Showing posts with label Cakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cakes. Show all posts

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Apple Cider Caramel Cake

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE fall! Now, that weather is cooling off I can't wait to do some baking. Katy of Food for a Hungry Soul made this incredible German Apple cake recently that got me thinking about one of my favorite recipes. I've been making this cake for at least 10 years now and it is a HIT every time I serve it. It is a moist pound cake-like concoction filled with apples cooked in apple cider....just perfection. I can't wait for fall every year to be able to make this cake. I;m not sure why they call it caramel cake as there is really no caramel in it. This time it looks more pale than usual due to my oven acting up but still delicious! I hope you love it as much as I do and THANK YOU KATY for inspiration.



* 2 1/4 cups apple cider, divided
* 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
* 1 tablespoon stick margarine or butter
* 3 cups sliced peeled cooking apple (such as Braeburn, Rome, or McIntosh)
* Cooking spray
* 2 1/2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
* 1/2 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
* 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
* 1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese
* 3 large eggs
* 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Bring 2 cups cider to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan over high heat. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-high; stir in 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Cook 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves and cider is thick and dark-colored, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool 1 minute. Stir in 1 tablespoon margarine. Stir in apple; cook 15 minutes over medium-high heat or until the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool. (If apple mixture hardens, place it over low heat until softened).

Preheat oven to 325°.

Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust with breadcrumbs.

Combine 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup margarine, lemon rind, and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in apple mixture. Pour into prepared pan; bake at 325° for 1 1/2 hours or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Combine 1/4 cup cider, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and vanilla; let stand until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Cool cake in pan 5 minutes, and pierce with a wooden skewer in several places. Pour cider mixture over cake in pan, and let stand 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack. Sift powdered sugar over top of cake.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Barefoot Bloggers- Sheet Cake

I am a day late with my first Barefoot Bloggers. What a crazy week I had...it seems that every time we have a holiday weekend we pay for it by having to jam 5 days worth of work into 4 days. Thank God, the weekend is here!!! Going back to Barefoot Bloggers again...The first September recipe was chosen by Susy of Everyday Gourmet. She chose Birthday Sheet Cake. For the record, I LOVE Ina and every single recipe I've ever made of hers (and I made LOTS) I was very happy with...with this being said, I was somewhat disappointed with this one... The cake flavor was good but the ganache frosting was kind of runny and didn't quite set the way it should... I also thought that is was a boring recipe. There was nothing special about it. Essentially, it was a yellow cake with very blahhh chocolate frosting. I can't believe that I just wrote Ina and blahh in the same post but this cake didn't do anything for me. To be fair, I am not a huge cake fan, so it was a hard sale to begin with. The bottom line is that if you like yellow cake with chocolate frosting you probably will like this cake. I mentioned earlier that it was a sheet cake, but I do not like sheet cakes, so I decided to stack my cakes and make 3 layer cake covered in frosting. Here is what I've ended up with:




For the cake:


* 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 3 cups sugar
* 6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 lemon, zested
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting:


* 24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature


Directions


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until smooth. Finish mixing by hand to be sure the batter is well mixed. Pour evenly into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan to room temperature.

For the frosting, place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chips are completely melted. Off the heat, add the corn syrup and vanilla and allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the chocolate mixture and softened butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until it's thickened.

Spread the frosting evenly on the cake. Have the children decorate the cake with chocolate candies.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Barefoot Contessa Coffee Cake

There is nothing better than hot, steamy cup of coffee in the morning! If you are a coffee drinker you know what I mean...It does generally get the job done for me, but we had company this morning so I decided we need something to go with it! What would be better than coffee cake? Now, I love a good slice of coffee cake with my morning brew, but find that a lot of coffee cakes are bland and dry...that is not the case with this one. Ina has done it again! This cake is moist and delicious, nuts in the streusel topping add a little crunchiness which provides lovely contrast. I also added 1/2 cup of raisins to streusel.

Coffee Cake




* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar ( I used 1 cup)
* 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/4 cups sour cream ( I used Greek yogurt)
* 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:


* 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
* 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

For the glaze:

* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 tablespoons real maple syrup


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Lemon pound cake

Lemon Pound cake

* 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
* 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
* 3 cups flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
* 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the glaze:

* 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
* 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired.

Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over them. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.