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Cake Recipes

 

Red Velvet Cake New York Cheesecake Vanilla Cupcakes
Red Velvet Cake is very dramatic looking with its bright red color sharply contrasted by a white frosting. more New York Style Cheesecakes are creamy, and smooth, and rich, and dense, and absolutely delicious. more Vanilla Cupcakes are wonderfully sweet and buttery and are frosted with a lovely Buttercream. more
Pavlova Boston Cream Pie Carrot Cake
This meringue cake, with its unusual soft sweet marshmallow center and crisp crust is produced by folding a little vinegar and cornstarch into the stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar. more Boston Cream Pie consists of either a white sponge or butter cake that has been split in half and filled with pastry cream. A chocolate glaze is then poured over the top of the cake and allowed to drip down the sides. more This Carrot Cake is moist and flavorful with grated carrots and is frosted with a delicious cream cheese frosting. more
White Cupcakes Chocolate Cheesecake Pumpkin Cheesecake
White Cupcakes have a sweet and buttery flavor and are frosted with a lovely buttercream. more A Chocolate Cheesecake is a real showstopper that combines three delicious layers of chocolate. more Pumpkin Cheesecake combines two American favorites; New York style cheesecake and pumpkin pie. It is the perfect dessert for Thanksgiving. more
     
    More Recipes Below

Cakes began in ancient Egypt as round, flat, unleavened breads that were cooked on a hot stone. Their evolution from crude cakes to what we enjoy today was possible, over many centuries, through the introduction of new ingredients and technology. The Egyptian's discovery and subsequent skill at using natural yeast helped leaven those once flat cakes. When butter and eggs made their way into the cake dough, their consistency became the precursor for today's cakes.

Cake making continued to improve especially with the new ingredients such as chocolate and vanilla, and eventually sugar, that came to Europe with the discovery of the New World. 

By the 18th century cakes were beginning to be made without yeast. Some yeast risen cakes survived, such as the Alsatian Kugelhopf, but the new cakes got their lightness from beaten eggs. But not only did some recipes call for an astounding number of eggs (upwards of 30) but they required long hours of beating. Unfortunately, this went on until technology caught up with the invention of baking soda (1840s) followed closely by baking powder (1860s).The quality of baked goods would continue to improve over time as ingredients became more refined and of a consistent quality.  .......  Continued below

German Chocolate Cake

Angel Food Cake

Yellow Butter Cake

This beautiful German Chocolate Cake has three moist layers of chocolate cake, with a sweet and gooey caramel frosting, laced with coconut and pecans. more Angel Food Cake has a sweet golden brown crust and a soft and spongy, snowy white interior. more This Yellow Butter Cake has two moist and buttery cake layers that are filled and frosted with a delicious chocolate frosting. more

Molten Chocolate Cakes

Chocolate Cake

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Molten Chocolate Cakes have a rich chocolate flavor with a pudding-like center that is dense and moist. more This single layered chocolate cake has a moist and tender crumb with a rich and creamy chocolate Ganache frosting. more Black Bottom Cupcakes are made with a Devil's Food Cake batter. The center of each cupcake is filled with a delicious cream cheese filling. more

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Apple Cake

Pound Cake

Red Velvet Cupcakes have a subtle chocolate flavor with a bright red color that are iced with a Cream Cheese Frosting. more An Apple Cake is the perfect Fall dessert, with its chunks of apples and pecans, along with plump and juicy raisins, all wrapped in a cinnamon-laced batter. more This Pound Cake is wonderfully rich and buttery with a lovely golden brown crust. more

White Butter Cake

Yellow Cupcakes

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

There are many ways to serve this cake, from the formal where it is lavishly filled and frosted, to other times when you may want to serve it plain with just a dusting of powdered sugar. more Yellow Cupcakes are wonderfully rich and moist with a sweet and buttery flavor. They are frosted with a delicious chocolate fudge frosting. more A Pineapple Upside Down Cake consists of lovely caramelized slices of pineapple and a buttery white cake. more

Carrot Cupcakes

No Bake Chocolate Cake

Tiramisu

Carrot Cupcakes are moist and flavorful with grated carrots and nuts and are frosted with a delicious cream cheese frosting. more This wonderful chocolate cake is like making your own chocolate bar. Besides its wonderful taste, this recipe is appealing because there is no baking involved and it contains only four ingredients; chocolate, butter, nuts, and digestive biscuits. more Tiramisu is made by layering cake (or ladyfingers), that have been soaked in spirits, with a rich custard. more

Chocolate Almond Torte

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

Chocolate Banana Cake

The popularity of the Chocolate Torte is easy to understand. Just a few excellent ingredients are needed to produce a dense and moist cake with an intense chocolate flavor. more This cake is also called an Angel Cake, so named as its airy lightness is said to be the "food of the angels." more Moist and flavorful with the sweetness of mashed bananas and chocolate. We frost the cake with a delicious Ganache made with cream and chopped semisweet chocolate. more

Chocolate Butter Cake

Lamingtons

Chocolate Cupcakes

This beautiful Chocolate Butter Cake has two layers of moist and tender chocolate butter cake sandwiched together and frosted with a delicious chocolate frosting. more These little gems are one of Australia national cakes and after eating one I can see why. more These beautiful chocolate cupcakes have a wonderful chocolate flavor and are frosted with a chocolate fudge frosting. more

Chocolate Genoise

Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

Chocolate Meringue Cake

This is really a beautiful and delicious dessert that is perfect for any occasion. more After making one of these European style cakes I found it had a wonderfully intense chocolate flavor and moist texture that was very different from the butter cakes I grew up eating. more This Chocolate Meringue Cake is very impressive looking with its two layers of sponge cake and meringue sandwiched together with whipped cream and crushed raspberries. more

Chocolate Pavlova

Chocolate Sponge Cake

Ganache

A Chocolate Pavlova is similar to a regular Pavlova only it has cocoa powder and chunks of semi sweet chocolate. This gives it a wonderful chocolate flavor and color. Lovely served with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. more This is a deliciously moist chocolate sponge cake that melts in your mouth. Can be filled with plain, chocolate, or raspberry whipped cream. more Ganache is a French term referring to a smooth mixture of chopped chocolate and heavy cream. more

Clementine Torte

Coconut Cake

Coconut Cupcakes

You can make this torte with either ground almonds or pecans. Either way makes for a moist and flavorful cake served alongside a dollop of whipped cream. more This cake consists of layers of moist coconut-flavored butter cake that are filled with a tangy lemon curd and then the entire cake is frosted with a smooth and shiny 7-Minute Frosting and sweetened coconut. more Coconut Cupcakes, sometimes called Snowball Cupcakes, take a sweet and buttery white cake and cover it with a tangy cream cheese frosting and sweetened coconut. more

Coffee Cake

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

A mixture of toasted nuts, chocolate chips, ground cinnamon and brown sugar is used both as a filling and topping for this cake. more Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake combines two favorites, a New York Style Cheesecake and ruby red cranberry sauce. more A Cranberry Upside Down Cake consists of lovely caramelized ruby red cranberries and a buttery white cake. more

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Cream Puffs

Berry Shortcake

This Cream Cheese Pound Cake has a wonderful rich and buttery flavor, moist texture, and a golden brown crust that is both sweet and crisp. more A favorite is the cream puff which is a hollow round of crisp choux pastry that is split in half, filled with a cream or custard, and dusted with powdered sugar. more Berry Shortcake is composed of a large scone that is cut in half horizontally and filled with whipped cream and lightly sweetened berries. more

Gingerbread Cake

Hummingbird Cake

Individual Cheesecakes

This cake is very nice plain but it is absolutely delicious when frosted with a lemon flavored icing. The lemon frosting recipe given here dries to a beautiful, satiny smooth, crusty finish. more This Hummingbird Cake is moist and flavorful with chopped pecans, crushed pineapple, and mashed bananas. It is frosted with a delicious cream cheese frosting. more Individual Cheesecakes have a lovely creamy smooth texture and are wonderfully rich. more

Brownie Cupcakes

Lemon-Cranberry Pound Cake

Lemon Frosted Lemon Cake

Brownies Cupcakes are wonderfully moist and chocolately and are iced with a chocolate fudge frosting. more This recipe uses dried cranberries. The advantage of drying any fruit is to prolong its storage but it has the added benefit of concentrating the fruit's sweetness and flavor. more A simple pound-like cake that has a wonderful citrus flavor that comes from adding both lemon zest and juice to the batter. more

Linzer Torte

Marble Cake

Meringue Cake with Strawberries & Cream

Linzertorte originated in Linz, Austria and is very distinctive looking with its beautiful golden brown crust, filled with ruby red preserves peeking through the pretty lattice design. more This pretty butter cake is a combination of white and chocolate batter that are swirled together just before baking to give that wonderful marbled affect. more This cake is a delightful combination of a tender yellow butter cake and a crisp meringue. Although it is an impressive looking cake it is not hard to put together. more

Blueberry Buckle

Apple Streusel Cake

Ricotta Cheesecake with Cran-Raspberry Sauce

A Blueberry Buckle has soft and sweet blueberries that are sandwiched between a layer of white cake and a cinnamon flavored streusel. more This Apple Streusel Cake is a delicious combination of butter cake, sliced apples, and a cinnamon flavored streusel. more Ricotta and cream cheese are used in this cheesecake which makes it both light and fluffy and smooth and creamy. more

Orange Chiffon Cake

Paris Brest

Strawberry Shortcake

This Orange Chiffon Cake has the flavor of oranges and is both light and fluffy with a moist and tender crumb. more Paris Brest is a dessert consisting of a large baked ring of choux pastry that is cut in half and filled with softly whipped cream. The ring shape of the pastry is meant to resemble a bicycle wheel. more Strawberry Shortcake is composed of a scone or biscuit that is cut in half and filled with whipped cream and lightly sweetened strawberries. more

Checkerboard Cake

Buttermilk Fruit Cake

Profiteroles

The striking black and white squares of this melt-in-your-mouth butter cake will make it a favorite when you are looking to bake something a little different. more Buttermilk Fruit Cake is wonderfully moist and buttery and it is loaded with aromatic spices, dates, raisins, and currants. more Sweet Profiteroles are delicious. This dessert takes small, crisp, hollow rounds of choux pastry and fills them with ice cream and drizzles a warm chocolate sauce over the top. more

Blackberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Pumpkin Roll

This delicious Blackberry Coffee Cake has a thin layer of white butter cake, a delicious layer of cream cheese filling, fresh blackberries, and a layer of crunchy streusel. Absolutely delicious. more What sets this moist and flavorful pumpkin spice cake apart is its wonderful maple-flavored cream cheese frosting. more This lovely Pumpkin Roll consists of sweet and moist pumpkin sponge roll wrapped around a tangy cream cheese filling. more

Sponge Cake filled with Raspberry Cream

Sponge Cake with Cream and Strawberries

Strawberry Charlotte

Sponge Cakes presented in this way have a beautiful pinwheel design and they are often filled with toppings like lemon curd, jam or preserves, fruit sauces, chopped nuts, ganache. more. This moist, tender, spongy, open-grained cake is delicious, whether eaten plain or cut in half and filled with cream and berries. more There is no better accompaniment to strawberries than cream and this recipe presents them in a unique way. more

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

Almond Sponge Roll Blueberry Coffee Cake
Banana Chocolate Cupcakes have a lovely chocolate banana flavor with a texture that is soft and moist. Each cupcake is frosted with a delicious creamy smooth Chocolate Ganache. more Sponge Cakes are light and airy cakes made without a solid fat and contain more eggs and less flour than butter cakes. For this recipe I have taken the Sponge Cake recipe and replaced some of the cornstarch/flour mixture with ground sliced and toasted almonds. more This Blueberry Cake is bursting with soft and sweet blueberries that are sandwiched between a layer of white cake and a cinnamon flavored streusel. more
Pumpkin Cake Cherry Cake Pumpkin Cupcakes
I particularly enjoy this honey colored Pumpkin Cake with its shiny chocolate glaze. This cake is full of flavor and keeps fresh for days, thanks to the pumpkin puree and canola oil. more This Cherry Cake has a lovely golden brown crust and the cherries give it a wonderful polka dot design. It is very similar in texture and taste to a Cherry Clafoutis. more Pumpkin Cupcakes take a dense and moist pumpkin cupcake and frost it with a tangy cream cheese frosting and a sprinkling of nuts. more
Lemon Cupcakes Chocolate Torte
These Lemon Cupcakes are filled with lemon curd and frosted with whipped cream. If you like, you can sprinkle the tops with colored sugar or garnish with a fresh berry or lemon slice. more Chocolate Torte is a rich and chocolately cake with an almost pudding-like texture. more

Continued from above.

Many centuries would pass from the baking of a cake on a hot stone to baking in a hot electric/gas oven. One step along the way to the modern oven was the placement of an oven (box) inside the fireplace that sometimes had a door. Obviously it was quite an art to control the temperature and items were placed in the oven according to their baking times. Even the early replicas of modern ovens we have today did not have temperature controls. Some women as late as the early 1900s were still measuring an oven's temperature by sticking a piece of paper into the oven and waiting to see how long it took to brown. Or worse yet, they stuck their hand in the hot oven judging the temperature by how long they could leave their hand in the oven.  

The lines between a bread and a cake were once almost indistinguishable. The main difference was their shape and that cakes had a sweetener, usually honey. But over time their differences grew to the point where bread remains a staple food and cakes are now considered desserts .........More on Cake Making

   
     
 

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Top 40 Recipes of 2009*

*Top 40 Recipes based on actual site traffic from January 1, 2009  to December 30, 2009.

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies

2. Red Velvet Cake

3. Shortbread Cookies

4. Royal Icing

5. New York Cheesecake

6. Carrot Cake

7. Sugar Cookies

8. Vanilla Cupcakes

 9. Banana Bread

10. Chocolate Truffles

11. Pound Cake

12. Ganache

13. Apple Crisp 14. Oatmeal Cookies 15. Pumpkin Pie
16. Apple Pie 17. Gingerbread Men 18. Pavlova 19. Coconut Macaroons 20. Biscuits
21. Cream Scones 22. Lemon Bars 23. Rum Balls 24. Snickerdoodles 25. Whipped Cream Frosting
26. Yellow Butter Cake 27. Pumpkin Cheesecake 28. Fruit Tart 29. Lemon Curd 30. Butter Tarts
31. Chocolate Crinkles 32. Thumbprint Cookies 33. Melting Moments 34. Boston Cream Pie 35. Chocolate Cupcakes
36. Nanaimo Bars 37. Mexican Wedding Cakes 38. Molten Chocolate Cakes 39. Almond Biscotti 40. Peanut Blossom Cookies
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