Tag Archives: cake

Recipe: Vanilla Apple Spice Cake

3 Nov

There’s something comforting about the flavour of apple pie. Sweet, tart and spicy all at once, it’s always a treat.

That’s why I always keep a jar of apple butter in the house. It’s really like concentrated apple pie flavour in a jar that you can spread on just about anything whenever you get a pie craving. Best of all, the brand I buy – Wellesley – contains no added sugar or colouring so it’s a lot healthier than a slab of apple pie.

But me being me, had to go and take this pretty healthy ingredient and pair it with something very unhealthy – cake. The result was a beautifully moist cake, with rich icing, offset by the spice and tartness of the apple butter filling. I bought it in to work and it quickly disappeared.

Vanilla Apple Spice Cake

Vanilla Apple Spice Cake | baconavecbacon.com

Prepare one box vanilla cake mix (or spice cake!) as directed or doctor it up. (See directions for kicking up a cake mix here.) Pour into two 8″ round baking pans that are well greased and floured. Bake and set aside to cool.

While the cake is cooling, whip up this vanilla buttercream frosting:

1 cup salted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk

In a stand mixer, whip the butter for 2-3 minutes until it is almost white in colour. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla and 3 tablespoons milk. Beat on low speed for 3-5 minutes, adding in the last tablespoon of milk if the buttercream needs to be thinner.

To assemble the cake, place 1 of the cake rounds on your serving plate and spread 3/4 of a cup of apple butter in the center of the cake keeping it about 1 inch away from the edge. Top with the second cake round and place 2 – 3 bamboo skewers through both layers to keep it from shifting while icing the cake. Remove the skewers when the cake is fully iced. Sprinkle the top of the cake with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Enjoy with a big glass of milk.

 

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Recipe: Homemade Chocolate Icing

14 Sep

Sometimes there’s nothing better than a good old fashioned chocolate cake. You know, the kind that your mom might have made and stuck a couple of candles in for your birthday as a kid. There’s something really nostalgic about it. 

I still use cake mixes, instead of making cakes from scratch. In fact, our pantry is stuffed with them so stay tuned for a lot of cake mix-based recipes in the next few months. 

That being said, there are ways to kick a simple cake mix up a notch. My mom always used milk instead of water, and I’ve continued to do that. I also started recently swapping the oil out for butter. You can also add an additional egg if you choose. 

The other way to take a cake mix from ordinary to extraordinary is to make your icing from scratch. This is the second time I’ve made this easy chocolate buttercream icing from Lauren’s Latest. It’s beautifully rich and delicious and makes enough to ice a two-tier cake or 24 cupcakes. 

Homemade Chocolate Icing

Homemade Chocolate Icing | baconavecbacon.com

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
5 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4-5 tablespoons milk

Whip the butter and cocoa until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and sugar. Stream the milk in, a tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches the right consistency. Scrape the bowl and whip until light and fluffy. 

 

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Recipe: Chocolate & Peanut Butter Snack Cake

27 Jan

What goes together better than peanut butter and chocolate? If you answered nothing, you are correct. This cake is no exception. It’s dense and rich but not overly sweet. It is necessary to pair this with a big glass of milk because the peanut butter layer is quite sticky!

The recipe I used for this is from here and it’s supposed to be like a brand of snack cakes available in the Eastern US. I can’t vouch for accuracy having never enjoyed a TastyCake but I can confirm the tastyness!

The next time I try this, I might cheat and make the base with a yellow cake mix and blend the peanut butter with some marshmallow fluff to make it a bit sweeter and less dense.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Snack Cake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Cake | baconavecbacon.com

4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups flour
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons melted butter
1 bag milk chocolate chips
2 cups creamy peanut butter

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9×13 pan.

In the microwave warm the milk and the butter until melted and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, vanilla, salt, sugar, baking powder and flour. Add the milk and stir until smooth. Pour the batter into the floured pan and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Immediately spread the peanut butter over top of the cake. As it melts it’ll become easier to move around. Once spread, put the cake into the fridge until the peanut butter sets.

Once the PB layer is set, in a microwaveable bowl, melt the chocolate chips. Pour over top of the peanut butter layer and spread carefully. Place the cake back into the fridge until the chocolate layer sets.

When you’re ready to eat the cake, let it come to room temperature before cutting, otherwise the chocolate will crack.

 

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