Tag Archives: frosting

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Orange Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

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These days I can’t let a birthday pass without baking something festive. Something homemade and tailored to the birthday girl/boy’s specific taste. If there is ever a time to bust out a layer cake and sprinkles, it’s on a birthday.

I thought about Sean’s birthday cake for months–chocolate is always a given, and the orange was added because the dude loves the zesty-ness of oranges juxtaposed against deep, dark chocolate. I made this cake for my guy because it’s his favorite. Because he is the best guy who makes me laugh every single day, and he doesn’t even get annoyed by my constant stream-of-consciousness singing…seriously, I’m pretty sure it’s like living in a really bad musical about the minutiae of life…and in my book that’s more than enough to deserve a birthday cake.

The cake is easy to put together, with a nice crumb and perfect tenderness. Lots of orange zest makes it bright and flavorful. The chocolate frosting has sour cream that brings a bit of tang to cut the dark richness–it spreads across the cake like a dream and takes on a fudgey quality once it’s set. A heavy dose of sprinkles make it the perfect party cake. Candles and tall glasses of milk are optional, but highly recommended.

Orange Cake

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

2 3/4 cups cake flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup orange zest (I used 6 oranges)

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line two 8inch round cake pans with parchment circles, grease the pans and the parchment, set aside.

In a bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large measuring cup whisk together the vanilla, orange juice, and sour cream. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, rub the orange zest into the sugar until fragrant. Add the melted butter and beat until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl after each addition.  Add half of the dry ingredients, mix gently to combine, followed by the orange-sour cream mixture to combine, followed by the remaining dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and bake in the center of the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pans on a cooling rack about 10 minutes before turning out and cooling completely.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Adapted slightly from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes

I subbed the corn syrup for golden syrup and added extra sour cream where the recipe called from half and half. 

12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped or in chips

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons golden syrup

pinch of salt

3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature

Melt the chocolate, butter, golden syrup, and salt over a double boiler until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the sour cream. Continue to whisk until spreadable, but still soft–use to frost the cake immediately. The frosting will set up to a fudge-like consistency at room temperature.

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Applesauce Spice Cake with Brown Butter-Cream Cheese Frosting

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I love an easy weekend and I especially love an easy weekend in early fall. The air is cool, but the sun still shines warm. There’s good, fresh stuff to be had at the farmer’s market, and the trees are just turning. Everything is vivid and bright, yet warm and comforting. This weekend Sean and I took a farmer’s market stroll, rode our bikes to the library, walked the pups through our favorite foliage filled park, lounged plenty (key to easy weekending), and finished up this cake.

I made this cake late last week and sent two slices to a friend. She ate both slices for lunch, that same day. Being irresistible is almost always a good trait to have in a cake. This cake is a dream to me, lightly apple-y, spiced, and redolent with browned butter–both in the cake itself and the nutty-tangy frosting. The cake part is only lightly sweet and incredibly moist from the unsweetened applesauce. It’s dense but not heavy, and with a slick of frosting, makes the quintessential fall snack cake. It’s the kind of cake to tuck into lunch boxes or share with a cup of something warm and good conversation.

Applesauce Spice Cake w/ Brown Butter-Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Gourmet.com

The original recipe calls for creaming butter with sugar, I adapted it to use melted, cooled browned butter. I also upped the spices and switched up the frosting a bit, creating a nutty, buttery, slightly tangy frosting. It’s my new favorite.

Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 stick unsalted butter, browned

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

Frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter, browned

3 ounces cream cheese, soft

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

pinch of salt

To brown the butter: I did each stick separately, since I made the cake a several hours before the frosting. You could do them together and divide evenly in half. Place butter in a small skillet and melt over medium-low heat until the butter becomes foamy, continue to heat until foam subsides and milk solids begin to brown at the bottom of the pan. The solids will become a toffee-colored-brown and smell intensely like toffee and toasted nuts. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature. Butter should be cooled, but still liquid.

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Butter and line an 8x8inch baking pan with parchment paper. I like to leave and overhang on two of the sides, secured with small, metal binder clips.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together browned, cooled butter with the brown sugar and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between each, until completely incorporated. Whisk in the applesauce. Finally, using a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake in the center of the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling completely. Frost once the cake is completely cooled.

To make the frosting:

Beginning on low speed, using an electric mixer (hand or stand), beat together the browned butter and softened cream cheese. Add the vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar. Beat until completely combined and spread evenly over the cooled cake.

 

 

 

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Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

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If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already heard that this weekend was my birthday. This year I turned 28…which marks 10 years, ONE DECADE, since high school.

Oh, man, has so much changed!

In the past 10 years I went to and gradated from college, met Sean and MARRIED him, learned how to bake, became a blogger, became a dog-mom, became an aunt, held a few very different jobs, lived in various dorms/apartments/houses/seedy-abodes, moved to Michigan from Nevada, and, throughout, I was mistaken, right, prideful, and humbled. There was excitement and fear, loss and new life, goodbyes and a lot of celebrations. 18-year-old me and 28-year-old me are different in so many ways! Life is both what I wanted it to be and different too, and I am super thankful for that. I mostly just feel gratitude that I’m a bit older and wiser, that I’m no longer 18, so insecure, and weirded out by life.

With all these years under my belt, I’ve learned that homemade cakes/cupcakes are what most people secretly want for their birthdays. Sometimes though, when your the only baker in your gang of peeps, you have to make your own birthday treats. It’s all good though, since as the designated baker of your gang, you’re probably used to it. The advantage is that you can make ANY treat you’d like for your birthday. The disadvantage…there are so many choices, it can get a little overwhelming. That’s what happened to me this year, I was overwhelmed by all of my options! So, when this sort of thing happens, I usually revert to a classic. Nothing says classic birthday like moist, vanilla-scented yellow cake, chocolate frosting, and a flurry of sprinkles.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting and Sprinkles

This recipe bakes exactly 12 cupcakes. I almost never have a need for more than a dozen cupcakes, so this recipe was perfect! The frosting is super easy to whip up and makes just enough to ice all of the cupcakes. The sprinkles are just a mix of things I had on hand…you can use whatever you want or do without. 

Cupcakes

adapted from Joy the Baker

1 cup all-purpose flour

scant 3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350*F

In the bowl of a mixer, or a large bowl with a hand held mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and butter. Beat ingredients together on low until a sandy consistency is achieved. Mix in half of the buttermilk until just incorporated.

Whisk together remaining buttermilk with egg and vanilla to combine well. Add to the flour mixture and beat just to combine, scraping the bowl as needed. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter among 12 paper lined muffin tins. Bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

adapted from Honey and Jam

5 ounces good quality dark chocolate

8 Tablespoons unsalted, room temperature butter

pinch of salt

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

4-8 Tablespoons half and half

Fashion a double boiler and melt chocolate. Set aside until cooled completely.

In the bowl of a mixer beat butter until creamy. Add melted, cooled chocolate and mix to combine. Add salt, sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. Beat to combine and add half and half 1 Tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

 

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Recipe: Chocolate Cupcakes with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

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Happy Halloween (and, happy Nevada Day, Nevadans)!

I hope everyone had a fun, spooky-scary weekend. Maybe you dressed up and hit the party circuit, maybe you handed out candy or just ate it by the handful, maybe you just lounged around and watched scary movies (guilty!)…whatever you did, I hope it was fun and festive.

I hope there were sweet treats involved and trickery of the good-natured variety.

Until next year ghoulfiends!

(bahaha, I’m totally cracking up about that one!)

One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

from Martha Stewart

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3.4 cup warm water

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large eggs, room temp.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 cupcake wells (2 tins) with paper liners or grease well.

In a medium bowl sift together all of the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt). Set aside.

In a large measuring cup whisk together buttermilk, water, eggs, oil, and vanilla, to combine. Pour wet mixture into dry and fold until just incorporated. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake in the center of the oven for 16-20 minutes (mine were perfect after 17 minutes). Remove from oven and cool on rack completely before frosting.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

This frosting is pretty soft. I chilled it and then stirred vigorously before frosting. 

1, 8ounce bar cream cheese at room temperature

4 tablespoons room temperature, unsalted butter

1/4 cup pure pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of salt

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Using a mixer beat cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add pumpkin, vanilla and bourbon and mix to combine. Beat in spices and then gradually add powdered sugar until completely incorporated. Beat on high until light and fluffy. Refrigerate, covered, if not using immediately.

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Recipe: Gingery Carrot Tea Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

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Raisins.

I hate ‘em.

They are one of the few foods I just really don’t like. I won’t go into the texturally reminiscent reasons why I don’t like them, lest I gross you out…so, I’ll leave it at that.

For all of my childhood and well into my adolescent years, I thought carrot cake required raisins. So, naturally, I avoided it…despite all the other goodness carrot cake packs, the thought of a sneaky raisin hidden in that spiced, moist crumb, deterred me for years.

Finally, I know better.

Finally I can enjoy the ultra moist, spiced, sometimes nut studded, cream cheese frosted, deliciousness that is carrot cake.

Thank goodness!

Carrot cake don’t need no raisins, girl!

I now L-O-V-E carrot cake, however, I don’t make it that often because many recipes just make too much.

Too many layers, too much commitment, too much temptation.

Then, I found this recipe via Martha, and it was like fate.

Carrot tea cake.

Not even with raisins.

Make it in a loaf pan…

or…

Make it in a medium/smallish bundt pan.

Have a slice in the afternoon with a nice cup of tea and you might just feel like a fancy lady…or guy. Whatever.

Don’t even bother with the raisins, unless you want to…then go for it! Eat those raisins, be braver than me, it’s cool.

Gingery Carrot Tea Cake with Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Martha Stewart

I added quit a bit more spice to this cake than the recipe called for, plus a bit of candied ginger for good measure. I just really like ginger + carrots.

1 stick (4oz.) of unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup finely grated carrots

1 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 cup chopped, candied ginger

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 6-cup loaf or bundt pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, dry spices, and candied ginger.

Beat together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating and scraping bowl after each addition, until well combined. Add vanilla and carrots, beat well. Fold in flour mixture until combined well, scrape into prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting

1, 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup confectioners sugar

Beat cream cheese with lemon zest and juice until combined. Add sugar and beat until combined, light, and fluffy.