Miss Frankie Cone's Pound Cake

This recipe has been a favorite of mine since I was very young.  Miss Frankie used to make it for my sisters and myself.  The cake takes time and a decent amount of ingredients but it is well worth the effort.  It makes an excellent base for strawberry shortcake.  Its a versatile cake that is delicious iced, glazed, or dusted with powdered sugar.  You can bake it in any number of pans; we usually use one bunt pan, which makes a huge cake. 

Ingredients:
2 sticks of unsalted butter (softened)
6 eggs (separated)
8oz sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 cups sifted cake flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit,  grease and flour pans. Beat egg whites until very stiff, refrigerate until needed.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add sour cream and baking soda.  Add vanilla and almond extract.  Beat in flour, one cup at a time.  Gently fold in egg whites.  Pour batter into pans.  Bake until golden brown and a knife comes out clean when inserted (about an hour and a half for a single bunt cake; 35 -45 min for two bunt cakes).   Ice or glaze cake as you like. 

Margarita Bars

I adapted this from a basic lemon bar recipe, it's perfect for Mexican night!  You can add a shot of tequila if you're feeling really festive, just add two tablespoons of cornstarch to make sure the bar sets.  Its a really yummy recipe, the crust is buttery and light and the filling is super flavorful.  I added some food coloring (too much in my opinion) to make it look the part, but that's completely optional.  All in all I call it a definite win!

For the crust

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus more for pan

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

For the topping

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons of lime juice (I just juiced and extra lime into the filling rather then measure)

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/8 teaspoon of orange extract

1 shot of tequila (optional but highly recommended)

2 tablespoons of cornstarch (if you add the tequila)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center of oven. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

To make crust: In a bowl, whisk together flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and work into flour mixture using a pastry blender or your fingers.

Pour crust mixture into prepared baking dish, pressing down with your fingers to create a 1/4-inch-thick layer along the bottom and 1/2-inch up the sides, pressing firmly at the edges to seal. Transfer pan to freezer and freeze for 30 minutes. Transfer to oven and bake, rotating pan once during baking, until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping: In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and flour; stir in lime juice, milk, and salt until well combined.  Add tequila and cornstarch and whisk well.

Remove baking pan from oven. Stir topping and pour into warm crust. Return pan to oven and continue baking until topping is just set but not browned, about 20 minutes.

Transfer baking pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 20 squares. Serve immediately or wrap each bar tightly with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

These are pretty awesome! The icing is really, really, really yummy!  The cake is a basic chocolate cake recipe that I adapted.  The icing is a peanut butter buttercream,  which I adapted from a basic buttercream recipe, and is super light and fluffy.  It is the best part by far!  I made these for a  friend's party, so I went with mini-cupcakes, but you could easily make this in any form.  

Dark Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup melted bittersweet chocolate

1/2 tsp cinnamon

      Heat oven to 350 degrees F and prep your pans (line cupcake tins or grease and flour your choice of pans).

    In a large mixing bowl sift or whisk together dry ingredients.  Make a well in the middle of well incorporated dry ingredients for the wet ingredients.  Add milk, oil, vanilla, and eggs; mix until completely incorporated.  Add the boiling water and mix well.  The batter will be thin and it may take a bit to incorporate the water.  Just be patient and keep stirring.  Next add the melted chocolate and stir until completely incorporated. 

 

     Pour the batter into your prepared tins and bake.  Time will vary depending on the tin.  Check it after seven minutes if you are making cupcakes, and after fifteen if you are making cakes.  The cake is done when a toothpick (or butter knife) come out clean after being inserted into the middle of the cake. 

    Let the cake cool completely before icing.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing

2 sticks of butter at room temperature

2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup peanut butter

  Whip the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).  Add peanut butter and continue whipping until light and fluffy.  Scrape down sides as needed throughout process.  Start off with a 1/2 cup of peanut butter and add more to taste, up to 1 1/2 cups total.  Gradually mix in powdered sugar at a low speed.  Once the sugar is fully incorporated, add the vanilla and mix on high speed until fluffy.  You can add more peanut butter if you think you need to now.  Once the icing is fluffy enough, ice your cake as you choose.  Then enjoy the deliciousness!!!

Gradually

   

     In a large mixing bowl sift or whisk together dry ingredients



Mocha Cake

This recipe was sent to me by my sister.  Its fairly easy to make and the result is delicious but I didn't think the coffee taste was very strong.  It tastes more like an oreo cake, which everyone agreed is awesome, but if you're looking for an espresso flavor make sure your coffee is strong, and maybe consider adding more espresso powder.  The original recipe (below) was for cupcakes, but I couldn't find my muffin tins so I just made a cake instead.  The icing recipe makes an absolute ton of really tasty icing, so if you're going the cake route I would recommend doubling the cake batter and making a layer cake out of it.  Like the cake the icing didn't have a strong coffee flavor, but was still delicious. I chopped up dark chocolate to sprinkle on top, which was a nice balance to the sweet buttercream icing.

Mocha Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
 Baking Time: 17-20 minutes

1-1/3 all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup whole milk
½ cup strong brewed coffee
1½ teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1. Mix the espresso powder into the brewed coffee until dissolved; set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard-size muffin tin with paper liners.
3. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, brewed coffee mixture and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture, alternating with the coffee mixture, ending with the flour mixture.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 liners. Baking for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting cupcakes.
(Cupcake recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction)


Espresso Buttercream Frosting
Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons espresso powder
1. Mix the espresso powder into the vanilla until dissolved; set aside.
2. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar a little at a time, waiting until it is mostly incorporated before adding more. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, about a minute or two. Add the espresso and vanilla mixture and continue to mix at medium-high until it is completely incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary.
*Note: To make the swirls on the cupcakes, I used a 1M decorating tip.