Heath Bar Cake

I have had this recipe printed out for a long time, waiting for the perfect time to make it. That window of opportunity nicely presented itself last week. This was a delightful cake, simply delightful. So moist and toffee-esque. Might have made that word up, go with me here. Here's the link to the original recipe over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe. If you don't follow her blog on google reader or facebook, you totally should. Good stuff, people, good stuff.

Ingredients:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5-6 (1.4 ounces each) chocolate covered toffee bars (like Heath), chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and center a rack in the middle of the oven. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, white sugar, flour and butter. Crumble these ingredients together with a pastry blender, whisk or two forks until the mixture is crumbly and coarse. Remove 1/2 cup of the crumbs to a small bowl and set aside. To the large bowl with the remaining crumbs, add the buttermilk, egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Mix well.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it to the edges. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the reserved crumbs and chopped Heath bars. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center is no longer gooey but a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. The cake may fall slightly in the center leaving the edges raised. No fear! It will still be delicious.

*a note. I was in a state of frenzy when I was half way through making this cake because I realized that I forget to buy heath bars to crush up! Did I despair? Well, maybe for 5 seconds. Then, I grabbed my bag of skor bits and 1 8oz hershey's chocolate bar and went to town on the crumble. Mmmm, yum.

White Wedding Cupcakes

I love LOVE me a good doctored up cake-mix. Its a win win. Moist, easy and home-made all thrown together. Because I have to admit, I have made many a "from scratch" cake that is heavy and dry. I discovered this recipe by typing in "doctored cake mixes" on google.com and voila, stumbled upon this keeper. Thanks to Recipe Girl for introducing these to me, they are my go-to cupcake. My mom likes to make 2 9" round cakes, and spread lemon filling in the middle. This is quite the versatile recipe! My husband thinks they taste like they came from 25 & Main, a local cafe that is famous for delectable cupcakes. Its always cupcake season at my house. :)

Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix (Duncan Hines works very well)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

¾ tsp salt

1 1/3 cups water

2 Tbs vegetable oil

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream ( I use reduced fat sour cream, fine results)

4 large egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans (you’ll need approx. 36).

2. In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended.

3. Use ice cream scoop to fill prepared cupcake tins- fill about 3/4 full. Bake about 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Yield: 36 cupcakes

Cooking Tips

*Add a tsp. of almond extract (in addition to the vanilla) if you wish to have a different flavor.

**Using an ice cream scoop is perfect for getting the batter into the cupcake tins without spilling.

***You can also use this mix to make cake. Pour into greased and floured cake pans. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

*cooking tips courtesy of Recipe Girl.


Basic chocolate frosting; (Better Homes and Gardens)

1/3 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In a mixing bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in the 1/4 cup milk and vanilla. Slowly beat in remaining powdered sugar and cocoa. Beat in any additional milk by the teaspoon, if needed, until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce

Apple and caramel, a match made in heaven! I have been jonesing for an autumn-y treat for quite some time now. Thanks to google for helping me find this gem. Here is the link to the recipe, its from Jamie at Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats, and the original comes from one of my favorite magazines, Real Simple. And I love how Jamie wrote that what attracted her to this recipe was all the butter! My kinda gal!

As I was chopping the apples, a tedious task for certain, I thought to myself, this better be worth all the work! One bite. That is all it took to convince me, it was well worth the work. The only thing that I might alter is that I would double the glaze, because it is not possible to have too much caramel with apples.

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the dish
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the dish
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I omitted this, not a nutmeg fan)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into a 1/2-inch dice
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans (left these out)
2 1/4 tsp vanilla

Caramel Glaze, recipe below (optional)
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Heat oven to 325° F.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat the butter and the granulated and brown sugars until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Using a wooden spoon, gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. The batter should be very thick. Stir in the apples, pecans, and vanilla. Scrape the batter into a buttered and floured 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool for at least 10 minutes while you make the Caramel Glaze, if using. (If using, ha!!!)

Caramel Glaze

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a saucepan, over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the granulated and brown sugars and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Stir in the cream and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Yield: Makes 16 servings

*notes. Jamie mentioned she had to bake her cake 65 minutes, so don't automatically pull your cake out at 60 minutes and assume its done. The toothpick test is vital with this recipe. This cake was fabulous warm, room temperature and for breakfast the next morning!

Coconut Cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes 2 dozen

• 3 cups cake flour (yes, I used cake flour, no cheating with all-purpose)
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup coconut milk (read the comments on the martha site, ANY kind of canned coconut milk will work well)
  
• 8 large egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups shredded sweetened coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.
4. In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes. Do not overbeat. Gently fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined. Gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture; stir in shredded coconut.
5. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each with a heaping 1/4 cup batter. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the cupcakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack. Invert cupcakes onto rack; then reinvert and let cool completely, top sides up. Frost cupcakes with seven minute frosting, swirling to cover. Cupcakes may be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Garnish with fresh coconut just before serving.

notes: didn't use 7 minute frosting, went with my favorite buttercream straight from my reliable better homes and gardens cookbook. tasted fab. also, toasted some coconut (1 cup @ 350 spread out on a cookie sheet, 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant) and rolled the edges of the freshly frosted cupcakes in the toasted coconut. hhhhmmmm. made for a pretty AND tasty cupcake.

Best Damn Chocolate Cake Ever

Ripped from the internet, sorry I can't remember where! Yes, I will back up the name of this cake a million times over! It is THAT good. Can't stop eating it, make sure a fork is close to the cake at all times for quick nibbles throughout the day, tell other family members it didnt' turn out so great so they are not tempted to eat it, stay away from if you are on a diet, this is sure to make you fall off the wagon!

ingredients:

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small box Jello instant chocolate pudding mix (not the sugar or fat free kind!)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1 cup regular size milk chocolate chips)

mix all ingredients together (minus choc.chips) until very smooth, roughly 2-3 minutes with a hand held mixer.
stir in chips and pour into well greased bundt pan.
follow directions on cake box, should be 350 for 45-50 minutes.
watch closely, I usually pull mine out right at 45 because the toothpick is clean and nothing is worse than an overdone, dry cake.
Let it sit in the bundt pan for 10 minutes before turning out.

no frosting required, just a generous dusting of powdered sugar!

Angel Food Cake

thanks to my friend Nikki Joiner for emailing the recipe, I never thought homemade angel food cakes could be as fluffy as store bought. I was wrong! Great flavor and stayed light and airy. and I actually bought cake flour instead of cheating with all-purpose flour. I used vanilla extract instead of orange.

Angel food cake from Alton Brown

* 1 3/4 cups sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup cake flour, sifted
* 12 egg whites (the closer to room temperature the better)
* 1/3 cup warm water
* 1 teaspoon orange extract, or extract of your choice
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a food processor spin sugar about 2 minutes until it is superfine. Sift half of the sugar with the salt the cake flour, setting the remaining sugar aside.

In a large bowl, use a balloon whisk to thoroughly combine egg whites, water, orange extract, and cream of tartar. After 2 minutes, switch to a hand mixer. Slowly sift the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium speed. Once you have achieved medium peaks, sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula fold in gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Carefully spoon mixture into an ungreased tube pan. Bake for 35 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer. (When inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall, the skewer should come out dry).

Cool upside down on cooling rack for at least an hour before removing from pan.

Cook's Note: Since they're easier to separate use the freshest eggs you can get.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese frosting

thank you paula deen!

red velvet cupcakes:
makes approx 2 1/2 dozen

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar, divided
3 large eggs, separated
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa
2 tsp salt
1 2/3 cup whole buttermilk
3 tbsp red food coloring
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-preheat oven to 350. line 30 cups of 3 (12 cup) muffin tins with paper liners
-in a large bowl, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. beat in egg yolks until combined
-in a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa and salt
-in a small bowl, combine buttermilk, food coloring and vanilla
-gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture. beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating well after each addition.
-in a medium bowl, beat egg whites at medium high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. gently fold beaten egg whites into butter mixture. spoon batter evenly into prepared pans. bake at 18 to 20 minutes, or until wooden toothpick comes out clean. remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. spread or pipe evenly with desired frosting.

white chocolate cream cheese frosting (the yummiest frosting EVER!)

makes approx 4 1/2 cups frosting
1 1/2 cups butter, softened (that's paula for ya, 3 sticks of butter!)
1 8oz cream cheese, softened
2 1oz squares white chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
4 1/2-5 cups powdered sugar

in a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. beat in white chocolate and lemon juice until combined. gradually beat in confectioner's sugar until smooth.