Chamomile Cake with Honey Crème Fraîche ~ TheCakeSliceBakers

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” C.S. Lewis

With the delicate flavor of chamomile, a beautiful crumb, and a honey-flavored crème fraîche

frosting, this cake is sure to be a favorite and have everyone asking for another slice.

Coconut Layer Cake ~ The Cake Slice Bakers April 2014

It is hard to believe that we are at the half-way mark of baking through Great Cakes by Carole Walter. This month the Cake Slice Bakers are making a Coconut Layer Cake, which seems very fitting for Spring.

Limoncello Pound Cake ~ The Cake Slice Bakers January 2014

It is Cake Slice Bakers time - our first for 2014! The votes were cast, tallied up, and the winner was Old-Fashioned Pound Cake.  You just know you can never go wrong with a classic like this, and we had the choice of plain, spirited, nutty, or chocolate chip.  Of course I choose the boozy one :). As you know we are baking from Great Cakes by Carole Walter. So far we have baked some Streusel Squares, an Applesauce Spice Cake, and this Old-Fashioned Pound Cake - and each one has been a winner.  It is an expansive book filled with great recipes and Ms. Walter's expert knowledge, and I'm looking forward to each month's baking challenge.

The Cake Slice Bakers - It's our 5th Anniversary!

Today we are celebrating an anniversary.  The Cake Slice Bakers are celebrating five years baking as a group.  The group has baked from five different books throughout this time - Sky High Cakes, Southern Cakes, Cake Keeper Cakes, The Cake Book, and Vintage Cakes.  People have come and gone over this period of time, but the group has stayed together for the most part, and it has been an amazing experience.  One of our members, Monica from Lick The Bowl Good,  has been with the group from the very beginning - wow!  It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of our baking experience with our latest book, and are ready to select a new one.

For anyone who is new to hearing about the Cake Slice Bakers we are a dedicated group of bakers from all around the world. Every year we bake from a different cake book and in 2012 - 2013 we have been baking from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson. Each month a selection of cakes are presented and we vote on which cake to bake next from our current book. We then have a month to bake it in secret before we all blog about it on the same day each month – the 20th – never before. At the end of our cake reveal posts each month we link to our fellow bakers via the Cake Slice Blogroll so that you can see how creative everyone has been. We also have a Facebook page where you can see not only each months cakes, but also other delicious treats baked by our members and helpful baking tips. Please come and visit us!  There are a few rules that we follow but the most important one is to have fun and enjoy eating cake.

Good intentions to bake this cake earlier went out the window when we were notified that we had Tropical Storm Flossie nearby.  Most of the time it is paradise here, but when there is bad weather heading our way we always need to be prepared.  Having lived in Guam (and been through many typhoons - and earthquakes - during that time) I knew what needed to be done and what I needed to have on hand.  We were fortunate that Flossie fizzled out and we just had some heavy rain.

I had decided that I wanted to make some sort of tropical cake to reflect the islands.  Mango was out since I can't eat it, so I thought that a take on a Hummingbird Cake would be good.  A quick search revealed a cake on the Bakerella site.  After looking through the recipe I knew that I wanted to swap out the pecans for macadamia nuts, and add some coconut to the cake.

In hindsight I think I would prefer to bake this cake as two layers rather than three because the cake has a large ratio of soft fruit and nuts to cake so it was a little delicate.  I also think I may have been a little shy of the amount of powdered sugar that should have been added to the frosting, so it was a little soft, so learn from me and don't try to use a cup measurement.  It did look a little like the Leaning Tower of Pisa once I cut it, but the flavor of the cake was wonderful.

Congratulations to all of my fellow Cake Slice Bakers on this special occasion, and here's to many more years baking and friendship. I want to give special thanks to our fearless leader, Paloma from The Coffee Shop, who has been just fantastic in not only coordinating everything to do with the group, but also growing it in a new direction.  Since we will be starting a new book soon there is going to be an opportunity to join the group and bake along with us, so drop Paloma an email if you are interested.

Please click here to see all of the other cakes created to celebrate this special occasion, and click on the photos to visit the members blogs.

Aloha Sunshine Cake 
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients ~ Cake

• 3 cups all purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten 
• 1 cup vegetable oil 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple, liquid included 
• 2 cups chopped ripe bananas
• ½ cup coconut
• 2 cups macadamia nuts, chopped and toasted 

Ingredients ~ Frosting 

• 16 oz cream cheese 
• 1 cup butter 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 32 oz. confectioner's sugar 
• toasted coconut to decorate, optional

Preparation ~ Cake 

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease and line with parchment 3 9-inch cake pans.
2. Chop macadamia nuts into small pieces and place on a parchment covered baking sheet, bake for 5 minutes - watch them carefully as they burn quickly. Set aside and let cool.
3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
4. Add lightly beaten eggs, oil and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Add crushed pineapple, coconut, and cut up bananas and stir until combined. 
6. Stir in 1 cup of chopped toasted macadamia nuts, reserving the remainder to sprinkle on top of the cake. 
7. Divide the batter evenly amongst the cake pans and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove and let cool. 
8. To assemble the cake, gently level cakes using a large serrated knife to remove any mounded tops. Place first layer cut side down and spread frosting on top with an offset spatula. Continue with the remaining two layers and then frost the sides. 
9. Add toasted macadamia nuts to the sides, and toasted coconut to the top. Store in fridge.

Preparation ~ Frosting

1. In a mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. 
2. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated. 
3. With the mixer on low, slowly add confectioner's sugar a little at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl often.

Recipe inspired Bakerella.

The Cake Slice Bakers November 2012 - Shoo-Fly Cake

The good news is that I re-joined the Cake Slice Bakers.  The bad news is that everything seemed to conspire against me to get my baking done.  In all honesty 2012 hasn't been my favorite year, so I am really looking forward to 2013.

For those who may be unfamiliar, The Cake Slice consists of a dedicated group of bakers from all over the world.  Every year we bake from a different cake book.  In 2012 - 2013 we are baking from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson.  Each month a selection of cakes are presented and we vote on which cake to bake next from our current book.  We then have a month to bake it in secret before we all blog about it on the same day each month – the 20th – never before. We never reveal to anyone outside of the group which cake it is until this date.  There are a few rules that we follow but the most important one is to have fun and enjoy eating cake!  We have a blogroll which is open to anyone to view and it lists all the members.  We link to this at the end of our cake reveal posts each month and it can be also be found at The Cake Slice Blogroll.  

I was a little apprehensive about making this cake as molasses is not one of my favorite ingredients.  There is just something about the taste that makes me shudder.  Still, I was curious to see how it would turn out and committed to being faithful to the recipe for my first cake back in the group.

After mixing all of the ingredients together and getting ready to pour it into the prepared pan for baking, I was surprised at how thin the batter was.  It was not like any other cake batter I have ever made and reminded me a little of a crepe batter.  Into the pan it went, crumbs sprinkled on top and fingers crossed.     My cake did take longer than the suggested 45 minutes.  When I checked it it looked very "soupy" in the middle so I left it in for approximately 15 extra minutes.  In hindsight maybe an extra 10 minutes would have been better because it ended up a little dry.

The general consensus in my family was that this recipe would not be repeated.  Lets just say that there were a lot more than just the crumbs left on the plate.

Click here to check out the blogs of my fellow Cake Slice Baker's and see their cakes.

Shoo-Fly Cake
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients:
Crumb Topping

• ⅓ cup firmly-packed brown sugar
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small cubes

Cake

• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
• ¾ cup unsulfured blackstrap molasses
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup warm coffee

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease a 9x2-inch round cake pan with butter.
2. To make crumb topping: combine the brown sugar and flour in a small bowl. Toss in the butter cubes and using your fingertips pinch it into dry mixture to form crumbs.  Place the bowl in the freezer while you make the cake.
3. To make the cake: in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the sugar, butter, molasses, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Blend in each egg one at a time.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; then whisk to ensure they are well blended.
5. Using a rubber spatula, stir the flour mixture into the batter in three additions, alternating with the coffee in two additions beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
6. Pour the thin batter into the prepared cake pan and sprinkle with your crumb topping.
7. Bake in the center of the oven until the top is firm, about 45 minutes.
8. Cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before serving warm from the pan.

Recipe from Vintage Cakes

The Cake Slice June 2011 (Part 1) - Fresh Strawberry Cake with White Chocolate Chips

The 20th of the month has arrived and that means that it is Cake Slice Bakers time again.  For the first time ever there was a tie in the voting.  Everyone in the group was given the choice to bake either of the cakes, or both.  Naturally I choose to make both cakes, because the more the merrier!  They are both very different cakes so I thought it would be fun to be able to do some comparisons between them.  Before starting I immediately had in mind the one that I would prefer but only time would tell if I was right.

We are continuing to bake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman.  The first cake is a Fresh Strawberry Cake with White Chocolate Chips.  I admit that I may not have made this cake had it not been one of our choices.  It just seemed so sweet with the strawberries and the white chocolate chips.  However, that is what I love about being part of this group, it makes you try things that you may have otherwise overlooked.

This is another snacking cake and it is very easy to put together.  My daughter had some friends sleep over so they were quite anxious for it to come out of the oven.  I managed to let it cool for the required five minutes and then I got it straight onto the cake plate for some photos.  It probably was not the best idea to photograph a hot cake, especially when I tried to slice it, but the girls were hovering and looking at me with pleading eyes.  I sliced the end off and cut it into pieces for them which bought me a little more photo time, but not long.  Within 15 minutes half of the cake was already gone so they certainly enjoyed it.  Mr. ATLATC headed out to a bike path clean up and took the remaining cake with him to be enjoyed after their hard work.  He said that it didn't last long at all.

I felt a little different about it.  I'm not saying that I didn't like it but I would certainly make a few changes before making it again.  It was extremely sweet so I would cut down the amount of sugar and white chocolate chips.  Part of the cake may look a little undercooked in the photos but this is just the warm melted chocolate chips.  Also, my strawberries were quite large so I sliced them and then cut them in half.  In future I think I would chop them a little bit smaller because I thought the pieces were still a little bit too big. 

I am looking forward to seeing everyone's reaction to both of these cakes.  Click here to see a list of all of the members blogs.

Please check back tomorrow for Part 2 of The Cake Slice and to see which cake was also chosen for this months' baking adventure.
 

 
Fresh Strawberry Cake with White Chocolate Chips
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 ounces strawberries, stemmed and sliced
• 1 cup white chocolate chips or chunks

 
Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. 
2. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan and dust it with flour, knocking out the excess.
3. Combine the egg, egg yolk, sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla in a large measuring jug and beat lightly.
4. Combined 1¼ cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
5. Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric whisk on medium high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides when necessary.
6. With the mixer on medium low speed, pour the egg mixture into the bowl in a slow stream, stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the bowl.
7. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, ½ cup at a time. After the last addition mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.
8. Combine the strawberries and remaining ¼ cup flour in a medium bowl and toss to coat. 
9. Fold the flour covered berries along with the chocolate chips into the batter using a spatula.
10. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. 
11. Bake the cake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. 
12. Let the cake cool ion the pan for about 5 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack and then turn it right side up to cool completely.
13. Cut into squares and serve.

Makes one 8 inch square cake.

Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman