Pink Lady Cake

I had seen this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen, several months ago. It's exceedingly rare that I have the occasion to make a layer cake unless I want Michael and myself to eat the whole thing (which wouldn't be an entirely bad thing).

Despite the fact that it is a ginormous cake, what with the three layers, it was not difficult to make. The cream cheese frosting, while not the best frosting to use if you want your cake to look flawless, complemented the flavor of the cake very well. And the cake was delicious. The strawberry flavor was very pronounced. Like the original poster, I used frozen (thawed) strawberries. I also used two colors of food dye - pink and red (Wilton gel) - to make the cake match its name.

The cake is very dense, which was fine unless you're a pig like me and would like a large slice. Between the height of the cake and its denseness, thin slices will go a long way, which is excellent if you're cooking for a crowd.

Pink Lady Cake

Source: Smitten Kitchen

4 1/2 cups cake flour

3 cups sugar

5 1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups pureed frozen strawberries

8 egg whites

2/3 cup milk

1 to 2 drops red food dye, if using (to make the pink color pop more)
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter three 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pans. Line with parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and strawberry puree and mix to blend the ingredients. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes; the batter will resemble strawberry ice cream at this point.

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk and red food dye, if using, to blend. Add the whites to the atter in two or three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and mixing only to incorperate after each addition. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans. Bake the cakes for 30 to 34 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes. Invert and turn out onto wire racks and peel off the paper liners. Let stand until completely cooled before assembling the cake, at least an hour.

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Frost and assemble the cake. Place one cake layer on a cake board or platter. Tucking scraps of waxed paper under the edges of the cake will protect the board or plate from any mess created while frosting the cake. Spread about 2/3 cup frosting over the layer, spreading it to the edge. Repeat with the second layer. Add the top layer and frost the top and sides of cake with remaining frosting, reserving a small amount if you wish to tint it and pipe a decoration on the cake. If not, you can decorate the cake top with thinly-sliced strawberries. Remove the waxed strips to reveal and neat, clean cake board.

Chocolate Guiness Cake

For our annual St. Patrick's Day dinner at my parents' house I wanted to make a fun dessert, as it's been a while since I got my bake on. I ran across this cake on one of the food blogs I follow through Google Reader. It was very dense and rather moist. However, while you could smell the beer while it baked, you couldn't taste it at all, which was a bit disappointing. Also, the blog where I found the recipe indicated that she had trouble with cutting into the cake and finding that parts of the cake didn't mix well (as if there were clumps of dry ingredients). So the recipe I followed called for sifting the flour and using superfine sugar, in hopes of solving the problem. Alas, it didn't work. Not that anyone else noticed, but as an overly self-critical chef, I did. The icing was very good with the cake.

Looks-wise I was very pleased with the cake, as frosting just the top truly makes it look like a pint of Ireland's finest.

Chocolate Guiness Cake

Source: Annie's Eats, originally by Nigella Lawson

1 cup Guinness beer

10 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 cups superfine sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

8 oz. cream cheese (no need to soften)

5 Tbsp butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the sides of a 9-inch round springform pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a small saucepan, combine the Guinness and butter. Heat over medium heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until well combined. Add the Guinness mixture to the bowl and mix until incorporated. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of the mixer and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, remove the sides of the pan.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream on medium-high speed. Add the powdered sugar to the bowl in batches, beating on low until just combined and then on high speed until desired consistency is reached. For a stiffer icing, add more powdered sugar. Frost cooled cake as desired.

Banana Bundt Cake

I needed a dessert that I could make the day before it would be eaten. One that would be as good, if not better, than the day it was made. Looking through my Dorie Greenspan cookbook I noticed that all of her bundt cakes were better the next day. While she has many delicious looking cakes in this category, I went for this banana bundt cake simply because it had the least number of steps and I already had all of the ingredients.

For those in my family who like banana bread, this turned out very well. Moist, fragrant, quite banana-y. The batter was incredible. However, once baked, it really was just banana bread in a bundt pan. I had hoped that the addition of sour cream would add a tangy twist to it, but I didn't notice its flavor. As I'm no lover of your standard banana bread, I won't be rushing to make this again (my mother-in-law makes it pretty frequently, to satisfy Michael's love of it). Though if he really wants me to make banana bread, this will be my go-to recipe.


Classic Banana Bundt Cake
Source: Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
4 very ripe bananas, mashed (1.5 - 1.75 cups)
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (my addition)

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter or spray a 9" or 10" bundt pan (12 cup). If your bundt pan is silicone, there's no need to butter it. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for about one minute after each egg. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the bananas. Next, mix in half the dry ingredients (the batter may curdle), all the sour cream and the rest of the dry ingredients. Scrape into the bundt pan and put in the oven (but not on a cookie sheet).

Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a thin knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after 30 minutes - if it's browning too fast, cover with a foil tent. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes then unmold onto a rack to cool to room temperature.

Storing: wrapped airtight, the cake will keep at room temperature for up to five days or in the freezer for up to two months.

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

Not gonna lie. These were freaking unbelieveable. One of the best desserts I've ever made. Certainly the best chocolate cake-based recipe I've ever made. The cake was light and fluffy. The frosting was phenomenal - not too sweet but sweet enough. Not the easiest to eat if you want to stay neat (cake crumbs and coconut flakes will fall about) but who cares? You won't, once you take a bite.

I had wanted to make Ina's coconut cupcakes but wanted to make something chocolate. I found this recipe that I had long ago printed from Epicurious and decided to use Ina's frosting. Delicious. While I plan on trying her coconut cupcakes, I can't wait to make these again. One aspect of these that I particularly enjoyed is that they incorporate actual almonds, not almond extract, to get the nutty flavor. Not a fan of the extract, love the actual nut.

If you like Almond Joy, you'll like these. Even if you don't, so long as you aren't adverse to coconut, you'll like them. Yum.

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes
Source: Epicurious.com
Yield: 30 cupcakes

3/4 cup blanched almonds (or rounded 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds)
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 cups sweetened shredded coconut (from two 14-ounce bags) [I used less than this, due to not needing as much to coat the frosting.]
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 (13 1/2-oz) can unsweetened coconut milk, stirred
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Frosting
Source: Ina Garten, FoodNetwork.com

1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
1 1/2 lbs confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In food processor, process almonds and 1/2 cup sugar until finely ground. Add 2 loosely packed cups shredded coconut and pulse twice to chop slightly. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and whisk in flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Melt chocolate in microwave, being careful not to burn. Stir until smooth and set aside.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and remaining 1 cup sugar at high speed until fluffy, about five minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add melted chocolate and beat at moderate speed until incorporated. Add 1/2 of flour mixture and mix at low speed until nearly smooth. Add coconut milk and vanilla and mix at low speed until blended. Add remaining flour mixture and mix at low speed until smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups (paper cups), filling to about 2/3 full. Bake until tester inserted in center of 1 cake comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Cool in pans on racks.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Pour remaining shredded coconut into 9-inch-square baking dish. Spread frosting on cakes and invert each into coconut to coat frosting liberally. Garnish with Jordan almonds, if desired.

Apple Cake

When I saw this cake on Smitten Kitchen's blog, I knew I had to try it. It looked completely fantastic, and we were planning on going to an orchard for apple picking, so the timing was perfect! This cake was dense, but at the same time incredibly moist and delicious. Perfect for fall.

I had recently baked a few things with whole wheat flour, and those recipes turned out well, so I tried to make this recipe a bit lighter than the original. All of my changes worked really well, save for the Splenda I included. I didn't notice a strange aftertaste to the cake until my mother in law mentioned it (and Michael agreed), but then it was all I could taste.


I will absolutely make this cake again and again, but will use all sugar next time. If you want to splurge a little more than I did, click on the link below for the original recipe. One note based on my experience: the original poster made this cake in a tube pan, which I didn't have. That would likely have reduced baking time for the cake that I made (using a springform pan). For presentation purposes, I liked using the springform pan; you'll just have to keep baking the cake and watch it.

Apple Cake
Source: Smitten Kitchen

6 apples (I used Fuji & Golden Delicious)
1 Tbsp cinnemon
4 Tbsp sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup Splenda (next time I'll stick with 2 cups sugar)
1/4 cup orange juice
2-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 "egg substitute"
1 cup walnuts (would be heavenly in this cake, but I wanted Chloe to be able to eat some, so I ommitted)

Preheat oven to 350. Peel apples and chop into chunks. Toss with cinnemon and sugar and set aside.

Stir flours, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then add eggs one at a time. Pour half of batter into pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour rest of batter and then arrange rest of apples on top.

Bake for one and a half hours, or until toothpick (or knife) comes out clean.

Berry Banana Mini Muffins

There's a lot to like about these mini muffins: they're terribly low in fat and calories (1 WW point per muffin!), they're easy to make, and if you have a little one, they're a great non-processed treat for her/him since there are no nuts involved. They also helped to make me a little less afraid of whole wheat flour, having had a disasterous experience involving it and a pumpkin loaf a few years back. While not my favorite muffin in the world (not decadent enough), I'm still going to town on a few each day. Best part is, I don't feel remotely guilty about doing so, since it's practically a health food. (Not really, but kind of. Cut me some slack.)

I got this recipe from this month's edition of Everybody Cooks, a monthly publication by a local grocery store. This publication always has a lot of good recipes. This month is no exception. This weekend alone I made two recipes from this month's pub, and there are two or three that I'd still like to make.

Berry Banana Mini Muffins

Source: Dierbergs' Everybody Cooks, September 2008

Yield: 4 dozen mini muffins

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten (I used egg substitute)

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup freshly shredded carrot (I used pre-packaged)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup honey

1/4 vegetable oil

1 cup frozen blueberries

Lightly coat 48 mini muffin cups with no=stick cooking spray. Set aside. In medium bowl, combine flours, baking powser, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In second medium bowl, combine eggs, bananas, carrots, buttermilk, honey and oil. Make well in center of flour mixture. Pour in egg mixture; stir until just moistened. Gently stir in blueberries. Batter will be lumpy.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full. Bake in 400 degree oven until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 10 minutes. Cool muffins in pan for five minutes. Serve warm.

Per two muffins: 108 calories; 3g fat; 2g fiber; 18mg cholesterol; 126mg sodium. 2 WW points.

Creme Brulee Mini Cupcakes

This weekend I hosted a bridal shower for my sister-in-law, Melissa. I made a variety of desserts including these cupcakes. They were a huge hit. I wasn't in love with them at first, but I think they're improving with age. They were a bit more dense than I thought they'd be based on the original recipe review, but that may be because the batter sat for so long as I used it all up. The recipe was easy to make. Only part that was overly time consuming was the actual baking, as I only have one decent 12-cup mini cupcake pan.

Creme Brulee Mini Cupcakes
Source: How To Eat A Cupcake

Yield: 60 mini cupcakes

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt, plus a pinch for the egg whites

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

3 Tbsp caramel syrup (ice cream topping)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternately beat in dry ingredients and milk. Add caramel syrup and vanilla. Beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. Gently fold whites into batter. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for about 14 minutes* or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.

Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1 cup light brown sugar

4 egg whites

¼ tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Put sugar, egg whites and salt into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees). Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes total. Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and continue beating 1 minute to reduce air bubbles.

*See original recipe for baking times, etc. for regular-sized cupcakes.

Dorie's Perfect Party Cake

I've been wanting to try a layer cake to see if I could make one that wasn't a lopsided mess, as they've always been in the past. I've also been into teaching myself to decorate with icing, so we invited our parents for dinner and I baked this cake. I bought a few tools to help the process go smoother than if I went about it as usual: baking strips to help with more evenly baked layers (no doming) and one of those thingies that cuts a cake in half horizontally, so I wouldn't have to use a knife. If it weren't for these two items, the cake would have been kind of a disaster. You'll see that with one of the cakes I didn't do so well with the cutting of layers, but that by the time I got to the second cake, I knew what I was doing, and that thingy was a godsend.

I was at a bakery a few weeks ago and saw a cake where they used Starbursts and icing to make little gifts on top of the cake, which was too cute not to do, even though it wasn't a gift-giving occasion. The cake as a whole was pretty time consuming, so I'll likely not bake again for a few weeks, but I'm really happy with the outcome. Just need to perfect the cutting of the layers.

The cake itself got rave reviews. It was a bit lemony for my taste, considering it's a white cake, but it was refreshing. In her original recipe, Dorie Greenspan does layers of raspberry jam and buttercream. I'm not a lover of layers of jam in cake so I did a raspberry filling that I found on this blog (so many good things here). Though I could not find the extract that the recipe calls for, so I had to work around that.

Perfect Party Cake
Source: Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the cake:
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk or whole milk (I used 1 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup whole milk, as I didn't have enough buttermilk)
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp pure lemon extract

For the Swiss buttercream:
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about two lemons)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Fresh Raspberry Filling
Source: Good Things Catered
2 cups powdered sugar
Miniscule pinch of salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 tsp natural raspberry extract (I couldn't find this at three stores so I used some juice from the thawed raspberries
1/2 tsp butter flavor (sold at Michael's and I think the grocery store)
4 oz. fresh raspberries (I used frozen since I had them)

For decoration (optional):
Starburst

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the bottom of two 9" round cake pans with parchment paper cut to size, and spray with cooking spray. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full three minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beting on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating unil the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good two-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well-aereated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch. A thin knife inserted into the center of each cake should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about five minutes, then invert each cake, removing the parchment paper. Cool to room temperature right-side up.

To make the buttercream, put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl, fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about three minutes. The sugar should be dissolved and the mixture should look like shiny marshmallow cream (mine wasn't quite that pretty). Remove from heat. Strain mixture through a fine sieve to remove any scrambled egg (which I had plenty). Beat the meringue mixture on medium speed until it is cool, about five minutes. Add the butter, a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, six to ten minutes. During this time, the buttercream may curdle...keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice,waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, then the vanilla. You should have a shiny, smooth, white buttercream.

To make the filling, combine the shortening and extracts and beat on low until relatively combined. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and salt, then add to mixer while still on. Scrape down sides of bowl until thoroughly combined. Add raspberries and some raspberry juice (if you can't find the extract). Add water if needed to reach desired texture.

To assemble the cake, cut the two cakes into four layers either using a serrated knife or one of those cake cutter thingies I mentioned above (highly recommend for even layers). Pipe some icing around the diameter of the bottom layer to act as a dam for the filling. Fill with about one third of the filling. Top with another layer and repeat until you top the cake with the last layer, cut side down. With an offset spatula, cover the cake with icing, working it until it's smooth. Decorate as you see fit (Dorie covers hers with coconut). To do the Starburst gifts, unwrap each candy and place on a piece of parchment. Using a very small tip (number escapes me), pipe a cross on each one, then a little bow. Touching at the corners, move each candy onto the top of the cake.

Phew... long post.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Cupcakes

In my continued attempts to find a cupcake that I adore to serve at a bridal shower I'm hosting in September, I made Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cupcakes after reading several glowing reviews about the recipe. Admittedly, chocolate cake is not my favorite kind of cake, and I thought these were just ok. Just not that rich or substantial. Maybe I overmixed the batter, but upon taking them out of the oven, they deflated a bit. Good thing I made the glorious chocolate frosting that you see below.

Oh, the frosting. Normally I'm not much of a frosting girl, but I could have eaten the bowl (almost did) and would gladly refridgerate the cupcakes, remove the cake from the frosting, and eat the frosting by itself like fudge (might have done this).

Now, if you are used to making frosting, this recipe is nothing new. But I'm a novice in this area, as I've always just bought the jar of pre-made stuff. Plus, I'm trying to teach myself how to decorate cakes and cupcakes with help from Wilton booklets and YouTube demonstrations. So, it's possible that the pretty swirls make the frosting taste that much more delicious. Anyway, this'll be my go-to chocolate buttercream from now on. Just need to find the "Perfectly Chocolate" cake on which it can rest.

Source: Allrecipes

Yields: 24 cupcakes

2 cups white sugar (I used 1 c white and 1 c light brown)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used natural apple sauce)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c boiling water (I used hot coffee, per the reviews on Allrecipes)

Heat oven to 350. Put cupcake liners in two muffin pans. Stir together sugar through salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil (apple sauce) and vanilla. Beat on medium speed two minutes. Stir in boiling water (coffee) - batter will be thin. Pour batter into liners. Bake 22-24 minutes until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Rich Chocolate Frosting

Source: Based on this recipe from Allrecipes

1 cup butter, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup baking cocoa

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency.

Pistachio Cake

In honor of Michael's birthday (Happy birthday, Hottie!) I made this pistachio cake for him last night. While not a favorite of mine (not a lover of pistachio pudding), this cake is always a guarenteed hit with him. Michael's mom used to make it for his family - that's how I first learned about it - so I looked around and found this recipe in one of my mom's old cookbooks published for charity by a non-profit. This one is circa 1970, so there are all sorts of interesting recipes in it (drenched sherry prunes, anyone?). What makes this particular recipe great is the addition of orange juice. You can't taste the orange but it adds a fuller flavor to the cake. I like making this cake not only because I know Michael will love it, but also because it's super easy to make, and best of all, I won't want to stuff my face with it, as I'd like to do with most any other cake. One piece dunked in milk and I'm good. The rest is up to him to finish.

I make my pistachio cake in a bunt pan and don't include the chocolate mixture the recipe calls for (or any other glaze), as that's not how Michael likes it.

Source: The Third Saint Louis Symphony of Cooking... The Young Gourmet, 1970

Four eggs
1 box white cake mix (I use yellow)
1 pkg. instant pistachio pudding
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water

1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup Hershey Chocolate Syrup

Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs. Add cake mix through water and beat until combined. In a separate bowl mix butter and syrup. Spray tube pan with non-stick spray, pour in chocolate mixture then cake batter. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes (I baked mine for roughly 45 minutes). Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing.