Tag Archives: cake

Weekend Baking: Apple and Banana Oatmeal Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

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Years ago I made an oatmeal cake that was moist, dense and delicious with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting slathered over the top.

When we had out-of-town friends staying with us last week, I thought of that cake that I haven’t made in years when I served baked oatmeal for breakfast one morning.

I flipped through my recipe file and found the cake recipe that I’d clipped from a newspaper many years ago.

I added a seasonal touch to the cake with the addition of chopped, locally grown apples. Since I had a ripe banana in the freezer, I stirred that into the batter, too.

A bit of cinnamon added to the cream cheese frosting turned the cake into an autumn treat. Oatmeal, tart apples, cinnamon and banana paired with cream cheese — can’t get much better — unless you add some toasted chopped pecans.

I shared the cake with others and discovered that a short length of cinnamon stick poked into each piece of cake worked well as a support for plastic wrap, preventing the plastic from sticking to the frosting and ruining its attractiveness.

Once you taste this cake, you may choose not to share.

 Apple and Banana Oatmeal Cake

  • 1 cup quick oats, uncooked
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 banana, mashed
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups diced, peeled apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour and 9- x 13-inch pan. Set aside.

Pour boiling water over oats in a bowl. Allow to sit for 20 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add soaked oats, buttermilk and mashed banana. Blend well.

Add eggs and vanilla. Beat to incorporate.

Sift flour with baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add to batter and stir just until dry ingredients are no longer visible. Stir in apples.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 35 to 40 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into middle of cake comes out clean. Remove cake from oven. Cool completely in pan.

When cake is cool, frost with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 6 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese with butter until smooth and creamy. Add milk, vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat until frosting is smooth and spreadable.

Weekend Baking: Bottoms-Up! As in Cake.

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I smiled as I stopped at a card in my recipe file that had a newspaper clipping taped to it. The cream-colored index card was stained brown where scotch tape had years ago been carefully placed just right to hold the recipe tight. A check-mark was penciled in on the top right corner, signifying the recipe had been tried and must have been worth keeping, since it was still in my recipe file. I certainly don’t remember ever making the cake.

It was the name of the recipe that put a smile on my face. Bottoms-Up Lemon Cake. I immediately pictured my youngest granddaughter, who is now teetering between diapers and big-girl undies. When it’s time for a diaper-change, she lays down, flings her little legs up into the air, whipping them over until her toes almost touch her nose. At the same time her melodious voice yells out, “Bottoms up!” This acrobatic results in a bare little bottom ready for a new diaper to easily be positioned just where it must be for a comfortable, dry bottom.

The name of the cake alone would have been enough to get me into the kitchen to begin baking. But, when I saw the first ingredient listed, I knew I had to give it a try.

Who ever heard of hollandaise sauce mix in a cake recipe? I did a quick search of the internet and came up with nothing even close to this recipe.

If you’ve been a regular reader of my blog, you know I’ve never posted a recipe made with a cake mix. But, this one was so unusual, my curiosity got the best of me.

A yellow cake mix is sweetened with honey and flaked coconut, then poured over a mixture of hollandaise sauce mix, more flaked coconut, brown sugar and a little bit of butter. Since the recipe title implies lemon and the sauce mix listed lemon as the last ingredient, I decided to add 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice to the Topping.

Topped with sweetened whipped cream, Bottoms-Up Lemon Cake is not bad. It gets even better with fresh berries added at serving time. I have fresh raspberries that I picked at a local berry farm yesterday, with lots of help from three of my grandchildren and their mom.

 

 

 

 

 

We were joined by my neighbor and another friend bright and early. I think we were the first wagon-load of eager pickers to get pulled out to the raspberry field.

This cake doesn’t rate at the top of the incredible dessert list. But it sure brings a smile to my face with each sweet bite.

Bottoms-Up Lemon Cake

Topping:

  • 1 (1.25-ounce) package Hollandaise Sauce Mix
  • 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
  • 1/2 cup flaked coconut
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cake:

  • 1 (18.25-ounce) box Yellow Cake Mix
  • 1/2 cup flaked coconut
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 2 eggs
  • Sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Topping: In 13- x 9-inch metal cake pan, combine dry sauce mix, pineapple with syrup, coconut, brown sugar, butter and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is blended. Set aside.

Cake: In a large mixing bowl, combine all cake ingredients. Blend well. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter over Topping. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until top of cake springs back when touched lightly. Loosen edges of cake from pan. Let stand 2 minutes. Invert onto serving platter. Let stand 2 minutes. Remove pan. Serve cake warm with sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries.

This Cherry Cake brings music to my ears

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I love the fresh, dark sweet cherries of summer. This time of year, when the ruby-hued fruit from Washington is toppled into huge bins in grocery stores, long slender stems going this-away, that-away, I just can’t resist them — no matter the price. And, the price is high when you choose organic cherries. So, I buy them in small quantities, bring them home and savor each luscious orb of succulence.

This morning, though, I have gained even stronger appreciation for each cherry I slip into my mouth.  I was tuned into NPR in the car as Gracie and I were heading home from the kennel this morning, where she spent her Saturday while I was cooking at the Lakes Area Farmers Market in Detroit Lakes. As I listened, Anna King did a short piece about migrant workers from Mexico who have discovered that picking cherries is one of the best-paying agriculture jobs in the northwest. As the men and women perch themselves on ladders raised high up into trees heavily laden with cherries, they learn to become adept at quickly and carefully picking and dropping as many cherries as they can into their buckets. They are not paid an hourly wage. They are paid by the amount of cherries they pick. As the listener is hearing the sound of melodious voices of migrant workers singing in Spanish, a slight cry breaks in as a young woman falls from her ladder. It’s alarming.

When the NPR piece ends, I begin to wonder what it’s like to live the life of a migrant cherry-picker. Little things come to mind. Must they worry about getting stung by bees as they climb their ladders and disappear into a lush mass of leaves and ripe cherries? Do they itch with sweat, but don’t dare take time to wipe their brow, that moment or two keeping a few cherries from the bucket? How many have had to overcome a fear of heights in order to take this good-paying job? And, is this “best-paying” agriculture job actually paying these hard-working migrants a fair wage? If so, I won’t mind as much having to pay a high price for this summer fruit that I love. And, I will appreciate the laborious work of the migrants who have made it possible for me to enjoy Washington cherries in my Minnesota kitchen.

After a morning walk with Gracie, constantly swatting away pesky deer flies buzzing around my head, I was ready for a piece of moist and spicy Cherry Cake with a good cup of coffee. I could hear those melodious voices singing songs in Spanish each time a cherry half burst with juice on my tongue.

And, I wonder, do the migrant cherry pickers have to deal with deer flies? Oh, I certainly hope not.

Cherry Cake

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup pitted sweet cherries, halved

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13- x 9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

Stir baking soda into buttermilk. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add buttermilk mixture. Beat well.

Sift flour with allspice and cloves. Stir into creamed mixture, blending well. Stir in cherries. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake tests done. Makes 12 to 15 servings.

 

Mango Curd-Filled Tropical Baby Cakes

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Velvety smooth, thick and creamy, soft and spreadable, sweet and tart — all characteristics of a good lemon curd. Every year around this time, I pull out my favorite recipe for lemon curd. Last week, I adapted that recipe to create a mouth-watering bowl of mango curd. A kiss of citrus from lemon and lime juices gives this creamy tropical curd just enough tartness to balance the sweet-as-honey mango.

Spread this Mango Curd on scones, banana muffins or bran muffins. Use it to fill tiny tarts or little thumbprint cookies. Sandwich it between butter cookies or spread it on shortbread.

Mango Curd is quite sublime with Tropical Mango Baby Cakes. In my column this week, I baked the cake batter in mini-bundt pans. The next batch of batter was baked in traditional cupcake tins. The cupcakes can be cut through the middle to form two layers. The Mango Curd is a perfect filling. Sprinkle the little cakes with powdered sugar and they are ready to eat.

The only thing that could possibly make this curd any more delectable would be folding some whipped cream into the pudding-like bowl of the mango-based mixture, creating mango cream.

Mango Curd is for all who just can’t get enough of the lovely mango that is in season and looking pretty in grocery stores right now.

Mango Curd

  • 1 large ripe mango, peeled, cut into chunks
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Grated zest of 1 lime
  • 3 large eggs

Puree mango chunks in blender or food processor. You should have about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of puree. Set aside.

Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Add sugar, lemon juice, lime juice and zest. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and mixture just comes to a simmer. Add pureed mango and bring to simmer.

In a bowl or 4-cup glass measure, whisk eggs together. Gradually whisk in hot mango mixture and blend well. Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until it just begins to bubble. Pour mango curd through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and cool slightly. Chill mango curd, its surface covered with plastic wrap, at least 2 hours, or until cold. Makes about 1 1/4 cups of mango curd.

Those who enjoy mangoes, will be interested in these recipes from earlier posts:

Honey Mango Crisp, Mango and Banana Chutney, Tropical Cream Phyllo Tarts with Grilled Mango and Pineapple, Mango Soup with Coconut Cream, My Dad’s Banana Muffins with A tropical Twist

Weekend Baking: Meyer Lemon-Honey Yogurt Tea Cake

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Spying bright yellow Meyer lemons in the refrigerated produce case at my local natural food co-op never fails to give me a lift. This occurrence usually takes place in March, my least favorite month of the year in northern Minnesota with its dull gray skies, dirty slush, and sometimes, snowstorms that, by this time,  no one wants to experience.

I grabbed several Meyer lemons last week, brought them home and arranged them in a shallow white bowl with the kumquats that also came home with me.

After enjoying their burst of brightness in my kitchen for a couple of days, I knew it was time to use them up. I was ready to make some little tea cakes, tiny loaves infused with the juice of Meyer lemons.

The Meyer lemon, named for Frank Meyer, the man who brought them to the United States in 1908, is believed to be a hybrid between a lemon and a mandarin orange. In general, they’re much sweeter than regular lemons, and they have a complex citrus taste that comes from their mandarin/orange lineage. Meyer lemons are grown commercially in California, Texas, and Florida. They are a challenge to ship and store commercially, so to be able to buy them in Bemidji, Minnesota is a special treat.

Earlier this month when I attended the Minnesota Monthly Food & Wine Show, I brought home a small gift bag from Forepaugh’s Restaurant in St. Paul, filled with treats that Chef Donald Gonzalez had designed: Cinnamon Tea Cake, Evening in Missoula Herbal Tea and Ames Farm Honey. It was a darling and very generous gift from Forepaugh’s.

I saved the little gift bag to give to a friend who wasn’t able to attend the show. One problem. The dainty tea cake became hard as a rock before I was able to deliver it to my friend.

So, I pulled out the mini-loaf pans that I bought years ago when I made a choo-choo-train birthday cake for one of my sons. They measure 4 3/4 inches x 2 3/4 inches at the top. They hold 1 cup of batter when filled to the top. With this batter, 1/2 cup does the trick. The batter for Meyer Lemon-Honey Yogurt Tea Cakes is enough to make 6 of these mini-loaves plus 1 small Bundt cake baked in a 6-cup capacity pan or use all of the batter to bake one cake in a  conventional Bundt pan.

I wrapped up one of the delicate loaves of Meyer Lemon-Honey Yogurt Tea Cake and tucked it into the Forepaugh’s gift bag with the tea bag and the vial of honey. I’m quite sure Chef Gonzalez wouldn’t want me to share the treat bag holding a dried up Cinnamon Tea Cake. I did explain to my friend that the cute little loaf was not a Forepaugh’s original.

This cake is so perfect for a Spring brunch, dusted with powdered sugar and offered with fresh berries. Or, drizzle the cake with Meyer Lemon Glaze and serve it for dessert.

Made with two of my favorite things, Meyer lemons and Greek-style honey-flavored yogurt, this sweet cake is a light melt-in-the-mouth dessert that will take you through every special celebration you have planned, Spring through Summer.

Meyer Lemon-Honey Yogurt Tea Cake

  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup Greek-style Honey-flavored yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons grated Meyer lemon zest
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 8 to 10 minutes. (This is where a stand mixer is handy.) Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, add yogurt and Meyer lemon zest. Combine Meyer lemon juice and milk. Sift flour and baking powder together. Add dry ingredients to batter in mixing bowl, alternately with liquid mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix just until all ingredients are blended together. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake for about 1 hour or until cake tests done. Cool in pan 10 to 15 minutes. Invert onto cooling rack. Cool completely.

When cake is cool, drizzle with Meyer lemon glaze, if desired.

Slice and serve. Makes 16 servings.

Meyer Lemon Glaze

  • 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

In a small bowl, mix enough juice into the powdered to create a consistency that will drizzle and flow over the cake.

Tip from the cook

  • Oh, yes, if you don’t have access to Meyer lemons, use regular lemons with satisfactory results.

Sand Cake, No Grit

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I was with friends last night for an Italiam-themed potluck meal. My firend, Bobbie, brought a dessert she found in one of Michael Chiarello’s cookbooks. Rosemary Sand Cake with Summer Berries is a light, lemony cake flecked with bits of fresh rosemary.

I used to watch Chiarello’s Food Network show every Saturday. I love his casual style and his down-to-earth approach to food preparation and entertaining. And he just seems like such a nice guy.

He often made use of fresh herbs in the dishes he prepared on his show. For this cake, he chose rosemary.

The recipe calls for potato starch. It has a silky texture, similar to cornstarch and gives the cake a fine delicate texture. Bobbie found potato starch at our local natural food co-op, but I think many grocery stores carry it. It’s probably on the shelf with other baking ingredients.

We could barely detect even a hint of rosemary as we ate the cake. Bobbie had just baked it in the afternoon. We think that after the cake had been stored overnight, the flavor of the fresh herb may be more pronounced. My group of food-loving friends talked about trying other herbs in the cake. Lemon thyme would be good.

Tender, grainy, delicate (no grit) — a sand cake that makes a perfect base for fresh, summer berries. We all loved it. I think you will, too.

I wish I had a slice to eat for breakfast this morning. With a cup of rich, dark coffee. And Michael Chiarello sitting with me.

You can go right to Michael’s recipe by clicking here.

If you’re a fan of Michael Chiarello, you can keep up with him at his blog: ChiarelloBlog.

I miss him on the Food Network, but right now he is a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef.

Chocolate. Raspberries. Cake. Need I say more?

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Who do you know who would absolutely love a big piece of this cake? You’re probably thinking, "Me!, Me! I want a huge piece of that cake." And, really, it’s such a big cake, there will be plenty to share with a friend or two.

This cake was prepared by Bemidji bakers, Jeanette Proulx and Carla Mandrell, for the 2008 Chocolate Affair, a fundraiser for three nonprofit charitable organizations in Bemidji, Minn.: Northwoods Interfaith, Sexual Assault Program, and Community Resource Connections.

The Chocolate Affair has been held for the last four years in Bemidji. The last one was held in December, just in time for participating tasters to buy some candies and baked treats for all the chocoholics on their holiday gift list.

According to Ruth Sherman, one of the organizers of the event, the idea for a Chocolate Affair occurred when staff from Northwoods Interfaith and Community Resource Connections (CRC) were celebrating the birthday of a CRC staff member. "We were all sitting around the table eating some WONDERFUL chocolate cake, commiserating at how broke our agencies were, and wishing that we could come up with some fundraiser that involved something we all love: eating and chocolate. Somewhere during the silly conversation that followed… someone remarked that they couldn’t imagine having an affair…but if they did it would definitely be with chocolate. By the end of the birthday celebration (and the end of the cake) we had formed the concept of “The Chocolate Affair.”

Area chocolate lovers of all ages, home cooks, children and professional chefs, are invited to participate by preparing 100 one-inch samples of their sweet chocolate treat along with a beautifully decorated platter of it…for sale at a silent auction during the event. Contestants also provide their recipe, which is published in a small cookbook that is available for purchase at the event.

The samples are used as taste samples; people attending the event are charged a small amount to choose 10 items to taste and then vote on their favorites.

I attend these events and choosing favorites is a difficult task. But a sinfully delicious one, at that.

The item with the most votes wins first place.

The 2008 first place Taster’s Choice Award went to Proulx and Mandrell for their Raspberry Forest Cake.

So dig out all your favorite chocolate recipes. Sit down and read them as you leisurely enjoy a large piece of Raspberry Forest Cake. If you live in the Bemidji area, you can stop in at Minnesota Nice Cafe, right downtown. You see, Jeanette Proulx, who came up with the idea for this cake with her friend, Carla Mandrell, owns the cafe and her Raspberry Forest Cake is often on the menu. And if you’re feeling like having a bunch of chocolate-loving friends over, make the cake yourself and impress them all. 

Decide which of your recipes you’ll be entering into the 2009 Chocolate Affair. It may take another piece of cake before you can come to a decision.

Mandrell and Proulx assembled a Raspberry Forest Cake in my kitchen a couple of weeks ago. Chocolate. Raspberries. Cake. I will say this: It’s a chocolate cake I could eat everyday. To be able to stop into Minnesota Nice Cafe for a piece of this cake any day is waaaaay dangerous.

Raspberry Forest Cake

  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup buttermilk

Frosting:

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up
  • 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups fresh raspberries, divided

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom of 9-inch square pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper, spray parchment.

Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and 1/2 cup butter in large bowl at medium speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. At low speed, beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk until blended, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour batter into pan, smooth top with spatula.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (do not overbake). Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Invert onto wire rack; remove parchment. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine cream and 3 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan; heat over medium heat until butter melts andmixture is hot. Remove from heat; add 12 ounces of chocolate. Let stand 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Let stand at room temperature to cool and thicken slightly while cake cools. (Cooled frosting should be thick enough to cling to cake.)

Slice cake in half horizontally. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting over bottom cake layer; top with 2 cups of the raspberries. Top with remaining cake layer; spread top and sides with remaining frosting. Let stand 1 hour. Place remaining 1 cup raspberries on top of the cake. Cover carefully and refrigerate. Serve cold.

Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate leftovers.