Red Velvet Vanilla Marble Cake

Valentine's Day dessert, Christmas potluck, Ruby wedding anniversary, or maybe you just love red....this cake is your style.  This is my second attempt at both a red velvet cake and a marble cake so I did some research before I dove in.  I borrowed bits and pieces from several different recipes and modified bits of others until I found a combination I thought would work.

I had two goals for this recipe - first, for the red velvet cake to be moist and flavourful, and second, a lovely marbled effect between the vanilla and the red velvet.

I started with Joy the Baker's simple vanilla cupcake recipe.  Her advice was to double the batch to make a layer cake, but I had decided to make a 9 x 13 cake so I opted to keep it simple and single. For the red velvet, I doubled the amount of butter that was called for in most recipes, as the last one I tried turned out dry and tasteless. I toyed with the idea of adding a tbsp of vegetable oil, but decided against it.   I also didn't want a lot of cocoa in it, so I only used 1tbsp of cocoa to 2 tbsp of red food colouring.

Ok, enough rambling.  It was a success in terms of a moist and delicious red velvet cake, and the marbling turned out rather well - a nice contrast between the red and the vanilla. The vanilla butter cake was superior,  and I will definitely use this recipe next time I make vanilla cupcakes.

Vanilla Cake
Joy the Baker's Simple Vanilla Cupcakes

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt.  
2. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. 
3. Add eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat until well combined.
4. Add the vanilla to the egg mixture, and then half of the flour mixture, continuing to beat. 
5. Add the milk, followed by the rest of the flour mixture.  
6. Set aside.

Red Velvet Cake

1 1/2 cups flour, sifted

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp red food colouring
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp baking soda

1. Combine flour and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside
2. In a medium sized bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the egg, beating well to combine.
3. In a small bowl, combine cocoa and food colouring until it forms a thick paste, and add to the butter and sugar. 
4. Stir in the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, about half at a time, mixing in between.
5. Add one tsp of the vinegar and the baking soda (Chemistry 101 - it will hiss and bubble), followed by the last tsp of vinegar. Stir well to incorporate.
6. Pour the red velvet batter into a greased 9x13 inch pan.  It will be thick, you may have to use a spatula to move it into the corners evenly.  
7. Pour the vanilla batter on top.
8. Run a butter knife through the batter to create the marbled effect.  Don't be too cautious (I have learned from past mistakes), or you will not achieve the proper marbled effect.  Give it a good whirl.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Joy's Red Velvet Marble Cake

I am slowly but surely working my way through all the recipes in Joy the Baker's delightful cookbook (available for purchase at Chapters Indigo and Amazon.ca) and I have had my eye on this one for a while.....but since I always like to have a reason to bake a big beautiful delicious cake...I waited for my in-laws birthday celebration to test this one out.   

Get out all your mismatched mixing bowls and measuring spoons for this one - you will need 'em all.  You essentially have to make two cake batters - which should come as no real surprise to anyone, but since this was my first try at both red velvet cake and a marble cake - I brought my A game. 

In all honesty, the chocolate cake part was perfect - light, moist, and chocolate-ty.  I don't know what I did wrong, but my red velvet cake part was dry....   I also didn't quite marble the cake enough, which didn't help.  Don't get me wrong, it was delicious and every last crumb is gone. 

Red Velvet Marble Cake - from Joy the Baker

Chocolate Cake
1 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda 
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup coffee
1/3 cup +1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 cup softened butter 
1/2 cup +2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Let's start with the Chocolate cake. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl, mix together the cocoa and coffee (its easier if the coffee is still hot).   In yet another bowl, cream together butter and sugars.  Add eggs one at a time (I always add them at the same time.... : ) and continue to beat for another couple of minutes.  Add in the coffee-cocoa mixture and vanilla and mix well. 

Add in the flour mixture and the buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk on hand, add a dollop of white vinegar to milk and let sit for a couple of minutes - ta-da!).


Red Velvet Cake 
1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
3/4  tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons red food colouring
1/4  cup softened butter
3/4  cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2  teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2  cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

Next up - the red velvet cake.  Similar to the chocolate cake batter, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.  In a small bowl, mix together the cocoa and red food colouring.  They didn't actually mix very well when I tried it (ratio of dry to wet was a little off), but not to worry, it will all work out in the end. 

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add in egg.  Add in cocoa mixture.  Beat until well mixed.  Add in flour mixture and half of the buttermilk, mix well, then add in the rest.  Finally, add in the vinegar and finish mixing with a spatula. 

Now for the marble part.  I was nervous for this, silly but it's true.  I didn't say I was logical : )

Divide the red velvet cake batter between 2 round 9x9 greased and floured cake pans.  My red velvet batter was thicker than the chocolate, and it didn't quite cover the bottom of either pan.  Top it off with the chocolate cake batter.  Using a butter knife, make a few swirls in each pan.  I was too cautious in my swirling, so I didn't end up with a really great marble effect. 

The recipe calls for using two oven racks, one in the middle and one in the top third, and to bake the cakes for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F and then switch and bake for another 15-20 minutes.  My oven was wide enough to bake both in the middle, so I just baked for 35 minutes and they came out perfectly well done. 

Let cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. 

I had a hard time deciding between cream cheese frosting and chocolate buttercream, and in the end I went with the buttercream.  I adapted Joy's recipe (also from the book) by using milk instead of heavy cream, and omitted ovaltine.  It whipped up like a dream....

Fudge Pudding Cake

This was one of my favourite desserts growing up - my Mum baked it in a round casserole dish and the cake puffs up right to the top with the pudding on the bottom.  Needless to say, with three kids in our house plus one father with a serious sweet tooth (thanks Dad!) there were never any leftovers....so now I get to make this just for my husband and I...wait, there are still barely any leftovers!

The original recipe calls for cocoa to be added to the cake batter - I love chocolate just as much as the next girl, but to be honest, I find it tastes sooo much better with a vanilla cake.  Plus, it looks awesome with the chocolate-y smidgens on top. 

Fudge Pudding Cake

Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa**
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp melted butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla

Pudding
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups hot water

1. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, cocoa (if making chocolate cake, otherwise omit) and salt.
2. Add the melted butter, milk and vanilla.  Mix well.  It will be a sticky, thick batter. 
3. Pour into a square or round 8x8 pan, or a large round casserole dish.
4. Boil water, and pour into a medium sized heat-safe bowl.  Slowly stir in the cocoa, brown and white sugar. Mix well.  Pour the pudding mixture over top of the cake batter.  The liquid will sit on top of the batter - don't worry, it will magically end up on the bottom as pudding. It is okay if there are lumps in the pudding mixture - these will end up as little chocolate smidgens on top of the cake.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until cake tester or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Best served warm. Keeps well for 2-3 days covered in the fridge.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cinnamon Glaze

This cake is light yet decadent, and so deliciously rich with pumpkin flavour. If you are as big of a fan as I am of all things pumpkin, then this cake is for you.  Topped with a sweet cinnamon glaze, it's a prize-winner. Your family and friends will be fighting for the last piece...

mmmmm......cinnamon glaze

The first time I made this cake was earlier this year for Easter dinner, and it blew our socks off.  My husband has been impatiently waiting for an encore ever since. This one, my friends, is a keeper (the husband and the cake : )

This recipe is adapted from the amazing Joy the Baker's delightful cookbook.  I reduced the sugar and oil by a tad. The icing is sweet enough, and the 4 eggs and pumpkin puree create such a moist cake that next time I might actually reduce the amount of oil even further to only half a cup. I also omitted the cloves, as I keep forgetting to buy it. I made the glaze with light instead of heavy cream, and I just guessed at the cinnamon...at first I was worried I put too much in but it ended up being delicious.  I can smell it as I write this so off I go to cut just another tiny taste.....

Enjoy with friends and family and coffee!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Adapted from Joy the Baker

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups pumpkin puree

4 eggs

Cinnamon Glaze

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons light cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour bundt pan – set aside.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices – set aside.  In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and pumpkin puree until mixed well.  Using a mixer, beat the eggs in one at at time (or all at once like I did is fine too).  

3. Pour the pumpkin mixture all at once into the flour mixture and mix well - it might take a little while, ensure you get all those bits of floury sugar out of the bottom.  

4. Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester or slim serrated knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before inverting the pan to release the cake.

5.  To make the cinnamon glaze, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon with the cream. Pour over completely cooled cake, allowing icing to drip down the sides.

I meant to take a photo of a slice, but this is all that is left, 4 days later and still moist and tasty!

Apple Cake

Happy Fall!! Well, it isn't technically the autumn yet, but it sure feels like it today in southern Ontario. The perfect day to go for a chilly morning walk all bundled up with a coffee, and then come home and make this cake.  This cake is literally chock a block full of apple-y goodness.  This is one of our beloved fall recipes....we talk about it the rest of the year, waiting for fall so we can make it again. My husband, who rarely bakes, used to make this for himself all the time when I was living in England one year. This cake is easy to make, but don't say I didn't warn you - it's addictive.

Apple Cake

2 eggs
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup oil (I use vegetable)
3 tbsp orange juice (optional)
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
8 apples
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup icing sugar (for topping)

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
Beat eggs with granulated sugar and vanilla in a separate bowl.
Add the oil and orange juice to the egg mixture, mix well.

Peel and slice the apples into the baking dish - I use a deep oval casserole dish, but have also used a 9x13 glass dish. The recipe calls for 8 apples, I usually find 6 good sized apples to be enough, but the more the merrier!  I use Granny Smith apples, but a combination of grannies and another kind should work well, any kind you would normally use in pie will work just fine.

Once the apples are sliced and ready in the dish, combine the egg mixture with flour mixture.  It will be thick. Slowly pour the mixture over top the apples.  Make sure that the apples are mostly covered by the thick mixture, as best you can.  It will look like there couldn't possibly be enough cake batter - but it's going to be OK - the cake will bake up around the apples....mmmm.

Top the batter with a mixture of cinnamon and icing sugar, and bake in a 350F oven for approximately 60 minutes.  If your dish is shallow, check closer to 50 minutes.  Today, mine took 63 minutes until the cake tester came out clean.

Enjoy the apple baking season while it's here!