Banana Oat Snack Cake

Can you believe it is already August? Summer has been flying by. That being said, I am so ready for Fall. The heat and humidity is slowly melting me away.  We aren't breaking records here in Connecticut but it has been consistently hot and humid for way too many days in a row.  It wouldn't be so bad but we don't have A/C.  Most nights are cooling down either.  

Thus far we have escaped to the beach, played in the baby pool and ate in too many restaurants.  I am now ready for Fall and sweater weather.  Anyone else with me?

The heat has made using the oven almost unthinkable.  We went almost a whole week without using it or the stove top really. Thank goodness for a toaster oven.  You can do so much in a little toaster oven.  

I broke our no oven streak one morning during a bit of relief through a rain storm.  I had this banana oat snack cake recipe saved for forever.  We just never had enough bananas ready to use until today.  I put a little "no eat" note on the few we had left and Mr. J minded the message.

It was perfect timing as we had guests to help share in this sweet treat.

Although a cake this recipe is packed full of oats.  It is kind of like a glorified banana bread.  A bit more dense with just a hint of cinnamon. We have supplemented our breakfasts this week with a piece of this fun snack cake and enjoyed a bite or two each afternoon.  

Banana Oat Snack Cake

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert banana oatmeal

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Ingredients (serves 12)

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces, melted, plus more for baking dish
• 1½ cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1¼ cups (packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 bananas, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly coat an 8x8” baking dish with butter and line with parchment paper.

Whisk oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.

Whisk brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in another large bowl until mixture is smooth.

Slowly stream butter into brown sugar mixture, whisking constantly until well blended.

Add bananas to dry ingredients; toss to coat. Stir into brown sugar mixture.

Spread batter in prepared dish. Bake until cake is golden brown and the edges start to pull away from sides of dish, 35–40 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely in dish. Cut into 12 servings.

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Rhubarb Almond Cake

Hello my loves! Time got away from me once again. Summer activities. Work travel. Life.  

Plus it has been a bazillion degrees lately and super humid.  I have avoid cooking like the plague. 

Before all of that happened I made this cake.  Have you been a part of the snack cake fad. 

Snack cake = cake with no frosting 

I am not the biggest fan of frosting so I am a fan of snack cake. Also, no making frosting and no waiting for the cake to cool is a bonus for me.  Some where deep down I also justify this no frosting cake as healthy. My logic. That is all.

This almond cake is super rich. You use a whole tube of almond paste. I love almond paste and don't use it nearly enough.  It just smells so good.  I sat in the kitchen sniff it up quite a bit before I put the tube in the batter. 

Rhubarb also finds its way into the batter making this almond rhubarb cake very summery.  

So let's recap shall we?

• No frosting = healthy cake
• Almond paste = yum
• Rhubarb = summer

That's about it for today.  Make this cake it is super delicious and the perfect sweet treat for your next summer dinner party.

Rhubarb Almond Cake

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Keywords: bake almond rhubarb cake

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Ingredients (serves 15)

• Cooking spray or butter, to grease the pan
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more to coat the pan
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (8 ounces), at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 9 ounces almond paste (not marzipan)
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 pound rhubarb, large dice
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Instructions

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 325°F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray or a thin layer of butter, then dust with flour and tap out the excess; set aside.

Whisk the 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

Place the butter, sugar, and almond paste in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until the sugar is mostly incorporated, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until thoroughly combined and the mixture is fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixture and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with a rubber spatula.

Return the mixer to medium speed and add the eggs one at a time, letting each one incorporate before adding the next, about 2 minutes total. Add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds more. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and paddle again.

Add the flour mixture and turn the mixer on to low. Mix until just combined and no visible streaks of flour remain.

Add the rhubarb and fold in with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle with the almonds.

Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let sit at least 45 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar, if using, before cutting and serving.

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Tres Leche Cake

Since Cinco de Mayo I have seen a flourish of internet activity on Tres Leche Cake.  It seems like all of the blogs I follow have posted a Tres Leche Cake.  With each additional posting I wanted to try it for myself even more. During Memorial Day weekend we had guests and I couldn't think of a better time to whip up this cake. Although not traditionally American I thought topping it each pieces with berries would be a delightful summer hit. 

The cake whipped up easily and just needed time to cool and soak up all of the three milk glaze.  This is definitely not a last minute cake. You need at least 4 hours from when the cake comes out of the oven till serving time. 

Mr. J is not really a cake guy at all but he got all excited as I made up the whipped cream frosting. If there is any cake for him this milk soaked whipped cream frosted cake is it. 

The cake is incredibly light and refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day. Tres Leche cake it is also quite sweet and indulgent. Just look at the three milk glaze if you don't believe me. I know we will be making this cake again but most definitely when we have others to help us enjoy each slice.

Tres Leche Cake

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert Cinco de Mayo cake

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Ingredients (serves 24)

For the Cake:

• 1½ cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Three-Milk Glaze:

• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup half-and-half

For the Whipped Cream Frosting:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F. Remove the cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

Make the Three-Milk Glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half. Once combined, slowly pour the glaze evenly over the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least four hours, or overnight.

Make the Whipped Cream:

Using an electric mixer, whisk together the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla on low speed until stiff peaks form. Increase to medium speed and whip until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Leftover cake should be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day.

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Chocolate Pudding Cake

With my mom in town last weekend we took advantage of being together with celebrating Mother's Day.  My mom loves chocolate and we decided the best way to celebrating would be to bake a chocolate cake together.  Not only did we enjoy spending time in the kitchen "working" but we got to have some marvelous cake too.  

This was quite possibly the world's ugliest chocolate cake however it is also super rich and gooey. It was nice to have an extra set of hands to get all of the separate steps complete. This cake is like none I have ever made.  In the end I was horrified to see that we were suppose to top the batter with brown sugar and cocoa and then boiling water.  It is cringe worthy as you pour the water over the cake.  However this is the good part - the ooey, gooey chocolate sauce that remains when the cake comes out of the oven.

We put the cake in right as we sat down for dinner. The timing was perfect as it was done and still warm as we finished.  Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it was the best gift for Mother's Day.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate cake

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Ingredients (serves 12)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar, divided
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 2 1/2 cups boiling water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, 1 cup of the brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined. If there are lumps of brown sugar, use your hands to break them up. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate together over medium-low heat.

In a separate small saucepan, heat buttermilk over low heat until barely warmed. You don't want it to bubble or boil. Remove from heat.

Remove chocolate and butter mixture from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour mixture over dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and stir until combined. Spread into the prepared pan.

Combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups brown sugar with the cocoa in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth, using your hands to break up any brown sugar clumps. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the chocolate cake batter.

Pour the boiling water evenly over the cake.

Carefully transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until the center is firm to the touch, but still jiggly.

Remove cake from oven and cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.

To serve, invert each serving on a plate so that the fudge sauce on the bottom becomes a topping. Spoon any extra sauce in the pan over the top. You can serve the cake at room temperature or warm. Top with ice cream.

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Yogurt Chocolate Cupcakes with 2 Ingredient Chocolate Frosting

Oh man has it been some weeks. We had 60 degree temperatures and then snow yesterday. We are all fighting colds and Miss O got two ear infections again.  I am praying the warm temperatures reappear for good. And that brings better health to all. 

Way back before we all get sick my in-laws came to visit. My MIL was celebrating her birthday and we made cupcakes. These are pretty basic chocolate cupcakes with a easy chocolate buttercream frosting but they were so, so good. I wish I had a chocolate cupcake available to me each and every day.  Mr. J swears he is not a fan of cake but he had one of these every day till they were gone. He was a bit sad the day after he consumed the last one when there was no more to enjoy.    

Note to self: Make more cupcakes!

Yogurt Chocolate Cupcakes with 2 Ingredient Chocolate Frosting

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate cake

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Ingredients (12 cupcakes)

For the Chocolate Cupcakes:

• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Buttercream:

• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 lb (2 cups) butter

Instructions

For the Chocolate Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the first 7 (dry) ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

Mix in the butter on low speed, until the mixture resembles moist crumbs.

Stir in the eggs, yogurt and vanilla, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl to be sure all the ingredients are well-combined.

Fill lined cupcake wells just over half full (approx. ¼ cup of batter).

Bake for 15 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean or with moist crumbs.

Cool completely before frosting.

For the Chocolate Buttercream:

In medium saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over medium low heat, stirring frequently. When melted through and combined completely, remove from heat and chill until solid.

Remove from fridge and allow to come up to room temperature.

Put all the chocolate in a mixing bowl and beat on medium for 2 minutes until light in color and fluffy.

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Miss O's Birthday Cake

My little baby turned one last weekend. I am still coming to terms and processing this fact. How has it been a year already?  I found myself replaying every moment of the days leading up to her birth, the event and the weekend after. So much happened in such a short period of time. 

Here we are a year later and it is like Miss O has always been a part of our family.  I cannot imagine our life without her.   To celebrate such a momentous occasion I wanted to make a very special treat.  Miss O has had limited sugar and no cake up until her first birthday. I wanted her first cake to be fabulous.

I searched and searched and came up with a vanilla bean cake.  I had vanilla beans just waiting to be used and I couldn't think of a better way than for a birthday cake. 

Daddy scraped the vanilla beans and I prepped the batter.  Everything came together nicely and we frosted the cupcakes as Miss O napped the morning away. 

We decided to have the cupcakes in the afternoon. We got all set up, cameras ready.  Miss O immediately went for her cupcake top first, getting frosting all over her hands.  The sticky, gooey frosting stuck to her fingers in a way she didn't quite enjoy.  After breaking up the cupcake a bit and trying to get her to at least taste the sweetness we gave up. Miss O would have none of it.  I was left seriously questioning how this could be my daughter. 

Don't judge these cupcakes based on Miss O's reaction. We thoroughly enjoyed them.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients (12 cupcakes)

For the Vanilla Bean Cake:

• 10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

For the Vanilla Bean Butter Cream Frosting:

• 2 cups butter, room temperature
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

Heat the oven to 375F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar. With the paddle attachment on, beat on low speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds as much as possible from the vanilla bean halves. Add the vanilla seeds to the creamed butter.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

In a small bowl sift the flour and baking powder together. Add the flour mixture to the mixer alternately with the milk. Beat until just combined.

Pour batter into the lined muffin tin. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven, let the cakes cool for 5 minutes in the pan, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Vanilla Bean Butter Cream Frosting;

In a mixing bowl add the butter. With the paddle attachment on, beat on low speed until light and fluffy about 3-5 minutes.

Add the vanilla seeds to the creamed butter using the method above.

Gently beat in the powder sugar, a little at a time. When all the sugar is added, increase the mixer's speed to medium-high and beat for 2-3 more minutes.

Add a few drops of heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency.

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Chocolate Buttercream #Choctoberfest

This recipe had me licking my fingers all night long. I used this frosting for the Mississippi Mud brownies I made yesterday for #Choctoberfest.  There was some leftovers and my husband had the brilliant idea of topping some chocolate chip banana muffins. Instant cupcakes. It made me think that having frosting on hand at all times is a pretty good thing. 

Chocolate Buttercream

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: dessert chocolate

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Ingredients (Frosting for 1 cake)

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Cook butter, milk and unsweetened cocoa over medium heat in a large saucepan, stirring constantly, 4 to 5 minutes or until butter melts.

Remove from heat, and beat in powdered sugar and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.

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An InLinkz Link-up

Easy Chocolate Cake

It's Friday. I have been waiting for this day since Monday. #weekendlove

This week has been full of highs and lows. I think that is my life now. Getting through the lows knowing that there will be the highest of highs just around the corner. 

When the highs come I want to jump around, scream and dance. And of course cake is always good. 

Chocolate cake is my favorite dessert. If I am at a restaurant and any form of chocolate cake is on the menu I am getting it.  Lava cake, Fudge cake, Triple Layer cake, yes please!

It is my special treat because to be honest I don't make cake at home. There is three reasons for this:

1. Mr. J doesn't like cake. Although I could eat a whole cake all on my own it isn't advisable on a regular basis.
2. I don't have a cake stand or any other kind of cake storage. This makes the whole process a bit of a pain once you enjoy the first slice.
3. Frosting. I HATE making frosting. Powder sugar is the worst to work with in my opinion but you cannot have cake without frosting. 

This cake takes care of all of these issues. My 9 X 13 pan has a nifty lid and storage is a super quick.  The frosting of this cake, although having powder sugar, is boiled on the stove and doesn't need to be whipped in the mixer. The mess is minimal. And finally the cake comes out fudgy, almost brownie like, once the frosting soaks into the cake and cools.

The whole cake can me done in about 45 minutes from start to finish. Then you just have to wait till it cools. A difficult task when the whole house smells like chocolate. 

So we had cake all week. Cake for a day of extra smiles. Cake for the first overnight in the crib. Cake when Dad comes home from work. Cake for the first 70 degree day. 

Easy Chocolate Cake

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate cake

6072208

Ingredients (serves 12)

For the Cake:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1½ cup whole milk
• 1 Tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup butter
• ¼ cup cocoa powder

For the Chocolate Frosting:

• ½ cup butter
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ cup milk + 2 Tbsp
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 400°

Liberally spray or grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.

In a large bowl whisk together sugar, flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

In another bowl whisk eggs, milk, vinegar and vanilla together. Set aside.

In a saucepan melt butter, shortening and cocoa powder together, whisking until completely melted and smooth.

Remove from heat and pour into flour mixture, and then add the other liquid ingredients. Stir together until smooth and there are no more lumps.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until center of cake is set.

Prepare icing when cake is almost ready, approximately 5 minutes before the baking time is complete.

For the Chocolate Frosting:

Melt butter, cocoa powder and milk together over medium heat. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat. Whisk in powered sugar and vanilla until there are no lumps.  Pour icing over hot cake in pan.

Allow cake to cool before slicing. The frosting will harden and soak into the cake.

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