Banana Poppyseed Cake

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. butter (I always use salted), room temperature
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. sour cream, light
1 egg
2 bananas, very ripe, mashed
1/2 c. poppy seeds
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with non stick cooking spray, line with parchment paper, and set aside. In an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and sour cream together. Add in the egg, bananas and vanilla. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the poppy seeds. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out. Bake for 25 minutes until the edges are golden brown.

For the frosting:

4 oz. cream cheese, 1/3 less fat
2 Tbs. salted butter, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
2 c. powdered sugar
Milk (if needed, to thin icing)

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the butter until combined. Add the vanilla bean paste and powdered sugar and beat together until everything is mixed. If the frosting is too thick, add in milk by the tablespoon. Spread out onto the cooled cake, and cut into bars.

Banana PB Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and PB Drizzle

The perfect duo; peanut butter and banana. This combination is always amazing together and the bananas make these cupcakes super moist. I also used my go-to Vanilla Frosting that is always the perfect consistency and easy to work with.

Ingredients:

1 box Golden Vanilla cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1 c. water
1/2 c. veggie oil
3 eggs
2 bananas, chopped
1 c. Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

In a large bowl, whisk the cake mix, water, oil and eggs together until you reach a smooth consistency. Fold in the chopped banana and peanut butter chips into the batter.

Line cupcake tins with paper liners (or use the free standing kind and place on a baking sheet, like shown in picture above). Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 of the way full with batter.

Bake in the oven for 21-26 minutes (more on the 26 minute side for the larger free-form), until the tops are golden brown and bounce back slightly when you push on them.

Let cool fully while making the vanilla frosting. Pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes and set aside.

Peanut Butter Ganache:

2/3 c. Reese's Peanut Butter Chips
1-2 Tbs. heavy cream

In a small saucepan, melt the above ingredients together on medium heat, whisking frequently, until you reach a smooth consistency. Let cool for around 2 minutes before using a fork to drizzle on top of the frosted cupcakes. Add a banana chip on top for a slight bit of crunch!

Sugar-Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

Everything around Easter time is always so sugary, and a friend of mine wanted something special for her grandma to be able to enjoy. I tested out these sugar-free cupcakes and they turned out delicious! Make sure you eat them up in the first few days though, because they dry out pretty quickly. The amount of cupcakes always varies for people on how high they fill the cups, but mine made about 18-20 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. hot water
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. Splenda, granulated
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and set aside. Heat 1/2 c. water in the microwave in a glass measuring cup until it starts to bubble (1-2 minutes). Add the cocoa to the water and whisk until blended (it will start to get thick). In an electric mixing bowl, add the flour, Splenda, baking soda and salt and mix a few times. Add in the butter and mix until the mixture becomes crumbles. In a medium size bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and cocoa mixture together. On low speed, slowly pour in the wet mixture to the mixing bowl. Scrape down the sides and mix until everything is smooth and combined well. Use a cookie dough scoop (or spoon) and fill the prepared cups about half way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the tops bounce back and all of the batter is cooked.

For the frosting....

Ingredients:

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1 stick butter, softened
4 Tbs. Splenda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. coffee extract

In a glass microwave safe bowl, heat the chocolate in 30 second intervals stirring in-between microwave times. Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl of a mixer to cool. Add in the cream on low speed. Add in the butter, Splenda, and extracts and bring the speed up to medium. Beat for about 3 minutes until fluffy.

You can always spread the frosting with a knife, but I prefer to pipe mine for most cupcakes. I added bunny and chick picks to make them festive for Easter!

Lemon Blueberry Naked Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Spring is almost here (hopefully, the snow is melting at a rapid pace now as long as it stays that way), and what better flavors to welcome in Spring than lemon and blueberry? This cake is soft, packed with flavor and perfect for people who don't like a massive amount of frosting, hence the "Naked" part of the title.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 Tbs. lemon zest
4 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
Juice from 2 lemons (about 1/2 cup)
2 c. fresh blueberries
1 Tbs. flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 9 inch round cake pans with Pam (with flour) and set aside. In an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and lemon zest until everything is well mixed. Add in the eggs and vanilla, beating for around two minutes and then scrape down the bowl. With the mixer off, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix on low speed until just combined. Add the buttermilk and lemon juice, stirring by hand until the batter is a smooth and silky consistency.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries and the flour together. Add the blueberries to the cake batter and gently fold them in (try not to break them because then the batter will change color!). Pour the batter evenly into the three prepared pans and smooth out. I like to tap the pans gently on the counter to get all of the air bubbles out. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans until ready to assemble.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

12 oz. cream cheese (1 1/2 blocks), softened
1 stick butter, softened
4 1/2 c. powdered sugar
Zest of one large lemon
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs. heavy cream

Beat the cream cheese and butter together for about 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar on low speed until everything starts mixing together, and then add the lemon zest and lemon juice. Increase the spread to medium and slowly add in the heavy cream. Whip for another 2-3 minutes.

To assemble the cake, place the bottom layer on your work surface (I like to put a paper liner underneath so that the cake is easily transported). Fill a piping bag with a large tip and pipe a thin layer of frosting on top, starting with the outsides and then making a zigzag pattern towards the middle. Smooth out with an icing spatula. Place the second layer on and repeat those steps. Finally, place the top layer on and pipe a layer of frosting like before. Using the icing spatula, smooth out the top. Then frost the sides of the cake making sure to push the frosting between the layers so that there are no cracks. Turn the cake, pressing down with the icing spatula, to remove excess frosting. Smooth the top of the cake out once more so that the icing is in an even layer.

To decorate the cake, I added a tan bow using wrapping paper ribbon. I also made a mound in the center of the top of the cake out of raspberries and extra blueberries, and then place a few crystallized sugared roses (edible) on top.

The Every Bit of 5 Pounds Chocolate Cake

This is THE ultimate chocolate cake if there ever was one. It is rich, dense, weighs more than some small children....this thing is impressive. I made it thinking it would only serve 12, but if you cut this into 12 larger slices, I think you will find that between the ganache frosting and dense cake, people would only be able to eat half of a slice. I could only eat half of a slice, and I live for amazing chocolaty things.

Ingredients:

2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. buttermilk (low fat)
1 c. strong brewed coffee (dark roast)
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two round baking pans (9 inch) with Pam spray with flour (or you can use original Pam and coat with flour, making sure to tap out the excess flour after coating the pan). In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, and salt together. Add the buttermilk and coffee and mix. Add in the eggs, oil and vanilla and stir everything together until the lumps are gone and you are left with a thick and sticky batter. Pour, dividing evenly, among both prepared pans. Bake for 32-35 minutes until the tops of each cake bounce back when touched. Let them cool for 10 minutes in the cake pans, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)

1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1 stick margarine

On medium heat, place the whipping cream and margarine in a small saucepan, whisking until everything is melted and combined together. Pour the chocolate chips into a medium size bowl. Pour in the hot milk mixture and whisk the two together until the chocolate is all melted and you are left with a creamy chocolate consistency. Cover the bowl with Saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to an hour. 

To assemble the cake, place a piece of parchment paper on your flat work surface. Place the wire rack with your cooled cake layers on top. Spread a thin layer of the frosting on the first layer of cake. You don't have to worry too much about the sides because you will be filling that in later. 

Place the second layer of cake on top. Using a frosting spatula, fill in the cracks where the two layers meet. Frost the top of the cake, and then finish with the sides, scraping excess frosting off with the spatula as necessary. I used a large spatula coming from under both sides to lift the cake and place it on a cake doily so that it would be easier to cut and work with later on. 

Cake Batter Doughnuts

We went out to camp yesterday before heading out to a surprise party. A friend that I hadn't seen in years, who also happens to be a cop, hit a milestone birthday and since he is a person that can take a joke pretty well, I decided to bake cake doughnuts. They turned out awesome, and I FINALLY perfected the doughnut glaze frosting!

To give you a peek at why I love baking at camp, i'll show you a few pictures. Our old camp burned down about 12 years ago now, and in 2013 we finally rebuilt. It is one of my favorite places in the world, and regardless of where I will go and haven't traveled to yet, it always will be. It's one of those places that you can close your eyes and just feel at peace. But anyways, back to the ambiance that I had going for me...

Ingredients:

1 box cake mix (I did one batch of French vanilla, and one of Chocolate)
1/4 c. oil
1 c. water
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the cake mix with the oil, water and egg. (If you plan on dying the dough, add your food coloring now.) Add the batter to a Ziplock, or piping bag. Spray a doughnut pan with non stick cooking spray. Cut the corner, or end of the bag with batter and fill the cavity of the doughnut pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the batter is fully cooked. Turn the doughnuts out onto a wire rack or counter top and let cool fully. Each box of cake mix, for me, made 14 doughnuts. If you want thinner doughnuts, you could stretch it to maybe 20? Just make sure you lessen the baking time.

Doughnut Glaze/ Icing:

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbs. melted margarine
2 Tbs. milk, 1%

Whisk the powdered sugar, melted margarine and milk together in a wide bowl. Add food coloring if you want to color the glaze. Slowly dip the top of each doughnut into the glaze and swirl around upside down in the air to get rid of any excess. Place back on your cooling rack or counter top and add sprinkles. Let the frosting sit and room temperature and dry for at least 10 to 15 minutes, especially if you plan on stacking them together.

They really did turn out amazing! I know I am going with picture overload on this one but I am excited to finally find the right consistency for a doughnut glaze. The doughnuts themselves were easy as, well, cake! Now for a "few" more pictures.....

Vanilla Coconut Crumble Cake, Dairy Free!

My cousins just found out they are having another baby, and I wanted to make them a special cake. In their household however, there is a peanut and dairy allergy so the cake definitely gave me a slight challenge. I somehow happened to still have coconut flour left in my pantry so I gave it a try! The cake turned out VERY soft, to make sure you refrigerate it for at least an hour before trying to frost!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. coconut flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 c. cold water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium size bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together until you reach a fairly smooth consistency. Spray a 8 or 9 inch round baking pan with non stick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan (it will be a thick consistency) and spread out into an even layer. Bake in the oven for 25-28 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before transferring to your serving platter. The cake is very fragile and very soft, so make sure when you transfer the cake, it is on the serving platter that you plan on serving from.

Dairy Free Vanilla Frosting:

1 tsp. salt

2/3 c. coconut milk, light

1 Tbs. vanilla

2/3 c. Crisco vegetable shortening

1 (2 lb.) bag powdered sugar

With the electric mixer, beat the frosting starting out slow, and gradually getting faster. When the frosting is fully combined and mixed together, add in whatever coloring that you wish to turn it to.