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Tiramisu Cake

We’ve re-imagined the classic tiramisu into a layer cake that is a surefire hit for any occasion. It has a lovely light texture from the sponge cake but maintains all the decadence and richness of the original dessert. This cake is perfect for a romantic dinner, dinner party or just when you’re craving a homemade dessert. It pairs wonderfully with our shrimp scampi recipe, and we hope you enjoy this recipe.

 

Ingredients:

For the cake:

4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 T butter, melted
1 T hot water
½ cup strongly brewed coffee or espresso, cooled
Cocoa powder for dusting

For the filling and frosting:

(2) 8oz containers of mascarpone, room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
⅔ cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt

 

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350℉.

Prepare two 8-inch cake pans by greasing them with butter or baking spray. Additionally, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper that’s been cut to fit the inside of the pan. Lightly coat the pan with flour, pouring out any excess flour. Set the pans aside.

In a large bowl, whip your eggs with a hand mixer on high speed until they’ve become foamy. This may take 2 to 3 minutes.

Gradually add your sugar a few tablespoons at a time while mixing on medium-high speed. Once you’ve added all your sugar, keep whipping the egg and sugar mixture until it falls off the whisk in a thick ribbon. It may take up to 20 minutes to reach this stage. When you’re done whipping the mixture, set it aside.

In a medium bowl, add your flour and baking powder. Sift them together twice.

Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and gently fold them in until they are just barely incorporated. Set the batter aside.

In a small bowl, add your melted butter, hot water, and vanilla extract. Stir them together until combined.

Add the butter mixture into your cake batter and stir until just combined.

Pour your cake batter into your prepared cake pans. Make sure the batter is evenly distributed between the pans.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Set your cakes on a cooling rack to cool.

While your cakes are cooling, you can prepare your coffee and filling.

Brew 1⁄2 cup of strong coffee or espresso. Set it in the refrigerator to cool while you prepare your filling.

In a medium bowl, add your mascarpone and a pinch of salt. Mix with a hand mixer on low speed until incorporated.

Pour in your heavy cream a little bit at a time and keep mixing until it’s combined with your mascarpone.

Fold in your powdered sugar by hand, or on a very low speed, then mix on medium speed to fully incorporate it into the filling. Set your filling aside.

You can now begin to assemble your cake.

Carefully remove your cakes from their cake pans, gently scraping them from the side of the pan with a butter knife. Flip them over and tap the bottom of the pan to release them.

Using a pastry brush, brush the cooled coffee or espresso onto the top of the cakes. Distribute the coffee evenly between the two cakes and make sure to completely coat the top of each cake.

Take ½ of your mascarpone filling and spread it evenly across the top of one cake layer, coffee-side up. You can do this using a butter knife or an off-set spatula.

Place your next cake layer on top of your mascarpone, coffee-side up.

Spread another layer of mascarpone evenly across the top of your cake. Make sure to leave a little bit to frost the outside of your cake when you’re done.

After your cake is assembled and frosted, dust cocoa powder on top using a sifter.

Once your cake is complete, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or enjoy immediately.

 

Peach Icebox Cake (Vegan)

Refreshing cold desserts are a great relief from the summer heat. This peach icebox cake can help you beat the heat and satisfy your sweet tooth. Using locally grown peaches and just a few ingredients from your pantry, this treat is simple to make and easy for everyone to enjoy.

Ingredients:

8 peaches
1 box vegan graham crackers
1 (15 oz) can of full-fat coconut milk

For the pudding:

Coconut milk + 2 T coconut cream
¼ cup sugar
½ T cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the whipped cream:

Coconut cream
¼ cup sugar
1 T vanilla extract
1 tsp cornstarch

 

Put your can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours before making your icebox cake. This will separate the coconut milk and coconut cream.

Peel, pit and slice your peaches. Set them aside.

Open your can of coconut milk. There will be a distinct layer of coconut cream at the top of the can. Scoop the coconut cream into a separate bowl and pour the coconut milk into a small pot. Take 2 tablespoons of the coconut cream and put it in the coconut milk, stirring to combine.

Set your coconut cream aside in the refrigerator.

Cook your pot of coconut milk over medium heat. Add the sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch to the pot. Whisk it constantly to dissolve the cornstarch and it thickens to pudding consistency. This will take 10-15 minutes.

Remove your coconut cream from the refrigerator to make your coconut whipped cream.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the coconut cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and cornstarch.

Whip the coconut cream using a hand mixer until soft peaks form.

Gather your coconut whipped cream, peaches, pudding, and graham crackers to assemble your cake.

In an 8×8 pan, add a layer of graham crackers to the bottom.

Pour your coconut pudding on top of the graham crackers.

Add a layer of peaches, saving some for the decoration on top.

Place another layer of graham crackers on top of the peaches.

Smooth the coconut cream on top of the graham crackers.

Top the cake with peaches and crumbled graham cracker pieces.

Refrigerate your icebox cake for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Enjoy!

 

Hummingbird Cake (Vegan)

Ring in spring with a delicious homemade hummingbird cake. This cake is sweet and moist with fruity flavors that get everyone excited for the warmer weather coming our way. It’s perfect for sharing or entertaining at any picnic or backdoor patio. On top of that, it just happens to be vegan so everyone can enjoy a slice of this scrumptious cake.

 

This cake is vegan and doesn’t call for many special ingredients. If you’re gluten-free, you can substitute the flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour. Additionally, if you have an allergy to walnuts or coconuts, these ingredients are easy to leave out. Omitting the pineapple and banana from this recipe will drastically change it’s flavor, so I don’t recommend removing these ingredients. If you’d like to boost the sweetness and fruity flavor of this cake, you can use applesauce instead of oil. However, the oil adds a richness to the cake and helps it bake more evenly. This cake is very moist and if you use applesauce, you may need to give the cake an extra 10 to 20 minutes to bake depending on the depth of your pan. To keep it from burning on top, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the cake after the standard baking time.

 

When baking this cake, you can use several different kinds of pans. I used a loaf pan for this recipe, but a round cake pan will work wonders as well. The batter makes enough to fit into two 6 inch cake pans, one 8 inch cake pan or a standard loaf pan. I recommend using a pan that is shallow when baking this cake. This cake is very moist and it will not bake evenly in a deep pan.

 

For the cake:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
1 cup brown sugar (¾ Cup if your bananas are extremely ripe)
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large bananas or 3 small bananas)
½ cup crushed pineapple or pineapple chunks
¼ cup pineapple juice
1 T vanilla extract
¼ cup neutral oil (or applesauce)
2 T apple cider vinegar

Optional:

⅓ Cup coarsely chopped pecans
⅓ Cup shredded coconut

 

For the frosting:

½ cup vegan cream cheese (vegan butter or vegetable shortening)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 T vanilla extract
2 T dairy-free milk

 

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375° and prepare a large loaf pan or another dish by greasing it with oil, vegan butter or lining it with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Mix them to combine.

Peel your bananas. Add them to a medium sized bowl and mash them until there are no lumps.

Add your sugar, pineapple juice, oil and vanilla into the medium bowl and mix until combined.

Add your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients.

Add your pecans and shredded coconut. Mix until combined. Be careful not to overmix and stop when the dough no longer has dry spots of flour visible.

Transfer the dough into your prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a fork inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Depending on the thickness of your pan, your cake may need longer. Shallower pans may only need 25 minutes while thicker pans may need up to 40 to 45 minutes.

When your cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 1 to 2 hours before icing it.

While you wait for the cake to cool, you can make your frosting.

In a large bowl, add your vegan cream cheese. You can also use vegan butter or vegetable shortening in this recipe.

Add your vanilla extract and dairy-free milk to the bowl.

With a hand mixer, mix the ingredients until they are combined.

Add your powdered sugar in batches and mix using the hand mixer on medium speed. This will ensure that you don’t throw a cloud of powdered sugar back onto yourself while mixing.

After all the sugar is incorporated, mix the frosting on high speed until it becomes smooth and fluffy, which may take about 2 to 3 minutes.

Place your frosting on your cooled cake however you’d like. You can use a piping bag, a knife or a spoon to decorate it.

Enjoy!

 

Angel Food Cake

This fluffy and delightfully sweet cake is a classic favorite. Angel food cake is wonderful all on its own or served with fruit and whipped cream, and this recipe makes plenty to go around for everyone. This cake has a reputation of being an intimidating bake, but we’ve made it easy to whip up at home with some tips and tricks. I hope you enjoy this scrumptious cake!

Make sure your egg whites are room temperature to get the best rise in your cake. Room temperature egg whites will whip up better than cold ones, which is important. There are no other leaveners, or ingredients to make this cake rise, besides the egg whites.

It is very important not to grease the pan you’re using for this cake. The batter must stick to the walls of the pan to help it rise and keep it from falling out of the pan in it’s cooling phase. You are also asked to turn the cake upside down while cooling. This will keep the cake from collapsing on itself and help it keep it’s rise while cooling.

This recipe will fill a tube pan, which is traditional for making angel food cake. It will also fill 2 loaf pans. Any pan you use must have tall walls to ensure that the cake can cool upside down. You can halve this recipe to fill one 1 loaf pan.

Ingredients:

1 Cup cake flour (see instructions below if you do not have cake flour)
1 ¼ Cup of sugar
¼ tsp salt
12 large egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cream of tarter

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350°

Separate your egg yolks from your egg whites, placing the egg whites and a large bowl. Set the egg whites aside to reach room temperature.

If you do not have cake flour, read these instructions to make your own. Take 1 Cup of all purpose flour and remove 2 T from the flour. Add 2 T cornstarch. Sift the flour and cornstarch together three times. This will serve as your cake flour for this recipe.

Sift your cake flour together with your sugar and salt into a medium sized bowl. Sift the dry mixture one more time to ensure it is fluffy and fine.

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat your egg whites until they are foamy, about 1 minute.

Add your cream of tarter and beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. If your egg whites are not forming soft peaks after 2 minutes, add another 1/8 tsp cream of tarter to help the peaks form.

Add your vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In 3 separate batches, slowly sift in your dry ingredients. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites carefully to avoid losing volume. Fold the mixture until you no longer see large streaks or patches of the dry ingredients in the egg whites.

Pour your batter into an ungreased pan and immediately place it in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is lightly brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Flip your cake upside down on a cooling rack and allow it to cool at room temperature for 1 hour.

To remove your cake from it’s pan, run along the sides of the pan with a butterknife. For pans without a removable bottom, lay the pan on its side and insert the butterknife into the side of the pan. Gently pull it towards you using the cake on the bottom of the pan with the knife. Alternate sides until the cake pulls away from the bottom and out of the pan.
Serve plain or with a side of fruit and whipped cream. Enjoy!