Last-Minute Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting

So you've been craving chocolate cake or company's coming and you need something delicious and fast.  You look in your pantry/  No eggs!  No baking powder!  No salt!  But you still want chocolate cake.  Yikes!  Now what do you do?

You absolutely must try this recipe!  I don't think I've ever had a moister or more delicious chocolate cake that was as easy as this to put together.  Talk about easy peasy-lemon squeezy.  Simple pantry items and you are on your way to  a nice square of chocolate cake heaven.

This makes a smallish 8" x 8" cake, which is a good size for me and Ole Sweetie-Pi.  There's no baking powder in it, so it does not rise to the top of the pan, probably about halfway as you can see.  The big bold chocolate flavor more than makes up for its diminutive size.

Last Minute Chocolate Cake
(From the Red Hat Society Cookbook)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 (rounded) tablespoons cocoa**
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter melted
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350*F.  Generously grease and flour an 8" x 8" baking pan and set aside.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa and baking soda.  Beat in the melted butter, milk, water, and vanilla. Pour into cake pan. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool completely and frost.

Mocha Frosting

(From the Red Hat Society Cookbook)

1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee**

1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar, or more if needed

Mix the coffee, cocoa and water together in a medium bowl to make a paste.  Add the softened butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar to make a spreadable consistency.  Spread the frosting over the cake.

Can't you almost taste this!

**MY NOTES:  The original cake recipe just simply calls for 3 tablespoons of cocoa.  I thought it didn't sound like enough and "rounded" the measuring.  In in the end I probably added 3 tablespoons with an extra teaspoon of cocoa (rounded measurements are different than heaping, but you know that, right?).

**The mocha frosting recipe called for 1 tablespoon instant coffee.  Gosh, that's a lot. I reduced the measuring to 1 1/2 teaspoons, and there was just enough hint of coffee flavor that greatly enhanced the chocolate flavor without overpowering it.  I would suggest starting with the smaller amount, sampling it, and adding more if you want a more assertive coffee flavor.  It's certainly easier to add than it is to take away.

Maraschino Cherry Cake with Fluffy Cherry Frosting



When I was a girl, I dreamed of this kind of cake, all pink and soft with fluffy pink cloud frosting.  It was the cake that I imagined princesses ate.  I had forgotten about those dreams until I ran across the recipe for Maraschino Cherry Cake in The American Century Cookbook (The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century) by Jean Anderson.  The moment I saw the recipe I couldn't get it out of my head.  My memories came back to haunt me; I needed to put them to rest.  Even in this present day, as I baked it, I imagined little girls in big shoes and big summer hats with bright silk flowers and lots of opera pearls slung about their necks enjoying this beautiful cake.

After making this cake, I can see why my mother never made it, smiles.  This is not a cake for the distracted, disorganized, or harried cook.  And for the safety of all, it would be wise not to have dashing pets and children in the kitchen.  The steps are not complicated, but there is some preparation involved.  While making the syrup for the frosting, you must be attentive or serious burn injury could result.  The frosting, while very good, is sticky and tends to string and flow about when and where you don't want it to. 

Regardless, if you want to feel like a princess or you know a little girl who is, this cake is fulfills all those dreams.

Read through the recipe first to get a feel for how the recipe flows.

Maraschino Cherry Cake

3 cups sifted cake flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter, room temperature

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

16 maraschino cherries, cut into eighths

5 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Prepare ahead of time:  Coarsely chop 1/2 cup  nuts.  Cut 16 maraschino cherries into eighths and set aside.  They can be put  together in the same bowl as they will be added at the same time. 

Combine the 1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice and 3/4 cup milk in a one cup measure.  Set aside.

The timing of the stiffly beaten egg whites is a little tricky.  Wait too long and they deflate and get weepy.   After creaming the sugar and butter and shortening, I washed off my egg beaters and then beat my egg whites just before the step that adds the nuts and cherries. 

Now onto the cake...

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Generously grease and flour two 9-inch round** layer cake pans and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together onto waxed paper or in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream butter, shortening, and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy (about five minutes). 

Add sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk-maraschino cherry juice mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Beat well after each addition.

Fold in nuts and cherries, then fold in the beaten egg whites.

Divide the batter between pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until springy to touch.

Cook cakes in pans on wire racks for about five minutes.  Using a thin blade knife loosen carefully around edges and turn out onto the racks.  Cool to room temperature.

Pink Cherry Maraschino 7-Minute Frosting

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice

3 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Mix sugar, corn syrup, water and cherry juice in medium heavy saucepan, covered, but with lid askew, and heat for five minutes over moderate heat.  Remove lid, insert candy thermometer, and heat, without stirring, until syrup reaches 242*F. (takes about 10-15 minutes).

In the meantime, put three egg whites in a medium sized bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.

When the syrup reaches 242*F, add the hot syrup to egg whites in a fine stream, beating hard the entire time.  Continue beating until mixture peaks stiffly, about 7 to 10 minutes.

**A final word ~ I used two 8" round 2" high cake pans to obtain a nice tall cake.  Baking time was increased by approximately 6 minutes because of the smaller sized pan.

This kind of frosting is best enjoyed on the day it is made.  It looks okay the second day, but by the third it is definitely weepy and crystallized looking.  I would suggest forgoing this frosting on a day with high humidity as it may not set up well for you.

I found the cherry flavor to be delicate.  The recipe does not call for it, but I am thinking perhaps a bit of almond extract might brighten the flavor.  I would be careful about adding cherry extract; you might end up with something akin to cough syrup.

Old Fashioned Butter Cake

How to start this post?  YUMMMM...we loved this cake...we couldn't stay away from it...we ate it for dessert and then we ate it for breakfast...  This beautiful cake recipe is a 100 year old treasure and a keeper!  Reeni of Cinnamon Girl discovered this recipe in an old McCall's cookbook published in 1910, and she too fell in love with this fluffy, moist, easy-to-prepare cake and was good enough to share it with the rest of us so that we could enjoy it as well.  Thank you, Reeni!  If you are not familiar with Reeni's blog, please take a few minutes to go and visit her.  Her food is fabulous, and her photography makes you want more!

At first I was skeptical that a cake recipe made with all-purpose flour could be be both fluffy and moist; in the past, I've only achieved that kind of result when using cake flour.  Also, I pretty consistently only have King Arthur Flour in the pantry, which tends to make a denser (but still delicious!) cake.  Imagine my surprise when my first bite revealed a cake that surpassed all expectations.  I don't know if it's the one tablespoon of baking powder or the four minutes total of beating, but whatever, the secret, this recipe works!
This will be a recipe that I will turn to again and again.

Old Fashioned Butter Cake
(from Reeni's Cinnamon Girl blog) 

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1  1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Grease and flour two 8 inch x 2 inch baking pans and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Add butter, milk, and vanilla.  With a hand mixer, beat for  2 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. 

Add eggs and beat for 2 minutes more.

Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally between the pans.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven.

Cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then turn cakes out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Frost with your favorite frosting.  I used my favorite chocolate frosting, the one on the back of the Hersey's cocoa can. 

"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
1/3 cup milk  (plus an additional few drops to make a nice consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter.  Stir in cocoa.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency.  Add more milk if needed.  Stir in vanilla.  About 2 cups frosting

Tea Ring

Do you dream of traveling, like photos from far off places, like a quirky sense of humor?  Then please visit my friend Jackie of Junk Boat Travels. It seems to be she has been just about everywhere, and she has tons of gorgeous photos documenting her travels.   One of Jackie's goals is to declutter, smiles, and as a result decided to reduce her collection of books.  She knows I'm a collector of sorts of antique cookbooks, and when she decided to make room in her abundant bookcase, she immediately thought of me. How fortunate am I!

One of the cookbooks she gave me is The Art of Cooking and Serving by Sarah Field Splint, printed in 1938.   It's a great little book, explaining how to set a formal table (gulp!  I have been putting folded napkins on the right side of the dinner plate and they should go on the left!), the different pieces of flatware and how to place them, how to choose china, and how to properly attire your maid for formal and informal occasions. Along with all information that are 549 tested recipes (as stated on the cover), and of those, I found this delightful tea ring with vanilla frosting. 

Some recipes, regardless of their age, are keepers, and this is one of them.  This tea ring is made from a  flaky biscuit dough.  In spite of its rustic appearance, the ring shape gives a touch of elegance.  I would be very pleased to serve this to any breakfast guest. 

Thanks, Jackie.  You are a dear!

Tea Ring

3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder (yes, that's the correct amount)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Crisco shortening
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup raisins 1/2 cup nuts, chopped

Mix and sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in Crisco with a knife or rub in with the finger tips. Add beaten egg, and enough milk to make a soft dough.  Roll out into a 1/4 inch thickness into a rectangular-shaped piece.  Spread lightly with softened Crisco,** sprinkle with raisins and nuts** and one tablespoon sugar.  Roll like a jelly roll lengthwise.  Bring ends together to make a circle and press together.  Put on a large greased pan and cut gashes around outside edge with scissors, 2 inches apart.  Bake in a 350*F oven 25 to 30 minutes.  Spread with confectioners' frosting.

Roll as if for jelly roll.  I used butter in place of the softened Crisco for spreading on the rolled out dough.We have a nut sensitivity here so I omitted them and sprinkled with cinnamon and lightly pressed the raisins into the dough so they'd be less likely to fall out when I cut into the tea ring shape.

Form into a circle and pinch ends together.  

Cut in slices about two inches apart, but not all the way through to the other side of the ring.  You want to leave a "hinge."

Gently turn the slices on their sides, slightly pulling them so that they fan out.

Confectioners' Frosting

1 1/2 tablespoons Crisco

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons milk or cream (or amount required needed for desired spreading consistency)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream Crisco, add sugar gradually and cream together thoroughly.  Add enough milk or cream to make the frosting the proper consistency to spread.  Add salt and vanilla and  mix well. 

1929 Double Boiler Orange Frosting

Never mind that this cupcake has a hump in the middle of it. Just squint your eyes and pretend it's not there. This post is all about the best orange frosting/glaze I ever put in my mouth. 

My brother Grant has a lady friend named Dakota, a true southern belle. I've never met Dakota as they have a long distance relationship, but I have seen him with her when they're on the phone together. His countenance immediately softens and and his eyes and smile brighten;  any hard edges of the day are immediately blunted the moment he hears her voice. I have female friends who make eyes at Grant and  they describe him as a manly man, a man's kind of man, (Really?  This is my brother they're talking about! To me, we are forever 5 and 10, and he will always be my baby brother.  When did he ever get to be a manly man?  Are we even talking about the same person.  I wonder.)  so when I see what sweetening effect that Dakota has on him, I am delighted.

Dakota, knowing that I absolutely love old fashioned cookbooks, surprised me with a gift.  She found a 1929 Lorain Cooking cookbook, published by the American Stove Company, St. Louis, Missouri.

As I thumbed through it, enjoying every recipe, even if only for its historical value (as I  hope we won't  be eating organ meats any time soon) this little recipe caught my eye because it's made with orange (one of my favorite flavors),  egg yolk, and is made in a double boiler. The ingredients are so simple, but the flavor is so good!

Even though the recipe is labeled a frosting,  to me, it's more of a gorgeous glaze or ganache because of the consistency and small amount if makes.  (I did not have enough to cover the dozen cupcakes I made.)  This would be perfect to glaze a bundt cake or a loaf cake or tea bread and this is certainly a recipe I will turn to again.  

Thank you, Dakota, this is a keeper!

Orange Frosting

 (Lorain Cooking cookbook, America Stove Company, St. Louis, MO, 1929)

1 tablespoon butter
1 egg yolk
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon orange juice**
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup confectioners' sugar

In the top of a double boiler,  put the butter.  Heat it over hot water until butter melts.  In a separate, small bowl, beat the egg yolk, add the salt, and fruit juices.  Stir into the melted butter. Continue to stir and cook until the mixture thickens. 

Remove from the flame and remove the top part of the double boiler from the lower part.  Add the sugar and mix it with the other ingredients.  Set aside until cool.**

**My thoughts on this...
I didn't have orange juice, but I did have a small amount of leftover orange juice concentrate in the freezer, which I used.  This made the  flavor was very orange-y, but I liked it.
**I don't have a double boiler and have no intention of purchasing one.  I use a heat-proof  Pyrex bowl and set it inside a sauce pan, the rim of the Pyrex bowl fitting over the rim of sauce pan.I make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl, heating the water to just simmering. Wear some potholders and exercise some care when removing the Pyrex bowl.
**When this is first cooked, it is quite runny, like a glaze, but it will harden and thicken somewhat as it cools. Because I would want this to be still somewhat pourable, I would use it while it was barely warm, giving it a good stir before pouring it my cake. 

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I think I read on an old Salada tea tag line (remember those?) that the only way to overcome temptation is to give in to it.  I pretty much adhere to that philopsophy, considering it's not immoral or illegal, grins.

My bloggy friend, Debbie, from Mocha Me, has some some of the most tempting recipes.  She shares my love of  baking, and I know when I go and visit with her that she's been cooking up something irresistible.  With her recent snowy weather she's been cooking up her own storm and among these was this delicious Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Ordinarily, I'm not big on banana cakes as they seem to lack the fullness and richness of the banana flavor that I seek, but the idea of a banana cake with cream cheese frosting enticed me, and with four very ripe bananas  begging for attention, I could not resist.

I am most certainly pleased that I gave in to temptation as this cake is delicious!  The cake is moist, the banana flavor shines through (you'll notice no extracts to compete with the bananas), and the cream cheese frosting is an excellent choice. Once Sweetie-Pi accepted that this is a banana cake and not banana bread, he liked it as much as I do.

Thanks, Debbie, this recipe is a keeper!

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2/3 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs, whites and yolks separated

2 cups mashed bananas (approximately 4 medium)

1 cup milk

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
 

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/4 cup butter, softened (if using salted butter, omit dash of salt listed at the end)

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

dash salt

Generously grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and set aside.  Preheat oven to 350*F.

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add bananas and milk; mix until just combined. 

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture; beat for 2 minutes.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into batter. 

Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes***or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and then frost.

For the frosting:  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt; beat until smooth. Spread over cake. Store in the refrigerator.

***My baking times more closely matched Debbie's; my cake definitely was not done at the end of 35 minutes.  I had to cover with a sheet of tin foil and continue to bake for another 20 minutes or so.  The top of the cake stuck to the tin foil, but frosting repaired its torn appearance and no one was the wiser.  I think the added baking time may have made the cake a little tough, but it still tasted good!

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake with Mousse Filling and Chocolate Frosting

I've posted this Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake once before, but I am posting it again as I have added a mousse filling that brings this cake to an entirely new level.  It is very rich, chocolaty and elegant. If you want a cake that's made to impress, give serious consideration to this beauty. 

The flavor of this cake is over the moon good.  You will think you are riding the tail of a comet, taking you to the place where chocolate dreams are made and come true.  You will not want to come back.

Trust me.

I kid you not.

Ole Sweetie-Pi and I were invited to spend the weekend with his older sister, Susan (who, in her own right, is an excellent cook) and her Significant Other.  I am a little intimated by her.  Susan is the eldest and is accustomed to being In Charge.  I, too, am the oldest sibling in my family and accustomed to being In Charge.  However, as she's had more practice at being the eldest, I am not in charge. Ole Sweetie-Pi and Susan have a family member who was referred to as Fort Gra-Gra.  Apparently, this is a dominant gene that is passed on to the females in the family; this gene does not skip generations.

When this cake was served, and the first forkfuls passed everyone's lips, I waited...and waited for a reaction. Silence...a moment of reverence.  Smiles broke out around the table.

I get to be in charge of making the chocolate cake from now on.

To begin, make the mousse and set aside in the refrigerator.  Bake the cake and mix the frosting.  (Recipes to follow.)  When the cake is baked, let cool thoroughly, and then cut in half horizontally. I think it might be a good idea to slightly freeze the layers for ease in handling.  Place one of the cake layers on your serving plate and pipe a dam of frosting around the circumference of the cake.

 

Fill inside the inside of the dam with a generous portion of that gorgeous mousse and smooth. 

Do this with the remaining layers, leaving the top of the cake plain as it will be frosted.

Frost the outside and top of the cake with the frosting. Decorate as desired; I don't have any real cake decorating skills, but I have dressed this up with chocolate covered strawberries when strawberries were in season. Refrigerate any extra mousse and frosting.  Finished cake should also be refrigerated and taken out just before serving time. 

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups Hershey's cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350* Fahrenheit.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Combine dry ingredients into large bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Stir in boiling water.  (Batter will be thin.)  Pour into pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks.  Cool completely.

"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter.  Stir in cocoa.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency.  Add more milk if needed.  Stir in vanilla.  About 2 cups frosting.

Chocolate Mousse

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups cold, heavy cream, plus an additional 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine the confectioners' sugar and 1/2 cup heavy cream.  Stir over low heat. 

Add the semisweet chocolate chips, stirring frequently as they melt and the mixture becomes well blended.

Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and set this mixture aside.

In a separate, large bowl, beat the remaining 1 1/2 cup heavy cream on medium speed and gradually add the granulated sugar.  When all the sugar has been incorporated, beat the mixture on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, taking care not to overmix.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before using on your cake.

Pork and Beans Spice Cake

We've had our first official snowfall this season, two inches of snow that is here to stay . It fell softly, pristinely, flurrying, in dizzy spins , obscuring the view of the hills that make our valley, cloaking everything in white silence. It was a day to cuddle up, watch some old movies, and eat cake and drink hot coffee.

My thoughts turned to spice cake. Specifically, pork and beans spice cake. Yes, you read it right. Pork and beans. In a spice cake. Now, don't get all oogly on me here. While this sounds like an unlikely combination, this is a delicious, heavy, but moist cake, with a subtle flavor of cinnamon. If I didn't tell you about the pork and beans, you'd never guess, and you'd like it, too. I think it's an overstatement to call this a spice cake, but what's in a name, right? And besides, what else are you going to do with a cup and half of leftover baked beans.

Before I share the recipe that I found on Recipezaar, I'd like to say that I deviated from the directions a bit. The directions say to mush up the baked beans and a can of crushed pineapple, leaving a somewhat chunky appearance. I cannot do that. I put mine into a blender and puree the two ingredients together until smooth. It's a textural thing. It's a visual thing. It's because of a book I read while I was in grade school.

When we were in grade school, we had to read a biography called Mrs. Mike written by Benedict and Nancy Freeman. The story is set in the early 1900's and is a love story that takes place in the Canadian wilderness, and details the hardships of a young Canadian Mounty and his young bride. One episode describes the young couple at a long table shared by other diners. The details escape me, but I think snow must have been boiled for water, and a tin cup of it was being passed around for everyone to take a swallow. When it was passed to Mrs. Mike, she looked into it and saw a single baked bean floating in it. She passed the mug to the next diner. After 45 years, I still cannot get that revolting imagine of the one baked bean floating in a shared tin cup of water. And I cannot have bits of baked beans bobbing about in my spice cake.

Pork and Beans Spice Cake



16 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) pork and beans
8 ounces crushed pineapple, undrained
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup oil
4 eggs

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick butter) at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1-pound box confectioners' sugar
1 16-ounce bag pecans, finely diced, reserving one half cup for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously grease and flour two cake pans. The original directions do not include the size; I used two 8 inch x 2 inch pans, but found the cooking time listed to be too short. A 9-inch cake pan would probably be better.

In a blender of food processor combine the baked beans and the undrained can of crushed pineapple. Process until it's a smooth puree. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the eggs, sugar, and oil. Beat at medium speed for two minutes.

Add the bean-pineapple mixture and beat until combined.

Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Because my pans were smaller than what was probably intended, I baked mine for an additional 15 minutes or so and had to cover the cakes with tinfoil to prevent overbrowning.)

Remove from pans and cool thoroughly on racks.

To make the frosting: For the smoothest frosting, make sure that your cream cheese and butter are at room temperature so that when you beat them there won't be any hard chunks. Put the cream cheese and butter in a medium sized bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Add the vanilla, beat to combine. Add the confectioners' sugar, stirring with a spoon to combine in the beginning to prevent the sugar from flying all over your workspace, and then using your mixer to thoroughly blend together. Add the chopped pecans (remembering to hold back one half cup).

When the cakes are cooled, level the tops of the cakes if you need to, and place the topside of the cake facing the bottom of the plate (bottomside is facing up towards you). Frost. Do the same with the second cake. Frost the top and the sides. With the one half cup of reserved pecans, liberally sprinkle the top.

Once again I deviated. I did not use an entire 16 ounce bag of pecans; I used walnuts because that's what I had. Also, because nuts are expensive and I'm the only one who enjoys them in baked goods, I eyeballed a generous amount and sprinkled them just between the layers and on the top.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate "Chocolate Cake & 7-Minute Frosting

My Ole Sweetie-Pi just turned 61, and when asked what kind of cake he wanted, he requested the same cake that his mother made and the one that he's wanted through the years, chocolate cake with 7-minute frosting.

I have several favorite chocolate cake recipes that I turn to again and again; one of them is the back of the can recipe on the Hershey's Cocoa can, "Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate. Cake. This cake is moist, dark, chocolately, and truly deserves its name.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

Divide equally between two pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan to racks. Cool completely. Frost. (Because this cake is so moist, be careful when handling it, it likes to stick to the cooling racks.)

This cake is a good keeper; even after three days, it will still as moist as it was on the first day.


Seven minute frosting is not my personal favorite to eat or to prepare. It's sweet, sticky, (like marshmallow fluff) and can be a little cantankerous to get it to the point where you can use it. (The first time Ole Sweetie-Pi asked me for this frosting, I panicked because I had heard how difficult it could be.) Take your time, follow the directions, have your ingredients, bowls, pot, hot water and beater ready; be prepared to stand over it while it's being beaten, (depending on weather, it may take longer than 7 minutes, today it took 15 minutes because it was cold and rainy outside!) and it should work.

Once it's on the cake, it's positively beautiful. It's glossy, fluffy, understated splendor. With just a flick of my offset spatula, I can make little pulls and peaks in the frosting that make me look as if I know how to decorate a cake (which I most assuredly do not!). This is probably the prettiest cake that I make.

Seven-Minute Frosting

2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
pinch of salt
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients except vanilla in the top of a double boiler. Beat one minute or until thoroughly mixed. Then place this over boiling water (making sure the bottom of the pan does not touch the boiling water) and beat constantly at high speed of an electric mixer for seven minutes (frosting will stand in stiff peaks--you may need to beat it longer to reach this point).
Occasionally stir the frosting from the bottom and sides of the pan to ensure that the frosting is well combined.

Remove the pan from the boiling water and pour at once into a large bowl. Add the vanilla and beat one minute, until thick enough to spread.

You should have enough to generously cover tops and sides of two 8- or 9-inch layers, sides and tops, or a 10-inch tube cake.

This frosting is best enjoyed the day it is made. It starts to droop and crystallize on the second day.

I do not have a double boiler. I use a Pyrex bow with a rim of that sits nicely outside the rim of one of my pots. I do need oven mitts to remove the bowl, but that's a small inconvenience for the cost of a single-use pot, considering I have limited storage space.

Next year when Ole Sweetie-Pi is 62, we'll be having "Perfectly Chocolate" chocolate cake and 7-minute frosting. It's a delicious tradition.

Frosted Orange Rolls from the Lion House

The first time I made these orange rolls was this past Easter. Unfortunately, their presentation wasn't the best, and no amount of turning them to get their best side improved their appearance or my temperament and I decided not to post. So, this is my second attempt, and alas, my skill at rolling them them for a beautiful presentation hasn't improved, but I'm posting away.

I selected the four prettiest rolls for you; the other 14 rolls seemed to have a mind of their own, more so than these four, rising in all manner of disrespectful direction and size. Grins. Oh, well.

Regardless of their appearance, these rolls are light and fluffy and without question the single best breakfast roll I have ever made. I used two mineolas which probably yielded more orange zest than two regular sized oranges, as well as the mineola juice. The fresh citrusy flavor and aroma just filled my senses. As the rolls were baking, Ole Sweetie-Pi couldn't find enough reasons to walk through the kitchen to catch a whiff. I barely had spooned on the frosting and he was there waiting for me to offer him the first hot, gooey roll. I gladly obliged him, but I had beaten him to the first bite though. I ate one while I was frosting the rest!

These rolls take some time to put together; I spent about four hours this morning beginning with pulling out the first bowl to taking the first warm, drippy frosting, orange-filled, fragrant bite. It was totally worth the effort, and no question, this recipe is a a keeper.

Marble Cake Supreme with Lemon Cream Icing

I was out thrifting with Sweetie-Pi and I spied a charming little pamphlet called "10 Cakes Husbands Like Best from Spry's Recipe Round-Up!" How could I resist that? I couldn't! There's no copyright or publishing information in the booklet, but the pictures are all in black and white and "Aunt Jenny," looks like Donna Reed or the original Betty Crocker, so I suspect it was published 40's to the 50's sometime.

I haven't had a marble cake since I don't know when, and it's been even longer than that since I've baked one. I don't know why; it's one of my favorite cakes, but typically we just go for the single flavor cake. With this booklet in hand as inspiration, I decided to make Marble Cake Supreme first.


I'm going to give you the directions as they were written, and then I'll follow with my thoughts.

Read through the directions first, as the ingredients are added and mixed at different times, with the eggs being added in two separate additions.

Oven temperature 375F. Baking time 60-70 minutes.

Marble Cake Supreme
Sift
2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
into a mixing bowl

Add
1 cup Spry (shortening, sic)
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 unbeaten egg

Beat
200 strokes (2 minutes by hand or on a mixer at low speed). Scrape bowl and spoon or beater

Add
2 unbeaten eggs, 1 unbeaten egg yolk
Beat 200 strokes (same as above)

Put 1/3 of batter in a smaller mixing bowl.

Add
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon cloves
3/8 teaspoon allspice
3/4 tablespoon cocoa
to 1/3 of the batter (they mean this portion, not another 1/3)

Spoon
both batters alternately by tablespoons into Spry-coated 8 1/2 inch tube pan.

Run
spatula through batter several times to marble

Bake until cake tests done. Cool and remove from pans. Spread with Lemon Cream Icing.

Lemon Cream Icing
In mixing bowl, blend 2 tablespoons Homogenized Spry (shortening), 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Beat in 1/2 c sifted confectioners' sugar. Add 5 tablespoons scalded light cream and 2 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, alternately, beating well after each addition. Tint delicately with a few drops of yellow food coloring,if desired. Yield: frosting for top and sides of 8 1/2" tube cake.

My thoughts: This cake was dry and crumbly. I think it's because the recipe says to cook at 375F and most of our recipes today say 350F. Secondly, the cooking time is way off. Recipe says 60-70 minutes. My cake was overdone at 45 minutes (which could account for some of the dryness, I suspect).

The spices in the chocolate were unusual; not entirely disagreeable, just a surprise. Also, I didn't try to figure out 3/4 of a tablespoon. My math skills are abysmal; I used a level tablespoon. No, I do not think that little extra bit of cocoa is what made the cake dry.

The lemon frosting is very good; it had a bright lemon flavor, and I really liked it. I'm not entirely convinced it should go on a marble cake.

Sweetie-Pi and I both had a small portion of this today, and rated it a "Hmmmmmm." I'm going ahead and making the nine remaining cakes in the "10 Cakes Husbands Like Best" booklet. I'm definitely reducing the heat next time (all the recipes call for 375F) and will adjust the cooking times based on what we know today.

And, if the other cakes turn out well, I may round back and try this one again. I think it has potential.

It does make me wonder whose husband liked this cake best, though.

Spanish Cake

My beloved grandmother often made Spanish Cake for dessert and this is very first cake that I learned how to bake. It's humble, not anything like today’s lofty, three-tiered, mousse -filled, marzipan decorated confections we've come to know as cake.




It's a single loaf, aromatic with a full tablespoon of cinnamon, nutty, frosted with a simple buttercream frosting. This little cake was meant to be served as a little sweet after dinner--it was dessert, when desserts were a common part of the family dinner. As we've become busier, this tradition has faded, like the yellow pages of my grandmother's sole cookbook, Rumford Cookbook (my grandmother’s copy was published in 1933 but there have been numerous reprints over the decades by the Rumford Baking Powder people). But it is no less well-loved.

For me cooking is about tradition; it's a connection with our past, a link to our future. I am richly blessed with two beautiful nieces, Hilliary and Laura. When they were wee girls, they used to come and stay with me and we used to talk, play, learn things together. One afternoon, I brought out my grandmother's treasured cookbook (now yellowed, fragile, pages crumbling, repaired binding falling away). I started by saying, “When I was little, this was the very first cake your great-grandmother taught me…”

We proceeded together, laughing, sugar and flour in the air, in our hair, about the counter, even some in the huge ceramic mixing bowl. We took turns, measuring, mixing, reading the directions. Laura, the youngest, was chosen to fold in the egg whites.

That day I could see my grandmother's hand. I felt her soft, wrinkled hand holding mine. In my heart I also felt her approval as I now held Laura's hand, guiding her: cut, sweep, fold over; cut, sweep, fold over. Someday, if my nieces choose to have children and if I'm fortunate enough to cook with them, I'm going to teach them this recipe. And I’m going to start by saying, "When I was little, this was the very first cake your great-great grandmother taught me..."

You'll notice there's no salt, and that's the way I've always made it. Similar recipes on the web add 1/4 teaspoon, which I think would be fine, too. I leave that up to your tastebuds to decide.


Spanish Cake
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened but not melted
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon (yes, that's right, an entire tablespoon)
2/3 cup chopped nuts
2 egg whites, beaten to stiff peak

Grease and set aside a 9x5 loaf pan. Chop the nuts and set aside. Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream the butter and sugar until a nice, light creamy consistency is achieved, about three minutes.

Add the milk, mix well.

Sift together all the dry ingredients and add gradually to the wet ingredients. Stir in the chopped nuts.

Whip the egg whites to a stiff peak. This means that when you lift the beaters from the beaten egg whites they will stand up straight, not fold over (which is soft peak). The egg whites will go from soft to stiff peak pretty quickly so take the time to check your progress. Overbeaten egg whites will break down and you'll have to start over.

Add the egg whites to the batter by folding them in. Folding is not stirring! The best tool is a sturdy spatula. With the side of the spatula, cut into the batter, sweep that portion towards you, turning the spatula over to bring the bottom of the batter up over the top of the egg whites. Turn the bowl, repeat the motion. Continue to repeat until there are no more egg whites showing. Doing this to add loft and tenderness to the cake. Stirring will break down the air that you're trying to add.

Bake in a 350F oven for about 45 minutes, using a wooden toothpick to test the center for doneness. Depending on your oven, you may need a little less or a little more time. I peek at 40 minutes and give it a little poke and then start adding minutes. Cool completely on a rack. Frost.


Really Good Buttercream Frosting

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup butter (try not to use margarine or shortening; it just won't have the same delicious flavor), softened but not melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon whipping cream (you could substitute milk here, but the cream is heavenly)

Measure the sugar and butter into a medium bowl. Mix until well blended; you're looking for a nice creamy appearance where the sugar has lost its grainy appearance.

Add the vanilla and cream and continue to beat. Add more cream, in small drops, as necessary to achieve a desirable spreading consistency. If you became heavy handed with the cream, just add in a little confectioners' sugar.