LEMON CHERRY CAKE

 ~ Bethany Weathersby

1 box lemon cake mix 
21 oz. can cherry pie filling
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan.

In mixing bowl, thoroughly combine all ingredients. Spread evenly in pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Notes: This was a spontaneous creation inspired by the apple cinnamon cake we make from a boxed mix. Super easy and delicious! We're going to try the cherry pie filling with both vanilla and chocolate cake mixes later. 

MINI BLUEBERRY STREUSEL LOAVES

~ Pampered Chef

STREUSEL
2 T. butter, melted
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar

BREAD
1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray mini loaf pan with cooking spray.

To make streusel topping, combine butter, flour, and sugar in small bowl. Mix until it resembles a coarse crumb, then set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until thoroughly combined.

In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternate between flour mixture and buttermilk, adding a little of each at a time to the butter and sugar mixture. Gently fold in blueberries.

Pour 1/3 cup of batter into each of the 8 wells of the pan. Sprinkle streusel evenly over loaves. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing to cooling rack.

Notes: These taste good, but I'm going to do a couple things differently next time. First, the streusel was stickier than a coarse crumb, so I'm not going to melt the butter next time and see how it works. Second, my blueberries were frozen, as that's how I buy them from Gingerich Farms, and sunk to the bottom of the loaves. I think I'll coat them in a little bit of flour next time and see if that helps them stay distributed more evenly through the bread. 

TOASTED COCONUT POUND CAKE

~ Little Bits Of

2 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
3 eggs
1 c. and 2 T. buttermilk, divided
1 1/2 c. sweetened shredded coconut, toasted and divided
1 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour loaf pan. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, then one egg at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl as needed. On low speed, alternate between three additions of about 1/3 of the flour each and two half-cup additions of buttermilk. Gently fold in 1 1/4 cups toasted coconut.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake about 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Whisk together remaining 2 tablespoons of buttermilk and powdered sugar. Drizzle over cake and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of toasted coconut.

Makes one loaf.

Notes: The recipe didn't specify what size pan to use, but I used an 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5-inch one and it took about 70 minutes for the center to no longer be doughy.

VANILLA CAKE

~ The Marion House Book

4 c. flour
2 T. baking powder
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 c. unsalted butter at room temperature
2 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 T. vanilla
2 1/4 c. milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9x13 glass pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and spray again.

Sift flour with baking powder and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla.

On low speed, add one third of the flour mixture, then one half of the milk. Repeat additions, ending with flour.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake in center of oven for 65-75 minutes or until deep golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If cake becomes deep golden before it is done baking, then cover loosely with foil. Cool on rack 20-30 minutes, then flip onto serving tray.

Notes: Our family doesn't think this cake has much of a vanilla taste, but it's still good. Just a thick, moist, dense cake that could easily be dressed up or enjoyed in its simplicity. The original recipe includes an icing recipe and has you cover the iced cake in fresh fruit, which I'm sure would be delicious. I've never had parchment paper in the house, so I just sprayed and floured the pan. 

GINGERBREAD WITH LEMON SAUCE

~ Eat at Home

GINGERBREAD
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. ginger
1/2 t. allspice
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. molasses
1/2 c. buttermilk

LEMON SAUCE
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. + 2 t. cornstarch
1 c. water
2 T. butter
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch square pan.

Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice together and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and molasses. Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture until well combined.

Pour into greased pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

To make the sauce, mix sugar and cornstarch in pan, then gradually add water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, then stir in butter, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Pour over gingerbread.

Notes: We all like the gingerbread, but the lemon sauce doesn't excite us. Actually, it tastes fine, but we don't like the way it pairs with the gingerbread. I'm including it just because it was part of Tiffany's recipe and some of you may love it, but we'll probably eat the gingerbread plain or with whipped cream next time around.

CINNAMON BANANA CAKE

~ THE idea ROOM

CAKE
1 c. butter  
1 c. sugar
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
dash of salt
3 c. flour
2 c. sour cream or vanilla yogurt

FILLING
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 c. chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x13 pan. 

Mix the butter, sugar, bananas, eggs, and vanilla together. Add remaining cake ingredients and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine filling ingredients. 

Layer the batter and filling twice in prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Notes: I've made this with both, one, and neither of the optional ingredients and it's good each way, but the topping ingredients don't mix evenly if you include the optional ones. I'd suggest mixing the brown sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle on the layers, then scattering the nuts and/or chocolate chips separately. I think it tastes better with vanilla yogurt than sour cream, but that's strictly a matter of preference.

CRANBERRY SOUR CREAM CAKE

~ Creative Noms

3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. olive oil
1 c. sour cream
2 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
2 c. flour
2 1/2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw berries if frozen)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease your choice of baking pan, either 10 inch springform or a 9x13 inch dish.

Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl for five minutes, until pale yellow and well aerated. Add olive oil, sour cream, and vanilla; mix until everything is well blended.

In a smaller bowl, combine the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour.

Slowly add the flour mixture to liquid ingredients, adding about 1/3 of the dry ingredients at a time and mixing for about 20 seconds after each addition. Once everything has been added, mix for another 30 seconds or until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Fold in the cranberries and then pour into the prepared pan.

If using a springform pan, bake for one hour and then begin checking the cake every five minutes until it's done. If using a 9×13 pan, bake for 50-55 minutes, then add 5 minutes at a time if it’s not done. Cover the top of the cake with foil the last 15-20 minutes to prevent it from over-browning and the top getting over-hard. The cake is done a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

NO-FUSS PUMPKIN CAKE

~ allrecipes

15 oz. can solid pack pumpkin
3 eggs
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. vegetable oil
18.25 oz. package yellow cake mix
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
16 oz. can vanilla frosting
3 oz. cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, eggs, sugar and oil; mix well. Add the cake mix and pumpkin pie spice, then beat for 2 minutes. Pour into a greased 15x10 baking pan. Bake 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

In a mixing bowl, combine the frosting and cream cheese. Spread over cake. Store in the refrigerator.

Notes: This is a recipe that Silas has made for our family. It's really good and super moist, but doesn't have a strong pumpkin flavor. In fact, it tastes pretty much like spice cake, so you could just buy a boxed spice cake mix if you were short on time. We don't have a 15x10 pan, so Silas uses a roasting pan and it works perfectly.

SILAS' YUM YUM CAKE

~ Silas Weathersby

2 c. sugar
1 c. milk
4 eggs
1/2 c. butter
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
2 c. flour
1 t. vanilla
sprinkle of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased 11x7-inch pan. Bake 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

~ Betty Crocker's Cookbook

CAKE
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 t. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 c. sour cream

FILLING
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. finely chopped nuts
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease tube pan (10x4 inches), 12 cup bundt cake pan or 2 loaf pans (9x5x3 inches). Combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt alternately with sour cream.

To prepare filling, in a separate bowl combine the brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon; set aside.

For tube or bundt cake, spread 1/2 of the batter (about 2 cups) in pan and sprinkle with 1/3 of filling (about 6 tablespoons); repeat twice.

For loafs, spread 1/4 of the batter (about 1 1/2 cups) in each pan and sprinkle each with 1/4 of the filling (about 5 tablespoons), repeat once.

Bake until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool slightly; remove from pan(s).

Notes: This tastes super yummy, but trying to remove the loaf from the pan causes the top layer of filling to get all over the place. It's best to slice it in the pan (not if you're using a non-stick pan!) or put the bulk of the filling inside the loaf instead of on the top.

** This post contains affiliate links and we're grateful when people use them. ** 

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

~ The Pillsbury Cookbook

1 pkg. pudding-included devil’s food cake mix
1 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. cloves
2 c. shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. oil
3 eggs
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9x13-inch pan.

In large bowl, blend cake mix, cinnamon, cloves, zucchini, buttermilk, oil and eggs at low speed until moistened; beat 2 minutes at highest speed. Pour into prepared pan; sprinkle with nuts and chips.

Bake for 35 – 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve plain or frost as desired.

Notes: I use extra cloves and use neither nuts nor frosting, and it still tastes great. It’s super moist!

** This post contains affiliate links and we're grateful when people use them. ** 

APPLE CINNAMON CAKE

~ unknown source, but I've been making this for decades

1 pkg. spice cake mix
21 oz. can apple pie filling
3 eggs
3 T. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
whipped cream or Cool Whip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom of 9x13 or 11x7-inch pan. 

In mixing bowl, beat dry cake mix, pie filling, and eggs. Spread half of batter in pan. In a separate bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle half of sugar mixture over batter in pan. Repeat layers. 

Bake 30-35 minutes for 9x13-inch pan and 40-45 minutes for 11x7-inch pan or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

Notes: So easy and tasty! This is Tim’s most frequently requested cake. If you want to try a variation on this method, whip up a lemon cherry cake.

ZUCCHINI CAKE

~ Taste of Home, Collector’s Edition

2-1/2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1-1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 c. shredded zucchini
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

FROSTING
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 T. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. powdered sugar
additional chopped walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9x13-inch pan. 

In large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In separate bowl, combine oil and eggs; add to dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in zucchini until thoroughly combined. Fold in walnuts, if desired. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake 35–40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

In small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar. Frost cake. Sprinkle with nuts if desired. Store in the refrigerator.

Notes: I never use nuts and get rave reviews from everyone I’ve served this to. I've also made this recipe as cupcakes, baking two dozen at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.