Snickerdoodle Cake

Photo: Foodnetwork using a whipped egg white frosting and torching it, I simplified the frosting.

Due to the gas shutoff (after the hookah smoker's fire) in our building, I haven't posted recipes on THE SAVVY SHOPPER lately. Have you noticed? I miss baking yet meanwhile, discovered snickerdoodle cookies. After ConEd gives us the green light to return gas to our apartment line, I'll make this cake. As usual, I like to share ... but also can click here myself to remember how to make it (the one and only time, I'm not testing my tweaks beforehand. But, no worries, it's a simple butter cake flavored with cinnamon and brown sugar, therefore I can eyeball the ingredients :) --

Snickerdoodle Cake

Photo: thespuceeats

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup white sugar 
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs (Add one at a time and beat in-between.)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla

Extra butter to grease your cake pans.

Directions:

1) With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.

2) Add one egg at a time. Incorporate.

3) Next add the buttermilk, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4) Toss in the rest of the flavorings: cinnamon and vanilla. Mix until uniform about 2 minutes.

Usually I use two pans, than if I desire four layers, I cut each cake layer in half. However, you can use 4 cake pans if you wish.

5) Pour the batter into 2 well greased 9" cake pans. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes, or until done in the center. 

6) After removing from the oven, let the cake cool for about 5 minutes, scraping the sides of each pan with a knife. Wait a beat and while they are still warm, remove from the cake pans. (Too hot, they fall apart, but if no longer warm, they stick to the sides of the pans and fall apart.) After removal, cool completely.

Snickerdoodle Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup condensed milk (or rich cream, I never stock it.)
2 teaspoons vanilla (or more!)
2 teaspoons cinnamon (or more!)
5 cups of confectionery sugar (I just grab the box and add powdered sugar until I get a stiff, yet creamy consistency.)

Optional: Add 2 - 3 tablespoons of soft butter (I usually skip the butter in the frosting. The butter will help keep the frosting moist if you plan to eat the cake days later, as well as, add flavor and more calories. (You must take the bad with the good.)

Directions:

Generously, frost all your cake layers. Some people sprinkle the frosted cake with cinnamon sugar, but I don't. I might sprinkle a little cinnamon powder on top to garnish.

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Should we turn the recipe into a Single Serving Mug Cake?

Ingredients:

Photo: sugarandspiceglitter

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch of salt
Skip the egg (unless you use the rest (minus a tablespoon) of it for something else). Substitute 1 tablespoon of applesauce; or mashed banana; or mashed avocado; or even a nut butter.
3 tablespoons buttermilk (If the batter needs a tad more, add it drops at a time)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or more!)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1) Mix the ingredients (in the order as the above cake directions, beating with a fork in the same mug you will use to bake it in the microwave. Incorporate well.

2) Microwave for one minute. Check it. Microwave for 10 seconds more at a time until done.  

3) Frost the mug cake by making a small portion of the frosting above. Eyeball the amount. Garnish the top with cinnamon. 

Baking is science, but not rocket science. Enjoy!


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Kally's Kentucky Fruitcake Is The Best Ever!

All photos and recipe by Rita Mackin Fox

Ready or not, the holidays are coming. Today I'm sharing my schoolmate, Rita Mackin Fox's Kentucky (Bourbon) Fruitcake. This is not your typical yucky fruitcake. People who don't like fruitcake, agree on how scrumptious this recipe is! 

As well as her culinary skills, Rita is a talented writer with many worldwide fans. For her Romance novels, she writes under the pen name Kallypso Masters. "Like" her Facebook page to find other delicious recipes, information and entertainment. Thanks, dearest Rita (mostly for being you, and) for letting me share your mother's recipe, plus giving my readers a chance to connect with yours!

Kally's Kentucky Fruitcake 

Makes 3 regular loaves, or one 5+ pound loaf: Rita says, "It can take 6 weeks, from start to finish, so don't wait too long to start!"

Ingredients:

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

6 large whole eggs

1/2 cup bourbon (this is just for the cake recipe, not the soaking).

4 cups pecan pieces, soaked in bourbon

1 pound candied cherries (8 oz each of the red and green)

8 ounces raisins, or Craisins, soaked in bourbon

8 ounces candied pineapple

1/2 cup orange marmalade (Rita doesn’t like citron, and this is SO much tastier.)

Extras: 

pecan halves and red/green whole cherries to decorate the top of cake(s)

cheesecloth (a package of 6-yards, cut into three relatively equal sections will do it)

1 - 1.5 litres of fine Kentucky bourbon (Rita prefers sourmash.)   

Directions:

1) At least the night before mixing and baking the cake (and even several days or a week before is okay), soak raisins/Craisins and nuts in bourbon in separate containers. Says Rita: "I just put the pecans into a quart Mason jar and the raisins/Craisins into a pint jar, cover with bourbon, and put them in the fridge until I’m ready for them. They will plump up with the liquor, so don’t overfill the jars, but try to keep the fruit and nuts covered in bourbon."

2) Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and another rack below it on the lowest spot. Put a pan of water on the lowest rack. This will add moisture to the oven when baking. Heavily butter a 10-inch tube pan or three loaf pans. Set aside.

3) Sift the flour, baking powder, and nutmeg into a medium bowl.

4) In a separate, large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, beating with a mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, blending completely after each addition.

5) Drain the bourbon from the raisins and nuts. Measure out and set aside 1/2 cup of the bourbon for later. Pour the rest into a small bowl and add the strips of cheesecloth to soak it up. We NEVER waste good Kentucky bourbon! Set aside.

6) Preheat oven to 325 F.

7) Add the flour mixture to the eggs in two additions, alternating with the 1/2 cup bourbon. Stir in the pecans, marmalade, raisins/Craisins, pineapple, and cherries.

8) Transfer the batter to the prepared pan(s). Rita sometimes decorates the top with bourbon-soaked pecan halves and red/green whole cherries, but that's optional. 

9) Bake until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. APPROXIMATE baking times (ovens vary; also consider altitude adjustments):

• coffeecake pan or tube pan: about 1-3/4 to 2 hours. (Rita’s is usually done within the 1-3/4 hour.)
• bread loaf pan: 75-90 minutes
• 5-inch gift size pans: 60-75 minutes

10) If the top of the cake begins to brown substantially before the cake is set, cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.

11) Remove the cake(s) from the oven and let cool 15-30 minutes on a wire rack. Run a knife down the sides to help loosen the cake from the pan. If you made a huge ring cake, before or after turning the cake out, you might want to cut it into three wedges (unless it will be given whole as a gift--and then good luck getting it out without having it break up; Rita's always brakes up). That's why she goes with wedges when she uses a ring pan.

12) When completely cool, wrap each section in a 2-yard strip of bourbon-soaked cheesecloth until covered in several layers.

13) Place the cake(s) in airtight, leak-free containers. (For a ring cake, Rita uses a large Rubbermaid or Tupperware container big enough to fit three loaf-pan sized cakes.) 

14) Liberally, but slowly (so more of it can soak in), pour bourbon over the cake(s). It's okay if liquid is swimming at the bottom a bit in the first week. If you do have a lot of liquid in the bottom, you might not need to add more. Once or twice a day, flip the cakes over so that the bourbon will run back through the cake slowly. Do this for 2-3 weeks, but when you don’t see any standing bourbon at the bottom of the container any longer, and the bottom is no longer “soggy,” you can quit turning it. After a few weeks to a month where no liquid bourbon has been visible, it should be ready to serve or gift, but the cake will keep for months (some even say years). No rush!

This is the best fruitcake you will ever eat! Unlike most, these friutcakes make wonderful gifts!

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A Single Serving Of Homemade Cake

Photo: Lake of Lakes

Although I eat healthy mostly, sometimes I crave a slice of cake. At home, I have adopted the practice of eating whatever I want as long as I'm willing to make it myself. Often an entire cake is too much, enough for a week when all I desire is a slice.

So here is a recipe for a single serving of homemade cake. You can either oven bake the batter in a cup cake wrapper; or just use a sturdy mug and pop it into your microwave:

Vanilla Mug Cake

Ingredients: 

4 tablespoons of all-purpose (or whole wheat)

Photo: cooksvanilla.com

flour (All-purpose flour is lighter, while whole wheat flour is whole grain healthy. You decide.)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt

1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon egg (Throw the rest of the egg into another dish. Waste not, want not! The cake will come out without the egg, but will be less rich.)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons buttermilk

Other flavors:  

You can turn this cake into another flavor by adding the following ingredients to the recipe:

(1) Chocolate cake: 1 tablespoon of dark cocoa and 1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee; 
(2) Lemon cake: 1 teaspoon lemon extract and lemon zest; 
(3) S'mores cake: 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, one tablespoon of brown sugar, plus definitely use whole wheat flour (for a graham cracker taste).
(4) Carrot Cake: 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 2 tablespoons of shredded carrot, and toss in a few broken nuts and raisins.

Directions:

Photo: BBC Good Food

1) In a microwave safe mug. I use an oversized mug. Use a fork to stir together all the ingredients, one by one. I like to add the buttermilk last to get the perfect amount of liquid. Add extra tablespoons of buttermilk if needy for a runny, but thick consistency. Mix until incorporated, but don't over mix -- as it toughens the cake batter.

2) Everyone's microwave is different. So the first time microwave for 60 seconds at a time. Repeat until the batter turns into a cake -- feeling firm to the touch on the edges and center.

(Or pour into a cupcake wrapper placed in a cupcake pan and bake at 350 degree in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until a tester produces a crumb.)

Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:

Confectionery Sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Drops of milk

Photo: howsweetitis

Optional: A teaspoon of butter (for buttercream. I omit the butter.) 

Other flavors: 

Add --
(1) cocoa for chocolate; 
(2) lemon extract for lemon;
(3) If making a s'mores cake, melt dark chocolate and drops of milk together to make a gonache topping and follow with a toasted marshmallow.
(4) For a carrot mug cake, top with vanilla frosting and/or add 2 tablespoons of cream cheese to the basic vanilla frosting. 

Directions:

Combine the ingredients and mix until creamy. Spread on your single serving cake. Enjoy!

If you keep it simple, making a mug cake from start to finish takes about 10 minutes! Easy to double or triple for 1 or 2 guests and after the meal, you won't have leftovers to eat!

Extra tip: On a lazy day, you can eliminate the extra step of making frosting by topping your mug cake with ice cream.


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A Honey Of A Cake

Photo: King Arthur flour

Today I'm making a Honey Cake, which traditionally is served without frosting. But, what is a cake sans frosting? A loaf of bread ... unfinished, right? So I will include a recipe for a buttermilk frosting. A Honey Cake is delicious dressed, or naked. You decide how you wish to eat it.

Honey Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup sliced almonds

1 1/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup honey

4 large eggs

3/4 cup butter at room temperature

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and pull out 2 large mixing bowls and 2 cake pans (either 8'' or 9'' cake pans will do).

1) In one bowl shift together the dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and 1/4 cup of sliced almonds.

2) In the 2nd bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the honey, eggs and butter.

3) Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

4) Next whisk in the butter and vanilla extract.

5) Line the almonds on the bottom of the greased cake pans, then pour the batter over the almonds in the pans.

6) Bake at 325 degrees F for 50 minutes, or until done in the center.

Buttermilk Frosting

Ingredients:

About 1/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 - 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1) Mix all the ingredients together. I keep adding the powdered sugar until I get a thick yet spreadable frosting consistency. If needed, add few drops of buttermilk at a time to arrive at the right creaminess.

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Optional Frosting flavors: (1) Add a teaspoon of lemon or orange zest for a citrus flavored icing. (2) Or 1 teaspoon of instant coffee for a mocha icing, if you like.

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2) Spread the buttermilk frosting on top and sides of the cake.

Without a doubt, a Honey Cake is a treat, but with some good ingredients: almonds (protein), whole wheat (a whole grain) and eggs (protein, vitamin E). Enjoy a slice!

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A Pretty Rainbow Almond Cake

Photo: alwaysorderdessert - I'm using this image so you can see the raspberry preserves dripping between the layers of cake. Skip to the bottom for an easy-breezy way to make ganache.

When I see this cake the lyrics of "My Fair Lady" come to mind:"I feel pretty, Oh so pretty! ... I feel pretty ... and witty and bright!" Indeed. Moreover, as my long time readers know, I like the addition of nuts in a pastry to add extra oomph! Nuts are a tasty balance to the sweetness of sugar, adding a bit of protein too. 

Almond paste gives a rainbow cake a sweet nutty flavor. Although you can buy almond paste in a tin, homemade is cheaper, so let's begin with a how to recipe. Almond paste and Marzipan are similar. Here's the difference: Marzipan is equal parts almonds and confectionery sugar with a touch of corn syrup, It is often rolled out and used as fondant for cakes or shaped into candy. On the other hand, almond paste is 2 parts almonds to 1 part sugar. Almond paste can be stored in a tightly sealed (cover the top with a plastic wrap and a layer of foil) steel can in the refrigerator for about one month. Freeze it for up to 3 months.

Almond Paste

Ingredients:

Photo: Mandelin

1 1/2 cups almonds
Up to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (For a dry consistency; eyeball it.)
1 egg white
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Directions:

Toss the almonds in a food processor, pulse, follow with the rest of the ingredients. Pulse until smooth.

Now let's make our oh so pretty cake!

Rainbow Almond Cake

2 sticks butter at room temperature (1 cup)
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
12 ounces almond paste (1 1/2 cups)
3 different - 1/2 teaspoon each of food coloring (red, green, yellow are traditional -- but you can use 3 different colors of your choice).
About 1/2 cup of raspberry preserves to spread in between the cake layers

3 cake pans -- line each with parchment paper if you wish. I usually simply oil and flour the pans. 

Directions:

1) In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.

Photo: Amazon

2) Next add the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between.

3) Add the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda.

4) Follow by the wet: buttermilk, lemon juice and almond extract.

5) Finally, add the almond paste. Mix until uniform and smooth.

6) After the batter is made, divide and pour it into 3 separate bowls. Add the 3 different food colorings, one to each bowl of batter.

7) Poor the batter with 3 different colors into 3 separate oiled and floured cake pans (or lined with parchment paper).

8) Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes, or until the centers are done.

9) Now the fun part: Stack the 3 colored layers of cake. Spread the raspberry jam in between each layer.

Chocolate Ganache Topping

Traditionally, a rainbow almond cake is toped with chocolate ganache. I never buy heavy cream and like to keep baking simple, therefore I use what I usually have in my cupboard, canned condensed milk (But if you have neither at home, feel free to buy heavy cream):

Ingredients:

Photo: myrecipes

15 ounce can condensed milk
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Heat your milk (or heavy cream if you buy it) in a saucepan on the stove top. Bring to a boil.

2) Turn off the heat and add the chocolate chips. Melt and stir. This should be all you need to do, but if not thick enough, you can turn the heat back on and whisk for a few minutes.

3) Pour over the cake and spread down the sides.

Makes a lovely birthday or anytime cake. Enjoy with a cup of coffee or milk!🎉🎈🎁


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Lemon Elderflower Cake

Photo: AM-NY

Did your invitation to the wedding of Great Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get lost in the mail? Oh what a coincidence, mine too! Recently, I've looked for a tasty lemon cake recipe and as luck would have it, the Mountbatten-Winsors are serving a fancy lemon cake after the ceremony. For all my readers not attending the nuptials, nor the after parties, I've got your back. Have a slice of the royal wedding cake. Here is a recipe. (Theirs requries 500 eggs and 200 lemons!):

Photo: Huffington Post of elderflower blossoms

👑Ingredients for the cake

1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup buttermilk (You can substitute milk if you wish.)
3 extra large eggs (Large works too.)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of 2 lemons (1/4 cup), plus the lemon zest
2 tablespoons elderflower cordial (Ederflower liqueur can be substituted.)

👑Ingredients for the elderflower syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup elderflower cordial

👑Ingredients for frosting
1-2 cups lemon curd (For homemade here.)
1 tablespoon elderflower cordial

🏰Directions for the cake:

1) With an electric mixer cream together the sugar and butter. 

2) Add the buttermilk, than the eggs, one at a time.

3) Next mix in the dry ingredients: flour, baking power, baking soda and salt.

5) Now toss in the flavors: lemon juice, lemon zest and elderflower cordial (or liqueur).

6) Pour into 2  buttered  9 inch cake pans and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 30 minutes (until the center is done). Remove from the oven and let cool.

Meanwhile make the simple syrup flavored with elderflower --

🏰Directions for the Elderflower syrup:

1) Combine sugar and water in a saucepan on a stove top. Bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer until the sugar dissolves. 

2) Turn off the heat and add the elderflower cordial. Let cool.

Prepare the frosting:

🏰Directions for the Lemon Ederflower Frosting:

💂Option A) To a jar of lemon curd (or use homemade) add a tablespoon (eyeball a squirt) of elderflower cardial.

💒Option B) The royal cake is reported to have a butter cream frosting: Toss room temperature butter, confectionery sugar and drops of milk in a bowl. Mix in lemon zest and elderflower cordial.

Photo: Huffington Post of elderflower berries

How to finish and frost the cake:

1) Next refrigerate the cake layers for a few hours.

2) Remove the 2 layers of cake from the refrigerator and make 4 layers by slicing through the centers in half, if you wish. If too difficult, no worries, a 2 layer cake will be fine too.

3) Brush the tops of the 4 cake layers (or 2) with elderflower flavored simple syrup, then top with the lemon curd (or butter cream) frosting. The cake has a messy (in a good way) look: Let frosting run down the sides and double or triple frost, if you like.

4) Decorate the top with cake icing flowers. You can improvise by putting the frosting in a plastic sandwich bag, then cut a corner off of one end, so the frosting can be squeezed out to make flowers. Or buy ready-made sugar flowers at the grocery store, it's in the cake aisle. You can get creative with berries; or sprinkles as flowers; or real ediable flowers; or just lemon slices cut as hearts and flowers.

Enyoy with a cup of tea!

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