The Tale of Two Cakes

With no photos to show for them!

Can you believe I actually baked this weekend and I have nothing to show for it?  Blogging wise, that is. The first cake was a new pound cake recipe I had found on Smitten Kitchen.  It’s supposed to be a lighter version from the tradition, involving complicated techniques like whipping egg whites to stiff peaks and folding in ingredients.  Seriously, those are complicated for me!

I even took photos and everything all in preparation of posting the recipe, but alas the cake was “eh” according to D and S. Peanut Head didn’t really have an opinion except “More!” but she’s fairly uncritical.  S was the surprising voice. She’s also fairly uncritical and she said it was 1)not my best and 2) on the dry side.  D agreed on the dry side.

So, apparently either the recipe sucks or I’m not good at whipping eggs whites and folding in the rest of the ingredient or something.  Because I do know how to make very good pound cake with a more traditional recipe. Anyhoo, all to say, what’s the point of posting it if I’m never going to make it again?

Although, this is a Smitten Kitchen recipe, so it must have been me. I mean she’s a pretty famous food blogger with her own cookbook out and everything.  Perhaps I’ll try it again when I have more leisurely time in another lifetime.

This tale would have ended, at one pseudo-fail pound cake, but alas, I was baking to bring to a neighbor whose mom had passed away. So, with limited ingredients in my kitchen, chocolate bundt cake it is.  A pretty fail proof recipe.

It came out lovely, too without any mishap from the pan.  I have known to break bundt cakes when trying to take them out of the pan.  S was salivating practically and wishing we could bring the cake over sliced so she could sneak a piece. She just didn’t get why you don’t do that with cake…  *shakes head*

Anyhoo, forgot to take the photo of the finished product!  ARG!!!  Really?  Really.  Soso was all for us going back to the house to take a photo… *shakes head again*  I had to explain how that would also be kind of weird unless it was perhaps one my good friends who knew I blogged and even then still a little odd.

Le Sigh. Seriously, I’m so depressed about it because I haven’t been blogging much and especially not posting recipes much and it would have been so nice to update this blog with a nice recipe with photos!

All I have to console me is double batch (because of course I made double batch of this thing, one to try and one to give!) of slightly “eh” pound cakes. I think they are fine. Perhaps not “giftable”, but certainly fine with a cup of coffee or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit.

 

Apple Pie Pocket – Revisited

I’m posting the recipe again because I was never happy with the finished product photo.

Place apple mixture on each pie crust edge.

Folder over and press with fork.

Ta-da!

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Apple Pie Pockets

Time: 10 mins prep, 20 mins cooking

Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 box Pillsbury or other brand refrigerated pie crust
2 1/2 cups small diced peeled apples (same variety for pies)
1/3 cup white granulated sugar (less if the apples are really sweet)
2 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Unroll pie crusts on work surface. Cut each crust into quarters, making 8 wedges.

Mix diced apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Top half of each wedge with 1/4 cup apple mixture. Fold over filling and press side edges together to seal. Use a dab of water if needed. Add a little more apple mixture to the top if needed. Seal the top. Crimp the edges if a fork.

Goofy Cake with Walnuts

Normally, I avoid baked goods with nuts. I just don’t care for nuts in desserts anymore. But, when I’m told that it is the best! thing! ever!, I had to try it. I loved it, nuts and all.

I asked for the recipe and I received a piece of paper titled “goofy cake”. I have no idea why it’s called goofy.  When I did a quick google search, I got “goofy” chocolate cake recipes or the actual Disney Goofy character cake instructions.  Finally, I saw one obscure site with a recipe similar to the one below, minus one egg and walnuts.

As I’m not experience enough to know what one egg more or less would do, I decided to follow the family friend recipe.  Of course, typical of a recipe written by people of certain generation, there was a list of ingredients and the very helpful instructions like, mix, whip, bake until done.

Okay, perhaps not quite as bad, but pretty darn close. The directions are not hard, but again, I’m not experienced enough in baking to guess or approximate.

I added a few additional sentences for those of us who are novices.  Also, a little goofy cake goes a long way.  It is very sweet and a one inch square piece is a perfect portion size.

I brought this over to Peanut’s daycare staff.  I also made D, Soso, and a few co-workers sample the cake.  I got two too sweet, two love, one okay.  I wonder if I can put less powder sugar?

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Goofy Cake

Prep time: 15 mins   Cook time: 35 mins

Ingredients

1 stick butter, softened
4 eggs
1 box Duncan Hine’s Yellow Cake Mix with Butter
3/4 box Confectioner’s Sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1.5 cups walnuts, finely chopped (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 13×9 pan.

With an electric mixer set to medium speed, mix  2 egg and butter until creamy. Add in cake mix until all liquid is absorbed.  Mixture will look like pie-crust dough.  Pour into greased pan, pressing lightly to spread the mixture.

Whip 2 eggs and cream cheese. Add in powder sugar and whip until creamy. Pour over the cake mix. Sprinkle walnuts on top. Bake 30 – 35 mins or until the outer edge starts to brown.

Cut cake into 1 – 1.25 inch squares when thoroughly cooled.