Cakes | Stephanie's Slice Of Life

Category: Cakes
- Fruit Cake
  
  Posted at 7:10 pm by StephMo
  
  Mar 2nd
  I have never tasted a Fruit Cake until this cake. They were not something I ever had a desire to taste, and honestly they seemed very unappetizing to me. As I was perusing through my mom’s old Betty Crocker cookbook they caught my eye. I really don’t know why, maybe because of the vintage feel. For whatever reason, they intrigued me. So here we are, a recipe for Fruit Cake.
  
  My mother hated them and would probably be horrified if out of all the pages in that book, I chose to stop at Fruit Cakes. My husband saw the apricots, dates, cherries, and pineapple on the counter and said “You aren’t making a fruit cake, are you fruit cake?”. Then proceeded to tell me he wasn’t going to try it. That went without saying for my children, but I was going to try it. While combining all of the ingredients I just kept thinking how bizarre this whole recipe seemed.
  
  Some of the fruit listed in the ingredients were not something I could find, like candied pineapple or green maraschino cherries. I did find dried pineapple slices and that is what I used. I omitted the nuts as my family has allergies, but I have included them in the recipe.
  
  I have to admit, I didn’t mind it. The dates were a little overpowering, however. If I were to make this again I would use more pineapple and cherries, and less dates. I enjoyed when I got a bite of cherry, but most bites were mostly dates. Overall, not a bad flavor and I can imagine it would be much better tweaked. So if you like fruit cake, I think you would like this recipe.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 8 oz. package dried apricots (about 2 cups)
  
  1 8oz. package pitted dates (1 1/2 cups)
  
  1 1/2 cups whole Brazil nuts
  
  1 cup drained red and green maraschino cherries
  
  1/3 lb. red and green candied pineapple, cut up (about 1 cup)
  
  3/4 cup flour
  
  3/4 cup sugar
  
  1/2 tsp. baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  3 eggs
  
  1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  
  Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a loaf pan with aluminum foil, grease the pan.
  
  Leave all the fruit and nuts whole except for the pineapple. The original instructions state to combine all of the ingredients together, which I did. Right after the put in the flour I realized that the dry ingredients should be combined in a small bowl, then added to the fruits.
  
  Pour or spoon the batter into the greased pan.
  
  Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. You may want to cover with aluminum foil for the last 30 minutes to prevent excessive browning.
  
  Once the cake is done remove from pan using the aluminum foil, and cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting.
  Fruit Cake
  
  Print Recipe Pin Recipe
  
  Ingredients
  
  8 oz pitted whole dates
  8 oz dried apricots
  1 cup maraschino cherries, drained
  1 cup pineapple, chopped
  1 1/2 cups Brazil nuts
  3/4 cup flour
  3/4 cup sugar
  1/2 tsp baking powder
  1/2 tsp salt
  3 eggs
  1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  
  Instructions
  
  Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a loaf pan with aluminum foil. Grease pan.
  In a mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients.
  Spoon into pan.
  Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Loosely cover with aluminum foil for the last 30 minutes to prevent excessive browning.
  Remove from pan with aluminum foil and cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting.
  Posted in Cakes, Fruit Cake | Tagged betty crocker fruit cake, food blog, food blogger, fruit cake, fruit cake recipe, jeweled fruit cake, Recipes, stephanie's slice of life
- Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
  
  Posted at 7:58 am by StephMo
  
  Mar 2nd
  This recipe is another childhood favorite of mine that my mother would make out of her Betty Crocker cookbook. I haven’t had it since I was young, and it brought back such fond memories when I came upon it in the book. I must admit, it tastes even better than I remember. Not only is this another recipe to add to my “Steph and Betty” collection, it has now become a favorite of my family. Yum. I looked the recipe up on-line and it seems they have changed it slightly since the 60’s, but I’m sticking with the original. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
  
  There isn’t much cake as you can see, but it is just enough with all of the delicious fudgy pudding sauce. Before baking the top is covered with a mixture of brown sugar and cocoa which makes a wonderful crunchy layer. It reminds me somewhat of today’s lava cakes. It isn’t hard to make, and will not disappoint. Trust me.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 cup flour
  
  1/4 cup sugar
  
  2 tbsp cocoa
  
  2 tsp baking powder
  
  1/4 tsp salt
  
  1/2 cup milk
  
  2 tbsp shortening, melted
  
  1 cup brown sugar, packed
  
  1/4 cup cocoa
  
  1 3/4 cup hot water
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  
  Combine the flour, sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. The original recipe doesn’t suggest sifting, but I always sift when I use cocoa.
  
  Blend in the milk and melted shortening. This is the first time I have ever melted shortening. You can melt it in a saucepan on the stove, or in the microwave as I did. I assumed you should let it cool a little before adding, but not too long as it will re-solidify.
  
  Spread the mixture into an ungreased 9 x 9 square pan or dish. The original recipe said to pour, but I found it was more of a spread.
  
  In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over the batter.
  
  Pour the hot water over the batter.
  
  Bake for 45 minutes. While hot cut into squares; invert each square onto a plate and spoon sauce over each serving.
  
  Betty suggests serving with whipped cream, I think this is more of an ice cream dessert personally. Or plain, it really doesn’t even need a topping.
  
  Enjoy! #stephandbetty
  Hot Fudge Pudding Cake – Betty Crocker
  
  Print Recipe Pin Recipe
  
  Ingredients
  
  1 cup flour
  1/4 cup sugar
  2 tbsp cocoa
  2 tsp baking powder
  1/4 tsp salt
  1/2 cup milk
  2 tbsp shortening, melted
  1 cup brown sugar, packed
  1/4 cup cocoa
  1 3/4 cup hot water
  
  Instructions
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
  Blend in the milk and melted shortening.
  Spread evenly in an ungreased 9" x 9" casserole or pan.
  Combine the brown sugar with 1/4 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over the batter.
  Pour hot water over batter.
  Bake for 45 minutes.
  Cut into squares while hot and invert onto a plate. Top with sauce.
  Posted in Cakes, Hot Fudge Pudding Cake | Tagged betty crocker hot fudge cake, betty crocker hot fudge pudding cake, chocolate cake, food blog, food blogger, hot fudge cake, hot fudge pudding cake, Recipes, stephanie's slice of life, vintage betty crocker recipes
- Boston Cream Pie
  
  Posted at 8:34 am by StephMo
  
  Jul 15th
  
  Rating: 1 out of 5.
  
  Today I busted out my mom’s old Betty Crocker cookbook, her old Pyrex bowls, and got baking. I had never made Boston Cream Pie, but I figured if I were going to start I might as well use the recipe I grew up on. If you aren’t familiar with Boston Cream Pie, it is actually a cake and not a pie. The words pie and cake were used synonymously back in the 1800’s when cakes and pies were made in the same pans. It was created and served at the opening of the Boston Parker House, now the Omni Parker House, in Boston in 1856. All good things really do come from Boston don’t they?
  
  The cake in the recipe calls for Betty’s Dinette cake recipe which is made all in one bowl, and baked in one pan. The ingredients for the cake are:
  
  1 1/4 cups flour
  
  1 cup sugar
  
  1 1/2 tsps baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp salt
  
  3/4 cup milk
  
  1/3 cup shortening
  
  1 egg
  
  1 tsp vanilla
  
  Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one round cake pan. I only had a 9″ pan and the cake was quite thin, an 8″ pan will make it a little thicker.
  
  Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer beat on low speed for 30 seconds while scraping the bowl constantly. Continue beating on high speed for 3 minutes scraping the bowl occasionally.
  
  Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.
  
  Once the cake is cool prepare the cream filling.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1/3 cup sugar
  
  2 tbsps cornstarch
  
  1/3 tsp salt
  
  1 1/2 cups milk
  
  2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
  
  2 tsps vanilla
  
  In a medium saucepan whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Combine the milk and egg yolks in a large measuring cup or small bowl and gradually stir into the sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Cool to room temperature.
  
  Before cutting the cake I suggest refrigerating the cake as it is easier to work with if it is cold. To cut the cake in half use a small knife and cut around the cake. With a long serrated knife continue cutting except go all the way through. Using the long knife lift one half and put it on a cake stand or plate.
  
  Cover the bottom half of the cake with the cream. Add the top half of the cake and start making the chocolate glaze.
  
  Glaze:
  
  2 oz unsweetened chocolate
  
  3 tbsps butter
  
  1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  
  3/4 tsp vanilla
  
  2 tbsps hot water
  
  In a saucepan melt the chocolate and butter over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla. Add hot water starting with a tsp at a time, and stir until the glaze is the correct consistency. You want it thick, but soft enough that a little can fall over the side.
  
  Spread the glaze over the top of the cake and let it spill over the edge a little.
  
  Refrigerate before serving, and any leftovers. So good!
  
  Posted in Boston Cream Pie, Cakes | Tagged blogger, boston cream pie, boston cream pie recipe, cake recipe, food blog, food blogger, stephanie's slice of life
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
  
  Posted at 11:48 am by StephMo
  
  Feb 1st
  
  In keeping with my goal to try as many vintage recipes as I can from my Mom’s old Betty Crocker cookbook (Steph and Betty), I decided to give this cake a try. I don’t believe I have ever tried this type of cake, and to be honest I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it. Well, I have been missing out! This cake is so delicious with a slight crunchy butter brown sugar edge. Wow!
  
  What makes it even better is the cake recipe is a one bowl recipe. I was worrying the cake wouldn’t come out of the pan or it wouldn’t look good, but it surprised me and was actually quite easy to make.
  
  Let’s get baking!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 1/4 cups flour
  
  1 cup sugar
  
  1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp salt
  
  3/4 cup milk
  
  1/3 cup shortening
  
  1 egg
  
  1 tsp vanilla
  
  1/4 cup butter
  
  1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  
  Pineapple slices, drained
  
  Maraschino cherries
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the cake batter by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl of a stand up mixer, or a large mixing bowl. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds scraping constantly. Beat 3 minutes on high speed scraping the bowl occasionally.
  
  Set the batter aside.
  
  Melt 1/4 butter over low heat in a 9″ round layer cake pan. Once melted I turned the pan to coat the sides with the melted butter as well.
  
  Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly in the pan and pat it down.
  
  Place a pineapple ring in the center, and more rings around the edge. You could also cut the slices in half and be more creative if you choose.
  
  Insert a cherry into each pineapple slice.
  
  Top with the batter.
  
  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  
  Loosen the sides of the cake carefully with a butter knife. Place a plate over the pan and flip. Keep the pan on the plate for a few minutes before removing.
  
  Serve warm. Yum!!!!
  
  Posted in Cakes, Pineapple Upside Down Cake | Tagged betty crocker pineapple upside down cake, cake recipe, food blog, food blogger, pineapple cake, pineapple upside down cake, stephanie's slice of life
- Hummingbird Cake
  
  Posted at 9:17 am by StephMo
  
  Aug 2nd
  A Hummingbird Cake isn’t one that many people have heard of, myself included until a few years ago. While I knew that a friend of mine always requests this on her birthday, I had never tried it and wasn’t even really sure what type of cake it was. I was thinking about baking something new and decided to give this cake a try, and I’m so glad I did!
  
  After looking on-line at different recipes I realized the base of the cake seemed very similar to the base of my favorite carrot cake recipe, so I decided to work off of that. The other main ingredients of a Hummingbird Cake are bananas, pineapple, and walnuts. My family has nut allergies so the walnuts were instantly eliminated from the ingredients. However, if you are not allergic I would imagine some chopped walnuts would make a delicious addition to the cake.
  
  Cake Ingredients:
  
  2 cups sugar
  
  3 extra large eggs (room temperature)
  
  1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
  
  1 tsp. vanilla
  
  2 cups flour (plus 1 tbsp)
  
  2 tsp. cinnamon
  
  2 tsp. baking soda
  
  1 1/2 tsp. salt
  
  8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained
  
  2 ripe bananas, mashed
  
  Grease and flour two round cake pans. Set aside.
  
  In a large mixing bowl beat the sugar, eggs, and oil on medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.
  
  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
  
  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine well with an electric mixer on low speed. The batter will be thick.
  
  In a third bowl mash together the bananas and pineapple. Stir in to the batter.
  
  Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 20-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
  
  Let cool on wire racks before removing from pans.
  
  Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
  
  8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
  
  1/2 cup butter, softened
  
  1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  
  3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
  
  With an electric mixer on low speed cream the butter and cream cheese together.
  
  Add vanilla and combine.
  
  Add confectioners sugar and beat on medium speed until smooth.
  
  Start frosting!
  
  Once the cake is frosted keep refrigerated. Enjoy!
  Hummingbird Cake
  
  Print Recipe Pin Recipe
  
  Ingredients
  
  2 cups sugar
  3 extra large eggs, room temperature
  1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
  1 tsp. vanilla
  2 cups flour
  2 tsp. cinnamon
  2 tsp. baking soda
  1 1/2 tsp. salt
  2 bananas, mashed
  8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained
  8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
  1/2 cup butter, softened
  1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
  
  Instructions
  
  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour two round cake pans.
  In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and oil and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.
  In a separate bowl sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
  Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture while beating on low speed with the electric mixer. The batter will be thick.
  In a third bowl mash together the bananas and pineapple. Stir in to the batter.
  Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 20 – 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  Cool in pans on wire racks before frosting.
  For frosting, using an electric mixer on medium speed beat the butter and cream cheese until well mixed and smooth. Add the vanilla and beat just until combined. Beat in the powdered sugar until smooth.
  Posted in Cakes, Hummingbird Cake | Tagged banana cake, cake, cake recipe, cream cheese frosting, food blog, food blogger, hummingbird cake, hummingbird cake recipe, spice cake recipe, stephanies slice of life
- Chocolate Mint Cupcakes
  
  Posted at 3:32 pm by StephMo
  
  Jul 14th
  
  There are so many flavors that go hand in hand with chocolate, mint being one of them. My family loves that flavor combination and my son especially loves Andes Mints so of course I needed to make him an Andes Mint inspired cupcake. You could also make this into a sheet or layer cake if you so choose.
  
  As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, this is the only chocolate cake recipe I ever use and it is the only one you will ever need. Trust me. Super easy to make and it comes out moist every time.
  
  Cake Ingredients:
  
  2 cups sugar
  
  1 3/4 cups flour
  
  3/4 cups cocoa powder
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  
  1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  
  2 eggs
  
  1 cup milk
  
  1/2 cup vegetable oil
  
  2 tsp. vanilla
  
  1 cup boiling water
  
  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. You could just grease the pan but liners are so much easier.
  
  Sift all of the dry ingredients together. As I always say, it is really important to sift the ingredients and not just mix, especially when using cocoa.
  
  Add the eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for two minutes while scraping the sides constantly.
  
  Add the water into the batter and mix well with a spoon or spatula, the batter will be very loose. The water must actually be boiling or the cake will not turn out properly. Fill each cupcake about 3/4 full and bake for approximately 18 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
  
  Cool cupcakes on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
  
  Now for the Mint Buttercream Frosting!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 cup of butter, softened
  
  4 cups confectioners sugar
  
  2 tsp. mint extract
  
  3-4 tbsp. milk
  
  In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
  
  Gradually add the confectioners sugar until well combined. It most likely won’t be smooth at this point.
  
  Add the mint extract and beat until combined.
  
  Add the milk and beat for 3-4 minutes. It is better to start with less milk and judge the consistency before adding more.
  
  I added some green food coloring as well and continued beating until well combined.
  
  You can spread or pipe your frosting on to the cupcakes. I added a sprinkle of Jimmies and an Andes Mint as well.
  
  Yum!
  
  Posted in Cakes, Chocolate Mint Cupcakes | Tagged chocolate cake, chocolate cake recipe, chocolate cupcakes, food blog, food blogger, mint buttercream frosting, mint buttercream frosting recipe, mint frosting recipe
- S’Mores Cupcakes
  
  Posted at 5:28 pm by StephMo
  
  Jul 8th
  
  Who doesn’t love sitting by a fire and toasting marshmallows until they are just right to make the perfect s’more. Chocolate, marshmallow, and graham crackers are such a perfect combination. Well, if you don’t have the fire or you just feel like having that amazing flavor combination how about a s’mores cupcake? I’ve also made a S’mores Pie and you can find that recipe in my Blog as well.
  
  I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe, as I always do, and added a marshmallow buttercream frosting. I used Fluff because that’s what we use in my house to make Fluffernutters. Fun fact, Fluff was actually created in Somerville, Ma.
  
  Anyway, let’s make some S’mores cupcakes!
  
  Cake Ingredients:
  
  2 cups sugar
  
  1 3/4 cups flour
  
  3/4 cups cocoa powder
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  
  1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  
  2 eggs
  
  1 cup milk
  
  1/2 cup vegetable oil
  
  2 tsp. vanilla
  
  1 cup boiling water
  
  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. You could just grease the pan but liners are so much easier.
  
  Sift all of the dry ingredients together. As I always say, it is really important to sift the ingredients and not just mix, especially when using cocoa.
  
  Add the eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for two minutes while scraping the sides constantly.
  
  Add the water into the batter and mix well with a spoon or spatula, the batter will be very loose. The water must actually be boiling or the cake will not turn out properly. Fill each cupcake about 3/4 full and bake for approximately 18 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
  
  Cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
  
  This frosting is very sweet so if you aren’t a huge fan of really sweet things, you may want to play around with using less confectioner’s sugar.
  
  Marshmallow Frosting Ingredients:
  
  1/2 cup butter, softened
  
  7 oz. marshmallow fluff
  
  1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  
  1 tsp. vanilla extract
  
  With an electric mixer beat the butter and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in the confectioners sugar on high until well combined.
  
  Add the fluff and mix on high speed until it is completely incorporated with the buttercream frosting.
  
  I used a piping bag to frost the cupcakes and the recipe only frosts 9-10 cupcakes. It will frost more if you are spreading the frosting. This recipe can also be doubled.
  
  Once the cupcakes were frosted I crushed some graham crackers and sprinkled them on top. The final touch was a small Hershey bar.
  
  S’mores without the fire. Enjoy!
  
  Posted in S'Mores Cupcakes | Tagged chocolate cake recipe, chocolate cupcakes, food blog, food blogger, marshmallow frosting recipe, Recipes, s'mores, s'mores cupakes, s'mores cupcake recipe, smores
- Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting
  
  Posted at 9:25 am by StephMo
  
  Jun 15th
  
  I have been meaning to make a lemon cake for quite some time. Instead of trying to find a new recipe, I decided to take the yellow cake recipe I always use and tweak it a little. It came out moist and has a very subtle lemon flavor. Yum! I also love the combination of lemon and raspberry so I decided to add some raspberry preserves to the center.
  
  What I love most about this recipe is that it is a one bowl recipe. You just can’t beat delicious and one bowl!
  
  Cake Ingredients:
  
  2 1/4 cups flour
  
  1 1/2 cups sugar
  
  1/2 cup shortening
  
  3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  1 cup milk
  
  2 tbsp. lemon juice
  
  1 – 2 tbsp. lemon rind
  
  3 large eggs
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two round cake pans. After greasing and flouring the pans I also put parchment paper on the bottoms of the pans, and greased and floured a second time.
  
  Squeeze and grate the lemons for the juice and rind. One tablespoon of rind give it a subtle lemon taste, if you prefer very lemony you may want to use 2 tablespoons.
  
  Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  
  Using an electric mixer or stand mixer, beat on low speed for 30 seconds scraping the bowl constantly. Increase the speed to high and continue mixing for 3 minutes while scraping the bowl occasionally.
  
  Pour into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The pans I used took longer than regular 9″ round pans.
  
  Cool in pans, then transfer to a wire rack.
  
  Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 cup butter, softened
  
  2 tbsp. lemon juice
  
  3 tbsp. milk
  
  4 cups confectioner’s sugar
  
  Beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth.
  
  Beat in lemon juice. Add confectioner’s sugar.
  
  When adding the milk I started by beating in 2 tbsp. to see the consistency. I added 1 more tbsp. and it was perfect.
  
  Continue beating on high for 2-3 minutes
  
  Now it’s time to frost the cake!
  
  As I mentioned previously, I put a layer of raspberry preserves between the two layers but you can also just put frosting.
  
  Delicious!
  
  Posted in Cakes, Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting | Tagged food blog, food blogger, lemon buttercream, lemon buttercream frosting, lemon cake, lemon cake recipe, stephanie's slice of life
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
  
  Posted at 3:14 pm by StephMo
  
  May 5th
  
  This frosting recipe as well as so many of my tried and true favorites, came out of my Betty Crocker cookbook. As did the yellow cake recipe that I frosted with this yummy frosting. The frosting is delicious and tastes like fudge!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  2/3 cup butter, softened
  
  6 cups confectioners sugar
  
  4 tsp. vanilla
  
  6 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
  
  6 tbsp. milk
  
  Melt the baking chocolate and set aside to cool.
  
  In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the confectioners sugar and vanilla, it will be very lumpy.
  
  Add the melted chocolate and beat together, it will still be lumpy.
  
  Add the milk and beat on low/medium speed scraping the sides frequently. Continue to beat on medium/high speed for a few minutes until smooth while scraping the sides occassionally.
  
  If it seems too thick add more milk a tablespoon at a time. Now frost your cake!
  
  Posted in Cakes, Chocolate Buttercream Frosting | Tagged cake recipe, chocolate buttercream frosting, chocolate buttercream frosting recipe, chocolate frosting recipe, food blogger, frosting, frosting recipe, Recipes, stephanie's slice of life
- Robin’s Nest Coconut Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
  
  Posted at 10:52 am by StephMo
  
  Apr 6th
  
  I had seen a picture of this cute cake and decided to give it my own spin. I used my favorite white cake recipe from my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook and added some coconut. You don’t have to add the coconut, but it is so good in this cake! The cake is moist and has a nice thick dense consistency with the coconut.
  
  For the frosting I am more of a fan of cream cheese frosting, but you could use a buttercream frosting if you prefer. I have a wonderful vanilla buttercream recipe in another blog.
  
  As you can see I am not a professional cake decorator, but my cakes are delicious and to me that is the most important part. This cake is really not hard to make and whoever you serve it to will be very impressed.
  
  Cake Ingredients:
  
  2 1/4 cups flour
  
  1 2/3 cups sugar
  
  2/3 cup shortening
  
  1 1/4 cups milk
  
  3 1/2 tsps. baking powder
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  1 tsp. vanilla
  
  5 large egg whites
  
  1 cup sweetened coconut
  
  Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
  
  1/2 cup butter, softened
  
  8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
  
  1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  
  3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
  
  Blue food coloring
  
  Additional Ingredients:
  
  1/2 cup sweetened coconut
  
  Melting chocolate
  
  Egg candies
  
  Grease and flour three 6″ cake pans. I greased the pans, then added a layer of parchment paper on the bottoms, then greased again and floured. The pans I used are stainless and not non-stick so I wanted to be sure they came out perfectly.
  
  Combine all ingredients except egg whites in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.
  
  Beat on low speed for 30 seconds scraping the bowl constantly. Continue mixing on high speed for 2 minutes scraping occassionally. With the stand mixture I let it go about a minute, turned it off and scraped, then continued for another minute.
  
  Add the egg whites and continue beating on high for two more minutes. Fold in 1 cup of coconut.
  
  Divide evenly between the three pans and bake at 350 degrees until toothpick inserted comes out clean. My pans took about 30 minutes.
  
  While the cakes were baking I toasted the coconut for the nest.
  
  In a small frying pan add the coconut and cook over low/medium heat stirring frequently until toasted. Set aside.
  
  When the cakes are done allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pans before transferring to wire racks. Cool completely.
  
  Once cakes are cool you can make the cream cheese frosting.
  
  Beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Beat in confectioners sugar until smooth. Give the frosting a taste and see if you think it should be sweeter and if so, add a little more sugar to taste.
  
  Add a few drops of blue food coloring and combine well.
  
  On a cake stand start building the cake and adding frosting in between the layers.
  
  I normally have the rounded side of the cake be the top layer, but for this cake I had the flat side on the top. It was easier to make the nest this way.
  
  Once the cake is completely frosted it is time to splatter the chocolate!
  
  I used a few melting wafers for my splatter, but you can use whatever you normally use. Once the chocolate was melted I used a pastry brush and flicked the chocolate onto the cake. I also managed to flick the chocolate all over my walls so you may want to be a little more careful than I was.
  
  Now just build the nest!
  
  For the eggs I used Robin’s Egg candies and I used a toothpick and put a few dots on the eggs.
  
  Make sure to keep the cake refrigerated because of the cream cheese frosting. If you use buttercream you don’t need to.
  
  So, so delicious!!!
  
  Posted in Cakes, Robin's Nest Cake | Tagged cake, cake recipe, cream cheese frosting recipe, easter baking ideas, easter cake, easter recipes, food blog, food blogger, nest cake, Recipes, robins nest cake, stephanie's slice of life, white cake recipe
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