Triple Layer Apple Cake

My favorite cookbook in the entire world is A Pinch of Salt Lake, it was published by the Junior League back in the '80's. Every single recipe in it is delicious, I love it so much I tracked down used copies off of Amazon and bought a copy for each of my children (it's since gone out of print...what a shame... I was able to buy the almost new books for approximately a $1 apiece!!) 

One of my favorite recipes in the book is for this delicious Apple Cake, it is so incredibly moist and tasty. My father in law requests that I make it on special occasions and since yesterday was Father's Day, it was on the menu. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does. 

Ingredients for Cake

3 c flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups, finely chopped tart apples ( I use my food processor)

1/2 c chopped walnuts

1 tsp grated lemon peel

2 c sugar

1 1/2 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

Directions

Prepare three 9-inch round cake pans. Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour with baking soda and salt; set aside. In a small bowl combine chopped apple, nuts and lemon peel. In a standing mixer combine oil, sugar and eggs, beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients mixing until smooth. INcorporate apple mixture, stir until well combined. Spread evenly into prepared bans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until surface springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then cool thoroughly on wire rack

Ingredients for Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 c butter, softened

16 ounces powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 c finely chopped walnuts

Prepare frosting by creaming together all ingredients except nuts. Frost between layers and do a thin coat on sides and top. Refrigerate until chilled, then using remaining frosting frost a thicker layer on cake. (this helps keeps the crumbs in the frosting to a minimum) Press nuts around sides and top of cake. Refrigerate until serving time. 

Ingredients for cake

Chopping the apples

Apples, nuts and lemon peel

Adding dry ingredients to sugar, oil and eggs

Thick consistency

Adding in the apples

Ready for the oven

Frosting ingredients

Triple layers baby!

So pretty

It tastes so delicious

Enjoy! 

Chocolate Frosting

My oldest son turned 22 last Saturday and he requested yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I'm always on the lookout for frosting recipes, and when my neighbor recommended this one I knew I needed to try it. All I can say is YUMMMMM!! It's super easy and really chocolaty; you've got to give this a try! 

Ingredients

• 2 cups butter (no substitutes), softened
• 9 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 1/2 cups baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency. This recipe makes way more than you need for a 2 layer cake, but I'd rather have too much than too little. I froze the remainder of the frosting for future use.

Enjoy!

Black Magic Chocolate Cupcakes

While cleaning out the fridge this week I found a half jug of buttermilk that was about to expire and thought I better use this.... quickly! I've been wanting to make this cake recipe for a while and today was the day. I decided to turn them into cupcakes and as I pulled them from the oven I realized that you CAN NOT over fill the cupcake liners, so remember this recipe makes 24 cupcakes. I frosted some of the cupcakes with leftover chocolate icing I had in my fridge, and I  frosted the rest with my favorite Butter Cream Frosting. This cake is super moist and tastes nothing like coffee, if you are wondering.

Ingredients
1 3/4 c Flour
2 c Sugar
3/4 c Cocoa Powder
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
2 eggs
1 c Strong Black Coffee, cooled
1 c Buttermilk
1/2 c Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake pan with 24 liners. Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl, add remaining ingredients and mix on medium speed for two minutes. Batter will be thin. Pour into cakecake liners and bake for 22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  If making a cake place in a 9x13 pan and cake for 35-40 minutes.

Ingredients

I placed a scoop of frosting on warm cupcake and let it melt

Easy way to top cupcakes

Three different ways to top the cupcakes

Enjoy!

Source; Just a Pinch

Cupcake Tops

When I was in Los Angeles earlier this year I stopped by a cupcake shop and they were selling these darling mini cupcakes called Cupcake Tops. These little cupcakes resemble a toy top, hence the name, all that's missing is the string :) . They were so cute and  fit perfectly in my mouth that I decided to make my own. Since the 4th of July is right around the corner I dyed them red and blue, but they could be dyed yours any color. This is super easy and cute and will make your guests think you slaved for hours.

Ingredients
2 Boxes White Cake Mix ( Duncan Hines is my choice)
1 Batch Butter Cream Frosting

Preheat oven to 350, heavily spray mini muffin pans with nonstick spray.

Make cake mix following boxed directions, add dye to the batter. Place small scoops of batter into muffin tins and bake for 8 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let sit in pan to cool before placing on cooking rack. Repeat and make second color of mini cupcakes.

Place Butter Cream Frosting into a piping bag and place small amount of frosting on bottom of red cupcake, place blue cupcake on top of frosting, slightly smooshing the cupcakes together. Place in a cupcake liner. Makes 50+ Cupcake Tops.

Ingredients for cupcakes

Sorry for the dark pics, flash issues!

Ready for the oven

So cute!

The perfect bite!

For my daughter's 15th birthday!

Enjoy!

Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

For Mother's Day Olivia bought me a tube of vanilla beans and I've been so excited to try them. I wanted to use some of them for vanilla ice cream, but thought that vanilla bean frosting sounded too good to not make it. I first made some chocolate cupcakes using a Duncan Hines mix, I added 1 TBSP real vanilla  and a 1/2 c cocoa to doctor up the boxed mix. This frosting has a nice light flavor that enhances the cupcakes flavor. I love seeing the flecks of vanilla in the frosting!

Ingredients
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, soft
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise ( if you don't have access to vanilla beans increase extract to 2 tsp)
3 c confectioners sugar
Pinch Salt
1 tsp vanilla extract (clear)
2 TBSP fat free half and half (heavy cream works well also)

In a standing mixer with a whisk attachment, beat butter at med high speed until smooth. Using a sharp knife split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds from bean, place into butter and mix.  Add confectioners sugar, and salt. Scrape sides of bowl often. Add vanilla and half and half, beat at medium speed until incorporated. Increase speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.  I like to place my frosting in a piping bag and then refrigerate before using. Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.

Ingredients

The bean

Slice it lengthwise

Scrape seeds out with sharp knife

See the yummy vanilla seeds?

Enjoy!

Source: Browneyedbaker

Giant Cookie Cake

Not everyone likes birthday cakes, I know shocker!!!! I personally feel like we should eat cake to celebrate every occasion, whether it be a birthday or just the fact that the sun is shining. Today celebrated my daughter's 15th birthday and she requested a cookie cake instead of a regular birthday cake, I was excited to try something new.  Can you imagine two huge chocolate chip cookies with awesomely good buttercream frosting in the middle, then this recipe is for you. I made one batch of cookie dough at a time, so you will need to double the recipe below. 

Ingredients for Cookie

2 1/2 c Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

2 Sticks Butter, softened

3/4 c Sugar

3/4 c Brown Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Large Eggs

2 c Milk Chocolate Chips

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. 

Preheat oven to 350. I used a stone pizza pan to cook my giant cookie. Take a piece of parchment paper and place cookie dough in the middle of it. Spread dough out to 1 inch from edge of pizza stone. Cookie will spread during baking. Bake for 20 minutes or until cookie no longer jiggles in the middle. Let cool on counter for 2 hours.

Make second cookie and let cool.

Ingredients for Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks butter at room temp
2 cups Crisco shortening
1 tsp clear vanilla (when making white frosting I sub almond flavoring here)
1 tsp butter flavoring
2 lbs confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBSP meringue powder, found at Joanne's or baking supply stores

1 TBSP milk (if needed)

Mix butter, crisco and salt together on low speed for 5 minutes. Add extracts and beat until well blended. Turn off mixer and add meringue powder and 1/2 confectioners sugar. Turn mixer on the slowest speed the mixer has, add remaining sugar 1/2 cup at a time until sugar is mixed in. turn mixer up to medium and beat until smooth and creamy, this should take about 5 minutes.

Take cooled cookie and place on large serving tray, spread a good amount of buttercream frosting on top of cookie, next place second cookie on top of frosting. You can always leave it just like this, but I like to color the remaining frosting, throw it into a piping bag and decorate the cookie. 

Serves 15 

Spread cookie dough out to an inch from edge of pan

Out of the oven and cooling

Spread frosting all over cookie

Now place second cookie on top making a huge sandwich!

I did a pretty good job of making them the same size

I used the remaining frosting and turned it into a Gator inspired birthday cake

Olivia and her Pop celebrating their joint birthday party

Enjoy!

Oreo Cake

I know I've been using a lot of Oreo's lately but when they are in your pantry you feel the urge to gobble them up, so I decided to bake with them....again. I also have an abundance of cake mixes in the pantry right now, believe me when they offer buy one get one free I tend to go nuts. So I pulled out a chocolate cake mix, some chocolate chips, oreos and went to work. I think I am one of the few people who like using cake mixes, don't get me wrong a homemade chocolate cake recipe can be as sacred as anything, but sometimes I can't help using the shortcut that a cake mix offers. 

Ingredients for Cake
1 Chocolate Cake Mix, prepared to packages directions
1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips




Prepare cake batter and add chocolate chips before pouring into 2- 8 inch prepared pans. Bake according to directions,  once out of oven let cool for 25 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Ingredients for Oreo Frosting
2 sticks Unsalted Butter, room temp
1 Pinch Salt
1 TBSP Vanilla, the real stuff!
1 1/2 lbs Powdered Sugar
3/4 TBSP  Cold Milk
25 Oreo cookies, chopped
Duncan Hines Amazing Glaze

Cream the butter and vanilla in a mixer. Begin adding sugar and thoroughly mix before adding more powdered sugar. After all sugar has been added and mixed, begin adding cold milk, one TBSP at a time. Once desired consistency has been reached add chopped Oreo Cookies and mix. Frost your cake. Drizzle glaze over top of cake and pop into fridge to set. Serves 10

Ingredients for frosting

Frost bottom half of cake with half of the frosting

This glaze tasted okay, nothing more, nothing less

Drizzle on top of cake

Ready to serve

Enjoy!

Source; Adapted from My Baking Addiction