My First Layer Cake

I'm paying tribute to my Southern roots with another Southern classic, red velvet cake.  I've been a huge fan of red velvet cake for many years although I did go on hiatus from eating it for a few years.  It was just too much of a good thing.  I fell in love with red velvet cake again at the Two Little Red Hens Bakery in New York City.  Their red velvet cupcake was delicious!!  If you are ever in NYC, check out this bakery.  After eating their cupcakes, I made some of my own last year for Valentine's Day.  They were a huge hit at work.  This year I purchased Cook's Illustrated special issue Holiday Baking.  On the cover was a beautiful red velvet cake.  I decided I had to make it.  I had not made a layer cake before.  I've made bundt and sheet cakes, but the frosting part of a layer cake made me a bit nervous.  I faced my fears and made a layer cake, and I think it turned out well.

The making and baking part of the cake layers wasn't difficult.  The layers stuck just a little bit in the cake pans, but it was easily covered with the cream cheese frosting!  :)  The frosting was easy to make as well, except for the confectioners' sugar mishap.  The directions said to put the sugar and butter in the mixing bowl and beat at medium-high speed.  I did that, only to have a cloud of confectioners' sugar go everywhere.  Oops!  I quickly turned it off and draped a towel over the stand mixer to catch any other clouds. 

Then it was time to frost the cake.  It actually wasn't as difficult as I had originally thought, although it was a bit time consuming.  The cake turned out beautifully.  I'm so proud of it!  :)  (I texted photos to many friends with my new accomplishment.)  The cake is so yummy, especially the cream cheese frosting!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Red Velvet Cake

Cake -

2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch table salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
2 tablespoons (one 1-ounce bottle) red food coloring
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

Frosting -

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar
16 ounces cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch table salt

For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.  Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Whisk buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and eggs in large measuring cup.  Mix cocoa with food coloring in small bowl until smooth paste forms.

With stand mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as necessary.  Add one-third of flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds.  Add half of buttermilk mixture and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds.  Scrape down bowl as necessary and repeat with half of remaining flour mixture, remaining buttermilk mixture, and finally remaining flour mixture.  Scrape down bowl, add cocoa mixture, and beat on medium speed until completely incorporated, about 30 seconds.  Using rubber spatula, give batter final stir.  Scrape into prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.  Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.

For the frosting: With stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add cream cheese, 1 piece at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds.  Beat in vanilla and salt.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

When cakes are cools, spread about 2 cups frosting on 1 cake layer.  Top with second cake layer and spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 3 days.

Serves 12

Hat Tip - Cooks Illustrated - Holiday Baking 2010 Special Issue

Pecan Squares

I'm from Georgia, so I grew up eating a lot of pecan pie.  It is such a yummy dessert especially with a little vanilla ice cream.  Oh my!  As I have gotten older, the gummy, gooey part of the pecan pie started grossing me out a bit.  I came across this recipe on myrecipes.com one day.  I bookmarked it on my computer and then waited for the perfect opportunity to make it.  Our neighbors had a little get together and asked everyone to bring something.  I thought of these pecan squares.  I had all the ingredients on hand.  They were very easy to make.

These pecan squares are delicious!  They are so buttery and nutty, it was amazing.  They were a huge hit at the get together.  :)

When I make these again, I won't pat the bottom mixture 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the dish.  I felt like that was too high above the pecan filling.  Next time I will probably do 1/2 to 1 inch up the sides.

Pecan Squares

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

2/3 cup butter

3 tablespoons whipping cream

3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Sift together 2 cups flour and 2/3 cup powdered sugar.  Cut in 3/4 cup softened butter using a pastry blender or fork just until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Pat mixture on bottom and up 1 1/2 inches up sides of lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Cool.

Bring brown sugar, honey, 2/3 cup butter, and whipping cream to a boil in saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir in pecans, pour hot filling into prepared crust.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.  Cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares. 

Makes about 28 squares.

Hat Tip - MyRecipes.com

White Chocolate, Cranberry, Macadamia Nut Cookies

So, the holidays have come and gone.  I did some holiday baking but sadly didn't have time to post them.  Now that the holidays are over, I'm going to play catch up.  I know these cookies are festive for Christmas but I think they would be yummy anytime of the year.  I love dried cranberries; it's a nice tartness to compliment the sweet white chocolate and then the salty macadamia nuts, oh my!  It's a combination made in heaven!

I had a ton of these cookies!  It makes 36 large or 72 small cookies.  I had plenty to share with our new neighbors, take some to work, and share some with family.  They were a huge hit!  I'm beginning to get a reputation in the neighborhood as the baker!  That is a reputation I can be proud of.  :)

I decreased the amount of white sugar in the cookies to about 1/2 a cup.

White Chocolate, Cranberry, Macadamia Nut Cookies

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (about 6 ounces)
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips (about 8 1/2 ounces)
1 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.  Sift first 3 ingredients into a medium bowl.  Using electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl until fluffy.  Add both sugars and beat until blended.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla.  Add dry ingredients and beat just until blended.  Using spatula, stir in cranberries, white chocolate chips, and nuts.

For large cookies, drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing 2 1/2 inches apart.  For smaller cookies, drop dough by level tablespoonfuls onto sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake cookies just until golden, about 18 minutes for large and 15 minutes for small cookies.  Cool on sheets.

Hat Tip - Epicurious.com

Nuts about Nutty Granola

I've been making this granola for quite awhile now.  It is super simple to make and oh, so yummy!  :)  All you have to do is throw a few ingredients in a bowl, stir, bake, and enjoy.  It has a wonderful, sweet maple flavor with a touch of salt.  A great slightly-sweet, slightly-salty combo.  The granola isn't overly sweet, and it is great that it is made with a natural sweetener like maple syrup.

My favorite way to eat this granola is on top of honey or blueberry Noosa yoghurt, a local Colorado yoghurt.  (It is really yummy, too, look for it in your area.) 

The recipe calls for chopped almonds, but I like the texture of sliced almonds, so I use those instead.  The recipe has the option to add raisins.  I tried it once, but didn't really like it.  I didn't like it because the raisins go in to bake with the rest of the granola and come out hard and dry.  If you would like to add raisins, I recommend adding them once the granola is baked.

Nutty Granola

Cooking spray
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients, mixing well to coat everything with the maple syrup.  Spread on the baking sheet and bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let cool completely.  Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 2 weeks.

Hat Tip - The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

Cranberry and Apple Crumble

I love a good apple crumble/crisp!  I don't feel as guilty about eating dessert when it contains fruit.  Don't you just love that logic?  :)

I came across this recipe in one of my many checked out library cookbooks.  I couldn't wait to try it.  I picked up fresh Braeburn apples at the farmer's market and grabbed fresh cranberries at the grocery store.  This recipe came together pretty easily.  I did make an adjustment to the topping, I added about 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats.  I thought the texture would be a good addition, and I was correct.

Sweetie and I ate the crumble while it was still warm.  We topped it with vanilla ice cream.  It was delicious!  One of us went back for seconds, but I'll let you guess which one of us it was.  :)

Cranberry and Apple Crumble

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

(I added about 1/4 cup oatmeal to the flour mixture)

6 cups sliced peeled Braeburn apples

1 cup fresh cranberries

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, level with a knife.  Place flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter into a food processor; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal.  (At this time, I added oatmeal to the flour mixture.)  

Combine apples and cranberries in a large bowl.  Combine juice, 2 tablespoons sugar, and cornstarch; pour over apple mixture.  Toss well.  Spoon apple mixture into a 2-quart baking dish.  Sprinkle with flour mixture.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.  Serve warm.

Yield - 8 servings

Hat Tip - Cooking Light Complete Cookbook

Chocolate Velvet Pound Cake . . . hmmm!

This pound cake is delicious!  It is so smooth, moist, and chocolate-y.  I think the cake tastes better the day after it's made.  Sweetie and I ate the whole loaf!  :)  I like that it makes a loaf instead of a larger size cake.  It is very manageable for two to eat.

I've been a fan of red velvet cake for years (I grew up in the South), but the red food coloring grosses me out a bit.  Although it doesn't stop me from eating it!  I was excited to make this pound cake with a velvet texture, but no red food coloring.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe because of the high altitude.  Instead of one cup all-purpose flour, I used 3/4 cup all-purpose and 1/4 cake flour.  I also decreased the baking powder by half.  It turned out beautifully!

Chocolate Velvet Pound Cake

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon water, at room temperature
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsifted unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position an oven rack in the center.  Lightly coat the 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch pan with melted butter, oil, or high-heat canola-oil spray, and fit it with parchment paper to extend up both long sides to the top of the pan.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer and beat on medium-high until light - almost white - in color, 4 to 5 minutes.  You can also use a hand mixer and a medium bowl, although you may need to beat the mixture a little longer to achieve the same results.  Scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

In a small bowl, stir together the water and espresso powder until smooth.  Crack the eggs into the bowl and beat to blend.  With the mixer running on medium, add the eggs to the butter mixture about 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing each addition to completely blend in before adding the next.  About halfway through, turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl, then continue adding the eggs.  Scrape down the bowl again.

With a fine-mesh strainer, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into the medium bowl and whisk to blend.  With the mixer running on the lowest speed, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, beginning with one-third of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk; repeat, then finish with the flour mixture.  Scrape down the bowl and finish blending the batter by hand, if necessary. 

Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top.  Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a rack to cool completely.  When cool, remove from the pan, peel off the parchment paper, and serve.

Storing - The cake can be made several days ahead and kept at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap.  Or double-wrap it, put in a resealable plastic freezer bag, and freeze for up to 8 weeks.

Hat Tip - The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet

Pecan-Crusted Pumpkin Squares

Halloween is upon us, so I thought a pumpkin recipe would be appropriate.  When I read the name of this recipe in the The Weekend Baker cookbook, I thought it was going to be a type of bar, but it is actually a quick bread.  It came together quickly and the wet and dry ingredients can be mixed up to one day in advance. 

I really liked having the pecans on the outside of the pumpkin squares, it was almost like a crust (thus the name "Pecan-Crusted").  :)  The squares were moist and delicious.  They definitely put the feeling of Fall and Halloween in the air. 

Happy Halloween!

Pecan-Crusted Pumpkin Squares

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 cups all-purpose and 1/4 cake flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (I used 1/2 dark brown and 1/2 light brown)
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (not seasoned pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup canola or corn oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Position an oven rack on the middle rung.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously butter - be generous or the nuts won't stick - the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish.  Add the nuts and tilt the pan to coat the bottom and sides evenly.  Carefully spill out and save the excess nuts for the top.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.  Whisk until well blended.  In a large bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin, oil, eggs, and vanilla.  Whisk until smooth.  (You can prepare the dry ingredients and wet ingredients up to 1 day ahead.  Cover the dry ingredients and keep at room temperature, and cover the wet ingredients and keep in the fridge.)  Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and gently stir just until blended.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Scatter the reserved nuts evenly over the batter.  Bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, about 30 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into 2-inch squares.

Wrap the uncut, cooled square in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Makes 9 2-inch squares

Hat Tip - The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge