La Cocina de Leslie: Southern Cakes

Showing posts with label Southern Cakes. Show all posts

Today is a very fun day in Mexico. It's El Dia de los Santos Inocentes. (The Mexican April Fools Day.) Now I love a good prank or practical joke, especially if I'm the genius mastermind behind it all. Because I've been a little busy lately playing around in my kitchen (which once again has running water and electricity) to properly plan a good prank, I thought it best to surprise Hubby and the kiddies with a fun, quirky cake that none of us have ever tried.

And I knew just the cake.

Making this cake was a bit of a challenge. My kiddies are used to hanging out in the kitchen, passing me ingredients, helping me grease and flour the cake pans and of course licking the bowl afterwards. But not with this cake. I didn't want them to find out the secret ingredient, because if they knew before hand, they probably wouldn't have even tried it. So I had to wait until they were all too busy and preoccupied with distractions like cartoons, Christmas toys and video games on the computer. And even then, I kept looking over my shoulder every couple of minutes to make sure they didn't discover the secret ingredient.

As I read and re-read the recipe, I knew that the smart thing to do would be to halve the recipe, in case the cake turned out to be a complete disaster. But I couldn't ignore that little voice inside my head that kept telling me that this cake was going to be just as delicious as every other cake I've baked from my Southern Cakes cookbook and it would be really fun to play a round of "name the secret ingredient" with everyone for Dia de los Santos Inocentes. So, I went against my better judgement and made the full recipe.

For the 25 minutes that the cake was in the oven, my stomach was in knots. I couldn't help but think that this cake was going turn out to be a big, fat, horrible FAIL!

When I opened the oven door, I found a beautiful, golden and aromatic cake that looked and smelled just like Pumpkin Cake.

Now for the moment of truth... I had to pinch off a piece to see what it tasted it like. (Pause.) OMG! It tastes like Pumpkin Cake. I pinched off another piece to make sure I wasn't imagining things. (Pause.) Yep! Tastes exactly like Pumpkin Cake.

Once the cake had cooled, I topped it with a little Cream Cheese Frosting, then handed out slices of cake to Hubby, the kiddies, my suegra, my sister-in-law, two of my college student nephews and one of my neighbors. I tried my hardest not to laugh as we all devoured our cake and was pleasantly surprised that no one had guessed the secret ingredient. Truth be told, I never would have guessed the secret ingredient either. And no one believed me when I told them what the secret ingredient was. They all thought it was a Santos Inocentes prank.

So what was the secret ingredient???

Tomato Sauce.

TOMATO SAUCE!!!

The recipe was for a Tomato Soup Cake, but since I've never seen a can of Tomato Soup here, I used tomato sauce. And the result was absolutely delicious. No joke!!!

If you like Pumpkin Cake, then you'll love this Tomato Sauce Cake, that really should be called "I can't believe it's not pumpkin" Cake!

I can't believe it's not pumpkin (or carrot) cake! (Tomato Soup Cake)

I Can't Believe It's Not Pumpkin Cake!
(Tomato Soup Cake recipe adapted from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

Cake:

2 cups flour
1-1/3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/4 cups plain tomato sauce (or one 10-3/4 oz. can tomato soup)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup water

Cream Cheese Frosting:

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Mix with a fork until well combined.

Add in the tomato sauce, butter, eggs, vanilla extract and water. (My kiddies didn't believe this was really a Tomato Sauce Cake until I showed them this photo. )

Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined and the batter is creamy. (About 2 to 3 minutes.)

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan/dish.

Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. (I couldn't resist pinching the cake over and over again, because it was so good!) Let the cake cool to room temperature.

Prepare the Cream Cheese Frosting by creaming together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy and spreadable. (If frosting is too soft, add more powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency. And if the frosting is to thick, thin it out by adding a tablespoon or two of milk until desired consistency.)

Refrigerate the frosted cake for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!!!

Tomato Sauce Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

28 December 2011

I Can't Believe It's Not Pumpkin Cake!

When I think of Fall, I think of the weekends I spent camping with my grandparents in scenic Oak Glen. The quaint picturesque community of Oak Glen is famous for it's apples. September marked the beginning of apple season. SoCal tourists lined the streets to pick baskets of red, yellow, pink and green apples and to enjoy all of the delicious apple goodies made with the local varieties of apples. Some of my favorites included Apple Butter, Apple Turnovers, Apple Wine, a slice of Apple Pie á la Mode and a tart caramel apple on a stick.

All of these wonderful memories came flooding back after one bite of this month's Cake Slice Bakers cake: Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze. A moist apple cake studded with chopped pecans and topped with a buttery brown sugar glaze. It was like biting into the sweet caramel apples I grew up eating.

As I was putting the cake together, I was worried that there would be too little cake with the amount of apples and pecans I added. I got a little carried away and added a whole kilo of chopped apples. But the cake turned out to be a perfect balance of cake, apples and pecans. The only change I would make is to reduce the amount of oil. I used the entire cup and a half called for in the recipe, but I think it would turn out even better with just one cup.

Be sure to visit the rest of the Cake Slice Bakers to see what they thought of this delicious cake.

Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
(from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

Fresh Apple Cake:

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups finely chopped apples
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Brown Sugar Glaze:

1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar (azucar mascabado)
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons evaporated milk, half-and-half or cream (I used evaporated milk)

Directions:
To make the cake, heat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; stir with a fork to mix everything together well.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a wooden spoon or wire whisk at low speed until pale yellow and foamy.

Add the oil and vanilla; beat well.

Stir in the flour mixture just until the flour disappears.

Add the apples and pecans.

This is where you should switch to using a wooden spoon, because the batter is very thick.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350F for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cake turns golden brown, springs back when touched lightly in the center and begins to pull away from the edges of the pan.

Once the cake is done, let it cool slightly in the pan on a wire rack. Make the glaze while the cake is hot. Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Pour the glaze over the hot-from-the-oven cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely.

Serve in squares right from the pan. Enjoy!!!

Printable Recipe

(P.S.) If you would like to join me and the rest of The Cake Slice Bakers, we are now accepting new members. Send Katie an e-mail with your name, blog name and blog URL to appleandspice(at)hotmail.co.uk with "Cake Slice Member" as the subject. You have until October 20th to sign up.

20 September 2010

Just in time for Fall {Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze}

How embarrassing! I thought I published this post on Friday.

It's time for another installment of The Cake Slice Baker's! I know it has been a while since I've participated and all because of my computer problems. (Still waiting on the computer tech!)

This month's cake is one of my favorites...Tres Leches (Three Milks). I loved it!

The actual cake was a little denser than I prefer for a Tres Leches cake, but it was delicious and held together very nicely after the addition of the three milks.

After tasting this cake, Hubby declared that it was the best Tres Leches cake he has ever tasted. And Hubby isn't a big fan of Tres Leches. The kiddies loved it too. My daughter Ashley liked it so much that she wants me to make it again for her birthday next month!

Be sure to check out the rest of The Cake Slice Baker's to see how they liked this cake!

Johnny C's Tres Leches Cake
(from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

Ingredients:
Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk

Three-Milk Sauce

1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (I used the whole can!)
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 tablespoon grated lime zest

Garnish

Sweetened whipped cream
Fresh Fruit

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch pan. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and stir with a fork to mix well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar; beat with a mixer at high speed to mix well.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well each time and stopping to scrape down the bowl occasionally, until the batter is light, fluffy and smooth.

Add one-third of the flour mixture. Then half of the milk. Beating at low speed each time, just until the flour or milk disappears into the batter.

Add another third of the flour, the remaining milk and the remaining flour in the same way.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, springs back when touched lightly in the center and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the lime zest over the cake. Punch holes with a toothpick in the top of the cake about 1 inch apart.

While the cake is cooling, make the sauce by combining the milk, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Heat gently over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture forms a smooth, steaming hot sauce. DO NOT LET IT COME TO A BOIL!

Slowly pour the warm milk sauce over the warm cake in stages, stopping to let the cake absorb some of the sauce before adding more.

Let stand for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate, allowing the cake to come to room temperature before serving. Cut into square and serve right from the pan. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream and fresh fruit, if you like.

Enjoy!!!

Printable Version

22 August 2010

Tres Leches Cake...Très Magnifique!

As you know, some of my favorite recipes are those that start out as one thing, but turn into something completely different.

I started making the Buttermilk Cake with Old-Time Fudge Icing from my Southern Cakes cookbook.

But...

Our local strawberry vendor paid a visit while my cake layers were in the oven. Now, who can refuse a kilo of organic strawberries for 20 pesos? That's a little over 2 pounds of strawberries for less than $1.50!

My Hubby bought 2 kilos, then turned to me and said that he wanted me to make him the cake that is on the cover of my Sky High Cakes cookbook.

Since I already had the Buttermilk cake in the oven, I decided to turn it into a Buttermilk Strawberry Shortcake.

Sigh!

It was AMAZING! Heaven on a plate! The cake itself was moist and tender. The strawberries were the perfect balance between sweet and tart. And the billowy layers of whipped cream were light and airy.

This cake would make a great Mother's Day gift! (Hint, hint!)

Buttermilk Strawberry Shortcake
(Buttermilk cake recipe courtesy of Southern Cakes cookbook by Nancie McDermott)

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 pounds strawberries
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sweetened Whipped Cream or Whipped Topping

Directions:
*If you don't have buttermilk, add a teaspoon of either white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let stand for 10 minutes before using.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans. (Or three 8-inch round pans.) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; stir with a fork to mix well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the softened butter and the sugar; beat with a mixer on high speed until very light and fluffy. (About 6 to 8 minutes.)

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.

Add about a third of the flour mixture; beat at low speed just until the flour disappears.

Add half of the milk; beat at low speed just until milk disappears. Mix in another third of the flour, followed by the rest of the milk and then the rest of the flour in the same way.

Stir in the vanilla.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans.

Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cakes are golden brown and spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pan and continue to cool until room temperature.

While the cake layers are cooling, hull and slice the strawberries.

Toss the strawberries with the 1 cup of sugar, ground cinnamon and vanilla. Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes.

Place one of the cake layers top-side down on a cake plate. Spoon half of the sliced strawberries and their juices over the cake.

Top strawberries with whipped topping. Place the other cake top-side down over whipped topping. Top with the remaining strawberries and whipped topping.