Tag: cake

Football Cake (Soccer Cake)

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For those of you who love football/soccer and cake, this cake is for you!

Ingredients
4 eggs
3 dl (1 1/4 cup) sugar
225 g (7,9 oz) butter (melted)
6 dl (2 1/4 cup) plain flour
3 tbsp cocoa
3 tsp baking powder
3 tsp vanilla sugar
2, 25 dl (1 cup) milk

Green cream cheese buttercream
150 g (5,3 oz) butter (room temperature)
100 g (3,5 oz) cream cheese
300 g (10,5 oz) powdered sugar
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
Green food color

Decoration
Green sprinkles (see tip below)
White sugar fondant or white writing icing
Football set with players and goals (see tip below)

How to do it

  • Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 390ºF. Line a roasting tray, size 30×38 cm (12×15 in) to 35×43 cm (14×17 in), with parchment paper.
  • Melt the butter and let it cool down a bit.
  • In a large bowl, beat the eggs together with sugar for a few minutes until you have a thick and fluffy mixture. I use a stand mixer with a whisk, but you may also use an electric hand mixer.
  • Add the melted butter to the mixture.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and vanilla sugar.
  • Slowly add the mixed dry ingredients and the milk to the mixture, and mix until you have a smooth batter.
Make a fluffy mix of eggs and sugar, then add the melted butter
Add the dry ingredients
Add the milk
  • Transfer the batter to the roasting tray.
  • Bake the cake in the bottom of the oven for 15 minutes, or until a skewer put in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Transfer the batter into the roasting tray
Bake for 15 minutes or a skewer put in the middle of the cake comes out clean

Green Cream Cheese Buttercream

  • Beat the butter until soft.
  • Mix in the cream cheese.
  • Carefully add the powdered sugar, and mix until you a smooth mix.
  • Add the vanilla extract.
  • Carefully mix in green food color until you have the preferred color.
Green Cream Cheese Buttercream
Cover the cake with buttercream

Decoration

  • When the cake has cooled down completely, cover the cake with the green cream cheese buttercream.
  • Cover the buttercream with green sprinkles.
  • Make white lines out of white fondant. (You may also use white writing icing.)
  • Decorate the cake with goals and players.

Football Cake Decoration

Enjoy the game!

Btw:
I used the Dr. Oetker Football Kit (which contains green sprinkles, edible football decorations and white writing icing) and the Cacas Football Set (which contains players and goals). #notsponsored

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Pistachio Chocolate Cake

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The People have spoken, and Pistachio Chocolate Cake it is! Enjoy!

Ingredients
Cake
200 g (7 oz) chocolate
200 g (7 oz) butter
200 g (7 oz) sugar
4 eggs
150 g (5,25 oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar

Ganache
200 g (7 oz) chocolate
0,5 dl (1/4 cup) heavy cream

Chopped pistachios (I use salted pistachios)

How to do it
Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 225 ºC/ 435 ºF, and butter and line a round cake tin (22 cm/ 9 in).
  • In a medium sized pot, melt the butter and the chocolate on medium heat.
  • Turn off the heat and stir in the sugar.
  • Add the eggs, on at a time.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together plain flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar.
  • Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mix and stir until you have a smooth batter.
  • Chop about a handful of pistachios and place it around the sides and the bottom of the cake tin (see picture).
  • Transfer the batter to the cake tin, and sprinkle another handful of chopped pistachios over the batter (see picture).

Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes.

  • Let the cake cool down in the cake tin. When the cake reach room temperature, let it cool completely down in the fridge.

Ganache

  • Pour the heavy cream into a pot on medium heat, and heat it up to about room temperature.
  • Melt the chocolate in the heavy cream, and stir until all the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth mix.
  • Take the pot off the stove, and let the mix cool down until it has thickened a bit, but  still has a fluid texture.
  • Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake, still in the cake tin. (I cover the sides of the cake tin with parchment paper before pouring the ganache over the cake. This makes it a little bit easier to take the finished cake out of the cake tin.)
  • Cover the cake with chopped pistachios (see pictures).

Put the cake back in the fridge, and let the ganache cool down before serving.

  • If you’re not serving the cake immediately, store it in the fridge. About 45-60 minutes before serving the cake, take it out of the fridge and keep it in room temperature until serving.

Enjoy!

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Fall´n´fruits – Apple and Pear Cake

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It´s fall. The fruits have fallen off the trees and it´s time for a cake based on the fruits of the season. This apple and pear cake is super easy to make,  full of flavor and is perfect for rainy November days.

Ingredients
75 gram (2,6 oz) melted butter
0,5 dl (1/4 cup) sugar
2 eggs
2 dl (1 cup) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
2-3 grated pears
2-3 grated apples

Decoration
Chopped almonds

How to do it

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC (390ºF), and butter and line a round cake tin, 22 cm (9 in).
  2. Melt the butter and let it cool down a bit.
  3. Grate or chop the pears and the apples, put the fruits in a bowl and mix them together with the cinnamon and cardamom.
  4. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs with the sugar. I use a stand mixer, but you may just as well use an electric hand mixer.
  5. Mix in the melted butter.
  6. In a separate bowl, mix together the plain flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar.
  7. Slowly add the mixed dry ingredients to the mixture. 
  8. Mix in the grated apples and the pears with a spatula.
  9. Transfer the batter into the cake tin and top it with chopped almonds.
  10. Bake in the middle of the oven until the top of the cake is golden brown, for about 35-40 minutes. 
  11. Let the cake cool down for a few minutes in the cake tin before taking it out of the tin and laying it on a grid.
  12. Enjoy the flavors of fall, maybe with a scoop of ice cream.

Btw…
How about doubling the recipe and make a two layered cake with some cream cheese frosting between the layers and on top of the cape? Check out First appearance – Pear cake for a recipe for frosting.

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Salty Tricks or Sweet Treats – Chocolate Cake with Rasperries and Licorice

Posted in berries, cake, chocolate, halloween, holidays, licorice, raspberryTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

A few days to Halloween, and do you want to know one of my (baking) tricks? I very often try to find something slightly bitter to “break” the sweetness of the cakes. Whether it´s adding a few drops of lemon juice to buttercream frosting, or using raspberries with a chocolate cake, I find that adding some bitterness makes the cake taste “fuller”. And to this cake I’ve even added some salty licorice, so prepare to put your taste buds to the test. Salty Tricks or Sweet Treats? Yes, please!

Ingredients
225 gram (7,9 oz) melted butter
3 eggs
3 dl (1 1/4 cup) sugar
6 dl (2 1/4 cup) plain flour
4 tbsp cocoa
3 tsp baking powder
3 tsp vanilla sugar
2, 25 dl (1 cup) milk (and maybe add a little red color to get you in that Halloween mood)

Raspberry cream
2 dl (1 cup) heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
200 gram (7 oz) raspberries
2 tsp licorice powder

Chocolate buttercream
150 gram (5,3 oz) melted chocolate
100 gram (3,5 oz) softened butter
200 gram (7 oz) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
3 tbsp milk/heavy cream

Decoration
Licorice, sprinkles.

How to do it

  • Preheat the oven to 200ºC /390ºF.
  • Butter and line 1-3 round cake tins (22 cm/ 9 in) (and/or use parchment paper).
  • Melt the butter and let it cool down a bit.
  • In a large bowl, beat the eggs together with sugar for a few minutes until you have a thick and fluffy mixture. I use a stand mixer with a whisk, but you may just as well use an electric hand mixer.
  • Add the melted butter to the mixture.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and vanilla sugar.
  • Slowly add the dry ingredients and the milk to the mixture, and mix until you have a smooth batter.
  • Transfer 1/3 of the batter to (each) cake tin.
  • Bake each cake/layer in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, or until a skewer put in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
  • Let each cake/layer cool.
  • For the raspberry cream: if you use frozen raspberries, heat them to boiling point, and let them boil for a few minutes (this to make sure that the berries don’t contain any bacteria). Let the berries cool to (at least) room temperature.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together heavy cream, sugar and vanilla sugar to whipped cream. Use a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer. The whipped cream should “well done” rather than fluid (because you´re going to add raspberries, which will bring quite a bit of fluid to the mix).
  • Add the cooled raspberries and blend them in with a spatula.
  • Mix in the powdered licorice with a spatula, and keep the cream in a cool place while making the chocolate buttercream.
  • For the chocolate buttercream: beat the butter and add some of the powdered sugar. Use a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer.
  • Mix in the melted chocolate, and then slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar and the vanilla sugar. Then add the milk/heavy cream while mixing until you have a smooth buttercream (it should be quite soft – the buttercream will become stiff when the melted chocolate has cooled down).
  • When the cake layers are cool, put one layer on a tray. Make a circle of buttercream around the edges of the layer (this will keep the raspberry cream in place), then cover the layer with half of the raspberry cream (see picture).

IMG_0549

  • Place the second layer over the first one, and cover it with buttercream and raspberry cream just like on the first layer.
  • Place the third layer on top, and cover the entire cake (top and sides) with chocolate buttercream.
  • Decorate the cake with licorice and sprinkles, or maybe with some fresh raspberries.

Happy Halloween!

The Classic – Chocolate Cake

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Back to basics. This is “the cake of my childhood”, the one my mom always made for my birthdays, and may be the first real cake I ever made. Over the years, I’ve made a few adjustments to the recipe, but not many. This is a quick and easy to make chocolate cake, made in a roasting tray, and thus perfect for children’s birthdays, “bring-cake-to-work” days, the school´s cake lottery and other events. And if there’s any cake left, eat it the next day (it may even taste better on day 2) or put it in the freezer.

Ingredients
225 gram (8 oz) melted butter
3 eggs
3,5 dl (1 1/3 cup) sugar
6 dl (2 2/3 cup) plain flour
3 tbsp cocoa
3 tsp baking powder
3 tsp vanilla sugar
1-2 tsp cinnamon
2, 25 dl (1 cup) milk

Icing
100 gram (3,5 oz) butter
250 gram (8,5 oz) powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa
3 tbsp strong coffee

Decoration
Sprinkles, candy, chopped nuts, raspberries, coconut…

How to do it

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 390ºF. Line a roasting tray, size 30×38 cm (12×15 in) to 35×43 cm (14×17 in), with parchment paper.
  2. Melt the butter and let it cool down a bit.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs together with sugar for a few minutes until you have a thick and fluffy mixture. I use a stand mixer with a whisk, but you may also use an electric hand mixer.
  4. Add the melted butter to the mixture.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, vanilla sugar and cinnamon.
  6. Slowly add the mixed dry ingredients and the milk to the mixture, and mix until you have a smooth batter.
  7. Transfer the batter to the roasting pan.
  8. Bake the cake in the bottom of the oven for 15 minutes, or until a skewer put in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
  9. For the icing, mix together the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa and coffee until the mixture is smooth. I use a food processor or an electric hand mixer.
  10. Let the cake cool down a bit, then cover it with the icing. The cake should be warm enough for the icing to melt, but not so warm that the icing melts into the cake. I recommend you start with just a little bit of icing to find out whether the cake is cold enough. And should the cake be too cold for the icing to melt, just pop the cake with the icing back into the oven for a few seconds while the oven is cooling down. (Keep a close eye on the cake, though, the icing will melt fast!)
  11. When the icing has cooled down, but before it stiffens, decorate the cake with your choice of decoration. In honor of breast cancer awareness month I’ve used pink and white sprinkles and then added some raspberry cake dust when the icing had stiffened.

Btw…
I also use this recipe, with some adjustments, for other cakes, so you may very well find variations of this recipe in other cakes on this site later.

First appearance – Pear cake

Posted in fruit, pearTagged , , , , , , 3 Comments

Autumn. When I talk to people about the taste of autumn, apples tend to come up quite frequently. But in the shadow of apples, there’s another fruit of autumn that deserves some attention. Pears. This wonderful, sweet tasting fruit is perfect for baking, so for my first recipe, my first appearance, I present to you my spiced up pear cake.

Ingredients
150 gram (5 1/2 oz) softened butter 
100 gram (3 1/2 oz) sugar
3 eggs
150 gram (5 1/2 oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
4-6 peeled pears

Frosting
200 gram (7 oz) cream cheese
1-2 tbsp softened butter
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar

Decoration
Chopped almonds

How I do it

  1. Peel and chop the pears. Put the chopped pears in a bowl and add cinnamon and cardamom. Mix it all well together.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180 ºC/355 ºF. Butter and line a 22-24 cm/ 9 in round cake tin (and/or use parchment paper).
  3. Beat together sugar and softened butter in a large bowl. I use a stand mixer, but you may just as well use an electric hand mixer. 
  4. Add eggs, one by one and adding about a tablespoon of the plain flour between each egg. 
  5. Mix in a mixture of the rest of the flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar, and mix until you have a smooth batter. 
  6. Add the spiced up chopped pears, and mix them into the batter with a spatula.
  7. Transfer the batter into the cake tin.
  8. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a skewer put in the centre of the cake comes out clean. 
  9. Let the cake cool down for about 15 minutes before taking it out of the cake tin. 
  10. For the frosting, mix together cream cheese and softened butter. Carefully add powdered sugar and vanilla sugar into the mix until you have found the preferred sweetness and texture. 
  11. When the cake is about room temperature, cover the top of the cake with the frosting.
  12. Decorate with chopped almonds.

Enjoy!

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Cake to the People!

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved baking. In fact, I was still a toddler when my parents found me in the middle of the night, standing by my table surrounded by everything I could find in the kitchen cabinet, and with a huge smile on my face saying, “Baking bread!».

Over the years, I’ve found myself using almost any opportunity and reason to bake – birthdays, end of the school year, job anniversaries, Holidays, Thursdays… Baking gives me some kind of «time out» from my everyday life, and I love seeing the different ingredients being put together and result in something tasty that brings almost everyone in a good mood.

Almost every time I bake a cake, someone asks me for the recipe and how I’ve done it. So over the next year, I would like to share the joy of baking and my favorite recipes with you. I hope you will be inspired, and maybe even take my recipes and make your own twists to them. 

Let’s bring cake to the people!