Week 19: Chocolate-covered cherry cake

I buy a jar of cherry pie filling every November when we are up in Door County (they're known for their cherries).  I always dream of baking a cherry pie, but I never get around to it.  And twice now, I've ditched the pie plans to make a chocolate-covered cherry cake.  I despise chocolate-covered cherries, but I love this cake. 

The icing has a lovely chocolateyness to it.  Choclacality?  It tastes like chocolate because it's made from chocolate.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. A very simple cake recipe.

2. Despite the simplicity, I managed to foul it up a bit.  The jar of pie filling I buy in Door County is 32 ounces, but the recipe calls for 21.  Last year I just eyeballed it.  This year I decided to get fancy and spoon it into my pyrex measuring cup, which has handy ounce markins on it.  I told Chuck that I thought the Door County folks lied about the pie filling because it took more than 2/3 of it to get to 21 ounces.  Then he asked me if the recipe called for fluid ounces or actual weight.  Sigh.  The extra pie filling appears to have had little impact on the recipe, though.

3. I like to toss dried cherries over top the icing.

A New Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake by the Cake Mix Doctor


Cake:
Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) chocolate mix with pudding
3 large eggs
2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly mist a 13x9" baking pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust it with flour.  Shake out excess flour and set the pan aside.

2. Place the cake mix, eggs, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on medium speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber sptatula. Add the chocolate chips and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides down again if needed.  Add the cherry pie filling and beat on medium speed ntil just blended, 20-30 seconds.  The batter will be thick.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

3. Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack, and let the cake cool slightly while you prepare the icing.



Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 package (6 ounces, or 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

Place the sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips. When the chips have melted and the glaze is smooth, pour it over the warm cake so that it covers the entire surface. The glaze will be thin but will firm up. Cool the cake for 20 minutes more before cutting it into squares and serving.



NOTE: Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze the cake, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Week 18: Sprinkle habit

Chuck and I travelled up to Door County last weekend to celebrate our 5-year anniversary.  We stayed in the same suite at the same B&B we've been going to every year since our honeymoon.  If you're heading up to northern WI, I highly recommend checking out the Chanticleer Guest House.

So why am I talking about all of this on my baking blog?  Our travels meant that I didn't bake anything this week (insert gasp here).

To make up for not baking last week, I decided to bring out the big guns and make a double batch of sugar cookies with buttercream frosting this coming weekend.  And that means one thing...SPRINKLES!!!!  I decided to take stock of my sprinkle collection tonight to make sure I had enough to get me through the weekend.  Here's what I found:

Chuck suggested I build a tower of sprinkles.  So I did.

I wasn't very happy with the stacked arrangement, so I decided to organize them by holiday.  Halloween - over to the left.  Christmas - you head to the right.  Easter - I've never used you, so you're heading to the back.  Hey there, chocolate jimmies & white nonpareils - you work with every season, so front & center with you.

And now it's time for my shocking confession: I am a sprinkle-holic.  There.  I said it.  I openly admit that I have and will purchase every new holiday-themed sprinkle I happen across.  It does not matter that I have dozens of different types of sprinkles in my cupboard.  Seriously...dozens.  Check out all these bottles that have 6 varieties in one bottle. SIX!

After reviewing the photographic evidence and shuffling the non-Christmas sprinkles back to the cupboard, I turned to Chuck and said, "I really thought I had more sprinkles than this.  This isn't so bad."

Week 17: Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

I wanted to make something seasonally appropriate this week, so turned to Martha Stewart's Cupcakes in search of a pumpkin recipe.  Despite the ridiculous marzipan pumpkins she added, this recipe sounded perfect to me.  I'm actually disgusted by the texture and flavor of marzipan, so I skipped the toppers.  And, you know, I really didn't want to spend my entire weekend creating little pumpkins to top my cupcakes.

Here's Martha's version:

And here's my version:

Do you suppose any of my co-workers will ask where the marzipan pumpkins are?  Now that I think about it...I sort of hope they do.  I have plenty of answers to that question.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. The cupcake batter was thicker than I was expecting.  I was very happy to have my trusty old-fashioned ice cream scoop on hand for dropping batter into each cupcake liner.

2. To save your kitchen from looking like you dropped a bag of flour on the counter, cover your mixer with a kitchen towel after each addition of flour.

3. To prevent the buttermilk from splashing out of the mixing bowl, use a spatula to lightly stir it in before turning your mixer back on.

4. I wish I had thought of 2 and 3 before my first addition of flour and first addition of buttermilk.

5. I continue to have great love for my Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook.  I've now tried three recipes from this book, and have yet to be disappointed.

Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Patch cupcakes


4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2-1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternative with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until just combined.  Add pumpkin puree; beat until just combined.

3. Fill cupcake liners three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown, 15-18 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.  Cupcakes can be stored in fridge up to 3 days in airtight containers.

4. To finish, use an offset spatula to spread frosting on cupcakes.

Martha Stewart's Cream-Cheese Frosting
Makes 4 Cups

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Reduce speed to low.  Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and then vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Week 16: Old-fashioned fudge cake

My friend Jenny Vellon made this one day for our group of friends back in grad school, and we begged her to make it for every gathering after that.  Jenny is a generous and thoughtful gal, so she obliged.  She also told us it was very easy to make, but none of us believed her.

Jenny gave me the recipe for Christmas one year, and I quickly added it to my book of hand-written recipes.  And yet, I continued to worry that it'd come out terribly wrong if I attempted to make it.  It wasn't until a few months into my baking obsession that I pulled out the recipe and decided to try it out.  And boy am I glad I did - it tasted exactly as I remembered it, and it brought back great memories of fun times shared with grad school friends.

If you've always been intimidated by baking a cake from scratch, I'd say this cake is reason enough to break down and give it a go.  It's deliciously moist and, yes, surprisingly easy to make.  And how could you not want to eat this??

Honestly, look at all that chocolatey goodness!

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. A great beginner's cake - as long as you can measure ingredients and mix them with a whisk or spoon...you can handle this one.

2. After my many disastrous attempts and making chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies & discovering that I had never allowed the mixture to come to a complete boil (see Week 7 post), I was a bit reluctant to trust that my frosting was at a boil.  Sadly, I pushed it too far & it broke.  How, you  might wonder, do you break frosting?  If you cook this frosting too long, the butter will start to separate out from the milk and cocoa & you'll have the milk and cocoa together & melted butter swimming around them.  Here's a sign that it's about to happen - you'll see dark specks & then dark streaks in the frosting as you're stirring.  And if you ignore those signs, well it'll separate.  Lucky for me, I happen to have far more baking ingredients on hand than anyone should, so I just dumped the mess in the trash can & started over.  Second attempt came out perfectly.

Many thanks to Jenny for giving me the a-ok to share this recipe with my pals.

Jenny's Old-Fashioned Fudge Cake

2 C flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 C oil
1 C buttermilk
3 eggs, beaten
3 tsp vanilla
3/4 C hot water

Frosting:
4 tbls unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tbls milk
1 stick butter
3/4 lb powdered sugar
1 tbls vanilla
 
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 pan.

1. Sift together flour, sugar, soda, salt & cocoa. Add oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and hot water. Mix well. (Seriously, that's all there is to it.)

2. Pour into 9x13 pan and bake for 30 minutes.

3. Start making your frosting about 10-15 minutes before cake is done baking.  For frosting, make a paste of cocoa and milk in a saucepan. Add butter and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla,  Beat well.  Pour over still hot cake in baking pan.

4. Serve warm; especially wonderful with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

Week 15: Rum Cake

I spent the weekend debating whether I felt like making & eating old-fashioned fudge cake or rum cake.  As you can see from the title, rum cake won.  Sorry, old-fashioned fudge cake & fudge cake lovers.  There's always next weekend.

I've used this recipe for years & love it.  The cake is always moist & extremely rummy.  Is that a word?  If not, it should be.

I made use of my new bundt pan that I previously tried out with my margarita cake.  But something didn't go quite right this time.  Here's how the margarita cake looked:

And here's how the rum cake looked (it pulled away from the sides of the pan & didn't come out with the same scalloped edges):

Also, (borrowing a joke from Chuck) the rum cake came out of the oven with a few pieces missing...

The glaze also came out a little funny this time around - runnier than I'm used to.  It seemed like more of it ended up on the cake plate than on the cake.

Regardless, I love this cake.  And Chuck's bandmates seemed to like it too.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. I suspect there are two reasons the cake is misshapen: 1) I used 1/2 the amount of pudding mix it called for (because that's all I happened to have in the cupboard) and 2) the recipe is designed for a 12-cup pan & I used a 10-cup pan.

2. I might have to make this a few more times in the coming weeks to perfect this glaze.  You know, for the benefit of the people to whom I serve it.

3. I had intended to place whole pecans in the pan before pouring in the cake batter, but completely forgot.  So I might have to make this recipe again very soon.  You know, for the benefit of people who like pecans.

4. Make sure you remove your saucepan from the heat before adding rum.  Otherwise, you'll have a sputtering mess.

5. If you pour in all the rum into the glaze at once, you'll be surrounding by a cloud of rum.  That's not necessarily a bad thing...just be prepared.


Bacardi Rum Cake

1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

1 (18 1/2 oz.) pkg. yellow cake mix
1 (3 3/4 oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. Wesson oil
1/2 c. Bacardi dark rum (80 proof)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 10 inch tube pan or 12 cup Bundt cake pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. Mix all ingredients together and pour over nuts. Bake 1 hour. Cool. Invert on serving plate. Prick top. Drizzle smooth glaze evenly over top and sides. Allow cake to absorb glaze. Repeat until all glaze is used.

GLAZE:

1/4 lb. butter
1/4 c. water
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. Bacardi dark rum

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum.

Week 14: Triple-layer chocolate peanut butter cake, take 2

Back in week 6 I took on my first from-scratch cake.  Brett declared it his favorite cake, and requested it for his birthday.  Being the great mom that I am, I immediately agreed.  Not because I desperately wanted to eat this cake again...no, it was for Brett.  Brett also requested that both Batman & Spiderman be represented on his cake.  Hmm...okay, then.

Final result:

Brett regularly ponders what would happen if Batman & Spiderman got into a fight.  He has decided that Spiderman would win (because he's fast).  So I carefully positioned Spiderman so it'd look like he was kicking Batman off the cake.  Because, again, I'm a great mom.

I also carefully positioned the Batmobile to cover up a frosting tragedy...the glaze was a little too warm when I poured it over the cake, and the cream cheese frosting started to melt off one section.  The brilliance of my decorating prevented anyone from knowing.

Brett was very impressed with his final cake, as were my in-laws.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. The first time I made this, I cooked the glaze in the microwave.  While it tasted just fine, it was a little too thick for pouring and spreading.  This time, I cooked it over a make-shift double-boiler (a glass mixing bowl placed over a pan of simmering water).  It had much better spreading consistency, and also prettier drips down the side of the cake.

2. The first time I made this, I refrigerated the cake for 30 minutes in between adding the frosting and pouring on the glaze.  I wanted to see what would happen if I skipped that this time.  Answer: the frosting melted.  Next time, I'll stick with refrigerating in between the two steps.

Check out my post from week 6 for the recipes.

Week 13: Chocolate Buttermilk Halloween cupcakes

I have a...slight problem with sprinkles.  I tend to purchase far more than a normal person can make use of in a lifetime.  Anytime a holiday rolls around, I find new sprinkles and drop them in my cart.  Chuck's job is to remind me that I already have enough sprinkles (just like I remind him that we already have enough canned tomatoes).  Sadly, Chuck isn't always with me at the store.  All of this is a long way of explaining this:

And these are just my Halloween-themed sprinkles.  I haven't been brave enough to pull all of my sprinkles out at the same time, but I'm fairly certain I have at least twice this many Christmas-themed sprinkles.

So I figured I'd bake up some Halloween-themed treats and see what I could do about using some of my sprinkle stash.  I frosted the cupakes & then handed them off to Brett for sprinkling.  Here's what I learned: Brett preferred using one type of sprinkle on every cupcake.  After he covered 6 cupcakes with purple sugar, Chuck gently encouraged him to shift between some others.  And we ended up with a nice collection of cupcakes:

My favorite cupcake of the bunch is the one on the right corner of this pic - yeah, the one upon which Brett dumped the black sugar.  This shot was after I shook a good chunk of sugar onto other cupcakes.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. Quick & simple recipe that makes a nice, moist cupcake.

2. I use powdered buttermilk (mixed with water) in place of fresh - you can store it far longer, and it's easier than running to the store to buy buttermilk when I'm baking.

3. Everything is better with sprinkles.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes (from The Cake Mix Doctor Returns)

Makes: 22-24 cupcakes (2 1/2 inches in diameter)
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 20-25 minutes
Cool: 20 minutes

24 paper liners for cupcakes pans

1 package (18.25 oz) chocolate cake mix, plain or with pudding
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbls unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350.  Line 24 cupcakes caups with paper liners and set the pans aside.

2. Place all cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 30 seconds.  Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Increase teh mixer speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bow. again if needed.  The batter should look well blended.

3. Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup of cupcake batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full.  (You will get 22-24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.)

4. Place the pans in teh oven and bake the cupcakes until the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a finger, 20-25 minutes.  Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes.  Run a dinner knife around the edge of the cupcake cups, lift the cupcakes up from teh bottom of the pans using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the pans carefully with your fingertips.  Place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes longer before frosting.

5. Prepare frosting of your choice (I used a basic buttercream and tinted it orange with gel paste food coloring).

6. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of frosting on top of each cupcake and swirl it with a short metal spatula or spoon to spread it out, taking care of cover the top completely.  Serve.

Week 12: Sour Cream Apple Pie

Every October for the past 5 years, we've made our way up to Apple Holler for some apple picking.  And every year we pick WAY more apples than we can actually eat.  This year, I decided to chop up a good portion of the apples to make a couple pies.  I can't remember where I found this recipe, but I've been baking it for years now.  And it seems like each time I bake it, someone ends up asking for the recipe.  So here it is for all to enjoy!

We had Chuck's bandmates over for dinner to help us knock out part of the pie bounty.  And the second pie made its way into the office for my coworkers.

I usually peel the apples before chopping & adding to the pie.  But I decided to leave them on this time around.  I really like the color these Jonathan peels brought to the pie, and it gave the apples a nice tangy flavor.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. One of these days, I'm going to break down and make my own pie crust.  Til then, I'll keep picking them up from the freezer section of the grocery store.  Marie Callendar's makes a particularly nice frozen pie crust.

2. I've tried this recipe with a graham cracker crust before & it was very good...but also sweet.  If you're into sweet, go for it.

3. I've made this pie dozens of times & it always comes out perfectly.  This makes me suspect it's a relatively forgiving recipe.  It's certainly an easy one to throw together.

4. I prefer this pie warm, so I always warm up my leftover slices in the microwave.

Sour Cream Apple Pie
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbls flour
3-4 cups apples, chopped
1 unbaked 9" pie shell

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, chilled

Preheat oven to 450

Beat egg.  Add sour cream, vanilla, and salt, mixing well.  In a separate bowl, combine sugar and flour.  Add to sour cream mixture, beating well.  Stir in apples.  Pour into shell and bake at 450 for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake 30 minutes more.

Mix topping: combine flour and brown sugar, cut in butter until crumbly (if you don't have a pastry blender, you can use a fork or a pair of knives).  Sprinkle on pie and bake 10 minutes more.

Week 11: Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cake

10 years ago, one of my friends brought this dessert to my baby shower.  I've been craving it every Fall since.  It's got the flavors of a yellow cake and a pumpkin pie all rolled into one, and it's especially delicious while still warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

You end up with three basic layers in this cake - the crust, the pumpkin pie filling, and the streusal topping. YUM.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. A wonderful alternative to pumpkin pie, particularly if you're feeding a large crowd (and/or if you don't know how to make a pie crust...).

2. Very fast, easy preparation.  Just make sure you plan ahead for the baking time.

3. I absolutely love the flavor that the pecans bring to the streusal.

4. Another easy-on-the-kitchen recipe, as the crust & filling can be mixed in the same bowl without cleaning in between.  Triple bonus points for that.

Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cake from The Cake Mix Doctor

This recipe comes from Margaret Neblett of Nashville, who got it from a friend, who got it from a friend in Chicago, and so on. Word spreads when there's a great recipe! This dessert is much like a pie in that it has a cinnamon-enhanced pumpkin filling, but much like a cake with a soft crust. And the crunchy topping is the best of both worlds. Don't be concerned that 1 cup of the cake mix is reserved for the topping. The filling bakes up firm and creamy without it.


Serves: 18 to 20
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 70 to 75 minutes
Assembly time: 5 minutes

Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pan
Flour for dusting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter or margarine, at room temperature
4 large eggs
2 cans (15 ounces each) pumpkin
1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, chilled
1 cup chopped pecans

Sweetened whipped cream for topping

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.

Measure out 1 cup of the cake mix and reserve for the topping. Place the remaining cake mix, the butter, and 1 egg in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined, 1 minute. Using your fingertips, press the batter over the bottom of the prepared pan so that it reaches the sides of the pan. Set the pan aside.

For the filling, place the pumpkin, evaporated milk, 1 cup sugar, remaining 3 eggs, and cinnamon in the same large mixing bowl used to prepare the batter and with the same beaters (no need to clean either), blend on low speed until combined, 30 seconds. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the mixture lightens in color and texture, 1 to 2 minutes more. Pour the filling over the crust in the pan, spreading to the sides of the pan with a rubber spatula. Set the pan aside.

For the topping, place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the chilled butter, and the reserved cake mix in a clean medium-size mixing bowl. Rinse and dry the beaters. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until just combined and crumbly, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stop the machine and stir in the pecans. Use your fingers to thoroughly knead the pecans into the topping mixture. Distribute the topping evenly over the filling mixture. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until the center no longer jiggles when you shake the pan and the pecans on top have browned, 70 to 75 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool slightly on a wire rack, 20 minutes.

Prepare two recipes of the Sweetened Cream. Slice the cake into squares and pass the Sweetened Cream to spoon on top.

* Store this cake without the Sweetened Cream on it, covered in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

RX - The Cake Doctor says...
Originally, this recipe called for margarine, but I think it benefits from the taste of butter.

Week 10: Margarita Cake

You heard that right - a Margarita Cake!  Basically, you take all the ingredients for a margarita and you dump them in a cake.  What's not to love about that?  One of my favorite cookbook authors, Anne Byrn, recently released a new book: The Cake Mix Doctor Returns.  Her books are great for weeknight baking when time is limited, or when you just don't feel like the whole to-do of baking a cake from scratch. 

Baking geek that I am, I pre-ordered this book from Amazon and got it the day it was released.  And then I read it cover-to-cover.  You know, so I could make sure I knew what all of my options were before I chose a recipe to bake.  This recipe really jumped out at me, as I'm quite the fan of margaritas.  And as an added bonus, it gave me an excuse to try out the new bundt pan I purchased with a fancy 40% off coupon for Michael's crafts.  But I digress...on to cake.

Here it is in all its glory:

 
Lessons learned & recipe thoughts:

1. Extremely easy recipe & a yummy cake!

2. I used the lemon cake mix, then later wished I had used the yellow cake mix.  I forgot that there's a very slight chemical flavor to lemon cake mixes that I don't especially like.  Chuck reassured me that there was absolutely no chemical taste in my cake.  Chuck lies.  But he means well.

3. Although the garnish sounds cute & nice, I skipped it.  I did, however, use the glaze.

4. I use (and love) the vegetable oil + flour spray they sell these days. Much less mess than dusting with flour. And here's a handy tip I read recently re: spraying pans - open your dishwasher & hold the pan over the open door while you spray.  Nothing to wipe or clean that way.

5. Co-worker quote of the week: "this is the first liquor I've had since my baby was born!"  Me: "given how little alcohol is in this cake, it's a little sad that you're this excited about it."

Margarita Cake (from the Cake Mix Doctor Returns)

Ingredients: cake
Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pan
Flour, for dusting the pan
1 package (18.25 oz) plain yellow, vanilla, or lemon cake mix
Half of a package (3.4 oz) of vanilla instant pudding mix (4 tbls)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup fresh lime or key lime juice
1/4 cup tequila
2 tbsl triple sec
1 tsp grated lime zest
4 large eggs

Ingredients: glaze and garnish
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tbls tequila
1 tbls triple sec
1 tbls fresh lime juice or key lime juice
1 lime, cut into thin slices
1-2 tsp coarse sugar

1. Make the cake: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350.  Lightly mist a 12-cup bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust it with flour.  Shake out the excess flour and set aside.

2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, granulated sugar, water, oil, 1/3 cup lime juice, 1/4 tequila, 2 tbls triple sec, lime zest, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are combined, 30 seconds.  Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The batter should look smooth and thick.  Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula, and place the pan in the oven.

3. Bake the cake until the top springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, 42-47 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cake cool for 10-15 minutes.  Run a long, sharp knife around the edges of the cake, shake the pan gently, and invert the cake onto a wire rack.  Let the cake cool completely, about 25 minutes longer.

4. Meanwhile, make the glaze: place powdered sugar, tequila, triple sec, and lime juice in a small bowl and whisk til smooth.

5. Slide the cake onto a serving plate.  Using a long wooden skewer, poke 12-16 holes in the top of the cake.  Spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.  Garnish the cake with the lime slices and a sprinkling of coarse sugar.  Let the glaze set for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.

Note: Coarse sugar is this cake's version of the coarse salt that sticks to the rim of a glass filled with a margarita.  It is often called sanding sugar and you can buy it at stores that sell cake and cookie decorating supplies.  To make sure that the sugar sticks to the cake, sprinkle it on while the glaze is still wet.

Week 7: Huzzah! Chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies

One of my favorite cookies growing up was the simple but delicious chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookie.  My dad made these countless times for us, and it seemed like every church potluck had at least one batch on the dessert table.

And yet, I have never been able to make these without them being a total gloopy mess.  I've tried at least a dozen times over the past 20 years, each time hoping that I'd figure out the tragic flaw in my preparation...and each time, failing and ending up with runny cookies (which I still ate, of course - with a spoon).  How could I fail at a recipe that just about everyone on the planet can make?

After my successes at baking cupcakes & cakes from scratch, I thought I'd try my hand at this recipe one more time before kicking it out of my cookbook.  Reading through it, I finally realized what I had been doing wrong all these years - I didn't let it come to a full boil before starting the timer on the 1 minute boil.  D'oh!

So after 20 years of failure, I had a bright shining moment of non-baking brilliance & ended up with these delicious treats:

 

Words can't capture how absolutely thrilled I was with this success story.  Nor can Chuck's expression.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. Now that I realize what I've been doing wrong all these years, I'm officially declaring this an easy recipe. :)  And easy on the kitchen as well - just a single pot & spoon to clean afterwards.

2. Part of the reason I made these was so I could tell my co-workers that I took a weekend off from baking.  You know, because they are no-bake cookies.  Co-worker quote of the week: "you have a problem."

3. If at first you don't succeed, keep doing it the same way a dozen more times.  And then read the recipe and do it the right way.

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-bake Cookies:

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
4 tbls cocoa powder
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tbls vanilla
3 cups oatmeal (I used quick-cooking)
waxed paper

Directions:
In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil (an actual full boil) the sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk.  Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla, and oatmeal.  Drop mixture by spoonful onto waxed paper and cool til hardened.

Week 6b: Cookie dough cupcakes

There's a great family-owned bakery a block away from our office - Bennison's Bakery.  We regularly get treats from them for the office.  The thing I like purchasing more than anything else is their frowny face cookies.  They have a way of making everyone smile & laugh, no matter how rough the day is going.

I thought I'd give a go at recreating the frowny facy cookies in cupcake form.  And I also thought it'd be a good opportunity to try out a recipe for Cookie dough cupcakes.

These couldn't be easier to make - cake mix base, store-bought cookie dough...ta-da!

And with a little help from yellow food coloring and some melted chocolate bark in a squeeze bottle...

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. I got more comments about this recipe than just about anything else I've made.  My fave: "These are effing unbelievable!"

2. If you serve these to someone who is not familiar with the frowny face cookies that inspired them...expect confusion.  One co-worker came into my office & said, "your cupcakes are so angry today."

3. Super-simple recipe that makes me want to try variations (e.g. chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter cookie dough).

From Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor

Makes 22 to 24 cupcakes (2 1/2 inches each)
Preparation time: 15 Minutes
Baking time: 23 to 27 Minutes
Assembly time: 10 Minutes

24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 package (1 pound) frozen cookie dough (see "the Cupcake Doctor says" below)

Chocolate Buttercream (see below)

 
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
 
2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Cut the frozen dough pieces in half to make 24 pieces. Place a frozen cookie dough piece on top of each cupcake. Place the pans in the oven.

3. Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 23 to 27 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting. They may sink a bit in the center.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Buttercream.

5. Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

The Cupcake Doctor says...

If you use the 18-ounce logs of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (instead of the 1-pound packages of frozen dough), cut them into 24 equal pieces and freeze them before using them in this recipe. It's important to use frozen dough, because you don't want it to bake completely and become a cookie. You want the center to be gooey when you bite into it.

Chocolate Buttercream

Makes 3 cups, enough to frost 24 cupcakes (2 1/2-inch size) generously

Preparation time: 10 minutes

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 to 5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place the butter and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture is soft and well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk if the frosting is too stiff.

5 Tips for Making Buttercream Frosting

1. About 3 cups of confectioners' sugar produces the right amount of buttercream frosting for a batch of 24 cupcakes.
2. Use 1 tablespoon liquid to 1 cup sugar to 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons butter.
3. Sift the confectioners' sugar to prevent lumps in the frosting.
4. Begin with soft butter. If needed, soften the butter in the microwave.
5. For a white buttercream frosting, begin with unsalted butter. Beat it on medium-high with an electric mixer to lighten the color. Use milk as the liquid.

Week 6a: Triple-layer chocolate peanut butter cake

A couple weeks into my weekly baking kick, I was chatting with a co-worker about how I felt intimidated by the idea of baking cakes or cupcakes from scratch.  He sent me a couple cake recipe links that his wife swore by, and I filed them away.  After successful attempts at baking cupcakes from scratch, I felt up to the challenge of baking a cake from scratch.  So I pulled up those recipe links, and discovered that one of them was just about the best sounding cake ever: a triple-layer chocolate peanut butter cake.

Here's the basic idea - make three layers of sour-cream chocolate cake, frost them with peanut butter cream cheese frosting, and then pour a chocolate peanut butter glaze over top.  Seriously.

The cake was actually quite easy to make; no mixer required - just a single bowl & a whisk:

Peanut butter cream cheese frosting...AMAZING.  And also easy to make (with the help of a mixer):

I was very tempted to just leave it alone and eat it like this...

But I went ahead and covered it with the glaze

And then it turned into this thing of beauty

It's even prettier sliced up (notice the diet Sprite & plate of carrots in the background...who were we trying to fool?)

Recipe thoughts and lessons learned:

1. This cake is SUPER rich.  Definitely best to cut extremely thin slices.

2. Thanks to Chuck's action shot, I discovered that I was holding my offset spatula at an angle...resulting in a nice dome of frosting & glaze in the middle of the cake.  Not that it's such a bad thing...

3. This frosting recipe is a keeper for chocolate cake or cupcakes.

4. After bringing this cake to work, one of my co-workers asked me if I bake wedding cakes (not that he was planning a wedding...he was just curious).  Another asked if I was planning to leave my job and open a bakery.  I'm actually surprised how often that question came up in the first month of weekly baking - no one asks that now.

The original recipe is from Sky High: Irresistable Triple-Layer Cakes (which I purchased after reading the ridiculously yummy-sounding recipe at SmittenKitchen.com).  Here's the full scoop from SmittenKitchen, along with her helpful tips:

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16 (the book says, I say a heck of a lot more)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanut brittle (I skipped this)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (Deb note: These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.)

4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. (Deb note 1: Making a crumb coat of frosting–a thin layer that binds the dark crumbs to the cake so they don’t show up in the final outer frosting layer–is a great idea for this cake, or any with a dark cake and lighter-colored frosting. Once you “mask” your cake, let it chill for 15 to 30 minutes until firm, then use the remainder of the frosting to create a smooth final coating. Deb note 2: Once the cake is fully frosting, it helps to chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze.)

5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving. Decorate the top with chopped peanut brittle.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

Week 5: Red Velvet Redemption

You may recall that my plan way back in Week 1 was to bake Martha Stewart's Red Velvet cupcakes, but that my perfect plan was ruined when we discovered that our local stores didn't carry Dutch-processed cocoa (a key ingredient for the chemistry of these cupcakes).  You may also recall that I am ever so slightly OCD.  So naturally, I spent several weeks scouring every grocery store within a few miles of our house in search of Dutch-processed cocoa.  After giving up on local sources, I searched on Amazon.com.  As luck would have it, I recognized one of the brands (Droste) as one I had seen while searching through Whole Foods.  So I high-tailed it back to Whole Foods & acquired the elusive Dutch-processed cocoa.    FINALLY!

Chuck decided to pick up the camera & document the occasion, so I have more pics of the baking process than usual.  But seeing as how this was the one cupcake recipe I desperately wanted to bake, that feels right to me.

As you can see, this recipe indeed makes RED cupcakes.  Not mauve.

This recipe also involves this uber-cool chemical reaction between baking soda & vinegar.

I can hardly contain my excitement as I'm filling liners...

Glorious!

Piping action shot

Finished cupcakes!

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. So, so much better than the Mauve Velvet cupcakes I made in week one.  And surprisingly easy to make.

2. Martha Stewart's cream cheese frosting recipe is really delicious.  However, it is too soft for piping.

3. It is infinitely easier to fill cupcake tins using an old-fashioned ice cream scoop than it is with spoons or other devices.  Far faster, and makes for simple portion control.

Recipes available at MarthaStewart.com: Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Week 4: Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes, Cappuccino Chip Cupcakes

Every once in a while, I find a recipe that is so simple I feel like I should keep it to myself.  But I can't help but share Martha Stewart's recipe for Cookies & Cream Cheesecakes.  This is a perfect recipe to make with kids, who will enjoy placing whole Oreos in each cupcake liner...but will mostly enjoy eating these cute little cheesecakes. :)

Whole Oreos as the crust? Pure brilliance.

So I typically try to avoid baking more than once a week, for fear that all of these calories will catch up with me...but also because my co-workers are starting to question my sanity.  But I came home one night mid-week and just felt like baking something else.  So I pulled out my quick-and-easy Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook and decided to whip up some Cappuccino Chip Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream Frosting.  Oh my good lord...this frosting is amazing.  The cupcake texture wasn't perfect...seemed a little too fragile...but it was a perfectly yummy carrier for the frosting.

Did I mention that I decided to put all my Wilton Cake Decorating course lessons to use this week?  That's right...this frosting was piped with a pastry bag and decorating tip. 

Guess what I discovered?  It takes FAR more frosting to cover cupcakes when you're piping a giant swirl on top.  So some ended up with just a cute little smear of frosting & some sprinkes.

Slightly out of practice on the cake decorating front...but I managed to get one perfect swirl.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. Make twice as much frosting if you want pretty, piped swirls.

2. Oreos make a perfect cheesecake crust.

3. If you bake treats twice in once week, co-workers start to ask whether you are thinking of leaving your job and opening a bakery.


Martha Stewart's Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

Makes 30

Ingredients:
42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.


Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor: Cappuccino Chip Cupcakes

24 paper lines for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)
1/3 cup water
4 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Mocha Buttercream Frosting
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips or cracked roasted cocoa beans for garnish

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.

Place the water and instant coffee in a small glass liquid measuring cup and microwave on high power for 40 seconds. Remove and stir until the coffee is dissolved. Set it aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and coffee in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. Place the pans in the oven.

Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger. 18 to 20 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottom of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wine rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

Meanwhile, prepare the Mocha Buttercream Frosting (see below).

Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or the back of the spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. Garnish with the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips or roasted cracked cocoa beans. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Mocha Buttercream Frosting

1/4 cup milk
1 heaping teaspoon instant coffee granules
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2 ounces (1/2 bar) German's sweet chocolate, grated
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 Tablespoon water, if needed

Place the milk and instant coffee in a small glass liquid measuring cup. Plan in the microwave oven on high power until the milk is hot enough to dissolve the instant coffee, 30 to 40 seconds. Remove and stir until the coffee is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Place the butter in the large mixing bowl and add the coffee and grated chocolate. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture has softened, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Blend in up to 1 tablespoon water if the frosting seems too stiff.

Week 3: Triple-Citrus Cupcakes

Now that the leaves are changing colors and it's getting cold outside, it feels funny to talk about this wonderful, perfect-for-summer cupcake recipe.  But that's what I get for starting this blog weeks after I started my baking habit. 

I'm smiling remembering this adventure, as it was my first time baking cupcakes from scratch.  This recipe convinced me that I should stop feeling intimidated about baking cupcakes or cakes from scratch because it's really not that difficult.  Also, they were silly delicious.  They were very moist with a delicate crumb.  The original recipe from Martha Stewart Cupcakes calls for a citrus glaze, but I decided to make a citrus buttercream instead (basically, replacing the milk with freshly-squeezed lemon juice). 

YUM

 

When my dad saw this picture, he said the basil frosting looked good.  Sigh...that's lime zest on top.

Lessons learned & recipe thoughts:

1. Cupcakes from scratch are surprisingly easy.

2. These tasted best the first couple days, but dried a bit by day three.  Lesson learned: eat faster.

3. A perfect summer cupcake.

Week 9: Maple-Pecan Disaster Zone

A month or so ago, I made this ridiculously rich, yummy cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes (story coming later).  It was the first time I had ever baked a cake from scratch.  It was such a success that I thought I'd try another recipe from this book: Maple-Walnut Cake.  Except I hate walnuts.  So I substituted pecans.

Despite the disaster zone issues I detail below, this cake is delicious.  And with the toasted pecans & maple syrup in both the cake & frosting...it just sings fall.

Disaster #1: I managed to put 2 rounds of parchment in pan one, 1 round in pan two, and 0 rounds in pan three. How could I make such an error, you might ask? Seriously, how can you tell the difference between buttered parchment and a buttered pan?  In any case...guess which pan ended up on these plates?

Brett Jr. was extremely concerned as I turned out this layer.  "Mommy! What are you doing to the cake?!"  I was able to turn it around by suggesting we have upside-down cake (frosting on the bottom of our bowls, topped with cake chunks and crumbs).  Brett was suspicious.  But then he ate a bite & gave his standard seal of approval: "It's so good, I can't stop eating."

 

This what the other layers looked like coming out of their parchment-lined pans:

Disaster #2: this frosting was WAY too runny to set.  I could tell the texture was wrong just looking at it, so added an extra 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar to try to thicken it up.  I also tried refrigerating it for a bit.  I could have easily added another cup or two of powdered sugar without making it too thick, but it definitely would have been too sweet.  So I stopped & used it as-is.  And here's my final 2-layer Maple-Pecan cake with runny maple cream cheese frosting.

You may have to look very closely to detect the subtle differences...but here's what the cake is supposed to look like according to the cookbook:

Lessons learned & recipe thoughts:


1. Adding 2 rounds of parchment to one pan does not make it easier to remove cake from that pan. However, it does make it impossible to remove cake from the pan that has 0 rounds of parchment.

2. Easy cake recipe.

3. Something is very wrong with this frosting recipe.  Or perhaps the recipe is perfect and something is very wrong with the way I made it. Sigh.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups walnut halves
3 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup, preferably light amber
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup milk

Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; Serves 12 to 16

Maple Cream Frosting:

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup maple syrup
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted after measuring

Makes about 4 cups
 
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Spread out the walnuts on a small baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and lightly toasted, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a dish and let cool. Leave the oven on. When the nuts are cool, set aside 1/3 cup for garnish. Finely chop the remaining toasted walnuts.

3. Combine the chopped walnuts, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the mixer on low, blend well. Add the butter and maple syrup and beat until blended. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole egg, egg yolk, and milk. Add this liquid to the batter in 2 or 3 additions, beating until blended and scraping down the sides of the bowl well after each addition. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

5. Bake for 32 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks, gently peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

6. To assemble the cake, place one cake layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup frosting over the layer, spreading it evenly right to the edge. Repeat with the second layer and another 2/3 cup frosting. Set the third layer on top and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting, swirling the frosting decoratively with an offset palette knife or the back of a spoon. Garnish with the reserved toasted walnut halves.

Maple Cream Frosting:

1. Place the butter in a wide medium saucepan and melt over low heat. Add the maple syrup, raise the heat to medium-low, and boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently so the syrup does not burn.

2. Pour the hot maple butter into a heatproof bowl and let cool to room temperature.

3. Place the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat well with an electric mixer to lighten. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. Scrape down the bowl well and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the maple butter and mix until completely blended.