Sunday Night Cake - Baked Explorations

Monday, April 9, 2012

Sunday Night Cake (Baked Explorations)
Sunday Night Cake

It's Friday. I need to bring dessert to a dinner party...so I pull open the Baked Explorations cookbook by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.

Sunday Night Cake sounds delicious. A lightly spiced cake with a chocolate pudding-like frosting. And so what if it's Friday night? I'm a rebel like that.

Sunday Night Cake collage 1
This is a simple cake made with cake flour, sour cream and butter. The recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, but I added 3/4 teaspoon. See, I am a rebel in the kitchen. :)

The pudding frosting is so easy! It's my new favorite frosting. Sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and unsweetened chocolate are melted with some boiling water and heated until thickened. I only had half the needed unsweetened chocolate so I added dark 72% chocolate and reduced the sugar a bit. After the pudding is thickened, you beat it with a paddle mixture until it gets to room temp, then toss in some butter. Easy peasy!

Sunday Night Cake (Baked Explorations)
I'm totally an anti-frosting person. However, because this frosting is lighter than a regular buttercream, I was pretty much all over it. I can't wait to try it on top of a cupcake!

Sunday Night Cake (Baked Explorations)
Win a copy of the book as part of my celebration of National Library Week! I hope you enjoy the recipes from this book. Find a copy in your local library on WorldCat!

Recipe:
Sunday Night Cake 

1 3/4 cups cake flour (I used 7 1/2 ounces cake flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I used 3/4 teaspoon)
1 1/4 stick or 10 tablespoons or 5 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream

Frosting
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (I only had 1 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate in the house so I used that and 1 1/2 oz dark chocolate 72%. I reduced the sugar to 140 grams)
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prep a 9" square baking pan. I line mine with parchment paper and spray it with Pam Flour.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl. Add eggs one at a time and mix until blended. Scrape down the bowl again.
4. Add the flour in three batches, alternating with scoops of the sour cream. The last addition should be flour. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix a few more times to incorporate but don't overmix.
5. Pour batter into pan and bake 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool at least 20 minutes on a wire rack. Invert and let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting instructions:
1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and cocoa powder. Add the chopped chocolate. Pour 1 cup boiling water into the pan, wait 30 seconds, then whisk until mixture is combined and the chocolate is melted.
2. Turn the heat to medium-high and whisk continuously for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken. (Once pudding begins to thicken, it will come together very quickly.)
3. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high until the steam escapes and the mixture is room temperature. Add the butter and mix for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the frosting is light and pudding like. If you prefer a fluffier, more spreadable frosting, continue to mix for a few minutes longer.
4. Frost the top of the cake, allowing a little of the frosting to drip down the edges. (I frosted the edges too). Chill for 5 minutes to set the frosting. Serve immediately.
5. The cake can be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring it back to room temperature before serving.

Baked Explorations 
WorldCat or Amazon

Pin It!

Spiced Cranberry Bundt Cake - Day #13 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Spice Cranberry Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2011
Spiced Cranberry Bundt
I Like Big Bundts - Day #13

Happy Saturday! It's Day #13 of I Like Big Bundts...my crazy marathon of 30 Bundts in 30 days! I hope you celebrate National Bundt Day on November 15th!

Today's Bundt is really special! It's Dorie Greenspan's Spiced Cranberry Bundt. I made it with Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet when I visited her earlier this month in Connecticut (see my BlogMary post here). It's fitting that we made a Dorie Greenspan recipe because Dorie, without knowing it, brought Mary and I together!

In 2008, Mary and I were both in the online group Tuesdays with Dorie...baking our way through Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. Mary wrote me an email starting with "I'm in Tuesdays with Dorie too..." asking for Los Angeles restaurant recommendations...and a friendship was born. Thanks Dorie for not only your delicious recipes and wonderful cookbooks, but for helping two people named Mary meet!

I Like Big Bundts 3
The submission info can be found here! Just submit by November 24, 2011 and I'll send you a button for baking along with me!

Spiced Cranberry Bundt collage
We made our cake by pulverizing some slivered almonds for the almond flour, and toasted some almonds for the batter. East Coast Mary had a bag of cranberries in the freezer (something I must do this year) so we had frozen cranberries and dried cranberries. This bundt has a delicious combo of spices: Chinese five-spice powder, ground ginger and ground cinnamon.

Spice Cranberry Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2011

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Day #4: Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Day #5: Gingery Pumpkin Breakfast Bundt
Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt
Day #7: Dark Chocolate Bundt
Day #8: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day #9: Apple Spice Bundt
Day #10: Pumpkin Spice Bundt
Day #11: Doll Bundt Cake
Day #12: Light Chocolate Bundt with Coffee Glaze

Recipe: Click here for recipe on Bon Appetite site

Bundt Pan: Traditional 12-cup Bundt Pan
Pin It!

Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze - Day #4 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 2011

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
I Like Big Bundts - Day #4

Whoo hoo! I'm up to Day #4 of I Like Big Bundts. Only 26 more to make! Eeck! I'm crazy about the Bundt and am always looking for recipes and inspiration. This year, I decided to reach out to my baking teacher, Carol Cotner Thompson for a recipe.

Carol Cotner Thompson teaches professional baking and cooking classes at the New School of Cooking in Culver City, California. I took the Pro Baking I classes in 2009 and loved it! Carol has over 20 years of culinary education experience (yeah, she started when she was a child) and is a thoughtful instructor. Funny, relaxed and filled with insight of the baking and culinary world. Carol has a blog with recipes and you should definitely check it out!

I Like Big Bundts 3 Logo by JustJennDesigns
I hope you bake a bundt on National Bundt Day (more like International Bundt day with the number of different countries that participated in the last two years) on November 15th. Let's all spread some bundt love around...and Carol's is the perfect recipe to do just that! (Submission info will be posted next week)

Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Carol spices up this bundt with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Butter and cream cheese are used in the cake. And the glaze? Awesomeness! You brown some butter and mix it with vanilla beans (I used vanilla paste), milk and powered sugar. Brown butter is so amazing. The combo of the brown butter bits and vanilla bean seeds is subtle-looking but gives the glaze a great flavor.

Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
There's nothing like pulling a yummy bundt from the oven!

Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Be sure to stop by Carol's blog to see more recipes, and if you are in the Los Angeles area, check out New School of Cooking for some fun professional and recreation classes in both pastries and savories. You can read a series of posts about my 2009-10 Pro Baking Classes here.

Thanks so much Carol for the recipe and your support of my baking adventures. :) - mary

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze

Recipe: Click here for recipe on Carol Cotner Thompson's blog

Bundt Pan: Traditional 12-cup Bundt Pan
Pin It!

Apple Snacking Spice Cake - Flour Bakery

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Apple Snacking Cake - Flour Bakery
Apple Snacking Spice Cake from Flour Bakery Cookbook

Last week was crazy busy. Day trip to San Diego, sickness and a garbage bag full of baked goods that never made it to their destination (um, don't want to be known as Typhoid Mary), and just the usual 75 degree winter weather of Los Angeles. :)

However, I did manage to make this yummy cake from my latest obsession, the Flour Bakery cookbook. 

AppleSnackingCake_1
When I drank coffee in college (I don't drink much caffeine now...gives me a headache), I would be the person who had a bit of coffee with my milk and sugar. This cake has a bit of batter with lotsa apples, pecans and raisins. The batter is superthick but all comes to together in a yummy cake. You'll need a 10" round cake pan for this delicious snacking cake.

Apple Snacking Cake - Flour Bakery
A sprinkling of powdered sugar is all this cake needs. Another winning recipe from the Flour Bakery cookbook! Yum!

Recipe:
Flour: spectacular recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe by Joanne Chang (page 64 ): Available on Amazon, your local bookstore, or in your library

Pin It!

Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies - Tuesdays with Dorie

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Sugar-Topped Molasses Spiced Cookies - TWD
Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

Whew! It's November and crazy baking is coming up for the holidays. This month, Tuesdays with Dorie is letting us post recipes out of order to fit our eating schedule! If you look around the TWD posts, you'll probably find Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake (selected by Katya of Second Dinner). I didn't have time to find chestnuts so I skipped to the November 17th selection: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies (picked by Pamela of Cookies with Boys).

You can find Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies on page 76 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Sugar-Topped Molasses Spiced Cookies - TWD
Pamela of Cookies with Boys picked a HUGE winner. These cookies are way delicious! Have you checked out Pamela's blog? Such a great baker, chef and mom! I love reading her blog!

Sugar-Topped Molasses Spiced Cookies - TWD
Easy to put together and full of yummy spices - including a pinch of black pepper! I only baked off a few and froze the rest so I can pull these out during the holidays. Yum!

Recipe:
Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies
Page 76 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.
Check out Pamela's blog on November 17th for the recipe.

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!
Pin It!

Spiced Cranberry Bundt Cake - Day #14 - I Like Big Bundts

Friday, October 30, 2009

Spiced Cranberry Bundt - I Like Big Bundts
Spicy Cranberry Bundt from Dorie Greenspan

I Like Big Bundts Logo by JustJenn Designs
Thanks to my friend JustJenn of JustJennDesigns for making the logo!
I'm posting 30 Bundts in 30 days. I'm crazy. Duly noted.

Spiced Cranberry Bundt - I Like Big Bundts
I'm in a baking group called Tuesdays with Dorie. A group of 400+ bloggers are going through Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my Home to Yours one recipe per week. Dorie has a few Bundt cakes in the book, and when it was my turn to pick a TWD recipe, of course I selected the Classic Banana Bundt Cake!

This Spiced Cranberry Bundt is a Dorie Greenspan recipe that doesn't appear in her book. This one was in Bon Appetit last year (November 2008). I hope you enjoy this autumn Bundt.

Spiced Cranberry Bundt - I Like Big Bundts Spiced Cranberry Bundt - I Like Big Bundts
This recipe calls for Chinese Five-Spice Powder. This involved a trip to Penzeys Spices! Chinese Five-Spice has anise so this cake has a slight anise flavor. Anise isn't usually my favorite, but in this cake it was pretty mellow and there are other spices in the mix.

Greek yogurt, dried and fresh cranberries and chopped almonds make this an interesting and yummy Bundt.

Spiced Cranberry Bundt - I Like Big Bundts
An easy peasy glaze of fresh orange juice and powdered sugar tops this lovely fall Bundt.

Spiced Cranberry Bundt - I Like Big Bundts
Huge shout out to bakers Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet, Clivia of Bubie's Little Baker, and Wendy of Pink Stripes for making Bundts! Mary is my Mad Men buddy, Clivia makes this an International Project because she's Canadian, and Wendy is a twitter pal (and BlogHerFood buddy!) You three ladies rock!

Tomorrow is the half-way point of this 30 day adventure! Remember, November 15th is National Bundt Day! Come back tomorrow for another Bundt! Have a great weekend!
- mary the food librarian

Recipe:
Spiced Cranberry Bundt
from Epicurious (Bon Appetit, November 2008)
Dorie Greenspan's blog writes about it (with photos)

I Like Big Bundts recap:
The Food Librarian confesses: I Like Big Bundts
Day 1: Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing
Day 2: Chocolate-Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Mocha Icing
Day 3: Pumpkin-Apple Spiced Bundt
Day 4: Cinnamon Ripple Sweet Potato Bundt
Day 5: Chocolate Zucchini Bundt
Day 6: Cardamom Vanilla Bundt
Day 7: Monkey Bread in a Bundt
Day 8: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day 9: Coconut Bundt
Day 10: Sweet Potato Bundt
Day 11: Mom's Apple Cake Bundt
Day 12: Meyer Lemon Bundt
Day 13: Candy Corn Jello Bundt
Pin It!

Sweet Potato Bundt - Day #10 - I Like Big Bundts

Monday, October 26, 2009

Sweet Potato Bundt - I Like Big Bundts
Day 10 of I Like Big Bundts: 30 Days of Bundt Cakes
Sweet Potato Bundt

People have been asking where I'm getting all these Bundt recipes. Many are bookmarked from the web (yes, I always enter "BUNDT" in the search box of any food site), some are in a very unorganized drawer filled with copied recipes from cookbooks, and some I found by browsing cookbooks at a bunch of libraries.

This Sweet Potato Bundt is from Sweet Maria's Cake Kitchen: Classic and Casual Recipes for Cookies, Cakes, Pastry, and Other Favorites which I picked up at my local library. The book is sold used on Amazon, but you can find it on Sweet Maria's website. I'll definitely check out Maria Bruscino Sanchez's other books as well. Her recipes are easy and straightforward. This book doesn't have any photos...but luckily I pretty much know what a Bundt should look like by now! hee hee.

I Like Big Bundts Logo by JustJenn Designs
Logo design: JustJenn of JustJennDesigns

Welcome to Day 10 of I Like Big Bundts: 30 Days of Bundt Cakes. Oh my goodness. I'm 1/3 done with this adventure...baking 30 Bundts leading up one of the best days of the year: National Bundt Day on November 15th!!

Sweet Potato Bundt - I Like Big Bundts Sweet Potato Bundt - I Like Big Bundts
Sweet Potato Bundt - I Like Big Bundts Sweet Potato Bundt - I Like Big Bundts
I was attracted to this recipe because it uses a raw sweet potato. The Day #4 Cinnamon Ripple Sweet Potato Bundt by Paula Deen used cooked and mashed sweet potato, but for this one you grate it raw and use it like you would carrots in a carrot cake. It saves you the time of baking off the sweet potatoes (but that's not a chore to me...I loved baked sweet potatoes!)

Sweet Potato Bundt - I Like Big Bundts
<library plug> I hope you check out the older books in the library...you might find some great gems! Especially things that are out of print or not available in your local bookstore. </library plug>

Sweet Potato Bundt - I Like Big Bundts
You can see the little pieces of sweet potato and walnuts. With fall spices, this cake smells great and is a nice tea cake.

Sweet Potato Bundt - I Like Big Bundts

See you back here tomorrow for...wait for it...another Bundt! - mary the food librarian

Sweet Potato Cake
Adapted from Sweet Maria's Cake Kitchen: Classic and Casual Recipes for Cookies, Cakes, Pastry, and Other Favorites by Maria Bruscino Sanchez

4 eggs
2 c sugar
1 ¼ c vegetable oil
1 t vanilla
3 c flour, 2 t baking soda, 2 t baking powder
2 t cinnamon, ½ t cloves, I added ½ t ground ginger
2 c grated, raw sweet potato or yam (for me, this was 1 medium sweet potato)
1 c walnuts, coarsely chopped

Sweet Maria recommends using a 10-inch tube pan. I used a 12 c Bundt pan.

Here is what I did:
1. Sift together flour, soda, powder, spices in a medium bowl.
2. Mix together eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla with the paddle attachment until well blended
3. On low speed, add the dry ingredients. Don’t overmix.
4. With a spatula, fold in the grated sweet potato and nuts. Don't overmix. Really. :)
5. Pour into greased Bundt pan and baked for 55 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes and then remove from pan. Let cool completely before pouring glaze over cake.

Sweet Maria suggests a Maple Glaze (1 ½ c powdered sugar and ½ c maple syrup). Somehow, I was all out of maple syrup so I just whisked together a powdered sugar and milk glaze.

Original Recipe:
Sweet Potato Cake
from: Sweet Maria's Cake Kitchen: Classic and Casual Recipes for Cookies, Cakes, Pastry, and Other Favorites by Maria Bruscino Sanchez (1998, St. Martin's Press)
Sweet Potato Cake, page 47; Maple Glaze, page 56

Find it in your library through WorldCat
Purchase here on the Sweet Maria website

I Like Big Bundts recap:
The Food Librarian confesses: I Like Big Bundts
Day 1: Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing
Day 2: Chocolate-Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Mocha Icing
Day 3: Pumpkin-Apple Spiced Bundt
Day 4: Cinnamon Ripple Sweet Potato Bundt
Day 5: Chocolate Zucchini Bundt
Day 6: Cardamom Vanilla Bundt
Day 7: Monkey Bread in a Bundt
Day 8: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day 9: Coconut Bundt
Pin It!

Pumpkin-Apple Spiced Bundt Cake - Day #3 of I Like Big Bundts

Monday, October 19, 2009

Pumpkin Apple Spiced Bundt Cake - I Like Big Bundts

I Like Big Bundts Logo by JustJenn Designs
Thanks to my friend JustJenn of JustJennDesigns (check out her great stationery!) for making the logo!

It's Day 3 of I Like Big Bundts: 30 Days of Bundt Cakes...and today it's a yummy fall treat! For those just joining me on this crazy baking endeavour, I'm making 30 days of Bundts leading up to November 15th - National Bundt Day.

And, please people, I'm not just doing this for my health! ;) I'm hoping to inspire you to make a Bundt cake! Let me know if you do...Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen and Maria of Two Peas and their Pod both made Bundts this weekend!

Pumpkin Apple Spiced Bundt Cake - I Like Big Bundts
I met Amy of StreamingGourmet at the Foodbuzz Open House and BlogHer Food in San Francisco. She is posting 31 days of pumpkin recipes on her blog! You have to check it out and I'm sure you'll get lots of ideas.

I, of course, was drawn to the Bundt cake: Pumpkin-Apple Spiced Bundt Cake!

Pumpkin Apple Spiced Bundt Cake - I Like Big Bundts
I used two cups of granny smith apples...diced into small bite-sized pieces.

Pumpkin Apple Spiced Bundt Cake - I Like Big Bundts
Don't worry if the mix gets a bit curdled. It'll all come together in the end.

Pumpkin Apple Spiced Bundt Cake - I Like Big Bundts
See? All came together! Yum. Fall in a Bundt pan.

Pumpkin Apple Spiced Bundt Cake - I Like Big Bundts
Apple and pumpkin. Friends forever.
This cake is delicious.
Hands down.
Make this cake!

Pumpkin Apple Spiced Bundt Cake - I Like Big Bundts
It is light, moist, full of fall flavors and Not. Too. Sweet. With "only" 1 cup of sugar, the flavors of the pumpkin and apple aren't overwhelmed by sweetness.

See you back here tomorrow and every day from now til National Bundt Day (November 15th) for another Bundt! - mary the food librarian

Recipe:
Pumpkin-Apple Spiced Bundt Cake
from StreamingGourmet blog

I Like Big Bundts recap:
The Beginning: The Food Librarian cannot tell a lie, I Like Big Bundts
Day 1: Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing
Day 2: Chocolate-Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Mocha Icing

(Edited to fix the name of Amy's blog! Sorry about that. Her great blog is called StreamingGourmet. Check it out!)
Pin It!

Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing - Day #1 of I Like Big Bundts

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Icing - I Like Big Bundts
Bundt #1

I Like Big Bundts Logo by JustJenn Designs
As we begin Day 1 of I Like Big Bundts: 30 Days of Bundt Cakes, let me point out why the Bundt pan rocks my world. Here are just a few reasons:

1. Cake : Frosting ratio
I love cake. I don't like frosting. Thus, the Bundt has the perfect ratio of cake to frosting.

2. "Divide batter between cake pans" and "Rotate pans" doesn't exist
I'm horrible at getting equal quantities of cake batter in those 9" round pans. I bring out the scale and do it by weight...but who has the time for that at 4:30 am? With the Bundt, you just pop the batter into the pan, smooth out the top and you are ready to go. And no rotating...it just goes in the center of the oven. Yes, the Bundt puts the Ahhhh in Awesome.

3. You can pass it off as a breakfast food
You know how people think Pop Tarts are breakfast foods? (yes, this breaks the hearts of nutritionists, but work with me here as I build upon that fallacy). With a Bundt cake, people associate it with a coffee cake (obviously a breakfast food...it has the word Coffee in it!) and other tea cakes. So have a bite 24/7...it's okay.

I can go on and on. And I will during the next 29 days, so I have to save some of them for later!

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Icing - I Like Big Bundts
So, let's get to the inaugural Bundt!

This recipe is from the (weep) recently departed Gourmet magazine (November 2005 issue).

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Icing - I Like Big Bundts
Super easy to pull together, this recipe uses canned pumpkin (have you secured your stash during this pumpkin shortage?), butter, buttermilk (as the name implies!) and the spices are cinnamon and allspice (if you are a Tuesdays with Dorie baker, you should have some left from the recent Allspice Muffin!)

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Icing - I Like Big Bundts
The result is a really soft and moist cake. It got thumbs up at the library and I hope you enjoy it as well.

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Icing - I Like Big Bundts
The icing is light (buttermilk and powdered sugar) and provides a nice bit of sweetness, but it can be skipped if you want. A quick dust of powdered sugar would suffice as well.

Remember, come back every day from now til National Bundt Day, November 15th for another Bundt! - mary the food librarian

Recipe:
Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing
from Epicurious (Gourmet, November 2005)

Thanks to my friend JustJenn of JustJennDesigns (check out her great stationery!) for making the logo!
Pin It!