Cake

Is there any dessert that says celebration as much as cake? Probably not. So, for anyone who wants a cake recipe to celebrate with, check out the Almond Fudge Banana Cake, Dolester Miles’s Coconut Pecan Cake, or any of the other cake recipes in today's post. Enjoy!

3-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE CHERRY DUMP CAKE

This yumminess comes from Betty Crocker, and begins, "This simple 3-ingredient dump cake results in an addictive chocolate-cherry combo that is best served warm and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you weren’t a chocolate-cherry fan before, you will be after tasting this cake."

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes; Servings: 12

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 cans (21 oz each) cherry pie filling

1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ devil's food cake mix

3/4 cup butter, melted

Whipped topping or vanilla ice cream, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread pie filling in baking dish.

Top with dry cake mix; gently shake pan to distribute evenly.

Pour melted butter over top, tilting pan to cover as much of top with butter as possible.

Bake 42 to 45 minutes or until mostly dry on top and bubbly around edges. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream.

Expert Tips

Canned cherry pie filling may contain an occasional pit. It’s helpful to take a closer look when spreading in pan, before topping with cake mix.

Dump cakes are sometimes difficult to determine doneness. It’s normal to see some wet spots, some dry cake mix and a crisp-like texture on top. Be sure fruit mixture is bubbly around edges of pan.

ALMOND BERRY LAYER CAKE

This is from The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. The recipe begins, "Behold! An ode to summer in cake form. In this towering dessert from the food stylist and cookbook author Susan Spungen, crumbly yet tender layers of almond cake are layered with mounds of fresh berries and a rich filling of mascarpone and crème fraîche. It's not difficult to make, but it does take some time, so save this for a lazy Saturday when you've just scored piles of perfect berries from the farmers' market."

Yield: 1 cake; Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

This was featured in "Trunk Food," and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/8588-almond-berry-layer-cake.

Ingredients

For the cake:

Unsalted butter, for greasing pans

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

1 3/4 cups whole blanched almonds

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

2 large egg whites

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla or almond extract

For the filling:

1 pound mascarpone cheese

8 ounces crème fraîche

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon kirsch or amaretto, optional

For assembly:

2 pounds (about 6 cups) mixed berries

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preparation

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush 3 (8-inch) round baking pans with butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper cut to fit. Brush with butter again and dust with flour, tapping out excess.

Place 1 tablespoon flour, the almonds, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

Fill a pot (large enough to set the bowl of an electric mixer in it without the bowl touching the bottom) with 1 inch water and bring to a simmer over low heat.

Place the eggs, egg whites and sugar in the bowl and gently whisk to incorporate. Place the bowl over the pot of steaming water and whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes.

Return bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until pale yellow, thick and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Add vanilla and gently stir to combine.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold almond mixture into batter. Divide batter evenly among pans and bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. The centers will rise and fall during baking. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the cakes and turn them out onto a flat plate or cardboard round. Peel off parchment and invert onto another plate or round. Cakes should be right-side up. Cool completely and wrap in plastic wrap if not using immediately.

For the filling:

In a chilled metal bowl, whip the mascarpone and creme fraiche, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until it holds its shape and is not at all runny. Add the lemon zest, confectioners' sugar and liqueur, if using, and beat to combine well. Add up to 2 tablespoons more sugar, to taste, if you choose.

To assemble:

Place one of the cakes on a serving plate. Top with 1/3 of the mascarpone filling and 1/3 of the berries. Repeat with the remaining 2 layers, leaving the prettiest berries for the top. If not serving right away, chill until ready to serve. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve.

ALMOND FUDGE BANANA CAKE

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. Makes 16 Servings

Ingredients

3 extra-ripe, peeled medium Dole bananas

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup margarine, softened

3 eggs

3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur, or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Dole chopped almonds, toasted, ground

BANANA CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

1 pureed, extra-ripe small Dole banana

1 ounce (1 square) melted semisweet chocolate

Ingredients

Mash bananas (1 1/2 cups). Beat sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, liqueur and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in almonds. Add to beaten mixture alternately with bananas. Beat well. Turn batter into greased 10-inch bundt pan. Bake in 350 degree F. oven 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out nearly clean and cake pulls away from sides of pan. Cool 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan to wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle glaze over top and down sides of cake.

BANANA CHOCOLATE GLAZE: With a wire whip, beat pureed banana into melted chocolate.

DENSE AND DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE

This is from the October 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times (page 31), and begins, “Wow the chocolate lovers in your life with this fudgy creation that’s as easy to whip up as a cake mix.” Makes 10 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup brewed espresso or strong coffee

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Fudge Glaze

2 Tbs. low-fat buttermilk

2 Tbs. cocoa powder

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400F. Coat 9-inch round springform pan with cooking spray. Combine flour, sugar, and baking soda in bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in separate bowl.

Combine espresso and cocoa in large saucepan. Add butter, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in dry ingredients. Add buttermilk mixture, and whisk until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until top looks dry but toothpick inserted in center comes out moist.

Meanwhile, make Fudge Glaze: Combine buttermilk, cocoa powder, and butter in medium saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar and vanilla.

Pierce holes all over cake with skewer or fork. Spread glaze over cake with spatula. Let stand 5 minutes before unmolding, and serve.

DOLESTER MILES'S COCONUT PECAN CAKE

This is from Kim Severson in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Kim wrote, "This is a rich, special-occasion cake that takes the traditional Southern coconut cake to another level, with ground toasted pecans in the batter and an easy-to-make Chantilly cream for frosting. It has become the signature dessert for Dolester Miles, who serves slices over a little puddle of crème anglaise at Chez Fonfon and Bottega, and sometimes at the Highlands Bar & Grill, the Birmingham, Ala., restaurants owned by Frank and Pardis Stitt. Assembly can be a challenge, so she suggests building the cake by stacking the delicate slabs of cake with filling in between each layer into a deep, round cake pan, then slipping it into the refrigerator for about an hour. The filling acts like a delicious glue. When the cake is inverted and unmolded, the edges have an even, professional appearance."

Yield: 12 to 14 servings; Time: About 1 1/2 hours, plus chilling

This was featured in "An Alabama Chef and Her Beloved Desserts Hit the Big Time", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019330-dolester-miless-coconut-pecan-cake.

Note: Seriously, check out the article that this was featured in (link above). Makes for some interesting reading.

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 cup firmly packed sweetened shredded coconut

3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted

2 cups granulated sugar

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1-1/2 sticks), softened, plus more for the pans

1/4 cup cream of coconut

4 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk

For the filling and simple syrup:

2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

4 tablespoons/ unsalted butter

1 tablespoon cream of coconut

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the icing:

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon coconut extract

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper, then dust with flour, tapping out excess.

Finely grind the coconut in a food processor, then transfer to a bowl. Add pecans to the food processor, along with 2 tablespoons sugar, and finely grind them.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in coconut and pecans.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, cream of coconut and the remaining sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as necessary, then beat in coconut extract.

Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the coconut milk, starting and ending with flour mixture. Divide batter between the pans and smooth the top of each with a spatula. Bake until cakes are golden and a tester comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each cake, invert onto rack, and remove the parchment. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the filling: Place egg yolks in a small heatproof bowl and set aside. In a saucepan, combine condensed milk, butter and cream of coconut and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until hot, about 4 minutes. Whisk 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg yolks. Transfer egg mixture to the saucepan of milk and whisk constantly over medium-low heat until mixture has the consistency of pudding, about 4 minutes. Do not let the custard get too thick. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the shredded coconut. Let cool completely.

Make the simple syrup: In a saucepan, heat sugar and 1/2 cup water, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.

Assemble the layer cake in a pan: Cut each cake in half horizontally. Place one layer in the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan, moisten the top with 2 to 3 tablespoons simple syrup and spread 1/2 cup of the coconut filling in a thin, even layer with an offset spatula. Repeat to make 2 more layers of cake and filling, then place the last layer on top. Refrigerate cake for about 1 hour. To unmold, run a spatula around the edges, invert a cake plate over the top, and flip the cake over onto the plate.

Make the icing: Whip the cream with the confectioners’ sugar and coconut extract until stiff peaks form. Spread on the top and sides of the cake and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Refrigerate until ready to serve.