Salted Caramel Apple Cake

Ingredients

6 tablespoons cold butter

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

4 Gala apples (about 2 lbs), cored and peeled, each cut into 8 wedges

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extractg

1/2 cup half-and-half

Whipped cream (optional)

Directions

1.    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of a 10-inch round cake pan with 4 tbsp of the butter. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the brown sugar and the sea salt.

2.    Heat remaining 2 tbsp cold butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add apples; saute 13 to 15 minutes, until tender. Cool.

3.    In a large bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt. In a second large bowl, beat softened butter and remaining 1 cup brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. On low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture, alternating with half-and-half. Scrape down sides of bowl; beat for 1 minute.

4.    Fan apples over bottom of prepared pan. Spread batter over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes.

5.    Run a small knife around edge of pan. Place a serving plate on top of pan and turn plate and pan over together. Carefully remove pan. If any apples remain in pan, place on cake.

Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, if desired

White Cake

from Better Homes and Gardenc,New Cook Book, 1989

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
4 egg whites

Oven 350

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, bakins soda and salt.

Add buttermilk, shortening and vanilla.

Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl.  Beat on medium to high speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl.

Add egg whites and beat for 2 miutes more, scraping bowl.

Pour into 2 greased and floured9 x 1 1/2 inch round baking pans.   Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes.

• THE WORLD’S BEST CHOCOLATE OATMEAL CAKE
• 
  
• 
  
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten with fork
• 1¾ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup quick cooking oats*
• 1¾ cups boiling water
• 1 12 oz bag chocolate chips, divided (go for the Ghirardelli*)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1½ cups sugar
• ½-3/4 cup chocolate chips (Ghirardelli again, please)
• ½-3/4 cup mini marshmallows*

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs and mix well.
2. Add flour, soda, salt and cocoa and mix until just incorporated. The batter will be very thick.
3. Add water to oatmeal and let stand for a few minutes. Once oats are soft, add oats/water mixture to the batter and mix well. Stir in half of the bag of chocolate chips (6 ounces).
4. Pour into a greased or buttered rectangular 9×13 cake pan. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the rest of the bag of chocolate chips (6 ounces).
5. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until the surface springs back lightly when touched and your house smells amazing. Do not overbake. Let cool completely.
6. For the frosting, melt the butter, sugar, and milk in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 30 seconds.
7. Reduce heat to low and add chocolate chips and marshmallows. Stir or whisk until frosting is smooth. Pour immediately over the cooled cake. The frosting crystallizes almost immediately as it cools so it’s important to get it on the cake while it’s still piping hot. Allow the frosted cake to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Or… not.

NOTES

*You can substitute rolled oats for the quick cooking oats, but they should be soaked in the boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Also, if you use rolled oats, the texture of the cake will be different as the oats will be more noticeable. *Any chocolate chips will work. *Regular size marshmallows work, too. They just take longer to melt. 

http://pinchofyum.com/the-worlds-best-chocolate-oatmeal-cak

Christmas Cake

This recipe is from one of my MOPS friends. We moms like easy, yummy recipes! I am sending the email she sent to us in its entirety.

Some of you asked for the recipe for the bunt cake I brought to brunch on Wednesday. It's super easy.

Start with your basic Yellow Cake Mix. I just happened to use the Pillsbury Moist Supreme Yellow Cake this time because it was on sale.

What you want to do is follow the directions on the box (eggs, oil or butter etc.) EXCEPT substitute Dry Sherry as your liquid instead of water. I bought the Fairbanks brand of Dry Sherry. Toss in a 1 tsp of NUTMEG, mix and bake as directed.

After the cake is cooled dust it with some powdered sugar and you are done.

I don't know where my mom got this recipe but she's been making this cake for holiday parties since I can remember.

I'm happy to share it with all of you.

Jackie (Lorenzo) Cox

Fresh Apple Cake

Submitted by Brittany Lyons (2009): This recipe belongs to my Grandma Faye who passed away last year - she was an amazing cook.

Cake

1 cup cooking oil
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Mix all the ingredients except apples and nuts. Add apples and nuts last. Bake in a 9x13x2 oblong pan for 50 minutes at 325 degrees.

Topping*

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 stick butter

Mix together in a saucepan and boil for 3-4 minutes. Beat and cool. Add 1 tsp of vanilla. Pour over cake while still warm.

*special notes - 1. cook icing exactly right or it will be too thin or too thick

White Cake

We've used this recipe for cupcakes for Hannah's first and fourth birthdays with the Butter Frosting. They were a big hit!

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites

In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add buttermilk, butter flavored shortening and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on medium to high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg whites and mix for 2 minutes more, scraping bowl.

Pour into 2 greased and floured 9x1/2-inch round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen sides before removing from pans. Cool on wire racks before frosting.

For cup cakes, fill pan with paper cups, then half full of batter, baking at 350 degrees for 18 to 23 minutes.

Butter Frosting:

1/3 cup butter
4 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
additional milk, if needed

In a bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in the 1/4 cup milk and vanilla. Slowly beat in remaining sugar, a little at a time. Beat in additional milk as needed to make spreading consistency. You may tint with food coloring, if desired.

Frosts tops and sides on two 8 or 9 inch cake layers.

3-Layer Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

No one really knows who in the family to attribute this one to, but the general consensus says it goes back to Ryan's Grandma Doris. According to her husband Grampa Lynn, "Gramps" as we all call him, this cake has to be eaten in a bowl with milk poured on top of it like cereal. Maybe it's because it used to be made too dry, or perhaps it's because back in the day nobody wanted to be wasteful and dirty a glass for milk, but what ever the reason, to this day in our family, if it's served and there ain't a big jug of milk brought out with it, people start to grumble. It's become the standard, defacto birthday cake in the Jaffe family.

Cake
Ingredients:
Mix 2 tsp. baking soda into 1 cup of boiling water (set aside for later)
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups shortening
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

Sift together:
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. salt

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Lastly add the soda water. Lightly grease and flour the insides of three round 9 inch diameter cake pans. Divide the batter equally between the three cake pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool and remove to cooling rack covered in wax paper.

Fudge Frosting
Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 squares semi-sweet bakers chocolate
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup white corn syrup
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
In a sauce pan over low to medium heat, stir till boiling. Boil for 1 minute. Let cool then beat till creamy, firm enough to hold peaks.
Frost a layer at a time then frost the outside edge and top of the cake.