Cranberry-Pecan Pound Cake

Fall is here and with it comes fresh, seasonal, delicious cranberries in the produce department of the market. This lovely, buttery-rich pound cake is studded with toasted pecan pieces and chopped cranberries; perfect for the upcoming holidays or, for my family, anytime.

This recipe comes from the January 1990 edition of "Bon Appetit" magazine, with a few adaptions from me. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 cup chopped pecans (broken into small pieces, not finely chopped, 3-1/2 ounces)
1-1/2 cup cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
5 large eggs
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup orange juice or brandy (calorie count is done with orange juice)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Powdered sugar for dusting, if desired

1. Grease and flour a 2-1/2 quart tube cake pan or two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pans.
2. Place pecans on cookie sheet and bake until lightly colored and fragrant in a 350 degree oven, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool.
3. Coarsely chop cranberries.
4. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl once. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in sour cream, then orange juice or brandy, vanilla and orange peel.
5. Sift unbleached flour, cake flour and salt together. With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients to egg mixture and stop when all flour has been added. Mix by hand until just combined.
6. Fold in pecans and cranberries. Pour batter into prepared cake pan(s). Tap pan on counter to release any air bubbles.
7. Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, rotating pan(s) halfway through baking time, about 50 to 55 minutes for loaf pans and about 1 hour for tube pan.
8. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Cake can be frozen up to 1 month. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired, before serving.

Yield: 20 servings
262 calories per serving
1 gm. fiber
Note: The flavor of the cake is best the day after baking.

Perfect Chocolate Cake

This beautiful cake has been my husband's favorite cake for as long as I can remember. It is deliciously rich. He would quickly tell you that there is no such thing as too rich, but a little of this cake goes a long way for me. It is chocolate upon chocolate. One layer is split and filled with a rich chocolate ganache and the other two layers are filled with raspberry cream, then it is iced with butter- cream that reminds me of See's chocolate buttercream candy. The original recipe comes from The New McCall's Cook Book. I changed the filling from vanilla to raspberry, my husband's favorite fruit, and add the chocolate ganache, a recipe that I clipped out of a Woman's Day magazine many years ago. This special cake has been a birthday tradition in our family for as long as I can remember. Blessings...

Recipe:

Cake:
1 cup unsifted unsweetened cocoa
2 cups boiling water
2-3/4 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
2-1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, combine cocoa with boiling water, mixing with wire whisk until smooth. Cool completely; this takes a few hours.
2. Sift flour with soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Grease well and lightly flour three 9 x 1-1/2-inch layer-cake pans or line pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
4. In large bowl of electric mixer, at high speed, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, scraping bowl occasionally, until light - about 5 minutes.
5. At low speed, beat in flour mixture (in fourths), alternately with cocoa mixture (in thirds), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Do not overbeat. Divide batter in pans making one layer a little thicker than the other two. This layer will be split for the ganache filling.
6. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the two thinner layers together for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time, until toothpick comes out almost clean. Bake thicker layer for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time, until toothpick comes out almost clean. Cool layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Carefully loosen sides with spatula; remove from pans; cool completely on racks.

Raspberry Filling:
1 12-oz. pkg. frozen, thawed raspberries
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup whipping cream

1. Puree thawed raspberries in a blender and put through a mesh sieve to remove seeds. Push the puree with a wooden spoon or rubber scrapper to speed up the process.
2. Add a small amount of the puree to the tablespoon of cornstarch and stir until smooth. Stir the purees together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir one minute or  until thickened. Cool completely in the refrigerator.
3. Whip the whipping cream until stiff; blend in the raspberry puree until completely incorporated. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Chocolate Ganache:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) whipping cream

1. Place the whipping cream in a small saucepan and slowly heat to scalding (there will be small bubbles forming around the edge of the pan when this happens), being careful not to scorch the cream.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate chips; cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Cool completely in the fridge, stirring every 15 minutes until mixture is thick enough to spread. This will take about 1 hour. If the mixture gets too thick, just heat it for a few seconds to loosen it.

Frosting:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup light cream or milk
1 cup butter
2-1/2 cups unsifted confectioners' sugar

1. In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate chips, cream, butter; stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in the confectioners' sugar.
3. Place the saucepan in a bowl of ice and some water and beat with an electric hand mixer until the frosting holds shape. It will only take about 5 minutes to set the frosting.

1. To assemble the cake, place one of the thin layers on a serving plate. Top with half of the raspberry cream.
2. Split the thicker layer and place one layer on the raspberry cream layer. Top with the chocolate ganache and top with the remaining split layer.
3. Top this with the remaining raspberry cream and then the remaining cake layer. Frost the cake and enjoy. This cake must be stored in the refrigerator. Remove the cake from the refrigerator at least two hours before serving to bring it to room temperature.

Yield: 16 servings (or more)

Chocolate Chip Vanilla Cake

This one-bowl cake recipe starts with a cake mix for simplicity making it very kid-friendly if you like to have your kids or grandkids work with you in the kitchen. The simple flavors of vanilla and chocolate are kid-friendly, as well. Working in the kitchen with the kids is great for relationship building and memory making. There is also such a wonderful sense of accomplishment for the children when the family sits down together to enjoy the food that they helped to prepare. The cake does not need to be iced, if you would prefer not to, because the chocolate chips give plenty of chocolate flavor on their own. Blessings...

1 Golden Vanilla boxed cake mix with pudding in the mix
1/2 cup Greek vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Beat all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just to moisten. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.
2. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan or tube pan.
3. Bake in 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from Bundt pan and cool completely on wire rack. If using a tube pan, only remove the exterior of the pan leaving the cake to cool completely before removing it from the tube.

Yield: 12 servings
338 calories without icing
Note: I topped my cake with a chocolate fudge glaze which was just enough icing for us.

Date Cake

Two of my husbands absolute favorite foods are chocolate and dates. This cake is delicious. The dates add wonderful moistness and flavor to the cake, but the flavor of the dates is not overwhelming or distracting. I did add an extra half-cup of chopped dates to the recipe, much to my husbands liking. The topping of melted, gooey chocolate chips, crunchy sugar and pecans is perfect in place of a rich frosting.
Blessings...

Recipe:

1-1/2 cups finely chopped dates
1 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1-3/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional (I use pecans)
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Toss the dates with the baking soda in a medium sized bowl. Pour the boiling water over them and stir. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and set aside.
3. Sift together the nutmeg, flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder, set aside.
4. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla; blend well.
5. Pour in the date mixture and blend.
6. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the dry ingredients and beat until batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and smooth top.
7. Sprinkle the sugar over the top, followed by the chocolate chips and nuts.
8. Bake cake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. This is a bit tricky with the melted chocolate so look to find a spot free of chocolate for accurate testing.

Yield: 12 servings
515 calories with pecans
482 calories without pecans
5 gms. fiber
Tip: We love to microwave each piece for about 20 seconds on high to soften the chocolate. Yum!
Note: I use Private Selection chocolate chips, a Kroger product, which has 1 gram fiber per tablespoon. Most of the other brands do not have this amount of fiber, so if this count matters to you, do check the package labels.

Rum Cake

Years ago when my husband and I lived in California we would go to the little town of Jackson and stay at the Wedgewood Inn as often as we could. This beautiful inn was painted Wedgewood blue and the owners filled it perfectly with antique and period pieces. These lovely people were given permission to sell Thomas Kinkade paintings and his gorgeous art was everywhere you looked. The beauty and comfort of this inn was easily matched by the delicious brunch served to the guests each morning.

This delicious rum cake was served alongside the brunch dishes, but they didn't serve it with the whipped cream like I have here. Again, years ago when I was having lunch with some ladies one of the ladies served this same cake, except she didn't have the layer of pecans in her recipe and she did serve it with whipped cream. So, on one of our trips to the Wedgewood I purchased their recipe and compared it to the one my friend had given me. This recipe from the Wedgewood Inn, with the addition of the whipped cream, is absolutely wonderful for dessert and would be perfect for an Easter dinner. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 box yellow cake mix (without pudding in the mix)
1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup rum
Whipped cream, optional

Glaze:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup rum
1 cup sugar

1. Grease and flour a Bundt or tube pan. Spread the pecans over the bottom of the pan.
2. Beat together the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil and rum for 30 seconds on low speed of electric mixer. Scrape bowl and continue beating on medium-high speed for 2 minutes longer until the batter is light and creamy. Pour batter into cake pan.
3. Bake the cake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
4. While cake is baking prepare the glaze by boiling the glaze ingredients together in a small saucepan for 2-4 minutes. Set aside. The glaze may need to be reheated before use.
5. When cake is done remove from oven and while hot poke many holes in the cake with a skewer. Pour glaze over the hot cake. Let cool for 30-40 minutes.
6. To remove the cake from a Bundt pan simply invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely. If you use a tube pan run a table knife around the inside edges to loosen the cake and lift the tube out and cool on a wire rack. When the cake is completely cool run the knife under the cake to loosen it from the pan and place it on a serving plate. Serve with very lightly sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

Yield: 12 servings
523 calories per serving without whipped cream

Pumpkin Toffee Cake

Oh, my goodness, the kitchen smelled so wonderful as this cake was baking and cooling down. I couldn't wait to ice it with rich buttercream frosting and dig in later for dessert.

This recipe is kept simple and fast with a boxed spice cake mix in which canned pumpkin, chopped pecans and English toffee bits are added to make a  special family dessert. The cake is then topped with a buttercream that is so light and fluffy it melts in your mouth. This is a delicious way to end a meal, if you can wait that long! Blessings...

Recipe:

1 box spice cake mix with pudding in the mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Heath English Toffee Bits, divided
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs and water beating on low speed; scrape down sides of bowl. Beat on medium speed for two minutes. Mix in pumpkin until blended.
2. Stir in pecans and toffee bits.
3. Pour into a greased tube pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. Remove to a wire rack to cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
5. Run a table knife around the outside edge of the pan and remove the cake from the pan keeping the cake on the base. Cool completely.
6. Run a table knife under the cake to separate the cake from the pan. Place the cake on a serving plate. Frost the cake and sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon toffee bits on top.

Rich Buttercream Frosting

4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk or more, as needed  (I use 1%)

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, butter, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the milk. If the mixture is real stiff add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time until spreading consistency. Beat the frosting on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until very light and fluffy.

Yield: 12 servings
517 calories per serving
1.4 gms. fiber

Eggnog Spice Bundt Cake

This tasty Bundt cake has eggnog in it, but the eggnog is not a strong taste, for those of you who don't care for the drink. The cake has a warm spicy taste and is very moist. The original recipe was written to be low in calories, but I changed that by adding a Cream Cheese Frosting. I know that the holiday season is over, but if you happen to have some eggnog left in your fridge, as I did, you might give this cake a try. The recipe starts with a box cake mix, so it goes together very quickly. Blessings...

Recipe: 

1 (18-1/4 oz.) box spice cake mix (without pudding in the mix)
1 (4-serving) box instant vanilla or cheesecake pudding and pie filling mix (I used French Vanilla)
1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt (I used Greek)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup light eggnog (I used Vanilla Spice eggnog, full fat!)
1 egg
3 egg whites
1-1/2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped (you should have about 1-1/3 cups chopped pecans.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, turning the nuts after 5 minutes. Cool and chop.
2. Coat a nonstick Bundt pan with cooking spray or grease a 10" tube pan.
3. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, yogurt, oil, eggnog, egg and egg whites in a large bowl. Mix until creamy, about 1 minute on medium speed.
4. Stir in pecans. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Remove cake from pan and dust with powdered sugar.

Yield: 16 servings
Calories using original ingredients, dusted with powdered sugar = 280 per serving and 2 gms. fiber. I didn't figure out the calories for my variation with frosting.
Note: I use Duncan Hines cake mix because it does not have pudding in the mix. If you use a mix that has pudding in the mix and add more pudding your cake will be extremely heavy. I did that once and the recipe was a failure. I'll post my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe tomorrow.
Original recipe by Holly Clegg and found in Relish Magazine

Cranberry Cake

This wonderful recipe was a reader-contributed winning recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens holiday contest back in November 2004. The cranberry-pecan topping is a crunchy layer on top of a delicate white cake when the cake is turned out of the pan to serve. Topped with whipped cream, this is absolutely a winning recipe for the holiday season. Blessings...

Recipe:

3 cups cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tbsps. milk
Sweetened whipped cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Spread cranberries and pecans over bottom of dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the sugar.
2. In a medium mixing bowl beat eggs with an electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Add remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, melted butter, and milk; beat on low speed just until combined (batter will be thick). Carefully spread batter over cranberries and nuts.
3. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until top is brown and wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes.
4. To serve, spoon warm cake into dessert dishes, cranberry side up. If desired, top with sweetened whipped cream.

Yield: 8-9 servings

White Chocolate Snowdrift Cake

A number of years ago, in 2006, actually, I went to the Better Homes and Gardens website and made a copy of this recipe and stuck it away for a future time. Well, the time was right this week when I came across it again and decided to give the recipe a try. I'm sure glad I did! The white chocolate-cream cheese frosting alone would be worth the effort in making this dessert. The cake is a dressed-up white cake mix, so it goes together very easily. Even if I never made the cake again, the frosting is one I will use on my carrot cakes in the future; it is delicious. Better Homes and Gardens website is http://bhg.com if you would like to check it out. Blessings...

Recipe:

3/4 cup whipping cream
8 oz. white baking chocolate, chopped, or 8 oz. white chocolate chips
1 pkg. 2-layer-size white cake mix
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

1. For frosting, in a medium saucepan combine whipping cream and white chocolate. Cook, stirring, over low heat until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Transfer to a large mixing bowl; cover and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, grease and flour two 9 x 1-1/2-inch or 8 x 1-1/2-inch round cake pans; set aside. Prepare cake mix according to package directions using egg whites. Spoon about 1-1/2 cups of batter into each cake pan. Stir cocoa powder into batter remaining in bowl; stir until blended. Spoon on cake mix in pans; swirl gently to marble and to spread batter evenly in pans. Bake according to package directions except check cakes several minutes before minimum time indicated on package because the cocoa makes the cakes bake in a shorter time. Let cakes cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans; cool completely on wire racks.
3. Continue with frosting by adding cream cheese, in about 1 tablespoon-sized pieces to white chocolate mixture on low speed of electric mixer. When cream cheese is all blended in, gradually add powdered sugar, beating until sugar is completely combined. Mixture should hold soft peaks; do not overbeat. Use immediately.
4. Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Frost with about 1 cup frosting. Top with second cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake.
5. Serve immediately or cover and chill until serving time. I removed the cake from the frige about an hour before serving time because we aren't crazy about chilled cake. Cake will last in the frige for several days.

Yield: 12 servings
458 calories

Cherry Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

This simple and delicious cake recipe comes via my niece and our recipe group. My nieces' daughter made this cake for her mom's birthday this year and she thought it was good enough to share with the others in our group, and I would agree. The recipe starts off with a cake mix and three additional ingredients and ends with one of the easiest fudge icings I've ever made. This recipe is a keeper for those times when you want a cake, but don't have the time to bake from scratch. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 box Fudge Cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1 tsp. almond extract
1 21-ounce can cherry pie filling
2 eggs, beaten to blend

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir by hand until well mixed.
2. Pour into greased 9 x 13-inch or 15 x 10-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. (I used a 9 x 13 pan and baked it for 30 minutes).
3. Cool on a wire rack

Icing:
1 cup sugar
5 tbsps, butter
1/3 cup milk (I used 1%)
1 6-ounce pkg. semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk, bring to a full rolling boil and boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
2. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips stirring until smooth. Pour over cake.

Yield: 12 servings
345 calories each serving
2 gms. fiber
Note: Last evening, 9/21/2014, I was going through Pillsbury's "Best of the Bake-Off" cookbook and I came across the original recipe for this cake. This recipe was created by Frances Jerzak and was the
Grand Prize Winner in 1974 for the 25th. Bake-Off Contest. Frances Jerzak's recipe was called "Chocolate Cherry Bars" and was submitted as a cookie recipe. Whatever you want to call the recipe, Frances Jerzak created a wonderful chocolate dessert.

Gooey Butter Cake

A few years ago when a friend asked me if I had a recipe for Gooey Butter Cake, I responded that I had seen a recipe for it in a church cookbook but, that I had never made it or tasted it. With that, and the fact that her birthday was coming, I thought it would be fun to surprise her so I did further investigation of the recipe. The recipe sounded good. My husband and I decided that we would invite these friends for a birthday dinner in her honor and I made this cake. She was so blessed, and I added a new favorite to our list of desserts. She shared with me that Gooey Butter Cake is a favorite tradition in the mid-west where she grew up, something I did not know. It was such a blessing to bring a little of her childhood traditions to her while they were here in Idaho. Blessings...

Recipe:  

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened (low-fat is fine)
2 eggs
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Mix together cake mix, butter and 1 egg; pat into 9 x 13-inch pan.
2. Mix and beat together cream cheese, 2 eggs, powdered sugar and vanilla. Pour onto cake crust.
3. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. Yummy!!

Yield: 12 servings

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Whipped Cream Pound Cake

The recipe for this wonderful old-fashioned pound cake comes from the church cookbook of my church where I was raised. I have so many fond memories of potluck suppers, choir suppers and women's gatherings where wonderful food like this was served. Thankfully, our guests, for two separate dinners, all agreed and gave this dessert a "thumbs-up". Pound cake is a cooks best friend when it comes to ease and simplicity, and it freezes beautifully. As you can see by the photo, we served it with ice cream and mixed berries. It was so good; blessings...

Recipe:

3 cups sugar
1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks), softened
7 eggs, room temperature
3 cups cake flour, sifted twice
1 cup whipping cream
2 tsps. vanilla

1. Butter and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
2. Thoroughly cream sugar and butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer.
3. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Mix in half of the flour, then the whipping cream, then the remaining flour. Add vanilla. Pour batter into prepared pan.
5. Set pan in a cold oven and turn on heat to 350 degrees. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted comes out clean.
6. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool thoroughly on a wire rack.

Tip: Regular all-purpose flour can be used, if you follow this substitution method: Subtract 2 tbsps. of the flour from each cupful and then sift.

Note: This makes a large cake and serves many. I froze it for a few weeks between guests with no change to taste or texture.

Chunky Apple Spice Cake with Vanilla Butter Sauce

A few weeks back I was thumbing through an old Taste of Home Cooking School Magazine and I came upon this apple cake recipe. The recipe  sounded so good for a Fall meal with the apples, pumpkin pie spice and allspice baked into an easy single layer cake and then topped with a warm, buttery, vanilla sauce. Thankfully, my family agreed as I made it for our Thanksgiving Eve meal together. We added the whipped cream and made it even a bit better, in our opinions. Our three year-old granddaughter agreed, which touched this grandma's heart. You know how little ones can be picky? Well, there was none of that with ham and apple cake for this meal. Blessings...

Recipe:  

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups peeled and chopped Granny Smith or Gala apples (I used Galas)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)
Whipped cream, if desired

Vanilla Butter Sauce:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tbsps. vanilla extract

1. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed for 5 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla just until blended. Set aside.
2. Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, allspice and salt in another bowl. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in apples and nuts.
3. Pour into a greased 9-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

To prepare sauce:

1. Combine butter, whipping cream and brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.
2. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
3. Serve cake warm with sauce and whipped cream. Yummy!

Serves: 9

An Easy Poundcake for Fondue

Today I thought I would follow-up my last two posts for fondue with a very easy pound cake recipe to serve with the chocolate fondue. This cake is not only easy to prepare, it is also easy on the budget. Purchasing desserts can be very costly, so whenever possible it's nice to throw together something at home, especially if it means time spent in the kitchen with family.

Recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Grease and flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan, set aside.
2. Measure all the ingredients into a large mixer bowl. Blend 1/2 minute on low speed, scrape bowl. Beat 3 minutes on high speed; scrape bowl to make sure all the ingredients are blended well.
3. Pour into prepared pan.
4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 - 70 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Let cake sit in pan for 5 minutes on a wire rack, then remove to cool completely before cutting into cubes for fondue, or simply slice and enjoy plain.

Tip: For ease in removing a loaf cake or bread from a pan, run a table knife around the inside edge of the pan. Then carefully slide a pancake turner under the cake and gently lift to loosen all the way around the cake. Turn the cake out onto the wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

This pound cake isn't really a pound cake because it doesn't have a pound of butter in it, but it does have a wonderful dense texture and terrific flavor. Another bonus is that it is very easy to make and it freezes beautifully if you would like to make it in advance to have on hand. Because of the firm texture of this kind of loaf cake, it slices easily and makes a great dessert along with a scoop of ice cream. 
Recipe:

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup miniature chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 9"x5" loaf pan. Set aside.
2. Mix together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and beat well.
4. Add one third of the flour mixture and beat to incorporate, then add half of the sour cream and beat again. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour mixture and the remaining sour cream. Mix in final 1/3 of the flour and make sure all is fully incorporated. Mix in vanilla.
5. Beat egg whites until very stiff, then fold into the batter with an over-and-under motion. Gently stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
6. Bake on the center rack of the oven for about 1 hour 20 minutes, or until golden on top and a cake tester comes out clean.
7. Let cake cool in the pan on a rack. It can be stored in an airtight container or frozen (indefinitely).
Serves 12