Peanut Butter Cake

My partner is a peanut butter fiend and requested a peanut butter cake for his birthday. I chose this one primarily because it had a frosting rather than an icing, it looked fairly simple, and it was different from other ones I'd made him in the past.

Notes:

• I halved the recipe and baked it in two nonstick loaf pans greased with butter to make a small rectangular layer cake, and baked them for about 25 minutes.
• I added vanilla extract to both the cake and the frosting because I love the combination of vanilla and peanut butter and I thought it would be weird without it.
• I used heavy cream instead of milk in the frosting, and I needed probably 3-4 times as much as it called for to get the right consistency.
• I decorated it with chopped mini peanut butter cups on the top. I feel like it would also be pretty with chocolate shavings. My partner bought Reese's Pieces for decoration too, but I didn't use them because I think their texture would be too hard for my liking unless they were chopped kind of small.

Verdict: I only had a small taste of it and thought it turned out well enough, though it was a little oily (especially the frosting) but lots of peanut butter desserts are and I'm not sure how much you can get away from that and still have a strong peanut butter taste. The frosting texture was a little strange and I might add butter or use a different frosting in the future, maybe the other one on this blog because I have loved it every time I've had it. But most importantly, my partner loved it so I would absolutely make it for him again.

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RECIPE: Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting (Mary Beth Manville, The Southern Plate) 

Lemon Bundt Cake

I was missing cake and decided to try this.

Notes: 

• I used Swerve granulated sugar substitute and I think it made the cake brown a lot more than it should have. I would recommend NOT using that in this cake (honestly it seems to ruin everything I put it in so I'm not going to buy it again).
• Because I did not have coconut butter I made a lemon glaze instead using a "powdered sugar" substitute (Swerve Powdered, which again turned out poorly probably because of the extra ingredients in it). I ended up adding cream cheese to it and making a thicker kind of frosting.
• I greased the bundt pan really well and it still stuck in one place so my cake kind of fell apart when I took it out of the pan.

Verdict: I wasn't happy with this. It turned out totally different from the picture, a lot more browned to the point of being kind of unappetizing. It was also not very sweet. It might have been my fault because I'm fairly new to low carb baking. If I make this again, I will use the suggested brand of sweetener or use more than it says to use.

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RECIPE: Keto Lemon Pound Cake (Katrin Nurnberger, Sugar Free Londoner) 

Keto Vanilla Cupcakes

I tried these along with the frosting recipe because I missed cake.

Verdict: I was not really impressed. They were edible but not really what I was hoping for. If I make them again I will add the eggs gradually rather than all at once so they blend in better (a commenter mentioned they did this with decent results).

The frosting was an abject failure texture wise though the flavor was good. I think it was because my sweetener was not just sweetener; it had tapioca starch in it, and between that and the almond milk it got grainy and too heavy. Next time I will probably use allulose. I ended up mixing cream cheese into it and it tasted a lot better. I ended up eating it like dip with pecans rather than putting it on the cupcakes.

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RECIPE: Keto Cupcakes (Arman Liew, The Big Man's World)

RECIPE: Keto Frosting (Arman Liew, The Big Man's World)

Peanut Butter Dirt Cake

It's that time of year again to make my husband a homemade birthday treat! He normally wants dirt cake but this time he requested something with peanut butter, and suggested maybe a peanut butter dirt cake. I had not made one before but I was sure other people had had this idea before, so I went looking for recipes to try and decided on this one because it sounded pretty straightforward and made a reasonable amount.

Notes:

• Used a combination of Oreos and Nutter Butter cookie crumbs rather than just Oreos.
• Added some extra peanut butter (3-4 tbsp) to the fluff mixture because my husband wanted to taste more peanut butter and less cream cheese.
  
• Made a sugar free version for myself by using powdered Swerve (finely ground erythritol granules that are used as a powdered sugar substitute) and natural style peanut butter without any added sugar in equal amounts as the original recipe.
• I had planned to try this recipe from Sugar Free Londoner to make sugar free chocolate cookie crumbs but didn't actually get that far because I was too busy devouring the peanut butter fluff part lol.
  

Verdict: I only had a small bite of the regular one but many who tried it really loved it, including my husband who requested it for his birthday so I'd definitely make it again. I LOVED the sugar free version -- most of the ingredients are keto friendly to begin with so it seemed like it would convert well, and I'm glad it did. I immediately made more once it was gone because I still wanted more and all the ingredients were there.

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RECIPE: Peanut Butter Dirt Pudding (Cooking with Carlee)

Chamomile Tea Cake with Strawberry Icing

A friend recently introduced me to the work of Eric Kim and I love his ideas for recipes, so when I saw this one made with multiple flavors I really like, I wanted to give it a try.

Verdict: This was really lovely tasting and the icing color so vibrant. The supercharged strawberry flavor was great! I would gladly make it again.

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RECIPE: Chamomile Tea Cake with Strawberry Icing (Eric Kim, for the New York Times)

Carrot Cider Cake

I really liked my wedding anniversary carrot cake, but also wanted to try this because apple cider in a cake just sounds lovely.

Notes:

• I used the large holes on my box grater to grate the carrots.
  

Verdict: This was delightful, especially with some leftover cream cheese icing spread over the top. The coworkers I shared it with also really liked it. I would absolutely make it again, and maybe add some raisins and pecans or walnuts because I love the kitchen-sink type carrot cake with all the things in it. I still dream about one my mom's friend brought us one time when I was a kid, and want to try to recreate it if I can. This might not be it but it's getting closer.

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RECIPE: Carrot Cake with Cider and Olive Oil (Smitten Kitchen)

Plum Almond Cake

Another try on my quest for the perfect plum cake for me. My first attempt had nice flavors but was maybe a bit too dry and needed just a little more sweetness. I have generally had good luck with Leite's Culinaria recipes before and plum + almond is a fantastic combination so I decided to give this a try.

Verdict: I think I messed this up because it seemed underdone/a little raw in the middle. The almond topping just melted and baked into the rest of the cake, which was disappointing. It was just almonds, butter, and sugar though and I think it needed some kind of flour to soak up the butter and keep its shape as crumbles. Maybe the butter from the topping melting into the cake is why it seemed underdone (especially since I used 1.5 times the recipe for topping). I might try it again because I really liked the flavors, but I might also just keep looking elsewhere for my forever plum cake.

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RECIPE: Plum Almond Cake (Leite's Culinaria)

German Plum Cake with Streusel

It's prune plum season again and I was looking for something new to try with the small cache of fruit that my partner was able to get for me. I went back to the store to get more a few days later and they were GONE. The secret is getting out!

Notes:

• The recipe called for a 27 cm (10.5 in) diameter pan but I only had a 9 in/23 cm one so I used that.
  
• I didn't end up buying enough prune plums to make this (only enough for about half) and when I went back to get more they were gone, so I used red plums for the rest. They were firmer and crisper, and did not break down as much while cooking. They let out a lot less juice than I thought they would.
  
• This is best when left to stand for at least a few hours after cooking. We ate some right away and it was kind of dry, but when I had some the next day more of the liquid had seeped into the bottom part with the bread crumbs and it tasted better.
• I think we could have done with a little more almond extract in the crust. Apparently some people make this with a shortbread type crust and I think I'd like that better, though I like the bready aroma of the yeasted crust.
• The streusel crumbles seemed to have too much butter in them -- they were really soft when I made them and especially after the cake softened they were really soggy. Maybe if I used less melted butter, or if I used cold butter to make them they might turn out better.
• I think I may have overworked the crust dough but it was really hard to knead in the butter. Maybe I didn't knead it enough? I'm bad at bread.
  

Verdict: I would try this again but make some changes. I think I'd like to try it with all prune plums first before I make too many changes, though, because the prune plums seem to let out a lot more liquid and are more intensely flavored. This is a really delicious flavor combination, especially with the little hits of lemon and almond and vanilla in addition to the cinnamon. I feel like it's awakening ancient memories in my cells.

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RECIPE: German Plum Cake with Crumbles (Sabrina's Table)

Carrot Layer Cake

I make carrot cake so infrequently that I never remember which recipe I used. This is an attempt to stop that trend :) I know for sure I have used Orangette's recipe (a lot of work but good, and has a funny memory attached because my cat stood on it and ate a chunk of it through plastic wrap while it sat on the counter overnight).

I wanted to make a carrot layer cake for my partner and me for our 10th wedding anniversary celebration at home. Me having COVID and needing to quarantine kind of limited our plans a bit (we've hit double digits and wanted to do something extra special!) but I felt well enough to want to contribute somehow. I picked this recipe because it was small enough that I wouldn't have to do any math to refigure it for the size I wanted (6 in/15 cm diameter 2-layer cake) -- many recipes I found were either a single layer or 3 layers, and three pans seemed overwhelming to me dishes wise and also because the cake is only for 2 people. Plus I was still sick and made plans to do this the same day so I didn't want to overcomplicate things.

Shout out to the Great British Baking Show for being an eternal wellspring of motivation. It always seems to be able to give me a big push to get in the kitchen and actually make what I am thinking about making.

Notes:

• I did not have fresh ginger so I used 1/2 tsp of powdered.
  
• I used a different recipe for icing than the one the recipe suggests because I had ingredients bought before I picked a recipe, and I didn't plan for mascarpone. The Cream Cheese Frosting I used is really great structurally for building a layer cake, but after having it on a couple of cakes like this I think it might be a little too sugary/rich to use in such large quantities. (Normally I use it to decorate gingerbread cookies.) I halved the recipe and it frosted this cake generously, with a little bit (maybe 1/3 to 1/2 cup) left over.
• I decorated the cake with toasted walnuts and loved it, especially since there were no nuts in the cake itself. It adds something to offset the sweetness of the frosting.
  

Verdict: The cake itself baked a little funny -- parts of it looked straight up burnt when I pulled it out of the oven. Almost like the sugar started separating out from the batter. This might have been from the butter I used to grease the pans, too. However, the finished product ultimately tasted good, if a bit rich, and worked well as a layer cake. If making a layer cake will probably try a different recipe next time even if I have to do some math. And I really gotta stop using this cream cheese frosting, even though it's really good in smaller quantities on cookies.

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RECIPE: My Perfect Carrot Cake (I Am a Food Blog)

Chocolate Stout Cake

Made to celebrate 17 years together with my partner. We have been married nearly 10 years but we still celebrate the day we started dating too.

Notes:

• Instead of Guinness I used Blacklist Brewing Co.'s Dark Imperial Stout with Cocoa.
  
• I added some Irish cream liqueur to the ganache (substituted for some of the heavy cream) and really liked the result.
  

Verdict: The texture was a little rubbery and I don't know if it's something I did or if that's how the cake is. I would make it again though.

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RECIPE: Chocolate Stout Cake (Smitten Kitchen)

Purple Plum Torte

so good I didn't even get a shot of the entire thing.

I first made this in 2013 for a housewarming party for my sister (at her apartment because my oven was broken!). This is the second time I've made it and as soon as I tasted it I wondered why I'd waited so long to make it again. Pumpkin spice who? Cinnamon and plums are where it's at for fall. I made it exactly as written. This particular batch had fewer plums in it than the recipe called for because I was distracted and didn't buy enough, but I think it's better with the full amount, for sure.

before baking

Verdict: Tastes way better than you'd think it might for how easy it is to make. If you can find prune plums, absolutely give it a try. The combination of cinnamon and plums together is magical. It might be my German roots talking but it's the truth.

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RECIPE: Purple Plum Torte (Smitten Kitchen)

Bee Sting Cake

I made this for a bear-themed tea party. I've been wanting to try it ever since a friend mentioned it to me, and the tea party was a perfect excuse.

Notes:

• I used cornstarch in the filling because I had it on hand. I was a little worried that it would make the filling too gloopy but it ended up being perfect. I personally think it's worth making the filling from scratch.
  

Verdict: The honey caramel topping all sunk to the bottom of my cake during baking. I removed it from the pan and the middle was very soft; I thought it was underbaked, but thankfully it was completely cooked. However, it was not structurally sound enough to split it horizontally and fill the entire cake, so we split and filled the individual slices as we cut them (which was probably better for us anyway, since it's just two of us and the cake wouldn't get soggy that way). I loved the flavor, but it was a lot of work. I would make it again if someone specifically asked for it, and probably use a different recipe with more flour so the topping is more likely to stay on top of the cake, but I probably won't go out of my way to make it again.

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RECIPE: Bee Sting Cake (Smitten Kitchen)

Plush Coconut Cake

I made this for Brian's birthday because he likes coconut and we celebrated his birthday during band practice this year. Happy birthday, friend :D

Notes:

• I decorated my cake with toasted coconut, crushed pistachios, and candied violets.

Verdict: I loved the texture (definitely plush, maybe a tiny bit oily but in a good way) and that it was not especially sweet. The crushed nuts added a nice little bit of saltiness to offset the sweet icing. It was also really easy to make. I would definitely make it again, especially if I had a can of coconut milk on hand and wanted a cake on short notice.

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RECIPE: Plush Coconut Cake (Smitten Kitchen)

Chocolate Cherry Cake

I had wanted to make this for Valentine's Day but didn't get to it until March. Oops. But it was no less welcome!

Notes:

• I baked the cake in an 8x8 inch square pan, cut it in half, then split each half to get the four layers of cake. This was a really nice size for two people.
  
• I filled the split layers with sour cherry jam, then stacked the sandwiches together and stuck them together with the chocolate frosting. There was *just* enough frosting to cover the entire cake. I would make more frosting next time if I knew I were going to do anything other than a single sheet of cake.
  

Verdict: I thoroughly enjoyed this cake and was sad when it was gone. This is officially my new favorite chocolate frosting. The melted unsweetened chocolate gives it a very rich, intense chocolate flavor that we absolutely loved.

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RECIPE: The 'I Want Chocolate Cake' Cake (Smitten Kitchen)

Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Cookie Crumbles

I dreamed up this cake for my partner's birthday. He is a peanut butter fiend and I have made peanut butter cakes for him in the past, but this time I wanted to pair it with chocolate. I packaged up a bunch of the slices and delivered them to all of the band members and their partners so they could celebrate with us in some way.

I have made two of the components of this cake before, but I really liked the look of this cake from Sweetest Menu and decided to riff on that.

Notes:

• I added a pinch of salt to the cookie crumble mixture before baking it.

Verdict: The layers kind of came apart as it was cut (because the cookie crumbles were dry and I didn't use a lot of frosting because I think I might have needed more), and I'd like to make the cake part a bit less dry next time. It could have been the peanut butter I used. But it was very peanut buttery, and not too sweet. And this frosting is still A+ incredible.

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RECIPES:
Cake: Peanut Butter Cake (from Sally's Baking Addiction, doubled)
Frosting: Peanut Butter Frosting (from Eat, Live, Run)
Cookie crumbles: Chocolate Cookie Crumbs (Sweetest Menu)

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Another thing I like to make periodically but never remember which recipe I used. Dear future me: you liked this recipe.

Verdict: I liked these a lot! The glaze unfortunately melted into them after I covered them, but I liked their texture a lot.

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RECIPE: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (Two Peas and Their Pod)

Seafoam Cupcakes with Chocolate Seashells

I made these for my spread for a marine themed virtual tea party. They are yellow cupcakes with blue-tinted vanilla buttercream frosting, decorated with pearl sprinkles and white chocolate seashells. I made these yellow cupcakes once on a whim about four years ago and they made quite the impression on me (and apparently everyone else at the housewarming party I brought them to -- they were gone by the time one of the hosts went to grab one!). I am normally pretty skeptical of recipes with superlatives in the title but they are truly delicious. Unfortunately I filled the cups a little too full and they overflowed and stuck together so the edges are ragged, but they were for myself and they tasted really good, so meh. I got the more important part right. Plus it kind of works if you think of the cake as sand :)

I tinted the frosting a very light blue (about 5-6 drops) and piped it on the cupcakes to visually simulate crashing waves. I melted white chocolate chips, swirled in a couple of drops of blue food coloring, filled seashell shaped silicone molds with the chocolate, and put them in the refrigerator to harden. I used these and some pearl sprinkles to decorate the tops of the cupcakes.

Verdict: They are simple and definitely on the sugary side for me (whee piles of frosting), but I enjoyed them a lot. I shared them with my partner and gave some to a couple of friends, and everyone else really enjoyed the cupcakes too. Definitely have some go-to recipes now. :D

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RECIPES:
Cake: The Perfect Yellow Cupcake (Food Network)
Frosting: Buttercream Frosting (Savory Sweet Life)

Ultimate Banana Bread

I have been eating banana bread ever since I was a kid. However, I do not have the church cookbook recipe my mom used when I was little, and I have a feeling it would have a bit too much sugar for me these days anyway.

I mostly tried this one because it had LOTS of banana and I had lots of banana to use up.

Notes:

• I made this in muffin cups because I prefer that to a loaf. It made 17 muffins. I baked them for about 23-25 minutes.
  
• I omitted the raw/turbinado sugar on top because I didn't have any.
  

Verdict: I loved it! It was sweet without being too sugary or cloying, and the texture was nice. I shared some with a friend and she really liked them too.

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RECIPE: Ultimate Banana Bread (Smitten Kitchen)

Lemon Lavender Pound Cake

A friend of mine made something like this for her birthday. I love this flavor combination, and her decorations of dried pressed flowers and pearl sprinkles were so pretty I wanted to make something similar for myself. I made it last minute so I didn't have time to go shopping for really fancy decorations but the dried lavender buds and gold pearl sprinkles worked pretty nicely.

Verdict: It's really nice! I like to try lots of different kinds of cake so I might not make it a lot, but this was a solid tasting recipe and not difficult to make.

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RECIPE: Lemon Lavender Pound Cake (Bon Appetit)

Turtle Cheesecake

My family was asked to make two desserts for my brother's wedding, and my new sister-in-law requested a turtle cheesecake. Neither my mom nor I had made a cheesecake before and we settled on this recipe because it looked relatively simple compared to others we found.

NOTES

• We used regular vanilla extract instead of clear imitation vanilla. (The clear stuff is only for looks, so that your cream cheese filling stays as white as possible.)
• Be sure your cookie crumbs are ground very finely and evenly. It will help the crust stay together. Definitely use a blender or food processor, and not just a rolling pin.
• We skipped the hot fudge sauce and used chocolate pieces to decorate the top instead.
• Our cake got a big crack in the top but we just filled it with caramel sauce since we were flooding the top of the cake.
• I think a from-scratch caramel sauce would really bring this to another level for just a small bit of extra effort. If you've never made your own, there is something incredible about how much flavor can result from something as simple as browning sugar. You could make it while the cheesecake bakes. I recommend this one, with or without the bourbon!

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RECIPE: Turtle Cheesecake