Guest Post - Rainbow Cake

Today's post is brought to you by my best friend Emer, who lives in Ireland (which is why I didn't go to the party :( ) She made a fun, pretty cake for her birthday and wanted to share.
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Ever since I was a kid, I have loved rainbows. I had rainbow scarves, belts, necklaces...everything! I had forgotten about it when I became a grown up, until I saw this amazing cake on the blog I Am Baker.

It was a few weeks before my 23rd birthday, so I became determined to make this cake. I actually arranged a party, just so I would have people to feed/show off the cake to! I made it the night before, with the help of my boyfriend. The results were better than I expected, since my past experiences of full-size cakes had failed. I'm usually a cupcake person.



It was easy enough to make but very time consuming. I used a mix because I usually fail with making big cakes from scratch. I followed the recipe from I Am Baker's website.

I made the vanilla cake mix according to the instructions on the box. Then I split it into six and put colouring into each part. It's important to mix the food colouring in very thoroughly or there will be white or faded patches when the cake is done.

It had six layers so I put two tins at a time in the oven. If you have a bigger oven and more tins, it will be much quicker.

I sliced the tops off each layer so they are relatively flat. Then I put cream cheese frosting in between the layers to stick them together. For the frosting, I beat together 1 cup of butter, 16 oz of cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.




Then I sliced down the sides with a sharp knife to make sure they were smooth. I covered it in the cream cheese frosting to help the fondant stick later.




Then I rolled out store-bought fondant and covered the cake. There are many videos describing how to do this. I did it very badly because it was my first time and ended up with lots of lumps and holes. I covered them with purple icing decorations



I drew Hello Kitty on the top




The big suspense was when I had to cut it at the party. I was afraid it would be messy inside, but luckily it was perfect!



Everyone loved it! This is a good cake to make if you want to impress somebody. I plan to make it again in different colours. Maybe a cake decorated with a dragon on top, with flame colours inside (red, orange and yellow) for my boyfriend's birthday.

- Emer
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French Fridays with Dorie - Michel Rostang's Double Chocolate Mousse Cake

For Christmas, I got Dorie's new book Around My French Table. I finally got around to joining French Fridays with Dorie. This week's recipe was Michel Rostang's Double Chocolate Mousse Cake. Since my parents were visiting last weekend, this cake was perfect to make so I didn't get stuck eating it all.



Dorie suggests serving it three ways - chilling it only, baking it and serving it warm, or baking it and serving it chilled. I served it warm with lemon gingersnap ice cream (which will be a future blog post). This cake went quickly and I would make it again. However, I had a leftover slice chilling in the fridge, and the texture after it was chilled just tasted...weird.





If you want to read about other members' results, you can find the links at French Fridays with Dorie.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Swedish Visiting Cake

Yes, I know today is Wednesday. I baked this cake last night and was too tired to post. I'm still at Target, but I switched work centers to in-stocks, so now I have a steady schedule - 5 days a week, rotating weekends, start at 6-6:30 am and leave at 1:30-2 pm. Still not full time (roughly 35 hrs, might as well be FT). Why is it that I can move on up in a company that hires almost anyone, yet can't find a job even slightly related to my degree? Sigh. There are days I wake up and see myself still at Target 10 years from now because getting a job I enjoy is "too good to be true."

ANYWAY

Dorie's Swedish Visiting Cake is very moist. I kept forgetting to buy almonds, so I went with coconut. I was a little unsure about the baking time bc Dorie did say it would be "slightly damp," so I baked it an extra 5 minutes bc I didn't want to underbake it. Unfortunately, I let it cool in the pan, and it stuck when removing it, so that's why I have a chunk of cake for my picture.




Since hardly anybody knows what a Swedish Visiting Cake is, I just called it a lemon coconut cake (or lemon almond if you use those). Thanks to Nancy of The Dogs Eat The Crumbs for choosing this yummy, moist cake! You can find the recipe on page 197 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Nancy's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Coconut Tea Cake

This week's recipe was one I made last year when I had some limes in the kitchen. Knowing how much I loved it, I decided to make it again when it was chosen. I didn't take an updated picture because well, it looks exactly the same. Except I used lemon instead of lime. You can read more about this on my earlier post, but all you have to know is that this cake is worth making again and again. It can be somewhat dry, so if you aren't eating this with coffee or tea, you may want to consider a simple glaze to pour on top.



Thanks Carmen of Carmen Cooks for hosting this week! You can find the recipe on pages 194-195 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Carmen's blog.

Coconut Gingerbread Cake

I know I'm a little late with this recipe, but why must gingerbread be only for the holidays? I bought a book a few months back titled Gingerbread - 99 Delicious Recipes From Sweet to Savory. Each recipe, even traditional ones like chocolate chip cookies, meatloaf, and corn dogs (little scary, I know), involves ginger, cloves, cinnamon, molasses, or all four.



I had leftover chocolate frosting from my surprise cupcakes, so I decided to bake a cake. I was in the mood for gingerbread, so I turned to this cookbook and found Coconut Cake with Mocha Frosting. Instead of mocha, I used chocolate fudge frosting.



The original recipe calls for three layers of cake, but I knew we wouldn't eat that much. I cut the recipe into thirds and made just one layer. I know some of the measurements are weird (1/3 tsp), so I used a teaspoon and guessed what a third would be. After frosting, it's then topped with toasted coconut.



1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 tsp ginger
1/3 tsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup butter, room temp
1 egg, separated
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
1 cup cake flour (or 1 tbsp cornstarch + enough AP flour to make 1 cup)
1/2 cup milk
Chocolate Fudge Frosting (won't need the whole recipe)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease one 9-inch round cake pan. Spread 1/4 cup coconut onto cookie sheet and toast in oven. Check every 5 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to cool. Leave the oven on.

2. Mix together baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom and set aside.

3. Whisk butter and egg yolk until smooth. Whisk in sugar and molasses. Whisk in spice mixture. Gently stir in milk and flour, alternating between the two.

4. In a separate bowl, beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into cake batter. Fold in untoasted coconut. Pour into pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove cake from pan and let cool on cooling rack. Once completely cooled, frost and top with toasted coconut.

Makes one layer cake

Source: Gingerbread - 99 Delicious Recipes From Sweet to Savory pgs. 70-71

Tuesdays With Dorie - Classic Banana Bundt Cake

This week's recipe was an easy and yummy one - Dorie's Classic Banana Bundt Cake. Funny story about this cake. I almost ended up with a half-baked cake. You see, our oven door has been acting up. You could still open it, but it wouldn't open all the way, maybe 75%. Fixing the door was on the to-do list. Well, after baking for 30 minutes, I removed the cake from the oven, closed the door, and covered the pan with foil. Then I opened the door... and then I opened the door.....I said open door!! The door just would not open. Thoughts raced through my head. It's half-baked. It won't fit in the toaster oven (lol ok really? I have never, ever used our toaster oven before and that was the first thing that popped into my mind.) Can I run to someone's house? We spent about 5 minutes wrestling with the door until it FINALLY opened. I was nervous when time was up because I didn't know if the oven would give me back my cake. Took a few tries, but we got it out.



This tastes just like banana bread. My only concern is the recipe called for two sticks of butter. Wow, that's a lot, so I used margarine instead. I also used half sour cream, half Greek vanilla yogurt because I didn't have that much sour cream left. This cake is very moist, and next time, I will add nuts or chocolate chips. I did use the lemon glaze Dorie suggested. At first, I was banana and lemon??? But I tried it anyway. Of course, I tend to bake at night, so it was getting slightly late, and the cake was still a little warm to the touch. That's why you can't actually see my glaze because it melted. You could still taste it though.

After that night, we fixed the hinge on the door. Did you know the oven door actually comes off? Yea, me neither.

Thanks to Mary of The Food Librarian for picking this week's recipe. It was an enjoyable one, indeed. You can find the recipe on page 190 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Mary's blog.


I think it's time for a new box...

How (Not) To Zest A Lime

Whenever I was in San Salvador a few weeks ago, I bought a postcard with a Bahamian rum cake recipe. I don't like drinking rum but I needed to buy an even number for the price. Whenever I was waiting at the airport in Nassau, I had samples of rum cake. The original version was alright; I could definitely taste the rum, but I did like it. Then I tried the key lime version. It was amazing! The rum was an undertone flavor because the lime really took over. This made me a little more excited to try my rum cake recipe.



Back in August, I bought a bottle of Puerto Rico golden rum for a Tuesdays With Dorie challenge. It sat in my room for about six months, so I gave it to my best friend. She ended up never drinking it, so we decided to use that rum. The recipe actually calls for dark rum, and after doing some research, dark rum really does matter in the flavor, but I went with the golden rum anyway.

I stopped at the store to buy a lime, and while I was driving to my friend's house, I thought, I hope she has a grater. Yea, she should. Most kitchens have one. Yea, MOST kitchens. Not all. We dug through her cabinets but no grater. Now how do I zest my lime? Her boyfriend suggested a fork. Didn't work, so I went for the vegetable peeler. Ahem.



Ok so we have big chunks of lime. Now what? Let's use the food processor! Oh wait, it won't turn on. How about the blender?


The motor is running, but the blades aren't turning!


Fine, we'll just use a knife (her pretty nails, not mine)


FAIL!

We really shouldn't be baking together. We can't zest a lime, assemble a cake, read directions, or bake giant snickerdoodles. Better yet, I blame her kitchen. It always goes wrong in her kitchen haha

As for the recipe, it was written for a regular-sized bundt pan. I bought two baby ones at Wal Mart, so I somehow scaled it down (successfully too!). There was way too much lime in ours, but that's because it was chunky and I forgot to scale down the lime when I scaled down the recipe. Whoops. Next time, I want to buy a small bottle of dark rum and see if there is a difference. I may throw in coconut at some point.

I will write both recipes in case you can't read the postcard above. We didn't make the glaze because the cakes were fine without it.

Bahama Rum Cake



Regular Bundt Cake:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts/pecans
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
Zest and juice from one lime
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup dark rum
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins
--
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mini Bundt Cakes:
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts/pecans
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
Zest and juice of 1/4 lime
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp dark rum
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp raisins
--
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp dark rum
1/8 tsp vanilla

1. Cake: Preheat oven to 325F. Grease bundt pan(s). Line the base with nuts.

2. Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs and add lime. Mix in flour, baking powder, and milk. Add rum, vanilla, and raisins. Pour mixture into pan(s) and bake 1 hour for large cake and 20-30 minutes for mini cakes. Cake(s) are done with a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan(s).

3. Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Add water and sugar. Boil and stir 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat; add rum and vanilla. Pierce cake and brush glaze over top and sides. Repeat. Steep cake in pan.

Makes: 1 large cake or 2 mini cakes

Source: San Salvador postcard

Tuesdays With Dorie - Blueberry Peach Crumb Cake

This week's TwD pick was really Blueberry Crumb Cake, but past experiences told me to stay away from blueberries. Instead of skipping (especially since I've been a slacker!), I decided to take Dorie's suggestion and use a different fruit instead. We had fresh strawberries in the fridge, but Dorie specifically said not to use strawberries. Boo. My choices then became peaches, apricots, blackberries, or raspberries. Apricots were nowhere to be found in stores, so that was out. Peaches were cheaper than the berries and my mom's choice in fruit. Peaches it is.



A lot of TwDers said they had a pool of butter on the top when their cake was done. As you can see in my picture, I did not. Strange. I did cut out a tablespoon of butter because I didn't have enough, but I think it was in the batter, not the topping. I really can't remember because I made the cake two weekends ago.



Also, many said their fruit sank. My peaches did sink, and they were coated in flour too. Hmm. One blogger suggested sprinkling the fruit on top of the batter instead of mixing it in. Smart idea. Overall, this would make a lovely brunch cake. Or pair it with vanilla ice cream for dessert.




Thanks Sihan for picking this cake! You can find the recipe on pages 192-193 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Sihan's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie - French Yogurt Cake with Lemon Curd

Man, it's been awhile since I completed a TwD challenge. My bad. This week's recipe was the French Yogurt Cake. The recipe originally calls for lemon marmalade. I was going to make the marmalade from scratch, but I decided to make it easier and go with a lemon curd. Lemon curd thickens as it cools, and since I used warm lemon curd, it was more of a sauce. This cake is interesting because instead of butter, it used oil. You have to make sure the oil is fully folded in or it won't be pretty.



The yogurt definitely made this cake moist. It reminded me of a lemon pound cake, which is not surprising because Dorie said it was a cross between a pound and sponge cake. I wonder if I could change the flavors by using flavored yogurt instead of plain. I don't see why not.



Thanks to Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction for choosing this wonderful cake! My mom loved it so much, and she usually doesn't eat much of what I make. You can find the recipe on pages 224-225 in Dorie's Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Liliana's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Devil's Food White-Out Cake

I dedicate this post to my best friend because this was her birthday cake (CHEESE!) and because we almost pee-ed our pants assembling this. You see, I had no problem executing the recipe. Some bakers said their cake didn't rise that much. Mine did. Others had trouble with the frosting and had to start over. Perfect the first time (although it did take 20-30 minutes for the syrup to reach 242F). But when it comes to decorating, well, I just suck.



What happened was I baked the cakes a few hours before going over the birthday girl's house. Instead of removing them from the pans to cool, I just let them cool in the pans. Wrong. The chocolate chips, which sank to the bottom, cooled and stuck to the plate, so each layer had a nice hole. So we went for two layers instead of three.




I didn't eat much of the cake because I was stuffed from dinner and ice cream. From the few bites I did have, the cake was fudgey and yummy. I wasn't crazy about the frosting, which I think someone said was Italian meringue. I just felt it had too much vanilla in it. When I asked around, everyone enjoyed the frosting, so maybe it was just me.

Thanks to Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater for picking this week's recipe. You can find the recipe on page 247 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Stephanie's blog.

A Cake That Strengthens Your Arm Muscles

I made this pound cake a few days before I came back to school because I had some butter I needed to use. Of course, I turned to my favorite book - Baking: From My Home To Yours. Dorie offers great tips on making pound cake before you start. Make sure that if you don't use a stand mixer, you have great arm strength because you end up beating the batter for about 10 minutes total. Also, it takes about 75-90 minutes to bake, depending on your pan size. You will probably need to add the foil tent after the first 45 minutes.

As far as taste goes, I don't really know what pound cake tastes like because usually when I have it, it has toppings that mask the base. I was expecting a little lighter texture, almost like angel food cake, but then again pound cake has a lot of butter and eggs in it haha





What better way to serve pound cake than with strawberries and whipped topping? Actually, you can use pound cake as the base for Baked Alaska. If I were home longer, that's what I would have done. Guess that means I have to make another pound cake later haha


Perfection Pound Cake




This cake can be found on page 222 with pointers on page 220 of Dorie's book Baking: From My Home To Yours. If you don't own this book, consider searching on Ebay or Amazon for a copy.

EDIT - Happy 200th post to me! If I weren't so poor, I'd have some kind of giveaway.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake

I was really excited when this week's recipe was Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake because that was one of the recipes where the picture was making me drool. Unfortunately, I wasn't too crazy about it while eating. My family liked it, so I think it was my tastebuds rather than the actual baking.

EDIT - Ok I just ate a slice from the fridge. A lot better than my first tasting. Plus I think it's the cake part I didn't like, not the topping. I'm eating the topping alone and yummy! Maybe it's the chocolate I used. I did use cheap chocolate because I can't afford better haha

A few words of caution. One, this cake rises like no other, so be careful if you are making smaller portions like cupcakes. I used a 9-inch round cake pan, and it was as full as you can get. Two, making caramel sauce is dangerous and tricky. I burnt my finger about a year ago, and the mark was there for about a month. The temperature of the syrup is hotter than boiling water, and it sticks to your finger, so that few seconds from contact to wiping it off really makes it hurt worse than boiling water. Also, caramel sauce burns fast if you aren't watchful. Dorie suggests 5-10 minutes. A lot of TwDers, including myself, found it to be 15 minutes. You want the color to be a few shades lighter than a deep amber when you turn the heat down because it continues cooking and will go from deep amber to burnt in about 30 seconds. Trust me. I had to make the sauce twice because it burnt the first time. And burnt caramel smells.

This past weekend plus yesterday and today is my school's fall break. I've been baking almost non-stop plus I went to an apple festival Saturday afternoon. This cake is one of the many items I baked and also gave away to my best friend's grandparents (since I don't have grandparents of my own).

Caramel Topped Peanut Brownie Cake




Thanks Tammy from Wee Treats by Tammy for choosing this week's recipe! You can find it on pages 264-265 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or visit Tammy's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Dimply Plum Cake

Another Tuesday, another wonderful recipe. I don't eat plums very often. My dad, on the other hand, eats plums, peaches, and nectarines like candy. So it's not the abundance issue. It's just...I don't eat plums. When this week's recipe was Dimply Plum Cake, I knew I had to make it for my dad. I went home (again) this past weekend because I had tickets to see Colin Mocherie and Brad Sherwood. Since the city is closer to my house than my school, it made more sense to just go home.

This felt like the perfect fall cake. Instead of cardamon, I used cloves. I could definitely taste the cloves but it didn't overpower the cake. You could probably use nutmeg, cinnamon, or a combination of all three. I have no idea what cardamon tastes like, so I can't tell you if that was a close substitution. All I know is it tasted good!

The cake did get slightly soggy from the fruit, so it kinda fell apart when cut. Then again, I didn't remove it from the pan to cool, so that might have be my fault. Dorie gives all kinds of ingredient substitutions so you can enjoy this all year round. I want to try the peaches, lemon juice, and basil version.

Dimply Plum Cake




Thank you Michelle from Bake-En for picking this for September! For the recipe, please refer to p. 41 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or online at Bake-En.

Put The Lime In The Coconut...

Oh...my...goodness. I am so exhausted from helping freshmen move into their new home at my university, and I still have the welcome ceremony tonight and the summer book group discussion and dance party tomorrow night. At least I can blog while resting my feet.

Last week, I bought a bunch of limes because they were on sale. I have a horrible habit of buying food, THEN picking out recipes so sometimes I have trouble figuring out what I'm making or I'm one item short. When I'm in the mood for a baked good, I grab Dorie's book first and check the index. Under limes, coconut tea cake caught my attention. All I needed was to buy coconut milk, so I grabbed some on my next trip shopping.

Dorie says in her recipe intro that this is a "dry cake" because her friend really likes dry cakes (as in pound cake texture, not overbaked texture). Since this cake is "dry," it is perfect to serve with coffee or tea. If you are like my family and prefer the cake without a hot beverage, you may want to consider adding a simple glaze on top.

Dark rum is optional, and since I had some, I used it. I couldn't tell it was in the cake, but it may be one of those cakes where you can tell if it's not in the cake. I'll have to make this again (so many variations - lemon, orange, spice, sesame) and try it without the rum.

Also, it uses a bundt pan. I love bundt cakes!


Coconut Lime Tea Cake




This recipe can be found in Baking: From My Home To Yours on page 194.

Sweet Summer Dessert

Before this summer, I have never picked strawberries. I had my mind set that there was no place to pick in western Pennsylvania. Then back in June, the newspaper showed pictures from a local farm's strawberry festival, and a family was featured on the front page picking strawberries. I did some research and found the farm. Sure, it's about 45 minutes from my house, but I thought the trip was worth it.


I think I took this picture after cutting up some berries because it isn't quite as full.
About a week before that, I bought a Hershey's cookbook for $2 at the used book store (oh I'm awesome). I remember flipping through and came across a picture for California Strawberry Log. My dad came over and asked what I was buying this time. I showed him the picture and he said you better be making that for me. He may have been kidding at the time, but I'm sure he didn't mind I took him seriously.

California Strawberry Log



3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp + 3/4 cup powdered sugar, divided
2 cups (1 pint) cold whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups sliced strawberries

1. Heat oven to 375F. Line 15 1/2x 10 1/2x 1 inch jelly roll pan with foil. Generously grease foil. In large bowl, beat egg yolks on high speed 3 minutes. Gradually add 1/2 cup sguar. Continue beating 2 minutes.

2. Stir together flour, cocoa, 1/3 cup sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add alternately with water and vanilla to egg yolk mixture, beating on low speed just until smooth.

3. In small bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add 1 Tbsp sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold into chocolate mixture. Spread batter evenly into pan.

4. Bake 15-18 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Invert onto towel sprinkled with 2 Tbsp powdered sugar. Carefully remove foil. Immediately roll cake and towel together from narrow end. Place on wire rack to cool.

5. In clean large bowl, beat cream, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla on high speed until stiff. Fold strawberries into 2 cups of whipped cream. Reserve remaining whipped cream for garnish. Unroll cooled cake and spread with strawberry mixture. Reroll. Spread remaining whipped cream on outside of cake. Refrigerate 1 hour or longer before serving.

Source: Hershey's Chocolate Lover's Cookbook, 1993 p. 110

Yummy Apricot Goodness

Some of you may remember me complaining about apricots being expensive. Well, the store must've heard me because shortly after, they went on sale for $1.99 a pound. I bought eight of these tiny babies and spent an afternoon looking for my cookbooks, deciding what fate they deserved. Eventually, I came across apricot upside-down cake from Donna Hay. If you don't own her book, get it. The photography is amazing, and it's all of your "sweet favorites redefined with modern ingredients, outlook, and style" (this back cover doesn't lie).

A word of caution - this involves making hot sugar syrup, so please wear gloves or oven mitts! I burnt my finger once, and it's worse than your average boiling water burn. Syrup boils at a higher temperature, so it is hotter than 212F (roughly 234F, depending on what you're making). Then on top of that, syrup sticks. You can wipe off boiling water easily, but it takes an extra few seconds to wash off syrup.

My cake came out somewhat soggy, so I'm not sure if the apricots were extra juicy or what. Or I just didn't let it sit long enough. Also, I had batter overflow since my pan was 9 inches instead of 9 1/2, so I filled the apricot pan up to the rim, then poured the remaining batter in an extra pan.

This is a great time to use your stand mixer because it requires at least 8 minutes of beating, but I made mine with my hand mixer, and it worked just the same. I got a nice work out.


Apricot Upside-Down Cake




1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 Tbsp butter, melted
12 apricots, halved and stones removed

Topping
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
5 Tbsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease 9 1/2 inch round cake pan.

2. For topping, place sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat until dissolved. Increase the heat and boil until the syrup is golden brown (this will take some time, be patient but don't leave the room because once it turns brown, it will burn quickly). Remove from heat and add butter. Pour into bottom of pan. Let set while making the cake.

3. Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside. Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla for 8-10 minutes or until thick and pale. Gently fold in flour mixture. Then fold in melted butter.

4. Place apricot halves cut-side down and close together in the topping in the pan. Spoon on the cake mixture and bake 65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to stand 5 minutes then invert cake onto a plate (hence the name). Serve warm with cream.

Source: Modern Classics Book 2 by Donna Hay, 2003 p. 86

When You Just Don't Want To Share

I love Taste of Home magazine. Anj from Gulf Coast Gram sent me some awhile ago, and I fell in love, so I signed up for a free copy from the ToH website. In their Cooking for Two edition, they have several dessert recipes, and this Boston Cream Sponge Cake caught my eye. Back in February, I bought 3 small heart-shaped springform pans on sale. I've only made cheesecake in them, so I thought this cake would be perfect. It calls for a 4-inch round pan, and since my heart pans were also 4 inches, it worked out fine.

This would be perfect to make after a special dinner with a loved one because you don't have to share. And trust me, you're not going to want to share.


Boston Cream Sponge Cake




2 eggs
6 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour

Custard
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup milk
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp butter, softened

Frosting
1/2 cup powdered sugar
5 tsp heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 square (1/2 oz) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and salt, beating until thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Fold in flour, 2 Tbsp at a time. Spoon into two greated 4-inch springform pans (they will be full). Bake 15-20 minutes or until cake springs back when touched. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.

2. Custard: In a small pan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Stir a small amount into egg yolks before adding them to the pan (Adding a little bit of heat first will keep it from turning into scrambled eggs). Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature without stirring. Once cool, cream butter and gradually beat in custard.

3. Frosting: Beat frosting ingredients until mixed.

4. To assemble, cut each cake in half horizontally. Place bottom layers onto two serving plates. Spread each with filling. Replace cake tops. Spread frosting on top. Refrigerate until serving.

Makes two 4-inch cakes.

Source: Taste of Home Cooking For 2, Winter 2008 p.22

Happy Anniversary To Meeeeee!!

*I am working on the challenge round-up. Hopefully it'll be posted by the end of this week! It's hell week at school. Only 12 more days!*

One year ago, I was in Limerick, Ireland. I decided to study abroad my sophomore year because I love to travel. It cost me the same in tuition; I just had to worry about room and board, traveling, and food. I met two online (non-blogger) best friends in person - Emer lived in Dublin while Ida flew in from Norway and stayed me for a week. Emer's family pretty much adopted me while I was in school, even though Limerick and Dublin are a four-hour bus ride apart (two hours by car). I tried black pudding in Ireland and haggis in Scotland. I visited the most amazing place so far in my life (Giant's Causeway is better in person, I swear!). I also got attacked by an emo cow.

One year ago, I was homesick. I didn't bake because of limited resources (aka once I ran out of money, I was done), but occasionally Emer and I cooked. Then one day while I was writing an essay for class *cough*, I was surfing recipes. I really don't remember how I came across food blogs, but I decided I wanted to start one. I used to have Chocolate Moosey as a personal blog when I was in high school. I still remember coming up with the name in the middle of chemistry class. After I graduated, I abandoned it. I was still in love with the title, so I kept it.

I decided to bake a cake this weekend for two reasons. One, I was going over my best friend's house and two, it is Chocolate Moosey's anniversary. I've been wanting to try this Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake for the longest time. It is in the cookbook Megan and I share, so maybe I can convince her to bake this as well. You won't be disappointed!

First, don't skimp on the jelly. I didn't measure it, so I don't know if I used the 1/2 cup it called for. Since the jelly is only present in between the layers, use a lot! It also helps the layers stick together when cutting. Second, the frosting makes wayyyy too much! I had enough for the two-layer cake and 24 cupcakes (from a box - I was too busy and didn't want to waste frosting), and I still had frosting left! Also, I realized this is the seven minute frosting I have heard about. It tastes just like marshmallows except easier to spread.

Posted below is the adjusted amount of frosting.


Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake with Marshmallow Frosting




2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup + 1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cups milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup jelly

Frosting
6 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 Tbsp water
1 egg white
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add brown sugar, butter, 1/3 cup peanut butter, and milk. Beat on low speed 1 1/2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat for another 1 1/2 minutes. Divide evenly between the two cake pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until cake springs back when touched. Cool completely.

3. Frosting: Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, egg white, salt, and tartar in the top of a double boiler. Cook over rapidly boiling water. Beat with an electric mixer until mixture stands in peaks, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Beat until frosting holds deep swirls.

4. Gently remove cake layers from their pans. Place one layer on a plate. Spread top with 1/4 cup peanut butter and jelly. Place the second layer on top. Frost with marshmallow frosting.

Makes 1 two-layer cake.

Source: Pillsbury's 15th Grand National Bake-Off, 1964 p.37

The Cake That Broke The Mixer

Our hand mixer has been running strong in our family for almost 30 years (older than me!!). Right after I creamed the butter for this Oreo bundt cake, it started making a funky noise. Turns out somehow one of the beaters was bent and kept hitting the other beater when running. I had to finish the cake by hand. Trust me, this is not the cake to do by hand because you beat it on medium speed for 2 minutes, add egg whites, and beat on medium speed for another 2 minutes. I was in a hurry because I was going over my friend's house and wanted to bring warm cake, so I removed the cake from the pan a little too soon. Only half of it came out. Oops. Even though this cake hated me, it was still tasty. As my friend said, "This tastes like a chocolate chip muffin!" (chocolate chip muffin = good).

We ended up buying a Sunbeam hand mixer from Wal Mart. I only used it twice, but so far it's holding up. I doubt I'll use all six speeds. Our old one had three speeds, and I only used the first two. This new mixer even has a bowl rest. I never knew how handy the bowl rest really is, considering our old one didn't have one.

Now for the recipe. The original recipe called for boxed cake mix, specifically yellow. Well, when I was planning my baking list for spring break, I put it down as white cake mix. So I made a white cake from scratch and added the Oreo filling. Actually, it wasn't really white cake because I used butter instead of shortening (which made the cake yellow). Call it what you want. Just don't call me late for dessert (corny, I know).

Also, I think I had too much filling because it's supposed to be a "tunnel" in the cake, not take up the entire cake haha You can probably get away with less than 24 cookies. And the recipe calls for glaze, but it's fine without it. You don't need the extra calories anyway.


Oreo Bundt Cake




Cake
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shortening (you can sub butter, but the cake will look more yellow than white)
4 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla

Filling
24 chocolate cream-filled cookies (such as Oreos), chopped
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease bundt pan.

2. For filling, combine cookies, chocolate chips, flour, and melted butter. Set aside.

3. For cake, in a large bowl, mix on low speed flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, and shortening until just combined. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add egg whites and vanilla. Beat for another 2 minutes on medium speed.

4. Pour half the batter into bundt pan. Spoon in filling. Pour the rest of the batter on top. It's ok if some cookies are exposed because the batter will rise and cover them when baking. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Allow cool in pan for 30 minutes before removing from pan.

Source: Cake base from Simply From Scratch Recipes Volume 2, 1978 p.72; Bundt cake from Recipe Zaar

Cake With A Hidden Surprise

Who doesn't love a chocolate surprise? I was looking for recipes to use in my new ramekins I bought at Target. They are egg-shaped for Easter, so they are slightly smaller than normal ramekins. I saw this recipe online at Kraft Foods when I was reviewing Real Player Plus. Later, I saw the recipe in Kraft's magazine, so I knew I had to make them.

I ended up baking these twice. The first time I overbaked them, resulting in a cooked center rather than the melted liquid that was supposed to happen. Damn. So I tried it a second time, being very cautious with time. The first one I tested turned into a puddle of chocolate goop when I removed it from the ramekin, so I stuck the other three back in a little longer. My family loved them. Next time, I'm going to experiment with the flavors, perhaps adding extracts and even using white chocolate.

Now I can cross off #97 - Ramekins from my list.


Molten Chocolate Cakes




1/2 cup semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 Tbsp flour

1. Preheat oven to 450F. Grease four 6 oz ramekins. Place on baking sheet.

2. Melt chocolate and butter until butter has melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks until blended. Stir in flour until blended.

3. Divide between ramekins. Bake 13-14 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. This is very important because if you underbake it, it'll come out as chocolate goo when you remove it from the ramekin. If you overbake it, there won't be a liquid chocolate center. Let stand 1 minute. Invert cakes into dessert dishes. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top, if desired. Serve immediately.

Makes four small cakes

Source: Kraft Food and Family Holiday 2006, p. 78