Hottie Biscotti » Cakes

Daring Bakers: Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Bombe

CarrieZ — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:00:29 +0000

So many components to this dessert! Two ice creams, hot fudge sauce, chocolate cake, whipped cream…and then there’s the assembly process. Whew! When I told Ben all the things I had to do, he said “Can you imagine having to do this when you were still teaching?” Yes, I can imagine that. I would have freaked out. Probably like this scene from Julie & Julia.

Thankfully I saved myself, and Ben, from this potential freak out by spreading everything out over 5 days and having this thing ready to enjoy 3 days before the Daring Bakers reveal. Having a lot of free time is such a luxury.

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

I must confess right now that I cannot attest to how good this ice cream treat is at present. I haven’t yet cut into this impressive dessert and tasted it. It is sitting in my freezer just waiting for me…calling to me, really. I’m saving it for our 4th anniversary this Thursday. I’ll make sure to amend this post once I get to try a slice as we celebrate 4 years of marital bliss!

Day 1 and 2:

I made the vanilla ice cream first. On day two I made the chocolate ice cream. These were completed first and spent a few days in the freezer.

Day 3:

I made the chocolate cakes and filling and rolled them up. I stored these in the fridge overnight.

Day 4:

I made the fudge sauce and assembled the cake. I highly recommend taking the time in between layers to let everything set fully. It will make life easier for you. Also, your ice cream needs to be soft and pliable so let it sit out for a while before trying to spread it.

Day 5:

When you go to un-mold the cake, wrapping a warm, wet towel around the bowl for a few seconds really helps.

I can’t say how the slicing is going to go, but a warm sharp knife is key to any frozen dessert. Dipping it in warm water and drying it quickly between slices is also a nice trick.

Since there are SO many recipes, here is the link to the PDF with all of them. This is an much easier way to read the recipes than my cut and paste jobs!

All the components are delicious separately. I had some leftover fudge sauce and whipped cream that I used to make one of the best simple sundaes I have ever had. I had to sample the ice creams as well, and they were both quite tasty. I cannot wait to try all of these together! Thanks for a great challenge.

Daring Bakers: Steamed Caramel Apple Pudding

CarrieZ — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:31:07 +0000

The moment I saw this challenge I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Steamed pudding. As in British steamed pudding. Really? And get this. I was supposed to use SUET! Where would I find suet? A better question is, what exactly is suet?

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

Esther explained on the Daring Bakers site that suet “is the hard but flaky fat found on the inside of a cow or sheep around the kidneys and that area of the body. Suet in its raw form crumbles easily into small chunks so much so that my butcher says it covers his floor in bits if he doesn’t have it taken out as soon as possible. In fact unless he knows he has a customer for it he has the abattoir take it out and throw it away and when I want some he gives it to me for free! It also melts at quite a low temperature, which has an effect on how it works in cooking. In some places such as the UK it is sold processed which basically means it is grated and combined with flour to keep the individual pieces from clumping together, and it becomes a sort of dried out short strands, almost granular in texture.”

I’m pretty sure that I didn’t follow all the rules of this challenge. I didn’t use suet. I used butter. My pudding did not have a crust with filling. It was more like a cake with fruit topping. I did not use a traditional pudding mold. I just used a bowl. I did, however, steam my pudding just as instructed. So, if I failed in all other categories, at least I did one thing right.

Overall I was very pleased with the outcome of this pudding. I found the recipe on the blog “In My Kitchen“, but the recipe originally came from Martha Stewart. Here is the Martha link.

There are quite a few components to this dessert, and trying to complete them all AND steam the pudding in one evening after you’ve gotten home from work and cooked dinner isn’t exactly easy. I was a bit frazzled, as my husband will attest to. But everything worked out and we ate pudding at 9:30pm last night. The final product was worth the work and the wait.

The flavors are quite autumnal; caramelized apples, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and molasses. Despite this I had absolutely no problem enjoying this dessert in late April.

The first step is making caramel and pouring it in to the bottom of your dish.

Then you create an applesauce using half of your chopped apples, sugar and spices.

Next, sauté the other half of the apples in a little butter and sugar. These apples go on top of the caramel.

The applesauce you made earlier gets mixed into your cake batter and spread on top of the apples.

I didn’t make any changes to the ingredients. I did have to make do with the baking vessels I owned. A pudding mold is not something I have in my kitchen, and I probably never will. In a search for pudding mold substitutes I discovered that I could use any kind of bowl that would be safe to sit in simmering water for close to 2 hours. Most of my glass bowls were too wide to fit inside my largest pot. So, I was forced to use a 2 quart Corningware casserole. It was a bit too small for all the filling, so I had to use about 3/4 of a cup less batter than the recipe made.

I used a circle of buttered parchment on top of the pudding, then covered the bowl with two layers of foil.

When it came time to lower this into the pot of simmering water I realized that this task could not be accomplished unless I had something to help me lower the bowl without burning myself.

As advised by Esther, I made a handle out of kitchen twine and used that to lower the bowl and then to remove it after cooking.

This made my life much easier than it would have been if I’d tried to use my hands or a variety of utensils. I highly recommend this if you do not have a pudding mold with a lid and handle.

Here is the pudding after its 1 hour and 40 minute steam. Thanks to my trusty twine handle, it was a cinch to remove. I was worried that it would still be gooey in the middle since it is hard to tell by looking if it is baked through. Thankfully it was perfect, and came out of the bowl without any issues. Isn’t it just beautiful? The apple chunks on top covered in caramel are so pretty and mouth watering. I couldn’t wait to dig in.

If I had been really on top of things, I would have served this with fresh whipped cream. Not being prepared, I only had Cool Whip to serve along side the warm pudding, so that is what I used.

The pudding by itself doesn’t really need a dollop of anything though. The caramel apple topping is delectable, and the soft pudding below is delicious and full of spice. Altogether yummy.

Thank you again, Daring Bakers (and Esther!), for making me bake something I would never have thought to try otherwise. And, to be quite honest, I kinda thought I was going to hate it. How wrong I was. The results were delicious!

Steamed Caramel Apple Pudding

Ingredients

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
9 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)

Directions

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a small, heavy saucepan; set over medium heat. Cover, and cook until sugar has melted. Remove cover, and continue cooking, swirling pan occasionally, until sugar turns a deep amber. Carefully pour caramel into pudding mold; tip so caramel coats mold evenly. Set mold aside.
Place half of the apple chunks in a small saucepan, and add 2 tablespoons water, 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Place saucepan over low heat, and cook, covered, until apples fall apart, 10 to 12 minutes. Uncover, and cook 5 minutes more, stirring often. Set the applesauce aside.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small saute pan; add remaining apple chunks and remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Cook over medium-high heat until apples turn brown on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Place apples in the bottom of the mold, distributing evenly so they reach up the sides.
Choose a pot large enough to hold the pudding mold with a 2-inch space all around. Place a wire rack or a folded kitchen towel in the bottom of pot; fill with enough water to reach halfway up sides of mold. Cover pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together 8 tablespoons butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs and molasses; mix well. Add the reserve applesauce, and mix well.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; stir in breadcrumbs. Add to the applesauce mixture. Stir batter until just combined.
Fill pudding mold with batter; clamp on lid. Place mold in a pot of simmering water. Cover pot, and cook until a toothpick inserted into middle of pudding comes out clean, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Check water often, keeping it at a steady, low simmer. Transfer mold to a wire rack to cool, 15 minutes.
When ready to serve, invert the pudding onto a serving plate. If any of the apple chunks stick to the mold, remove them, and rearrange them on the top; slice.

1-2-3-4 Cake with Caramel Frosting

CarrieZ — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:57:02 +0000

Have you ever made a 1-2-3-4 cake? I hadn’t, or maybe just not noticed that I had, until yesterday. “What is a 1-2-3-4 cake?” you ask. It’s simple really.

1- cup of butter

2- cups of sugar

3- cups of flour

4- eggs

Of course there are other ingredients that accompany these 4, such as baking powder, salt, vanilla and milk. What a great way to remember a recipe. It reminds me of pound cake, in its original form, where you are to use a pound of each ingredient; butter, sugar, flour and eggs. I have never made pound cake this way, but I feel like I should just to say that I’ve tried it.

I searched a bit into each of these cakes, and both seem to have arrived on the culinary scene in the mid to late 1700′s. At this time, many people could not read, and so recipes that had easy to memorize ratios were perfect. Originally the other ingredients were not used. It was just the butter, sugar, flour and eggs. I think the milk adds some moisture, the baking powder helps the rise, of course, and the vanilla is a lovely flavoring. I used vanilla paste, so you can see little specks of vanilla bean in the cake layers.

The frosting recipe below is 150% of the original. I found the original amount to be a little stingy, but I like frosting, so you may want to use the recipe here if you are not quite the frosting nut that I am. There is a rich caramel flavor in this frosting that I think would be good on chocolate cake or cupcakes as well.

I found the cake and frosting recipe on recipeland.com, a site I just stumbled upon the other day. It has TONS of recipes that make it a little daunting to sift through. This recipe had no reviews, so I was a little hesitant to try it. I am glad that I did because it was not only easy, but pretty tasty as well. The cake was pretty crumbly, but it was sturdy and had good flavor. The frosting is delicious, but very sweet, so its not the kind of frosting you just lick off the spoon. Other people do that, right? Anyway…good cake. Try it.

1-2-3-4 Cake with Caramel Frosting

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour, all-purpose
4 large eggs well beaten
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract pure

Icing

3/4 cup butter
1 ½ cups brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup milk
3 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer till smooth, add the eggs and continue beating till smooth.
In a bowl, mix the flour and baking powder together and add alternately with the milk to the butter mixture, beating steadily till smooth.
Add the vanilla and beat till well blended.
Grease and flour three 9 inch cake pans, divide the batter evenly among the pans, and bake till a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Tops should spring back when pressed lightly.
Let cool completely.
Meanwhile, to make the icing: melt the butter over low heat in a saucepan, add the brown sugar and milk, bring to a boil, and remove from the heat to cool to room temperature.
Add the powdered sugar and mix till well blended.
When the cake layers are cooled, remove from the pans, place one layer on a cake plate, and spread one third of the icing on the layer.
Place a second layer over the icing and spread with more icing.
Top with the third layer and spread icing over the top and around the sides.

Creamy Cheesecake

CarrieZ — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:41:41 +0000

This recipe is from Fine Cooking. I love Fine Cooking. The website has great recipes, but the magazine is so worth having. The articles are interesting, the recipes have never disappointed me, the photos are beautiful, and they always include fun home and kitchen finds that I end up pining after. The only complaint I have is that I only get an issue once every 2 months. Here is the link to the recipe.

Cheesecake can be so incredibly delicious. It can also be totally overdone. For example, there is a cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory that mixes together cheesecake and pieces of carrot cake, slathers the top in cream cheese icing and tops it all off with candied almonds. No, thanks Cheesecake Factory!

I like my cheesecake pure and unadulterated. Buttery graham cracker crust filled with luscious creamy filling. No chocolate, no caramel, no fake fruity sauces, just cheesecake. I don’t mind fresh berries sitting on the side of the plate with a sprig of mint, but don’t mess with my cheesecake. Keep it simple.

This cheesecake is very good. The graham cracker crust is just right, not too thick and not too thin. The filling is incredibly creamy. The sour cream and lemon add a great tangy-ness and it isn’t overly sweet. I might have under-baked it a bit. The very center of the cake was on the verge of gooey, but turned out to be OK. I blame this on the recipe, though. After the cake bakes for 45 minutes, you turn off the oven and let it sit for an hour without opening the oven. So, I didn’t have a chance to check on it! It wasn’t my fault!

Overall, very tasty cheesecake and something I will make again. Next time I will bake it for 50-55 minutes. Other than that there are no changes that I would make. Enjoy!

Creamy Cheesecake (Courtesy of Fine Cooking)

Ingredients:

For the graham cracker crust:

About 11 double graham crackers, broken into pieces (or 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs )
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
5 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

1 lb. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
6 large egg yolks
3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. table salt
3 cups sour cream

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8 x 2-1/2-inch or higher springform pan.
Make the crust: In a food processor, process the graham crackers and sugar until the cookies are fine crumbs, about 20 seconds. Add the melted butter and pulse about 10 times just until incorporated. (Alternatively, seal the cookies in a heavy-duty plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them into fine crumbs. Transfer to a bowl, add the sugar, and toss with a fork to blend. Stir in the melted butter and toss to incorporate.)
Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, press the mixture into the base of the prepared pan and partway up the sides. Use a flat-bottomed, straight-sided glass to smooth the crumbs over the bottom and farther up the sides (but not all the way to the top). Be sure to press the bottom thoroughly so that the crumbs are evenly distributed. Lay plastic wrap over the crumbs to keep them from sticking to your fingers, and use your fingers to continue pressing the crust to a thin, even layer. Wrap the outside of the pan with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil to prevent leaking. Cover the crust with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
Make the filling: In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar until very smooth, about 3 min., scraping the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the egg yolks, beating until the batter is smooth and scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and beat until incorporated. Beat in the sour cream just until blended.
Bake the cheesecake: Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Set the pan in a larger pan (a 12 x 2-inch cake pan or a roasting pan) and surround it with 1 inch of very hot water. Check that the oven is at 350°F and bake the cake for 45 min. Turn off the oven without opening the door and let the cake cool for 1 hour. Transfer the cheesecake to a rack (the center will still be jiggly) and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Un-mold and slice the cheesecake: (I did not do this, I just unmolded and sliced on the springform base.)
Be sure the cheesecake is thoroughly chilled. Have ready a serving plate and another flat plate that’s at least as wide as the springform and covered in plastic wrap. Wipe a hot, damp cloth around the outside of the ring (or use a hair dryer). Run a metal spatula or a thin knife inside the ring. Release and gently loosen the ring and then lift it off. Set the plate with the plastic wrap on top of the cheesecake and carefully invert the pan. Heat the base of the springform with a hot, damp cloth or hair dryer and lift it off. Set the serving plate lightly on the bottom of the cheesecake (which is now facing up) and reinvert the cake. Lift off the plastic-wrapped plate.
To cut neat slices, use a sharp, thin-bladed knife dipped in hot water (shake off excess drops) between each slice.

Kitchen Sink Carrot Cake

CarrieZ — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:25:20 +0000

This recipe came to me through my magical Google reader. I love this thing. I don’t have to go from blog to blog looking for new posts. The new posts come to me! That is how life should be, right? You want it…it arrives. If only everything in life was like this…or would that be too boring? Always getting what you wanted when you wanted it? Another topic for another time…

Almost all of the posts I read are foodie blogs. I have a few news feeds from Amarillo and Austin as well as a few design blogs including my sister-in-law’s blog Grey is Pink which has some design, some fashion and some life stories. I have to sift through lots of recipes every day as many bloggers post at least once a day. I must admit this, the pictures are what hook me. If there is a tasty looking photo to accompany a tasty sounding recipe, I am in. This is how I happened upon this recipe for carrot cake.

King Arthur Flour has a ton of yummy sounding recipes. Their blog, Baker’s Banter, tests some of those recipes and gives an honest opinion of their success and also includes step-by-step photos to accompany the recipe. So, I won’t make you look at my step-by-step photos since the one’s on Baker’s Banter are pretty thorough. I will just show you this one photo of my completed cake since many of the ones I took did not turn out that great. This cake is full of so many yummy ingredients that I could barely control my pure and utter happiness! Carrots, pecans, coconut and pineapple. Yum. The cream cheese icing isn’t too sweet, but sweet enough to pair perfectly with the mild sweetness of the cake. You will not be disappointed if you enjoy a carrot cake like this…packed with all kinds of goodness and topped with creamy frosting.

Kitchen Sink Carrot Cake

Courtesy of King Arthur Flour

Cake Ingredients

4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
3 ½ cups finely grated carrots
1 cup diced pecans or walnuts, toasted if desired
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (preferred) or sweetened coconut
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained and squeezed dry

Frosting Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk, or enough to make frosting spreadable

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan.
Beat the eggs, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl till smooth, about 2 minutes at medium-high speed.
Mix the melted butter with the oil. With the beater running, add the oil mixture in a stream, beating till smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, leaveners, salt, and spices. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring to make a smooth batter.
Stir in the carrots, nuts, coconut, and pineapple.
Spoon the batter into the pan, spreading it to the edges.
Bake the cake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven, and cool right in the pan.
When it’s completely cool, make the frosting.
Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt in a medium-sized bowl, and beat together until light and fluffy.
Add the sugar gradually, beating well.
Add the milk a little at a time, until the frosting is a spreadable consistency.
Spread frosting over the cake. Garnish with minced crystallized ginger, if desired.

Yield: 9″ x 13″ sheet cake, about 24 servings.

Chocoflan Cake

CarrieZ — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:28:54 +0000

My mom sent this recipe to me. I discovered in talking with her today that the reason she sent it to me is because she was too scared to try it out herself. I have become the recipe guinea pig, and I am totally OK with that.

There’s always a little bit of uncertainty when trying a new recipe and it helps to know that someone else has tried it with good results. It really helps to know that someone you know and trust has tried it. I am often skeptical of some online reviews because I don’t know if the people writing the reviews are clueless in the kitchen and totally botched a perfectly good recipe, OR if the person likes anything they eat because they lack good taste and taste buds. So, send me your iffy recipes and I will try them and give you my honest opinion…if that means anything.

This cake is half chocolate cake and half flan. Well, more like 60% chocolate cake and 40% flan. Regardless, chocolate cake + flan = crazy delicious. A bundt pan is filled with a thin layer of cajeta, topped with a chocolate cake batter and finished off with a flan type mixture that makes it way down to the bottom of the pan during the baking process. This creates the layer of creamy flan on top of the cake which when inverted is topped with the sweet and decadent cajeta.

I topped the finished cake with toasted pecans. It could be served with some sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. This cake was a hit at the small group we had at our house last night. It was such a hit that we had a mere slice left over.

Things you should know:

It took more than the hour baking time for the top to become firm. I would recommend 1 hour and 15 minutes, then let it sit at room temperature for about an hour. Un-mold the cake and refrigerate it for at least an hour before serving. Giving the cake time to set is imperative. Your patience will be rewarded. Swear.

Chocoflan

Ingredients

12-cup capacity Bundt pan
Softened butter, to coat pan
1/4 cup cajeta or caramel sauce

For the cake:

10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

For the flan:

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For garnish:

1/4 cup cajeta or caramel sauce
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Put an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Coat a Bundt pan with a little butter, then coat the bottom with 1/4 cup cajeta and put it in a large roasting pan. (The roasting pan will serve as a water bath during baking.)
For the cake: Add the butter and sugar to a bowl and using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa in a medium bowl. Beat 1/3 of the flour mixture, and 1/2 of the buttermilk into the egg mixture. Repeat, ending with the flour mixture. Blend until well incorporated.
For the flan: In a blender or with a whisk, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla. Blend on high for 30 seconds.
Scoop the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan and spreading evenly. Slowly pour the flan mixture over the cake batter. Cover with foil and add about 1-inch of hot water to the roasting pan.
Carefully slide the pan into the oven, and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the surface of the cake is firm to the touch, or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. When cake is done, remove from the water bath and cool completely to room temperature, about 1 hour.
Invert a large, rimmed serving platter over the Bundt pan, grasp tightly together, giggle a little and flip over. Remove the pan and scrape any remaining cajeta from the pan onto the cake, garnish with chopped pecans and serve!
Cook’s Notes: The batters may appear to mix when you pour them into the pan, but they completely separate while baking, with the flan ending up on the bottom when it’s inverted. I like eating it warm, but traditionally, it is chilled 24 hours before serving.

St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

CarrieZ — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:20:24 +0000

Glad to report that I made it to Austin this weekend and got to see my pregnant sister and feel lil Kim kick, punch and hiccup a few times. Babies are amazing. I don’t think there will come a time in my life that I am not completely and totally in awe of a pregnant woman. That little kid has fingers, toes, and eyelashes! Incredible. I cannot wait to see my little niece in just a few months…

I also got to see my nephew, my parents, aunt, uncle, cousin, and many relatives and family friends at my Grandpa’s 90th birthday celebration on Sunday. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend time with those people. I am so blessed to have such incredible family and friends!

Back in Amarillo tonight and remembered that I had some of this cake leftover in the fridge. The piece I ate today wasn’t as good as it was 5 days ago, but it was still tasty. It was crazy gooey and delicious freshly made!

In my search for the origin of gooey butter cake, I discovered that the cake’s roots are in St. Louis. I know next to nothing about St. Louis. I do know that this is the home of the well known Gateway arch, which is the tallest man-made monument in our country standing at 630 feet at its highest point. It is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and it located near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark expedition. I had no idea there was so much historical significance to the arch! Maybe I will plan a vacation to see some historical sights in the USA someday. Someday…

Anyway, back to the cake. After my experience with Paula’s cake I was intrigued, and a bit bothered, by the fact that almost every recipe involved a cake mix as the base. Surely, at some point, the cake mix replaced a more homemade base. I found a recipe for an “original” gooey butter cake on this site. The base of this cake is made with a sweet yeast dough that rises around the sides of the gooey center. The filling is similar: cream cheese, butter, sugar, an egg and vanilla. This filling differs from Paula’s with the addition of corn syrup, flour and some water.

This recipe makes 2 8-inch square cakes, which is nice. One cake for now, and freeze one for later. I did not freeze my second cake; I brought it to work. I think this cake would take well to freezing and thawing later. I haven’t tried it though, so don’t take my word for it.

I liked that this cake was less sweet than Paula’s. The dough is more bread-like and creates a nice firm base for the gooey filling. The Paula cake was harder to serve since the cake mix base was not as firm. One mistake I made, and will correct on my next batch of cakes is the baking time. I baked these too long and as a result, the dough was a bit dark and not as tender as I would have liked. The center however was still gooey and yummy.

In a time crunch the cake mix gooey butter cake is a great choice. With just a bit of extra time and effort though, you can create a cake that tastes truly homemade with no fake tasting cake mix additives. Enjoy!

St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

Ingredients

Dough:

1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup warm milk (110 degrees)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Gooey butter topping:

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
Dash salt
1 egg
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

For dough, combine water and yeast in mixing bowl of electric mixer; hand-whisk to mix, then let stand a few minutes. Stir in milk, sugar, vanilla, butter, egg, salt, and 2 cups of the flour. Switch to dough hook and knead on slow speed, sprinkling in as much of the remaining 1/2 cup flour as needed, until dough is smooth, about 5 to 8 minutes. Cover bowl with a towel and let dough rise in warm, draft-free place 45 to 60 minutes, or until almost doubled.
Meanwhile, prepare gooey butter topping. Combine granulated sugar, butter, salt, egg, corn syrup, flour, water and vanilla in work bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade; process 20 to 30 seconds, or until mixture is a smooth paste. (Or beat with electric mixer until well mixed.)
To assemble: Generously spray two 9-inch square baking pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Gently punch down dough. Divide dough into two equal pieces. Press one portion into each prepared pan, pressing lightly to fit. Use fingertips to crimp edges about halfway up side of pan to make a border (so gooey butter will not run underneath). Use a fork to prick a few holes in dough to prevent bubbling (do not prick dough all the way through). Divide gooey butter into two equal portions; spread over dough in each pan. Let stand, uncovered, 25 minutes.
Place pans on prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated 375-degree oven 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 15 minutes. Topping should be bubbly and golden brown. Do not overbake; topping will not be gooey if cakes are baked too long.
Remove pans from oven and transfer to wire racks to cool until the topping settles and cake is just a bit warmer than room temperature. Sprinkle tops with confectioners’ sugar.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 2 cakes; 10 to 12 servings each.

Gooey Toffee Butter Cake

CarrieZ — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:57:43 +0000

Paula Deen. What a woman. I actually do kind of like her! Yes, she can overdo it a bit when it comes to butter, bacon and cream, but I find her endearing. I’d like her to be in my family so that I could see her a few times a year at family functions. She’d be my Great Aunt Paula who always gives me super tight, full-frontal hugs. She seems like she makes everyone around her happy…or at least full of incredibly rich comfort food, which pretty much equates to happiness, right? Maybe you think I’m wrong, and that’s OK. Regardless of what you think about Paula Deen though, I think we can all agree that this sounds delicious. How can something sweet and gooey, with ingredients like toffee pieces, butter and cream cheese be bad?

This cake is by no means a classy or visually impressive dessert. It’s not something that you would serve at a fancy dinner party, but it would be a crowd pleaser at a pot-luck or at a small, casual family dinner.

When you search “gooey butter cake” on Google, your first results will most likely be Paula Deen recipes. However, she is not the inventor of the cake. It originated in St. Louis in the 1940s and is typically not a dessert cake, but a coffee cake. This Paula Deen version is too rich and sweet to be served as a coffee cake, in my opinion. I found a recipe today for one made from scratch that I plan to try soon. The base is made with a yeast dough that rises around the edges of the butter, cream cheese and sugar filling.

The cake mix makes this recipe very quick. However, the cake mix with the combination of butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and toffee make this cake very rich and incredibly sweet. Some people may not like it (like Ben) for this very reason. I am OK with crazy sweet desserts, so I liked this cake. It should however be served in small pieces so that no one goes into a sugar coma. Here is a link to the recipe.

Gooey Toffee Butter Cake

(Courtesy of Paula Deen, Foodtv.com)

Ingredients

Cake:

1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup almond toffee bits or chocolate toffee bits

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9 by-2-inch baking pan.
For the cake: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.
For the filling: Still using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners’ sugar and beat well. Reduce the speed and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. Fold in toffee bits.
Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don’t be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don’t bake it past that point!
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way.

Hot Chocolate Layer Cake

CarrieZ — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:55:02 +0000

A while back I lost my Canon camera in a horrific flood. A water bottle mysteriously opened in my purse, drowning and destroying my camera. Anyway, for a while I took pictures with my iPhone. Not spectacular, but sufficient photos. Then, Ben bought me a Sony camera that has served me well for the last 4 months. Two days ago the screen went bright white resulting in a visit to Best Buy where they told me there was nothing they could do, and that I would have to send it in for repair.

I can still take pictures, but just can’t see what the pictures looks like until I load them onto my computer. The photo below is the result of such a photo session. Two usable photos out of about 25 total taken. Not a great ratio. I could not tell what was in the shot, how the lighting was, if I needed flash, if the zoom was too much, or how the focus turned out. This is just not a way to take pictures!

Despite my camera woes, this cake was fun to make, not too terribly complicated, a great presentation cake, and quite delicious. The marshmallows dusted with cocoa make the cake look like an actual mug of hot chocolate.

I absolutely love Fine Cooking magazine. I have yet to make something from it that I haven’t liked. This cake is on the cover of the current issue, and I could not resist its rich chocolate-y layers and fluffy white marshmallows. I made it for Christmas dinner. Here is the link to the recipe.

The cake is moist, the frosting is rich and creamy, and the marshmallows are heavenly, ooey-gooey goodness. This is a rich and decadent cake.

The marshmallows are the most time consuming aspect of this dessert, but well worth the time and effort. I considered buying pre-packaged mallows, but my wise mother-in-law convinced me to make the real thing. It does make a difference, and the marshmallows are a lovely contrast to the rich chocolate cake and frosting.

Hot Chocolate Layer Cake

(courtesy of Fine Cooking magazine and Rebecca Rather)

For the cake

6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter; more for the pans
13-1/2 oz. (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for the pans
3/4 cup canola oil
4-1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 cups granulated sugar
2-1/4 oz. (3/4 cup) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
2-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

For the frosting

2-1/2 cups heavy cream
3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups granulated sugar
6 oz. (2 cups) natural unsweetened cocoa powder; more for decorating
1/2 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

For the marshmallows

Three 1/4-oz. envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar; more as needed

Make the cake

Position racks in the bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter three 9×2-inch round cake pans and line each with a parchment round. Butter the parchment, then dust with flour and knock out the excess.
In a 3-quart saucepan, combine the butter, oil, chopped chocolate, and 1 cup water. Heat over medium heat until melted.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder. Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture and whisk until combined.
Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.
Set two pans on the top rack and the third on the lower rack. Stagger the pans on the oven racks so that no pan is directly over another. Bake, swapping and rotating the pans’ positions after 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, remove the parchment, and cool completely.

Make the frosting

In a 4-quart saucepan over low heat, combine the cream, butter, and vanilla bean and seeds and stir until the butter is melted.
Remove the vanilla bean and whisk in the chopped chocolate until melted.
Whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, syrup, and salt until smooth—be sure the cocoa powder dissolves completely.
Pour into a 9×13-inch pan and freeze until firm, about 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.

Make the marshmallows

Pour 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Attach the bowl to the mixer and fit it with the whisk attachment.
Clip a candy thermometer to a 3-quart saucepan; don’t let the tip of the thermometer touch the bottom of the pan. In the saucepan, boil the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water over medium heat without stirring until it reaches 234°F to 235°F, about 10 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin in a slow, thin stream.
Add the vanilla, carefully increase the speed to high, and beat until the mixture has thickened and cooled, about 5 minutes (the bottom of the bowl should be just warm to the touch). Line a 9×13-inch pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Sift 1 Tbs. of the confectioners’ sugar into the bottom of the pan, then pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan and sift another 1 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar on top. Let sit at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours.

Assemble the cake

Remove the frosting from the freezer or refrigerator. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes to soften. Change to a whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Put a cake layer on a flat serving platter or a cake stand lined with strips of waxed paper to keep it clean while icing. Top the layer with 1-1/2 cups of the frosting, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula to the cake’s edge. Repeat with another cake layer and 1-1/2 cups frosting. Top with the last cake layer.
Put 1-1/2 cups of the frosting in a small bowl. With an offset spatula, spread this frosting in a thin layer over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until the frosting firms enough to seal in the crumbs, 20 to 30 minutes.
Spread the remaining frosting in a smooth layer over the top and sides of the cake. If necessary, you can rewhip the remaining frosting to loosen and lighten it. Remove the waxed paper strips.
Use the foil overhang to lift the marshmallow from the pan. Using a knife that has been dipped in cold water, cut along the edge of the marshmallow to release it from the foil. Transfer to a cutting board and remove the foil.
Put the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl.
Cut the marshmallow into cubes of different sizes, from 1/4 to 3/4 inch (you will need to continue to dip the knife in cold water as you cut the marshmallows). The marshmallows will be very sticky—dip the cut edges in the confectioners’ sugar to make them easier to handle. As you work, toss a few cubes at a time in the sugar to coat, then shake in a strainer to remove the excess.
Mound the marshmallows on top of the cake (you’ll need only a third to half of them). Sift some cocoa powder over the marshmallows.

Italian Cream Cake & “Happy Birthday Ben!”

CarrieZ — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:50:11 +0000

I love my husband. I love when he has a birthday because I get to shower him with gifts, and a special birthday dinner. I really love that his favorite cake is Italian cream because that is also MY favorite cake! What are the chances? We were meant to be. So, when November 30th rolls around I have a great reason to make this cake. It is so perfect.

I have several recipes for this cake. All 3 are from mothers of my college friends. They are hand written and marked with water, cake batter, and one is even scorched on the edge. I love when recipes get like that. I like to see the differences in recipes and figure out how those differences effect the end product. With these recipes however, the ingredients and processes are almost identical. This leaves me to conclude that over time this recipe has been perfected and therefore should not be messed with.

Every recipe used butter and shortening. Every recipe used 5 eggs, yolks and whites separated, the same amount of sugar, flour, vanilla etc. Maybe all 3 mothers referenced the same Junior League Cookbook? Who knows. All I know is that this cake is delicious. I love the coconut and pecans in the cake and the smooth and tangy cream cheese frosting that adorns the layers of dense and delicious cake.

So, here it is. The most terrific Italian Cream Cake…Happy Birthday, Ben!

Italian Cream Cake

2 cups sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
5 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

In a samll bowl dissolve baking soda in buttermilk and let sit a few minutes.
In large bowl beat butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in egg yolks, one at a time until well incorporated.
Mix in flour and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with flour.
Mix in coconut and pecans.
Gently fold in stiffly beaten egg whites until just incorporated.
Pour into 2 or 3 greased and floured 8-inch cake pans.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until tops are light brown and tops spring back when pressed with your finger.
Let cool, remove from pans and frost with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 stick butter, softened
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk (if needed)

Cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
Add in powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Mix in vanilla and milk if the frosting is too thick.