Cakes

Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake

By Cheri in Cakes, Sweets 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I first posted about our brand new baby girl. Ahhhh! *tears* She’s growing up too fast! I love the baby stage. Just look at those cute baby cheeks (below) and tell me you don’t want to squish them all day long. I know there’s a lot of wonderful times ahead and I’m looking forward to it all so much. But, it’s ok for me to be a little sad that my baby girl is taking one more step to adulthood right?

I wanted to give her a simple but girly birthday party so I decided to go with the theme of Strawberry & Lime. I know that at this age she really couldn’t care less about her birthday so I tried to keep everything simple and stress-free. After-all I wanted to spend lot’s of time with the birthday girl.

The main star to the show (besides the sweet baby) was the Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake – a white cake sandwiched with coconut lime curd and smothered in whipped strawberry frosting. Fruity, refreshing and girly.

The decoration was extremely easy to do and the result was so precious. Perfect for a little girl’s birthday party. I followed a tutorial from Sockerru, where you pipe big dots of frosting and smooth them out with a spoon (I used the Ateco tip# 808 to pipe on the dots). Seriously, it was so simple and quick, anyone could do it. The key is to make the crumb coat as smooth and flat as possible so that everything looks even (I follow this method to smooth my frosting). The only thing I couldn’t figure out was how to finish it up in the back where the pattern met. The solution I came up with? Put the seam in the back where no one can see it. :D

Happy Birthday to my favourite baby girl!

Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake

White Cake
  • 3 cups cake flour*
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup milk
  • 8 large egg whites, room temperature (save the yolks for the curd below)

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and 2 cups sugar for several minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Mixing on low-speed, add flour in 3 additions, alternating with milk, starting and ending with flour. Beat just until combined.

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites on low until foamy. Add 1/4 cup sugar and beat on high just until stiff, glossy peaks form when beater is lifted.

Gently fold 1/3 egg whites into butter/flour mixture to loosen batter. Fold in remaining whites.

Divide batter between 2 9-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper rounds and spayed with cooking spray; smooth tops. Bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool 20 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off parchment. Cool completely on wire wracks before wrapping in plastic wrap to store.

*To make your own cake flour place 2 tablespoons cornstarch into a 1 cup measuring cup, spoon in enough all-purpose flour to fill. Sift several times to combine. This makes 1 cup cake flour.

Coconut Lime Curd
  • 1 (15 oz) can coconut milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • 6 eggs yolk
  • green food colouring, if desired

Place 1 cup coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Mix together the remaining coconut milk and the cornstarch. Pour into the saucepan, stirring to combine. Lower heat to medium, add butter and whisk until melted together. Whisk in lime juice and egg yolks. Cook, stirring often, until thick and it coats the back of a spoon. Do not overcook or eggs will start to scramble. Stir in food colouring, if desired. Allow the mixture to cool slightly and then pour into a heat-proof bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to stop condensation. Allow to cool completely before refrigerating. Beat, to loosen, before spreading on cake layers.

Whipped Strawberry Frosting
  • 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups icing sugar, sifted
  • 1/4 cup strawberry puree (from frozen, thawed berries is fine)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a stand mixer, beat butter for 6 minutes, until pale and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat for an additional 6 minutes, until light and creamy.

If not using all of it right away beat by hand with a spatula, to remove any air bubbles, before using.

To Assemble

Trim tops of cakes flat. Carefully cut each cake in half to make 4 layers of cake (here’s a great video to show you how). Place one cake layer on serving platter, spread with some of the coconut lime curd. Place another cake layer on top and spread with more coconut lime curd. Repeat one more time and then top with the last cake layer (you will have leftover curd). Crumb coat the cake to glue the crumbs to the cake and to make sure none of the curd shows through the frosting. Refrigerate 10 minutes to set. Frost as desired. Refrigerate until serving.

White Cake adapted from Martha Stewart. Coconut Lime Curd adapted from Donna Hay Dec/Jan 2012.

Pear & Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake

By Cheri in Breakfast, Cakes, Snacks, Sweets 11 Comments Tags: , , ,

Pear & Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake

It took me four hours to get this coffee cake in the oven. This has no reflection on the difficulty of the recipe but rather my life as a mom. From exploding diapers to early bath times to bedtime tantrums this cake went through many waiting periods. I think it’s pretty safe to say it’s a foolproof recipe.

I’m a big fan of coffee cakes. They’re not overly sweet and, just like muffins, they’re really just an excuse to eat cake for breakfast. :) This cake is light in both taste and texture. A refreshing break from all the heavy and rich baked goods that are everywhere this time of year.

My hubby isn’t a fan of pears but he loved this (LOVED it). So did I. It’s one of those cakes that’s hard to stop eating. Breakfast. Coffee. Dessert. Too many excuses to steal a little slice.

Pear & Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Streusel & Filling
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup cold butter
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 medium pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
Cake
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter , softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 (8 oz) carton sour cream
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

For the streusel topping and filling: Stir together walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl grate cold butter into flour and break up with your fingers to make coarse crumbs. Stir 3/4 cup of the nut mixture into the flour mixture to make streusel. Set remaining nut mixture and streusel topping aside.

For the cake: Combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl beat the softened butter until smooth. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in flour mixture and sour cream, in three additions, starting and ending with flour.

Spread two-thirds of the batter into a greased 9 inch springform pan. Sprinkle with the reserved nut mixture. Layer pears on top. Carefully spread remaining batter over the pears. Sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake at 350ºF for 10 minutes. For a crunchy topping, sprinkle with the 1/2 cup walnuts. Bake an additional 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing the side of the springform pan. Cool one hour before serving.

Makes: 12 servings

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens.

Mocha-Chip-Fudge Cheesecake

By Cheri in Cakes, Chocolate, Creamy, Sweets 8 Comments Tags: , , ,

Mocha-Chip-Fudge Cheesecake

In all my time in Norway not once did I see a block of cream cheese. Spreadable cream cheese was everywhere but the one time I tried to make a cheesecake with it (in my desperation) it did not end well. Three years is far too long to go without a slice of cheesecake!

So you can imagine that it was at the top of my list of things to make when we moved to New York. And, I can now say, it was worth the wait! It was pretty hard to decide which one to make first but I’ve been craving coffee lately (I credit that to the exhaustion of furnishing an entire house from scratch in one week. Whew.) so I decided to go with Mocha Chip. It was a great choice.

On a whim I added a mocha fudge topping because I thought it might pretty it up a bit. In the end I can’t imagine the cheesecake without it. It gave it a much more intense chocolate flavour that I think would have been lacking without it. I don’t think I need to go into much description about how good this tastes. Mocha. Fudge. Cheesecake. Enough said right?

In order to help myself have some self-restraint and not be wasteful (who wants to waste cheesecake?), I decided to slice these into individual servings and freeze them. That way if we’ve got company, or are craving an indulgent dessert, I can just pull out as many as we need, let them thaw and then serve. I love the idea of having something in my freezer to serve guests that doesn’t take any work but is more special than just cookies (although there’s nothing wrong with “just” cookies).

I was a little nervous about making cheesecake again. It had been such a long time that I’d built it up in my head as something difficult. But it couldn’t have been more easy. I hope you try it soon.

Mocha-Chip-Fudge Cheesecake

My springform pan is almost 10 inches and it worked fine for this recipe. I just didn’t press the crumbs as far up the sides of the pan.

Crust

Combine cookie crumbs and sugar, stir in butter until evenly coated. Press into the bottom and approximately 2 inches up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan.

Mocha Chip Filling
  • 3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in flour until well combined. At low-speed, beat in eggs just until combined.

Mix together cream and instant coffee. Let sit for 1 minute, stir to dissolve. Add to cream cheese mixture along with vanilla. Stir just until evenly distributed. Stir in 3/4 cup chocolate chips.

Pour cream cheese mixture into crust. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

Bake at 325ºF for 50-60 minutes or until centre is almost set. Let cool completely at room temperature.

Mocha Fudge Topping
  • 6 oz. (1/2 of 12 oz. package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

Put all ingredients in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute at 50%. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Spread on top of cooled cheesecake.

Cover cheesecake with foil and refrigerate overnight.

To serve: Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Warm a sharp knife under hot tap water, wipe it dry with a clean kitchen towel and cut one slice. Rinse it clean under hot tap water and repeat.

Makes: 14 servings

Adapted from TasteofHome.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

By Cheri in Cakes, Fall, Sweets, Thanksgiving 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a great last-minute dessert for company or when your craving something pumpin-y. I got this recipe from my cousin Rachel. It comes together in one bowl with simple ingredients and results in a comforting moist yet fluffy spiced cake.

This is the kind of dessert that I can eat way to much of. The cake itself is so delicious that we’ve enjoyed it even without the cream cheese frosting. But as everyone knows cream cheese frosting and spice cake go hand in hand and it definitely puts this over the top.

I know everyone has a different definition of sheet cake. A sheet cake to me is a one layer square or rectangular cake, any size. They are simple to make for last-minute company but since you’re serving them cake they’ll feel like you’ve laboured.

Its natural orange color (which is more vibrant when using canned pumpkin) makes it a perfect dessert for any Halloween parties in your future. For a simple decoration make a spiderweb pattern on the frosting with chocolate syrup. You could either do it over the whole cake or on individual pieces. The frosting stays soft so there should be no problems doing it just before serving (but you could also do it ahead if you prefer).

Whatever event you serve this at, be assured that people will be asking for more.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Double this recipe for a 9×13 pan.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree

Whisk together oil, sugar and eggs. Whisk in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, until no lumps remain. Stir in pumpkin puree until evenly distributed. Pour into a greased or parchment lined 8×8 baking pan. Bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 2 oz. (1/4 cup) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tablespoon butter, softened
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons icing (confectioners) sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoons heavy cream (or 1/2 teaspoon milk)

Cream together cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Whisk in icing sugar until smooth. Stir in cream until evenly distributed. Spread onto cooled cake.

Makes: 9 servings

Perfect Party Cake and Frosting

By Cheri in Cakes, Chocolate, Sweets 10 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Perfect Party Cake and Frosting

I know it may seem a bit presumptuous of me to put the word “perfect” in the title of this blog post but there are a couple of reasons why it’s there.

  1. The chocolate cake is light while still remaining moist and sturdy.
  2. Because the cake is sturdy it makes for easy decorating, trimming, etc.
  3. The frosting is smooth, creamy, light and not overly sweet.
  4. The frosting is easy to make smooth and holds up well for long periods of time without refrigeration.
  5. Both the cake and the frosting are absolutely delicious.

To me all those things add up to a perfect party cake. I used the recipes in my Cars themed birthday cake and the Timmy Time themed birthday cake below.

While I’m still on the search for the perfect vanilla cake I’ll be sticking with this chocolate cake and not bothering to look for any others. It really is just perfect. And, although I do think it’s possible to have more than one perfect recipe for the same thing, why look for another when I already have this one?

As far as frostings go, you really can’t beat this recipe for its ease and flavour. It is my favourite frosting to date. I’m sure I’ll try a more complicated recipe, like Swiss Meringue, for some adult cakes here and there but this will definitely be my go to. Especially for decorated party cakes.

Need some tips on stacking cakes? Check out the Cars Themed Birthday Cake post.

Chocolate Party Cake

For 6 inch cakes fill each cake tin with 1.5-2 cups batter and check for doneness earlier then the suggested time. For 10 inch cakes fill with 5 3/4-6 cups batter and bake for longer then the suggested time. 

  • 3 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/3 cups sour cream
  • 1 1/3 cups boiling water

Cream together brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla; turn beaters to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add in three additions, alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Stir in water until evenly blended. Pour into 3, 8-inch round cake pans, sprayed with cooking spray and lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350ºF for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off parchment paper. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Makes: 3, 8-inch cakes (9 cups of batter)

Whipped Vanilla Frosting

This recipe can be easily doubled or halved to suite the amount of frosting needed for your cake. I would do 1.5 recipes to frost and fill a 3 layer 8-inch cake (as above).

  • 1 cup (250g) butter, softened
  • 2 cups icing sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a stand mixer, beat butter for 6 minutes, until pale and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat for an additional 6 minutes, until light and creamy.

If not using all of it right away beat by hand with a spatula, to remove any air bubbles, before using.

Cake adapted from Taste of Home. Frosting adapted from Donna Hay.

Maple Walnut Cake for Canada Day

By Cheri in Cakes, Sweets 19 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Maple Walnut Cake for Canada Day

As this is posting I’m flying high in the sky over the North Atlantic Ocean for a last-minute trip to go visit family in Canada. I’m super excited because it’s been almost two years since I’ve seen some of them and that is far too long! And, for once I’ll actually be in Canada on Canada Day. Woot!

Maple flavoured goods have to be one of Canada’s pride and joys. We love maple so much we even put a maple leaf on our flag, I mean c’mon! :) Whenever I think of making something for Canada Day I always have to include something maple and this time I was really in the mood for cake.

More Canada Day Treats

I iced it with a maple-coffe glaze but honestly I found it too sweet and prefered the cake on its own, so I haven’t included the recipe for that below. If I were to frost it next time I think I would use this Maple-Brown Sugar Frosting or serve it plain and top it with some Maple Whipped Cream or Maple Walnut Ice Cream. Mmm.

The cake is light and moist with the distinct taste of maple. I found it extremely addictive because the cake itself is not overly sweet and when desserts are not overly rich or sweet I always find myself eating far too much of it. I love maple and walnuts together so I couldn’t help but toss some in for a little added crunch and excitement.

Since I’ll be gone for the next couple of weeks my posts may be a little shorter than normal. But, it’s summer and who wants to spend tons of time on the computer anyways right? :) I also have some fantastic guest posters lined up so things will definitely not go stale.

Wish me luck as I get over 8 hour jet lag with a 3 year old and 5 month old. Woo Hoo! :)

What do you like to make for Canada Day?

Maple Walnut Cake

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cream together butter and sugar. Stir in syrup. Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until incorporated. Stir in flour and baking powder. Fold in walnuts.

Spread evenly into a greased 8×8 square baking pan. Bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting as desired.

Makes: 9 servings

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