Category Archives: Cake & Frosting

Best Made Plans & 10 Dozen Cupcakes

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Veronica

After twenty-nine years of living with myself, I have come to realize that I’m a girl who likes a plan. I make plans and I keep them, if possible, and I get upset if anyone messes with my plans. For example, if my Mom invites us to dinner at 5, I, rather foolishly at this point, plan to be eating dinner at 5. Usually we eat 1-2 hours later than the appointed time because Mom is only halfway through her five-hour bath and my sisters and I have to do the cooking. Thus, I’m often upset when attending a dinner at my parents’ house.

Well, a couple weeks ago I learned that an old friend from high-school was coming to town for spring break and I invited her to come over to dinner on the 15th. She agreed and also put in an order for a chocolate peanut butter cake for her brother-in-law’s birthday. So I planned to get the house clean over the next couple weeks (including things like dusting and cleaning the mirrors, which gets done less than monthly if I’m being honest), make our dinner the night before so that I could pop it in the oven right after I got off work on Monday and it would be ready exactly when she showed up. I had a plan, and it was good.

Then another friend asked me if I could keep her dog over the same weekend that I had planned to be cleaning, making a cake and making a dinner. This messed with my plan but it wasn’t a big deal so I readily agreed.

Then my little sister asked me if I could keep my 4-year-old nephew, Owen, on Saturday because she had to work and her husband would be busy moving their stuff into their new house. OK, this was a bigger deal but if I got the grocery shopping done on Friday night after work and managed to get the house clean by the weekend, I could probably get the cake & dinner made on Sunday before the morning and evening Church services, which would leave my Saturday free to frolic with my nephew. I could handle it but was starting to get edgy.

Then, on Thursday, another friend asked if she could leave her dog with me on Saturday since she was unexpectedly scheduled for overtime. This dog is a digger and our house would be harder to keep clean with him and his muddy paws around, but she always keeps our dog when we need her to so I couldn’t refuse. Besides, I was already keeping one dog, so why not two?

Then things got serious. And bad. One of my dearest friends called me to let me know she was coming to town because her mother was brain-dead, on life-support, and they were going to have to pull the plug. She was coming home to say good-bye to her Mother. This made all my stress over getting the house clean seem petty and my heart just broke for her. But still, the part of me that likes plans was unnerved. I wanted to see my friend and comfort her but how could I fit it all in?

I found out through an update on her sister’s Facebook page that they were in need of food and immediately responded, letting her know I could make at least one meal for them. I would just double the enchilada recipe I was going to make for the other friend. Then Jaci called me and made a tearful request for me to supply the desserts for the dinner after her mother’s funeral. I said yes, of course. I would have done anything I could to help and if cupcakes eased her burden or lifted her spirits in the slightest, I was willing to make enough of them for all the guests, which she estimated wouldn’t be more than 100.

Just one problem. Due to the timing of everything, I would have to make the cupcakes Saturday. And Saturday was the day I would have two dogs (three, counting my own) and a small boy running through the house, commanding most of my attention.

Like I said, I like a plan, and changing my plan five times over the course of several days very close to the span of time it was going to play out…stressed me out. I hate to admit that since it makes me sound small and petty & ridiculous in light of the enormity of my friend’s trauma and grief, but it’s the truth, even if I don’t like it. I also really don’t like cramming that many things into a weekend but it couldn’t be helped so I sucked it up and asked my husband to help because I knew I wouldn’t be able to do everything by myself. And, Godsend that he is, he did.

On Saturday, I took my nephew shopping for a few baking supplies (we also somehow ended up with a puzzle and some plastic chicks filled with Play-Doh) and he “helped” me with the first batch of cupcakes. Helped as in poured batter all over the floor.

Owen with his cupcake creation: banana with cream cheese frosting and FOUR WHOLE STRAWBERRIES on top! I was so tickled watching him cram all those strawberries on there. If you look closely, you can see the back of my Jessie's head looking out the window--probably at her two friends who just flew out the doggie door!

Although he was absolutely delightful and adorable, I couldn’t take the pressure of trying to bake and watch/entertain him at the same time. Dennis swooped in like an angel and played games with him indoors and out and then took him to a McDonald’s PlayPlace for TWO WHOLE HOURS and I not only got 120+ cupcakes made, I also had time to bake and freeze the cake layers for the chocolate peanut butter cake.

Phew.

I was able to get the cake & copious amounts of enchiladas made on Sunday afternoon, almost in time to meet Jaci for dinner at 7:00. Yes, I was late, which usually would have upset me, but I let myself get away with it this time. It was so good to see her, even under the circumstances, and I think the hugs and chatting face-to-face did us both some good since we’ve only seen each other twice since her family moved several years ago. There were wet eyes but no shed tears–we were too happy to be with our friends. Since the bulk of my to-do list was checked off and I could enjoy my time there with her, it turned out to be a therapeutic evening for both of us.

Dennis, me, Jaci, Everett & Danielle at Il Vicino 3-14-10

Needless to say, I didn’t get to the dusting or window-washing like I had planned,but by the time Heather came over for dinner on Monday, I was too relieved and happy to see her, too happy to eat my favorite enchiladas with green rice, to care. I love it when a plan comes together.

True story--I took like 20 pictures of my food during dinner and forgot to take any with Heather so after she left, I called her up with the bribe of cookies to come back just for this photo! Who takes pictures of their food and not their friends?!

OK, so how about those recipes for the the cupcakes? If you made it this far into the blog, I’m sure you’ve worked up an appetite and you deserve a treat!

For starters, feast your eyes on this:

The first two dozen were banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, sprinkled with black walnuts. I’ve posted that recipe before and you can find it here.

The third dozen was Turtle Brownie Cups, which I pretty much made up on the spot out of desperation. Come to think of it, these are all my own recipes (some inspired by forgotten recipes found online & in mags during the past several years) except for the Brownie Cakes. I hardly ever post any of my own recipes, and never so many at once. I hope you like them!

TURTLE BROWNIE CUPS

1 fudge brownie mix
1 stick melted butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 cup dulce de leche
heavy cream, as needed
24 pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put paper liners in a 12-cup muffin pan. Now this part is important: Spray lightly with oil. I forgot to, maybe I was distracted (you think?), and the brownies got really stuck to the liners. Yup, for future reference, brownie batter sticks to paper liners if you don’t lightly spray them with cooking spray first. I knew this but my brain was operating on a reduced number of brain cells at that point (I think some of them were rocking back and forth in straight jackets inside the padded cell of my skull).

OK, whip up the brownie mix with the melted butter and water until well mixed. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about half full. Put a teaspoon or two of cold or room temp dulce de leche on top of each brownie cup. Bake for 20 minutes or until they’re as done as you like ’em. I like ’em fudgy but my brain cells weren’t working right, as we’ve already established, and I baked them for half an hour so they were little overdone. Dang it, I hate it when I do that!

Take them out and let them cool completely, then use some dulce de leche to glue on two pecan halves to each top. You can either warm the remaining dulce de leche and drizzle it on over the tops of the brownie cups, or mix in a little cream to keep it from drying out if you won’t be serving them for over 24 hours. I did some crazy concoction with dulce de leche, a little caramel frosting, and a little cream.

*Veronica’s notes: You could also make these using wrapped caramels (but you’d want to unwrap them of course), placing one on top of the batter before baking and then melting some more to drizzle over the top. I just happened to have dulce de leche and used that.

The next dozen is a recipe I adapted from my friend, Kim D., and it’s a glorious combination of brownie and cheesecake in a cupcake liner. I did forget to spray these liners with oil as well, and I also overbaked them. But I have made them properly before and can attest that they are stupendous. I always use dark chocolate brownie mix with this recipe.

BROWNIE CAKES

Brownie layer:
1 box brownie mix
1/4 cup water
1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter
1 egg

Cheesecake layer:
1 cup (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

ganache (optional–see note)

Preheat oven to 350 and line 16 muffin cups with liners. Spray them lightly with oil (!). In medium bowl, stir together brownie mix, water, oil and egg until well mixed. Spoon batter into cups, filling 1/2 – 2/3 full. Using mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla on medium for 1 minute. For each cupcake, place rounded tablespoon of mixture on top of brownie batter on one side (don’t spread or you will get an earthquake surface where the brownie makes the cheesecake layer crack when it rises). Bake 28-32 minutes. Makes 16 cupcakes.

*Veronica’s notes: If you want, you can make a ganache to drizzle over the tops. It isn’t necessary since the brownies add enough chocolate flavor, but it makes them pretty. Just follow the recipe for ganache in the “Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes” below.

The next two dozen I decided to use up the leftover whipped caramel ganache I had used on a birthday cake (frosting freezes well in an airtight container–I’ve kept it this way up to a year with no bad effects). That birthday cake, ironically enough, was for Jaci’s sister, so although Jaci couldn’t be here for Liz’s birthday to enjoy the cake she ordered for her, she was able to taste the frosting on cupcakes at her Mom’s funeral dinner. It sounds very bittersweet, but I hope that the cupcakes brought her a moment of small happiness on such a grief-stricken day in her life. I know just looking at a cupcake makes me happy–doesn’t it make you happy?

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH WHIPPED CARAMEL GANACHE

Easy Sour Cream Chocolate Cake:
1 dark chocolate fudge cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup water
3 eggs

1/2 recipe Whipped Caramel Ganache
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 and line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Mix the cake ingredients on medium for two minutes, scraping sides of bowl. Fill muffin cups 1/2 – 2/3 full (I prefer half full so that the tops just barely dome above the liner but fill fuller for bigger cupcakes. If you have extra batter, you can just set it aside and use it to make more cupcakes once the first batch comes out. It works–I promise–I did it with two of my cupcake batters that day). Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of largest cupcake comes out clean. Let cool in pans for five minutes, then remove to cooling racks. Cool completely, then pipe or spread the whipped ganache over the tops and sprinkle some mini chocolate chips over the ganache, if desired.

Next I made my favorite cupcakes in terms of prettiness. My favorite as far as taste goes is the lemon one that will come last, but only because I have a fondness for this particular lemon frosting and because I’ve been yearning for spring and those seem to herald it. These cupcakes are based on my dark chocolate raspberry cake, but the recipe for the cake part is new–I just kind of threw it together and it I’m really proud of the result. These muffins weren’t just dark, they were BLACK but weren’t bitter in the slightest and hand a crumb so moist and tender, I couldn’t believe I was responsible for creating it. Forgive me my moment of self-pride, but I don’t often come up with my own recipes and when I do and they are this good, I get excited!

DARK CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES

Cake:
1 dark chocolate fudge cake mix
½ c dutch process cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark works)
¼ c granulated sugar
½ c oil
1 c sour cream
1 c water
3 eggs

Frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
2 lbs powdered sugar
¼ c seedless raspberry preserves
2 T raspberry liqueur OR 3 t raspberry extract

Ganache:
¼ c heavy cream
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate

30-40 fresh raspberries (a half-pint will suffice)

Preheat oven to 350. Put paper liners in two 12-cup muffin tins & set aside.

Beat cake ingredients on low until moistened, then on medium speed for two minutes, scraping sides of bowl. Fill lined muffin tins almost to the top, or 2/3 full and save extra batter to make 3-4 more cupcakes once the first batch comes out of the oven. If you want smaller cupcakes and more of them, fill them 1/2 full and you can get 6-10 more cupcakes out of the second baking cycle. There will be enough frosting for all. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of largest cupcake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Remove from oven and cool in tins for 5 minutes, then remove onto cooling rack to cool completely. If you have extra batter, put liners in another pan, fill, and bake them while the first batch is cooling.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. Cream the butter and cream cheese, then beat in the remaining ingredients. Pipe or spread over COOLED cupcakes.

Prepare the ganache: place the cream and chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat and stir until melted, shiny & smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature, I think it only took a few minutes b/c it won’t be very hot to begin with, then drizzle over cupcakes with a pastry bag or a spoon or fork. Place a fresh raspberry on top and refrigerate until ready to serve.

OK, now for my favorite! I actually prefer to put this frosting on white cupcakes but this time I put it on lemon cupcakes since I had a lemon cake mix in the cupboard. Just bake up your choice of cupcakes and top them with this frosting. If you want to get a little fancy, you can pipe a teaspoon or two of raspberry or strawberry preserves (or even lemon curd if you don’t mind a double or triple lemon shot-depending on what kind of cupcake you used) into the tops of the cooled cupcakes so they are filled!

ZESTY LEMON FROSTING

2 lemons
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 lb powdered sugar
milk as needed
Yellow food coloring (optional)

From lemons, grate the peel and squeeze ¼ cup juice. Cream the butter until smooth, then add the grated peel, lemon juice, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of milk. Beat until smooth & creamy, adding additional milk as necessary to reach your desired consistency. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy. If desired, beat in enough yellow food coloring or icing paste color to tint a pale yellow. As you can see from the picture, I didn’t tint the frosting b/c I wanted a contrast between the color of the cupcakes and the color of the frosting. When I use white cupcakes, I tint the frosting. I guess I think all one color is boring.

OK, that’s it, folks! Let me know if you try any of the cupcakes–I love feeback.

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Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged banana cupcakes, brownie cakes, chocolate cupcakes, dark chocolate raspberry cupcakes, turtle brownie cups, whipped caramel ganache, zesty lemon frosting. Bookmark the permalink.

Tres Leches Cake

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Veronica

See these three milks (tres leches)? Imagine them stirred up together and poured over a hot sponge cake that soaks up every drop until it is bursting with sweet milk, and then slathered with a light & fluffy white topping after being chilled. That’s this cake. And it’s fabulous.

My first and only Tres Leches Cake experience prior to making this one was taking a bite of one that was brought to a Church potluck dinner a decade ago. I believe it was made from a mix and there is no comparison between it and this one. The texture was too fine and the cake too moist to properly absorb all the liquid and flavor of the milks and it was almost a pile of mush on my plate. Not very appetizing.

If it wasn’t for my friend, Marina, who provides me with so many wonderful recipes, I never would have tried another. But she mentioned that she had a fabulous recipe for one and since I can’t resist a fabulous recipe, particularly one that comes from her, I asked if she would share it and happily for us, she did!

I made the cake for my husband to take to a Mexican-themed potluck at work, along with Chicken Enchilada Chili. They gobbled it up and Dennis came home with rave reviews. The story that tickled me most was about a co-worker who has been on a diet but decided to take a small piece. He was still standing next to the cake when he took his first bite and immediately cut himself a larger second piece before he even finished the first. I don’t blame him!

Just look at this milk-laden goodness. If you stare at it long enough, you can almost hear it whisper, “Eat me. You know you want to.”

I did nab a piece myself before sending it off with Dennis. What, don’t you take a piece for yourself before bringing cake to potlucks? You should–just tell anyone that asks that you did it for quality control purposes. Works for me. Anyway, see that piece below with the cherries on top, à la Pioneer Woman? I ate that sucker in a minute flat. Then I licked the plate.

I’m sending this recipe to Creative Sanyukta, the host for this week’s BSI–milk!

TRES LECHE CAKE

Cake:
6 large eggs, separated
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Topping:
1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream

Icing:
3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg whites

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. (I’m impatient so I beat them on high speed.) Add the sugar gradually with the mixer running and beat to stiff peaks. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. (Do this quickly so the batter does not lose volume.) Add the vanilla. Bake until golden & a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.

To make the cream topping:
Whisk together the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream in a medium bowl. Remove the cake from the oven and while still warm, pour the cream mixture over it. Let sit and cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

To make the icing:
Once the cake is completely chilled, in a saucepan combine the water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 to 240 degrees F. Remove from the heat. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. While beating, add the hot syrup in a stream. Beat until all the syrup has been added, the mixture cools, and a glossy icing forms.

To assemble: Remove the cake from the refrigerator and spread the icing evenly across the top. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

recipe courtesy of Marina C.

*Veronica’s Note: This recipe is similar to Pioneer Woman’s recipe, but makes a larger cake (compare the ingredients, there’s larger quantities of most everything) and the method is easier–you don’t have to use more than one bowl. Also, instead of whipped cream on top, Marina’s calls for a light egg white frosting (you may have heard it called 7-minute frosting, but the method here is a little different) that is fat-free, and since the cake already contains three highly caloric milks, I thought it was heavy enough without adding any additional fat. It wasn’t a hard decision choosing Marina’s recipe over Ree’s (although I am a faithful PW fan), despite those drool-worthy pictures, and I don’t regret it.

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Posted in Cake & Frosting, Mexican and tagged tres leche cake, tres leches cake. Bookmark the permalink.

Vegan Gluten-Free Mounds Cake

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Veronica

I made this cake the same day I made the chocolate peanut butter cake because the latter was for a friend’s birthday and I wanted to bring something that her son with food allergies could enjoy as well. It was so good, however, that we all had some (yes, on top of the chocolate peanut butter cake!) and she served the leftovers to her entire family later on. They all loved it, which makes me so proud because producing a palatable vegan and gluten-free cake was a challenge.

Dennis and I took a single piece home with us, which we regretted the next day when we split it and it was gone all too quickly. We both love Mounds candy bars and this cake really does capture that flavor. I would make this cake for any one, not just those with food allergies.

I’m submitting this cake to Sophia’s “You are What You Cook” challenge because I feel the recipe really defines me. I do not personally have food allergies, but I love the challenge of creating a palatable dish when there are obstacles to overcome (in this case, no dairy and strange flours!). I do commiserate with those who are vegan because they love animals, and I’m enthusiastic about recipes that are meat & dairy-free for that reason. This recipe is the love I have for baking, the heartache I feel for those who can’t enjoy the treats most of us do, my determination not to sacrifice flavor & texture due to the restrictions, and my triumph in creating something that made a ten-year-old boy give a huge grin after his first bite and declare, “This is awesome!”

If you do not have an allergy to gluten, you can substitute all-purpose flour and omit the xanthan gum, but there’s no need to change anything else, even if you aren’t vegan. The recipe is perfect the way it is!

Vegan Gluten-Free Mounds Cake

Really Wacky Cake
Wacky Cake was popular during the depression when eggs and butter were rationed and harder to come by. Taking this dairy and egg-free cake and making it gluten-free makes it really wacky!

3 c gluten-free all-purpose baking flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1 t Xanthan Gum
2 c granulated sugar
1 t salt
2 t baking soda
½ c cocoa powder (I used Dutch processed for a deeper color & chocolate flavor)
¾ c vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
2 t vanilla extract
2 T distilled white vinegar
2 c cold water

Coconut Filling
2 T coconut oil
¾ c coconut milk
1 c granulated sugar
20 large vegan marshmallows
10 oz unsweetened coconut

Coconut Ganache
½ c coconut milk (not light)
8 oz Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and set aside. Sift all dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Make three wells and put the oil in one, the vanilla in another and the vinegar in the last. Pour water over it all and mix until well blended. Pour into prepared pan and bake 30-40 minutes (mine took 40) until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Once the cake is cool or mostly cool, prepare the filling. Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat until it melts, then add the coconut milk and sugar. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the marshmallows until dissolved. Stir in the coconut and spread over the cake. Allow to cool before preparing the ganache.

Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and set aside. Heat the coconut milk until it bubbles around the edges and steam rises off the surface. Pour over the chocolate and allow to sit for several minutes. Stir until smooth and shiny—this will probably take two minutes. If necessary, place bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water & stir constantly to melt the chocolate completely.

Pour the ganache over the cake and spread to the edges. Allow to set for at least an hour before serving.

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Posted in Cake & Frosting, Vegetarian & Vegan and tagged gluten-free, mounds cake, vegan. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Veronica

I did it. I actually made an entire cake from scratch. This isn’t an unprecedented feat, but it is a rare one. Those of you who know me are probably aware I prefer to make cakes with a box mix and top them with ridiculously good frosting from scratch to make up for it because that has always yielded me the best results. But the results I got with this one are just stupendous. Tremendous. Incredible.

OK, first about the cake itself (my favorite part, believe it or not). It is not only the easiest scratch cake I ever made (no mixer required!!), but also the BEST. Yes, I like it even better than carrot cake. Better than Clandestine Chocolate Fudge Cake. Better than any of the butter cakes from The Cake Bible. It is unbelievably tender and moist and such a deep dark chocolate that it is almost black. But it isn’t bitter in the slightest. It’s a thing of beauty.

The frosting is wonderful, though I’m accustomed to wonderful frosting so I don’t feel compelled to write a sonnet about it as I do with the cake. I know you might think, “Cream cheese and peanut butter? Ewwwww,” but just shut up and make it. It’s really good.

As for the chocolate peanut butter glaze, well it is the crowning glory that pulls the whole thing together. Imagine ganache (oooooooh), and then imagine it with peanut butter added (ahhhhhhhhh). It’s a marriage made in heaven and makes the whole cake so pretty without any decorating effort.

OK, so are you ready to make this cake? I thought so.

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted if from Sky High: Irresistable Triple-Layer Cakes

Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark will work)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanut brittle (I skipped this)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper. (I used two 9″ pans and sprayed them with Baker’s Joy–I had no problems whatsoever.)

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. (This was too thick for me to whisk–I had to use a spatula to get it all combined.) Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. I think my 9″ cakes took between 40-45 minutes. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners if you used them, and let cool completely. (Deb’s Smitten Kitchen note: These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me. Veronica’s note: I agree with Deb 100%.)

4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. (I used about a cup of frosting as filling since I only had two layers.) (Deb note 1: Making a crumb coat of frosting–a thin layer that binds the dark crumbs to the cake so they don’t show up in the final outer frosting layer–is a great idea for this cake, or any with a dark cake and lighter-colored frosting. Once you “mask” your cake, let it chill for 15 to 30 minutes until firm, then use the remainder of the frosting to create a smooth final coating. Deb note 2: Once the cake is fully frosted, it helps to chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze.)

5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove at least 2 hours before serving. Decorate the top with chopped peanut brittle.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups (1 lb.) confectioners’ sugar
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

Veronica’s note: OK, I had a devil of a time with this glaze. I tried to cheat and melt the chocolate, peanut butter and corn syrup in the microwave and it seized up. Or I thought it did. I discarded the brick-like mass and started over, melting it over the double boiler this time. But the same thing happened. The chocolate softened and I was able to combine everything, sort of, but it was this weird solid mass that wouldn’t liquify. I eventually had to add the the half and half just to get it to liquify and that did the trick. I’m telling you this just in case you have a similar problem so you’ll know how to fix it.

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Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged chocolate peanut butter cake, sky high cakes. Bookmark the permalink.

Easy Italian Cream Cake

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Veronica

This recipe was passed onto me by my friend, Marina C., whom I affectionately refer to as my “Foodie Mama,” because she is my biggest baking inspiration. She has won nearly 300 ribbons at county & state fairs for her food, (from burritos to cookies & cakes to entire meals), her recipes & food-related interviews have been published in Bon Appetit, Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle, Woman’s Day, Taste of Home, Readers Digest, The Blue Ribbon Gazette, several newspapers, and The Wall Street Journal. She has been a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off, has appeared on the Home Show and is currently a field editor for Taste of Home magazine. Whew! What a resume!

She has shared many of her award-winning recipes with me and is very generous, so you can find many of them on this site (click here to see them all) because she never minds me posting them. As far as I know, this one isn’t a literal winner but it really won my family over!

When I asked my mom what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday this year, I expected her to request her favorite Mocha Crunch Cake, but instead she said, “Surprise me!” I guess I’ve been baking cakes long enough that she knows she can trust my judgement. (And if you knew my Mom, you’d know that’s a big compliment. She doesn’t trust anyone’s judgement–lol.) With Marina’s help, I didn’t let her down.

This Italian Cream Cake is a little different from other recipes in that it starts with a mix and it contains maraschino cherries, which is unusual. The combination of nuts, coconut and cherries with the soft, creamy frosting made me feel like I was eating some sort of ice cream sundae in cake form! I made the mistake of serving it cold and while everyone liked it (my Mom could NOT stop gushing over how wonderful it was), I took a piece home and ate it at room temperature the next day and found it to be 100 times better. When cold, the texture is much more dense and the frosting is a little hard. At room temperature, it’s light and the frosting is creamy and it’s divine.

I couldn’t find frozen coconut so I shredded my own, which was a chore but I was able to use the leftover in a Mounds Cake.

EASY ITALIAN CREAM CAKE

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

Cake:
1 (18.25 oz) butter cake mix
5 egg yolks
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. butter, softened
½ c. chopped maraschino cherries
¼ cup maraschino cherry syrup
1 c. fresh frozen coconut, thawed
1 c. chopped pecans

Icing:
1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. Crisco
1 box (1 lb) powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. milk (I omitted)
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8″ or 9″ cake pans and set aside.

Mix cake mix with rest of ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the Cream Cheese Icing. Beat the cream cheese, butter and vegetable shortening until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar, milk & vanilla until well blended. When the cake is completely cool, spread 1/3 of the icing over one cake layer, place the other on top and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides. Sprinkle top of cake with the ¾ cup of pecans (I opted to press them into the sides and use drained cherries to decorate the top.) Cover cake in air-tight container and refrigerate overnight, or longer, to allow the flavors to meld. Remove from fridge at least two hours before serving; serve at room temperature. It will keep several days at room temperature and probably up to five in the fridge.

Recipe courtesy of Marina C.

Mom with her beloved cake!

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Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged easy, italian cream cake, italian creme cake, maraschino cherries. Bookmark the permalink.

Butter Pecan-Rum Cake

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Veronica

Living with our parents for eighteen years or more, we’re bound to take on some of their characteristics and qualities during that impressionable time, whether good or bad, and whether we’d like to admit it or not. For the past decade, I have been working on undoing many of those that I deem unacceptable, such as being overly critical and dramatic, and have been moderately successful. One of the many bad habits that I haven’t been able to completely shake is the tendency to buy things that I really don’t need, simply because they are on sale.

Yes, I was raised by a woman who can’t resist a sale. I believe this may be a common thing among women(?), but perhaps not to the degree that my mother takes it.

My parents (now empty-nesters) have three refrigerators and two freezers, and Mom has stocked enough canned & frozen foods (purchased on sale, of course) to last them at least six months without making a trip to the grocery store. Ironically, she does the same thing with produce, of which at least half goes bad before they can eat it so she ends up wasting money rather than saving it, at least in that area. I often see an entire crisper drawer full of avocados, tomatoes, onions, etc, and many are still there two months later in a much sadder state.

Though I have never shopped sales to this degree, I have purchased my fair share of unneccessary items simply because they were a good price. A butter pecan cake mix, for example. Not an item I needed or was very interested in, but it was on sale so I had to have it.

For two months, I glanced guiltily over at that mix each time I opened my cupboard where I keep most of my baking supplies. I finally, finally took the cake mix down and found a recipe on the back for butter pecan-rum cake…and that’s all she wrote. I made it immediately and after Dennis and I ate 1/3 of the cake ourselves, I brought the remainder to work where it was promptly devoured.

The butter & sour cream really make the cake super-moist–even the next day after storing it with a big hunk missing. And the addition of rum is just perfection with the butter pecan flavor.

The moral of the story? Next time your husband complains that “you’re just like your mother,” make him this cake to show him that’s not always such a bad thing.

Butter Pecan Rum Cake

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist butter pecan cake mix
1 box (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup dark rum or 2 teaspoons rum extract
4 eggs
1/2 cup Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting
2 teaspoons dark rum or 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube (bundt cake) pan. In large bowl, beat dry cake mix, dry pudding mix, water, sour cream, butter, 1/4 cup rum and the eggs on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes (it will turn into liquid velvet!!!). Spread in pan.

2. Bake 46-52 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely, about 2 hours. (My cake rose up very high above the pan but by the time it was time to remove it from the pan, it had settled back down even with the top of the pan.)

3. In small microwavable bowl, microwave frosting uncovered on Medium (50%) 15 seconds. Stir in 2 teaspoons rum. Pour over top of cake, allowing some to drizzle down sides. Sprinkle pecans over frosting. Store loosely covered.

Makes 16 servings.
High altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 52-58 min.

Recipe source: Betty Crocker

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Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged butter pecan, cake, rum. Bookmark the permalink.

Don’t Waste That Cake!

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Veronica

I bake a lot of cakes, which means I throw away lots of cake. Not because I ruin them, but because I have to level off the dome on top in order to layer them without trouble. That extra cake, if I’m being a good girl and not stuffing it in my mouth, gets tossed most of the time.

Not any more! Cake Balls/Pops to the rescue!

I just posted the recipe and step-by-step tutorial for cake pops and you can use the same concept to save a cake that stuck to your pan, came out too dry or heavy, or to use on the extra cake that you levelled off.

If using an entire cake, go ahead and follow the recipe as instructed. If the cake is very very dry, you will probably have to add the entire can of frosting to it. For cake tops, I use just about a spoonful of frosting and then mush it all up with my hands, just like with cake pops.

I ran out of lollipop sticks, so I just made cake balls (also called “cake truffles”) this time. Roll them up into quarter-size balls and put on a plate; refrigerate until very cold (I always do this 24 hours or more in advance of the dipping but a couple hours should be enough). You’ll need about 3-4 squares of white or chocolate candy coating. Melt it and dip the balls using a spoon, tapping off the excess chocolate before placing on wax paper to set. If adding sprinkles, do it quickly before the chocolate hardens. You can also drizzle any leftover candy coating over the tops or melt another color to drizzle over the tops.

This works with any flavor cake mix. So far I have tried red velvet , chocolate and white. Have fun with it!

By the way, I lied when I said I don’t ruin cakes. Though I haven’t in a while, it’s been known to happen.

This was the 14" base of a wedding cake. It was the biggest cake I'd ever made and I didn't realize you had to freeze the layers before trying to lift and stack them. I'm surprised it didn't crack completely in half when I hefted that huge layer on top of the other one!

This was the middle 10" tier of the same wedding cake, which I ruined when I applied the fondant that the bride had insisted upon, despite my insistence that I couldn't do it. I guess I showed her!

There was no hope for this cake. I ended up baking and frosting two whole wedding cakes and barely got the second one done in time for the wedding. Had I known about cake balls & pops back then, I would have saved back some of the cake for that.

Though I've had other cake tragedies, this is the only other one I photographed. This is Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake.

To end this on a happy note, here’s some pics of the wedding cake after I completely redid it. I didn’t even attempt the fondant because I didn’t want to risk ruining a second cake when I had absolutely no more time to spare. Thankfully, the bride was very pleased with the cake (though nothing like the one she originally wanted) and had no complaints!

Brenda's Wedding Cake 8-8-08

Me with the cake.

18 Comments

Posted in Cake & Frosting, Candy, Tips & Tricks and tagged cake, cake balls, cake pops, cake truffles, waste. Bookmark the permalink.

Cake Pops

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Veronica

**Update 5/12/11: If you are here looking for answers to cake pop questions, please check my Cake Pops FAQ and Troubleshooting Guide before leaving a comment. I also have a recipe for making cake pops or balls with leftover or broken cake here, a recipe for Vegan Dark Chocolate Cake Pops, and a recipe for Cupcake Bites (cake balls that look like little cupcakes–the easier version of cake balls). For my full pops index, click here.**

These pops are essentially cake truffles on a stick and are very simple to prepare: Bake a cake, mush it up with frosting, roll it into balls, insert a stick, and dip it in chocolate! These things really are a hit with kids because they are so fun, but adults seem to enjoy the delicious truffle-like confections equally well.

Want to make some? Here are step-by-step instructions, complete with videos.

Cake Pops
Makes 40-50 pops
Printable Recipe

What you will need:
1 (14.25 oz) box cake mix, any flavor
1 (16 oz) tub frosting, any flavor (you will not need all of it)
or 1/3-3/4 cup homemade frosting (I use my Cream Cheese Wedding Frosting)
1 (24 oz) package of almond bark/candy coating (white or chocolate)
Sprinkles
Lollipop sticks
3″x4″ cello bags
Curling ribbon

Bake the cake mix according to package directions. Once it’s cool, crumble the cake into a large bowl. I prefer to process mine in the food processor to fine crumbs. Place in a large bowl and stir in half of the frosting container or 1/3 cup of your homemade frosting. Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined and thick like a truffle center. Mix in additional frosting if necessary. You just want enough to get the crumbs to stick together when you roll them into balls. Do not add so much that the mixture becomes soft and mushy!

Roll mixture into 1″ balls and place on a cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. I usually do this step the day before and then dip them the following day. Do not freeze them before dipping or it may cause the chocolate to crack after they are dipped.

Melt chocolate in the microwave per directions on package. Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in a little of the melted candy coating and insert into the flat end of the cake balls. (Bakerella says to insert a little less than halfway, but I go more than halfway b/c I imagine they stay put a little better when dipping.)

The cake balls will have a flat bottom from resting on the cookie sheet. Insert the stick into this end so the top will be round.

Carefully insert the cake ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered. Once covered, remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Don’t tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off, too. Immediately cover with sprinkles before the chocolate has a chance to set, then insert in a styrofoam block to harden.

You want the chocolate to come over the platform you created when inserting the chocolate-dipped stick, but you don’t have to cover it all the way to the stick.

Tap off the excess chocolate.

Add sprinkles before the chocolate has a chance to set.

I wrap my styrofoam board in plastic wrap to keep it clean so I can reuse it.

See the two hiding in the corner?

I ran out of sticks so I just made these two into cake truffles. To do this, drop one ball at a time into the chocolate and lift out with a fork, tapping off the excess chocolate. Place on wax paper to set.

This video illustrates the dipping process. Forgive my PJ’s–I made these first thing in the morning. OK, it was afternoon. I’m lazy on Saturdays. And every other day. Once the chocolate has set, put a cello bag over the top and tie the neck with some curling string and tie into a bow or curl.

I found these at Wal-Mart in the cake decorating section near the wedding supplies

Recipe Source: based on Bakerella’s recipe & instructions

*Update 1/19/12: I have disabled comments on this post, since there are over 400 and many of them are the same questions asked and answered over and over again. If you have a question, please refer to the FAQ. Thank you!*

423 Comments

Posted in Cake & Frosting, Candy, Videos and tagged balls, cake, how to, pops, recipe, suckers, truffles, tutorial. Bookmark the permalink.

Rich Chocolate and Caramel Cake

Posted on January 16, 2010 by Veronica

My friend, Jaci, in Texas contacted me last week to order a cake for her sister’s birthday. Her sister and I are both in Kansas and she figured since she was unable to make a cake for her herself, she’d get the next best thing.

After she told me that Liz loves chocolate and caramel, I started brainstorming and finally settled on this conconction: two layers of devil’s food cake, filled with caramel buttercream, iced with whipped caramel ganache and decorated with ganache and caramel sauce. With all the chocolate, caramel, cream, and butter involved, this is definitely a special-occasion cake!

Rich Chocolate and Caramel Cake

1 recipe of your favorite chocolate cake, made into two round layers and cooled (I used a Pillsbury devil’s food cake mix)

Caramel Sauce
1 c sugar
6 T unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1/2 c heavy cream

Caramel Buttercream
6 T unsalted butter, softened
1 T dulce de leche, room temperature
1 c powdered sugar
2 T caramel sauce, room temperature

Whipped Caramel Ganache
1 c sugar
1 ½ c heavy cream
1/8 t salt
1 lb semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 lb (4 sticks) butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces, softened

Simple Ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Prepare the Caramel Sauce at least 4 hours in advance: Heat the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until the sugar has begun to melt and is brown around the edges, about 3 minutes. Using a heat-safe spatula or spoon, pull the melted sugar toward the center until all sugar is melted and caramel is deep amber in color, about 3 minutes more. Continue pulling and stirring until all the sugar is melted. It will be amber in color. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the butter, vanilla and salt. When mixed, whisk in the heavy cream. Pour into a heat-proof bowl and allow to come to room temperature. After removing 2 T for the buttercream, cover and refrigerate the remaining sauce.

Prepare the Caramel Buttercream: Beat the butter, then mix in the dulce de leche until smooth. Beat in the caramel sauce and then the powdered sugar.

Prepare the Whipped Caramel Ganache: Make a dry caramel with the cup of sugar by putting it into a large saucepan and setting it over medium heat. When the bottom starts to melt and the sides turn brown, start pulling the melted sugar toward the center. Continue doing this, constantly pulling & stirring, until all the sugar is melted and it has turned a deep amber color. Remove from heat.

While the sugar is melting, take a minute to bring the cream to boiling and then remove from heat.

Immediately pour the hot cream into the burnt sugar as soon as you remove it from the heat. It will bubble like crazy and scare the heck out of you, but just keep stirring until all the caramel is dissolved into the cream. If some of the caramel seizes up, put the saucepan back on medium heat and stir, stir, stir, until all the caramel is dissolved and you have a thin, smooth mixture.

Let the mixture sit for five minutes.

Meanwhile, measure your chocolate into a metal or glass bowl. Pour the caramel mixture over the chocolate and allow to sit for a minute before stirring. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth. Allow to sit until the mixture is room temperature, about fifteen minutes. You can pop it in the fridge to speed the process, stirring every few minutes.

With an electric mixer, beat the softened butter into the caramel ganache on low speed and then increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is thickened and lighter in color, about 2 minutes.

Prepare the Ganache: Bring the cream just to a boil over medium heat (or in the microwave). Place the chocolate in a glass or metal bowl and pour the hot cream over the top. Allow to sit for a couple minutes and then stir, stir, stir, until the chocolate is completely emulsified and you have a smooth, shiny dark ganache. Allow to cool slightly before using. You’ll want it still slightly runny but not hot.

Assemble the cake: Place one cake layer on a plate and spread the caramel buttercream over the top. Place the second cake layer over that and then smooth the whipped caramel ganache over the top and sides of the cake. Garnish the cake with the ganache and caramel sauce. Serve at room temperature. The butter and chocolate in the whipped ganache get hard when refrigerated, which isn’t as fun to eat as a light & velvety frosting. For a pretty presentation, you could drizzle some caramel sauce over each plate before placing the cake slices on them.

If you wish to write a message with the ganache as I did, you will have to let it set up further, so wait until it’s the consistency of thick buttercream before attempting that. Otherwise, it will just leak out of your pastry bag and you’ll have smears and pools of dark shiny ganache on top and your sentiments will look like a threat rather than the good thoughts you’d intended. :)

You can use the extra whipped caramel ganache to pipe a border around the top and bottom. There will be enough leftover whipped ganache to make 1-2 dozen cupcakes, so do it and take them to work to brighten everyone’s day!

Recipe by Veronica Miller

A word of warning: because of the light, velvety texture of the whipped ganache, it couldn’t support the weight of the ganache and caramel I put around the edges of the cake and the sides slid down to the bottom of the cake eventually. (Luckily Liz got her cake while it was still pretty and everyone enjoyed a piece before this happened). Next time I make this cake, I will pour the ganache over the iced cake and let it ooze down the sides so that the weight is evenly distributed. Then I’d use caramel buttercream (I’d double the recipe so there’s enough for decorating) to write on top. I’d recommend the same to you, unless you plan on serving the cake shortly after applying the ganache.

These are (poor) photos of a birthday cake I made last year that illustrate my suggestion about pouring ganache over the top and letting it ooze down the sides.

Thanks to Liz for providing the following photos!

The beautiful birthday girl with her cake. Happy birthday, Liz!

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Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged cake, caramel, chocolate, rich. Bookmark the permalink.

Brown Butter Pumpkin Bread with Caramel Swirls

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Veronica

I tried making brown butter pound cake a couple weeks ago and ruined it by overbaking it. Despite the the need to drink an entire glass of milk with each bite, Dennis and I couldn’t resist having several slices because of the wonderful brown butter flavor. (If you’ve ever had browned butter in a dessert, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t–then you haven’t fully lived!)

While the remainder of the pound cake lies in the freezer, awaiting it’s transformation into a creative bread pudding, I found the link to a similar recipe waiting for me in my inbox yesterday, compliments of my good friend, Krista. The recipe is, in fact, based upon that brown butter pound cake, but with the addition of pumpkin and dulce de leche.

Krista knows me too well. Cake, brown butter, pumpkin and caramel? Oh yeah, I’m there, baby!

After baking it and diving in (I only had a tiny slice…times five), I discovered that the texture isn’t dense like pound cake, but lighter like regular cake and very moist. But since it doesn’t look like cake, I’m calling it bread. Which kind of makes the name sound a little more wholesome, even with the mention of brown butter and caramel and the fact that the only wholesome thing in there makes up a very small part of the cake bread.

Whatever you want to call it, this stuff is awesome–bake a loaf and see for yourself!

Brown Butter Pumpkin Bread with Caramel Swirls

Slightly adapted from “Pumpkin Pound Cake with Dulce de Leche Swirls” at browniesfordinner.com, which was adapted from the Brown Butter Pound Cake in Gourmet, October 2009

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp rum (optional)
about 1/2 – 3/4 cup dulce de leche (recipe here)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and lightly flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch (or 9 by 5-inch) loaf pan.

Heat the butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until the milk solids on the bottom are a dark chocolate brown. Transfer to a pie plate or shallow bowl and put it in the freezer just until it congealed, about 15 minutes.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. Cream the brown butter with the sugars with mixer until it is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin, vanilla & rum. On a low speed, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Transfer about half of the batter to the loaf pan and smooth it around so that it covers the bottom of the pan and forms an even layer. Place small grape-sized dollops of dulce de leche on the surface. Swirl by running the tip of a knife through one or two times to create a swirly pattern. Cover with the rest of the batter, smooth the surface. Use the rest of the dulce de leche on top, also in small grape-sized dollops and swirled with the tip of a knife.

Bake 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours (75 to 90 minutes). Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then invert onto a rack (right side up) to cool completely, about one hour.

Veronica’s Notes: If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & ginger. I used 1/4 t cinnamon, 1/8 t nutmeg, a couple sprinkles of cloves and the rest ginger.