White Chocolate Tiramisu Trifle

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1/2 cup hot brewed espresso or strong coffee
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur, such as Kahlúa
Two 8-ounce containers mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pint heavy cream
One 12- to 13-ounce store-bought vanilla angel food cake
One 1 1/2-ounce piece white chocolate

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, stir together the espresso and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in 1/4 cup water and the coffee liqueur.

2. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the mascarpone, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla at low speed. With the machine on, gradually pour in the cream, then turn the mixer up to medium speed and whip until thick and billowy but not stiff.

3. Invert the angel food cake onto a work surface. Using a large serrated knife, trim the brown crust off the top of the cake, then slice the cake horizontally into 3 layers. Place the widest layer cut side up in the bottom of a 7-inch-wide trifle bowl. Drizzle 1/4 cup of the coffee syrup evenly over the cake, then spoon 2 cups of the mascarpone mixture evenly on top. Finely grate one third of the white chocolate over the mascarpone. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 2 more layers. Cover the trifle and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

Comments:
I made this for our Christmas party. This was my first trifle attempt and I was excited! The angel food cake was a teensy bit too big for my trifle dish, but I made it work. I had some leftover mascarpone cream though. Darn... It turned out really well, I made it the day before and let it sit in the fridge overnight. It is so good!

Apple Upside-Down Cake

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
Topping:
Cooking spray
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices peeled Rome apples (about 2 large)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Cake:
5.3 ounces cake flour (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
3 large egg whites

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.

2. To prepare topping, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until sugar dissolves, stirring gently as needed to dissolve sugar evenly (about 3 minutes). Continue cooking for 4 minutes or until golden (do not stir). Immediately pour into prepared cake pan, tipping quickly to coat bottom of pan. Arrange apple slices in concentric circles in pan over the warm caramel. Sprinkle with nuts; set aside.

3. To prepare cake, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir with a whisk.

4. Combine 2/3 cup sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and vanilla to sugar mixture; beat until combined. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.

5. Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl. Beat egg whites with mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form using clean, dry beaters. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Spread batter over apples. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in pan for 5 minutes. Loosen edges of cake with a knife; invert cake onto a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Comments:
This cake is pretty easy to make. My caramel didn't turn out so great - not sure what happened there, but it worked. Kind of. You can see it crystallized and glumped together on the bottom of the pan (which is then the top of the cake.) Altogether, a good use of apples. The cake part is pretty good as well.

And of course it's really good with ice cream and caramel sauce too!

Cream Puff Cake

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
CRUST:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

FILLING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2-1/2 cups 2% milk
3 packages (3.3 ounces each) instant white chocolate or vanilla pudding mix
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:
In a large saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until smooth and shiny.

Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 400° for 22-26 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For filling, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, milk and pudding mixes until smooth. Spread over the crust; refrigerate for 20 minutes. Spread with whipped topping. Chill until serving.

Comments:
Doesn't this look delicious?



And it is. The crust is light, the filling is creamy and sweet. Amazingly just like a cream puff. The prep is pretty easy, although the stirring with the eggs almost made my arm fall off. This is why I don't bake... But this kind of success almost makes it worth the effort.

Better Than Sex Cake

From one of my co-workers. It's a lot like this recipe.



Ingredients:
1 box German chocolate cake mix
1 (12 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12.25 oz) jar caramel topping
1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 (2.1oz) Heath bars, coarsely chopped

Directions:
1. Bake cake in a 13 x 9 pan as directed. Cool cake for 5 minutes. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke several holes in cake.

2. Drizzle milk evenly over top of cake; let stand until milk has been absorbed into cake. Drizzle with caramel topping. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cover and cool completely.

3. Spread whipped topping over top of cake. Sprinkle with toffee chips. Store covered in refrigerator.

Comments:
One of the ladies at work brought this in last week. I don't particularly like caramel or toffee so I took home a piece for Adam instead. He LOVED it and insisted I get the recipe and make it immediately. So I did. The one thing he said was the wooden spoon makes holes that are too big. Maybe next time I'll use a fork instead. Other than that, a success.

Strawberries 'n' Cream Cake

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups plus 6 tablespoons sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
3 cups flour
2 pints strawberries, hulled
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 pint heavy cream

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a large rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment that extends an inch above the rim on all sides. Grease the parchment and set aside.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and 2 cups sugar at high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally, until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the baking powder, vanilla, baking soda and salt at medium speed. Add half each of the buttermilk and flour and mix at low speed just until smooth. Repeat with the remaining buttermilk and flour.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a large rack to cool, then invert and discard the parchment.

4. Chop half the berries and place in a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons sugar, the cornstarch and lemon juice, simmering over low heat. Cook, stirring often, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

5. Using an electric mixer, whisk the mascarpone with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar on low speed, then add the cream until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and whisk until stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes.

6. Using a serrated knife, cut the cake crosswise into thirds. Set 1 layer on a serving platter and spread half the strawberry puree on top, followed by 1 1/2 cups frosting. set the second layer on top of the frosting and press lightly into place. Spread the remaining puree on top, then another 1 1/2 cups frosting. Place the third layer on top and press lightly. Coat with the remaining frosting. Slice the remaining berries and scatter on top.

Comments:
This cake was one I could do alright with. It's not supposed to look all pretty, so I can handle that. The execution was fairly simple. I think I might have over-beaten the frosting, but that happens. It still tasted just fine.

Toasted Butter Pecan Cake

From Taste of Home February/March 2008



Ingredients:
butter
chopped pecans
sugar
eggs
vanilla
flour
baking powder
salt
milk
cream cheese
confectioners' sugar

Comments:
I don't usually bake anything more complicated than drop cookies. But Adam spotted this in the magazine and so I tried to make it. It's fairly basic and simple until you get to the whole frosting thing. I don't have a turn table and I couldn't remember where I'd put my lazy susan since it didn't fit in the cabinets so I ended up just using the cake container. I also didn't have a spatula so I used a butter knife. Gah. I admit it wasn't the best result, you can totally tell the cake layers slid out of alignment, and I could have used some more frosting between the layers. Oh well. It still tasted just fine. Perhaps I'll invest in some more appropriate cake-making supplies before my next attempt.