vintage cake

his Vintage Cake combines two layers of white cake, with a surprise brownie layer soaked in a decadent chocolate sauce. And the cream cheese frosting takes it right over the top!

Ingredients

• Amanda's white cake recipe OR 1 box white cake mix
• Amanda's Decadent Brownies OR 1 box brownie mix
• 2 squares (2 ounces) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk (half of a 14-ounce can)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/4 cup milk

Instructions

1. Prepare white cake as directed on the box, and pour into two 9-inch round cake pans. Allow cakes to cool to room temperature.
2. Prepare brownies as directed, baking in a 9-inch round cake pan.
3. To make the chocolate sauce, place the chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring until the chocolate is melted (about 5 minutes).
4. While the brownies are still warm, place the brownie layer on a cake stand. Slowly pour the chocolate sauce on top, letting it soak into the brownie. Allow the sauce to soak in for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting (see below).
5. Place a white cake layer on top of the brownies and top with approximately 1/4 cup of the frosting using an offset spatula.
6. Add the second white cake layer and cover the cake in a layer of cream cheese frosting. Since I'm not a pro at decorating, I used Amanda's tip and just swooped my spatula through the frosting in a "C" shape.
7. Chill the cake until ready to serve.
To make the frosting:
8. Combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a stand mixer and mix on medium speed until incorporated, about 1 or 2 minutes. Add the confectioner's sugar 1 cup at a time, until the frosting is light and creamy. For thicker/stiffer frosting, add more confectioner's sugar 1/4 cup at a time. If the frosting is too stiff, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.

 White cake

The flavor is fantastic and the texture is truly perfection. One major adaptation I did was using 8-in cake pans.  The original recipe calls for 9-in and about 5 minutes less cooking time.  If you plan on using 9-in plans please do consult the original recipe.  The first time I made it I used 8-in cake pans with no time adaptation and was not as successful.

The Perfect White Cake

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 cup milk at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans.
2. Make sure milk and eggs are room temperature.
3. Pour milk (I used skim) , egg whites, and extracts into medium bowl and mix with fork until blended.
4. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter, cut into cubes and continue beating on low for about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to flour mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat for about 1 minute.
6. Pour batter evenly between two prepared cake pans.
7. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 27 to 30 minutes.
8. Allow cake to cool to room temperature.
9. Frost cakes with favorite frosting.
10. Just barely adapted from epicurious, taken from Cooks Illustrated.

Read more: http://iambaker.net/the-perfect-white-cake/#ixzz394hYQdHb

brownies

While I love a good fudgey brownie, this cakey brownie with a crispy crust and bits of semi-sweet chocolate is my newest obsession.

Decadent Homemade Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulate sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cake flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate (about 2 ounces) finely chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare an 8-inch round cake pan.

In stand mixer, combine sugars, butter and vanilla and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time until well blended.

Sift flours, cocoa and salt in medium bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture to butter mixture with mixer on low speed and blend until ingredients are fully combined. (no more than 1 minute)

Remove bowl from mixer and fold in finely chopped chocolate by hand using a spatula.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let brownies cool to room temperature in pan.

Read more: http://iambaker.net/decadent-homemade-brownies/#ixzz394i2PAbW

Baked Parmesan Zucchini Crisps

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 zucchinis, thinly sliced to about ¼-inch thick rounds
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Lay out a couple paper towels and place the zucchini rounds on the paper towels. Sprinkle zucchini with salt on both sides. Cover zucchini slices with more paper towels and press down them. Leave for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes you will notice that the paper towels are wet and the zucchini slices are pretty dry.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a shallow plate, combine Panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano and season with salt and pepper; set aside.
4. In another shallow plate add the flour which you also need to season with salt and pepper.
5. In a 3rd plate beat eggs, with salt and pepper.
6. Start dredging zucchini rounds in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in Panko mixture, pressing to coat. Place zucchini slices on prepared baking sheet.
7. Repeat until all zucchini slices are done. One large baking sheet was enough for me.
8. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the zucchini rounds are golden and crispy.
9. Serve with your favorite dip.

Read more: http://www.jocooks.com/healthy-eating/baked-parmesan-zucchini-crisps/#ixzz393bE1Os7

Raspberry dark chocolate banana bread

Raspberry- Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 50 min

ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated white sugar

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)

1/3 cup plain low fat yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup halved raspberries, tossed in 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture; just until moist. Don't over-mix. Stir in the chocolate chunks and then gently stir in the raspberries. If you want, you can sprinkle a few additional chocolate chunks and raspberries on the top to make it look pretty.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on the wire rack.

Since there have been some mixed reviews, we're adding in some tips to help you make this recipe a success (added 9/25/12)
*This recipe turns out perfect for us, so here are the details: We bake at sea level in a greased pyrex pan and we bake on the middle rack in a gas oven.
*Don't use frozen raspberries or freshly washed raspberries (they will add too much moisture).
*If you bake in a dark metal pan or if you are baking at a different altitude or using an electric oven, you may possibly get different results.
*Oven temperatures can vary quite a bit, so if you have an oven thermometer that is helpful to see if yours is recording the right temperature.
*If the top is browning too quickly, cover the top with foil in the middle of baking to prevent it from browning further.
Hope those are all helpful tips- don't be afraid to try the recipe- it's so yummy!

Source: RecipeBoy.com

Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups cake flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 TB lemon juice
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup grated zucchini
Glaze ingredients:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 TB lemon juice
• 1 TB milk

Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add oil and sugar until well blended. Add lemon juice, buttermilk, lemon zest to this mixture and blend all together.
3. Fold in zucchini until it is mixed well.
4. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend all together until well combined.
5. Pour batter into greased 9x5 loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
7. While still warm, make glaze and spoon over the bread. Let the glaze set up before cutting and serving.