Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Ginger Pear Loaf Cake

We don't buy a ton of pre-packaged snacks in our house. A large part of this is because we don't have the pantry space for excessive amounts of chips and cookies, which I've mentioned before. Granted, you will always find at least one bag of tortilla chips and a few boxes of cereal on hand, but for the most part if we're snacking, we are snacking on something homemade. I'm not claiming that baked goods are healthy, far from it most of the time, but at least I know exactly what I'm putting in whatever I'm baking and I can pronounce the entire ingredient list, which is more than I can say for a lot of the things you'll find on grocery store shelves. I don't have the time to make homemade crackers or cheez-its week in and week out, but things like this loaf cake come together in mere minutes. I bake so often that I can practically do it in my sleep, measuring out flour, sugar, and spices, whisking wet and dry ingredients, pouring into a prepared pan, and before I know it there are alluring smells wafting from the kitchen.

This snack cake is far from extravagant. I'm willing to bet you already have most of the ingredients, except maybe the candied ginger. The base recipe is slightly sweet and yields a blank canvas perfect for incorporating your favorite mix-ins. I was partial to the pear and candied ginger, being that its both seasonal and a little nontraditional, but I could also see apples and walnuts or cranberries and pistachios also working nicely. I found the cake best the first two days after it had been made, and I'm willing to bet yours won't last much longer!

One Year Ago: Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Two Years Ago: Broccoli, Red Pepper, and Cheddar Chowder and Kale and Butternut Squash Saute

Three Years Ago: Pumpkin Popovers and Turkey Tacos

Four Years Ago: Apple Walnut Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette and Kale & Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce

Five Years Ago: Crockpot Salsa Chicken and Tuna Chickpea Pasta Salad with Pesto

Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Working in an office environment, you can guarantee that at least a few times a month you'll walk into the galley and find an array of "treats" before you. More often than not, I dismiss them without a second thought. At the risk of sounding like a food snob, store-bought treats aren't all that enticing to me and I usually pass them up (aside from the occasional Panera bagel, which has the magical ability to turn a bad day right around!). Homemade treats, on the other hand, are a totally different story. These are fewer and farther between and when one appears, I am definitely partaking...one coworker's wife makes the best chocolate chip blondies and another coworker's wife makes these gluten free chocolate walnut cookies that I have the recipe for but am resisting making because I know I'll eat the whole batch! This pumpkin cake was brought in for Boss's Day back in October. After devouring a slice, I literally had to sit on my hands to keep myself from going back for more, releasing them only to email the baker and beg for the recipe.

Three days later, I had an entire pumpkin cake at my disposal. If you saw my post on Instagram, you know I was tempted to keep the entire cake for myself. Gluttonous? YES, but if ever there was a cake worthy of a little glutton, this is the one! I thought I already had my favorite pumpkin cake and I'm not going to declare a winner until I taste them side by side, but today's is a bit simpler in that you don't have to worry about browning butter AND you're not trying to perfect your frosting skills--mounding it on top and sprinkling with nuts makes for a gorgeous (but easy!) presentation. Bottom line--this cake is a must make. I received texts from both my sister AND my sister-in-law praising it after leaving them with pieces. My friends from community group cleaned their plates. (Yes, I decided to share!) Pie is the traditional Thanksgiving dessert, but it would be a mistake not to offer a cake option as well...this cake!

One Year Ago: Odds & Ends

Two Years Ago: Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts and Odds & Ends

Three Years Ago: Waldorf Tuna Salad and Salted Caramel Pie

Four Years Ago: Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies and 10 Lessons Learned at Foodbuzz

Five Years Ago: Cilantro Lime Hummus and Lemon Rosemary Tilapia

Peanut Butter and Jelly Coffee Cake

I'm not going to belabor this point because you've heard me say it again and again, but peanut butter and jelly is, in my opinion, one of the most perfect foods out there. I prefer it with wheat bread and raspberry jam, but I'm indifferent on the crunchy vs. creamy debate. It goes without saying, then, that I fell hard for this peanut butter and jelly coffee cake! Thank you Maria for enlightening me because while I can totally get on board with a regular 'ol pb & j for breakfast, incorporating it into a coffee cake is straight up brilliant.

My friend Kacey had given me some homemade blueberry strawberry jam that I used and it was awesome, but you can definitely swap in your favorite jam or jelly. (Side note: I cannot get behind grape jelly! As in, I can't eat a pb & j if the j is grape!) Thankfully I had plans to bring this to church or else I would've demolished the entire pan; don't say I didn't warn you! My only change would be to use crunchy peanut butter (Maria did; I didn't have any on hand) or add some chopped peanuts to the streusel for a little bit of texture.

For more pb & j inspired creations, try this fruit crisp, these dessert bars, or these ice cream cheesecakes!

One Year Ago: Mexican Pot Pie
Two Years Ago: Peanut, Cabbage, and Carrot Slaw and Roasted Vegetable and Refried Bean Tostadas
Three Years Ago: Curried Chickpeas with Couscous and Pumpkin Oatmeal Scotchies
Four Years Ago: Roasted Eggplant Pasta with Goat Cheese and Pumpkin Sour Cream Coffee Cake

German Chocolate Cake

When I threw my friend Katie's baby shower a few months ago, I was determined to keep the food fairly simple. After all, the shower was scheduled for a weeknight and there's nothing that screams STRESS more than trying to throw together a bunch of fancy foods after working all day. One area I refused to go simple, however, was the cake. I don't get many opportunities to make fancy layer cakes, my sister had promised to make a cute cake topper, and the beauty of most layer cakes is that they're actually better when made ahead of time. The decision to make a German Chocolate Cake came after consulting Katie's husband, Matt. Actually, truth be told, my original query to Matt left me a bit befuddled, as he suggested I find a way to combine what he believed were her favorites: chocolate, strawberries, and coconut. While I'm sure there's a way to deliciously combine those into one cake, I instead did a little more digging and discovered that Katie's loves German Chocolate Cake. German Chocolate Cake it was!

I made the cake layers the weekend before, froze them, and then made the frosting two days before the shower. I assembled and frosted the cake, stuck it in my cake dome, and let it sit in the fridge for two days. I have no idea whether this helped the flavor at all, but it certainly didn't hurt anything. This cake was magnificent! The cake layers are closer to a dense brownie than a fluffy cake and while the frosting is a bit sweet (I even reduced the sugar some), it's not too cloying since it's only between the layers and on top, and small slices go a long way. Because we were leaving town the next day, I stuck the rest of the cake in a tupperware and froze it, completely experimentally to see how it'd fare. The pictures you see are actually after I came home and thawed it once again (I was too busy the day of the shower to take good cake photos, which is why there aren't any decent ones of the entire cake), and spoiler alert: it was just as good the second time around! Next time you want a dessert that impresses, but prefer something you can make ahead of time, here's your answer!

One Year Ago: Odds & Ends
Two Years Ago: Roasted Butternut Squash and Black Bean Salad
Three Years Ago: Spiced Pear Bundt Cake and Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Four Years Ago: Easy Turkey Chili and Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies
Five Years Ago: Sweet Potato Shepherds Pie and Pumpkin Cake

Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake

We are buying a lot of bananas these days. All three members of our household eat bananas--me in my morning smoothie, Ryan as part of his lunch, and Brecken, as often as we'll let her. Despite the rate at which we're flying through them, I'm still occasionally over-buying with a not-so-secret plan of letting them go brown so that I can bake with them. I tried a new banana muffin recipe a few weeks ago that was good, but not quite Sweets-life worthy. More often than not I stick with what I'm pretty sure is my all-time favorite banana bread recipe. However, when I was on duty to bring treats to church a few weeks ago, I needed something that would serve a large group of people, so I turned to this recipe for a chocolate banana bundt cake.

Adding chocolate chips to banana muffins or banana bread or banana granola bars is a no-brainer, but what happens when the entire thing takes on chocolate?! I was surprised to find out that more than anything, the banana flavor was still prominent. Of course you can taste the chocolate as well, but next time I might add some chocolate chips to the batter for even more of a chocolate boost! I kept things simple and dusted the entire cake with powdered sugar, but this would also be good with a chocolate glaze, like the one from this cake!

One Year Ago: Monster Munch with Count Chocula Cereal
Two Years Ago: Mini Lentil Turkey Meatloaves and Roasted Cabbage and Pear Salad
Three Years Ago: Wilted Spinach Salad
Four Years Ago: Pumpkin Nutella Bread and Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
Five Years Ago: Whole Wheat Pizza Dough and Red Cabbage Salad

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

Is it just me, or have blueberries been exceptionally good this year? I’ve been buying multiple pints at the store each week and week after week I’m impressed by how plump and juicy and sweet they are. We’re mostly enjoying them plain, or with Greek yogurt, but I recently had the urge to bake with them.

Baking with frozen berries is convenient and usually more inexpensive, but you can’t beat muffins (these are the best ever) or coffee cake made with fresh berries! This blueberry buckle coffee cake is no exception. With a full two cups of berries in the batter, every bite guarantees at least a blueberry or two! I’d argue this errs on the side of dessert with its crumbly topping, but I won’t judge you if you eat it for breakfast, like we did!

One Year Ago: Chicken Tikka Pizzas and Lentil Loaf
Two Years Ago: Frozen Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Banana Loaf and Marinated Kale and Green Bean Salad
Three Years Ago: Cranberry, Orange, Sour Cream Muffins and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
Four Years Ago: Sour Cream Sugar Cookies and Tuna and White Bean Salad

Red Velvet Cake

I've talked about my sisters on the blog many times before, but today I want to focus on my sisters-in-law. Erin and Katelyn have been absolute rocks for me the past several months. Not only were they some of my constant companions during my maternity leave (and part of the reason it was so hard to go back!), but even though I'm not around to play with them all day, they're taking care of Brecken. Kate's on official Brecken duty most days, but Erin has filled in numerous times and makes sure that B gets plenty of quality time with her cousin Eoin.

Long story short, they're fantastic aunts, whom I love to watch love Brecken, and they're some of my dearest friends...except sisters, which is even better! Among their many talents is also a major ability to make and decorate cakes...both of them! You might remember the Where the Wild Things Are Cake that Kate & I made for Erin's baby shower, or the Sprinkle Cake they made for mine. Those are just two of the many elaborate cakes I've seen these girls make, sometimes for no special occasion except that it's family dinner and we all love cake!

Believe it or not they didn't make this cake (theirs would be much prettier!). It was all me, which is why the frosting job isn't totally picture perfect! I couldn't resist trying a new recipe, however, and lucky for me, Bridget had already done the grunt work of finding the best red velvet cake ever. I went with her recommendation and was pleased to find that it was indeed the best red velvet cake I've ever had! This cake is perfect as is--I wouldn't do a thing to change it and I dare you to find a better red velvet recipe! Now quick, find something or someone (maybe YOUR sister-in-law!) to celebrate so you have an excuse to make this!

One Year Ago: Cranberry Apple Butter Bars and Curried Egg Salad

Two Years Ago: Saucy Onion Meatball Subs with Pepperjack
Three Years Ago: Amaretto Fruit Dip and Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup
Four Years Ago: Strawberry Cream Puff Cake

Coca-Cola Cake

When I was in 8^th grade, our basketball coach suggested that the team stop drinking soda (or pop, as it was called in Illinois) during the season. Given that I was new to the school and the team, I didn’t want to be the only one chugging carbonated drinks from November to February and I quickly abandoned the Sprite that usually accompanied pizza on the weekends or the orange soda I was partial to anytime we stopped for fast food. The season came to an end and I discovered that I didn’t miss soda, and just like that, it was completely extinct from my diet. Well, extinct minus the occasional root beer float!

Today, it’s a rare occasion to find soda of any kind in our refrigerator. When I picked up some coke to make our favorite BBQ sauce, I came close to tossing the rest, knowing it would sit lonely in the fridge until I went on a cleaning rampage and disposed of it. Instead, I did a little Googling and decided not to let it go to waste!

This coke cake reminds me a lot of Texas Sheet Cake. It’s not only a good way to use up the last of that bottle of cola, it’s also an easy way to get you chocolate fix and feed a crowd. The cake is rich and sweet enough that you only need a small piece to satisfy…although I won’t blame you if you find yourself eating small piece and after small piece!

One Year Ago: Turkey Burgers with Lemon Mayonnaise and Guacamole Tostadas with Sweet Potato and Fried Eggs
Two Years Ago: Red Potatoes with Olives, Feta, and Mint and Lemon Poppyseed Gobs with Blueberry Filling
Three Years Ago: Mexican Salad with Pomegranate Lime Dressing and Grilled Chicken Fajitas
Four Years Ago: Quinoa Salad with Cucumber, Shrimp, Mango, and Mint and Creamy Caper Sauce

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache

When it comes to dessert in our house, we tend to stick to cookies or ice cream. There is always ice cream in our freezer (Ryan has a giant bowl every night before bed. Oh to have his metabolism!), and I find myself throwing together a batch of cookies once or twice a month. Cake, on the other hand, is more of a rarity. This is partially because with a few exceptions, Ryan doesn’t like cake. I know, I don’t understand either. Also, cake tends to be more of a commitment, both in baking and in eating.

chocolate bundt cake with chocolate ganache

Every so often, however, I get the craving for cake…and when the craving strikes, things like this chocolate bundt cake happen! Thankfully I have friends willing to eat cake, since I can’t count on Ryan here. This cake has a deep chocolate flavor, enhanced by the coffee in the batter. It bakes up with a tight crumb, making pieces easy to slice. The chocolate frosting isn’t a necessity, but definitely enhances the finished product, as does a scoop of vanilla ice cream! When your cake craving strikes, pull out this recipe!

One Year Ago: Chocolate Mocha Almond Blondies and Pear, Pecan, and Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Two Years Ago: Greens, Beans, and Chicken Panini and Cheddar, Bacon, and Spinach Egg Casserole
Three Years Ago: Breakfast Brownies and Coconut Pomegranate Scones
Four Years Ago: Lindsay's Chocolate Cafe Chocolate Chip Cookies and Crispy Tilapia Sandwiches

Secret Ingredient Cranberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I'm writing this nearly four weeks before it'll actually post, on Valentine's Day, when all of you will read it. I can't help but wonder what that day is going to look like for us. I know I have a doctor's appointment scheduled for that morning. I know it's the last doctor's appointment scheduled currently, since my due date is just two days later, on the 16th. Are there any signs of labor yet (note: Feb 14 IS a full moon this year!)? Has baby McLaury already arrived? (spoiler alert--she's HERE!!!)

Today as I write this, on January 19th, I'm not feeling overly anxious about it one way or another. Yes, we are so excited to meet this baby, and find out the gender once and for all! At the same time, I have been determined to enjoy every last day as a family of two. It's crazy to think it's been just Ryan and me in this little family for five and a half years, and now here we are, getting ready to change everything...forever. As a rather impatient person who feels the need to plan and schedule every last minute, I've been surprisingly relaxed about pregnancy. This baby will make its arrival exactly when its supposed to! I can't wait to read this post in a few weeks and see how and if the situation has changed at all ;)

Enough about babies, because I'm sure there's plenty more of that to come! Let's talk about this coffee cake. I made it for a brunch with friends in December, and wasn't planning on blogging it, especially since I have a similar coffee cake already on The Sweets Life. Then I took a bite of the cake as I was arranging pieces on a platter and I immediately went to grab my camera. This coffee cake needs to be shared--it's definitely something special! I credit the almond extract, which I'm convinced makes everything special (like these amazing cookies!). Here, it transforms a pretty basic coffee cake into something unforgettable! If you're having a hard time finding cranberry sauce this time of year, you should be able to substitute your favorite kind of jam with no problems!

One Year Ago: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Pretzel Cookies and Vanilla Butternut Squash Soup
Two Years Ago: Homemade Whole Wheat English Muffins and Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake and Carrot Spice Muffins
Four Years Ago: Bran-Breaded Tilapia and Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Pear and Sour Cream Coffee Cake

We hosted Christmas at our house this year, and because my sister Julia was busy saving babies' lives on the night shift Christmas Eve, our Christmas morning broke tradition from what we were used to. Instead of awaking to stockings and gifts in our pjs followed by breakfast, we awoke to a leisurely breakfast and day before opening gifts in the late afternoon. It didn't really make a difference to me which order we did things, so long as we didn't skip out on the Christmas breakfast portion of the day!

This coffee cake was the star of the meal, which also featured a spicy egg dish, fruit salad, and coffee. Made a day ahead of time, this was fantastic on days two and three, particularly when served straight from the fridge. The best part? Definitely the pear crumble that, as you can see in the photos, was nearly as thick as the cake itself. Normally fruit is mixed into the coffee cake batter, such as in this cinnamon apple cake, but I loved the way all the fruit was piled on top in this one, creating a nice contrast to the rich cake below.

Definitely erring on the "cake" side of coffee cake, this is a breakfast treat meant for special occasions. I did include some whole wheat flour and reduce a bit of butter in the crumble to lessen a bit of the guilt factor, but calories don't count on Christmas breakfast...and good thing because I enjoyed multiple pieces of this not just that morning, but in the days that followed!

One Year Ago: Steak Fajita Lettuce Wraps and Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake
Two Years Ago: Roasted Tomato Basil Soup and Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
Three Years Ago: Whole Wheat Quick Bread with Pepitas and Mini Berry Swirl Cheesecakes
Four Years Ago: White Chocolate Toffee Coconut Oatmeal Cookies and Greek Salad Pita Sandwiches

Chocolate Mint Cake

Chocolate Mint Cake

Chocolate and mint is not a combination I immediately get excited about. I'm not sure why, since I love these chocolate mint puddle cookies, homemade thin mints, and these adorable chocolate mint sandwich cookies. Hmm okay maybe I do love chocolate and mint! Still, when I decided to make this cake, it wasn't so much for my enjoyment as it was for my friend Maggie, who was celebrating a December birthday!

The cake was actually intended to be way more extravagant than what you see pictured. The Bon Appetit recipe called for splitting the cake in two, filling it with ganache, and then covering the whole thing in a chocolate glaze. I intended to go this route, but when 9 pm rolled around and I still had several steps left in the recipe, I decided to go a different direction. Sleep wins when you're seven months pregnant. My version was just one cake layer, and the mint ganache served as frosting...I didn't even bother to try and cover the entire cake and instead spread the ganache over the top and decorated with sprinkles.

I couldn't have been happier with my spin on this cake. The cake is deeply chocolaty but the mint--by way of chopped Andes in the cake and peppermint extract in the ganache--shines through creating a perfect marriage between the two. Even without the extra steps, the cake manages to be a showstopper that would be a great addition to your Christmas dinner! Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to really put it over the top!

One Year Ago: 7 Random Questions
Two Years Ago: White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge and Gingerbread Espresso Bundt Cake
Three Years Ago: Brownie Bottom Nutella Cheesecake Squares and Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting
Four Years Ago: Sugar Cookie Bites

German Chocolate Sheet Cake

German chocolate cake was actually one of the first cakes I ever made from scratch. I’m pretty sure it was before I was married, and my (then) future sister-in-law Katelyn and I set out to make one. If I remember correctly, we had to borrow cake pans and we didn’t really know our way around the kitchen (at least not like now!), but we managed to construct a somewhat lopsided, but still tasty, German chocolate cake.

Years later, I’ve now made several layer cakes (my favorite being this dark chocolateone!), and have more cake pans than I know what to do with! My cakes do sometimes still come out a little lopsided from time to time, a mistake easily avoided by making a sheet cake instead of a layer cake! This German chocolate cake comes together quickly in a 9 x 13 inch pan. The cake itself is spongy, with a deep chocolate flavor. Even if you aren’t a fan of the frosting on German chocolate cake, this would be a great chocolate base for just about any frosting!

Even though I forgot to toast the pecans AND coconut, the frosting was easily my favorite part of the cake. Yes, it’s almost sickly sweet, but the sugar is tempered by the dark chocolate in the cake, and a small piece is enough to satisfy! Half of this went to our pastor’s family, in celebration of their fourth baby, and the other half went to work, where not a crumb was left by lunchtime!

One Year Ago: White Chocolate, Cranberry, Oatmeal Bars
Two Years Ago: Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf
Three Years Ago: Columbia Crest Cork & Fork Dinner

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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Ginger Pear Loaf Cake

Monday, November 10, 2014

Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Peanut Butter and Jelly Coffee Cake

Monday, October 20, 2014

German Chocolate Cake

Friday, October 10, 2014

Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake

Friday, July 25, 2014

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

Friday, June 27, 2014

Red Velvet Cake

Friday, May 23, 2014

Coca-Cola Cake

Friday, April 18, 2014

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Friday, February 14, 2014

Secret Ingredient Cranberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Friday, January 24, 2014

Pear and Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Monday, December 23, 2013

Chocolate Mint Cake

Thursday, August 29, 2013

German Chocolate Sheet Cake