Apricot Cake

This is a favorite recipe from my Grandma Morris. I often requested it for my Birthday cake as a teenager and decided to make it for my Birthday this year. I did have to call Grandma to get the penuche icing recipe which turned out to be a fun conversation with her but a lesson to everyone out there: collect recipes before your 80+ Grandmother is going blind and can't remember where the recipes are. At least I still have my sweet Grandma with me! I love her baking advice, her witty sense of humor, and her unconditional love.

APRICOT CAKE

Cream:

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil

2 eggs

Add:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp cloves

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp soda dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water

1 pt. apricots - juice and all

1 tsp salt

Mix together and pour in 9x13 greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Penuche Frosting

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. milk or cream

1 c. brown sugar

2 c. powdered sugar

Melt butter, then add sugar. Boil over low heat 2-3 minutes, until bubbly, stirring consistantly. Add milk. Bring to a boil again while stirring, then while luke warm add powdered sugar, whisking until it's completely dissolved.

Raspberry Drizzle Cake

This is one of my favorite things my Mom makes. It was frequently requested for Birthday's or holidays. I have found, however, that Raspberry Danish Dessert is impossible to find outside of Utah. You can make it a strawberry topping but I prefer the Raspberry so note to self: pick up a package of Raspberry Danish Dessert every time I'm in Utah.

Cake:

1 White Cake Mix (preferably with the pudding) made according to pkg directions in a 9x 13 pan. Let cool or freeze for a while before frosting.

Frosting:
1 pint cream, whipped
8 oz. Cream Cheese
2 cups powdered sugar

Mix together and refrigerate. It should be the consistency of frosting. Frost the white cake after it’s cooled, using all the frosting so that it is quite heavy on the cake, although I always seem to have some left. That’s when I just get out the graham crackers to clean the bowl. Return cake to the freezer to help it set up.

Drizzle:
2 pkg. frozen raspberries, drained well (if using fresh strawberries, use 1 lb. and use 1 ¾ C. water for the Danish dessert.)
1 ¾ raspberry juice (add water if necessary)
1 pkg. raspberry Danish Dessert (usually found near the Jello in grocery stores)

Mix raspberry juice and Danish dessert together and boil 1 minute. Refrigerate to cool completely. Add raspberries to cooled mixture and pour over top of frosted cake. Store cake in the refrigerator.

Self-Frosted Zucchinni Cake

Because we have three very productive zucchinni plants this year in our garden I am using every zucchinni recipe I have. This is my favorite, but I have to warn you it can distort your mind because it has a vegetable in it. I feel justified to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Mix the following:
1/2 C butter
1/2 C oil
1 3/4 C Sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Add dry ingredients, alternating with:
1/2 Cup Buttermilk, which can be converted with lemon juice or vinegar. Just add 1/2 Tbsp and enough milk to make 1/2 cup.

2 1/2 C flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4-6 Tbsp cocoa (the more you add, the richer a chocolate taste)

Finally, add:
2 C finely grated zucchinni

Combine:
3/4 to 1 C chocolate chips
3/4 C chopped nuts
3/4 C brown sugar

Sprinkle on top of cake and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.

Cream-Filled Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for the school carnival cake walk this weekend. Ellie helped me with every step especially licking the bowls clean!

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract

FILLING:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Store bought chocolate frosting or I just used the recipe on the label of my cocoa container.


DIRECTIONS:
For cake batter, first mix the dry ingredients and then add the eggs, milk, oil, water, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

For the filling, combine butter, shortening, confectioners' sugar, milk, vanilla and salt; beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Insert a very small tip into a pastry bag; fill with cream filling. Use the end of the wooden spoon to help make a hole in the center of each cupcake and then fill use the pastry bag to fill each cupcake with the cream filling. Frost tops with chocolate frosting. Yield: 2 1/2 to 3 dozen

Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, "The Cake mix Doctor." I make it often for company because it is so easy and very good!

CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 package devil's food cake mix

1 (3.9 oz) package chocolate instant pudding mix

3 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup warm water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Mix ingredients all together. Pour into a prepared bundt cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool about 20 minutes before inverting onto a cake stand

FROSTING
3 oz. white chocolate, melted

4 oz. cream cheese

2 Tbsp. butter, at room temp

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Melt white chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between. Let cool. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese until smooth and then add butter. Next add the white chocolate and beat again and finally add the rest of the ingredients. Then drizzle over the cooled chocolate cake.

*Tip* I really like to serve this cake with vanilla ice cream and warm Smuckers Berry Ice Cream topping.