I will be the first to admit that I am opinionated about cake. But with most types of cake I believe there is wiggle room as to what makes a perfect cake. Chocolate can be dense and rich or light and moist, vanilla can be open crumbed and fluffy or tender and compact. When it comes to Red Velvet Cake though, I believe there is one gold standard of perfection and this recipe achieves just that.
Tag Archives: cake recipe
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream
This weekend I had the pleasure of making a baby shower cake for my long-time friend Tisa. She is having her first baby and some of our high school friends were able to gather and celebrate this new beginning. Before the shower, I asked her what type of cake she wanted and her request was for Carrot Cake with the works. This recipe has excellent spiced flavors, paired with a moist crumb, sweet pineapple, golden raisins and crunchy walnuts.
Mocha Almond Fudge Cake
There are times when I want something light and fluffy and there are times when I want something dark and fudgy and decadent. This Mocha Almond Fudge Cake is for those dark and fudgy kind of days. It is a rich mix of a fudgy chocolate almond-flour cake frosted with a sinful espresso buttercream and filled with silky hot fudge and crunchy salted and roasted almonds. Seriously, who can resist this combination! If Mocha Almond Fudge is your favorite flavor of ice cream and you need a fudgy chocolate fix you must try this! Continue reading
Quintessential Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting
If I had to pick just one chocolate cake from my entire repertoire of cakes to eat and serve this would be the one. While my American Mud Cake is rich and decadent and amazingly delicious, this Quintessential Chocolate Cake is so versatile and all-encompassing that you could serve it to anyone for any occasion. Need a great chocolate cake for your nephew’s birthday? This is it. Need a refined cake for your cousin’s wedding? This is the one too. This cake is rich and moist and fudgy but also light and delicate. It seems contradictory but try it and you will see what I mean. Continue reading
Italian Cream Cake
I will readily admit that I love most Italian foods. I love pasta and Italian breads, slow braised meats and Tiramisu. But despite my affinity for Italian cuisine I had little acquaintance with this Italian named cake. Now I am not sure of the exact origins of this nut-filled treasure (for all I know it may not be Italian), but this light, moist, flavorful Italian Cream Cake is so delicious I have to put it amongst my Italian favorites whether it is native or not. Continue reading
Marble Cake with Rich Chocolate Frosting
Several weeks ago my lovely reader Georganne requested a recipe for a marble cake. While I was very interested in complying and creating a recipe that she would enjoy, I was concerned about the implications of working with two very different cake batters. I had seen marble cakes that looked like the chocolate and vanilla cakes had very different textures. I wanted the chocolate and the vanilla to marry together in consistency but be stark in contrast of color and flavor. I wanted them to have a yin and yang relationship of harmony and distinction at the same time. So for a long time I pondered how best to approach this cake. Continue reading
Tiramisu Cake
Do you need a pick-me-up? I thought you just might so
I baked this delicious Tiramisu Cake to tempt your tummy and lift your spirits. Let me tell you, this cake is more than wet, tasteless sponginess and frothy filling. It is mildly sweet with a potent kick of double power espresso and rich, creamy mascarpone and amaretto filling that may make you a little bit giddy. Trust me, you want to make this cake! Continue reading
Gluten-Free American Mud Cake with Triple Chocolate Frosting
Chocolate is often the default flavor that bakers go to when asked to make a gluten-free cake. It makes sense; chocolate is pronounced enough to cover any unsavory flavors that non-wheat flours present and cocoa powder can be used as a starch substitute for some of the wheat flour. But clear your mind of any preconceived notions of gluten-free chocolate cake. This is just straight forward delicious cake. This recipe is based on my American Mud Cake and boasts of the same great chocolate complexity and rich, moist, goodness! Continue reading
Gluten Free Vanilla Cake and Gluten Free Baking Tips
Gluten free Vanilla Cake is by far the most challenging of all gluten free cakes to formulate. It is quite naked in that it is the most revealing of cakes when it comes to flour exposure. There are no secondary flavors to hide behind such as fruit or chocolate. This purist among pastries must stand alone and operate in perfect unity with its supporting ingredients to create a cake that both tastes delicious and feels correct on the tongue. Continue reading
Orange Cake with Passion Fruit Buttercream
It is difficult to tell that we are beyond summer solstice here. The sky is gray and there is a good chance of rain. It is par for the course in June in Oregon but my heart still pines for rays of sunshine and warmth on my skin. If I cannot have the climate I hope for I will have to settle for a cake full of tropical sunshine and flavor. This Orange Cake with Passion Fruit Buttercream is not the kind of cake that you bite into and wonder what flavor one could possibly be trying to convey. It is fully and intensely orange and bright and perfumed. I need something sunny and in its full splendor! Continue reading