Egg white cake with coconut topping

I had 6 egg whites leftover from making ice cream, and happened upon this recipe.  It turned out to be a great light cake to go with the ice cream!

6 egg whites at room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup flaked coconut

1- Preheat oven to 325 deg. F. Position rack in the center of the oven.

2-Beat egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt. Beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, 2 Tbsp at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.

3- Sprinkle flour over egg white mixture; fold in carefully. Gently fold in flavoring.

4- Pour batter into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Sprinkle coconut over the top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan about 40 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cut into squares to serve.

Fondant au chocolat

Fondant au chocolat (also known as Moelleux au chocolat) is Doug's favorite French dessert.  This recipe turned out perfectly like a French bakery.  You'll need a kitchen scale.  I used a stand mixer, but you could also use a wooden spoon.

7 oz GOOD QUALITY chocolate (preferably at least 70% cacao), finely chopped
5 oz butter, softened (10 tablespoons)
5 oz sugar (3/4 cup)
2 oz flour (1/2 cup)
3 eggs
1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar for decorating

Preheat oven to 300.  Melt chocolate in a double boiler or heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.  Remove once melted and allow to cool slightly.  In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar into a smooth paste.  Add eggs one at a time, alternating with flour.  Mix thoroughly.  Stir in melted chocolat, mixing thoroughly until a smooth batter is obtained.  Butter the sides of a round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Pour batter into cake pan and spread evenly.  Bake 40-45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean but with a few crumbs sticking to it.  Allow to cool, then remove by inverting on a cooling rack.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and refrigerate until 2 hours before serving.

Pineapple Pecan Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

This recipe makes two 9" square cakes or one 9x13 cake.

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
20-oz can crushed pineapple
1 cup pecans
pinch salt

Cream sugar and eggs.  Add flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well.  Add pineapple and pecans.  Bake 300 degrees for 45 minutes.  Let cool completely before icing cake.

Icing:
4-oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine with mixer and spread on cooled cake.

Egg white cake

I had several egg whites leftover from making ice cream and wanted to try something different (normally I do meringue cookies with extra whites), so I decided to try this recipe. It was okay when it came out of the oven, but it was actually really good the next day and the 3rd day. I'll definitely make it again!

6 egg whites
1 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick butter, melted, then cooled
optional- flavoring (vanilla, almond, orange extract, etc)- I mixed a tablespoon of vanilla in with the butter

Mix egg whites with hand mixer or in stand mixer until foamy, then gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar. Mix until thick. In a separate bowl, sift together sugar, flour, and baking powder. Sift into egg white bowl, folding to combine. Stir in flavored butter. Pour into greased Bundt pan and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Cool slightly, then invert onto cooling rack.

Nectarine Cupcakes

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living...

Nectarine Cupcakes

(also works with peaches, plums, or apricots)

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 medium nectarines, peeled, halved, pitted, finely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir together milk and vanilla. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With mixer running, add eggs one at a time. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with milk mixture. Line muffin tin with baking cups. Fill each with 1 tablespoon batter, 1 heaping tablespoon chopped nectarines, and 2 additional tablespoons batter. Bake until edges begin to turn golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool in tin.

Make topping:

1 cup cold heavy cream

1/2 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1 medium nectarine, halved, pitted, thinly sliced

Whip cream, sour cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Top cupcakes with a dollop of topping and a slice of nectarine.

Plum Skillet Cake

This recipe is from Martha Stewart. It is an easy recipe and very tasty.

Plum Skillet Cake

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for skillet

1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for skillet

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

2 ripe medium plums, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 375. Butter an 8" oven proof skillet (or cake pan); dust with flour and tap out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar together on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk.

Pour batter into prepared skillet and fan plums on top, Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Chocolate Cake for a Crowd

This chocolate sheet cake is really, really good. You really don't want to make this except for a bunch of company because otherwise you will eat it all.

Chocolate Cake for a Crowd

-2 cups flour

-2 cups sugar

-¼ teaspoons salt

-4 heaping tablespoons cocoa

-2 sticks butter

-1 cup boiling water (you can just put it in the microwave for a couple of minutes)

-½ cup buttermilk

-2 eggs, beaten

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon vanilla

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa and stir together. 
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir slightly to cool. In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into ungreased rimmed sheet pan (or split between a 9x13 and 9x9 pan) and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing:

-½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

-1 ¾ stick butter

-4 heaping tablespoons cocoa

-6 tablespoons milk

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-3 ½ cups powdered sugar

Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and let sit a few minutes to slightly thicken. Pour over warm cake.

*Note: I found that this was a LOT of icing... if you are not a huge icing lover, cut it down to 3/4 or 2/3 the quantities

Sour Cream Cheesecake

I made Pamela's cheesecake recipe for potluck yesterday and it was a BIG hit! It was really good and I will definitely make it again.

Sour Cream Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

24 oz cream cheese, softened

14 oz sweetened condensed milk

4 eggs

8 oz sour cream or creme fraiche

1 tablespoon vanilla

Combine crumbs and butter; press firmly on bottom of 9" springform pan. Beat cheese until fluffly; gradually add sweetened condensed milk; add eggs, then sour cream and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 50-55 minutes at 350, until lightly browned around edge. Chill. Garnish with cherry pie filling, blueberries, fresh strawberries, etc. Serves 16.

Bernachon Chocolate Cake

Bernachon Chocolate Cake

4 oz unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup water

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 2/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 full teaspoon salt

1 stick butter

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing (see below)

Melt chocolate in water in a 2 cup measuring cup in microwave. Add 1/2 cup of the sugar and cook another minute. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.

Cream butter and remaining sugar (1 1/4 cups), add eggs one at a time, alternately add flour and milk, add vanilla and chocolate mixture. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9" pans... or 9x13. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes (35 for 9x13 pan). Pour on icing.

Icing:

1 stick butter

3/4 cup cocoa

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Melt butter in saucepan. Add cocoa and continue stirring until mixture begins to boil. Cool and add sugar, alternating with milk and vanilla.

Olive Oil Cake

Olive Oil Cake

recipe from Bon Appetit

8-10 servings

1 1/2 cups white flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

1/2 cup mild-flavored olive oil

2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel (I used more than this)

Preheat oven to 325, Oil and flour 9x5x3" metal loaf pan. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk eggs, milk, oil, and zest in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk egg mixture into dry ingredients. Transfer to prepared pan. Bake until tester comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then invert pan to remove cake. Cool completely, top side up.

Austrian Cherry Cake

Austrian Cherry Cake

recipe from Pamela

serves 20

5 cups ripe pitted cherries

200 grams butter, softened

180 grams sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 pinches salt

6 eggs, beaten

500 grams fromage blanc, beaten

375 grams flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

Mix cherries and 3 tablespoons sugar, let sit. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until well blended. Add eggs, then fromage blanc. Mix flour and baking poser, and incorporate into butter mixture little by little. Generously butter 2 casserole dishes (1 9x13, 1 8x8) or one large 11x15 dish. Place cherries in dishes, then pour batter on top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Let cool, serve warm or at room temperature. Freeze cakes (in dishes) if they will not be consumed within 3 days.

Christmas Cake

-First of all, this cake is DELICIOUS.

-Second, it is made with a very secret ingredient... please don't tell... shhhh... prunes. So, I'm just going to call it Christmas Cake instead of... Prune Cake.

-Third, although delicious enough to eat year round, it is a cake best reserved for the holiday season because of the spices in it.

Christmas Cake

Cake:

1 cup prunes

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup canola oil

1 1/2 cups flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300. Cover prunes with water and bring to a boil, cook about 8 minutes or until soft and mashable. Drain, place on plate, and mash with a fork. Set aside.

In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon.

In a large bowl whisk together oil, sugar, and eggs.

Add dry ingredients to egg mixture until just combined, then add buttermilk and vanilla. Gently stir in prunes, being careful to not overmix.

Pour into buttered 9x13 baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes. Do not overbake.

When cake has 5 minutes remaining, make the icing:

Icing:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon white corn syrup

1/4 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine icing ingredients in saucepan and bring to slow boil. Boil without stirring 5-7 minutes or until icing begins to turn dark. Icing should be caramel in color, but still pourable and not sticky.

Remove cake from oven and pour icing all over top, spreading if necessary. Serve warm.

Chocolate-Raspberry Cakes

These molten chocolate cakes turned out really well! Delicious topped with fresh fruit, powdered sugar, or whipped cream.

Chocolate-Raspberry Cakes

8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, diced

2 tablespoons seedless raspberry preserves (I used strawberry because that is what we had)

4 large eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325. Butter six 3/4 cup soufflé dishes or custard cups (I used muffin tins and that worked well, too! Since muffin cups are smaller, I buttered about 8 or so). Mix chocolate, butter, and preserves in saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat, cool to lukewarm, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Whisk eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend well, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chocolate mixture. Divide batter among prepared dishes. Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out with some moist batter still attached, about 20 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes (centers may fall). Serve cakes warm or at room temperature.

Yogurt Cake

I had been wanting to make this cake for a while but finally just found lemon yogurt to make it. It was very good... I ended up whisking together some water, lemon zest, and powdered sugar to pour a glaze on top for some added sweetness and to keep it extra moist.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Pour 1 small container of lemon yogurt in a mixing bowl. Now use the yogurt cup as your measuring tool.

2 yogurt cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 yogurt cups sugar
1/2 yogurt cup oil
3 eggs
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup dried cranberries, soaked in hot water then drained

In a small bowl mix flour and baking powder; set aside. In a large bowl mix together yogurt, sugar and oil. Beat in the eggs, lemon juice, and almond extract. Stir flour/baking powder into the yogurt mixture. Fold in zest and cranberries.

Pour into greased loaf pan (or cake pan... or a pretty casserole dish... whatever you want!). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

If you want, whisk together a couple teaspoons of water with 1/4 cup powdered sugar and a teaspoon of lemon zest. Pour glaze over warm cake. Mmm...

Pear Cake

Made this recipe yesterday afternoon... we liked it so much we have almost eaten half of it! (and notice my poor job of greasing the dish...)

Doug says he likes it even more than the tried and true apple cake. I don't know, I'm pretty fond of the apple cake! But pear is a nice change, and it is a fluffier cake than the other one.

Pear Cake

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

4 cups diced fresh pears

Mix ingredients together in order above. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Then poke holes in the cake (all over), pour on topping (recipe below) and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

5 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup milk

Heat topping in saucepan just to boiling, stirring constantly. Set aside for a couple of minutes before pouring on the cake.

Apple Bundt Cake

Just made this tasty apple cake! It turned out great... I added cinnamon and nutmeg to the original recipe, and I poured brown sugar glaze from my regular apple cake recipe on top.

Apple Bundt Cake

1 1/4 cups oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

dash nutmeg

1 1/4 teaspoons soda

3 cups chopped apples (I used a combination of different kinds)

1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour a Bundt pan. In a large bowl, whisk together oil and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, blending well. Stir in vanilla. In another bowl, sift and mix flour, salt, baking soda. Slowly add flour mixture to the egg mixture, blending well. Stir in apples and nuts. Pour batter (which will be very thick!) into the prepared Bundt pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack and pour on glaze.

Easy Carrot Cake and C.C. icing

I just made this recipe and not only does it taste delicious, but the aroma coming from the oven was incredible! I cut the recipe in half and just used one dish. Here's what I did...

Carrot Cake

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 + 1/8 cup vegetable oil

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

1/4 cup raisins (I let them soak in water for a couple of minutes so that they would "plump up")

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9" round or 8" square dish. Beat together eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, soda, powder, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Stir in carrots and raisins. Bake for 35-45 minutes. While it is cooling, make this icing:

Cream Cheese Icing

4oz cream cheese... or a 75g"carré frais" if you are in France :)

1/4 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Allow the cream cheese and butter to soften. Beat together the butter and cream cheese with vanilla. Add powdered sugar a little at a time to maintain a smooth consistency. Spread over top of cake and sprinkle with raisins or nuts, if desired.

For best results wait until the cake has completely cooled... I'm always to impatient for that, though :-) Thus my non-smooth icing coverage:

Plum Pecan Quick Bread

I have an abundance of plums, so I tried another new recipe... here's the original recipe.

Plum Pecan Quick Bread

-1/2 cup sugar

-1/4 cup brown sugar

-1/4 cup vegetable oil

-zest of one lemon

-1 cup all purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-pinch of salt

-3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk stirred with a tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice)

-1 1/2 cup fresh plums, pitted and diced

topping:

-1 tablespoon sugar

-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, combine sugars, oil, and zest. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Alternate slowly adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the sugar mixture until smooth. Add diced plums and pour batter into a greased loaf pan.

In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Sprinkle topping on loaf.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and place on cooling rack until completely cooled.

***NOTES:

-In case you didn't notice, this recipe is eggless (yay Troy!)

-This recipe was very yummy, but...

-the diced plums sank to the the bottom of the loaf, so it was crunchy on top but mushy on the bottom... if I make it again, I'll probably pour half the batter into the loaf pan and then add the diced plums to the remaining batter and pour into the pan.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

The trick to these cakes is to NOT bake them until they are dry... you want them to still be soft on the inside.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

Powdered sugar

Mint leaves

Preheat oven to 350. Butter four 6oz ramekins (or you could make six 4oz size). Stir chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; whisk in cocoa and sugar. Whisk in egg yolks, then whole egg and flour. Divide batter between prepared ramekins. Bake cakes uncovered until edges are set but center is still shiny, about 22 minutes. To serve, cut around cakes to loosen; turn out onto plates. Sift powdered sugar over and garnish with mint. (Batter can be made day ahead and refrigerated)

Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

We are coming into apple season... they are starting to show up at the farmers' markets... this is a great recipe to use them... and it can be frozen in the pan for a month or so.

Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 ½ cups canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups cored and finely chopped apples

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan (or 2 round or square 8” or 9” pans) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a fork to mix everything together well. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until pale yellow and foamy. Add the oil and vanilla; beat well. Stir in flour mixture just until flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts and stir to mix them into the batter until fairly uniform. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans (batter will be very thick). Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is is golden brown, springs back when touched lightly near the center and is just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool while you make the glaze.

Brown sugar glaze

1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons half-and-half or cream

While cake is still hot, combine the brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and cream in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes longer. Spoon the glaze all over the hot cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely. Serve in squares, right form the pan.