June dinner – and I’m making lasagna, salad, bread and chocolate cake… but not just any chocolate cake – flour-less chocolate cake. (Well, there is one tablespoon of flour.) And here is the best part – this cake freezes well. I mean, it freezes really well. In fact, it gets better after its been frozen and then thawed. So I’m making a few cakes a week up until June so that I have enough cake for 250 people. So when June comes around – and I know it will come around faster than I’m ready for – I won’t be stressed out balancing baking in a hot kitchen covered in chocolate and boiling giant noodles for lasagna.

I love this cake – its dense and simple and delicious… and it is easy! Super easy! And it doesn’t require anything crazy… for real.

Flour-less Chocolate Cake

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate cake, finely chopped

1 3/4 sticks of unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 cup plus 2 tsp granulated sugar

5 large eggs

1 tbsp unbleached all purpose flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prep an 8in cake pan with non stick spray and line with parchment paper – spray the parchment paper also. Put the chocolate and butter into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring often, until smooth. Add the chocolate butter mixture to the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool. After 5 minutes, add your eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour  and mix until the batter looks dark and silky. Pour into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. The cake is done when the center is slightly jiggly if jiggly at all.

Pumpkin Bundts with Cream Cheese Icing

Posted: November 16th, 2010 | Filed under: Cake | Tags: cream cheese icing, pumpkin and cream cheese, pumpkin bundts, pumpkin cake | 1 Comment »

So I know that all over the country people have been enjoying fall weather and colors for well over a month. Some places have even had snow… but here, in Denton we are just starting to enjoy all of the beautiful fall colors. The trees are turning reds and golds and beautiful oranges… and it really makes the drive around town surprisingly pleasant… and the cold isn’t too bad yet either. (We’ll go over my dislike of the cold another day.) So today I want to share something that is appropriate for the beautiful weather and the beginning of the holiday season we are all upon.

These litte bundts can be baked into bars, or mini loaves, but I just really really love them as the tiny bundt cake.  It is the perfect little bite of pumpkin with the sweet tangy-ness of the cream cheese icing. It’s pretty great.

Pumpkin Bundts with Cream Cheese Icing

adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Bars:

1 1/2 c all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/3 c canned pumpkin puree

1 1/2 c sugar

3/4 c vegetable oil

3 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a mini bundt pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour the batter into the prepared pans – about 1/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes — keep a close eye on it — because baking times will vary — bake until set and the cakes bounce back. Remove and let cool to room temperature.

Icing:

4 oz package cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces

3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 c sifted confectioners’ sugar

In a small bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat well. Gradually add the sugar, beating until smooth and creamy.

Put the icing into either a piping bag, or a squeeze bottle and drizzle over the pumpkin bundts.

Enjoy with friends and apple cider!

Caramel Cake with Apple Filling and Caramel Cream Cheese Icing

Posted: November 4th, 2010 | Filed under: Cake, Candy | | No Comments »

I can’t believe that it is already November. I mean– it seems like summer was just here– is time just going to start going faster and faster and faster now? Last weekend we celebrated Halloween with friends. We let our Mad Men love get the best of us, and we dressed up as a 1960′s advertising executive and a housewife. We even put lipstick smudges on Ryan’s outfit – it was way scandalous slash adorable.

But other than that, I got to spend some great time in the kitchen last week also.

This fall has been full of apples. I not only have been playing with a few apple recipes, I was gifted a bag full of fresh local apples — so even more apple dishes made an appearance in the kitchen! Its been pretty awesome. So I wanted to share this recipe with you — the cake is just very lightly caramel-ish – slightly more than a regular white cake, but not overwhelming at all. The filling is super yummy and really balances out the cake and thick creamy icing. And don’t worry – there will be some left over caramel — which is amazing warmed poured over apple slices and ice cream. (Or, if you are me, just by the spoonful.)

For the Cake:
2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Filling:
2 large apples, grated
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-x-2-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the tough – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

For the Filling: Combine all ingredients in saucepan and cook until apples are tender.

For the Caramel:

1 c cold water

3c sugar

2 c heavy cream, at room temperature

In a medium size saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Set over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes, making sure no sugar is sticking to the sides of the pan. Increase the heat to high and boil without stirring until the syrup becomes a deep amber color, about 15 minutes. Swirl the pan occasionally for even browning. Once the syrup turns deep amber in color, immediately remove from the pan. Slowly add the cream to the syrup (there will be lots and lots of bubbling, don’t be scared) whisking vigorously until the cream is incorporated. Return the pan to medium-low heat and stir until the sauce is smooth, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to come to room temperature before chilling. (This can be stored for up to a month in the refrigerator

For the Icing:

1 1b cream cheese, softened slightly, cut into pieces

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened slightly, cut into pieces

1 c cold caramel

1 tbsp kosher salt

In a medium sized bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and the butter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the caramel and salt and beat until well incorporated. Spread onto and over the cake liberally.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Posted: October 12th, 2010 | Filed under: Cake | Tags: best carrot cake, best carrot cake cupcakes, carrot cake, carrot cake with cream cheese icing, cream cheese icing, fancy pecans, toasted pecans | No Comments »

This has been a crazy week… and its only Tuesday! So, I have a job, I’m a barista at Starbucks. (In case you didn’t know, I was a barista as I finished up college, and while I looked for a post grad job.) I have to say, I really am enjoying it more this time around. I think its because my mindset is different this time, I don’t feel the pressure of what I’m doing for my “real job” after college, I’m not worried about trying to work my way up in an imaginary career when I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to do for life. (Which, I am fully aware has the potential to change as often as seasons change.) But I’ll say this, I’m not terrible at it, I enjoy work, and its not stressful. Which I love. And its teaching me the things I need to learn the food industry better, especially since I’m paying closer attention this time around to the things I need to learn to be successful in the food industry, to the things I’ll need to run a small business one day.

Also in life, we are packing up for a quick trip to California! (I’m super excited, I love California.) But even more exciting — we are going for a wedding– a wedding we’ve been anxiously awaiting — a wedding we can’t wait to be present for. Ryan’s brother Jay and his long time girlfriend Melissa are getting married this Friday. We are so excited for them. It is just crazy that we got married almost three years ago, and one right after the other the brothers have all gotten paired off, entering into marriage with some amazing women. (It makes holiday and family get togethers much louder and way fun.) So as we pack and reflect on family, I’m also thinking of recipes that remind me of home, of family, of comfort in the fall, of tradition and warmth — and so there are carrot cake cupcakes. With flavors and spices that are warm and welcoming, these are the perfect cupcake for the beginning of fall. (I live in Texas, its still not exactly sweater weather all day yet. So yeah, the beginning of fall, not the middle or end quite yet.) Slathered in a smooth cream cheese icing and topped with toasty pecans — its beautifully delicious and moist and the flavors are perfect together in each and every bite.

Other things I like about this recipe is just how easy it is. It doesn’t take long to put everything together, the cake can all be done by hand, and the aromas from each component pour through the kitchen making it all the more inviting.

Alyssa’s Carrot Cake

For the Cake

2 1/3 c self rising flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp all spice

1 tbsp orange zest

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2 c light brown sugar

1 c canola oil

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 c fresh orange juice

3 c carrot (very finely chopped in a food processor)

Preheat the oven to 350F, place liners in two cupcake/muffin tins. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and orange zest. In another bowl, stir together the whole eggs, egg yolks, and brown sugar. Add the oil, vanilla and orange juice. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and stir in the egg mixture a little at a time, until just combined. Stir in the carrots. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the centers are set and a tester in the center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature before icing and topping.

Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 c unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature

Two 8oz packages of cream cheese

4 c confectioners’ sugar

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter until soft, add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Blend in the sugar, vanilla and salt. Spread on top of each cupcake with an icing spatula.

Pecan Topping

2 c pecan pieces

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp salt

Preheat an oven to 350F. On a large baking sheet spread the pecans and roast until fragrant, about 10 minutes. While the pecans are in the oven place the butter and salt in a medium mixing bowl. When the pecans are ready, take them from the oven and pour them directly into the bowl with the butter and salt. (Thats right, don’t let them cool.) Flip or stir the pecans in the bowl with the butter and salt, letting them melt the butter and allowing the butter and salt to coat every pecan. Let cool to room temperature before topping each cupcake with a few pecan pieces.

Blackberry Jam Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted: August 31st, 2010 | Filed under: Cake | Tags: blackberry jam cake, cream cheese frosting, jam cake, white chocolate cream cheese frosting, white chocolate frosting | No Comments »

I cooked a good bit last week. It was pretty much awesome. I can say this… being unemployed gives me a lot more room to be the little “home maker” that I am. And goodness — the days fill up so quickly, and even when I’m not working I’m super busy. But hey, thats okay, I like being busy. And now that we are closing the month and looking at my unemployed state and looking at the bills, we are seeing over and over again all of the ways that God is providing for us, caring for us, and loving us through amazing family and an amazing gospel community. We’re still seeking the Lord in figuring out what to do next… until then, we are encouraged by the Lord’s faithful provision.

So this weekend I made a cake. I love making a good layer cake, but it does take a lot of time, so I just don’t do it as often. But I had a good reason and a great recipe to try and pecans I needed to use in pantry and white chocolate cream cheese frosting just sounded so good. And it was. It was really tasty. I’ll soon be converting this into a cupcake. Look forward to that… but for now, please, please enjoy this cake. it is really moist and delicious and the flavors and sweetness are perfectly balanced.

Blackberry Jam Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from At Home with Magnolia by Allysa Torey

Cake

2 2/3 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c unsalted butter, softened

1 c granulated sugar

1 c firmly packed light brown sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 c buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c seedless blackberry jam

Icing

2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened

6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

8 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature (I used Lindt)**

Topping

1 1/2 c pecans

1 1/2 tbsp butter

1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven 350 F. Grease and lightly flour two 9×2 inch round cake pans, then line the bottom with a round of wax paper.

Cake: Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars gradually, and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until incorporated but do not over beat, as this would cause toughness. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended. Fold in the jam until no large pieces of jam remain, but leave some small bits throughout the batter.

Divide the batter between the pans. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester in the center comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pan for 1 hour. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Icing: In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and the butter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat well. Add the melted chocolate and beat well. Use immediately or store, covered at room temperature for up to 4 hours.

Topping: Toast the pecans on a baking sheet at 350 F for 10 to 15 minutes — or until lightly brown and fragrant. While the pecans are toasted put the butter and salt in a small bowl. When the pecans are done, put them directly into the bowl with the butter and salt and toss until well covered.

Assembly: When the layers are completely cooled, spread the icing between the layers, stack the layers, then ice the top and sides of the cake. Pile on the pecans on top.

**Note: to melt the white chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water over low heat, for approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Stir until smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 to 15 minutes or until lukewarm.

#1 Cowboy and Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Posted: June 12th, 2010 | Filed under: Cake, Uncategorized | Tags: best peanut butter icing, chocolate and peanut butter, chocolate cake, cowboys cake, peanut butter icing | 1 Comment »

• • • • • • Today I’m updating from Humble Texas, where we are celebrating the 1 year birthday of Tristan Jarrell… our cute little nephew! What a doll, all cute and round and amazing. So for the party we contributed some amazing little cupcakes, crowned with little Cowboys helmets. So we’ll update with photos now, and I’ll add a recipe later… here you go.
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Barefoot Contessa Chocolate Cake

from Barefoot Contessa

Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Scoop into prepared cupcake liners… and bake for 12-15 minutes. Cool on wire racks for at least an hour before frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Frost your sweet sweet cuppy cakes… and enjoy!

A Lesson in Buttercream

Posted: May 2nd, 2010 | Filed under: Cake | Tags: butter cream, chocolate buttercream, easy chocolate buttercream, lessons on buttercream, simple buttercream | 3 Comments »

I love getting to make a cake for a friend as a treat. It is fun for me – especially when I have planned it, and made time for it, and can enjoy the process. So this week for my friend Scherrie celebrated her birthday, I surprised her with a tasty golden yellow cake with chocolate buttercream.

Celebration cakes do not have to be super fancy. In fact, the birthday girl’s favorite cake is a yellow cake with chocolate icing. So that is what she got. Why does celebration have to mean fancy schmancy? It doesn’t. It should just mean super tasty. And not much is tastier than a simple tried and true cake recipe with a little extra pizzaz on top. Sweet, simple, celebration.

It was a tasty cake, especially since everyone in my office loves milk chocolate. But for my little dark chocolate loving tastebuds, it was a little lighter than I would have liked. I took a chance on trying a new buttercream recipe, but I’m not sure I made the right call. It was simple enough, but as far as depth and flavor go, it just wasn’t as dynamic as I would have liked. It was sweet and tasty, and smooth – but not deep enough to please me. It was definitely better than something out of a can though. However, the cake was beautiful, my layers were perfectly even – it was a hit! So happy birthday weekend dear Scherrie! And for the rest of you, enjoy a nice little celebration cake.

Easy Chocolate Buttercream

from Martha Steweart’s Cooking School

1 lb unsalted butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 c unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder

5 1/4 c sifted confectioners sugar

With an electric mixer, cream butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to medium; add cocoa. Mix until smooth. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix on high speed until well blended, 10 to 20 seconds more. (If not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days.)

Strawberry Cupcakes

Posted: March 28th, 2010 | Filed under: Cake | Tags: best strawberry buttercream, best strawberry cake, strawberry buttercream, strawberry cake, strawberry cupcakes | 3 Comments »

Chocolate Stack Loaf

Posted: January 24th, 2010 | Filed under: Cake | Tags: Cake, Chocolate, Easy, Fudge, One bowl | 3 Comments »

Vanilla Almond Buttermilk Pound Cakes

Posted: January 14th, 2010 | Filed under: Cake | Tags: almond, buttermilk, buttermilk poundcake, fewer calories pound cake, light, poundcake, Vanilla | 2 Comments »

So now that cake and I are a couple again…

I decided to try out a cake recipe that I flagged over a year ago. Man, I really regret waiting so long. Here is the thing… I like pound cake a lot… and I’ve made some excellent buttermilk cake before… but its the new year… and I don’t want to totally reverse my hours clocked at the gym… so this is really the perfect answer… a slightly adapted version of Cooking Light’s Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cake… much “healthier” – because… come on… its still cake. Its not like I’m downing fresh apples and celery sticks over here. So if I’m going to eat cake– and lets face it–I don’t eat bad cake… this is still way tasty and not as terrible as the pound of butter, pound of sugar thing most pound cakes have going for them. (Although there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.)

However… I’m not sure I helped the calorie cutting at all when I covered them in a nice velvety ganache… but oh well.

Vanilla Almond Buttermilk Pound Cakes

Adapted from Cooking Light