Make Do Coffee Cake

After a week away for Elizabeth's surgery and returning home with my daughter from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, a 20 mile trip to the grocery store was not on the agenda as far as I was concerned. I figured with her not having much of an appetite and it being such a hot July that I would just make small meals from what we had here in the house. Well, my little girl asked me to make a cake. Out of flour, out of granulated sugar, out of sour cream, out of real butter, I told her that I would figure out a way to make some sort of cake. This is what I came up with and it actually turned out quite tasty. It is a little denser than I normally like my cakes, but a rich moist coffee cake isn't a bad thing!

Ingredients:

1 stick room temperature margarine
1 C Light Brown Sugar
3 C Bisquick
1 1/2 C Buttermilk
3 Eggs
1 1/2 t Vanilla

Topping:

1/2 C Light Brown Sugar
1/2 C Bisquick
1/2 stick cold margarine

Glaze:

1 C Powdered Sugar
1/2 t Almond Extract
3-4 T Water

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour Bundt Pan. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients. Mix together with a fork until it becomes a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle into the bottom of the Bundt pan. Cream margarine and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add Bisquick 1 cup at a time mixing well after each to make a smooth batter. Pour over top of topping mixture. Place in oven and bake about 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and immediately invert onto a plate, leaving pan in place for 5 minutes. Remove pan. Mix together glaze and slowly drizzle on cake while still warm. Some of the glaze will soak in.

You can serve it warm or wait until cooled to eat some.....I couldn't wait and neither could Elizabeth.

Two Tone Coffee n Chocolate Bundt Cake

Every one has an oops and today this cake was mine. The taste was very good so I decided to chunk it up, put it in a large bowl, and drizzle the glaze over it anyway. I hate wasting, especially home made cake!

It may not look so pretty, but boy oh boy wait until you taste it!

You can chunk your cake up on purpose if you really want to, but this is actually a Bundt cake. Just make sure you grease and flour the pan very well. Do not try to  use any spray instead. I tried using Bakers Joy and you see what happened.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 C sugar
1 1/4 C butter - room temperature
1 1/2 t vanilla
5 large eggs

1 T instant coffee granules
1 t hot water

3 C All purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 C evaporated milk
1/3 C cocoa

Heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour bundt pan. Mix coffee granules and hot water together in a small cup or bowl until smooth. Mix sugar, butter, vanilla, and eggs scraping bowl constantly for 1 minute on low. Add coffee paste and mix another 30 seconds on low. Turn mixer to high and beat for 5 minutes scraping bowl occasionally. Combine dry ingredients. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk on low speed until combined. Pour 2/3 of batter into bundt pan. Add cocoa to the remaining batter and mix on low until combined. Pour cocoa batter on top of the batter in the pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and remove pan (hopefully it all comes out!) Allow to completely cool before glazing.

Glaze:

1 1/2 t instant coffee granules
2 T cocoa
1/3 C melted butter
2 C powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
3-4 T milk

Mix warm melted butter with coffee and cocoa. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix in milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

A Li'l Dab will Do Ya' Chocolate Sheet Cake

This is a little dab will do ya' gotta have a glass of milk chocolate cake! It is so rich and tasty. It makes an 11 X 15 inch cake, so make sure you have others to help eat it or a couple gallons of milk.

Cake Ingredients

2 C Flour
2 C Sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t Baking Soda
2 Sticks Butter
1 C Water
1/3 C Cocoa
3 Eggs
1/2 C Sour Cream
1 t Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 11 X 15 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat. Add water and cocoa. Bring to a boil stirring constantly over medium heat. Drizzle boiling cocoa mixture into dry ingredients mixing with mixer on low until combined. Turn mixer to medium and add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Mix until combined. Pour into pan and bake exactly 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:

1 Stick Butter
1/3 C Cocoa
6 T Milk
1 lb. Confectioners Sugar
1 t Vanilla

Combine butter, cocoa, and milk in a 3 qt sauce pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and mix in confectioners sugar and vanilla. Stir until all sugar lumps are gone and frosting is smooth. Keep warm, stirring occasionally if finished before cake is done baking.

Pour frosting on cake while cake AND frosting are still hot.

Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting.

Chocolate Cake

Cake Ingredients

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

3 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

8 squares of  dark baking chocolate melted in 1 cup of water

1 tsp vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat ovan to 350F. Grease and flour or use non-stick spray 2 9" round pans.

Melt chocolate with 1 cup of water in double boiler on top of stove. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add cooled melted chocolate and vanilla. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture. Add buttermilk last in a stream mixing well.  Pour into prepared pans. Bake 28-34 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling rack and allow to completely cool.

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:

1 Stick of Butter at room temperature

1/3 C Cocoa

3 1/2 C Powdered Sugar

1 1/2 t Vanilla

3-4 T Milk

Cream butter, powdered sugar cocoa and vanilla together. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until frosting is of spreading consistency. Fill and frost 2 9" layers. 

Sour Cream Streusel Banana Bread

I like making banana bread in my Bundt pan instead of a loaf pan. Unfortunately, the amount of batter in most banana bread recipes is not enough to make it in my favorite pan and to double the recipe, is too much. So, I made my own. I love this recipe as it is one that can be converted to make apple streusel bread by omitting the bananas and substituting 1 1/2 cups diced apples.

Ingredients:

Streusel:

1/2 C flour
1/4 C butter
1/2 C sugar
1 t cinnamon

Batter:

2 Sticks of butter
1 1/2 C + 2 Tbs Sugar
3 Eggs
1 1/2 C Sour Cream
1 1/2 C Ripe Bananas, sliced thin (about 4)
1 tsp Vanilla
4 C + 2 Tbs All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder


Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour or spray Bundt or tube pan. Blend together, with a fork or use a food processor, streusel ingredients until well combined and resembles small peas. Sprinkle 1/2 in the bottom of the Bundt pan. Set aside the other half. Combine dry ingredients in a medium size bowl, set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add sour cream, bananas, and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Slowly add dry ingredients to banana mixture (I usually add 1 cup at a time and allow it to thoroughly mix in before adding the next cup). After the last of the dry ingredients are added, scrape down sides of the bowl, mix for about a minute to make sure batter is well combined. Pour 1/2 of the batter into the bundt pan, making sure streusel is covered and batter is relatively level in pan. Sprinkle second half of streusel on top of batter in pan. Top with remaining batter. Again, making sure streusel is covered and batter is relatively level. Pick pan up about 2-3 inches and drop on counter, repeat 2-3 times. This releases the air bubbles trapped in the streusel layer. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Ovens vary so I would start checking at the 1 hour mark. Remove from oven and immediately invert onto serving plate. Allow to sit with pan on it for about 5 minutes. Remove pan. Serve warm. You can add butter to your slice, but it is quite tasty as is.