Paula Dean's Almond Sour Cream Pound Cake, #19

Back to baking in my tube pan...not sure I can say I missed it b/c I am liking my bundt pan an awful lot. This cake sounded super yummy to me but it didn't strike me as good as I thought it would be. I mean it was good and it has gotten really good reviews from the boyfriend and the office but I guess it is just not my favorite. I have been finding that the cakes seem a touch overcooked, even with the oven thermometer, so I shaved off 5 minutes from the suggested baking time. I think this has worked out well and I will try it again this weekend.

The Naughty Senator, #18

What a fun name...the flavors represents the rich (chocolate), debauching (rum) politician (peppermint) and it was my first try at a marbled cake, 7.19.2010. I was worried about splitting the batter correctly since I screwed that up on a previous recipe but I did much better this time. I could have marbled the batter a tiny bit more with a thinner spatula but it still came out nicely swirled. Next time (b/c there will be a next time for this cake) I'll bake it for about 5 minutes less as it was a touch dry and add a chocolate glaze.

Yummy Butter Rum Cake, #17

Cake #17, Butter Rum Cake, 7.4.2010 was delicious and more fun to make than the vanilla rum cake made earlier in the cookbook. So far I've had really good luck with the bundt pan and I love how the cakes come out.

This cake was delicious all on this own but the added rum glaze was amazing!

The Tunnel of Fudge Cake, #16

The Tunnel of Fudge (Cake #16, 6.29.2010) came about as what would appear to be a kitchen mishap. Due to the amount of sugar in the cake it does something with the flour which causes the center to bake liquid or at least very fudgy. On top of a lot of sugar it has a ton of butter...

2nd time using my bundt pan, 6.29.2010.

I was happy with how the cake looked all done.

The cake was awful good but I did not get the liquid fudge in the center but you can tell by the darker spot in the cake that the center is fudgy. Even though I baked it for only 45 minutes (the recipe called for 45-50) and my oven temp was correct I think I shall have to carve off an additional few minutes and see how it turns out. The cake looked a little dry around the edges but it wasn't at all.

Cake #15, Cocoa Bread with Stewed Peaches

This cake was a different chocolate cake...it had cinnamon and molasses in it which gave it a different chocolate taste. Not my favorite cake but I did like it. I would not have thought to put peaches over it but they went really well.

The cake fresh out of the oven, 6.20.2010.




Peaches stewing with sugar and water, 6.20.2010.




The finished cake, 6.20.2010.

Cake #14, Wacky Cake with 7-Minute Frosting

The cake for this recipe was super simple and kind of fun. This cake was common during WWII when certain items were short due to rationing. It requires an odd way of mixing the ingredients. One well with vanilla extract, one with vinegar and one with vegetable oil.

The 7 Minute Frosting is the first time I've attempted beat egg whites to any stage. For this I was suppose to aim for the soft peak stage and, honestly, I was nervous that I was totally going to screw this up. But as I beat the eggs, sugar and cream of tartar they started to get shiny and thicker. Soft peak it is! And this frosting tastes like fluff except better!

Cake left in the pan for less fuss and covered with frosting.

More?

Yes, more...in addition to All Cakes Considered and the Have the Cake Community I needed to bake more. The most I've baked in a week is 3 different items (pie, cupcakes & cake). The following is what I've done since I started my baking journey.

It started with fudge...fudge my grandmother used to make from the recipe on the Fluff jar. It was very easy and I learned what soft ball stage was, 3.30.2010.

Since the Never Fail Fudge was such a success I decided to try their Nutty Butterscotch Fudge, 4.17.2010. This was heaven!

Next I wanted to try cupcakes and do a trial run for some upcoming birthday cupcakes, 4.24.2010. I found a recipe for a chocolate/chocolate cupcake and made it with Hersey's Special Dark cocoa powder. I also filled each cupcake with Devil's Food Pudding. The cupcakes were really good but not exactly "it".

Next I wanted to see if I could find the recipe for dessert bar that I had at a party. I was successful and made some Seven Layer Magic Bars, 4.30.2010, which truly are magical!

My all time favorite cupcake is a Margarita Cupcake which I was able to find a recipe for. These were awesome, 5.4.2010.

For Mother's Day I made my mom's favorite dessert, Key Lime Pie, 5.7.2010. It was so good!!

I also made a recipe called the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes, 5.8.2010 and they really were! These were made with dark chocolate and had chocolate ganache in the center.

Earl Grey Cupcakes with a Lemon Buttercream frosting, 5.31.2010. I need to add more tea to the batter and add some to the frosting too next time, otherwise these are really good!

I made this Chocolate Cookie Cake, 6.12.2010, for my boyfriend's birthday and it came out really good. If I made it again I would make the cookie filling closer to the moment when I would actually need it and probably use more milk so that it is more spreadable.