Friday, December 30, 2011

Ginger Bundt Cake Recipe

Delicious chocolate Bundt cake is one of the varieties that is delicious and suitable for many gatherine of people in occassions and events.
Do you know the meaning of the word, Bundt? Actually, it comes from the German word bund, which means, "a gathering of people."
When you add cake to the word Bundt, you get the meaning of people gathering around my cake.
You can bake Bundt or Butter cakes for fundraisings, your bake sales or any church events. Make your family happy and try this cake recipe for them this weekend. Enjoy!

Ginger Bundt Cake Recipe
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks of softened butter
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
Ginger Cream Filling
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with waxed paper. Butter the paper. Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger and salt into a large bowl. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy.
2. With mixer at medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, until just blended after each addition. With mixer at low speed, gradually beat in the dry ingredients. Spoon half the batter into each of the prepared pans.
3. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a rack. Carefully remove the paper and let cool completely.
4. Ginger Cream Filling: With mixer at high speed, beat the cream, icing sugar and ginger in a large bowl unti stiff. Place one cake on a serving plate and spread with the cream. Top with the remaining cake. Makes 8-10 slices.
For your information, these recipes have since been quite popular and bundt cake pan sales have increased due to its originality and uniqueness.
For your fundraising event; they are pretty cakes, makes for a great presentation and could bring in more money than a yellow sheet cake.
If you are interested, there is another benefit to these cakes; they are fairly easy to transport to any of your events.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Beautiful Wedding Cakes Pictures


Do you know of any rule that states costly marriage ceremony cakes are always better than inexpensive wedding cakes? Of program you do not as these kinds of a rule does NOT exist. As a make a difference of reality a inexpensive cake can be just as stunning and tasty as a wildly expensive one. Never believe it? Nicely then just appear over these simple strategies to understand how you as well can get awesomely scrumptious & surprisingly cheap marriage ceremony cakes.

1. Amateur Bakers. You don’t have to employ your brother nephew or that strange child across the road but you Ought to hire a person that is NOT a “professional baker” working in a private bakery.

Such people charge ridiculous sums of cash for “special” cake even if it’s not that extravagant also. An at-house cake baking expert — somebody who is aspiring to become a non-public baker — will make extremely low-cost wedding ceremony cakes that style just as good as (if not better than) super costly ones.

2. Grocery Stores. If its a more compact wedding ceremony with less visitors you could pop into your neighborhood grocery shop and see what they have obtainable. These kinds of locations have a wide variety of outstanding cakes and they will be Far Significantly much more inexpensive than if you went with a non-public bakery. Request a handful of concerns and see if you can get a low-cost custom cake order for your marriage ceremony.

3. Make It Oneself. Use an online e-manual about wedding cake making and do everything your self. After one or two small apply cakes you ought to be all set for the real offer. Making your own customized cake for the wedding will expense mere pennies per slice.

4. Hire Fake Cake. This option is turning out to be increasingly much more well-liked for budget weddings these of which Call for low-cost wedding ceremony cakes. The cake looks real feels actual and even has a hidden compartment for a real piece of weding cake. Every person will be fooled into consuming straightforward sheet cake whilst the bride & groom preserve a fortune in the procedure.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

How To Make Lemon Cake?

Lemon Cake
When deciding on what cake recipe you will like to create, why not try a tasty lemon cake.

There is an almost endless variety of lemon cake recipes including lemon cake with apple and almond topping,
coconut muffins, lemon glaze, lemon date, short cake, muffin butter almond, lemon and cinnamon tea cake, ladyfingers, meringue sponge cake, vanilla cheesecake, yogurt cake and lemon sour cream.
A suggestion to serve your home-made lemon cake with a yogurt or whipped soy cream with your dessert.
Try this quick lemon sour cream cake recipe which makes 8-10 slices with your family tonight. Your oven is waiting for you!
Lemon Sour Cream Cake Recipe
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1stick) softened butter
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon or lime zest
  • 6 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup icing sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degree Fahrenheit. Butter a 9-inch baking pan. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, until just blended after each addition. With mixer at low speed, gradually beat in the dry ingredients, alternating with the sour cream. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centercomes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a rack. Dust with the icing sugar. Enjoy!!!
Now, just remember that when you host your next dinner party and want something easy yet impressive and a bit out of the ordinary-try lemon cake mix recipes.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

There’s Only One Fruitcake In The Entire World

There’s only one fruitcake in the entire world, right? The original re-gift, this proverbial fruitcake keeps getting passed along year after year because nobody wants it.
Like the equally inedible Twinkie, which I have heard has a shelf life of 30 years (or so I learned from my father-in-law, who bought each of his five children a Twinkie upon their arrival and then presented it on his or her 30th birthday), and the current “it” treat the marshmallow Peep, the fruitcake is nearly a non-food. To my knowledge I have never eaten fruitcake, nor have I ever seen any eaten. But I have seen the dry, faded, unnaturally colored cakes themselves, every year at holiday time and in nearly every house. The ubiquitous unwrapped fruitcake. You can smell it through the plastic.
Is this simple nostalgia? A throwback to hard(er) times, lest we forget that some people actually had to eat such things, and not just buy them to look at them and talk about how icky they are?
Fruitcake should, by definition, be delicious. Who doesn’t like fruit and cake? There are many much-maligned items that grace the obligatory yuletide table, which seldom meet the taste buds of anyone. For instance there’s wassail, figgy pudding, trifle, buche de noel (“yule log”), and the oft-disputed egg nog (people either love it or they hate it, they either cook it or they don’t). Such things can be good—and are good—if made well, using the fine, modern ingredients we have at our disposal in this first decade of this new century.
Here’s a recipe for an entirely edible fruitcake, made more delicious with a side serving of creole whiskey sauce, and some egg nogg to wash it down.
Fruit Cake
First make a simple syrup:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest, cut in strips
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the lemon zest and juice and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for 2 minutes and remove from the heat.
For the cake:
1/2 pound mixed dried fruits, such as blueberries, cranberries, cherries, raisins, and chopped apricots
1/2 pound, (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup Grand Marnier, or other orange-flavored liqueur
2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup bourbon
Put the dried fruits in a large mixing bowl. Pour the simple-syrup over them, toss to coat and let steep for 5 minutes. Strain and reserve the syrup.
Cream the butter and together. Beat until the mixture is fluffy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing in between each addition. Add 1/4 cup of the Grand Marnier.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium-size mixing bowl and blend well. Add this mixture 1/2 cup at a time to the butter mixture Add the warm fruit and all of the nuts a little at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease a bundt pan. Pour the batter into the pan and bake until golden brown and the top springs back when touched, about 45 to 50 minutes.
Cool the cake for 20 minutes in the pan, then remove and continue to cool upside-down on wire racks. Make tiny holes with a toothpick randomly on the rounded end of the cake. Combine the remaining simple syrup with the remaining 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier and the bourbon. Wrap the cake in a layer of cheesecloth and pour 1/4 cup of the syrup over the top of each cake. Store in a plastic zip bag for 3 or 4 days until the cake is slightly stale. Sprinkle syrup over cakes once every 2 to 3 days until all of the syrup is used. Let the cakes age for up to 3 weeks before eating.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Making Coffee Cake

If you like baking at home you will surely discover that coffeecake will be a great choice to make.
Once you have the coffeecake recipes and ingredients for your favorite cake, which may be a coffee butter cake to glazed cake recipes, you willinstantly be hooked on the wonderful aroma, moistness and delightful taste of these coffeecakes.
We believe that if you want a recipe to make your own freshly baked cakes, just simply look here and you will be able to find various differentrecipes made out of anything, whether it may be spices, fruits or nuts.
Once you prepared one of these cakes and get a real working idea about them then you can become very creative yourself.
Here is a suggestion for those cake lovers; it should not be served until after dinner and should be enjoyed with a cup of coffee. It is not something that is eaten quickly.
You will have some coffee, stop for a nibble on a piece of cake and mostly talk, giving time to catch up on the daily events However, the most important thing of them all is for you to enjoy and savor the moments.
If you really want to bake up one that will make your friends and family say "wow" then you need to find your own special recipes.
But where can you find some of these amazing cake recipes? Here of course!
Apricot-Almond Coffeecake
  • 4oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup apricot preserves
  • 1(16oz) package pound cake mix
  • 1 (8oz) container sour cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 1/2 sliced almonds
Glaze
  • 1. Preheat oven to 350 Farenheit degree. Beat cream cheese, apricot preserves and 1 Tbsp cake mix at medium-low speed with an electric mixer just until blended.
  • 2. Beat sour cream, milk, eggs, almond extract and remaining cake mix at low speed with an electric mixer 30 seconds or until blended. Increase speed to medium and beat for 3 more minutes.
  • 3. Pour sour cream batter into a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Dollop cream cheese mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly over batter. Swirl batter gently with a knife. Sprinkle almonds over top.
  • 4. Bake at 350 fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes or until light golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rackfor 20 minutes. Drizzle Glaze over slightly warm cake or individual pieces.
Glaze:
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp milk
Preparation: Stir together powdered sugar,vanilla and 1 Tbsp. additional milk, if necessary, for desired consistency.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

The History Of Moon Cakes And Moon Festival

The Moon festival (also called the Mooncake or Mid-Autumn festival) falls on September 12th in the year 2011. What is the Moon festival? Every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is at its maximum brightness for the entire year, the Chinese celebrate "zhong qiu jie." Children are told the story of the moon fairy living in a crystal palace, who comes out to dance on the moon's shadowed surface. The legend surrounding the "lady living in the moon" dates back to ancient times, to a day when ten suns appeared at once in the sky. The Emperor ordered a famous archer to shoot down the nine extra suns. Once the task was accomplished, Goddess of Western Heaven rewarded the archer with a pill that would make him immortal. However, his wife found the pill, took it, and was banished to the moon as a result. Legend says that her beauty is greatest on the day of the Moon festival.

 According to another legend, on this day the "Man in the Moon" was spotted at an inn, carrying a writing tablet. When questioned, he said he was recording the names of all the happy couples who were fated to marry and live happily forever after. Accordingly, just as June is the traditional month for exchanging nuptials in the west, many Chinese weddings are held during the eighth lunar month, with the fifteenth day being the most popular.

Of course, the most famous legend surrounding the Moon festival concerns its possible role in Chinese history. Overrun by the Mongols in the thirteenth century, the Chinese threw off their oppressors in 1368 AD. It is said that mooncakes - which the Mongols did not eat - were the perfect vehicle for hiding and passing along plans for the rebellion. Families were instructed not to eat the mooncakes until the day of the moon festival, which is when the rebellion took place. (In another version plans were passed along in mooncakes over several years of Mid-Autumn festivals, but the basic idea is the same).

Today, Chinese people celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival with dances, feasting and moon gazing. Not to mention mooncakes. While baked goods are a common feature at most Chinese celebrations, mooncakes are inextricably linked with the Moon festival. One type of traditional mooncake is filled with lotus seed paste (see side photo). Roughly the size of a human palm, these mooncakes are quite filling, meant to be cut diagonally in quarters and passed around. This explains their rather steep price (around $5.00 in Canada). A word of caution: the salty yolk in the middle, representing the full moon, is an acquired taste.

More elaborate versions of mooncakes contain four egg yolks (representing the four phases of the moon). Besides lotus seed paste, other traditional fillings include red bean paste and black bean paste. Unfortunately for dieters, mooncakes are rather high in calories.

While in the past mooncakes took up to four weeks to make, automation has speeded up the process considerably. Today, mooncakes may be filled with everything from dates, nuts, and fruit to Chinese sausages. More exotic creations include green tea mooncakes, and ping pei or snowskin mooncakes, a Southeast Asian variation made with cooked glutinous rice flour. Haagen-Daz has even gotten into the act by introducing a line of ice cream mooncakes in Asian markets.

Given the difficulty of making them, most people prefer to purchase their mooncakes instead of making them. You'll find them at Asian bakeries beginning around mid-August. Meanwhile, for those with a culinary bent, here are several recipes.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

What's Moon Cake?

During the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280) were unhappy to live under foreign rule. They decided to coordinate a rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Inside each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. Because it's a Han (the main clan before the Mongolian took over) cake, the Mongolian people are not interested. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.

Traditional moon cakes are round pastries filled with lotus seed paste with one to four egg yolks, weight about 180 grams each. The more egg yolks in the moon cake, the more expensive it is and more prestigious when present them as presents to relatives. You can buy mooncake one by one though shops always sell their mooncakes in a tin box of 4.

Modern moon cakes - modern bakers are trying to be different. In Hong Kong, you can find dozens varieties of moon cake with nuts or ham, with white lotus seed paste, red bean paste, green bean paste, fruit or coffee flavor. About 10 years ago, a baker called Tai Pan introduced a new white stretchy pastry for their moon cake. They called it "Snowy moon cake" which is very different from the traditional baked, slightly crumbly pastry. It's certainly more popular with the younger generation, though the older generation will look at it and say, "Not traditional!". Then we have chocolate mooncakes, ice cream mooncakes from Haagen Dazs.

Packaging - Besides new ingredients in the moon cakes, you have more choices of sizes and packaging these days. There are mini-mooncakes for those who would like to watch their weight but still want to be traditional and have a moon cake on the Mid-Autumn Festival day. Mini-moon-cake often comes in a tin box or cardboard box of 6 or 8. Other layout like "7-star around the moon" which means 7 mini or full size moon cakes surrounding a standard full size moon cake in the middle in a round tin. It's ideal as gift for your mother-in-law but it costs a lot more (8 mooncakes!)

In 2008, the traditional moon-cake-bakers challenge the modern bakers with new packagings. Nice heavy wooden box with fancy carving decoration or various cartoon character like Thomas the Tank Engine or Doraemon theme boxes with games/toys are available.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Benefits Of Eating Cakes

Cakes are the wellness demons. At least that’s what we have been told. With all the sugars, calories, and fats they give, it’s no question they are believed to be bad for us. They are even frequently referred to as decadent and sinful. That’s because they are rich and oh so luscious that every bite seems to be prohibited. But even if they are regarded as the evil incarnate for some, cakes, even the most decadent ones, actually have heavenly effects for our body.

Nutritional experts and physicians have been telling us that cakes are filled with bad-for-you ingredients like sugar and others, but what only a few knows is that cakes have good effects on our physical and mental health also.
Its nutritional value for our physical wellness depends on the kind of cake we are talking about. While specialists say eating chocolate cakes, especially the dark variety, is good for you when eaten in moderation, there’s as well something good to be said with the fruity kind.

But whatever kind of cake you desire, as long as you wish it, is still good for you. How come? It’s all about our mental health. Denying yourself the rich and luscious chocolate overload cake would just make you feel disappointed.

For all the negative effects we heard about eating rich cakes, only a few has been mentioned about its benefits. Treating yourself to a piece of the richly delightful confectionery sweet, such as the cakes beautifully exposed in bakeries, can bring you intense happiness and pleasure.