Cakes Posts

Depression Chocolate Cake: Surprisingly Uplifting

Depression Chocolate Cake

Circa 1929, most people didn’t have a lot of money to spend on chocolate cake, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t want it. Check out this recipe for a Depression Chocolate Cake from www.chow.com.

And don’t worry — this cake might be cheap, but it’s also delicious!

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 ounces chocolate, bittersweet
  • 2 tbsp. butter, unsalted
  • 1 tsp. baking soda

Instructions

  • Separate egg yolk and white.
  • Beat egg white until stiff.
  • Beat yolk and sugar for two minutes. Mix in milk and keep beating.
  • Combine baking soda and flour, then mix in with yolk mixture. Beat until smooth.
  • Melt butter and chocolate (30 seconds in the microwave should do it) and stir until chocolate is entirely melted and mixed with butter.
  • Mix chocolate and yolk batter thoroughly. Folk in egg whites.
  • Poor into buttered cake mold. Heat at 356ºF for 35 minutes.

Vegan Coconut Cake

vegan coconut cake

Whether you’re a vegan or just a wee bit nutty, we doubt that you’ll be able to resist this vegan coconut cake. Check out the recipe below.

Ingredients – Cake

  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 12 ounces coconut flakes
  • 8 ounces silken tofu
  • 1 pound 5 ounces sugar
  • 1 pound 4 ounces flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Ingredients– Icing

  • 1 pound margarine (soy)
  • 1 pound sifted powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut milk

Instructions

  • Preheat to 350°F.
  • Purée tofu, sugar, coconut milk, coconut flakes, and canola oil in food processor until uniform.
  • Mix in flour, powder, and soda and purée until the texture is smooth.
  • Transfer batter into two cake pans. Each should be nine inches, lined with parchment, and misted with nonstick spray.
  • Bake for one hour. Allow time to cool.
  • Combine the icing ingredients and mix for a smooth texture. Spread icing after the cake has cooled.

Drunken Fruit Cake

Although sometimes seen as chaotic and overpowering, fruit cake has the potential to be quite tasty. This dessert can feature any combination of fruit, nuts, and alcohol, making it easy to personalize to your individual taste. Check out this Drunken Fruit Cake recipe from Southern Grace Gourmet.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • Cherry brandy
  • 6 ground allspice berries
  • 4 ground whole cloves
  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup currants
  • 1 cup spiced rum
  • 3/4 cup toasted pecans, broken
  • 1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
  • 1/6 cup dried pineapple, chopped
  • 1/6 cup dried apricots, chopped
  • 1/6 cup dried mangoes, chopped
  • 6 ounces dried cranberries
  • 5 ounces unsalted butter
  • 5 ounces dried cherries
  • 4 ounces dried blueberries
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. ginger
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 lemon zest, chopped
  • 1 orange zest, chopped

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, mix dried fruit, zests, and candied ginger.
  • Pour in rum and let sit overnight.
  • Transfer fruit and rum to saucepan. Mix in sugar, cider, spices, and butter.
  • Heat saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly while heating mix to a boil.
  • Let boil for 10 minutes, then remove heat and allow mix to cool fully.
  • Preheat oven to 400ºF.
  • Chop pecans. Roast nuts until fragrant (5 to 10 minutes).
  • Reduce heat to 325 ºF.
  • Move fruit mixture to large bowl. Sift in dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Add eggs one at a time. Fold in roasted pecans.
  • Transfer mix to a 10-inch loaf pan and bake until it passes toothpick test (about an hour).
  • Allow cake to cool, then remove from pan.
  • Baste with brandy and store in airtight container.
  • Baste every two or three days for two weeks.
  • Enjoy!

Photo via Flickr.

Red Velvet Cheesecake, Tied & Dyed

If you can’t wait for those May flowers to start showing up, we’ve got spring in a dessert – namely, the Red Velvet Tie-Dyed Cheesecake from the Pop Century Resort in Walt Disney World. This colorful dessert is a hit among children and adults alike. Read on for the recipe.

Ingredients – Red Velvet Crust

  • 1 box of cake mix (either red velvet mix or white cake mix and red food coloring)
  • Any other ingredients listed on the cake mix box

Ingredients – Cheesecake

  • 16 oz. cream cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • Pack of food coloring

Instructions – Red Velvet Crust

  • Transfer half of cake mix into a 9-inch springform pan, greased
  • Follow directions on box for 9-inch layer cake
  • Let cake cool in pan

Instructions – Cheesecake

  • Preheat oven to 325ºF
  • Combine sugar, cream cheese, and extracts in a large bowl. Beat until smooth.
  • Still beating, add eggs one at a time, followed by sour cream.
  • Pour mixture into 5 smaller bowls. Add a different color food coloring to each bowl. To match picture, use pink, blue, purple, yellow, and green.
  • Pour bowl mixtures onto red velvet crust. Swirl gently but keep colors separate enough to be visible.
  • Bake for 35 minutes, or until center is almost solid when pan is jiggled.
  • Cool and refrigerate before serving.

The Rubik’s Cake

Whether you’re a child of the eighties, die-hard nerd, or some fabulous combination of the aforementioned, it’s hard to deny the allure of the Rubik’s Cube. That’s why we were so excited to discover the Rubik’s Cake, a wonderful dessert inspired by the classic puzzle.

The cake’s creator began by cooking three perfectly square layers of cake, orienting them like a Rubik’s Cube mid-turn, and sticking them together with apricot jam. He then randomized his own Rubik’s Cube and copied the configuration in cake form with tiles made of icing.

For more details, check out Pimp That Snack!

Cake Wrecks — A Humorous Look at Disastrous Desserts

Desserts don’t always turn out as sweet as intended. Every once in a while, the soufflé falls, the bananas foster singes a hairpiece, the crème doesn’t brûlée.

But sometimes an error isn’t technical. Sometimes it is but a symptom of a breakdown in communication between client and chef. And that’s where Cake Wrecks comes in. One of our favorite blogs, Cake Wrecks documents confectionery disasters resulting from said breakdown.

It’s easy to imagine the conversation that lead to the atrocity above, Cake Wrecks’ “Cake That Started It All.” The client obviously requested two lines, only the instruction to do so wound up misheard and, tragically, inscribed on the cake. Suzanne was probably pleased.

We love the pic below too, where the client’s color preference was likewise written in icing — and in the wrong color.



Check out Cake Wrecks for even more frosted flops.

Posted by Sarah in Cakes, Creative Ideas and tagged with , , , ,

Green Tea…Cupcakes!

Matcha is a Green Tea powder used for Japanese Tea Ceremony, and today is most commonly used to flavor many noodle, drink, and dessert recipes. Green tea cupcakes are a great way to add a unique twist to a dessert staple.
Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes
Makes 12
•    1 cup all-purpose flour
•    1 cup cake flour
•    4 teaspoons matcha powder
•    1 teaspoon baking soda
•    1 teaspoon salt
•    1 1/4 cups white sugar
•    1 cup vegetable oil
•    3 eggs
•    1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
•    1 cup sour cream
Frosting
•    2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
•    4 teaspoons matcha powder
•    6 ounces cream cheese, softened
•    4 tablespoons butter, softened
•    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees F with convection). Place muffin liners in a mini muffin tin and a regular muffin tin.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together all purpose flour, cake flour, matcha powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
4. Alternating between dry mix and sour cream, stir into the wet mixture until just combined. Cool looking batter huh?
5. Fill the cups 2/3s full with batter.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. To make frosting, sift together confectioners sugar and matcha powder. Set aside. Using a heavy duty mixer on medium speed, beat together, cream cheese, butter and vanilla for 5 minutes. Reduce to low speed and add sugar/matcha mix.
8.Frost with piping bag.

Posted by Sarah in Cakes, Creative Ideas, Dessert Ideas, Recipes and tagged with , , ,

The Sweetness of Brownies Never Fades

brownies

On special occasions, instead of sending over flower arrangements that might wilt the next day, or winesthat will only make your friends wasted, or material gifts that you’re not sure they’d appreciate, or overrated money to indulge, why not send them brownies of love.
Send one tray in an attractive red box and write a note to tag it with. Express your gratitude and love for years of friendship. Tell your mom how much you appreciate her in raising you up. Share it with the people who have inspired you to be the person you are today. Send it to your most looked up to teacher whom you owe wisdom from. Tell them every good thing you’ve been holding up inside the whole year because you’re too shy or too busy to actually have the time to express to them.
Make your warm love and concern felt throughout limits by sending out delicious brownies. A lot of people say what they want in different means of communication we have today. Some use painting, sketching, and other form of arts to express their emotions. Other people write poems and plait allegories to shout to the world how they feel. Some people dance their emotions on the stage called life while others sing their blues out. But if you think you’re not talented enough to let your emotions artistically expressed, try giving sweet brownies instead.
You may spell out your recipient’s name on every brownie square in the pan. You may write your most romantic lines on top of the tray. One person even baked a brownie and placed an engagement ring in it to propose to his wife. Rest assured that whatever you do, the charm and sweetness of the brownies will take its effect by capturing the heart of your loved ones. If you think brownies are not for you, there are other sweets to choose from such as muffins, cookies, scones, pizelles, andbiscottis which are available for everyone. The internet has brought upon the convenience of browsing through different catalogues online and placing orders of the product with the desired quantity. In just a few clicks, the sweet treats can be delivered to your loved one on the time and date you specified.
Make sure that every special occasion, you place your orders on time to avoid being turned down because of the surge of orders. There has been an increase in the demand of orders for brownies throughout. People have started enjoying the convenience of sending boxes of delectable brownies than having to worry of what gifts to give everyone, for instance on a holiday season. As early as now, finalize your gift list and your budget for that, browse through different catalogues online, specify the sweet treats of your choice and the quantity of your orders and settle details with the bakeshop from which you’re ordering your delectable treats. This is to ensure you have the best treats to give away on a special day.

On special occasions, instead of sending over flower arrangements that might wilt the next day, or winesthat will only make your friends wasted, or material gifts that you’re not sure they’d appreciate, or overrated money to indulge, why not send them brownies of love.

Send one tray in an attractive red box and write a note to tag it with. Express your gratitude and love for years of friendship. Tell your mom how much you appreciate her in raising you up. Share it with the people who have inspired you to be the person you are today. Send it to your most looked up to teacher whom you owe wisdom from. Tell them every good thing you’ve been holding up inside the whole year because you’re too shy or too busy to actually have the time to express to them.

Make your warm love and concern felt throughout limits by sending out delicious brownies. A lot of people say what they want in different means of communication we have today. Some use painting, sketching, and other form of arts to express their emotions. Other people write poems and plait allegories to shout to the world how they feel. Some people dance their emotions on the stage called life while others sing their blues out. But if you think you’re not talented enough to let your emotions artistically expressed, try giving sweet brownies instead.

You may spell out your recipient’s name on every brownie square in the pan. You may write your most romantic lines on top of the tray. One person even baked a brownie and placed an engagement ring in it to propose to his wife. Rest assured that whatever you do, the charm and sweetness of the brownies will take its effect by capturing the heart of your loved ones. If you think brownies are not for you, there are other sweets to choose from such as muffins, cookies, scones, pizelles, andbiscottis which are available for everyone. The internet has brought upon the convenience of browsing through different catalogues online and placing orders of the product with the desired quantity. In just a few clicks, the sweet treats can be delivered to your loved one on the time and date you specified.

Make sure that every special occasion, you place your orders on time to avoid being turned down because of the surge of orders. There has been an increase in the demand of orders for brownies throughout. People have started enjoying the convenience of sending boxes of delectable brownies than having to worry of what gifts to give everyone, for instance on a holiday season. As early as now, finalize your gift list and your budget for that, browse through different catalogues online, specify the sweet treats of your choice and the quantity of your orders and settle details with the bakeshop from which you’re ordering your delectable treats. This is to ensure you have the best treats to give away on a special day.

Posted by Sarah in Cakes, Dessert Ideas