Diet Coke Cake

I think I first heard about Diet Coke cake from a friend.  It is, by far, the easiest dessert to make!   It’s very moist and tastes just like normal cake.  It’s also low-calorie if you make it with diet pop.   I used Diet Cherry Coke for an interesting flavor!  It was delicious and ready in about 30 minutes.

Diet Coke Cake (or Sprite/7up cake)

• 1 box regular cake mix, any flavor (no “pudding in the mix”)
• 1 can of pop (use Diet Coke for chocolate cake or a lemon-lime soda for white or yellow cake)

1) Preheat the oven to whatever temperature is indicated on the box.

2) Combine the cake mix with one can of pop and stir until blended.  Leave out the butter/oil/eggs if the mix calls for it. Mix ONLY the cake mix and can of pop.

3)  Bake for about 10 minutes less than the box calls for.   Test with a fork to ensure that the cake is cooked in the center.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie

My grandmother makes the most delicious pumpkin pies every Thanksgiving.  I love pumpkin pie and I’m kind of sad that I only eat it for a few days out of the year.  This is assuming there are leftovers!

I offered to help make pumpkin pies for this year’s Thanksgiving.  I figured pie-making would be extremely complicated but when I arrived to help, Granny told me how easy it was.  The “secret” family recipe was really a variation of the recipe on the back of Libby’s canned pumpkin.  Also, she had bought pie crusts because every time she tried to make crusts from scratch, they didn’t turn out very well.  I was happy to help unroll the refrigerated crusts and begin!

Pear & Apple Crisp

I love fall.  The leaves, pumpkins, college football…what could be better?

I especially love fall foods.  I went to the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market a few weeks ago (which I HIGHLY recommend you check out if you live in A2)  and got the last of the pears for the season.  Turns out when you don’t go to the Farmers’ Market a few weekends in a row you miss out on the very short pear season. Luckily I got just enough pears to make a pear and apple crisp for an event at my sorority house last week.

Why a crisp?  Well, this summer I went through a peach crisp phase.  I was OBSESSED with peach crisp, and numerous variations of it: peach and raspberry, peach and nectarine, peach and rhubarb…I could go on and on.  While I am regarded in many circles as an exclusive chocoholic, there’s something about a fruit crisp (cobbler/crumble/whatever name you prefer) served warm that makes my mouth water.

I am still a huge fan of the crisp genre and decided to take advantage of the last of the pear season.  I adapted Ina Garten’s recipe and it turned out very well.   The recipe is very simple.  The most time-consuming part is peeling and cutting the apples and pears.  It’s a great fall dessert and is best served warm.  I like mine with a little ice cream as well!  Best of all, I left my sorority house with an empty dish, SUCCESS!

Birthday Cake!

I just got back from a great weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I helped Sean celebrate his birthday and enjoyed the amazing weather.  (Remind me again why I chose to go to school in frigid Michigan?!)  As for the birthday cake, drumroll please……… the winner is RED STRIPE CAKE!  Sean’s favorite beer is Red Stripe so the cake decision seemed quite obvious.  The cake itself was yellow cake with chocolate frosting topped with fondant.

First, I allowed the cake to cool completely and then cut it into a bottle shape.  From here, I frosted it with the chocolate frosting.  Generously, I must add.  YUM.  Next is the hard part, the fondant.  Because this was my first time using fondant I decided to buy it pre-made.   I used chocolate fondant to cover the entire cake.  Rolling the fondant was difficult so I enlisted the help of Sean’s roommate, Daniel.  Either I’m really weak or rolling fondant truly is a two-person job.  I bought a “fondant roller” which I would HIGHLY recommend getting.  The fondant must be super thin to spread over the cake so you have to roll it out completely and evenly.

From here, I draped the cake with the fondant and cute the edges around the cake.  The result is a perfectly smooth surface to decorate—just what I needed to make it look like a Red Stripe bottle!  I then cut out a square of the white fondant for the label.  The “red stripes” on the cake are pieces of red fondant.  I used red and white frosting along with silver luster dust to write on the cake.  The bottle cap is white fondant covered with silver luster dust.

All in all, I was really happy with how the cake turned out.  I had never used fondant before and it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.  I will definitely be experimenting more with fondant and luster dust in the future!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

YUM.  I’m reminiscing about the cookies as I write this.

Last week I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to take to Iowa City.  I doubled the recipe to have enough for the 7 hour road trip and to last the entire weekend.  The cookies were a big hit.   Despite the Michigan loss, the weekend was incredible!  I had a very fun time with great friends.  Thanks to my fabulous hostesses for showing me a great time in Iowa City and to my road-trip buddy for entertaining me on the long drive.

Best Chocolate Frosting. Ever.

Yes, I am bragging about the chocolate frosting I made last week.  I made these cupcakes in honor of my dear friend Jenny’s 22nd birthday.  Happy birthday JCam!

The frosting was sweet and creamy without being so sweet that it hurt to eat.  Yes, believe it or not, I think some frostings are too sweet to be enjoyed.  To decorate, I put a generous amount of frosting on each cupcake and spread it out to the edges.  From here, just play around with rainbow sprinkles however you desire.  My favorite decor involves rolling the edge of the cupcake in the sprinkles.  Enjoy, decorating is the best part!  Well, besides eating of course.

Best Chocolate Frosting:

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, June 2009.

Makes enough to frost ~24 cupcakes.

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
• 4 tbsp. whole milk
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1. Whisk together confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, gradually add cocoa mixture, scraping down side of bowl as necessary.

3. Gradually beat in milk and vanilla.  Beat frosting until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds.

4.  If you prefer a thicker frosting, continue to add confectioners’ sugar to your liking.  Add more milk if you prefer a thinner frosting.

For the cake,  I made Martha Stewart’s  Yellow Buttermilk cupcakes.   They were also good but the frosting completely overshadowed the cake this time.  Warning:  Be very careful not to overcook these or they will be dry…and nobody likes a dry cupcake!

Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Yield: According to Martha, it makes 36.  I got about 30 regular-sized cupcakes.

• 3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
• 2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

2)  Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Reduce speed to medium and add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

3) Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined.  Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each.  Beat in vanilla.  Be careful not to over-mix or the cupcakes will be tough and bread-like instead of light and airy.

4)  Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and toothpicks inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature (or frozen up to 2 months) in airtight containers.