Lovin' From the Oven

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

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I just got back from a quick mini trip to Seattle and I couldn’t love that city more. It’s such a great foodie town and I’m sure I would gain 15 pounds in my first month if I ever moved there. There’s always something to eat, something new to try, and more desserts than your heart could ever wish for. Maybe Seattle will be in the cards for me one day…

Since the weather over there was cloudy and freezing, I figured these pumpkin bars would be perfect for that weather. My only problem with these was that it came out too gooey. I baked for the original time posted (50-55 minutes) and that was just not enough. They need much longer than that— 15-20 more minutes, even? I adjusted it to an hour in the recipe, but make sure to leave it in if it looks too jiggly.

Recipe from The Picky Apple.

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Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
  • 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup)
  • 1 cup butter, melted

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom of 9 x 13″ pan.
  2. Mix together the pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour mixture into greased pan.
  3. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture and top with pecans. Drizzle melted butter over pecans.
  4. Bake for an hour, or until toothpick comes out clean.
https://lovintheoven.com/pumpkin-crunch-cake/

Chocolate Marshmallow Cake

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Planning a Disney World trip is by far harder than any other trip I’ve planned. New York, I can do. Seattle, a breeze… but out of all the options in Orlando? Whoa mama! Talk about overload. I’ve already spent hours researching different hotels around the area in a budget price range. I have yet to find one that has it all. Bummer. Until then, I’ll catch up on my Desperate Housewives; I’m only on season three!

How cute is this cake? I love the look of the marshmallow topping with the light fudge layer on top. Heck, I could eat the chocolate-y topped marshmallows on its own. Overall, the cake is extremely moist and very sweet. I’m talking overload sweet. If you can’t handle eating spoonfuls of sugar, then I’d only recommend eating a bite instead of a whole piece. I mean, you’ve still got to try it! Recipe from Made.

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Chocolate Marshmallow Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Chocolate Satin Frosting (see recipe below)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Boil the water and keep it simmering.
  3. Mix the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and beat together.
  4. Add the 1 cup boiling water and carefully stir until the water is mixed in; beat for 1 1/2 minutes.
  5. Pour the batter into the 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 35-38 minutes.
  6. Make the frosting while the cake is baking. When the cake is done, pour the warm frosting over the hot cake.
https://lovintheoven.com/chocolate-marshmallow-cake/

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CHOCOLATE SATIN FROSTING

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 6 Tbl buttermilk (or use 6 Tbl milk mixed with 1 tsp vinegar)
  • 4 Tbl cocoa powder 1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups marshmallows (optional)

Directions

  1. Cook the butter, buttermilk, and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Stir constantly, just until it comes to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat.
  2. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat with a wooden spoon until frosting is nearly smooth (remember to stir every now and then while the cake bakes).
  3. Put the marshmallows on top, then evenly pour the warm frosting over everything. Cool to room temperature before serving
https://lovintheoven.com/chocolate-marshmallow-cake/

1st Birthday Smash Cake & a Winner

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I was asked to make a smash cake a while ago for my DB’s niece’s first birthday. I said yes on the spot, not really thinking about it. Afterwards, I was questioning what I’d gotten myself into this time. I may be a baker, but I am definitely not a cake decorator. Heck, I hardly even bake cakes!

Browsing online for ideas, I saw this tutorial on YouTube and figured that it would be the best route for me. It still looked gorgeous and the idea of it was pretty simple. Thank goodness that this cake was just a mini one because I don’t know if I could have handled a large one!

The cake was far from perfect (as you can see), but I was quite pleased with it. Too bad it was so hot out on the day of the party that half of the frosting melted off! Just my luck.

To me, baking and decorating cakes are time consuming and stressful. I know it gets better with practice, but I’m just too scared to start practicing! Maybe I should invest in a couple of cake decorating classes…

And now for what you’ve all been waiting for: the winner of the apron/giada giveaway is….

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Congratulations Tiffany! Keep an eye out in your inbox for mail from me. Thanks to everyone for spreading the word!!

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