Category Archives: PATTI CAKES

CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE

KAHLÚA BUNDT CAKE

In my opinion there are only two types of people in this world; those who love chocolate and those who don’t. I base this statement on the fact that about 99.8% of my acquaintances would never think to utter the phrase “can take chocolate or leave it”! My friends either really love chocolate, or don’t like it at all. No middle ground or ambiguity whatsoever. In fact, some of my friends take their love of chocolate so seriously that they don’t even consider eating a sweet unless it contains chocolate. (Yes Christine, I am referring to you!)

But within the group that love chocolate (most people I know), there are the people who love dark chocolate and the darker the better. Then there are those, like myself, who prefer milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate lovingly surrounded by other ingredients. (Think chocolate chip cookies or mint chip ice cream.)

But one of the recipes I make, that every chocolate lover I know can agree upon, is this Kahlúa Cake. It has the richness associated with dark chocolate without the bitterness. (At least my taste buds associate dark chocolate with bitterness.) And the best part, this is one of the easiest cakes you will ever bake. Just a few ingredients and no frosting, whipped cream, ice cream or even a sprinkling of powdered sugar required. In fact, any of these toppings/additions detract from the flavor of the cake rather than act as an enhancement.

So next time your sweet tooth (the one dipped in chocolate) acts up, give it what it wants. I guarantee that with just one small piece of this cake, your brain will release so many lovely little endorphins that you will feel as happy as someone who has simultaneously lost 10 pounds and won the lottery! And what could be better than that?

1 chocolate cake mix (non pudding added variety)
1 small pkg. (3.9-oz.) instant chocolate pudding
1 pt. (2 cups) sour cream
¾ c. vegetable oil
4 eggs, room temperature
1/3 c. Kahlúa
6 oz. mini chocolate chips (use regular if you don’t have mini chips on hand)

Beat cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and Kahlúa together for about 5 minutes. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into a well greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Don’t over bake. Let sit for about 10 minutes then turn cake out onto a cooling rack or directly onto a cake plate. Allow cake to cool before serving.

EGGNOG BUNDT CAKE

And yes I know Christmas has come and gone, but I am still going to post some recipes that I prepared this year for Christmas and/or New Year’s Eve that I thought were worthy of your discerning taste buds. And this cake is one of them.

This recipe came to me via my daughter Paula. It was called Eggnog Bread. But I thought it would work better as a cake, so hence the name change. But whatever you choose to call this delicious baked good, you are sure to be pleased. It is moist and very delicious and just perfect for the holidays. As you can see in my yet another not-so-perfect picture, I dressed the cake up with a little bit of holly from our yard. (Twas for the holidays, after all!) And I know, food photography is never going to win me any awards. All my food pictures look like they were taken by a maladjusted monkey. Just think of viewing my efforts at photography as the price you have to pay to sign on to my site. (At least you don’t have to work your way through advertisements for acid reflux or hemorrhoid preparations to get to my recipes.)

On that happy note, Happy New Year everyone!

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ c. eggnog
¼ c. melted butter, cooled to room temperature
2 T. spiced rum
¾ c. powdered sugar
milk

Place the cake mix, nutmeg, eggs, eggnog, butter, and spiced rum in a mixing bowl and beat for about 4 minutes. Pour into a Bundt pan that has been lightly buttered and floured. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the top comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and gently remove to a cake plate or cooling rack. When completely cool, drizzle with frosting. To make the frosting, whisk together the powdered sugar and enough milk to bring the drizzle to desired consistency. (It should pour, but not be so runny that it completely oozes off the cake.) Let drizzle/frosting harden before serving the cake.

AMARETTO BUNDT CAKE

I just realized that there isn’t a commonly used word for a person like myself who loves all things Italian! Francophile is universally used to describe people who love all things French. And Anglophile is the name associated with people who love all things English. So why in the name of al dente fettuccine isn’t everyone using Italophile to describe a person like myself? (I know some of you already have a name for people like me, but that name doesn’t relate to a passion for Italy.) But really, think how unfair it is that “Italophile” is not in the common vernacular! I mean come on, who doesn’t think, (at least those who have visited France, England and Italy) that Tuscany isn’t just about as perfect as any place in either France or England? Or who wouldn’t want to spend 6 months living in a small pensione in any one of the 5 tiny villages that constitute the Cinque Terra in Italy as much as they would want to spend time on the English coast or on the French Riviera? And who doesn’t think that Italian food is certainly the equal of, if not even more delicious than French cuisine? (I’m not even going to mention English food in this discussion!) I mean truly, if you want to consider food in this equation at all, Italian food would win hands down. All anyone has to do is go to the yellow pages under Italian, French, or English restaurants to determine that Italian restaurants are far and away the most popular of the three.

So back to my original supposition – I truly believe that the word “Italophile” should become a part of our common vocabulary and trip easily and frequently off of our tongues. I know I am going to start using it in conversation. People will think me strange at first, but every person who uses an unfamiliar term has to be prepared to suffer a few slings and arrows to get their point across. Of course after it catches on, and everyone is using Italophile in every other sentence, someone else will take the credit for its popularity. But you will know who it was that really started the craze. You can even tell your friends you were there at the very beginning. After all, if someone can make “dude” a household word, then a word as sophisticated and trendy as “Italophile” should be easy. Spread the word my friends, spread the word!

Oh and by the way, the recipe attached is really wonderful. It is every Italophiles dream of how a cake should taste. Buon Appetito!

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
4 eggs, room temperature
1 (3 ½-oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
3 T. + ½ c. Amaretto liqueur, divided
½ c. water
½ c. vegetable oil
¼ tsp. almond extract
1 c. sifted powdered sugar

Combine cake mix, eggs, pudding mix, 3 T. Amaretto, water, oil, and almond extract in a mixer bowl. Beat on medium low speed for 5 minutes. Spoon batter into a buttered and floured 10-inch Bundt pan. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. Do not over-bake. Meanwhile whisk together the remaining ½ cup Amaretto and powdered sugar. Set aside. After cake has been removed from the oven and is still hot and still in the pan, poke holes all over with a toothpick. Pour the Amaretto icing into the holes and all over what will become the bottom of the cake. Allow to cool for 2 hours before gently removing from pan to a cake plate.

CINNAMON NUT COFFEE CAKE

I never really liked coffee cake as a kid or as a young adult because I found the cake part way too dry and the topping way too sweet. So for many years I never even attempted to make one myself because I assumed (you know what that makes me!) mine would turn out the same. (During all that time I had watched other people buy coffee cake with their morning coffee, but I just thought they were folks who were clueless.)

Well I was in a hurry last Friday but still wanted to bring a little treat for our BlueStreet Jazz Voices Saturday morning rehearsal. So I thought about coffee cake. I went on line searching under “coffee cake made with cake mix”. I found a veritable plethora (love that word) of recipes from which to choose. They all looked easy, so I picked one and made a few changes. As it turns out, I’m the only one who was clueless! The coffee cake turned out to be moist and delicious and the filling/topping delightful and not overly sweet. And it could not have been easier to prepare.

So if I were still gainfully employed, this would definitely be a treat I would bring my fellow staff members to brighten their day. I can just picture the smiles on their faces when I showed up some dreary winter Monday morning with one of these babies in hand. You know, working for a large financial institution (or any large corporation, for that matter) can have its rather dull moments. I know that shocks you, but it’s true. But something as simple as a homemade coffee cake sitting on the counter near the coffee pot can truly lift people’s spirits. It’s just a nice way of bringing a little of the comfort of home to the sterile environment of the office. In the immortal words of the now middle aged Pillsbury Dough Boy – “nothin’ says lovin’ like somethin’ from the oven”. (You know, it’s pretty darn scary when you find yourself quoting a man shaped marshmallow wearing a chef’s hat! But basically, that’s exactly how I feel!)

Enjoy the recipe.

1 (18.25-oz.) pkg. yellow cake mix
1 (5.1-oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix (that’s the large package of instant pudding)
½ tsp. instant espresso, opt. (I use Medaglia D’oro)
4 eggs, room temperature
1 c. water
1 c. vegetable oil
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

In the bowl of your mixer, combine the cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, and espresso powder. Add the eggs, oil, and water; beat for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in another bowl stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts. Pour just under half of the batter into a buttered 10×16-inch pan (glass is best). Spread evenly. Sprinkle with half of the brown sugar mixture. Carefully spread the rest of the batter evenly over the filling. Sprinkle with the remaining nut mixture. Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven (glass) or 350 degree oven (metal) for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the cake comes out clean. Do not over-bake. Allow to cool completely before serving. Best made the day before.

ITALIAN DREAM CAKE

So for years I have been seeing recipes for Italian Dream Cake. Years! (And yes I know it’s actually Italian Cream Cake, but once you have eaten a piece of this fabulous creation, I bet you won’t argue with my new name for this Italian classis dessert!) So like I said, I’ve been looking at recipes for this cake for years. And yet I never gave any of them a try until our last JazzVox concert. (I was planning an Italian food theme and needed more than one dessert. So in addition to one of my favorite Italian inspired cakes, Amaretto Bundt Cake (recipe to be posted in the near future), I decided to serve this cake using a recipe I found who knows how long ago. I made a few minor variations of course, but the basic easy to prepare bones of the recipe remain. All I can say is – WHY IN THE NAME OF ALL THINGS TUSCAN DID I WAIT SO BLOODY LONG TO MAKE THIS CAKE? It is incredibly delicious and almost embarrassingly easy to prepare. So do yourself a favor and don’t wait like I did. Make this cake for your next gathering and impress the pickles out of your family and friends. Or take it to work one day. Just don’t be surprised if your co-workers start begging you to “bring THAT cake” again and again. Some recipes should just plain come with warning labels. This is one of those recipes.

Warning: Will trigger adoration! Will inspire devotion! Will lead to more baking! Be prepared!

1 white cake mix
1 (3½-oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
¾ c. half & half
¾ c. water
4 lg. eggs, room temperature
½ c. vegetable oil
1¼ c. chopped pecans, lightly toasted, divided
3½ c. flaked coconut, divided
3 T. unsalted butter, room temp.
6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
¼ tsp. vanilla
1 T. heavy cream or more
2½ c. powdered sugar or more

In the bowl of your mixer, combine the cake mix, vanilla pudding, half & half, water, eggs and oil. Beat for 3 minutes at medium speed. Fold in 1 cup of the pecans and 2 cups of the coconut. Pour the batter into a lightly buttered 9 x 13-inch pan (glass is best). Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven (glass pan) or 350 degree oven (metal pan) for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Do not over-bake. Allow to cool completely before frosting. While cake cools, toast the remaining 1 ½ cups of coconut. Set aside.

In a medium sized mixer bowl, thoroughly cream the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and enough cream to make a smooth spreading consistency. (You may need to add more cream or powdered sugar to get the right consistency for you.) Frost the cake and sprinkle with toasted coconut and remaining ¼ cup pecans. Refrigerate until about an hour or two before you plan to serve. Don’t even think of serving with ice cream or whipped cream. Absolutely not necessary and would detract from the cake itself. You simply don’t want to do that!

FLOURLESS ORANGE CHOCOLATE CAKE (GÂTEAU AU CHOCOLAT)

As promised, this is another one of my favorite gluten free recipes. I make this cake every time I want an easy and absolutely decadent dessert. And I have yet to make it without someone (usually one of the guys) following me around like a puppy begging for more. They’ll usually even clean the bottom of the pan and the cake plate for me just to be able to scrape off the last few morsels. (I love it when someone else does the cleanup.) So if you want an easy and gluten free dessert, give this little darling a try. You will not be disappointed.

Speaking of disappointed, I know there are those of you out there that begin or end each day by reading my blog. (Don’t be ashamed, we all have our guilty little secrets.) So it is with mixed feelings that I tell you that this is the time of year I begin enjoying outdoor adventures and travel time with Mr. C. (Mixed feelings because I love to travel and spend quality time with Mr. C. and family, and I love to write on a daily basis. Sometimes they are just mutually exclusive.)

In other words, during late spring, summer and early fall, I won’t be writing up sparkling introductions and fantastic recipes for your edification as frequently as I have been these past 4 months. But don’t panic! Sit down, take a deep breath and get yourself under control! (And by-the-way, the old paper bag trick to stop simple hyperventilation actually does work!) Instead of almost daily, I will be posting entries when time and WiFi permit. (Sometimes we take our trailer way off grid. And when we go to Italy this fall, you can bet your best bottle of Chianti that I won’t be thinking about the blog at all!)

But come late fall and winter, when you too are back from vacations and have more time to read and digest (literally and figuratively) more recipes, we will once again begin our daily double routine. Me behind the computer, you in front!

But for now, I wish each and every one of you a happy late spring and a fantastic summer. And special thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I love writing it and hope it brings you cooking inspiration and every once in awhile a little chuckle to brighten your day. Now, where did I leave the keys to the trailer?

1 lb. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. butter
¼ c. + 2 tsp. Cointreau or other orange flavored liqueur
1 tsp. vanilla
7 lg. eggs, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 pint whipping cream
¼ c. powdered sugar
zest of 1 orange

Combine chocolate chips and butter in a heavy saucepan and heat until chocolate melted. Remove from heat and add the ¼ cup Cointreau and vanilla. Set aside and cool to lukewarm. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar together for about 6 minutes or until mixture is thick and pale yellow. Ribbons should form when beaters are lifted. Slowly pour the melted chocolate mixture into the beaten eggs and pour into a buttered 9-inch spring-form pan that has been fitted with an aluminum foil leakage guard bottom. (I usually cut a circle of aluminum foil about an inch in circumference larger than my pan. Then I place the pan on the foil and fold the foil up the sides to prevent batter leakage. As further protection from run away melted butter escaping to the floor of my oven, I place the whole thing on a rimmed baking sheet.) Place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes (don’t use convection if at all possible) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool for 5 minutes. Gently press down edges of cake with your fingers. Cool completely in pan. Then, run knife down edges to loosen cake. Remove sides of pan and set cake, bottom of pan and all, on cake plate. When ready to serve, whip cream to stiff peaks. Whip in powdered sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons of Cointreau. Dollop whipped cream on each thin slice serving and sprinkle with a tad bit of orange zest.

APPLE CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

This is probably the best and easiest apple cake recipe imaginable. I received the basic bones of this recipe from my dear friend Linda’s mother Rhoda. Rhoda told me the cake was OK served the same day but was absolutely sensational after it had been frozen. I sometimes bake wedding cakes for relatives and friends and always freeze them until the day they are to be served. But until Rhoda told me about freezing this particular cake, I hadn’t really thought about why some cakes are actually moister after having been frozen. Since vegetables and fruit are built of cells containing cytoplasm (the clear liquid that fills the cells), when frozen, water expansion causes the cell membranes to rupture. This creates a distinctly different texture. In essence, plant cells lose any remaining crispness that may have remained after having been exposed to heat during the baking process. (I’m no chemist, so this is a very rudimentary, and hopefully accurate explanation.) Bottom line: I would never dream of serving any cake containing fruit or veggie matter without first letting it spend a bit of quality time in my freezer. Same goes for quick breads such as Banana or Zucchini. The difference is simply that remarkable.

Please note: There are two recipes for cream cheese frosting below

Cake:

4 c. grated apples
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
½ c. vegetable oil
1 c. chopped nuts
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt

Combine apples, sugars, oil, nuts, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk together the flour cinnamon, soda, and salt. Add to apple mixture. Pour into a greased and floured 9 X 13-inch pan. (A glass pan is best.) Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven (for glass) or 350 degree oven (for metal) for 40-45 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into middle of cake comes out clean. Cool completely, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and freeze for at least 2 days. Defrost and spread with frosting. *Decorate with chopped nuts. Serve at room temperature.

*I always decorate a cake with nuts if there are nuts in the cake itself. You never know when someone might be allergic. So if there are nuts on top, no one has to wonder. Many people don’t like to cause a fuss, and having nuts so in evidence, nothing has to be said to the hostess except no thank you!

Regular Cream Cheese Frosting:

½ c. butter, room temperature
8-oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar
½ c. chopped nuts, decoration

Cream butter and cream cheese together until well blended. Add vanilla and enough powdered sugar to make a firm but not too stiff consistency. Beat until smooth and easy to spread.

Spiced and Spiked Cream Cheese Frosting:

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
pinch salt
2 T. brown sugar
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. vanilla
1½ T. liqueur – Calvados (apple flavored brandy) or regular brandy
1 lb. powdered sugar, more or less

Beat the butter, cream cheese, salt, and brown sugar together until creamy. Mix in the cinnamon, vanilla, and Calvados. Add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

SOUR CREAM POPPY SEED CAKE

I love cake! Now I know you are thinking to yourself – “I knew there was something strange about that woman”! But before you cast me aside like an old Teflon pan, please hear me out. (Perhaps I should have started with I love good cake.) I have found that there is a huge problem in America today. (You’re shocked, I know!) Many Americans have forgotten how truly delicious cake can be. (I blame this on corporate America. Too many truly retched products calling themselves “cake” served at office birthday parties. Makes me itch just thinking about it.) So I have decided to make it my mission to return cake to its rightful place as one of the best desserts to serve an afternoon guest or to end a meal. And this recipe should go a long way towards helping me attain my goal. Sour Cream Poppy Seed Cake is quick and easy to prepare (seven ingredients, all of which are refrigerator or pantry staples), has an incredibly moist and tender texture, and the flavor is beyond delicious. So if you are one of those disillusioned souls who have lost their love for a truly good cake, please give this recipe a try. And next time you are handed a piece of store bought birthday cake at work (usually white, with raspberry filling, and thick white Crisco icing), graciously decline. If pressure is applied, take a piece, thank the person, turn around and walk out of the room. Remember, garbage cans were invented for this very reason!

½ c. (1 stick) butter, melted
1 c. sour cream (light is fine)
4 eggs, room temperature
½ c. cream sherry (I like Paul Masson Golden Cream Sherry)
1/3 c. poppy seeds
1 (18 1/2-oz.) pkg. vanilla or yellow cake mix (without pudding)
1 (3 ¾-oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding

Combine melted butter (slightly warm is fine), sour cream, eggs, cream sherry, and poppy seeds in the bowl of your mixer. Blend well. Add dry cake mix and vanilla pudding mix. Beat for a full 5 minutes on medium speed. Pour into a greased* and floured Bundt pan. Place in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for approximately 50 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the cake comes out clean. (Watch closely the last few minutes. You don’t want to over bake this cake.) Turn cake out onto a cake plate or cooling rack immediately. Excellent served slightly warm or at room temperature.

*In my opinion, Crisco works better than butter for greasing cake pans.

Additional baking tips: If at all possible, avoid using baking pans that are of a dark color. What happens with darker pans is that they conduct heat too well; the exterior of whatever you are baking (cake, cupcakes, cookies, etc.) often gets brown before the inside is fully cooked. If a dark finish pan is all you own, try lowering the oven temperature about 25 degrees and possibly increase the baking time. Dark cookie sheets? Try placing the cookies on parchment paper. Clear glass baking pans also conduct heat very well. So most of the time, if you are baking in clear glass, I also recommend that you reduce the baking temperature by 25 degrees. For perfect cookies, aluminum pans are my number one choice.

COCONUT LIME BUNDT CAKE

As is so often the case, I could envision a dish, in this case a coconut lime cake, but I didn’t want to take the time or trouble to invent one (I’m basically lazy you see). So being the little plagiarist that I am (thank you Tom Lehrer for teaching me this valuable life skill), I started with Lady Bird Johnson’s Lemon Bundt Cake recipe and made it my own! (Please note: If you are young or just never had the exceedingly good luck to stumble upon this incredible man/professor/musician, you can learn more about Tom Lehrer on the internet. And if you really want to know more about plagiarism, click on the “tom lehrer plagiarize youtube”. You won’t be sorry.) Let’s see, where was I? Oh yes – cake. Anyway, I tried a couple other versions before stumbling on this “piece de resistance”. The other two tries had the flavor I was after, but not the right consistency. When I saw this recipe I just knew it was going to be the right one for me. And if I do say so myself, and I do, the final product is absolutely wonderful. The addition of the toasted coconut and the substitution of lime for the lemon was nothing less than genius. (Have I mentioned my fears of being too modest?) And as for the drizzle, well, all I can say is that it is just the “frosting on the cake”! I know – boooooo!

A little history lesson: Lady Bird Johnson was a genius in her own right. Notably well educated for her time, she proved a capable manager and a shrewd investor. After marrying LBJ in 1934, when he was a political hopeful in Austin, Texas, she used a modest inheritance to bankroll his congressional campaign, and then ran his office while he was serving in the navy. Next, she bought a radio station and then a TV station, which would soon make them millionaires. As First Lady, she broke new ground by interacting directly with Congress, employing her own press secretary, and making a solo electioneering tour.

1 c. butter, room temperature
1 2/3 c. sugar
10 egg yolks, room temperature, lightly beaten
3 1/4 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract, divided
3 tsp. lime zest, divided (about 3 limes)
7 tsp. lime juice, divided
1 c. toasted coconut, divided
1 c. powdered sugar
3 T. heavy cream

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg yolks until incorporated. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternating with the milk, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until incorporated. Add 1 teaspoon of the vanilla, 2 teaspoons of the lime zest, 6 tablespoons of the lime juice, and ½ cup of the toasted coconut; beat for about 2 minutes. Spoon the batter into a lightly buttered and floured Bundt pan. Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate and let cool completely before drizzling cake with frosting and sprinkling with remaining toasted coconut. Meanwhile whisk together the powdered sugar, cream, remaining ½ teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon lime zest, and 1 teaspoon lime juice. Add more powdered sugar or cream if you prefer your frosting/drizzle thicker or thinner. Sprinkle with remaining toasted coconut. Allow frosting to harden before serving.

CHEZ CARR CUISINE

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