Kahlua Dump Cake

Photos courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

      Cakes have never really been my favorite. I'm much more of a pie person, but then I'm not that big on sweets anyway. However our daughter, that makes a living in the bake shop of a Navy aircraft carrier, sent me an idea for a Kahlua cake. She knows that coffee and Kahlua are some of my favorites, so she thought that they would pair well together and she was right.
      I tried this "cake" a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't too sweet and almost had the texture of a cake brownie with a hint of coffee flavor. I decided not to put a frosting on it (after reading the expiration dates of what was in my pantry). As it turns out, frosting wasn't even needed and the powdered sugar was just a hint of sweet.
     Another perk about this recipe is that it's all made right in the pan. Talk about easy! It's so many less steps and things to bother with. Give this one a try for a new surprise.

 Kahlua Dump Cake
1-1/2 cups flour (all-purpose)
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
5 T. vegetable oil
3/4 cup coffee (room temperature)
1/4 cup Kahlúa or other coffee liqueur*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray coat a 9"x9" baking dish. Put all dry ingredients right into the pan. Mix with a fork until combined. Make sure there are no lumps. 

Now, add all of remaining ingredients, just dump them in, literally. Stir again until it's pretty smooth.

Bake in middle of oven for 35 minutes. Insert toothpick into center and remove to make sure it comes out clean. Cool. 

Optional - frost with your favorite chocolate frosting or sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

Kahlua cake just out of oven.

* If you don't have a coffee liqueur increase the amount of STRONG coffee to 1 cup.

Caramel Apple Cake

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

   Do you remember having apple crisp for lunch in grade school? If you do, you'll like this version of a Caramel Apple Cake. It takes you back to the flavors of childhood. That could be a reason that it was chosen as a finalist in a local holiday recipe contest. It's easy, too.

Caramel Apple Cake

Laura Carpenter - Hazleton

2 cans apple pie filling

1 box caramel apple cake mix

1 stick butter

In crock pot put both cans apple pie filling. 

Sprinkle cake mix on top of apples.

Cut butter in half and place on top of dry cake mix. 

Place lid on crock pot cook on high 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Butter Nut Cake

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

   Until a recent recipe contest, I had never tasted a Butter Nut Cake before. I was so surprised. This is one of the most moist cakes that I've ever tasted. It was easy to see why this cake was the winner of the "Best Dessert" in a local holiday cooking contest. It's well worth the try.

Butter Nut Cake

Pat Wilder - Owensville

Nut mixture

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup nuts

1 tsp. cinnamon

Batter

1 box yellow cake mix

1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup water

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. butter nut extract

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

3 T. milk

1/2 tsp. butternut flavoring

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar, cinnamon and nuts for nut mixture. Grease 9x13” pan well. Sprinkle some of nut mixture in bottom of pan.

Prepare batter by combining cake mix and pudding mix (dry). Add oil and water, mix well. Add eggs, beat for 8 minutes high speed add vanilla and butternut flavoring. 

Layer batter - then nut mixture, the batter, etc.

Bake at 350º for 40 minutes. Let cool. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

Pumpkin Butterfinger Poke Cake

Photos courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

     Recently we had an employee "grazing day" where everybody pitched in a dish. There was a recipe that had just been nagging at me to try and redo. It was a Butterfinger version of a pumpkin poke cake that originally called for crushed Heath candy bar bits.  
     What to do with leftover pumpkin from turkey day? Well if you mix it with a boxed cake mix, drizzle some condensed milk in the wholes, cover it in whipped topping and sprinkle it with smashed up candy bars, you have a whole new dessert. Call it a Pumpkin Poke Cake and there you go.

Pumpkin Butterfinger Poke Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1 – 15 oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 – 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 – 8 oz. tub whipped topping
6 fun-size Butterfinger bars, chopped
1/3 jar Butterscotch Sundae Sauce

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pumpkin until a smooth batter forms.

Pour into a sprayed 9×13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees according to package directions (about 23-25 minutes).

Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes or so.

Poke holes all over the top of the cake using a wooden or baby spoon.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the cake, filling in holes so that it soaks into the cake.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Spread cool whip over top of cake, covering completely.

Sprinkle chopped candy bars and drizzle butterscotch topping over whipped topping.

Cover with foil and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight.

Caramel Nut Torte

     
      Despite caramel drizzled over a cream frosting, this cake is light in texture and not overly sweet. All of the ingredients are perfectly balanced so that no component is over powering. This was a perfect pick for a finalist in a recent holiday recipe contest.

Caramel Nut Torte

Eva Payne, Princeton

Cake Finalist  

3 eggs, separated

1/4 apple cider

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2/3 cup sugar divided

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup ground almonds

Caramel Sauce:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch

3 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons plus 2 tsp. apple cider divided

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

Frosting:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Line (2) 8” pans with parchment paper coat with cooking spray. 

Lightly beat eggs, yolks set aside. 

Mix 1 tablespoon apple cider , vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar into remaining yolks. 

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites on medium until soft peaks form. Beat in remaining sugar until dissolved. Fold in 1/4 of whites into batter, then remaining whites, crumbs and almonds. 

Pour into pans. Bake at 325 for 20 - 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

In sauce pan combine brown sugar, cornstarch, butter and 2 Tablespoons cider. Bring to a boil, cook for 2 minutes or until thick. Stir into reserved yolks and return to pan, bring to boil, cool. 

In small bowl beat cheese add 2 tablespoons caramel sauce until smooth.

Spread over cake top, with remaining cake add remaining cider to caramel sauce for drizzling. 

Beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and vanilla, beat until soft peaks form.

Frost top and sides of cake. Drizzle the frosting with caramel sauce.
Serves: 6

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Photo courtesy of the Cooking  Corner.

     Recently, I tried my hand at a chocolate chip cookie cake. I had some extra chocolate chips to use up and I thought cake sounded easier than individual cookies. It was easier - one pan, no spooning onto baking sheets and so much quicker. The result was a sweet treat with the flavors of chocolate chip cookies and a texture that was almost brownie-like. This would be a perfect dessert for a picnic or party. 
    The hubby gave his slice a tiny bit in the microwave (about 10 seconds) and was impressed. It began to melt and "goo up" so that it almost tasted like cookie dough. He said a scoop of vanilla ice cream would really put this over the top.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
2-1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 and 1/2 sticks butter, melted and then cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325.

Tear a square of aluminum foil to cover a 9-inch round pie pan. Spray coat the foil and set aside.

Measure butter into a small bowl, cutting in chunks. Microwave until it starts to melt, about 20 seconds. Stir and let come to room temperature while doing the other stuff.

In a small bowl, measure and combine the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well.

Slowly add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture, mixing well. When thoroughly combined, stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into lined pie pan and bake 20-25 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely. 

Lay a large plate over pie pan and then flip over quickly. Peel the foil carefully off the cake and cut into slices. 

Serves 8-12, depending on how it's sliced.

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Peanut Butter Cake

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

      Lately I've been experimenting with peanut butter. With a few other ingredients from the pantry it's possible to come up with a variety of inexpensive treats for the family. My first love was a peanut butter pie from an old family recipe. This test was peanut butter cake that is rich and dense, full of peanut butter flavor from the cake to the frosting. It has the consistency more of a quick bread than a cake, so a little goes a long way.

Peanut Butter Cake
2- 1/4 cups flour
2 cups light brown sugar (packed)
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter (1 stick at room temperature)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1-1/4 cups milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease and flour a 13 x 9-inch cake pan. 

In a large bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients with an electric mixer; blend at low speed until crumbly.

Add the next 5 ingredients and blend at low speed until everything is wet, then beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.

Cake ready for oven.

Pour into prepared pan and bake, in the middle of your oven, for 35-40 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. 

Let the cake cool (in the pan) for 10 minutes, then spread the frosting on the hot cake (recipe follows) and sprinkle one cup of mini-peanut butter and chocolate chips over the frosting.

Peanut Butter Honey Frosting
 1/2 cup peanut butter
 2 T. honey
 1 tsp. vanilla extract
 2 cups powdered sugar
4 to 5 T. milk
1/8 cup peanut butter and milk chocolate baking chips

Warm the peanut butter and honey in the microwave just until it gets soft and easy to stir, then add everything else and beat until smooth. Spread over hot cake and sprinkle with one cup of the mini-chips. Cut into small squares.

Cake ready for cutting.

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Pumpkin Poke Cake

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

      One of my daughters loves pumpkin. For her birthday every year she asks for a pumpkin pie because she never gets enough at Thanksgiving. Recently she sent me a recipe for what I'll call a "poke" cake, because after it's baked, you literally take the end of a mixing spoon and poke holes in the cake so that it absorbs sweetened condensed milk. Talk about rich!
      I was practicing on Thanksgiving dishes and this was the biggest surprise and best hit I've made in awhile. Besides the fact that it is so easy and uses only a few ingredients, the cake is very light and the pumpkin flavor mellow instead of over powering. The sprinkle of candy and drizzle of caramel are literally the icing on the cake that adds that perfect little touch.

Pumpkin Poke Cake
1 box dry yellow cake mix (No eggs, oil or water)
1 15 oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk 
1  8 oz. tub whipped topping
1/2  bag Heath Bits
1/4 jar caramel sundae sauce

Instructions -
In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and pumpkin until a smooth batter forms. It will be thick at first and you'll swear it can't be right, but it works.

Pour batter into a greased 9×13 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees, according to the directions on the cake mix box (about 23-28 minutes). 

Remove cake from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes after baking.

Using the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the top of the cake. 

Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the cake. This should fill in the holes and soak into the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Remove cake from refrigerator and spread the whipped topping over top of cake. (Go ahead and use the whole thing.) Sprinkle on the heath bits and drizzle caramel over top. (about 1/4 of the jar - thinning out by heating in microwave if needed) 

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight.


Serves 12-15.

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Strawberry Angel Cake

    
     While web surfing one day, I found a recipe for a strawberry cake. It's a simple cake that's chilled, topped with strawberries and is a do-ahead dish, but so easy.
    I took a sample into work and came home with an empty casserole dish. Using angel food cake keeps this dessert very light and not too sweet. The ice cream and pudding combine for a layer of creamy goodness, while the strawberries mixed with gelatin gives this a bright tartness.
   When I explained it to the boss, he agreed that it was so simple, even he could make it. This would also be a good dessert for those with diabetic concerns by using sugar-free pudding and gelatin.

Ingredients: 

1 angel food cake

1 box instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cup milk

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1 small box strawberry gelatin

1 cup hot water

1 pt. frozen strawberries

Preparation - 
Break cake into small pieces in large baking dish (13x9). Mix pudding with milk. Stir in ice cream. Pour over cake and chill. Mix gelatin with hot water and add strawberries. Let set until partly jelled (about an hour or so.) Pour over cake and refrigerate over night.

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