Apple Chocolate Chip Cake

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  Sadly, this is also also the final SRC reveal for Group A. The Secret Recipe Club is coming to an end.  Started back in April 2011, SRC and has had a wonderful five and a half year run and connected hundreds of bloggers throughout the world with our love of food and support of our fellow bloggers. My first SRC post was in February 2013, and I've loved all the new bloggers I've met and recipes I've tried. I know we're all going to miss it.

My final secret blog assignment is Mother Would Know with the tag-line Home Cooking Beats Take-Out - which I whole-heartedly agree with.  Written by Laura, it's a great blog full of mouth-watering recipes and helpful kitchen tips.  While Laura has no 'real' cooking credentials, she began cooking in college, and she's got plenty of experience in the kitchen. She's always willing to offer help and advice - the kind of cooking questions you would love to ask your mother, but these answers come from a guaranteed 'no nagging zone' where you won't be asked about your love life or your job prospects.  So, like Laura says -'whether you already cook reasonably well, have a few simple meals you can prepare or just have the feeling that you had better learn how to cook before your take-out bill ruins your credit rating' - Mother Would Know is the place for you.  (for the record, my daughter uses my blog as her cookbook, and both my kids call me with their cooking questions, but not everyone can do that, so it's great that Laura offers such help)

I browsed through Laura's blog and find several recipes I definitely want to try. Sweet & Sour Brisket, Rhubarb, Apple, Pear Crisp, and Java Chip Ice Cream were just a few of them.

I wish more of the chocolate chips showed in this piece, but believe me,
they were there.  This cake has long since been devoured!

When I saw this apple cake recipe I knew I had to try it - just a touch of sweetness, studded with apple chunks and chocolate - why have I never thought to use chocolate chips in apple cake?  I also really want to try this Bundt Pan Apple Cake Laura mentions in the post, but first, the Apple Chocolate Chip Cake.

Apple Chocolate Chip Cake
from Mother Would Know

Ingredients:

• 4 cups peeled, chopped apples
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1-1/2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Cut the apples and mix them with the sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl; let them stand for at least 15 minutes, giving the apple chunks time to absorb the sugar.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 13×9-inch baking pan and set it aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix (or whisk) together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. After the 15 minute 'rest' for the apple/sugar mixture, lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and add the oil and eggs to the apples. (I used the glass measuring cup I measured my apples in to beat the eggs - using the whisk I mixed my flour with - and to measure the oil)
5. Add the dry ingredients to the apple, sugar, oil and egg mixture in 3 additions, mixing thoroughly after each addition. The batter will be very stiff. 
6. Fold in the chocolate chips and then spoon the batter into the greased baking pan. Even it out with the spatula or the back of the spoon.
7. Bake approximately 40-45 minutes, until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

The only thing I changed about this recipe was to cut down the sugar from 1-1/2 cups to 1 cup, and to mix the cinnamon in with the apples and sugar instead of whisking it with the flour.  That last part probably didn't make a huge difference, but I think cutting the sugar down worked out really well because this cake was still plenty sweet.

My husband and I just had to try it the same day I made it.  It smelled so good!  And it was really good that first evening, but this cake gets even better after sitting overnight.  It's dense and moist, and absolutely delicious.  I took it to church to share on Sabbath, and we barely made it home with another piece for each of us.  Everyone seemed to really like it.  I will definitely be making this one again.  And again.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sourdough Chocolate Cake w/ Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting

I've made bread and coffee cakes and pancakes with my sourdough starter, but until now I've never made a chocolate cake.  Did you know there was such a thing as a sourdough chocolate cake?  I had never even thought of such a thing until recently when I came across a recipe for one.  I'm not even sure where I saw that recipe so I just did a quick search to find one that sounded good.  And then I read the reviews and adjusted a few things.  Of course.

Let me just say that I love this cake!  It's dark and dense and not too sweet and may just be my favorite chocolate cake ever.  Just, so good.

Sourdough Chocolate Cake
adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (or soured milk)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1-1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 to 2 tsp. instant coffee powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Mix sourdough starter, buttermilk, and 1 cup flour together.  Let sit several hours or overnight, until bubbly.
2. When ready to mix and bake cake, preheat oven to 350°.  Generously grease 13x9" baking dish.
3. In large bowl, cream butter, oil, and sugar with electric mixer.  Add cocoa and instant coffee and mix well.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition then mix in yogurt and vanilla.
4. Add sourdough mixture and mix well.  Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together and then mix into batter.  Beat until smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Cool before frosting. (see recipe below)

Enjoy!

 Since I was making this cake to take for a potluck, I also made a couple cupcakes so we could taste it.  I figured that would be better than taking a cake with a couple pieces already taken out.  Though, judging from some of the other desserts, it's a perfectly acceptable and expected practice to get into your dessert before bringing it to the potluck.   But the cupcakes were perfect.

There was still plenty of batter for the cake. This recipe makes a lot of batter; be sure to use a large bowl to mix it.  It will be full.

Some of the reviewers on the original recipe page mentioned a cream cheese frosting on this cake.  Since I added the instant coffee powder to the cake, I decided to add some to my frosting too.  It turned out really yummy.

Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting
from Perfectly Sprinkled

Ingredients:

• 4 T butter, softened
• 4 T cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp. instant coffee
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 to 1-1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Mix butter and cream cheese together and then add instant coffee.  Allow mixture to sit for several minutes and then mix again to incorporate coffee.  Stir in vanilla.
2. Add powdered sugar a bit at a time, mixing well until frosting reaches desired consistency.  Spread over cooled cake.

For best results, store this cake in the refrigerator.  I learned that from the reviews, too.  I don't know if it's because it tastes better, or if it's just to make it last longer because it will be harder to get into.  Either way, this cake will not last long.  It's just that good.

Overnight Coffee Cake

I've been making this coffee cake for a long time.  It's so convenient - mix it up the day or night before, refrigerate it overnight, and bake it in the morning.  Warm fresh-baked coffee cake for breakfast or brunch.  What could be better than that?

Actually, I think I may have just figured out how to make this coffee cake even better - after all these years!  Add banana!  I don't know why I never thought of it before, but this past weekend I added a layer of chopped banana between the cake batter and the topping.  It baked up ooey gooey and yummy.  I may just be adding bananas from now on.  For now, I'll leave the bananas as optional - while I let my imagination go wild thinking of all the other fruits I can add and should have been adding all these years.

Overnight Coffee Cake
adapted from The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals

 Cake:

• 2/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
  and/or 1/2 cup coconut
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:

1.  Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Stir in buttermilk.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Stir into butter/sugar mixture and mix well.
3. Spread batter into greased 13x9" pan.  OR divide between 2 round cake pans.
4. Mix all ingredients for topping and sprinkle over batter.  Variation: cut up 2 bananas and spread over batter before adding the topping. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours.
5. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean.

I usually make this in the 13x9" pan. This time I wanted to try the banana but I wasn't sure I wanted it on the whole cake, so I used the 2 round pans.  I spread a layer of banana on top of the batter in one of the pans before sprinkling the topping on, and I did the other pan like normal.  I should have just used 2 bananas and gone with the whole 13x9" cake.  It was that good!

When the kids were little I used to bake this cake in the two round pans all the time.  We'd have one to eat, and I'd freeze the other one for later.  If you use the disposable foil cake pans, one of them will fit nicely into a gallon zipper bag.  My cake pans won't fit, so we just had to eat both cakes.

Related articles

• Banana Streusel Cake
• Coffee Crumb Cake Recipe

Blueberry Peach Buckle

It's time again for  Secret Recipe Club (Secret Recipe Club) reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Anna's blog Cheese with Noodles.  I always love meeting someone who shares my name!  I'm noticing more Annas recently, but when I was growing up, it felt like I was the only one.

Anna lives in Alaska with her husband and pets, and we share a love of reading, gardening, and of course cooking.  She's much more crafty than I am, though.  I am completely challenged when it comes to stuff like that.

As with all Secret Recipe Club assignments, I had a hard time picking a recipe.  There were so many to choose from, and they all looked good!  Here are just a few that caught my eye:

• Creamy Salsa Dressing - I've been wanting to try some homemade dressings
• Buffalo Turkey Burgers - yeah, buffalo anything sounds good
• Cinnamon Roll Pancakes - I've been meaning to try something like this for AGES
• Greek Pasta Skillet - I am definitely making this soon!

But, I had some blueberries in the fridge, and since I don't buy blueberries very often, I don't really know what to do with them.  So, I checked to see if Anna had any blueberry recipes on her blog and found this one.  Who can resist making something called a Buckle?  I don't know who names these things, but doesn't it sound fun?  (OK, so I looked it up -Buckle or Crumble - Is a type of cake made in a single layer with berries added to the batter. It is usually made with blueberries. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance.)

While I was looking at the recipe, one of my facebook friends posted something about a blueberry peach crisp, and I decided to add some peaches to the recipe.  It sounded like a wonderful combination!

Blueberry Peach Buckle
from Cheese with Noodles

Ingredients:

• 1/4 C butter, softened
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 C milk
• 2 C flour (I used 1/2 white whole wheat)
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 C blueberries, fresh or frozen (thawed if frozen)
• 2 peaches, peeled and diced

Topping:

• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 C flour
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 C cold butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg, beating well.  Stir in vanilla and milk.
2. Mix dry ingredients and stir in.  Fold in blueberries and peaches.
3. Spread batter into greased 9" x 9" pan. (will be very thick)
4. To make topping, stir together sugar, flour and cinnamon and then cut in cold butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles course crumbs.  Spread evenly over batter. 
5. Bake 40-45 minutes in 375° F oven or until topping is browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

This stuff is so good!  We ate it all weekend for breakfast.  It's fruit, right?  My husband and I both enjoyed it very much.  The cake is nice and moist with a really good flavor.  Besides adding the peaches, I cut the sugar down a little bit and added some vanilla to the cake.  The star of this cake is definitely the blueberries - lots and lots of blueberries!  The peaches really do complement them very well. 

This recipe is definitely a keeper.  From now on, when I buy blueberries, I'm making this!

An InLinkz Link-up

Cranberry Nutmeg Breakfast Cake

This is one of those recipes I almost picked for Secret Recipe Club. (I ended up going with these amazing enchiladas instead)  But this cake just sounded so good, I had to go back and try it.  I'm really glad I did, because this is one good cake!  I like to make coffee cakes, muffins, cinnamon rolls, and things like that for Sabbath morning breakfast.  I bake on Friday, and we have something yummy to eat over the weekend.  I think this one is going to show up on a regular basis.

Cranberry Nutmeg Breakfast Cake
adapted from Jessie Weaver

Ingredients
   Cake:

• 4 T butter, softened
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. milk
• 2 c. white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 bag (12 oz.) fresh (or frozen) cranberries, coarsely chopped*

  Topping:

• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. chopped pecans
• 1/2 c. shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating well.  Stir in vanilla, sour cream, and milk.
2. Mix dry ingredients and stir in.  Fold in cranberries.
3. Spread batter into greased 13" x 9" pan.
4. Mix all ingredients for topping and spread evenly over batter. 
5. Bake 35-40 minutes in 375° F oven or until topping is browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

This is a really moist, not-too-sweet cake.  I cut the sugar down a little from Jessie's recipe, but then I added the topping, so it's definitely sweet enough.  The cranberries add just the right touch of tartness in every bite.

We really enjoyed this.  Did I say that already?  Yes, it's really good!  Next time (see - next time - I am definitely going to be making this again) I am going to bake it in two round cake pans, the foil disposable kind.  The foil cake pans fit just perfectly into a gallon-size zipper bag.  I used to do that all the time when I made Overnight Coffee Cake when the kids were little. 

Then they got bigger and ate more coffee cake, and I started just baking it in a 13" x 9" pan.  Now that the kids are grown and it's just the two of us, I think it's time to go back to baking two smaller cakes and freezing one.  One of them will give the two of us plenty of coffee cake for the weekend, and the other one will come in really handy for another time when I don't have time to bake. 

Anyway, try this cake.  I think you'll like it, whether you bake it in a large pan, two smaller pans, or even make it into muffins, which is another possibility.

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

I found this recipe in the newspaper - LOVE the food section of the paper! - and I've been wanting to make it for a while.  It's been hanging on the fridge since I found it.  Thanks to my sweet friend Peggy, I have plenty of rhubarb (not that I wouldn't take more if it came available), so I made it last week.  It was so good, I had to make it again this week for potluck.

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar (divided)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• ½ cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 cups (1-inch-thick) sliced rhubarb (about 1 pound)
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:

1.  Place butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add 2/3 cup granulated sugar; beat until well blended.  Add vanilla and egg, beat well, then add milk.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Beat into butter mixture until smooth.
3. Combine rhubarb and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon batter over rhubarb mixture.
4. Bake in preheated 350° oven 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. 
5. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.

 The notes on the recipe said:

If fresh rhubarb isn't available, make it with frozen rhubarb, thawed and well drained. The cake is good either way, although it's moister and more pudding-like with fresh.

I made it with fresh rhubarb the first time and with frozen the next, though I didn't completely thaw or drain the frozen rhubarb - so I guess we'll see.  I'm not sure it was 'pudding-like' at all, even with fresh rhubarb.  It was a very moist cake with a wonderful flavor!  I had it with whipped cream the first time, but I didn't bother with the whipped cream after that.  The cake is just perfect on its own.  A little vanilla ice cream on top isn't bad, either.

The original recipe called for mixing 2/3 cup sugar with the rhubarb, but I cut that in half because I believe you should be able to taste the tartness of the rhubarb. I love the burst of tart flavor from the rhubarb balanced against the sweetness of the cake. I hate that most recipes want to hide that tartness with so much sugar!  If you're looking for sweet, then I think you should try something else, because rhubarb is tart, and that's what makes it special! 

Related articles

• Rhubarb & Custard Cake
• Rhubarb pudding cake

• Rhubarb Cake (sharonrwagner.blogspot.com)
• Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins! (makeabirthdaywish.wordpress.com)
• Rhubarb, rhubarb...or having my cake and plenty of it! (jessicamiln.com)

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

Image by Another Pint Please... via Flickr

I found this recipe once a long time ago. I made the cake. It was wonderful. Then I lost the recipe I knew I had a recipe for this hot, gooey, chocolaty dessert, but I could not find it. After lots of looking, I found it! Now, I plan to keep this recipe somewhere safe and accessible.

This cake is quick, easy, and absolutely yummy. And since I didn't make anything for dessert this weekend, I think I'll make one of these!

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 T. cocoa
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 T. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1-3/4 cups very hot water

• Ice Cream

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°. Mix flour, granulated sugar, 2 T. cocoa, baking powder, and salt in ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches. Mix in milk, oil and vanilla with fork until smooth. Stir in nuts.
   
2. Spread evenly in pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Pour very hot water over batter.
3. Bake 40 minutes. Spoon warm cake into dessert dishes and top with ice cream. Spoon sauce from pan onto each serving.

Microwave Directions
Follow above directions, making sure to mix everything in a microwave-safe baking dish. Microwave uncovered on medium (50%) 9 minutes; rotate dish 1/4 turn. Microwave uncovered on high 5 to 7 minutes longer or until top is almost dry.

Enjoy!

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Overnight CoffeeCake

I love this because I can mix it up the night before and the next morning all I have to do is pop it in the oven for fresh, hot coffeecake.

Overnight CoffeeCake

Cake: 2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt 2/3 cup margarine 1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk

Topping: 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:

1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
2. Cream margarine and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Stir in buttermilk and then add dry ingredients.
3. Spread batter into greased and floured 9"x13" pan.
4. Mix all ingredients for topping and sprinkle over batter. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours.
5. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes.

Sometimes I add coconut to the topping. When my kids were little, I poured the batter into 2 round cake pans instead of the 9"x13" pan. I baked baked both coffeecakes the next morning, one to eat and one to freeze. The coffeecake fit nicely into a gallon-size Ziploc bag.

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Mountain Cake

My cousin just posted pictures of some old family recipe cards, and this cake was one of them.

Like my mom said, it's a super familiar recipe...very much a part of her childhood - and mine.

Strawberries and Mountain Cake
Originally uploaded by bcmom.

I've heard of strawberries and shortcake, but I don't think I've ever had that. In our house it was always strawberries and mountain cake. We always had a large strawberry patch so we had plenty of strawberries, both to eat and to freeze for later use. I remember plenty of times we had strawberries and mountain cake for dinner! I always made this in a 13x9 pan, so the first time I made this after I got married, I didn't realize this recipe is only for a square cake pan. Of course, since we don't have our own strawberry patch, a square cake is plenty.

Mountain Cake

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

With electric mixer, cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Mix in milk. Combine dry ingredients, add to previous ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased square cake pan and bake 35-40 minutes at 350° or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve with strawberries and whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Now I'm wishing it was strawberry season.

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Pineapple Zucchini Cake

When I was growing up, there were two zucchini cakes we had, Chocolate Zucchini Cake, and this one - Pineapple Zucchini Cake. I was going to say there were two zucchini cakes my mom made, but I made them a lot, too. I consider them my mom's recipes, though I don't know where she got them. They are both so good I can't decide which one is my favorite.

Pineapple Zucchini Cake
Ingredients:
3 eggs 2 c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup vegetable oil 2 c. zucchini, grated	3 c. flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 c. crushed pineapple, drained
Directions: Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil until fluffy. Add zucchini. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; add to batter and mix well. Stir in pineapple. Pour batter into greased and floured 9"x13" pan. Bake at 325° for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and dry.

I made the chocolate cake Friday. As soon as it's eaten, I think I'll be making this.

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake

We always had a huge garden when I was growing up, and that included a lot of zucchini. One of our favorite zucchini desserts was this chocolate cake:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 c. soft butter 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1-3/4 c. sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. sour milk 2-1/2 c. flour

4 T. cocoa 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. cloves 2 c. finely diced (not shredded) zucchini 1/4 c. (or more) chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream margarine, oil and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and sour milk. Beat well with mixer. Mix together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Beat well with mixer. Stir in diced zucchini. Spoon batter into greased and floured 9"x13" pan and sprinkle top with chocolate chips. Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and dry.