I'm Thirty... A Cake Recipe and *30 by 30* Report

Yesterday I turned 30! I am so excited to be starting a new decade and am looking forward to what my 30s bring! Of course, me turning 30 has been a big thing over the last year with my *30 by 30* list. Before I get to the recipe for this AMAZING cake (which my husband and 2 kiddos made... impressive, right?) let me talk about my project from the past year.

Last September I made a list of 30 foods I wanted to make by 30. Of course I was optimistic that I would be able to finish this list since I baked so much. Unfortunately I didn't take into account the amount of sweets I put on the list... making that many desserts (in addition to baking group requirements) was going to be difficult.

To add to that, about 7 weeks ago my husband and I decided we wanted to be a little healthier and we started eating clean (more lean proteins, fruits & veggies, whole grains, etc). We have always been relatively good eaters but I was no longer feeling good about our diet. We cut out the majority of sugar (we still have treats every now and then) and I feel so much better.

All that to say I didn't finish my list. I have 9 items left and I would love to make them at some point. But, starting out my 30s healthier was much more important than finishing this list. :) And, as you can see by this cake, sugar isn't banned from the house... we just have it less often.

My husband and kiddos made this cake for me and I LOVED it! It is super rich and just a small sliver is all you need. I was super impressed with their baking skills and I am grateful that they put so much effort into this cake.

Chocolate Cake with Nutella Filling & Peanut Butter Nutella Frosting
Cake from Kevin & Amanda's Recipes
Frosting from Foodie with Family
Cake:

1 box devils food cake mix
1 small package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mini chocolate chips
Filling:

Nutella, warmed in the microwave for easier spreading

Frosting:

 

1 stick butter, softened to room temperature

1/3 cup Nutella

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar

2-4 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

For the cake:

 

Preheat oven to 350. Mix everything (except chocolate chips). Batter will be thick. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into greased cake pans (I used 9" rounds) and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool while you prepare the frosting.

 

For the frosting:

 

Mix butter, Nutella, and peanut butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla and beat until smooth.

 

To assemble:

 

Layer cakes together with Nutella in the middle. Frost with frosting. Decorate as desired.

Anya's Apple Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I made this cake with my 6 year old for a special treat. She requested an apple cake and she wanted one with frosting. Most apple cakes have a thin frosting or a glaze but I know my girl... she needed A LOT of frosting.

I came up with this combination and I must say that my little girl was VERY pleased. It was a fantastic cake and it will be made again and again. I hope you'll give it a try... it is delicious!

Anya's Apple Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Gourmet.com

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2cupsunsweetened applesauce
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 pan.

 

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla  until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined. Fold in apples.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes.

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

Beat cream cheese and butter until combined. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake

Before I get to this wonderful cake, I wanted to apologize for my absence this month. The first week or so of the year, I was a little sugared out from the holidays. Then we were out of town for a bit for a family emergency. I hope I can make up it up to you with this slice of heaven. :)

I first saw this cake on Michelle's wonderful blog, Flourchild. Really, can you go wrong with chocolate chips in a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting?

This is a cross between a cake and a brownie. Moist and delicious and chocolatey. The only change I made was with the frosting. I have been using THIS RECIPE for the last two years and it is my go-to chocolate frosting. A-MAZ-ING!

Enjoy!


Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake

1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 squares(1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 tsps vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter milk
2 cups(2 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. ADD chocolate and vanilla;mix well.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with butter milk. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour into three greased and floured 9- inch round cake pans (I used two deep 8" pans). Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks and cool.

Frost with desired frosting.

SMS: Sweet Almond Cake and a Goodbye

I was VERY excited for this cake because it contains three of my favorite things... Almonds, lemon curd, and mascarpone. The cake itself contains ground almonds and I must say, I LOVED the cake. The layers are filled with homemade lemon curd and then the entire cake is frosted with a mascarpone frosting. Overall it was a great cake and I am glad I made it!

Thanks to Katie of Katiecakes for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

Now for the sad part of this post... This will be my final SMS post. I have so enjoyed baking along with this group over the past 15 months but I am unable to give 100% to the group anymore. Even with cutting back to 2 TWD and 2 SMS recipes a month and scaling back the recipes (sometimes to an 8th of the recipe!), it is just too many sweets.

On top of all of that, I still have my Daring Baker commitment and my CIA homeschool list. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time to bake everything I want to bake or enough mouths to eat it all!

I still look forward to checking out what the SMS bakers are creating and thanks for a great ride!

Daring Bakers: Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

I was so excited when I saw the July Daring Baker Challenge. I have been making so much ice cream this summer and was happy to have another use for it! The challenge was to make a swiss roll cake, two different ice creams, and hot fudge sauce. The cake slices are arranged in a bowl and then filled with the ice cream and fudge.When I saw the challenge, I immediately decided I would make a chocolate and peanut butter version. I used chocolate sponge cake and filled it with a peanut butter whipped cream frosting. I made a peanut butter ice cream and a vanilla ice cream.

I had two problems with this dessert....

#1- I wanted to eat it so badly that I didn't let it freeze long enough after the final layer was added. This is why it looks melted in the pictures (although it was also almost 100 the day I made it, so that may have contributed a bit!).

#2- It was so darn good that we ate it all in one sitting! Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it!) I cut the recipe in half, so we had a smaller cake.

The recipe was time consuming but 100% worth it and I will definately make this again and again. The flavor combinations are endless! My husband has already requested that I make it with my pumpkin roll this fall! Mmmmmm!

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.-

Peanut Butter Cream Frosting

2 cups whipping cream - divided use
1 (10-ounce) package peanut butter chips

In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup whipping cream and peanut butter chips and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chips melt and mixture is smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups whipping cream until stiff. Stir 1/3 of whipped cream into peanut butter mixture and then gently fold in remaining whipped cream.
Store frosted cake or cupcakes, covered, in the refrigerator.

Frosts and fills an 8 or 9-inch layer cake or 1 (13 x 9-inch) cake.

Eric's Birthday Party (Plus a FANTASTIC chocolate frosting recipe!)

My baby boy turned one on Friday! We celebrated his birthday on Saturday and it was so much fun that I had to share. Eric is the only boy in our group of friends and has spent his first year surrounded by girls. Because of this, Nathan came up with the great idea of having a "James Bond" party for Eric. We bought a tuxedo for Eric and all his girlfriends (plus his sister!) wore pretty dresses.

We had finger sandwiches (Cucumber, BLT, Tuna, and PB&J), veggies, cheese and crackers, and punch (Sherbet, 7-UP, and Hawaiian Punch). I also made chocolate cake with the BEST chocolate frosting ever. I got the recipe from Joy the Baker and LOVED it. (Recipe is at the bottom of post.) I also made tuxedo strawberries to top the cake. They were so cute and so delicious!

I have to thank my wonderful friend, Erica, for the pictures you see here. Also, thanks to Monica and Britteny for taking so many other great pics. Love you guys!

Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Recipe from Joy the Baker

1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup Ovaltine

Cream together butter, cocoa powder and salt. Butter mixture will be very thick. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add powdered sugar. Turn mixer on low and mix in powdered sugar while adding milk and vanilla extract. As the sugar incorporates, raise the speed of the mixer to beat the frosting. Beat until smooth. In a 2 cup measuring glass, stir together heavy cream and Ovaltine. Turn mixer speed to medium and pour cream mixture into frosting in a slow, steady stream, until you’ve reached your desired consistency. You may not need the full amount of Ovaltine and cream.