Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream, by Request of My Sister

To begin with, I apologize most profusely for the late post. I went to a writing conference this weekend and was deprived of the internet for that time. But believe, I'm making it up to you with this recipe.

My sister is a bit of a pinterest fiend. I'll often check my facebook to find that she has left a recipe on my wall demanding kindly requesting that I make it for her. This recipe was just one of those finds. It was a bit of a chore to make, but the result was delicious.

What you need...

For the cake:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 egg yolks
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3 crushed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg whites, beaten

For the frosting:
1 cup milk
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease, line with parchment paper and flour three 8 or 9 inch round cake pans. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter. Add the egg yolks and beat on high speed, creaming the mixture until it is light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients, whisking until they are well combined. Add to batter in three additions, alternating with the milk but beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until your batter is nice and fluffy.

Thoroughly crush the bananas and add to batter, along with vanilla. Mix until the banana is distributed throughout batter.

In a separate bowl, beat your egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold them into your batter, trying to keep them light and fluffy.

 Divide batter evenly between the three prepared pans. Bake for 28-35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean with very few crumbs clinging to it. You don't want to overbake these either.

Let cool in pans for about 10 minutes. Release from pans and cool completely on wire racks. Meanwhile, let's get the frosting started.

Stir together the milk and flour in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and whisk constantly until the milk mixture has thickened into a cream. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, cream the butter, brown sugar and salt until fluffy and very few grains of sugar remain. Be patient. This process takes awhile, especially if using a hand mixer.

Stir in the cooled cream and stir until well mixed. The frosting is deliciously sweet and buttery, but try not to eat too much of it before frosting the cake, or you might come up a little short!

 

Tada! I have to say, this turned out to be one of the nicest looking cakes I've ever made. The layers turned out nice and even and it looked incredibly pretty. A bit of warning, if you live in a warm climate like mine, you may want to store your cake in the fridge. I had to do this because the frosting started to get a bit melty if I left it out for too long.

 Pretty close to perfection I must say. This cake is RICH. I was stuffed after eating only a small piece of it! But the texture is really light and the combination of banana and buttery frosting is simply divine.

Good luck and happy baking!

Rosie

Sources: Cake: How to Cook Like Your Grandmother, Frosting: How to Cook Like Your Grandmother

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Icing

It's that time of year when college gives me headaches and severe nausea. As the semester is drawing to a close, I have a lot of big projects coming due and I'm definitely wearing out. Today was class registration for spring semester and, while I always enjoy looking forward to new classes, I'm not overly enthused by the fact that I ended up in an 8 AM where I'll listen to jazz music for two hours. But hey, maybe it will surprise me and I'll be cool cat by the end of it.

I have to put of a disclaimer about next week. There might be a lack of a post next week because, not only am I going home for the holiday on Saturday, but also because....

Yes, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is coming out on Sunday which means that I will lose all contact with the outside world until I have beaten the game. If I do manage to drag myself from my gaming cave, I may be unshowered with a crazy look in my eye. I apologize for any neuroses that may occur from this point forward.

But on to the baking. For the third installment in our pumpkin saga, I made pumpkin cupcakes with caramel buttercream.

Anyone who knows me knows that cupcakes are pretty much my favorite thing. The only thing better than cupcakes? Pumpkin cupcakes. These turned out deliciously moist and the frosting was sweet without being overbearing.

What you need for the cupcakes:
1/2 cup shortening, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup milk

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream shortening and sugars until fluffy; add eggs, beating well.

Blend in pumpkin.

Sift dry ingredients; add to pumpkin mixture alternately with milk.

Beat until smooth but make sure not to overbeat. Fill muffin cups or cupcake tins 1/2 full.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean. Let cool in pan about ten minutes before removing them from pan and setting on wire racks. Cool completely.

What you need for the frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, not packed
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter or shortening
About 2 lbs powdered sugar

Melt 1/2 cup butter with 1 cup brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Bring to a boil and cook (while stirring constantly) for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and whisk in milk and vanilla extract.

 Mix the other 1/2 cup butter or shortening with 2 cups of powdered sugar. Alternate adding the brown sugar mixture and remaining powder sugar.

This is a very thin frosting so I would not advise trying to decorate the cupcakes with it. However, it's quite delicious and it really compliments the flavor of the pumpkin.

 

These cupcakes came out perfect! They are so good that it's pretty much impossible to only eat one. 

I have a lot of friends who don't care for pumpkin pie because of the texture. If you're looking for a Thanksgiving dessert that has the traditional pumpkin flavor but a texture that everyone can enjoy, I seriously suggest you give these cupcakes a try.

Good luck and happy baking!
Rosie

Source: Cupcakes- favorite Eastern Star Recipes Holiday Cookbook 1970
             Frosting- BakeBakeBake community of LJ (I'm so sorry! I can't remember the poster or original source!)

Pumpkin Coookies with Brown Butter Icing... Oh my!

People up here assume that, being a southerner, I must LOVE Paula Deen. However, that's not really the case. It's not that I have anything against the woman, I just don't follow her show or make many of her recipes. If there is one woman in cooking that I truly adore, it would have to be Martha Stewart. Okay sure, she's had a couple oopsies, but her recipes are just FANTASTIC.

One of my favorite cookbooks is Martha Stewart's Cookies. Everything I've ever made from that book has been scrumptious. I had my eye on the recipe for pumpkin cookies with brown butter icing for years now, so when I decided to do a month of pumpkin recipes I knew I just had to make them!

 What you need for the cookies:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I was lazy and used ground)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (14 oz)
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a bowl.

Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl and beat on medium speed until pa.e and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add pumpkin, evaporate milk, and vanilla; mix until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture; mix until combined.

Transfer 1 1/2 cups batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 plain tip. Pipe 1 1/2 inch rounds onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies about 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. They're done when the tops spring back. Cool on baking sheet for five minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Note: I didn't have a pastry bag when I made these so I just used a gallon sized ziploc bag with the corner cut off. However, this batter was thin       enough that you might not even need to use a bag. It's up to you whether you decide to use one or not.

What you need for the icing:
4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon evaporated milk, plus more if needed
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Put confectioners sugar in a bowl. Easy enough.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until golden brown. Immediately add butter to confectioners sugar, scraping any browned bits from sides and bottom of pan.

Add evaporated milk and vanilla; stir until smooth.

Spread about 1 teaspoon icing onto each cooking. If icing stiffens (which it will), stir in a little more evaporated milk.

Ta da! These cookies are incredibly delicate and delicious. You can only store them in single layers (which is a bit of a pain considering this recipe made almost 50 cookies) and they need to be in an airtight container. However, these are well worth the trouble. They're not too sweet and they are almost like miniature cakes.

Good luck and happy baking!
Rosie

Source: Martha Stewart Cookies

Candy Corn Chocolate Cakes

I have yet to buy my Halloween costume. Gasp! I know! Halloween is a mere six days away and I have yet to pick my gown for the grand galloping gala of Halloween night. I can't help it...Whenever Halloween approaches, I begin waffling and can't decide what I want to be. Do I want to be Little Red? Maybe a princess of sort? Perhaps something scary! It's too hard!

I had finally decided on something until I saw the weather forecast for the next week. It's supposed to snow on Thursday and Halloween night is going to climb to a sweltering 50 degrees. A viking it is in then.

You know what I have no problem deciding on?

That these little cakes are adorable!

Just in time for Halloween, here are some cute little chocolate cakes decorated to look like candy corn. I was really surprised when I made these-- the recipe for the chocolate cake is fantastic and I wouldn't mind making a simple layered cake out of it some time.

What you need for the cake:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the first six ingredients in a large bowl at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended. Stir in buttermilk.

Stir together 1 cup hot water and baking soda: stir into batter. Stir in vanilla and pour into two greased and floured 9 inch cake pans.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Freeze layers for 30 minutes. Cut each layer into eight wedges. Now it's time to make the frosting!

What you need for the frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
1 (2lb) package powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Orange gel icing color (I used Wilton Orange)
Yellow gel icing color (I used Wilton Lemon Yellow)

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy.

Add milk, beating until spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla. Stir orange food coloring into 1 1/2 cups frosting. Stir yellow into 1 1/4 cups frosting.

Pipe buttercream to resemble candy corn. Using a medium star tip, pipe white on small end, yellow in the middle and orange on the wide end. If your frosting is stiff enough (mine was not) you can also frost the sides.

Pretty cute, huh? I think these would be simply darling for a kid's October birthday party. Or, if you're like me, you can make them just because!

Good luck!
Rosie

Source: Southern Living Annual Recipes 2000

Grandma Rose's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

I'm a redhead now, which means I feel obligated to claim fictional Irish heritage. One part of this completely untruthful (as far as I know, at least) background that I will claim in a heartbeat will be a love for all thing potato. Take a potato, dress it up anyway you can, and I guarantee I'll like it.

However, I never for a second imagined putting mashed potatoes in a cake.

Yes boys and girls, we're making a chocolate cake with mashed potatoes in it. So, let's get to it then.

For the cake you will need:
4 eggs, separated
2 cups sugar
1 cup sweet butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup mashed potatoes
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 9 inch tube pan or two 9 inch layer cake pans. I chose to do a tube. Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until set. Set aside.

Cream butter with remaining sugar until fluffy, and add egg yolks, cooled chocolate, and mashed potato.

Sift flour with salt and baking powder. Add to batter.

Mix sour cream with baking soda and vanilla. Add to batter with the pecans and then, lastly fold in the whites.

Spread into the pan. For a tube pan, bake for about 50 minutes. For layer pans, bake about 35 minutes. My cake was not quite done at 50 minutes, and I never could seem to get it done. When I finally was satisfied, I ended up drying it out. Be careful and really keep an eye on it so this doesn't happen to you.

Set on a wire rack and leave in pan until cooled completely. When cooled, remove from pan and frost.

What you'll need for the frosting:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla

 Combine chocolate, cream, water, and corny syrup. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and sugar is dissolved. Raise heat a little and cook without stirring for about 10 minutes or until mixture is thick enough so that a bit dropped into a cup of cold water forms a soft ball.

 Stir 2 or 3 tablespoons hot chocolate into beaten egg. Pour egg mixture back into remaining chocolate mixture, stirring briskly. Add vanilla. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat a few more minutes until a little thicker. Let cool and frost the cake.

I was really excited about this cake with it's strange ingredient of mashed potatoes and, well, it wasn't that special. The cake itself was a bit bland and the frosting was gritty (my fault for obviously not letting the sugar dissolve well enough) and a little too bitter for the plain taste of the cake.

Give it a try if you'd like. Good luck!
Rosie