This is it, my friends – my last cake of this 2012 cake project. I would like to boast that not only have my cake-baking skills have improved, but so has my food photography. This last cake, I was faced with a real challenge, because after the cake had cooled for an hour or so, this is what it looked like: (more…)
‘52 Cakes’ Category
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Week 52: New Year’s Funfetti Cake
December 30, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: funfetti,sprinkles,vanilla | 4 Comments
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Week 51: Chocolate Butterscotch Bowl Cake
December 30, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
A few months ago I “baked” a Coffee Cake in a Mug. It’s a very practical recipe to have on hand. It’s easy, whips up in minutes, and really hits the spot when you need something sweet.
I wanted to make something else in the same vein. It’s snowed three times this past week in the New York area. It’s gonna be a loooong winter. And a quick, easy cake recipe can come in handy when you’re stuck indoors due to bad weather. This bowl cake serves 1 generously or 2 with a more modest appetite. And you likely have the ingredients in the cupboard. (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: butterscotch,chocolate,cool whip,sprinkles | No Comments
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Week 50: Currant Jam-Stuffed Coffee Cake
December 30, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
I prepared this little gem in a cooking class I took last week. Since the end of my cake project is looming, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what I’d like to do next in the kitchen. And – OH MY am I caked out! I’m hoping to spend more time cooking in the near future, learning to cook fish or pork or maybe a whole chicken – all things I’ve never cooked before! (more…)Category 52 Cakes | Tags: coffee,currant,jam | No Comments
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Week 49: Pull-Apart Coffee Cake
December 30, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
I have to go on the record as saying my hands did not touch this cake except to eat it. It was Christmas morning. I wasn’t feeling well. I had barely slept through the night and then I slept till almost 10am – something I haven’t done on Christmas morning since maybe I was a teenager. My mom made this cake. I supervised. And by supervised I mean I screamed, “WAIT! This is one of my weekly cakes, I have to photograph it!” while she finished the assembly. (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: brown sugar,coffee cake,loaf,walnuts | No Comments
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Week 48: Bûche de Noël
December 30, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
THIS cake is the piece de resistance of this project. At least I was hoping it’d be. Two years ago I attempted to make a Bûche de Noël. It was a disaster. Crafting a successful Bûche was an obvious goal for this year. I used a recipe I found on the Food Network website, which is accompanied by video clips from the show it originally aired on. The videos are very helpful, but I still think Nick Malgieri makes the assembly look WAY easier than it actually is. (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: buttercream,chocolate,coffee,jelly roll,marzipan | 1 Comment
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Week 47: Red Wine Chocolate Cake
December 27, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
I was supposed to make a red wine chocolate cake a long, long time ago. I originally planned to make it for Valentine’s Day and I injured myself in the process. But I bravely returned to the recipe I hoped to use 10 months ago. Smitten Kitchen Deb’s red wine chocolate cake recipe is accompanied by a very sweet story about her lack of a 9/11 story, which is actually a lovely “story” if you ask me. (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: chocolate,mascarpone,red wine | No Comments
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Week 46: No-Bake Fruitcake
December 27, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
A few weeks ago I was reading 38 Clever Christmas Food Hacks That Will Make Your Life So Much Easier over at BuzzFeed. The post contains a lot of great ideas. I particularly liked #27: The five-ingredient no-bake fruitcake, which linked over to the recipe at Mr. Food. Many fruitcake recipes I looked at involved soaking candied fruits in liquor for days, months even! Others yielded large cakes containing lots of expensive ingredients. I couldn’t be bothered, but I did want to try some form of a fruitcake so a 5-ingriedent no-bake version seemed right up my ally. (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: cherries,christmas,fruitcake,no bake | No Comments
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Week 45: Gingerbread Cake
December 20, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
Calling this a “cake” is a bit misleading. It wasn’t a cakey cake. It was more like a bread, but not a savory bread. It had the faint sweetness you find in a muffin. Does that make sense? (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: christmas,gingerbread | No Comments
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Week 44: Pumpkin Earthquake Cake
December 18, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
Some may call this a “dump cake” in that you dump the ingredients into the pan and bake it. However, as I explained in my Black Forest Earthquake Cake post, a “dump cake” sounds so unappetizing. Therefore, this is an earthquake cake. What’s underneath that crumbly topping is essentially pumpkin pie filling, making it a delicious treat to enjoy during the holidays. (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: cake mix,dump cake,pecan,pumpkin,spice cake | No Comments
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Week 43: Eggnog Basket of Candies Cake
December 18, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
This one looks pretty good, huh? You can use this decorating technique with any two-layer cake. I’ll show you how I made mine festive for the holiday season using an eggnog recipe. (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: cake mix,chocolate,eggnog,kit kat,m&ms,vanilla | No Comments