A special cake for celebrations and the holidays! Recipe and video.
From Denny: We love the Food Network at our house and often watch Bobby Flay on his show "Throwdown!" You get to find out what other people are cooking throughout the country as well as view a trained chef figure out how to match their recipes. It's a friendly "show-off cook-off" and always entertaining. Chef Bobby Flay has compiled his best - and most popular - recipes from the show into a new cookbook called "Throwdown!"
Here's a bit of cake trivia: Did you know that German Chocolate Cake is not from Germany? It's actually named after Sam German because he was the guy who created the type of distinctive chocolate baked into the cake. Technically, says Chef Flay, it should be called German's Chocolate Cake. Well, oops, too late, Bobby. America calls it German Chocolate Cake.
This recipe is a great idea to serve for the upcoming holidays. OK, since it's chocolate I'd serve it year 'round since chocolate seems to make the most mundane suddenly special... :)
Check out what heavenly confection you can do with a simple cake mix.
From Denny: We love lemon recipes at our house so when I came across this one you can imagine it caused quite a stir around here! There is something about the combination of cream cheese and lemon that is simply divine. Then add coconut to the mix and your taste buds are orbiting around the planet "formerly known as" Pluto.
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*** Make a stunning tasty chocolate cake to entertain your sweet tooth.
From Denny: If you enjoy baking cakes for friends and family then this new cookbook is for you. "Cakes to Die For! The Complete Guide for Cake Lovers" is by Chef Bev Shaffer, published by Pelican Publishing Company at 288 pages, full retail price for the hardcover is $26.95. We all know we can get this over at Amazon books at a reduced price not long after publication. Chef Bev, also a cooking instructor, is loved for her cookie cookbook so this cake cookbook is eagerly anticipated by novice bakers trying to learn the art of cake baking. This new cakes cookbook collection has 175 of her most favorite recipes. As a chef it must have been difficult to narrow down her choices. :)
Chef Bev walks us through her recipes in nine chapters where she covers everything from the typical traditional layer cake, pretty cupcakes, yummy cheesecakes, "flipped over" cakes which are "upside-down" cakes (also the easiest cakes to make for a beginner).
Her fancy cakes include delightful creations like Luscious Layered Tiramisu Torte and A Hint of Raspberry Celebration Cake. Chef Bev includes those one-pan cakes for when you are in a hurry and the family is clamoring for something sweet and then you have to pull a food rabbit out of your hat in quick time. Two tasty recipes for that "quick fast and in a hurry" category are Low-Fat But Still Delicious Mocha Cake and Fresh Picked Blueberry Pudding Cake. There are also bundt cake, angel food cake recipes and frostings to explore.
Chef Bev Shaffer is the director of Mustard Seed Market and Café Cooking Schools in Akron and Solon, Ohio. She offers helpful advice from frosting tips to how to achieve accurate measurements which is critical in the chemistry of the baking process.
Bev lists what she names the thirteen essential ingredients in a cake baker’s pantry. She uses the chef’s hats icons to indicate the difficulty levels of the recipes. This cookbook is a real beauty, illustrated with 75 full-color color photographs of finished cakes. The added bonus is that it is printed in large, easy-to-read type - convenient when you are reading the recipe as you stir the ingredients and move around the kitchen.
This chocolate cake recipe is a big hit with families and foodies alike. There is just something about buttermilk and chocolate that make for a moist and very tasty cake - long a favorite combination in our house. Plan on making copies of the recipe as everyone who tastes it will ask for this recipe!
Buttermilk Fudge Cake With a Chocolate Gloss Icing
From: Bev Shaffer
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour 3/4 cup plus 3 tbls. unsweetened cocoa, sifted 1 1/4 tsps. baking soda 1/8 tsp. salt 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces 2/3 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 2 large eggs 2 tsps. vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Chocolate Gloss Icing:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted 2 tsps. vanilla extract 3 ozs. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans and cover pan bottoms with a round of parchment paper. Grease the parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the white and brown sugar on medium speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape bowl.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just until blended.
Spread batter into prepared pans; quickly and gently smooth the tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pans to loosen cakes. Cover a pan with a large, lint-free towel-covered plate and invert pan. Remove pan from cake. Peel off parchment and re-invert cake from plate onto cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cake. Allow to cool on wire rack.
Directions for Chocolate Gloss Icing:
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the confectioners’ sugar until very light. Add the vanilla and melted chocolate, beating until glossy and smooth.
Place one cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread with a small amount of the gloss. Top with the other layer and frost the sides and then the top, swirling the gloss. Let the cake stand for at least 30 minutes before slicing, to allow layers to set.
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*** One of my favorite cakes to order a slice for dessert when we dine out - and also an easy cake to make at home!
From Denny: Italian Cream Cake is a favorite at our house and we often make it for the holidays or birthday occasions. Children and adults both love this cake. Children love the coconut and adults love the cream cheese icing and pecans.
But then we Southerners do so love our sweets - and shamelessly! :) Southern food expert, John Egerton, wrote a thing or two about this love of sweets in the South in his book, "Southern Foods." He says, "The celebrated Southern sweet tooth is no myth."
He goes on to comment that one of the reasons that Southerners so love their desserts as an ending to a meal: "It's a sweet conclusion to a meal and is like a happy ending to a book or a fairytale - a way of delaying or denying harsh reality. Sweets are akin to pleasure, to optimism, to a romantic view of life — and such an outlook has often seemed in keeping with the regional character."
Throughout Southern history economic times have been hard, especially during and after the Civil War. It was that time period that spawned the need for sweets to alleviate the stresses of everyday life. Southern cooks felt if they could put a smile on everyone's face with just a dessert it was a good day. The expressions of pure delight were often contagious, bringing joy back into the household.
Some of the favorite desserts over the decades have been peach ice cream, coconut cake, lemon custard pie or in the past few years the rise of sweet potato pie. There is just something about the words "sugar" and "sweet" that acted like a catalyst to encourage hope in the most desperate of times.
Egertpm said, "For showmanship and flair, nothing is more spectacular than a big four-layer cake." We celebrate family in the South and nothing says family gatherings like birthdays, anniversaries, the birth of a new family member, a job promotion, that first job for a new college graduate. We bake a simple cake in grand style like this one and celebrate a heavenly slice of that beautiful cake over a steaming cup of hot black coffee or unsweeetened iced tea to balance all that sweetness.
What's funny about this cake is it's name. Food historians have not been able to track down the origin of the name as it is not related at all to Italian cuisine. It was originally known as "Delmonico Cake." Probably, some Italian-American was known for her cake, renamed it and the name stuck over the years.
Apparently, many versions of this cake call for a combination of shortening and butter. Hydrogenated shortening just isn't healthy for your arteries but clarified butter is just fine. Regular butter with the milk fats still in it is still better than shortening as your body is at least able to break it down eventually. Shortening does not break down but rather just clogs the body. Shortening got kicked off the healthy list a long time ago so be aware of that when you are using older cookbooks that list it in a recipe.
Here's why shortening was originally used in cakes, from "Cookwise" by food chemist Shirley O. Corriher: "The fats in a cake tenderize a cake by holding tiny air bubbles that are enlarged by baking powder and baking soda beaten in during the creaming or mixing of the cake.
"Shortening has an advantage over other solid fats in that it already contains millions of fine bubbles to aid in leavening. Shortenings are, by volume, about 12 percent fine nitrogen bubbles. This means that shortening will make a lighter cakes. Though shortening produces a nice cake, there is nothing like the taste of real butter, so butter is normally the fat of choice of fine cake bakers."
From "All New All Purpose Joy of Cooking" cookbook: Be careful when beating the cream cheese icing. Over beating the cream cheese will cause it to break down and make the icing too soft to hold its shape. Don't soften the cream cheese before beating to minimize the chance of this happening."
This cake should be kept in the refrigerator after serving, assuming any of it is actually left after the hungry hordes get a hold of it!
Italian Cream Cake
From: Carol Anne Blitzer from a recipe in “River Road Recipes II: A Second Helping,” published by the Junior League of Baton Rouge. Carol kicked out the shortening in the original recipe and substituted butter and oil. Canola oil is a good choice since it has no cholesterol and also is neutral in flavor, not harming the taste of this cake. Also, a great oil to use with chocolate as it takes a back seat, not overpowering the taste.
Serves: 16
Ingredients:
Cake:
5 eggs, separated 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup vegetable oil (canola oil is neutral in taste and has no cholesterol) 1 tsp. baking soda 1 cup buttermilk 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup angel flake coconut 1/2 tsp. butter flavoring 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
Grease and flour three (9-inch) cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Set aside.
Cream sugar, butter and oil. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Stir soda into buttermilk. Add buttermilk alternately with flour to creamed mixture. Fold in coconut.
Gently fold egg whites into mixture. Add flavorings.
Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, turning pans gently about halfway through the baking process. Do not overbake layers.
Remove from oven. Let layers cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Place layers on racks and let cool completely before icing.
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*** Enjoy two popular cake recipes from a famous chef: carrot cake and coconut cake!
From Denny: We enjoy Bobby Flay's Food Network show Throwdown at our house and were watching this one about two of favorite cakes: carrot cake and coconut cake. Chef Flay doesn't have embeddable clips or a video clip from this particular show which was a really good one.
Like a lot of other people I went looking for a link to the chef's site to order the beautiful tall 12-layer carrot cake that was Bobby's competition when he challenged him in South Carolina. So far no luck on that one. In fact, all there was on Food Network were these two recipes but what outstanding recipes they are to enjoy! These two cakes will satisfy your creative side and deliver some seriously tasty treats to friends and family.
Carrot Cake with Marshmallow Fluff Cream Cheese Frosting
From: Bobby Flay
Prep Time: 1 hr 15 min Inactive Prep Time: 2 hr 0 min Cook Time: 15 min Level: Intermediate
Serves: 1 (8-inch) cake, about 10 servings
Ingredients:
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter, cooled, plus more for buttering pan 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained 3 large eggs 1/2 cup canola oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 pound carrots, peeled and grated on the small holes of the grater (about 3 cups, lightly packed) 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar 1/2 cup lightly packed brown muscavado sugar 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup finely diced crystallized ginger 3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans Cream Cheese Marshmallow Frosting, recipe follows
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (8-inch) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter the parchment well too.
Pulse the pineapple in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until it is finely chopped. Put the eggs in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the eggs for 10 seconds. Add the oil, 1/4 cup melted butter, vanilla, carrots, chopped pineapple and grated fresh ginger and mix until combined.
Whisk together the flour, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in a bowl until combined. Add the wet ingredients and beat on low speed just until combined. Remove and fold in the crystallized ginger and pecans. Divide the batter between the 2 pans.
Bake until the tops are a very golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 40 to 55 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then invert them onto a wire rack and let them cool completely. Remove the parchment from the bottoms of each cake. Cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Marshmallow Frosting
Fluff:
3 tablespoons water 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoon granulated sugar 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved 2 large egg whites Pinch salt Pinch cream of tartar 8 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened 1 stick unsalted butter, slightly softened 1 pound organic powdered sugar, sifted twice 2 cups Fluff 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
In a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, bring the water, corn syrup, 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar and vanilla bean to 246 degrees F. Before adding the syrup to the egg whites below, carefully remove the vanilla bean.
In the meantime, in a completely clean, dry mixing bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until creamy and foamy, about 2 minutes. Still whisking, sprinkle in the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and continue to whisk until the whites hold very soft peaks, about 2 minutes. While mixing on slow speed, carefully drizzle in the hot syrup. Turn the mixer to high and whisk until thick, fluffy and just warm, about 7 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and whisk in the reserved vanilla seeds. Scrape the fluff into a bowl. Wash the bowl and whisk and return them to the machine.
Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of the mixer and mix until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low until combined. Increase the speed and whip until light and fluffy. Add about 2 cups of Fluff and the vanilla and whip until combined. Refrigerate for 15 minutes if too soft to use as frosting.
Throwdown's Toasted Coconut Cake with Coconut Filling and Coconut Buttercream
From: Bobby Flay, 2008
Prep Time: 1 hr 0 min Inactive Prep Time: 4 hr 30 min Cook Time: 1 hr 5 min Level: Intermediate
Serves: 8 servings
Ingredients:
Toasted Coconut:
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
Coconut Simple Syrup:
1 1/2 cups water 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut Coconut Custard: 3/4 cup whole milk 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped 4 large egg yolks 1/3 cup granulated sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch 2 teaspoons coconut rum (recommended: Malibu) 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Coconut Filling:
3/4 cup coconut custard (recipe above), cold 3/4 cup very cold heavy cream
Coconut Buttercream Frosting:
3 stick unsalted butter, softened 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar 3/4 cup coconut custard (recipe above) (cold) Pinch fine sea salt
Cake:
2 tablespoons softened butter, for pans 2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for pans 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature 6 large egg whites, at room temperature 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, slightly cold
Directions for the toasted coconut:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Spread the coconut evenly onto a baking sheet and toast until lightly golden brown, stirring once, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the coconut sit in the oven until very dry and crunchy, about 15 minutes longer.
For the simple syrup:
Bring water and sugar to a boil. Stir in the coconut, remove from the heat and let sit for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. Strain the liquid into a clean saucepan, bring to a boil and let cook until the mixture is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Let cool.
For the custard:
Combine the milks and vanilla bean and seeds in a medium nonreactive saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat.
Whisk together the yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Slowly whisk the warm milk into the egg mixture then return the mixture to the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, until thickened. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the rum and vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.
For the filling:
Combine the custard and cream in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form.
For the buttercream:
Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the coconut custard and salt and beat until combined and smooth.
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (9 by 2-inch) round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.
Whisk together the milk, egg whites, vanilla bean seeds and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With mixer running at low speed, add the butter, one piece at a time and continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add remaining 1/2 cup of the milk mixture, increase speed to medium and beat 30 seconds more. Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 20 seconds longer. Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pan and smooth the tops using a rubber spatula.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 22 to 24 minutes. Cool in the pan on baking rack for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the side of the pan and invert cakes onto the baking rack, removing parchment paper, and let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
To Assemble:
Using a long serrated knife, slice each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Reserve 1 of the flat bottom layers for the top of the cake. Place another layer on a cardboard round cut side up and brush with some of the coconut simple syrup. Spoon 1/3 of the coconut filling onto the cake and using a small offset metal spatula, spread it into an even layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the cake. Repeat with 2 more layers. Brush the cut side of the reserved cake layer with the remaining syrup. Place the layer cut side down on top of the cake.
Frost the sides and top of the cake with the buttercream. Pat the coconut onto the sides of the cake and sprinkle the remaining coconut on the top of the cake.
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*** For fellow Lemon Heads: get 2 awesome lemon recipes and armchair travel to a wonderful luxurious bed and breakfast inn located in Asheville, North Carolina.
From Denny: First off is a recipe from a Texas chef for which he is well known - Lemon Honey Cake. He even keeps his own bees and provides the honey! Now that's dedication to local food sources. :)
Check out a recipe for lemon bread from a wonderful bed and breakfast inn located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville is a beautiful town, full of friendly relaxed people and they are very proud of their small city. It's where the famed Biltmore House lives and is quite the community's featured attraction. When we used to live in Atlanta, Georgia, we would often drive up to The Biltmore during the Christmas season to hear the Christmas music and enjoy all the Christmas decorations and festivities on the grounds. We were close enough to go and return in one (long) day.
There is plenty more to entice you in Asheville as it's a great place for family vacations. There are pet friendly hotels and bed and breakfast inns like this one where your family can vacation in comfort.
Some of these bed and breakfast inns are quite luxurious, like some of the hotels, with some awesome amenities in this city. Asheville is a town where for the past 100 years the very wealthy from New York City come to summer vacation. There are hiking trails to enjoy, museums and more. The President and his family vacationed here early this summer as there is quite the golf course here.
From: Graham Dodds, executive chef of Bolsa Restaurant, here's a photo and short interview, go here. (Bolsa is Spanish for bag like in grocery bag.)
Makes: 1 (10-inch) cake
Ingredients:
Spray shortening and extra sugar, as needed to coat a cake pan
2/3 cup bread flour (not the usual all-purpose or cake flour, this is different) 1/2 tbl. baking powder 2/3 cup granulated sugar 4 eggs 1/2 cup Texas honey (or fresh honey from your area) 2 lemons, zest removed and reserved 1/4 cup whole milk 1 stick butter, melted Fresh berries, whipped cream and/or chunk of honeycomb for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray and 10-inch cake pan at coat with sugar, tapping out the excess sugar but making sure that the pan is evenly coated.
Sift bread flour, baking powder and 2/3 cup sugar together into a large bowl and set aside.
Place eggs, honey and lemon zest in a mixer and beat to a ribbon stage. (A ribbon stage is reached when a whisk or spoon moved through the mixture leaves a trail behind that is visible for a short while before merging back into the mixture.)
Squeeze lemons and gently fold the lemon juice and then the milk into the egg mixture.
Now, gently combine the flour mixture with the egg mixture, being careful to just incorporate the flour and not over beat the flour. The cake will come out tough if the flour is overworked.
Gently fold in the melted butter.
Pour the finished batter into a prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is light brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Serve with fresh berries and whipped cream or a chunk of honeycomb.
From the website: 1908 New England Style Inn, nestled on 1.5 acres, 6 blocks from downtown, service focused, relaxed, Pet Friendly Cottage.
Larry and Nancy Merrill are your hosts in this fine, old colonial turn-of-the-century Asheville bed and breakfast. Located in the historic Montford District of Asheville, NC, Applewood Manor Inn sits on its' quiet acre and a half of "country in the city" surrounded by giant oaks, pines, maples and a variety of flora. Yet the manor if just 3 miles from the breathtaking Biltmore Estate, a short 10-minute drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and a 25-minute stroll past magnificent old homes to downtown Asheville.
Check in and unwind from your travels with a complimentary beverage in a rocker on one of five porches ... plan your next day's adventures to Smoky Mountain National Park, snow skiing, whitewater rafting, a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway during its glorious autumnal display, a visit to the world famous Biltmore Estate, or one of many local historical attractions of Asheville, "Land of the Sky." Later, Retire to your spacious room decorated with antiques, lace, and fine linen ... curl up to the cozy, working fireplace and get a refreshing night's sleep in a room garnished with fresh flowers.
Awaken to the smell of the Manor's fresh fare: Enjoy a cup of fresh brewed coffee or hot tea by the fireside in the parlor or living room or lounge on one of the Manor's multiple porches while Nancy & Larry prepare your three course breakfast of homemade bread with a side of cream cheese, seasonal fruit with sides of Nancy's "home brew" granola and vanilla yogurt, and varied and equally enticing entrees fit for the Lords and Ladies of the Manor.
After breakfast you may be off for a stroll in the nearby Botanical Gardens, a game of croquet or badminton in the yard, a brisk bike ride around the area or a walk through the historic neighborhood for a peaceful start to your day's activities. Upon your return from your adventures, pause a while by the fireplace in the parlor, or in the library with a calming cup of tea or other refreshments, good conversation or a good book, and look forward to another day of living well under the cordial roof here at Applewood Manor Inn.
email: innkeeper@applewoodmanor.com Nancy & Larry Merrill, Innkeepers
*** Remember to support small business in your area and when you travel. Why stay at a Big Business hotel as you travel when you can stay in a more home like atmosphere of a bed and breakfast inn? The prices are comparable, the people friendlier and your stay will be memorable.
1/3 cup butter or margarine 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 1/2 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp slat 1/2 cup mild Grated rind of 1 lemon Juice of 1 lemon 1/3 cup sugar
Directions:
Cream butter (or margarine) & sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add flour baking powder and salt. Mix and add milk and grated rind.
Bake at 350° in greased loaf pan for 50 minutes for 1 large loaf, or 30 minutes for 2 small loaves.
Mix together the juice of 1 lemon and 1/3 cup sugar. Pour mixture over bread while it is still warm. Can be made ahead and frozen.
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*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:
From Denny: Most doctors and lawyers want to be somewhere else and be someone else. This lawyer, cookbook author Warren Brown, wanted to bake, and bake he did! He came up with a great idea for a book to merge his love of eating cake and studying American history.
He has recipes featured in this food video segment that hail from Wyoming, Texas, Delaware and Illinois. He has cake recipes from all 50 states, from California to Connecticut. All his recipes are simple, easy to do for the home baker.
Preheat the oven to 335 degrees and place the rack in the middle position. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with nonstick oil-and-starch spray.
Combine the ingredients for the filling in a bowl. Crumble them together with your fingers to break apart any clumps of brown sugar. Set aside.
Combine the ingredients for the topping in a bowl and press to combine with a fork or your fingers, or mix on low speed using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients for the cake in a bowl; combine the wet ingredients in another bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar and mix on low speed for about 3 minutes.
Once the butter is creamed well, add the eggs one at a time. Use a flexible spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
Alternately add the dry and wet mixtures about a quarter at a time without pausing between additions. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on low for another 20 seconds.
Scoop half of the batter into the prepared pan, smooth it out, and sprinkle on the filling. Add the rest of the batter and smooth again. Sprinkle on the topping.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cake bounces back when lightly pressed and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool the cake for 5 minutes before inverting it onto a plate and flipping it again so the streusel side is facing up. It’s also fine to serve it in the dish it’s baked in.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Honey and Raspberry Cheesecake
From: Chef Warren Brown
Ingredients:
Graham Cracker Crust:
Graham crackers 3 tablespoons Superfine granulated sugar 3/4 stick Unsalted butter, melted 1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
16 ounces cream cheese 16 ounces fresh goat cheese 1/2 cup superfine granulated sugar 1 cup crystallized or raw honey 4 eggs 1/2 cup sour cream 1/4 cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 cup raspberry puree
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300°F and place the rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-by-3-inch round pan and line the bottom with parchment.
Crush the graham crackers in a bowl or food processor into very fine crumbs.
Using a fork, toss all the crust ingredients in a bowl until evenly combined. Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan.
Bake until fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool while you make the filling. Leave the oven on for the filling.
Place a roasting pan large enough to hold your cake pan in the oven and fill it about two-thirds of the way up with water.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cheeses on medium speed to break up and soften them.
Reduce the mixer to slow speed and add the sugar and honey in 2 additions each, beating until they dissolve, about 3 minutes total.
Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to combine before adding the next.
Mix the sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla together until smooth. Pour into the mixer slowly.
Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Drizzle up to . cup of the raspberry puree randomly on the batter and swirl it with your finger.
Gently set the cake pan in the water bath. Bake, uncovered, until the center of the cake is only slightly wobbly when the pan is shaken, about 1 hour.
Turn off the heat and leave the oven door ajar for 1 hour.
Remove the pan from the water bath and cool the cake for 4 hours, until it reaches room temperature.
Cover the cake tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight. (Be sure you don’t have cut onions or garlic in the fridge—the cake will absorb the odor.)
Set the pan in warm water to loosen the cake. Run an offset spatula around the edge if necessary. Invert the cake onto a flat plate, then turn it right side up onto a decorative plate for serving. Smooth out any tears on the sides with an offset spatula. Add a cluster of raspberries to the top of the cheesecake if you like.
To make your own puree, combine 1 (10- ounce) package of frozen raspberries with 2 cups of sugar in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the seeds. Cool the puree completely before using.
Preheat the oven to 335 degrees and place the rack in the middle position. Line the bottoms of two 9-by-2-inch round pans with parchment.
Melt the chocolates, 1 ounce of the butter, and the half-and-half in a double boiler over steaming water. Once melted, remove the pot from the water and whisk to combine the ingredients. Set aside.
Measure the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Separate the eggs and set the yolks aside.
Combine 6 ounces of the sugar and the water in a saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.
Place 4 of the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. (Discard the 2 leftover whites or reserve them for another use.)
When the sugar syrup measures 240 degrees on a candy thermometer, drizzle it slowly into the meringue while the mixer is on high speed. Whip for another 20 seconds and then remove the meringue from the bowl and set aside.
Add the reserved yolks and 2 ounces of sugar to the mixer’s bowl and whip with the wire whisk — there’s no need to clean the bowl or whip. You can even leave the cooked meringue that’s stuck inside the whip. Whip on high speed until the yolks are pale yellow, about 2 minutes.
Reduce the speed to low and add in the remaining 4 ounces of butter. The yolk base will lose volume — that’s okay.
Alternately add the dry ingredients and the melted chocolate to the mixer about a quarter at a time without pausing for the ingredients to combine. Detach the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the cooked meringue in two stages. It will be stiff at first. Use caution not to over mix it or you will deflate the batter.
Divide the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the top appears dry, soft, and flat. It will give slightly to a very light touch.
Cool the cakes for about 20 minutes, then run a metal offset spatula around the rim of each and invert the cakes onto a flat surface. Cool completely.
To assemble the cake, slice each cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife to create four layers.
Spread about 1 cup of frosting between each layer with an offset spatula and stack into a four-layer cake. Then pipe on the frosting with an open star tip to cover the top and sides of the cake, or just spread it lavishly with the spatula.
Texas Sheet Cake
From: Chef Warren Brown
Ingredients:
2 cups Superfine granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour 1/2 cup Cocoa powder 1 teaspoon Baking soda 3/4 teaspoon Salt 2 sticks Unsalted butter, melted 2 Eggs 1 cup Milk 1/2 cup Buttermilk 1 tablespoon Brandy 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract Chocolate Pecan Icing 1 1/4 cups Pecans 1 stick Unsalted butter, room temperature 4 cups Confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup Cocoa powder 1/2 cup Milk 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract Sugared Pecans 2 cups Pecans 2 tablespoons Honey 1 cup Superfine granulated sugar 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
Baking Directions:
Preheat the oven to 335°F and place the rack in the middle position. Grease a 12-by-2-inch round pan or 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine.
Combine the wet ingredients in a second bowl and whisk lightly to combine.
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir well for about 20 seconds.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the top of the cake bounces back slightly when gently pressed.
For the icing, roast the pecans on a baking sheet for 4 to 5 minutes while the cake is baking. Remove the nuts from the oven, cool to room temperature, and chop.
Combine the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Begin beating on low speed and then increase to high.
Slowly add the milk and vanilla and beat well. Stop the mixer and fold in the roasted pecans by hand. Set aside.
To make the sugared pecans, combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a rubber spatula.
Roast the sugared pecans on a baking sheet, while the cake is baking, until crisped and fragrant, approximately 10 minutes. Remove the nuts from the oven and cool on a heat-resistant surface before using.
Cool the cake completely before spreading the icing onto the top using a flexible spatula. (If you prefer, you can turn the cake out onto a tray, but it’s fine to leave it in the dish.) Add the sugared pecans across the top, pressing them slightly into the frosting.
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*** Bake an unusual and patriotic attention-getting cake to wow your friends and family this Fourth of July!
Photo from White Lily Flour
From Denny: We eat with our eyes before we eat with our taste buds. This pretty patriotic cake sure gets your attention! Red, white and blue layers of cake are slathered with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting and decorated with summer fresh blueberries and strawberries.
For a beginner baker - or if you are pressed for time and don't want to fuss with a difficult icing - this easy cake is for you. The cake layers are made from scratch and use buttermilk for great taste and texture, much like using sour cream in a cake or muffin.
When you finish icing the cake and have to wait a few hours before serving, hold off on the fruit garnish. With cakes like this I like to garnish with fruit as I serve the slices. That way you don't have to be concerned about the fruit starting to break down its juices and start to run watery all over your perfect cake and icing, sliding off like some summer park water slide! :)
Have a great Fourth of July weekend and thanks for visiting!
Independence Day Cake
From: White Lily Flour and The J.M. Smucker Co.
Makes: 12 servings
Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray 3-1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour 2 cups sugar 1-1/2 tsps. baking powder 1-1/2 tsps. salt 1 tsp. baking soda 1-1/4 cups buttermilk 1-1/4 cups all-vegetable shortening OR 1ø sticks all-vegetable shortening sticks 5 large egg whites 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tsp. almond extract 1 tbl. red food coloring 1 tbl. blue food coloring
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat three 8-inch round pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper, cut to fit. Coat paper with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl. Add buttermilk and shortening. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add egg whites, vanilla and almond extracts. Beat an additional 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as needed.
3. Pour ont-third (about 2 cups) of batter into prepared pan. Divide remaining batter into 2 medium bowls. Stir in food coloring to make one red and one blue batter. Pour batter into remaining pans. Tap pans on counter several times to remove air bubbles.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes before removing from pan. Remove cake and cool completely on wire rack.
5. For frosting, beat butter in a large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until fluffy. Beat in almond extract. Stir in marshmallow cream until well blended.
6. Place blue cake layer on cake plate and generously frost top. Stack white layer and generously frost top. Add red layer, frosting top and sides of entire cake. Garnish with fresh blueberries and strawberries, if desired.
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*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:
From Denny: One of my fondest memories of living in Atlanta, Georgia, was when the Georgia peaches came into season. There was a frenzy across the city to gather up all the ripest peaches for steaming hot peach cobbler smothered with a side of perfect vanilla ice cream and then bake peach coffee cakes redolent with fragrant cinnamon to pair with that early morning cup of coffee for the next day. Then we would turn to making peach pies, unbaked and thrown into the freezer for those days in the fall when we were craving that fresh peach taste.
And, after we had our fill of the freshest juiciest ripe peaches - for about a week as we stuffed ourselves silly - we turned to canning them, yes, city girls canning peaches like we lived on a farm. A Georgia peach is not to be missed. Neither are the Vidalia onions when they come into season in June, though Texas is giving them a good run for their money on delivering sweet white mild onions to the market.
This recipe for this peach coffee cake comes from a bed and breakfast inn located in British Columbia on the west coast of Canada. What's been fun about researching recipes from bed and breakfasts across America and Canada is to go to their websites and see what they offer the weary traveler. What I found unique about this inn is that there is a vineyard as part of the view!
From A View to Remember: Discover the natural beauty of the Okanagan Valley - spectacular vistas overlooking 82 miles of Lake Okanagan with over 2000 hours of sunshine.
Relax in one of our spacious elegant bed and breakfast suites with ensuite bathrooms and all the comforts of home.
Enjoy the view - relax in the tranquil and beautiful English gardens, sit in the gazebo and listen to the birds, enjoy the sun of the patio or enjoy the panoramic view up on our private deck.
Begin your day with a delicious home made gourmet breakfast featuring our own signature egg dishes, our famous local Okanagan fruit and our special blend of gourmet coffee.
Experience the Okanagan vineyards, just minutes away from our Kelowna bed and breakfast. The wine and the creative cuisine of the world class wineries in this beautiful Okanagan Valley are waiting for you. Our mission is our committment to provide you with quality Bed and Breakfast accommodations with outstanding hospitality and service.
Fresh Peach Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
1/2 c butter 1 1/2 c packed brown sugar 1 egg 2 c flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 c buttermilk 4 peaches peeled and diced 1 tsp cinnamon cinnamon sugar mix for topping
Directions:
Cream butter with brown sugar add slightly beaten egg. Add flour and baking soda alternately with buttermilk beating smooth after each addition. Gently blend in peaches. Pour batter into 9-inch x 13-inch dish, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
*** Made from scratch a hearty cake with an intense chocolate flavor in the icing for a man's birthday. Just make sure to cut those slices thinner for women to enjoy. Cream cakes are tasty desserts of the past but tend to be heavy by modern standards. But oh, the flavor! :)
Photo by Tommy Simmons, Food Editor @ The Advocate
From Denny: Our local newspaper's food editor has decided to learn how to bake cakes. She is brave to chronicle her baking journey as it happens in real time. This is her first cake.
Most of us these days bake with cake mixes which are lighter versions of cakes our mothers and grandmothers used to bake. The difference is usually in the type and amount of flour utilized.
When I was eleven years old I made my first simple white cake recipe but doubled the dose of butter by mistake. It was awesome! My Cinderella style evil stepmother, a real killjoy personality, fussed about the expense of an extra stick of butter. I didn't see her in the kitchen trying to help guide the process as she hated kids, even her own grandkids. Of course, the funny part was the cake was a huge hit at the dinner table with the rest of the family. I've kept that recipe of beginner's luck with me all these years because the story still makes me smile.
So, when I see an adult food writer brave the cold cruel world of criticism to learn how to bake, well, I just have to support her! :) Tommy Simmons goes on to talk about this cream cake as "so dense and sturdy it would not dream of crumbling." A good cake for a beginner as it's easier to get these kinds of cakes out of the cake pans after baking.
She learned all the basics a novice learns about baking like not to leave the baked cakes in the pan for too long or you practically "have to get a crowbar to pry the cooled layers from the cake pans. The problem was I had left the cakes in the pans overnight." Been there and done that mistake! :) The reason for that issue is because the greased pans had oil that solidified, holding the cake in place.
An easy fix to that problem is to reheat your oven and pop the baked cakes back into the oven for anywhere for 2 - 5 minutes at 300 degrees F. to melt the oil on the sides of the pans to release the cake. Once the metal of the pan is reheated, but the cake is not hot or warm to the touch, the job is done. You don't really want to re-bake the cakes. You could also reheat the bottoms of the pans over the stove burner though I've found you can still encounter issues with the sides of the pans not releasing well so I use the oven method.
How do you know the cake is ready to be released from the pan? Run a knife around the edge of the pan, then shake gently, you will feel a little give from the cake which means the oil has softened. That's when it's time to invert the cake onto the cooling rack.
Food editor Simmons goes to to remark that the cake's flavor improves the second day. Such is the case with most cream cakes. That's why they are still so popular in south Louisiana and the American South in general. They are forgiving cakes, easy to make and store well in the refrigerator.
Simmons did not enjoy the Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa in the frosting as she found it too assertive and downright bossy for her favorite chocolate taste. She thought it was too much chocolate. When she bakes this cake in the future she made a mental note to herself to substitute Hershey's Cocoa, the regular one.
As an experienced cake baker who adores chocolate what I would do is use the lighter version of cocoa for the layers and use a thinner layer of the dark chocolate icing just for the top. You just divide the icing by 2/3 and 1/3, using the 1/3 as the dark chocolate. Or to keep it really simple just make two chocolate icing recipes, one light and one dark. Icing keeps well and you know you are going to be making another cake in need of icing very soon! :) Besides, Simmons advised you to make two recipes of the icing to have enough volume to properly ice the cake anyway.
Any time you have an assertive taste for a cake, it's best to use it in moderation. Lemon cakes are like that too. When using lemon curd, just use it on the filling and use a lighter lemon taste for the icing.
Cream Cake With Hershey’s “Especially Dark” Chocolate Frosting
From: “Cake Keeper Cakes” by Lauren Chattman and “The Fannie Farmer Baking Book” by Marion Cunningham
Serves: 12 to 16
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tbl. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 6 large eggs, room temperature 2-3/4 cups granulated sugar 1 tbl. vanilla extract 2 cups whipping cream, not whipped, room temperature Hershey’s “Especially Dark” Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)
Directions:
1. Grease and flour 4 (8-inch) layer-cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Beat eggs and sugar together in large bowl until mixture is thickened (about 5 minutes). Stir in vanilla.
4. Alternate adding flour mixture with the cream to the egg mixture. Don’t overbeat at this stage. Beat for about 1 minute just to make sure everything is combined.
5. Distribute batter evenly among the 4 cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Let cake layers cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. When cooled, you can slice each layer in half crosswise if you like thin cake layers and then frost and stack to assemble the cake. To store, seal the cut surface with plastic wrap and cover the whole cake with additional plastic wrap or a cake cover and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature.
Hershey’s “Especially Dark” Chocolate Frosting
From: Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa can label
Makes: about 2 cups
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa (very intense chocolate flavor, you may want to just use Hershey's Cocoa, the regular one, for the normal level of chocolate flavor if you are not used to deep dark intense chocolate flavors.)
3 cups confectioners’ sugar 1/3 cup milk 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup chopped pecans, if desired
Directions:
1. Melt butter and stir in cocoa.
2. Alternate adding confectioners’ sugar and milk. Beating to achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency.
3. Stir in vanilla.
4. Frost between cake layers, sides and the top of the cake.
5. Press chopped pecans onto top of cake.
Note from Tommy Simmons: Double the frosting recipe so you have plenty of frosting. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
