Carrot Cake

"I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I had never made home made carrot cake before and this was delicious. The original called for 1 cup pecans in the cake and 1 cup in the frosting, but I would recommend using 1/2 as much which is how I typed it below. I had so much I used it as a garnish on top. You can do that, or not even put any inside the frosting at all."


INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped pecans

FROSTING:

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

For Cupcakes..recipe makes 2 dozen.  Bake for 27-30 minutes

Lemon Layer Cake

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Filling:
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup white sugar
4 egg yolks, beaten

Frosting:
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons milk
yellow food coloring for color


DIRECTIONS:

Filling: (Make first because it needs refrigerated 3 hours)

In medium saucepan, mix together 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Mix in 6 tablespoons butter and 3/4 cup sugar, and bring mixture to boil over medium heat. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. In small bowl, with a wire whisk, beat egg yolks until smooth. Whisk in a small amount of the hot lemon mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan, beating the hot lemon mixture rapidly. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes, or until thick (not to boil).
Pour mixture into medium bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface to keep skin from forming as it cools. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 8 inch round pans. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and lemon juice. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:
In large bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest until smooth. Beat in milk, and increase speed and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add food coloring if desired.


Place one layer of cake on a serving plate. Spread with filling. Top with second layer, and spread sides and top with frosting. Refrigerate cake until serving time.

Notes:

Filling kind of squishes out when you frost it.

Can decorate with lemon slices and zest on top.

I used about 4 lemons total (make sure you get the zest off before cutting and juicing)

Cherry Pound Cake

"I wanted a Christmas dessert with fruit, and came across this on allrecipes.com"


INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups maraschino cherries, drained and dry and halved *reserve juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch tube (bundt) pan. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Dredge cherries in 1/4 cup flour, then fold into batter. Spread into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

*you can make an icing with 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 1 c. powdered sugar and cherry juice. Mix cherry juice until icing reaches desired consistency; drizzle over cake when cooled

Note:

The icing kind of soaks into the cake

Cream Cheese Pound Cake with optional Butterscotch Frosting

"I found a recipe in my box that my mom had in her box a long time ago for butterscotch frosting. Since I spend a fortune on a bundt pan I thought I'd look for a bundt cake recipe that sounded cook with butterscotch frosting. You don't have to use the frosting recipe, you can do whatever with it. I found the pound cake recipe at allrecipes.com."

INGREDIENTS:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese brought to room temperature
1 1/2 cups butter brought to room temperature
3 cups white sugar
6 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) grease and flour a 10 inch tube (bundt) pan.
In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until silky smooth. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy.
Add eggs two at a time, beating well with each addition. Add the flour all at once and mix in. Add vanilla.
Pour into a 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check for doneness at 1 hour. A toothpick inserted into center of cake will come out clean. (Mine took 1 hour and 45 minutes).

Judy's Butterscotch Frosting:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons milk (plus milk to thin out frosting)

dash salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup sifted confectioner's sugar

Melt butter in small saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly..about three minutes. Slowly stir in milk and salt; bring mixture to a boil, stiring constantly. Remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm (about 30 minutes). Stir in vanilla. Beat in confectioner's sugar a little at a time until mixed well. Add milk a little at a time until frosting is thin enough to pour. Drizzle over cake.

Rhubarb Cheesecake

"Another rhubarb recipe. I found this on allrecipes.com, but I made a few changes. It was suppose to be made in a 9 in spring form pan, but I don't have one (or know what one is) so I added more ingredients to fill a 9x13 dish. It also called for a sauce on top of sour cream sugar and vanilla, but I forgot to use it and it was awesome anyways, so I didn't include it. A review also suggested the pecan sandies as a crust instead of flour butter and sugar, so I included her/his suggestion. If you'd like to see the original follow this link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rhubarb-Cheesecake/Detail.aspx "

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:
1 package "Pecan Sandies Shortbread cookies"
1/2 cup butter


4 cups diced rhubarb
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
3/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs




DIRECTIONS:


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Crush cookies by putting them in a bag and pounding it with a rolling pin, or meat tenderizer utensil (flat side). Melt 1 stick butter. In medium bowl mix cookie crumbs with melted butter. Press into bottom of 13x9 inch baking dish. Bake for 7 minutes...

meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss together the chopped rhubarb, 1 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons flour. Pour onto baked crust. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Pour over hot rhubarb in the pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until filling is set.

Devil's Food Layer Cake

"Wow...let me say, one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had. The cake is very moist and the frosting is awesome. I found this in a Family Circle magazine."

Cake:

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. 82% extra dark chocolate

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup reduced fat (light) sour cream

3/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Coat two 9 x 2-inch round baking pans with nonstick flour-and-oil baking spray.

2. Coarsely chop chocolate. Place in a small microwave-safe bowl with oil. Microwave on HIGH power for 1 minute; stir until smooth. If needed, heat an additional 15 seconds. Let cool slightly.

3. In medium-size bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in melted chocolate mixture and vanilla.

4. Place sour cream in a 2-cup capacity measuring cup. Whisk in milk until smooth. On low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture, alternating with thinned sour cream, beginning and ending with flour; beat 1 minute. Spread into pans.

5. Bake at 325°F for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers tests clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool layers completely (about 2 hours).

Frosting:

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
3 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS:

In large glass bowl, microwave chocolate chips on medium power for 30 seconds; stir. Microwave another 30 seconds until completely smooth. Let cool slightly. With mixer, blend 1-1/2 cups of the sugar with butter. Beat in sour cream, milk and then half of the chocolate until smooth. On low speed, beat in remaining sugar until blended; then beat in remaining chocolate. Continue to beat until good spreading consistency, about 1 minute.

Slice one of the cooled layers in half horizontally (insert toothpicks into sides of layer to use as guide). Repeat with other layer. Gently place one layer, cut-side down, on serving plate (layers will be tender). Spread top with 2/3 cup frosting. Repeat with remaining cake layers and frosting, ending with cake layer, cut-side down. Frost top and side of cake with remaining frosting. Refrigerate 1 hour, until firm.

NOTES:

-I only made a two-layer cake

-I only cooled about a total of an hour before frosting, and I didn't refridgerate before serving.

-I would recommend refridgerating it if you're not serving it right away...the frosting gets a lot thicker.

Mary Jane's Rhubarb Cake

"This is my grandmother-in-law's recipe. I forgot to write down the title, so I just put her name into it."

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk (or substitute 1 cup sour cream)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

3 cups rhubarb sliced thin

1 cup brown sugar

Topping:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix first seven ingredients together in large bowl. Mix in rhubarb. Spread into greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 45 minutes.

Put topping ingredients into small saucepan and cook over medium heat until butter is melted and sugar disolved. Bring to a boil and boil (stirring constantly) for five minutes. Pour over warm cake.

Unholy Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Glaze

"This is not the original title for the cake." I got both the cake recipe and the glaze recipe from allrecipes.com. The cake is very heavy and brownie-like."

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini-chips so they wouldn't sink in the pan)

Glaze:

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased (I used baking spray and dusted with flour) 12 cup bundt pan.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. (kind of hard to tell with the melty chocolate chips) Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate. When cake is nearly cooled, make glaze:

In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
Drizzle warm glaze over top of cake, letting it run down the sides.

And here are my kids enjoying the batter