Tag: Loaf Cake

No Bake Ice Cream Loaf Cake

We are officially in the dog days of summer. And today I am sharing a dessert that doesn’t require you to turn on your oven or put forth much effort, perfect these hot and humid days. It only requires 2 ingredients – 5 if you are feeling fancy. What is it… An Ice Cream Loaf Cake.

While I have seen recipes for ice cream cakes that involve baking the loaf cake from scratch using a store-bought loaf cake works just as well. I opted to use an Entenmann’s All Butter Loaf Cake, but you could also use a frozen one. As for the ice cream, your favorite flavor works best. I decided to go with chocolate and vanilla.

The first thing I did was slice the loaf cake into thirds. To make slicing the cake a bit easier and to reduce the number of crumbs I refrigerated the cake for about an hour.

After that, I laid the bottom of the cake in a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap. To line the pan, I placed one piece of plastic wrap vertically and another horizontally to ensure the corners of the cake would be covered. Next, I spread about 1 ½ cups of ice cream over the cake. You want a nice layer of ice cream but not so much that it starts to overflow from the sides once the cake is fully assembled. To make spreading the ice cream easier I let it sit at room temperature for about 5-10 minutes. You don’t want it so soft that it becomes a soupy mess, just enough to make it easy to spread. I repeated these layers with the middle slice of the cake and more ice cream. Finally, I topped the cake with the top third and wrapped it tightly with the plastic wrap and placed it in the freezer overnight.

While I could have enjoyed the cake as is I decided to get a little fancy and topped it with a quick and easy chocolate ganache and sprinkles. What’s ice cream without sprinkles??? To make the ganache I stirred together warmed heavy cream and chocolate chips until the chocolate melted. After letting it sit for a few minutes I poured it over the cake. I added some sprinkles on top and then popped it back in the freezer so the chocolate could set.

Once the chocolate was set it was time to enjoy a slice (or two)!

To make your cake really unique use a flavored loaf cake. Think marbled, chocolate chip, lemon, etc. A lemon loaf cake with a raspberry sorbet would be the perfect refreshing treat for these warmer months!

No-Bake Ice Cream Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

1 store-bought loaf cake, chilled*

2-3 cups ice cream, softened

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sprinkles

*You could also use a frozen loaf cake; you may need to let it thaw slightly before slicing though

Directions:

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap – horizontally & vertically. Any size loaf pan works, just make sure it’s big enough to fit the cake you’re using. If you opt to use a frozen loaf cake, use the pan the cake comes in.

Slice the cake into thirds horizontally so you have three pieces about the same thickness.

Place the bottom piece of the cake into the prepared loaf pan. Spread half of the ice cream over the cake. Repeat these layers with the middle piece of the cake and the remaining ice cream. Finally, gently press the top of the cake onto the ice cream. Cover tightly with the plastic wrap and freeze for a few hours (or overnight) so the ice cream can set.

Just before serving the cake place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave or stove until it’s steaming (but not boiling). Pour the heated heavy cream over the chocolate chips. Let it sit for a few minutes and then stir together so the chocolate chips can melt. Once the mixture is smooth let it sit for about 5 minutes so it can thicken.

Remove the cake from the freezer and unwrap. Slowly pour the ganache over the cake. Spread the chocolate evenly over the cake using an offset spatula. Top with sprinkles and then place the cake back in the freezer – unwrapped – for 10-15 minutes so the chocolate can harden.

To serve, carefully remove the cake from the pan and plastic wrap then slice. Store leftovers in the freezer for 3-5 days.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Orange Pistachio Loaf Cake

I’ve posted quite a few loaf cakes this year. They are just so easy to make, and you get so much so flavor without having to do too much, i.e. decorate. And most of them are perfect for any time of the day… As a treat for breakfast, a snack in the middle of the day or for dessert in the evening. Today’s Orange Pistachio Loaf Cake is no exception to any of this. The citrus flavor of this loaf cake makes it perfect for the warmer months ahead when you want something sweet but not too heavy. And you don’t have to whip out your hand or stand mixer to make it. Simply whisk the dry ingredients together in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another and then whisk both together before folding in the pistachio nuts. That was a bit out a mouthful, but rest assured this cake is easy to make.

And once the cake is baked and cooled it’s time to make the glaze. Previously, I would skip adding glazes to my baked items. Whenever a recipe included it, I just assumed that it would add too much sweetness, but I have come around and realized that what it really does is enhance the flavor, well sometimes. For this cake I decided to add an orange glaze and top it with chopped pistachios to really kick up the overall flavor of the cake.

Orange Pistachio Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

For the loaf cake:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2-3 navel oranges)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of 1 orange

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

For the glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 – 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

2 – 3 tablespoons chopped pistachios

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 x 5 – inch loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.

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

In a different medium bowl whisk together the orange juice, vegetable oil, sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract and zest until combined and then whisk in the sugar until well combined. Add in the dry ingredient and whisk together until just combined. Finally fold in the chopped pistachios.

Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Once the loaf is cool prep the glaze. In a small bowl whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, orange zest and orange juice. Start with a tablespoon of orange juice and add more as needed. The glaze should be pourable but thick. For an easier clean-up, line a rimmed baking sheet with wax paper and place the wire rack with the loaf cake on top of the wax paper. Drizzle the glaze on top of the cake then sprinkle the chopped pistachios on top. To set the glaze quickly, place the cake in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

Slice and enjoy!

Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Blueberry-Almond Quick Bread

Today’s post prompted me to do a little research on the difference between a quick bread (i.e. pumpkin or zucchini) and a loaf cake (i.e. a marble loaf cake) and what I ended up finding was some conflicting information. A few articles said quick breads are usually savory and often call for buttermilk (not entirely true) and then there was some baking science information regarding baking soda. What it comes to in basic terms is that quick breads are denser than loaf cakes. Something I completely agree with!

One of the best things I found about making this quick bread, a Blueberry-Almond Quick Bread that is, is that I didn’t have to break out my hand mixer or pull my stand mixer out from the corner of my kitchen counter. I simply used one whisk to whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another and then used a rubber spatula to fold everything together. It doesn’t get easier than that.

Initially I thought the recipe may have called for too many blueberries as the first few slices were heavily laden with them and there was barely any bread/cake, but after a few more slices the blueberries appeared to be more evenly dispersed.

And while this bread is dense, it is incredibly moist. The reason for both of those things, using oil instead of butter in the batter. Oil tends to result in a cake that has a more even crumb that can stay moist for days. So, why aren’t all cakes made with oil then? Well, because cakes made with butter tend to taste better. That should in no means deter you from making cakes with oil though. You just have to balance the flavors and add a little extra of this and that (spices, extracts and nuts) to get the flavor you want.

One last thing about this quick bread, it’s the perfect treat for any time of the day. Be it breakfast, brunch, an afternoon treat or a yummy dessert! Personally I had a piece for breakfast one day and dessert on another.

Blueberry Almond Quick Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 x 5 – inch loaf pan with cooking or baking spray.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour (1 1/2 cups), sugar, almonds, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and nutmeg.

In a medium bowl whisk together the vegetable oil, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined and then fold into the flour mixture until just combined.

Toss the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour and then fold into the batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake in the oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour and then remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Food Network

Cheesecake Marbled Carrot Loaf Cake

With Easter a few days away, you may be dusting off your recipe for Carrot Cake to bake for the holiday. I did a little research to figure out why carrots in general are popular this time of the year. And while I didn’t get a concrete answer it’s pretty much what I figured (and what I have possibly written before), it’s because of the Easter Bunny. Children would leave carrots out for the Easter Bunny to thank the bunny for their Easter Baskets usually filled with chocolate treats. Not a bad trade off if you ask me. And while I do like carrot cake itself – that wasn’t always the case, a few office birthdays turned by taste buds – I will admit the best part is the cream cheese frosting. So, when I came across a recipe for a carrot loaf cake that was layered with a cheesecake filling in the recent issue of Food Network Magazine, I knew I had to try it ASAP!

Now, normally when I make carrot cake, I grate the carrots using the shredding disc of my food processor. For this recipe it specifically stated that the carrots needed to be finely grated and I just didn’t feel like doing it by hand using a box grater (which the recipe suggested), so, I grated the carrots first using the shredding disc and then inserted the s-blade (the standard blade of most food processors) and pulsed the carrots a few times to get them finely grated. This saved me a lot of time and pain. One other extra step for this cake was toasting the pecans. If you like, you could swap the pecans for walnuts. I normally use walnuts when I make carrot cake, but I had some pecans in my refrigerator that I wanted to use before they expired.

Once the carrots were shredded and the pecans toasted, it was time to make the cake. I started by making the cheesecake filling. I whisked together cream cheese, an egg, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt until smooth and refrigerated it until I was done making the batter. I made the batter by whisking together the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another and then combining them and finally folding in the carrot and pecans. One thing I left out from the original recipe was crushed pineapple. I was concerned that leaving it out would result in my cake being a bit dry but that wasn’t the case at all. To get the marbled effect I alternated layers of the carrot cake batter and cream cheese filling in a 9 x 5 – inch loaf pan.

After baking and cooling the cake it I topped it with a cream cheese drizzle. And then it was time to enjoy a slice and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a quick and yummy alternative to your traditional carrot cake.

Looking for a more traditional carrot cake recipe, check these out:

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake for Two

And a recipe for Carrot Cake with a Moroccan flair:

Spice Market Carrot Cake

Cheesecake Marbled Carrot Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups finely grated peeled carrots

For the Filling:

1 8oz package cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

For the Icing:

2oz cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 x 5 – inch loaf pan with cooking/baking spray and then line with parchment paper leaving an overhang on all sides.

Spread the chopped pecans on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the pecans are a shade or two darker. Allow to cool completely.

For the Filling:

In a medium bowl whisk the cream cheese until fluffy. Add in the confectioners’ sugar, egg, vanilla and salt and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Cake:

In a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together both sugars, oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth.

Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix everything together with a rubber spatula until mostly combined. Add in the carrots and pecans and fold until just combined.

Spread a third of the cake batter (about 1 cup) into the prepared loaf pan. Dollop and spread half of the cream cheese filling over the batter stopping about a 1/2-inch from the edges. Repeat with another layer of the carrot cake batter and the remaining cream cheese filling and then top with the remaining carrot cake batter. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles and then bake in the preheated oven for 75 to 90 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Place the pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool for 1 hour inside of the pan and then use the parchment paper to remove the cake and place on the wire rack to cool completely.

For the Icing:

Whisk the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl until smooth and fluffy. Add in the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and salt and continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a piping bag (or a resealable bag with a corner snipped) and pipe the icing on the cooled cake.

*The original recipe also called for an 8oz can of crushed pineapple (drained) added to the cake batter which I omitted.

Recipe from Food Network 

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake

This cake is very similar to the Banana & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake I recently posted about. The only difference, you guessed it, is that I swapped peanut butter for banana. I think we can all agree that peanut butter and chocolate go together perfectly, if not, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups would have been off the market years ago. That reminds me, my favorite Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are back in stores, the Easter Egg ones. I don’t know what it is about those, but they just taste better. Maybe it’s because they don’t have the ridges that typical peanut butter cups have due to the wrapper they are in. Who knows! Back to today’s cake…

Once again, I used a yellow cake mix as the base for this loaf cake. After prepping the batter I divided it in half and mixed cocoa powder in one half and creamy peanut butter in the other. I used a 1/4 cup of peanut butter, but if you want a stronger peanut butter flavor, I suggest using a 1/3 cup. I then spooned the batter into my prepared loaf pan to create the marble effect.

After baking it I let it cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely. And then it was time to slice and enjoy!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

1 15.25 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

eggs, water & oil per directions on box

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter*

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

*If you want a stronger peanut butter flavor use 1/3 cup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.

Prepare the cake mix per the instructions on the box.

Divide the batter in half and stir the peanut butter in one half and the cocoa powder in the other.

Spoon the batters into the prepared one, alternating between each one. Use a butter knife to swirl the two batters together and tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.

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

Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Banana & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake

Not too long ago I posted a recipe for a Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Bread. That got me thinking about making a marble cake using two of the flavors. After some brainstorming I thought that a super simple way to do so would be to use a yellow cake mix as the base and altering the flavor with some add-ins. Now, I know some people have issues with using box cake mixes, but it really is possible to alter them to make them taste more homemade and they are fool proof! This all led me to creating a few recipes that use cake mixes as their base. And I will be sharing them with you over the next week… Up first, a Banana & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake.

For the base of this loaf cake I used a yellow cake mix. After prepping the batter per the directions on the box I divided it in half. And to be precise, even though I have made plenty of box cake mixes in the past and had a rough idea of how much it was, I measured out the batter using a measuring cup. In total it was 4 cups, so I transferred 2 cups to a bowl and stirred in a mashed banana and in the other half I stirred in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder.

Next, I dropped alternating scoops of each batter into a loaf pan I sprayed with baking spray. To get the marble effect I swirled the two batters together by dragging a knife through them.  

After baking and cooling the cake, it was time to enjoy a slice (or two!) As for the flavor, the chocolate and the banana really stood out without either overpowering the other. A nice twist on your typical marble cake.

A few takeaways… To make chocolate cake from a yellow cake mix you can add a few tablespoons of cocoa powder and to make a super simple banana cake add mashed banana to a yellow cake mix. More specifically, 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder for a chocolate cake and 2 mashed bananas for a banana cake.

Banana & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

1 15.25 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

eggs, water & oil per directions on box

1 ripe banana, mashed

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.

Prep the cake mix per the instructions on the box.

Divide the batter in half and stir the mashed banana in one half and the cocoa powder in the other.

Spoon the batters into the prepared pan, alternating between the two. Use a knife to swirl the batters together. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Some pairings just taste good together – like peanut butter and chocolate, peanut butter and banana and banana and chocolate – so I figured that three would taste just as good (or better) together. And that’s how I came up with this Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Loaf.

Although, I was a little discouraged when I tasted the first loaf I made. It was a bit dense, and the banana flavor was overpowering. With my second loaf, I reduced the amount of flour in the batter and increased the amount of peanut butter. The loaf then ended up being super moist with an equal balance of peanut butter and banana flavor. Now some people who tried it tasted the banana more or the peanut butter more. I think that might be due to preference of one over the other. I was able to taste both.

Now, I would like to think this loaf is somewhat healthy since the bananas are a good source of potassium and the peanut butter protein, but I am sure some would beg to differ since there is sugar and chocolate chips in the loaf as well. But a little sweetness isn’t a bad thing sometimes. If you’re really trying to stick to any health-related New Year’s Resolutions though, you could omit the chocolate chips and use maple syrup in lieu of the sugar. In doing so though you will have to add a little extra flour to the batter to account for the extra liquid.

Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray 9 x 5 loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating until just combined. Add the vanilla extract. Stir in the mashed bananas and peanut butter until just combined.

With the mixer on low add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf ban and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Marbled Pound Cake

If you can’t choose between a vanilla or chocolate cake, then a marbled cake is for you! And if you are thinking that it might be double the work because you have to make to separate batters that’s not the case at all. With today’s recipe I started off by making the vanilla batter and then dividing it in half and adding cocoa powder to one of them.

Once I had the two batters ready it was time to fill my prepared pan. I used a cookie scoop and a 1/4 cup measuring cup to drop alternating scoops of the vanilla and chocolate batter in the pan to get the marble effect.

After tapping the pan a few times on my counter to release any air bubbles I used a small off-set spatula to smooth the top of the cake. I then placed it on baking sheet and baked it in a 325 F preheated oven for 70 minutes.

After letting the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, I transferred it to a wire rack to cool completely.  

And then it was time to slice it. And as cheesy as it sounds, I get a slight tinge of excitement when I bake a cake that is supposed to have a surprise inside or look a certain way and it works. The joys of baking! As you can see, the marble look was just about perfect with this loaf cake. Even more exciting though, was how delicious the cake was. I used to love the Marble Loaf Cake from Entenmann’s, but I feel like they changed their recipe because it doesn’t take like how I remember. Thankfully I have a replacement now that I can make myself.

I actually ended up baking two loaves and decided to slice the second one and freeze it. This is the perfect type of cake to freeze, it has no frosting and is moist but dense enough to withstand being frozen and thawed. I wrapped each of the slices in plastic wrap and then placed all of them in a resealable bag in my freezer. When I am ready to eat a slice, I will leave it out on my counter for a few hours so it can defrost.

Marbled Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cake flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

3 eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature*

3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

*To make your own combine 1/4 cup whole milk with 1 teaspoon white vinegar. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes then stir to combine.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Spray a loaf pan with baking spray, or, lightly grease with butter and then coat with flour.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cake flour and salt, set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter of medium-high speed until creamy.

With the mixer on low add in the sugar. Continue mixing on low until the butter and sugar are incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and continue mixing until the mixture has become light and fluffy (about 5 minutes.) Scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add the vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition until just combined.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts alternating with the buttermilk.

Divide the batter in half and add in the cocoa powder to one half. Mixing well to incorporate it evenly among the batter.

Using a 2 ice cream scoops (or 2 1/4 cup measuring cups, or 1 of each) alternate scoops of the vanilla and chocolate batter into the prepared loaf pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles and using a small off-set spatula or butter knife smooth the top of the cake.

Place the loaf pan on a baking sheet and baked in the preheated oven until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 70 minutes.

Let the cake cook in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove from pan and let cool completely before slicing.

Recipe from Zoe Francois

Hidden Heart Cake

Are you looking for something fun to bake for Valentine’s Day but are thinking that it’s too late? Well, this may just be the cake for you. All you need is 2 boxes of cake mix (I used white & chocolate), a loaf pan, a 2-inch heart cookie cutter and pink (or red) food coloring. While I used a white cake mix tinted pink for the hearts inside of a chocolate cake, you could try pink hearts inside of a white cake, red hearts inside of a white cake, red hearts inside of a yellow cake and so forth. It’s really up to you.

To begin, I prepped a box of white cake mix per the directions and then tinted it pink with a few drops of gel food coloring. I then poured it into a loaf pan that I sprayed with baking spray and baking it in a 350 F oven for 40 minutes, the cake wasn’t quite done but was browning considerably along the top so I dropped the temperature to 325 F and baked it for another 10 minutes. I let the cake cool for about 20 minutes in the pan and then transferred it to a wire rack to cool completely.

After the cake cooled I sliced it into approximately 1 inch slices. Some of the slices were a little thicker, some a little thinner. In the end, it didn’t matter.

Next, using a 2-inch heart cookie cutter I cut hearts from the slice of cake and set them aside. Those mini heart were for a different project that turned out to be a fail… Oh Well.

You will have a bunch of cake scraps left, I ended up snacking on a few pieces and then tossing the rest. If you make cake pops, or have been wanting to make pops, save these scraps for that.

I then prepped the chocolate cake mix per the directions on the box. I spread about a 1/2 inch later of the batter onto the bottom of my loaf pan that I prepped with baking spray.

Next, I arranged the 2-inch hearts in a row down the middle of the pan, leaving a small space between the first and last heart and then pan, while making sure the hearts in the middle were as close together as possible. This is why I said that if your slices aren’t exactly 1-inch thick it won’t matter. Once you line them together it will all be good.

I used a ladle to slowly pour the rest of the batter along the sides and on the top of the hearts. You don’t want to just pour the batter into the pan, this could disturb the hearts and you could end up with chocolate in between them. I did make sure that the hearts were completely covered with the batter. You don’t want a heart peeking out of the top of the cake… that would ruin the surprise.

I then baked it in a 350 F preheated oven for about 40 minutes. I inserted a cake tester and the inside was a still a little underdone so I lowered the oven temperature to 325 F and baked it for an additional 10 minutes, similar to what I did with the pink cake. Once again, I let the cake cool for about 20 minutes in the pan then removed it and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

Once it was cool it was time to slice and see if my hidden heart cake was a succes… And it was!!!

Pistachio Quick Bread

I’ve been using Jell-O pudding mixes for quite some time now as a base to make mousse fillings for my cakes. I’ve actually started picking up different flavors of the boxes to switch up my filling flavor. While there is nothing wrong with vanilla and chocolate of course, a chocolate cake with either a caramel or banana mousse flavor wouldn’t be too bad either. I sometimes wonder though what other desserts they can be turned into and then recently I found the perfect recipe to use a box of pistachio pudding, a Pistachio Quick Bread. Combined with a package of white cake mix and a few other ingredients you have two delicious loaves in less than an hour. For a little more texture and crunch add in a cup of chopped of pistachios to the batter, or scatter them along the top of the batter before baking. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe with a box pumpkin spice Jell-O (I finally found them at the supermarket, as you may recall I used my last box to make a Chocolate Roll Cake with a Pumpkin Mousse Filling) and a box of yellow cake mix. Baking from scratch is great, but, taking short cuts and sprucing up a box of store bought cake mix is never a bad thing.

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Pistachio Quick Bread

Ingredients:

1 Box White Cake Mix

1 3.4 oz. package of pistachio pudding mix

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup canola oil

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray 2 8×4-inch loaf pans with baking spray (or grease with butter) and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the cake mix and pudding mix. Add the eggs, sour cream, water and oil. Beat on low for 30 seconds to combine and then raise the speed to medium and continue mixing until well blended (the batter will be thick)

Divide the batter amongst the two prepared pans and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle come out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

The original recipe included a cinnamon sugar swirl which I decided to omit. The link for the recipe with the swirl is below.

Recipe from Taste of Home