Mango Upside Down Cake

Mango Upside Down Cake

I think Spring must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. We still have about a foot of snow piled up outside, and our temperatures have only been in the high 20′s to low 30′s. So if anyone sees Spring, and it looks confused and doesn’t seem to know where it should be heading next, could you please direct it to Alaska?

Since Spring seems to be taking the scenic route up to our neck of the woods, I’m just going to sit back, close my eyes, and envision I’m in a warmer climate while munching on a piece of this Mango Upside Down Cake. Every bite of this delicious cake makes me feel like I’ve been transported to an island in the tropics – as long as I don’t open my eyes and look out my window.

~Enjoy~




Mango Upside Down Cake

3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 (10 ounce) package frozen mango chunks
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray.

Place mango chunks in a colander and rinse under cold water; drain.

In a small bowl, combine the 3 tbsp. melted butter and brown sugar. Pour over parchment paper in baking dish. Arrange mango chunks over brown sugar mixture. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the 5 tbsp. softened butter and granulated sugar together until creamy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; mix until smooth. Gradually add in dry ingredients and mix until combined. Smooth batter over mango chunks.

Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Place pan on a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert onto serving plate. Peel off parchment paper. Let cake cool a bit longer, then cut into squares and serve.

(To print this recipe, click on the ‘Print & PDF’ button below)

Lemon Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Lemon Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Now that all the holiday goodies have been consumed, I’m finally feeling in the mood to bake again. I decided to start off 2013 with this delicious Lemon Chocolate Chip Pound Cake.

If you haven’t paired Lemon and chocolate together in a baked good such as this, you’re really missing out. Lemon and chocolate are a great flavor combination. The tartness of the lemon balances the sweetness of the chocolate beautifully, as demonstrated in this moist and very yummy cake.

I love the convenience of the True Lemon products, and I always keep some in my pantry, so I used some in this recipe. If you don’t have True Lemon however, you can substitute 3 tablespoons of lemon juice for the 1 1/2 teaspoons of True Lemon and the 6 tablespoons of water listed in the ingredients.

~Enjoy~




Lemon Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons True Lemon
6 tablespoons water
1/4 cup milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and blend until well combined. Add True Lemon and water; mix well. Add in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate and let cool completely.

Gingerbread Pudding Poke Cake

Gingerbread Pudding Poke Cake

We’ve been having beautiful Fall weather for the past week or so, with clear blue skies and bright sunshine. The temperature could be a little warmer, it’s only 13 degrees out right now, but since there is no snow on the ground, I guess I shouldn’t complain too much.

One of the things I really enjoy about this time of year, is all the new seasonal baking items that show up in the grocery stores – like pumpkin spice flavored coffee, and seasonal pudding mix flavors such as pumpkin spice and gingerbread. I’ve been lucky enough to find the pumpkin spice flavored pudding mix in the stores here over the last couple of years, and have used it to make some wonderful desserts like these Pumpkin Spice Tartlets and these Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Brownies, but this is the first year that I’ve been able to locate the gingerbread flavor. Unfortunately, there were only two boxes of gingerbread pudding mix left on the grocery store shelf by the time I got to them, but at least I got some.

I decided to use the first of my two boxes of gingerbread flavored pudding mix in this Gingerbread Pudding Poke Cake. I wanted to make something that would really put the gingerbread flavor at the forefront. (I wanted the flavor to standout and not get lost among other flavors)

I started by making a simple vanilla cake from scratch, and then I poked holes throughout the baked cake and poured the gingerbread pudding into the holes and over the cake to “frost” it. The cake turned out absolutely delicious, and the gingerbread pudding is awesome. I just hope the grocery stores here will get some more of the pudding in stock, so I can add some more boxes to my pantry.

Now, what should I do with my second box of pudding??

~Enjoy~




Gingerbread Pudding Poke Cake

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 (3.4 ounce) package gingerbread instant pudding mix
2 cups cold milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour one 9-inch square baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add vanilla and egg; beat until well combined. Add dry ingredients and 3/4 cup milk alternately to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove cake from oven and poke holes at once down through cake to pan with round handle of wooden spoon. (Holes should be at 1-inch intervals)

After the holes are made, combine pudding mix and the 2 cups of milk in a large bowl. Beat with a wire whisk for 1 minute. Quickly, before pudding thickens, pour about half of the thin pudding evenly over warm cake and into holes. (This will make stripes in cake). Allow remaining pudding to thicken slightly; then spoon over the top to “frost” the cake.

Chill cake in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Store any leftover cake in refrigerator.

Makes: 9 servings

Orange Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Orange Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

When our electricity came back on after the recent wind storm, I thought that maybe I’d better bake something quick, just in case the power went out again. What I decided to make is this very delicious Orange Chocolate Chip Pound Cake. The chocolate and orange flavor pair so well together in this pound cake. In fact, the taste is very similar to that of eating one of those chocolate orange candy balls that they sell in the grocery stores. Yum!

Luckily, our electricity has stayed on and there are no high wind warnings included in our weather forecast for the next few days. However, there was a freeze warning in effect for last night, and the temperature is currently only 31 degrees outside right now. Brr!

Even though the Autumn season hasn’t officially begun yet, it seems that Winter is itching to make an early appearance – as can be seen in the picture below of the termination dust that has already accumulated on the mountain tops.

Termination dust on the mountains

I hope everyone has a warm, safe, and wonderful Sunday!

~Enjoy~




Orange Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
12 packets True Orange
6 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and blend until well combined. Add True Orange, water, and vanilla extract; mix well. Add in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. Drizzle with Chocolate Glaze; if desired. (recipe below)

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Place chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 15 seconds, stir, then microwave for another 15 seconds. Add vanilla extract and stir until blended and smooth.

Banana Nut Rum Cake

Banana Nut Rum Cake

Where did August go? Seriously, where did it go?? I can’t believe it’s September 1st already! Is it only me, or does anybody else feel like August just flew right by?

They say we should be getting our first appearance of termination dust on the mountains either this weekend, or sometime this coming week. For those of you who are not familiar with the term “termination dust”, it’s an Alaskan term that refers to the first dusting of snow on the very tops of the mountains – which signals the end of summer. Of course, I could already tell that summer was nearing an end here, because the leaves have already started turning color and falling to the ground, and the temperatures are quite cold now in the early morning hours. Right now it’s pouring rain outside and the mountains are covered with thick clouds, so I’ll have to wait until the clouds clear before I can see if there is any termination dust up there.

In the meantime, to celebrate the first day of September and the long Labor Day holiday weekend, I decided to make this Banana Nut Rum Cake. It’s hard to describe just how unbelievably delicious this cake is. You might think that it taste’s like Banana Bread, which it does somewhat, but the cake is a lot less dense than Banana Bread, and has a much lighter texture. The combination of banana, walnut, and rum makes this a very flavorful cake, and the Rum Glaze on top is just fantastic. It’s a perfect dessert to enjoy on these cooler summer/autumn days.

Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day weekend everyone!!

~Enjoy~

Banana Nut Rum Cake

Banana Nut Rum Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
2 eggs
1/2 tablespoon rum extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, melted butter, bananas, eggs, and rum extract. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixed. Reduce speed to low and gradually add in the flour mixture. Beat just until well combined – approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Fold in the walnuts by hand.

Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and cool completely. Drizzle with Rum Glaze, if desired.

Rum Glaze

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons rum extract
1 tablespoon milk
1 – 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
In a medium bowl, beat butter, rum extract, milk, and 1 cup powdered sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in additional powdered sugar until the glaze is thick enough to drizzle over the cake.