Pocono Pabulum for Mind & Body: Party Cake

Party Cake

I have been baking cakes for years, but always for myself and my friends and family. So I never put too much effort into how perfect they looked or agonized over the consistency and the taste as much as I did for this recipe. Because this was the first time I made a cake for someone who paid me for it! The recipes I used are trusted favorites, which is why I decided to write this blog post. The chocolate cake is one my mother has used since I was a child, with the addition of about half whole wheat flour being my only change. The vanilla cake recipe is one I have been working on for awhile and I think I finally have it right. It tends to be a bit crumbly because of the whole wheat flour, so if you want a softer texture, you could use half white flour like I do with the chocolate cake. So get baking and forget buying a cake for your next big party!

Basic Chocolate Cake

2 C. organic white sugar

1 C. organic whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 C. organic white flour

3/4 C. dark cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 organic eggs

1 C. organic milk or soy milk

1/2 C. organic canola oil

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 C. hot coffee

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray with cooking spray, and line with waxed paper, a 9×13-inch pan and set aside. Stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in coffee (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Whole Wheat Yellow Cake

2 1/4 C. organic whole wheat pastry flour

3 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 C. organic white sugar

1/2 C. organic butter, softened

3 organic eggs

1 T. pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 C. organic 2% milk

3 T. organic canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Combine the milk and the canola oil together and then add the flour mixture and the milk alternately to the creamed sugar mixture, until fully combined and then beat on medium speed of a mixer (or with a whisk by hand) for 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Notes: If you want to bake this cake in a 9×13-inch glass pan, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake the cake a bit longer until done. You can also bake this recipe in 3 9x 1 1/2-inch round pans – these will bake faster taking only about 20-25 minutes. Also, if you are wanting to take this cake out of the pans, spray the pans with cooking spray first, lay a piece of wax paper down on the bottom of the pan, then spray the wax paper before pouring the batter into the pans to bake. This will allow the cake to be removed from the pan easily.

Butter Cream Frosting

2 C. organic unsalted butter, softened
3 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 lbs. confectioners sugar
organic half and half, about 1/4 C.

In a stand mixer, or with a hand held mixer, whip together the butter and the vanilla. Slowly add in the sugar until combined fully, alternating with splashes of half and half until the desired consistency is reached. Refrigerate for at least two hours to stiffen up a bit. Frost cake!