OK, I’m posting two cake recipes in a row. And I know, some of you out there are not cake lovers. Well, I have a thing or two to say about that! You are missing out! Because a piece of truly good cake is one of the best desserts out there. Especially if you are serving quite a few people, or in the case of this cake, taking dessert to a friend’s home. Which is exactly what happened with this cake.

Our dear friends Paul and Vivianna were hosting a dinner for their oldest daughter who is moving to New York City. So, I offered to bring dessert. But before we drove to Seattle for the dinner party, Mr. C. had a gig in Anacortes. So, whatever dessert I brought had to be in the car, all by itself, for quite some time. Apparently, cake can be very resilient! No signs of trauma. No frosting out of place. Just a happy cake waiting to be loved. And loved it was by one and all.    

Now to be fair, this cake takes a bit of time to prepare. Why? Well, because there are three separate parts to assemble before this incredibly moist and delicious cake can be considered ready for presentation.

I found the original recipe on the grandbaby-cakes.com site (a wonderful site BTW). I did make one tiny change to the ingredient list that I felt was necessary. I added just a bit of espresso powder to the mix because rum and coffee make great partners.

Now, the original recipe only called for two parts; the cake itself and the rum syrup that is poured on the cake while it is still in the pan and still warm. But when it came time for me to ever so gently entice the cake out of the pan, my cake obviously didn’t want to leave its cozy confines. So, I had to frost the cake to cover up the missing bits. (Not the first time I’ve had trouble with bundt pans. But that’s a sad story for another time.) And frankly, I knew better. You leave a cake in the bundt pan and then pour a sweet, sticky syrup all over it, and of course the cake is going to stick to the pan! Duh! But I was prepared for the inevitable. Frosting has many amazing qualities. The first being that it tastes wonderful. The second being that it covers up a multitude of sins.  

So, I decided what this cake really needed was a rum-raison buttercream frosting. And that’s exactly what I prepared to cover my poor battered and bruised cake. No one knew that I had avoided a disaster. They just enjoyed the heck out of the cake. Yeah frosting!

So, when you decide this is the cake for you, prepare to cover the cake with frosting. Unless of course you are better at removing cakes from a bundt pan, but even then, frost the darn cake anyway. The frosting really adds a lot to the final enjoyment of this cake.

Well, that’s it for now. The political circus that is keeping me crazy seems to be getting even worse. But I refuse to cave. I am going to remain happy, find enjoyment in friends and family, music, reading good books, eating good food, and knowing that I am not alone. We are all in this together. And whether the good guys win, or the few who shall remain nameless with only their own interests at heart win, there isn’t really a darn thing I can do about it. But I have chosen to remain civil, to care about others, and to keep working on myself. I will not let the evil one or two win! These few horrid people are not going to take my joy away from me.

May you too stay happy, healthy, and positive. Cook good food. Tell people you love them. Make life as enjoyable for your family and friends as you can. Make a difference in someone’s life. Share your happiness with others. Care about others from the bottom of your heart. Be a civil person.

And as always, peace and love to all.

For the cake:

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

½ c. vegetable oil

1 sm. pkg. (3.4 oz.) vanilla instant pudding

¾ c. granulated sugar

¾ c. light brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. fine sea salt

½ tsp. espresso powder

2¼ c. cake flour, fluffed

4 lg. eggs, room temp.

1 T. pure vanilla extract

½ c. whole milk, room temp.

½ c. dark rum

Prepare a 12-inch Bundt pan by spraying liberally with nonstick baking spray.

In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine butter, oil, pudding mix, sugars, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder and beat on high for 3 minutes, until evenly mixed and fully hydrated.

Reduce speed and add flour in 2 additions and beat until thick and smooth.

Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each egg.

Add vanilla, milk, and rum, and mix until smooth. Batter will be thinnish.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Give the pan a firm yet gentle tap on the counter. (This little jiggle helps release any trapped air bubbles, ensuring your cake comes out super smooth.)

Bake in a pre-heated 325-degree oven until golden brown and cake starts pulling away from the edge of the pan, about 50 minutes. Or until the internal temperature reaches 200-degrees.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the Rum Butter Syrup.

For the Rum Butter Syrup:

¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter

¼ c. water

1 c. granulated sugar

⅓ c. white rum

pinch fine sea salt

Combine all the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat and cook until the mixture thickens and reduces, for about 11 minutes.

After the cake has been out of the oven for 15 minutes, using a skewer, poke holes all over the surface. (The cake is still in the pan.) Slowly drizzle the syrup all over the bottom of the cake, allowing it to soak up all the yummy syrup.

Cover and let sit for at least 2 hours to allow the syrup to fully soak into the cake before turning it out onto a cake plate. (Don’t worry if the cake doesn’t come out of the pan as nicely as you would like. Not to worry. You’re going to frost and cake anyway. And frosting hides a multitude of sins! Or divots!

Store the cake in an airtight container.

For the Rum-Raisin Buttercream Frosting:

⅓ c. golden raisins

2-3 T. spiced rum

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

1½ c. powdered sugar

pinch ground cinnamon

pinch sea salt

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Place the raisins in a very small saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons of the spiced rum. Bring to a low simmer, remove from heat, and allow to cool completely.

Beat the butter until soft and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat until creamy. Add more spiced rum if the frosting is too thick.

In May of 2013 I made an Italian Cream Cake (I changed the name to Italian Dream Cake) for a JazzVox concert. It was so very delicious that I decided to make the same cake for our 111^th JazzVox home concert this past Sunday. But when I went to look up my recipe on this site, I realized it started with a cake mix. Now, with all due respect to cake mixes, which I must admit are handy, I have made it my mission to make as much food as possible from scratch. And also, one of the considerations in my change from cake mixes to “from scratch” recipes is the fact that the ounces of cake mixes have significantly decreased over the last 30 years. Most standard cake mixes used to be around 18.25 ounces, but now typically range from 13 to 16 ounces per box, meaning manufacturers have reduced the size of their mixes by several ounces. And this reduction in the amount of flour in the cake mix, as well as the leavening agents, compared to liquid ingredients in the rest of your recipe with a cake mix as the base, might result in less than delightful results. But there is hope even if you plan to use a cake mix and your recipe calls for 1 cake mix and your recipe is over 20-30 years old.

I found this “upsizer” recipe on arkansasonline.com/news/2020/mar/11/upsizer-easy-fix-for-shrinking-boxed-ca/

Please note, this mix cannot be used in place of all the cake mix in a recipe as it doesn’t contain all of the ingredients. But if your original recipe called for a standard cake mix (18.25 oz.), you can still use a cake mix with fewer overall ounces, by adding a bit of cake mix “upsizer”.

Cake mix “upsizer” recipe:  

1½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour (see note)

1 c. granulated sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

Whisk all dry ingredients together and store the mixture in a glass jar or other airtight container. To use, measure 3 ounces or about 6 tablespoons and add to the boxed mix.

This recipe makes enough to extend 6 (15.25-ounce) boxes of cake mix.

Note: For a chocolate cake, reduce the flour to 1 cup PLUS 3 tablespoons and add 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.

I am providing you with this information because some of my favorite cake recipes on this site call for cake mix. And frankly, using a cake mix saves time, and in some cases, like with chocolate cake, it saves money. Chocolate cake mix can be cheaper than using expensive cocoa powder in a scratch cake. Just always add a small bit of espresso powder to the mix and the flavor will be outstanding. But back to the real reason for this post.

Italian Cream Cake isn’t Italian in the least. In fact, Italian Cream Cake is a classic Southern dessert that’s rich, moist, and irresistibly decadent. Despite its name, this cake isn’t from Italy! It features a tender coconut and pecan cake, frosted with a creamy cream cheese frosting with just a hint of almond flavoring.

So, if you want a cake that will knock the socks off whoever is lucky enough to be offered a piece, then this is the cake for you. And believe it or not, it’s very easy to make. So, do yourself and your family and friends a favor and make this for your next get-together. It is truly one of the best cakes I have ever tasted.

Well, that’s it for today. I am in recovery mode from having hosted a fantastic concert in our home last Sunday. It just doesn’t get any better than Janis Siegel (from Manhattan Transfer fame) on vocals and Jeremy Siskind (an American pianist, composer, and educator known for his innovative blending of jazz and classical music) on our Bösendorfer piano. The concert was truly fantastic. But this old gal was pretty burned out and in bed by 8:30 pm that evening. Mr. C., bless his heart, did 99% of the cleanup. When I got up the next morning, the kitchen was clean, and the last load of dishes was happily burbling away in the dishwasher.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. I am one truly lucky lady.

Peace and love to all.  

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. fine sea salt

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

2 c. granulated sugar

5 lg. eggs, separated

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. buttermilk

1 c. sweetened shredded coconut, plus more for garnish

1 c. lightly toasted chopped pecans, plus more for garnish

For the cake:

Lightly butter a 9×13-inch baking pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt together.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar together. Beat until light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks one at a time, making sure each yolk is fully incorporated before adding the next.

Stir in the vanilla extract.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Always begin and end with the dry ingredients to ensure the batter mixes evenly.

Once combined, fold in the shredded coconut and chopped pecans.

In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, spreading it evenly to ensure an even bake.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 25–30 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.  

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

1 pkg. (8 oz.) full fat cream cheese, room temp.

2 c. powdered sugar, or more as needed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. almond extract

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the room temperature butter and cream cheese together until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  

Gradually add the powdered sugar beating well after each addition.  

Addthe vanilla extract and almond extract.

Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy. If it’s too thick, you can add a splash of milk to adjust the consistency. If it’s too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.

Frost the cooled cake and decorate with coconut and pecans.

before the whipped cream is added

after the bourbon whipped cream slathered on top

So, when I heard that it was our good friends Tim and Phyllis’s 20^th wedding anniversary the day before they were coming here for dinner along with our other dear friends Jim and Margo, I decided a special dessert was in order. I mean really, an anniversary or celebration of any kind requires cake. And I know, some of you are not cake lovers. To that I say “hurray”, more for me!

Because in my estimation, a truly great cake is a taste treat that few actually experience. And yes, there are bakeries out there that turn out fabulous cakes. But you pay through your teeth for the privilege. That’s why I have always preached -BAKE CAKES AT HOME AND SPARE NO EXPENSE. Use quality ingredients and the cake will still cost you a fourth the price of one that comes from a bakery! And it will make your whole kitchen smell wonderful as it bakes. (OK, I am now stepping down from my high horse!)

Among the purchased cakes that are ridiculously expensive, ice cream cakes come in right at the top. And why I previously never thought to make an ice cream cake is right up there with why I wore a girdle in college when I weighed 128 pounds? (What was that all about?) Apparently, some things take longer than others to garner attention in the critical thinking area of my brain. Or at least that’s how I interpret my “aha moments”. But once a good idea resonates, it’s usually full steam ahead for me. (I did figure out a former politician the first time he appeared in my consciousness. So, I must give myself a pat on the back for intuiting that odious person correctly!) But, back to this recipe.

In all honesty, the ice cream cake I made the other evening was really tasty, but the brownie part was hard as a rock. I had tried a new brownie recipe (that sounded marvelous), but the reality was somewhere between tasty shoe leather and chocolate flavored drywall. (Not that I know anything about how shoe leather or drywall taste. But I have an excellent imagination.) So, I repurposed one of my cake-like brownie recipes to make this ice cream cake 100% fabulous.

So, the next time you need a special dessert, may I recommend this recipe. It does require a few steps, but the result is well worth the effort. And it must be prepared ahead, which is always great, especially when you are entertaining guests.

And you know what – even if you start with a brownie mix and store-bought caramel sauce, the ice cream cake will still be tastier and less expensive than if you bought one from an ice cream shop. Just please consider not using a ready-made whipped topping. One of the most widely used whipped topping is made of water, hydrogenated vegetable oil (including coconut and palm kernel oils), high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, skimmed milk, light cream (less than 2%), sodium caseinate, natural and artificial flavor, xanthan and guar gums, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, sodium polyphosphate, and beta carotene (as a coloring). (Yikes. Now, if that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what would?)  

So, I’ll leave you now to think about the difference between fresh from a cow heavy cream and a product that only resembles real whipped cream in that it is almost the same color.

On that sobering note, peace and love to all. (And I hope you enjoy this recipe.)

BOURBON CHOCOLATE BROWNIES  

1¼ c. granulated sugar   

¾ c.  (1½ sticks) unsalted butter

½ c. cocoa powder

¼ c. bourbon

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. fine sea salt

1/8 tsp. espresso powder, opt.

¾ c. whole milk

Grease and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray and enough parchment paper left on both ends of the pan to lift the baked brownie out of the pan.  

In a large glass mixing bowl, heat the sugar, butter, and cocoa powder in your microwave just until the butter melts.

Remove from microwave and whisk in the bourbon, eggs, and vanilla extract.   

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder together.   Add a small amount of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stir to combine, then add a small amount of the milk. Repeat until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 25-35 minutes or just until a wooden pick comes out clean in the center. Do not overbake.

Remove from the oven and cool for 20 minutes before lifting the brownie out of the pan to a wire rack. (don’t wash the pan.) Let the one big brownie cool completely before slicing it in half lengthwise. (Not easy but if it comes apart, no problem. You can “glue” it back together with ice cream.)

BOURBON CARAMEL SAUCE

1 c. packed brown sugar

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter

pinch sea salt

½ c. heavy cream

¼ c. bourbon

Whisk butter, brown sugar, and salt together over medium heat in a small heavy saucepan until brown sugar has dissolved completely. (This happens after the mixture comes to a boil and is allowed to burble for a couple of minutes or until it turns kind of shiny. Continue whisking the whole time the mixture is on the heat.) Remove from heat and gently whisk in the heavy cream and bourbon. Allow it to cool completely and store covered in your fridge.  

Can be made ahead and refrigerated.  

BOURBAN WHIPPED CREAM

1 c. heavy cream

1/3^rd of the Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Beat cream until stiff peaks form. Add the BCS and whip until well blended. Cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

PUT THE ICE CREAM CAKE TOGETHER

2-3 pints ice cream (I used Häagen-Dazs Bourbon Vanilla Bean Truffle ice cream)

Place one of the brownie halves back in the pan.  

Remove the ice cream from the freezer and let sit for a few minutes to soften a bit. Then spread as much or as little of the ice cream over the brownie in the pan as desired. Then spread evenly with 2/3rds of the cold Bourbon Caramel Sauce. Then top with the other brownie. Push down gently to “seat” the brownie.

Cover the pan and place in your freezer.

TO SERVE THE ICE CREAM CAKE

Remove the ice cream cake from the freezer. Slather on the Bourbon Whipped Cream and cut into reasonable sized pieces. (This ice cream cake is very rich. Cut accordingly.)

This past Sunday, we had our grandson Ivan up for dinner. I asked if there were any special requests. Without hesitation he answered the Chocolate Cherry Cake from my first cookbook. And since he had recently had a birthday, I decided a birthday cake would be absolutely perfect. So, instead of baking this cake in a bundt pan or a 9×13-inch cake pan, I used 2 (8-inch) square pans. One glass and 1 disposable aluminum that I could send home with him.

What a remarkable and wonderful young man he has become. We thoroughly enjoyed his company and can’t wait to spend more time with him. But I had to confess that this was not the original recipe from my cookbook. You can find that recipe using a cake mix under Chocolate Cherry Cake. Oh, and BTW, this recipe makes a much more delicious cake than when a cake mix is used. Go figure!   

Now, having made chocolate cherry cakes using a cake mix for more years than I care to disclose, I decided to go online and see if other bakers more qualified than I am to play mad scientist had come up with an alternative to using a packaged cake mix containing preservatives, artificial flavors, and more sugar than necessary. Another consideration being that some of the leading manufacturers have reduced their cake mixes from around 18 ounces to around 15 ounces. So, using a cake mix at this point is a bit iffy because the proportion of dry ingredients to wet ingredients has now been altered.

Unlike bread dough, where yeast is the leavening agent and you can more easily play fast and loose with additives or deletions, cake batter is a precise combination of ingredients. In fact, a cake recipe is a scientific formula in which the ingredients are combined in a certain way to form the cake’s structure.

So, to the internet I proceeded. And with my guardian angel firmly affixed to my right shoulder, I found this recipe on thesouthernladycooks.com site. Of course, I changed things up a bit, but the main recipe is straight off the site.

The only thing I still want to do is figure out how to make 21 ounces of cherry pie filling from scratch. So, when, and if I succeed, I will add that homemade version to this recipe.

Well, that’s it for today. The morning rain shower has gone elsewhere, and the sun is now shining. There are still clouds in the sky and over the mountains, but Port Susan Bay is blue and calm. The cats are taking their morning siestas, Mr. C. is reading, and I am doing what I love best. Typing up another recipe and sending all of you my best wishes for continued peace and love in your life.

For the cake:

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

1½ tsp. baking soda 

½ tsp. sea salt

¾ c. pure cocoa

1¼ c. granulated sugar

2 lg. eggs

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

1 (21-oz.) can cherry pie filling

In a large mixing bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and sugar together. Mix the eggs, melted butter, buttermilk, vanilla extract, almond extract, and cherry pie filling together in a separate mixing bowl. (I don’t use a mixer with this recipe.) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until all ingredients are wet. 

Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch cake pan. Or prepared bundt pan. Or two 8-inch pans.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 40-50 minutes or until a pick comes out clean. Don’t overbake.  

Remove from oven and let cake cool before frosting.

For the frosting:

¾ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. evaporated milk

3 T. unsalted butter

pinch salt

½ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chocolate chips of choice)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine sugar, milk, butter, and salt in pan on top of stove.  Bring to boil and cook for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add chocolate chips and vanilla.  Stir with spoon or whisk until chips are melted. Spread with an offset spatula evenly over cooled cake. Don’t doddle. This frosting sets up quickly.