Archives for March 2012

Plain Chocolate Cake Recipe for Easy Baking

March 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A chocolate cake recipe is one of the easiest and yummiest desserts to prepare at home. You can serve it plain, with cream, with various kinds of frosting, with ice cream, jelly, coffee, tea etc. You can eat the cake warm or cold and never go wrong with it. Here is a plain chocolate cake recipe for easy baking with scrumptious frosting.

Ingredients:

– 3 cups all-purpose flour
– 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
– 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
– 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
– 2 2/3 cups sugar (I like to use demerara sugar, but you can use plain sugar)
– 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
– 1 cup + 2 tablespoons plain water
– 1 cup + 2 tablespoons canola oil
– 5 large eggs
– 3/4 cup water
– 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Frosting:

– 5 large egg whites
– 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
– 4 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
– 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
– Pinch of salt

Instructions:

– Preheat the oven to 350F.
– Grease and flour three 10-inch cake pans.
– In a mixing bowl, whisk the salt, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Make sure that there are no lumps in the mix.
– In a separate bowl, take 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of water and 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of canola oil and mix them together to get an emulsion.
– Take the eggs, 3/4 cup of water and vanilla and whisk them using an electric blender for 2 minutes.
– Add the oil and water mix and blend well.
– Now add the dry ingredients to the above mix and combine all the ingredients well to get a smooth mix.
– Pour the prepared mix in the greased cake pans, filling each cake pan up to 3/4 level.
– Bake in the preheated oven for 25-35 minutes. Check after 25 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center.
– Remove from the oven and cool for about 15 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans.
– Wrap the cakes in foil and freeze for 2 hours before using.

Frosting instructions:

– In a double boiler, take the egg whites and sugar and whisk continuously until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.
– Remove from the heat and whisk some more to get a glassy mix. Let it cool.
– Cut the butter in small cubes.
– Add the butter to the egg mix and use a paddle attachment to incorporate the butter in the eggs and get a smooth mix.
– Add the vanilla and salt and mix well.
– You can add various flavors and color to this frosting.

To assemble the cake:

– Place the cakes on top of each other with a thick layer of frosting in between each of them.
– Cover with remaining frosting on all sides.
– Chill in the fridge before serving.

Pin It
Filed Under: Chocolate Cake Recipe

How to Make Excellent Strawberry Cake

March 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Great to have another guest recipe blogger this week. This is Damian’s brilliant Strawberry Cake recipe;

 

The secret to making excellent strawberry cake is, of course, the strawberries. They must be the plumpest, juiciest and tastiest strawberries that can be found. They should not be like most strawberries bought in supermarkets, hothouse grown, and tasting like water. The cook should ideally go to their nearest farmers’ market and spend some money on good quality strawberries, or, if they’re inclined, find a strawberry farm, pick a peck of them, rush home and start cooking the strawberry cake right away. Strawberries, like other fruits and vegetables, deteriorate and lose their flavor and nutrients the longer they’re allowed to sit.

 

The peak season for strawberries is May and June. If the cook is picking their own, they should choose fruit that pulls away easily from the stem.

 

About Cakes

Unlike other forms of cooking where the cook can use their intuition, baking really requires accuracy. Baking, after all, is a species of chemistry. A level cup of flour really does mean a level cup of flour. To skimp on ingredients will result in a cake that’s less than it should be. A recipe should be followed closely and measurements should be accurate. The oven must be the right temperature, the pans should be properly greased and floured and they should be of the right size.

 

Here’s the recipe for an excellent strawberry cake.

 

1/4 lb. of butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup of strawberries, diced

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups of cake flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sour cream

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and lightly flour a 9 inch square cake pan. Cream the butter, then slowly add the sugar and beat until light. Add the strawberries, eggs and vanilla and beat well. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt and add to the flour strawberry mix and blend. Slowly add the sour cream and beat until well blended.

 

Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the cake’s center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs. Cool in the pan for five minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Allow to cool completely and frost.

 

Here are some frosting recipes.

 

Frosting I

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup cream

1 tsp. vanilla or light rum

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

 

Mix the butter, cream and rum in a bowl. Slowly beat in the sugar till thick and creamy, then frost the cake.

 

Frosting II (Vanilla Fudge)

1 tbs. butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

 

Mix the butter, sugar, milk and salt in a medium pan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, then boil without stirring till the mixture achieves the “soft-ball” stage, or about 234 degrees F. Let it cool, then beat till it’s thick enough to spread. Add the vanilla.

 

Author’s Bio

Author of this post usually gets sweet inspiration by visiting cake decorating classes Brisbane website.

Pin It
Filed Under: Cake Recipe

5 Minute Mug Chocolate Cake Recipe

March 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Our guest blog chef this week is Keli with this fantastic Mug Chocolate Cake recipe. Enjoy!

 

Easily the most deadly recipe on the web as it allows you to create a chocolate cake at any time of the day, in just 5 minutes, this delicious cake is the perfect late night snack.

 

Ingredients

 

4tbsp flour

4tbsp sugar

2tbsp unsweetened cocoa

2tbsp whisked egg

3tbsp milk

3tbsp Olive oil

3tbsp chocolate chips

 

Instructions

 

  1. Mix your flour, sugar and cocoa together in your mug, then introduce your egg. Mix well until it becomes pasty.
  2. Stir in your milk and oil, then finish by adding your chocolate chips (for extra flavour add a dash of vanilla)
  3. Pop into your microwave for 3 minutes (if you have got a 1000w oven) or 4 minutes (if you have got a 700w oven).
  4. Check it is set and serve warm.

 

As you can see this recipe is VERY quick and VERY easy.

 

My name is Keli and I love to bake, I love to get my kids involved and I love finding quick and easy recipes. Not everyone has the time so visiting an online bakery would be the perfect alternate solution.

Pin It
Filed Under: Chocolate Cake Recipe

Simple Pecan and Banana Cake Recipe with Cake Mix and Pecan Frosting

March 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Cakes mixes can be easily prepared at home and stored in your pantry for months. Any time you feel like having a banana cake recipe, you can use the cake mixes to make delicious cakes as well as puddings. Here is an interesting banana cake recipe with cake mix that is delicious and moist and we guarantee that you will earn lots of praise for your baking skills.

What you will need:
– Yellow cake mix – 1 packet (4 cups)
– Large eggs – 4
– Ripe bananas – 3
– Vegetable oil – 3/4 cup
– Granulated sugar – 1/2 cup
– Milk – 1/4 cup
– Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
– Chopped pecans – 1 cup

Method:
– Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt cake pan using a little butter and all-purpose flour.
– Preheat the oven to 325F.
– Peel and mash the bananas using a fork.
– In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, eggs, mashed bananas, sugar, milk and vanilla extract.
– Use an electric mixer to blend all the ingredients together to a smooth batter.
– Stir in the chopped pecans.
– Pour in the greased Bundt cake pan and smooth out the top.
– Bake in the preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted inside comes out clean.
– Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes before inverting on a wire rack to cool.
– Your cake is ready to serve and eat.

To make the cake mix at your home you will need:
– All-purpose flour – 4 cups
– Granulated sugar – 3 cups
– Baking powder – 2 tablespoons
– Non-fat dry milk – 1 cup

Method:
– Mix all the ingredients in a dry and clean mixing bowl.
– Store the cake mix in an airtight container.
– You can store this mix for months in the pantry.

For icing the cake you will need:
– Chopped pecans – 1 cup
– Butter – 1/4 cup (I use a little salted butter because I like the sweet and salty combination)
– Ready-made cream cheese frosting – 2 1/2 cups

Method:
– Melt the butter in a skillet and lightly fry the chopped pecans in the butter.
– Remove from the heat and add to the ready-made cream cheese frosting.

To assemble the cake:
– Cover the cake with frosting from all sides.

Points to keep in mind:
– Always use the ingredients at room temperature. Thaw the cake mix (if stored in the fridge) to room temperature before using.
– You can store the cake in the freezer for about 2 weeks, but thaw before using.
– If you are going to use the cake immediately, then let it cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes before icing to prevent the crumbs from falling off.

Pin It
Filed Under: Banana Cake Recipe

New Age Red Velvet Cake Recipes from Scratch

March 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The red velvet cake is essentially a chocolate cake but it has an attractive red color that makes it the perfect cake choice for Valentine’s Day. This Valentine’s you can surprise your loved ones with one of my favorite red velvet cake recipes from scratch. This red velvet cake recipe is shaped like balls and then dipped in chocolate.

Ingredients:
– Cocoa powder – 1/4 cup
– Red food coloring – 2 tablespoons
– Hot water – 1/4 cup
– Unsalted butter (at room temperature) – 6 tablespoons
– Vegetable shortening – 2 tablespoons
– Sugar – 1 2/3 cups
– Large eggs – 3
– Buttermilk – 1 cup
– Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
– Cake flour – 2 1/2 cups
– Salt – 1 teaspoon
– Apple cider vinegar – 1 tablespoon (you can also use plain vinegar)
– Baking soda – 1 teaspoon

Instructions:
– Preheat the oven to 325F.
– Whisk the cocoa powder, hot water and red food coloring in a bowl. Set aside to cool.
– In a separate bowl, take the butter and shortening and whisk together to get a smooth mix. Add the sugar and mix some more.
– Break in the eggs, one by one, and beat at a low speed using an electric mixer until you get a fluffy smooth mix.
– Add the buttermilk and vanilla to the cooled cocoa mix and whisk well.
– Sift the cake flour and baking soda in a bowl and divide the mix in two parts.
– Whisk one part in the egg mix and the other in the cocoa mix.
– Fold the two parts together.
– Stir in the vinegar last.
– Pour the prepared batter in a greased 9-inch pan.
– Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
– Remove from the pan and cool completely before preparing the balls.

Ingredients needed for making the balls:
– Cream cheese frosting – 1 1/2 cups
– Chocolate bark – 1 packet

Instructions:
– Once the cake is cooled completely, crumble it in a large bowl. The cake is moist so don’t worry if it sticks a little.
– Add the cream cheese frosting to the crumbled cake and mix well.
– Use your hands to roll the cake mix into small balls.
– Freeze in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
– Melt the chocolate in the microwave.
– Dip the cake balls in the melted chocolate until coated from all sides.
– Set the balls on a parchment paper until firm.
– Drizzle the cake balls with a little caramel sauce and cool in the fridge till it is time to serve.

Pin It
Filed Under: Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Incredible Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe

March 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Many people find it hard to believe that you can make delicious cakes without eggs. In fact, vegan recipes are quite easy to follow and the carrot cake recipe turn out to be as delicious and moist as any other cake. Here is a simple vegan carrot cake recipe that you can try out at home.

Ingredients:

– Refined flour – 2 1/2 cups
– Salt – 1 teaspoon
– Baking soda – 2 teaspoons
– Baking powder – 4 teaspoons
– Ground cinnamon – 1 tablespoon
– Ground nutmeg – 1 teaspoon
– Ground ginger – 1 teaspoon
– Egg replacer – 3 tablespoons
– Light brown sugar – 2 cups
– Safflower oil – 1 cup
– Almond milk – 1 cup
– Unsweetened applesauce – 1 cup
– Grated red carrots – 3 cups
– Chopped walnuts – 1 cup
– Raisins – 1 cup

Vegan cream cheese frosting ingredients:

– Chilled margarine – 12 tablespoons
– Soy cream cheese – 500 grams
– Powdered sugar – 1 1/2 cups
– Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon

Instructions:

– Preheat the oven to 350F.
– Grease and flour three 9 inch cake pans.
– In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger and egg replacer.
– In a separate bowl, add the sugar, safflower oil and almond milk and whisk well until combined.
– Add the applesauce and whisk some more to combine all the liquids.
– Add the almond milk mixture to the flour mixture and whisk well to form a smooth batter.
– Gently stir in the grated carrots, raisins and walnuts. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are combined well.
– Pour the batter in the three pans equally.
– Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes. The center of the cake should spring back when pressed.
– Remove the pans from the oven and invert on wire racks to cool completely.
– While the cakes cool, beat the margarine in a separate bowl till light and fluffy.
– Cut the cream cheese in pieces and add to the margarine and beat well to combine fully.
– Stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla and blend well.

Once the cakes are at room temperature it is time to start assembling them:

– Place one cake on a serving stand.
– Spoon some of the frosting on top of the cake and spread evenly.
– Place another cake on top of the first cake and press lightly.
– Spread another layer of frosting on the top.
– Place the third cake on top of the stack and cover with frosting from all sides.
– Set aside for at least 30 minutes before serving. Cut in slices to serve.

Pin It
Filed Under: Carrot Cake Recipe

Flourless Homemade Chocolate Cake Recipes

March 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Whenever you are in a fix and are wondering what to make for dessert then a chocolate cake recipe is your best bet. It does not take much time to make and is loved by one and all. You can add many different ingredients to the cake and make it interesting. Here is a simple flourless homemade chocolate cake recipes that your family will surely love.

Ingredients:
– 500 grams bittersweet chocolate
– 115 grams unsalted butter (at room temperature)
– 9 large eggs
– 3/4 cup granulated sugar
– 2 cups heavy cream (cold)
– 3 tablespoons icing sugar

Instructions:
– Preheat the oven to 350F.
– Grease a 9-inch spring form pan. You can use a little butter for this.
– Chop the chocolate in small pieces.
– In a large bowl, add the chocolate and butter. Put this bowl in a double boiler. Make sure that the bowl containing chocolate does not touch the water.
– Let the butter and chocolate melt completely and stir well to mix.
– Remove and cool.
– Separate the egg whites and egg yolks.
– Add the sugar to the egg yolks and beat well for about 5 minutes until it is light yellow in color.
– Add 2 tablespoons of chocolate mix to this and set aside.
– Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Gently fold the rest of the chocolate mix in the egg whites.
– Add this to the egg yolks mix and gently mix.
– Pour the prepared batter in the greased pan.
– Bake at 350F for about 40-45 minutes. Start checking from 35 minutes. The crust of the cake is supposed to be cracked but we don’t want it to be too crunchy.
– Check by inserting a toothpick in the center; if it comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it then the cake is done.
– The cake will be firm on top and slightly wobbly in the center.
– Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.
– Once the heat is out, cover the cake with a damp towel to prevent it from cracking up further.
– Whip the cream till it becomes fluffy.
– Dust the cooled cake with icing sugar and serve with whipped cream on the side.

Serving suggestions:
– You can also dust come cocoa powder on the cake for more flavor.
– Slice some strawberries and cherries and decorate the cake with them.
– You can also spread the whipped cream on the top of the cake and decorate with grated chocolate shavings.
– Chill in the fridge before serving.

Pin It
Filed Under: Chocolate Cake Recipe

Homemade Red Velvet Cake Recipe from Scratch

March 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Delicious, wow, wonderful, tasty, yummy – these are all the compliments that you are going to get if you follow this simple red velvet cake recipe from scratch. This red velvet cake recipe is easy to follow and uses simple ingredients. We have listed beet juice (which was the original source of red color in classic recipes) but you can easily substitute it for red food coloring.

Ingredients:
– 500 ml beet juice or 2 bottles red food coloring
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 tablespoon vinegar
– 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (or you can also use 1 packet of instant hot chocolate)
– 115 grams softened butter at room temperature (you can substitute this for 1/2 cup Crisco)
– 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
– 2 large eggs
– 1 cup buttermilk
– 2 1/4 cups cake flour
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:
– Preheat the oven to 350F.
– Grease two 9-inch pans and dust the insides with a little flour. Pat the excess flour out.
– Separate the egg whites from the yolks.
– Take the egg yolks in a bowl and add the sugar to them. Beat well to let the sugar dissolve a little.
– Add the cocoa powder and mix well.
– Beat in the butter to get a slightly fluffy mix.
– Now add the buttermilk and beet juice to the mix and whisk well to combine.
– In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they double up in volume.
– Add vinegar, salt and vanilla to this and beat some more.
– Sift the cake flour and baking powder together.
– Add the flour mix to the butter mix, one tablespoon at a time, and blend well.
– In the end you will get a nice, uniform red color in the batter.
– Gently fold in the egg white and vinegar mix and stir by hand. Make sure that you scrape the sides of the bowl to get an even mix.
– Pour the batter in the greased pans and bake them at 350F for about 25-30 minutes.
– Cool for five minutes, invert on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely before applying frosting or cutting in slices to serve.
– You can also make red velvet cupcakes using this recipe. Pour the batter in cupcake molds (makes 24) and bake them at 350F for about 10-15 minutes.

Traditional cream cheese frosting goes best with red velvet cake, but you can use standard chocolate glaze or frosting over it, or simple fluffy white frosting.

Toasted coconut also tastes great with this cake.

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Instructions:
– Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the shredded coconut on it in a fine layer.
– Bake at 350F for about 6-8 minutes, tossing in between for even cooking.
– Remove from the oven and let it cool.
– Sprinkle the coconut over the icing to cover from all sides.

Pin It
Filed Under: Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Sugar Free Carrot Cake Recipe A Diabetic’s Treat

March 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Over 285 million people are diabetic. Diabetes is a disease where the body does not produce enough insulin thereby increasing blood sugar. This is a chronic disease and can be fatal if not treated or detected early as it inhibits the clotting of wounds, increases blood pressure and makes the patient prone to dizziness and nausea and other complications. The good news is diabetes can be treated with proper maintenance of low or no sugar diets thereby avoiding fatalities. Carrot cake recipe can have some twist and make a healthy dessert.  This sugar free carrot cake recipe is intended for such a situation.

Ingredients:

– 2 cups cake flour
– 2 tsp. cinnamon
– 2 tsp. baking soda
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 1 tsp. baking powder

Directions:

– Sift together all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, then set aside.

Carrot Mixture:

– 2 cups grated carrots
– 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
– 1/2 cup crushed nuts
– 1/2 cup sesame seeds
– 1 cup coconut milk

Directions:

– Combine all the ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl and mix thoroughly until well incorporated, then set aside.

Egg Mixture:

– 3 eggs
– 1/2 cup canola oil
– 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
– 1/2 cup cold water

Directions:

– Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a spring form baking pan with non-stick oil.
– In a large ceramic mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork until frothy.
– Add the oil, orange juice and water.
– Switch to a hand mixer and beat on low speed.
– Add the carrot mixture next while still beating at low speed.
– Next, add the sifted dry ingredients, one tablespoon at a time; switch the mixer to medium speed.
– With the aid of a rubber spatula, transfer the batter to the prepared spring form pan.
– Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.
– Remove the pan from the oven and cool for about 10 to 15 minutes.
– Remove the cake from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Sugar Ladle Sauce:

– 1/2 cup buttermilk
– 1 cup Nutrasweet or any artificial sweetener
– 1/2 tsp. baking soda
– 1 tsp. maple syrup
– 1/2 stick of butter

Directions:

– Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan.
– Over low heat, cook to almost boiling for 5 minutes while constantly stirring. This does not need to be thickened to a syrupy state.
– Punch holes on top of the cake and pour the sauce mixture over the cake.
– Serve with coffee, tea or milk.

Pin It
Filed Under: Carrot Cake Recipe

To the Top

Privacy Policy