Category Archives: Cake

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

April 29, 2011

I’ve spent my week between textbooks and computer screens and the operating room. Dodging scalpels and specimens. Mostly trying to stay out of the way. There’s been a lot of reading, so it feels like I’m right back in school. But the best part is I’m getting paid to study, to learn, to observe. To watch laproscopic surgeries and joint replacements. It’s a sweet deal. (If you love that kind of thing. I sure do.)

I’m not getting as much quality time cooking. Dinners are rushed and I look forward to the weekend when I can waste a few hours in the kitchen. When I’ll have time to bake. Almost every week I pick a treat to make. Last Sunday, in honor of Easter, I chose carrot cake. In the form of cupcakes (which I’ve never done before). What intrigued me about this recipe was the inclusion of white chocolate in the frosting. White chocolate + cream cheese on top of carrot cake- it sounded amazing! And I’m here today to tell you, it was. These cupcakes were moist and scrumptious! They’re stuffed with walnuts and crushed pineapple but you could always add some raisins and shredded coconut to kick it up another notch. So take some time for yourself this weekend and get to baking. Cupcakes are calling…

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

Carrot Cake Cupcakes:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 cups carrots, peeled and shredded
3/4 cup crushed pineapple
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped + extra for garnish

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 oz. white chocolate
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
3 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line or lightly grease two cupcake pans.

2. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugars with an electric mixer until frothy. Beat in the oil and vanilla. Stir in the carrots and pineapple.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk to combine flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until evenly moist. Fold in the chopped walnuts.

4. Divide batter among the prepared cupcake pans and bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

5. To make the frosting, melt chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Allow to come to room temperature. Cream butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in the melted chocolate, vanilla, and heavy cream. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until fluffy. Spread over cooled cupcakes and top with chopped walnuts.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

(Adapted from All Recipes)

Banana Bars

March 20, 2011

My mom must have made these banana bars more than any other dessert (besides chocolate chip cookies) when I was growing up. And now after years of baking experience, they’re still one of my favorite treats. I think the secret is the sour cream. It adds a unique tang that cuts the sweet. A single recipe fills an entire cookie sheet, so make sure to have someone special to share them with.

1/15/09: Sunday dinner was a throwback to my Mom’s home cooking. So of course I finished it off with one of her classic desserts. These bars are reminiscent of banana bread, but sweeter, moister, and frosted!  It’s the perfect way to use up over-ripe bananas. (I usually freeze them when they are turning brown and then have them on hand anytime I want to bake with bananas.) They’re light but devilishly decadent.

Banana Bars

INGREDIENTS

1/2 (1 stick) cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
4 ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet.

2. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Continue to add the remaining ingredients, mixing well. Spread batter into the prepared cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the top begins to brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely before frosting.

3. To prepare the frosting, mix the ingredients until creamy. Spread over cooled bars, cut, and serve.

Makes 1 sheet pan.

My mom’s recipe.

Spiced Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

February 10, 2011

I feel like a hypocrite posting this recipe only several days after demonizing sugar. Let’s get one thing straight: sugar isn’t evil. Only concentrated amounts of it on a regular basis can wreak havoc on your body. So when your parents turn fifty-something and it’s time to celebrate, have a slice of cake (and a scoop of the most luxurious salted caramel ice cream) and don’t feel bad about it. Just don’t eat the whole cake. Share with friends. Banish leftovers to the freezer. Whatever works. This cake is worthy of a special occasion. It’s aromatic and moist. The cinnamon makes the cream cheese frosting unforgettable. And that ice cream… well, you’ll have to wait to hear about it another day!

Spiced Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

Spiced Applesauce Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
5 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 8 or 9 inch square cake pan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a separate large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce. At low speed, mix in flour until just combined, then fold in walnuts.

3. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Reinvert cake onto rack to cool completely.

4. To prepare the frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Sift powdered sugar and cinnamon over top and beat at medium speed until incorporated. Spread frosting over cooled cake.

Makes a single-layer 8 or 9 inch square cake.

(Adapted from Gourmet)

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

November 7, 2010

Here is Halloween treat #3. (I saved the best for last in my opinion.) This is Paula Deen’s recipe. I find her adorable, but most of her recipes scare me. (Buttered this, fried that…) But since this is dessert, I wasn’t going for healthy. These classic pumpkin bars turned out fluffy and moist with a thin yet rich layer of cream cheese frosting. Two of my favorite ingredients in perfect form. Just not husband friendly. (Anytime I bake with pumpkin I have to make an alternate dessert for Dustin. He won’t go near it.) Yeah, he’s missing out.

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

Bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
2 cups all-purpose
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth.

3. Spread the batter into a greased 9×13 baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

4. To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Makes a 9×13 pan of bars.

(Adapted from Food Network)

Angel Food Cake with Fresh Berries and Whipped Cream

May 9, 2010

Today is Mother’s Day. And this is what I made for my mom. I’m not cute and crafty. I don’t stitch or sew, paint or design. When I want to create a gift from scratch, I bake. And this occasion called for angel food cake. The perfect ending to an awesome weekend with my family and the perfect way to celebrate my mom. For my mom- I love you.

5/29/09: I’ve never liked angel food cake much. I always thought it was bland and too airy-not really fit to be called a cake. So why I found myself spending the time to separate a dozen eggs and whip their frothy whites might seem perplexing. Hint: See photo above.

The fresh summer berries are what caught my attention; the cake simply being the vehicle for their delivery. Bright busty berries are popping up at the market and I can’t resist incorporating them into salads and desserts…even dinner as you’ll see tomorrow! Just out of personal preference I used strawberries instead of blackberries…but why not try both?!

In cooking and baking I never cease to surprise myself. Sometimes the dishes I expect to turn out devastatingly spectacular are flops and those I doubted become favorites. The berries were a spectacle. But I do not lie, the cake was phenomenal!

This recipe redefines angel food cake. I swear I will NEVER make a boxed version again. They taste like cardboard in comparison. This is light and fluffy, sweet and silky, melt-in-your-mouth good. The photos above just don’t do it justice (rainy days are extra annoying when photographing food). The cake flour is essential for lift and you want to use your finest white sugar.

Whoever named this dessert must have had this recipe. Biting into my big slice of angel food cake with gently whipped cream on top and berries drizzling down the side, I could have died in the moment and been a happy girl.

Angel Food Cake with Fresh Berries and Whipped Cream

INGREDIENTS

10-12 large egg whites, room temperature
1 1/2 cups fine sugar, divided (a few whirls in the food processor and granulated sugar becomes super fine)
1 cup cake flour, sifted
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar and the cake flour. Set aside.

3. Beat egg whites until frothy, the add cream of tartar and salt. Beat until fully incorporated then begin to add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar 1-2 tablespoons at a time. When sugar has been added, beat egg whites to soft peaks. You will know when you have soft peaks because the egg whites will look like soft waves and when you lift the beaters, the peaks will droop back down into the batter. If your batter is falling in ribbons, it is not quite done. Don’t be afraid to slow down the mixer and check a few times as you get close. Do not beat all the way to stiff peaks. Once you have soft peaks, add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat for a few seconds to evenly distribute.

4. Sift the flour/sugar mixture over the egg whites in 6-8 additions (depending on your proficiency with folding flour into egg whites) and gently fold it in after each addition. It is better to take your time and do it gently than to rush and deflate the egg whites.

5. Spoon batter into an ungreased 9 inch tube pan with a removeable bottom. Smooth the top with a spatula and tap the pan on the counter once or twice to ensure that there are no large bubbles lurking beneath the surface.

6. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed.

7. Remove from oven and invert. Cool to room temperature. (If you are not serving it right away, store in an airtight container so that it doesn’t dry out.)

8. Gently run a thin knife around the sides, then around the bottom, of the pan to release the cake when you are ready to serve it. Serve with whipped cream and berries.

(Adapted from Baking Bites)

Berries

INGREDIENTS

2 cups fresh raspberries
2 cups fresh blackberries (I used strawberries instead)
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup evaporated cane sugar
2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Toss to combine. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Whipped Cream

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whipping cream, chilled
2-3 Tbsp. powdered sugar (to taste)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. For perfect whipped cream, use a bowl that’s large enough to allow the cream to double in volume. Refrigerate the bowl and beaters for at least half an hour, or place them in the freezer for 15 minutes, and make sure the cream is very cold. Use the freshest whipping cream available, and add sugar, vanilla, or any other ingredients near the end of whipping; adding them too soon in the process will decrease the amount of volume you achieve.

(Directions from Cooking Light)