If you’re still working on your Christmas morning menu, this recipe for Cranberry Streusel Cake would be a good one to consider. The moist, festive cake is both easy to make and delicious. The sweet, brown sugar streusel is a nice balance to the tart cranberries.

To simplify things the morning of, have your cranberries chopped and measured, and your dry ingredients measured and combined. Now all you have to do Christmas morning is mix the  cake (wet and dry ingredients) and bake it.

I didn’t have plain yogurt so I used a combination of sour cream and buttermilk. The cake turned out great and several people asked me for the recipe. Enjoy!

Cranberry Streusel Cake
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

Add the topping 40 minutes into baking rather than at the beginning, when it would sink too far into the cake, or at the end, when it wouldn’t sink in at all. Serves nine.
 
9 oz. (2 cups) all-purpose flour; more for the pan
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. table salt
4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, well softened at room temperature; more for the pan
1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup plain, low-fat yogurt (or sour cream)
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

For the streusel:
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

Make the cake:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter and flour a 9-inch-square baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt until blended. With an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until well blended, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated. Using a wide rubber spatula, alternately fold the flour mixture and the yogurt into the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the chopped cranberries with the last addition of flour. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Tap the pan gently on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake for 40 min.

Make the streusel:
While the cake is baking, combine the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the butter and mix, using a fork, until the ingredients are well blended and form small crumbs. Stir in the walnuts and cranberries.

After the cake has baked for 40 min., sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top of the cake. Continue baking until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean, another 10 to 15 min. Cool in the pan on a wire rack until warm or room temperature. Cut into squares and serve.

The recipe calls for making a brown sugar glaze which I thought was totally unneccessary. The cake with the crumble topping is good as is, and doesn’t need more sweetness from the glaze. The cake is best the day it’s made. Enjoy!

Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping
-recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, foodnetwork.com

Serves: 12 servings

Cake:
1 stick plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples

Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Brown Sugar Glaze (optional):
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter.

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly. Serve warm.

Here’s a simple recipe featuring my favorite summer fruit: peaches. The coffee cake is easy to make, delicious, moist and lightly spiced…and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.

I added an 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg to the batter, and omitted the pecans. The cake is best served the day it’s made, but leftovers are still tasty the next day. Enjoy!

Fresh Peach Cake
-Recipe from Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips (Fabulous Recipes and Easy Tips) by Ina Garten

Level: Easy
Makes 8 servings

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch-square baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches on top and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and the pecans.

Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This classic recipe for German Chocolate Cake is special in Husband’s family because his mom used to make it for the family when they were growing up.  I chose to make this extremely moist and delicious cake for Father-in-law’s birthday celebration this weekend because I knew it would bring back fond memories of his beloved wife. With a smile, he took his first bite then told me it tasted just like hers. What better compliment is there?

Sure, I’ve seen recipes for updated versions of this cake, but the original recipe—the one printed on boxes of Baker’s brand German’s Sweet Chocolate—is the one I make for my family. The cake has nothing to do with Germany but was named after the man, Samuel German, who developed a type of baking chocolate for Baker’s Chocolate Company.

The recipe calls for baking the batter in three 9″ round cake pans but I made it in a 10″x15″ glass pan. It took longer to bake (approximately 50 minutes…give or take). For the frosting, make sure you buy evaporated milk not sweetened condensed milk (they are very different products).  The recipe calls for a 7-ounce bag of coconut but I’ve only seen the 14-ounce size…just measure out the needed 2-2/3 cups and you’re good to go. Enjoy!

Original BAKER’S GERMAN’S Sweet Chocolate Cake
-recipe from Baker’s Chocolate Company

1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER’S GERMAN’S Sweet Chocolate
1/2 cup  water
4 eggs, separated
2 cups  flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp.  salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups  sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup  buttermilk
Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting (recipe below)

HEAT oven to 350°F.

COVER bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round pans with waxed paper; spray sides with cooking spray. Microwave chocolate and water in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

BEAT egg whites in small bowl with mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form; set aside. Mix flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition.

ADD egg whites; stir gently until well blended. Pour into prepared pans.

BAKE 30 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Immediately run small spatula around cakes in pans. Cool cakes in pans 15 min.; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Spread Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting between cake layers and onto top of cake.

Substitute: If you don’t have buttermilk, just add 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk; let stand 10 min.
Note: This delicate cake will have a flat slightly sugary top crust which tends to crack. The frosting will cover up these cracks.

Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting   
4 egg yolks
1 can  (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups  sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 pkg.  (7 oz.) BAKER’S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut (about 2-2/3 cups)
1-1/2 cups PLANTERS Chopped Pecans

BEAT egg yolks, milk and vanilla in large saucepan with wire whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter; cook on medium heat 12 min. or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

ADD coconut and pecans; mix well. Cool to room temperature and of desired spreading consistency.

USE to frost your favorite cake or cupcake recipe.

Note: Makes enough to frost top and sides of 3 (8- or 9-inch) cake layers, tops of 2 (13×9-inch) cakes or 36 cupcakes.

This Chocolate Stout Cake is moist, rich and very chocolatey. Need I say more?

For some reason, some of the cake stuck to the pan when I unmolded it (probably user error because that didn’t happen last time I made it). Husband, however, had a cunning plan. He joked that I should spackle it together. We had a good laugh but then I took his advice and stuck the loose cake chunks back on the cake. The cake is moist enough so it worked. I then covered the newly spackled cake with the ganache. See…chocolate fixes everything! 

Chocolate Stout Cake
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

Rich, dark, and toasty stout beer plus deeply flavored molasses give the chocolate flavor of this cake some wonderful nuance. With this recipe, you can bake one big beautiful cake, perfect for entertaining, or a dozen irresistible miniature bundt cakes, perfect for gift giving.

Yields 1 large bundt cake or 12 miniature bundt cakes.

For the cake
1-1/4 cups stout, such as Guinness (don’t include the foam when measuring)
1/3 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
7-1/2 oz. (1-2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
2-1/4 oz. (3/4 cup) unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed); more for the pan
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
10 oz. (1-1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature; more for the pan
1-1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped

For the glaze: (optional)
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 oz. semisweet chocolate

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF. Butter a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan (or twelve 1-cup mini bundt pans) and then lightly coat with sifted cocoa powder. Tap out any excess cocoa.

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the stout and molasses to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand while preparing the cake batter.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With a stand mixer (use the paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, cream the butter in a large bowl on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour and stout mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Stop the mixer at least one last time to scrape the bowl and then beat at medium speed until the batter is smooth, about 20 seconds. Stir in the chopped chocolate.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan (or pans), spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula. Run a knife through the batter to eliminate any air pockets. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 45 to 50 minutes (about 35 minutes for mini cakes). Set the pan on a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and remove the pan. Let cool until just barely warm.

Make the glaze, if using:
Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute and then whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Drizzle the barely warm cake with glaze and then let cool to room temperature before serving.

Make Ahead Tips:
Wrapped tightly in plastic, the cake keeps for up to a week, or you can freeze it for up to a month. If you’re making the cake ahead, wrap it while still barely warm without the glaze. If you plan to freeze the cake, don’t glaze it until you’re ready to serve it or give it away.

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Everyone needs an apple cake in their baking repertoire, and this recipe is excellent! The cake is super moist, velvety, slightly tangy from the cream cheese, and loaded with apples…YUMM!

The recipe calls for a 12-cup Bundt pan. My Bundt pan doesn’t say how many cups it holds but rather gives the size (9 3/4″ x 3 3/8″). It can hold 12 cups of water but it’s filled to the rim of the pan. This recipe has a bit too much batter for my pan so I spooned as much into the pan as I could without filling it to the very top (leaving some room for it to expand while baking). Any extra batter can be baked in greased and floured ramekins or muffin tins (they’ll bake in less time, of course).

If you don’t have a Bundt pan, you can use a different baking pan but your baking time will vary. Check out this link for different baking pan size equivalents. Because my oven is old and tempermental, I use the baking time in a recipe as a guideline. Sometimes the item in the oven needs less time, sometimes more time. If you use a different pan size, you’ll need to adjust the baking time.

The apple cake keeps covered at room temperature for several days. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Apple Cake 
-recipe from The Grand Central Baking Book by Piper Davis and Ellen Jackson

Grand Central has baked this cake in every shape and size imaginable: as cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting, in rounds baked in springform pans, as classic Bundt cakes and currently in long Pullman loaf pans. Because it stays moist for several days, this large cake is tailor-made for a long weekend with friends, providing dessert the first night and leftovers to nibble on for several days to come.  Serves 14 to 16.

3 cups (15 ounces) flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (8 ounces, or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups (1 pound, 1.5 ounces) granulated sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds tart apples (3 or 4 apples), peeled and diced into 1/2-inch chunks
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is very light in color –almost white–and the texture is fluffy, about 8 minutes. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once during the process to ensure that the butter is evenly incorporated.

Crack the eggs into a liquid measuring cup and add the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the eggs, letting them fall in one at a time and incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once or twice during the process. 

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients; stop mixing as soon as the flour is incorporated. Fold the apples in by hand using a stiff spatula, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The cake is ready when a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. Cool completely, then cover with a thick dusting of confectioners’ sugar.

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Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

And of course, to make a bundt cake, you have to have a bundt cake pan. I love my Nordic Ware Bundt Cake Pan. The pan is heavy duty and has a nonstick finish…it’s awesome! I actually have two of them because I make so many bundt cakes (often times multiple cakes for the same event). If you don’t have a bundt cake pan, are in need of a new one or are looking for a fun gift idea for a baker, you can’t go wrong with a Nordic Ware pan! Every kitchen should have one!! As a side note, Nordic Ware is the company that introduced the bundt cake (and the pan needed to bake it) back in the 1950s.

I believe the world is a happier place because of bundt cakes! Enjoy!

Pumpkin & Ginger Poundcake: This bundt cake is a perfect alternative to pumpkin pie!

Pear Spice Cake: Loaded with pears and warm spices, this simple bundt cake is an Autumn favorite of ours.

Cranberry-Almond Coffee Cake: Great as a coffee cake or dessert, this bundt cake is a perfect use for leftover cranberry sauce.

To me, fresh apple cake is the epitome of autumn! A friend gave me a bag of apples from her backyard tree recently so, of course, I had to find something new and delicious to make with them. What I settled on was this recipe for Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting. It’s moist, delicious, super easy to make and loaded with appley goodness. 

I made a few slight changes to the recipe but nothing drastic. For the cake, I decreased the sugar from 2 cups to 1-1/2 cups, which was perfect because the brown sugar frosting adds sweetness, too. Also, I substituted 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon allspice for the 1-1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice, and added a splash of vanilla to the cake batter. I chose not to use nuts, although chopped pecans would be a good addition. I thought the cake was actually better the day after it was made so I encourage you to make it a day before you plan to serve it. Enjoy!

 Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting 
-recipe from King Arthur Flour

This cake is an old, old favorite of ours. It’s a cake where the whole is definitely more than the sum of the parts. The moist, semi-chunky cake, spread with the frosting equivalent of brown sugar fudge, is perfect served with a cup of coffee or, better still, a glass of ice-cold milk.

Cake
2 1/3 cups (9 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups (14 ounces) granulated sugar (I used 1-1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice (I used 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp. allspice)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (3 1/4 ounces) vegetable shortening (trans-fat free)
4 cups (12 ounces) peeled, chopped apples (about 1 pound before peeling)
1 cup (4 ounces) walnuts, chopped

Brown Sugar Frosting
5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (3 1/4 ounces) firmly packed brown sugar (light or dark)
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) milk
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch pan.

Mix all of the ingredients except the apples and walnuts in a large bowl. Beat until well combined; the mixture will be crumbly. Add the apples and walnuts, and mix until the apples release some of their juice and the crumbly mixture becomes a thick batter, somewhere between cookie dough and brownie batter in consistency.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing it with your wet fingers. Bake the cake for 45 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Remove from the oven and place on a rack, to cool completely; don’t remove the cake from pan. When the cake is completely cool, frost with Brown Sugar Frosting.

Frosting: Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar melts. Add the milk, bring to a boil, and pour into a mixing bowl to cool for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, stir in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat well; if the mixture appears too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar. Spread on the cake while frosting is still warm.

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One of my kids recently requested (verbatim) chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles for his birthday treat. After doing a quick recipe search, I decided to make him a Chocolate Sour Cream Cake. The very moist, very chocolatey and very delicious cake was a hit with the Birthday Boy! Is there anything better than that?

I chose to make my own frosting so I can’t vouch for that part of the recipe. I can, however, vouch for the cake! In fact, I’m having a piece right now as I’m writing this post…Mmmmmm. 

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
-recipe from Hershey’s.com

Makes 12 to 15 servings.

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 container (16 oz.) dairy sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FUDGE FROSTING(recipe follows)
 
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 3 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Frost with FUDGE FROSTING.

FUDGE FROSTING

Makes about 1 cup frosting.

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/3 cups powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa; cook, stirring constantly, just until mixture begins to boil. Pour mixture into medium bowl; cool completely. Add powdered sugar alternately with milk to cocoa mixture, beating to spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla.

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