Orange Almond Cake {GF& DF}

I love cakes that can be whipped up quickly but are deliciously impressive. This is one of those. And this one is also gluten AND dairy free, which is helpful when you have friends or families who have dietary restrictions. 

What I also appreciate is that this cake doesn't call for specialty ingredients - the only "unusual" thing is almond flour, which is not unusual at all anymore - you can even get it at Aldi! (That's my litmus test of a regular ingredient - can I get it at Aldi? HA!)

This is a wonderful light, spring or summer cake, which we really enjoyed with ice cream and fresh berries. (And the dairy free folks without the ice cream, wah!)

You will need your mixer for this, because the lightness of the cake comes from whipped egg whites. Of course, you could do it by hand if you have arms and shoulders of steel, but I do not. I'm grateful for stand mixers, because you can turn it on and just let it go for several minutes. But the rest of the cake you can just mix together by hand.

Enjoy this beautiful spring, and enjoy this cake!

Orange Almond Cake

4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
zest of one small orange
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups almond flour
pinch salt
1/2 cup raw sliced almonds
powdered sugar for dusting

Using an electric stand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. 

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, zest and orange juice. Stir in the almond flour and salt. 

Once egg whites are stiff, add about 1/4 of the egg white mixture to the batter, and fold gently until combined. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites, but do not over mix. 

Pour the batter into a greased 9" springform pan. (If you like, you can also line the bottom with parchment.) Top with the sliced almonds. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and the top springs back slightly when touched. 

Cool completely on a wire rack, then remove the sides of the pan. If you've used parchment, you could remove the cake from the bottom as well. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with fresh berries.

Banana Layer Cake

 

My husband chose this cake for his birthday this year, and since he normally says "whatever you want" when I ask what HE wants for his birthday dessert, I figured I better make exactly what he picked out! 

 

And I'm glad he did. This is banana bread on steroids - a delicious layer cake with cream cheese frosting. 

This is a nice change of pace from heavy chocolate cakes or the like - but is still completely substantial. 

The cream cheese frosting adds a delicious richness to the cake - when I make this again, I might be tempted to double the frosting! If you need an easy, delicious cake for the weekend, or for any celebration, and you love banana bread - this is the winner!

Banana Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. banana extract, optional

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

3 tsp. milk or cream

1 tsp. banana extract (use vanilla if you don't have banana)

1½ cup powdered sugar

For the cake, in a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter until smooth and creamy. Add buttermilk and vanilla, and banana extract (if you have it). Mix until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry mixture gradually, beating until combined. Fold in mashed bananas.

Pour into greased 8 or 9 inch round cake pans and bake at 350 on center rack of oven for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Time will vary based on your pan size.) Remove to wire rack to cool, then remove from pan.

For the frosting, mix together the cream cheese, butter, milk and extract until light and fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar, a little at a time, mixing until smooth and creamy.

Generously frost bottom layer of cake, stopping at the edge. Place top layer on frosted bottom layer, then frost top layer generously, then frost the sides. (If you prefer, you can leave the sides "plain" and just frost the middle and top. Up to you!) Chill until frosting is firmed up before slicing.  Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Fresh Pear Cake with Cardamom Icing

Bundt cakes are so fun to make. They just look so impressive and are perfect for any kind of celebration. I especially love fruit-studded cakes, and this one is perfect for fall. 

This cake is so easy to throw together - you wouldn't even need to use a mixer. And pears have such thin skin that you don't even need to bother peeling them. You can have a show stopper of a cake in no time at all!

I think what really makes this cake special is the cardamom-laced icing. If you don't have cardamom on hand, don't worry - still make this! - but if you have some, it adds such a nice flavor depth to the "regular" powdered sugar icing.

I made this cake for a birthday celebration at work and it won rave reviews. Friends had given me a lot of pears from their trees, and this was the best use of them!

Pears bake up so beautifully, similar to apples, but have a slightly different flavor profile. They are wonderful to include in muffins, breads, cakes and tarts. Take advantage of the pears this fall and have some cake!

Fresh Pear Cake with Cardamom Icing

4 cups chopped pears
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla 

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
4 or 5 Tbsp. milk or half and half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
1/4 tsp. cardamom

In a large bowl, beat eggs on medium speed. Gradually add sugar and oil; beat thoroughly. Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda; add to egg mixture and mix well.

Stir in pears and vanilla. (The batter will be stiff.) Spoon into a greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake at 350° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

For the icing, in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, cardamom, and milk; beat until smooth. Add more sugar, or more milk, to get to a consistency you like. Drizzle over cake. Makes14-16 servings.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Sweet Southern Blue

Caramel Pear Upside Down Cake

We were recently the recipients of a large bag of pears from friends who have two pear trees in their yard. What a gift! We've been eating them plain, putting them on salads, and I used some to bake two different cakes. 

(Half the pears were already gone when I took this picture!)

Pears and caramel go really well together, so I knew this cake would be a big hit. And it was. It's so easy to put together, (no mixer required) and I don't even peel the pears, since the skin is so thin. Just look at all that caramelly pear goodness!

Add some batter, bake it up, then let it rest for a bit

before you bravely flip it over onto a plate! I couldn't flip and take a photo at the same time, ha! Guess I need an assistant.

If you need an impressive dessert, look no further than this. We especially loved how the caramel gets kind of crunchy on the outside edge of the cake - yum! 

We loved this with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream, but whipped cream would be a great garnish, too.  (And eating it plain is also a great option.)

Enjoy!

Caramel Pear Upside Down Cake

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup butter

2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1-2 pears, thinly sliced (or 1 can pears)
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla 
1/3 cup vegetable or avocado oil

In a greased 9 inch cake pan, arrange the pears slices in a circle, starting from the outer edge. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium low heat, melt the brown sugar and butter together. Once it begins to bubble, swirl the pan and lightly stir to make sure all the sugar is dissolved. Add the cream, and stir to incorporate.

Gently pour the caramel over the pear slices.

Into a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and oil until well combined. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk well until no streaks of flour remain. 

Carefully pour the cake batter on top of the pear slices. Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes then invert onto a serving plate. Allow to cool completely, or serve slightly warm, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Ginger and Cardamom Pear Cake

This is a really lovely, light cake that is quick to make and sure to impress. Any time you can have fans of fruit slices on the top of the cake, it looks fancy, am I right?

Ginger and cardamom pair beautifully with pears (ooh, homonyms!) and the result is a perfectly spiced, perfectly sweet cake that would work just as well as a coffee cake or as a dessert.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Ginger and Cardamom Pear Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger, about a 3 inch piece of ginger
3/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
2 ripe pears, cored and sliced (no need to peel!)
powdered sugar for dusting

In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, letting each become fully incorporated. Add the baking powder, salt, ginger, and cardamom, and mix briefly to combine.

Add the flour gradually, alternating with the yogurt or sour cream. Spread the batter into a greased 9-inch springform pan. Arrange the pear slices on top of the cake, pushing them into the batter very slightly. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is puffed and starting to turn golden on top.

Allow to cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before removing from the springform pan. Dust with powdered sugar when completely cooled. Serves 8-10.

Italian Love Cake

It's already February 8 and this is the first new recipe of 2023. Better late than never, I guess. And what could be better then a perfect recipe for Valentine's Day!?! I actually made this cake for a birthday, but since it's called LOVE cake and all, I thought it might inspire some of you to make a special dessert next week. 

Truth is, this is a special dessert no matter when you make it. It's super rich and chocolatey, and sort of cheesecakey (but note that my kids who don't "like" cheesecake ate this up without complaint, and with great praise!). The ricotta layer is really less like cheesecake and more like a creamy, solid base for the chocolate to rest on. (!) 

This cake is one of those fun ones that reverses layers in the oven. You make the chocolate layer first and pour it in the pan (don't bake yet!) then add the ricotta layer on top. The ricotta is heavier, so it sinks to the bottom while it bakes.

The cake is topped with a light and creamy pudding/cool whip frosting which is a great complement to the rich cake. This makes enough cake for a crowd, but the leftovers also keep really well in the fridge -- in fact, you'll want to plan ahead a bit as the cake is best after it has set in the fridge at least overnight before you serve it.

So get ready to show your love through this delicious cake - next week or some other random day. There's never a bad day to show love, or to eat cake.

Italian Love Cake
1 package chocolate or devil's food cake mix, plus ingredients to make cake 
2 pounds ricotta cheese
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (3.9 oz) package instant chocolate pudding
1 cup milk
16 oz. whipped topping, like Cool Whip, thawed

In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix and the ingredients to make the cake as directed on the box (usually 3 eggs, oil and water). Stir well until the mix and ingredients are fully incorporated. Spread the batter into a greased 9x13 cake pan.

In another large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the ricotta, eggs, and sugar together until creamy. Add the vanilla and mix well. Carefully pour the ricotta mixture over the chocolate cake mixture in the pan.

Bake at 350 for one hour.

Remove from the oven and place the cake pan on a wire rack to cool completely. Once it's cooled, you can frost, or you can refrigerate. The cake is best if it sits for at least a day before serving.

For the frosting, combine the pudding and milk in a medium bowl and whisk until thick and smooth. Carefully fold in the whipped topping. Spread on top of the cake, and refrigerate until serving. 

Recipe Source: The Seasoned Mom

Italian Pear Cake

This week, we continue our series on baking with fall desserts. Is it really a series if this is only the second one? Time will tell. Last week it was apple cake, today it's an amazing Italian Pear Cake, studded with pairs in the batter, layered with pears on top, and containing mascarpone cheese! YOU GUYS. Make this cake!

(This is my artsy picture.) Haven't the pears been SO GOOD this year? Seriously, I'm not sure if I remember pears being so consistently good in other fall seasons. But I don't take notes on this stuff. 

This cake is really easy to put together, and looks so beautiful (as you can see!) on the cake plate whole, or even in individual pieces. The crumb (listen to me, the crumb!) is a wonderful texture of somewhat dense, but still light and airy (how is this possible?) and the pears add another dimension of texture and flavor.

We ate this plain, and with vanilla ice cream, and both ways were delicious. Get out your springform pan and make this cake. It's going to be more than 70 degrees here today, which in itself is an Autumn Miracle, but the evenings are cooler and are crying for cake. If you make this, there will only be tears of joy. 

Italian Pear Cake

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup + 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch 

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3 eggs (room temperature)

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup mascarpone (room temperature)

2 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 

2-3 medium pears (Bartlett, Bosch or Anjou are best)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda. 

In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until creamy, about two minutes, then add the eggs and mix until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients, and stir them in by hand with a wooden spoon. Add in the oil, and stir well until all the ingredients are combined.

Peel and core the pears, then chop half and thinly slice half. Add the chopped pears to the batter and fold in gently. 

Grease and flour an 8- or 9-inch spring form pan. Add the batter to the pan, then arrange the pear slices over the top.

Bake at 340 for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached. Let cool completely; dust with powdered sugar, and serve.

Cinnamon Sugared Apple Cake

 

Many of you probably have apples from a recent trip to the orchard, or even the grocery store. I happened to see a farmer selling apples on the side of the road a few weeks ago and I got a gigantic bag of baking apples for $4! I made a huge apple crisp and then I made this cake. And I'm glad I did.

This cake is incredibly versatile - you could serve it as a coffee cake, or as dessert, or any kind of in between event. Or you could just eat it all day long, that's how good it is. In my opinion, it was equally good plain

as it was with ice cream on top, but adding caramel sauce REALLY puts it over the top.  

That cinnamon sugar topping really adds a nice crackly dimension to this beautiful cake studded with apples. This apple cake is easy to throw together and just screams "AUTUMN!" I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Cinnamon Sugared Apple Cake

Cake:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup applesauce

1 cup brown sugat

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

3 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. salt

3 tsp. baking powder

3 cups flour

3 cups peeled and diced apples

Topping:

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter, applesauce, brown sugar, and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder and mix well. Add flour in, 1 cup at a time, and incorporate it into the batter before adding more. The batter will be thick. Stir in the apples. 

Transfer batter to a greased 9x13 pan. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the top of the batter. 

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Lemon Custard Cake

Oh my goodness, no new posts since Mother's Day. Yikes. Life is just life sometimes, right? But today I have a great recipe for you, especially for those that love lemon. 

This lemon custard cake is a breeze to make, and tastes so summery! While it bakes, it separates into a custardy layer and a cake layer, and I love the airy texture.

It's pretty hot already here in Minnesota, but hopefully a cool down is coming to your neck of the woods so you can turn on the oven and make this delicious cake. 

Lemon Custard Cake

4 eggs at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tbsp. lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

3/4 cup flour

2 cups milk, lukewarm

Separate the eggs, putting the yolks in a large bowl. Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until stiff peaks form. Set the eggs whites aside.

Add the sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks and whisk until well combined. Add the melted butter, lemon zest and lemon juice and whisk once again. Gradually add the flour, whisking well in between each addition, then repeat with the milk.

Gently fold the egg white into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the batter into a greased 8 or 9-inch square baking pan and bake at 325 for 45 minutes or until the cake is golden. Allow to cool in the cake pan completely. 

Remove individual pieces and dust with powdered sugar before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Coconut Cake and Custard Trifle

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? That's what happened with this recipe. It was SUPPOSED to be a coconut layer cake. Then this happened.

So, I decided to make the best of it. And, I think this trifle probably turned out better than my layer cake would have... partly due to the amazing coconut custard that I used for the filling. 

Not to mention all the crunchy toasted coconut layered in and placed on top!

This recipe uses some convenience products, like a boxed cake mix and cool whip. But the homemade custard more than makes up for any of that. And you don't even have to worry about getting the cake out of the pan nicely, because you'll just chop it up anyway! (There is nothing stopping you from using a homemade white cake and whipping cream. Do what you like best, and own it!)

This is so beautiful and impressive in a trifle bowl - but if you don't have one, any big glass bowl will work just fine. You could also use a glass 9x13 in a pinch - it will still taste good, but the presentation will be a little different.  Trifles don't look nearly as pretty when they're in an individual serving dish, but I can't overstate how delicious this is. 

If you have someone in your life who loves coconut, this is the perfect dessert!

 Coconut Cake and Custard Trifle

Cake:

1 boxed white cake mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup water

3 eggs

Custard:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup whole milk

1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk

4 egg yolks

For assembly:

1 8oz. tub Cool Whip, thawed if frozen

1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

For the cake, combine the cake mix, oil, water and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until well blended. Transfer the batter to either two greased 9" round cake pans, or a greased 9x13 pan. Bake according to the directions on the box for each pan type.  Cool completely, then cut into small, bite-sized squares.

While the cake bakes, make the custard. In a medium saucepan (not over any heat), whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add in the whole milk, and whisk well to dissolve the cornstarch. Whisk in the coconut milk and the eggs. Once well combined, place the saucepan over medium heat, and stir constantly until the first big bubbles burst, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Toast the coconut by spreading it out on a large baking sheet and placing it in a 400 degree oven. Stir after about 4 minutes, then watch carefully, stirring every 2-3 minutes until it is all toasty. Coconut burns easily, so watch it carefully.

To assemble the trifle, in the trifle dish or large glass bowl, layer cake cubes, custard, cool whip and toasted coconut. Repeat layers, ending with about 1/2 cup of toasted coconut on top.   (You will likely have leftover cake cubes. You can freeze them for later or serve them with ice cream at another time!)

Serves 10-12.