The Cake Slice: Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Doesn’t a pink cake just scream “HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!!”….???

Well, maybe not. But, this cake is special. For the June cake selection, as part of the Cake Slice Bakers, I carefully selected this lovely pink cake for my husband. You see, he loves strawberries. Every year for either his birthday or father’s day, I try to make him something with strawberries in it. Strawberry pie. Strawberry shortcake. Strawberry ice cream. Etc., etc.

With my monthly cake baking deadline the same weekend as father’s day, I decided on the Pink Lemonade Cake recipe from Southern Living’s The Southern Cake Book. I did, however, make one substitution by substituting the pink lemonade mix with fresh, crushed strawberries…thus, Strawberry Lemonade Cake.

The cake came together in a flash. It was quite dense, though. I believe that’s on account of the directions that said to mix the flour with the remaining ingredients without first whipping the butter. Regardless, it was a fairly tasty cake. I’m not sure that I’d make it again, but it was a great, suitable cake for the occasion.

Check out what the other ladies in my club chose to bake this month:

An InLinkz Link-up

The Cake Slice: Chocolate Marble Sheet Cake

If you ever had even the remotest of urges to bake a cake from scratch, THIS is THE CAKE to bake.

Reason #1: All you need is a standard 13 x 9 pan. No fancy round pans, stacking, or balancing act needed.

Reason #2: It’s THAT good. As in, the stuff of dreams. Moist, delicious, marble crumb. Smooth, rich, chocolate buttercream.

Here is the link to the recipe: Chocolate Marble Sheet Cake

This is THE CAKE that you want to bake for a birthday, an anniversary, a graduation…really any day of the week. Wednesday will do. Yeah…we made it half way through the week. Now, let’s eat cake.

As I mentioned in last month’s post, I’ve joined a new gym and have embarked on a rigorous daily workout program. Cake has never been further from my mind. As proof: my 25 pound bag of flour has sat lonely in the cupboard, barely seeing the light of day over the past several weeks, only to appear briefly to dispense a cup or two here or there for a batch of pancakes for the kids. In earlier days, I could go through a 25 pound bag in a matter of weeks. On big baking days, I could burn through a good 10 pounds of flour without blinking. Notice my tiny 5 pound bag…isn’t it cute?!?!

I’ve been on such a good roll with my new cake-less routine and healthy diet, that I almost skipped baking this month’s cake. But then, with only 2 days to spare until the monthly cake reveal, I decided to give the four options a quick look and decided that if I had everything on hand, I’d give it a go.

Boy, am I glad I did.

This cake. THIS CAKE. I can’t even begin to describe how I feel about this cake. All I can say is that it’s just that good. It’s that good AND it’s easy. I literally mixed up the batter, plopped the white batter in the pan, plopped the chocolate batter on top, and baked it. Once it cooled completely, I whipped up the buttercream, sampled some, plopped it on the cake, sampled some more….it was SO good, and smoothed it with a spatula. And then…well luckily my camera was close because I barely got a picture of the finished cake snapped before I couldn’t resist cutting into it and carving out a huge chunk.

Needless to say, this cake did not last long in our house. Just make it. Trust me.

Check out what the other Cake Slice Bakers made this month.

The Cake Slice: Carrot Cake

The April cake reveal has finally arrived, and this month, of the four choices we had to select from in our cake baking club, I chose to bake the carrot cake…a truly perfect cake for the Easter season.

This month I faced the ultimate dilemma. You see, as a baking enthusiast, I not only love to bake the cakes, but I also love to sample the cakes. I could eat cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mmmmm…buttercream. Who couldn’t, right?

But, I took a big leap this month and joined a new fitness program. The initial program lasts for 10 weeks with a mix of kickboxing, cardio, and strength training workouts six days a week. Proper nutrition is essential to success in this rigorous program. Which means: CAKE is out. Ouch. It pains me to even think of it.

Fortunately, the one day a week that I’m not working out is considered a “fun day”…which I translate to CAKE DAY. On “fun day” you can eat whatever you want whenever you want. Yippee!!! In fact, I just might eat cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day!

And yet. I could resist the urge to eat the cake and instead bring it in to the office to share with my coworkers. That’s what I did with this month’s cake. One of my work friends had a birthday, and I had already planned to bake her a carrot cake, and the stars just happened to align in that carrot cake was one of the four options in our cake club this month.

Aside from black forest cake, I’ve got to admit that carrot cake takes a close second in my book. The creamy, thick frosting…and the moist, burnt umber hued crumb. Southern Living rates this recipe among the best carrot cakes they have ever tested. It disappeared fast, and tasted great. Definitely a keeper recipe that I’ll make again. The cake turned out moist, and the cream cheese buttercream was a delicious compliment to the cake. I topped it with toasted pecans, as well.

So, at least for the next 10 weeks, maybe just a little slice for myself won’t hurt. All things in moderation, right? Someone has to review the recipe, after all. I can’t just stop baking and let my fellow Cake Slicers down!

Might as well find a happy medium between the cake and the boxing glove!

Here’s the recipe, if you’d like to give it a try. You will not be disappointed.

Mama Dip’s Carrot Cake

By the way, the other three choices this month included: Coconut Cheesecake Squares, Brown Sugar Pecan Coffee Cake, and Green Tea Honeysuckle Cake. If you’d like to see which of the four cake recipes my fellow Cake Slice bakers selected to bake this month, click on the link below to check out their sweet treats.

The Cake Slice: Luscious Lemon Layer Cake

Sometimes things just don’t go exactly as planned. So it goes for the March cake. I happened to have all the required ingredients and few spare minutes to knock this out on a recent Saturday. The only thing I didn’t have were three round pans of the same size, which was what the recipe prescribed. Instead, I opted for two layers, and given the results, I’m really glad I did.

Forging ahead, I used a spatula to spread the batter between the pans, trying as best I could to smooth and level them.

Into the oven they went, and off I went to some other distraction until the timer buzzed.

The next sign that something was wrong came as soon as I pulled the pans out of the oven and noticed the layers were flat and dense. Referring back to the recipe, I quickly realized that, in my haste, I had added only 2 tsp of baking powder…not the 2 Tbsp that I should have added. Oops.

The first sign of unexpected consequences was when I tried to pour the batter into the pans and it did not move. As in…I could literally tip the bowl upside down, and the batter would not fall out.

On to the frosting while the layers cooled. I added a bit too much powdered sugar, resulting in a relatively stiff buttercream, similar to a thick cookie frosting.

That’s when it hit me. This cake wasn’t really a cake, but more like a giant layered cookie. Alas, the layered sugar cookie “cake” with luscious lemon buttercream was born!

This is my third selection of 2015 as part of The Cake Slice, a group of international baking enthusiasts who get together “virtually” every month to bake cakes from a chosen cookbook. This year, we are in the process of baking our way through The Southern Living Cake Book. Each month we can pick from four selections to make. Take a look at what the other bakers chose to make this month:

The Cake Slice: February Cake

It’s February. A short month. A month of hearts, love, and a whole lot of pink and red. To me, there’s no greater way to share the love than with a homemade cake. Baking brings me so much joy. Baking for others is such a wonderful way to celebrate life’s special little moments. The more I delve into this world of a million possibilities crafted out of a simple combination of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar…the more I know this is my thing.

This month, I chose the red velvet cake out of the four options we had for our Cake Slice Bakers club. The other choices were: king cake, black and white torte, or Mississippi mud cake. All good options.

While I love a good red velvet cake, I don’t love the amount of red food coloring that goes into the batter to make it a deep, blood red. Sooooo….I made a few tiny little changes. I basically baked the cake true to the recipe with the exception of the 1 ounce of red food coloring it called for. I did use a few drops, just not the four 0.25 ounce bottles per the recipe.

I also modified the presentation, including the frosting. While the recipe suggested a more traditional white mascarpone frosting, I used a whipped cream cheese, butter, cocoa, and powdered sugar combination, and then I covered that with pink, peppermint, homemade marshmallow fondant. I decorated it with white homemade fondant and we enjoyed it with our friend who recently received a big promotion at work.

This is the most I’ve ever changed up one of our monthly cakes since I started baking with The Cake Slice club. I do hope my fellow Slicers forgive me. I mean, my cake wasn’t even red inside…it was brown. And if not, I can always redeem myself next month!

If you’d like to see which of the four recipes my fellow Cake Slicers chose to bake this month, click here:

The Cake Slice: Italian Cream Cake

Happy New Year! It’s been a frigid start to the new year here in Minnesota with most days below zero and wind chills in the negative 20’s and 30’s. The kiddos are back to school after their two week Christmas break but after just a few days back at school, they received a one day reprieve when schools were closed for a cold day due to air temps of -10 and wind chills of -35.

Although it’s been incredibly cold, we are hearty here in Minnesota, and it hasn’t put much of a damper on our fun. Over the past few weeks, we’ve bundled up and gotten out for basketball games, a trip to the Mall of America, and even a trip to the Minnesota zoo. It’s amazing how much more active the wild cats are during the winter months, and watching them up close, with the absence of the summertime crowds, provided ample entertainment for all of us.

Beyond adjusting to the cold weather, I’ve spent lots of time in the kitchen trying out new recipes and refining tried and true ones. I’ve got loads (and I do mean LOADS) of recipes that I’ve clipped from magazines or newspapers over the years in hopes of eventually giving them a try. Well, this year I’ve resolved to actually dive into as many as possible – keeping only the best of the best and ditching the ones that turn out so-so.

Which brings me to the January cake. This month I chose to give the Italian Cream Cake a try. It’s a lovely white cake with a toasted pecan, cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar buttercream.

The recipe calls for 5 eggs – separated – with the yolks blended into a butter, shortening and white sugar combo. After that, flour and buttermilk are incorporated alternately. Next, the egg whites are beaten in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form, and then are gently folded into the batter. Finally, shredded coconut is added to the batter. The recipe calls for sweetened shredded coconut, but I used unsweetened, and it turned out fine, as the white sugar in the batter along with the sweet frosting provide plenty of sweetness.

For the frosting, I toasted the pecans before incorporating into the mixture, and I learned to watch the pecans very closely as my first batch burned in the blink of an eye and I had to start over.

The Verdict: This was a wonderful, moist, tasty cake. I loved the idea of the toasted pecans in the frosting. They added a nice texture and crunch, and I will definitely file this recipe away to make again to take to events. Unfortunately, my chief cake eater in the house – my ten year old son – is allergic to nuts. Fortunately, I was able to tempt my fabulous coworkers into devouring the cake so that it didn’t go to waste!

If you’d like to see what the other members of my baking club made this month, click here:

The Cake Slice: Rum Cake

Hot buttered rum just screams fa, la, la, la, la.

Drizzling it over a butter-laden bundt cake just makes sense. Tis the season!

It’s our second cake reveal from our newest book, and amidst all the holiday hustle and bustle, I managed to find time to bake this month.

Every year, we drive 45 minutes north to a Christmas tree farm where we tromp through acres and acres of balsams, fraisers, and canaans in search of the perfect tree.

This year was a special treat as it was not only a mild weather day that allowed us to keep hunting as long as necessary until we found the perfect tree, but we also got to watch two eagles soaring above us throughout our search.

After the tree was up and our halls were decked, it was time to get going on the monthly cake. Since December is packed with birthdays for our family and friends, there’s ample opportunity to bake a cake. This particular cake went to the office to celebrate my friend Rhonda’s birthday.

The cake itself contains THREE sticks of butter, and the original recipe calls for both rum and banana liqueur. I used Captain Morgan spiced rum and substituted lemon juice for the banana liqueur. I also substituted 2% milk for heavy cream as that’s all I had on hand…and I neglected to read through the recipe beforehand to make sure I had what I needed…all planning goes out the window in the holiday rush!

The cake is finished off with a hot butter, sugar, rum syrup that is drizzled on the cake while still in the pan so that it absorbs into the cake, creating a moist, buttery, rum cake. Delish!!!

If you’d like to check out what my fellow baking club members chose to bake this month, click here:

The Cake Slice: Caramel Apple Coffee Cake

It’s the start of a new baking year for the Cake Slice…which means it’s time to reveal the new book we’ll all be baking from for the next 12 months. By “all” I mean my fellow Cake Slicers – a lovely group of ladies from all over the world who share a common love for baking and agree to bake one cake from the same cookbook each month for a year. We learn from our successes and failures and – most importantly – have lots of fun. We use a private Facebook group to compare notes, share pictures, and recount our latest baking adventures. As we were preparing for the launch of our new baking year, we ran a quick roll call to share where we all lived, and I was blown away by our diverse list of locations:

Cambridge, UK
Shedd, Oregon
Saginaw, Michigan
Weybridge, Surrey UK
Somerset, New Jersey
Modesto, California
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Singapore
Santa Rosa, California
Sydney, Australia
Montgomery Village, Maryland
Limerick, Ireland
San Fernando Valley, California

Wow…all of us connected through our affinity for flour, sugar, and butter!

Each month, there are four cake recipes in which each baker may choose from, and then on the 20th of each month, we reveal the cake we chose on our blog and link all the blog posts together so all the world may see the pictures of our wonderful cakes.

The chosen book for our new baking year is called the Southern Cake Book by the editors of Southern Living Magazine. It’s loaded with beautiful, full-page pictures of each cake within the book and the recipes are easy to follow. I initially checked the book out from my local library so that I could give it a quick peruse before committing to another year’s worth of cake baking. I was pleasantly surprised.

From the four options for November, I selected Caramel Apple Coffee Cake, and it was FAB-U-LOUS…and dangerous. Who knew homemade caramel was so easy to make and would taste so good?!? And better yet, the batch of caramel sauce was more than enough for the recipe, leaving an extra ½ cup for other purposes….like drizzled over homemade vanilla ice cream or slathered over fresh apple slices. I confess…I cut up an extra apple just to scrape the remaining caramel from the pan…into my mouth…at 8:00am…for breakfast. Don’t judge. No regrets.

So here are the details on this cake. A fairly typical dense batter makes up the base. Then a layer of lightly sautéed apples is arranged on top on the batter, followed by a generous drizzle of caramel sauce. Finally, streusel crumbs are placed on top, and the whole thing is baked uncovered for 45 minutes, and then covered and baked for another 30 minutes. After it’s thoroughly cooled, more caramel is poured over the top.

Now that you are most likely drooling all over your screen, you really should make this. Here’s the recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/caramel-apple-coffee-cake

A few notes: Be sure to make the caramel sauce and streusel BEFORE you make the batter, so they have time to cool and are ready when you need them. Also, there is more butter in the batter/caramel/streusel combined recipes than a butterhead at the Minnesota State Fair…so don’t be afraid to cut it down a bit…I used half the butter called for in the batter and the streusel and it was just as decadent. Finally, I substituted ½ cup oats in place of the nuts in the streusel so my little coffee-cake loving kiddo with a nut allergy could enjoy this with the family.

So, there you have it. And the kiddo gave it his seal of approval saying it’s the best coffee cake I’ve ever made. You know…because I bake coffee cakes all the time, right? Don’t we all?

Check out what my fellow Cake Slicers baked this month:

Lemon Pie Bars

Lemons are a staple in our household. Every few weeks a bag of organic lemons finds its way into our shopping cart and they never last long. Lemons are so versatile. We squeeze the juice on chicken, fish, or even just a simple pasta with a little butter and Parmesan. We stuff lemons in whole chickens before roasting. Most often, however, we combine lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper and toss it with spinach – a light, flavorful dressing that’s easy to whip up and much better than store bought salad dressing.

Once in awhile, we have a few lemons to use up before they go bad. When we do, this lemon pie bar recipe does the trick. It’s the perfect combination of creamy lemon custard paired with crumbly, buttery crust. The best part is that it’s made from scratch – with ingredients typically on hand – and it beats the lemon bar box mixes by a mile. To get the most juice from your lemons, slice them in half and microwave for 10 seconds before juicing.

Lemon Pie Bars

Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Topping:
2 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
1Tbsp lemon zest
2Tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix 1 cup flour with confectioners sugar in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender, incorporate butter into mixture until it resembles pie dough. Press into a 8 x 8 square baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, or until crust begins to slightly brown. Remove from oven.

In another medium bowl, beat eggs for 1 minute. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, flour, and sugar. Mix for another minute. Pour mixture over crust and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven when topping is set. Cool.

Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of bars. Store at room temperature.

The Cake Slice: Very Berry Roulade

I just made it in under the wire this month. Truth be told, I wasn’t even sure if I would get to making this month’s cake. But…here it is. Isn’t it cute? Well, not sure if a cake can be described as “cute” but who doesn’t love a good jelly roll?!?!

I’ve recently graduated from Casual Baker to Serious Baker. Meaning: I now buy powdered sugar by the truckload – behold the 7 pound bag from Costco.

If I ever break down and buy the 50 pound bag, it’ll definitely be time to lock me up.

So, this month I was torn between a marble cake and this one. Ultimately, I thought this one was more suitable to August – light, airy, loaded with fresh, seasonal berries.

I veered a little off course from Carole Walter’s Very Berry Roulade recipe in Great Cakes by adding lemon zest to the batter and then incorporated whipped cream cheese into the whipped cream to produce a loftier filling with a hint of a cheesecake feel to it. I also folded diced strawberries along with raspberries and blueberries into the filling. Triple Berry Cheesecake Roll would probably be a more suitable name for my version.

This Strawberry Cream Roll recipe is very close to the recipe that I used. The key is to a light sponge is to beat the eggs until they turn thick and lemon colored – a minimum of 5 minutes, sometimes longer. I baked my cake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes – just until the edges began to slightly brown and pull away from the sides of the pan.

When making a rolled cake, it’s really important to line the jelly roll pan with parchment paper to keep the cake from sticking to the pan. Flip the cake onto a powdered sugar covered cotton dish towel, peel off the parchment, sprinkle the cake with more powdered sugar, then roll it up in the towel and let it sit until completely cool. Piece of cake…and super impressive!

If you’d like to check out what my fellow cake club bakers close to bake this month, click here to see their links: