Strawberry Layer Cake

This cake, wow. People, this week was a little nutso. It sort of feels like I say that every week, doesn't it? But I mean it every time. 

This cake started as an opportunity to make the strawberry cake I've always wanted to make from the lovely Joy the Baker for forever, because strawberry cake is my favorite kind of cake.

This week was made all the more stressful because six years ago this week my wonderful and beautiful mother left this earth. It felt strangely appropriate to be baking on that day, and baking a cake that she faithfully procured for me each birthday, knowing that strawberry cake is my favorite.

So I invite you to make this strawberry cake and think about your mother, wherever she is.

Your ingredients: White Cake mix, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, self-rising flour, cream cheese, butter, sugar, strawberries, powdered sugar, and strawberry jello mix

In a bowl, whisk together the cake mix, jello powder, sugar, and flour. Don't eat it. It SMELLS SO GOOD, but don't eat it. 

Add the oil, eggs, water, and strawberries, and mix.

Pour into two greased 10-inch cake pans and bake for 25-35 minutes

Now make your icing- sorry, no pictures. Now ice it up however you see fit and decorate with strawberries!

Strawberry Layer Cake

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Cake:

16.25 oz. white cake mix (with pudding)

3 oz. package strawberry jello mix

1 tbsp. self-rising flour

4 tsp. sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup strawberries, finely diced

Icing:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 lbs. powdered sugar

pinch of salt

strawberries for decoration

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 10-inch cake pans.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cake mix, jello mix, sugar, and flour.

Add in oil, stir. Add in eggs one at a time, mix well between each egg. Add the water and strawberries in and mix well. Divide batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on wire racks.

Icing:

Beat the cream cheese and butter until soft and fluffy. Add 1 lb. of powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla extract, beat well. Add in the rest of the powdered sugar.

Frost and decorate your cake!

Chocolate Pudding Pie

This pie. Is fantastic. And it is so, so easy.

That's all I'm gonna say about it. Just. Make it. Please. For the sake of your health.

Your ingredients: Chocolate chips, cream, oreos, whole milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla

First, crush up your Oreos, butter, and sugar together and bake a beautiful, delicious piecrust out of it.

In a bowl, whisk together your egg yolks and sugar, then add the cornstarch, vanilla, and salt.

Now melt your milk and chocolate on the stove, try not to drink it all because it smells deliciously like hot chocolate. Then add it to the egg yolks, then back into the pan, then cook it until it thicks up. Then pour it onto the pie crust.

Mm, mm, mmmmmm. Top it with whipped cream and gobble it up!

Chocolate Pudding Pie

Slightly changed from Ezra Poundcake

Crust:

1 1/4 cup very finely ground Oreo crumbs

5 tbsp. butter, melted

3 tbsp. sugar

Pie Filling:

2 1/2 cups whole milk

5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Whipped Topping:

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla


For the crust:
Preheat oven to 350°.


Mix together the crushed Oreos, melted butter, and sugar, then press them into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 5 minutes, then set aside to cool.


For the pie:
In a heavy saucepan, turn on medium-high heat and combine the milk and chocolate chips. Use a whisk occasionally until the chocolate is melted.


In a large, heat-safe bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Add in the cornstarch, salt, and vanilla. Pour the melted chocolate mix into the bowl and whisk the mixture together until combined.


Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium-high heat. Cook until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble slowly. Remove it from heat and whisk it until it's smooth, about a minute. Pour the mixture onto the pie crust.


Cover the pie with plastic wrap, make sure you lay the plastic wrap directly on top of the pie. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.


For the whip:
With a whisk or an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the sugar, cream, and vanilla until stiff peaks form.


Spoon onto the pie.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Double post today folks! Sorry for the e-laziness. Getting back from Christmas break has been really tough.

The first recipe I have for you is a delicious red velvet cupcake recipe, which I made at the birthday request of my new co-teacher (and pretty awesome friend).

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not usually that into red velvet, but these were really good and pretty easy. And they're so pretty! I threw on some silver sprinkles I had leftover from Christmas baking.

Your ingredients: Cake flour, cocoa powder, sugar, red food coloring, eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, oil, cinnamon, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and vinegar

So first, sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.

Next, beat together the sugar and oil, then the eggs, then the food coloring and vanilla.

Now add in your flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating between each one, starting and ending with the flour. (Sorry about the photo quality, getting photos in the mixer is always iffy with lighting) Doesn't it look red and delicious?

Now mix together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl. It will fizz and make you feel like you're doing a really cool science experiment. Then add it to the batter and mix it in.

Then just bake those suckers!

Mmm, then frost them, preferably to the soundtrack of Wicked.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Slightly adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Cupcakes:

2 1/2 cups cake flour

2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 tsp. red gel-paste food coloring (or 1 tbsp. regular food coloring)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. distilled white vinegar

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt. In a mixer, beat together the sugar and oil on medium-high until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mix well between each egg. Add in food coloring and vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, mixing well between each addition. Alternate with adding the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small bowl, mix together the baking soda and vinegar, which will fizz. Add it to the batter, mixing on medium-high for about 10 seconds.

Evenly distribute the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 20 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar in an electric mixer until smooth. Add the cinnamon and vanilla until combined.

Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!



Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

Hooray, I'm back!

Hey, remember that time that I got in a car wreck and ruined my car? It was good times, also then I got the stomach flu and was the sickest I've ever been in my life. And then it was Thanksgiving. And I got a new car. And then I went to THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTERRRRRR! So it's been kind of a weird month.

But my triumphant return to blogging is going to be these, which turned out pretty magnificent.

Who doesn't love Cinnamon Toast Crunch? It's my favorite cereal (apart from Waffle Crisp, which they don't make anymore so I try to forget that it ever existed). And in cupcake form, it's delicious.

Your ingredients: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, butter, cream cheese, oil, vanilla cake mix, cinnamon, sour cream, vanilla, eggs, and powdered sugar (and buttermilk-pretend it's there)

First combine your eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Add in the sour cream. Then add in some cinnamon and throw in some crushed up Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Now pour it into some liners, and bake it. Try not to faint at how good it smells.

While they're cooling, let's make our frosting. Beat your cream cheese and butter until it's fluffy, then add in some more crushed cereal. Except, crush your cereal a lot finer than I did mine, or you'll end up with lumpy frosting, like I did.

Now add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until it's frosting-y. (See? Lumpy. Don't be lazy like me.)

Now just frost up your cupcakes and enjoy!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch CupcakesFrom Your Cup of Cake

Cupcakes:

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 box vanilla cake mix

3/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch, slightly crushed up

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup very finely crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Preheat oven to 350° and line muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your eggs, oil, vanilla and buttermilk. Add in sour cream and mix. Add in cake mix and cinnamon, mix until the batter is smooth. Stir in the crushed cereal.

Pour the batter into cupcake liners and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make your frosting.

Cream together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in the finely crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch, then add in the vanilla and powdered sugar.

Frost the cupcakes and top with Cinnamon Toast Crunch!



Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

You guys, it has not been a good week. I mean, I've said that before, in like a "Wow, I'm so busy, this week is crazy, whew!" But this... this has not been a good week.

This week was my first week in my new job, and that part of it has been great. A little crazy, but in a good way.

But also. I got into a cark wreck on Tuesday. Bodily, I am fine. Car-ily... not so much. And since I was the rear-ending car, it's of course going to go down on the record as my fault. So now I'm probably out a bunch of money we don't really have, and we're down to one car this week. Which you know, is sort of fun in a bonding activity kind of way, but certainly not in a convience way.

But as usual, all of that drifted away as soon as I started sifting my flour. Baking is like therapy, and I should probably start some sort of program for it.

Oh by the way... this cake is awesome. You should probably make it, even if you haven't had the kind of week that I had.

Also, don't be cheap and have to beg your husband to do this math- just buy cake flour.

Your ingredients: cake flour, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, sour cream, an orange, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt

Sift together all the dry ingredients except the cocoa powder. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in your eggs one at a time, beat well between each egg. Beat in your vanilla.

Now add in half your flour mixture and beat until combined. Now add in the sour cream, mix it in until just combined, then add the rest of the flour mixture. Your mixer is going to be working really hard at this point, but don't worry, that's just how this cake rolls.

Now- here's where it gets interesting. Divide your batter evenly into 2 bowls. In one bowl, add the orange juice and orange zest and mix together. In the other bowl, mix in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips.

Spread your orange batter into the bottom of the bundt pan evenly, then spread the chocolate batter on top of that evenly. Now bake it!

Voila! A very pretty, fancy-looking (slightly blurry, sorry) cake that tastes heavenly!

That makes you forget, for a second, about your smushed-up, towed, leaking fluid car. For a second.

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

Adapted very slightly from the always fabulous Joy the Baker

3 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter, room temperature

4 eggs, room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups sour cream

zest of 1 orange

1 tsp. orange juice

4 tbsp. sifted cocoa powder

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Generously grease a bundt pan.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well between each egg. Beat in the vanilla. Add half the flour mixture and beat to combine. Add the sour cream, beat until just combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture, beat until the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter evenly into 2 bowls. In one bowl, put the orange zest and orange juice and mix. In the other bowl, put the chocolate chips and sifted cocoa powder and mix.

Spread the orange batter into the bottom of the bundt pan and smooth out. Spread the chocolate batter on top of that, and smooth out.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Lemon-y Lemon Lemon Cake

So, I don't know if I told you guys this, but I recently got promoted- yay! I'm going to be a real classroom teacher now. The current teacher is pregnant, and won't be returning after having the baby, so this is it! It's the real thing! I'll be half in charge of a classroom full of 12-month olds to 18-month olds!

So the thing is, this girl has been really great during the transition, and even gifted me her lesson-planning binder, which is a bigger deal then it sounds like.

Being crafty, I asked her what her favorite desert was and got the answer lemon cake- she dosen't like chocolate and peanut butter together, is that not the craziest thing you've ever heard?

So I decided to make her this beauty, which is a Joy the Baker specialty. And let me tell you, it is delicious. (I only know because the recipe makes 2 loaves, I didn't eat off of hers)

Your ingredients: cake flour, vanilla, lemons, eggs, baking powder, cream, sugar, butter (you're going to melt your butter and then let it cool while you're doing the other steps)

First, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside

Then, in a seperate bowl, zest the lemons into your sugar and then work the zest into the sugar with your fingers or a spoon so that you have lemon-drenched sugar. (I got to use my new Microplane, as you can see, and it is AWESOME, it makes me want to zest everything.)

Whisk in your eggs, vanilla, and then cream until you have a deliciously lemony gloop that looks like this.

Then switch to a rubber spatula and add in the flour mixture in 2 or 3 steps. The flour and the lemon-eggs are not going to want to blend, but you just gotta get in there with your spatula and say "YOU WILL PLAY NICE." Eventually they'll combine. Then just fold in your melted butter. Then pour into loaf pans and bake!

Comes out looking like this- delicious. There is a syrup that I skipped this time but if I made this recipe again I think I would do it. So I will include it for you.

Lemon-y Lemon Lemon Cake
Adapted from Joy the Baker
2 2/3 cup cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (or 1/2 a vanilla bean, scraped out into the lemon sugar and incorporated)
6 eggs, room temperature
17 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup heavy cream
zest of 2 lemons
2 1/3 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease 2 loaf pans and put a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of each pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Put the sugar into a large mixing bowl. Zest the lemons into the sugar, then work in the zest with your fingers or a spoon until you have lemon-drenched sugar. Whisk in the eggs until incorporated, then whisk in the vanilla, then the heavy cream.

Add in the flour mixture in 2 or 3 additions, combining well with a rubber spatula.

Fold in the melted butter in 2 or 3 additions.

Pour into the loaf pans and bake for 55-60 minutes, testing until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on wire racks for 5 minutes, then turn out of the pans onto the racks to cool completely.

Syrup:
Joy the Baker
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
juice of 2 lemons

Stir the water and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar melts, then bring to a boil Remove the pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl and let cool.

When the cakes test done, transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding them and turning them right side up on the rack. Place the rack over a baking sheet lined with wax paper and, using a thin skewer, cake tester or thin-bladed sharp knife, poke holes all over the cakes. Brush the cakes all over with the syrup, working slowly so that the cakes sop it up. Leave the cakes on the rack to cool to room temperature.




 

Apple Cream Bars

So I have this awesome cousin, her name is Kate, and she has a blog of her own! You should check it out- A Dash of Salter.

She alerted me to this recipe and so, I decided to "give these a whirl," as she suggested.

And you know what, they're easy, they're delicious, and Brandon had two. And the Husband says he even likes them better than Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes- I know, I know. Blasphemy.

So grab a couple of ingredients, and give these things a whirl, because my cousin Katie-poo had a stroke of genius when she told me about these things.

Your ingredients- a can of apple pie filling, yellow cake mix, sour cream, an egg, butter, sugar, and cinnamon

First, melt that butter and mix it together with the yellow cake mix until it looks crumbly like this.

Press it into the bottom of your pan and bake it a little bit.

Now, spread the apple pie filling evenly over that crust, then mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Then take a moment to think about how cinnamon and sugar together is never wrong.

Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar on top of the apples. I know it looks like a lot of sugar. It is, my friends, and I was nervous that it was way too much. But put it all on there , because it turns out delicious. Trust me.

Now, beat your egg, mix it into the sour cream, then spread that on top of the apples. If you want, you can reserve some of the cinnamon sugar and sprinkle it on top, like I did. Now bake that mess.

And look at that! Trust me, it doesn't look exciting but it tastes delicious.

Apple Cream Bars

From my beautiful cousin Kate

1 box yellow cake mix

1 can apple pie filling

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup sour cream

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350°. Mix together the melted butter and yellow cake mix until crumbly. Press into the bottom of a well-greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Spread the apple pie filling evenly onto the crust. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the apples. Mix together the sour cream and beaten egg and spread over the cinnamon and sugar.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until they are set.