Cakes & Cupcakes

Carrot Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

carrot cake

Carrot Cake hopped over the Atlantic from Britain to North America so, while the basic recipe is not original to this land, this version (and many others) is quite the American style, with a white chocolate frosting.

Ingredients:

Cake
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup minus 2 teaspoons firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups canola or safflower oil, at room temperature
4 large eggs (3/4 cup or 6 fl. Oz.), at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups (1 lb.) firmly packed shredded carrots
1 cup Californian raisins, tossed with 2 teaspoons flour
1 cup chopped Georgian Pecans

Frosting
9 oz white chocolate containing cocoa butter, chopped
12 oz Philadelphia Kraft cream cheese, softened
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) butter, softened
1-1/2 Tablespoons crème fraiche or sour cream
A pinch of xanthan gum

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line the bottoms of 3 round cake pans with parchment paper circles and grease with butter. Set aside.

Cakes:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and cinnamon. Sift the flour mixture onto a large piece of parchment.

In mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla on medium speed for 1 minute, or until well blended.

Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed for about 20 seconds, just until incorporated. Add the carrots, half the raisins, and all of the nuts, if using, and beat for another 12 seconds.

Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with a small offset spatula.

Each will be just under half full. If using them, scatter the remaining raisins evenly on top of the batter in each pan. Use the back of a fork to push them gently into the batter.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean and the cakes spring back when pressed lightly in the centers.

The cakes should just start to shrink from the sides of the pans.

Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a small metal spatula between the sides of the pans and the cakes, pressing firmly against the pans, and invert the cakes onto wire racks.

To prevent splitting, re-invert the cakes so that the tops are up. Cool completely.

Frosting:

Heat the chocolate until almost completely melted.

Use the top of a double boiler set over hot, not simmering, water, stirring often – do not let the bottom of the container touch the water. OR, Use a small microwavable bowl, stirring with a silicone spatula every 15 seconds.

Remove the white chocolate from the heat and using a silicone spatula, stir until fully melted.

Allow to cool until it is no longer warm to the touch but is still fluid.

In the bowl of a food processor, process the cream cheese, butter, xanthan gum and crème fraiche for a few seconds until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides.

Add the cooled melted white chocolate and pulse it in a few times until it is smoothly incorporated.

If the frosting seems too soft to spread on the cake, you can put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up.

Assembly:

Spread a little of the frosting on a 9-inch cardboard round or serving plate.

Set one cake layer on the frosting smear. This will help keep the cake from sliding around.

Spread frosting over the top of the cake layer, stopping just before the edges.

Repeat with layers.

Frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Remove the paper slips from beneath the cake and discard.

 

Key Lime Pound Cake

A truly original American dish is the Key Lime Pie, made with limes from the Keys at the southern tip of Florida. And this recipe is an outgrowth of the Key lime popularity, enjoying the delightfully tangy flavor in a sweet pound cake.

key-lime-poundcake-l

Ingredients

Key Lime Glaze

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325°. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
  2. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (12-cup) tube pan.
  3. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.
  4. Prepare Key Lime Glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, fresh Key lime juice, and vanilla until smooth.
  5. Immediately brush over top and sides of cake. Cool completely (about 1 hour).

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

cupcake dwn

The “upside down” cake is very popular in America, and these cupcakes are just wonderful.

Ingredients
1 box Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic Yellow Cake Mix with pudding in the mix
1 (3.4 ounce) Vanilla Instant Pudding
3 eggs
1/3 cup cooking oil
2/3 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup milk
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple slices, drained (save juice)
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained (save juice)

Topping
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
maraschino cherries

Directions:
Spray muffin tins well with cooking spray. Melt butter and sugar together on top of the stove. Add 1 tablespoon sugar mixture to each muffin cup. Next, put in 1 tablespoon crushed, drained pineapple or 1 pineapple slice in bottom of each cup.

In a large bowl mix cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, juice and milk with mixer. Fill cups 1/2 to 3/4 full with cake mix.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove and let cool at least 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges to loosen muffins from cups before removing.

Turn cupcakes upside down on a platter and add cherries. Note: I used one regular 12 cup muffin tin and one large 6 cup tin to make these. This way the recipe made 18 cupcakes. If just using regular 12 cup tins, it should make about 24 cupcakes.

You could use all crushed pineapple or all pineapple rings as well. I wanted to try them both ways to see how they turned out. I think the pineapple rings work better in the larger cup muffin tins. These would be good topped with whipped cream and you could add nuts to the mix.

Pumpkin Dump Cake

pumpdump

Pumpkin is a traditional favorite ingredient in many American deserts. The classic Pumpkin Pie has spread around much of the planet. But this variation on the pumpkin sweets offering is truly unique to North America.

Ingredients                                                
1 15 oz. can Pumpkin Puree
1 10 oz. can Nestle’s Carnation Evaporated Milk
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs (slightly beaten)
3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist yellow cake mix
1 cup (2 sticks) butter melted
1 cup crushed Nabisco Honey Made graham crackers and/or crushed pecans
1/2 cup toffee bits (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Spray a 9×13 baking pan lightly with cooking/baking spray
In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs and pumpkin pie spice. Stir to combine.
Pour into your prepared pan.
Sprinkle your entire box of cake mix on top, followed by your nuts or graham crackers and toffee chips.
Pour your melted butter evenly on top.
Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is set and edges are lightly browned.

Notes
serve with ice cream or whipped cream

Red Velvet Cake

red cake

Unique and original to America is the Red Velvet Cake. Its texture is exquisite, the taste one without parallel. Foreign visitors to this country are often dismayed at the obviously artificially colored appearance, but once they have a mouthful, hey – it’s a thumbs up experience!

Ingredients:

For the Red Velvet Cake:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups canola oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 oz. red food coloring
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

For the cream cheese frosting:

1/2 cup margarine
1 (8-ounce) package Philadelphia Kraft Cream Cheese
1 12 oz. box confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped lightly toasted pecans

 

Directions:

For the Red Velvet Cake-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round layer cake pans.

Sift flour, baking soda and coco together. Beat sugar and eggs together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together oil, vinegar, food coloring, and vanilla. Add to the bowl of eggs and sugar and beat until combined.

Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the wet mixture by alternating the buttermilk and dry ingredients. Always start with the flour and end with the flour.

Pour batter into pans. Tap them on the table to level out the batter and release air bubbles. Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the middle comes out clean but be careful not to over bake or you’ll end up with a dry cake.

Let layers cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before turning out of pan. Cool completely before frosting.
For the cream cheese frosting:

For the Cream Cheese Frosting-

Let margarine and cream cheese soften to room temperature. Mix and blend together well. Add sugar and beat until mixed but not so much that the frosting becomes “loose”. Add vanilla and nuts. Spread between layers and on top and sides of cake.