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