Sweets & Dessert

Death by Chocolate Cake

Death by chocolate. What more can I say? This is the only chocolate cake recipe you will ever need. It is super moist and very chocolaty. This was my girls' go-to birthday cake request for as long as I can remember!

I have to give credit for this recipe to Ruth, my old co-worker, friend, and awesome baker. She would come over to our house once per month so we could bake something for the monthly birthday gatherings at work. And the girls will also remember Ruth bringing over awesome homemade gingerbread houses during the Christmas season!

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 eggs
• 1 box Chocolate Fudge super moist cake mix
• 1 small packet of chocolate fudge Jello instant pudding
• 1 12-oz package Giradelli chocolate chips

1. Mix water, oil, sour cream and eggs.
2. Mix together cake mix and instant pudding. Add to moist mixture.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Place in greased and floured bundt pan.
5. Bake for 1 hour at 325℉.

Let cool, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. You will find out that this cake does not need icing.

To convert to GF, simply use a GF cake mix box.

Banana Bundt Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I was introduced to this yummy banana cake by my friend Nancy. It is super moist and tasty. I have not yet tried the GF alternative, so if anyone tries it please let me know how it goes! And check out these vegan substitutes.

• 2 cups all purpose flour (check GF option below)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/4 cups light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 medium overripe bananas (mashed, about 1-1/4 cups)
• 1 cup sour cream (or yogurt, or dairy free sour cream)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, plus 1/4 cup for topping

Gluten Free Alternative for flour (or use GF 1-1 baking flour):

• 1-1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 1-1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Frosting Ingredients:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• About 2 TBSP milk, adjust as needed

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Generously grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter and then dust with flour. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again. Stir in the banana, and then add half of the dry ingredients. Stir until combined and then stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
4. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake about 40-45 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean or with crumbs. Note that Nancy suggested baking for only 35 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan and then invert on wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting:

1. Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Beat until fluffy, adding a tablespoon of milk and then an additional teaspoon at a time to reach the desired consistency.
2. Spoon the frosting over the completely cooled cake and sprinkle with remaining pecans. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Store covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Enjoy!

** Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I've used this carrot cake recipe for decades, and it's from a very worn hard-cover "Joy of Cooking" book. I really love carrot cake, probably because it always turns out moist and I love the cinnamon flavor.

Funny story about this cake. I worked at an Asian company for many years, where 90% of the employees were from China. Whenever I brought this cake to a potluck, the Chinese folk refused to eat it because it contained vegetables!! If I hadn't told them it was a carrot cake, they probably would have loved it.

This recipe is great as a GF cake, just replace the flour with a 1-1 GF flour. I've also added a DF option for the icing that tastes great.

• 1 cup all purpose flour (or 1-1 GF flour), sift before measuring!
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp double-acting baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups grated carrots

Icing Ingredients:

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 TBSP milk, adjust as needed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp grated orange rind

Icing ingredients for a dairy free option (makes a large quantity):

• 1/2 cup vegan butter (room temperature)
• 8 oz. vegan cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp grated orange rind (optional)

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325℉. Grease and flour an 8" square pan.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
3. Mix together the oil, sugar and eggs. Add to flour mixture, stirring well.
4. Add and blend in the nuts (optional) and carrots.
5. Bake for 45 minutes (check after 30 mins). I wiggle the pan to make sure the batter is not liquid, or check with a toothpick.

To make the icing:

1. Beat all ingredients except the powdered sugar and orange rind.
2. Beat in the sugar gradually. Adjust milk as needed to reach the desired consistency.
3. Add the orange rind.

Enjoy!

Jewish Apple Cake

I've had this recipe for a long time, and honestly don't remember where it came from so can't give anyone credit! In case you're wondering, a Jewish Apple Cake is "a dense cake made with apples". Unlike most American butter-based cakes, Jewish Apple Cake is made with vegetable oil, thus making it acceptable after a meat meal under the Jewish dietary laws that prohibit mixing meat and milk.

Layering the cake batter and the apples takes a little bit of finesse, so here are some tips. First, the batter will be fairly thick, so won't spread nicely into the pan. But don't bother to spread it out with a spatula since the batter will then stick to the spatula and things just get messier! Secondly, make each layer of batter very thin and the apple layer very generous, and don't worry about covering all of the apple. When in the oven, the batter will spread out and rise, so you will have much more cake than you initially might think.

I've made this cake gluten free by replacing the regular flour with 1:1 GF flour. The image shows the typical state of this cake: messy and mostly gone!

• 5-6 medium Granny Smith apples (7-8 cups), peeled and sliced
• 2 TBSP cinnamon
• 5 TBSP sugar


• 4 eggs
• 2-1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups flour (can also use any 1:1 GF flour)
• 1 TBSP baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease and flour a 10-12 cup Bundt pan.
2. Sprinkle the sliced apple with the cinnamon and sugar. Toss well to cover and set aside.
3. Combine the eggs and sugar. Add the wet ingredients followed by the dry ingredients. Mix well. The batter will be thick.
4. Alternate layers of batter and apples in the Bundt pan (see notes above).
5. Bake for 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours. Loosen from pan and remove to cool on a rack.
6. Since this cake is loaded with apple, thin slices will fall apart so indulge in a nice thick slice of cake!

Orange Marmalade Cake

It probably sounds strange to make a cake with marmalade. But from my perspective, I get hundreds of oranges from my trees each January, make dozens of jars of marmalade, and typically have leftover jars the following year. So I'm motivated to find ways to use up that old marmalade!!

So here is a yummy Bundt cake with a hint of orange. This is a dense cake, so won't rise as much as you might expect. But the marmalade makes it nice and moist, great served with a cup of coffee or tea!

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg


• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cups margarine, melted
• 2/3 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 3/4 cup orange marmalade

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, cloves and nutmeg in a bowl; set aside.
3. Stir together eggs, melted margarine, sugar, milk and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. Add flour mixture to egg mixture; mix until well blended. Stir in marmalade until combined. Pour batter into the prepared Bundt pan.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until cake springs back when lightly touched, 45-60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

GF note: I did try to make this with 1:1 Gluten Free flour, but found that the cake did not rise enough. It was tasty, but somewhat gooey. I suspect that the extra moisture from the marmalade was part of the problem. My good friend who was there to taste-test with me suggested that adding 1/2 cup extra flour and 1 tsp baking soda might help make it less dense. I'll let you all know once I give it a try!

** Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake

This is simple GF coffee cake with a yummy cinnamon crumb topping, and is quick and easy to make. This is also dairy free when using non-dairy milk and stick margarine instead of butter. It's important to use the gluten free 1-1 "measure-for measure" baking flour, otherwise you have to fiddle with adding xanthan or guar gum.

With the cranberries and the orange juice and zest, it's a great option for Christmas brunch!

For the cake:

• 2 cups gluten free 1-1 baking flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1.5 cups fresh cranberries


• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup stick margarine, softened
• 1 cup non-dairy milk
• 2 TBSP orange juice
• 2 TBSP orange zest

Crumb topping:

• 3/8 cup gluten free 1-1 baking flour
• 3/8 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 TBSP stick margarine, chilled

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. In a large bowl, mix the cake dry ingredients.
3. Add the cranberries to the dry mixture and mix until coated.
4. Combine the wet ingredients and whisk to blend. Add to the dry ingredients and mix gently. Do not use an electric mixer, since this will make your cake too dense.
5. Pour the cake mixture into an 8X8 baking dish. Let this sit while mixing up the crumb topping.
6. In a medium sized bowl, combine the topping ingredients. Use a pasty cutter to cut the margarine into the sugar mixture until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the cake batter.
7. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick into the middle of the cake comes out clean. If you see crumbs or batter, or the cake batter jiggles in the pan, bake a little longer!
8. Cool on a wire rack.

** Recipe adapted from fearlessdining.com