Apple Spice Cake Recipe

When fall rolls around, one of my favorite recipes to bake is apple spice cake. This cake is delicious and the taste of the apples really comes out in the cake. I especially like this cake when it’s served warm with a glass of cold milk. It really gets me in the mood for the season and the leaves changing.

The first time I made this cake it was for a fall festival in my community. It was such a hit that I ran out far earlier than anticipated! I had even made extras, just in case, but it wasn’t enough. Now I know (as do my neighbors) that when its apple season and its time to bake apple spice cake, I better bake a couple cakes because they sure do go fast!

Yield: serves 10 [singlepic=11,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cups vegetable oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 to 4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped assorted nuts, such as pecans and walnuts (optional)
• Carmel topping (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with a non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

2) Working over a large sheet of parchment paper, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; gather sifted ingredients into center of sheet; set aside.

3) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon yellow.

4) Fold reserved parchment in half lengthwise; with mixer on medium speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated.

5) Add apples and, if desired, nuts, to batter; mix to combine. Add vanilla, mixing until incorporated.

6) Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.

7) Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack.

8) Invert cake onto rack; turn cake right-side up to cool completely on rack, and serve drizzled with caramel topping; if desired.

I love this recipe, and I really hope that you do to. I like it best with the caramel topping, however if you’re not a fan, it is good plain too! So go ahead… serve up a slice and dig in! This tasty apple spice cake will surely have you going back for seconds!

Chocolate Molten Cake Recipe

It’s a chocolate molten cake, but they’re made famous by the name of “choco-hoto-pots” and I can give a big thanks to Ms. Oprah for shedding the light on these decedent treats.

This recipe was on The Oprah Winfrey Show many years ago, but I have stuck with it ever since it was created. This recipe is like a brownie, with a warm molten center. The white chocolate chips are a great touch as well!

The first time I made these cakes, my best friend and I were having a “Girl’s Night In”. We wanted to pop in a movie, but needed a snack to go with the movie. We were fresh out of popcorn so I thought quick and ripped out my recipe for these lovely chocolate molten cakes.

They turned out wonderfully and it wasn’t long before the rest of my family came into the kitchen wondering what delicious chocolate dessert was being concocted! Now-a-days, my best friend and I still love making these tasty treats and it’s our staple recipe!

Yield: 4 servings (4 small ramekins) [singlepic=16,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

• Butter (for ramekins)
• ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 stick butter; unsalted
• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cups sugar (superfine works best)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Place baking sheet in an oven preheated to 400°. Butter four 2/3-cup ramekins and set aside.

2) Using a microwave oven or double boiler, melt together the semisweet chocolate and the butter. Set aside to cool.

3) In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sugar and flour. Add cooled chocolate mixture, and mix until blended. Fold in white chocolate chips.

4) Divide mixture evenly among ramekins and place on baking sheet. Bake until tops are shiny and cracked and chocolate beneath is hot and gooey, about 20 minutes.

5) Place each ramekin on a small plate with a teaspoon and serve, reminding children that ramekins and chocolate are hot.

I hope your chocolate molten cakes turn out as amazing as mine do. People say that chocolate can actually make you feel more relaxed and at ease. Hey, after one bite of these choco-hot-pots, I would absolutely have to agree!

Angel Food Cake Recipe

I love angel food cake. That’s simply all there is to it. This is only of my all time favorite cakes because it’s so great with everything and this angel food cake recipe is one of the best! In the summer I love it with a handful of freshly sliced strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream. It’s great in the fall with some warm peaches and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Pretty much anything you want on it…belongs on it! This recipe is such a basic recipe and it’s easy! From here, you can go wild experimenting with what to top your yummy cake with! Plus, if you’re having a gathering or party, everyone can top their own pieces of cake with whatever they like! The variations are endless…but the cake isn’t… so make two angel food cakes!

Yield: one 10-inch cake [singlepic=31,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups egg whites (approx. 10 large eggs)
• 1 1/3 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, put through sifter twice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup cake flour, sifted before measuring

Directions:

1) Beat egg whites; add cream of tartar and salt when eggs are frothy. Continue beating until egg whites stand in peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup of granulated sugar. Fold in vanilla.

2) Sift the sifted and measured flour three more times; mix with remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Fold flour mixture gently into batter until well incorporated.

3) Pour angel food cake batter into an un-greased 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 325° for 55 to 65 minutes.

4) Remove from oven and invert pan (turn upside down, cake and all) until angel food cake is entirely cooled.

Yum! Your cake is ready and if you’re like me, you can hardly wait to dive right in! The lightness of this delicious cake recipe is great anytime, but especially for the summer! Whether it’s for a party, a casual dessert, or just because, this angel food cake recipe is always the perfect addition to any meal!

A Cake's Crumb Coat

So, you’ve taken your cake out of the over and it has cooled. What now? You’re ready to frost it! Woah, Speedy Gonzalez! Put down the butter knife and the rubber spatula. We’re not there yet.

So for smoothing a cake well, you first need to cover the cake with a thin layer of frosting called the “crumb coat”. Many people don’t understand the importance of the crumb coat, but it is critical to any successful cake. The crumb coat is the same icing you’ll use to cover the top of the cake, only it is thinner. Usually, about the consistency of sour cream is just right.

All you need to do is spoon out a dollop or two of the icing you’re using for the rest of the cake into a small bowl. Add a tad of water to the frosting to thin it out. Cover your cake with a thin layer of the crumb coat and then set it aside to stiffen up or create what is called an “air crust”. Some people choose to put it in the refrigerator or freezer to speed up the process, but I think the wait is best spent at room temperature. [singlepic=20,320,240,,right]

The addition of a crumb coat is crucial to a good cake. First, a crumb coat (obviously) contains the crumbs. These crumbs came from leveling the cake, after it was cooled. The leveler helps you to create a more even and balanced finished product.

The second purpose of the crumb coat is to seal in the freshness! When the air crust forms, you are sealing in the goodness and then it is coated with a second layer of icing! That’s double the freshness! The second layer of icing on a cake is like the paint and the crumb coat is just the primer. It doesn’t have to be beautiful, but it has to cover the cake (lightly) and be efficient.

I’d recommend for your first time experimenting with a crumb coat, go lighter than heavier. If a crumb coat is too heavy, you may not have enough icing to frost the rest of your cake with the regular icing. It’s easier to realize if you didn’t’ have enough crumb coating and to add more next time. Also it’s not the end of the world if a crumb ends up on the outside of your cake. Just stick a tooth pick at it and scoop it up.

I know at my house, my cakes don’t have to stay fresh for too long before they’ve been all gobbled up, but without the crumb coat—I’d have some serious problems!

Six Layer Chocolate Cake Recipe

This six layer chocolate cake may have six layers, as implied by the name, but the old fashioned taste is down to Earth.

My great-grandma, a true Southern woman, used to make this cake for my mom. Every time we make this cake, mom tells me stories about my great-grandma.

There are a very low number of ingredients for this classic chocolate cake and it is so delicious, neighbors and family will think you spent all afternoon in the kitchen. But only you will know just how easy it is to make this cake recipe. [singlepic=32,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups self-rising flour, sifted
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup half-and-half
• 2 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 (16-ounce) box confectioners’ sugar, sifted, plus 1 cup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

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

2) Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to cream for approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and milk, alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Add the vanilla and continue to mix until incorporated.

3) To bake 6 layers of cake 3 at a time, divide the batter in 1/2, then divide each 1/2 among the 3 pans. Level the batter in each pan by dropping pan flat onto counter top to release air bubbles. Bake each cake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool in pans for 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes and repeat process with the rest of the cake batter.

4) Prepare frosting while cakes are cooling. Mix sugar, cocoa, butter, half-and-half, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan, stir, and bring to a boil. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. The syrup will become thick. Remove syrup from heat, and beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract with an electric mixer.

5) Allow frosting to rest for a couple of minutes. At this time, if the frosting is too thick for spreading, add a bit of half-and-half, 1 tablespoon at a time, to bring frosting to proper spreading consistency.

Spread the frosting over your cake, cut out a piece, and then enjoy this six layer chocolate cake. Who knows just maybe this cake will become a family favorite for you as well.

Hey, mom, want to make a six layer chocolate cake?

Red Velvet Cake Recipe

A good red velvet cake recipe is like a good sale.

It can sometimes be hard to find but with a bit of time and with the right amount of searching, the results can be quite magical!

Not to mention the results can be totally well worth it.

This red velvet cake is a traditional red velvet cake recipe. It is one that I bet your grandmother might have made.

It has classic ingredients, none designed to bust the budget, has easy directions, and a resulting taste which will leave you licking you lips! Yum! [singlepic=33,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

Cake

• 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 ounces red food coloring

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three (8 inch) round pans. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, oil, and eggs. Add food coloring and vinegar to buttermilk. Add baking soda to flour.

2) Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the sugar mixture. Mix well. Stir 1 teaspoon vanilla into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Remove from oven, and cool on wire racks.

3) For the cream cheese frosting, mix together cream cheese, butter or margarine, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla. Stir in nuts. Spread over cooled cake.

This recipe is not only delicious but it is such a classic cake, especially in the southern United States, that I imagine it will soon become one of your favorites.

You too, can bake your own red velvet cake recipe and it doesn’t take a lot of work. All you need is a working kitchen, a couple hands, and a delicious red velvet cake recipe. Yum!

Best Peach Cobbler Recipe

This recipe for peach cobbler is easy and doesn’t involve too many ingredients.

In the spring, when trees are full with juicy peaches there really is nothing better than biting into a peach that you have plucked right off of the tree. The juice drips down your fingers and then your arm and the sweet flavor is unforgettable.

Every year my grandma, my mom and me go out into the country, about a three hour drive, to the peach farms where we buy several baskets of different types of peaches.

We always eat some in the car, with some of them we make fresh peach cobbler and of course the rest of them we freeze to enjoy during the winter months!

There is nothing like when your family cooks together. This is one of my most favorite times of the year. I love to go and get peaches with my grandma and my mom.

Peach cobbler is my family’s “special thing” This peach cobbler does a great job of capturing that one-of-a-kind taste and the memory of buying the peaches with my family to put into a peach cobbler makes it taste just a little bit more special. [singlepic=34,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 cups of fresh peaches, peeled, sliced and sweetened to taste
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350F. Melt butter in 9×13 casserole dish. Allow peaches to sit in a bit of sugar so that they get juicy.

2) Separate half cup sugar and all cinnamon. Mix one cup of sugar and the other dry ingredients together in a bowl. Stir in milk and syrup from the peaches. Put peaches in casserole dish with melted butter.

3) Pour batter over the top of the peaches. Mix cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar; sprinkle over top of mixture.

4) Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until top crust is golden brown.

Once your cobbler is all done, cut into it. Serve up the cobbler and enjoy. This cobbler might not give you the “juice running down your arm” feeling but it is pretty tasty! Soon, everyone in the neighborhood is going to want a bite of your perfectly peachy peach cobbler! I love those summertime memories!

Mini Carrot Cake Recipe

A carrot cake is a very good cake, and moderation is a great way to enjoy your favorite cakes. These miniature carrot cakes are not only small and convenient, but they taste great too.

I love making these tasty cakes for my family because everyone can have their own. Plus, since carrots are sold year around, there’s no worrying about the right time or the right season to make this cake.

These miniature carrot cakes are a healthy alternative to the rich chocolate cake which is also rather tasty and another one of my favorites.

Yield: 35 mini cakes [singlepic=35,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• 1¼ cups grated carrots
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 (8 ¼ ounce) can crushed pineapple; drained
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese; softened
• ¼ cup butter or margarine; softened
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 to 2 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar

Directions:

1) Combine first six ingredients in a large bowl. Combine carrots and next four ingredients, mixing well. Add to dry ingredients, and beat at medium speed of an electric mixer for two minutes.

2) Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan. Turn cake out onto a cutting board. Cut cake into individual servings, using a 1 ¾ inch round cutter.

3) Combine cream cheese and butter, mixing well. Add vanilla and enough powdered sugar to reach desired consistency; spoon into a decorating bag. Using a star tip, pipe a rosette on top of each cake.

With this recipe it is also important to remember that these cakes can be baked in lightly greased miniature (1 ¾ inch) muffin pans. All that you need to do is to bake following the directions, nearly the same, except that you will need to bake them for only 13-14 minutes in a 350 degree oven. This will create 4 ½ dozen carrot cake muffins… yummy!

If you haven’t tried miniature desserts, then perhaps you should give miniature carrot cakes a shot. Moist and tasty, this is a little piece of miniature delight that you won’t soon forget.

Marble Pound Cake Recipe

Pound cake used to be made for families all around the world.

And even today they continue to be a classic dessert, but this marble pound cake is an easy way to spice up the generic pound cake.

This marble pound cake recipe is easy and it still has the same qualities of the classic pound cake, but with a swirl of chocolate throughout it!

It may look different from the classic but this marble pound cake recipe is bound to make it in your family recipes box also!

Yield: one 10 inch tube pan [singlepic=36,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup butter, 2 sticks; softened
• 4 large eggs
• 3 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 inch tube pan.

2) Combine granulated sugar and butter. Mix at low speed until blended then beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat for 2 minutes. Add the flour, milk, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Beat at medium speed until blended then beat at high speed for 3 minutes.

3) Remove 2 1/2 cups of the batter and pour into a medium bowl. Beat in cocoa until well blended. Spoon half of the vanilla batter into prepared pan. Spoon half of the chocolate batter on top of the vanilla batter.

4) Layer with the remaining vanilla and chocolate batters. Cut through batter with a knife to marbleize. During this step it is very important that you get your knife all the way to the bottom or else only ½ of your cake will marbleize. Now don’t get me wrong either way is tasty, but for that marbled look you need to go around a couple of times and get the knife all the way to the bottom.

5) Bake the cake for about 1 hour. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Transfer the cake out of pan and straight onto the wire rack to cool completely.

This cake is a favorite for business parties, bake sales and just general goodies for the family!

Everyone always asks me how I gave the cake its special marbled look.

They love how it has a taste similar to the pound cake but with its modern makeover this marble pound cake recipe is anything but ordinary!

I love tell everyone just how easy these marbled delight really is!

Chocolate Frosting Recipe

So you have got your super delicious, decadent cake and now what about that super delicious rich chocolate frosting that you need to finish this perfect delight?

This chocolate frosting recipe is not only delicious but it is easy too!

Anyone can use frosting from the can, but it takes a true baker to make their own.

Suddenly, you will be the star of that neighborhood block party when you bring out your delicious cake covered with this decadent rich chocolate frosting that you have made from scratch.

Yield: 4 cups; enough to frost one 9-inch 2 layer cake or one 8-inch three layer cake [singlepic=37,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped fine
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1) Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour over the chocolate. Add the corn syrup and let it stand for three minutes.

2) Whisk gently until smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Refrigerate 90 minutes- stirring every 15 minutes, until the frosting reaches a consistency that makes it easy to spread, a little thinner than the consistency of cream cheese).

3) Once the frosting is ready, spread it onto the cake, using a light ‘crumb layer’ of frosting to prevent excess crumbs lodged in your frosting. (This ‘crumb layer’ should be a lighter consitency… about the consitency of sour cream. You can add water to the frosting to thin it down.)

This frosting is perfect for a chocolate cake, a yellow cake, or even a white cake. With something so versatile, it is no wonder that it is delicious as well!

So instead of grabbing for that can of frosting that has been sitting on the grocery store shelf for longer than you would like to know, make a different decision and instead make a rich chocolate frosting all by yourself. Believe me it is well worth the effort!

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