Banana Crumb Cake

Holy Crap, I decided to go back to writing and here I am again today. I am glad I got my head out of my butt and started moving forward.

TODAY is the THREE Year BLOG anniversary. I really think this is what completely motivated me to start writing again. I was trying to decide what I was going to do with this site. There is so much I have to say. AND all of you are such a wonderful audience.

I had no 3 candles. Unbelievable..

I made cupcakes for a customer on Tuesday, and did not photograph with candles

I could have done something there.. oh well.. 

Last month I came across this recipe. I had bought a crate of single bananas and this recipe was perfect. We had overloaded on different smoothies, but these bananas were ready for baking. 

This recipe is a dairy free recipe. If you do not have Soy or Almond Milk, use regular milk.

The recipe called for a 10" springform pan or a 9x13 pan, I used a 10" square pan with foil. Whatever floats your boat. With the 9x13 pan, you can cut more pieces.

There is also Coconut Oil in the recipe. Oh had I forgotten how much I love coconut oil. 

Please do not skip the crumb topping. It really sets the cake apart from being basic. I think it made it delicious. If you do not like pecans, please omit. I LOVE nuts, so a few extra for me to munch on.

Banana Crumb Cake

adapted from bakerita.com

Ingredients

For the CAKE

2 cups all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 ripe bananas

1/2 cup coconut oil, room temperature

1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup soy or almond milk

For the CRUMB Topping

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup chopped pecans (Optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If using a spring form pan, spray your pan with cooking oil and set aside. If you are using a square pan or 9x13 pan, Layer with tin foil, edges overhang, and spray with cooking oil.

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mash the bananas until smooth. Add coconut oil and beat until combined with no lumps, and then add the sugars, eggs, milk and vanilla extract and continue mixing.

Add in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix together. 

Pour banana cake mixture into your prepared pan. 

In the same bowl, prepare the crumb mixture. Combine in all ingredients and slightly incorporate for course crumbs. DO NOT over mix or you will just have a glob. 

Top the cake with the crumb mixture. Place in oven and bake. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. About 50 minutes. Transfer the spring form pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 15 minutes. And then remove sides. Or let the cake cool for at least an hour

2 ripe bananas and 1 very dark banana

I am bake cooking and baking with Coconut oil. Yummy

Mixing all the batter. 

It is a full pan. That is why a 9 x 13 pan will also work

The crumb topping. Rough Chucks, do not over mix

Ready for the oven

Out of the oven, cooling and we are patiently waiting to taste

Oh my.... this is an all year round cake.

Perfect for party, or just with lunch.

Fabulous flavors the melded together. 

ENJOY.

Lemon Pound Cake

The other day, I had a large Sweets job. Wonderful. Everything tasted fantastic and looked great. The customer was very happy. SO.... the next day I tackled my kitchen. OMG. I had ran the dishwasher, so I emptied that, put away the clean dishes in the sink. Wash the rest of the dishes and totally cleaned my kitchen. Countertops, cabinet fronts and the floors. WOW.. The kitchen was clean and no one was making a mess in there. .... Well except for me. This pound cake recipe was just calling my name. MAKE Me Please. I am Delicious and you love pound cake... So I slightly mess up my kitchen. I did clean it all up after I was done. There needed to be proof for my Husband when he came home...

There are a million pound cake recipes out there. This was an easy recipe and worth it.

But this little hot gem, screamed MAKE ME. 

I am glad I did. YUMMY..

Lemon Pound Cake
slightly modified from afamilyfeast.com
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Spray an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. (I had a brain fart, and sifted into my wet ingredients) JUST MAKE SURE you Sift.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on a high speed for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each one until totally blended. Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract to butter mixture until completely combined. Scrape down the sides.

On a low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients until well combined. Scrape down the sides again

Add in Lemon zest and Lemon juice until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan Bake for 60-65 minutes. Top should be golden brown. Check if done with a toothpick. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out until a wire rack to cool completely.

The Halloween decorations are out, a little kitty 

found this scary orange spider. 

She had loads of fun playing with it.

Fresh lemon zest, and soon, fresh lemon juice

Sifting the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients

A nice pan of batter. A perfect size for a pound cake

The new dishes in the sink

They never seem to end

Look at that lovely color of Golden Brown

I really need to get a hobby.

Look at that cake. 

Texture is perfect, Moist and delicious

I had to take a bite for the photo opportunity. 

ACTUALLY, I ate both of these pieces and another on. 

DAY time photography. There are several differences

between natural and evening light.

German Chocolate Cheesecake Cake

My next door neighbor made a request. She loves German Chocolate Cake and wanted it for her birthday cake. HELLO, so does most of my family. My baby sister has it every year for her birthday cake. My Mom has always made this cake forever. The melding of the brown sugar, pecans and coconut with the chocolate cake. Heavenly. So, I stumbled upon this delightful recipe. Combine German Chocolate cake with Cheesecake... WOW .. is it. This cake was just amazing. TOTALLY kicking it up a notch. My neighbor and her family thought it was delicious. My Husband stated that it was perfectly delicious and not to change a thing. Please make again.

  

Layers of amazing flavors that melt in your mouth

(improved photo skills)

NOTE: if you put this into 2 8" cake pans, shorten your cook time. You should have enough frosting to cover both layers, but not the sides.

This recipe does have a few steps. Please do not let that stop you. It is really very easy and does not take a long time. It is well worth the effort. This recipe call for a box cake. I amp up my box cakes, so you can either follow my recipe for the cake or make your own chocolate cake. When I made this cake, I was cutting my time short, (excuse) but homemade cake has less preservatives. DO what you want.

German Chocolate Cheesecake Cake

adapted from mommyskitchen.net

Ingredients

Cake

1 dark chocolate cake mix

1 small package chocolate pudding (cook & serve)

3 eggs 

1/2 cup oil

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup yogurt, plain or vanilla

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Filling

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened

4 eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coconut Pecan Frosting

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cubed

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 1/ cups chopped pecans

Directions

Set oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with tin foil. Spray pan with cooking spray. Set aside

Into a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, place all cake ingredients into bowl. Beat for 2-3 minutes. Pour half of the cake batter into prepared pan. Place remaining cake batter into another bowl and set aside.

Into the mixing bowl, add the sugar and softened cream cheese. Beat until smooth. Add eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Gently pour the cream cheese mixture of the cake batter. Try to cover the whole surface of the cake mixture. 

Spoon remaining cake batter over the cream cheese mixture. Spread to the edge of the baking pan. Bake for 65 - 70 minutes. OR until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (NOTE: REALLY cook this long)

Cool cake for at least a half hour - 1 hour before removing from pan.

While your cake is baking, in a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, evaporated milk, butter and egg yolks. Continue to stir and cook. This probably took at least 15-20 minutes to cook and thicken up. Your thermometer should read 180 degrees. Needs to be thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.

Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla extract, fold in coconut and pecans. Cool until frosting reaches spreading consistency. 

Frost your cake. Refrigerate any leftovers. This cake can be made a day in advance.

All the ingredients needed for this dessert

(THE OIL was not pictured) sorry

The ingredients for the cake

 A very FULL bowl. remaining half of the cake

eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and cream cheese for the cream cheese mixture

Gently poured over the cake batter

Drizzling the remaining cake batter

Ingredients for the frosting

I first measured out the evaporated milk, but used the entire can

Stirring away... I had forgotten that homemade does take some time

My old wooden smasher. I have had this tool for a long time

Folding in the pecans and coconut

Gently removed the cake from the pan. 

Starting to frost

I used an offset spatula for a smooth surface

Heavenly layers of deliciousness

YES, I ate both of these pieces. OMG, 

Just so good. 

Pineapple Bundt Cake

OMG ... this cake is heavenly. If you like Pineapple upside down cake, you will SO love this cake even more. Holy Cow, to quote Harry Carey. (Cubs announcer).

And It is EASY.. A level one baker could wipe this up. You would be so proud of yourself. An accomplished baker would appreciate a delicious and easy recipe. NO one would even know how easy this cake is. I am so glad I found this recipe.

Pineapple Bundt Cake
recipe adapted from Dole.com
Ingredients
1 can (20 oz) Crushed Pineapple
1 box Yellow Cake mix
1 pkg Jello Pudding mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon butter, melted
GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bundt with cooking spray. Set aside

Drain pineapple in a bowl. Measure out 3/4 cup juice to use for the cake. Set aside remaining pineapple juice. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the cake mix, pineapple juice, pudding mix eggs, oil, yogurt and vanilla extract. Beat on high for 2 minutes.

Fold in crushed pineapple into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in oven. This is a VERY moist cake. I bake this cake for 40 minutes. It really needs to be that long. Your cake will be slightly brown on top.

While the cake is baking, combine the remaining pineapple juice, 1 cup powdered sugar and melted butter together. Remove cake from the oven. Poke holes into the cake with a skewer. all around the cake. Gently pour the soaking mixture over the warm cake. Allow the cake to totally cool before removing from the pan.

Once totally cooled, with a serving platter, flip your cake upside down. Remove pan. Cool for another 20 minutes. Make your glaze. And drizzle over the cake.

Basic ingredients for an amazing cake

Totally drain the pineapple. You will need all of the juice

Fold in the Pineapple into the batter

This bundt pan is completely full

Remaining Pineapple Juice, Powdered Sugar, and melted Butter 

This will send your cake over the top

Poked and Pouring on the filling

The finished product BEFORE the glaze

This puppy was glazed. 

If you want less, glaze, make half as much. 

An Easter treat for a customer

A cake treat for my Husband. HE LOVED it.

Red Velvet Cake

Happy Valentine's Day ~~ One day late.

I will forever be running late. I really wanted to post this yesterday, but I had such a wonderful evening with my Sweetheart. We had Fillets, Lobster tails and steamed Vegetables for dinner at home. I decided we could splurge on a holiday. This is hardly pig out food   My Husband and I have started level two on Beachbody's Insanity. It is a kick butt cardio workout. We have worked out everyday. My Husband is of course seeing results, me... small changes.

As I was surfing around the internet, I came across this lovely recipe for Red Velvet Cake. I do not believe I have ever tasted a good Red Velvet cake. It is usually dry and flavorless, ahhh but not this cake.

This cake was baked in a 11 x 13 pan. The recipe call for two 9 inch round pans. I am sure you could also use a 9 x 13 pan for a taller cake. So many options for deliciousness. Did I also mention this fantastic cream cheese frosting. O my goodness.

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
followed exactly by CooksCountry.com
December/January 2007

Ingredients
CAKE 
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
pinch salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar

FROSTING
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter softened
4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
16 ounces cream cheese cut into 8 pieces softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
For the CAKE: Adjust oven racks to the middle of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your cake pan. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and eggs in large measuring bowl. Mix cocoa with food coloring in a small bowl until a smooth paste forms.

With a electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy for 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl as necessary. Add one third of the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just incorporated. Add half of the buttermilk mixture and beat on low speed until combine. Scrape down bowl. Repeat with half of remaining flour mixture, remaining buttermilk mixture and finally flour mixture. Add the cocoa mixture on medium speed until completely incorporated. Using rubber spatula, give batter a final stir.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes depending on the size of your pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes and turn out and cool on racks for at least 30 minutes.

 For the FROSTING: With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy about 5 minutes. Add cream cheese, one piece at a time. Beat until incorporated. Beat in vanilla. Refrigerate until ready to use.

When cakes are cooled, spread frosting on the individual cake or cake layers. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

I placed cake in Valentine's liners to give out to my friends and neighbors

Soft and Moist and a Perfectly Cut Cake--Delicious