Friendship Cake

I didn't bake three cakes all in one day - I am just catching up on posting these notes.  I didn't know what to expect out of the Friendship Cake (page 179) - Like it's name sake, the Friendship Bread, you start with a "starter" recipe and "tend" it daily - this one, though, only 5 days.  But it's still strange to me to leave food fermenting on the counter top.  And, I goofed, though the finished product didn't suffer any - see, I started the starter, then took my cook book to work one day - to share that Hornet's Nest recipe with the three ladies who were asking for it.  I forgot to bring the cook book home - for three days.   Doh! - So, I'm trying to remember what ingredients to add in what amounts on what days - I didn't do too bad - here were my mistakes.

Day 3 was suppose to add the raisins.  I didn't but on day 4 I added the raisins and the dried apricots - which were suppose to be added on day 4.    Day 5 was suppose to add 15 oz can of crushed pineapple - I added an 8 oz can.  (Do you know I couldn't find a 15 oz can of pineapple in the grocery?  I found 8 oz and 20 oz - bought one of each - didn't intend to use the 8 oz in this recipe, but like I said, on day 5 my cook book was still at the office so I just dumped the 8 oz in since I didn't really remember what I was suppose to use.)

I baked the cake yesterday and took it into work this morning - it was pretty good - nice and moist, I would have like a little more fruit taste, but I thought the brown sugar, butter, and pecan topping was very good. 

Chocolate Kahlua Cake

My first "cakes with spirit" - I took the Chocolate Kahlua Cake (page 286) to my parents house - I've never known my step mother to drink and my father stopped drinking several years ago, so I really didn't intend to take a cake with liquer in it to their house, but for two days I forgot to take it to share at work (oh, - settle down.  the alcohol was "cooked out".)

My first disappointment of any recipe yet - BUT only for the "glaze" - which was just confectioners' sugar and Kahlua.  Like all the other glazes and frostings, I taste tested the glaze all by itself and didn't care for it - but when ate with (on) the cake, it neither distracted from or added to the goodness of the cake.

Now, the cake - it was wonderful - very moist and delicious.  Dad really liked it!  And it looked good I thought - a real deep chocolate color and perfect looking cake texture. I had two pieces - I'm glad I left the rest of the cake at the parent's house or I would have been in real trouble nibbling on that all week long.

Hornet's Nest Cake

I was sure I had already created a short blog entry on this one - I am starting to wonder what the heck is up on sites I visit on my "main" home computer -

Like so many others, I took the "Hornet's Nest Cake" (page 175) I made to work (about a week ago).  Within the first half hour I had two people ask for the recipe and another a little later in the day.   I would like to say this is a nice "coffee cake" - it sure would make me feel a little better about eating it for breakfast.  But this is such a moist, lusious cake - well I just felt quilty calling that breakfast.  It was very moist and sweet.   Someone asked me why it's called "Hornet's Nest" - I guess because the butterscotch chips and nuts spread onto of the batter makes the finished cake surface resemble a "hornet's nest" (as the book puts it "...the surface is pitted with holes like a hornet's nest." 

Whatever you call it or whatever you think it looks like,it's another great one.

Fiddler on the Roof

This weekend I made the cake on page 161 called "Fiddler on the Roof Cake" for my dad's best friend who is also my auto mechanic. I picked up my sports car last weekend now that spring is here and summer is on the way - so I dropped of my check for caring for my sports car - the check taped to the outside of the cake box.

Consequently I didn't actually try this cake - didn't even cut it. Uncut it looks pretty much just like the chocolate cake from Christmas eve, so I didn't bother a picture either.

The recipe started with the typical narrative about the origins and/or special information about the recipe. This one claimed the recipe was "more involved" than most the Cake Mix Doctor recipes. Well - maybe a little - seemed easy to me - dump all the ingredients except the cocoa in the mixing bowl, mix just like most the others I've made so far - here is the difference - pour half the batter in the prepared pan, mix the cocoa in the other half - pour it on top of the first half and swirl some with a table knife. Hardly that much more involved.

I have been loving this books - and her others, and these recipes. But I would be happy even if only the frostings were good - I said it before and it bares repeating - I have never found frosting recipes prior to this that were worth the work. The ready-made cans of frosting were better for much less work. But these frostings have turned me around - they have been fabulous! And the one for this cake (Chocolate Marshmellow Frosting on page 434) is another perfect example. Though we didn't get to try the cake, I did have extra frosting and my husband and I both liked it so much we were eating like candy, off a spoon, and even spread it on top of some peanut brittle.

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Page 272 - Very good - I think if I make it again, I'll add more blueberries - maybe put some on the bottom of the pan or layer batter/blueberries/batter/blueberries to get more mixed though out the pieces.  the struesel topping was great.   Really made it a "coffee cake" style cake - so ou can feel just right eating cake with your morning coffee. 

I received several compliments on it, as well.  Thanks everyone!!

Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake

Darn!  Forgot to take a picture again. 

But it looked a lot like this picture I found online
:

This is a fun cake to make as I got to use my iron skillet - I love that thing.  covered the bottom with a mix of butter, brown sugar and rum (just a touch) then layered banana slices on that followed by the Cake Mix.  Baked the whole thing right there in the skillet.  Then just turned it out onto my cake server/carrier - it was beautiful - tastes great, too.

The Perfect Chocolate Cake

My husband said, "when are you going to make a cake that tasted like a Hostess cupcake."   Well, nothing like that in the original book, so I cheated and pulled out another book in Anne Byrn's series, Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor"  -and found "The Perfect Chocolate Cake" (page 34).  Oh my!  You have got to try this one - out of this world. 

Pineapple Inside-out Cake

Well, it smells luscious.  I'm not sure the name is quite right, but not having a better suggestion, I guess "Pineapple Inside-Out Cake" (page 92) will have to do.  it's made with a lemon cake mix and lemon juice is added to the glaze as well.  Consequently lemon was the primary roma coming from the kitchen while cooking it.  But there is indeed plenty of pineapple - both inside and placed onto (out) after drizzling the glaze on the cake.  I  purchased a tube pan last week, so I actually made it according to the recipe directions.  I will be taking this to my mother in laws tomorrow.  I can't wait to try it.

Apple Sour Cream Kuchen

A little more labor intensive than others, the "Apple Sour Cream Kuchen" (page 274) was so tempting and wonderful as a morning coffee cake.  Very moist and sweet.  It disappeared in no time in the employee lounge.  Several folks stopped by with compliments.  I had a piece with my coffee, but a glass of cold white milk might be the perfect pair to this.  Especially while it's warm. 

Mom's Chocolate Syrup Cake

This morning I am making the "Mom's Chocolate Syrup Cake" (page 264).  This appears in the coffee cake chapter of the book so I'm comfortable taking this in for an early morning treat.  I just pulled it out of the oven and it rose so high it's a good inch to inch and a half above the bundt pan.  The recipe says to bake it in a tube pan, but mine is either in the basement in the nether world of boxes or was lost in one of our many moves.  So, I opted for the bundt pan.  I'm a little concerned about two things on this one - at $1.99 a box for Duncan Hines (the only brand I can find locally that doesn't have pudding in the mix), I opted to try the store brand at 89 cents a box.  I wasn't impressed after the first minute of mixing - the batter seemed a bit grainy.  But after the 2 minute beating, it looked pretty close to what I was use to with the Duncan Hines mixes.  The second thing that gives me a slight concern is I think I smell something burned - but the cake doesn't look at all over baked.  The recipe cautions to kep the chocolate syrup off the sides of the pan (inside) - and considering how high the cake rose, I a little syrup spilled over into the oven.  A few more minutes of cooling and we will have our answer.

This was really delicious - the chocolate flavor was clear through out every bite.    Great with my morning cup of coffee.

Deep Chocolate Almond Cake

Deep Chocolate Almond Cake (page 26)with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (page 421).  Everyone seemed ot have loved this cake.  Moist, tender, flavorful. A note to the side of the recipe says, "It's the unsweetened chocolate added to this cake mix that improves the flavor.  For an even more intense chocolate flavor, dust the pans with unsweetened cocoa powder instead of flour."  Well who wouldn't want intense!  The cake slid out just the same as if I had used flour.  The flavor was very good.  And with the seal of approval from hubby, you know the frosting had to be great!

Cookie Pops

An afternoon of babysitting the nieces seemed a good time to make cookies. and I thought these fun looking treats("Cookie Pops" page 348) would bring a smile or two to their faces.  The girls had a great time rolling the little balls of cookie dough in the sugar "sprinkles". And they giggle at the lollipop sticks.  Made with a yellow cake mix, butter, and eggs, these are a cinch to make and are pretty good sugar cookies.  A day later and they are still soft and delicious. 

Blueberry Muffin Cake

This was still warm when I put it on the coffee counter at work - and it didn't last long.  Another very nice cake - mosit and soft.   Personally I could have used a few more blueberries.  Still a very nice treat with my morning cup of coffee. But would be right for any time of day. 

Candy Bar

Yes that is the name - "Candy Bar" (page 330) - a bar cookie made with yellow cake mix and whatever candy bar you want to add.  I had some Reese's cups in the refrigerator.    Simple and quick to make - cookie bars turned out good, chewy, sweet.  The one surprise was in the directions where it said "pour" the batter into the pan.  This was like cookie batter - thick, holds together in a ball. Pouring was pretty much out of the question.   It's directions like this that make me worry a little that the I did something wrong.  But I re-read the recipe and didn't miss anything.

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake

I think the name of this cake, "Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake" (page 50) is misleading.  My father said he couldn't even taste cherries.  Mom said she thought she could but agreed it wasn't much.  I too thought maybe if I had a bite without the frosting I could just make out the cherry flavor. My husband said it reminded him of the coca-cola cake he remembered from years ago and I agree - for as much as I can remember that coca-cola cake.  What I recall about a coca-cola cake is the texture - I think this is similar.  I'm not sure how to describe that texture.

Despite the misleading name, it was a tasty cake - a super moist cake.  The cherry pie filling takes the place of the oil, so it's also a bit lower in fat - that ought to be worth something, right?  This I imagine is why the cake has the texture it has.  The instructions are to bake this is a 9X13 pan.  A wise move as a cake of this texture wouldn't stack very well.

The frosting, made with sugar, whole milk, butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips, is wonderfully sweet and chocolately.  I said it reminded me of the times when mom would make what we lovingly called "spoon" fudge (homemade fudge that never set up and so had to be eaten with a spoon).   Rich, so a little goes a long way.  Another reason a 9x13 pan is a better choice.

Mattie's Orange Cinnamon Poppy Seed Cake

(Page 262). A great thing about boxed cake mixes is they are very forgiving.  This morning we went to see my mother-in-law who lives about 2 1/2 hour drive  from our home.  I decided I would rather make a breakfast cake once I got to her house than to get up at "0 dark hundred" to mix and bake it at home.  So, I gathered all the ingredients except eggs and sugar which I was pretty sure she would have and took the whole kit and kaboodle with us.  MIL and I talked the whole time I was mixing up the batter. Consequently despite having the cook book right in front of me, I wasn't fully concentrating and  failed to add all the ingredients.  I mixed the cake mix, eggs, and pudding mix for the directed 1 minute to mix - commented on how thick the batter seemed, looked at the cook book which said batter would be thick and smooth - and said "I guess so" and then turned up the mixer and beat for the directed two minutes.  At the end of the two minutes I commented again on how thick the batter was and looked again at the name of the cake - at which point I realized - Orange....... I forgot to add the 1 cup of orange juice.  Oh well - pour it in, mix on low a few seconds, then turned up the mixer again and beat another 2 minutes to make sure the orange juice was thoroughly mixed in and the batter was smooth.  Over-beat?  I guess so - so I gently dropped the bowl a few times a couple of inches on the counter to elliminate some of the air bubbles.....

The result?  The cake was very light and airy - maybe if I make it again, the next time the cake will be a little more dense, but I suspect still quite tender considering the pudding and the amount of liguid added.

In addition to the cakes light airy texture, the orange flavor was distinctive but delecate.  The cinnamon flavor - well coming from a lover of cinnamon, was perfect.  The poppy seeds added a little flavor and interesting texture to the swirls and the bottom of the coffee cake.   A good companion to a morning cup of coffee.

Honey Bun Cake

Gone in no time - is there a better reference than that? 

(I stole this picture from another site - next to a recipe of the same name - It looks as close to my cake as I could find - my pictures were not so great.)

I baked the Honey Bun Cake (page 266) this morning and brought it to work and put it out in the break room.  Went back to my office and then remembered I forgot to get a picture of it.  Went back to snap a shot and 2/3rds of it was gone already.  Half an hour later the rest was gone.

I have gotten more unsolitcited compliments on this one than any one so for.  This was delicious, moist, tender.  A great breakfast cake.

Ripe Banana Loaf

My apologies - I forgot to take a picture before cutting into this.  However, this is another where I made a slight variation from the recipe - just in the pan.  The recipes calls to bake this in two loaf pans.  But since I was going to serve this with the "Kathy's Cinnamon Breakfast Cake", I thought a bundt pan would add to the visual effect.  However since this cake didn't rise and create the volume that "Kathy's" did, it wouldn't have mattered in the end.

As the name implies, this is a quick bread - though the texture leans  little more to cake, than to quick bread.  Perhaps some nuts stirred into the batter would enhance the loaf experience.  Sticking to the recipe, however, this one is without nuts.   The flavor is good, the texture nice and it slices easily and it should keep well as long as it's covered.

Kathy's Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

Not all the recipes are cakes.  This out of the section of the book with coffee cake recipes (page 257).  This along with the "Ripe Banana Loaves" were made to welcome back the folks in our offices after the holiday hiatus - some went with hubby and some to my office.

I'm a lover of cinnamon, so of course I love this one.  The book describes this as a variation of the "Sock It To Me Cake" - the main differences being vanilla pudding and the "filling" - in this version the nuts are placed in the bottom of the baking pan and the filling is just brown sugar and cinnamon mixed together and layered between batter. Because of the addition of the pudding mix, this is a very moist coffee cake - it was also  little hard to cut - it'll need to be eaten from a plate - not held in your hands.  Also being a lover of pecans, I would have loved to use a little more nuts.   But all and all a very nice cake and as with every one so far, easy to make.

Buttermilk Devil's Food

Today I took a "Buttermilk Devil's Food" cake (page 28) with White Chocolate Frosting (page 424) to my parents for dinner.  It struck me how easily these cakes (so far) go together.  Prep time, baking time, and assembly time are all listed clearly at the beginning of each recipe - this one - 10 minutes prep (pretty accurate) 28-30 minutes baking time -20 minutes to assemble. 

Dad said - "very chocolatey", mom refered to an old Duncan Hines commercial - "moist delicious cake in everybite"- (referring to the commercial where they collect all the moist crumbs on your fork).  Hubby said very "good cake, good frositng".

The cake had a very good chocolate flavor, a tender, moist texture - the frosting had good flavor, though was a little soft despite having added an extra 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar because I thought it was a little to thin. I put it in the refridgerator for about 30 minutes to set it a bit but softened right back up after the hour travel to my parents' house.  I was real impressed by the flavor and the texture of the cake.