Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Hibiscus Buttermilk Cake #TheCakeSliceBakers


I chose to bake this delicious Hibiscus Buttermilk Cake with The Cake Slice Bakers. Dinner was out of the way, dishes washed, and in my bed relaxing when I got an alert from our group that the May option was posted. Perfect timing, a distraction from the current situation we all find ourselves in lately. 


I quickly grabbed my book, went over the options, and picked the Hibiscus cake! Luckily, and I literally mean “Luckily” I had all the ingredients with only one slight change. I swapped the dried hibiscus flowers with four Tazo Passion tea bags. I normally from time to time stock hibiscus in my pantry, it’s a staple in a Mexican kitchen. It’s my to go to when I want a refreshing drink to go with my dinner, and since it’s one of my favorite drinks, I found the need to buy a box of the Tazo to keep handy just in case. It paid off! 


Due to these times and the lack of ingredients accessible I was really blessed to have the ingredients on hand. Not wanting to waste any time, and being that we have a shelter in place issued in my county, this was the thing I needed to keep me occupied. 
I laid out all if my ingredients, and began. Whipped, and mixed, thinking this batter seems a bit on the stiff side, I added more buttermilk to help the batter. Scooped my batter into my baking pans, popped it into the oven, turned around and saw the eggs staring straight at me! I said a few words and scrambled to get the filled cake pans quickly out of the oven in hopes to salvage my batter. 
There is nothing worse than wasting food, especially during these difficult times. Luckily the end result was delicious! This is definitely going to be a recipe I will make again. 





Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
It is a new year and a new book - The New Way To Cake - and our choices for May 2020 were ~ Chamomile Cake with Honey Crème Fraîche
Hibiscus Buttermilk Cake

Monday, April 20, 2020

Masala - Chai Carrot Cake #TheCakeSliceBakers


It was not in my plans to bake with the Cake Slice Bakers this month. I had decided none of the choices appealed to me , and would skip baking April’s bake. 
Traditionally every year for Easter we stay home and barbecue, and keep things pretty simple. This year the plan was to stay home as usual but change up the menu, due to the current circumstances. I decided it was time to use up the tamale masa corn flour I purchased in December that went unused. For dessert I would make Capirotada (bread pudding), a traditional Mexican Easter dessert, made with evaporated milk, condensed milk, half and half, sugar, coconut, raisins, sliced almonds, cloves, whole black pepper, and cinnamon. 



Everything went as planned, but decided to make everything a day ahead of time, to give me time to enjoy Easter with my family. Easter morning turned out to be a bit chilly for me, and procrastinated to get out of bed. I stayed in bed knowing I had nothing pending to do, Easter dinner and dessert were out of the way. The more I laid in bed, the more I told myself I had time to bake a carrot cake. Then, I  told myself it couldn’t hurt to give this carrot cake recipe a try. I do love chai tea, and carrot cake, maybe combining the two wasn’t such a bad idea after all. 
Luckily once again I had all the ingredients on hand, with the exception of the English breakfast tea, which I quickly swapped with black tea. The recipe quickly came together, the batter turned out delicious! The recipe calls for two eight inch pans, but I knew from experience by just reading the recipe that this recipe would make enough batter for three pans. I was right. 
Everyone at home loved the cake, including myself. The spices were perfectly balanced and made this carrot cake quite delicious! I’m glad I stepped out of the box and gave this recipe a try, sometimes it makes it hard when you’ve already found the perfect recipe for a cake you love, you don’t want to fix what isn’t broken! In this case, it gave me a second option to a cake I absolutely love! 
Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
It is a new year and a new book - The New Way To Cake - and our choices for April 2020 were ~ Masala-Chai Carrot Cake
Lemon, Ricotta and Thyme Mini-Loaves 

Friday, March 20, 2020

Citrus Poppy Seed Cake #TheCakeSliceBakers




This month I chose to bake this delicious Citrus Poppy Seed Cake. The cake is bursting with citrus! Definitely a Citrus lovers delight! 



The recipe called for orange, lemon, and grapefruit zest. I opted to leave out the grapefruit zest. The batter was delicious! I loved the cake! 



The glaze gave it a perfectly light burst of citrus. This cake went pretty quickly, it was hard to resist!



Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
It is a new year and a new book - The New Way To Cake - and our choices for March 2020 were ~ Pecan and Burnt Honey Cake Citrus Poppy Seed Cake

Monday, January 20, 2020

Spiced Sweet Potato Loaf with Cream a Cheese Frosting #TheCakeSliceBakers


It’s a new year, which means we bake from a new book! This years Cake Slice Bakers vote went to "The New Way To Cake" by Benjamina Ebuehi. It’s definitely not a book I’m use to baking from. Some of the recipes seem intimidating, not your traditional American baking for sure! 


I struggled making my choice this month. I went with the one that was closest to my comfort. I picked to bake the Spiced Sweet Potato Loaf with Cream Cheese. The recipe calls for spices and ingredients I’m familiar with. Caraway seeds are not my favorite, I left them out of the recipe. 


I also opted for cupcakes, instead of a loaf pan. The cupcakes turned out delicious! They were dense, in a good way, and were moist and full of flavor. The cream cheese frosting complimented these very well. 




    Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
    It is a new year and a new book - The New Way To Cake - and our choices for January 2020 were ~ Blood Orange & Olive Oil Upside Down Cake
    Spiced Sweet Potato Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting
    Sticky Ginger Cake with Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream

      Friday, December 20, 2019

      Lemon Drizzle Bundt Cake



      I always look forward to baking with The Cake Slice Bakers. Lately though, I find myself running out of time and missing the deadline. I knew I wanted to bake our last selection from our current baking book before we move on to our new book. I found some time to squeeze my bake in and sifted through the book to find a recipe I could make without having to run to the supermarket for ingredients. I chose the Lemon Drizzle Bund Cake! 


      This cake requires you make a lemon curd that is piped in between the cake batter. I was excited that finally after so many years of baking, I would finally have the task of making lemon curd. The directions seemed easy enough, and gave me the confidence that this would be easy to make. 



      I followed the directions, and it seemed to have turned just fine until I had a taste test. The curd had a metallic taste to it. At first I thought it was due to pre scrubbing the pot with a steal wool, I figured I didn’t rinse it well enough. After doing a little research, I found that this is pretty common when you make lemon curd in a reactive pot. I still proceeded to use the curd in my cake. I didn’t get that oozing effect with curd when you slice the cake. I did love the texture and flavor of the cake, although you could detect the metallic taste right after I baked it. The next day it seemed to have dissipated. I can assure you this cake was devoured by the second night. I would definitely make this cake again! 






      Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
       
      December 2019 is the final month we will be baking from The European Cake Cookbook and our tradition is that we have free choice of any of the cakes in the book ~
      Lemon Drizzle Bundt Cake
      Sirnek (Ukrainian Cheesecake)
      Strawberries and Cream Crepe Cake
      Apple Sharlotka
      Triple-Chocolate Swiss Roll
      Mozart Torte
      Toscaka Torte

      Wednesday, November 20, 2019

      Pomegranate Creme Cake #TheCakeSliceBakers




      This month I chose the Pomegranate Cream Cake to bake with The Cake Slice Bakers. I’ve loved all the recipes I’ve made from this book that have called for mascarpone cheese. Mascarpone cheese just makes your frostings so decadent! 


      The cake was pretty easy to make, the problem happened with the frosting. My frosting curdled when I added the mascarpone cheese! Yes, it curdled! I’ve never had this happen to me before and I was quite disappointed. I was really looking forward to the frosting. Luckily I had a package of cream cheese in the fridge, and I quickly made a cream cheese frosting instead. I really liked the cake, I thought it had the right balance of sweetness and tartness. I would definitely make this cake again! 


      Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
      Our choices for November 2019 were ~
      1. Chocolate Kiev Cake
      2. German Prinzregenten Torte
      3. Dundee Cake
      4. Pomegranate Creme Cake
      Chocolate Kiev Cake
      German Prinzregenten Torte

        Friday, September 20, 2019

        Italian Coconut Crème Cake #TheCakeSliceBakers


        I’m back baking with The Cake Slice Bakers after a brief summer break! I can’t remember the last time I took this much time off?! I may skip a month every now and then, but rarely three months in a row! This summer was a bit overwhelming for me, I just didn’t seem to fit baking with the group, before I knew it I had ran out of time, or had a unexpected invite to attend to. Then there was vacation and a weekend getaway! 


        With fall approaching, I hope to slow down and take time to do what I love to do the best, BAKE! I know for sure my husband missed the cakes, and keeping him in mind I chose a cake he would love! This month cake choice is Italian Crème Cake. 


        This choice made me love this cookbook even more! This cake turned out delicious! I did my best to stick to the original recipe, but when it came to the frosting ingredients I swapped the sugar for powdered sugar, and left the cream of coconut fat out, only because the cream of coconut did not 




        solidify, and I was not able to remove the fat from the liquid. I did although add a few tablespoons of the cream to the frosting. 


        Everything seemed to have worked out because the cake was HEAVENLY! Everyone seemed to have enjoyed it, especially my husband! This recipe is a must to try. Go grab a copy of this book and make this cake, you won’t regret it! 






          Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
          Our choices for September 2019 were ~
          1. Apple Sharlotka Cake
          2. Strawberry Verdens Beste
          3. Apricot Mousse Cake
          4. Italian Coconut Creme Cake
          Strawberry Verdens Beste
          Apricot Mousse Cake
          Italian Coconut Creme Cake