‘Cake’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Mocha Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

March 5, 2017 · Narrative

A deliciously soft chocolate cake draped in ribbons of chocolate ganache, made from ingredients you likely have on hand.

Although my teenage son doesn’t have a huge sweet tooth like his sister, his love language can definitely be brownies or chocolate cake, so sometimes at the end of the week, I like to surprise him with something along the lines of this deliciousness. I was looking for a new recipe to make, and asked for tried-and-trues on a local cooking facebook page that I’m on. A friend responded with this recipe, which originally came from AllRecipes, along with the suggestion to sub the water for coffee. The original recipe has a heavier frosting recipe to go along with it, but since the cake is pretty moist and light, I wanted to keep the topping the same way, so I ended up making a chocolate ganache recipe instead. Most ganache recipes call for heavy cream, which I virtually never have on hand, so you’ll be happy to see that this one doesn’t … and it’s only TWO ingredients! The original recipe also is for a two layer cake, but I switched it to a bundt pan instead.

Both the cake and ganache recipes are crazy simple and the ingredients are likely ones that you have in your pantry already, which is my favorite type of recipe. Because, let’s be honest, who wants to head to the grocery store when you’re hankering for a chocolate fix? Instead, you can be whipping this one up and enjoying it an hour later.

Nick smelled it as soon as he walked in the door, grabbing a plate and a fork before even saying hello or putting down his backpack. Truth be told, chocolate cake barely lasts a few days in the house with him, because TEENAGE BOYS, so this is the perfect recipe to have in your rotation… for when you want to surprise your kid at the end of a school day, or satisfy your own sweet tooth. You can even dress it up for company, although it’s equally perfect with drips of chocolate ganache on a nice white cake plate.

However you slice and serve it, you’ll be coming back for more.

…

Recipe: Espresso Chocolate Chip Cake with Espresso Buttercream Frosting {#TheCakePlateProject}

February 29, 2016 · Narrative, Sweets

Light, fluffy, espresso-infused cake with the most amazing buttercream that ever was. Let’s start #TheCakePlateProject!

Last month, I was rearranging stuff in our dining room hutch and happened to notice just how many cake plates and cake stands I have.

I guess it’s a bit of an addiction, but I find it hard to pass up a pretty cake stand.

Although in my defense, I have under 10.

So not too terrible.

And knowing how many I already have, I am very picky about adding to the collection.

I don’t add just for the sake of adding.

It has to be different enough to warrant the space in my home, and I’m like that with most things.

But that got me to thinking… I want to make a concerted effort to use my cake stands more.

Not just for holidays and birthday cakes.

And so, #TheCakePlateProject was born.

Once a month, I will be sharing a new recipe worthy of using YOUR OWN beautiful cake stands.

Since I had already been in the kitchen all afternoon, I wanted a recipe that was simple to start us off. Making dinner for Sunday evening, and my breakfasts and lunches for the week had already used up most of my energy, so I used a boxed cake mix and started doctoring it.

No guilt when using a cake mix, because it’s really just pre-measuring your base ingredients.

#winning

I added some espresso and mini chocolate chips and now it’s a completely different animal.

But honestly, the star of this show is the Espresso Buttercream Frosting.

If you’re a long-time reader, you know that buttercream is pretty much my favorite kind of frosting.

And this version takes it to completely differently levels.

Even if you don’t make the cake, MAKE THE FROSTING.

Especially if you love coffee.

Or espresso.

Or cappuccino.

Or anything in the caffeine family.

It is SO good.

And I don’t really have a sweet tooth.

I actually ended up pouring water in the bowl that had the leftover frosting in it.

Just so I could stop dipping my finger in for swipes.

It is that good.

Half of the cake went to a neighbor, and the rest is going to my office tomorrow. The other part of my plan with this project is to gift them, and make other people happy.

Because, luckily, unless it’s chocolate, my kids don’t go crazy for cake. And I don’t need any temptation.

So a project that makes good use of beautiful dust collectors AND puts smiles on other people’s faces?

Can’t think of anything better.

I hope you will join me with my new monthly project. If you do, use the hash tag #TheCakePlateProject and tag me. Let’s get ALL of our beautiful cake stands and cake plates out there in the every day. I can’t wait to see YOURS.

*Details: The cake plate above is from HomeGoods (here is a similar one from Amazon), and the little flags are from the dollar spot at Target. LOVE THEM. Because, glitter.

…

Recipe: Flourless Chocolate Cake

February 18, 2016 · Narrative, Sweets

Moist, dense, and fudgy, this Flourless Chocolate Cake is a super simple cake designed to impress.

After copious amounts of cake, cupcakes, and cookies to celebrate Madeline’s birthday over the last week, you would think we would be done with sweets for a bit.

You would be wrong.

We were almost done.

On Monday, we all converged at my sister and brother-in-law’s place to celebrate her birthday, and I volunteered to bring dessert.

At that point, between all the cooking and baking I had done for Madeline’s birthday, coupled with the fact that we don’t currently have a working dishwasher, I was pretty over doing any more dishes.

Which means when I was trying to decide what to make, I wanted to keep it simple, but still have something worthy of the occasion.

I originally went with chocolate-studded brownies, but it didn’t yield enough for everyone, which means I was scrambling for a second dessert at the eleventh hour.

So much for keeping it simple.

The best laid plans and all.

I had noticed this Bon Appetit recipe for a Flourless Chocolate Cake earlier in the week, and since I had just cleaned out all our kitchen cabinets, I knew I had most of the ingredients on hand.

The recipe comes from celebrated cookbook author, Richard Sax, who has quite the library of cookbooks, and this particular recipe is actually featured on the cover of his Classic Home Desserts: A Treasury of Heirloom and Contemporary Recipes cookbook.

If you haven’t had flourless cake before, it is something pretty special. More dense than traditional cake made with flour, it also is extra fudgy and downright delicious.

Which made it perfect for birthday celebrations.

Bonus points for being able to slide it into the oven under thirty minutes after the decision to make it.

It’s a good recipe to keep on stand-by … for when you are having last minute guests over. For when you are in the mood for something slightly rich and very chocolatey. For when you have a double birthday weekend sandwiched around Valentine’s Day.

Or just because.

Topped with whipped cream, it was perfect.

…

Recipe: Cinnamon Apple Cake {Cooking Light}

October 15, 2015 · Narrative

Delicate, tender bites of moist, delicious, apple-studded cake are yours with this recipe for Cinnamon Apple Cake.

You would think that if I had been making a recipe since 1998, consistently, year after year after year, that I would have shared it with you.

Apparently you would be wrong.

Because although I’ve found posts mentioning this Cinnamon Apple Cake, I couldn’t actually find a whole post sharing it and the recipe.

So today we are going to right some wrongs.

Starting with 1998.

Although 1998 was the year I happened to get married, it also happens to be the year I discovered this recipe in an issue of Cooking Light magazine.

Both were good things.

Originally called Jewish Apple Cake and shared with their readers as a Rosh Hashanah dessert idea, the folks at Cooking Light later renamed it to Cinnamon Apple Cake.

I have no idea why, but my guess is so people would consider it an any-occasion cake, as opposed to being just reserved for Jewish holidays.

And rightfully so.

Because no matter what the cake is called, it remains one of Cooking Light’s most popular recipes, and if you’ve had it, there’s no denying why.

It is simple to make and moist, and, perhaps of equal importance, a true marriage of Fall flavors… cinnamon and apples.

This is a cake pretty and delicious enough to serve to company … or just to use up the apples you absconded with after a recent apple picking trip.

It has made an appearance in our kitchen every Fall, at least once a year, since 1998.

Now bring it to yours.

…

Top 7 Apple Recipes {Celebrate Fall}

October 6, 2015 · Narrative

Truly one of my favorite seasons, Fall is a wonderful celebration of both nature and food. Crisp air and the start of comfort food season, what more could we want? Now that we are in the throes of apple picking, how about a little inspiration on what to do with all those apples you come home with?

My kids eat apples straight from the tree. As for me? I only eat them if I’m baking with them. So this is for me, as much as it is for you.

If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat, you might recognize these Glazed Apple Bars from last week. A tried-and-true that we’ve been making for a few years now, they taste like you’re eating apple pie from your hands. And outside of the apples, you likely have the rest of the ingredients in your kitchen already.

Grandma Ople’s Pie is for when making a pie intimidates you. This recipe could not be simpler, and it tastes delicious as is, or warmed up and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of dulce de leche sauce from Stonewall Kitchen (which we discovered during a summer trip to Vermont).

This Caramel Apple Cheesecake is when you want to impress someone, but don’t have a lot of time. Because it LOOKS like a ton of work, but isn’t. It’s kind of amazing….

Recipe: Nordic Pancake Cake with Berries & Cream {Happy National Pancake Day!}

September 26, 2013 · Narrative

I made this recipe on Tuesday night.

Last night, a friend, who had seen the picture that I had posted of it on Instagram, texted me to ask if I knew that today was National Pancake Day.

I did not! {I am not quite that organized}

And this is how timely posts get written.

Purely by accident.

Dinner in our home is an ongoing challenge. Just like your home, I’m sure. Some days, the kids will eat everything I put in front of them. Some days, Madeline takes one look at it and opts out with a request for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Some days, something they have eaten countless times before, they suddenly despise. Some days, they beg me to make things I didn’t think they liked. And SOME days, everyone eats everything and we chat about our days and dinner is a dream.

I am a fan of breakfast for dinner. It’s easy, unexpected, and the crowd of little people go wild. The Ex was never a fan, unless it included steak. Steak made everything better.

So when I saw this recipe for a Nordic Pancake Cake with Berries and Cream, I thought it would be a fun way to turn dinner upside down a bit and ensure clean plates.

I was half right.

As soon as they saw what I was up to, the kids fell over themselves to help me, with one flipping the pancakes, and another stacking the pancakes and smoothing the berry sauce in between.

And, of course, there were pictures.

Because if this isn’t a beautifully fun dinner worthy of a photo or two, I don’t know what is.

…

Recipe: Almond Joy Cake Bites {International Delight Coffee Creamer}

July 9, 2013 · Ad-Free, Narrative

What’s Your ID? International Delight is looking for their most passionate flavor fans. Put your ID on the map to enter to win a Magical Trip, play games and discover more unexpected delight. Share your ID flavor at http://whatsyourid.com.

Did you know that International Delight has a line of gourmet flavored coffee creamers? Like a Caramel Macchiato one? And an Almond Joy one, for example? Yep, news to me too. Mostly because I don’t experiment too much with my iced coffee. Extra light, no sugar. Clearly I’ve been missing out.

But how about a little out of the box thinking when it comes to the creamers?

Like baking with them?

Which is exactly what I did when the folks at International Delight asked me to come up with a recipe using their fancy creamers. How about some Almond Joy Cake Bites for something completely unexpected?

And the best part? No sifting or dirtying tons of bowls. One saucepan. One baking dish. One small bowl to mix the frosting. That’s it.

And, including baking and cooling time, you can be eating these babies in under an hour … and using ingredients (aside from the creamer) that you likely have in your pantry already.

Let’s get started.

…