Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

 

September is my birthday month (along with seven other friends/family!) so I thought I'd make the quintessential cake to celebrate us Virgos.  When I was a kid my mom normally made us a yellow cake with chocolate frosting.   As a busy mother raising six children she used a boxed cake mix and pre-made frosting and we adored it!  Those memories are part of the reason why I think I still love cake mixes to this day.   There's no shame in getting a little help from Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines, but when I saw that Cook's Illustrated's Sep/Oct 2020 issue featured a recipe for Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting I had to try the "from scratch" version of the birthday classic.

Granted, there are more ingredients required than the standard eggs, oil and water you would use with a boxed mix, but I think you'll find it's worth it.   There are quite a few eggs (4 whole + 2 yolks!) along with buttermilk in the batter which yields a rich and moist cake.  The batter is made using the reverse creaming method where the cake flour, leaveners and sugar are mixed first, then the fats (butter and oil) are added and finally the liquid and eggs are mixed in.  This technique minimizes gluten development which results in a super tender crumb.  

 

After having a slice I have to say this is probably one of the best homemade cake recipes I've ever tasted.  There's absolutely no pretense with this cake and that's what I love about it.  Makes me so nostalgic for my childhood; those were the days!

Sending a September birthday shout out to Len, Will, Satya, Nicholas, Maria, Brian and Cheri!

Piña Colada Cake

When I was a kid my favorite ice cream flavor of all time was Thrifty's Coconut Pineapple.  Truth be told it's still my number one, even in adulthood.  I'd been meaning to make a cake version of this ice cream flavor and I finally got around to it after being inspired by Baking With Blondie's Mango Coconut cake.  Swap out the mango for pineapple and I present to you my Piña Colada Cake. 

 

I used Baking with Blondie's coconut cake recipe and Cook's Illustrated recipes for the pineapple filling and coconut buttercream frosting.  The cake recipe actually uses a Duncan Hines cake mix as its base.  Yes, this is a bit controversial in a world of "from scratch" baking but one that I welcome to be honest.  I grew up eating cakes made from a mix so this brings back a lot of nostalgia for me.   There's nothing wrong with taking shortcuts if it doesn't compromise the taste.

For the filling it was important that it contain fresh pineapple and was sturdy enough to hold up between the cake layers.   Ground instant tapioca did the job of thickening the pureed pineapple while still retaining it's fresh fruit flavor.   As for the frosting I went for an American buttercream which is easier to pull together than Swiss meringue, my normal go to.  To finish the cake off I had to recreate these amazing buttercream pineapples I saw from @makefabulouscakes...are they not the cutest things you've ever seen?

When I had a taste of the finished cake I was blown away by how delicious it was.  The tender coconut infused cake with the fresh pineapple filling is a taste home run!  I will definitely be making this cake again.

Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies

San Francisco has no shortage of excellent bakeries and I love sampling as many of them as possible.  Recently Jane The Bakery was awarded the 2018 winner of best croissant and pain au chocolat in the city by French Morning website.  This accolade pretty much guaranteed a visit to the bakery from the likes of me.  While Jane's viennoiserie were delicious and deserving of the title what actually caught my attention were the Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies.  I'm a sucker for citrus flavored desserts so I put my detective hat on to see if I could replicate these cookies myself

I was first introduced to these cake-like cookies many years ago by my friend Jill's family friend Patti.  Patti was known for her Patti Cakes which were cookies made using boxed cake mix.  It was love at first sight when I tried them back then, but the thought never crossed my mind to make them from scratch.  Tasting Jane The Bakery's cookies motivated me to give it a try.  

A Google search resulted in quite a few recipes and I ended up trying this one from West via Midwest.   The results turned out fantastic and tasted just like the ones from Jane's.  Score!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Patti Cakes

Here's a new flavor of Patti Cakes, one of my all time favorite quick cookies.  This time in the much beloved combination of chocolate and peanut butter.  In less than twenty minutes (prep and baking time) you'll have the most delicious, moist brownie-like cookies.  Instant gratification!

I'm gifting these "biscuits" across the pond to my friend Marina who is celebrating her birthday today.  Happy Happy Birthday M!  

Patti Cakes

Call it ironic (or maybe sacrilegious!) but even though I love to bake from scratch I actually tend to prefer store-bought or box mix  treats.  Crazy, right? - but that's how I roll.   

I first tasted the fudge marble version of Patti Cakes many years ago when I was visiting Jill and her family in Cape Cod one summer.  After one bite I was hooked.  Their moniker comes from a close family friend who's famous for them.  I've seen them called other things, e.g., cake mix cookies, but I just like the name "Patti Cakes" above all others.

The cookies are super soft and chewy and such a snap to make that it's ridiculous.  All you need is a box of Duncan Hines cake mix, an egg, some oil and water...that's it!  Couldn't be easier.  These would be a great addition to any kids party or for a Super Bowl gathering next week.

I don't know why it took me so long to ask for the recipe and make them myself, but now that I've got it you can be sure I'm making them again and again.