Stephanies Kitchen

Lemon Lime Baby Cakes with a Lemon Lime Drizzle

March 31, 2009 By Steph 26 Comments

Can you even believe that today is the last day of March? I am absolutely baffled. This year is flying by so fast. It seems like Christmas just barely came and went and now it’s almost Easter. Oh where oh where does the time go? I remember the good old days when I was just a little girl and the days and weeks seemed to go so slowly I thought I’d go crazy. I remember wishing to be older and now I am turning 30 this year and it totally blows my mind. Anyways, maybe I’m crazy but I feel like I should hold on to every second or it will get away from me again.
mini_cheesecake_pan

So now onto more important things..like dessert. Jenny at Picky Palate had me at hello with these little beauties and I just had to run out and get me this Mini Cheesecake Pan at Williams Sonoma. I couldn’t wait another second. I immediately tied the recipe for their basic mini cheesecakes they had on the back of the box and they were fantastic. And then I had to try a recipe of my own. I came up with these baby cakes. I don’t know why I call them that other than the fact that they are cute and they had to sound cute too. These moist mini pound cakes are filled with fresh lemon and lime juice and of course the zests too. The drizzle puts them over the top. I love the shape that the mini cheesecake pan gives them, although you can use a mini muffin tin too, or even a regular size muffin tin if you must. Your choice.

And now here is the recipe for the Baby Cakes! Have a great week friends!

Lemon Lime Baby Cakes with a Lemon Lime Drizzle
recipe by Steph
makes 18 mini pound cakes using the mini cheesecake pan
or 18 mini cakes using a mini muffin tin or 12 cakes using a regular muffin tin

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lime zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt

For the drizzle:
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
lemon and lime juice

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add lemon and lime juice and zests, vanilla and almond extract and yogurt. Mix just until combined and creamy. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Grease the pan of your choice and fill the cups half way. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes or baked through and when cooled, transfer to a wire rack. In a small bowl combine the confectioners’ sugar and enough lemon and lime juice to make a nice consistency for the drizzle. Drizzle over the baby cakes and enjoy!

Filed Under: cakes, desserts, lemon

Upside Down Apple Cake

October 6, 2008 By Steph 17 Comments

I haven’t been in the baking mood lately. Maybe it’s because I can’t take beautiful pictures (I know, I know, enough already about the camera). Don’t worry, I’m not going into that again! Or maybe it’s because my friend/next door neighbor/workout buddy/food taster has been bringing me new brownies to try out EVERYDAY. Maybe that’s why. Becky has a darling food blog, Satisfying My Sweet Tooth and this week is Brownie Week and there is a great giveaway! Don’t miss out on entering to win a great cookbook! And you have to check out a new brownie recipe everyday. You can trust my opinion that EVERY single recipe is amazing. I’ve tried them all. My favorite was the Peanut Butter Fudge Bars. That recipe is up today and you have to give them a try. Heaven!!! She gave me about 6 of them and I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that I ate every last one of them. Did I feel any regret? No, of course not. Are you kidding? I just had to work out extra hard the next day.

Now onto my Apple Cake. This cake is delicious. I woke up this morning, went to the gym, came home, got the kids up, sent the hubby off to work, fed the kids, cleaned my house from top to bottom and THEN…decided I wanted to cook something sweet. I know, I’m crazy. And this was all before noon. I started from scratch with the cake and crossed my fingers that it would turn out. It was delicious! The brown sugared apples are amazing and so sweet. Below the apples is a soft, moist cake that is so perfect with the apples. You will be having seconds and maybe thirds with this one. I’m obsessed with apples right now. So if you are too, give this cake a try. Have a great week everyone!!!

Upside Down Apple Cake
recipe by Stephanie

For the apples:
4 tablespoons butter
3 medium Gala apples, sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
dash of ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, cold
1 cup milk
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place 4 tablespoons butter in a 9 inch baking pan and place in oven until butter is melted. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, apple pie spices and nutmeg and mix into the butter. Add the sliced apples in rows on top of the brown sugar mixture. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the butter and mix with pastry blender or fingers until the butter is mixed well into the flour, and is now about the size of peas. Using an electric mixer, add the milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time and mix until well incorporated. Beat on high for about 2 minutes. Pour batter over the apples and bake for about 35 minutes, or until center of the cake is set.
3. Cool in pan for about 5 minutes. Loosen the sides of the cake and invert onto a serving plate. Enjoy!!

Filed Under: cakes, desserts

Blueberry Buttermilk Streusel Coffee Cake

July 28, 2008 By Steph 24 Comments

Long name, simple recipe! All I have to say about this recipe is, Yum. I love coffee cake and I love blueberries. I also love the combination of blueberries, lemon zest, and cinnamon. And add a crunchy streusel to the top and hello, heaven! To me, there is nothing quite like it. They blend together so perfectly. I’ve been working on this recipe FOREVER. I was originally trying to make it as bread in a loaf pan and also using plain yogurt. I was having a lot of trouble with the bread rising and cooking in the middle. I finally decided to turn it into a coffee cake and when I tasted this hot out of the oven, I was literally in heaven. I could easily eat the entire pan in about 10 minutes, maybe even sooner. Breakfast, brunch or dessert, this recipe is amazing and you must try it, because if you don’t, you will be missing out on an incredibly tasty treat!

On one last note..My husband and I are taking a kid-less vacation next week to Washington D.C and I was wondering if any of you knowledgeable foodies out there knew any fabulous restaurants that we should not miss out on. I’ve never been there, so I’m clueless! If you do, let me know please!!! Thanks!

Have a great week everyone!

Blueberry Buttermilk Streusel Coffee Cake

recipe by Stephanie

For the Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

For the Streusel:

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup cold butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 inch pan.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Add vanilla.

4. Slowly add flour mixture, and than buttermilk until just combined. Do not overmix.

5. Stir in blueberries and lemon zest.

6. Pour batter in the pan, it will be slightly thick.

7. Make streusel. Mix sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add butter and mix with hands, or a pastry blender until mixture is the size pea sized crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over cake batter.

8. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Filed Under: breakfast, cakes

Gooey Chocolate Caramel Cake

June 18, 2008 By Steph 42 Comments

Oh. My. If you have never tasted this cake before, not only are you seriously missing out on a truly sweet experience, but it is probably one of my favorite cakes in the world. Yes, that is a powerful statement. And I have a little secret…I use a boxed cake mix. Of course, you can make your cake from scratch if you like. But for some reason, it’s just the perfect recipe using a box. And why not? Taking a shortcut now and then isn’t gonna kill you. I promise. This is one of the most simple cakes I make, but it is truly the sweetest and most perfect balance of taste and texture. After the cake cools, you get to poke holes in it. It’s my favorite part. It feels so wrong but so right at the same time. It is than smothered in both hot fudge and caramel sauce. It seeps into the holes so with every bite you get fudge, caramel and cake. Yum. Top it with Cool Whip, chocolate chips and toffee bits, and you’ve got yourself one amazing cake. Try it. You will fall in love. You’ll thank me later.

Oh, and stay tuned for a giveaway coming soon. It’s gonna be great!

Gooey Chocolate Caramel Cake

1 box devil’s food cake mix

1 jar hot fudge sauce

1 jar caramel sauce

1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip

mini chocolate chips

toffee bits

1. Grease a 9 x 13 cake pan. Bake the cake according to package directions. Let cool completely.

2. After cake has cooled, poke holes in cake. Warm both the hot fudge and caramel slightly in the microwave, just enough so that the sauces are pourable. Pour both sauces over the top of the cake. Let the cake sit for about 15 minutes to let the sauces seep into all the holes.

3. Top the cake with the Cool Whip. Top the Cool Whip with chocolate chips and toffee bits. Enjoy!

Filed Under: cakes, desserts

Heavenly Angel Food Cake

June 10, 2008 By Steph 14 Comments

I’ll make this a short post, because I’ve been behind lately and I need to catch up. But that means some time in the kitchen! I love Angel Food Cake. I love the soft texture and the sweet flavor. I love to cover it in Strawberries and Cream and enjoy the decedent flavor combination. Growing up, my Mom would make Angel Food Cake and make a chocolate pudding filling, and cover it in a mixture of chocolate pudding and whipped cream. She’d top it all off with chopped Hershey’s milk chocolate bars. Yum! I will show that soon, but for now, I made it into a strawberry shortcake. This recipe does take a dozen eggs, but if that does not intimidate you, try this because it is heavenly!

Angel Food Cake

adapted from an vintage Betty Crocker Cookbook

1 cup cake flour

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

12 egg whites (1 1/2 cups)

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tarter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (or almond extract)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together flour and confectioners’ sugar; set aside.

2. In a large mixer bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and slat until foamy. Add the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high speed until meringue holds stiff peaks. Gently fold in flavorings. Sprinkle flour-sugar mixture, 1/4 cup at a time over meringue, folding in gently just until flour-sugar mixture disappears.

4. Push batter into ungreased tube pan, 10 x 4 inches. Gently cut through batter.

5. Bake 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger. Invert tube pan on funnel, or bottle; let hang upside down until cake is completely cool.

Slice and cover with sweetened strawberries and cream, or cover with anything you like. It is also delicious plain!

Filed Under: cakes, desserts