Category Archives: cake

Limoncello Tiramisu

Posted by suzyhomebaker in cake and tagged with ,

I realize I’ve been quite lax when it comes to blog entries but in my defense, we went away for spring break and upon returning, I’ve been dealing with that wonderful stomach virus that has finally plaqued our house. So, as my daughter lays in my bed, trying not to hurl, I thought I would post this recipe we enjoyed on Easter. I was looking to make something simple that required no baking since we returned from vacay on Saturday and immediately hopped back in the car Sunday to head to Long Island. This recipe delivered.

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I was able to text my husband all the ingredients and he had no problem finding them. It needs to sit overnight in the fridge which was perfect since we were leaving the next day. Although we were all stuffed from appetizers and dinner, we still have room for dessert. It was light and lemony and the perfect finale to our Easter.

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Recipe courtesy of bakingbites.com

Ingredients

8-oz mascarpone cheese, softened
4-oz cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup heavy cream, cold
1 tbsp limoncello
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup limoncello
approx 30-36 ladyfingers
extra confectioners’ sugar, for finishing

In a large mixing bowl, beat mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, limoncello and lemon zest at high speed until mixture is fluffy and very smooth.
In a small saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the fresh lemon juice. Allow to cool slightly, then combine mixture with limoncello. Dip each ladyfinger into the limoncello mixture to let it soak up some of the liquid for 2-3 seconds, then place in the bottom of a 8×8 or 9×9-inch baking dish. The bottom of the pan should be completely covered with the ladyfingers in a single layer. When there is a full layer of ladyfingers, spread half of the lemon cream mixture on top of them. Repeat with remaining ladyfingers and cream mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 4 hours. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Serves 9-12

Pin 214 & 213, Crazy Cake and Hot Chocolate Frosting

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, cake, chocolate, kid friendly, Uncategorized and tagged with , ,

I know I’ve been slacking in posting my pins so here’s a double whammy.

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I want to say this cake was delicious but I can’t. There’s a reason it’s also called Depression cake; no milk, eggs or butter. Not a whole lot of taste.

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You put all the ingredients into a greased brownie pan, mix them up and hope the cake doesn’t stick to the pan.

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As you can see, mine stuck a bit and some flour did not mix in completely.

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The frosting was another story. It was very sweet, not my kind of icing. I prefer buttery over sweet. But since the cake was not terribly sweet with minimal chocolate flavor, the combination was not too overpowering. I don’t think I’ll make this cake again. Maybe if I’m in a pinch and don’t have milk, eggs or butter on hand. But that isn’t likely in my house. Here’s the recipes and the original pins if you would like to try them out for yourself.

Crazy Cake courtesy of sweetlittlebluebird.com
Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups flour
3 Tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened)
1 Cup white sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
5 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Cup water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a greased 8″ square baking pan. Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients – two small, one larger (see #3 in photo below). Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla in the other and the vegetable oil in third larger depression. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth.

Bake on middle rack of oven for 35 minutes. Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Cool. Top with your favorite frosting. Enjoy!

Tip – You can double this recipe, just use a 9×13 baking pan.

Hot Chocolate Frosting
Recipe courtesy of http://cookiesandcups.com
makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup dry hot chocolate mix (without mini marshmallows)
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp heavy cream

Directions

In a small saucepan combine hot chocolate mix and cream. Heat over medium until hot and steaming…not quite boiling, stirring consistently. You want the sugar in the hot chocolate to dissolve. Set aside.
In large mixing bowl cream butter until smooth.
Add in powdered sugar and mix until combined. It will be very dry.
Turn mixer to low and slowly pour in your hot chocolate mixture. Once all is added turn mixer up to medium and beat for about a minute until light and fluffy, scarping down sides of bowl when necessary.
Spread or pipe on cupcakes.

212 to go…….

Pin 222, Greek Yogurt Brownies

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, bars, cake, chocolate, kid friendly, low-fat, Searching for the best brownie, Transformation and tagged with , ,

Greek yogurt is my dessert at the end of the day. I top it with a little agave syrup and some granola. Very satisfying. When I saw this Pin I had to try it because I love chocolate and my fridge is stocked with yogurt.

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Honestly, they look better than they taste. They appear to be a fudgy, decadent brownie, but pictures can be deceiving.

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They are very chocolately, especially with the addition of the chocolate chips. But they have the texture of a low-fat brownie. A bit rubbery, not at all fudgy. Although, if you are on a diet, or simply watching your sweet intake, these could give you that little chocolate satisfaction. At only about 115 calories per brownie, it’s a nice little treat at the end of the day. In the search for the best brownie, this would be at the bottom of the list. And by the way, Riley says:

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so eat a low-fat brownie!

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Recipe courtesy of fitsugar.com and Shape Magazine

Ingredients

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons espresso
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil; spray foil lightly with cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt,and baking powder. Set aside.
  3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar at medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until combined. Add egg, egg whites, vanilla and coffee. Continue beating until incorporated.
  4. Scrape down sides of the bowl and reduce mixer speed to low. Slowly add flour mixture to the bowl, followed by yogurt, and mix gently until combined. The batter will be thick.
  5. Stir in chocolate and walnuts if using.
  6. With a spatula, spread mixture evenly in pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of pan comes out dry. Cool on a wire rack before removing from pan and slicing into 16 squares.

Recipe makes 16 2-inch by 2-inch servings.

114 calories
5g fat
16g carbs
2g protein
1g fiber
16mg calcium
61mg sodium

221 to go……..

Pin 231, Red Velvet Cake

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, cake, Holiday recipe, kid friendly and tagged with ,

Since this Red Velvet cake was the top choice for my friend’s wedding cake, I figured I better post the pin. I think her exact words were “this is the moistest red velvet cake I’ve ever had”. I’d say that’s quite a compliment. But I can’t take too much credit. I only baked it. The recipe is from the Bakerella website. I’ve baked several recipes from this site and have always had great results. The Red Velvet was a winner all around. The husband liked it, the kids loved it, most importantly the bride and groom picked it, and I’ll admit I had a taste and devoured it too. It was my cheat day, Superbowl Sunday, give me a break. Get yourself a heart cake pan (or shape your own cake here) and make your family, or your sweetie, or yourself this cake for Valentine’s Day. Here’s the original pin and here’s the recipe:

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Recipe courtesy of Bakerella.com

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. red food coloring

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.
  • Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.
  • Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.
  • Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.
  • Pour into cake pans and then drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
  • Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  • After about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. I also cover in plastic wrap while the cakes cool.
  • Then make the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups confectioners’ sugar

  • Sift sugar and set aside.
  • Beat cream cheese and butter on high until creamy. Add vanilla.
  • Then, add the sugar in batches. Scrape down the sides in between each addition.
  • And frost away.

230 to go………

Pin 236, Pretty Way to Frost a Cake and Pin 235, Red Velvet Cake

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, cake, kid friendly, Party Time!, You say it's your birthday....... and tagged with , ,

This past weekend I baked four, count em, FOUR cakes for my friend and her fiance to sample for their wedding.

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Carrot Cake with cream cheese icing. It came in second place.

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Vanilla butter cake with lemon curd and  lemon mousse filing and vanilla buttercream icing. Not a contender but light and summery.

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Brown butter cake with lemon curd and raspberry mousse filing topped with vanilla buttercream and covered in marshmallow fondant. The cake was yummy but the fondant’s sweetness and texture was not a hit with the bride. Totally cool. Lots of people are not fond of fondant.

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Can you tell by this picture, this was the winner? Almost none left although in its defense it was the smallest cake at only 6″” round. But it was the chosen one. Red Velvet cake with cream cheese icing. Actually this has now become a double pin because I found this recipe on Pinterest. Score! This is the moistest red velvet cake I’ve every tasted. And the bride agreed. Double Score! We have a wedding cake!

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But here is the reason we are here. This really cool and cute way to frost a cake. I stupidly didn’t take pics of the process for you to see. Sorry. This was  a last-minute cake frosting. But you can check out the process on the original Pin’s website, birdonacake.com.

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Here it is mid frosting. Basically you use a round Wilton tip #12, pipe frosting balls from top to bottom of cake sides and using a small spatula pull the frosting to the right. Repeat will you hit the end. Then follow this process along the top going in a circle or a spiral. It looks great. And if you are not the greatest cake icer, you can cover up your imperfections with this method. It is time-consuming so you must have patience. Especially when you reach the top and are piping and spreading one after the other.

Now for the Red Velvet Cake. It was really delicious and I think a perfect choice for my girl’s wedding cake. I can’t wait to make it. Here’s the original pin and here’s the recipe:

Recipe courtesy of Bakerella.com

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. red food coloring

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.
  • Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.
  • Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.
  • Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.
  • Pour into cake pans and then drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
  • Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  • After about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. I also cover in plastic wrap while the cakes cool.
  • Then make the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
    1 cup butter, room temperature
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    6 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • Directions
    • Sift sugar and set aside.
    • Beat cream cheese and butter on high until creamy. Add vanilla.
    • Then, add the sugar in batches. Scrape down the sides in between each addition.
    • And frost away.

234 to go………..

Summer Birthdays

Posted by suzyhomebaker in cake, kid friendly, Party Time!, Uncategorized, You say it's your birthday....... and tagged with , , , ,

I spend a lot of time planning and creating cool stuff for the kids birthday parties. And for some crazy reason, I never take enough pictures documenting the actual party. Maybe because I’m busy grilling hot dogs during the party or maybe because I’m pooped at the end of the day and can’t pick up the camera. Either way, here are the pics of the kids cakes this year. If you haven’ already figured it out, they were Adventure Time and Yo Gabba Gabba parties. And they were fun.

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Good Morning Glory Muffins

Posted by suzyhomebaker in breakfast, cake, kid friendly, muffin

I made these at the bakery a lot. They are so good. Sooooo moist. Look at all the moist ingredients. Pineapple, apples, raisins……they are delicious. Make them for the kids, for breakfast, for whatever. They freeze well and taste even yummier with a glob of cream cheese. Did I mention they were moist?

Ingredients

  • 1- 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2- 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
  • 3/4 cup raisins
  • 1 large apple, peeled and grated
  • 1 cup grated zucchini
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
  • 2 cups grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Sift or whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the coconut, raisins, apple, pineapple, zucchini, carrots, and nuts, and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil and vanilla. Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and blend well.

Spoon the batter into muffin tins lined with muffin cups, filling each to the brim. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.

Aunt Linda’s Zucchini Bread

Posted by suzyhomebaker in bread, breakfast, cake, chocolate, kid friendly

Recipe two from the Zep shore weekend is my Aunt Linda’s delicious zucchini bread. Since there were two zucchini breads waiting at the house, I decided to use chocolate chips in mine. I think it was quite successful since there was just a small slice left by the end of the weekend. The kids really seemed to like it and I’m sure it was due to the chocolate chips. No, I know it was because of the chocolate chips. One kid even called it a cookie. This cake is very moist and chock full of zucchini so it’s kinda good for you too. And now is the time to get your zucchini at the farmer’s market. I know no one wants to bake in this heat but this cake is very fast to make so you won’t be in the kitchen for hours. And it’s a great snack or quick breakfast. For some extra decadence, spread some cold cream cheese over top.

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Searching for the best brownie: the Fat Witch

Posted by suzyhomebaker in bars, cake, chocolate, kid friendly

So this is the first disappointing brownie I’ve eaten so far. Actually, I should clarify that. The first disappointing brownie in the Search for the best brownie challenge. I’ve had many bad brownies in my day and for me, this one makes the list. I’m sure many would disagree with me and that’s fine. This is not the kind of brownie that I like to indulge in. If I’m gonna have a brownie it better be chocolatey, gooey, fudgy and impossible to resist. This one was none of the above. It lacked a rich chocolateness due to the minute amount of chocolate and was quite cakey. It was moist, I’ll give it that, but definitely more cake-like. I shouldn’t shoot it down completely. It was a good brownie when used in a sundae, topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. It absorbed the ice cream very well and didn’t have an overwhelming sweetness that would normally overpower the dessert. So if you have a fondness for a cakey brownie or are looking for an excellent brownie for a sundae, this is your bar.

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Pinkalicious cupcakes

Posted by suzyhomebaker in cake, Holiday recipe, kid friendly, Party Time! and tagged with

Riley turned 4 a couple of weeks ago and we celebrated with a Pinkalicious party. Pinkalicious is the title of one of Riley’s favorite bedtime books about a girl who eats so many pink cupcakes, she turns pink. The only cure is to eat green vegetables. For her party I tried making everything as pink as I could, including the food. I also had an abundance of green food to counter act any pink children running around. In the mayhem I forgot to snap some shots of the savory food I served but did manage to get some of the desserts on film, since those are the most important part of any good party anyway. As for the savory foods, they included london broil sandwiches (a big hit, I’ll post this later), shrimp orzo salad (Barefoot Contessa), turkey meatballs (Giada) in vodka sauce (from a jar), french fries (Ore Ida), tomato salad (an old recipe from Martha), mixed green salad, and hot dogs. I think the food was a success. Everyone seemed very satisfied. As for the desserts, well, I’ll let the pictures tell most of the story:

Pinkalicious cupcakes

Strawberry milkshake malt balls, cupcakes, Red Velvet Giant cupcake, and cotton candy

The cupcakes were really good. Very dense and thick, they reminded me of the Magnolia Bakery cupcake. They would be hard to mistake for a cake mix, completely different texture. The giant cupcake with a red velvet cake recipe I’ll post another time but it was equally delicious and topped with a pink cream cheese icing. Even after this party, Riley still loves the color pink.

As I was about to post the recipe for the Pinkalicious cupcakes, I noticed a copyright at the bottom of the page so I’m opting out of posting the recipe on my site and directing you to the Pinkalicious page to check it out for yourself. You’ll find it on the Print and Play crafts section. It’s actually a cute site with lots of crafts and ways to “Pinkify” your kid by uploading their image into Pinkalicious’ face. It is a good recipe and doubles easily.