Category: Sweets – Cakes

“This came from my sister’s mother-in-law many, many years ago and has been handed down over the years. It’s not only a great dessert, it also makes a wonderful gift at Christmastime.”  – Especially if you make it in a mini bunt pan.  Perfect hostess gift!  I add cream cheese frosting because I like cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients – Cake:

• 1  box yellow cake mix (I used pecan cake mix)
• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c oil
• 3/4 c whole milk or 3/4 c 2% low-fat milk
• 1  3/4  fluid oz whiskey
• 1 c pecans or 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Ingredients – Icing:

• 1/2 c butter, melted
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2 c whiskey

Directions – Cake:

1. Combine all ingredients and mix for 3 minutes by hand.
2. Pour into well-greased bundt pan.
3. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees. Toothpick should come out clean.
4. Leave the cake in the pan.
5. Using a long toothpick or skewer , poke several holes into cake.

Directions – Icing:

1. Combine sugar, whiskey, and butter in small sauce pan.
2. Cook on stovetop on medium.
3. Heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is brown.
4. Pour 3/4 of icing onto cake.
5. Let set 15 minutes.
6. Flip cake onto plate.
7. Brush remaining icing onto top& sides of cake.

Serves: 8 – 10

Source:  Cookin Katie

Cream Cheese Frosting

This frosting was originally from a Bon Appetit  but has been tweaked a bit by Margie and Ginger.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
• 10 tbsp (1¼ sticks) butter, room temp.
• ¼ c spiced rum (or, in this case, whiskey)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
• 4½  c (1 lb) powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth.
2. Beat in rum and vanilla.
3. Add powdered sugar (best to do in three additions, beating just until frosting is smooth after each addition; if you overbeat the frosting will become too soft to spread).

Source:  Bon Appetit, 10/2007

For Swedish midsummer, celebrated during the longest day of summer, the afternoon is not complete without a strawberry cake to reward yourself for all the hard work of dancing and singing. Serve this cake directly after your midsummer lunch, or take a break and come back to your cake after a dance around the maypole!

Ingredients Cake:

• Butter, for pan
• Flour, for pan
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups cake all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs (2 whole, 3 separated), room temperature (use three whole eggs for altitude)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ingredients Filling:

• 1 egg yolk, pasteurized if salmonella is an issue in your area
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 8 ounces fresh strawberries, washed, dried, hulled, and thinly sliced

Whipped cream filling

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt
• 2 cups whipping cream

To Serve

• 8 ounces fresh strawberries, washed, dried, stemmed, and halved
• Sprig of fresh mint

Directions for the cake:

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 325°.
2. Grease a 9-inch springform pan’
3. Line with parchment paper’
4. Grease parchment’
5. Flour pan.
6. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the sugar.
7. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining sugar together in a large bowl.
8. Add the 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks (reserving whites), melted butter, water, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. (For altitude, add a third whole egg)
9. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the remaining 3 egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute.
10. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip whites to soft, billowy mounds, about 1 minute.
11. Gradually add reserved 3 tablespoons sugar and whip until glossy, soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.
12. Stir 1/3 of the whites into batter to lighten; then gently fold the remaining whites into the batter until no white streaks remain.
13. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
14. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
15. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
16. Remove the cake from the pan.
17. Discard parchment.
18. Let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.

Directions for the filling:

1. Whisk the egg yolk, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together until thick and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Using a hand mixer, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks.
3. Gently fold the whipped cream into the egg and sugar mixture.

Directions for the whipped cream frosting:

1. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
2. Reduce the speed to low and add the heavy cream in a slow, steady stream.
3. When almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 21/2 minutes more, scraping bowl as needed.

To assemble and serve:

1. Using a large serrated knife, cut the cake in half horizontally.
2. Place the bottom layer on a serving platter or cardboard round.
3. Spread the filling over the bottom layer.
4. Crush the sliced strawberries lightly with a spatula and place them on top of the filling.
5. Place the second cake layer on top.
6. Using an offset spatula, spread a layer of the frosting on the top of the cake.
7. Transfer the remaining frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a star nozzle.
8. Pipe carefully around the edge of the cake in an up-and-down motion until the sides are completely covered. If you do not own a pastry bag, simply spread the frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake.
9. Decorate the top of the cake with the halved strawberries and a sprig of mint. Refrigerate for several hours. Cut into slices and serve.

Serves: 10 to 12

Source:  DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia courtesy of James Hill

This Baklava Poke Cake is full of cinnamon, walnuts and honey! The flavor combination is seriously addicting and tastes just like you’re eating a cake version of the real thing.  If you’re into cinnamon, honey and walnuts, you will undoubtedly love this cake – and how easy it is to make.

Ingredients – Cake:

• 15.25 oz box Butter Pecan cake mix
• 2 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup honey
• Whipped Topping
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• additional walnuts and honey for topping, if desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to package directions.
2. Bake cake according to package directions in a 9×13 cake pan.
3. While cake bakes, mix together walnuts, cinnamon and butter and set aside.
4. Once cake is done, removed from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.
5. Mix together sweetened condensed milk and honey.
6. Poke holes all over the cake.
7. Pour about three quarters of sweetened condensed milk mixture over cake.
8.  Cover cake with walnut mixture.
9. Pour the rest of sweetened condensed milk mixture over walnut layer.
10. Put cake in refrigerator and allow to cool completely and absorb the milk mixture, about an hour.
11.  To make the whipped topping, freeze a mixer bowl and whisk attachment for 10-15 minutes.
12. Remove bowl from freezer and whip heavy cream until it begins to thicken.
13. Add powdered sugar, honey, vanilla and cinnamon and whip until stiff peaks form.
14. Spread whipped topping onto completely cooled cake.
15. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve,

Serves:  24  (unless they are teenagers.)

Source:   Love, Life and Sugar – Life’s Better With Cake