Cakes
Cakes seem to be the best dessert for celebrations. If you have anything you're celebrating, here are six cake recipes to help with that, including Red Velvet Cake and Rocky Road Cake. Enjoy!
LEMON-ALMOND BUTTER CAKE
This was in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter, and begins, “This buttery almond cake with lemon curd baked inside is like the ultimate citrus tart, without the heartbreak of pie crust. It's fancy enough to be served as a dinner party dessert, yet substantial enough to be served with Sunday brunch. (Bonus: you'll have several tablespoons of lemon curd left over. It's delicious on toast or pancakes.)”
Yield: 8 servings; Time: 2 hours 30 minutes, plus cooling time.
This was featured in “Not The Usual Chef On The Shelf” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the Lemon Curd:
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 extra-large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
For the Cake:
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
1 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup ground toasted almonds
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
About 1/2 cup heavy cream for garnish
1 tablespoon almond liqueur (optional)
Preparation
For the curd, combine zest, juice, sugar and eggs in a heatproof bowl, and beat well. Add butter, and place over a saucepan full of simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until mixture thickens into curd, about 5 minutes. Strain into a bowl, and press plastic wrap onto surface to keep skin from forming.
Refrigerate until cool, at least 1 1/2 hours.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch spring-form pan with 1 tablespoon butter, and dust with 1 tablespoon flour, shaking out excess.
With an electric mixer, cream the remaining butter and 1 cup sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt, and stir in. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until they start to foam. Do not overbeat or the cake will be tough. Add eggs and ground almonds to batter, and mix well.
Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Drop 8 individual tablespoons lemon curd around perimeter of batter, leaving a 1-inch border, and taking care to space drops evenly. Drop 3 to 4 tablespoons curd into center of batter. Refrigerate remaining curd for another use. Sprinkle cake with toasted almonds and 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, depending on taste.
Bake until cake is toasty brown on top and a toothpick inserted into cake (not curd) comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool on rack 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan, and cool completely.
Whip cream with almond liqueur. Present cake at table, and offer whipped cream on the side.
BLACK FOREST SHEET CAKE
This is from Samantha Seneviratne in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this yumminess, Samantha wrote, "This beauty has all the beloved flavors of the classic Black Forest cake — cherries, chocolate and cream — re-assembled into a casual sheet cake perfect for summer picnics and birthday parties. To make the process even simpler, you can make and refrigerate the cherry jam up to 3 days in advance. Feel free to use fresh or frozen fruit (and there’s no need to thaw first, if using frozen). You can make this cake in the summertime, when fresh cherries are at their peak, or in the dead of winter, when you need something fresh and fruity to brighten your day."
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 65 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes, plus cooling; Yield: 12 servings
This can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025668-black-forest-sheet-cake.
Ingredients
For the Cake
3/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the Cherry Jam
6 cups fresh or frozen dark sweet cherries, pitted (see Tip)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons Kirsch, to taste
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons cornstarch
To Finish
2 cups cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Chocolate shavings (optional), for serving
Preparation
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9- by-13-inch baking pan, then line it with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two long sides.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup oil, the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 26 to 32 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
While the cake cools, prepare the cherry jam: In a small saucepan, combine 5 cups of the cherries with the granulated sugar over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, breaking the cherries down with a wooden spoon or potato masher, until the fruit has released its juice, about 6 minutes.
Pass the cherry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving the syrup in a medium bowl and setting aside the cooked cherries. (Reserve the saucepan.) Measure out 1/2 cup of the syrup. (If you have more, store the rest in the refrigerator for another use.) Transfer 1 tablespoon syrup from the 1/2 cup to a small bowl, then stir the Kirsch and almond extract into remaining syrup; set aside to cool completely.
Add cornstarch to the reserved 1 tablespoon cherry syrup in the small bowl; whisk to combine. Transfer it to the saucepan, add the cooked cherries and cook over medium, stirring, until the mixture has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool completely.
To finish: Using an electric mixer on medium, beat the cream and powdered sugar until you have medium-stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Transfer cake to a serving plate. Poke the cake evenly all over with a toothpick then brush it with about 1/2 cup of the cherry-Kirsch syrup. Spread the cherry jam evenly on top and then top with the whipped cream. Top with the remaining 1 cup of cherries and some of the remaining cherry syrup; top with chocolate shavings, if desired. Serve right away.
Tip
If you don’t have a cherry pitter, you can use a chopstick or a pastry tip to force the pit out.
CHERRY-COLA DUMP CAKE
This yumminess comes from Betty Crocker, and begins, "Super easy to prepare: Just mix devil's food cake mix with cola and pour over cherries. Bake for one hour and voila!"
Prep Time: 5 minutes; Total Time: 60 minutes; Servings: 9
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 jar (16 oz) maraschino cherries with juice (without stems)
1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ devil’s food cake mix
1 cup cola-flavored carbonated beverage
Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Into ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, “dump” cherries with cherry juice.
In medium bowl, mix cake mix and carbonated beverage. “Dump” mixture over cherries.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool about 15 minutes before cutting and serving cake.
Expert Tips
Serve with whipped cream and additional cherries.
You could substitute cherry pie filling in place of the maraschino cherries and juice.
STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB DUMP CAKE
This yumminess comes from Betty Crocker, and begins, "Made with only six ingredients and the help of Betty Crocker™ cake mix, this dump dessert is weeknight- and crowd-friendly!"
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes; Servings: 12
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
6 cups sliced strawberries
2 cups sliced rhubarb
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ yellow cake mix
10 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
In large bowl, toss strawberries, rhubarb, sugar and cornstarch; spread evenly in baking dish. Top with cake mix, and pour melted butter over top, making sure to cover top with butter as much as you can.
Bake about 1 hour or until bubbly and topping is browned. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
Expert Tips
May use fresh or frozen fruit. If using frozen, do not thaw before using.
Make sure to spread out cake mix so there are no large mounds on top of cake.
ROCKY ROAD CAKE
I was taking a speech class at a local junior college. One week we had to give a demonstration speech; one lady demonstrated how to make this cake, passing out copies of the recipe along with pieces of cake. It’s absolutely delicious. The icing can be used on almost any kind of cake; it would be really good on carrot cake!
Note: This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking, which I'm currently updating (along with photos).
Ingredients
1 C chopped nuts
4 eggs
1 C raisins
1 C mayonnaise
1 C mini-marshmallows
1 C water
6 oz. package of chocolate
1 package (18.25 oz) Devil’s Food cake mix w/pudding
Directions
Grease and flour 2 9" pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first four ingredients in medium-size bowl. In large bowl at low speed, mix cake mix, eggs, may and water until blended. Increase speed to medium & beat for 2 minutes. Stir in nut mixture. Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes on cooling rack.
ICING (for Rocky Road Cake)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 box confectioners sugar
Place ingredients in bowl and cream together. When cake is cool, ice. ENJOY!
RED VELVET CAKE
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
Ingredients
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2-1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
FROSTING FOR RED VELVET CAKE
Ingredients
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Directions
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
LEMON-ALMOND BUTTER CAKE
This was in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter, and begins, “This buttery almond cake with lemon curd baked inside is like the ultimate citrus tart, without the heartbreak of pie crust. It's fancy enough to be served as a dinner party dessert, yet substantial enough to be served with Sunday brunch. (Bonus: you'll have several tablespoons of lemon curd left over. It's delicious on toast or pancakes.)”
Yield: 8 servings; Time: 2 hours 30 minutes, plus cooling time.
This was featured in “Not The Usual Chef On The Shelf” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the Lemon Curd:
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 extra-large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
For the Cake:
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
1 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup ground toasted almonds
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
About 1/2 cup heavy cream for garnish
1 tablespoon almond liqueur (optional)
Preparation
For the curd, combine zest, juice, sugar and eggs in a heatproof bowl, and beat well. Add butter, and place over a saucepan full of simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until mixture thickens into curd, about 5 minutes. Strain into a bowl, and press plastic wrap onto surface to keep skin from forming.
Refrigerate until cool, at least 1 1/2 hours.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch spring-form pan with 1 tablespoon butter, and dust with 1 tablespoon flour, shaking out excess.
With an electric mixer, cream the remaining butter and 1 cup sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt, and stir in. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until they start to foam. Do not overbeat or the cake will be tough. Add eggs and ground almonds to batter, and mix well.
Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Drop 8 individual tablespoons lemon curd around perimeter of batter, leaving a 1-inch border, and taking care to space drops evenly. Drop 3 to 4 tablespoons curd into center of batter. Refrigerate remaining curd for another use. Sprinkle cake with toasted almonds and 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, depending on taste.
Bake until cake is toasty brown on top and a toothpick inserted into cake (not curd) comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool on rack 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan, and cool completely.
Whip cream with almond liqueur. Present cake at table, and offer whipped cream on the side.
BLACK FOREST SHEET CAKE
This is from Samantha Seneviratne in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this yumminess, Samantha wrote, "This beauty has all the beloved flavors of the classic Black Forest cake — cherries, chocolate and cream — re-assembled into a casual sheet cake perfect for summer picnics and birthday parties. To make the process even simpler, you can make and refrigerate the cherry jam up to 3 days in advance. Feel free to use fresh or frozen fruit (and there’s no need to thaw first, if using frozen). You can make this cake in the summertime, when fresh cherries are at their peak, or in the dead of winter, when you need something fresh and fruity to brighten your day."
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 65 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes, plus cooling; Yield: 12 servings
This can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025668-black-forest-sheet-cake.
Ingredients
For the Cake
3/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the Cherry Jam
6 cups fresh or frozen dark sweet cherries, pitted (see Tip)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons Kirsch, to taste
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons cornstarch
To Finish
2 cups cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Chocolate shavings (optional), for serving
Preparation
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9- by-13-inch baking pan, then line it with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two long sides.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup oil, the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 26 to 32 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
While the cake cools, prepare the cherry jam: In a small saucepan, combine 5 cups of the cherries with the granulated sugar over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, breaking the cherries down with a wooden spoon or potato masher, until the fruit has released its juice, about 6 minutes.
Pass the cherry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving the syrup in a medium bowl and setting aside the cooked cherries. (Reserve the saucepan.) Measure out 1/2 cup of the syrup. (If you have more, store the rest in the refrigerator for another use.) Transfer 1 tablespoon syrup from the 1/2 cup to a small bowl, then stir the Kirsch and almond extract into remaining syrup; set aside to cool completely.
Add cornstarch to the reserved 1 tablespoon cherry syrup in the small bowl; whisk to combine. Transfer it to the saucepan, add the cooked cherries and cook over medium, stirring, until the mixture has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool completely.
To finish: Using an electric mixer on medium, beat the cream and powdered sugar until you have medium-stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Transfer cake to a serving plate. Poke the cake evenly all over with a toothpick then brush it with about 1/2 cup of the cherry-Kirsch syrup. Spread the cherry jam evenly on top and then top with the whipped cream. Top with the remaining 1 cup of cherries and some of the remaining cherry syrup; top with chocolate shavings, if desired. Serve right away.
Tip
If you don’t have a cherry pitter, you can use a chopstick or a pastry tip to force the pit out.
CHERRY-COLA DUMP CAKE
This yumminess comes from Betty Crocker, and begins, "Super easy to prepare: Just mix devil's food cake mix with cola and pour over cherries. Bake for one hour and voila!"
Prep Time: 5 minutes; Total Time: 60 minutes; Servings: 9
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 jar (16 oz) maraschino cherries with juice (without stems)
1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ devil’s food cake mix
1 cup cola-flavored carbonated beverage
Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Into ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, “dump” cherries with cherry juice.
In medium bowl, mix cake mix and carbonated beverage. “Dump” mixture over cherries.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool about 15 minutes before cutting and serving cake.
Expert Tips
Serve with whipped cream and additional cherries.
You could substitute cherry pie filling in place of the maraschino cherries and juice.
STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB DUMP CAKE
This yumminess comes from Betty Crocker, and begins, "Made with only six ingredients and the help of Betty Crocker™ cake mix, this dump dessert is weeknight- and crowd-friendly!"
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes; Servings: 12
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
6 cups sliced strawberries
2 cups sliced rhubarb
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ yellow cake mix
10 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
In large bowl, toss strawberries, rhubarb, sugar and cornstarch; spread evenly in baking dish. Top with cake mix, and pour melted butter over top, making sure to cover top with butter as much as you can.
Bake about 1 hour or until bubbly and topping is browned. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
Expert Tips
May use fresh or frozen fruit. If using frozen, do not thaw before using.
Make sure to spread out cake mix so there are no large mounds on top of cake.
ROCKY ROAD CAKE
I was taking a speech class at a local junior college. One week we had to give a demonstration speech; one lady demonstrated how to make this cake, passing out copies of the recipe along with pieces of cake. It’s absolutely delicious. The icing can be used on almost any kind of cake; it would be really good on carrot cake!
Note: This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking, which I'm currently updating (along with photos).
Ingredients
1 C chopped nuts
4 eggs
1 C raisins
1 C mayonnaise
1 C mini-marshmallows
1 C water
6 oz. package of chocolate
1 package (18.25 oz) Devil’s Food cake mix w/pudding
Directions
Grease and flour 2 9" pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first four ingredients in medium-size bowl. In large bowl at low speed, mix cake mix, eggs, may and water until blended. Increase speed to medium & beat for 2 minutes. Stir in nut mixture. Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes on cooling rack.
ICING (for Rocky Road Cake)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 box confectioners sugar
Place ingredients in bowl and cream together. When cake is cool, ice. ENJOY!
RED VELVET CAKE
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
Ingredients
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2-1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
FROSTING FOR RED VELVET CAKE
Ingredients
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Directions
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
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