Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

It's Cake Slice Bakers time again and this month we baked a Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snack Cake which is just a really long title for a smores snack cake! I was a little worried because the reviews seemed to be mixed on this cake. I baked it late one night and iced it the following day. I wish I has added more marshmallow fluff to the frosting because it really lacked the flavor and tasted more like a buttercream. All in all the texture of the cake was a little different but tasted pretty good. I think I prefer this other recipe for Smore's though.

Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman

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For the cake:

8 whole graham crackers, finely ground (about 1 cup)

1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan and dust it with flour, knocking out any extra. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar in large mixing bowl and cream with an electronic mixer on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat until smooth.

With the mixer on low, add a third of the flour, then half of the milk, stirring until combined. Repeat with remaining flour and milk, ending with the flour. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into a prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in cake pan for about 10 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting:

Place the butter in a medium bowl and beat until creamy. With the mixer on low, add the sugar, scraping down the sides as needed. Stir in the vanilla and marshmallow fluff and beat until smooth. Use immediately or cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Cut the cake into squares and serve with a dollop of frosting. Make sure to bring the frosting to room temp if storing in fridge.

To check out the other members go here.

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A Very Merry Red Velvet Cake & My First Giveaway!

Happy Holidays everyone! I am trying to get back in the swing of regularly posting on the blog and I still haven't posted any of my Thanksgiving recipe but I wanted to share this Red Velvet Cake before Christmas, cause it's the perfect cake to serve around holidays. I found this recipe on Bakerella's site. This cake was delicious and sooo moist! Definitely hands down the best homemade red velvet cake I've ever made and everyone that tried it love it as well.

Red Velvet Cake from Bakerella

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 oz. red food coloring (Note: if you use food coloring paste you will not need as much)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 8 or 9 inch pans. Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.

Place all dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium high for about a minute or until completely combined.

Pour into cake pans and drop on counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. After about 10 minutes remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. You can also cover in plastic wrap as the cake cools.

While the cake cools, make the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting also from Bakerella

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temp

1 cup butter, at room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 cups confectioners' sugar

Sift powdered sugar and set aside. Beat cream cheese and butter on high until creamy. Add vanilla. Then add the sugar in batches. Scrape down the sides in between each addition. I also added about a teaspoon of heavy whipping cream just to make it extra creamy. It was delicious!

And now for the giveaway.... the last couple recipes I posted were cookies I had made in the Muffin Top Pan I found at Sur la Table. I got many emails asking about it. So I decided I would include it in my first giveaway. Giveaway includes: 1 muffin top pan, 1 3D Snowman Spatula and 1 can Sparkling Sprinkles in holiday colors.

To enter just leave me a comment (one comment per person please) telling me what your favorite holiday dessert is. A winner will be chosen and revealed on Friday, December 10th. Make sure to leave your name and way for me to contact you if you win.

Best of luck to everyone!

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Tres Leches

This month the Cake Slice Bakers baked up Johnny C's Tres Leches Cakes from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott. I have made both a regular tres leches and a chocolate tres leches and both were amazing so I was hopeful this one would be as well. I was a little hesitant with the lime zest cause that just seemed so odd to me, but I decided to go long with the recipe. However this recipe just says to top with with cream but I decided I would use the whipped cream from the other Tres Leches cake I used cause it was so good last time.

Johnny C's Tres Leches Cake from Southern Cake by Nancie McDermott

Printable Recipe

Cake:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup milk

Three Milk Sauce:

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

One 12 ounce can evaporated milk

1 tbsp grated lime zest

Garnish with whipped cream and or fresh fruit such as kiwi or berries. I whipped a pint of heavy whipping cream with 3 tbsp sugar and covered the cake in the whipped cream.

Cake Method-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch pan. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and stir with a fork to mix well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer on medium high speed to mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and half of the milk, beating at low speed each time until incorporated. Add another third of the flour, the remaining milk and the remaining flour the same way.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Mine took about 45 minutes. Bake until golden brown, the cake begins to pull away from the sides and the center springs back with touched.

While the cake bakes, make the milk sauce. You want the cake to be warm when you add the milk.

Three Milk Sauce:

Combine the milk, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Hea gently over medium heat, stirring often until the mixture is smooth and steaming hot. Do not let it come to a boil. Allow 10 minutes to cool before using.

To Finish:

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the lime zest over the cake

Punch holes with a toothpick or fork. Slowly pour the warm milk, in stages, stopping to let the cake absorb the sauce before adding more. You may not need it all. You can always add more if needed. Let the cake stand for an hour. Then top with any whipped topping or refrigerate covered until ready to serve. Garnish however you wish!

I really wanted this cake to be good but it really just wasnt as good as the other Tres Leches I had made. I will say I had to bake mine for 45 minutes because the middle was not done and in the process I think the bottom got a little over cooked. Nothing horrible just darker than I would normally cook it. The cake wasnt as light and fluffy as I am used to tres leches being and I think it needed more milk sauce as well.

All in all this cake wasnt bad but next time I would definitely use the other recipes I have in the past.

I also recently added a Smitten Sugar Facebook page so please go online and check it out and while you are there make sure you "Like" my page! Happy Baking everyone!

Krystle

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Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake

Cake Slice Bakers chose the Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake for June cake selection. My boyfriend and I were so excited cause we love anything with blueberries in it and this cake sounded light and delicious. It was very simple to throw together and tasted amazing. However, I would say its probably more like a blueberry muffin than a cake. Whatever you want to call it...it was delicious.

Its great with breakfast served warm or just at room temperature for a snack. The batter was a little thick but don't worry, it bakes up very nicely. I used frozen blueberries in mine and just dusted them with a little flour so they didn't sink to the bottom.

Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake

(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup butter, softened

¾ cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)

Method

Heat the oven to 375F and generously grease a 9 inch square or round pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and stir with a fork to mix well.

In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer at high speed until well combined.

Add the egg and beat well for 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl until the mixture is smooth and light.

Stir in half the flour mixture then half the milk, mixing just enough to keep the batter fairly smooth and well combined. Add the remaining flour, then the rest of the milk, mixing gently. Stir in the blueberries.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until the cake is golden, springs back when touched gently in the centre and is pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Serve a square of cake right from the pan, warm or at room temperature. If its round, let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack or folded kitchen towel for 10 minutes and then turn it out to cool, top side up.

For a printable recipe go here.

This cake was buttery and moist and really let the blueberry flavor shine through. Now excuse me while I go eat another slice.

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Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

For Easter this year, my step dad requested a very moist chocolate cake. His appetite hasn't been all that great recently so I was excited he was actually requesting something. His favorite cake is Tres Leches so I decided I would try making a chocolate tres leches cake for him. After browsing the Internet I couldn't really decide which recipe I wanted to go with. So I took elements from several and made my own. I was a little pressed for time, so I used a chocolate cake mix for the base of the cake and went from there.





This cake actually turned out amazing! It got rave reviews from everyone and I would definitely make this one again. Using the cake mix or with a homemade chocolate cake.

Chocolate Tres Leches Cake Inspired by Hershey's

Cake:

1- 13 x 9 inch cake (use anything from a box mix to homemade)

Bake the cake according to the directions. Allow to cool for at least 1 one. Place the cake on a rimmed cake platter.

Once the cake has cooled, using a fork, pierce the entire top of the cake. Be sure to pierce the cake all the way to the edges so the milk mixture can be absorbed evenly.

Tres Leches Mixture:

2 14 oz cans of sweetened condensed milk

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup chocolate syrup

Pour all the ingredients into a large bowl and combine.

Begin to pour the milk mixture slowly over the top of the pierced cake. Try to make sure to get the edges as well. It's OK if the mixture starts to puddle around the bottom of the platter, this will get absorbed too. You probably will not need all of the mixture. You can either toss what you don't use or save about a 1/2 cup to decorate the plates when serving. Leave the cake alone for at least 30 minutes to absorb all the milk. When you return it should all be gone and your are now ready to apply the whipped topping.

Whipped Topping:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon

Combine all ingredients into a large mixer bowl, begin to beat on medium and gradually increase to medium-high speed until stiff. Spread the topping evenly on cake!

Decorate as desired. I sprinkled some cocoa powder over the top and added a few strawberries for added color. Cover the cake and refrigerate until serving.

If you like tres leches cake you will defintely like this one. It was moist and delicious and stayed fresh in the fridge for just under a week.

For a printable version of the recipe, please go here.

Enjoy :)

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Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This month the Cake Slice Bakers baked up a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. While I heard mixes reviews about this cake before I made it, I was really excited cause I have never made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. The buttery crust along with caramelized fruit on top of this cake looked heavenly. However when I sliced in the cake the middle still appeared doughy and gummy. It baked for the entire 40 minutes and appeared to be done but I guess mine needed some extra time. The outer edges of this cake does taste really good I just wish it would have been more cooked throughout. I may have to try this one again! I feel there was something just a little off with this cake so I may have to experiment with it a little bit. Hope the others had a better success!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott

Pineapple Topping:

1 20 oz. can pineapple rings, with their syrup or juice

4 tbsp cold butter

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

10 maraschino cherries

Cake:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 salt

1/2 cup milk

4 tbsp butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the topping: Drain the pineapple well, reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice of syrup for the cake batter. Melt the cold butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Or put the butter in a 9 inch round cake pan and put it in the oven for a few minutes as the heats melts the butter.

Remove the pan from the oven or stove and sprinkle the brown sugar over the buttery surface. Place the pineapple rings carefully on top of the scattered brown sugar and melted butter, arranging then so they fit in 1 layer. (There may be a few leftover) Place a cherry in the center of each ring and set the pan aside.

To make the cake: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a fork to mix them together well. Add the milk and butter and beat well with a mixer, scraping down the bowl once or twice until you have a thick, fairly smooth batter, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the egg, reserved pineapple juice or syrup and the vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes more, stopping to scrape down the sides.

Carefully pour the batter over the pineapple arranged in the skillet or cake pan and use a spoon to spread it evenly to the edges of the pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched lightly in the center. Cool in the skillet or pan for 5 minutes on a wire rack.

Carefully turn out the warm cake onto a serving plate by placing the plate upside down over the cake in the pan and then flipping them over together to release the cake onto the plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

For a printable version click here.

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