Sunshine

The Power of CaKe
Did you every notice when there is cake in the room most everyone gravitates towards it. They eye and ooh & ahh over it, make attempts it touch, smell it and exam every angle of it.
Now, if you put a cake and tub of ice cream on a table, most people look at the cake.
Cake can make a grown man cry. Cake can bring a crowd of yaking women to silence.
May be cake can help stop the war in the Middle East.
On this gloomy cold day, a little tropical sunshine is what is needed.

Hawaiian Wedding Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 can-20 oz of crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup shredded coconut
1-cup walnut coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter
Stir ingredients with wooden spoon just until all ingredients are moist.
Pour into 8 X 8 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
Cool

Frosting
4 oz cream cheese soften
2 cups confection sugar
1-teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix until smooth and creamy.

 

Sprinkles

 

We went down to Southern California for a nice quick get away.
We were over at the Out door Mall close to New Port Beach, (fancy place) and noticed a very long line coming out of a cup cake store called Sprinkles.
The following day we returned after we went on a paddleboat ride in New Port Beach and the line was not as scary. I was observing the people and they were all a buzz.  They were talking about their favorite flavors.  Big Sis saw a guy come out of the store and shove a whole cupcake in his mouth and close his eyes like someone gave him a piece of heaven.
The cupcakes where $3.25 for one, I was seriously thinking of getting out of line until someone said this is the best stuff ever.
The following were the flavors for the day:

Banana with vanilla or bittersweet chocolate frosting
Black and white belgian dark chocolate with creamy vanilla frosting
Carrot walnut cake with cream cheese frosting
Chocolate coconut with belgian dark chocolate & coconut cream cheese frosting
Cinnamon Sugar lightly spice cake with buttermilk frosting
Coconut Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake dusted with cinnamon sugar
Red Velvet southern style light chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting
Vanilla Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake with creamy vanilla frosting
Vanilla Milk chocolate Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake with fudgy milk chocolate frosting

We got four cupcakes, vanilla, banana, red velvet and carrot.  They were really good.  We were on vacation why not. So we were just like the rich and sassy people.

I sent  my friend a picture of this on my cellie phone.  She said the two on the right side looked like boobies.

 

Cake Cake

I don’t know why this didn’t post before but…

In honor of Maya, Happy birthday… Ooooh A big 11 this year.

Banana Caramel Cake
2 1/2 cups of cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 cup very ripe bananas

Preheat oven 350 degrees
Lightly grease two nine-inch cake pans
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together then sift again. In a mixing bowl beat butter until light (1 minute) add sugar continue to beat for two minutes. Add eggs one at a time beating thoroughly after each addition, add in vanilla. Reduce speed of mixer and add flour. Mix by thirds alternating with the buttermilk and bananas ending with the dry ingredients. Mix in just enough to blend batter after each addition. Divide batter evenly between two cake pans. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool in cake pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes the remove cake from pans and cool completely before frosting.

Carmel Icing
3 cup of light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
5 tablespoons of cold butter cut into pieces
In a saucepan with candy thermometer attached, stir in sugar heavy cream and lemon juice together. Cook mixture without stirring over medium heat to a soft ball stage 238 degrees. Remove from heat and cool 140 degrees. Place butter on top of cooled mixture. Remove thermometer and with the electric mixture mix on med-high speed until caramel thickens enough to hold shape, and lightens in color to a opaque (5 minutes) Apply icing immediately.

Or skip icing and just dust with powder sugar or chocolate sauce, or just butter a slice and eat…

 

Too Many Eggs = Chiffon Cake

I was at the grocery store, when I came across eggs for .99cents. That is a great price so I put one carton in the cart and strolled away.
Later I was putting the eggs away in the fridge when I noticed, oh geese, I have another full carton of eggs in the fridge already. This is the time I wish I had a photographic memory. We don’t eat eggs all that often. Now what can I do with all these eggs.
Yeah, Make a Cake.
So I pulled out one of the trusty cake recipe books and found one that utilized… Eggs…
The cake came out really nice. It is soft and light not too sweet.

Chiffon Cake
2 cups shifted all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1-tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup cooking oil
7 egg yolks
1-teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons finely shredded orange peel
7 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4-teaspoon salt
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and 1/4-teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center. Add oil, egg yolks, vanilla, and 3/4-cup cold water. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed till combined. Beat on high speed of about 5 minutes or till satin smooth. Fold in orange peels set aside.
Thoroughly wash beaters. In a very large mixing bowl beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium high speed till stiff peaks form, tips stand straight.
Then pour beaten mixture in a thin stream over egg white mixture and gently fold in. Gently pour batter into and ungreased 10 inch tube pan. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 65 to 70 minutes or till top springs back with lightly touched. Immediately invert cake in pan and cool completely
**** Note if you do not grease the tube pan, you will spend a lot of time scrubbing the tube pan. So I suggest ignoring the ungreased instruction.

 

Good Stuff

I was given a book by Cherry Extract to read. It is a book called Eat Cake. I really enjoyed it. The book is about a lady who loved to make cakes. I can totally relate. If I did not have an easy weight gain problem I would make cakes more often.

Saturday was my cousin’s birthday party. I took the opportunity to make a cake. I know I wasn’t asked to but heck I could not resist. The cake of choice was from the book Eat Cake, a pistachio cake. I liked it, so did Big Sis and Chee.

 

 

Pistachio Cake

(Use a 13 X 9 inch baking pan)

¾ cup shelled natural pistachios unsalted

1 cup all purpose four

2 teaspoons baking soda

1-teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup whole milk

¼ teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter soften

1-cup sugar

3 large eggs

Preheat oven 350. Butter 13X9 cake pan line the bottom of the pan with wax paper that is buttered & dusted with flour. (I don’t have a food processor, if you do great use it) Pulse pistachios until finely grounded. Add 1 cup of flour, baking power cardamom and salt pulse only enough to mix.

Combine milk and vanilla in a measuring cup

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer. (It can be done without electric mixer, cause my mixer decided to die, I did not even know it was sick.) Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Alternately add pistachio flour mixture and milk, mix in batches beginning and ending with flour mixure at low speed until combined.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan and bake in middle of oven until tester comes out clean 20-30 minutes. (Mine took 30 minutes) Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto rack and remove wax paper. Cut into squares and eat. Yummy.

 

Turn your sad face upside down

This is for Tori Spelling who only inherited $800.000 dollars and now has to shop at thrifts shop in Canada because you get more for the US dollar, all thanks to her Mom, Candy. Also I would like to include Oprah who is on a no white flour or sugar, reduce calorie, no complex carb diet and was just labeled as gay with her best friend Gayle. The following CAKE recipe made and consumed will sure bring a smile to your sad face.

Chocolate Cake to Die For

(Easy)

I pkg of Regular Duncan Heines Chocolate Cake Mix (Betty Crocker falls apart)

1 pkg of instant chocolate pudding

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix altogether and bake at 350 degree for 55 minutes in bundt cake pan. You can make cup cake and a regular layered cake with this recipe; just reduce bake time as per the mix box directions. Don’t forget to do the toothpick test to see if it is finished.

Frost with favorite chocolate frosting mix, or you can dust with powder sugar.

Does that sound rich? Boy oh boy is it great…

 

Yummy Yummy for the tummy

Coconut Humming Bird Cake

This recipe you have to follow to the “T”. Cakes are really tricky in order to get the correct consistency you have to take no short cuts and have all ingredients the right temp the right order and the right measurements.

Three layer cake

Cake: Butter for pans

3 cups of unsifted all purpose flour

2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt ( salt enhances the flavor, I just fiqure that out)

3 large eggs beaten

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 mashed ripe bananas

8 oz can crushed pineapple with juice

1 cup chopped pecans

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

East part, set oven to 350 F. Butter and sprinkle a little flour in baking pans (3- 9 inches pans)

In large bowl stir in, do not beat, dry ingredients, (in order, flour sugar baking soda cinnamon, and salt. Add beaten eggs and veg oil stir until ingredients are moist. Stir in b-a-n-a-n-a-s (sung to the tune of Gwen Stephanie song) pineapple with juice pecans and vanilla. Divide batter into 3 cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes and remove from pan and place on wire rack to cool, then frost.

Cream cheese frosting (use the store bought frosting, it seems like it has less sugar)

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes( sprinkle on top and on sides of cake after you have frosted the cake.

Or… 8 oz package cream cheese soften, 8 tablespoons (1 stick butter ) 1 teaspoon vanilla , 1 pound box of shifted confectioners sugar.

In bowl mix with electric mixer medium speed cream cheese , butter and vanilla until smooth, reduce speed of mixer and add sugar until frosting thicken

You are finished, now comes the best part, eat cake and be merry…

 

Cakes! Cakes! Everyone Loves Cake

This is my first post, and I thought I would blog on one of my favorite things: CAKE!

You know how they say “beauty is skin deep?” But, to me, cake goes to the bone!

–La Luna