You are here: Home / Archives for Cakes/Cupcakes/Muffins

Lemon Meringue Delight Cake

April 18, 2013 by 34 Comments
I love lemons.  So, when my brother asked his girlfriend what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, she said lemon.  Perfect!
I set out to find a fancy lemon cake recipe because, well let’s be honest, I’ve never made a fancy cake before.  This recipe looked perfect for what I had in mind, all thanks and credit to Rosie at Sweetapolita!  This Lemon Meringue Delight Cake was a big success and it tasted amazing!

 

Lemon Meringue Delight Cake

I made this cake over the course of a few days, which was a good thing.  There were lots of things that I never attempted before and I was happy that I gave myself time to do those things properly.  For one, I never made buttercream frosting before…..which I ended up making twice for this recipe…..more on that later!  
Second, I’ve never made meringues before, let alone swirling yellow food paste in them as well.  
Finally, I’ve never made my own lemon curd.  Why I’ve never made it before I don’t know because it’s AMAZING!

Lemon Meringue Delight Cake

Lemon Meringue Delight Cake

The texture of this cake was perfectly moist and the surprise of the meringue discs on the inside were delicious.  I don’t care for airy, tasteless cakes and this one was anything but that.  I was also impressed by the buttercream, since I’ve never made it before.  It was fairly easy to make and it was great to work with.  I loved that the lemon curd was added to it for a subtle, yet tasty, flavor.
Now that I’ve made this one fancy cake, I’ll be less intimidated to make another.  My husband’s birthday is coming up and he’s requested something with lime.  Let’s see what I can come up with for him!

Lemon Meringue Delight Cake

Lemon Meringue Delight Cake

This will be one recipe I won’t be posting the recipe for because Rosie at Sweetapolita explains everything so perfectly on her website.  Please visit her website for the recipe and to see her beautiful photos.
* Notes from my kitchen:
  1. For the cake, I didn’t have plain yogurt on hand so I used half sour cream and half vanilla yogurt and my cake still turned out great.
  2. If you make the Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream ahead of time, make sure you take it out the night before (like Rosie says to) and let it come to room temperature.  I took mine out early in the morning and was anxious to frost my cake so I let it stand for about 3 hours and I thought by mixing it in my stand mixer might help it along.  Wrong!  I ended up with a curdled, watery mess of buttercream and had to start over again!
  3. When you start your Buttercream over again, make sure you don’t use salted butter!  It doesn’t taste very good but you can use it anyway, like I did, because it was too late to run out to the grocery store!
  4. Since it was my first time making meringues I was pretty impressed with them, except mine cracked (as you can see in the pictures above) so maybe my oven is too hot or my meringue was too thick?  I’ll have to look into that.
  5. Enjoy!
Filed Under: Cakes/Cupcakes/Muffins Tagged With: buttercream, cake, curd, lemon, meringue, Sweetapolita

Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

April 11, 2013 by 29 Comments
I know I’m a little late with the Carrot Cake recipe, seeing that most people associate it with Easter.  I did make it near Easter this year but it was for another special day.  It was my Dad’s birthday!   His birthday fell on the Saturday of the Easter weekend so I couldn’t post it before then.   I wanted a simple, moist carrot cake recipe and I knew I wanted to add some cinnamon to the basic cream cheese frosting.

Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing1

Although this cake turned out great, I can’t say that about the first recipe I tried.  That one ended up in the compost bin!  It was way too oily and it tasted like baking soda – yuck!
This recipe still used oil, which you need for moisture, but it was the perfect amount.   I knew that it would probably turn out since most recipes from this website are “Tested ’till Perfect”, although this recipe was a reader’s recipe.

Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

I didn’t really ask my dad what his favorite cake was, but it was Easter and I was craving a Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting, so that’s what he got!   It was mostly for him and little bit for me.  If I’m baking it I get to have a little bit of a say, don’t I?!
*The picture below is what my kitchen looked like after I made this cake.  My husband always laughs at me and says I should have called my blog “The Messy Baker”!  Sorry honey, there’s already a blog by that name.  Besides, I always clean up after myself and he always gets the sweet treats to eat!

Messy Kitchen

Print
Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Yield: 10-12 servings

A classic, moist and delicious carrot cake smothered in a cinnamon-infused cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

  • For the Cake:
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3 cups finely shredded carrots, lightly packed
  • 3/4 cups vegetabIe oil
  • For the Frosting:
  • 1 pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 3-4 cups icing sugar (depending on what consistency and sweetness you want your icing)

Instructions

For the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 9x1/2-inch round cake pans; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda.
In another mixing bowl whisk eggs and then add carrots, and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. With a spoon, stir until combined. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool for about 10 minutes in pans; then remove from pans to cool more thoroughly.
For the Frosting:
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese, butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Slowly add icing sugar until you reach the desired consistency and sweetness you want.
Spread icing on one cake and place the other cake on top. Use remaining icing to cover the entire cake.
Enjoy!
Cake recipe from Canadian Living
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by
https://asweetbaker.com/carrot-cake-with-cinnamon-cream-cheese-frosting/

Filed Under: Cakes/Cupcakes/Muffins Tagged With: cake, carrot, , cream cheese, frosting

Butter Pecan Muffins

April 9, 2013 by 17 Comments
When it comes to baking I’m a nut-free kinda girl.   So, when I decided to make these Butter Pecan Muffins, I was thinking I wouldn’t like them.  Wrong!  The only thing I’ve liked with nuts in it is a Pecan Tart.  I’m not sure why I don’t care for nuts in my baking because I love nuts on their own.  Actually, they’re my go-to snack after work while I’m waiting for dinner to be ready.  

Butter Pecan Muffins

These muffins were very flavorful.  They also turned out nice and dense, just like a muffin should be.  I think the thing that gave these muffins the great butter pecan flavor was the Butter Pecan Coffee Creamer that I substituted for the milk.  I got the idea from Jocelyn, over at her blog.  

Butter Pecan Muffins1

I think the next time I make these muffins I will make a frosting using the coffee creamer as well.  Muffins are good on their own but they’re so much better with frosting!   

Butter Pecan Muffins2

Print
Butter Pecan Muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes

Yield: 12 muffins

Delicious muffins with a butter pecan flavor that are perfect for snacks, breakfast, or dessert.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup Butter Pecan coffee creamer
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a muffin tin with muffin cups and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt, set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together the egg, coffee creamer, butter, maple syrup, sour cream and vanilla.
Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened.
Using a large cookie or ice-cream scoop, fill muffin cups about 3/4 full.
Bake at 400° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by
https://asweetbaker.com/butter-pecan-muffins/

Filed Under: Cakes/Cupcakes/Muffins Tagged With: butter, coffee creamer, , muffins, pecan

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Maple Syrup Glaze

March 22, 2013 by 13 Comments
Happy Friday!
This recipe was originally posted on “What’s Cooking with Ruthie” as I’m a monthly contributor for her.  Ruthie has been so awesome to work with and I love checking out her great recipes and video tutorials on her site.   This Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Maple Syrup Glaze was so delicious that I had to share it on A Sweet Baker too!Sour Cream Coffee Cake
I’ve mentioned before on my blog that I’m not a very big fan of cake.  Yes, you heard me, I can take it or leave it.  I prefer dense, moist desserts like my brownies, bars, or loaves.  Coffee cake has been an exception, though.  It’s moist, dense, and full of flavor.   That’s what you get that when you taste this Sour Cream Coffee Cake.   A cake that’s ribboned with cinnamon-sugar streusel, topped with more streusel, and then drenched in a Maple Syrup glaze that goes perfect with it.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake has always been a dessert that brings back memories of my childhood.  I first tasted a Sour Cream Coffee Cake when my brother and I went on a camping trip with my aunt and uncle.   We stopped at a local farmer’s marker that was run by Mennonites, in a small community south of where we lived.   My aunt bought one of their Sour Cream Coffee Cakes and we shared it once we got back home.  I remember it being one of the moistest, most delicious cakes that I had tried.  It had all that crunchy, sugary struesel on top, which gave it more of an appeal to me.  Since then I have been searching for a recipe that tastes just like the one I remember as a kid.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This cake came out moist, dense, and flavorful.  Just the way I like it!  The only thing I would change next time is I would double the struesel recipe and add more if it inside……because you can never get enough struesel!

Print
Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Yield: 8-10 servings

A moist, dense, coffee cake that is ribboned with cinnamon-sugar streusel and topped with a Maple Syrup glaze.

Ingredients

  • For the Cake:
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups sour cream
  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • For the Streusel:
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • For the Glaze:
  • 1/2 cup icing (confectioners') sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan.
Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light and creamy.
Add the eggs 1 at a time.
Add the vanilla and sour cream.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined.
Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.
For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble.
Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the icing sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary to make the glaze runny. Drizzle over cake.
Enjoy!
Recipe slightly adapted from Ina Garten's recipe on the Food Network
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by
https://asweetbaker.com/sour-cream-coffee-cake-with-maple-syrup-glaze/

Filed Under: Cakes/Cupcakes/Muffins Tagged With: brown sugar, , , ,

Coffee and Baileys Cupcakes

February 21, 2013 by 41 Comments
I don’t know about you but I still have chocolate from Christmas in my cupboards.  Normally, it would have all been eaten by now, but since some of the goods have liqueur in them, they’ve been off-limits to the kids.  That’s why I decided to use some of them in these Coffee and Baileys Cupcakes.

Coffee and Bailey's Cupcakes

The idea came to me when I was figuring out what I could do with all the truffles that were just sitting there.  I know for myself, I enjoy a little Baileys in my coffee from time-to-time.  That’s when I decided to make a coffee cupcake and stick one of these truffles in the middle.  Boy, am I glad I did!

Coffee and Bailey's Cupcakes

These cupcakes turned out perfectly (and I’m not a cupcake fan), especially with the Chocolate & Baileys Frosting on top.  I cheated with the frosting and bought a can of Whipped Chocolate Frosting and added some Baileys to that.  The cupcakes weren’t for anything special, so if I was sharing them with others or bringing them somewhere, I definitely would have made homemade.  Either way, I didn’t hear any complaints.  Coffee and Baileys = a perfect combination!

Coffee and Bailey's Cupcakes

Print
Coffee and Baileys Cupcakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 21 cupcakes

Coffee flavored cupcakes filled with a Bailey's Irish Cream Truffle and then frosted with Chocolate & Bailey's.

Ingredients

  • For the cupcakes:
  • 1 & 3/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup cocoa
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/4 butter, melted
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 cup hot brewed coffee
  • 2 tsp. instant coffee granules
  • 1 box of Baileys Irish Cream Truffles
  • For the frosting:
  • 1 can of Whipped Chocolate Frosting
  • 4 Tbsp. Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur

Instructions

For the cupcakes:
Using cupcake liners, prepare two cupcake pans and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a stand mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly mix all ingredients until well combined.
In a separate bowl, add buttermilk, oil, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk well.
After coffee has brewed, mix in the 2 tsp. of coffee granules until dissolved.
Slowly pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the dry ingredients on low speed.
Remove bowl from mixer and stir in the coffee until all ingredients are well combined.
Your batter will be very runny, but trust me, it will make great cupcakes.
With a measuring cup or scoop, pour batter into cupcake liners about 2/3 full and insert one Baileys Truffle into the center.
Once all cupcake liners are filled, bake in the center of a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then let cool completely on a wire rack.
For the Frosting:
In a small bowl. add the can of Whipped Chocolate Frosting and the Baileys Liqueur and mix well with a spoon.
You can pipe on the icing or spread it on however you wish.
Enjoy!
Cupcake recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by
https://asweetbaker.com/coffee-and-baileys-cupcakes/

Filed Under: Cakes/Cupcakes/Muffins Tagged With: Bailey's Irish Cream, chocolate, coffee, cupcakes, frosting
«Older Posts
< <