Name: Italian Cream Sheet Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: 1 13x9 sheet cake (about 20 servings)
Ingredients: !For the Cake; 5 eggs, separated; 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened; 2 cups granulated sugar; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 cup buttermilk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut; 1 cup chopped pecans; !For the Icing; 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened; 8 ounces cream cheese, softened; 2 cups powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup shredded coconut; 1 cup chopped pecans

Italian Cream Sheet Cake + Video

December 17, 2017

Italian cream sheet cake is a classic Southern cake made simple in a sheet pan. With cream cheese icing, pecans, and coconut, it’s perfect! Scroll down for video.

Some time ago, Philip announced that he had decided that he wanted an Italian cream cake for his birthday. As ubiquitous as Italian cream cake seems to be, you might be surprised to know that I don’t have a single recipe for Italian cream cake in any of my many cookbooks. However, I was searching through my grandmother’s recipe books over the holidays and discovered this:

A few adjustments (I’ve never seen canned coconut in my life, and you guys know I don’t buy shortening) and I turned out a lovely and delicious sheet cake. Oh, did I mention that this rectangular cake pan from USA Pans has revolutionized my cake baking life? I may never bake another layer cake again. I love the ease of doing everything in one pan and then just throwing some foil over the top of the pan for transport instead of having to turn it out of the pan (crumbs everywhere), ice it on a cardboard round, and then load it into a cake carrier while praying that it doesn’t somehow topple into the sides of the carrier.

The funny thing about this cake is that I am almost certain that there’s nothing Italian about it. As I searched for the origins of Italian cream cake online, I found this information on Food Timeline that describes a cake that sounds nothing like this Italian cream cake that Southerners have come to know and love…which leads me to the conclusion that the origins of this cake are not Italian but from right here in the Southeast region of the United States.

I am fairly certain that I gained a couple of pounds just scraping the bowl of icing. And I still have this cake in my kitchen. It’s threatening to be my downfall.

For more videos, follow me on YouTube!

Mary

Yield: 1 13x9 sheet cake (about 20 servings)

Italian Cream Sheet Cake

30 minPrep Time:

40 minCook Time:

1 hr, 10 Total Time:

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

For the Cake

5 eggs, separated
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

For the Icing

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 13×9 cake pan and set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer, beat the eggs whites on high speed until stiff peaks are reached. Set aside (if you are using a stand mixer, you will need to transfer the whites to a different bowl and clean out the mixer bowl).
Whisk the flour and the baking soda together in a medium bowl.
Cream together the 2 sticks of butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, about a third of each at a time. Add the vanilla then scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the pecans and the coconut.
Carefully fold the reserved eggs whites into the cake batter. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
To make the icing, cream the butter and cream cheese using an electric mixture on medium speed. Add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until well combined. Add the vanilla and the coconut and beat until incorporated.
Spread the icing over the cooled cake and sprinkle evenly with the chopped pecans.

Recipe Type: cakes, desserts, Southern

https://chattavore.com/italian-cream-sheet-cake/

Italian cream sheet cake is a classic Southern cake made simple in a sheet pan. With cream cheese icing, pecans, and coconut, it's perfect! #cakes #baking #sheetcake #italiancreamcake #southernfood | Recipe from Chattavore.com

Santa’s White Christmas Wacky Cake

November 13, 2017

This post was sponsored by Barnie’s Coffee as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Santa’s White Christmas Wacky Cake is super-easy-mixed in one pan-and so delicious with coconut, caramel, and vanilla flavors!

What is your coffee-drinking style? For me, coffee is a ritual…it’s not as much about the caffeine as it is about the smell of coffee wafting through the house, the warm coffee, and a hot cup in my hands. Now, I am a coffee drinker 365 days a year, usually two cups a day: one in the morning and one when I get home in the afternoon.

I love an iced latte but this time of year it’s all about warmth…not that it’s cold here yet, but it’s getting closer. When the holiday season hits I love all the scents of the season – cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate, and coconut. Fresh baked goods always call for a cup of coffee, and if I can find a way to squeeze some coffee into the baked goods, even better.

Honestly, I can’t think of a better coffee to drink this time of year than Santa’s White Christmas from Barnie’s. I remember when there was a Barnie’s Coffee at our local mall, smelling the caramel-coconutty-vanilla scents at the holiday season and getting a Santa’s White Christmas granita. Always a treat! Barnie’s Coffee has been making Santa’s White Christmas for 37 years (almost my whole life!) and this coffee is much-beloved around the country…not just for it’s delightfully festive flavors but also for the fabulously high quality that you can always count on from Barnie’s Coffee.

Santa’s White Christmas is the perfect coffee to make this Wacky Cake. Mixed right in the pan, it’s so simple and delicious…topped with a cream cheese frosting with just a touch of coffee mixed in and a sprinkle of coconut, this cake is simplicity and flavor in under an hour with minimal dirty dishes. If you sift the powdered sugar and make sure the butter and cream cheese are super-soft, you don’t even need to use a mixer to make the icing!

You can find a variety of Santa’s White Christmas products in stores or on the Barnie’s Coffee website. Use the promo code CHATTAVORE30 to get 30% off of Barnie’s Coffee products!

How do you like your Santa’s White Christmas from Barnie’s Coffee? Show us your Santa!
Shared on The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!

Santa’s White Christmas Wacky Cake

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
heaping 1/4 cup natural cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 cup Barnie's Santa's White Christmas coffee

For the Icing

4 ounces (1/2 block) cream cheese, room temperature
4 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brewed Santa’s White Christmas coffee
Sweetened, shredded coconut (optional, for topping)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350? Fahrenheit.
Place the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in an 8-inch ungreased square glass or ceramic pan and use a fork to combine.
Create 3 wells in the dry ingredients. Place the vinegar in one, the vanilla in another, and the oil in the third. Pour the coffee over the top and use the fork to combine the ingredients completely.
Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
To make the icing: in a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese and butter with a wooden spoon or an electric hand mixer until smooth and well-combined. Add the sifted powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and coffee. Stir or cream together until well-combined. If you mix it by hand there may be a few lumps but it will not affect the flavor. Spread the icing over the cooled cake. Top with shredded coconut, if desired.

https://chattavore.com/santas-white-christmas-wacky-cake/

Santa's White Christmas Wacky Cake is super-easy-mixed in one pan-and so delicious with coconut, caramel, and vanilla flavors! #SantasWhiteChristmas #IC #ad #ShowUsYourSanta #cake #holidaybaking | Recipe from Chattavore.com

Chocolate Stout Cake with Ganache Drizzle + Video

October 27, 2017

Use your favorite chocolate stout (or porter) beer to make this dark chocolate stout cake with ganache drizzle! Perfect rich, chocolatey dessert. Scroll down for video!
Chocolate stout cake was born out of my husband’s request for me to make more food with beer in it (I’ve mentioned that before a time or two). This was actually his suggestion.

I considered a whiskey caramel drizzle or an Irish Creme icing, but then I decided that I didn’t need to get too fancy. Nothing that involved thermometers or boiling or a mixer. What should go on top of a chocolate stout cake? Chocolate stout ganache, duh.

Most stout cakes involve Guinness, but my husband owns a beer store and I can get lots of great craft stouts and porters. My favorites for this recipe are Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout (pictured), Boulder Shake Chocolate Porter (in the video), and Founder’s Breakfast Stout.

The Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book (<–affiliate link) provided the perfect starting point with their chocolate sour cream bundt cake recipe (and a wonderful tip for “greasing” the pan with butter and cocoa), and the Beeroness gave me a wonderful ganache recipe. By the way, I’ve decided that bundt cakes are every bit as easy sheet cakes, and when icing just involves heating, stirring, and pouring, that’s a win.

This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. This does not affect the cost to you. For more information, please see my disclosures. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!

12-16 servings

Chocolate Stout Cake (adapted from The Cook's Illustrated Baking Book)

30 minPrep Time:

50 minCook Time:

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

For the cake

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus one tablespoon for pan
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus one tablespoon, melted, for pan
6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup chocolate stout (I used Terrapin Moo-Hoo chocolate milk stout)
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups packed brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Ganache

2 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chocolate stout

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position a rack at the lower middle position. Combine the tablespoon of melted butter with the tablespoon of cocoa. Brush all over the inside of a 12-cup bundt pan.
Combine the remaining cocoa with the 6 ounces of chopped chocolate. Heat the 3/4 cup stout to nearly boiling. Pour over the chocolate mixture and allow to stand for five minutes. Stir until smooth, then stir in the sour cream until completely combined. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a small bowl.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until completely combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium and add the flour mixture, a third at a time, alternating with the chocolate mixture, beating until completely combined and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake has only crumbs clinging to it. Cool in the pan for ten minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
For ganache: Set the cake on the wire rack over a baking sheet. Place the 2 cups of chocolate into a bowl. Heat the cream and remaining stout until nearly boiling. Pour over the chocolate and let stand for five minutes. Stir until smooth. Let stand for thirty minutes to allow it to thicken. Pour over the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides and the center. The excess will collect in the pan and can be reserved for another use. Allow the cake to stand for 15 to 30 minutes to allow the ganache to set before serving.

https://chattavore.com/chocolate-stout-cake/

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake from Scratch + Video

October 15, 2017

Most pumpkin angel food cake on the interwebs is made from a mix, but my pumpkin angel food cake is from scratch, and it is fabulous! Scroll down for video!

How bizarre is it that I have to denote pumpkin angel food cake from scratch? One might assume that this would be implied, but one would be wrong. When I first thought (because I had a bag full of egg whites in my freezer, meticulously frozen one by one in ice trays as I used the yolks for other applications as well as a cup of pumpkin left over from making my signature pumpkin-banana-chocolate chip muffins) of making a pumpkin angel food cake, I began perusing the interwebs for recipes to inspire my recipe to no avail. Every. Single. Recipe. that I found called for a box of angel food cake mix. Are you kidding?

Look, there’s something that I know about angel food cake: beaten egg whites are fragile at best, temperamental at worst. You just have to, as Julia Child put it, have courage. Maybe you know the secret to beating a heavy, wet ingredient into your angel food cake batter and still turning out an impossibly tall confection with the pumpkin perfectly evenly distributed throughout the tight crumbs of the cake. Me, however….well, I just decided that I was okay with the fact that this cake was not likely to be as tall as a plain angel food cake (it isn’t, though the height is still impressive) and that a pocket of pumpkin here and there was not a problem-in fact, it lends a lovely hint of just exactly what that mysterious ingredient is that adds a deep but not obvious flavor and a slight tinge of an orange color. I was also okay with the fact that my slightly more moist than your average angel food cake stuck to the pan a little bit, leaving a hole that I promptly cut out with my first slice.

Of course, pumpkin-based desserts are a traditional Thanksgiving offering, so I am sure that you are not surprised that I am giving you this pumpkin angel food cake recipe in November. Traditional Thanksgiving desserts tend to be thick, dense, somewhat heavy, as in the syrupy sweetness of pecan pie (Philip’s poison of choice and something that I had to learn to make for him) and the thick custard of the ubiquitous pumpkin pie or a sweet potato pie. This is a light and airy alternative to those, something to cleanse the palate, something that’s virtually sinless on a day when you feel like you need to beg forgiveness for your food transgressions (though I never feel regret over eating fabulous food). Served with an acidic scoop of buttermilk ice cream like I’ve shown here, this dessert is practically a health food (please ignore the sugar content in the recipe…ahem). (I still have pumpkin mini-trifles and pumpkin buttermilk pie up my sleeve, by the way.)

I hope you love this from scratch pumpkin angel food cake!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love!

Mary

Yield: 10-12 servings

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake from Scratch

This recipe is adapted from America's Test Kitchen .

30 minPrep Time:

1 hrCook Time:

1 hr, 30 Total Time:

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cups cake flour-I used Swan's Down (3 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or Chinese Five-Spice Powder (I used Alchemy Spice Wake & Bake Sweet Spice Blend)
12 Large egg whites (room temperature)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon table salt (or 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt)
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cups pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. If you are using a tube pan that does not have a removable bottom (do these still exist??!?!?!), line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Whisk 3/4 cup of the sugar and the pumpkin pie spice or Chinese five-spice powder with the cake flour in a medium bowl.
Whip the egg whites and the cream of tartar together over medium-low speed in a stand mixer for about a minute, until foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until puffy, about a minute, then add the salt and the remaining sugar a tablespoon at a time. Whip until soft peaks are reached.
Remove from the stand mixer and gently whisk in the lemon juice by hand. Sift the flour/sugar mixture over the egg whites 1/4 cup and a time, gently but thoroughly folding in with a silicone spatula after each addition. Now, add the pumpkin puree 1/4 cup at a time, taking great care not to deflate the egg whites as you are folding. You will end up with a few pockets of pumpkin throughout the batter-that's okay.
Carefully scrape the batter into the prepared tube pan. Tap the bottom of the pan against the counter a few times to settle it. Place in the oven for 50-60 minutes, until golden brown and springy.
Remove the cake from the oven and immediately invert. Most tube pans have "feet" or the center portion is taller than the edges allowing the pan to stand off of the counter, but if yours does not place the center of the pan over a sturdy bottle. Cool like this for at least three hours before removing from the pan. This step keeps the cake from deflating as it cools.
Run a thin knife or spatula around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake, then (assuming your pan has a removable bottom) push the bottom out of the pan and run the knife/spatula under the cake and around the center to loosen the cake from the base. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe Type: cakes, special occasions

Notes

A tube pan is essential to making this cake. Any other pan will not allow the cake to "climb" and reach the height that an angel food cake should reach, resulting in a squat, dense cake. You can buy an inexpensive tube pan at any store that sells home goods. It's worth the investment.

https://chattavore.com/pumpkin-angel-food-cake-scratch/

Hummingbird Sheet Cake + Video

August 13, 2017

Hummingbird sheet cake transforms a slightly fussy classic Southern cake into something easy and portable yet still SO delicious – and pretty. Scroll down for video!

Being a Type A perfectionist and a blogger with a full-time job are things that are sometimes at odds in my life. My time is limited, and sometimes if I know a recipe is good I just want to get it up here to share with you guys. That means that my photos aren’t always perfect, but sometimes I just don’t have the time, energy, or, honestly, desire to retake the photos before I put them up here. I hope you guys will forgive me.

Another thing is that in the frenzy of beautiful images that I am surrounded by every day on blogs, Pinterest, and Instagram I sometimes start to feel like my recipes aren’t enough. Like, if I can’t put lavender or goat cheese in all the things then I probably shouldn’t share them. Or if I can’t make the prettiest deconstructed and perfectly lit bowl meal then I lose👎🏼. Oh boy. We’re our own worst critics, right? Seriously, no one has ever criticized one of my recipes for not being pretty or fancy enough (it’s probably coming now that I’ve put it out there. Que sera sera).

I listen to a few podcasts for food bloggers and one of the things I’ve heard recently is that we need to blog for our audience, not for other bloggers. That hit me like a splash of cold water in the face. I realized that thinking that everything I post has to be vegan, Paleo, and artfully arranged in a handmade ceramic bowl being held in front of a window by a European hand model was not based on any preference that a single one of my readers has ever expressed to me. It’s based on the things that I think are pretty on Instagram but not the way that I cook, eat, or live or probably the way that the majority of my readers cook, eat, or live (the last handmade ceramic bowl I priced was like 70 smackers. If any of y’all have that kind of dough to spend on dishes, pass some my way).

That’s where this hummingbird sheet cake comes from. Hummingbird cake, with pineapple, bananas, and spices baked into a cake coated in a thick layer of cream cheese icing (💯) and toasted pecans, is one of my favorite cakes. But the first version I posted, while tasty and beautiful, was incredibly fussy. It broke while I was taking it out of the pan! While a perfect four-layer cake is what my overbearing perfectionist brain aspires to (and yes, I am perfectly capable of making it), a hummingbird sheet cake is what my tired, full-time job working, rest of the time blogging self finds realistic. And goodness, look at it. Is this hummingbird sheet cake really less pretty than this hummingbird layer cake? Personally, I don’t think so. That could just be because the approachability of Exhibit A is about 10000 times higher than Exhibit B. But I digress. They both taste equally delicious, and that’s really what matters anyway, right?

So if you’re a little short on time (or even just a little lazy, which is just fine with me), hummingbird sheet cake is where it’s at!

Shared on Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love and Meal Plan Monday on Southern Plate.

Mary

Yield: one 9x13 cake (about 20 servings)

Hummingbird Sheet Cake

30 minPrep Time:

50 minCook Time:

1 hr, 20 Total Time:

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used 1 1/2 teaspoons Alchemy Spice Wake and Bake Blend in place of the cinnamon & nutmeg)
3 eggs
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
8 ounce cans crushed pineapple (with juice)
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4)
2 cups finely chopped pecans (can toast them lightly if you wish)
8 ounces (1 block) cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup unsalted butter-1 stick (softened)
1 lb powdered sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9x13 baking pan and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
In another medium to large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, and sugar. Stir in the mashed bananas, the pineapple, and one cup of the pecans (I did all of the mixing for this cake by hand...do not use a mixer. I also forgot to put pecans in the batter, and the world did not come to an end).
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (it's fine if you have a couple of lumps of flour in your batter). Pour into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool briefly in pan then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
Make the frosting: using a hand or stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and the butter until well incorporated, then beat in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time, making sure that the previous addition is fully incorporated before adding more (going slowly will keep you from making a gigantic mess...like I did). Beat in the vanilla.
To assemble the cake, spread the frosting across over the top of the cake and sprinkle the cake with one cup of toasted pecans.

Recipe Type: Southern, desserts, cakes, baking

https://chattavore.com/hummingbird-sheet-cake/