Absolutely the Best Yellow Cake...?

cake
noun
a sweet, baked, breadlike food, made with or without shortening, and usually containing flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, eggs, and liquid flavoring.

Or as I would define it...

CAKE!
nounom nom nom nom

I have been on a quest for the basics.  I want recipes in the front of my binder that are my 'go tos'.   A chocolate cake that I know will always be just the right amount of chocolate, a lemon bar that makes you pucker then mmmm as you take another bite, a coconut cream pie that is so good that you don't care if you have a little sumtin' on the edge of your lip because you just shoved a huge bite into your mouth.  And a yellow cake that can be delicate and delightful but at the same time hold its own when filled or topped.

The Cake Slice Bakers have changed things up a bit and now offer three or four choices to us each month from the current cookbook ~ Great Cakes by Carole Walter.   Our choices this month were Absolutely the Best Yellow Cake, Sour Cream Chocolate Cake, Bing Cherry Kuchen and Streusel Lemon Torte.

You would have thought I would jump at the chocolate cake but I spied that yellow cake and thought that I should give it a go.... would this be THE one?

Well the recipe says that it is the best... let's find out.

Cupcakes again?  Yes, dear.

Cupcakes are easy to give away!  

Plus if you eat a whole cake you just ate one item... if you eat several cupcakes then you just stuffed in your face multiple food items and that is baaaaad.  So yes, cupcakes.

Cream your softened butter and sugar together to form that light and fluffy stuff that you should not dip your pinky into on accident and then lick off because the paper towels are just too far down the counter.

Add in your vanilla extract.  Now you want to add your eggs.

I hate to wash extra dishes but this is one of those things you shouldn't shortcut.... do not crack your egg directly into the mixing bowl.  At some point you will drop a shell.  If you are lucky you will see it, dig it out and just waste time.  Bu there will be that time when you find out because someone you love will crunch down on it and blahhhh!

Instead simply crack your eggs into a small bowl, then dump into the mixing bowl from there.  It is worth the extra dish to wash.

Your creaming items are all fluffy and now to do the wet/dry dance.

Add in part of your dry ingredients, followed by part of your wet then mix until just incorporated and repeat until all your stuff is mixed together.

This batter came out rather nicely and was very silky but I could see that it wanted to break a bit if left to sit.

I made half a recipe and was able to (over) fill 12 cupcakes and had I scrapped the bowl could have filled one more.  Into the 350 degree oven they went.

While they were baking I decided that indeed we needed a bit of chocolate with these cupcakes.... yeah, yeah, I know!  So.....

I decided I would dip the tops into ganache. 

Please tell me you know what ganache is!!  Well in case you don't know what it is I will tell you...  ganache is the chocolate be all end all in my book!  You can do so many things with it other than eating it straight out of the bowl.  And the best part is it is so dang simple to make.

I am using 3/4 cup of heavy cream and 8 ounces of (good)chocolate (chips or chopped) for this round of ganache.  Its a little on the thick side but since I am dipping I wanted that.

Place your chocolate into a heat proof bowl.

Heat your cream on the stove top until the stream just starts to rise and you see little bubbles along the edges.  

Pour the cream over the chocolate.

Wiggle the bowl so that all of the chocolate is covered by the cream.

Now walk away.  Just go... for about 5 minutes.

Time to make magic happen.  Whisk it.

Well that isn't looking so pretty.  Just keep going, I promise it will come together... just... like... that!

Oh yeah.

Timer goes off and the cupcakes are done.

I baked them for about 17 minutes, until they reached 205 degrees internally.

But they are flat and the edges stuck to my pan.  I was hoping for a bit of a dome on top for dipping in.

They smell good and they look good, just flat.

I changed ideas and decided to just spread the ganache on top.

"Oh please don't spread chocolate ganache on top of that cupcake" ~ said no one ever!

Was it the best?  Sadly no.  It was quite tasty!  It has a delicate texture... actually the texture was almost too delicate.  I think that may be one of its downfalls.  Also there was no salt in the recipe and it called for unsalted butter plus it tasted just a bit eggy to me.  I think I may just have to give this one a go again to see if we can get it to be the best.  Keep your eyes peeled for a part two of this adventure.

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An InLinkz Link-up

*I didn't publish the recipe because it comes from a copyrighted cookbook.

Coconut (not a) Layer Cake

It's time! It's time! 
The Cake Slice Bakers voted to bake the Coconut Layer Cake for April! 

 We are baking from Great Cakes by Carole Walter. 

As usual I didn't make it by the book. My layer cake turned into cupcakes because I wanted to serve them with our Easter dinner. I also didn't use the recommended frosting because I had not made a frosting as the book listed and chose to use a tried and true swiss buttercream instead.

This coconut cake was a bit different because it called for the coconut to be steeped in scaled milk for half an hour.  Then you put the milk and coconut into a food processor and blitzed until the coconut was broken down.  

I used coconut milk hoping for a stronger coconut flavor in the cake...*

The cake mixed up in the usual fashion - cream together the butter and sugar, add in the eggs then add in the dry ingredients alternating with the coconut milk.

Scooped the batter into the cupcake liners and into the 350 degree oven they went.  For reference ~ the recipe made 22 cupcakes and they were done in about 13 minutes.

Working in a leveled oven has sure been nice!  Ha!  The cupcakes rose with a nice round dome.

I let the cupcakes cool over night then went to work on them with the buttercream, which I flavored with just a hint of coconut flavoring.

And then topped with toasted coconut.

These cupcakes turn out nicely and we got good reviews of them at Easter dinner.  They have a nice airy texture and baked up well as cupcakes.

*I personally thought they could have used much more coconut flavor.  Since I added the coconut milk I am guessing that a small amount of good coconut flavoring would help boost the flavor.

Check out all of The Cake Slice Bakers @ the blogroll & like us on Facebook.

An InLinkz Link-up

Enjoy!

:)

*I didn't publish the recipe because it comes from a copyrighted cookbook.

Malted Milk Chocolate Cupcakes

Wow it has been a year already?!  Yes I am talking about the Cake Slice.  We have spent almost a year baking our way through Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson.  This is our last cake from Vintage Cake - even though I suspect I will revisit the cookbook again in the future. ;)

For our October cake we did not vote for one but rather we all chose what we had been eyeballing to make.  So you really need to check out all the CSBs yummy blogs to see what all the gals made this month.

If you are interested in joining The Cake Slice group please send an email to Paloma at love.for.coffee @ gmail.com for information. It is a great group of gals to bake with!

My pick for October is the Malted Milk Chocolate Cupcakes.  My family and I like malt balls.... ok fine we love malt balls and fight over who gets to eat the last one!  That in mind this was a hands down choice for me to make.

You really need to start off making the frosting because it calls for a two hour refrigeration.  To make the frosting your first step is to make a malted ganache.  After whisking together the cream and malt powder, heat over low heat and make sure to stir and watch it closely.  Even with doing that mine started to burn before the cream was bubbling along the edges.  If this happens to your pot of cream no worries, just don't scrape it out.

Simply pour the heated mixture over your chocolate and allow to sit for a few minutes before whisking until smooth and no more chocolate lumps are present.

Tip - as you can see I put mine into a glass bowl.  This was just fine until I went to transfer it later to the mixing bowl - the set up mixture is very sticky and was difficult to transfer.  If I had known I may have put it in my stand mixer bowl to start with.  Just remember that your bowl needs to be heat proof.

Cover and refrigerate until well chilled and set up. Now time to move onto making the cupcakes.

Start off with mixing together the dry ingredients - including the malt powder.  Mix this together very well to avoid lumps of the malt powder.

Next you melt the butter and chocolate until smooth.  Add in the oil and then add into the dry mixture.  Be sure to scrape down the sides and the bottom a couple of times.  Again to avoid lumps of the malted powder.

Whisk together the milk, eggs and vanilla and slowly incorporate it into the chocolate mixture.  It is a very wet batter.  I usually use a scoop to fill my cupcake pans but that was just becoming a big mess all over the pan.  So I decided to move the batter to a large measuring cup with a pour spout.  Now filling was much easier and cleaner.

*Note - even with all the scraping and mixing there was still lumps stuck to the bowl so I would advise not scraping out the mixing bowl if you transfer like this.

These cupcakes took about 25 minutes to cook and that worried me a bit but baked up just fine.

Once the cupcakes were cooled it was time to finish the frosting.  Transferred the chocolate to the stand mixer bowl and while on low added in pieces of butter.  Once all the butter is added,  turn the mixer up to medium to create a fluffy frosting.

It is interesting - the frosting is quite light at this point through piping it but once it was refrigerated  the frosting darkens up.

Thumbs up from all that ate the cupcakes!

The cake was moist but had that nice little crunch to the top edge.  The frosting was fluffy and tasty.  I liked both components though I am not sure if I liked them together - maybe a little too sweet together.  I might try the frosting on a dark chocolate cupcake next.  

Check out all of The Cake Slice Bakers @ the blogroll & like us on Facebook.

Enjoy!

:)

Happy Birthday to The Cake Slice

Five years and going strong ... The Cake Slice!

This great group of bakers has been baking their way through cake cookbooks for 5 years now.  The cookbooks have included The Cake Book by Tish Boyle, Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman, Southern Cakes by Nancy McDermott and Sky High by Alisa Huntsman, Peter Wynne, Tina Rupp.  I joined this lovely group for this year's book ~ Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson.  We are having a great time trying out these retro recipes with a modern twist.

To celebrate this fifth year we have decided to bake up something special.  I have chosen to try out Black Bottom Cupcakes.  I chose to use the recipe posted by fellow CLBaker Monica at Lick the Bowl Good.

These cupcakes are pretty quick to put together.  I was a little surprised how thin the batter was, but they baked up very nicely.

The BB cupcakes came out moist and so darned tasty!  Everyone at the table asked for a second cupcake.

You can find the recipe for the Black Bottom Cupcakes @ Lick the Bowl Good.

Check out all of The Cake Slice Bakers @ the blogroll & like us on Facebook.

Enjoy!

:)

The Pink Cake

Happy May cake to y'all!

The May choice for the Cake Slice Bakers is the Pink Cake from Vintage Cakes.   In case you don't know about Cake Slice Bakers... We are a group of bakers that are baking a cake each month out of a specific cookbook.  This year of baking is being done from  Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson.  It is a great group of gals to bake with!  Be sure to check out all of their yummy blogs.

Well the Pink Cake isn't very pink, in fact it is brown... a nice chocolate brown.  But the luscious frosting that you pair with this chocolate cake is pink.  The combination is striking and makes for a great presentation.

I chose to make cupcakes because tonight is Meet & Greet for our Jeep club.  Yesterday the Hubster and I were hanging out with some Jeeperpeeps, enjoying the sunshine and a Jamba Juice.  I was telling them how I was behind in my baking for CSBs.  I try to time my baking so that I have somewhere for the goodies to go - I don't want them sitting around my house!  They were just looking at me.... what did I mean I need somewhere for the goodies to go.... "call us we will take them off of your hands"!!  They also reminded me that we were getting together tonight and they strongly suggested I make the cake for tonight.  Alrighty-then! I aim to please!  And this cake should definitely please them.

The recipe directions call for you to pour boiling water over cocoa and chopped unsweetened chocolate, allow to stand then whisk.  I would first measure out the dry ingredients*, whisk them and set aside.  Tap off the whisk and then use the same one for the chocolate... a small change but hey it saves me from having to wash one more item. ;)

Cream together the sugars and butter.  Separate your eggs and be sure to save your extra egg whites for the frosting.  Add in the oil and eggs.  

Whisk sour cream and vanilla into the chocolate mixture.  I licked the whisk.... you think chocolate and well it is but totally unsweetened and even unsweeter with the addition of the sour cream.  LOL!  I licked it and made a face and my son laughed at me!

Alternate adding the chocolate mixture and the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

I was able to get 24 cupcakes and a mini loaf pan filled with this recipe.  I think next time I will fill the cups just a bit more so not to have left over.

Baked these little chocolate gems up in about 17 minutes.  While they were cooling I whipped up the frosting.  The recipe is a basic Swiss Buttercream with the addition of raspberry puree.  I chose to use a jar of my Very Berry Jam in place of the raspberry puree.

To make a SB put your egg white, sugar and cream of tartar in your mixer bowl.  Place the bowl over - not touching - simmering water.  Whisk constantly, not vigorously  until the mixture comes to 130 degrees.  And instant read or candy thermometer works great for this.

Take your bowl off the pan, wipe off the bottom, attach it to your mixer with the whisk attachment and beat at medium high for about 4 minutes until the mixture turns glossy white and holds a stiff peak.  Once it reaches stiff peaks turn the mixer down to medium slow and let it run for a couple more minutes until the bottom of the bowl is just about room temperature.

While the whites are whipping prepare your puree.  As I said before I used a jar of my jam.  Put it into the food processor and let it have at if for a minute.

Put the puree through the sieve to get rid of seeds and any larger pieces that may have escaped the blades o' choppage.  You will want to use one spatula for the top side and one for the bottom side... if you use the same one, most likely you will transfer way more seeds than you want.

Once your whites are cooled down it is time to add the butter.  Yes a full pound of butter added in a tablespoon at a time.  Most recipes call for you to start with the butter already cubed and all the mise en plas peeps say be ready with your butter.  But I will say don't have it cut up just at room temperature.  Because you should let each piece of butter incorporate before adding the next.  A lot of people will add the butter in too quickly and that can cause your frosting to break and well that is so not pretty.  

Instead take the time to cut each piece then add it, cut, add, cut, add.... You will get a good rhythm and your frosting will turn out nice and smooth.

Add in your salt, vanilla and the puree.  Ohhhhh... makes me think that Halloween is just a few months away hahaha!  Ok back to work!

This frosting comes out so tasty and smells wonderful!

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled it is time to frost them.

I chose to pipe them and just have some fun with designs.

This chocolate cake is keeper and I just know that my Jeeperpeeps will enjoy these tonight!

The Pink Cake recipe can be found in  Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson or on Epicurious.  (I have no association with her or her cookbook sales.)

Visit the other Cake Slice Bakers here.

The CSBs are now on Facebook ~ check them out here and be sure to 'like' the page.

*The published recipe calls for 2 cups (10 ounces) all purpose flour.  This is incorrect.  If you measure by the spoon method use two cups but if you weigh out your flour it should be 8.5 ounces.   1 cup of all purpose flour = 4.25 ounces.

Enjoy!

:)