Wednesday 28 December 2011

Delicious Vegan Cake Recipe

You don't have to be vegan to appreciate a delicious vegan cake recipe. Today I'd like to share with you a fantastic, delicious and moist vegan carrot cake recipe that I have just recently perfected. It took a few tries, I'll admit, but I feel like I have finally got it perfect. This vegan carrot cake recipe will take about an hour, in total, from start to finish and most of that time is waiting for it to bake—this is when I like to clean the pots and pans that are used, but let's not worry about that stuff yet: there's baking to be done!

 

Vegan_carrot_cake

Ingredients:  

1.    1 cup soy milk

2.    2 cups carrots (grated)

3.    3 cups flour

4.    2 cups water

5.    1 cup sugar

6.    1/2 tsp salt

7.    1 1/2 tsp baking soda

8.    1 1/2 cups raisins

9.    1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

10.  1 1/2 tsp allspice

11.  1/2 tsp cloves 

Directions: 

1.    The first thing you need to do, as with most cake recipes, is to preheat that oven of yours to 350°F. This will take roughly as long as the preparation of the recipe, so start your oven whenever you are ready to start preparing things.

2.    Over a medium heat in a medium saucepan, combine the water with the carrots, raisins and spices and mix them together. Allow this mixture to simmer for 10 minutes before adding salt and sugar.

3.    In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour with the baking soda. Fold in the mixture from the saucepan as well as the soy milk.

4.    Lightly grease a medium baking pan and pour the cake batter inside.

5.    Bake this batter in the oven, uncovered, for 50 minutes.

6.    The classic trick to tell when a cake is done is to poke the center with a toothpick. When you are able to easily remove the toothpick without any batter sticking to it, your cake is done! If you don't want any holes in your precious cake, wait at least 40 minutes and then allow it to cool slightly before serving. 

If you enjoyed this cake recipe, take a look at some of my others!

 

 

Healthy Cake’s for Dessert

I've got a very special carrot cake recipe to share. This recipe is special for a number of reasons. One reason, in my opinion, is the inclusion of delicious berries. In addition to that, this is a very healthy carrot cake recipe, so you can feel free to add a little extra to your plate! On top of that, this recipe is very easy to make and quite delicious.

 What you will need to make this carrot cake recipe: 

2 cups of whole wheat flour

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of baking soda

2 tsp of ground cinnamon

1 tsp of ground ginger

1 tsp of allspice

1/4 tsp of salt

1 1/4 cups of water

1 1/4 cups of finely chopped dates

1/3 cup of thawed orange juice concentrate

1 cup of shredded carrots

1 cup of slivered almonds

1/2 cup of dried blueberries

1/2 cup of dried cranberries 

Carrot_cake

Directions: 

1.    Preheat your oven until it reaches a temperature of 350°F (180°C).

2.    Coat your baking pan with oil, butter or margarine.

3.    Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan.

4.    Add orange and dates into the saucepan, then remove the saucepan from the heat and let everything get to room temperature.

5.    Use a whisk to mix together each of your dry ingredients until they are evenly blended in a mixing bowl.

6.    Mix together all of the wet and dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, until it is all of the same consistency.

7.    Pour this mixture into your greased baking pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.

You're in for a treat with this recipe. When you find yourself running to the store a few days later to make another batch of this healthy carrot cake recipe, don't say I didn't warn you!

 

Tuesday 27 December 2011

1st Birthday Cake Recipe: Triple Layer Chocolate Cake

Here is a simple and easy to prepare chocolate cake recipe that uses two of a child’s favorite foods: chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. This is also a perfect 1st birthday cake recipes.

On your shopping list: 

Cake ingredients: 

Refined sugar – 1 ½ cups (you can also use powdered sugar as it will dissolve fast)

All-purpose flour – 2 cups

Shortening – 1 cup

Fresh buttermilk – 1 cup

Cocoa powder – 4 tablespoons

Baking powder – 2 tablespoons

Grated cooking chocolate – ½ cup

Eggs – 2

Mixed fruit essence – ½ teaspoon

 

Triple_layer_chocolate_cake

Frosting ingredients: 

Dark and white cooking chocolate – 2 cups

Icing sugar – 3 cups

Butter at room temperature – 425 grams

Vanilla essence – 4 drops

 

To prepare the cake: 

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Take two 9 inch baking pans and grease them with a little butter.

Break the eggs into a deep bowl, then add the shortening and use an electric blender to blend them together until the mix becomes fluffy.

Add the butter to the mix and beat some more so that the butter is well mixed.

Pour the buttermilk and the mixed fruit essence in the mix and beat the batter well to get a frothy white liquid.

Add the grated cooking chocolate to the mix and fold in the batter.

Add the cocoa powder and baking powder. Blend this mix using an electric mixer at medium speed.

Now add the flour to the mix, one tablespoon at a time, and beat at medium speed until the flour is completely mixed with the batter.

Mix the baking powder into the batter.

Pour the batter into the greased baking pans and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

 

To prepare the frosting: 

Melt the butter and chocolate over a double boiler.

Remove from the heat and cool before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Add the icing sugar and vanilla essence and mix well to get a mix of spreading consistency.

 

Once the cake has cooled down and the frosting is ready, all you have to do is assemble it: 

Spread a layer of frosting on the top of one cake.

Stack the second cake on top of the first cake.

Cover all the sides of the cake with a thick layer of the remaining chocolate frosting.

Let the cake set in the fridge for 2 hours before serving.

 

First Birthday Chocolate Cake Recipe for Your Little Angel

Birthdays are always special for everybody. Your child’s first birthday and first birthday cake recipes are always extra special and to make it even more special, here is a simple chocolate cake recipe that can be prepared at home and make you the star mom of the party.

 

What you will need for the cake:

 

1 cup of cocoa powder

2 cups of boiling water

1 cup of unsalted butter at room temperature

2 ½ cups of refined sugar

4 eggs

2 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour

2 ¼ tablespoons of baking soda

A pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

 

To prepare the cake:

 

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

 

Add the cocoa powder to the boiling water and mix well. You can also use dry cocoa powder, but by mixing it with water it gives a better color.

In a bowl, place the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) and mix well. Set aside.

 

Break the eggs in a large deep bowl and using the whisk attachment in a blender, whisk the eggs until fluffy.

 

Add the sugar to the mix and whisk for 3 more minutes.

 

Add butter to the mix and blend well.

 

Next, add the cocoa powder and water mix.

 

Blend well until the sugar is dissolved.

 

Now add the vanilla extract (you can also use any of the other essences).

Lastly, add the dry ingredients to the prepared mix and blend well until there are no lumps and you get a smooth batter of dropping consistency.

 

Pour in a shaped baking tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes.

 

At the end of the baking time, take the cake out of the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.

 

First_birtday_cake_recipes

While the cake is cooling you can prepare the chocolate frosting using:

 

Semisweet chocolate chips – 1packet

Half and half cream – ½ cup

Soft unsalted butter – ¾ cup

Icing sugar – 2 ½ cups

Mixed fruit  jam

Piping bag

Edible silver balls for decoration

 

To prepare the frosting:

 

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and butter.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cream and icing sugar.

Whisk well to a spreading consistency.

 

Assembling the cake:

 

Cut the cake in the middle horizontally.

Place the bottom layer on the cake stand and spread a layer of frosting over it.

Place the second layer over it and cover the cake with frosting on all sides.

Put some mixed fruit jam in the piping bag and decorate the sides of the cake.

Sprinkle some edible silver balls over the cake and let it cool in the fridge for some time before serving.

Healthy Carrot Cake Recipe for Dessert

Instead of the regular cake or pudding for dessert, try the following healthy carrot cake recipe. Carrot cakes are not only very delicious to eat, but also very healthy. This carrot cake recipe ismade of figs and carrots, which are good for digestion.

 Shopping list:

 

Wheat flour – 100 grams

Cake flour – 100 grams

Baking soda – 5 grams

Baking powder – 5 grams

Fresh carrots – 400 grams

Brown sugar – 330 grams

Molasses – 10 grams

Vegetable oil – 56 ml

Cinnamon powder – 2 grams

Eggs – 2

Orange – 1

Lemon – 1

Poppy seeds – 5 grams

Dried figs – 5 grams

Salt – a pinch

Chopped pecans – 20 grams

Raisins – 20 grams

Carrot_cake_recipe

To prepare:

 

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

 

Break the eggs in a deep bowl, add the sugar and whisk until fluffy.

 

Add the vegetable oil (¼ cup) to the mix and whisk well.

 

Now add the molasses and salt and continue whisking until it is mixed properly.

 

Peel and grate the carrots. Take 2 cups of grated carrots and add to the prepared mix.

 

Squeeze the orange and grate the orange zest. Add to the mix.

 

Take 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and add to the mix.

 

Chop and add the raisins, dried figs, pecans and poppy seeds to the mix.

 

In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder.

 

Fold the flour mix into the cake batter, spoon by spoon, and mix well. There should be no lumps in the mix.

 

Let the mix rest for some time.

In the meantime, grease a 9 inch baking tin of the shape of your choice and dust some cake flour on the insides.

 

Pour the cake batter in the baking tin.

Bake in the oven for 1½ hours.

Insert a skewer in the middle of the cake to check if it is done. If the skewer comes out clean, then your cake is ready to serve.

 

Let it cool for 30 minutes and cut in slices.

 

You can store this healthy carrot cake for up to two weeks as the vegetable oil will keep it moist.

 To serve:

 

Glaze the cake with hot chocolate sauce to serve.

You can also serve it with black sesame ice cream.

Cream cheese frosting is one of the most preferred ways to serve carrot cake.

The cake is quite dense and heavy; therefore, when serving to children cut the cake in thin fingers.

 

 

Healthy Carrot Cake Recipe for Dessert

Instead of the regular cake or pudding for dessert, try the following healthy carrot cake recipe. Carrot cakes are not only very delicious to eat, but also very healthy. This carrot cake recipe is made of figs and carrots, which are good for digestion.

 Shopping list:

  

Wheat flour – 100 grams

Cake flour – 100 grams

Baking soda – 5 grams

Baking powder – 5 grams

Fresh carrots – 400 grams

Brown sugar – 330 grams

Molasses – 10 grams

Vegetable oil – 56 ml

Cinnamon powder – 2 grams

Eggs – 2

Orange – 1

Lemon – 1

Poppy seeds – 5 grams

Dried figs – 5 grams

Salt – a pinch

Chopped pecans – 20 grams

Raisins – 20 grams

Carrot_cake_recipe

 To prepare:

  

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

 

Break the eggs in a deep bowl, add the sugar and whisk until fluffy.

 

Add the vegetable oil (¼ cup) to the mix and whisk well.

 

Now add the molasses and salt and continue whisking until it is mixed properly.

 

Peel and grate the carrots. Take 2 cups of grated carrots and add to the prepared mix.

 

Squeeze the orange and grate the orange zest. Add to the mix.

 

Take 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and add to the mix.

 

Chop and add the raisins, dried figs, pecans and poppy seeds to the mix.

 

In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder.

 

Fold the flour mix into the cake batter, spoon by spoon, and mix well. There should be no lumps in the mix.

 

Let the mix rest for some time.

In the meantime, grease a 9 inch baking tin of the shape of your choice and dust some cake flour on the insides.

 

Pour the cake batter in the baking tin.

Bake in the oven for 1½ hours.


Insert a skewer in the middle of the cake to check if it is done. If the skewer comes out clean, then your cake is ready to serve.

 

Let it cool for 30 minutes and cut in slices.

 

You can store this healthy carrot cake for up to two weeks as the vegetable oil will keep it moist.

 To serve:

 

Glaze the cake with hot chocolate sauce to serve.

You can also serve it with black sesame ice cream.

Cream cheese frosting is one of the most preferred ways to serve carrot cake.

The cake is quite dense and heavy; therefore, when serving to children cut the cake in thin fingers.

 

 

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Chocolate Cake Recipe Made Easy

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There's something to be said for simplicity. In this age of technological breakthroughs, it's kind of refreshing to sit here and share a cake recipe that's been in my family for decades. My grandmother used to make this chocolate cake recipe and it's certainly a classic. This is a plain chocolate cake recipe, so feel free to dress it up if you like; but if you're looking for a solid foundation you can't get much better than this. Do not be alarmed when you see vinegar on the ingredient list—that is not a typo—it is an age old secret to making the very best chocolate cakes.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of granulated sugar
  • 3 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1/3 cup of cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp liquid vanilla
  • 2 tbsp of vinegar
  • 3/4 cup of vegetable oil
  • 2 cups of cold water 

Plain_chocolate_cake

Directions:

1.    First, preheat your oven to 350°F.

2.    Mix all of the dry ingredients together (sugar, flour, salt, cocoa powder and baking powder).

3.    Mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl (vanilla, vinegar, vegetable oil and cold water).

4.    Combine the contents of each bowl into one bowl.

5.    Mix everything together and ensure that it is evenly blended.

6.    Pour this mixture into a baking pan.

7.    Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.

 

If you ever get together with friends to watch old movies, try making this old-time recipe next time. It's sure to add to the atmosphere, and who doesn't love cake?

Traditional Red Velvet Cake Recipe from Scratch

The colorful history of red velvet cake recipe dates back to the 1940s. It is said that the recipe was actually discovered by accident when some vinegar fell into the cake batter, reacted with the cocoa in the cake, and gave a deep red color. Since then, many variations of the red velvet cake recipe from scratch have come up, but the traditional recipe is still very popular.

Ingredients:

  • All-purpose flour – 2 ½ cups
  • Refined sugar – 1 ½ cups
  • Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
  • Cocoa powder – 1 large teaspoon
  • Buttermilk – 1 cup (you can use shortening too, but the traditional recipe calls for buttermilk)
  • Vegetable oil – 1 ½ cups
  • Large eggs – 2 (at room temperature)
  • Red food coloring (use only good quality coloring) – 2 tablespoons
  • White distilled vinegar – 1 teaspoon
  • Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
  • Vegetable oil for greasing the pans
  • Three 9 inch cake pans


Preparation:

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  • Grease the cake pans and dust some flour on the insides.
  • Take the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks.
  • Place the egg yolks in a deep bowl and whisk them using a blender or a hand whisk.
  • Add the sugar to the egg yolks, whisk and set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, take the egg whites and whisk them until they fluff up and get to dropping consistency.
  • Add the red food coloring and whisk some more.
  • Now take the sugar and egg yolk mix and whisk some more.
  • Add the vegetable oil and mix until the sugar dissolves, then add the buttermilk and vinegar to make a batter.
  • In a separate bowl, mix the cocoa powder, flour and baking soda.
  • Add this mix to the batter and fold well.
  • Add vanilla essence/extract to the batter.
  • Now take the whisked egg whites and fold them gently in the batter. Do not mix too much otherwise the cake will lose its softness.
  • Pour the batter in the prepared cake pans.
  • Put the cake pans in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn them half way through for even cooking.

Insert a toothpick in the center of the cakes to check if they are done.
Let them cool slightly, then gently invert them on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Red_velvet_cake

Traditional cream cheese frosting:

Ingredients:

Cream cheese – 2 cups
Icing sugar – 4 cups
Unsalted butter – 1 cup
Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon

Preparation:

Mix the cream cheese, icing sugar and butter until it is light and fluffy and of spreading consistency. You can use a mixer, or mix by hand.
Add the vanilla extract.
The frosting is ready.

To assemble the cake:

  • Place one layer of the cake upside down on a plate and cover with the frosting.
  • Place the second layer over it and again spread some frosting using a flat spatula.
  • Place the final layer on top and cover all sides with the rest of the frosting.

Cool in the fridge for 2 hours to let the frosting set and your cake is ready to serve.