Category: Cakes

Lemon Pound Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 eggs, beaten
juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup or 3 tablespoons)
zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Butter or oil two loaf pans or one bundt pan.

In bowl, mix flour with baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In large bowl, cream sugar and butter together until smooth. Add lemon zest.

Alternately add eggs and flour mixture, then add vanilla and lemon juice.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

1 Large Box of Jello Vanilla Instant Pudding
Milk
Graham Crackers
Cool Whip
Chocolate Icing

Mix pudding and cool whip.

Microwave frosting for about 40 seconds.

Layers in 9×13 inch pan:
graham crackers (on bottom of pan)
pudding and cool whip mixture
graham crackers
pudding and cool whip mixture
Layer of frosting

Refrigerate overnight.

Chocolate Pound Cake with Ganache Icing

1 1/2 cup butter
3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup milk
6oz. mini chocolate chips (optional)

Beat butter and sugar together, cream well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one is added. Beat in vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add the dry alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture.

Pour the batter into a greased 10-inch tube pan, leveling it in the pan somewhat as batter will be rather thick. Bake at 325° for 80 minutes, or until chocolate pound cake bounces back when touched lightly in the center with finger. Let cake cool completely before adding ganache.

Ganache Icing

1 cup heavy cream
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pour chips into a medium mixing bowl. Then, pour heavy cream into a small saucepan, and heat on low to medium heat until milk JUST begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips. Mix with spoon or whisk until all chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Cool icing until it’s a thick texture, but not too thick, because you’ll want to drizzle it over the cake. Then, take a spoon and start drizzling!

We recommend keeping the cake in the refrigerator, especially during warm months.

Carrot Cake

Mix:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Add and Mix:
1 cup vegetable oil
2 small jars strained baby carrots (baby food works)
3 eggs

Stir with a spoon (don’t beat) until mixed.  Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan and spoon the batter into the pan.  Bake at 300 degrees for one hour.  Cool.

Frost with cream cheese frosting, if desired.

Note: You can add a little bit of grated carrot to the cake mix if you like. Adds a little more ‘orange’ color and carrot flavor.

In honor of John’s birthday, we had cake for breakfast! *grin*

This is a homemade yellow layer cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. It’s not the neatest decorating job, but at least now I know what a cookie gun can do well, and can’t, in terms of frosting. (Next time I will use an icing bag to manually control the flow of frosting better. Notice how I blamed the tool instead of the user – hah!) Still it tastes really good, which is the most important part!

Below is the recipe for both the yellow cake and the chocolate buttercream frosting, although I switched out some fo the all-purpose flour for some cake flour to give it a slightly finer texture.

Happy Birthday, John!

Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Yellow Cake Recipe

2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 stick softened butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 large eggs

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix in milk, oil, and softened (not melted) butter, and vanilla. Mix in three eggs and stir until well combined and as smooth as possible.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil 2 or 3 9-inch round pans for layers. Bake 20-25 minutes, 20 minutes for three pans, 25 for two, although each oven is different. If toothpick comes out clean, you’re done. Cool on baking rack before turning out of pan.

Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

(This recipe will cover a two layer cake, and MAYBE three if you stretch it. However, you can always make another ‘half’ batch of frosting so you’re not skimping.)

1/2 cup soft (not melted, but very soft) butter
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cups cocoa
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk

In medium bowl, sift sugar and cocoa together to get rid of any clumps. (Can also toss them into the food processor together for a few very short bursts.) Set aside.

In large bowl, mix butter and vanilla together. Add sugar and cocoa mixture. Then add milk and stir until smooth. If too thick add a teaspoon of milk at a time until desired consistency. If too runny, add a touch more powdered sugar until desired consistency.

Frost yellow cake layers when completely cooled.