Maple-Gingerbread Cake with Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce

 Maple is a perennial favorite around here, and this recipe from Bon Appetit is a creative twist on the usual flavor combinations. I cut this recipe out of the magazine in the fall of 2013, but looking back through my recipe books, I actually found a version that they printed back in 2010. There is a reason this one has stuck around.

Maple sugar can be a little hard to track down, and it is a bit pricey. Trader Joe's used to carry it, but sadly doesn't anymore. I found maple sugar at a local upscale grocery chain, but I have a note that the Joy of Baking says you can substitute 1 1/2 cups white sugar and 2 teaspoons maple extract for 1 cup of maple sugar. (I have not yet tried this.)

The creme fraiche in the frosting makes this very creamy and rich. The maple-caramel is absolutely decadent, but it really makes the cake.

Maple-Coated Pecans

• 3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
• 1/4 cup Grade B pure maple syrup
• Kosher salt

Cake

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 cup maple sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 2/3 cup molasses

Frosting

• 1 1/2 cups chilled creme fraiche
• 1 1/3 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup maple sugar
•  6 tablespoons powdered sugar

Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup maple sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 to 6 drops imitation maple extract

Maple Coated Pecans

1. Place large piece of foil or parchment on work surface. Combine nuts and maple syrup in heavy medium skillet (not nonstick) over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and toss to coat. Cook until syrup is dark amber and almost cooked away, thickly coating the nuts--about 3 1/2 minutes. 
2. Scrape nuts onto covered work surface, quickly separating clumps. Sprinkle with sea salt and cool until coating is hard, about 1 hour.

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Combine first 4 ingredients in food processor; add ginger. Blend until ginger is finely ground, about 1 minute. In a mixer with a large bowl, beat maple sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. (Batter may look curdled.) 
2. Stir 3/4 cup hot water and molasses in a small bowl. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture in 4 additions, alternating with molasses mixture in 3 additions.
3. Divide batter between prepared pans (about 2 1/2 cups each). Bake until tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks.

Maple-Caramel

1. Melt butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar. Whisk until sugar melts and mixture is thick and boiling, 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in cream. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking often. Boil, whisking often, until sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon and is reduced to 1 cup (another 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat. Whisk in salt and extract. Cool.

Frosting

1. Combine creme fraiche, cream and both sugars in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until very thick and stiff.

Assembly

1. Cut around sides of cake pans; turn cakes out onto racks. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 1 1/3 cups frosting. Drizzle with  3 tablespoons caramel sauce.
2. Top with second cake. Spread a thin layer of frosting over entire cake and chill for 15 minutes to create a crumb coat. 
3. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons caramel sauce. Cover and chill cake for at least 1 hour.
4. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before continuing. Press pecan pieces into sides of cake. Serve cake slices with caramel sauce drizzled on top!

Mocha Layer Cake with Mocha Cream Cheese Frosting

I love birthdays. Not for the reasons you would first suspect, but because birthdays mean birthday cake. I love making fancy cakes from scratch. I rarely have the time to do this just for the fun of it, though. I need a legitimate excuse to bake one, so birthdays are perfect.

This year, I was fortunate to have tons of family and friends come up to Portland to celebrate my 30th birthday. It was extraordinary and memorable in every way. At one point a friend asked me incredulously, "You have to make your own birthday cake?!" To which I replied, "Yep, I get to make my cake! I can't wait."

This cake really was a perfect cake. The balance of chocolate and coffee, cream cheese frosting, moist layers, good ratio of cake to frosting... I received a lot of compliments and requests for the recipe.

Well, here it is! Adapted from a recipe I clipped from Bon Appetit years ago, this cake was just waiting for an excuse to be baked. Turns out turning 30 was the perfect excuse.

Mocha Layer Cake with Mocha Cream Cheese Frosting

~Print Recipe~

Cake

• 2 cups cake flour
• 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
• 2 cups (packed) brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 teaspoons VIA instant espresso powder dissolved in 3/4 cup hot water

Frosting

• 1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon VIA instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 8oz. containers Philadelphia cream cheese
• Chocolate covered espresso beans or chocolate curls (optional)

Cake

1.  Generously butter two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch sides. Dust with flour, tapping out the excess. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Position rack in the center of the oven; preheat to 325 degrees.
2. Sift or whisk cake flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into medium bowl; set aside. In an electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each one. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beating until just blended after each addition. Gradually add hot espresso-water mixture, beating just until smooth.
3. Divide batter evenly between pans (use a scale to measure the weight for precise results). To eliminate air bubbles, drop each pan flat onto the counter a few times from about a foot.   Bake cakes until tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack for 15 minutes. Run a small knife around the side to loosen the cakes. Invert cakes onto racks; lift pans off cakes and remove parchment. Place a wire rack on each cake and invert again so the top of the cake is up. Cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temp.)

Frosting

1. Sift or whisk cocoa powder into a large bowl. Add espresso powder. Bring 1 cup cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Slowly pour the hot cream over the cocoa mixture, whisking until cocoa is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup cream and sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours, up to 1 day.
2. Add cream cheese to chilled cocoa mixture. With an electric mixer, beat on low speed until blended and smooth. Increase speed to medium-high, bet until mixture is thick and medium-firm peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 2 minutes. (Do not overbeat or the mixture will curdle.)

 Assembly

1. Using a pastry brush, brush off crumbs from cakes. Place 1 cake layer top side up on a platter. (Lining the sides of the platter with tin foil will help keep it clean.) Spoon 1 3/4 cups frosting in dollops over top of the cake. Using an offset spatula, spread frosting evenly to the edges. 
2. Top with second cake layer, top side up, pressing to adhere. Spread thin layer of frosting over top and sides of the cake (this is the crumb layer). Chill 10 minutes. Using offset spatula, spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake, swirling decoratively. 
3. Top with chocolate covered espresso beans or chocolate curls.

Mocha Layer Cake with Mocha Cream Cheese Frosting

     Birthdays around here mean cakes. Not from a box, and no quick breads or single pan affairs. Real, labor-intensive, time-consuming, multi-step cakes. From scratch. Of course, it's all a labor of love.

     I really look forward to birthdays, because it's my excuse to try a decadent new cake recipe. These are not usually cakes I would whip up just because. (I don't have enough free time for that anyway.) So, I must choose wisely. My first, and possibly favorite, from-scratch layer cake was a chocolate with peppermint and white chocolate ordeal. Next I tried a "fire cracker" apple spice cake, which actually had a spicy warmness to it that took some getting used to, but turned out to be delicious. There was the maple cake, and now there is the mocha cake.

     The best part of this cake is the mocha cream cheese frosting. I'm always a fan of cream cheese frosting, but this one was really stellar. Coffee, chocolate, whipped cream and cream cheese collide--what's not to like?

Mocha Layer Cake with Mocha Cream Cheese Frosting

~Print Recipe~

Cake

• 2 cups cake flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups packed grown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 teaspoons instant espresso powder (Starbucks VIA) dissolved in 3/4 cups hot water

Frosting

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (Starbucks VIA)
• 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 8 oz. packages chilled cream cheese
• Chocolate curls (optional)

Cake

1. Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter two 9-inch cake pans, dust with flour and tap out the excess. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper. (Place pans on parchment, trace the bottoms with a pencil, then cut out the circles.)
2. Sift 2 cups cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. 
3. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beating until just blended after each addition. Gradually add espresso/hot water mixture, beating just until smooth.
4. Divide batter between pans. (To remove air bubbles for smoother, more level cakes, lift each pan about a foot off of the counter and drop it back onto the counter, or tap pans on the counter a few times.) Bake cakes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
5. Cool cakes in pans on rack for 15 minutes. Run a small knife around the sides of the pans to loosen cakes. Invert cakes onto racks, lift pans off cakes and remove parchment. Place wire racks on top of the cakes, then invert again so the top side is up. Cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead.)

Frosting

1.  Sift cocoa powder into a large bow. Add espresso powder. Bring 1 cup cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Slowly pour cream over cocoa mixture, whisking until cocoa is completely dissolved. Add 1/2 cup cream and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours or over night.
2. Add cream cheese to chilled cocoa mixture. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed until blended and smooth. Increase speed to medium-high. Beat until mixture is thick and medium-firm peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 2 minutes. Do not over beat or the mixture will curdle.

Putting It All Together

1. Gently brush crumbs from cakes. Line the edges of cake platter with foil or parchment to keep it clean while you assemble the cake. Place 1 cake layer, top side up, on the platter.  Spoon about 1 1/2 cups frosting in dollops over top of cake. Spread frosting evenly to the edges. Top with second cake layer, top side up. Press to adhere. Spread a thin layer of frosting over top and sides of the cake. Chill 10 minutes.
2. Using an offset spatula, spread remaining frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Top with chocolate curls, if using.

Serves 10 to 12

Spiced Layer Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Childhood birthday traditions never die. There will always be something special about the cake your mom used to make for you on your birthday (even if it came from a box). No one can take that away from you. When Mark was little, his mom made him a spice cake on his birthday. Now whenever I ask him what kind of cake I should make for him, it always comes back to spice cake.

One year it was a firecracker apple spice cake---which turned out to be actually a little spicy-hot which took some getting used to. It was different, but quite amazing once you got over the shock of it. This year--surprise!--I ended up making another spice cake for Mark's birthday. We briefly considered having a maple cake, but you know a birthday wouldn't be a birthday without a little tradition.

In the end we went with a spice cake adapted from Cook's Illustrated. I added a little bit more spice, made it a layer cake, filled with with maple whipped cream and added maple cream cheese frosting. Maybe it's just me, but I'm pretty sure you can never go wrong with maple. Add maple cream cheese frosting to my list of favorites. You know I am a sucker for cream cheese frosting, but this really was fantastic.

Don't just trust me on this one--try it! You might inadvertently create a brand new tradition for yourself.

Spiced Layer Cake with Maple Filling and Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

~Print Recipe~

For the cake: (I used slightly rounded measurements for all the spices and the ginger.)

• 2  1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for cake pans
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground gloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 3 large egg yolks at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1  3/4 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 cup buttermilk at room temperature

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease (I like using the butter wrappers for this) and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Combine spices in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a small, light colored skillet or saucepan over medium heat until melted--1 or 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling the pan constantly, until the butter is light brown and has a nutty aroma, another 2 to 4 minutes. Add the spice mixture and cook, stirring constantly for another 15 seconds (this allows the spices to "bloom"). Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolks and vanilla to combine. With a mixer, cream remaining 12 tablespoons of butter with sugar and molasses at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl a couple of times during mixing. Reduce to medium speed and add cooled butter and spice mixture, ginger and half of egg mixture. Incorporate and scrape down sides before adding the rest of the egg mixture.
4. Reduce to low speed and add one-third of the flour mixture. Add half of the buttermilk and mix until just incorporated. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture and the rest of the buttermilk. Scrape down the bowl and add remaining flour mixture. Mix on medium speed until combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter a couple of times to incorporate any remaining flour.
5. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans. To remove air bubbles from thick batter, drag a butter knife through the batter in both pans in a zig-zag motion. Tap both pans on the counter a few times as well.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on a wire rack.
7. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen. Put both cakes on a parchment lined pan and freeze for about a half an hour. (The cold cakes are easier to work with.) Using a long serrated knife, cut the top off of one of the cakes, creating a flat surface. Place cut cake on a large plate. This will become your bottom layer.

For the maple whip filling:

• 1 cup chilled whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

1. Chill mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer. Pour whipping cream into bowl and beat on high speed until it forms soft peaks. 
2. Add maple syrup and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
3. Spread a thick layer filling on bottom layer of cake. Top with remaining cake.

For the maple cream cheese frosting:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces and softened
• 1  1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
• 3/4 cup chopped and  toasted pecans

1. Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add maple syrup, vanilla, maple extract and powdered sugar. Beat until well combined.
2. Scoop out most of the frosting onto the top of the cake. It is easier to spread the frosting without picking up crumbs if you have a lot to work with. With an offset spatula, spread frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Coat sides and sprinkle top of frosted cake with toasted pecans.

Vegan Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

No, don't go! Really, these cupcakes may be vegan, but they are also one of the best cupcakes I've ever made (and I am a cupcake making machine). You might think "Why would I eat a cupcake that is healthy?", and I am here to tell you these cupcakes are not only not healthy, they are next level delicious. Plus, there is something about cupcakes that makes everyone happy - the people who bake them and the people who eat them. It's akin to going to Disneyland, or Christmas in July. Recently I finally got my hands on my friend Michelle's copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World so I could make her vegan cupcakes for her birthday. I was pleasantly surprised how easy these seemingly complex cupcakes were to make, and required no special ingredients to veganize them (like arrowroot or a dried-up newt). The cake was moist and dense, holding it's own under the mint 'butter cream' frosting and dollop of chocolate ganache on top. Like I said, decadent. Your vegan and non-vegan friends will love you for making these cupcakes.

Vegan Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
~Print Recipe~

What's in it (makes one dozen)

For the cupcake:

1 C soy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

3/4 C sugar

1/3 C canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp mint extract

1 C flour

1/3 C cocoa powder (regular or dutch)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

For the butter cream frosting:

1/4 C shortening (preferably non-hydrogenated)

3 C confectioner's sugar (sifted if lumpy)

1/4 C plus 1 Tbl soy milk

1 1/2 tsp mint extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

small drop green food coloring

For the chocolate ganache:

3 Tbl soy milk

1/3 C semisweet chocolate chips

How it's made

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tray with 12 paper liners.

Make cupcakes:

In a large bowl, combine soy milk and vinegar, whisk together and set aside a few minutes and allow to curdle. In a medium bowl, sift together dry ingredients (flour ->salt). In the large bowl with soy milk mixture, add and cream together sugar, oil and extracts until foamy. Add dry ingredients in two batches, mixing with beater in between until smooth. Pour batter into paper lined cupcake tin, filling 3/4 full (evenly distribute to make 12 cupcakes). Bake 18-20 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Cool on racks.

Make butter cream frosting:

In a medium bowl, cream shortening for a few seconds to soften. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and a splash of the soy milk, and cream until smooth. Repeat with remaining soy milk and powdered sugar until smooth and buttery. Add the extracts and coloring and mix until incorporated. At this point I recommend putting the frosting in the freezer or refrigerator, to chill it before frosting the cupcakes. This helps the frosting hold its shape on the cupcake. When frosting is sufficiently cooled, put in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, and pipe onto cupcake, from the outside in, leaving an edge around the rim to show the chocolate cupcake below. Once all the cupcakes are frosted, place in freezer or refrigerator to set the frosting.

Make chocolate ganache:

In a small sauce pan heat the soy milk until just about to simmer. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips, stirring until melted and incorporated. Allow to cool to room temperature (you can put in fridge or freezer to speed this up). Spoon a dollop of ganache on the top of each cupcake, being as precise or haphazard as you like. You could even use a fork to drizzle, depending on your style. I used a cookie scoop to plop them on top. Stick cupcakes in the fridge or freezer one last time to set the ganache.

You can also top with any decorative candy you choose. I recommend Mint Newman O's, green M&M's, sprinkles, mint chips, or a sprig of fresh mint. Or keep it simple and stick a candle in it, for a special occasion.

Pumpkin Spice Layer cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Is it so wrong to eat birthday cake for breakfast? Yeah, I didn't think so, either.

I relish the opportunity to make fancy cakes, since I so rarely get the chance. I guess that's not exactly fair---I could make a fancy cake anytime, really, but that would be a dangerous, dangerous idea. I reserve my fancy cake baking to birthdays. Usually my own.

This year I was agonizing over two really amazing-sounding recipes, but an informal poll on the Recipes For Laughter facebook page proved the pumpkin spice cake the most popular. I'm glad it was. It's hard to say which aspect of this cake was my favorite. The cake itself has the perfect dense-but-fluffy crumb---maybe even the platonic ideal of a birthday cake crumb. The combination of spices in this cake was truly spot on. The spices made this cake seem more pumpkin-y than any other pumpkin dessert in my recent memory, yet the flavor was not at all overwhelming (as some heavily

spiced cakes tend to be). This cake had a perfect balance of warm spices and pumpkin flavor. It easily could have been my favorite part of this cake...if it weren't for the frosting.

By now you may have picked up on the fact that I am an unrepentant cream cheese frosting enthusiast. Give me any excuse to top something with cream cheese frosting, and I will. But, this cream cheese frosting was a revelation. You make a quick and easy caramel from powdered sugar and heavy cream, then mix it into your typical cream cheese frosting. I love caramel nearly as much as I love cream cheese frosting, so this was a match made in frosting heaven. It was bordering on cloyingly sweet, so if you are not really into that, I would recommend adding less powdered sugar or adding more cream cheese to mellow out the sweetness a little.

I think this cake would have been even more perfect with some candied pecans on top, but I ran out of time before my guests arrived. I guess I should stop throwing myself birthday parties...

Ok, that's not going to happen. There's no way I'm giving up an excuse to make myself fancy cakes. Even if that means I have to eat cake for breakfast for days afterward.

Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

~Print Recipe~

For the Frosting:

• 1 pound of powdered sugar, divided (from a 1 pound box, or approx. 3 1/2 to 4 cups)
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temp.
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

For the cake:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

  

  T's cake-slicing ability is unmatched.

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg*
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 15-ounce can of pure pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans, tapping out any excess flour.
2. Sprinkle 1/2 cup powdered sugar over the bottom of a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook without stirring until the sugar melts. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is a deep amber color, about 2 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup cream, vanilla and salt--be careful, as the mixture will bubble up. Stir until any caramel bits have dissolved. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon of cream. Strain caramel sauce into a small bowl and cool to room temperature.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices (through cardamom) in a large bowl.
4. In another large bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar and oil with an electric or stand mixer. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to incorporate between each addition. Mix in orange peel. Add flour mixture, beating on low just enough to blend.
5. Divide batter between prepared pans and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean--about 33 minutes. Cool in pans on racks for 10 minutes. Carefully invert cakes onto rack and then turn them top-side up to cool completely.
6. While the cakes are baking, sift the remaining powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat in the cooled caramel. Cover and chill frosting until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours.
7. When cakes are cool, use a long serrated knife to cut the rounded top of off of one of them, leaving a flat surface. Place that cake on a cake plate cut-side up and cover with 3/4 cup of frosting. Place second cake on top. Cover top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.

Serves 12-16

Note: Cake can be made up to 2 days ahead. Just cover and chill. Let stand at room temp. 2 hours before serving.
*Buy whole nutmeg wherever bulk spices are sold. Whole nutmeg looks expensive, but if you just buy one (which is more than enough for this recipe) it will probably cost you less than a dollar. Grate the nutmeg with a microplane or the finest holes on your grater just before using.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

This cake is so easy to make, and so nostalgic for many of our parents. The best part is flipping the cake upside down out of the skillet and seeing the pretty arrangement of pineapples on top. This recipe is from Moosewood, which is why it calls for mashed bananas, to reduce the amount of fat. I made this for Andy's dad's 60th birthday on request, and Mary Ann's birthday as well.

What's in it:

20 oz can unsweetened sliced pineapples, undrained

1/4 C butter

1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

3/4 C packed brown sugar

1/2 C buttermilk 

1/2 C mashed banana

3 Tbl vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 C flour

How it's made:

Drain the pineapple, reserving 1/3 C of juice.  In a 10" cast iron skillet, or oven proof skillet, heat and melt butter on med heat. Add sugar and cook stirring constantly until sugar starts to turn brown (3 min).  Remove from heat and keep stirring.  Add drained juice (1/3 C) and return pan to low heat and stir until sugar is melted again.  Arrange pineapple slices close together in a decorative layer on the bottom of the skillet, reserving any leftovers.

For cake batter combine wet ingredients in one bowl and sift together dry ingredients in another.  Add dry to wet and stir until mixed.  Pour batter over pineapple slices and top with any reserved slices.  Bake for 30-40 min until knife inserted comes out clean.  Cool in skillet for at least 10 minutes, then invert it onto a serving plate, so slices are facing up.

Jackie's Cupcakes

These are the best cupcakes! They are named for Jackie, the neighbor lady my mom got the recipe from back in the 80's. These cupcakes are chocolate with a cream cheese chocolate chip filling. They are usually requested for special occasions, such as birthdays.

What's in it

1 egg

8oz cream cheese

pinch salt

1/3 C sugar (part)

package chocolate chips

2 1/4 C flour

1 1/2 C sugar (part)

1/3 C cocoa

1 1/2 t baking soda

pinch salt

1 1/2 C water

1/2 C oil

1 1/2 T vinegar

2 tsp vanilla

How it's made

Pre heat oven to 350. Cream together egg, cream cheese, salt, sugar. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside. In a separate bowl sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla.

Line cupcake tins with paper cups and fill with chocolate batter half way. Add a tablespoon of cream cheese mix to center of each cupcake. Bake 25 minutes. Enjoy!

Makes 2 dozen.