Lane Cake

The "Lane" cake is created with white or yellow cake, layered with a combination of chopped nuts, dried fruit, coconut soused in apple cider. This recipe includes the spice of Mace and makes it all the more interesting to taste.

It originated in 1898, Clayton, Alabama by Emma Rylander Lane, who won a prize for it at the state fair. It appears in Harper Lee's book to Kill A Mockingbird wherein Miss Maudie bakes one for Mr. Avery. It reminded me of a fruit cake which is traditionally eaten during the December holiday season. I liked the cake and would make it again, if nothing else because of its historical value and festive color/texture.

Triple Chocolate Orange Passion Cake

I baked this cake batter in my convection micro-wave. The cake layers did not rise very much. So, I made the effort to increase the height of the cake by putting a layer of whipping cream between the lower cake layer, frosting layer and the upper cake layer. My mother use to do this to create a chocolate layered cake and it was always a requested cake by family members for birthday celebrations.

When I took the cake with the whipping cream layer out of the refrigerator to frost the cake the whip cream softened to the point that the cake slipped apart. I guess the kitchen temperature was too warm. So, I placed it in the freezer for a while, but later discovered that whipping cream does not freeze well. I proceeded to frost the cake anyway and chalk it up as a great learning experience.

The cake batter has orange juice and orange zest. The frosting has orange extract. Thus the name "Passion Orange." I think I put too much orange extract in the frosting because it tasted like one of those solid orange flavored chocolates that are available in stores around Christmas time. It was rich in orange flavor. Too rich!

Since I was disappointed in the cake overall, I decided to put ready-made ice cream syrup on the cake to fix it up. Well, the next morning as I took it out of the refrigerator the syrup had separated into puddles of chocolate liquid and water. It did not look appetizing. I wiped the sides of the cake dish dry and served it to the office staff. Boy, I learned allot of "do nots" on this one.

Stephen Pyle's Heaven and Hell Cake

This cakes a winner amongst peanut butter lovers. Others, who could give or take peanut butter, said that it looks better than it tastes. The book says that the recipe came from a chef in Texas and the waitress said that it got it name because "it's heaven on your lips and hell on your hips."

The original cake is made from layering devil's food cake, angel food cake and peanut butter mouse'. I wanted to forgo the devil's food cake and utilize a red velvet cake recipe from the book. I felt that since the red velvet cake had a cocoa base that it would work well. So I did! The cake was a success and it took almost 8 hours of baking and prepping to complete the cake. I would make it again, but not rate it as one of my favorites.

Alma's Italian Cream Cake

I really looked forward to making this cake since I had heard such rave review on Italian cakes in the past. Yes, it has coconut and walnuts! This recipe is from Cat Cora's "Cooking from the Hip." It has to be one of my favorite in the recommendations of the book "All Cakes Considered." I liked it so much that I choose to put the recipe on the blog.spot. You have to make this one!

From the original recipe, I changed the cake flour to regular flour and did not bake the walnuts before chopping. The recipe has been changed to reflect these two modifications. Also, I did add 1/4 teaspoon of coconut extract to the batter and to the frosting just to livin' up the flavor a bit, which is not listed in the recipe below.

You'll need:
Two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans
A food processor
A whisk attachment and extra bowl for mixer

For the cake:
2 cups walnuts
1-1/2 sticks (3/4 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting:
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
One 16-ounce package confectioners' sugar (about 3-3/4 cups)

To make the cake:
1. Center a rack and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake pans with vegetable shortening and flour.

2. In a food processor, finely chop nut until they resemble very coarse flour. Set aside 1 cup for the cake batter and reserve the remaining cup for the frosting and for sprinkling on top of the cake.

3. Set aside 1/2 cup of sugar. Cream the butter in the mixer at medium speed, and gradually add the remaining 1-1/2 cups of the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

5. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, 1 cup of flour mix for every 1/2 cup of buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Continue until all the flour and buttermilk are mixed in.

6. Add the vanilla extract, 1 cup of the chopped walnuts, and the coconut and beat until well blended.

7. Set the batter aside while you beat the egg whites. Switch to a clean mixer bowl and replace the paddle or beaters with a whisk attachment.

8. Whip the egg whites on high speed until frothy, then continue whisking while gradually adding the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. The egg whites should be form stiff, but not dry, peaks.

9. Fold the egg whites into the batter in thirds, making sure each time that the egg whites are completely incorporated. All together, the folding will take between 10 and 15 full rotations of the bowl. Be gentle.

10. Pour the batter into the pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake layers test done.

11. Cool the layers in the pans for 10 minutes, then unmold onto cake racks. Allow to cool to room temperature.

To make the frosting:
12. Cream the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed and add the vanilla extract.

13. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time, until blended.

14. Kick up the mixer to high gear and beat the frosting until very smooth. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in 1/2 cup of the reserved chopped walnuts. (You should have 1/2 cup left.)

Constructing the cake:
15. Frost the crown of the cake and the sides last.

16. Then put the cake in the refrigerator to firm up the frosting. About 30 minutes before serving, press the remaining 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts into the crown of the cake.

Coconut Cake

This cake was served and eaten before you could say "coconut cake." Everyone enjoyed this one allot! I followed a whipped cream cake recipe, but used regular flour instead of cake flour. Also, I used standard sweetened coconut flakes for the final touch after applying the 7 minute frosting. It was transformed into a coconut cake by using a spatula to press the coconut between the layers and on the outside of the cake. It was a very, very, very popular cake.

I learned that by using cream of tartar or light corn syrup you can almost guarantee a successful 7 minute frosting. Too often it turns back into sugar granules and becomes grainy. The use of another form of sugar keeps the regular granules from inter-locking and ruining the whole batch of frosting. Thanks to Betty Crocker, I'll make this frosting for many occasions in the future.


Double Boiler (7 Minute) Frosting from Betty Crocker

2 egg whites (1/4 cup)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar or 1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and water in top of double boiler. Beat on high speed 1 minute with electric mixer. Place over boiling water (water should not touch bottom of pan); beat on high speed 7 minutes. Remove pan from boiling water; add vanilla. Beat 2 minutes longer on high speed.

Fills and frosts two 8-or9- inch layers or frosts a 13x9-inch cake.

Garden Bug and Flower Cakes

These cakes required a cast iron mold. I had to learn to not over fill the batter into the mold. Just above 1/2 full seemed to be right. The batter is a basic vanilla butter cake recipe using sugar, butter, flour, baking soda, salt, milk and eggs. The rose cakes had jam dobbed and swirled into the top half of the cup before baking. I hope to impress the office with these "garden" treats. Hopefully it won't BUG them!

Vanilla Butter Cake Recipe - Insects
(makes 8 small molded cakes)

1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature, more for pans)
¾ cup all purpose flour (I used 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour and ¼ cup cake flour)
¾ cup cake flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup + 2 tablespoon sugar
2 lge. eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup + 2 tablespoon milk
Milk glaze recipe follows

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter pan molds; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder and salt; set aside.

2. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs one at a time; then beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts alternating with the milk, and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition.

3. Divide the batter between molds. Tap mold to release any air bubbles. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 15 minutes. Invert cakes onto the rack. Let cool completely.

Milk Glaze
¼ cup milk
1 ½ cups confectioner sugar

1. In a medium bowl whip together the confectioners’ sugar and milk until completely smooth. Dip cakes, topsides down, about ¼ inch down into the glaze. Hold upside down and let glaze drip off. Transfer cakes to wire rack and let stand until the glaze is firm.

Vanilla Butter Cake Recipe - Raspberry Rose Cakes
(makes 24 molded cakes)

1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup butter
5 eggs
3 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 ¼ cups milk
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup raspberry jam divided

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour pan. In a large mixing bowl combine sugar and butter; mix well. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add remaining ingredients except the raspberry jam. Mix well scraping bowl occasionally. Spoon into individual cups until these are 2/3 full. Spoon dollops of ½ the jam on top of the batter, dividing evenly among the cups, reserving the other half of the jam for the second batch of cakes. Using a small knife gently swirl jam just into the top of the batter. Bake for 20 t0 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool ten minutes in pan. Turn out onto cooling rack and continue to cool. Repeat for second batch. Dust with powdered sugar or use glaze topping lised above.

Honey Buttercream and Apricot Jam Cake

I used regular flour for the cake and not the recommended cake flour. It turned our great. I drizzled apricot preserves over top of the cake for a little more decoration and presentation.
Many in the office liked the apricot jam and dried fruit flavors with the honey butter cream frosting and had never had a cake with apricots before now. It was quite a treat!

Aunt Di's Bittersweet-Chocolate Frosted Layered Cake

The recipe calls for cake flour to create the batter. I have not had good luck with the use of this ingredient in the past. This time I slowly mixed in the flour so as not to add any air. Regardless of my efforts to make a beautiful looking cake, it did not rise much in the oven. Oh well, I frosted it up and served it anyway. You can fill the center of a cake with allot of frosting and still make it presentable in my opinion. Thank goodness for chocolate ice cream and this small visual touch will improve the look of any dessert!

The vanilla flavored batter was basic, but everyone in the office raved about the frosting. I really liked the texture and flavor of it and it went on so smoothly. I would use the frosting recipe time and time again on any dessert!

Peach Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

The cake is simple to prepare and tastes very good. It was almost like modified peach cobbler. I found nothing about the recipe that wasn't favorable. The original recipe recommends canned peaches and rinsing them before placing in the batter.

The frosting is amazing! This was the office persons favorite part of the cake. It seems now I have found a cream cheese frosting that will go well on anything. This one includes 1/2 tsp. of ginger, but with other cakes or cookies I'll just substitute it with another flavor that compliments the baked item. It truly is a winner!

Fresh Apple Cake

This recipe was delicious and seemed more like a bread than a cake. I doubled the recipe and ended up with almost triple the amount of cake. Perhaps I went a little overboard on the diced apples, but I was not disappointed in the texture. The flavor is quite bland, so I drizzled a lemon flavored glaze over the top and served it with a drop of whipped cream and a few dried cranberries for a bit more interest and flavor in the presentation.

In the end it tasted much like a bread pudding to me, but without the heavy sauce. I would imagine served heated fresh from oven or warmed up in the microwave that the flavor would be more intense.

Araby Spice Cake

The recipe calls for "cake flour" and beating the batter on high speed for 1 minutes a the end of the mixing process. My experience has taught me that this heavy beating only adds too much air to the batter and the cake generally falls in the oven. However, I followed the mixing instructions, baked the cake and cross my fingers for good luck!

To my disappointment, the cake did fall in the last 5 minutes of baking. I let it cool, dumped it onto a rack and then with a soup bowl cut out the center of the cake. It appeared acceptable, so I lined the inside edge with a decorative chocolate frosting finish, on top sprinkled a litte powdered sugar and served it anyway. I wanted to let the office experience the taste, not the cake as a whole.

Banana and Chocolate Chip Cake W/ Cream Cheese Filling

I first had a piece of this cake at the Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia and while attending an ASLA conference. Upon arriving home from the airport I had to find a cake recipe and modified it to be as close as could be to the cake I ate at the garden facility. Here is what I found and it is a close second.

It takes little time to mix and bake, but putting the layers together does take some time. I refer to it as QUALITY TIME, and it's worth it! I served it for "Cake bread Monday" and the office voted it one of the best. Once you have a piece of this cake, it will become a reapter to prepare and serve for many occasions to come!

Ingredients;
2 C flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 banana
1/2 C buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 Tlb. unsalted butter, softened
1 C light brown sugar
2 egg
1 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 C favorite nuts (optional)

Filling:
24 oz. cream cheese filling (softened)
6 Tbl. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. banana extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8" diameter cake pans.

1. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
2. Mash banana and mix with buttermilk and vanilla and set aside.
3. In an electric mixer cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs.
4. Add wet and dry ingredients alternatively until all mixed.
5. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts (see note above.)
6. Pour into the cake mold and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until done.
7. Let cakes cool on rack for 10 to 20 minutes.
8. Place cakes in freezer for 30 minutes and cut into 4 separate cakes for layering.
9. Prepare cream cheese filling by mixing one - 8 oz. package of cream cheese with two Tbl. powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. extract per layer and place between layers.
10. Cover with chocolate frosting or cream cheese frosting.
11. Refrigerate and serve.

American Dream Torte

This cake makes the american dream seem possible, because the cake is possible to make and look pretty too. It came from "The Pampered Chef - ALL THE BEST" Cookbook (www.pamperedchef.com).

It is a combination of pound cake, raspberry flavored gelatin, raspberry seedless jam, thawed whipped topping, cream cheese, white chocolate instant pudding and pie filling, raspberries and blueberries. The cake is baked, cut into three sections, brushed with gelatin mixture, layered with the creamed filling and topped with fresh fruit. I baked it in a 9x13 cake pan as the recipe suggested. Next time I'm going to try it in a sheet cake pan. By using this other pan the cake should have thinner cake layers, and be more wide than high. It was difficult to cut and serve the cake as shown.

Nonetheless, I got lots of compliments on this one and it lifted every ones spirits high for the day!

For the recipe click here!

Honey Spice Cake with Rum Glaze

What a simple cake to prepare and serve. The most difficult part is separating the egg yolks and whites, then whipping up the egg whites until they peak. Once the basic batter is prepared you fold in the whipped egg whites and the cake is ready to bake. It comes out of the oven golden brown and fluffy. The rum glaze really makes the cake enjoyable, so do not miss out on this part of the presenation.

I included to the side a small ball of crushed pineapple and a splash of whip cream and sprinkled a mix of cinnamon and sugar on top to create the final touches of color and texture. You'll have to admit it looks yummy and tastes it too!

Spanish Meringue

This is one beautiful cake and a great conversation piece! The nuts make the cake good too! I found the presentation to be more than the overll flavor.

It has all the south of the border spices and tastes sort of like "horchata" for those who know their spanish drinks. It took more baking time than the recipe called for in order to get the cake to set-up, but I enjoyed the watching and waiting.

Buenas suerte con esta torta y buen provecho!

Paula Deen's Almond Sour Cream Pound Cake

I really enjoyed the taste of this cake. It was simple to prepare and a favorite of many in the office. There was something wonderful about the combination of the toasted almonds, the almond flavoring and the cream cheese frosting that made it hard to not eat more and more and more!

I over mixed the batter and it had too much air before going into the oven, as a result the cake fell. I kept baking it hoping the center would cook thoroughly. I ended up cutting off the bottom of the cake because it was cooked to a crisp and filling the cavity with frosting. I'll just admit it now, I failed in the baking section, but in the presentation part the cake was a winner! Next time I prepare it I'll know better and I can hardly wait to make and serve it again.

Butter Rum Cake

This brings back memories to rum lovers. I could not get this cake to bake in the center, ever after two attempts. So, I had to separate the completed batter into two bowls and bake two cakes from the recipe. This allowed the center to bake thoroughly and gave me lots of cake to serve.

The butter and rum glaze makes the cake enjoyable. I decided to dress it up a bit with some powdered sugar sprinkled over the top before serving to the office.

Later, I served it with a maple nut ice cream to family. It was a nice change from the standard vanilla and chocolate cakes.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

This would be my list as a substitute for "lava cake," but easier to serve in a larger group or dinner setting. The difficulty with this cake is that you cannot ever tell when it is done because the center is to remain soft and gooey. It was a constant guessing game. I made it three times in one day before serving to the office staff.

The first time I baked it too long and it was not gooey enough for my expectation and appeared like a standard cake. The second time I made it, it was too gooey and the cake sat upright in form after coming out of the pan for 45 seconds, then flattened to look like a chocolate pancake. The third time, I realized that it was not like a flowing lava cake, but more like a moist brownie on the inside and more cake-like on the outside. I decided to zap it in the microwave for 20 seconds before serving each plate. The warm chocolate center, crusty outside topped with chocolate ganache and strawberry made it a favorite for pure chocolate lovers!

Cocoa Bread with Stewed Yard Peaches

I couldn't seem to get enough of this dessert. The batter has a combination of flavors including; molasses, sugar, unsweetened cocoa and ground cinnamon. This creates a very interesting overall flavor to the bread.

I used frozen peaches for the stewed topping. This sugar and water with the peaches, warmed and served over the top makes a tasting finish. Then I completed the presentation with a splash of whip cream and dash of cinnamon. This recipe was highly complimented and requested again soon!

Mary Carole Battle's Mother's Wacky Cake

The history of this cake was fascinating. It was created during WWII when dairy products were scarce and was an answer to wartime desperate homemakers. This recipe involves no butter, no eggs, and no milk. The books says that the Seven-Minute Frosting takes more time to make than the cake itself. I would concur.

The frosting turned out wonderful and successful. I feel that I could make a Seven-Minute Frosting now at the "drop of a hat." The key is adding cream of tartar to the mix so the granular sugar crystals cannot "reconnect" and turn the frosting back to sugar. I also have discovered that White Karo Syrup will keep the frosting from doing the same. A great chemical discovery thanks to the inter-net.

The cake is simple. The frosting is complicated to make according to my colleagues. However, the two opposites combined were enjoyable from all the comments in the office.