Category: Cakes

Cakes · Desserts · Fruit

Fruit Cocktail Cake (aka Fruit of the Month Club)

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I have finally figured out how to get my hubby to eat fruit. All it takes is a stick of butter, 2 cups sugar, pecans and whipping cream. He has never really liked fruit except cherry pie or homemade peach ice cream, but I hid fruit in this cake and he is just healthy as a horse after eating all the fruit that is hidden in it. After he had eaten a piece of cherry pie Randy  use to proudly sit back in his chair, leaning away from the table and announce that he had just had his fruit for the month.

Picking up a old Paula Deen Magazine yesterday, I came across this recipe which I haven’t seen since the 70’s. I use to make it because it was easy and a way to get the kids to eat a little fruit. It really is a great cake and topped with ice cream even makes it better. Of course, what doesn’t taste better with ice cream or whipping cream? I could probably eat liver if it had enough whipping cream on it. But on to the recipe:

Makes 12-15 Servings

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup veggie oil

2 large eggs

2 cups flour

2 teas baking soda

1/2 teas salt

1 (15.25 oz) can fruit cocktail, undrained

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Coconut Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 13×9 in baking dish. In a large bowl, beat sugar, oil and eggs at medium speed with mixer until fluffy.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating well. Batter will be thick. Stir in fruit cocktail and pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with coconut and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until middle checks out done. Pour the coconut frosting over cake while cake is hot. Cool completely. Cut into squares to serve.

Frosting:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup whipping cream or evaporated milk (not condensed)

1/2 cup sweetened coconut

1 teas vanilla

2/3 cup chopped pecans

In medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vanilla, coconut and nuts. Spread over cake evenly. Cool cake to serve. securedownload-4

Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Fruit

Paula Deen Strikes Again…Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake

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One of my favorite days is when I come home and there in my mailbox is my new Paula Deen Magazine. I can hardly wait to unlock the door, grab a glass of tea and go sit on the porch and open my new treasure. This cake looks amazing and although I have not had time to bake it, it looks so pretty and as we all know, if it is good enough for Paula, it’s good enough to post. So here it is; Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake

3 1/4 cups sugar, divided (that much sugar already lets you know this will be great)

1 cup fresh raspberries

3 tablespoons peach nectar

1 1/2 cups softened butter

1 cup sour cream

1 teas lemon zest

1 teas vanilla

5 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

3 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teas baking soda

1/4 teas salt

Peach-Almond Glaze (recipe follows)

2 tables sliced almonds

Sweetened whipped cream

Fresh raspberries

In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup sugar, raspberries and peach nectar. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring often and crushing berries as they cook, for 10 min or until mixture has thickened. Strain berry mixture through a wire mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing pulp with the back of a spoon. Discard solids. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours or refrigerate up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 12-15 cup bundt ( I can never say or write the word, “bundt” without thinking about My Big Fat Greek Wedding, makes me grin every time i think about that scene) pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sour cream at medium speed with a mixer until combined. Gradually add remaining 3 cups sugar, beating until fluffy. Add lemon zest and vanilla and mix in batter. Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until combined.
Spoon 3 cups batter into prepared pan. Using the back of a spoon, make a shallow trench in the middle of batter while turning the pan in a full circle. Spoon 3 tables of raspberry mixture into trench. Spoon 1 1/2 cups batter into the pan, spreading carefully to cover raspberry mixture. Repeat trench procedure and top with remaining raspberry mixture and batter. Run a knife through the batter 8 times to swirl the filling slightly. Gently tap pan on counter (or on anyone’s head standing in the kitchen driving you crazy) to release any trapped air bubbles.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 min or until a wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Tent cake with aluminum foil halfway through baking to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Let cake cool in pan for 10 min. Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack. Drizzle with peach-almond glaze and then sprinkle with sliced almonds. Serve with sweetened whipping cream and raspberries.

Peach-Almond Glaze

3 tables peach nectar

1 tables light corn syrup

1/8 teas almond extract (I can tell you right now, I will make that 1/4 instead of 1/8)

2 cups powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, whisk together peach nectar, corn syrup and extract. Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth.

Note* If your cake doesn’t sit flat on the platter because the non-fluted side is slightly domed, trim it with a long serrated knife.

Cakes · Desserts

Lemon Curd Cupcakes

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Summer just brings out the lemon flavor cravings in so many and what better way to have that lemon craving than with a lemon cupcake. A recipe was sent to me that had homemade lemon curd dolloped (that word always reminds me of Daisy Sour Cream, if you have seen their commercials you will get that) into a homemade lemon cake batter. Because so many of you have told me that you want fast, easy and quick recipes I came up with one that tastes almost identical to the homemade version, so you can be on your way to the porch with a glass of tea and a lemon cupcake much quicker.

1 Duncan Hines Lemon Cake Mix

1 jar of Lemon Curd (It is on the isle by the pie fillings in the grocery store)

Frosting

1 box of powdered sugar (3 1/2 cups)

1 stick of butter, at room temp

1 (8 oz) softened cream cheese

1/3 cup whipping cream (or you can use just regular milk if desired)

1 teas vanilla

Mix the DH cake mix according to directions on box. To get a softer texture, substitute milk for the water. Pour 1/3 cup batter into paper lined muffin pans. Spoon 1 tables lemon curd on batter. Using a cereal spoon (just a regular teaspoon you eat with, not a soup spoon) place about 2 spoonfuls of batter on top of lemon curd. (Just being sure that the lemon curd is completely covered). Bake as directed on box of cake mix for cupcakes. Do not over bake. Take out of pan to cool. This should make about 24 cupcakes.

When completely cool, top with frosting:

Mix all frosting ingredients together, adding the whipping cream or milk,  a tablespoon at a time. You might need a little more or little less, but use as much as necessary to get frosting to where it is spreadable. Sprinkle with yellow colored sugar. Simply divine.

Cakes · Desserts · Fruit

Lemon Blueberry Trifle

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photoYesterday I said that I was going to serve the Blackberry cake for dessert tonight, but I have to say that it was not what I thought it would be. It is like a banana loaf cake or spice cake loaf and that was so different than what I had pictured in my head. So this morning I got a lemon layer cake out of the freezer (see how useful those extra cake layers are when you need something at the last minute?), made some instant lemon pudding and wa la, decided to make individual trifles for dinner guests tonight.

4 pretty glasses with stems

1 can blueberry pie filling

1 small package lemon instant pudding

1 lemon cake layer (Or if you don’t have this, you could use crumbled up shortbread cookies)

1 cup of heavy whipping cream.

Make your instant pudding according to directions. Set aside.  Using a round biscuit cutter, cut the cake with the cutter that will allow you to place the cut cake inside the glass you are using. Divide the pudding between the 4 glasses. Place one of the cut cakes on top of the pudding. Put about 2 tables of the blueberry pie filling on top. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Mix the cup of  whipping cream with 2/3 cup powdered sugar or granulated sugar. The reason to use powdered sugar in place of granulated sugar is that the powdered sugar has corn starch in it which helps keep the cream “whipped” a little longer and you don’t have to be sure that all the granulated sugar is dissolved.  (I know some of you are better than I am at watching calories and will use Cool Whip and that is “cool”)

Before serving the trifle, top with about 2 tables whipped cream. Will post a picture of the trifle without the whipping cream as I don’t want to put it on until right before serving.

Cakes · Fruit

Blackberry Jam Cake

Chocolate Castles3 Comments

Anytime I see the word “jam” alongside a cake, my eyes take notice. I just returned from going to Whole Foods, (do I not sound like a real Californian now; next you will be hearing me say, “I bought my first pair of Birkinstocks”, ha, don’t think that will happen unless they come in pink with cute little sparkles or ribbons on them) where I bought the 18 oz jar of seedless blackberry jam to make this cake. Will be making it tonight for dinner guests tomorrow night.

Preheat oven to 350

1 cup buttermilk

1 teas baking soda

1 cup butter, softened

4 large eggs, at room temp

1 teas vanilla

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teas ground cinnamon

1 teas allspice

3/4 teas ground cloves

1/2 teas salt

1 (18 oz) jar seedless blackberry jam

1 cup finely chopped toasted pecans

Powdered sugar, optional

Stir together buttermilk and baking soda.

Beat butter at medium speed with mixer until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until light and fluffy and stopping to scrape bowl as needed. “Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

Stir flour, and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; gradually add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended afar each addition. Add preserves, and beat at low speed just until blended. Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 10” tube pan.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 1 hour, maybe a few more minutes, maybe a few less, depending upon your oven. Using a long toothpick, insert in middle of cake to test doneness. Remove from pan after about 15 min onto a pretty serving plate and dust with powdered sugar if desired. If you really want to add a southern punch, top it off with a scoop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla for those of you who live in Blue Bell Country. If you are not able to buy BB, use the Sweet Cream Ice Cream from Cold Stone or Marble Slab. Yum….my mouth is watering, just picturing this in my mind.

Cakes · Fruit

Strawberries & Cream Cake

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Taken straight from the new Southern Living, this cake will absolutely “WOW” your guests as it should be the centerpiece of your Easter table.

2 cups sifted cake flour

2 1/2 teas baking powder

1/2 teas table salt

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

4 large egg yolks

8 large egg whites

1 teas cream of tartar

Strawberry jam filling (use either Smuckers strawberry jam) or use the recipe given from SL which is:

4 cups mashed fresh strawberries

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 (3 oz) package strawverry-flavored gelatin

Stir together strawberries and sugar in a large saucepan; let stand 30 min. Bring strawberry mixture to a boil over medium heat; boil 5 min. Remove from heat, and stir in gelatin until dissolved; cool completely. Cover and chill 8 hours

StraPreheat oven to 350.  Stir together first 3 ingredients and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of mixture and add oil and next 2 ingredients, and 1/4 cup water. Beat at medium high speed with mixer 3-4 min or until smooth.

Beat egg whits and cream of tartar at medium high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tables at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently stir 1/4 of egg white mixture into flour mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon batter into 6 greased and floured 8″ round cake pans.  (you can buy disposable aluminum 8″ cake pans)

Bake at 350 for 2-15 min or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 min; remove from pans to wire racks and cool completely.

Place 1st cake layer on a pretty serving plate. Spread filling between cake layers leaving a 1/4″ border around edges. (this is about 2/3 cup jam on each layer. Do not put jam on top layer. If you use the cooked SL recipe, you will need to cover the cake and place in fridge at least 8 hours.

Strawberry Frosting:

1 tables strawberry-flavored gelatin

2 tables boiling water

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 (8 oz) container sour cream

Stir together first 2 ingredients in a small bowl. Cool completely for about 20 min. Beat whipping cream and geletin together at high speed with mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Stir in sour cream, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring just until blended after each addition. Cover sides and top of cake with Frosting. Decorate with colored sugar or edible flowers or any garnish that you desire.

Cakes · Fruit

Robert E Lee Bundt Cake

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My neighbor, Nancy and her twin sister, Sally (if you read An Era Gone By a few months ago on the blog, you will remember they are 80 year old twin sisters, who are just the cutest and dearest things, ever, and love cooking magazines.) I come home quite frequently to find the magazines they have finished going through on the table outside my front door. It is such a favorite thing of mine to just sit and look through different recipes. One that they buy and share with me is called, Southern Living Comfort Food, which is a take off from Southern Living Magazine that comes out with special issues. This cake intrigued me. Is it called REL Bundt cake because he made up the recipe?, or because it was one of his fav’s? or just because someone in the south made up this wonderful pound cake, or someone whose dream was to be REL?  Which ever the reason, it is a great cake for our Easter season with it’s fruity theme and gorgeous garnishes.

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening (Crisco)

3 cups granulated sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups flour

1/2 teas baking powder

1/8 teas salt

1 cup milk

4 teas orange zest, divided

2 teas lemon zest, divided

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 tables fresh orange juice

Garnishes: fresh raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries (I always want to type goosebumps), fresh mint sprigs

Preheat oven to 325. Beat butter and shortening with mixer until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Stir together: flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in 2 teas orange zest, 1 teas lemon zest and 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10″ bundt pan.

Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 5 min to 1 hour and 15 min or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not over bake. Watch closely the last few minutes of baking. Cool in pan on a wire rack about 10 min and then remove from pan. Cool completely. Whisk together the powdered sugar and rest of lemon and orange zest and orange juice. Spoon over cake, Garnish with fresh fruit on platter to serve.

Cakes · Chocolate

Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Cake

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Do not let this Title scare you. Recently I have had several young moms ask me to post simple recipes that don’t have a lot of ingredients because that scares them out of trying the recipe. They simply don’t have the energy or time to shop for all of the items that so many of the recipes call for. So this is an easy dessert, but so gorgeous, and oh so yummy.

One Duncan Hines plain yellow cake mix

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teas cinnamon

2 medium sized bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

2 teas banana extract (or you can use vanilla if you don’t have the banana)

Peanut Butter Frosting

Fudge Frosting

Grease 2 (9′) cake pans, then lightly dust with flour. Shake out excess flour. Set pans aside. Place cake mix, brown sugar and cinnamon in large mixing bowl. Add mashed bananas, water, oil, eggs and extract. Blend with mixer on low speed for 1 min, then scrape sides of bowl and beat for 2 more minutes.

Divide the batter between the 2 pans and bake in a 350 degree oven until middle of cake springs back when touched or a toothpick comes out clean after placing in middle of cake.

Cool on wire racks while you prepare the Peanut Butter Frosting.

1/4 cup softened butter (1/2 stick)

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 teas vanilla

1/4 cup milk (add this not all at one time, as mixture just needs to be spreadable, so you might not need all of this)

Blend powdered sugar, butter, peanut butter, vanilla and mix with milk, which you are adding slowly to just make the frosting spreadable.

Place one of the cake layers on a plate and spread the peanut butter mixture on top. Place other layer on top and frost with remaining peanut butter frosting. Do not frost the sides of the cake. Set aside and make the Fudge Frosting

Fudge frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar

1 stick butter, softened

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 teas vanilla

1/3 cup milk (once again, do not add all at once, as you might not need all of this)

Combine  all ingredients and slowly add milk (a few tables at a time) until frosting is easy to spread on cake. When you have beat all ingredients until smooth, frost sides of cake and then use remaining fudge frosting to top the cake. Do not worry if some of the peanut butter frosting swirls with the chocolate, just makes it that much more yummy. Store in Fridge, covered until ready to eat. Take out about 1 hour before serving.

Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts

Friday ROAD TRIP of Christmas Countdown

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Well this past week has found the Griswalds at Wallyworld, the Storage Unit and now ta da, we get to go to Big Bear, which is up in the mountains a couple of hours from our house for a Chocolate Tour. The tour takes you to 4 decorated houses with different chocolate treats at each place. Frosty and Noel will be in heaven. We have our Tums packed in our back pocket, our cell phones on silent and the GPS loaded with our destination. That just makes us sound so much cooler that “we have the map in the car”. Of course, where we are going, the GPS probably won’t work, so we do have our map tucked between the cooler filled with Energy drinks, Dr Peppers and chocolate covered pretzels, just to get us ready for our chocolate tour.

Will be so excited to return to tell you about the weekend. But have to tell you about our little experience last night. We had been invited to some friends house, (before I tell you this, don’t you really wonder how things like this always happen to us) for dinner. We had absolutely the best baked chicken I think I have ever had. She is giving me the recipe and will post it when she does. We finish dinner and she serves Pumpkin YumYums. Oh my, pumpkin layer over cream cheese layer over a buttery crust with whipped cream. To die for. Will post that when I get back also, but if you just have to make it this weekend, all it was was the 4 layer chocolate pudding dessert that people used to call Chocolate YumYums….but instead of the chocolate layer she mixed a can of pumpkin with 1-2 teas of pumpkin pie spice (depending on how much spice you like) with a small package of instant french vanilla pudding with the 1 1/2 cups cold milk. Beat the pumpkin with the pudding and spread over the cream cheese mixture which you make with 8 oz of cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 cup of Cool Whip. Well, I have gone this far, I might as well give you the whole recipe. Whip up the cream cheese, sugar and Cool Whip and spread over cooled crust. The crust is made up of 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 stick of cold butter and 1 cup chopped pecans. Cut butter into flour and add chopped pecans. Spread over a 9×13 pan and bake until golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Watch it closely. When it is cooled completely, spread CC mixture over crust. Pour pumpkin over CC layer and top with whipped cream. Put in fridge and let it sit for about 4 hours before serving. Now, back to my story.

We finished dinner and went into the den to watch a video. There were about 14 of us there. We were watching so intently (it was part of our Bible Study lesson) but I kept smelling something burning. I tried to get our hostess attention to tell her that I truly smelled something burning, but thought, well, she has the dishwasher on, I bet a plastic bowl is too near the heating element. But the smell kept getting stronger and stronger. All of a sudden one of the other guests turns around and yells, “the table is on fire”..The flames were shooting up about 4 feet into the air and we all ran for water and began to pour water on her table. So now not only does she have a burned dinning room table, but a soaked rug as well. But Frosty, being the Christmas Giver that he is with a most generous heart told her not to worry, he would buy her more candles to replace the ones that caused the fire..He is just the best!

The fire did not even dampen our night at all. We had a most enjoyable evening with precious friends and the most amazing dinner. Frosty was excited that he had got a home cooked meal, and he didn’t even have to buy the groceries. That always makes it taste better. Am headed to finish packing, will talk to you on Monday with new Christmas recipes and maybe a funny story or two. After all, when we drive to the mountains for the weekend, you know some story will come out of it.

Cakes · Desserts

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

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Am having ladies over for lunch tomorrow. Wanted dessert that looked Christmasie (is that really a word, probably not) I remembered going to Celebrity Bakery in Dallas and having the wonderful strawberry-cream cheese cake with strawberry frosting after having their chicken salad sandwiches. So since I am serving chicken salad sandwiches tomorrow, I wanted to serve these. They are so easy and look so pretty. The taste is divine.

Any brand of strawberry cake mix (I do like Duncan Hines, but it is hard to find out here in Sushiland)

Mix cake mix according to directions on box. Set aside.

Mix 8 oz of softened cream cheese with all of the following:

1 tables flour

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1/3 cup sugar

1 teas vanilla

1 egg

When you have mixed the cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg, vanilla and flour, set aside.

Place 24 baking cups  liners in cupcake pan. Pour cake batter into cups to about 1/2 full. Spoon 1 tables cream cheese mixture on top of cake batter. Do this until you have used up all the cake mix. Bake at 350 until cupcakes tests done. Cool completely.

Make a frosting of:

1 box powdered sugar

1 stick butter, softened

1 teas vanilla

enough milk or half and half to make frosting spreadable. Frost cupcakes and top with a fresh strawberry which you have dipped in chocolate. Sprinkle red sugar over tops.