A Little Bit of All Right

December in Free Bake month for the Cake Slice Bakers; that means we each get to pick any recipe in that year's cookbook to make and review.  My family had been requesting something chocolate, and when I saw that I could make these tortes in a mini muffin pan, I was all in. This is definitely a more adult chocolate cake than most that I make as evidenced by my mini-chocoholic taking one bit and pushing the rest away.  It uses at least 70% dark chocolate and just a little bit of added sugar.  It's also gluten-free which made it perfect for delivering as part of holiday "cookie" boxes.  I could definitely taste the rosemary, but it was not overpowering, and most people couldn't identify the taste. The recipe made 24 little muffin sized tortes, and each mini muffin was exactly the right size for this rich, deep cake.  I imagine if you wanted to something a little sweeter, you could use a less intense chocolate and still have the recipe work. Each month Th

This month I felt the need for something rich and chocolatey.  This Hot Chocolate and Halva Pudding was just what the season ordered. It had a rich, dark chocolate cake with a gooey chocolate pudding-like layer hiding underneath.  Mixed into the cake layer were bits of Halva and chocolate chips. I served it about 10 minutes after taking it out of the oven.  The recipe suggests serving with whipped cream or ice cream, but we just ate it plan.  I did have a small bit leftover that I reheated in the microwave for breakfast the next morning, and it was still delicious. Another recommendation in the cookbook is to swirl in tahini for an extra sesame bite.  I did not do that, but as I was tasting, I was struck by how good this might be with peanut butter chips and a swirl of peanut butter or Nutella in the cake.  I imagine you could change up the recipe to suite any chocolate combination. Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are b

This month, I baked a Caramelized Plantain Upside Down Cake.  It's a soft spice cake batter that gets poured over plantains and caramel.  The cake itself was really good!  It was super moist with just the right amount of spice.  I think the plantains would have been better if they had been cooked a little before they were placed in the cake pan.  I've never cooked or baked with plantains, so it's certainly possible they weren't ripe enough.  I also noticed that the plantains that I bought were larger than ones I've seen at some other stores, so there may be a variety of types. I do think this is a cake I would try again, probably after doing a little research on cooking with plantains.  My whole family have enjoyed plantains when we've eaten them in other settings, so I imagine if I figured out the secret and combined with this cake batter, I'd have a definite winner. Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current

This month, I baked a Plum and Black Peppercorn Cake for my Cake Slice Bakers bake.  The cake itself was wonderfully moist.  The plums sunk into the cake, but that may have been because I caught the plums into eighths instead of fourths.  While it might have affected the look a bit, it did not negatively affect the taste. I do think the recipe called for a bit too much black pepper.  It calls for 3 t in the cake batter and then 1 t sprinkled on top.  I put 2 t in the batter and 1 t on top, and we all still found a bit overpowering.  I would definitely use this recipe as a foundation for other fruit-topped cakes.   Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake  by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have f

We love a good pavlova in our house, and one that's topped with rosemary-flavored peaches sounded ideal for a hot summer day.     My pavlova did not come out as delicate and easy to cut as Benjamina Ebuehi's in her cookbook A New Way to Cake .  Mine was as tall as a traditional layer cake and full of whipped cream and peaches.  I really need to learn to repress the urge to use all of the components when I make a cake.  It would have come together better with half the amount of whipped cream. Construction issues aside, how did it taste?  My family loved it, but I found the meringue layers to be too sweet.  I think it would have been a better balance of flavors with half the amount of sugar in the meringue, and then maybe a little bit of that sugar added into the whipped cream..  The rosemary definitely added to the entire composition and would be something I would try again. Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we

Over Christmas, my family spent a couple days in Savannah, GA where we stumbled upon a Lavender shop.  Having been stymied in my search for culinary lavender before, I quickly bought a container and placed it in my baking box where it sat, unused, until this month.  Imagine my great joy to see that one The Cake Slice Baker choice for this month included lavender.   The recipe made 8 4-inch cakes, baked in individual mini tart pans.  Each cake had lemon curd sandwiched between almond cake batter with a handful of blueberries dropped on top.   The cakes were a big hit with my family.  They were moist and delicious.  And as lovely as they were for dessert that night, they were just as good for breakfast the next morning. Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake  by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we

For my May Cake Slice Bakers bake, I chose the Chamomile Cake with Honey Creme Fraiche.  I had my doubts about it when I chose it; it was chosen mostly for convenience and not out of excitement, but I was wrong.This cake was delicious!  The cake was light and flavorful. The icing was the perfect complement.  Everyone in my family enjoyed it. I used chamomile tea bags instead of dried chamomile as that's what I had on hand.  Creme Fraiche is not sold in our local store, and given the current pandemic conditions, I did not think I should go shopping about for it.  The internet had several suggestions, but one was familiar to me from other icings I've made and present in my refrigerator - plain, full fat Greek yogurt.  Add some honey, whip it up, and it was a great substitute. Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake  by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose

My Cake Slice Bakers pick for April was the Lemon, Ricotta, Thyme Mini-Loaves.  Fortunately, I baked these in March when I could still had easy access to most baking goods.  They were really moist loaves with just the right amount of lemon flavoring.  The recipe says that it should make 8 mini loaves.  All I can think is her mini loaf pans must be must smaller than mine because I only got 3 out of the recipe.   Each loaf was the right amount for our family of 5 to each have a slice or two after dinner. Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake  by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook , Instagram , and Pinterest pages where

This month we were really wanting a chocolate cake, and the Cake Slice Bakers' book The New Way to Cake  delivered a great one.  It's an easy chocolate cake recipe that uses plain yogurt and Guinness Stout to enhance and deepen the chocolate flavor. The cake is topped with a glaze made from plain yogurt and powdered sugar.  I added some milk to try to thin it out, but finally just spread the topping like icing as I was worried if I added too much milk, I would loose the tanginess of the yougrt. The cake was very moist and full of flavor. Everyone in my family loved it both with and without the icing. Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake  by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to h

Back in January, the Cake Slice Bakers had this cake as one of their choices.  While I chose the blood red orange cake, I kept this one in the back of my mind as a recipe I definitely wanted to try.  This past Friday turned out to be the ideal day for baking this cake. The cake itself is a heavily spiced cake topped with frosting made from cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar.  It was easy to put together and tasted amazing. I had leftover cake for breakfast the next day without a hint of guilt. Sweet potatoes and cream cheese - sounds like a health food to me!  It held up well overnight just covered with plastic wrap, with the last slice being just as moist as the first.

This month for the Cake Slice Bakers, chose the Cardamom Cake with Mulled Wine Jam.  I had a little bit of a problem getting the jam to firm up, likely because I didn't cook it long enough.  I added some pectin and reboiled to thicken it up. The cake was good, but the jam was delicious.  I've enjoyed the leftovers on toast, and I would make more to give away. Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake  by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook , Instagram , and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take y

New year, new book!  This year, the Cake Slice Bakers are baking from The New Way to Cake  by Benjamina Ebuehi, a quarter finalist from the Great British Baking Show.  For my first bake from this cake, I chose the Blood Orange and Olive Oil Upside Down Cake.  I baked this cake twice as I had two issues (one small, one not so small) when I baked it the first time. The small issue, the oranges I had bought were, in fact, not blood red oranges.  Not a deal breaker by any means.  Second issue was that the recipe calls for baking the cake in a 9 inch removable bottom cake pan.  The closest I had to this was a springform pan, so that is what I used.  About 10 minutes into the baking time, I had an oven floor covered in burnt sugar and a kitchen full of smoke. The cake was still pretty tasty, though it didn't look quite as appetizing, and the oranges were a lot more bitter. I redid the cake two days later using a regular 9 inch cake pan. I buttered the sides and bottom, and then