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The Cake Slice Bakers

Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

by 4 Comments

It’s February and already time for another Cake Slice Baker’s monthly cake selection from this year’s cookbook – Zoe Bakes Cakes. 

This month I chose the Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake and made them into cupcakes with Zoe’s Cream Cheese Frosting.

Six cupcakes with cream cheese frosting on a blue platter with the sun shining in a window behind them.

This recipe made tons o’ cupcakes – about 28 of them – and since it would take us months to eat that many cupcakes, I sent a dozen to my sister-in-law and will freeze most of the rest of them.  That’s a lot of cupcakes!

Zoe says in the intro that this is the best chocolate cake she’s ever made.  This cake is good, but I’m not sure it ranks tops for me.  Update:  several of the other Cake Slice Bakers made this and found it “outstanding.”  Let me know what you think!

The couple of tablespoons of brandy really stands out, but in a good way.  The texture was soft and good, but to me, it was missing a lot of chocolate flavor.  (Note:  the recipe calls for Dutch-processed cocoa and that may give it a more chocolate flavor – I used Hershey’s).

Top view of Devil's Food cupcakes on a blue cake stand.

Cream Cheese was one of the frostings recommended (as well a chocolate frosting in the book), so for something different, I made that. 

I halved the frosting recipe because it makes enough for a three layer cake or two 13×9″ cakes.  There was still a ton leftover even though I was very generous piling it on the cupcakes.

The texture of the frosting wasn’t what I was expecting.  It was a little gluey and surprisingly was not very sweet.

I ended up sprinkling sparkling sugar crystals on top of the frosting to make it a little sweeter.  And it made them a little prettier, too!

Devil's Food Cupcake with white frosting on a white plate. The cupcake paper is peeled half-way down to see the cake.

Would I make Zoe’s Chocolate Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting again?  Probably not.  There are too many other chocolate cake recipes that are better (I’ll list a few of them below).

Am I sorry I made them?  No.  I learn something every time I bake.  And I got to eat cupcakes!

Try These Great Chocolate Cake Recipes!

Six cupcakes with cream cheese frosting on a blue platter with the sun shining in a window behind them.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 28 cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Tender chocolate cake with a shot of brandy. Use your favorite cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/3 Cups All Purpose Flour (280 g)
  • 2 Cups granulated sugar (400 g)
  • 2/3 Cup cocoa powder (50 g)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/4 Cups hot, strong coffee (300 ml)
  • 2 tbsp rum or brandy
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 Cup buttermilk (240ml)
  • 1/2 Cup vegetable or canola oil (120 ml)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • For the Frosting:
  • 3/4 lb cream cheese, room temperature (240 g)
  • 3/4 Cups butter, room temperature (115 g)
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 3/4 Cups powdered sugar (300 g)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175C°. Place cupcake papers in two cupcake tins.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a small bowl, stir the coffee and brandy (I used brandy - use what you have or leave it out if you wish).
  4. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until combined.
  5. Pour the egg mixture and half of the coffee mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula/spoon just until smooth. Add the remaining coffee mixture and whisk until completely blended in and smooth. The batter will be rather thin.
  6. Pour the batter into the cupcake papers, about 2/3rds of the way full. Tap the tin gently on the counter to release air bubbles. (Not too hard or the cups will tilt.)
  7. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the cupcake tin halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and bake the next batch (not recommended to bake both tins at the same time). Leave the cupcakes in the tins for 5 or 6 minutes until slightly cooled, then cool completely on a wire rack.
  8. For the frosting: In a stand mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, beat the room temperature cream cheese on low speed until it's smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.
  9. Add the butter to the cream cheese and continue mixing until smooth, scraping when needed. Mix in the vanilla and lemon juice.
  10. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the powdered sugar and continue mixing until smooth. If the frosting is too thin to spread, you may want to refrigerate it until firmer.
  11. Generously frost the cupcakes (2 to 3 tbsp each). Store leftovers in the refrigerator (or give some to your neighbors!).

Notes

The original cake recipe calls for Dutch-processed cocoa powder. I used Hersheys regular cocoa.

The original frosting recipe calls for unsalted butter. I used salted.

The original frosting recipe has some optional ingredients: 1/8 tsp lemon extract; 2 tbsp Lyle's golden syrup.

The recipe card above has halved the frosting recipe measurements and l still had some left over after 28 cupcakes. Even if you make this in two 8" cake pans, you'll have more than enough with the recipe as noted.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 28 Serving Size: 1 cupcake
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 251Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 229mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 3g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Zoe Francois
Category: Cakes
 
 

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Zoë Bakes Cakes by Zoē François. 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 links 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 – Zoë Bakes Cakes – and our choices for February 2022 were ~

 

Chocolate Devils Food Cake

Black Forest Cake
Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Raspberry Charlotte Royale

  • Note: No group members choose this cake to bake

Toscakaka Torte (Swedish Sticky Caramel Almond Cake)

by 7 Comments

Toscakaka Torte

Toscakaka Torte is the last cake this year from the European Cake Cookbook. The Cake Slice Bakers group will be starting a new cake cookbook in January and I’m really looking forward to the change of pace. The European Cake Cookbook has had some good cake recipes, but there were a few that missed the mark for me.

Toscakaka Torte, a classic Swedish caramel almond torte, is on the really good list! The cake isn’t overly sweet even though you add dulce de leche to the batter (yum). It also has a great soft texture.

You pour the caramel over the top, it sinks down into the cake and creates the most amazing combination of caramel and cake. Toast the almonds and sprinkle them on top to finish the entire cake with a nutty crunch. Amazing.

Toscakaka Torte

I should’ve known when I chose a cake with kaka in the title that it wouldn’t go as smoothly as it should. The batter was a breeze to put together, but in the middle of baking my oven went out. Ack.

I finally figured out what switches flipped and got them flipped back, but lost track of how long the cake had been in the oven. I pulled on my big-girl baking championship contestant pants and used my best judgement (i.e., guessed). Luckily it turned out fine!

Toscakaka Torte

This Tascakaka Torte cake is wonderful. Tender caramel cake kind of like a sticky toffee cake with pockets of homemade caramel sauce, with those toasted almonds. It’s delicious.

Toscakaka Torte

Toscakaka Torte

Yield: 10 slices
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Wonderfully tender caramel cake with pockets of homemade caramel and topped with toasted almonds. Outstanding.

Ingredients

  • For The Cake:
  • 3/4 C butter, softened
  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 1/2 C dulce de leche or thick caramel sauce
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 C milk
  • 2 C flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • For Caramel Topping:
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1/4 C water
  • 1/2 C heavy cream
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 C sliced almonds for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 335°. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and spray the paper and side of the pan with baking spray.
  2. In a stand mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dulce de leche (or caramel) on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time and mix between additions. Lower the mixer speed again and add the vanilla and milk. Mix until totally combined.
  3. In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Remove the stand mixer bowl from the stand and use a sifter to sift the dry ingredients into the batter. Fold in the flour to the batter gently, just until incorporated.
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35 minutes (sides will be fairly baked, but the middle will be slightly under baked.)
  5. While the cake is baking, prepare the caramel. In a medium saucepan, put the water and sugar together and stir until combined. Turn the heat on medium and cook the syrup for 15 to 18 minutes, until it turns a rich amber color, about 350° on a candy thermometer. (Tip: only stir to combine the sugar and water before turning on the heat. Do not stir after the heat is applied or it may become grainy.)
  6. Remove the pan from the heat, then add the cream, butter, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until the butter melts completely and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes (it won't be a thick caramel). Set aside.
  7. Spread the sliced almonds onto a baking sheet and pop it in the oven for 5 minutes; remove the pan and set aside.
  8. After the cake has baked for the initial 35 minutes, remove it from the oven and poke deep holes all over the top if it with a fork. Pour the homemade caramel sauce over the top of the cake, smoothing it evenly to the edges. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds.
  9. Return the cake to the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it stand for about 10 minutes, allowing the caramel to cool slightly. Have your cake plate ready, then release the cake from the springform pan and slide onto your cake plate (don't forget to remove the parchment paper). Serve warm and cut with a serrated knife. Seal in an air-tight container.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Don't be tempted to use a 9" cake pan - the cake rises fairly high and it would overflow.

You can get Nestle's Dulce de leche in the grocery store right by the sweetened condensed milk.  Read the label carefully to make sure you're getting the right stuff.  If you can't find it, use thick caramel sauce as the recipe indicates.

The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of almond flour.  I don't like the texture of almond flour, so used 2 cups of all-purpose flour.

Watch the caramel while you're making it and don't stir it.  If it ends up with little sugar chunks, but is still caramely, just strain it through a strainer.  It'll be fine.  When you add the cream it will bubble up, so be careful.

Don't forget your almonds in the oven!!  Nothing worse than burned toasted almonds.  Yes, I did that.

If your cake is still too wiggly after the initial 35 minutes of baking, just leave it in for 5-7 minutes more before pouring the caramel on top of it.

The caramel may drip down the sides when you release the pan, so make sure to release it on top of a plate just in case.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 540Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 124mgSodium: 488mgCarbohydrates: 65gFiber: 1gSugar: 43gProtein: 8g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Tatyana Nesteruk
Category: Cakes
 
 

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

Amaretto Creme Cake (The Cake Slice Bakers)

by 10 Comments

Amaretto Cream Cake

Time for the May selection from The Cake Slice Bakers! It was between this Amaretto Creme Cake or a Lemon Lavender Blackberry Cake and because of ingredient procurement (mainly lavender oil and purple gel food coloring), I decided on the Amaretto Creme Cake.

Almond extract, almond flour, and amaretto are in this cake, so you definitely get that almond flavor! The author of The European Cake Cookbook, Tatyana Nesteruk, described this cake as “light as air,” but my cake ended up more like a flavorful almond pound cake. That’s not a bad thing – I just wasn’t expecting it.

Amaretto Cream Cake

This Amaretto Creme Cake is supposed to be six layers, but mine ended up being three layers. The layers baked up more thinly than anticipated and I was afraid they’d fall apart if I cut them in half.

Be prepared to use a lot of eggs in this cake (9!). It not a diet cake by any means. The layers are soaked with a cream/amaretto mixture, then slathered with a whipped cream/mascarpone frosting. A small piece goes a long way.

Amaretto Cream Cake

One thing I learned while making this cake is not to frost a cake with whipped cream frosting if the humidity is 100% and it’s 85 degrees in your kitchen (duh!).

The cake started doing a sideways slidey job and I had to refrigerate it several times during the process.

I like this cake, but not as much as some others I’ve made from this cookbook (like the marvelous Chocolate St. Honore cake). The cake is a little heavy to me, but the whipped cream with mascarpone is wonderful!

Amaretto Cream Cake

Amaretto Creme Cake

Yield: 10
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Pound cake-like texture with a wonderful whipped cream/mascarpone frosting.

Ingredients

  • 9 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 C sugar
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 C fine almond flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • Soaking Syrup
  • 1/3 C amaretto
  • 1/3 C cream
  • For Cream (frosting)
  • 3 C heavy cream, chilled
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 1 C mascarpone cheese, softened
  • 3 tbsp amaretto
  • sliced almonds for decoration

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper and do not grease the sides.
  2. Place the eggs, sugar and almond extract into a stand mixture bowl and whisk on high speed for 7 to 8 minutes until eggs are pale yellow and tripled in volume.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, and baking powder. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and sift the flour mixture into the egg mixture in three to four batches, folding gently, but thoroughly after each addition.
  4. Divide the batter evenly among the pans. Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is light brown. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for a few minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the cake to separate it from the pan. Cool completely.
  5. Once cooled, use a long, serrated knife to split each layer in half, creating six thin layers total.
  6. Prepare the amaretto syrup by combining the amaretto and the cream in a cup. Set aside.
  7. Prepare the mascarpone cream: place the chilled heavy cream and sugar into a stand mixture bowl and whisk on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, until soft peaks form.
  8. In a separate bowl, cream together the softened mascarpone and amaretto for 1 minute until smooth. Add the mascarpone mixture to the whipped cream and whisk again for 1 to 2 minutes, until stiff peaks form.
  9. Assemble the cake: brush each sponge cake layer generously with the prepared amaretto syrup, then frost each layer with a generous amount of cream. Frost the top and sides of the cake, then garnish with almonds if desired. Store leftover cake in the refrigerator.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

My cake layers were thin and I didn't want to try to slice the layers in half (thinking they would fall apart), so my cake was only three layers.

Be sure and mix the egg mixture for 7 to 8 minutes until tripled in volume - very important part of the recipe.

If your mascarpone and amaretto looks lumpy while mixing them together, place the bottom of the bowl in warm water.  This lumpiness can happen if your mascarpone is too cold.

I had tons of the whipped cream frosting left, so I recommend cutting the recipe for it by a third (2 cups of cream instead of 3, etc.).  

For easier coverage, after the initial frosting, put the cake in the refrigerator to set up a bit.  It will be easier to complete the frosting.  

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 755Total Fat: 52gSaturated Fat: 28gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 268mgSodium: 301mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 2gSugar: 44gProtein: 12g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Tatyana Nesteruk
Category: Cakes
Here’s the info on this month’s selections and members:

 
 

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 May 2019 were ~

Kladdkaka-Sticky Chocolate Cake
Lemon Lavender Blackberry Cake
Sirnek-Ukrainian Cherry Cheesecake
Amaretto Creme Cake
Kladdkaka-Sticky Chocolate Cake

Lemon Lavender Blackberry Cake

Amaretto Creme Cake

Sirnek-Ukrainian Cherry Cheesecake

Marbled Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake (#Cake Slice Bakers)

by 9 Comments

The April selections for The Cake Slice Bakers include this Marbled Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake from The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk.

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

The name of the cake is a little deceptive because the marbling is kind of lost when you combine and stir the chocolate and orange batters together. That’s OK, though. The cake is so very soft and spongy (in a good way) and the orange flavor is great.

I lost the chocolate flavor though, so finished the cake with a melted chocolate drizzle instead of the original recipe’s orange glaze.

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

This recipe is easy to throw together and because of the large amount of baking powder (4 teaspoons), it rises a lot.

If you use mini bundt pans, be sure and only fill them 2/3rds full or they’ll be big, fat and overflow-y. I had to cut off some of the excess on my little cakes after they were baked, which led to a nice cake-scrap snack.

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

We are enjoying this Marbled Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake recipe. I love how soft they are and like the subtle orange/chocolate flavor combination.

Be sure and visit the other Cake Slice Bakers to see their beautiful April bakes!

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

Marbled Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

Yield: 14
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Inactive Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours

Soft, spongy (in a good way!), moist cake that has a great orange flavor with a side of chocolate.

Ingredients

  • 1 C butter, softened
  • 1 C sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp orange extract
  • Zest from one orange
  • 1 C milk
  • 2 C all-purpose flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 C white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Glaze (I used a chocolate drizzle instead)*
  • 1/4 C heavy cream or milk
  • 1 C confectioners' sugar
  • zest from 1 orange

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 335°.  Spray a 9-inch bundt pan with baking spray or butter and flour the pan ( I used mini bundt pans and recommend buttering and flouring them because they tended to stick.)
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Turn mixer to low and add the vanilla, orange extract, orange zest, and milk and continue mixing. 
  3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Sift the dry ingredients into the batter and stir by hand until just combined.  Pour about half of the batter into another bowl.
  4. Melt the chocolate chips in separate bowls (microwave for 20 seconds, stir, 15 seconds more, then stir; then in 10 second increments until smooth).  Mix the white chocolate into one of the batter bowls and the semi-sweet chocolate into the other batter bowl.  Pour one of the halves into the other bowl and gently stir until just swirled.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake in the preheated oven.  For the 9" bundt pan, bake for 50-60 minutes (checking at 50 minutes) until a toothpick comes out clean.  If using smaller pans, bake for 30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes, then invert the cake onto a rack and cool completely.
  7. Make the orange glaze by combining the heavy cream/milk with the confectioners' sugar and orange zest.  Blend until smooth and add milk if you want a thinner consistency.  Drizzle glaze over the cake.
  8. * If using the chocolate drizzle, melt 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave as instructed above and drizzle over the cake.  Store in a cake cake container at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Next time I would use about 3/4 C sugar, as the cake is fairly sweet.

The original recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon of orange oil, but I used orange extract instead.

I used mini bundt pans and sprayed them very well with baking spray and they stuck when trying to turn them out.  I would use spray/flour or butter/flour next time.

Because of the amount of baking powder, the cake rises quite a bit.  If using mini bundt pans, only fill the pans about 2/3rds.  

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 14 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 404Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 374mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 1gSugar: 33gProtein: 6g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk
Category: Cakes
 
 

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 April 2019 were ~

1. Poppy Seed Smetanik
2. Rhubarb Strawberry Tea Cake
3. Opera Cake
4. Marbled Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

 

Poppy Seed Smetanik

Marbled Chocolate Orange Bundt

Rhubarb Strawberry Tea Cake 


 Opera Cake

Caramel Honey Cake

by 5 Comments

This month’s Cake Slice Bakers cake selection comes from The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk. I chose the Caramel Honey Cake because the photo of this six-layer cake looks challenging and I love caramel!

Caramel Honey Cake

There were challenges to overcome – definitely. The recipe calls for pecans in the cake as well as on the outside of the cake as decoration. I left those out because Bret can’t have pecans and also knowing it has almond flour in it, I didn’t want the pecans to give the cake an even more coarse texture.

The main challenge, though, is the six layers. My cakes didn’t seem thick enough after baked to cut horizontally in half, so I left the cake at three layers.

Now the frosting is another matter! This buttery frosting has a can of dulce de leche (thick, thick caramel) which gives it a wonderful caramel flavor. The silkiness of the frosting along with that deep caramel flavor is outstanding.

I had to slap Bret’s little fingers a few times when he kept dipping them into the frosting bowl. I really think the frosting is the highlight of this cake.

To me, this Caramel Honey Cake is like a cornmeal-like textured pound cake, which is actually better than it sounds. With the almond flour, I was kind of expecting that texture, but I was wishing it was a smoother and tighter crumb.

I would definitely make the frosting again! It will be great on cupcakes or a deep chocolate cake.

Although the cake sponge flavor is good, I probably won’t make it again just because I prefer a softer cake. That’s entirely subjective and many people prefer it. If you’d like a little bit of a challenge, make this cake and see what you think. Believe me, we’ll be forking it up to the last crumb.

Caramel Honey Cake

Caramel Honey Cake

Yield: 12 - 16
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 26 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 11 minutes

From The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk.  European-style, textured cake with a dreamy, creamy caramel frosting.

Ingredients

  • For The Cake
  • 9 large eggs
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 C honey
  • 2 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 C almond flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • For Soaking Syrup
  • 1/2 C sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 C heavy cream
  • For The Frosting
  • 2 C butter
  • 1 can dulce de leche
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 C powdered sugar
  • For The Drizzle
  • 4 squares Ghirardelli Bittersweet Baking Chocolate

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°.  Spray three 8-pinch round cake pans with cooking spray, then line each with parchment paper.
  2. To prepare the cake:  In a stand mixing bowl, add the eggs, sugar and vanilla with the whisk attachment and whisk on high for 5 minutes, until voluminous and pale in color.  Pour in the honey and whisk again for 1 minute.  
  3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, almond flour, and baking powder.  Remove the bowl from the stand and with a sifter, sift in the dry ingredients into the egg mixture about 1/3 cup at a time.  After each addition, fold the flour into the eggs, thoroughly combining between each addition.
  4. Divide the cake batter evenly among the three pans and bang the pans gently on the counter to release bubbles.  Bake in the preheated oven for 25-26 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and set.  Remove pans from the oven and run a sharp knife gently around the edges.  Remove the cakes, peel off the parchment paper, and cool on a rack until completely cooled.  
  5. While the cakes are cooling, combine the sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream in a small bowl and set aside.  
  6. For the frosting:  whisk the softened butter in a large stand mixing bowl for 3 to 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the dulce de leche and vanilla and mix again for a few minutes until completely combined, scraping as needed.  Add the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly until fluffy.
  7. If the cakes are thick enough (about 1"), take a serrated knife and slice each cake evenly horizontally.  To assemble the cake, put the first layer on a cake stand.  Take a pastry brush and generously brush the syrup onto the layer, then put a generous amount of frosting on the layer and smooth evenly.  Repeat with each layer, then complete by frosting the tops and sides of the cake.  
  8. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then in 10 second increments until smooth.  Put the melted chocolate into a baggie, snip the corner and drizzle the chocolate across the top of the cake (or drizzle with a spoon.  Refrigerate the cake unless you're serving it immediately.  Let the cake come to room temperature for 30-45 minutes before serving if refrigerated.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

This cake is supposed to be 6 thin layers, but I made mine 3 layers because they were thinner that I thought they should be and was afraid they'd just fall apart.  If you use 6 layers, be a little more frugal with the frosting.

The original recipe has 1 cup of chopped pecans stirred into the cake batter.  Use that if you wish, but I think it would make the texture rougher.

The recipe calls for unsalted butter, but I used salted butter and left out the called-for salt.

The garnish is up to you - I used chocolate drizzle, but the original used chopped pecans pressed into the sides as well as some wafer cookies stuck on top.  Whatever you think will look pretty.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 799Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 26gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 242mgSodium: 428mgCarbohydrates: 84gFiber: 3gSugar: 61gProtein: 11g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Tatyana Nesteruk
Category: Cakes