Halloween Cake [Pumpkin-Marshmallow-Chocolate]

I know this cake isn’t nearly as “elegant” as the previous one I posted, but I promise you it’s just as good. Three layers of dense, spiced pumpkin cake filled with fluffy homemade marshmallow cream (!) and chocolate frosting. Perfect for Halloween and all other occasions.

Ingredients: Pumpkin Cake (adapted from here)

1 (15-0unce) can pumpkin puree

4 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups granulated sugar

3 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon apple pie spice

1/4 teaspoon ginger

Homemade Marshmallow Fluff

Two Batches of this Chocolate Frosting

Recipe: Pumpkin Cake

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans.

In a large bowl, combine first 6 ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the next 6 ingredients.

Pour the dry mixture into the wet batter and mix until barely combined.

Pour evenly into prepared pans. Bake about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

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Orange Chocolate Cake

Oh. My. God. I cannot believe how good this cake is. A soft, moist cake full of orange flavor covered in a rich, deep, shiny, chocolate ganache. This cake is perfection for any occasion ever.

Ingredients: Orange Sour Cream Cake (slightly adapted from here)

1 cup butter, softened

1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup orange zest

1 tsp vanilla (or 1 teaspoon buttery vanilla dough emulsion)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 and 1/2 cups full-fat sour cream

Orange Syrup

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1 cup granulated sugar

Chocolate Ganache (from here)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

9 ounces finely chopped chocolate

1 tablespoon corn syrup

Recipe: Orange Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Preheat oven to 325F.

Grease a 9-inch tube pan; dust with flour. Set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter with 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each.

Beat in orange zest and vanilla.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into butter mixture alternately with sour cream, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of sour cream.

In separate bowl and with clean beaters, beat egg whites until frothy; beat in remaining sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third into batter; fold in remainder. Scrape into prepared pan; smooth top.

Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Turn out onto rack.

Orange Syrup

Boil orange juice and sugar together, and then simmer on medium-low until syrup reduces.

Let cool for 5 minutes. Poke holes liberally in cake and brush syrup over.

Chocolate Ganache

For the glaze, place heavy cream in a large microwaveable bowl. Heat in the microwave at 40 second intervals until very hot but not boiling. Stir in chopped chocolate. Let stand for 3 minutes then begin gently stirring mixture. When chocolate and cream are thoroughly mixed and smooth, add corn syrup. Stir until combined.

Transfer to a 4-cup measure with a pour spout and pour glaze over entire surface of the cake. Allow the cake to stand until the glaze dripping subsides.

Enjoy!

Cherry Bread Pudding with Chocolate Sauce

If you like bread pudding, cherries, and chocolate you will love this. Soft warm cinnamon-y bread pudding filled with dried cherries and covered in homemade chocolate sauce. Absolutely delicious.

Ingredients: Bread Pudding (from here)

8 cups cubed day-old bread (I used Challah)

9 eggs

2 and 1/4 cups whole milk

1 and 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup dried cherries

Chocolate Sauce

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 tablespoon butter

4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

Recipe: Bread Pudding

Place bread cubes in a buttered 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour evenly over bread and sprinkle on dried cherries.

Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting and pouring on chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Sauce

Melt together the cream and butter over medium-high heat, add the chocolate and mix until smooth. Let cool.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Brown Butter Apricot Cake

This cake is amazing. It’s a brown butter buttermilk apricot cake with creamy chocolate frosting. I baked it in a springform pan instead of a smaller cake pan so it’s very thick.

Ingredients: Apricot Cake (adapted from here)

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 large egg yolk, room temperature

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk, shaken

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted

1 cup granulated sugar

1 and 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced into small pieces

1 cup diced fresh apricots

Chocolate Frosting (from here)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Dried Apricots *optional- for decoration

Recipe: Apricot Cake

Heat butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until milk solids on bottom are a dark chocolate brown. Transfer to a shallow bowl and let cool.

Begin by preparing the buttermilk cake.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Lightly spray a spring-form pan with nonstick spray and line the bottoms with wax paper. Lightly spray the pan again and flour, making sure to tap out the excess.

In a large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk, and vanilla extract.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed, just to combine.

With the mixer running on low speed, add the cold butter to the mixer bowl, one piece at a time, about 10 seconds apart.  It seems a little tedious, but trust me, this works. Once all the butter has been added, continue mixing until the butter has been blended and there are no clumps, about another minute and a half to two minutes.  The mixture will have a very fine, crumbly, cornmeal-like texture.

Add the remaining 1/2 cup of buttermilk to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for 4 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl at the end to ensure that all the ingredients were incorporated.

Reduce the mixer speed to low, and slowly pour in the egg mixture; once the egg mixture has been added, increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 more minute.  Gently fold the batter once or twice to ensure that the egg mixture has been fully incorporated. Then mix in the diced apricots.

Place the cake pan in the oven, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean , about 40 minutes.  Set the cake on a wire rack and let them cool for 10 minutes.  Use an offset spatula to loosen the cake from the baking pans and then invert it onto the wire rack.  Carefully peel off the wax paper liner, and let the cake cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting

Beat butter until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Mix in cocoa powder, vanilla, and milk. Beat in powdered sugar until smooth.

Frost the top of the cake. *Optional- decorate with dried apricots

Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Cake

I now acclaim this the best chocolate cake in the world. It’s dark, rich, and fudgy, and you will want to eat more and more of it. The frosting is creamy and delicious, and obviously super chocolaty. Make this cake for every special occasion and event you can think of.

Ingredients: Chocolate Cake

2 cups granulated sugar

1 and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup natural cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling coffee

Chocolate Frosting (adapted from here)

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup whole milk

3 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate Chips (for decoration)

Recipe: Chocolate Cake

Heat oven to 350F. Grease, line with parchment paper, and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

Add eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.

Stir in boiling coffee. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes. Then remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

Beat butter until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Mix in cocoa powder, vanilla, and milk.

Beat in powdered sugar until smooth.

Frost cake and decorate with chocolate chips.

Enjoy!

Hot Milk Cake

Every since I saw the recipe for “Hot Milk Cake” I wanted to try it. It just looked so good! I had to play around with it a bit though, I halved the recipe, doubled the vanilla, and added cinnamon and salt. The cake was delicious! It’s definitely my favorite vanilla cakes so far. I frosted it with a cooked frosting from Betty Crocker. You might be hesitant about using a frosting with flour in it, but it’s really dreamy. I would say it’s less buttery than Swiss Meringue Buttercream and less sweet than American Buttercream, but super creamy.

Ingredients: Hot Milk Cake (adapted from here)

2 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons 2% milk

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

Cooked Frosting (from here)

1 cup milk

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon *optional

1 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

Recipe: Hot Milk Cake

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes or until thick and pale yellow.

Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is light.

Beat in the vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder, and cinnamon; gradually add to batter; beat at low speed until smooth.

In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter just until butter is melted. Gradually add to batter; beat just until combined.

Pour batter into an 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cooked Frosting

Stir milk and flour in 2-quart saucepan until blended. Heat over medium heat until thickened.

Cover and refrigerate about 25 minutes or until cool.

Beat butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla in medium bowl on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture until blended.

Frost cake!

Enjoy!

 

 

Cherry Chip Cake

Yum. Yup, that’s all I have to say about this cake. Not really. I could tell you how wonderful and fluffy the cake is, and how there are bright little bits of chopped maraschino cherries inside, and how I used cherry pastry filling between the layers  and, finally, I could describe the glorious fluffy pink frosting which melts in your mouth. Even though I tell you this all the time, I have to say it gain. Make this cake. Make it. Now. 😀

Ingredients: Cherry Chip Cake (from here, with slight adaptions)

3 and 1/3 cups pre-sifted cake flour

1 and 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 and 3/4 cups whole milk, at room temperature

6 ounces egg whites, at room temperature

3 tablespoons cherry juice/syrup (from the jar of maraschino cherries)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cherry extract, *optional

2 and 1/4 cups sugar

1 and 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup finely chopped maraschino cherries

Cherry Pastry Filling

7 Minute Frosting (from here)

5 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 and 1/3 cups sugar

2 large eggs whites. room temperature

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pink food coloring, optional*

Recipe: Cherry Chip Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F and center the oven rack. Grease, line with parchment and flour three round 8-inch pans.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized bowl.

Whisk together the milk, eggs, cherry juice/syrup, almond extract and cherry extract (if using) in a medium bowl or large glass measuring cup.

In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk or paddle attachment (I used the whisk), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until very pale and creamy, about 5 minutes.

With the mixer still on medium speed, alternate additions of the flour mixture and milk-egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, beating after each addition until incorporated. Continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in finely chopped cherries.

Divide batter evenly among 3 cake pans, smoothing the surface with a small offset spatula or rubber spatula. Bake until a skewer comes out with a few crumbs only, about 30 minutes. Cakes should be well-risen and springy to the touch.

Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for 5 minutes, then loosen the edges by running a knife around the sides. Gently turn out the cakes, peel of parchment paper bottom, then cool right side up.

Cherry Pastry Filling

Fill inbetween the cake layers.

7 Minute Frosting

Whisk first five ingredients together in a large, stainless-steel bowl. Set the bowl in a wide, deep skillet filled with about 1 inch of simmering water. Make sure the water level is at least as high as the depth of the egg whites in the bowl. Beat the whites on low speed until the mixture reaches 140 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Do not stop beating while the bowl is in the skillet, or the egg whites will be overcooked. If you cannot hold the thermometer stem in the egg whites while continuing to beat, remove the bowl from the skillet just to read the thermometer, then return the bowl to the skillet

Beat on high speed for exactly five minutes. Remove the bowl from the skillet and add vanilla and food coloring. Beat on high speed for two to three more minutes to cool.

Enjoy!

Chocolate HoHo Snack Cake

Do you remember Ho Ho’s? The small chocolate creme filled cakes? Well, I loved those and decided to recreate it in snack cake form. I define snack cake as any cake which either doesn’t have frosting or looks like this cake. A moist and fluffy chocolate cake, topped with a copy-cat Ho Ho creme filling, and covered with chocolate ganache. This cake is delicious. You will not be able to stop eating it, I can promise you that.

Ingredients: Cake

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, room temperature

1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup boiling water

Creme Filling

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon water

1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Ganache Frosting (from here)

8 ounces chocolate

1 cup heavy cream

Recipe: Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9×13 pan.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Add the egg, vanilla, buttermilk, and butter. Beat on medium-high speed until combined well, about three minutes.

Stir in boiling water, the batter will be pretty thin- don’t worry about it.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Creme Filling

Beat sugar, shortening, vanilla, milk, salt and water for about 7 minutes. It should be white and smooth.

Add powdered sugar and beat for 5 more minutes until creamy and smooth.

Ganache Frosting

Place the chopped chocolate into the bowl of a food processor.

Heat the heavy cream in a quart-sized, microwavable container and microwave for 3 to 4 minutes on high, or until it just begins to simmer; be careful not to allow cream to boil over.

Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes. Process by pulsing several times until chocolate mixture is smooth. Pour over cake and refrigerate until set or overnight.

Enjoy!

 

Pavlova

These miniature pavlova’s are amazing. Crunchy outsides, with a chewy marshmallowy meringue inside, and topped with lime whipped cream and sliced fruit. They’re perfect for when you don’t want a heavy dessert and it’s hot outside.

Ingredients: Pavlova (from here)

1 and 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar

6 large egg whites (about 6 ounces), room temperature

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Lime Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lime zest

1 teaspoon lime juice

Optional: SlicedFruit/Berries

Recipe: Pavlova

 Place rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 275°. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the cornstarch and the sugar in a small bowl.

 In a large bowl , fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites, cream of tartar. and salt, starting on low and increasing incrementally to medium speed until soft peaks/trails start to become visible and the egg white bubbles are very small and uniform, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.

 Increase speed to medium-high and gradually sprinkle in the sugar-cornstarch mixture.

About 2 minutes after these dry ingredients are added, slowly pour in the vanilla. Increase to high speed and whip until meringue is glossy, and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 4 to 5 minutes.

Pipe or spoon 8 meringues onto each baking sheet. With the back of a spoon, create an indentation in the middle of the mound for holding the filling once the meringue is baked.

Place baking sheet in the oven.

Reduce oven temperature to 250°F. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the meringues are crisp, dry to the touch on the outside, and white — not tan-colored or cracked. Check on meringues at least once during the baking time.

If they appear to be taking on color or cracking, reduce temperature 25 degrees, and turn pan around.

Lift from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. The meringues will keep in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to a week if your house is not humid.

Lime Whipped Cream

Chill a medium mixing bowl and whisks in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, then remove and pour all the lime whipped cream ingredients into the bowl. Beat until soft peaks form.

 

Enjoy!

Strawberry Sour Cream Snack Cake

This is a rustic cake because, well, mainly because it doesn’t have frosting, but I was going for an old fashioned cake-y vibe. Sometimes people don’t want to make a three layer cake with like one hundred parts. So make this cake instead. 🙂 A dense and soft buttermilk cake with strawberries throughout. It’s so good. You get a bite of one of the best cakes I’ve ever had, and then a bite of sweet strawberry. It’s also a thick cake- it’s baked in an 8×8 pan.  🙂

Ingredients: Cake

2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 cup whole milk

2.5 ounces large egg whites (about 2 and 1/2 egg whites)

1/2 large whole egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups cake flour

1 rounded cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chopped

1/3 cup sour cream

Recipe: Cake

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 8×8 square pan.

In a small bowl, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice and let sit until you are done with the cake batter.

In another small bowl, whisk together the milk, egg whites, whole egg, and vanilla. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine on low speed the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt for 30 seconds.

Add the butter, one piece at a time, until a moist crumb forms.

Add the milk/egg mixture on medium speed for 90 seconds.

Mix in the sour cream for about 50 seconds.

Pour batter into greased pan.

Strain the strawberries and pour over the top of the batter.

Bake for about 50-60 minutes and let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!