Category Archives: Cake

Lemon Rosemary Cakelets with Raspberry Glaze

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Recipe by Elizabeth Marek
Photography by Megan Smith
Test kitchen baker – Canaan Smith

(makes about 18)

For the Cake

Dry ingredients

  • 9 oz cake flour
  • 9 oz granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon plus one teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients

  • 8 oz whole milk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 oz vegetable oil
  • splash of Grand Marnier Cognac
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1 heaping Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 6 oz unsalted butter at room temp (should be soft to the touch but still hold its shape when you press your finger into it)

Raspberry Glaze

  • 1 cup fresh raspberries (blackberries or strawberries work also)
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • about 3 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. I like to use cake goop (equal parts flour, oil and shortening mixed into a paste) to grease my pans. Combine your wet ingredients, including the lemon zest and rosemary and set aside. Combine the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on low speed and add in your softened butter in small chunks. Let mix until your dry ingredients resemble wet sand. Do not walk away or you could accidentally over mix. Whisk your wet ingredients together to break up the eggs. Pour in about 1/3 of the wet into the dry and turn your mixer onto medium speed. Set a timer or watch the clock and let your batter mix for 2 full minutes. Do not be tempted to stop the mixing sooner or just guess how long it has been mixing.

This is the most important step. If you do under-mix, they will be short and crumbly. I promise you won’t over-mix them. Once the batter has mixed for 2 minutes, scrape the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add in the rest of the liquid until it’s all in there. Scrape the bowl once more and turn back up to medium for 30 seconds. Your batter should be light and fluffy enough to scoop with a spoon.

Place roughly two heaping scoops of batter per bundlette cavity. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Remove and let cool 5 minutes before flipping the cakes out of the pan and onto a wire rack to fully cool.

To make the glaze, put your berries in a blender with the milk to make a puree. Strain out the seeds into another bowl. Add in your sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until you reach a glaze consistency that is like thick paint. If it’s too thick add a couple of drops of milk. Don’t add too much, a little liquid goes a long way.

Dip your cooled cakes into the glaze and place onto a serving plate. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary, some fresh berries and a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Jameson Ginger and Pear Coffee Cake

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Words by Michelle Gayer
Photography by Pamela Sutton

Jameson Ginger and Pear Coffee Cake (Because Jameson is good at all hours.)

Jameson Ginger Syrup

  • 1 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 cup Jameson Irish Whiskey
  • Scraped Vanilla Bean pod

Bring all three ingredients to a simmer. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Take off heat and let sit for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.

Oatmeal Streusel

  • 4oz Cold Butter
  • ½ cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour
  • ¾ cup Rolled Oats
  • Pinch of Salt

Cut your cold butter into ½ inch cubes. Mix all ingredients until crumbly.

Flat Icing

  • 1 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons of Jameson
  • 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract

Whisk everything together until smooth. Add more sugar if too runny.

Crème Fraîche Cake

  • 8oz Unsalted Butter
  • 2 cups Granulated Sugar
  • Zest of 1 Lemon
  • 1 Vanilla Bean, Scraped. (Save your pod!)
  • 2 Eggs
  • 10 oz Crème Fraîche (or sour cream)
  • 2 ¼ cups Cake Flour (sifted)
  • ¾ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1-2 Ripe Bartlett pears, peeled and sliced

Cake Instructions:

Cream butter, sugar, zest and vanilla bean. Add eggs one at a time. Scrape your bowl! Add half of your sifted dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add Crème Fraîche and mix on low until combined. Scrape your bowl again! Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Scrape your bowl one last time!

Pour batter into well-greased medium large bundt pan. Layer pears evenly on the top and push them down slightly so they are nestled in the batter. Sprinkle chopped candied ginger over the pears and cover everything with oatmeal streusel.

Bake at 375 degrees F. until cake tests clean when you poke a toothpick in the middle. About 45 minutes. If the top of the cake is getting too dark you can cover it with tin foil for the remaining time.

After Baking:

Allow cake to cool slightly before flipping it out of the pan and upside down onto the serving platter. Poke holes in the sides and the bottom of the cake and brush generously with the Jameson syrup. Repeat brushing it with the syrup every 15 minutes, 3 times. Save the remaining syrup for serving.

To Serve:

Flip cake onto your serving platter so that the streusel is on the top. Drizzle with flat icing. Top with more candied ginger.

Drizzle a small amount of Jameson syrup on each slice of coffee cake.  Enjoy!

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Four Berry Champagne Summer Cake

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Recipe by Candice Hinsinger
Photography by Melissa Becker 

After a long Chicago winter and chilly northern spring, I couldn’t wait to start introducing more citrus and fruit flavors into my sweets here at the bakery. This cake is perfection at the height of berry season. When you can have four berries rather than one, why not? The addition of
champagne in both the cake and buttercream gives this beauty a lovely effervescence and lightness that you wouldn’t normally expect from cake.

As delicious as it is gorgeous, this cake will certainly impress, but it is also easy to assemble! As always when baking, make sure to bring your ingredients to room temperature (ideally, overnight) before baking. This step helps every element blend together beautifully.

Champagne Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 1/2 cups champagne (don’t use the good stuff, whatever is reasonably priced and on hand is just
fine)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Champagne Buttercream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 – 1/2 cup champagne

Berry Garnish

1 1/2 pints (3 cups) each of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries (some sliced)

Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3-8″x3″-round cake pans with a flavorless oil such as canola or vegetable oil. If on hand, line with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) on medium speed, cream together butter and sugar for at least 2-3 minutes, until mixture is light and fluffy.
Add eggs—one at a time—making sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding the next.
With a fork, fluff the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Separately combine milk, champagne, and vanilla into a measuring cup and give a light whisk.
On low speed, add half of the flour mixture until almost incorporated. Add the liquid mixture and blend until smooth. Add the remaining flour mixture and blend on medium speed until fully and smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans as evenly as possible.
Stagger the pans in your oven so that each pan has air flow around it. Bake for 25 minutes, rotate,and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the cakes are fully set and a small knife inserted comes out clean. emove the cakes and let cool in the pans on a rack until absolutely cool to the touch.
Meanwhile, make the buttercream frosting. Combine all ingredients in the stand mixer bowl, starting with 1/3 cup of the champagne. Start the mixer on the lowest setting and gradually increase as the ingredients start to combine. Add more champagne if needed. Mix until combined and light in texture.

Assemble the cake

Remove the cakes from the pans.
Using a large serrated knife, trim your cakes so that they are as flat as possible.
Set one of the cakes on your tray or platter of choice.
Fill a piping bag, if handy, with the buttercream. If not using a piping bag, use a clean spatula.
Pipe or spread a 1/2″-layer of buttercream on the first cake layer. Smooth.
Top with an assortment of berries to create a flat layer.
Repeat with the second and third cakes, frosting, and berries.
Create a beautifully tall pile of berries on the top of the cake.
Using a sifter, sprinkle powdered sugar over the top.
Let chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

 

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Jameson’s Carrot Cake

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Recipe by Megan Smith
Photography by Sarah Jane Sanders

Jameson, our trusty mascot, has a weakness for carrots. Go figure.
Our weakness lies more in this tropical cake than the carrots. Go figure.
This cake is a showstopper. For years it has made appearances at wedding showers, birthday parties and backyard gatherings up and down the Eastern seaboard…often with Jameson the bunny in tow.

Ingredients

Cake

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
3 teaspoons ground ginger
3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated peeled carrots
2 8-ounce cans crushed pineapple in its own juice, well drained

Frosting

3 8-ounce packages softened cream cheese
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
¾ cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco López)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

For Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides.
Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Combine 1/3 cup flour and coconut a bowl.
Whisk remaining 2 cups flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend.
Using electric mixer, beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend. Add eggs 1 at a time,
beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour-spice mixture. Stir in coconut-flour mixture, then carrots and crushed pineapple.
Divide batter among pans. Bake until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 1 hour. Run knife around edge of pans to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.
For frosting: eat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar, then cream of coconut and vanilla. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.
Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over top of cake. Top with second cake layer, flat side up. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over. Top with third cake layer, rounded side up, pressing slightly to adhere. Spread thin layer of frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill cake and remaining frosting 30 minutes. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill 1 hour.

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June’s Coconut Pound Cake

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Recipe by June Jacobs
Photography by Sarah Jane Sanders

I grew up in a family that didn’t like, eat or serve coconut. And that was really hard for a coconut lover like me who used to save my pennies so I could buy a Mounds bar! This moist cake was the last recipe in my cookbook, Feastivals Cooks at Home. Years ago, I went to a potluck party of cooking teachers where Carmen, a friend of mine, brought this cake. Instant love. She shared the recipe and the rest is history. I think I’ll be remembered for this recipe whether or not I want to be. It has become my favorite cake, and it’s most requested by my favorite person to cook for.

Coconut Pound Cake

Makes one 10-inch tube (or bundt) cake or two 9×5-inch loaf cakes

Ingredients
1 pound unsalted butter
2 cups pure cane sugar
2 cups flour (divided in half)
6 extra large eggs
7 ounces shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure the rack is in the center of the oven.
Grease and flour the pan(s).
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (Carmen says “as a shampooed cat”).
3. Add one cup flour and beat some more.
4. Meanwhile, add the vanilla to the eggs (in a separate bowl). Then add eggs one at a time to batter, beating well after each addition.
5. Now mix coconut with the remaining one cup flour and add to batter, using a wooden spoon to incorporate. Pour into desired pan(s).
6. Bake about 45 minutes to one hour. Be sure to test with a cake tester or long toothpick to be sure it comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. [If it doesn’t come out clean, leave it in a few minutes longer!]

The Glaze
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon pure extract (almond or vanilla–be inspired)

Method
1. Combine sugar and water and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add extract. Glaze is now ready.
2. When cake comes out of the oven, poke holes through cake with skewers and pour glaze on while cake is warm–while the cake is still in the pan. Don’t remove the cake from the pan until it is completely cool.

Teacher’s Tip: This cake is best 24 hours after baking. But it generally won’t last until then, so bake two and eat one warm and hold the other until the magic 24 hours is up! (per Carmen Cook’s instructions)

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Summer Berry Buttermilk Cupcakes

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Makes two dozen cupcakes

Summer means berries, and this recipe is a luxurious way to feature them. Light and airy cupcakes with the tang of buttermilk sit on a surprise graham cracker base, and are topped with a berry-infused buttercream. For a very simple variation, you can turn these into muffins by eliminating the crust, and folding 2 cups of berries directly into the batter instead of making a frosting with them. Either way, this is a wonderfully fresh and delightful way to celebrate summer.

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 cups (160 g) graham crackers
1/3 cup (76 g) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar

Buttermilk Cupcakes
2 cups (190 g) cake flour
1 cup (110 g) all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons (6.25 g) baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons (6.25 g) baking soda
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
1 cup (236 ml) buttermilk
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (200 g) sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg whites

Summer Berry Buttercream
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup (88 ml) berry puree (you can use any combination of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or other berries)
1/2 cup (118 ml) berry jam for filling

Method
For the crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
Pulse graham crackers in food processor into fine crumbs.
Add butter and sugar and pulse until combined. Place about 2 teaspoons (10 g) of graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each cupcake paper. Use your fingers or a pastry tamper to press mixture firmly together.
Place muffin tins in oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool while you make the cupcake batter.

For the cupcakes:
Combine flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Combine buttermilk and vanilla in a measuring cup and set aside.
Place butter and sugar in bowl of stand mixer. Cream together for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add in eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating to fully combine before adding the next one.
Add in the flour mixture and milk in five alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour. Mix just to incorporate before adding the next addition.
Fill cupcake papers about 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Cupcakes should be just starting to turn golden on top and a tester inserted in the center should come out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks while you make the buttercream.

For the buttercream:
Combine egg whites and sugar in a metal bowl. Place over a pan of simmering water.
Whisk the mixture constantly over heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture looks smooth and shiny. Continue whisking until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).
Remove mixture from heat and pour into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture has cooled.
Switch to the paddle attachment and with the speed on low, add the butter a few pieces at a time, beating until smooth. Do not add the butter too quickly or beat too quickly or the buttercream may break.
When all the butter has been added, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed for about 6-10 minutes until it is very thick and smooth. It may appear to separate briefly but continue beating and it should come back together.
Add the berry puree to the buttercream and beat to combine. (To make the puree, puree the berries in a food processor and strain out the seeds).

To assemble the cupcakes:
Cut a small core out of the center of each cupcake. Fill with a spoonful of berry jam (you can also use fresh berry puree). Fill a piping bag with the buttercream and pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake. Decorate with additional fresh berries.

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Browned Butter Vanilla Cake with Caramel Buttercream

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Recipe and Photography by Anita Chu

Don’t let the simple appearance of this cake deceive you. I decided to take a basic vanilla cake and use one of my favorite techniques, browning butter, to oomph up the flavor. Browning will turn the simple taste of butter into a fabulous melange of caramel, nutty, and butterscotch, adding a lovely complexity to whatever you add it to. It also gives the cake a delicate creamy yellow color. The cake is then layered with a rich chocolate ganache and an innocuously pale buttercream, with a sweet golden taste of caramel. It all makes for a richly sweet cake to welcome spring.

Browned Butter Cake

makes (2) 9-inch round layers

12 ounces unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs plus 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk, room temperature

To make the cake: Cut butter into 1-inch pieces and place in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium-high heat until the butter begins to turn brown and smell nutty. Swirl the pan so the butter cooks evenly.
When butter is rich brown (you can leave it lighter for a more subtle flavor, but don’t let it get too dark and burn), remove from heat. Place melted butter in a container and refrigerate for an hour until butter has resolidified.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round pans.
Place solid browned butter in a stand mixer. Beat on medium until it softens and becomes creamy.
Add sugar and beat until it goes from dry and clumpy to fluffy and smooth. It may take a few minutes.
Add in eggs and egg yolks one at a time, beating between each addition, until fully incorporated. Add in the vanilla bean paste and mix until combined.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
With mixer set on slow, add in flour mixture and milk in 5 additions, starting and ending with the flour. Beat just until incorporated.
Divide batter between the two pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove and place on wire racks. Run a knife around the edges for easier removal. Let cool for about 20 minutes and then invert pans to remove cakes. Let them finish cooling before decorating.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

8 ounces semisweet chocolate (around 70-75%), finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream

Place chocolate into a medium heatproof bowl.
Place cream in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Heat just until it comes to a simmer.
Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for a minute before stirring to combine. Stir until chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth.
Pour into a container and chill in refrigerator for an hour until it is firm.
Place ganache in a stand mixer and whip with whisk attachment until it is light and fluffy. Do not overwhip or it will become dry and crumbly, just like overwhipped cream.

Caramel Buttercream

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

To make the caramel: Place sugar into a small saucepan and add enough water to give it the texture of wet sand.
Cook sugar on low heat until it has dissolved.
Raise heat to high and let cook until it turns golden. Do not leave it unattended – it can burn very quickly.
Meanwhile, place cream in glass measuring cup and microwave for about 30 seconds just until the cream is warm. Or, you can heat it in another saucepan on the stove.
Once the sugar has turned golden brown, remove from heat. Pour in cream in a slow stream and whisk to incorporate. If any hard chunks of caramel form you can place over medium heat to melt.
Let caramel cool and thicken while you make the buttercream.

3/4 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces

Combine the sugar and egg whites in a medium metal bowl and place over a pan of simmering water.
Whisk the sugar mixture constantly over heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks smooth and shiny. Continue whisking until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F.
Remove mixture from heat and pour into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture has cooled.
Switch to the paddle attachment and with the speed on low, add the butter a few pieces at a time, beating until smooth. Do not add the butter too quickly or beat too quickly or the buttercream may break.
When all the butter has been added, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed for about 6-10 minutes until it is very thick and smooth. It may appear to separate briefly but continue beating and it should come back together.
Be sure the caramel is still liquid and flows thickly. If it has cooled too much and solidified, warm it up slightly on the stove. Add the caramel to the buttercream and beat to combine.
The buttercream is ready to be used. Place a piece of plastic wrap against the surface until you are ready to use it, to prevent it from drying out.

To assemble the cake: Level off cake layers if necessary. Place one cake layer on a cake board or cake decorating stand.

Spread the whipped chocolate ganache over the layer evenly. You can reserve about half a cup for decorating the top of the cake, if you want.
Place the second cake on top.
Spread a crumb coat of caramel buttercream over the top and sides of cake. Refrigerate for about an hour to let the frosting set.
Spread the rest of the caramel buttercream over the top and sides of cake with an offset spatula.

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