Cheesecake #3 (I have yet to write #2) of that one week where I somehow ended up making 3 cheesecakes. Some context: I was speaking with my coworker about all these cheesecakes I had on the to-do list, which he related back to his wife… so when I asked him what to bring to his potluck superbowl party, of course, he replied “cheesecake”. A bit more digging revealed that his wife’s a big fan of lemon, and, like most women (or people with common sense), chocolate… and thus the wheels began turning. I had been wanting to try doing a swirled top and an even layer of something within a cheesecake, so here was my attempt. Between the chocolate, hazelnut, and lemon, this turned out ridiculously Italian. Strongly suggested to be made if you have visiting friends from the Land of the Boot.

Lemon-Nutella Swirl Cheesecake with Chocolate Blood Oranges

Ingredients (Crust):

• 3/4 cup almond-vanilla granola
• 3 packaged organic instant maple oatmeal
• zest of 1/2 a lemon & 1/2 a blood orange
• 3-5 tblspn soy butter, melted

Ingredients (Cheesecake):

• 30 oz softened (room temp) full-fat cream cheese
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup full-fat sour cream
• 1 egg (brown, cage-free, organic)
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup orange-mango juice (by simply orange)
• the zest of 2 lemons
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• zest of 1/4 of a blood orange
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1/2 cup warmed nutella
• 3/4 cup warmed chocolate (use the double-boiler method, for dipping the orange slices)

Process:

1. To make the crust: melt the butter in a medium-sized bowl. In a food processor, process together the granola and oatmeal until thin, small chunks that are soft to the touch. Add to the butter, and add in the zest as well. Mix thoroughly until a thick paste forms. If too dry, add another tblspn of soy butter.
2. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and then place the crust in the bottom, pushing it up an inch around the sides and firmly pushing it into the bottom of the pan
3. For the cheesecake itself: Preheat yoru oven to 360 degrees, then start by mixing together the cream cheese and sugar in a stand mixer on low speed until fluffy and well-combined. This is the most crucial step- do this out of order and your cake will have strange texture, so make sure that cheese is SOFT!
4. Add in the sour cream and continue beating on the lowest speed, slowly incorporating. Beat in the egg, then add the milk, still slowly incorporating. Add the orange juice, zest, lemon juice, blood orange juice, salt, and vanilla – mix until just combined and smooth.
5. Lastly, mix in the flour, until juuuuust combined. Do NOT overmix, and don’t go over the bottom speed of your stand mixer / electric mixer… you don’t want to hurry this.
6. Pour half the batter you’ve just made into your prepared springform pan. Then pour the warmed nutella over the half-batter and spread it evenly, keeping about a half-inch margin around the sides of non-nutella-ness (see photos below) as it will run and expand and you’d rather it not burn against the sides. Then pour in the remaining batter.
7. Take a little extra warmed nutella and pour thin ribbons of it onto the top of your cake. Then, taking a skewer/toothpick/etc, swirl this around until you get a pretty pattern.
8. Into the oven it goes for an hour’s time. After an hour, turn off your oven and let the cheesecake hang out there overnight or for the next 6 hours or so. While your cake is baking, dip slices of your blood orange (the one you earlier zested and partly juiced) and coat about 3/4 of the way up. Dip them then in large-grain candy sugar, then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the freezer while your cake hangs out in the oven.
9. After the cake is done oven-itizing, place the blood orange slices on top, add chocolate shavings if that wasn’t enough for you, and cool in the fridge. It’ll be ready for eating in 2-3 hours’ time.

That’s it! Quite simple once you get through my wordiness, and will quickly make you seem sophisticated and Italian. They love lemon, and after this cake, you’re likely to as well. The longer you let the cake sit in the fridge (as in number of days, not hours) the more the lemon flavour will intesify and play off the nutella as they mingle and meet, so…. eat this one slowly so you can appreciate its flavour maturing as you go. Mmmh.

For the New Year, the boyfriend and I were invited to his parents’ house for a potluck party. As is often the case, I was expected to bring a cake :). I was looking for something simple, fruit-based, light, and not very sweet. I decided to do something traditional and went with a light, almond spongey cake topped with whipped cream and a ton of fruits. It’s a very simple cake, and a great way to showcase delicious fresh fruit that’s in season, so it’s also easily editable for different times of year. Best of all, it appeals to a large audience as it’s something that really plays on the simplicity of clean flavours.

Fruit & Almond Sponge Cake

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs (brown, cage-free, organic)
• 1/2 cup organic skim milk (no rBST!)
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• scant 1 cup cake flour
• 2 tblspn soy butter, softened to room temp
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• LOTS of fresh, seasonal fruit
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup apricot jelly (organic, without too much added sugar)

Process:

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a 9-inch springform pan.
2. In your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one at a time (be sure to really do them one at a time. trust me on this.)
3. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, and milk and beat on low until just combined. Then add the flour and barely mix enough- as soon as the flour is incorporated, stop beating.
4. Pour the mixture into your cake pan (and place it on a baking sheet), baking for about 25 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is spongey). Remove from cake pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
5. Once cooled thoroughly, cut the cake in half to make two layers, and beat the cream into a whipped cream (adding 2-3 tsp of sugar halfway through to make it a bit sweet).
6. Place a layer of whipped cream and some fruit on the first layer of the cake, then add on layer 2 and spread the remaining whipped cream over the entire two layers of the cake (and sides).
7. Arrange fresh fruit on top as desired and brush the apricot jelly (warmed in the microwave) over everything to make a nice shiny glaze.

Yum, right? It’s simple, it’s not too guilt-inducing, and it’ll please the whole family. Make one for your next spring or summer potluck and take advantage of ripe stone fruit, fresh berries, melons, citrus…. so many options! I plan to make one again soon with different fruits and maybe a thin layer of marzipan halfway up the cake for added almond flavour :). Sprinkle on toasted almond slivers for a final touch or powder on some confectioner’s sugar in a pretty shape.

Happy birthday wishes to my best friend and sister, for whom this cake was baked :). I’ve been making my sister’s birthday cake off and on since her- correct me if I’m wrong here, E- 16th year and for her 22nd I asked for her to choose – and after long deliberation, she decided on the following: a fudge brownie, topped with a vanilla bean cheesecake, encased in white chocolate frosting, topped with strawberries and caramel. We ended up leaving out the brownie layer for fear of giving her birthday guests heart attacks, but kept the rest of this sinfully rich cake’s attributes. Thus I present to you the first of a series of three cheesecakes made recently (and according to my parents, the best of the three).

Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Cheesecake

Adapted from Simply Scratch’s New York Cheesecake

Ingredients (Cake Crust):

• 8 whole honey graham crackers, roughly cut into large pieces
• 12 nilla wafers minis
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients (Cake):

• 4 pck of cream cheese (and I’m sorry to say this but you really need all 16oz to be full-fat)
• 1 & 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup whole milk (no rBST!!)
• 4 eggs (cage-free, brown, organic)
• 1 & 1/2 cup sour cream (again, not light!)
• scant 1/4 cup AP flour (King Arthur)
• 2 tblspn vanilla extract
• 1 tblspn vanilla bean paste

Ingredients (Icing):

• 1 pckg (about 12 oz) white chocolate chips (guittard, ghirardelli, etc- just not nestle or other substandard choices)
• 2 tblspn soy butter
• 1/3 heaping cup heavy/double cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• dash of salt
• for garnish: fresh strawberry halves, caramel

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-inch springform (the spring really, really helps)
2. Get your food processor and place into it the graham and nilla wafer crackers. Pulse until a thick, coarse, somewhat-chunky meal emerges. Then get a medium-sized bowl and into it place the melted butter and vanilla. Then mix in the cracker mixture until it’s a thick, gooey mess and press that into the bottom of the pan going up an inch or so up the sides (or as high as you’d like, really, depending on how thick you like your crust to be)   
3. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed until smooth, but NOT liquid- you want to retain the thickness of the texture here.
4. Add in the milk and stir briefly on low- then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just barely so that they’re incorporated. Don’t add them all at once as this will adversely affect the texture!
5. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla, and flour until smooth, still being careful to keep the whole mixture thick- then pour everything into the springform and place the entire cake on a baking sheet.
6. Bake the cakefor an hour at 350 degrees, then- and this will sound strange- turn the oven off and leave the cake to hang out for 5 or 6 hours, or overnight. Be sure not to open the oven door after you turn it off so it keeps steaming slowly. Then cool it in the fridge until ready – these get better with age, so I suggest making it a few days ahead of time.
7. Once it’s had ample cooling time (a few hours), prepare the icing- place all the icing ingredients in a medium saucepan and mix together until melted. Take off the heat and allow to thicken for 2 minutes- then spread over cake and cool for another several hours. Shortly before serving, add on strawberries and caramel.

It’s not too sweet, and it’s just rich enough – the age and topping make the difference, and the white chocolate icing gives it something sophisticated (along with the vanilla bean in the cake itself). This is a modified take on a classic, and one that a great variety of folks can enjoy. My sister loved it :) so it served its purpose! Happy birthday, lovely, and an exciting year 22 for you!!

Also known as the Sebastian Cake, this four-layer heavyweight was brought into existence for the birthday of a good friend and coworker of mine. All the guys from work were going to be over at the apartment that weekend for a retreat, so clearly cake needed to be involved (fall 2010… I’m still catching up!) I wanted this to be a special surprise and thus cunningly- if I do say so myself- asked Seb his cake preferences, and got to work.

As seems to be traditionally the case with my making layer cakes, the first two layers weren’t thick enough, so I baked an additional one- which rose to the occasion (far more than expected)- resulting in a taller cake than initially intended, but hey, who’s going to complain about having more cake?

This cake follows a roadmap of fudge brownie bottom, followed by moist white-chocolate vanilla cake encased between white chocolate ganache, vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache, and double-chocolate cake. The whole thing is then encased in a thick layer of hardened dark chocolate ganache, liberally hosed with runny white chocolate ganache, and topped with Callebeaut bittersweet shavings. Yes, it’s a doozy. So, naturally, you’d like a piece, right? :)

Tuxedo Layer Cake

Note: For the ingredients and process for baking each cake layer, as these closely resemble cakes already posted on Fruippe, please use the ingredients listed here and the process described on that recipe’s page, altering as needed to take into account the slightly-modified ingredients list.

Ingredients (Brownie Layer):

• 2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate (chips, baker’s chocolate, you pick!)
• 1/2 cup soy butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons organic canola oil
• 3 teaspoons 2x vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs (cage-free!)
• 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1.5 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup (slightly heaping) AP flour (preferably organic)
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water (based on your texture preference)

Ingredients (Chocolate Cake Layer):

• 2 whole eggs (brown, organic, cage-free)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil (make sure it’s fresh!)
• 1 tblspn vanilla extract (feel free to be liberal with this one)
• 1 cup light sour cream
• scant 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1.5 cups self-rising flour

Ingredients (White Chocolate Cake Layer):

• 1 & 1/3 cups King Arthur organic cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 large cage-free eggs
• 1 cup plain low-fat Stonyfield organic yogurt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup organic canola oil

Ingredients (Chocolate & White Chocolate Ganaches): For the ganache portion, the below ingredients correspond to the chocolate ganache; repeat and switch out the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips and voila, you have the white chocolate ganache :)

• 1/2 cup (one stick) salted butter (I’m so sorry, I know it’s a lot…)
• 1 bag (usually 12 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips (suggestion: ghirardelli or guittard)
• 4 tblspn skim milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients (Vanilla Buttercream):

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temp (I know, I know, so much butter, I’m sorry!)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• approx. 2 lb confectioner’s sugar

Process:

1. Assemble in the following order:
2. Take out a heavyweight plate or cakestand and begin assembling. First, place the fudge brownie layer on the bottom- then coat with a light layer of ganache followed by a thicker layer of the vanilla buttercream.
3. Now add on the first vanilla cake layer, and top that with a good layer of the vanilla buttercream followed by some of the chocolate ganache.
4. Add on the chocolate cake layer, and top that one with a thick layer of the white chocolate ganache.
5. Now add on the final vanilla cake layer and top that one with some of the buttercream and white chocolate ganache. Use all of the buttercream that’s left- or store the leftovers in the fridge for when you’ll feel guilty at midnight because you should have been working but really just want frosting.
6. Spread on a thick layer of the chcolate ganache so that it coats the entire cake. Let it harden a bit, then drizzle the remaining white chocolate ganache on top and shave the callebeaut (or whatever block chocolate you desire) on before it hardens so it can settle into the ganache a bit.

…you probably were better off not knowing what went into it, but it’s too late now. If you’re looking for a showy cake that can feed an army of young men, then this is the cake for you! It’s a sugary overload and very intense, but… well… it was fun :)

This cake is the image of decadence: four layers of chocolate cake with toblerone pieces melted into the batter, layered in between dark chocolate ganache, encased in a rich chocolate cream cheese buttercream, topped with more chocolate ganache and mini toblerones…. need I say more? :)

A coworker of mine recently celebrated her 30th anniversary of being at our company- a great achievement!- and I knew celebrations needed to be underway. She’s a fantastic lady and helped me on my first project when I began working there, and I wanted to thank her for her kindness and friendship through the means I find easiest- cake.

January was a milestone in that it was my first month of beginning cakes in which I don’t even consult a recipe for proportions or basics – February is a milestone for icings and ganache to join that list. I’m happy to say I’m now able to complete an entire layer cake fully from scratch, lack of recipe included- something that’s made me quite happy. :)

This guy is big and heavy- the four layers will weigh on you, and if you’re looking to exercise your arms, cake weights can definitely do it- but well worth it. It’s really rich and can easily feed a very large group of people (I think 20-25) so it’s ideal for party/birthday size.

Chocolate Toblerone Layer Cake

Ingredients- Cake: You’ll be making this twice, so you’ll need double of all the cake ingredients. Written here is the recipe for ONE cake (which will make 2 layers)

• 2 whole eggs (brown, organic, cage-free)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil (make sure it’s fresh!)
• 1 tblspn vanilla extract (feel free to be liberal with this one)
• 1 cup light sour cream
• scant 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup toblerone, melted
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1.5 cups self-rising flour

Ingredients- Ganache:

• 1/2 cup (one stick) salted butter (I’m so sorry, I know it’s a lot…)
• 1 bag (usually 12 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips (suggestion: ghirardelli or guittard)
• 4 tblspn skim milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients- Frosting:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temp (I know, I know, so much butter, I’m sorry!)
• 2 packages (8 oz each) light cream cheese, softened to room temp
• 1/4 cup of the above chocolate ganache
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• approx. 1 lb confectioner’s sugar

Process:

1. Heat oven to 355 degrees F and get out two large mixing bowls. Grease two 9-inch springform pans.
2. Crack 2 eggs and whisk with 2/3 C sugar in each bowl. Then add in the 1 cup of sour cream to each bowl and whisk until smooth.
3. Add canola oil (still to each bowl!) and whisk again until smooth. Then add vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, and milk, and still whisk until smooth. Now add the melted toblerone and it’ll become a thicker, darker batter. Lastly, whisk in the flour slowly until JUST combined – do not overmix so as to not toughen the cake.
4. Pour the batter into your two greased 9-inch springforms and place both on a large baking sheet. Place baking sheet in oven. The cakes will need to bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. Set your timer for 30 minutes and check with a toothpick after the 30-minute mark. If the toothpick has liquid-y chocolate-y-ness upon it, return to oven and check again in 5 minutes. Repeat process (these can be finnicky) until your toothpick is fully or almost clean.
5. While the cakes are baking, place all ganache ingredients in a small stockpot over medium heat and melt together, stirring the entire time to make sure nothing dries or clumps. Once melted, let it sit on low heat for another 10 minutes – then turn off and leave alone to cool.
6. Remove your finished cakes from the oven and open the springforms. Place on a wire rack (leave the metal bottom for now if it’s sticky- remove if it’ll come off easily) to cool for at least 2 hours.
7. While your cakes cool, you can prepare the buttercream frosting: Place cream cheese in a stand mixer bowl (or large mixing bowl and get out your electric handheld mixer) and mix until smooth. Then add butter and continue mixing until it’s a thick, smooth paste. Add vanilla and 1/4 cup of the chocolate ganache that has now cooled a bit. You’ll get a light-brown goopy mixture. Now, begin pouring in the confectioner’s sugar gradually as it continues to beat until you reach your desigred consistency- it should be stiff enough to where you could pipe shapes but soft enough to where if you press upon it lightly, you’ll make an indention with your finger.
8. Tip: If you’re worried about pieces of cake showing through your frosting, add a bit of vanilla bean paste to the icing. The little spots will camouflage any cake pieces that get unattached from the cake and join the icing party.
9. Once the cakes are cooled, cut each in half to make two fairly even layers (I use a large serrated bread knife to do this).
10. Begin assembly: place one layer cut-side up on a plate. Using a silicone spatula or icing utensil, spread on about 1/4 of the chocolate ganache. Spread ALMOST to the edges but leave a centimeter or so un-ganache-d: when you press on subsequent layers, the frosting will ooze to the sides, so this will create an even layering.
11. Continue alternating adding on layers of cake and frosting on the ganache. Reserve at least 1/4 cup (preferably 1/2 or 2/3 cup) of ganache for the top of the cake.
12. Once all four layers are assembled, let stand 10-15 minutes so the ganache hardens into the cake (this way it won’t disturb your buttercream). Then, using a frosting utensil again (rinsed), spread on your icing. I start by placing most of it in the top center of the cake, then slowly moving it out to the sides, over the sides, and around, so that it’s fairly even.
13. You can then pipe designs around the top and bottom if you like, or just go straight to pouring on the ganache haphazardly. Top with mini toblerones so as to alert your guests of the degree of yummyness to be found inside the cake.
14. Chill overnight so the icing settles – or at least a few hours. Then devour.

Those instructions are long, but that’s just me being wordy – it’s not a difficult cake to make at all, and quite delicious. It’s very rich, so don’t plan on eating too large a piece, but hey, that just encourages sharing :). You can always halve the recipe, make it in a 6-inch mini springform, and make a smaller version of the cake.

This was, I think, my favourite cake I’ve made so far. Imagine, if you will, a rich, gooey cream cheese danish… topped with candied apricots… and a sticky, syrupy coating. Upside-down fruit cakes with syrups seem to be my “it cake” of the moment and I’m experimenting around- so far apricot, pear, and peach have been brought to the table, and any other large stone fruit is liable to be next. This works equally well with canned or fresh ripe fruit, is rather quick to make, and utterly delicious. It’s not overly sweet, and has a richness that you just can’t beat. Best of all, it’s very adaptable- you can add and remove fat as desired- yes, this will affect the texture, but the overall taste should remain about the same.

Apricot Cream Cake

Ingredients- cake:

• 1 & 1/4 cup self-rising flour
• 1 package (8 oz) plain cream cheese
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 3 whole eggs (brown, cage-free, organic)
• 2 tblspn soy butter, melted
• 1 tblspn vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 heaping cup granulated sugar
• 1 can apricot halves in pear juice concentrate (NOT syrup)

Ingredients- syrup:

• 1/3 can Kern’s apricot or apricot-mango or pear nectar (you pick!)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tblspn raw honey

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 335 degrees F
2. Grease an oval baker and then coat lightly with sugar. Place apricot halves face-down in the pattern of your choice onto the sugared dish and set aside.
3. Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until the cheese is fully softened and a thick paste emerges. Then mix in the sour cream until it, too, is fully incorporated in a tick, heavy cream.
4. Mix the eggs in one at a time , whisking after each addition. Then add in the vanilla, melted butter, and salt.
5. Add about 1/4 cup of the pear juice concentrate from the can and mix into the batter.
6. Add the flour and (now using a wooden or silicone spoon) mix in until just combined. Check the texture- it should be thick and glompy (see photo below) and hold its shape rather well. If it’s too thick, add a bit more pear juice concentrate from the apricot can; if it’s too thin, add more flour. The thicker the texture, the more danish-like the cake will be, so adjust the texture to your liking.
7. Place in oven to bake for approx 30-35 minutes or until golden-brown on top. Try wiggling the pan and if the middle wiggles (or place a skewer in to check done-ness) then put it back in. Don’t worry about slightly overcooking- the syrup will moisten the cake.
8. While the cake is baking, place all syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat to medium- cook it through until a thick syrup emerges, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
9. When the cake is baked, remove from oven and poke multiple holes in it using a skewer/toothpick. Let sit 5 minutes, then pour on the syrup, making sure to coat the sides as well as the top of the cake.
10. It’s yummiest if left out overnight to imbibe in the syrup-y goodness and should be refrigerated starting the next day.

Trust me when I say that this is an absolutely delicious cake, not hard or strenuous to make, and totally worth it. I’ve been doing multiple variations on it (trying out different fruits on top, different quantites of cream cheese and sour cream, caramel and syrup toppings) and it’s amazing every time. :)

Yes, I realize they’re a bit overdone and not all that original, but that’s beside the point :). So we held a tropical, Hawaiian-themed Fourth of July picnic at work… and it was a potluck… and so of course I was expected to come bearing sweets. I decided upon the obvious but simple (I was seeing Eclipe with my sister and very close friend the night before and thus needed a do-ahead recipe) and settled on these pineapple cupcakes. They were rather good! There was some confusion, however, as to their assembly: to make transportation easier, I opted to bring the icing (which was, admittedly, fairly runny- more of a glaze than an icing, really) in a small bowl and allow everyone to dunk their cupcakes individually. Unfortunately, despite my having labeled ‘cupcakes!’ and ‘dunking station!’ few seemed to ice their cupcakes. But this is okay – those who understood it, enjoyed it (and ended up with some very sticky fingers aftward). Should you follow this recipe, I’d suggest removing the wrappers prior to dunking… or baking in silicone cups and not worrying about baking cups alltogether.

Tropical Pineapple-Coconut Cupcakes

Adapted from Pineapple Meringue Cupcakes at A Good Apetite

Ingredients:

• 3/4 heaping cup AP organic flour
• 1/2  heaping teaspoon baking powder (make sure it’s fresh!)
• 2 tablespoons soy butter, room temperature/ soft
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg (cage-free, brown)
• 1 teaspoon 2x extra strength vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• Just under 1/4 cup organic skim milk
• 1/8 cup apricot nectar
• 1 small can pineapple pieces (small) in juice (NOT syrup)
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut

Icing/Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 box jell-o vanilla instant pudding mix (weird, I know)
• 1/3 cup low-fat smart balance sour cream
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 tsp 2x extra strength vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon apricot nectar
• 2 tablespoons organic skim milk
• 1/4 cup pineapple chunks in juice (not strained)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 36 muffin cups with liners
2. Briskly cream together the soy butter, sugar, egg, & vanilla extract until light & fluffy. Then beat in the milk and apricot nectar.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the liquid mixture in 2-3 portions, being sure not to overmix.
5. Fold in the pineapple and coconut until just mixed. Do not overmix!
6. Fill the muffin tins until they are about 2/3 full. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown.
7. For the icing, combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse until combined. Chill glaze thoroughly before dipping cupcakes. Top with fresh pineapple chunks and toasted coconut for decoration.

They’re cute, and rather good, if you’re the tropical sort, so try them out! They’re certainly convenient for potlucks or transport if you ice them separately, and for those who catch the hint, dunking stations are quite a bit of fun… interactivity + food = stupendous :).

So when I made the apricot danish cake, I thought, hmm, this could be pretty cute- and convenient- as mini cakes… but I wonder if they’d turn out the same way. And indeed, like a sign, they did not! I do have to admit that it was not fully the result of having switched to a smaller size- I changed several elements at once. Low-fat/light sour cream was replaced by fat-free; the egg whites were fresher and therefore more firm (and with more air), and more apricot puree was inserted into the creamy batter (which weighed it down a bit more). That said, it was a fascinating experiment, and the only way to describe them, really, is as being some sort of hybrid between a danish and a souffle, with a slight cheesecake-like texture near the fruit. And the jelly was a complete accident! I was yet again- in vain- attempting to make a caramel sauce to top the cakes and out came jelly. Go figure- I think I’m just not meant to get caramel right.

Mini Apricot Cream Cakes with Home-Made Apricot-Pear Jelly

Adapted from Bill Granger’s Apricot Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients (for the jelly/ fresh fruit topping):

• 1/3 cup Kerns pear nectar
• 1/3 cup apricot juice
• 1/8 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy butter
• 1 can fresh apricot halves in juice (keep the juice!)
• 2-3 additional fresh apricots, halved (and rinsed, de-seeded)
• 1 tsp 2x-concentrated vanilla extract

Ingredients (cake):

• 5 tblspn soy butter
• 4 + 6 oz fat-free sour cream
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 apricots, pureed
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 separated eggs
• 1 tsp 2x-concentrated vanilla extract

Process:

1. Heat oven to 355 degrees F and butter a large muffin pan (I had leftover batter from doing 12 muffin-size cakes and therefore buttered a pan to make a long, flat cake. you can try making mini cakes in a mini muffin pan with your extra batter)
2. Heat together pear nectar, apricot juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, soy butter,and  vanilla extract over medium heat until it begins to bubble slightly; then add in apricot halves and reduce heat slightly. Keep flipping over the apricots so that they’re fully coated with the mixture, until they are soft and cooked through but not falling apart, and the sauce has caramelized. Then, pour apricots slowly and evenly into pan and set aside.
3. Pour caramelized sauce into a small, fairly flat bowl and set aside. This will become a jelly (I’m told pear probably has pectin, which triggers this. My pear netar is also a bit on the old side, which may have contributed to this texture in some fashion)
4. Sift together the flour and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.
5. Put soy butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix slowly until the mixture has a creamy texture. Then gently mix in the first 4 oz of the sour cream. Whisk in the egg yolks in two batches (2 at a time), then add in the pureed apricots (just halve them, chop into small pieces, and place in blender or food processor) and mix slowly.
6. Add the sifted flour in two batches, stirring slowly and only until just mixed in. If there are a few small tufts of unmixed flour, don’t worry about them! Then add in the remaining half of the sour cream, again mixing slowly.
7. Take a chilled bowl (preerably metal) and place egg whites and 1/2 tsp salt inside. Beat with an electric mixer on 1 or lowest speed for 3-60 seconds, then slowly raise speed until stiff, white peaks are formed. Be careful not to overbeat, or the whites will begin falling back down.
8. Fold the egg whites in 3-4 batches, being careful to fold and not mix so as to get all the air into the cake. Pour mixture slowly and evenly over the apricots in your muffin pan.
9. Place in oven on top rack for approximately 20-25 minutes, then remove and check with a toothpick. Let side 5 minutes to cool, then flip over onto a plate (or carefully remove each mini cake individually- or flip onto a cookie sheet, as my visiting friend suggested) and allow to continue cooling for 30 minutes. Eat warm with vanilla ice cream and heated jelly or cool as a Danish (as it cools, the cake will compress and compact into a thicker, creamier texture, especially near the fruit)
10. For the jelly, it ought to have jelly-itized by now. If it hasn’t, try going the conventional method and re-heating and adding pectin. Once your jelly has set, scoop out tiny pieces and place on top of the cakes. Serve with a leaf of fresh basil or mint and a warm scoop of vanilla ice cream with cinnamon sprinkled on top.

…and if you serve it with the serving suggestion in step 10, prepare yourself by getting some more ice cream, because it will be eaten so quickly that you won’t realize it happened until it’s too late. Warm cake with oozingly caramelized fruit + melting ice cream = mmmmh. Now I’m tempted to go make a batch of these again :). They’re portable, rather simple, and make a great gift or are perfect for your next entertaining event!

Yesterday, the boyfriend and I were invited over to his friend’s parents’ house for lunch (let’s call then the G’s). Mr. and Mrs. G are fabulous conversationalists- engaging, cultured, and hillarious. I suggested bringing a dessert, and began to wonder what to bring. I thought something moderately sweet would be a safe bet, and decided on an apricot coffee cake. Apricots are my favourite fruit- they’re juicy, slightly acidic, sweet, and so, so delicious. Unfortunately, their season is ridiculously short- sometimes only June!- and thus the second they begin to hit the shelves, I start eating about 3 a day. My mother taught me carefully the way to pick out the best ones- soft but not mushy, a vibrant hue of orange and reds and pinks, and with a sweet smell that promises a juicy munch.

I searched for a recipe that fit the basic idea I had in my head and found one that seemed adequate. Unfortunately, I had to restart, switched computers, lost the link, and was unable to find it again. But, luckily, I happened upon this brilliant recipe by Bill Granger of Australia, and began making some edits (because I’m incapable of following a recipe as-is).

The result, post-edits, was something I would not have thought possible, considering the fact that so much air is in this cake with the egg whites: a Danish! I made a Danish cake, by accident! Apparently, adding a large amount of sour cream- even if light- and reducing moisture will result in a thick, moist Danish. Mmmmh. I plan to experiment with this one again very, very soon, in muffin tins, to make individual cakes.

Upside-Down Apricot Danish Cake

Adapted from Bill Granger’s Apricot Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients:

Topping:

1/2 cup lightly-packed light brown sugar

• 1/4 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp almond extract (or vanilla) – optional
• 4 tblspn soy butter
• 1 can apricot halves in juice (NOT syrup – no need for that extra sugar!) OR 6-8 fresh apricot halves

Cake:

• 6 tblspn soy butter
• 8 oz light sour cream (for a more Danish consistency, bring this up to 10-12 oz)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2-4 apricots, pureed
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2.5 tsp baking powder
• 4 separated eggs
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

Process:

1. Heat oven to 355 degrees F and butter a bundt cake pan or 9-inch round springform pan
2. Heat together soy butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, and almond extract (and perhaps a tiny sprinkle of salt) over medium heat until it begins to bubble slightly; then add in apricot halves and reduce heat slightly. Keep flipping over the apricots so that they’re fully coated with the mixture, until they are soft and cooked through but not falling apart, and the sauce has caramelized. Then, pour apricots slowly and evenly into pan and set aside.
3. Sift together the flour and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.
4. Put remaining soy butter, sugar, 1/2 of the sour cream, and almond or vanilla extract in a bowl and mix slowly until the mixture has a creamy texture. Whisk in the egg yolks in two batches (2 at a time), then add in the pureed apricots (just halve them, chop into small pieces, and place in blender or food processor) and mix slowly.
5. Add the sifted flour in two batches, stirring slowly and only until just mixed in. If there are a few small tufts of unmixed flour, don’t worry about them! Then add in the remaining half of the sour cream, again mixing slowly.
6. Take a chilled bowl (preerably metal) and place egg whites and 1/2 tsp salt inside. Beat with an electric mixer on 1 or lowest speed for 3-60 seconds, then slowly raise speed until stiff, white peaks are formed. Be careful not to overbeat, or the whites will begin falling back down.
7. Fold the egg whites in 3-4 batches, being careful to fold and not mix so as to get all the air into the cake. Pour mixture slowly and evenly over the apricots in your cake pan.
8. Place in oven on middle rack for approximately 50 minutes, then remove and check with a toothpick. Let side 5 minutes to cool, then flip over onto a plate and allow to continue cooling for 30 minutes. Eat warm with vanilla ice cream or cool as a Danish (as it cools, the cake will compress and compact into a thicker, creamier Danish)

It’s delicious, and not too sweet, as the acidity of the apricots really cuts through. The almond extract was strong, so I’d suggest either substituting it for vanilla, bringing down the quantity (that which I listed above is a bit toned down from my original, which I thought to be a bit too overtly almond-y) or simply leaving it out. That said, it’s a great cake, and easily transportable. The G’s enjoyed it, as did the boyfriend and sister, and it went nicely with the absolutely scrumptious meal Mrs. G made for us. :)

This one is a bit of a monster… but so long as monsters are delicious to eat, I think it’s all right! For the third birthday cake- celebrating with friends at the apartment- I had wanted to make yet a third cake, and strawberries were on sale. So clearly the cake was going to involve strawberries… but what ended up happening was a cake chock-full of them!

I had wanted it to be a very rich, very moist cake, and experimented a bit to find how to do that best. My solution was to incorporate cheese straight into the batter- as some will often do with cream- resulting in an incredibly rich and moist cake. The cake is deemed ‘triple strawberry’ because of their ubiquity: they are in the batter of the cake as chunks; then a first layer of strawberry sorbet, followed by strawberry slices, then strawberry cream cheese mixture; then another layer of cake that is both strawberry flavoured and has strawberry chunks; then more strawberry slices over the icing. Clearly we are in serious strawberry territory here! If you like these berries, this cake is sure to satisfy.

Triple Strawberry Layered Mascarpone Cake

Ingredients:

• One recipe of strawberry cake (follow your usual stepsor use a mix- if so, use one with no trans fats!- and make the followihng adjustments)
• 1 heaping cup creamy mascarpone
• 1/2 cup non-fat whipped cream cheese
• 1.5 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
• Approx. 1 cup frozen strawberries (very important)
• 2 cups (approx. 1 container) low-fat cream cheese frosting

Process:

1. Assemble strawberry cake ingredients in bowl (using recipe of your choice) but cut moisture down by a 1/3 and add in mascarpone. Mix thoroughly until just combined.
2. Cut 1/3 cup of strawberries into very tiny pieces (minced)- mix briskly into batter.
3. Pour batter into two greased 9-inch springform pans (if you don’t have two, pour in half the batter now, then re-use the pan and bake the other later)
4. Bake as directed for temperature, cutting baking time approximately in half (this will vary- you’ll have to watch, open, toothpick, and get a feel by the colour of the cake. When a few toasty spots appear on the top, it’ll be ready)
5. Remove cake from oven and allow to rest in pan for 5 minutes, then on a wire rack for 10 minutes
6. Prepare the first layer of filling by taking frozen strawberries, roughly chopping into smaller / more manageable chunks, and blending/processing on low speed until it reaches a sorbet consistency. Immediately put back into freezer.
7. Prepare second layer of filling by placing cream cheese into blender / processor. Dice 1/4 cup strawberries, add to mix, and blend on low until just combined (do not allow to become too liquid- this will be a bit difficult). If your processing power is too great to avoid this issue, blend strawberries alone, then manually mix into cream cheese (I made the mistake of not doing this and then had to mop frosting…. luckily, the boyfriend didn’t mind eating it all…)
8. Place second layer of frosting in fridge (not freezer)
9. Place first layer of cake directly onto a large, heavy plate. Remove sorbet frosting from freezer and spread evenly onto top of cake layer- do not use entire quantity if any seems to be slipping off. Do not go right to the edge, but spread to about 1/2 inch away from edge.
10. Slice approx. 1/3 cup hulled strawberries into 1/3-inch thick (approx.) slices and arrange in flower fashion on top of cake layer, not overlapping (see photo below)
11. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese frosting on top of the fresh strawberries. They may slip- this will be a bit difficult. Be careful not to add too much frosting. To make this easier, place cake in freezer after adding fresh strawberries for a few minutes prior to adding cream cheese on top.
12. Once cream cheese is on, add second layer of cake on top. If there is excess sorbet and cream cheese on the sides, take a rubber spatula and force them back into the cake, or mop up with a paper towel or hungry boyfriend.
13. If you have extra sorbet and cream cheese left over, you may add them on to the top layer repeating the process from earlier, being sure to freeze in between steps. For a simpler/ less tall cake, save these in the fridge and freezer to use in making other desserts (I like to keep extra cream cheese mixture for filo cup desserts on the go)
14. Frost entire cake with thick cream cheese frosting. You can pipe for extra decoration- I ran out of time and had too many strawberries I wanted to put on, at any rate :) but decorate as desired!
15. Slice remaining strrawberries and arrange on top of cake in flower form and encrust aroundside edges, or as desired.

Well, that wasn’t so bad, right? :) It’s a bit like a bombe in the sense that the layers are precarious and require chilling in between to make sure they’ll stay put. I stored it in the freezer over night (or what was left of it, at any rate) and the remainder was eaten the next morning (it was a popular cake0 so I can’t say how well it keeps, but my suggestion would be to freeze it for two hours after it’s done, and to then move to the fridge. By that point, the cream cheese frosting should be thick enough to contain the more liquid layers inside, and if anything they’ll just soak the cake a bit, which ought not to be an issue… the mascarpone in it makes it moist already!

I fear the titles for these may be becoming increasingly long, but this happened to be a rather complicated cake, so I’ll consider it apt. :) For Office Birthday Cake #2, I had wanted to make something incredibly different for the non-chocolate folk as well as for those who didn’t want so rich a cake (my brownie cakes tend to be incredibly rich and fudgy, which I will admit is not for everyone) and thus thought that a vanilla-based cake would be a smart bet. However, leaving it at that would be boring, and I had been wanting to experiment with pineapple… thus this came about. It was absolutely a hit, and devoured as proudly as the other cake in the office. The boyfriend really enjoyed this one and has requested an encore performance, so I’ll make it again some time, perhaps with some slight variations (as I seem to be incapable of making exactly the same thing twice).

Tropical Pineapple-Vanilla Cake with Fresh Coconut, Mango Glaze, and Mango Whipped Cream

So, again, I shan’t give the exact recipe, but I will tell its contents. The vanilla cake has pineapple tidbits (very small pieces) and chunks (larger pieces). Any moisture used in the cake batter was substituted in favour of pineapple juice. I added 1 cup of fresh shredded coconut to the batter as well. I placed four pineapple rounds in the bottom of a springform pan, upside-down-cake-style, with some brown sugar for browning, then poured in the batter. Once baked, I flipped over the cake and allowed it to cool on a rack while I prepared the glaze. The mango glaze is simply blended mango pulp (Ataulfo) and 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar. Mango is a very thick fruit, so it barely needs any help. You could add a bit of ptoato starch if your mango glaze seems runny. I spread this over fairly thinly onto the cake, then stuck the coconut on while it was still very sticky. The cake was then chilled overnight to ensure the mango would fuse into the cake. The mango whipped cream follows the same process as the blackberry whipped cream, but with mango in the berry’s stead. I piped this (shell-shape) onto the top in circles, but you could decorate in whatever fashion you wish!

Here’s a simplified version of the ingredients:

• 1 box vanilla cake mix (choose one with no trans fats! or take the long route and take a traditional vanilla sponge cake recipe)
• 1 can pineapple chunks in juice
• 1 can pineapple tidbits in juice
• 1 can pineapple rounds in juice
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 heaping cup organic canola oil
• 1/2 carton small organic heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp powdered sugar
• 3 large Ataulfo mangoes, chopped into large cubes

Process:

• Mix vanilla cake batter as directed, but do NOT add water or any other liquid other than oil- substitute all water called for in recipe (or milk) for pineapple juice
• Mix pineapple tidbits and chunks into cake mix along with 1 cup of the shredded coconut
• Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan
• Cover the bottom of the pan with a light layer of brown sugar, then place pineapple rounds on top with another small sprinkling of sugar
• Pour batter on top and bake as directed for a normal vanilla sponge cake
• Remove from oven, flip over, and cool on a cooling rack
• Place 2 mangoes’ worth of cubes in a blender or food processor with powdered sugar; blend until smooth glaze consistency
• Spoon and spread glaze over cake until even; then arrange remaining coconut on top as desired (I did sides and outside of top)
• Blend remaining mango chunks until a smooth glaze forms
• Beat heavy whipping cream by itself or with a sprinkly of granulated (not powdered) sugar as directed in blackberry whipped cream recipe
• Fold in mango puree to whipped cream, then pour into a pastry bag or tube
• Pipe mango whipped cream onto cake in desired fashion; then chill cake thoroughly

It was delicious, incredibly moist, and very good. I’m usually against pineapple, but I liked the cake and was not bothered by the pineapple texture (my usual qualm). It fell apart as you ate it, and the coconut added a very nice sweetness that went splendidly with the vanilla, giving the cake a decidedly island attitude.

I’ve learned one rather important lesson with this cake: brownies are heavy, heavy things, and don’t have the aerodynamic properties of light, spongey cakes.

For my birthday, I opted to do a great deal of baking to lure in celebratory folk. I work in a company where the men greatly outnumber the women and the cake-lovers comprise a minimum 90% of the employees- so clearly, making a cake would bring the masses to my office and we would have a happy birthday time together. That said, as soon as I sent out my bait, far more fish than expected took hold- one cake would certainly not do the trick, so I decided on two, and opted to have them be very different, so as to please everyone.

This was the first, then, of the two (office) birthday cakes (not counting the one for the home celebration. as can be seen, I take birthdays qutie seriously when it comes to entertaining others by way of cake). My friend B had recently been qutie generous and had gifted me a large amount of kitchen gadgetry, amoung them a large and lovely bundt pan. And thus I decided to yet again ignore the norm and make a brownie bundt, never, of course, stopping to wonder why it’s not usually done.

I found that the reason is simple: to make a proper fudge brownie, one can not expect to do so in a cake mold. It WILL fall- and it did, but luckily, not on the outsides! Ironically, the bundt pan was part of a fillable cake mold of which I decided to only use the bundt base and not insert a cavity for filling. The baking process was very long, as I had to be certain the outside shape of the cake would hold (even if the inside did not). The result (unfortunately I was unable to get a good picture of a slice prior to my coworkers demolishing it) was a well-shaped exterior, a bit difficult to cut through, with a very fudgy inside that had stuck to the edges, thus creating a hole.

Despite this, the cake had a wonderfully rich flavour, as I had added pralinutta to the brownie dough to make it more rich and flavoured with hazelnut. Melted pralinutta was glazed over the top of the cake, with honey-toasted pecans (the best part of the dish, honestly) were encrusted in the spread.

Hazelnut Fudge Brownie Bundt with Honey-Toasted Pecans

I’m not sharing the recipe as this one may have a commercial future… but I can share that it was eaten quickly and happily. I took an exit poll of those leaving my office to ask which cake they had liked best, and it was exactly half and half, so I’ve deemed both worth making again. All I can say is mmh! :)

However, I’ve decided to disclose a simplified version of the cake!

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes low-fat fudge brownie mix (look for one with no trans fats!) or to take the longer route, or double your usual recipe of fudge brownie
• 2 cups pralinutta spread
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 2 eggs
• 3.5 tablespoons organic canola oil
• 1 cup honey-toasted pecans

Process:

1. Prepare brownies in your usual fashion. If using a box, be sure to ONLY add 3/4 cup water- no more. Mix 1 & 1/4 pranlinutta spread into brownie batter. Mix thoroughly until well-integrated. For extra flair, add in chopped hazelnuts (I sadly had none at the time)
2. Generously butter a large bundt pan, then pour in brownie batter (you may need to coax it out; it will be very thick)
3. Baking time will vary on your recipe, your bundt pan, and your oven. The important part is to ensure that the sides are hard enough to retain/hold the shape once removed from the oven. For me, this took approximately an hour, starting on 350 degrees and moving down to 300, reducing heat by 25 degrees every 30 minutes.
4. Remove from oven, flip over (it should come right out), and cool on a cooling rack
5. Once fairly cooled, spoon remaining pralinutta (3/4 cup) onto top of cake in circular fashion; it should melt a bit, creating a gooey, sticky surface
6. Encrust pecans into pralinutta onto the top

Et voila! You are finished! It’s rather simple when you look at what goes into it… but the taste is intricate, flavourful, and downright yummy.