Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these for the first time for Valentine's day 2 years ago. They are amazing! It's a delicious red velvet cake recipe and the frosting is amazing! This is a Paula Deen recipe, and it is always my go to recipe for red velvet cake. I hope you like it as much as I did!


Ingredients:

For the Cake:
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teapsoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting: 
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
chopped pecans for garnish



Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin pans with cupcake liners. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Divided the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 of the way full. Bake the cupcakes for 20-22 minutes, making sure to turn the pans once, halfway through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick to make sure they are done, and let them cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar in on low speed, until thoroughly mixed. Beat the frosting on high until the cream cheese frosting is light and fluffy.




Enjoy!






Source:  pauladeen.com

Strawberry Torte

 

This beautiful swirled torte dessert is perfect for summertime. It combines fresh sweet strawberries to make a homemade angel food cake with a whip cream and strawberry swirl inside.  

Ingredients:

unsalted butter, for buttering the pan

8 extra-large eggs, room temperature, separated

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising)

2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted

1 pint (16 ounces) heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

1 quart strawberries, washed, dried, hulls removed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a jelly roll pan, and then line with parchment paper. 

2. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar together until light in color, about 1 minute. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Add cake flour and baking powder and stir until well combined.

3. With an electric mixer, beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into flour mixture.

4. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 20 minutes, until cake springs back when touched.

5. Set aside 6 strawberries for garnish. Thinly slice the remaining strawberries. With an electric mixer, beat heavy cream on medium speed. Add remaining vanilla and 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Set half of the whip cream aside, and add sliced strawberries into the other half. 

6. Lay a clean kitchen towel out on a clean surface, with the short end facing you. Dust the towel with the confectioners' sugar. Flip cake onto towel, remove from baking sheet, and peel off parchment paper. Using the towel, roll the cake away from you and let cool.

7. Unroll the cake. Gently spread the strawberry and whip cream mixture onto the full surface of the cake, and the gently re-roll the cake. Transfer the cake to a serving platter and spread the reserved whip cream onto the top and sides of the cake. Garnish the top with set aside strawberries. 

Enjoy! :)

Source: marthastewart.com

Flag Cake Pops

A patriotic way to display a sweet dessert! Cake pops are so easy to make! Just make any cake (even a box kind), crumble it after it bakes, mix it with icing to make it firm. Roll into balls, and dip into melted chocolate. In this case, you would used white chocolate and dye it blue and red, add some white chocolate strips and pearl candies or sprinkles for the stars!

Source: bedifferentactnormal.com

Snickers Cake

I made this Snickers Cake for Father's Day this year! It was unbelievably delicious! The cake is so moist and the nougat filling tastes just like a candy bar! It was so rich, that I opted out of the chocolate ganache, and just used a ice cream topping caramel sauce. I highly recommend this! The best chocolate cake recipe I have ever used!

"A cake reminiscent of a Snickers bar - chocolate cake with a peanut nougat filling, covered in a salted caramel buttercream and topped with a milk chocolate ganache and chopped peanuts." 

-The Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

For the Cake:
2½ cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup + 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
1½ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1½ cups strong black coffee, hot
¾ cup vegetable oil
4½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Nougat Filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup evaporated milk
1½ cups marshmallow fluff
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups salted peanuts, roughly chopped

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup salted caramel sauce
2 cups powdered sugar

For the Milk Chocolate Ganache:
8 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
4 ounces (½ cup) heavy cream

For the Assembly & Garnish:
Additional salted caramel sauce
Chopped peanuts

Directions:

1. Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper, grease the parchment, then flour the insides of the pans, tapping out excess; set aside. 

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or large mixing bowl if you're using a hand mixer), sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for an additional 20 seconds (the batter will be very thin). 

4. Divide the batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes and rotate the pans in the oven. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs), about 12 more minutes. Cool the cakes (in the pans) on wire racks for 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.

5. Make the Nougat Filling: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and evaporated milk, stirring until dissolved, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and add the marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, and vanilla extract, stirring until completely smooth. Fold in the peanuts. Let the nougat mixture cool to room temperature before using it in the cake. You can do this leaving it at room temperature or you can pop it into the refrigerator to speed up the process. Be sure to give a stir occasionally as it cools.

6. Make the Frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 5 minutes (I like to use the whisk attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer, but it's not necessary). Pour in the salted caramel and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until it has all been incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional two to three minutes, until light and fluffy.

7. Assemble the Cake: If your cakes baked up uneven or have domed on top, level off the tops. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Cover with half of the nougat filling and then spread a couple spoonfuls of the salted caramel sauce over top to evenly cover the nougat filling. Top with a second cake layer and cover with the remaining nougat filling and top with caramel sauce. Place the final cake layer on top face-down. Frost the cake with the salted caramel frosting, finishing it as smoothly as possible. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour, until the frosting is set.

8. Make the Chocolate Ganache: While the cake chills, make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and warm until it just comes to a boil. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Begin whisking the mixture in the center, gradually working your way outward until the ganache is completely smooth. Set aside to cool, whisking occasionally, until it has thickened slightly, yet still a pourable consistency.

9. Garnish the Cake: Transfer the ganache to a 2-cup measuring cup. Slowly pour the chocolate ganache into the center of the cake, letting it push itself outward and flow over the sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes, giving the ganache a chance to set up. To finish garnishing, drizzle some additional salted caramel sauce over the top and side of the cake, and top with chopped peanuts. Keep the cake refrigerated, removing it from the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to serving.

Enjoy :)

Source: The Brown Eyed Baker

Strawberry Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Strawberry Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these cupcakes and a smash cake for my daughters 1st birthday. The cake recipe is the Paula Deen's, but I used a different frosting to make it lighter for her birthday. The frosting ended up melting, but I still think they look good! 

Ingredients:

For Strawberry Cake:

18.25 oz box of white cake mix

• 3 oz box of strawberry flavored instant gelatin
• 15 oz package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water

For Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting:

16 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream, cold

Drops of pink food coloring

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Grease cake pans, or line with cupcake liners for cupcakes

3. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. 

4. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. 

5. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Let cool completely before frosting.

For Frosting: 

1. Place the mixing bowl, and mixer attachments ( to use for the cold cream) in the freezer for 30 mins before making this. 

2. Beat the cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. 

3. In the bowl from the freezer, beat the heavy cream to nearly stiff peaks.

4. Add the whipped cream into the cheese mixture and quickly and briefly beat to combine. Do not over beat.

5. I added drops of pink food coloring in to make it match the party theme, this is optional. If you do use food coloring, lightly fold the frosting with a ribber spatula. 

Frost and Enjoy :)