April 11, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
Is this not the most beautiful cake you’ve ever seen? This is the cake I produced in my cake decorating class. The recipe claimed to be yellow cake, but it tasted more like a white cake and angel food cake hybrid. “What makes a yellow cake yellow?” you ask. Egg yolks! (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: amaretto,buttercream,chocolate,espresso,layer cake,piping,roses,yellow cake | 2 Comments
April 1, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
This cake is not your traditional cake. It’s actually a meatloaf frosted in mashed potatoes, topped with grape tomatoes. Did I get ya? (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: loaf,mashed potatoes,meatloaf,tomatoes | No Comments
March 30, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
The following is a note I received from my dear friend, Linda. I was just beside myself when she informed me she was thinking of preparing my Dr. Devil’s Food Cake for one of the greatest actors in American history. You can imagine my delight when she got back to me to let me know it was a smash hit. She’s already baked it for him twice!
Way back in week #4 you did the Dr. Devil’s Food Cake. Well, this cake, with a small variation, made James Earl Jones (yes, that one, Darth Vader et al) a happy man. Mr. Jones is my brother in law and he and his wife, Ceci, dine often at my house in Connecticut, as he is a fan of my cooking.
A few years ago, Jimmy was diagnosed with type two diabetes. This made dessert a real challenge on those occasions when the Jones’s ate here.
BUT, along came your Dr. Pepper cake which gave me the idea to try to find a sugar-free mix. Duncan Hines makes such a product in devil’s food. So I just substituted the diet soda for the eggs and oil and, wallah! A sugar free desert that was unbelievably moist. I whipped up some heavy cream, no sugar, and put a dollop on top. Mr. Jones was beside himself, not having been able to eat cake for years, so we let him have the whole sweet all to himself.
Thank You!
Linda Carlson
P.S. – It strikes me that this could be a good recipe for dieters too.
(Hey, there. Nina here, again! I wanted to also mention James Earl Jones is currently starring in Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man“, opening on Broadway this Sunday.)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: devil's food,diet dr. pepper,diet soda,james earl jones,sugar free,whipped cream | No Comments
March 27, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
Posting this past week’s cake is still on my to-do list. I’m busy with cake decorating class this week, but couldn’t wait much longer before I shared a sneak peek of my latest cake. I wanted to dabble with some piping techniques before I really learned how to pipe frosting in class. Recipe coming soon!
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: cake,cake decorating,piping | 1 Comment
March 22, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
Don’t make this cake. I know it looks good. I’ll explain. I love carrot cake. It’s one of the only non-chocolate cakes that really gets me jazzed. But carrot cake, despite it’s name, is not very healthy. Great carrot cake is loaded with calories, mostly due to the rich cream cheese frosting it’s typically served with. I was hoping to create a lightened up version. I found a recipe on Skinny Taste, which is a fantastic skinny recipe site. I highly recommend her healthy baked chicken nuggets. I once ate a pound in one sitting. (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: carrot cake,cream cheese,pecans,pineapple | 5 Comments
March 15, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day! I’m not Irish and I don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but I need to declare my disdain for green food coloring. It’s gross. Why do we need to turn everything green to celebrate this holiday, people? Why, when you have fabulously festive recipes like this one? (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: bundt,cake mix,glaze,pecans,pudding,vanilla,yellow cake | 5 Comments
March 11, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
Before I baked a Turtle Cake, I was curious as to how the term “Turtle” came to be associated with chocolaty, nutty, caramel goodness. According to the DeMet’s website, “TURTLES® are chocolate confections that are shaped like Turtles. They consist of milk chocolate, caramel and some variety of nuts.” And according to the Wikipedia page: (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: caramel,chocolate,layer cake,pecan | 2 Comments
February 29, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
Since I started this project, the cake recipe that generated the most enthusiasm was my Dr. Devil’s Food Cake aka Diet Soda Cake. I could see why. It’s easy, cheap, low calorie, and more importantly, delicious! I was pleased when so many friends tried the recipe for themselves. (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: bundt,cake mix,diet soda,ginger ale,strawberry | 2 Comments
February 20, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: breakfast,glaze,light,mardi gras | No Comments
February 11, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro
I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I bake it into a cake.
I baked this cake for Super Bowl Sunday, and I have to say it was a real touchdown (apologies for the pun). I’m not into football, but I love a food holiday. Super Bowl spreads don’t traditionally include dessert, which I find to be a real tragedy.
Before baking this cake, I asked around about which type of beer I should use. And I was happy it incited some debate. The most popular answer was Guinness. However, I baked with Guinness a few years ago and I was… unimpressed. I once heard that when cooking with wine, you should never use a wine you wouldn’t drink. I don’t drink Guinness, not even on St. Patrick’s Day. So I opted for Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale. The description on the bottle says, “An abbey ale crafted with roasted malts, hint of Belgian sugar, and a touch of wheat. Rich caramel and toffee notes.” Sounds like dessert to me! (more…)
Category 52 Cakes | Tags: beer,blue moon,bundt,cake mix,glaze,pudding | 14 Comments