Lemon Ruffle Cake

Lemon Ruffle Cake

 

 

Cupcake Ranking: 3 Cupcakes

 

 

This cake turned out beautiful!  I didn't taste it myself, because I gave it away for a birthday cake. :) Anyway, the recepients said it was delicious.  So there ya go.  The ruffle was super easy and very fun.  It just took a #103 tip and the whole thing was frosted in minutes.  Go team.  I'm excited to experiment with it some more.

 

Ingredients

 

 

12 Tbs (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted Butter, room temperature, plus more for pans

2 1/4 C sifted all-purpose Flour

2 1/4 tsp Baking powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1 1/2 C Sugar

3 large Eggs

3/4 C Buttermilk

Zest of 1 lemon

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 6-by-2-inch (I used two 9x2) round baking pans. Line with parchment; butter; dust with flour.

 

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. With electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4 minutes. Add sugar; beat well. Reduce speed to medium; add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Reduce speed to low; alternately add flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Stir in zest.

 

Pour batter into pans; bake, rotating halfway through, until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans on rack 15 minutes. Remove; let cool completely right side up on rack.

 

Trim bottom layers; stack on cake round, with 3/4 cup buttercream spread over top of each. Add top layer; spread 1 cup buttercream over entire cake. Refrigerate 40 minutes until firm. Tint half remaining buttercream pink.

 

Place cake on rotating stand. Lay flat a 12-inch pastry bag with #103 tip. Fill half of bag from tip to top with pink buttercream, other half with white. Hold bag vertically, slot of tip perpendicular to cake (Wide part of the tip touching the cake); use swift back-and-forth motion 1 inch wide to make ruffle, pulling tip up side.

 

Turn cake stand slowly, piping circular ruffle over top.

 

 

 

Rach's tips: The cake was really easy and turned out beautiful.  I highly recommend it.



Ultimate Coconut Cake

Ultimate Coconut Cake

 

 

Cupcake Ranking: 4+ Cupcakes

 

 

Ultimate is an entirely accurate word to describe this cake!!!  There were lots of steps, but the steps were easy and definetely worth it! Am I using enough exclamation marks?  The cake was moist and the coconut cream in between the layers was SOO good that I had to stop myself from spooning it out of the pot.  I really want to try this cake but in banana flavor.  Additionally, the cake is so GIGANTIC you could serve a ton of people with it.  I described it to my Mom and she said they used to call it "Fair Cake," because fair's would sell big slices to people for fundraisers etc.  Super fun and crazy delicious.

Directions for Cake

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut flakes

2 Coconut Cake*

Robert Carter's Simple Syrup**

Coconut Filling***

Coconut Cake Frosting****

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread coconut flakes in an even layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden, 5 to 7 minutes; set aside to cool.

 

Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level; discard trimmings. Cut each cake into 3 even layers. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan.

 

Place one layer on the cake plate. Brush with about one-fifth of the simple syrup. Spread over 2 cups of filling. Place a second layer on top. Repeat process with the next four layers and top with last remaining layer.

 

Spread top and sides of cake with frosting, keeping in mind you may not need to use all of it. Press toasted coconut into sides of cake; remove parchment paper strips. Chill cake at least 5 hours and up to 5 days. Slice immediately; bring to room temperature before serving.

 

Ingredients

*Cake

1 lb unsalted Butter, preferably European-style

3 C Sugar

6 large Eggs

4 1/2 C all-purpose Flour

1 1/2 Tbs Baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 C Heavy cream

1 1/2 Tbs pure Vanilla extract

1 tsp Coconut extract

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two 10-inch round cake pans with cooking spray; set aside.

 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5 to 6 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until creamy, occasionally scraping down sides of the bowl using a spatula.

 

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, mix together cream, vanilla, and coconut extract. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture, alternating with cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour; beat until just combined.

 

Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before removing cakes from pans.

 

**Robert's Simple Syrup

 

3/4 C Water

3/4 C Sugar

 

Place water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

 

***Coconut Filling

 

5 C Heavy cream

3 C Sugar

1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted Butter

1/4 C Cornstarch

1 tsp pure Vanilla extract

9 C shredded sweetened Coconut (Yeah, 9 cups.  For real.  You need all of it for the filling.  Crazy but true).

 

Place cream, sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved

 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together cornstarch, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water. Add to cream mixture, bring to a boil, and simmer until thickened, about 1 minute.

 

Place coconut in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until coconut is finely chopped. Remove cream mixture from heat and stir in coconut until well combined. Transfer to a large baking dish; let cool.

Cover filling with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Just before using, place mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth and creamy, 4 to 5 minutes.

 

****Frosting

 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

5 cups confectioners' sugar

1 vanilla bean, scraped (I just used 1 tsp of extract)

 

Place butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until creamy.

 

With mixer on low speed, slowly add vanilla extract, seeds from vanilla bean, and confectioners' sugar. Continue beating until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.

 

Rach's Review

 

I didn't toast the coconut and put it on the sides.  There is already SO MUCH COCONUT in the cake I figured we didn't need it.  We aren't really big coconut fans, so we didn't miss it.  If you are a big coconut lover, go for and and tell me what you think.  The cake was truly delicious.  It is huge so be prepared to share.  I will make it again.  For. Sure.

 



Velvet Cocoa Cake with Instant Buttercream

Velvet Cocoa Cake with Instant Buttercream

Cupcake Ranking: 3 Cupcakes

This cake was good.  Nothing to write home about, but fine.  It was a good, basic chocolate cake.  The interesting thing about this cake is the frosting.  There is no powdered sugar in it.  It is butter, marshmallow cream and cocoa.  If you were in a bind, needed frosting and didn't have powdered suga,r this would be a 'go-to' recipe.

Ingredients

For the cake

12 Tbs (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted Butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
2 1/2 C all-purpose Flour, plus more for pans
3/4 C Cocoa powder
1 tsp Baking soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 C Granulated sugar
1 C light-Brown sugar
3 large Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 1/2 C Buttermilk

For the frosting

1 C (2 sticks) unsalted Butter, room temperature
2 jars (7.5 ounces each) Marshmallow cream
2/3 C Cocoa powder
2/3 C Semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 Tbs Vanilla extract

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans. In a bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well incorporated. Beat in vanilla.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape bowl as needed.

Pour batter into pans. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before inverting cakes onto rack to cool completely.

Make the buttercream: In mixing bowl, beat butter and marshmallow cream until fluffy. Beat in cocoa, chocolate, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water. If too thin, refrigerate about 5 minutes.

Place one layer on platter. Spread top with 1 cup buttercream. Place second layer on top. Frost entire cake with remaining buttercream.

Rach's Notes:

As I said before, this cake is a basic, not fancy, chocolate cake.  The taste was not amazing and not very moist.  But for a basic chocolate cake it was fine.  Will I make it again?  Probably not.  If you didn't have a lot of ingredients, this cake would be good to make if you needed an emergency cake.  I think it can all be summarized by a simple shrug.   

 

Maple Layer Cake

Maple Layer Cake

 

 

Cupcake Ranking: 1 Maybe (and that is generous)

 

 

 

 

This is one of those recipes where you think, "Hmmm.  Maybe." And then you really hope that it is good because it would be fun to have a great cake made primarily of maple syrup.  Admittedly, after the cake baked, the whole house smelt like pancakes and syrup taste.  Hmm, Maybe...Alas, no.  Not only no, but not.  ever. again.  We each had a piece and threw the rest of the cake away.  Gasp. 

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

8 Tbs (1 stick) unsalted Butter, room temperature, plus more for pans

2 3/4 C all-purpose Flour, sifted, plus more for pans

2 C pure Maple syrup, preferably grade A dark amber

3 large Eggs

1 Tbs Baking powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1 tsp ground Ginger

1 C Milk

1 tsp pure Vanilla extract

 

Maple Buttercream Frosting

 

6 Large Egg Yolks

2 C Maple Syrup

1 lb (4 sticks) Butter

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans, and dust with flour. Tap out any excess flour, and set pans aside.

 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add the maple syrup, and beat until combined. Add the eggs, and beat until combined.

 

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ginger. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and beat to combine. Beat in the milk and vanilla extract until combined. Stir in 3/4 cup chopped walnuts.

 

Divide batter between the two prepared pans. Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes; rotate the cake pans halfway through baking time to ensure even baking. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool.

 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, pour maple syrup into a medium saucepan. Place pan over medium-high heat; bring syrup to a boil. Cook syrup until a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees (just above soft-ball stage), about 15 minutes.

 

Remove the saucepan from the heat. While the electric mixer is running, pour the syrup in a slow, steady stream down the side of the mixing bowl into the egg-yolk mixture (it is essential that the syrup touches the side of the bowl as you pour it in so the sugar will be very evenly incorporated and not splatter onto the sides of the bowl) until the syrup has been completely incorporated, about 1 1/2 minutes. Beat until the bowl is just slightly warm to the touch, 5 to 6 minutes.

 

Add butter, one piece at a time, until all of it has been completely incorporated and the frosting is fluffy, about 4 minutes more. (I would refrigerate it first.  At least until it was frosting consistency.  Mine was runny and was sliding off of the cake.) Use immediately.

 

Turn out cakes, and place one, top-side up, on a cake stand or platter. Spread 1 1/2 cups maple buttercream frosting evenly over the top. Place the second cake layer on top, and spread the remaining 2 1/2 cups frosting around the sides and over the top.

 

Rach's Tips

 

This cake was a major disappointment.  The cake was super dense (and tasteless) and then the frosting tasted like maple flavored butter.  The frosting would have been great on a fried scone, but on a cake, in my daughter's words, "was not my fav-a-rite."  The cake just did not taste good and the texture was hard to swallow.  I will never make it again.





Carmelized-Apple Spice Cake

Carmelized-Apple Spice Cake

Cupcake Ranking: 2-3 Cupcakes

This cake sounds like one thing and tastes like another.  The apple spice part I got, but there really isn't a caramel taste.  At. All.  The recipe calls for two 8 inch cake pans.  I used my 9 inch because that is what I have, and woe Nelly am I glad.  I had two huge layers plus four muffins.  Which brings me to the major revelation about this cake.  As a muffin, they are delicious, dense and super breakfasty.  Not so delicious as a cake.  The recipe also called for a brown sugar meringue.  I have done that before and it tastes like whipped butter.  Umm, I love butter as much as the next fan, but not spread on a cake.  Anyway, I used a cream cheese frosting and the cake was good, but I don't think I will make it again (as a cake). 

*On a side note, after I posted this I gave the cake to a group of people and they raved about it.  So, apparently other people really loved this.  Take it as you will.

Ingredients

2 1/2 sticks (20 Tbs) unsalted Butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
1 Vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
4 C (about 4-5 apples)Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and grated on the large holes of a box grater
1/2 C Apple cider
2 1/2 C Granulated sugar
3 3/4 C all-purpose Flour, plus more for dusting
2 1/2 tsp Baking powder
2 1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground Ginger
1/4 Cup packed Dark-brown sugar
4 large Eggs, room temperature
1/2 C Sour cream
1 1/4 C Pecan halves (5 ounces), toasted dark and finely ground in a food processor (optional)

Put 1/2 stick butter into a large nonstick skillet. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into skillet, and toss in pod. Cook over medium heat until butter is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in apples, cider, and 1 cup granulated sugar. Raise heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and cook until apples are golden and translucent and liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Discard vanilla pod. Let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans. Dust with flour, and tap out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Reserve 1/4 cup flour mixture.
Beat remaining 2 sticks butter, remaining 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, and the brown sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low. Beat in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the sour cream and scraping bowl as needed. Add remaining 1/4 cup flour mixture to apple mixture, and toss. Fold in apple mixture and pecans (if using).

Divide batter between prepared pans (because of the amount of batter I filled two 9 inch pans plus 4 muffins). Bake until tops are dark golden brown and a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, 45 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack. Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen. Unmold cakes, and let cool, right side up, on rack. (Cakes can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Place 1 cake, cut side up, on a cake stand. Spread 1 1/2 cups icing over top. Place remaining cake on top. Spread icing over entire cake. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.

Rach's Tips

As I said before this cake was okay but better as muffins.  It was interesting because the cake had a kind of raisin-ey taste.  No raisins.  This is an old fashioned taste that really brought back memories from cakes my Grandma made when I was a kid.  The cake was moist and very flavorful but as a piece of cake the taste was too much.

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

 

 

Cupcake Ranking: 4 Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

This cake was delicious.  I think.  Why am I unsure?   Because I didn't follow the recipe very carefully.  He he.  The recipe calls for Valrhona Cocoa powder.  Which is an extremely decadent chocolate.  I am all about searching for fun/rare ingredients.  However, I a)Didn't have time this week to look for anything but the bare neccesities, b) am a firm believer in using what you have and making the best of it and last but not least c)was not willing to pay $19.00 a pound.  Smile. That being said, the cake turned out yummy and everything a cake should be.  I will put what I used in italicts and do what ya would like to.

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

 

1 C Valrhona cocoa, plus more for dusting (8oz Baking Chocolate Bar, roughly cut up and melted)

3/4 C strong Coffee, boiling (We don't drink coffee, so I used Stephens Hot chocolate)

1 C Milk, room temperature

2 3/4 C cake Flour (not self-rising)

1 tsp Baking soda (When you use a bar instead of cocoa, you need to add 1/8 tsp of baking soda per ounce of bar used...So I used a total of 2 tsp Baking Soda)

1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 C (3 sticks) unsalted Butter, room temperature, plus more for pan (For every ounce of bar used you decrease the amount of fat by 1 Tbs.  So I used 2 sticks or 1 C of Butter total)

2 1/2 C Sugar

1 Tbs pure Vanilla extract

4 large Eggs, room temperature

 

Icing (Next time I would double the frosting amount)

 

3 1/2 C Confectioners' sugar

1 C Valrhona cocoa powder

12 Tbs (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted Butter, room temperature

1/2 C Milk, room temperature

2 tsp pure Vanilla extract

 

Place rack in middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans (I used two 9-by-2-inch pans and the cake even overflowed these.  DO NOT use an 8x2). Line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment, and dust with cocoa powder; tap out excess. Sift cocoa; whisk in boiling coffee (or Hot chocolate) and milk. Let cool. Sift together cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

 

Using a rubber spatula, mix the butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Pour in the cooled cocoa mixture. Mix until fully incorporated (I used my Bosch.  Rubber spatula. Shrug.)

 

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stirring until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pans (about 4 cups in each pan). Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pans, and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center.

Remove the cakes from the oven, and allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes on a cooling rack. Carefully run a small offset spatula around the edge of the cakes to loosen them from the pan. Remove cakes from pans, and invert onto a wire rack. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.

To assemble, using a serrated knife, level the top surface of each cake layer.  To prepare the icing, In a small bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder. Add butter, milk, and vanilla; stir until smooth and free of lumps. Spread with 3/4 cup of frosting (I'd say 1 1/2 cups is better but then again I REALLY enjoy icing) . Top with the remaining layer, bottom side up. Using a swirling motion, cover the outside of cake with the remaining frosting.

 

Rach's Tips

 

I'm sure the nicer the chocolate...the better the cake.  However, I used a very medocre chocolate and this cake was DELICIOUS.  It was moist, chocolatey, and really great.  I would make it again for any chocolate cake occasion.



Hummingbird Cake!

Hummingbird Cake

 

 

Cupcake Rank:  3 Cupcakes

 

I have heard of this cake, and was curious.  Looking at the ingredients it was really similar to banana bread.  I made the cake into cupcakes for a party.  They were yummy.  They really reminded me of banana muffins.  I don't know if I would make them as a cake, but as a new muffin recipe they would be great.

 

3 C Self-rising Flour*(See note)

2 C Granulated sugar

3/4 C Vegetable oil

1/2 C finely chopped Pecans (optional)

2 very ripe large Bananas, mashed

1 (8-ounce) can crushed Pineapple, with juice

1 tsp pure Vanilla extract

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

4 large Eggs, beaten

 

For the frosting

 

1 pound (1 box) Confectioners' sugar

8 oz Cream cheese, room temperature

6 Tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted Butter, softened

1 tsp pure Vanilla extract

1 Tbs Milk, or more if needed

1/2 Cup finely chopped Pecans

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.(I used cupcake pans and papers)

 

Prepare the cake; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, bananas, pineapple, vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs.

 

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes. (This recipe made 24 cupcakes.  It also took about 15-18 minutes to bake.)

 

Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up. (If you are doing cupcakes, there isn't a need to invert them or anything.)

 

Prepare the frosting; in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk on medium speed until frosting is smooth. If needed, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to achieve the proper spreading consistency.

 

Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the first layer on the cake plate. Spread the top of the first layer with 1/4 of the frosting. Place the second layer on top and repeat process with another 1/4 of the frosting. Place the remaining layer on top of the second layer bottom side up. (Again, if doing cupcakes this step is unneccesary)/  Spread entire cake with remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with pecans. Remove parchment paper strips; refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

 

*Note: I don't know about you, but I don't keep self rising flour on hand.  No problem!  For one cup of self-rising flour, take 1 1/2 tsp of Baking Powder and put it in a 1 Cup measuring cup.  Add 1/2 tsp of salt.  Fill up the remaining room in the cup with all purpose flour.  Whalla!  Self rising flour!

 

 

 

Rach's Review:

 

This cake was nothing special.  The texture was definetely muffiney.  I think it would be great for muffins for a brunch or just breakfast muffins.  But as a cake, I didn't think it was amazing.  The cream cheese frosting didn't really add anything and the taste of the cake wasn't extra-ordinary.  Kinda a shrug moment, but glad I made it.