Let Them Eat Cake

Biggest Rat in Town Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake:

Cake:

2 cups sugar
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:

1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
1 teaspoon peanut oil

Frosting:

1 stick butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons buttermilk
1 box confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla


Mix sugar, flour and soda. Set aside. In a heavy saucepan, mix butter, cocoa, water, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and bring to boil. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into generously-greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

I found that when we cooked this cake, it needed about 45 minutes to completely bake.

For the filling, mix peanut butter and oil together and spread over cooled cake.

For frosting, combine butter, cocoa and buttermilk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour mixture over sugar and mix well. Add vanilla and stir well. Frost cake.

Put the Cake Into the Strawberries

This is from Paula Deen's May/June 2008 magazine


Strawberry Cake:

1 box white cake mix
1, 3-ounce box strawberry flavored instant gelatin
10 ounce package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
Strawberry cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease two, nine-inch cake pans. In large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil and water. Beat and medium speed with electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes clean. Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Spread frosting between layers, and on top and sides of cake.

Strawberry cream cheese frosting:

1/4 cup butter, softened
1, 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
10-ounce package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
7 cups confectioners sugar

In large bowl, on medium speed, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1/4 cup strawberry puree. Reserve remaining puree for another use. Beat in extract and gradually add sugar. Combine until smooth.

Cake Jubilee

Cherry Ice Cream Cake...

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 T butter
1, 11-ounce package milk chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 pints cherry or cherry vanilla ice cream, softened and divided
3 cups crushed shortbread cookies, divided
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened

In small saucepan over low heat, heat butter and cream until butter melts. Remove from heat. Add chips. Let mixture stand for one minute and whisk until sauce is smooth. Stir in vanilla and cool mixture for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Line bottom and sides of loaf pan with plastic wrap. Spread 1 pint of cherry ice cream into prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1 cup cookie crumbs. Top with vanilla ice cream. Freeze for 20 minutes or until firm. Spread with 3/4 cup chocolate sauce. Freeze for another 20 minutes. Top with remaining cherry ice cream. Sprinkle with 1 cup cookie crumbs. Cover and freeze for four hours. Transfer remaining sauce to microwave-safe dish, cover and refrigerate. Remove dessert from freezer 10 minutes before serving, using plastic wrap to remove dessert from pan. After discarding wrap, press remaining cookie crumbs into sides of cake. Use serrated knife to cut into 12 slices. Warm reserved sauce in microwave and serve over cake.

Harvesting Dessert

Harvest Apple Cake:

2 eggs
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups oil
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 T vanilla
3 cups diced apples
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup pecans or walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In large bowl, mix eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda. Combine well. Fold in apples and nuts. Pour into tube or bundt pan. Bake at 350 for one hour. Do not let this cake overcook. Check at around 45 minutes. Once cool, cover with glaze.

Glaze:

1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water

Melt butter in saucepan over stove top. Add brown sugar and water and cook until slightly thick. Pour over cake.

Lost In Space

In continuation of our Halloween theme week, here is an idea for you if you have leftover candy. This recipe comes from one of my co-workers. It truly takes this candy bar to a whole new level.

Milky Way Cake:

8 Milky Way bars
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup chopped pecans

Frosting:

2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
6 ounce package chocolate chips
1 cup marshmallow cream
1/2 cup butter

Melt candy bars with 1 stick butter over boiling water. Cream sugar and remaining stick of butter. Add candy mixture to sugar and butter mixture. Stir evenly. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each. Dissolve baking soda into buttermilk. Add flour and buttermilk alternately into mixture, ending with the flour. Add nuts. Fold batter into stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake in greased and floured tube pan at 325 degrees for 70 minutes. Cool completely and frost.

For frosting -- cook milk, butter and sugar until soft ball forms in cold water. Add chocolate chips and marshmallow cream. Beat until smooth. Frost the cooled cake.

Rest, Relaxation, and Rum Cake

The hubby and I have been away for a few days visiting his parents. I think that I previously mentioned in another post that they recently moved. They are now within driving distance to us. It was a fun and relaxing time for us all. The next time that we will see them will be during the holidays, which leads me to this post.

Last year, my coworkers and I had a silent dessert auction before the holidays to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research. The ladies I work with would have kindly knocked each other out to get to this cake. Surprisingly enough, I am the one who walked out the door that day with this cake. (Don't worry, I shared, and no one was hurt.) So, I always think about this cake whenever a holiday is approaching. It is so good, you can smell it from a mile away. I promise you will not be disappointed if you make this cake.

Butter Rum Cake:

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Butter Cake
1 box vanilla instant pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup rum

Mix all ingredients together. Before pouring into the greased and floured tube or bundt pan, put 1 cup chopped nuts in pan. Pour cake batter on top of the chopped nuts. Bake at 325 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes.

In a boiler pan:

Combine 1 stick butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup rum

Boil 3 minutes and then pour over the hot cake. Cool the cake in the pan before removing.

Pumpkin Perfection

Today is my sister in law's birthday. Happy Birthday Kerrie. So, today's recipe is for a dessert. However, everything she eats has to be gluten free. So, I am not sure if she would be able to adapt this or not. This is Paula Deen's recipe. We have made this for holidays, friends who have had surgery, parties, etc. It has always been a hit.

Pumpkin Cake

4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil
15 oz. pumpkin
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Bake in greased 13x9 baking dish for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 stick butter
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients together until well blended.

Think Pink

This week brought happy and sad news. This recipe is so appropriate because all the news relates to the color pink. First the good news: James and I are going to have a niece.. We love little boys, but finally after three nephews, we have a niece on the way. However, we also received disappointing news that one of my dearest friends has been diagnosed with breast cancer. So, in honor of my friend and our niece to be, I bring you the following:

PINK CAKE:

1 pkg. white cake mix
1 3oz. pkg. strawberry jello
1 10oz. box frozen sweetened sliced strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Thaw the strawberries and drain the juice. Reserve the juice for the frosting. Grease and flour 2 , 9 inch cake pans. Mix cake mix, jello, water, and oil. Add eggs one at a time. Add drained strawberries to batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

1 box confectioner's sugar
1 stick margarine (at room temperature)
strawberry juice

Beat margarine until smooth. Add sugar and mix until creamy. Add enough strawberry juice to reach spreadable consistency. Spread over cooled cake.