Granny Sielert's Applesauce Cake

 

Growing up in Poplar Bluff, we had some awesome neighbors. One in particular, Granny Sielert, was more like family than just a friend. I was going through some of my mom's old recipes and found one that I hadn't seen before, it is titled "Granny Sierlert's applesauce cake".  You can tell it is an old time one, by the use of lard instead of butter or shortening.   The recipe, like a lot of old recipes, took a bit of deciphering, but this is it. Sounds like it would be a good one.

 

Cream together: 2 cups sugar, 1 cup lard (you can use half butter) and 2 eggs.

Mix together 2 cups unsweetened applesauce with 2 teaspoons baking soda and set aside.

Mix together in a large bowl, 3 cups flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp. cocoa powder, and 1 tsp. salt.

Beat the lard, sugar and eggs together, then add the applesauce, mixture and dry ingredients. Beat in the 1 cup raisins and 1 cup nuts (walnuts or pecans). Bake in a well greased tube pan at 350 degrees for about an hour.  Cool in the pan about 10-15 minutes before removing and cooling completely.  

German Chocolate Cake

My mom was well known for her German Chocolate cake and it was also one of the few sweets that my brother Steve really liked.   So Mama would make it for his birthday and other special occasions.  The rest of us all liked it too.  But, because it can be a bit of a pain making the frosting, we didn’t have it all that often.   After not making one for a long time, I have had the pleasure to make two in the past week.  And, everyone that ate them was very pleased in how it turned out.   You can just as easily make the cake using a mix, but here is a simple cake recipe that you can also use for homemade flavor.   As always, enjoy!
An Easy Chocolate Cake   (this is the traditional recipe from Hershey’s, but with a couple of additions of my own.  It is very easy, tender and moist.   Great flavor, too!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.   Grease a 9X13 inch cake pan and set aside.   In a large mixing bowl add the following:
2 cups white sugar
¾  cup cocoa powder, dark or regular
2 cups flour
1 ½ tsps. Baking powder
1 ½ tsps. Baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp instant coffee (unless using hot coffee instead of the hot water)
Stir well to combine.
In another bowl beat together:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
Stir this into the dry ingredients and mix about 2 minutes or until well blended, scrapping the bowl once.  Then, all at once add the boiling water or coffee.  
1 boiling water (or coffee)
Continue to beat until well mixed, then pour into the prepared pan and bake about 35-45 minutes.   The cake will feel dry on top, pull slightly away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick in the center will come out clean.   Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.   

When the cake comes out of the oven, you can make the frosting.  

In a heavy pan, an enameled Dutch oven is perfect, beat together:

1 ½ cups white sugar
1 12-ounce can of evaporated milk (1 ½ cups)
5 egg yolks

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil, add 1/2 cup butter and then cook until the mixture becomes very thick, about 9 minutes or so.    Remove from heat and add 1 ½ tsps. Vanilla.   Stir in 2 cups of sweetened coconut, lightly toasted is good, but untoasted is good too, and about 1 ½ cups chopped pecans, again lightly toasted is very tasty, but untoasted is good too.  
Allow to cool completely, then frost the cooled cake.    

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

A very easy and pretty cake, made using a boxed cake mix.   Very tasty too!

1 box dark chocolate cake mix with pudding in mix

1 can cherry pie filling

1 tsp almond extract

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix on low speed for 1 minutes. Scrape bowl with spatula, then mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape into a well greased 9x13 inch cake pan, spread out to fill pan and smoothing top. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until it is beginning to pull away from the side of the pan and top springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven make the glaze. Place in a small saucepan the following:

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup milk or cream

Stirring continuously, bring to a full boil over medium heat. Cook stirring for 1 full minute. Remove from heat and add 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, stirring until they are completely melted and the mixture is very smooth and shiny. Pour over the top of the warmed cake and spread quickly to cover the whole cake top. This sets very quickly. Cool cake completely before cutting.

 

Gluten Free Almond Flour Sour Cream Cake

 My brother in law has celiacs disease and I am always on the look out for good recipes that are both gluten free and tasty, as close to regular baked goods as possible.  This cake is just that.... tender, moist, flavorful and flat out delicious.  Even if you don't have to eat gluten free, this is a good one try.  And if you are trying to eat lower carb,  just get rid of the sugar and use your favorite non-sugar sweetener.   

3 1/4 cups fine almond flour

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup melted butter (for a bit more flavor you can lightly brown the butter)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Butter an 8x8 inch square cake pan and set aside.   Put the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.    In another smaller bowl, beat the sour cream and eggs until well blended, then stir in the butter and flavorings.   Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix well, then spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the  top.    Bake about 40 minutes or until golden brown and a tooth pick stuck in the center comes out clean.   Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting. 

 If you wish you can either frost with a butter cream frosting or, my favorite, make a like glaze to drizzle over the top.   It is also tasty eaten with fresh fruit and whipped cream. It isn't a very sweet cake, so if you wish to use more sugar in the batter, I would add about another 1/2 cup.  There is no no reason you couldn't use brown sugar in place of the white, either.   A butter, flour and sugar streusel on top of the cake would be tasty, too.   Just either more almond flour or any gluten free all purpose flour with sugar and butter.    

Pineapple Carrot Cake

Pineapple Carrot Cake

To be honest, I have never been that great a fan of carrot cake. There was just something about it that I didn't care for. It may have been the spices (it usually contains nutmeg and I am NOT a fan of that spice), the carrots may have been in too big chunks, too many nuts and or raisins, the cream cheese frosting may have been too cloying, who knows. It just wasn't one of my favorites. However, I have a very good friend who loves the stuff and I wanted to make something special for him. I have tried different recipes, but always on the lookout for one that is “better” in some way. I think I may have found it here. It contains crushed pineapple, no nuts and no raisins. The carrots are supposed to be grated, but I put them in my food processor and finely chopped them. For spices, mostly cinnamon, but just a little bit of ginger to perk it up a bit. And for the cream cheese frosting, only half the amount of cream cheese that most call for. The frosting is lighter and not as rich as most and quite tasty. I think you will like it. This cake should probably be refrigerated if not going to be eaten within a day.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a 9x13 inch cake pan and set aside.

3 cups finely chopped or grated carrots (I used a 10 oz bag of shredded carrots that I then finely chopped in my food processor, but you can do as you please)

1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, well drained (or use about a cup and a half of fresh pineapple chopped with the carrots)

4 eggs

¾ cup vegetable oil

2 cups dark brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Put all in a large bowl and mix until well blended

Then add to the bowl:

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Using a spatula or large spoon, mix until just blended, then spread in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until nicely browned and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool until completely cooled.

For the frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

½ cup butter (1 stick), room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 cups powdered sugar

Mix the butter and cream cheese together until well blended, stir in the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time and continue mixing until it is a fairly spreadable mixture, adding more sugar as need be or it gets too stiff, a little bit of milk can be stirred in. Spread a fairly thin layer on top of the cake.

German Apple Cake

While this is called a cake, it actually closer to an apple pie or crisp.   Middle and Eastern Europe doesn't really have a "pie" tradition as such.   This is pretty much as close as they get to what we would call an apple pie.  This one has all the requisites of a good apple pie though:  lots of tender sweet apples, with just a hint of cinnamon and lemon.   The top is a buttery streusel and the bottom of the "cake" is a tender shortbread.    It does take a while to bake, but is well worth the wait.   Before cutting, do allow it to cool completely, giving the apple juices time to set up and not be runny.   Top it with some heavy cream, whipped or not, or some ice cream and you will not be disappointed.    While it is supposed to be eaten the same day as baked, I actually like it better the next day or later.  The bottom crust soaks up the apple juices and then actually has more of a cake like texture.    Fresh or a day or two later from the fridge, you are still going to love it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.    

3 1/2cups all-purpose flour divided (500g)

1 1/2 cups butter divided (340g)

1 ¾ cups granulated sugar (70g)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

4 cups chopped apples

1 1/2 cup applesauce sweet or unsweetened

½ cups brown sugar

1 tsp lemon zest freshly grated (optional)

juice of one lemon (optional)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

     Peel, core and chop the apples, you want about 4 cups of chopped apples.  Add to a large bowl and then add the applesauce, brown sugar if using and the cinnamon.  Lightly grease a 9x13-inch cake pan and set aside.   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter, ¾ cup sugar, vanilla extract, 2 cups all-purpose flour. Press into the bottom of the cake pan and set aside.   Spread the apple mixture evenly over the bottom crust.     Now make the streusel topping:  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the remaining soft 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter with 1 1/2 cups of flour and 1 cup sugar The mixture will be crumbly.  Use your fingers to crumble the crumbs on top. Press some crumbs together to form bigger crumbs, you don't want the crumbs to be too fine. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until the crumbs are lightly golden.  Let the cake cool off completely. It will be a little bit soft while hot.

    Other options:   replace the apples with firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped.   Add raisins or dried cranberries to the apples, say 1/2-1 cup.   Use cooked dried peaches in place of the apples and applesauce, use firm ripe plums, pitted and sliced.  If using plums, I would suggest in a teaspoon of cornstarch or flour when tossing with the sugar and cinnamon and omitting the apple sauce.   Pitted cherries would probably be good too, but again you would need flour or cornstarch.

    To make this a gluten free treat, just substitute your favorite gluten free all purpose baking flour or even just gluten free oat or sorghum flour.   It will be tasty no matter what you use!   

Browned Butter Peach Bars

 I love peaches and grew up eating lots of peaches.  We lived not too far from Campbell, MO, which grows some the absolute best peaches you ever tasted.   During peach season we would make the trek over there and buy 3-4 bushels of over ripes.   I think the variety was Elbertas.   They were big, dead ripe, juicy freestones.   They would be canned (my dad loved home canned peaches), frozen and Grandma Casey still dried some.   And there would be lots of home made peach cobblers too.    So we all grew up eating and loving peaches in any form.   We all still do.   In the past couple of years I have rekindled a love affair with dried peaches.  I love to simmer until tender, using water and a couple tbsp. of cider vinegar.   Then mash with a potato masher, as some cinnamon, not too much, just enough for a bit of fragrance, some brown sugar and some white sugar, tasting so they aren't too sweet.   Then allow to simmer uncovered until thickened.   It is a good substitute for peach butter on toast, used as a pie or cobbler filling or in this case, used in peach bars. 

I have a liking for peach bars, but too many of them are most just sweet than having any real peach flavor.  The shortbread also tends to be a bit bland and boring.   I decided I wanted some thing that was neither bland nor boring.   Also having a good peach flavor.   I decided to try using my cooked dried peaches for the filling and they were perfect, peachy, but not too sweet.   For the shortbread, I decided to kick things up a bit using browned butter, a bit of almond extract and some almond flour.  It was a hit!   If you don't have almond flour or choose not to use it, just use an extra cup of all purpose flour.  

Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup browned butter, cooled
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Crumb topping:
1/2 cup browned buttter
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup almond flour (or another 1/2 cup of all purpose)
1 1/2 cup sugar

 2 cups of cooked dried peaches as above, or a can of peach pie filling or a jar of peach jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch cake pan.    Make the crust by mixing all of the crust ingredients until well blended and no lumps.  Press evenly over the bottom of the cake pan and about half way up the sides.   Spread the peaches evenly over the crust.   Mix together all the crumb topping ingredients until they are crumbly.   Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the top of the peaches, then bake at 350 degrees about 40 minutes, until the bottom and the crumb topping are both golden brown.    Cook completely before cutting into serving sized pieces.    

No reason you can't use other types of fruits for the topping.   They just need to be cooked and not too runny or two sweet.    You could also add some chopped nuts to the  crumb topping as well. 

Imperial Cake

Imperial Cake

This is another recipe that Bea Drury gave to my mom.  It was found on the box of Imperial Margarine and still may be as far as I know.   It was a favorite that my mom didn't bake all that often.  It is a very good one too.

Imperial Cake

1 lb softened Imperial stick margarine

1 lb. Sifted powdered sugar

6 eggs

3 cups cake flour

2 tsp vanilla

Beat the powdered sugar and Imperial margarine together until light and fluffy, then beat the eggs in one at a time, carefully fold in the flour and vanilla. Grease and flour a large tube pan and spoon the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the top of the cake batter with some powdered sugar and chopped pecans if you wish. Bake in preheated oven at 325 degrees for 1 ½ hours. When done, place the pan on a rack and cool completely before removing from the pan.

Bea Drury's Orange Cake

As I have posted before, growing up we had some wonderful neighbors, the Sielerts and the Drurys.   Bea Drury was a Sielert before she married Bill Drury.   (Bill also happened to be my godfather!). Bea worked for the phone company and was always sharing the best recipes with my mom.  The only banana bread recipe that I will ever use comes from Bea.   This is another recipe that she shared with my mom and I consider it the best orange cake I have ever tasted.   Like many recipes from the 60's and 70's it uses a boxed cake mix, it also uses a box of orange gelatin too.   For the glaze you can either used thawed orange juice concentrate or freshly squeezed orange juice.  I like to use the orange juice concentrate for two reasons, you get more orange flavor and it was what my mom always used.  As always, enjoy!

Bea Drury's Orange Cake

1 box orange cake mix

1 small box orange gelatin

¾ cup of vegetable oil

¾ cup water

4 eggs

1/2 can of thawed orange juice concentrate boiled with ½ cup white sugar

(or juice of three oranges boiled with 1 cup white sugar)

Beat the cake mix, gelatin, water and oil together, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Grease a 9x13 inch cake pan and spoon batter into pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. When cake is done, poke holes all over the top with a toothpick and then drizzle the hot orange syrup over the baked cake and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Bea Drury's Gooey Butter Cake

Gooey Butter Cakes are a St. Louis specialty.   Some times the cake part is made from scratch, but many recipes call for a box of cake mix.   This was the recipe given to my mom by our long time neighbor, Bea Drury.   Bea is also the one who gave my mom the best banana bread recipe that I have ever tasted.  It is on the blog as well.  

1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 8-oz package of cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Mix the cake mix, melted butter and 2 of the eggs, then pat into the bottom of a heavily buttered 9x13 inch cake cake pan.   Then beat the powdered sugar, 2 eggs and cream cheese until well blended.   Spread over the cake mix mixture and bake for 30-40 minutes.   Cake will be set in the center and golden brown.  Let cool completely before cutting.   If you wish to gild the lily you may sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar, but it doesn't really need it.  

Ultimate Lemon Cake

1 box lemon cake mix

1 box instant lemon pudding

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup warm water or lemon juice

Mix all together in a mixer on low for about 2 minutes, scrape bowl and then mix a other 3 minutes at medium speed.  Spoon into a greased and floured 9x13 inch cake pan or 3 8-inch round pans.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes for the round pans and 45 minutes for the sheet pan.   When done the edges of the cake will pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick will come out clean when stuck in the center.   Remove from the oven and cool in the pans about 10-15 mintutes, the round cakes can be removed from the pans and allowed to cool on a rack until completely cool.   The sheet cake can be allowed to remain in the pan.  

Make a glaze from the strained juice of one lemon and the grated rind, with enough powdered sugar to make a drizzle.  Poke hole in the cake with a toothpick, then drizzle the glaze over the top.  

If you wish to top this with a frosting mix an 8-oz bowl of mascarpone cheese in a bowl, with the strained juice and grated rind of one lemon, as well as about 2-3 cups of powdered sugar.  Whip until smooth and thick enough to spread over the cake.  

Creamsickle Cake

I have friends who have diabetes and am always looking for a good dessert to feed them, but also one that won't put them in a coma or worse.   I came across this recipe online and decided to try it.   Turned out pretty good.   The original recipe called for a standard cake mix, but I switched it for a Pillsbury Sugar Free cake mix.   Instead of plain orange juice I used a orange-pineapple-banana juice mix, instead of plain yogurt I used a sugar free tropical fruit flavored one and a few drops of pineapple extract.   Sure turned out good too!  And since there were no eggs in it, I could lick the batter off the bowl!  That was tasty too.  Hope you enjoy!

1 box (15.25 oz) Pillsbury Sugar Free Yellow Cake Mix

1 container (6 oz) non-fat Greek yogurt, plain or flavored

1 cup orange juice (any other juice would work)

1/2 tsp pineapple extract, no reason you couldn't use other flavoring that suit the juice you are using

powdered sugar, optional

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, Greek yogurt, extract or other flavoring and juice.  Pour batter into a greased 8 x8 inch square pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-33 minutes.  Slice into 9 pieces.  Garnish with a dusting of powdered sugar if desired.

If you want to do it using a regular cake mix, then the skies the limit for flavors!   Chocolate cake mix with cherry juice and cherry yogurt.   Spice cake mix with apple juice and cheesecake yogurt.  Lemon cake mix with lemon yogurt and lemonade.  

Pineapple Sheet Cake

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 20-oz can crushed pineapple, with juice
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. pineapple extract

 

Mix dry ingredients together well, then beat in the remaining ingedients. Spoon into greased pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Cool well before cutting, may frost with cream cheese frosting if desired.

Hummingbird Cake

A true southern classic, very rich, very moist, very addictive.   Enjoy!

Hummingbird cake

3 cups all-pupose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups salad oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, divided
2 cups chopped bananas
Cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl; add eggs and salad oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup chopped pecans, and bananas. Spoon batter into 3 well-greased and floured 9-inch cakepans. Bake at 350 degrees F. For 25 to 30 minutes; remove from pans, and cool immediately. Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with 1 cup chopped pecans.

Yield: one 9-inch layer cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 (16 ounce) packages powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Yield: enough for a 3 layer cake.   Can also be made into a sheet cake.  

Cherry Almond Cake

A friend at work gave me a bag of almond flour and I've  been trying to find ways of using it.  This is a recipe I found online, but have adapted to make a very moist and delicious cake, with a pleasant almond flavor.   Stone fruits of all kinds are the perfect match for anything with almonds, so this cake has some dried cherries for flavor as well as a pretty touch of red.   Enjoy!

1/2 cup of softened butter
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
about 1/2 cup dried cherries (no reason why diced dried apricots or peaches wouldn't work too)

Butter and flour or spray with baking spray a 8x8 inch cake pan.  Preheat over to 325 degrees.   Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and extracts.   If batter looks curdled that is ok.   Mix together the flours, salt and baking powder and gently mix until just barely incorporated, do not over mix.   Spread in the bottom of the prepared pan and then dot the fruit over the top of the batter, use more or less according to your tastes.   Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.   Cool completely before cutting.  If you wish, you can dust the top of the cake with some powdered sugar or make a very light butter cream frosting and spread over the top of the cooled cake.  

This recipe can also be doubled and baked in a 9x13 inch cake pan, baking time will probably take about 15 minutes longer or even more, so be sure to test with the toothpick before removing from the oven. 

Coconut Pound Cake

I love a good coconut anything, just as long as the coconut flavoring isn't too strong.   I stumbled across the original of this recipe online and thought it would be a fun one to try.  I wasn't the least bit disappointed, either.   I made one last night and took it to work.  They all went nuts about it.  It has a delicate texture and delicious coconut flavor.   I think it would also be a fun one to play with as well.  

Coconut Pound Cake

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.    Grease and flour a 9-inch bundt pain.  Set aside.

¾ cup softened butter

¾ cup coconut milk

1 ½ cups white sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

6 tbsp. shredded coconut

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

Mix together the flour, salt and baking powder, set aside.   Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.   Add the eggs and beat until well blended.   Beat in half of the coconut milk, then add half the flour mixture until well combined.   Add the rest of the coconut milk, blend well.   Finally add the last of the flour mixture and the coconut.   Spoon into the prepared bundt pan and smooth out the top.   Place in the oven and bake about 1 hour and 5 minutes to an hour and 20 minutes, or until a skewer stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean.   Remove from the oven, allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan.   Carefully remove from the pan and allow to cool.      When cool drizzle a glaze made from ¼ cup coconut milk mixed with enough powdered sugar to make a thick cream.   Allow to set before cutting.   

I have a suspicion you could easily change the flavor of this cake by making a glaze with 2 tbsp. each of dark rum, coconut milk, pineapple juice and 4 tbsp. powdered sugar.   Once the cake comes out of the pan, gently poke small holes in the cake with a very thin skewer or toothpicks, then slowly dribble the glaze mix over the cakes, allowing it to soak into the holes.  

Another thing that might be good is to lightly toast the coconut and cool before adding to the cake batter.   And instead of flouring the greased pan, sprinkle shredded coconut in it instead.   It might also be good to bake in a sheet pan, when cooled spread with seedless raspberry jam or lemon curd, then top with whipped cream  or serve it with some fresh berries.   Use your imagination!

Super moist and chocolatey chocolate cake with Hershey frosting

There used to be a very good B&B in a nearby town called The Holton House.   They served all you can eat chicken dinners and ended with a square of the richest, moistest chocolate cake I had ever eaten.   (Unfortunately, they recently closed)   For years I have been searching for a chocolate cake that resembled the cake they served   Finally, this past week I came across a recipe that came close, with a few tweeks I managed to recreate it perfectly.   Here is what I came up with:

1 box chocolate fudge cake mix, Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker are the best brands
1 box instant chocolate fudge pudding
1 cup sour cream, light sour cream works well
1/2 cup Hershey's syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.   Grease and flour a 9x13 inch cake pan.    Place all of cake ingredients in a large bowl and beat on low for about 1 minute, then increase speed to medium until well combined, maybe 1 1/2-2 minutes.   Stir in the chocolate chips.    The batter will be very thick.  Spread into the prepared pan and bake 35-45 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched, is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.   Allow to cool completely, about an hour or so.    Spread with the Hershey's chocolate frosting.  

If you want to make a layer cake, use the same recipe and bake in two greased and floured 9 inch layer pans.   Adjust baking time by checking for doneness after about 30 minutes.    Allow cakes to cool in pan about 10 minutes, before finishing cooling on a rack before frosting. 

Hershey's Chocolate Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup Hershey's Syrup
1 tbsp. milk (or more Hershey's syrup)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar

Cream the butter, cocoa, vanilla, milk and Hershey's syrup until creamy and well blended. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar and continue beating until the frosting is smooth and well blended.   Spread on the cooled cake. 

Pumpkin Cake

I will start out by saying that by and large, I'm not that great a fan of pumpkin.  I much prefer sweet potatoes instead.   Be that as it may, this is a very good cake, moist and spicy, and perfectly set off by the cream cheese frosting.   It is the perfect taste of fall.  Oh, and if you are like me and don't care for the taste of pumpkin, feel free to substitute 2 cups of cooked and mashed sweet potato in place of the pumpkin.   And as always, ENJOY!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then butter and flour a 9x13 inch cake pan (or spray with baking spray).

In a large bowl mix together the following dry ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. of baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. dry ginger
1/8 tsp. ground coriander
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
(in place of the individual spices, you could use 2 1/2 tsp. more or less of pumpkin pie spices.  also, if there is a particular spice on the list you don't like, just leave it out)

In a large mixing bowl beat until smooth the following ingredients:

4 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 15-oz can of pumpkin puree (or two cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes)
1 cup vegetable oil

When the mixture is smooth, continue beating on low speed and by 1/4 cup amounts add the dry ingredients, beating until smooth and well blended.   Spread batter into the cake pan and bake for around 30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean or until the cake starts pulling away from the sides of the pan and springs back when touched gently.   Allow to cool completely before frosting.

This cake is perfectly complemented by a rich cream cheese frosting.  You could also use a browned butter or spice frosting as well.

Cream Cheese frosting:

1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese or light cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tsp. vanilla
about 4 cups powdered sugar (or enough to give you the thickness you like)

Beat all together until smooth and fluffy, then spread on the cooled cake.  Refrigerate the leftovers.

Butter Cake

I am fascinated by traditional breads and cakes.   One of my favorite books is English Bread and Yeast Cookery.   One thing it mentioned was something called a Lardy Cake.   It is basically a standard bread dough, enriched with lard, spices and dried fruit.   It sounded delicious, but a bit too rich for my tastes.    So I decided to make my own version, but using butter instead of lard.   It turned out pretty good and quite tasty.   It is a still a bit rich, but is something that makes a very good rare treat.

Bread dough:

2 cups warm milk, either buttermilk or sweet milk works well
2 eggs
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp. dry yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 cups flour

Beat together the warmed milk and the eggs, then stir in the sugar, salt, yeast and 3 cups of the flour.   You can add up to another cup of flour, but you do want a fairly soft dough.   Allow to rise until doubled, say an hour and a half or so.  

Filling:

1 cup of butter, brought to room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Beat the filling ingredients together until light and fluffy.

When the dough has doubled, beat down and place on a floured board.   Sprinkle with flour and then roll out into a 24x16 inch rectangle.    Spread about 1/3 of the filling mixture over the rolled out dough.   Fold the ends into so they meet in the middle, then close like a book.     Flour again and then rotate and roll out again, into another 24x16 inch rectangle, spread with another 1/3 of the butter mixture and repeat the folding and turning.    Roll out yet one more time and spread with the remaining butter.    Fold as before.   Cut the dough into two parts and gently form each part into a roll that will fit inside a bundt pan.    Grease and flour two non-stick bundt pans and place the rolls into each pan.   Cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled, another 45 minutes to an hour.   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and when the rolls have doubled, bake 30-45 minutes or until nicely browned and done.    They will sound hollow when thumped.    Allow to cool in the pans about 10-15 minutes, then carefully loosen the cake from the pan and allow to cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Variations:  To change this recipe a bit, you could add about a tsp. of cinnamon to the filling mixture, as well as some finely chopped nuts or every some finely chopped dried fruit or raisins.   If you add nuts to the filling, you could also replace chopped nuts for the flour when you grease the pans.   It is very important to use a non-stick pan for this cake, as the sugar in the filling oozes out and sticks badly to a regular pan.   Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Buttermilk Pound Cake

Aaron is trying going gluten-free for health reasons, so I've been trying out baking gluten-free stuff for him.   So far, everything I've tried had turned out pretty good.   Today I tried baking a gluten-free pound cake and it turned out pretty darned good.   It is one I'll make again, even if Aaron weren't going gluten-free.

1 3/4 cups gluten free all purpose flour
(I used Hodgson Mills all purpose gluten free baking flour)
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
3/4 cup room temperature butter (1 and 1/2 sticks)
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract

In a large bowl mix together the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, baking soda and xanthan gum.
In another large mixing bowl beat the butter with the brown sugar until fluffy.   One at a time beat in the eggs and and flavoring extracts.  Stir in 1/3 of the dry mixture, then 1/3 of the buttermilk, another 1/3 of the dry mixture, then 1/3 buttermilk, the last of the flour mixture and the last of the buttermilk.   Scraping the bowl every so often.   Flour and lightly flour (using gluten free flour) a bread pan and spoon the batter into the pan.   Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.   Cool in the pan about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to finish cooling on a rack.