Wednesday, December 2, 2009

A Time For Firsts

I made this cake for one of the little boys I nanny for. He and his brother have birthdays only 6 days apart and I made them a larger cake for their party but I also wanted to have a cake for his 1st birthday. So the night before we left for the wedding I made this cake for him. And attempted the basket weave for the first time midnight. I was going a little crazy half way through the cake design but I think it turned out decent. If you want step by step instructions on how to pipe a basket weave, go here. It was also my first time to write on a cake. Not bad for an amateur, eh?

I wanted a simple cake because it was late and I didn't have a lot of time to spend on the cake so I used a souped up cake mix recipe that came from Bundt Classics. I also wanted something that would be seasonal in flavor and not too sweet but baby friendly. I settled on an Applesauce Spice Cake. The recipe called for butterscotch pudding but I used a box of pumpkin pudding that I found at Wal-Mart.

I didn't get to taste or take pics of the final product, but I can assure you that the cake was delicious! I tasted the scraps that I leveled off with a little frosting and I was wishing I had made a cupcake so I could have one! It was warm and slightly spicy, but you could definitely taste the apple flavor and the best thing is it didn't taste like it came from a box! I topped it off with my favorite cream cheese frosting but added some pumpkin pie spice for added flavor. Talk about good!

Applesauce Spice Cake

from Bundt Classics
  • 1 (18.25 oz.) package yellow cake mix
  • 1 (3.4 oz.) package instant pudding mix (vanilla, butterscotch or pumpkin)
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons apple or pumpkin pie spice

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt or 2 9-inch cake pans.

In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Spoon into prepared pans.

Bake for 55-65 minutes for the bundt and 35-45 for the cake pans or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Drizzle with a glaze or cover with your favorite frosting.

Vanilla Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
  • 1 teaspoon apple or pumpkin pie spice
  • 4-5 cups powdered sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Then add the vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, apple or pumpkin pie spice and 3 cups of powdered sugar and beat at low speed, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar to arrive at the consistency and sweetness you like.

NOTE: For this cake I used the full 5 cups because I wanted it stiff for piping.

21 comments:

cookies and cups said...

looks and sounds delicious! Great job on the basket weave :)

Me and My Pink Mixer said...

Your basket weave looks so pretty! I have a box of that Pumpkin Spice Jell-o in my pantry I'll have to give this recipe a try soon :)

Ms. K.I.M. said...

Hey Monica I think you did a wonderful job on your basket weave. I do have a question though. Did you have to double the icing recipe to cover the cake or did you have enough icing with one recipe?

vanillasugarblog said...

you definitely did a good job. I would never be able to pull that off. seriously.

Sue said...

You call this a simple cake? It is beautiful!

Sue

Smitten Sugar said...

Sooo pretty! You did a great job, your first time writing on a cake...are you serious? Wow, thats a great job! This cake looks delicious and I bet it was so delicious! They probably just adore you!

Lissaloo said...

Great job! It looks good, and sounds tasty! :)

Katie said...

The cake looks fantastic. Both basket weave and writing came out so well. Your crazy to attempt that at midnight but it paid off. I bet everyone was delighted

Foodiewife said...

So Monica... when you and Sam come to visit us in July (which is my birthday month), I will buy all the supplies. I must have this cake! You honed it on my absolute favorite cake on the planet. Seriously. The basket weave is gorgeous. I didn't even try, due to lack of confidence. I have all the tips... maybe. One day... I'm so wishing I could taste this.

Monica H said...

Ms. KIM- I Usually use this cream cheese recipe to top cupcakes and it makes a lot. It will adequately frost about 4 dozen cupcakes so I knew it would be enough to frost a cake with. I had no intentions of doing a basket weave but thankfully I did have enough frosting in one batch. If you're going to do any kind of piping with it, I suggest you add the full 5 cups of sugar.


xoxo, Monica

Hennifer said...

oh my gosh Monica! It looks wonderful and sounds wonderful.

I don't think I've ever seen pumpkin pudding in my neck of the woods.

And I'm a little intrigued because this recipe has oil, eggs and the applesauce. Can't/Don't you often use applesauce in place of one of those? I know you can use banana in place of eggs.

yummy... I'm so craving this.

And I need to get me some vanilla beans.

Kerstin said...

So cute! I'm impressed by your perfect basket weaving skills too!

Memória said...

Wow, you did a great job! Looks great.

the shoppe owner said...

I just learned how to pipe a basket weave! You did such a good job!

P.S. I am loving your new cranberry header :O) It's perfect.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Make me feel better and once in a while bomb a cake, 'k?! I guess you can tell from that question that you, yet again, nailed this cake. Tastes great and looks fantastic AND all done at midnight? :) Yup, nailed it!

I like the twinkles you added to your header.
~ingrid

Rainy Day Farm said...

Heaven's to Betsy Girl, you really really need to write a cookbook! I have yet to come across anything you make that does not make my mouth water like a basset hound!
There are so many scrumptious recipes on here I don't even know where to start, and I am a decision making kind of gal! Heaven help me!

Debbie said...

Monica that cake is gorgeous! I'm sure it's delicious too. You are one talented lady!

Heather S-G said...

It's so pretty :) Your basket weave looks great, and I love the edge decoration!

tamilyn said...

How pretty! I'm an incompentant oof when it comes to decorating cakes. I have no natural talent at all, so I am completely jealous! I could totally have you make all my cakes :-)

Astrid said...

That is just an awesome cake! And what a cute name, Marco! You must love taking care of them. I bet he loved his cake.

Rachel (rachescakes) said...

Monica, the cake looks great!

Writing on cakes is SO HARD, but you did a great job.

Related Posts with Thumbnails