Caramel Apple Cake with Apple Cider Frosting

 We had a few friends and family over this weekend for lunch. One of the guy's birthday was the following day so I told him I'd make a cake. I thought this sounded like the perfect fall birthday cake!

Caramel Apple Cake with Apple Cider Frosting-shared from A Hint Of Honey
Cake:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour(used white whole wheat)
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup caramel sauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.

Whisk dry ingredients together except sugar. In another large mixing bowl combine sugar, oil, applesauce, caramel, and vanilla, beat until well combined.Add eggs in one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with buttermilk, and continue to mix until well combined.

Pour batter into cake pans and bake until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes and then gently remove cake from pan. Let cool completely.

Apple Cider Frosting:
about 6 cups powdered sugar*
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup apple cider
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

*the original recipe called for 7 1/2-8 cups sugar, but I found at 6 it was plenty sweet enough

Place all ingredients in mixer and beat until light and fluffy.

Place cake on cake plate and trim if needed. Place about 1 cup of sugar on top and spread out. Lay second layer on top and frost cake with remaining frosting. Allow frosting to set before serving!


**This cake was PHENOMENAL!! It was moist and not to sweet. The frosting had a nice cinnamon taste to it and added a nice touch to the cake. Everyone loved it!

Cake Batter Waffles

 I think this will definitely be a new tradition in our house for birthdays!! I meant to get a vanilla cake mix because K doesn't like chocolate in the morning...but then I remembered it was MY birthday and not his, and I LOVE chocolate cake! This is quite simple to make and delicious!

Cake Batter Waffles-found on pinterest
cake mix
extra ingredients needed found on cake mix box(i did use applesauce instead of oil)
Toppings: homemade whipped cream, ice cream, sprinkles(we had whipped cream)

Preheat waffle maker. Make cake mix as directed on package.  Laddle onto hot griddle and cook according to waffle maker's directions.

Serve waffles with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream and sprinkled with some festive sprinkles!

**These were delicious and I loved how easy they were! They also made for a fun birthday breakfast! Next time I may try a homemade batter, I was just trying to keep it low key!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

*Sorry no picture...I had every intention of taking one and then the cake was GONE!
This recipe I stumbled on in one of my magazines. I have since made it twice and brought it to a cook out a couple weeks ago! It is perfect for this time of year when zucchini is plentiful!

I am also fairly certain that if you don't TELL the people eating this that there is zucchini it in...they will never know!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour(1/2 whole wheat)
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 recipe for peanut butter frosting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 9x13 inch pan if needed.(This is also great for cupcakes!)

In a large bowl stir together zucchini, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add in dry ingredients and stir well to combine. Place in cake pan and cook until toothpick comes out clean about 30-35 mins.

Allow to cool and top with peanut butter frosting.

**This is a delicious and moist cake! It got rave reviews at the cook out! I do normally mix in applesauce for the oil but it didn't look right so all oil it was! The frosting isn't overly sweet and is the perfect compliment to the moist cake!

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

I apologize for the lack of recipes posting...and this one doesn't even have a picture! But it is worth it even with out the picture!

I had some leftover pumpkin from the cinnamon chip muffins I made last week so when Hallee posted this recipe I decided to make it for the week.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake-shared from Hallee the Homemaker
Topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp cold butter, cut up
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans(omitted)

Cake;
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar(used a little less do to the yogurt)
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt(I did use greek vanilla)
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together dry ingredients. Combine yogurt, pumpkin, and vanilla. In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and yogurt to the butter mixture, mixing completely in between ending with the dry ingredients.Spread into 9x13 inch pan that has been greased.

Mix topping together and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 30-35 mins until cooked through.

**This batter was light and fluffy! The coffee cake came out delicious and moist it had a great pumpkin flavor as well.

Dark Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

I made this cake for my mother in law's birthday. It's a mix between 2 different recipes. Originally the cake was to have a hot chocolate frosting, but I like to mix a white and dark chocolate together or yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

Dark Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Frosting-What Megan's Making? and Jenn's Food Journey
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup strong coffee, cooled
1 tbsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour cake pans, set aside.

Sift together dry ingredients. Add in wet ingredients and mix to combine. It will be VERY liquidy! Pour into pans and bake for 20 mins. Turn pans and continue baking for another 15 mins until toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool and place in freezer to freeze. This will help not to have crumbs in your frosting when you got to frost it!

White Chocolate Frosting
4 1/2 oz good quality white chocolate(I used ghiradelli)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 oz of cream cheese, room temperature
pinch of salt

Melt chocolate and allow to cool to lukewarm. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment add in chocolate, cream, vanilla, butter, and cream cheese. Add in sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Add more cream if needed to get to desired consistency. Spread onto cake!*This doesn't make a lot of frosting, but it was enough to frost a 9x11 inch cake(that was cut in half for a layered effect)

**This cake was AMAZING! It was moist and chocolaty! The frosting worked perfectly for it!

Homemade "Funfetti"/Yellow Cake

We celebrated an early birthday for Q the other day along with some friends of ours who's son turns 3 next week. I was planning to make chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, but my 4 year old told me know, it had to  be vanilla cake with blue frosting...I thought it sounded pretty boring so I talked him into this!

"Funfetti" Cake-shared from Chef Talk
2 1/4 cup flour(unsifted)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup milk
canola oil
1 stick butter, softened
1 tbsp vanilla
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 8-9 inch cake pans lined with parchment paper and greased.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In a 2 cup measuring cup, measure the milk to 1 1/4 cups, add in enough oil to bring it to 1 1/3 cups. Add milk mixture, butter, and vanilla to flour and beat on medium speed for 2 mins, scraping down the sides if needed. Add in the eggs and  beat for another 2 mins. Stir in about 1/4 cup of colored jimmies/sprinkles.

Place into greased pans. Bake for 20-25 mins until toothpick comes out clean.

**This is the best homemade vanilla cake I've ever had! It is moist and a bit dense, but is very flavorful and buttery! YUM!

Red Velvet Trifles

I saw these while blog hopping the week before Valentine's day and knew I wanted to make them for our dessert! This way I had the healthy part of fruit but also a little bit of a treat with the cake!

This is only a half batch, but feel free to double it for a party!

Red Velvet Trifles-shared from Taste and Tell
1/2 9x13 red velvet cake,cubed
8 oz block cream cheese,softened
6-8 oz vanilla yogurt
3 tbsp powdered sugar(or to taste)
1 qt strawberries, sliced

Beat together yogurt, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth.

Place a layer of cubed cake in the bottom of a bowl(or individual serving dish). Top with yogurt mixture, followed by a layer of strawberries. Continue until all ingredients are used up, ending with strawberries.
Serve immediately or chilled.

**This was pretty tasty! It wasn't overly sweet and having the strawberries added a fresh tasted to it. Having the yogurt/cream cheese mix was like a frosting so it was like cake in a bowl! Delish!

Red Velvet Cake and Cake Balls

I wanted to try again at making a Red Velvet Cake. I made one for either Easter or Mother's Day last year and something went wrong as it didn't seem to rise and it was VERY dense. It wasn't as great as I expected it to be. After talking to the girl I got the recipe from she agreed that something wasn't right. So I tried again!

I did alter Hallee's a little bit as I knew I wasn't just leaving this as a cake, but mixing it into red velvet trifles and cake balls. I also forgot to soften the butter so I tried using coconut oil for the first time!

Red Velvet Cake-adapted from Hallee the Homemaker
3/4 cup coconut oil(or butter, softened)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
6 oz greek yogurt(I used Honey)
2 oz reg. plain yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 oz red food coloring

Beat coconut oil/butter until fluffy. Beat in sugar until fluffy. Stir in applesauce.  Add in the eggs one at a time beating after each addition. Sift together flour, baking soda, and cocoa. Add the dry ingredients into the butter mix alternating with the yogurt, stating and ending with flour. Stir in vanilla. Add in red coloring and beat until combined. Place in your choice of pan.(I used a 9x13) Bake at 350 for 30-35 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

**I think this one came out MUCH better than my first attempt at making the cake! It did rise and was velvety in texture. We liked the flavor much better as well. I'm not sure what happened the first time though!

Cake Balls

These have been floating around the blogosphere for quite a while! The original recipe/method is from Bakerella. I knew I was only going to need half of the cake for our Valentine's Day dessert and I also knew I had some leftover frosting that needed to be used up. Bakerella has some other super cute ideas for fun desserts with cake, so make sure to check out her blog if you haven't already!

Now the first time I made these I used a homemade cake with homemade frosting. I wasn't a huge fan because they were VERY VERY sweet! But people would rave about these. So I tried it with the yucky can frosting...and they were AMAZING! Couldn't even taste the gross frosting! So these are special treats so I'll be ok with using that stuff once in a while! (I plan on making mickey mouse ones for Q's birthday in March). This was only a half batch as I only had half a can of frosting to use.

1/2 red velvet cake, crushed

1/2 can frosting(can use cream cheese frosting)

1/2 bag candy melts(I used dark cocoa)

Mix together cake and frosting until well combined. Roll into dough balls and freeze on a flat cookie sheet. Once frozen, melt candy melts. Roll dough into chocolate until well coated. Remove excess chocolate and place back on cookie sheet. Allow to harden and enjoy!

**Like I said these are AMAZING and slightly addicting. Luckily most of the batch is going to A's preschool tomorrow for snack! (He missed his valentine's party, so he's taking in a special treat!)

Rainbow Cupcakes and Butter Cream Frosting

 A certain little boy I know turns 4 today...I'm really not sure how that happened! But I wanted to send in some cupcakes to school to celebrate. I saw the idea for rainbow cupcakes a while ago and then this past week they were posted again on another blog so I had to try them out.(Although he did want chocolate, but I felt bad that a little girl in his class doesn't like chocolate, so I convinced him of rainbow!)

Rainbow Cupcakes-cake recipe shared from Hallee the Homemaker
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

*This made around 21 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350, prepare muffin tins with oil or cupcake liners.

Sift together sugar, salt, flour, and baking powder. Mix together milk and vanilla. Add in half the milk/vanilla and oil to flour mixture. Beat on medium for 2 mins. Add in the rest of the milk and eggs, beat for another 2 mins on med.

Divide batter into 4-6 bowls(depending on how many colors you want to do). Tint dough with food coloring to desired color. Have birthday boy help with this! Little fingers provide BRILLIANT colors! Stir well. Divide amongst cupcake pan(s). Starting with one color in the bottom, followed by each color after to form layers.

Place in oven for 15-18 mins until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

**These came out so pretty and were fun to make especially with little helpers!















Butter Cream Frosting-shared from Hallee the Homemaker

I LOVE frosting...well on cake! I like a really really good one too, not the whipped kind(which we found out the hard way Q can't have! Oops!)  Hallee came through with this recipe and it rivals the bakery in town, it's definitely a keeper!

1/2 cup butter. softened,
1/2 shortening
2 lbs powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla
milk

Beat butter and shortening until fluffy(about 2 mins on a stand mixer). Add in the sugar, cream of tartar, and vanilla. On low gently beat the sugar until all the creamed mixture is combined. Slowly add 1 tbsp of milk to mixture until desired consistency is achieved. Once this is done, put mixer on high and beat for 3-4 mins until light and fluffy!

**This is my absolute favorite frosting recipe and I use it all the time whenever a cake needs to be made!

Pumpkin Cheese Coffee Cake

I was looking for a new dessert to make for Halloween...I was leaning towards an apple cake, but then I stumbled upon this delicious looking cake! Of course it is pumpkin!

I did cut back the sugar, used whole wheat flour, and low fat cream cheese. I also only put the coconut topping on 3/4 of the cake as I didn't figure my mom would be able to eat it yet.

Pumpkin Cheese Cake-adapted from Food, Family, and Fun
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cup flour(1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 ap)

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 tbsp sugar

Topping:
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans(omitted)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together cake ingredients and place in a greased 9x13 inch pan.

Cream together filling ingredients.  Using a small cookie scoop place dollops of cream cheese over cake batter. Swirl using a knife.

Combine topping and sprinkle over topping. Place in oven for 35-40 mins until a knife comes out clean.

**This was so very good! We did decided it was tastier with the topping on it(sorry mom). This would be great for a potluck dinner. It was quick and easy too!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

For some reason A has been begging for 3 days to make cupcakes...I think he saw the toy story sprinkles his grandma brought him and the liners. So I finally broke down and made them even though I know he only really cares about the frosting.

I decided to go with chocolate cupcakes so I went with a tried and true recipe, Hershey's Best Chocolate cake. I will warn you this recipe IS NOT good for cupcakes. It is very thin and is very hard to pour into cupcake tins...if I didn't have a little one begging specifically for cupcakes I would have gone the cake route! I made quite the mess even after moving the batter into a measuring cup with a spout!

Hershey's Chocolate Cake-adapted from Hershey
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk(I did use almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 batch of peanut butter frosting

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together dry ingredients. Add in milk, oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 mins. Stir in boiling water. Pour into floured and greased cake pans or muffin tins.(NOT recommended for muffin tins though) Bake for 30-35 mins for cake or 22-25 mins for cupcakes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

*I got one dozen mini cupcakes, 16 regular size, and 4 ice cream cone cakes...it made quite a lot! These were quite tasty, super moist, perfectly chocolatey and even had a bit of crunch around the edges. YUM!

Carrot Cake

My mom always made this carrot cake and it really is the ONLY carrot cake that I really like! I frequently make it for my mother in law's birthday as she for some reason can never make it like mine comes out. We tried to troubleshoot it one day, but it still didn't taste the same. I know my mom got the recipe with someone she used to work with and it is a moist and delicious cake. One that I usually don't change/adapt seen as we only have it once a year, but I decided to try to change it and it still came out just as good! I will add a few more directions than the ones I have from my mom...although its really not hard to figure out.

Carrot Cake
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup applesauce
about 2 cups of sugar(I cut down on it, but don't have an exact measurement)
4 eggs
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained(about 8 oz)*
2 cup flour(I used wheat and white)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together oil, applesauce, sugar and eggs. Add in pineapple, mix.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients until batter is throughly mixed. Place in greased pan and cook for 45 mins at 350 degrees.
*When I drain my pineapple I only cut the top and drain the juice out and press it a little until most of the juice is out. This helps keep the cake nice and moist!

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 box of powdered sugar(about 2-2.5 cups)

Cream together butter and cheese, add in sugar until light and fluffy. Top cake.


This has been linked to Finding Joy in my Kitchen

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

I don't remember how I found this recipe...it could be that I subscribe to the blog and get her updates, but I think another blog I frequent mentioned it. Either way, I found it and couldn't wait to try it. K's birthday was yesterday and he isn't usually a chocolate fan, but has lately been requesting choc/pb so I made this. It's cooking right now and smells wonderful...and its in the crock pot so no heating the house up!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake-shared from A Year of Slow Cooking
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar(divided)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp oil
1 cup boiling water
3 tbsp cocoa powder

Combine flour, powder, salt, and 1/2 cup sugar. Mix well. Soften peanut butter in microwave for 30 secs. Add to flour along with milk, vanilla, and oil. Stir well. Spread into bottom of greased slow cooker. Whisk together water, 1/2 cup sugar, and cocoa. Pour on top of batter. Cook on high for 2-4 hours until cake is cooked through.Start checking at 2 hours.

**I won't lie...I doubled this recipe. So we will see how long it takes to cook. It was delicous and so easy to make! Our dinner guest loved it and my mom did too. K couldn't really taste it due to his allergies, but rest assured it is good! Picture to come.

Chocolate Strawberry Short CAKE

I had clipped this recipe out of a magazine oh about...2 years ago! I was looking for a dessert to take to my in laws that didn't have a lot of sugar in it so I thought it would be perfect and it was!

Chocolate Strawberry Short Cake
1-1.5 pint strawberries, sliced
2 cups heavy whipping cream+2 tbsp powdered sugar
shaved chocolate(optional)

Cake:
3 squares(1 oz each) semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 8-9 inch round baking pan
Melt chocolate and butter,cool. Stir until smooth. Beat in vanilla, sugar, eggs, baking soda, salt, and 1/4 cup of flour. Alternately beat in remaining flour and water until blended. Pour into pan and bake for 30 mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool.

Place whipping cream in stand mixer with whisk attachment. Add sugar and whisk until cream forms.

Once cake is cooled, cut in half. Layer in strawberries(may not have room for all of them) and some whipped cream(about a 1/2 cup). Place second layer on top and "frost" cake with remaining whipped cream. Garnish with remaining strawberries and shaved chocolate.

You can serve this immediately, but seen as mine was
traveling I put it in the freezer for a couple hours and it came out perfect!

**K doesn't like chocolate cake and wasn't really looking forward to this dessert. Too bad for him...as I tend to make chocolate for my mother in law and sister in law. He said it was perfect because the chocolate wasn't overpowering and had the perfect contrast with the whipped cream and strawberries. The boys loved it along with everyone else!