Browsing the archives for the vanilla cake tag.

Cupcakes in Cones – Happy Saturday!

California, Domestic, Kids, Marriage

Our days are so different since moving to Los Angeles, which I guess is a redundant thing to say because duh but it’s more than just the geographic differences. The two huge differences to life before and after moving here are school and work because my husband has gone from telecommuting from home to working at the office and my kids went from being at school all day to being homeschooled all day! So, 3 months into this adventure we have found a new normal and it’s not what I would have ever expected, but it’s pretty sweet. My husband has telecommuted from home for years, so while him being at work 5 days a week is totally weird, he likes his job and it gives the kids and I a chance to loudly play board games and bake up a storm. Plus how sweet is it to come home from work and your wife is in a cute little apron finishing dinner?! The kids have really gotten into the swing of homeschooling, faster than I did for sure! If a lesson isn’t working for them, there’s always a way to tailor it a bit so it does work for them. Science should be amazing, reading should be inspiring, gym should take place in the pool whenever possible and art should always be messy.

Anyhooooo, one thing that has remained the same is everyone’s love of the weekend. Sometimes there is still some school or work to do over the weekend, but I celebrate every day that I don’t have to set an alarm before I go to bed at night. <3 I try to bake up something fun on Fridays, especially now that Friday has become homemade pizza day it's fun to have something a little epic to go with it. These were a big hit. I'm going to try out a bunch of different cake/frosting combos! Cupcakes in Cones

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup low-fat buttermilk

All I did was whip up a batch of Martha’s Vanilla Cake (recipe originally posted here) and spoon the batter into ice cream cones! I baked them for about 20 minutes at 350 and voila!

The recipe is pretty simple. Just whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in one bowl and beat the butter and sugar in another bowl with a paddle mixer till it’s smooth. Slowly add the eggs and yolks with the mixer on low and then beat in the vanilla. Then add a little of the flour mixture and mix, then a little buttermilk and mix and continue until both are all mixed in.

Cupcakes in Cones
Cupcakes in Cones
Cupcakes in Cones
Cupcakes in Cones
Cupcakes in Cones
Cupcakes in Cones
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Pies in Cakes

Domestic

I don’t know if this even qualifies as a recipe, and if I posted step by step pictures of all of it, it’d be a seriously epic post. You may have heard about a bakery in Philadelphia that baked up a two layer cake with two pies in it. Then of course other bakers made it, and most added a third layer. Depending on what cakes and pies used, the name differs. Made from cherry, pumpkin and apple pies, this one is called the Cherpumple. I first saw it on Outrageous Food about a year and a half ago and naturally, I had to make it.

My version is three layers, two medium tiers and one big one. The top tier is an apple pie baked into a vanilla cake, the second tier is a pumpkin pie baked into a spice cake and my personal favorite is a chocolate pecan pie baked into a chocolate cake! So what is that?! Apppumpecan? Or maybe a Pecapumple? I dunno, but it’s like 2000 calories a slice and so good it’s a little frightening.

I trust you can handle the how to of each recipe. If you’re super lazy or really just feel like you can’t do it, go ahead and get some premade pie crust. Just please, don’t use cakes mixes. I’ll know!

Pies in Cakes

This is how I pulled it all together. First, I baked an apple pie, a pumpkin pie and then a larger chocolate pecan pie. As they were all cooling, I made the batter for a vanilla cake, a spice cake and a larger chocolate cake and poured each into their cake pans. Theeeeen, I turned the pies upside down and slammed them into their respective cakes-in-waiting.

Also note these recipes made more than I needed for this project. Extra cake batter was made into cupcakes, pie filling was either made into tarts with extra pie crust or snarffled down from a bowl in the kitchen standing over the sink. What?! Don’t look at me like that!

Vanilla Cake via Martha Stewart
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
Apple Pie via my Granny
7 cups chopped apples (your pick!)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
Spice Cake via The Hungry Mouse
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 tablespoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
8 tablespoons butter, room temp
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
Pumpkin Pie via my Granny
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pureed pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
Chocolate Cake via Me in 2010
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
Chocolate Pecan Pie via Me in 2009
3oz unsweetened chocolate
2 oz butter
4 large eggs
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon hot water
2 tablespoons Bailey’s (or something like it)
2 cups pecans
Pies in Cakes
Apple Pie waiting it’s turn for the oven!
Pies in Cakes
Chocolate Pecan Pie headed for the oven.
Pies in Cakes
Pies in Cakes
Baked Apple Pie sitting face down in it’s Vanilla Cake batter (left) and the beginnings of the Chocolate Cake (right).
Pies in Cakes
Pies in Cakes
Chocolate Cake batter, ready to be poured (left), and the starting of the Spice Cake batter (right).
Pies in Cakes
Pies in Cakes
Finished Chocolate Pecan Pie baked into the Chocolate Cake (left), innocent looking Vanilla Cake that’s hiding an Apple Pie (right).
Pies in Cakes
Pies in Cakes
The teetering tower of pies in cakes (left), the dowels I decided to stick in the top of the Pumpkin Pie/Spice Cake to make sure the Vanilla/Apple didn’t fall off.
Pies in Cakes
And voila! This took one day and about an hour the following afternoon. I made it for a party about 2 hours from home so I had to finish assembling it there.
Pies in Cakes
Everyone had a favorite layer, mine was defo the Chocolate Cake / Chocolate Pecan Pie. I always add espresso to my pecan pies because I’m a total coffee junkie and that layer is a dessert I would make again on it’s own.
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