Week 44: Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Last Sunday we had a reception for people who have been visiting our church so that they could learn more about us and meet the elder team.  I found a recipe in one of my Southern Living Cookbooks that I knew would be perfect for this occasion.

When we have a large group over I like to make one big, wonderful dessert and then have some fruit and a bowl of mixed nuts on the table.  I make lemonade tea (my mother-in-law's wonderful recipe) and decaf coffee.  Our house was filled with sweet fellowship and this cake was enjoyed by all!

Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake                                                                              (Source: Southern Living, September 2011)

• CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
• 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened 
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 large egg 
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• APPLE CAKE BATTER:
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans 
• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup applesauce 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (about 1 1/2 lb.)

 

• PRALINE FROSTING:
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons milk 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Preparation

1. 1. Prepare Filling: Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth. Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.
2. 2. Prepare Batter: Preheat oven to 350º. Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in apples and pecans.
3. 3. Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan. Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife. Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.
4. 4. Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).
5. 5. Prepare Frosting: Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbsp. milk to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly. Pour immediately over cooled cake.

Happy Baking!

Julie

Week 43: Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake and Perfectly Chocolate Frosting

I baked this cake last week-end and failed to post it this week.  I am still getting used to new responsibilities and a new routine and have been quite neglectful in getting my weekly recipes on my blog... on time.  The purpose of this blog is to have a place that my sweet daughter and future daughter in loves can come to - to get my cake recipes and a few new ones that I have added this year in the years to come; so I guess I'm not late after all.
When I teach all day, the last thing I want to do when I get home is get on the computer.  I like to get on some comfy clothes, play with our sweet Millie dog, feed our backyard birds and get dinner started.
I found Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake and Perfectly Chocolate Frosting on Pinterest and it took me to Barbara Schieving's blog: Barbara Bakes. Barbara is a wonderful cook, so I knew the cake would be delicious! 
David and Sam spent a few hours watching football last week-end and I knew they would enjoy a chocolate cake.  I was right!  They have been enjoying it all week! 

Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake
Source: Barbara Bakes

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
 1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; With a mixer, beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Carefully, stir in boiling water. The batter will be very thin. Pour batter into prepared cake pans.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with chocolate frosting.

Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Happy Baking!
Julie

Week 39: Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Cake

Once again I found this week's cake from the magazine I mentioned in last week's post.  I took part of this cake to our church's Women's Fellowship.  My friend, Ana, said she couldn't imagine that chocolate and pumpkin would taste good together; but she had two pieces and asked for the recipe. We also included two pieces with a meal we took to a couple in our church who just had a new baby last week.  The rest of the cake is in our kitchen for my sweetheart to enjoy.


Recently I bought a new bundt pan at Wal-Mart.  It is a Nordic Ware Bundt pan and is actually the original Bundt pan created before 1950.  I love baking cakes in this wonderful, heavy pan.  I let the cakes cool 15-20 minutes and then turn the cake onto a cake plate.  With previous bundt pans I never knew if the cake would turn out whole or break; but with this pan I am 4 for 4 with every cake turning out perfectly.  I highly recommend this Bundt pan!

If you are looking for a delicious cake to make for a crowd this fall; I hope you will give this cake a try.
I wanted a more substantial chocolate icing than the recipe had so I used the chocolate icing from the Mississippi Mud Cake I made for week 3  (I will include both).

Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Cake
(Source: Better Homes and Gardens)

2 eggs (room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking sode
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
1/3 cup milk

Directions

1. Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and flour a 10-inch fluted tube pan; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. In a small bowl combine pumpkin and milk. Set bowls aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In an extra-large mixing bowl beat eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, 3/4 cup shortening, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Alternately add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture to egg mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Divide batter in half.

3. In a small microwave-safe bowl microwave 1 cup of the chocolate pieces on 100 percent power (high) for 1 to 2 minutes or until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir melted chocolate into one-half of the batter. Spoon half of the plain pumpkin batter into the prepared pan. Gently spoon the chocolate batter over pumpkin batter in pan. Top with the remaining plain pumpkin batter. Using a table knife, swirl batters together to marble.

4. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. If necessary to prevent overbrowning, cover cake loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan; cool completely on wire rack. 

Icing used in the magazine's recipe:

In a small microwave-safe bowl microwave the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate pieces and 1-1/2 teaspoons shortening on 100 percent power (high) for 1 to 2 minutes or until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Drizzle melted chocolate over cake.

Icing I used:

 1 (16 ounce) box powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup cocoa
4 tablespoons butter, softened

Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Spread over the cake. Frosting will harden as it cools.

Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Julie

Week 37: Uncle Bob’s Fresh Apple Cake

Hello, dear readers.  It is so hard to believe that fall is right around the corner.  While driving home from being with friends Thursday evening,  I noticed that daylight was getting shorter.  It is also a lot cooler when I go outside in the mornings to feed our backyard birds.
Fall is such a wonderful time with the cooler weather, colorful leaves, football, pumpkins and apples!
I found this week's cake on Pinterest.  It is from Paula Deen so you know it will be wonderful.  Right now it is cooling on a cooling rack, looking ever so lovely and delicious!

This is the second cake I made this week.  A few weeks ago I took Bethany's queen comforter to the laundromat.  There is a sweet, older man who works there and is always so helpful.  Once I put the comforter in the dryer I left to run a few errands.  When I returned to the laundromat the kind man had it all folded and wrapped in plastic and brought it to my car and put it on my backseat.  I told him I wanted to bake him a cake for his kindness.  I asked him what his favorite cake was and he said, "Just plain pound cake, ma'am."  So I made the Million Dollar Pound Cake in two loaf pans and Samuel and I dropped one of them off to him on Thursday.  He was so happy.  The neat thing about this man is that I have heard from several friends on different occasions how kind he has been to them.  I told him that people are talking about him because of how kind he is to others.  If you live near me and need to visit a laundromat be sure to go to the large one behind Suntrust, downtown.
I'm not sure what we'll do with this cake.  I may cut it up and take it to church tomorrow morning or share it with some ladies I will see this week.  It made our home smell heavenly while it baked and I think it's a great cake to usher in fall!

Uncle Bob's Fresh Apple Cake
Source: Paula Deen


3 cups diced Granny Smith apples, about 2 apples
1 cup lightly toasted chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs

Directions

Cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a Bundt pan or tube pan.
In a bowl, mix together the apples, walnuts, vanilla, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Using an electric mixer beat the sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Add in the dry ingredients and beat until completely combined. Fold in the apple mixture.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Allow the cake to fully cool in the pan, about 1 hour, and then turn it out onto a plate.
Drizzle the apple cake with some of the honey glaze, serve and enjoy
Honey Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons milk

 Glaze: Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and stir until smooth.  Drizzle over cake.


What is your favorite thing about fall?

Happy Baking!
Julie