A while back a reader told me she made one of my cakes and it was a flop. She wanted my help figuring out where things went wrong. Since the batter seemed dry she added hot milk to it. <--What in the world possessed her to do that I have no idea because it wasn't in the directions. Anywho, I Googled “hot milk in cake” and to my surprise it's a real thing. Seeing the method is utter madness of course I had to try it for myself. ...
Cakes
The Best Chocolate Cake
This chocolate layer cake has never let me down. It’s a tried and true favorite that always bakes up tall, moist, fluffy and delectable. It’s become the cake I bake “just because” without needing a special reason, although it does make a great birthday cake and is equally good with chocolate or white frosting. I should warn you it starts out like a hot mess. ...
Aunt Angie’s Christmas Fruitcake
I like fruitcake and I’m not afraid to shout it out to the fruitcake-hating world. I LIKE FRUITCAKE. What I don’t like is the cheap, generically produced ones you can buy at the market for like 99 cents. That’s just asking for trouble. It has to be homemade. This is my Great Aunt Angie’s recipe. Bless her heart. She made the best turkey meatballs in the world and my Dad loves her fruitcake. Last year Mama Bear made it, this year it was my turn. ...
Pumpkin Crumb Cake
Moist, tender pumpkin cake with a sweet cinnamon filling running through the center and a thick layer of crumbs on top. The topping has pecans in it for a little crunch and a drizzle of icing to hold all those giant crumbs together. This is my attempt to embrace pumpkin season before it slips away. . . Although even if it does the case of organic, canned pumpkin I have stowed away for safe keeping will certainly save me. ...
Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cake
You don't have to be a serious chocolate lover to thoroughly enjoy this chocolate brownie cake! An occasional one, like me will work too because while it's true I have a raging sweet tooth it's usually not for chocolate. Caramel, vanilla, peanut butter and fruity desserts make me every bit as happy except on this day when the sometime chocolate lover in me took over. ...
Lazy Daisy Cake
A single-layer, square yellow cake with a broiled brown sugar, coconut and pecan topping that tastes like candy. . . kind of like a praline. It has an old-fashioned, Southern-inspired feel to it that I find charming. The cake is unlike any I've made before because after beating the eggs, sugar and dry ingredients together it's time to beat in the boiling hot milk and butter(?). The method is weird but the result is not. Moist, sturdy and tender, it's one of the best yellow cakes I ever ...
Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
What is it about coffee cakes that are so irresistible? Or is it just me? One minute they can be all there, in their entirety, and a little while later reduced down to a few crumbs? No one wants to admit to eating an entire cake in such an unbelievably short period of time. Thank goodness there were two other people helping me out because it's so easy to cut a small piece here and another one there. Basically every time you walk by because you just can't help yourself. Until ...
Strawberry Yogurt Cake
A single layer cake topped with fresh strawberries and sprinkled with sugar. The sugar forms a crunchy coating over the top of the cake that is delectable with the tartness of the berries. The cake itself is buttery and moist with a dense crumb that is perfect paired with a cup of tea or coffee. It's the yogurt that keeps it from drying out and adds great flavor. Don't hold back on the berries! ...
Maple Walnut Cake
This buttery, single-layer cake is infused with maple syrup inside and out. The cake is almost completely sweetened with maple syrup, including the rich frosting that is crusted with oodles of chopped walnuts. It's moist, dense and tender with a nutty crunch. A cake that's easy to love. The cake itself is subtly sweet and the frosting even sweeter from both maple syrup and confectioners' sugar. That's where the savory walnuts come in to offset some of that cloying sweetness in the frosting so ...
Root Beer Float Cake #FlavorStory
This is a sponsored post for McCormick. A quick and easy single layer cake that tastes like a root beer float! As long as you serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream otherwise it's just root beer soda. It's also good with a lightly sweetened whipped cream frosting. Root beer floats to me mean summer nights when it's too hot to do anything but sit around with a cold drink by your side. Root beer floats are extra special because I don't drink soda on a regular basis. It's a big treat for ...
Say I Love You with a Surprise Heart Cake
A vanilla loaf cake with a tunnel of red hearts hiding inside! A surprise that says I love you in a sweet, special way. This cute cake is so easy to make with an impressive outcome that will have everyone thinking you're a master baker. Maybe even a magician. It requires making only one batter, a rich dense vanilla cake, plus a rainbow chip cream cheese frosting that will vie for attention. To make the hearts, a cup and a half of the batter is tinted with red food coloring and baked off ...
Cheesecake Filled Apple Cake
A delectable cake with apples and nuts folded into the batter, a tunnel of cheesecake filling and a nutty brown sugar frosting with caramel notes to it. Two desserts in one, this is a cake with a lot going on. Although it may look complicated to make with that ribbon of cream cheese running through it - it's not at all. Two-thirds of the batter goes into the bundt pan followed by the cream cheese filling followed by the remaining batter. When you turn the cake out of the pan the cream cheese ...
Cinnamon Roll Cake
If you've ever daydreamed of a cinnamon roll in cake form complete with all that lovely buttery cinnamon filling cinnamon rolls are named for topped with a white icing glaze then I am about to make your dream come true. If you haven't had that same daydream then you will now. If you're one of those people who finds working with yeast dough intimidating or time-consuming or just don't have the motivation to make cinnamon rolls from scratch you can get your cinnamon roll 'fix' a lot easier ...
Chocolate Chip Crunch Cake
Chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and coconut milk come together to make this day-dreamy, unforgettable cake. It was love at first sight. One look at the toasty-coconut, chocolate-dotted topping and I was a complete goner. It was a vision I couldn't erase from my mind. I had to make it immediately or do nothing else, even knowing love at first sight doesn't always transfer to love at first bite. Luckily, this time - it did. ...
Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
A simple, single-layer pumpkin cake complete with warm, cozy spices you can whip up in a flash. Sometimes you need something on the fly to satisfy your pumpkin-craving sweet tooth. This comes together so easy, mostly in one bowl aside from combining the dry ingredients that you will file it away in your recipe box to make again and again. The same way I did. ...