Heaven Cake

Sometimes, cakes come from heaven.

Glowing with a halo of sparkling sugar.

An angelic marshmallow-ey, white chocolaty frosting, lighter (and I assume far tastier) than a cumulus cloud.

Enrobing a cake that deserves its own religion.

Not to mention its very own place of worship.  Although a plate and fork will do just fine.

And a devout group of followers, but that’s implied with the heavenliness of this cake.

Make this cake, and you shall be converted – your life shall be guided by a new light – this cake.  Which goes marvelously with strawberries for breakfast I might add.

The Whiteout Cake from the super marvelous guys at BAKED

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups ice cold water
• 3 large egg whites, at room temp
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (or 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice)

For the White Chocolate Frosting

• 6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 1 /2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Making the Cake

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper (important!) and butter the parchment and cake pans.  Dust with flour.
2. Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl.  Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Scrape down the bowl, add the egg, and beat until just combined.
4. Turn the mixer to low.  Add the flour mixture, alternating with the ice water, in three separate additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar (or vinegar or lemon juice) until soft peaks form.  Do not overbeat.  Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
6. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean.  Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes.  Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely.  Remove the parchment.

Make the White Chocolate Frosting

1. Using either a double boiler or a microwave oven, melt the white chocolate and set it aside to cool.
2. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together.  Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 20 minutes.  THE MIXTURE MIGHT SEEM THICK AFTER 5 OR SO MINUTES, BUT KEEP COOKING AND STIRRING, IT WILL GET MUCH THICKER.  DO NOT LOSE FAITH IN THIS ODD MIXTURE THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE FROSTING AT SOME POINT.
3. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on high speed until cool – this may take a while, like 10 minutes or so.  Reduce the speed to low and add the butter (MAKE SURE THE MIXTURE IS COOL – YOU DO NOT WANT THE BUTTER TO MELT!), mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.  This part is magical.
4. Add the vanilla and white chocolate and continue mixing until combined.  IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE YOUR WHITE CHOCOLATE IS COOL BEFORE YOU ADD IT.  If the frosting is too soft, put the bowl in the refrigerator to chill slightly (although this may be difficult if your refrigerator is filled to the brim with various easter food items and preparations), then beat again until it is the proper consistency.  If the frosting is too firm, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until is it the proper consistency.  And what exactly is the proper consistency?  I say it’s whatever consistency you feel comfortable frosting your cake with.  Trust the cake baker instincts deep inside you.

Assemble the Cake

1. Refrigerate the frosting for a few minutes (but no more) until it can hold its shape.  Place on cake layer on a serving platter.  Trim the top to create a flat surface, and evenly spread about 1 1/4 cups of the frosting on top. Add the next layer, trim and frost it.  Then add the third layer.
2. Crumb coat the cake and put the cake in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to firm up the frosting.
3. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting.
4. Garnish with whatever and however you desire.
5. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up the finished cake.
6. This cake will keep marvelously in a cake server at room temperature (cool and humidity free) for up to 3 days.  If your room is not cool, place the cake in a cake saver and refrigerate for up to 3 days.  Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.

I also really highly recommend this cake for breakfast in a bowl topped with sliced strawberries.  Really go for the spoonfuls of frosting with a couple of strawberry slices.  It’s pure heavenly indulgence.

Coconut Chocolate Cake

I don’t know if it’s just me, but each time I flip through my much awaited arrival of bon appetit I find myself bookmarking nearly every other recipe, overwhelmed with all the things I want to make.  I find myself a week later, still pondering over which recipe I want to cook or bake, unable to decide between all the tantalizing recipes in the most recent issue and all the others I never got to in the past.  As I struggle through lists of recipes I want to make I end up eating hummus and chips for dinner and stuck with an ever-growing list of bookmarked bon appetit recipes.

I really should make things from bon appetit more often seeing as this cake was delicious.  The only complaints I had were that it was too crumbly (which was my fault because I used all whole wheat pastry flour) and that I would have preferred if the coconut and chocolate topping were more submerged into the cake.  Regardless, the combination of chocolate and coconut never fails to make me do a little happy dance.

My rest of the year resolution?  Bake and cook more from Bon Appetit.  It’s never to late for resolutions.
Coconut Cake with Chocolate Chunks and Coconut Drizzle

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour – I used whole wheat pastry flour – do not do this unless you want an extremely crumbly cake.
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons (packed) finely grated orange peel
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate bars (do not exceed 61% cacao), broken into 1/2-inch irregular pieces, divided
• 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Coconut Drizzle:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons (or more) canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract – used coconut extract to really milk the coconut.

Directions:

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.Generously butter 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides; dust pan with flour, shaking out excess.
2. Sift 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, and sea salt into medium bowl. Stir in unsweetened shredded coconut and set aside.
3. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and orange peel in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with coconut milk in 2 additions, beating just until blended after each addition.
4. Fold in half of bittersweet chocolate pieces. Spread batter evenly in prepared cake pan. Sprinkle remaining chocolate pieces over batter, then sprinkle with sweetened flaked coconut.
5. Bake cake until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, tenting with sheet of foil if coconut atop cake is browning too quickly, 60 to 70 minutes. Transfer cake to rack and cool in pan 45 minutes.

Coconut Drizzle

1. Whisk powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk, and vanilla in small bowl to blend well, adding more coconut milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls until mixture is thin enough to drizzle over cake.
2. Carefully run small knife around sides of cake to loosen. Invert cake onto platter, then carefully invert again onto another platter, coconut side up. Using small spoon, drizzle powdered sugar mixture decoratively over cake. Cool cake completely on platter.

Apricot Butter-Almond Coffee Cake

I have a super power, although it is somewhat bizarre, and sometimes annoying.  I seem to wake up before my alarm goes off or before the superintendent of our school calls to tell us we have a snow-day.  Maybe it’s intuition.  I think it’s a super power.  Regardless I woke up at 5:40 am Wednesday morning, 20 minutes before my alarm was set to go off.  I lay in bed trying not to get my hopes up about having a snow day even though there was a 4 inch white blanket covering the world outside my window, pretending that it was any old school day.  Then what do I hear at 5:44 am?  A phone call.  No one picks up and I strain my ears to hear what the message is saying.  Snow-day.

Most would go back to sleep at the sound of such wonderful news.  But not I.  My thoughts immediately turned to what I was going to bake that morning.  My sleepy brain flipped through the folders in my head, trying to choose between scones or muffins or quick bread or coffee cake.  Needless to say I have been known to become extremely distressed when trying to choose between the hundreds of possibilities and this morning was no different.  Not wanting a headache so early in the day, I narrowed it down to two choices: morning glory muffins or apricot butter-almond coffee cake, both from King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion. To make my decision making move more quickly my empty stomach grumbled with hunger.  Fed up with lying hungrily in bed trying to decide,  I descended the stairs and reached into the pantry and pulled out a jar of apricot preserves.  Apricot Butter-Almond Cake it was.

This was the perfect breakfast for a gloomy, just-turned-rainy, snow day morning. The apricot scented cake is topped with a mixture of butter, brown sugar, heavy cream(which I didn’t have so I used whole milk), a pinch of salt, vanilla, and almonds reminiscent of sticky toffee pudding.  I only used about half of it and I’m glad I did because it would have been much too sweet otherwise. This buttery cake was unbelievably moist and I’m sure it would keep this way for days… if it lasts that long.

You know it’s good when my small family of three (including my sweets-avoiding mother) devours more than two-thirds of it for breakfast.

Apricot Butter-Almond Cake slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour Baking Companion

Ingredients

For cake

• 5 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cups apricot preserves, preferable unsweetened (I used reduced sugar and also reduced the amount of sugar in the cake to about 1/2 a cup)
• 1 1/8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour ( I used whole wheat pastry flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk (I used reduced fat)
• I also added a tad bit of vanilla extract

Topping ( I ended up only using about half)

• 3/4 cup brown sugar (I used about 1/2 cup)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• heaping 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk (I used whole milk)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

For the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  If the mixture looks curdled at any point, don’t panic, it’ll straighten itself out as you go along.  Stir in the apricot preserves.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with the milk, beating to combine.
5. Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9-inch round baking pan.  Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester (or toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Remove the cake from the oven an allow it to cool for about 10 minutes while you preheat your broiler.

Topping

1. While the cake is baking, make the topping.
2. In a small saucepan, heat over low to medium heat the brown sugar, butter, salt, and cream. Simmer the mixture gently over low heat, uncovered, for 15 minutes; when you see 1/2-inch bubbles forming and breaking with a snapping sound, remove it from the heat and stir in the almonds and the flavoring.

To assemble

1. Spread the warm topping over the cake.
2. Broil it 1 inch from the heat for just about 1 minute; the topping will bubble and become golden brown.  Watch it carefully.  If you’re nervous, broil it for  a longer amount of time a bit farther from the heat.
3. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!  Preferably on a lazy, rainy, snow-day morning.

If there’s no coffee in it, why is it addictive?

Coffee cake.  I have yet to find a coffee cake that actually contains coffee.  But to tell the truth, this cake is as addictive as if it really did have coffee in it. 

Oh, hey there pecan, brown sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, cranberry swirl.


Each time I open the bundt pan container to grab a slice I’m hit in the face with an enticing, sugary coffee cake aroma.  I’m sure that if I made a perfume out of it I could make some money.  The next most popular perfume?  Right after Dior?  I think so.

I do have a confession to make though.  This is not the first time I have made this coffee cake.  The first time I wasn’t pleased with the swirls, so I deemed it unworthy to share.  But this time, oh this time, it was perfect.  Everything I imagined it to be and more.  

Sour Cream Coffee Cake from Epicurious
Just a warning the batter can get quite stiff and it was a little difficult for me using a hand mixer.  If you have a stand mixer I highly recommend using it.  Hopefully I’ll get one for christmas

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts – I used pecans and I toasted them a tad beforehand, letting them cool before I mixed them in with the sugar mixture.
• 1 1/4 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoons dried currants – I used about 1/3 cup cranberries.
• 3 cups cake flour – I used white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 16-ounce container sour cream – I used light sour cream

The Fun Part:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 12-cup Bundt pan. Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Set nut mixture aside. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and sour cream alternately into butter mixture in 3 additions. Beat batter on high 1 minute.
2. Pour 1/3 of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of nut mixture. Spoon 1/3 of batter over. Sprinkle with remaining nut mixture. Spoon remaining batter over.
3. Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes. Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Turn cake out onto rack and cool 1 hour. Transfer to platter.
4. Whisk powdered sugar and milk in small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over coffee cake. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Wrap in foil and let stand at room temperature.)

Bundts Fix Everything, Just Like Windex.

Last Thursday was not exactly a good day.  It was just one of those days in which nothing seemed to go as planned.  One of those days when your hair does not look as good as you had planned.  When you probably failed that english quiz you studied hours for.  When you repeatedly pronounced the word “mask” incorrectly in Spanish.  And yet, a small brown box is enough to put a smile on your gloomy face.  The long awaited bundt pan had arrived.

Therefore, it was only appropriate to bake a bundt for National Bundt Day, which was Sunday November 15.

Maybe Bundts make me so happy because ever since I watched”My Big Fat Greek Wedding” every time I hear the word bundt I think of that movie, and that movie was hilarious.  Even if you haven’t seen it (if you haven’t, rent it now), make this bundt.  It will still make you happy, even without having seen the movie.

Browned Butter Pumpkin Bundt Cake

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and allowed to turn golden brown then cooled
• 2 1/4 cups organic all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups  pumpkin – one can
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Grease and flour pan
3. Mix dry ingredients together and set aside
4. Beat cooled butter and sugar until well mixed. Beat in eggs one at a time
5. Beat in vanilla
6. Fold in pumpkin
7. Add flour and buttermilk alternately and mix until smooth
8. Spoon into baking pan
9. Bake at 350F until done, about 50-65 minutes
10. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then remove from pan to cool.

For the glaze I mixed together…

2 T maple syrup

1 cup Sugar

2 T milk

WARNING:  I added too much milk and it was not viscous enough so it just poured off the sides.  I would add a little bit of milk at a time until your desired consistency is reached.  Also, next time I might try adding some maple extract.