Guest Blogger: White Chocolate Mocha Cake By Andrew Walker

WHITE CHOCOLATE MOCHA CAKE


I was having a vanilla latte at Starbucks and was wondering what a white chocolate mocha cake would taste like. So, I stopped by my local store and picked up the ingredients to give it a try.

The White Chocolate Mocha Ganache was a little easier. Follow the recipe below. It is important that the ganache be allowed to cool completely. It will whip up light and fluffy fast. Refrigerate cake after it cools. This will help set the frosting.

The comments at the potluck I went to were positive. This cake will start out sweet and give an intense punch of coffee flavour at the end. Enjoy!




WHITE CHOCOLATE MOCHA GANACHE

½ heavy cream
12 oz. white chocolate, chopped
4 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp espresso powder

In small heavy saucepan, heat the cream just until it starts to simmer.
Add the white chocolate and slowly stir until chocolate is melted. Add butter and stir until butter melted.

Refrigerate until cold. Whip with wire whisk until fluffy and frost the cake.


ESPRESSO CAKE

1 pkg white cake mix
3 eggs
Water
Oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Tsp espresso powder.

Add egg whites AND yolks to the cake batter. Add the vanilla extract to the measuring cup and fill with water according to the package directions. Dissolve the espresso into the water/extract mixture. Bake according to the temperature but add a couple more minutes to the baking time because of the addition of the egg yolks. Cool cake completely before frosting.

Banana Cupcakes with Butterscotch Cream Cheese Frosting

This cupcake is sooooo yummy! Very rich banana flavor in a tender moist cake with a butterscotch flavored cream cheese frosting! If you like banana, you are going to go crazy for this cupcake... and it's also very easy to make! Save those over ripe bananas, just mash them up and add them to the batter. Only 17 minutes to bake, 20 min to cool, frost and you can be enoying one in no time!

Recipe

Banana Cupcake Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour or 1/2 cup all purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (that's what I use)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

14 cup sour cream

1 12 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 large bananas, peeled and mashed

1/2 chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Line 1 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners

Makes 12 cupcakes

In medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In large bowl of electric mixer or using hand mixer, beat butter and sugar. Add sour cream and the vanilla. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture and wet mixtures together until thoroughly combined. Add the bananas and walnuts, being careful to not overmix. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner 3/4 way full. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops turn golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the oven and let cool before frosting.

Butterscotch Frosting

Ingredients

6 oz cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

2 T unsalted butter

1/4 tsp salt

6 T butterscotch sauce, purchased or home made

In bowl of a standing mixer, combine room temperature cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and salt. Beat until smooth and creamy, 3-4 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add the Butterscotch sauce, 1 T at a time, mixing thoroughly. Chill frosting until it thickens to spreading consistency. I put mine in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Better Than Starbucks Blueberry Coffee Cake

Last summer Whitney ask me to find a blueberry coffee cake recipe just like the lowfat one she loves from Starbucks. I have finally found it! It's better than Starbucks! The best part is, with only 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of canola oil and 1 cup of yogurt, it comes in at 210 calories per piece! It's moist and yummy enough to serve for dessert, not just with your morning coffee! I think it would be fabulous with other fruit, such as raspberries or marionberries too.

Also, don't be tempted to exclude the pastry flour, it adds a tender crumb that is crucial to your finished product!

I made mine in a 9 inch square pan and baked it for 32 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 C all-purpose flour

1 C whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 T sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 C chopped walnuts

1/2 packed brown sugar

2T butter, at room temp

2T canola oil

2 large eggs

1tsp vanilla extract

1 C plain nonfat yogurt

1 to 1 1/2 C fresh of frozen blueberries, thawed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your 8 or 9 inch square pan with foil, leaving a 6" overhang on each side so you can lift it out of the pan. Spray foil with pam.

Wisk together the 2 flours, the baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, butter and oil until fluffy. Press out any lumps in the brown sugar with the back of a wooden spoon. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating until fully combined. Beat in the vanilla and yogurt. Add the flour mixture in 2 additions, stirring JUST until combined.

Spread 1/2 of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the nut mixture over the batter and top with the blueberries, gently pressing them into the batter. Spoon the rest of the batter into the pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the rest of nut mixture over the cake, pressing gently. Bake until a woodent toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly, take hold of foil "handles" remove from pan and let cool til room temp. Cut into 2" squares.

Pineapple Upside-down Cornmeal Cake Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 C whole milk

1 C course ground cornmeal

4 oz unsalted butter

8 oz dark brown sugar (1 cup)

6 slices canned pineapple in heavy syrup

6 marischino cherries (optional)

1/3 C chopped toasted pecans

3 T juice from pineapple

3 eggs

1 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 C sugar

1/2 C canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

In a microwave-proof dish, bring the milk to a boil and add the cornmeal. Stir and let soak at room temp for 30 minutes. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet (or springform pan wrapped in foil to prevent leakage). Once the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 5 min. Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully place 1 slice of pineapple in the center of the pan. Place the other 5 pieces around the center slice. Place the cherries in the center of the pineapple. Sprinkle the nuts evenly over the fruit. Drizzle pineapple juice over top.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt into medium bowl and whisk to combine.

In separate mixing bowl, whisk eggs. Add sugar to the eggs and whisk. Add the canola oil. Add the cornmeal mixture to the egg mixture and whisk. Add this to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Pour batter over the fruit in the skillet and bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 30 min. Set plate on top and quickly invert. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Mine was done in 35 min. and was a little brown on the edges and all bubbly! It was so delicious. Make sure you soak the cornmeal the entire 30 min so it's not too crunchy. Enjoy!

Coconut Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients:

3 sticks butter

2 cups sugar

5 extra large eggs, room temp

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp pure almond extract

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk

14 oz sweetened shredded coconut (7 oz for cupcake, 7 oz for decorating)

For the frosting:

1lb cream cheese at room temp

2 sticks butter, unsalted, at room temp

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 lbs confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix just until combined. Fold in 7 oz of the coconut.

Line muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached. Allow to cool for 15 min. Remove to a baking rack to cool completely.

Makes 18 - 20 cupcakes.

Make frosting. In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioner's sugar and mix until smooth. Frost each cupcake with a very generous amount of frosting. Decorate with coconut. You may toast coconut in a 325 degree oven for 5-8 minutes if you prefer. (stir it often)

Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Cake:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil
2 lrg eggs
1 12oz bag semisweet choc chips

Frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter
room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Position rack in cener of oven. Butter a 9" square baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. (I used an 8"pan and it was ok)
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger into medium bowl and set aside.
In a lrg bowl, using and electric mixer on med speed, beat the pumpkin, sugar, and oil until smooth, about a minute. Scrape side of bowl as necessary. Mix in the eggs one at a time until blended. On low speed, add the flour mix, mixing just until incoorporated. Mix in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Scrape the batter into the pan. Bake just until the top feels firm and toothpick inserted comes out clean, approx 40 min. (Mine took 36) Transfer cake to wire rack to cool for at least 20 min.
Run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto the wire rack. Remove the paper liner and let cake cool completely.

Make frosting:
Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese and vanilla until thoroughly blended and smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add the powdered sugar, mixing until smooth, about 1 min, then beat on medium speed for about a minute to lighten it up.
Frost the top of the cake. I garnished the top with shaved chocolate.
The cake can be refrigerated up to 3 days, just let stand at room temp an hour before serving.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting!

Well, my first individual baking project was a success. The pumpkin chocolate chip cake was not only delicious, but it was a huge hit with the rest of the family at Thanksgiving. And if anyone is looking for a quick, easy, and tasty cake to whip up in no time, I highly recommend this cake, especially in the fall/winter season.

I’m not too familiar with baking terminology, or frankly writing about cakes at all, but I’ll try my best. I thought the cake was very moist, especially in the middle, and the chocolate chips were plentiful and not too overpowering. I was disappointed in some things, however. The first time my friends and I made this cake, about a month ago, the chocolate chips almost formed a thick layer of chocolate in the middle; it was delicious, especially served warm. But this time, the chips mainly stayed solid, and the cake had to be served at room temp and not warm, because we didn’t want to melt the cream cheese frosting. So that was a bummer, but not too big of a deal. Secondly, I really wish I could’ve served the cake warm! But that would have been extremely difficult with the cream cheese frosting, so we had to compromise.

My favorite part about this cake, other than being extremely simple and quick (which is saying something, considering I am not an experienced baker) is the cream cheese frosting. It goes really well with the slight taste of pumpkin, the decadent chocolate chips, and the dense cake itself. I don’t think any other frosting would do.

When I was making the cake at my parents’ house, my mom said beforehand she didn’t want to help me. And she didn’t! I was so proud of her. But she did warn me that I should level the ingredients in the measuring cups, make sure the oven was ready to go, etc. And she got the ingredients for me, so I was extremely grateful.

Overall, I thought the process was a great experience. I am going to continue to look out for other simple and quick cakes, just like this one, and hopefully I can continue learning from the Cake Queen herself.

Happy Thanksgiving all!