My husband has a friend who LOVES Little Debbie cakes! He just can’t get enough of all the seasonal flavors. From Pumpkin Spice Rolls to Chocolate Cake rolls, Little Debbie has it all. I won’t shame our friend for loving them, but if you ever taste a real cake roll, I don’t think there’s any going back! Swiss Cake Rolls are a favorite for many because of the chocolate and the cream inside!
Years ago I made homemade Chocolate Cake rolls and I had linked them to the original source, which was Southern Living. The recipe is no longer there, and a kind reader notified me and asked me for the link. It’s nowhere to be found. So, I thought I’d fix the problem by simply sharing my printed version of this super good and super easy Chocolate Cake Roll with Chocolate Mint Sauce.
Angel food cake is a perfect spring dessert. Its light texture is perfect alone or with strawberries that are in the market right now. It’s also low in calories, so if winter added a few pounds, you won’t feel guilty about indulging! I was also amazed at how few ingredients it takes to make one. There are lots of eggs, but other than that, it’s just a few other things added!
I made this last week, and there’s really no comparison to this and what you buy in the bakery department of your grocery store. The texture is so much better. Mine had a nice brown, sugar-y edge that gave it a delicious texture. My only warning is not to make this on a rainy, humid day. Beaten egg whites don’t respond with that kind of atmosphere…I speak from experience!
Here’s the simple recipe from Taste of Home ~
Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
1-1/4 cups egg whites (about 9 large)
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup cake flour
1-1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Sift 1/2 cup sugar and flour together twice; set aside.
Place oven rack in the lowest position. Preheat oven to 350°. Add cream of tartar, extracts and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time.
Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake until lightly browned and entire top appears dry, 35-40 minutes. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour.
Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate.
Eggs are usually marked lower in spring, which makes this dessert an incredible value. Give your hand a try at this wonderful cake and I doubt you’ll be buying the ones in the plastic containers at your grocers!
Last week I mentioned our wonderful 40 anniversary celebration our daughters gave us. Our family celebrations usually always include some GREAT food. This party was no exception! After lunch we went to our daughter’s home for cake! This was a Strawberry Layer Cake from Taste of the South. I’m sharing the recipe with you today because it was fabulous, and because strawberry season is upon us! If you need a reason, this is the perfect one to buy strawberries!
Strawberry Layer Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries, divided
½ cup strawberry preserves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberry Frosting (recipe follows)
4 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, divided
Garnish: fresh strawberries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 2 (8-inch) round, tall-sided cake pans with baking spray with flour; line bottom of pans with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. Beat in 2 cups strawberries, preserves, and vanilla. Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks. Spread about 1½ cups Strawberry Frosting onto one cake layer. Place about 1 cup Strawberry Frosting in a piping bag, and cut tip to create a dime-size opening. Pipe a border around edge of cake layer. Sprinkle frosting with 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar. Layer remaining 2 cups strawberries slices in center of frosting; sprinkle again with remaining 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining Strawberry Frosting on top and sides of cake. Garnish with strawberries, if desired.
Strawberry Frosting Makes about 4 cups Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
½ cup strawberry preserves or jam
Instructions
In a large bowl, beat butter with a mixer at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar alternately with cream, beating until combined. Increase mixer speed to high. Add preserves, and beat for 1 minute.
This made a wonderful celebration cake, but you don’t need to wait for a special occasion to make it – especially if you love strawberries!
Oh, the flavors of Christmas! Can we get enough? Surely gingerbread would be one smell and taste associated with Christmas baking. However, you don’t need to go to all the fuss of gingerbread houses or decorated gingerbread men to get that delicious, reminiscent flavor.
When I was growing up, we usually always had dessert with supper, and one treat I loved was Gingerbread Cake. I can still see the metal pan, filled with the gingery goodness. My mom would serve it topped with a dollop of whipping cream. Yum; it made the house smell so good, and it tasted even better.
I was glad to find a recipe from Cooking light for a Gingerbread cake that took me back to my childhood. This recipe has a Lemon Glaze to pour over it, if you wish. I’ve made that and love it, but for December, I’m sticking to whipping cream as the garnish! It only takes a few minutes to whip this together!
Gingerbread Cake 1/3 cup butter, cut into small pieces 2/3 cup hot water 1 cup light or dark molasses 1 large egg 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves Cooking spray Glaze 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 cup frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed Ground cinnamon (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine butter and hot water in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until the butter melts. Add molasses and egg, and stir with a whisk until blended. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Add flour mixture to the molasses mixture, stirring just until moist.
Spoon batter into a 9 x 9-inch cake pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool gingerbread in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
For Glaze: Combine sugar and lemon juice, stirring until well blended. Pierce top of gingerbread liberally with a wooden skewer. Pour glaze over gingerbread. Cool completely.
Top each serving with the whipped topping. Sprinkle gingerbread with cinnamon and garnish with lemon slices, if desired.
I love serving this warm and then topping it with fresh whipping cream and a dusting of cinnamon. This would make a great weeknight dessert to serve to your family. Why not put it on your menu for this week and add some Christmas-y smells and tastes to your supper meal? It would make a great memory recipe for your family!
The holidays usually leave all of us feeling like our jeans certainly must have shrunk in the wash, right? Cough! Cough! I know I have eaten more than my share of sugar and carbs over Christmas and New Year’s and should be staring at a simple salad for the next month! But life happens! Things like birthdays come even after the holidays and we find the need for a great cake in order to celebrate. If you can celebrate with tofu, I applaud you! My family would cut my branch off the family tree! So…
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