Dense Chocolate Chocolate Cake

Everyone needs a good chocolate cake recipe and this has been my go to recipe for years.  (I even had a 5 year old girl convinced that she wanted this cake every year for her birthday cake, she thought it was that good!).  I have to admit that I love the ease of cake mixes, but I hate how potentially dry they can be.  With pudding, sour cream, and cream cheese added to the mix, this cake turns out perfectly moist and flavorful....just the way I like it!

 Click here for printable recipe.

Post by: Jen
recipe source: Philadelphia Cream Cheese Collection

Ingredients:

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 c sour cream
1/2 c water
2 eggs
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 4 oz pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
1 c chocolate chips, optional

Directions:
Peaheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream the cream cheese until it is is smooth. Mix in the eggs, and water and blend until smooth.

 Add in the cake mix and the pudding mix and blend together until all mixed well.

 This is a VERY thick batter.  It may work your beaters!  Stir in the chocolate chips at this point if desired.

Grease and flour your pan.  I love to use a bundt pan for this cake, but it works just fine in 2 round cake pans, or a 9x13 pan.  If I am not covering the cake with a ganache, or frosting, then I like to flour the pan with cocoa powder so as to not leave a flour residue on the cake.  OR if you have the flour/butter spray combo then use that because that stuff is amazing for greasing and flouring pans!

 Spread your batter into the pan.  This is thick, so you will spoon your batter into the pan and then spread it out.

 Bake in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour or until toothpick in center is clean.  It will take less time if using 2 rounds or a rectangle pan.  I would check around 40 minutes.  But check by looking in your oven rather than opening your oven if possible.

 Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.  (unless you are using a 9x13 pan, and you want to leave it in the pan)  Cool completely.

 You can put whatever you want on the top.  Frosting, chocolate ganache,  fresh fruit, powdered sugar,whipped cream, pie filling,  etc...  Here it is with chocolate ganache.  It will be very chocolaty.  In fact when I made this again recently, my 8 year old son requested that I make it not too chocolaty.

 I love this recipe because it tastes great and it is great to serve to guests.  Plus it looks really cool with powdered sugar!

Read more...

Cake mix extender recipe

'Tis the season to make cupcakes and cakes.  I'm sure that a lot of you have classroom parties at school for the next couple months with all the holidays coming up.  But what happens when there is 32 kids in your child's class?  A cake mix only claims to make 24 cupcakes.  So do you bake two boxes of cake mix?  No!  Use the cake mix extender recipe!  This is a recipe that takes the basic cake mix a little bit further. I was able to make 36 cupcakes.  That's 50% more than the regular cake mix.  Or you can make 2 9x13 cakes (just not as high)  Plus I think the cake is just a little bit denser as well.  This recipe is all over the internet, but I've had friend ask for the recipe, so I thought I'd post it here.  (Or maybe it's more for me just in case I ever lose my original piece of paper)

Click here for printable recipe.

Ingredients:

 1 cake mix of choice PLUS all the ingredients listed on the box (eggs, oil, water)
Add:
1 c flour
1 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 pkg instant pudding mix , small size (make sure you pick the flavor of pudding the matches the flavor of your cake)
1 egg
1/2 c water
1 tsp vanilla

The Directions:
Mix all the dry ingredients into a bowl.  (the cake mix, and all the extra dry ingredients)

 Now add all the wet ingredients.  Both what is listed on the box PLUS what to add.

 Mix well for a couple minutes with an electric beater.  Scrape down the sides periodically.

 Pour into desired baking pans.  Here I made cupcakes for a Halloween party.

 Follow the directions on the box for how long to bake and the temperature.  (usually 325-250 degrees for about 18 minutes).  See, this made 36 cupcakes with one cake mix box!

I was helping with a cupcake decorating activity at a Halloween party.  Here are some of the cupcakes that the kids made.  I guess with a large supply of sprinkles and candy, they don't know when to stop.

Here are a couple other ones:

Read more...

How to Make a Rainbow Layer Cake

Recently I attended a class with my daughters where we learned how to make a rainbow layered cake.  Normally not much a cake baker myself,  I fell in love with seeing everyone's reaction at the end when they cut the cake and pulled out that first rainbow colored slice.   I enjoyed the reaction so much that when my son's birthday rolled around recently I decided that I would make one for his birthday party.  I was impressed with how simple it was to make (using 2 cake mixes) and I loved that it had every bit of that WOW factor for the 10-year-old boys as it did for the teen girls!  

This recipe is very versatile and could be made festive for a number of different holidays (send me pictures of your versions and I'll add them onto the end of this post with a link back to your blog!)

pink and red for Valentine's Day
red and green for Christmas
two different shades of green for St. Patrick's Day (or the rainbow colored)
red, white, and blue for Independence Day
orange and brown for Halloween (1 white cake mix and 1 chocolate)
orange and yellow for candy corn (as shown)

Taking the inspiration from the rainbow colored cake, my 11-year-old daughter decided to make her own version.  She thought it would be fun to create this  candy corn colored cake and decorate the outside with candy corns.  I think it turned out beautifully well, although I had to laugh that at eleven-years-old, her cake decorating skills have already bypassed my own! 
Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients:


CAKE  (the ingredients listed are if you are using a Duncan Hines white cake mix.  If using another brand, prepare as directed on that box.)
2 boxes white cake mix
6 egg whites
2 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
food coloring (you'll need at least the primary colors for a rainbow)   
at least one 9-inch round cake pan and parchment paper

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
1 cup butter
8 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1+ Tbs. milk (until good frosting consistency has been reached)
food coloring (if desired)

Directions:
CAKE:  Mix together the cake as directed on box.  Divide the batter evenly among seven small bowls (if you're using a double Duncan Hines cake mix it should be about a heaping cup of batter in each bowl).  Dye each bowl of batter your desired color.  


You will have to be liberal with the food coloring in order to get it bright enough.  Read the box of food coloring to get an idea of amounts.  



After each bowl of batter is mixed well and dyed to your desired color, add to a greased 9-inch circle baking pan with parchment paper lining just the bottom.  Spread batter evenly to the edges and pound pan on counter top to get rid of any air bubbles that may remain. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-minutes. 

Repeat for each layer. 

Allow each layer to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then carefully remove from pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.  After layers are cool, wrap in plastic wrap and place on a flat surface in a freezer.  It's okay to stack them.

Allow to freeze for 1 hour or more, then place the color of layer you want on the bottom onto a cake platter. 

FOR FROSTING:  Mix all ingredients together, adding a tablespoon of milk at a time until the right consistency is reached. 

Frost each layer liberally to the edge of the round and place the next layer on top until you've reached the top layer. 

Frost tops and sides of cake. 

If you have time, do a light layer of frosting over the whole cake, then place in the freezer for 1-2 hours, then refrost with a pretty layer of icing. 

If you don't have time to do a second coating, just frost it the best you can. 

To serve, cut into slices and wait for the oohs and aahs! 

Enjoy! 

Read more...

Red Velvet and Orange Cheesecake Marbled Cupcakes with Chocolate-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

My baby boy, James, turned two this week.  I can't believe how grown up he is!  To celebrate with him, I decided to make cupcakes so we wouldn't be stuck with all the leftovers that a cake brings.  We were just having a few cousins over and this recipe was perfect because we just ended up with one (that I would never have eaten for breakfast the next morning).  I'm sure James didn't appreciate the deliciousness of the cupcakes, but if I'm going to make something, I want to be able to enjoy it!  This recipe is probably one of the best cupcakes I have ever tasted.  They didn't look great (mostly because of my mistake) but they tasted AMAZING!  I got the cupcake recipe from Restless Chipotle and the frosting recipe here. 

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Katie.

Ingredients:

Red Velvet Cake- 

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

3 Tbsp. Cocoa

4 Tbsp. red food coloring

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup whole milk buttermilk (or substitute)

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. white vinegar

Orange Cheesecake-

4 oz. cream cheese (not low fat)

2 Tbsp. freshly grated orange peel

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

For the velvet cake- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat well.

Use a spatula to scrape any butter mixture off the sides of the bowl and mix again until well blended.

In a separate bowl, mix the food coloring and cocoa until a paste forms.  I didn't have quite enough food coloring so I added in a little water to make the paste.

Add the cocoa mixture to the butter mixture until it is evenly blended.  Scrape sides and check for streaks then blend again.

Add 1/4 cup buttermilk, mix.  Add half the flour, mix.  Add the remaining buttermilk, mix, Add the remaining flour, mix.  Now stir in the baking soda and vinegar until blended.

For the cheesecake- Beat together all ingredients until creamy and well-blended.

Do not whip.

Assemble- Place liners in muffin cups.  Fill about 2/3 with red velvet batter.  Add about a tablespoon of cheesecake batter to the top.  DO NOT OVERFILL like I did :)  If you don't overfill, this would probably make about 15 cupcakes.

Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Below is a picture of what happens if you overfill the cups...

Let cool completely and then make frosting.

Chocolate-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:

8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 (16 oz) pkg. powdered sugar

1/4 cup buttermilk (or substitute)

Directions:

Beat first 4 ingredients until creamy.  In a separate bowl, combine powdered sugar and cocoa.  Gradually add  to butter/cream cheese mixture with buttermilk, alternately, beginning and ending with powdered sugar mixture.

Beat at low speed until blended after each addition.  Beat until desired consistency.  For good piping consistency, refrigerate until reached.

Pipe or spread frosting over cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Read more...

How to do a Buttercream Transfer

It's your child's birthday soon and they're asking you to make the impossible.  But, I'm here to tell you that it may NOT be impossible.  My children are always asking for the random cake design and they know that Mommy will try her hardest to deliver what they ask for.  I have learned how to create Buttercream Transfers in order to make that perfect picture that I know I can't draw freehand.  So this year when my son asked for an Angry Birds birthday cake, I thought I'd take advantage of also teaching you all how to do a buttercream transfer.  It is a way to decorate a cake and make it look like anything you want.  It's so much easier than freehand piping.  All you need is a picture of what you want on your cake and a few other decorating items and you get a near professional looking cake.  Just make sure your picture isn't too involved or has too many lines.  This angry bird was a perfect design.  I learned how to do this years ago at a cake decorating class at a church activity.  Here is another tutorial on how to do it .  (This is the one I learned from).  So this is for you all who want to create a wonderful birthday cake that will make your child smile.

Click here for printable recipe/directions. 

Post by: Jen

 Ingredients:

White buttercream* (recipe follows)
Food coloring
Flat portable surface (like cutting board)
Wax paper
tape
INVERTED picture print out of your design 
Piping bags (I would recommend these because buttercream is thick and your Ziplock baggies will burst)
Piping tips (plain holes, but not too small)
Coupler (to hold your piping tips in place)


*Buttercream decorating frosting recipe:
1 c butter, softened
1 c shortening (regular white shortening) 
1 tsp butter flavoring (Wilton makes a good one)
1 tsp vanilla (use clear vanilla to keep the frosting more white)
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 lbs powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter, shortening, and salt until smooth.  Add flavorings and mix together well.  Add about 1 lb of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Add 1/2 c powdered sugar at a time and keep mixing until desired consistency.  Add a little water* (tsp at a time) to make it smoother or thinner if desired.  You do want this one a little thin to make it easier to color in your lines.  *Yes, you could use milk instead but then you'd have to refrigerate any leftover frosting.


**Important note:  DO NOT use the store bought frosting in a container to do this and think that it will save you time.  It will NOT freeze and therefore you will not be able to peel off the wax paper.  I know this because I tried it one year and was seriously disappointed and had to end up piping the picture freehand at the last minute.  Just thought I'd let you know.

Directions: 
Print out your picture in reverse.  I guess for this Angry Bird it didn't really matter which way he was facing, but if you have words then you want it reversed.  This is because we are going to flip the end result onto the cake and whatever you see now, will end up on the bottom.  Tape your picture to the cutting board.  Now tape wax paper over the top of the picture.  Make sure the wax paper is smooth.

The first thing you want to do is trace ALL your outlines, most likely in black, although it would really depend on the picture you're doing.

After doing your outline, think about your layers.  If there are small areas to color in, do those first.  Or if there are parts of your picture that you need to "pop" out more than others, do those first as well.  Here I did the cheeks first because it was a small area.

Next I filled in the eyes, completely covering the eyeballs.  Make sure that you fill in all the gaps and smooth out your frosting inbetween layers.  Otherwise you'll have a bumpy looking picture.

After doing the small areas, fill in your larger areas.  Again make sure to smooth it out as much as possible and fill in all the little gaps (especially next to the neighboring lines) 

I also traced around the picture in the same color that the cake is going to be frosted.  That way we will be able to blend in the transfer a little better onto the cake. (you'll see what I mean in a minute)  Now cover your picture with the same color frosting as your cake and smooth it all out so it is flat.

Cover your picture with another piece of wax paper and place in the freezer for a couple hours.  Although I have easily left it in there for a few days.  (In fact I still have one in there from a few months ago and I'm sure it will still be fine.  IF you do leave it in the freezer for a while, just make sure that it is protected, as your transfer is fragile. *See last picture on this post for an example of what I'm talking about)

After your cake is frosted and the top of your cake is smooth, then remove the transfer from the freezer.  Remove it from the cutting board and if you look at the bottom you should see a perfectly colored picture of your design.  Take the bottom (white layer in the above picture) and place it flat on the top of your cake.  Carefully remove the wax layer from your top.

You may see some bubbles or bumps where it didn't get smoothed before freezing.  No problem.  Just take a flat metal knife and heat it under some hot water.  Dry off your warm knife and carefully use the warm tip to smooth out your bumpy parts.  Using a warm flat knife helps melt the shortening thus creating a smooth surface.  

Now you may notice how thick your transfer is and that it's not blended in very well onto your cake.  Just take a warm knife again, and begin to smooth the edges into the surface of your cake.  You may need to add more frosting to make it all blend in well.

 Yes, this does create a bit of a thick top on your cake, but let's face it...kids love frosting.

Finish with the decorating or any other piping of borders you want to do.   Watch you child smile as he sees that you created exactly what he wanted for his birthday!

Here are some other examples of transfers I have done: 

The General Grievous cake was a bit of a pain because there were so many little lines to trace.  

This was for an anniversary celebration of a women's group at a church activity. This is an example of where you definitely want to print the picture in reverse so that your end result has words going the right direction.  (Yes, it is in french, because I live in France.  But it says "Charity never faileth"

This is an example of what the transfer looks like when you take it out of the freezer.  I couldn't decide which General Grievous picture to do so I did two of them.  This has been in my freezer for months.  

***********************

Want to see links to your favorite recipes from Recipe Shoebox in your Facebook feed?  Be sure to "LIKE" our Facebook page!   

Read more...