Recipe #35: Cornmeal Rosemary Cake with Lemon Glaze

Recipe #35: Cornmeal Rosemary Cake with Lemon Glaze

Posted by Unknown

I was very excited to make this recipe simply because it's cake and I love me some cake. There are fun ingredients in this like mascarpone, rosemary, and lemon zest. I followed the instructions carefully and slid the cake in the oven, set the time for 40 minutes and checked out the result. It appeared to be fully baked but when sticking the toothpick in there was still some batter clinging so I set the time for 5 minute increments until done. I let it rest and then inverted the cake twice.

Then, as instructed, I took a wooden skewer and poked a few dozen holes in the cake to allow for the lemon syrup to be evenly distributed. I noticed that I had been brushing the cake quite a bit with the syrup and yet there was still so much left and the middle of the cake was starting to sink. I focused on getting the syrup more on the outside edge of the cake and decided I could not possibly use up all of the syrup. I also checked the syrup recipe again just to make sure I had done things correctly and all looked good.

I moved onto the lemon fondant and started with blanching the rosemary leaves. Then I completed the rest of the recipe and poured the fondant over the top of the cake. It was very challenging for me to get the fondant to not pool in the middle of the cake since it was sunken in. I held the plate up that the cake was on and tilted it side to side in hopes the fondant might run over the sides of the cake a bit more but it wasn't working, the fondant was thickening up. I let the fondant dry and then cut into the cake.

The result: the outer edges of the cake were fine but the middle of the cake was pretty much mush and inedible. I also felt the rosemary that was in the fondant was not blanched enough. The flavors of the cake and the fondant together sure took my tastebuds for a wild ride - the lemon being sour and paired with the cornmeal rosemary cake was interesting. It wasn't my favorite recipe thus far but that said I do need to make it again so I can truly experience what it's meant to taste like.

For full recipe see page 291 in the Dahlia Bakery cookbook.

Recipe #34: Chocolate Heartland Bundt Cake with Chocolate Honey Glaze

Recipe #34: Chocolate Heartland Bundt Cake with Chocolate Honey Glaze

Posted by Unknown

I chose to make this recipe in celebration of my very first Mother's Day. There are lots of steps to this recipe and since I am not the best cake maker I made sure that my husband was taking care or our son so I didn't mess this thing up.

Here is a little tidbit that might blow your mind - there is a russet potato in this cake! Say what? I have never added a potato to a cake but it is the secret ingredient. The step I almost forget at the end was mixing in the cold water so pay close attention to step #6.

I added the mix to the bundt pan and crossed my fingers.

I baked for 65 minutes, check the cake, and it was absolutely perfect! I patiently waited the 15 minutes recommended to let the cake cool and then flipped it out of the bundt pan (this is always the scariest part). I poured the chocolate glaze over the cake (I placed the cake on a wire rack that had a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper underneath to catch all the extra glaze).

I then had to wait one full hour to set the glaze, it was torture, I think I even left the house so I wouldn't cut into it. The wait was well worth it - I savored every bite. It was moist, full of flavor, and was so good just on it's own. I wouldn't dare pair this with ice cream but I suppose you could for ultimate decadence.

My husband offered to make me breakfast for Mother's Day which was the following day after making this cake but I decided I would just indulge in a big slice - why not?

For full recipe see page 285 in the Dahlia Bakery Cookbook.

Recipe #30: Rustic Olive Oil Cake with Honey Syrup

Recipe #30: Rustic Olive Oil Cake with Honey Syrup

Posted by Unknown

I was in the mood for cake but I have had such bad luck with cake I decided to stay away from vanilla or chocolate and do something completely different to see if I could gain my confidence back in the cake department.

The best ingredient in this cake is Grand Marnier - always a treat to cook with a little alcohol. Other interesting ingredients included orange juice, lemon zest, olive oil (hence the title) and whole milk.

As always there are several steps that go into this recipe so get all your ingredients ready and follow each step carefully. The most crucial step is the cooking time. Tom suggests overbaking vs. underbaking which was a relief to me being that my oven typically takes quite a long time to bake things so I just kept it in there until I knew it was completely baked. Surprisingly, it ended up baking pretty much exactly to what the recipe called for.

I pulled it out of the oven, let it cool, and carefully flipped it over onto a plate and then had to invert it once more - the SCARIEST part! I let it cool and then took a bite.

The result: WOW! This cake is just bursting with flavors. You can taste the grand marnier, the orange juice, and a hint of lemon. And ofcourse you can taste the olive oil which is so fun in a cake. The best thing about this is it lasts for several days and stays very moist. The top if the cake has a hard crust so the difference in textures is a nice touch. I actually preferred the cake without the honey syrup you can make to accompany the recipe.

For full recipe see page 295 in the Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

Recipe #19: Intense Chocolate Cake

Recipe #19: Intense Chocolate Cake

Posted by Unknown

We had a little birthday get together for my husband this past Saturday night. I attempted to make him a cake that ended up overflowing in the oven like a volcano (more on that later). So I ended up making him the buttery cupcakes which I knew were amazing along with vanilla buttercream frosting. We also had another friend coming over who just celebrated her birthday a few days prior and she can't eat gluten so I thumbed through the dahlia bakery cookbook and found this gluten free cake.

I haven't baked anything like this before (not just because there is no flour) but because it sits in a water bath when you bake it. I was sure the cake would turnout to be a flop based on the technique and the fact that I was making this Saturday morning before taking my husband out to a lunch and movie for his bday. My backup plan was to run up to the met market and pick up a cake if this didn't turnout.

Oh and I forgot to mention I finally got my KitchenAid!! What a world of difference it makes. For this recipe you have to whip up egg whites for about 5 minutes so I was able to wash some dishes while the mixer just went to town. So awesome!

Warning: if you plan to make this you will need most the day. Making the recipe and baking the cake doesn't take much time but once it's baked you let it sit in the water bath for about an hour and then you let it sit on a wire rack for another 3 hours.

Then you carefully flip it over onto a plate and it should slide right out (and luckily mine did). Presentation on this can be a little tricky because it's rather flat. So I sprinkled it with some powdered sugar and then sliced it into pieces which made it look a little more appetizing.

The result: a velvety moist cake and packed with chocolate. You would NEVER know this was gluten free. I have tried many gluten free desserts and they are quite dry. Everyone enjoyed a piece of this and I am continuing to enjoy it several days later (and it's still so good). I picture myself making this when my husband goes out of town, renting some chick flicks and eating the entire thing.

You can serve this with whipped cream and I imagine some fresh berries would be a nice compliment. I ended up passing around a bowl of leftover vanilla buttercream from the cupcakes and that was a hit. Enjoy!!

For full recipe see page 288 in the Dahlia Bakery cookbook.

Recipe #15: Buttery Cupcakes with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Recipe #15: Buttery Cupcakes with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Posted by Unknown

This recipe is part II to the SuperBowl party. I made these along with the devil's food cupcakes. These are by far the best cupcakes I have ever tasted. There is a reason for the word butter in the title because they are just that.... nice and buttery. Paired with the tanginess of the chocolate sour cream frosting they are sure to be a hit!

This recipe is definitely easier then the devil's food cupcakes. I realized that whenever I see the word "sift" in a recipe I let out a long sigh. You sift the dry ingredients 3 times and I think it just bothers me because I have to get out the food mill, put it together, and then clean it... blah blah!

These turned out perfectly. I expected them to rise a bit more but after seeing the picture in the book they appear to have turned out just right.

If you have a little extra time on your hands and want to impress people with these bad boys I strongly recommend them vs. stopping by Trophy or Cupcake Royale.

For full recipe see page 274 in the Dahlia Bakery Cookbook 

Recipe #7: Double Chocolate Layer Cake

Recipe #7: Double Chocolate Layer Cake

Posted by Unknown

When I first thought about starting a food blog the one thing I was most nervous about was making cakes. It is definitely not my strong suit. I can eventually get the recipe right however I am not a skilled cake decorator so this is a something I hope improves over the next year.

It's the day after we put our dog down and we are going to my brother's house tomorrow for an early xmas celebration and I decided to make him a cake (unfortunately for him his birthday is Christmas day). I want to keep myself distracted and this looks like just the recipe to challenge me and keep my mind off losing my sweet dog.

I got my mise en place together and started in. I got all the way to step #7 and realized I skipped ahead and did step #8 before completing step #6 and #7. I had added in a 1/2 cup of oil and then added the buttermilk, then the chocolate, and then the rest of the oil. Based on my limited experience with cakes I already knew the cake would not turn out but I had come so far so I treated it as an experiment. I completed all the steps, baked it, and pulled it out of the oven. Within 20 minutes the cake fell in the middle. Ugh! Time to start over.

I prepped all the ingredients again and this time I realized the I had left out a couple tablespoons here and there of ingredients on the first round so basically the first cake didn't have a chance. My brain was distracted by sadness, my son, and family that was visiting at the time. Note to self: Cakes need 100% of focused attention.

The result: The cake turned out ok... actually the presentation turned out quite poorly. I could have cooked it about 5 minutes longer and I really didn't let it cool long enough either. Time was not on my side and I wanted to get it frosted as I knew I would not have time to decorate the cake the morning of. Because I took the cake out of the pan too soon the cake was not stable enough for me to split it. It was quickly falling apart and so I decided to just cover it with a bunch of frosting and call it good. The flavor was good but it was not a success overall.

No picture included on this post for obvious reasons. I will try this recipe again but not for awhile. It was time consuming and having made it twice I don't want to attempt it again for several months.

For full recipe: See page 258 in the Dahlia Bakery cookbook

Recipe #8: Fluffy Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Recipe #8: Fluffy Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Posted by Unknown

The most important step in this recipe is to be sure that some of the ingredients are at room temperature and as always use good quality chocolate. I never knew how important it was to spend the extra money on good chocolate (and all ingredients really) until I started baking these recipes. If you are going to spend the time to get everything just right then doesn't it only make sense to spend the money on good quality ingredients? At this point every time I hit up the grocery store I cruise the baking aisle and check for sales on King Arthur flour, softasilk cake flour, extra fine sugar, chocolate, etc. even if I already have it stocked I know eventually it will get used up.

Now back to the recipe... it turned out great! I love the tanginess the sour cream provides and it was the perfect compliment to the buttery cupcakes as well as the double chocolate layer cake. The consistency also made it easy to decorate with. Just be prepared to use it right away as it can't be refrigerated.

For full recipe: See page 256 in the Dahlia Bakery cookbook