Tag: Cake

Election Cake

I had no clue that Election Cake used to be a thing until I saw an article recently about this lost tradition! Recipes for Election Cake are found back to the late 18th century, but apparently the tradition has fallen off in recent years.

This yeasted spiced bundt fruitcake was traditionally prepared prior to Election Day and served to hungry voters.

For years, I was the machine inspector for every general and primary election in my South Philly polling location, so any attention I can bring to voting is super important to me! I am also down for any and all food holidays so let’s bring back Election Cake!

I don’t have a ton of experience using yeast, so I looked up a recipe from NY Times Food. Because of the yeast, there are two proofing times in this recipe, so set aside 4 to 6 hours to make this cake.

Ingredients (serves 10):

  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 (¼-ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 lemon, divided
  • 2 eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 cup brandy, divided
  • ⅔ cup golden raisins
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Continue reading Election Cake

Chocolate Smash Cake

My niece’s first birthday is soon, and my sister asked if I would make her smash cake; what an honor!

My sister requested a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and as this will be my niece’s first taste of chocolate, I have to make sure it’s tasty with a few more baby-friendly adjustments.

This Chocolate Smash Cake is a fluffy, chocolatey mini cake perfect for (obviously) first birthdays, or for smaller get togethers.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:

  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup applesauce

Chocolate Frosting:

  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • pinch fine salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup whole milk, plus more as needed

Continue reading Chocolate Smash Cake

No Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake

It’s that time of year where there are plenty of barbecues and outdoor gatherings again. Whenever our friends host, I never want to come empty handed so I like to have a bunch of dessert recipes on hand, especially no bake dessert recipes!

This No Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake is perfect for summer meet ups – you don’t have to turn on your oven and overheat your own home, and it can be made ahead and served chilled or at room temperature.

The cake is super simple to make. It is layers of graham crackers, whipped cream pudding, and chocolate frosting, mimicking the flavors of a chocolate eclair. If you don’t want to make your own frosting, you can also buy store bought and just use that.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pint heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (16 oz box) plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, divided
  • 2 (3.4 oz) boxes instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 3 cups whole milk, divided
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon coffee extract
  • 1 (14.4 oz) box graham crackers

Continue reading No Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake

Chocolate Coconut Cake

I originally made this Chocolate Coconut Cake for my dad for his birthday a few years ago. Since then, my parents request it any chance they get!

The recipe is a chocolate cake that substitutes coconut milk for regular milk in the recipe. It is then topped with a coconut cream frosting and some coconut flakes for extra coconut-y goodness!

Cake:

  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened (or margarine to make dairy free)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk

Frosting:

  • 4 sticks (2 cups) unsalted butter, softened (or margarine to make dairy free)
  • 2 16 oz boxes (about 8 cups) powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (5.4 oz can) coconut cream

Topping:

  • 1/2 cup coconut flakes

Continue reading Chocolate Coconut Cake

Walnut Whiskey Cake

Whiskey Cake is something that has shown up to family gatherings since before I can even remember. My mom makes this cake for basically all extended family celebrations, and it has become a favorite of mine. Recently, we were celebrating a friend’s birthday and I thought a Walnut Whiskey Cake would be the perfect birthday cake for him!

My version is a bit different than the one my mom makes, but the general gist is still there. I added some candied walnuts on top because, why not, but feel free to omit them.

The best part of this recipe is it is made with cake mix and instant vanilla pudding mix, making this cake both super easy to make and incredibly moist! Using a Bundt pan makes this cake look like it took you all day to make, but the hardest part of this recipe is patiently waiting for the glaze to soak into the cake before removing it from the Bundt pan.

Walnut Whiskey Cake Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 (15.25 oz) box yellow cake mix
  • 1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
  • 2 oz whiskey or bourbon

Glaze:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (4 oz) whiskey or bourbon
  • the juice of 1/2 orange
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Candied Walnuts:

  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Continue reading Walnut Whiskey Cake

Tiramisu Cake

I am about to share with you my new favorite cake. Not only does this Tiramisu Cake taste amazing, but it is actually just a more spiffed up cake from a box!

I made this cake originally to celebrate my mom’s birthday, and everyone loved it so much, I decided to share it here too (my husband wasn’t upset at all to have this cake show up in our house again either!)

Ingredients:

  • 1 package white cake mix (I used a Super Moist French Vanilla Cake Mix)
  • 1 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled, divided
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
  • 2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur (like Kahlua)

Filling:

  • 1 (8 oz) container mascarpone cheese
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup coffee flavored liqueur (like Kahlua)

Frosting:

  • 1 cup cold heavy cream
  • 1 (8 oz) container mascarpone cheese
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup coffee flavored liqueur (like Kahlua)
  • pinch of salt

For Garnish:

  • unsweetened cocoa powder
  • semisweet chocolate bar

Continue reading Tiramisu Cake

Irish Plum Pudding

In the 11 years I’ve been writing posts for this blog, I have never posted on Christmas Day!

This year, I decided to finally rectify that and bring a recipe for a Christmas Pudding. Plum Pudding is quite a misnomer (at least to us Americans) – it does not include any plums, and pudding is actually a cake, not a custard-like substance. The method of cooking the plum pudding was new to me too; you actually steam it on your stovetop rather than bake it!

This recipe for Irish Plum Pudding is adapted from a cookbook I have owned for a while (Christmas Flavors of Ireland– paid link), although, I have to admit, I think I royally Americanized the recipe into something different. So, here’s my American Not-Plum Bundt Cake!

Note: You’ll need a 6 cup bundt pan (paid link), and a pot large enough to fit the bundt pan inside (I used a large pot I use to make tomato sauce).

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 1/4 cup dried figs, chopped
  • 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
  • 1/4 cup candied cherries (paid link), halved
  • 2 tablespoons candied orange peel, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons candied lemon peel, chopped
  • 1/3 cup spiced rum
  • the juice and zest of 1 orange
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup stem ginger (paid link), finely chopped
  • 1 apple, peeled, cored, and grated
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Optional Bourbon Butter, for serving:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon

Continue reading Irish Plum Pudding

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Nearly a decade ago, I shared a recipe for a Bunny Carrot Cake. Although it’s super cute, I figured it was about time I shared a decidedly less creative dessert that is still perfect for Easter and spring in general: Carrot Cake Cupcakes!

These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are based off the original recipe I shared 9 years ago, but I substituted in walnuts for the raisins. They are topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and then sprinkled with carrot-shaped sprinkles to make them extra adorable.

Ingredients (makes approximately 30 cupcakes):

Carrot Cake Cupcakes:
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ¾ cup melted browned butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups loosely packed grated carrots
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (omit for nut-free)
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
  • 2 (8 oz) packages of Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 (16 oz) packages powdered sugar
  • Easter-themed sprinkles, if desired

Kitchen Tools Used:

Continue reading Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Eggnog Bundt Cake

I can’t believe the holidays are almost here! This year, we are heading up to my husband’s brother’s house, and I’m in charge of bringing a dessert. I’ve been testing different recipes for a couple of weeks now, and this Eggnog Bundt Cake is definitely the winner!

Not only will it travel well (hooray!) it’s simple to make and has the flavors of the season.

The richness of the eggnog with a hint of nutmeg is in both the bundt cake and the glaze. (There is no alcohol in this cake though!)

Ingredients:

Bundt Cake:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup eggnog

Glaze:

  • 8 oz (1/2 box) confectioner’s sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup eggnog
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Continue reading Eggnog Bundt Cake

Citrus Poppy Seed Pound Cake

My mom’s birthday was earlier this week and I wanted to make her a treat to celebrate. She might be citrus’ biggest fan, so I knew I had to incorporate a couple of citrus components into it. This Citrus Poppy Seed Pound Cake was the result!

This recipe is adapted from a NYTimes Cooking recipe.

Ingredients:

  • Butter, for greasing the loaf pan
  • 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon, divided 
  • the zest and juice of 1 orange, divided
  • the zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided 
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, or vanilla extract to make nut free
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Continue reading Citrus Poppy Seed Pound Cake

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake

I mentioned in my Blueberry Chia Seed Jam post that you’d see it pop up in a recipe shortly, and here it is! This No Bake Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake is a great make ahead dessert that’s a beautiful end to a barbecue or summer dinner party.

If you’re not familiar with icebox cakes, they are layered frozen cakes traditionally made with whipped cream and chocolate wafers. This Bon Appetit version incorporates some of my favorite flavors, blueberries and lemon, to create a beautiful Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake!

This isn’t a cake that involves much precision or patience, and looks pret-ty darn good even when giving off that “homemade” vibe, like mine does. You also don’t need any special tools – just a 9×5 loaf pan, some plastic wrap, and a hand mixer. An offset spatula would also come in handy if you have one.

Ingredients:

  • 1 (8 oz) container mascarpone, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • the zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream (leave in the fridge until ready to use)
  • 1 cup lemon curd, divided
  • 16 graham crackers, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups Blueberry Jam (like this Blueberry-Chia Seed Jam), divided
  • 1/3 cup fresh blueberries

Continue reading No Bake Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake

Devils Food Cupcakes

These super chocolatey Devils Food Cupcakes are most certainly going to be a favorite of the chocoholic in your life.

There isn’t anything that specifically determines a chocolate cake as devil’s food cake, but they do tend to be a bit more airy and have quite a bit of chocolate in them!

This moist and fluffy recipe for Devils Food Cupcakes also uses coffee extract to further enhance the chocolate flavor.

Ingredients (makes approximately 30 cupcakes):

  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon coffee extract
  • 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  •  1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • chocolatey buttercream frosting

Continue reading Devils Food Cupcakes

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Every year, I have two responsibilities for Thanksgiving: make Bloody Mary’s as everyone arrives and show up with a dessert that is chocolate and/or pumpkin.

This year, I decided to make a dessert that is both pumpkin-y and chocolatey: Chocolate Pumpkin Cake!

This recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Cake is adapted from a Country Living recipe, and uses my cinnamon cream cheese frosting from my Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes recipe.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake:

  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ tablespoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¾ cup low fat buttermilk
  • 1 (15 oz can) pumpkin purée
  • ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (2.25 sticks), at room temperature
  • 1½ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1½ cup granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs, at room temperature

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 2 (8 oz) packages of Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 (16 oz) packages powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Optional Chocolate Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Continue reading Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Blackberry Peaches and Cream Cake

Note: I was sent some coupons for Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk in order to make this Blackberry Peaches and Cream Cake. Opinions are mine alone.

Last weekend, I had friends over for dinner. Planning what to eat dinner was pretty easy, until I realized I hadn’t thought of a dessert!

Luckily, I had picked up some Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk the last time I was at the supermarket and had the remaining ingredients on hand as well so that I could make this Blackberry Peaches and Cream Cake.

Not only is this Blackberry Peaches and Cream Cake super tasty, it can be made with pantry items without needing to make another trip to the supermarket. So it’s the perfect “just in case” recipe to make when needed!

This recipe is adapted from a recipe on Eagle Brand‘s website for Peaches and Cream Cake.

Ingredients:

  • 1 package angel food cake mix (or frozen angel food cake, thinly sliced)
  • 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 (4-serving size) package instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 pint heavy cream (or frozen whipped topping)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract
  • ~1.5 pounds frozen peaches, thawed
  • ~1 pint fresh blackberries (or frozen fruit of your choice, thawed)

Continue reading Blackberry Peaches and Cream Cake

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

  This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SoHoppinGood #BlueBunny #CollectiveBias

Spring has finally sprung and this past weekend was absolutely beautiful. Warm weather has me dreaming about frozen treats, especially ice cream.

For more than 80 years, Blue Bunny® has been offering yummy ice cream made with fresh ingredients for families. Blue Bunny® Ice Cream just came out with their new 2017 lineup of ice cream flavors and treats, including two awesome Ice Cream Cakes: Bunny Tracks and Vanilla Bean Blondie. Bunny Tracks is made with the Blue Bunny® signature flavor: vanilla flavored ice cream with caramel and fudge swirls, chocolaty covered peanuts, and peanut butter filled chocolaty bunnies.

Their other new flavors include: Mint Cookie Crunch, Monster Cookie Mash, Toffee Brownie Twist™, and Rockin’ Rocky Road™. Also worth mentioning, Cherrific Cheesecake, which used to be seasonal is now officially available year-round!

One of my favorite ice cream treats are ice cream sandwiches. So what could be better than a cake sized ice cream sandwich like this Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich Cake? I decided to make large peanut butter cookies to make the Blue Bunny® Bunny Track Ice Cream Cake into an Ice Cream Sandwich Cake.

I went to my local Walmart to pick up the ice cream cake and the ingredients I needed for the cookies. The ice cream cakes can be found in the same aisle as other ice cream.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Blue Bunny® Bunny Tracks Ice Cream Cake
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 stick butter, at room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups flour

Continue reading Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

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