Cake Wreck

If you're wondering what you're looking at, it's a cake fail.

When I moved to the States I bought this lovely Nordicware bundt pan:

Squires Shop

It's wonderfully heavy and I just love the design! However, I've never manage to unmould a cake without it leaving little bits behind.

I was determined to do it yesterday, so I went and bought the Pam Baking spray  - it has flour in it. I was assured that this was the way. So I make my cake.

I used this recipe from the Pioneer Woman, except I omitted the flavourings and used the seeds of a vanilla bean instead. I suppose I should have been suspicious that she didn't show a pic of her's unmoulded.

When I tried to unmould, the bottom half came out, leaving the entire top half in there. Ugh. So I had to take the top out and reassemble it. Luckily (I suppose), it was only in 2 pieces, not more.

So I checked out the Nordicware site for answers. Apparently, once you take it from the oven you should leave it to sit for precisely 10 mins, then shake from side to side, and then unmould. And now I'm obsessed with doing it right. Stay tuned!

By the way, the cake tasted amazing. How could it not, with 5 eggs and 3/4 of a pound of butter?

Apfel Yum.

I was in a cakey mood this morning and wanted to bake something. The lack of butter somehwat cramped my style, but I found a recipe in the Joy of Cooking that I tweaked to suit my needs. It turned out beautifully - moist, rich and spicey-yummy. And there are no eggs, so that is a winner too (as my kids eat so many eggs that I am often short).

My husband says it reminds him of the German cake creations his mum would make for him as a child. Make this. Today.

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp Baking soda
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or mixed spice
• 1 cup buttermilk or a mix of yoghurt and milk
• 0.5 cup vegetable oil
• 2 finely chopped apples

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease an 8" x 8" pan. Mix the flour, sugar, spice, soda and apples. Mix int he buttermilk and oil until well combined and scrape into the pan. Bake for 45 mins.

Blog Cake

I've been a fan of the Pioneer Woman Cooks for a long, long time. I really love her step by step recipes (pics at each step!).

So when she said that this is the best frosting ever and it is the only one she ever wants to make now, how could I not rush to make it? Now, the method (starting with milk and flour!!) kinda freaked me out, but I did it anyway.

And, seeing as I was all out of cocoa, what could be a  more perfect pairing with this pure white frosting than a yellow sheet cake. Well, ok. I just made any old cake as a vehicle for the frosting.

So, because I followed both recipes verbatim, I'm not going to reprint them, but just link them:

• The Cake
• The Frosting

The verdict on the frosting was...wow. It's pretty darn good, though I wouldn't want to never make another sort. The best way I can describe it is like...uh...Kool Whip, but homemade and delicious. Actually, I have only ever eaten Kool Whip once, so maybe it's like I think Kool Whip would be like.

Oh, and the title of this post is supposed to be a play on words as there is a type of cake in Adelaide called a Frog Cake. Yeah, I know. Not so funny if you have to explain it!

Holy Sheet Cake

It was my husband's birthday on the weekend, and because I love him I asked him what kind of cake he'd like. He said he wanted my chocolate sheet cake. Now if this was 5 years ago, I wouldn't have known what he was talking about. But now I am enlightened. I have christened this cake the Holy Sheet Cake. When you eat it you'll exclaim something similar to the name of the cake or you'll just eat the whole cake.

Here's how you do it (recipe is tweaked from the Joy of Cooking, 75th Anniversary edition):

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit and butter a 9" x 13" pyrex dish

What you'll need:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 c sunflower oil (organic, preferably)
• 125g unsalted butter
• 1/2 c cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c buttermilk or a yogurt and milk combination
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

melt together the water, oil, butter and cocoa. Mix together the flour, baking soda and sugar. Pour butter mixture into the flour and mix until just incorporated and then add the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour into your prepared dish and place in the oven for about 25mins (mine usually needs 30 mins) until a toothpick comes out clean.

Now check out this pic:

If that doesn't make every icing lover weak at the knees, then I don't know what will.

You have 2 choices here and I will give them both. What's pictured above does not use icing sugar and here is how you do it:

Bring a cup of cream to the boil and break up 6oz of unsweetened chocolate into it. Let stand for 10 mins (exactly!). pour into a food processor with 1.5 cups sugar, 2 tsp vanilla and 3/4 stick of butter (95g). Whizz up for at least a minute until it's smoooooth and glossy. Pour it over your cake and check out your reflection in it!

This second recipe is less beautifully glossy but it's really good too and my husband says he actually prefers it.
Melt 6 oz semi sweet choc chips and 6 Tbs butter together over a double boiler (over? in? how does one describe this?!). add 1/4 c hot cream, 2 tsp vanilla and then beat in 4 cups sifted icing sugar. This makes a LOT of icing. It's pretty sweet. And good too.

Let me know which one you prefer. I'm off to have some cake now.