Lemon Supreme Bundt Cake

Lemon Supreme Bundt Cake

 From scratch is best. Fresh is a necessity.These are the rules I live by. Today, I broke my own rules. I opened some boxes and jars and made this wonderful Lemon Supreme Bundt Cake. I did this because I am not a great baker. But I am adventurous and willing to take chances. A few years ago I made a Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze. This cake is basically a twist on that cake. It is really pretty and so, so delicious!

If lemons aren’t your thing, you could use an orange cake mix, vanilla pudding and orange marmalade. Strawberry cake mix, vanilla or cheesecake pudding and strawberry jam would also make a lovely cake. You could really use any flavor combination as long as you maintain the exact same measures. You can also skip the filling.

Serves: 10-14 slices
Time:  Active time 10 minutes; Cook: 60-70 Minutes: Cooling time: varies-cake in a few hours
Hardware: Measuring spoons and cups, 2 mixing bowls, mixer, rubber spatulas, a 9x3 Bundt pan and a gallon plastic bag, a microwave safe bowl, foil, Optional-a rolling pin or sturdy coffee cup, a gallon plastic bag, a knife, or  citrus peeler

 

Ingredients:

• Flour/butter for the Bundt pan
• 1 box of lemon cake mix (15.25 ounces)- I used Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Lemon Supreme
• 1 package of lemon instant pudding (3.4 ounces) I used Jell-O Lemon
• ⅛ish teaspoon of salt (a little less)
• 1-16-ounce (pint) container of sour cream
• 3 large eggs
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 5 ounces of lemon curd-I used Dickinson’s

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• 16 ounces jar of frosting -I used Duncan Hines Creamy Lemon Supreme
• A little milk
• Optional: Lemon Cooler Cookies -I used Pepperidge farm Snowball Citrus Cookies
• Optional-a lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter and flour the pan. Set aside.
2. In one bowl, mix the sour cream, eggs, and oil until completely combined. Wash the beaters. 
3.   In the other bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding and salt.
4.  Add the wet to the dry and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the bowl. Make sure that no dry ingredients are on the bottom.  Beat on high speed for about 2 minutes. Allow the mix to rest for about 15 minutes. While the batter is resting, pour the lemon curd into one of the plastic bags.
5.  Spoon about ⅓ of the batter the into prepared pan. Snip a corner from the curd filled bag. Pipe the curd around the cake. Make sure to keep the curd in the middle of the cake, away from either edge. Spoon the rest of the cake mix on top of the curd and allow to settle. Cover the bundt pan in foil.
6. Place the cake into the oven on the middle rack, bake for about 60-70 minutes. Turn the cake about half-way through baking and remove the foil. You can insert a knife close to the edge and it should come out clean. However, you may hit the lemon curd and so this method isn’t full proof. Just know your oven and begin checking at about 55 minutes.
7.  Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes then cool it completely before frosting.
8. To make the glaze, place the frosting in a microwave proof bowl and add a little bit of milk. Microwave for 10 seconds and stir. If it isn’t the consistency you want, stir in a tiny bit more milk and microwave again. Do this until it is the consistency you want. If you get it too runny, you can add a little cream cheese or confectioners’ sugar.
9.  If you are using the cookies for decoration, place them into one of the plastic bags and crush them with the rolling pin or cup. Peel long strands of lemon peel. Pour the frosting over the cake and allow it to run down the sides. Sprinkle on the cookie crumbs and arrange the lemon peels on top of the cake.

 

Dark Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling

Dark Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling

I am learning to bake. Part of my process is starting with boxed cake mixes and then adding ingredients. Eventually. I will bake from scratch, but until then….

This is DELICIOUS. Trust me about the coffee. Even if you don’t like coffee, use it. You cannot taste the coffee, but it does enhance the flavor of the cake. You will have leftover frosting if you follow these directions. I dressed up the frosting, so that it would taste homemade.

A problem many people have when baking a cake is that they do not allow the cake to cool completely. I make my cakes the night before, cool them, wrap them in plastic wrap and then freeze them. I frost them frozen. It keeps them moist and stops the crumbs from smearing into the frosting.

Serves: This makes 2 -eight-inch cake layers

Time:   Active time for cake 10 minutes; Cook: 30-35 Minutes: Cooling time: varies

Active time for making frosting 5 minutes; frosting cake 20 minutes-cake in a few hours

Hardware: Measuring spoons and cups, 2 mixing bowls, a small bowl, hand mixer, rubber spatulas, a large spoon, 2- 8-inch cake pans, 1 small sauce pan, 2 plastic storage bags (Ziploc), a cake round or plate, a cooling rack, an offset spatula

Ingredients:

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix (15.25 ounces) I used Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate
• 1 package INSTANT pudding (3.6 ounces) I used Godiva Dark Chocolate
• 2 tablespoons freeze dried coffee
• 1 stick melted butter (½ cup)
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• ⅓ cup sour cream
• 4 eggs
• Flour/butter for the pans

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• 1 cup no seed, all fruit raspberry preserves -I used Bonne Maman
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ cup very cold water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

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• 2 sticks softened butter (1 cup)
• 2.5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 16 ounces of your favorite chocolate frosting
• Fresh raspberries (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter and flour the cake pans. Set aside. Put 2 sticks of butter into one of the mixing bowls to soften. Set that aside. Place the other stick of butter into the second mixing bowl and melt in the microwave.
2. Mix the milk, sour cream, and eggs into the melted butter until combined.
3. Mix in the pudding and coffee. Beat on medium for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl.
4. Mix in the cake mix on low speed for about 30 second and high speed for about 2 minutes, pausing to scrape down the bowl.
5. Pour the batter the into prepared pans and bake it, on the middle rack, for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.
6. Cool the cakes in the pans for about 10 minutes then cool them completely on the rack before frosting.
7. Mix the preserves and sugar together in the sauce pan over low heat. Allow it to come to a low boil. Mix the very cold water and cornstarch together and stir until the cornstarch dissolves. Stir the cornstarch-y water into the preserves. Stir. Boil for a minute or two remove from the heat and allow to cool. Set aside.
8. Mix the frosting, softened butter, vanilla and milk together. Mix on low until blended. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Chocolate Fence

9.   To frost the cake, place the raspberry filling into one of the plastic bags. Place about ⅓ cup of the frosting into the other. Snip a small corner from the chocolate filled bag. Place one of the cake layers onto the cake round. Then use the plastic bag to make a ½ inch tall ‘fence’ around the edge of the cake (see the picture.)   Then snip the edge of one corner of the bag holding the preserves. Fill in the ‘fenced in area.’ This holds in the filling and stops the top layer from sliding around. Spread around evenly, without going over the ‘fence.’ Carefully place the other layer on top. Then use the offset spatula to frost as usual. Garnish each slice with raspberries before serving.

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

I realize that I always rant about “real food” and the evils of processed food. I realize that I always encourage you to make everything from scratch. However, I’m about to give you a cake mix that involves boxes and bags and all manner of processes. But as the poet Walt Whitman said, “Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.)” We are allowed to take things back, if only for a while. 

 

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

So, you should eat real food and avoid processed food and make everything from scratch, after you make this delicious, moist cake with a dense crumb. Seriously, this cake was moist 5 days after I baked it. I made a Bundt cake in a silicone pan, so you might adjust your cooking times (probably less) if you use standard cake pans or make cupcakes.

Serves: This makes 2 cake layers, 24 cupcakes or a 10 cup Bundt cake

Time:  Active time 10 minutes; Cook: 30-35 Minutes: Cooling time: varies-cake in a few hours

Hardware: Measuring spoons and cups, 2 mixing bowls, mixer, rubber spatulas, a can opener, and a Bundt pan

Ingredients:

• 1 box of yellow cake mix (16.5 ounces) I used Duncan Hines Classic Yellow
• 1 package of caramel instant pudding (3.4 ounces) I used Jell-O Simply Good
• 1-15 ounce can of pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 3 jumbo eggs
• ⅓ cup water
• 1/3 cup oil
• Flour/butter for the Bundt pan 

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• 4 ounces cream cheese
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
• Optional: Candied ginger, Candied Maple Pecans

1.      Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour the pan. Set aside. Put the cream cheese out to soften.

2.      Mix the pumpkin, spices, eggs, water and oil until just combined.

3.      Mix in the pudding. Beat on medium for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl.

4.      Beat in the cake mix on low speed for about 30 seconds and high speed for about 2 minutes.

5.      Pour the batter the into prepared pan and bake it, on the middle rack, for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. I found that I need to bake it a little less because I was using a silicone pan. Just know your oven and check the cake after 20 minutes.

6.      Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then cool it completely before frosting.

7.      To make the frosting, mix together the softened cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Then add the milk, a little at a time, until it is the consistency you want. I used sliced candied ginger and Candied Maple Pecans for decoration.