Baby Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cakes

Using the same chocolate pumpkin batter that I used to make whoopie pies, I made these baby bundt cakes. 

One recipe yields 18 cakes and they are a great size for sharing. I found that two cakes fit perfectly, side by side, in an inexpensive foil loaf pan, so you can safely deliver them with no worries about getting the pan back.

For an extra sweet touch, pipe a rosette of cream cheese buttercream.

Here are the recipes:

Baby Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cakes
(makes 18 cakes) 
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup canola
2 eggs
2 (15oz) cans pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Grease your baby bundt cake pans and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. My pan is from Nordic Ware and makes six cakes. The recipe makes 18 cakes, so I used the same pan, repeating the process of greasing and filling it, two more times after baking the first batch.

I greased the baby bundt pan with Crisco, being generous and careful to get it into every nook and cranny of every section.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugars, canola oil, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla.

In another large bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.

Fill the bundt cake sections 3/4 full with the batter and give the pan a firm tap on the counter to help the batter settle.

Bake the cakes for 20 minutes or until done and springy to the touch. Let the baked cakes cool for three minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack. 

After they have cooled completely, frost them with vanilla cream cheese buttercream. I like to use a 1M tip and pipe a rosette on the top of each one.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream
(Note: this is the same recipe I used to fill the whoopie pies, but increased to make enough to top all 18 of the bundt cakes)
12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2  cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whip again.

Two cakes ready to be shared. They fit perfectly in a foil loaf pan.

Mini Chocolate Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

The addition of pumpkin makes these chocolate whoopie pies extra flavorful and very moist.

There's also a few teaspoons of cinnamon and a good dose of sea salt in the batter which are nice compliments to the dark chocolate. The filling is just a vanilla cream cheese buttercream that's quick to make, light and not too sweet.

I also really like this recipe because there's canola oil instead of butter in the whoopie pie batter and it can be quickly mixed by hand. One batch yields enough cakes to assemble four dozen whoopie pies.

Here's the recipe:

Mini Chocolate Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
(makes enough cakes for four dozen filled pies) 
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup canola
2 eggs
2 (15oz) cans pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Line sheetpans with parchment and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the sugars, canola oil, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla.

Put the sugars, pumpkin, eggs, canola oil, and vanilla in a bowl.

Mix it until it is well combined.

In another large bowl whisk together the remaining dry ingredients.

The flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, sea salt, baking soda and baking powder.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.

The batter is fairly thick.

Use a 1-inch scoop to drop mounds of batter onto the baking sheets, spacing them 2-inches apart. Use your fingertips to lightly flatten the mounds.

After dropping the scoops of batter onto the baking sheet, use your fingertips to lightly flatten the mounds.

Bake the cakes for 10 minutes or until done and springy to the touch. Let the baked cakes cool for a bit on the baking sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Sort the cakes into pairs and fill with vanilla cream cheese buttercream.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whip again.

I like to support each whoopie pie with a mini muffin paper. Keep the pies covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them.

Chocolate Sheetcake

I needed to make a super-sized dessert to serve at the Wednesday Community Meal tomorrow and so I created this moist chocolate sheetcake. I love making sheetcakes because they come together quickly and because you serve them right from the pan, they are a breeze to frost since they require just a top coat.

I made a double batch of the recipe for my extra large 13 x 19 -pan and after the cake cooled, frosted it with buttercream that will be very hard to recreate.  I had some raspberry and salted caramel buttercreams in my freezer left over from making macarons, so I added to those to a package of cream cheese, a stick of unsalted butter, vanilla, a cup of cocoa powder and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and whipped it until it was smooth and creamy. My nephew who is my official taste tester said "oh, that's gooood," when he took a taste.

It's fun getting creative and using leftovers to make something special. And really, just about any frosting would be great with this easy cake.

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Sheetcake 
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3/4 cocoa powder
2 teaspoons espresso powder
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 large eggs

Grease and flour a 11 x 17 baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the water, cocoa powder and espresso powder until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

In another medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt and set aside.

In a stand mixer, whip together the butter, sugars and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and whip after each addition until the mixture is smooth and well-combined.

Alternately add the flour and cocoa/water mixture in three additions, beating after each on low speed until blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan before frosting. Enjoy!

Sam's Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream Cake

My wonderful nephew Sam just graduated from high school and I couldn't resist creating a special cake for his celebration. Coffee flavored desserts are his favorite so I made him an ice cream cake with two layers of moist Guinness chocolate cake, a center of coffee ice cream and a topping of espresso flavored whipped cream. It was a big hit and I know it's something I will make again and again and always think of Sam when I do.

Here's the recipe:

Sam's Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream Cake
(a celebration cake created for and named after the best nephew in the world)

Cake:
1 cup Guinness
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup sour cream ( or substitute plain yogurt)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper.

A prepared cake pan. Line the bottom and the sides with greased parchment.

Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan, add the butter in slices and heat until the butter is melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and pour into the beer mixture and finally whisk in the flour and baking soda.

Divide the cake batter among the two prepared cake pans and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until done. Leave the cake to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack. Let the cakes cool completely before assembling.

The cakes after baking. Let them cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the pans.

To Assemble:
1 quart premium coffee ice cream, left at room temperature for 10 to 15  minutes to soften
2 pints whipping cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoons espresso powder
chocolate covered espresso beans

Line an 8-inch cake pan that is at least 4-inches deep with plastic wrap.

Drop in one of the Guinness chocolate cake layers.

Top the cake with the quart of softened coffee ice cream.

Use a spreader to evenly distribute the ice cream and press it down. You have to work fast because you don't want the ice cream to melt.

Add the second layer of cake.

Wrap the cake well with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer to set for at least 4 hours.

After the cake has set in the freezer, put the whipping cream, sugar and espresso in a mixing bowl and whip it until it holds a stiff peak.

Unwrap the frozen cake remove it from the cake pan. Place it on a serving platter that will be able to fit back into the freezer.

Spread the whipped cream around the sides of the cake.

Put the remaining whipped cream in a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe a border around the top of the cake.

Inside the border, pipe dollops around the cake and top each of them with a chocolate covered espresso bean.

Place the cake back into the freezer for at least 20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Chocolate Flan Cake

A month or so ago, I just happened to be flipping through television channels as I was folding a load of laundry, and oh my, I saw the most luscious looking Chocolate Flan Cake being tasted by Christopher Kimball on an episode of "America's Test Kitchen".

The slice of cake, with its dense dark chocolate base against a thick layer of cold smooth and creamy flan, looked so good. Mr. Kimball raved about it and I could tell he was dead serious. He thought it was divine!

Needless to say, the laundry could wait —  I ran to my computer, searched for the recipe online and printed it off.

Fast forward to yesterday, we had a birthday celebration at the Wednesday Community Meal for my dear friend Cheryl and this was the cake I made for her. It tasted better than I imagined it would. Cheryl and our friends loved it too. The sweetness of the cake was perfect and the cold flan was silky and refreshing.

This Chocolate Flan Cake is exciting because it's so different than anything I've ever seen and it's not hard to make. The only stress inducing part of the recipe is releasing the cake from the bundt pan with the help of a dip in a hot water bath and fingers crossed.

The cake did release for me although it took two dips in the hot water and some praying. After it came out, a few cracks formed in the cake. I was really disappointed about the cracks but not anymore since tasting the cake. Seriously, who cares? — because it is a darn delicious cake.

One last tip: The cake requires 8 to 12 hours of chilling time in the refrigerator before releasing it from the pan so be sure to start the cake early in the day. Trust me, you don't want to have to get up in the middle of the night to release the cake.

The three cracks that formed after I released the cake bummed me out at first. But, in the end they didn't matter one bit. My friends and I love this cake.

Chocolate Flan Cake
Note: A 12-cup nonstick bundt cake pan is needed for this recipe.

Cake:
1/2 cup cup caramel sauce or topping
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used dark chocolate chips)
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Flan:
2 14-oz. cans sweetened condensed milk
2 1/2 cups whole milk
6 ounces cream cheese
6 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12-cup nonstick bundt cake pan.

Pour the 1/2 cup of caramel sauce in the pan.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Put the 4 oz. of chocolate and 6 tablespoons of butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 50% power for 1-minute increments, stirring in between, until the mixture is melted and smooth.

Add the eggs, buttermilk, sugar and vanilla to the melted chocolate mixture and whisk.

It will look like this.

Add the cocoa powder and flour mixure and whisk again until combined.

Spread the chocolate batter over the caramel.

Using a blender, process all of the flan ingredients until smooth. It will look like this.

Pour the flan mixture into the pan. When you do this, the cake batter will float to the top of the pan.

Place the cake in a baking dish or roasting pan filled with warm water that reaches halfway up the sides of the bundt pan. I added the water after the pan was in the oven. It's much easier this way. Bake the cake for 75 to 90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean and the flan registers 180 degrees.

I checked the cake after 75 minutes and took it its temperature. It wasn't quite ready and in the end took just over 80 minutes to reach 180-degrees. Place the baked cake on a rack to cool completely at room temperature. After cooling, refrigerate the cake for 8 to 12 hours before removing it from the pan.

To remove the cake, fill a bowl with hot water and place the bottom third of the bundt pan in the water for 1 minute. Place a cake platter with at least a 1/2 inch rim to hold the caramel sauce on top of the cake and flip the cake over. Slowly remove the pan, letting the caramel drizzle over the top of the cake. Serve chilled.

Slices of the cake.

Last Minute Valentine Treat

It's still not too late to whip up a sweet treat for your Valentine because this delicious Chocolate Guinness Cake topped with Easy Fluffy Frosting comes together lickety split.

Add some pretty stemmed Maraschino Cherries to the top and you'll have a Valentine treat that looks like something you've been planning for weeks.

How big you make the cake is your choice. You can make two of the cakes for a layered look like in the photo above or just one - both look beautiful.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Guinness Cake
1 cup Guinness
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter and line a 9-inch springform pan.

Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan, add the butter in slices and heat until the butter is melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and pour into the beer mixture and finally whisk in the flour and baking soda.

Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.


Easy Fluffy Frosting
1 egg white
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup boiling water

Mix all the ingredients except the water in a deep mixing bowl. Add the boiling water and beat until stiff.

Chocolate Mint Cake

This chocolate mint cake, filled with dark chocolate ganache and coated with a light peppermint buttercream is for my dear friend Anne's husband's birthday celebration.

A sprinkling of chocolate and green tinted sanding sugars adds a nice touch.  Another decoration idea would be to add shavings of chocolate mint candy.

To make the cake I used the three remaining cake layers from my latest batch of "The Greatest and Easiest Chocolate." So in the end I got two great cakes with just one batch of batter. This is good to know, especially if you are entertaining and want to offer more than one dessert choice with minimal work.

Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Mint Cake

"The Greatest and Easiest" Chocolate Cake:
3 1/3 cups flour
1 1/3 cups cocoa powder
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoons salt
12 ounces butter
3 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans.

Place all ingredients in electric mixer bowl and beat on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl once during mixing. Pour into prepared pans. Bake cakes for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

When the cakes are cool, slice each cake into two layers. Three of the layers are needed to assemble the cake so you can wrap and freeze the three remaining layers for later.

Dark Chocolate Ganache: 

6 oz dark chocolate cut into small pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream

Put the chocolate pieces into a medium sized bowl.

Heat the heavy cream in a small pan over medium high heat until it comes to a boil.

Remove the cream from the heat and immediately pour it over the chocolate.

Stir the chocolate until it is completely melted and smooth and glossy.

Peppermint Buttercream:
3 large egg whites
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
green food coloring (optional)

Place the whites in a clean mixing bowl. Whisk in sugar and cream of tartar.

Place bowl over a double boiler on medium heat, stir frequently until the mixture is very hot (120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit).

Move to mixer and whip whites on high for 2 to 3 minutes; turn down to medium low until cool (use the bowl as your guide).

In a separate bowl with a wooden spoon, stir butter to soften.

With mixer on medium/high speed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time, adding the next tablespoon just as the previous one is blended in. Once all the butter incorporated, add in vanilla, salt, peppermint extract and food coloring if desired. Whip on high speed until fluffy.
 
To assemble:

Set the first cake layer on a cake round or serving platter.

Top with half of the chocolate ganache and repeat with the second layer. Finally add the third layer and let the cake cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before frosting.

When I frost a cake, I like to start at the top and work my way down over the sides.

Swirls made with the back of a teaspoon add a nice touch.

I decorated the top of the cake using dark cocoa and green sanding sugar.