The Cake Slice- Red Velvet Cupcakes

This months choice for The Cake Slice was Red Velvet Cake. It had a boiled frosting that included pecans and coconut.
I turned this recipe into cupcakes and they were taken to the homeless shelter for dinner, along with the coconut cupcakes I made the same day.
I originally was planning to do the frosting that came with the cake recipe, but as the day progressed, I didn't have enough time.
Then I thought a classic cream cheese frosting would be good, but I had no cream cheese.
So, I ended up making Martha's Fluffy Vanilla Frosting because I had the ingredients and I figured it would be basic enough to taste good with the red velvet cupcakes and the coconut cupcakes.

I saved one of these cupcakes for us to taste, because my daughter begged me too, so I got a little bite of the cupcake. It was delicious!
I am not an expert on Red Velvet Cake. I don't really know what it is supposed to taste like or anything, but this one was amazing. I would definitely make this cake again.

Check out the Cake Slice Blogroll to see what the other bakers thought about the Red Velvet Cake!

Click HERE for a link to the recipe

The Cake Slice- Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake

(If you are looking for TWD, it is after this post)
The Cake Slice is starting off another year with a new book to bake from. We are going to be baking from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott.
The first cake we baked is the Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake. A very basic cake is layered with a cinnamon-brown sugar mixture, melted butter and a combination of raisins & pecans.
This recipe calls for a 9x13-inch pan to be used, but I knew that would be way to much coffee cake for us, so I halved the recipe and made it in a 8x8-inch pan with great results. I reduced the baking time by about 10 minutes.

This coffee cake took minutes to put together. The cake batter was easy and the fillings were easy too. I thought it was an interesting technique to spread the cinnamon-sugar over the batter and then pour melted butter on top of the cinnamon-sugar. I haven't ever made a streusel-y type topping or filling that way. The pecans and raisins are sprinkled on top of the melted butter.

I had leftover melted butter. I thought the recipe called for a little bit too much, so I didn't use all of it.
As soon as this came out of the oven, I promptly cut it into pieces and distributed it to plates to give away. I tasted one bite and it tasted exactly like a cinnamon roll to me. That was a little wierd because it didn't have the same texture as a cinnamon roll, but the taste was the same.

To see what the other Cake Slice Bakers thought of this coffee cake, check out the Blogroll and come back next month to see another Southern Cake!

Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake

(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

Makes a 13 x 9 inch sheet cake

For the Cake

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

For the Cinnamon Raisin Filling

1½ cups light brown sugar

3 tbsp all purpose flour

3 tbsp cinnamon

1½ cups raisins

1½ cups coarsely chopped pecans

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted

Method

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9 inch pan.

To make the filling, combine the light brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a fork to mix everything well. Combine the raisins and pecans in another bowl and toss to mix them. Place the cinnamon mixture, nut mixture and melted butter by the baking pan to use later.

To make the cake batter, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir the vanilla into the milk. In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer on high speed until pale yellow and evenly mixed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl to ensure a good mix. Add the eggs and beat for another 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl now and then, until the mixture is smooth and light.

Use a large spoon or spatula to add about a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir only until the flour disappears. Add a third of the milk and mix in. Repeat twice more until all the flour and milk mixtures have been incorporated. Stir just enough to keep the batter smooth.

Spread half the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture over the batter followed by half the melted butter. Scatter half the raisins and nuts over the top. Spread the remaining batter carefully over the filling, using a spatula to smooth the batter all the way to the edges of the pan. Top with the leftover cinnamon, butter and nut mixture, covering the cake evenly.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, fragrant and beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before serving in squares right from the pan. The cake is delicious hot, warm or at room temperature.

The Cake Slice- Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

I am lucky to have great friends. I have multiple best friends and I feel really blessed.
One of these friends is Jaime. She lives here in Georgia and we have been friends since our oldest children were just babies.
That is actually how we became friends. We both had babies that were a couple months old and we were both stay-at-home moms, so we started walking everyday with our little ones. We just really connected and have been good buddies ever since.
Over the years we have stayed in touch, even though for some of those years we lived miles apart, and we were both really excited that I was going to move back across the country. We now live about 40 minutes from each other and each have 3 children that are the exact same ages. Our kids love each other, so it is really fun to get together.
Anyway, the reason I am telling you all this, is because Jaime wanted me to make her a birthday cake. Her b-day was back in April, so I missed it, but I knew when the right cake came around, I would make it for her and call it her birthday cake.
Jaime also really, really loves her chocolate.

When I saw this months selection for The Cake Slice- Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake, I immediately knew this was Jaime's cake.
The cake uses mayonnaise as the secret to its moistness and if ya'll know me, you know I do not in any way, shape, or form like mayo. I have never bought real mayo. I occasionally, sparingly use fat-free mayo (which was not allowed in this recipe), but the key words there are occasionally and sparingly.
So, when I was out buying the ingredients for the cake, I actually bought a very small jar of authentic mayo.

The cake is spiced with a little bit of cinnamon and also uses some hot coffee for flavor. I left the coffee out and just used hot water, because I figured the hot liquid is what it really needed, not so much the mocha flavor- I don't do mocha.

The moist chocolate cake layers are filled with white chocolate mousse and then a rich, satiny sour cream chocolate frosting is spread on top.

I assembled the cake, let it sit in the fridge for awhile, and then we set out on our trek to Jaime's house.

I will be honest. I was really scared. I was scared that the cake wouldn't make it through the 40 minute drive on a Sunday afternoon. It wasn't too hot outside, really, but I was petrified none the less.

Good thing I had let the cake sit in the fridge for awhile, because 5 minutes before we got to Jaime's house, the top layers slid just a tad and the white chocolate mousse broke through the frosting.
We made it to her house with the cake in one piece and she LOVED it! Chocolate lovers- you will love this cake.

I thought it was ok- but it was a bit of chocolate overload for me. The frosting wasn't very sweet at all, and a few people weren't too excited about that fact, but still it was gobbled down with the help of some vanilla ice cream.
I left the cake at her house and she was able to enjoy the leftovers. If you want to see other variations of this 3 layer beauty check out The Cake Slice Bakers!

Happy Birthday Jaime-5 months later!
This is the last cake that we will be baking from Sky High: Irresistible Layer Cakes, the book we have used for the last year for The Cake Slice. Next month we will start baking out of Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott.

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

(Recipe from Sky High Irresistible Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne)

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 ¼ tsp baking soda

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

2 ½ ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 cup milk

1 ¼ cups hot, strongly brewed coffee (I just used hot water)

2 eggs

1 cup mayonnaise (not low fat or fat free)

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups sugar

White chocolate mousse (below)

Sour cream chocolate icing (below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 9 inch round cake pans. Line the base of each pan with parchment.

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

Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the milk to a simmer. Pour the hot coffee and milk over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the mocha liquid cool slightly.

In a mixer bowl, beat together the eggs, mayonnaise and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in the sugar. Add the dry ingredients and mocha liquid alternately in 2 or 3 additions, beating until smooth and well blended. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out almost clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before un-molding onto a wire rack and carefully peeling off the paper. Leave to cool completely.

White Chocolate Mousse

4 ounces white chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1 egg white

1 tbsp sugar

Melt the white chocolate with ¼ cup cream in a double boiler. Whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and let the white chocolate cream cool to room temperature.

When it has cooled, beat the remaining ¾ cup cream until soft peaks form. In a clean bowl whip the egg white with the sugar until fairly stiff peaks form.

Fold the beaten egg white into the white chocolate cream, then fold in the whipped cream until blended. Be sure not to over mix.

Sour Cream Chocolate Icing

12 ounces bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, chopped

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter

2 tbsp light corn syrup

¼ cup half-and-half at room temperature

½ cup sour cream, at room temperature

Melt the chocolate with the butter and corn syrup in a double boiler over barly simmering water. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth.

Whisk in the half-and-half and sour cream. Use while still soft.

To Assemble

Place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Cover the top evenly with half the white chocolate mousse, leaving a ¼ inch margin around the edge. Repeat with the second layer and the remaining mousse. Set the third layer on top and pour half the sour cream chocolate icing over the filled cake. Spread all over the sides and top. Don’t worry if some of the cake shows through. This first frosting is to seal in the crumbs, and is known as a crumb coat. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes.

After this time cover the cake with the rest of the icing, smoothing it down the sides. It should be the consistency of mayonnaise. Use a palette knife or the back of a spoon to swirl the frosting around the cake.

One Year Ago-Cherry-Pistachio Wedding Cookies

The Cake Slice-Marbled Lemon Blueberry Butter Cake

Wow- it feels like it has been forever since I actually baked something and posted about it! We are finally in our house and have internet service. Who knew it would take so long?

I am a day late posting for The Cake Slice. This month's cake was Marbled Lemon Blueberry Butter Cake. I made this in DC, when we were up visiting my sister for the 4th. My little nephew was so entraced with the cake layers and swirls, he couldn't stop praising my work.
My sister thought she had 3 cake pans that were the same size, but after searching for awhile, I decided to make this cake in 2 8-inch pans and a springform pan. Then I just cut the layers down to the same size.
The blueberry preserves in the middle and swirled in the layers were delicious. The recipe says to strain out the peels of the berries, but I didn't, because I like that part and preserves to me are supposed to be a bit chunky and full of pieces of fruit.

I also used Dorie's cream cheese frosting to frost this cake instead of the frosting called for. Dorie's frosting has a great lemon flavor. We had big plans on the 4th and I didn't want to be in the kitchen all day.

This cake was a big hit. Everybody loved the flavors and it felt very summery. We made trifles with the cake scraps that we trimmed off. Check out what everyone else thought about this cake by looking at The Cake Slice Bakers!


Marbled Lemon Blueberry Butter Cake from Sky High by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1½ tsp lemon extract
7 egg whites
3 cups cake flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1¼ cups milk
Fresh blueberries, for decoration

Lemon blueberry preserves (below)
Lemon buttercream frosting (below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of three 8 inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
In a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg whites 2 or 3 at a time, beating well between additions and stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, whisk gently to blend. In 2 or 3 alternating additions, beat the dry ingredients and milk into the butter mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times. Beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute to smooth out any lumps and aerate the batter.
Scoop 1 cup of the batter into a small bowl. Divide the remaining equally among the 3 prepared pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula. This gives you a smooth surface to work with. Add 2½ tbsp of the lemon blueberry preserves to the reserved batter and blend well. Drizzle heaping teaspoons of this blueberry mixture over the batter in the pans. Use a skewer to swirl the blueberry mixture in short strokes to drag it down through the lemon batter without mixing it in.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer stuck in the centre comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Lat the layers cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack, peeling off the paper and leaving to cool completely.

Lemon Blueberry Preserves
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1½ tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Puree the blueberries with any juices that have exuded in a blender. Pass the puree through a coarse strainer to remove the skins.
In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the blueberry puree with the sugar, lemon juice, zest and ginger. Bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat, stirring often for 20 minutes, or until the preserves have thickened and are reduced to 1 cup. To check the proper thickness place a small amount of a saucer and put in the freezer until cold. Drag your finger through it. If a clear path is made through the preserve then it is ready. Let the preserves cool before using. (Can be made up to 5 days in advance).

Lemon Buttercream Frosting
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 eggs
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil without stirring, occasionally washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from the heat.
In a large mixer bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beast the eggs briefly. Slowly add the hot syrup in a thin stream, pouring it down the sides of the bowl; be careful to avoid hitting the beaters or the syrup may splatter. When all the syrup has been added, raise the speed to medium,-high and beat until the mixture is very fluffy and cooled to body temperature. This can take 15-20 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually add the softened butter 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, beating well between additions. As you’re adding the last few tablespoons of butter, the frosting will appear to break, then suddenly come together like whipped butter. Beat in the lemon juice, and the frosting is ready to use.

To Assemble
To assemble the cake, place a layer, flat side up, on a cake stand. Spread half of the lemon blueberry preserves over the top. Place a second layer on top of the first and spread the remaining preserves over it. Finally place the third layer on top and frost the top and sides with the lemon buttercream.
Decorate with fresh blueberries and serve.
Makes one 8 inch triple layered cake.

Coming on Thursday- My pick for Craving Ellie in My Belly!

The Cake Slice-Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake

This month's selection for The Cake Slice was Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake. We are baking cakes from the wonderful book-Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes. I made this early this month and took it to a party. It was the first cake to disappear. If you like lemon and chiffon cakes, you should really try this cake. I thought it was really easy to make and fun to decorate. The lemon curd was very lemony and creamy. The whipped cream frosting was light and the chiffon was perfect.
This is a really great cake for spring because it is light, fluffy and just the perfect thing to serve at this time of year. I got alot of compliments on the cake and requests for the recipe. That must mean it is a keeper!
To see other beautifully decorated cakes, go check out The Cake Slice Bakers.

TRIPLE LEMON CHIFFON CAKE

ADAPTED FROM: SKY HIGH IRRESISTIBLE TRIPLE LAYER CAKES BY ALISA HUNTMANS AND PETER WYNNE
FOR THE CAKE:

MAKES A 9-INCH TRIPLE LAYER CAKE
8 eggs, separated
1/4 cup walnut oil**
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon of lemon zest
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 and 1/2 cups of sugar
1 ans 3/4 cups of cake flour*
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
[*1 cup of cake flour is equal to 3/4 cup of AP flour plus 2 tablespoons of corn starch]

[**equal amount of either almond oil, hazelnut oil, or canola oil]

Preheat the oven to 350*degrees F. Line the bottoms of three 9-inch pans with parchment paper but do not butter or grease the pans.
In a med-large bowl whisk together the egg yolks, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and water.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium speed until light and frothy. Slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar and continue to beat until soft peaks form.
Sift the flour, remaining sugar, baking soda , and salt into a large bowl. Whisk gently to combine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the egg yolk mixture and mix to create a smooth paste. Add one-fourth of the egg whites and fold in to lighten the batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites and divide the batter among the three pans.
bake for about 16 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks to cool in the pans. Once cool run a knife around the cake to in order to un-mold the cakes. Carefully pull off the parchment paper from the bottoms of the cakes.
To assemble the cake, place one layer on a cake stand. Top with a heaping 1/4 cup of lemon curd and spread it evenly. Repeat with the remaining layers. Frost the top of the cake and the sides with the lemon cream frosting.

RICH LEMON CURD

MAKES 1 CUP
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
grated zest of three lemons
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temp.
Whisk together the whole eggs, yolks, sugar, lemon juice , and lemon zest together in a medium bowl. Transfer to a small non-reactive saucepan. Gently heat the mixture, whisking until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. make sure not to boil the mixture. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a heatproof bowl. Stir in the butter and cover the curd with plastic making sure the plastic touches the curd. This should prevent a skin from forming on the curd. Refrigerate until cold. Then remove 3 tablespoons of curd and set it aside for the icing.

LEMON CREAM FROSTING

MAKES 3 AND 1/4 CUPS
1 and 1/2 cups of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoon of lemon curd
Whip the cream and sugar in a large chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold in the lemon curd, forming a stiff frosting.

Coming Next- Pumpkin-Parmesan Scones

Celebrating My Blogiversary with The Cake Slice

Exactly 1 year ago, I started this little food blog. I wanted to share my love for baking, cooking, and good food. When I look back on the first posts, it is a little embarassing! I have learned a little about my camera and food photo shoots. Although I am by no means a pro, I feel like I am able to express myself and the food I create through my photos in a more appealing manner now.
Joining the blogging world has been an adventure. I am involved in so many fun baking and cooking groups and have met (not in person) lots of great friends and foodies.
Today's cake comes from one of those groups- The Cake Slice. Make sure you go to the blogroll and check out all the other beautiful cakes!
I was super excited when I saw this months cake- Southern Coconut Cake. My husband is from Georgia and we lived there for 7 years. Coconut Cake is something that always made its way to the table for special occasions. I have never made one before, but I was excited to give this one a try. I decided to make a Lemon Filling, because that is how I always saw this cake served.
Luckily, I had a friend who had just returned from a fun 3-month trip to Brazil and while she was there, she celebrated her birthday. She wanted me to make her a late birthday cake and this was the perfect choice. We loved it!
I actually made a cream cheese frosting instead of the cream cheese buttercream the recipe called for, because I wanted a simple frosting and I have made Italian Buttercream before and I don't love the taste.
This cake was a big hit and perfect for celebrating my blogiversary! Make sure you come back tomorrow, to take part in my first giveaway!

Southern Coconut Cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne
Makes an 8-inch triple layer cake

For the cake:
5 large egg whites
½ cup of milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3 cups of cake flour*
2 and 1/3 cup sugar
4 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter (8oz.) at warm room temperature
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 ½ cups of sweetened flaked coconut for garnishing cake

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Butter the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a parchment circle and butter the circle.
Put the egg whites in a bowl and whisk slightly. Add the ½ cup of milk and the vanilla and whisk to mix thoroughly; set aside
.
In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, beat dry ingredients well in order to break up any lumps. Add the butter and coconut milk on low speed and beat just to combine. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy about 2 minutes.

Add the egg white mixture in 2 or 3 additions, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Divide the batter among the pans.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake taster inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes. Then turn the cakes out and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

To assemble the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on an 8-inch cake round. Cover this layer with 1 cup of the buttercream frosting. Spread it evenly all the way to edge of the cake. Then sprinkle ½ cup of shredded coconut on top. Add the second layer and repeat the process. Top with the final layer of cake and frost the top and sides of the cake.
Place the remaining 1 ½ cups shredded coconut on a large baking tray. Pick up the cake and hold it on the palm of one hand over the tray. Using the other hand scoop up the coconut and press it to the sides of the cake. Continue with this process until the sides of the cake are covered. Set the cake on a serving plate and sprinkle any remaining coconut on top of cake. Chill cake for at least one hour to allow frosting to firm up a bit.

Cream cheese buttercream frosting
12 ounces of cream cheese* slightly chilled
1 stick of butter plus 6 tablespoons of butter (7 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup of confectioners sugar, sifted after measuring
2 teaspoons of granulated sugar
¼ cup of water
3 egg whites

Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer and beat on medium speed until slightly fluffy and smooth. Add the butter 1-2 tablespoons at a time, mixing until smooth. Add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla and mix until fluffy. Set aside at room temperature while buttercream is made.
Combine the granulated sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Continue to cook without stirring until the syrup reaches the softball stage 228 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Meanwhile, place the egg whites in mixer bowl and have the mixer ready to go. When the syrup is ready, turn the mixer on med-low and begin mixing the egg whites. Slowly add the hot syrup to the whites taking care not to pour onto the beaters, it may splash. When all the syrup is incorporated, raise the speed on the mixer to med-high and beat the egg whites until mixture has cooled and stiff meringue forms.

With the mixer on low, begin adding the cream cheese mixture by the spoonful. When all is incorporated, raise the speed to medium and whip until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

Lemon Filling From Southern Living
1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 cup boiling water

4 egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

1. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan; whisk in 1 cup boiling water. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until sugar and cornstarch dissolve (about 2 minutes). Gradually whisk about one-fourth of hot sugar mixture into egg yolks; add to remaining hot sugar mixture in pan, whisking constantly. Whisk in lemon rind and juice.
2. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened (about 2 to 3 minutes). Remove from heat. Whisk in butter; let cool completely, stirring occasionally.

Cream Cheese Frosting from Southern Living

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 (16-ounce) packages powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla extract

Come back tomorrow for a Giveway, 2 great soups and a treat!

The Cake Slice- Sweet Potato Cake

This month's Cake Slice cake was Sweet Potato Cake with Chocolate Cream Frosting and Orange Cream Filling. It is the second cake that we have baked from Sky High . My baby is turning 2 on Thanksgiving, but I wanted to have a small party that wasn't on that day, so I am a couple days late posting this cake. I thought since I needed to make a cake anyway, I would just wait until her party to make this beautiful cake.
This cake is delish! I made it in jelly roll pans and then made a 5x5-inch square cake for the birthday girl, but made it 4 layers. The rest I cut into butterfly and flower shapes with cookie cutters. I left the sides unfrosted on the little cut-outs and they were pretty cute. The orange filling was a little bit runny and that is why the recipe said to pipe an outline of the chocolate frosting on the layers.
Overall, I was really pleased with this cake-we have only eaten the scraps (the party is later today), but my little girl had a few bites at breakfast and she was pretty happy. I am thinking this will taste really good with some pumpkin spice ice cream! Go see all the other beautiful cakes by checking out the Cake Slice Bakers!

Sweet Potato Cake:

2 medium or 1 large sweet potato (12 ounces)

3 cups of cake flour**

3 teaspoons of baking powder

1 and 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of cloves (I used allspice)

5 eggs, separated

2 and 1/4 cups of sugar

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons of butter, at room temperature

1 and 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

1 and 1/4 cups of milk

(**The recipe calls for cake flour and if you only have all-purpose flour on hand, you can substitute 3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch.)

(*If fresh sweet potato is not available where you live you may use canned sweet potato, yams, and pumpkin puree)

Makes a 9-inch triple layer cake, serves 16-20 people

1. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Prick the sweet potatoes in 2-3 places, place on a small baking dish and bake for 1 hour or until the potatoes are very soft. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

2. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F degrees. Butter the bottoms and the sides of the pans and line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper also.

3. When the sweet potatoes are cool peel off the skin and remove any dark spots. Cut the potatoes into chunks and puree in a food processors. Puree until smooth. Measure out one cup of potato puree and set aside.

4. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Set aside.

5. In the bowl of electric mixer add the egg whites and attach whip attachment. Beat on medium speed until egg whites are frothy. raise the speed to high and gradually beat in 1/4 cup of sugar. Continue to beat until the egg whites are moderately stiff.

6. In another large bowl with the paddle attachment, combine the sweet potato, butter, vanilla, and remaining sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl after each egg yolk is added. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk in alternately in 2-3 additions. making sure to begin and end with the dry ingredients.

7. With a large spatula, fold in one fourth of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Then fold in the remaining egg whites until no streaks remain. Making sure to not over mix or this will deflate the batter. Divide the batter among of the three pans.

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake layers cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then turn out the cake layers onto a wire rack and cool completely at least 1 hour.

9. To assemble the cake, place one layer flat side up on to a cake stand. With a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip and filled with chocolate cream cheese icing, pipe border around the edge of the cake. Fill the center with the orange cream filling smoothing it to the edge of the border. Place the second layer on top and repeat the process. Place the third layer on top and use all the chocolate cream cheese frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Cream Frosting:

makes 3 cups

10 ounces cream cheese*** at room temperature

1 stick of butter at room temperature

16 ounces of powdered sugar; sifted

1 and 1/2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate melted and slightly cooled (I used bittersweet baking chocolate)

(***1 cup of cream cheese maybe substituted with 1 cup pureed cottage cheese OR 1 cup plain yogurt, strained overnight in a cheesecloth OR equal amounts of neufatel cheese)

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar to cream cheese butter mixture. Making sure to scrape down the sides the sides of the bowl. Then beat until light fluffy 2-3 minutes.

2. Measure out 1 cup of frosting and set aside.

3. Add the melted chocolate to the remaining icing in the bowl and beat until well combined.

Orange Cream Filling:

1 cup of reserved cream cheese icing from above

2 tablespoons of frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1/4 teaspoon of orange extract

1. Stir together all the ingredients until well mixed.

Up Next- Cookie Carnival- Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Cake Slice- Cappuccino or Hot Cocoa Chiffon Cake

I've joined another group- The Cake Slice. I love baking cakes, they are probably my favorite thing to bake and decorate and I already owned the cookbook we are baking from, so I thought, why not? We are baking 1 cake a month from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne and for the debut cake- here is Cappuccino Chiffon Cake, or in my case, Hot Cocoa Chiffon Cake. You see, my family and I do not drink coffee, tea or alcoholic beverages, so thanks to Holly over at Phemomenon, who came up with a quick fix for subbing the expresso (she made a hot cocoa mix and told us all about it), we still were able to enjoy this cake. I was able to take this to a get together with some friends and it was a hit. Everyone really liked it. I have made chiffon cakes before, so the prep was easy and overall, I thought this cake was quite easy to prepare. The weekend I made it we had our first snow and the temperatures were in the 30's, so it traveled well and stayed nice and cold.

Go over to the Cake Slice Blogroll and see what all the other bakers did with their Cappucino or Hot Cocoa Chiffon Cakes!

CAPPUCCINO OR HOT COCOA CHIFFON CAKE adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne

Makes an 8-inch triple layer cake

1/4 cup of neutral oil (ie. vegetable, canola, or soybean) I used canola

6 eggs separated

6 tablespoons of freshly brewed espresso cooled to room temperature I used 6 Tbls of this hot cocoa mixture- 2 Tbls high quality cocoa powder+2 Tbls sugar +8 oz hot water (save the rest to make the soaking syrup)

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 and 1/3 cups of cake flour*

1 and 1/2 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar

Cocoa powder or cinnamon for dusting

(*The recipe calls for cake flour and if you only have all-purpose flour on hand, you can substitute 3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch.)

Espresso (Hot Cocoa) Syrup

1/3 cup hot freshly brewed espresso ( I used the remainder of my hot cocoa mix and added sugar to taste and 1 tsp rum flavoring)

1/3 cup of sugar

1/3 cup dark rum, such as Meyers*(*if you want to leave out the rum you can use molasses thinned with pineapple juice and flavored with almond extract to equal 1/3 cup. Or use 1 to 2 teaspoons of rum extract flavoring but you'll have less syrup.)

Vanilla Whipped Cream

3 cups of heavy cream

1/3 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper but do not grease.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, egg yolks, espresso (hot cocoa), and vanilla; whisk lightly to blend. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, 1 cup of sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

3. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium-low speed until frothy. Raise the mixer to medium high and gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Do not whip to stiff peaks or the cake will shrink upon cooling.

4. Add the espresso(hot cocoa)-egg mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together just until combined. Add one fourth of the egg whites and fold them gently into the batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites just until no streaks remain. Divide the batter among the pans.

5. Bake the cakes for 18 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans. Once cooled run a knife around the edge of the pans to release the cakes. Invert onto a wire rack and remove the parchment papers.

6. To assemble the cake, place one cake layer flat side up on a cake stand or platter. Soak the cake with 1/3 cup of the espresso (hot cocoa) syrup. Spread 1 and 1/3 cups of whipped cream evenly over the top of the cake. Repeat with the next layer the same steps. Finally, top with the third layer. Soak with syrup and frost the top and sides of the cake with the whipped cream.

7. To decorate the cake smooth out the whipped cream as much as possible on top. Lay a paper doily on top and sift cocoa powder or cinnamon over the doily to reveal a lacy detail.

Espresso (Hot Cocoa) Syrup-makes 1 cup

In a bowl, stir together the espresso (hot cocoa) and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the rum extract and let cool to room temperature.

Vanilla Whipped Cream-makes 6 cups

Place the cream, sugar, and vanilla in large chilled mixing bowl with chilled beaters. With the whip attachment, beat the cream until stiff peaks form.