Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Best Birthday Cake - made June 3, 2012 from Chocolate American Style by Lora Brody

The original recipe title isn't very descriptive so I'm calling it how I see it: this is a chocolate cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting.  Or, if you want to be a stickler, it's a cocoa cake since the chocolate flavor comes only from cocoa.  And you know what that means: use a good, high-quality cocoa!  Because that'll be what determines the chocolatey-ness of the cake.  I use Pernigotti from Williams Sonoma and it's a winner every time in terms of a dark chocolate fudgy taste.  The batter is thinner than most cake batters but that's to be expected since cocoa is a dry ingredient and sucks out all the moisture in a cake so you want it to have a relatively higher amount of liquid ingredients so your cake won't be dry.

The baking gods were with me when I baked this cake because once again I avoided my usual underbaking problem by not taking it out too soon.  The texture is nice and well, cakey, not too dense or too light. For those of you who persist in liking cake mixes, this has a texture similar to a boxed cake mix but of far infinitely better flavor.  The original recipe below calls for baking in 2 9-inch cake pans but I almost always opt to bake in a 9 x 13 pan for easier packaging and giving away.  It makes one thick layer instead of 2 thinner ones so you just have to adjust the baking time accordingly and take out when moist crumbs adhere to a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake.  The frosting makes a lot because it's meant to frost a 2-layer cake so if you're not a big frosting person and you make a 9 x 13 pan, you can probably get away with only making a half recipe of frosting.  I'm not a huge flavor fan of white chocolate or cream cheese unless they're paired with "real" chocolate and in this case, they were so the frosting worked really well.  The dark chocolatey goodness of the cake was perfectly complemented by the sweetness of the frosting.

Only word of caution is this wouldn't be a good cake to make or serve in extreme heat since white chocolate has a lower melting point and you also don't want to subject cream cheese to hot temps or it'll spoil faster.

Cake

Unsalted butter and flour for preparing the cake pans

2 ¼ cups (18 ounces) sugar

1 ¾ cups (8.25 ounces) cake flour

1 ¼ cups (4 ounces) unsweetened natural cocoa powder

2 ¼ teaspoons baking soda

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

3 extra-large eggs

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups (12 ounces) buttermilk

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder or granules, dissolved in ¾ cup boiling water, cooled

For the frosting

4 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups (1 pound) confectioners’ sugar

Semisweet chocolate shavings (optional)

1.     Preheat the oven to 350˚F with the rack in the center position.  Coat the interiors of two 9-inch round cake pans with butter.  Line each pan with a 9-inch circle of parchment.  Lightly butter the parchment.  Dust with flour, knocking out the excess.

2.     In a large mixing bowl, sift together the sugar, cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  Place the eggs in a medium mixing bowl.  With the electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs well, then beat in the melted butter and vanilla.  With the mixer still on medium speed, beat in the buttermilk and espresso, and beat only until they are combined.  The mixture will appear curdled.  Scrape the liquid mixture into the flour mixture, and beat on medium speed just until all traces of the flour mixture disappear.  Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you mix.  Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it equally.

3.     Bake the cakes for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes pull away from the sides of the pans and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.  Transfer the cake pans to a wire rack and cool the cakes in the pans for 20 minutes.  Invert the cakes onto another rack, remove the cake pans and parchment, then invert the layers again so that they are right side up.  Allow them to cool completely before frosting.

4.     To make the frosting, melt the white chocolate in a metal bowl set over, but not touching, a pan of simmering water, or in a microwave-safe bowl in a microwave oven.  When the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from over the water and let the chocolate cool while you continue with the frosting.  Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl.  With an electric mixer, beat them together on high speed for about 4 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually mix in the confectioners’ sugar.  Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.  Add the melted white chocolate and beat until well blended.  Refrigerate the frosting, covered, until it is firm enough to spread on the cakes.

5.     When you are ready to frost the cakes, use a long, serrated knife to split each cake layer in half horizontally.  Place the bottom half of one split layer on a serving plate, cut-side up.  Use an offset spatula or kitchen knife to spread ¾ cup frosting on the exposed surface.  Frosting the cut surface will loosen many chocolate crumbs, but don’t worry about that.  Top this layer with its other half, smooth-side up.  Frost this layer the way you did the first, then stack and frost both halves of the second split layer in the same way, ending with the smooth layer up.  Frost the top and sides.  Scatter semisweet chocolate shavings on top of the cake, if desired.

The cake can be made 1 day ahead.  Refrigerate the cake, in a cake saver.  Let the cake sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

   

Lemon "Brownies" - the new chocolate?

Lemon Brownies - made May 25 and June 2, 2012, recipe adapted from Becky Charms' blog

2nd attempt was more moist and fluffy although my camera didn't take a good pic

 When I saw the pictures of these "brownies" from Becky Charms' blog, I had to make them.  They looked so good and the recipe seemed very straightforward and easy to make.  Plus I still had fresh lemons to use up from my mom's lemon tree.  I followed the original recipe as is when I first made it but it didn't turn out as moist as I expected it to be from Becky Charms' picture. From the picture in hers, I thought it would be more moist.  It's possible I baked it a minute or two longer than I should have even though I baked it for even less time than her recipe said to.  They weren't dry but I expected them to be more lemon "fudgy" if that makes sense. 

1st attempt wasn't as moist as I wanted it to be

So I tried them again.  This time, I doubled the recipe, added a little baking powder so they'd get a little rise and baked them in a 9 x 9" pan for the thickness I wanted.  I'm so glad I tried again because the 2nd attempt was much better.  They were a bit more cakey because of the baking powder so it might've crossed from "brownie" to "cake" but I liked it just the same.  This is a perfect cake (or brownie) for summer gatherings when you need a non-chocolate alternative that can survive the heat.

The "Brownie" Batter

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

4 tablespoons lemon zest

4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Tart Lemon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

4-5 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1.      Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a 9-by-9-inch pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. 

2.      In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy, about 45-60 seconds.  Add sugar and beat together until combined then add salt. 

3.      In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Pour into the mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add baking powder and flour and beat just to combine (do not overmix).

4.      Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25-28 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before glazing.  Do not overbake.

5.      When brownies are cooled completely, make the glaze: combine the powdered sugar with the lemon zest and juice, and whisk together. Spread 1/2 the glaze over the brownies with a rubber spatula.  Let glaze harden.  Spread the remaining glaze over the bars, and let it harden.  Cut into bars, and serve.

Milky Way Caramel Brownies

Milky Way Caramel Brownies - made June 1, 2012, brownie recipe adapted from Brownies and Blondies by Lisa Yockelson

I made the original version of this brownie awhile back but forgot to take a picture.  It called for melting some caramel with a little heavy cream then adding 1/2 cup of the brownie batter to it then you swirl the two batters together.  The caramel bakes into the batter to make it more moist but there wasn't enough pure caramel to be a "ribbon" or "swirl" of caramel running through it like I had envisioned.  So this time around, I left out the caramel mixture completely and instead added Milky Way Caramels into each brownie piece.  As an aside, I never knew there was such a thing as Milky Way Caramels.  I don't care for Milky Ways in general because they seem to just be nougat enrobed in chocolate but Milky Way Caramels are pure caramel enrobed in chocolate.  I call those "Rolos" but the Milky Way people made them into rectangles and called them Milky Way Caramels.  Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe.

Anyway, I made these in a mini square brownie pan with a chopped up Milky Way Caramel in the middle of each square but if you don't have one, using a regular 9 x 9" baking pan will work just fine.  You can add the caramels directly into the batter for random placement or else pour the batter into the pan then push the caramel pieces into it.  Make sure you cover the caramels completely with brownie batter or the caramel will overbake and harden when it cools.  A little seepage is okay, and probably inevitable but try to cover them completely with batter when they go into the oven.  This was a good basic brownie, not as chocolatey or as rich as some others I've made but still pairs well with the caramel.

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsifted all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsifted cake flour

¼ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 cup granulated sugar

3 extra-large eggs

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup Milky Way Caramels, chopped (use more if you wish)

9 x 9 x 2” baking pan

1.     Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line a 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

2.     Thoroughly mix the all-purpose flour, cake flour and salt.

3.     Whisk the butter and chocolate in a bowl; beat in the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.  Add the dry ingredients and stir to form a batter.  Add Milky Way caramels.

4.     Pour and scrape the chocolate batter into the prepared pan; spread the batter evenly, covering any Milky Way Caramel pieces completely with batter.  Bake the brownies for 25 minutes, or until just set.

6.     Cool the brownies completely in the pan on a rack.  Cut into 2 ¼ by 2 ¼ inch squares.  Remove the brownies from the pan using a metal spatula.  Store in an airtight tin.

Buttermilk Fudge Cake with a Chocolate Gloss

Buttermilk Fudge Cake with a Chocolate Gloss - made May 28, 2012 from Cakes to Die For by Bev Shaffer

Been a little quiet on the blog this week - I've been busy: traveling for work last week, trying to catch up and just not online as much.  But I'm planning a bakefest shortly so I will have more recipes to put up.  Thanks for all the comments and invites to new link parties.  If I don't respond or don't respond right away, it's because of time and how it seems to fly by (OMG, it's June already) but I do read them all and do my best to keep up.  But sometimes it's all I can do just to find new recipes, type them up (and hope for no mistakes/typos but they do get through - sorry), bake them and blog about them.  Ack, I'm even running out of ingredients because I haven't had time to go grocery shopping.  A Costco run is in my future - I'm down to my last 2 pounds of butter, lol.

But there's always time for chocolate cake.  The ideal time to make chocolate cakes is generally before it gets too hot, especially if it's frosted.  Otherwise it just melts.  While the taste might still be the same, it doesn't look as pretty.  At least that's my excuse for making a chocolate cake while we're still having spring weather, before summer heat arrives.

This is a very good, very easy chocolate cake to make with a great "cakey" texture.  For once I didn't underbake (or overbake) it so the texture came out as it should.  The original directions called for making it as a round, 2-layer cake but I opted for simple and made it as a 9 x 13 cake.  I'm glad I did because the frosting made only enough for a thin layer of frosting on top of the cake.  I don't think it could've stretched to cover a 2-layer cake, top, middles and sides.  So if you do make it as two layers, you might want to double the frosting recipe for it.  Although avoid my mistake and (cough) sift the powdered sugar to get rid of the lumps or they'll appear in your frosting.  Ask me how I know.

A few little powdered sugar lumps in the frosting - oopsie

1 ¾ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

¾ cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, sifted

1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups buttermilk

Chocolate “Gloss”

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1.     Heat the oven to 350⁰F.  Grease 2 9” round cake pans and cover pan bottoms with a round of parchment paper.  Or else line a 9 x 13" baking pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. 

2.     In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

3.     In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the white and brown sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Scrape bowl.

4.     Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in the vanilla.

5.     With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix just until blended.

6.     Spread batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth the top(s).

7.     Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.

8.     Cool in pans for 10 minutes.  Invert onto plates lined with waxed paper.  Peel off parchment or foil and reinvert cakes onto cooling racks.  Allow to cool completely on wire racks.

9.     For the chocolate “gloss”: in a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the confectioners’ sugar until very light.  Add the vanilla and melted chocolate, beating until glossy and smooth.

10.   Place one cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate.  Spread with a small amount of the gloss.  Top with the other layer and frost the sides and then the top, swirling the gloss.

11.   Let cake stand for at least 30 minutes before slicing, to allow the layers to set.  Serves 8.

 

Biscoff Nutella Blondies

Biscoff Nutella Blondies - made May 20, 2012, recipe adapted from Great Cookies by Carole Walter

Happy Memorial Day!  Remembering our troops and expressing gratitude for their unwavering service in protecting our country today and always.

I'm still catching up from my business trip last week and this was the last thing I baked before I left.  Ever since I made the Chewy Biscoff Blondies, I've been toying with the idea of another version of Biscoff Blondies, this time with Nutella swirled in.  I adapted this recipe from Carole Walter, another cookbook author whose recipes turn out way more often than not so I've learned to rely on her baking books as well.  I upped the ante by making a crust out of Golden Oreo Cookies.  I originally bought the golden Oreos because I saw a cookie recipe I wanted to try that uses them.  I sampled a couple of the golden Oreos themselves but alas, I didn't think they measured up to their original chocolate brethren.  So I made them into a crust instead.

Sadly, this experiment wasn't as successful as I had hoped.  I was once again struck by the underbaking gods and took the blondies out too soon.  They were still good but would've been better if they had baked longer.  The Golden Oreo cookie crust also didn't work out as well as I had hoped.  Turns out if I don't like them in cookie form, I also don't care for their taste in cookie crust form.  The taste of the crust didn't go well with the biscoff/nutella combo so I will have to make these again without the crust and see how I like the two flavors mixed together.  The only saving grace is the blondie recipe seems really good so I might have to make that as is without my modifications and see how Carole Walter intended them to be.

Crust (omit crust if you don't like Golden Oreos)

1 15.5-ounce package Golden Oreos

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blondies

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided

¾ cup lightly packed light brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup Biscoff spread (or Speculoos Cookie Butter)

1 generous cup of Nutella, more if you’re inclined

1.      Position the shelf in the center of the oven.  Heat the oven to 350˚F.  Line a 9 x 13” baking pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

2.      Process the golden Oreos in a food processor until powdery crumbs.  Transfer to mixing bowl.  Add vanilla extract to melted butter, whisk to blend, and pour over crumbs.  Blend with wooden spoon until crumbs are evenly moistened.  Pour into pan and pat into thin even layer.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

3.      For the blondies: strain together the flour, baking soda and salt.

4.      Melt ½ cup (1 stick) of the butter in a ceramic bowl in the microwave for 1 minute or until it is almost completely melted.  Add the brown sugar, mixing well.

5.      In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the remaining ½ cup (1 stick) of butter on medium speed.  Add the granulated sugar in a steady stream and mix until lightened in color.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Blend in the tepid melted butter and brown sugar.  Beat on medium speed until thick and creamy, about 1 minute, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed.  Beat in the vanilla and biscoff.

6.      Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in two additions, mixing only to combine.  Remove the bowl from the machine and, using a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula, drop in dollops of Nutella, taking care not to overmix or blend too much into the blondie batter.  There should be distinct swirls of nutella throughout.  Scrape the batter into the pan over the crust, using a small metal spatula to smooth the top.

7.      Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the edges just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Do not overbake.  Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.  Let stand 1 hour, then cut into 1 ¾” x 2 ½” bars.

Fudgy Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies

Triple Layer Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies - made May 20, 2012, recipes adapted from Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding and Picture Perfect Cooking blog

A wee bit too fudgy

I've mentioned before that I'm indifferent to peanut butter.  Never ate it out of the jar, never had a peanut butter sandwich and if the best peanut butter cookie in the world was sitting next to me, I wouldn't bat an eyelash.  But throw some chocolate in with the peanut butter?  Now you've got my attention.  I saw this recipe for peanut butter brownies with peanut butter fudge frosting on a couple of link parties I participate in and immediately thought of how to marry it with chocolate.  Thus the Triple Layer Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie was born.  I used the Cocoa Brownie recipe from the Fat Witch Brownies cookbook but added Snickers to keep with the peanut butter theme.  Then I used Picture Perfect Cooking's Peanut Butter Brownie recipe.

First, make the peanut butter layer and spread as the bottom layer.  Then make the brownie layer, stir in the chopped up Snickers and spread over the peanut butter layer.  Bake.  The two layers combined made for a thick brownie so this was a little tricky.  You don't want to overbake it but you don't really want to underbake it too much.  You want fudgy, not raw.  The challenge is the edges and corners will always bake first so while they might be done, the middle could still be raw.  Or the middle would be perfect but the corners would be dry.  For thick brownies, it's just a risk I have to take.  The frosting is more like a penuche.  It sets very quickly so top it immediately over the brownies and smooth.

As for the end results - hmm, I think I liked this better in concept than in my execution.  As mentioned, the risk with thick brownies is baking them properly.  I baked these for over 40 minutes and a toothpick poked in the corners and edges came out completely clean and one inserted near the middle came out with very moist crumbs.  I thought that would be the right time to take them out but turns out I was wrong and most of the middle was still too underdone.  The Snickers also added to the gooeyness but if your brownie is already gooey by itself, more goo isn't necessarily mouth-watering.  It wasn't bad but it could've been better.  I also might've screwed up the frosting somehow as it hardened and was crumbly.  I think it would've been better if it was a bit creamier like a more traditional frosting.  The ironic part?  Remember I said I didn't like peanut butter by itself?  Well, the peanut butter layer on the bottom was the best layer of the three!  LOL.  I might have to make it by itself after all.

Peanut Butter Layer

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Fudgy Brownie layer

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

¾ cup unbleached flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup Snickers, chopped into small chunks (add more if you wish)

1.     Line a 9-inch x 9-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

2.     For the peanut butter layer: sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, butter, and sugars with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time and the vanilla and mix until combined thoroughly.  Add the flour mixture a little at a time until it is mixed well.  Spread the batter in the pan, smoothing the top.

3.     For the brownie layer: in a ceramic mixing bowl, cut the butter into chunks and melt in the microwave for 1 minute.  Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

4.     Add the cocoa powder and sugar to the butter and whisk until well blended.  Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each until the mixture is smooth and shiny.  Add the vanilla and whisk until mixed well.

5.     Measure the flour and salt and sift together into the batter.  Mix the batter gently until well combined and no trace of the dry ingredients remains.  Add Snickers.

6.     Spread the batter evenly over the peanut butter layer and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with only crumbs, not batter, on it. (Watch this carefully - depending on the thickness of your brownie, it might need more baking time.)

7.     Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 1 hour.  Make frosting as directed below.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

7 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons shortening

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1.     Combine the sugar, milk, shortening, butter, and salt in a medium heavy saucepan.  Bring to a rolling boil while stirring constantly. 

2.     Once it reaches a boil, let it cook for 2 minutes without stirring.  Remove from heat; immediately add vanilla and peanut butter. 

3.     Beat until smooth and quickly spread on the brownies.  Let the brownies cool completely before cutting.

     

My Go-To recipe for Banana Bread

Banana Bread - made lots and lots of times

(Note: I'm traveling for work this week so no baking is coming out of my kitchen at the moment.  So I'm reverting to posting one of my oldest standby recipes.)

One of the things I've been making a lot lately is banana bread.  I haven't blogged about it because I already have the recipe up.  Every time I've tried a different recipe, no one in my extended family likes it as much as this recipe.  In my original blog post, I posted the recipe as it was given to me.  The directions are sparse but not difficult to follow.  I thought I'd resurrect it and just detail out more of what I actually do for anyone who hasn't made banana bread ad naseum.

Good banana bread takes a little planning ahead because you have to buy the bananas well in advance and give them plenty of time to ripen.  And ripen.  Then let them ripen some more.  If you like your bananas mushy-ripe and can still eat them in its natural state, your bananas aren't ripe enough for banana bread.  I let them ripen to the point where I personally can't eat them because they're overly mushy.  Then they're ready.  I also like to mash them by hand so I end up with some chunks of bananas.  If you use a food processor or mixer to mash your bananas, they'll be more finely pureed.  I like my mashed bananas for banana bread a little chunky so they'll make it that way in the baked bread itself and be like a little bit of a fried banana inside of the bread.

This recipe, doubled from the original version, makes 4 mini loaves and 1 standard size loaf.

3 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups mashed bananas

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.  Lightly spray a standard size loaf pan and 4 mini loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
3. Cream butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes.  Add the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until incorporated with the butter.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 10-15 seconds after each addition until fully incorporated into the batter.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to keep the batter even-textured.
4. Alternately add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2 additions.  Do not overbeat.
5. Add the mashed bananas, mixing thoroughly until blended, about 30 seconds.  Finish mixing by hand.  Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until loaves are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.  Insert the toothpick in the "wettest" part of the top to test for doneness.
7. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes then loosen the loaves with a small spatula and invert onto another cooling rack.  Re-invert right side up and cool completely.

 

Snickerdoodle Cake

Butter+Sugar+Cinnamon=Cake - made May 11, 2012 from Baking Style by Lisa Yockelson

I can't resist a sugar-cinnamon cake, or what in my mind, I dub a snickerdoodle cake.  I was meeting my cousins for dinner last weekend and I had to have a non-chocolate offering for my nephew, Vanilla King.  This seemed like a good contender to try out, especially since I was short on time after work and this looked quick to put together.  The recipe calls for half-and-half but I always just buy whole milk and heavy cream and make my own half-and-half by literally using half milk and half cream when half-and-half is needed because that's what half-and-half is anyway.  This way, whether a recipe calls for whole milk, heavy cream or half-and-half, I've got all my bases covered.

If you like snickerdoodles, you'll like this cake.  I loved the cinnamon sugar topping and the cake was moist.  I (once again) inadvertently underbaked it a tad although in my defense, it wasn't so deliberate this time.  The toothpick came out clean when I tested the cake but in hindsight, it had the slight glisten of wetness although no batter or crumbs clung to it.  I should've baked it for at least 40 minutes instead of taking it out at 35.  That dry-cake paranoia struck again.  Doesn't matter though as I would definitely make this cake again and will have a second chance at baking it properly.  It still turned out pretty well.  If you want a little extra decadence, while the cake is hot out of the oven, brush a thin layer of butter over it then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar topping over the melted butter.  Yowsa.

You can tell from the picture it's underbaked but the moistness also came from the melted butter I put on top

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

½ pound unsalted butter, softened

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons half and half (I used 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk and the same amount of heavy cream)

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

½ cup granulated sugar blended with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1.     Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.     Line a 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.

3.     Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon onto a sheet of waxed paper.

4.     Cream the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer on moderate speed for 3 minutes.  Add the sugar in 2 additions, beating for 2 minutes after each portion is added.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing only until incorporated.  Blend in the vanilla extract.  On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in 3 additions and the half-and-half in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture.  Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.  Beat the batter on moderately high speed for 30 seconds. 

5.     Spoon and scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top.

6.     Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until risen, set, and a toothpick inserted 1-2 inches from the center withdraws clean.  Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar topping evenly over the surface of the cake.  The first sprinkling will cause the surface to darken as it absorbs the mixture because the cake is emitting warmth.  Let the cake rest for 30 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining topping on the surface of the cake.  Cut into squares and serve.  Store in an airtight cake keeper.

A Gentle Banana Cake

A Gentle Banana Cake - made May 11, 2012 from Baking Style by Lisa Yockelson

I've been amassing bananas lately and they've been ripening faster than I can eat them.  Or else I deliberately don't eat them so I can have overripe bananas that I "have" to make into baked goods.  I'm still on the hunt for a banana cake similar to my favorite from Icing on the Cake so I always optimistically try new recipes for it.  So it should come as no surprise that, like a kid with a new toy, I went back to the same cookbook for my next banana cake experiment.

I'm not sure why she calls it a "gentle" banana cake and I should probably read the prologue before the recipe to find out.  She does have some interesting names for some of the recipes.  I like how this one turned out.  It was cakey, had great banana flavor and was perfectly complemented by the cream cheese frosting.  It's not quite as fluffy in texture as Icing on the Cake's banana cake but I feel like I'm getting darn close.  It's also possible that I underbaked it just a trifle.  If I had baked it a few minutes longer, it might've achieved a fluffier texture.  I can't abide dry cakes so I'm paranoid about overbaking.  Either way, this one was pretty good.

2 2/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon unsifted bleached cake flour

½ cup unsifted bleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ pound unsalted butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups coarsely mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)

2/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons buttermilk

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick or ¼ lb), cut into tablespoon-sized chunks

4 ¾ cups confectioners’ sugar sifted with 1/8 teaspoon salt

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1.     Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2.     Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.

3.     Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 4 minutes.  Add the sugar in 3 additions, beating for 1 minute after each portion is added.  Beat in the whole eggs, one at a time.  Blend in the egg yolks and vanilla extract.  Blend in the mashed bananas.  On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in 3 additions with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

4.     Spoon and scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

5.     Bake for 40 minutes or until risen, set and a wooden toothpick inserted about 2 inches from the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.

6.     Make the frosting: beat the cream cheese and butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderately low speed for 3 minutes or until very smooth but not lightened.  Beat in half of the confectioners’ sugar-salt mixture and the vanilla extract.  Add the remaining confectioners’ sugar-salt mixture in 2 additions, beating until incorporated.  Beat on moderate speed for 1 minute, raise speed to high and beat for 2 minutes longer, or until quite creamy. 

7.     Spread the frosting on top of the cake.  Let the frosting set for 1 hour before cutting the cake into squares for serving.

 

Brownie "Sandwiches"

Brownie Rounds Sandwiched with Salted Caramel - made May 10, 2012

These are so easy I almost didn't blog about them.  Take your favorite brownie recipe (just please either don't use a mix or don't tell me if you did, ha - I used this one), bake it in a slightly larger pan than the original recipe calls for, i.e. for a brownie recipe calling for an 8 x 8" pan, use a 9 x 9" pan, making sure you line the pan first with foil so you can lift the brownies out of the pan intact.  The goal is to have a thin brownie. Note: I hardly ever say that but when you're going to make brownie sandwiches, you don't want the sandwich halves to be too thick or the finished product will be difficult to eat.

Get a small cookie cutter, either round, oval, square or rectangle and cut out the brownie shapes.  Make sure the brownies are completely cool.  These also work best with brownies that don't bake a thick top crust so it's easier to cut out the shapes without any top crust crumbling.  Sandwich the pieces with salted caramel or your favorite filling.  The challenge with the caramel is it often oozes out between the pieces.  I solved the messy issue by putting the sandwiched brownies in mini muffin cups.  It isn't the prettiest dessert I've made but fudgy brownies and oozing caramel - really, who's going to complain?