Espresso Layer Cake

My dad's 61st birthday was a couple of weeks ago.  Since I don't make a lot of money I decided to bake him a cake made from his favorite drink in the whole wide world:  coffee.  He ended up getting an espresso cake, but espresso is just stronger coffee, I think.  My husband got him a DVD of that recent Three Stooges movie, another one of my father's favorites.  I've never made this cake before so it was a little bit of a challenge.  There were many ingredients and a whole lot of instructions.  The finished product was a success though.  I was afraid of it tasting too much like espresso or coffee, but it wasn't too overbearing.  I found this recipe in my Cooking Light Way to Bake cook book.

What you'll need for the cake:
Cooking Spray
1/4 cup hot water
2 tablespoons finely ground espresso
10.13 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 and 1/4 cups)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used light brown)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup low-fat buttermilk

For the frosting you'll need:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used 1/4 light and 1/4 dark)
7 tablespoons evaporated fat-free milk
2 teaspoons finely ground espresso
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
Whole coffee beans (optional, for decoration)

First you'll want to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Also coat two 9" round cake pans with cooking spray, line them with wax paper, and spray more cooking spray on top of the wax paper.

Combine 1/4 cup hot water and 2 tablespoons espresso in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve.  Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.

Combine granulated sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar.

Place 1/4 cup sugar mixture, shortening, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at low speed for 30 seconds or until well combined.

Increase speed to medium; add remaining sugar mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, beating for 15 seconds after each addition.  Scrape sides of bowl; beat an additional 5 minutes.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition.

Add espresso mixture, beating until well combined.  Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to egg mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks; remove from pans.  Cool completely on wire racks.  Discard wax paper.

To prepare frosting, melt butter in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add 1/2 cup brown sugar; cook 3 minutes or until mixture is smooth, stirring frequently with a whisk.  Stir in evaporated milk, 1 tablespoon at a time;  cook 3 minutes or until mixture resembles caramel sauce.

Remove from heat; stir in 2 teaspoons espresso.  Cool to room temperature.  Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.  Gradually add powdered sugar, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting.  Top with remaining cake layer; spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake.  Arrange coffee beans on top of cake, if desired.  Let cake stand 1 hour or until frosting is set.

Enjoy! 

Buddha's Delight

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, been very busy doing work while my boss was on a much needed and deserved vacation.  I've also been very busy with roller derby, I'm not a skater yet, but will be soon...hopefully.  Right now I do a lot of official stuff, like keep track of penalties, keep score, and time the penalty box.  Anyway, back to food.  This recipe is called Buddha's Delight and it's from The Happy Herbivore by Lindsay S. Nixon.  I found it to be very easy to make and quite yummy. 

What you'll need:
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp raw sugar
2 cups cooked brown rice

You can also add broccoli florets, snow peas, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, bean sprouts, tofu chunks, edamame, or any veggie you have on hand or enjoy in stir-fries.

First, cook onion in 1/4 cup of water over high heat. Once onion is translucent, add remaining vegetables.

Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, adding a little water as necessary until vegetables are cooked but still crisp, about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix soy sauce and sugar together and pour over vegetables, stirring to coat.

Cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from heat and serve over a bed of cooked brown rice.

Enjoy! 

Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Icing

I know I haven't posted in a bit but I was away on vacation, so here's a recipe I tried right before I left.  I wanted to impress my mother-in-law, I hope I succeeded since these cupcakes/muffins were yummy.  Thanks again to Chloe Coscarelli for another delicious recipe from her book.  The only problem I had was with the icing, it turned out to be more of a glaze, but then again, I might have put too much liquid in it. 

For the Banana Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup mashed bananas, from approximately 2 very ripe bananas mashed on a plate using the back of a fork
1 cup canned coconut milk, mixed well before measuring
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons white or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the Lemon Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons lemon juice (I used 4)
1 tablespoon water
1/4 to 1 teaspoon lemon zest (I think I used closer to 1 rather than 1/4, I like lemony flavor)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 12-cup cupcake pans with 18 cupcake liners.

Mash the two bananas with the back of a fork.

In a large bowl, whisk together bananas, coconut milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined.  Do not over mix.

Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it.  Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

To make the icing or glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice, water, and zest in a small bowl until smooth.

Spread a thin layer of Lemon Icing over each Banana Cupcake, and enjoy!

Yummy!

Ginger Nutmeg Spice Cupcakes

Have you ever watched Food Network's Cupcake Wars?  Well, this is where this recipe came from.  A vegan chef named Chloe Coscarelli was the first vegan chef to ever win a show on the Food Network.  I never saw her episode, but when I saw her cookbook at Barnes & Nobles with the words, "Winner of Food Network's Cupcake Wars," I had to have it.  The book Chloe's Kitchen has more than just dessert recipes in it.  I've made her mac & cheese, a pasta salad, and the barley casserole I've blogged about before, to name a few.  This recipe is her award winning recipe, and they've been a hit each time I've made them for friends and family.

What you'll need for the cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup canned coconut milk, mixed well before measuring
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons white or apple-cider vinegar (I prefer the apple-cider one)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

What you'll need for the Vanilla Bean Butter Cream Frosting:
1 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract (I've used both in this recipe and I couldn't taste much of a difference.)
2 to 5 tablespoons soy, almond, or rice milk (I prefer almond milk.)

What you'll need for the Date Caramel:
6 medjool dates
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons water
1/4 ground cinnamon

I apologize ahead of time if my pictures are a little dark.  The lighting in my kitchen isn't good without the sunlight.  I also take all the pictures with my iPad.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 12-cup cupcake pans with 18 cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, coconut milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined.  Don't over mix.

Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it.  Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.


Using a handheld or stand mixer (I love my Kitcheaid), beat shortening until smooth.  With the mixer running on low, add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, and 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk at a time, as needed, until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.

You may not need to use all of the non-dairy milk.  Beat on high for 2 more minutes until light and fluffy.

Place dates in a small saucepan with water to cover, and bring to a gentle boil.  Let the dates boil gently for 10 minutes.  Drain and rince with cold water until cool to the touch.  Peel the dates with your fingers and discard the skin.  Remove the pits and coarsely chop the dates.  Place in a blender;  add maple syrup, water, and cinnamon.  Blend until smooth.  Refrigerate until chilled.

I didn't make the date caramel for this blog, but I've made it in the past.  The dates are very sticky, and they will stick to your hands.  You can serve these cupcakes with or without the caramel and they'll taste just as yummy.  The caramel adds an extra sweetness.

Spread a thin layer of the Vanilla Bean Butter Cream on the Spice Cupcakes and drizzle with the Date Caramel.

Enjoy!