cream cheese frosting

Healthier Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

May 15, 2013 · by Becca Heflin · 1 Comment

Cashew Carrot Cake w Cream Cheese Frosting from ItsYummi.com #HealthyDesserts #LowCarb

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It's quite possible that I witnessed an honest-to-goodness miracle this week. I didn't think it could be done, but the big God that I keep failing to trust has helped me to live through 7 days of exercise. SEVEN!! Not the "lift fork to mouth" exercise, either. REAL workouts. At the gym! With a trainer! I know...It's kind of freaky, isn't it?
I'm not sure what happened to me, either.

Good gravy, my bones and muscles hurt, but I'm convinced that after I've gone through a few dozen trays of ice and a couple of bottles of Ibuprofen, I'll be grateful that I'm treating my body better.

I'm not about to don a swimsuit and start training for a triathlon or anything, but I'm steadily working towards my #FitBy50 goal. That's 50 pounds less of me by the end of January, when I'll turn 50 years old. I BELIEVE it can be done! I'm exercising at least 3 times a week, adding more protein and veggies to my diet, and indulging in low-carb desserts like THIS ONE instead of my usual carb-infested goodies. Trust me when I say that with desserts like this one, I'm not feeling a bit deprived.

Orange Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Cream Cheese Frosting

December 1, 2012 · by Becca Heflin · 3 Comments

Orange Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Cream Cheese from ItsYummi.com

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HI LOVELIES

It's time for another installment of Sundays with Joy... Technically I suppose it's Saturday with Joy. I'll be posting my Joy the Baker Cookbook recipes on Saturdays now because I've added another weekly activity into my blogging arsenal. I know, I know... I'm constantly yapping about how busy my life is, so how can I possibly make room for yet ANOTHER activity? Well, I haven't mentioned this to you yet, but I lost my job 2 weeks ago. Boo hiss, right? So the door of employment was closed and until I can find the newly opened window that I've been told to keep a look out for...you know, the one that will include a new adventure to embark on that will bring some bill-paying income into the house, I need to keep my mind and body engaged to avoid self pity and depression from setting in. Enter #SundaySupper.

Each week, the group members are given a theme that we then use to create a recipe around. Tomorrow will be my first post with the group and I can't wait to share the theme and my recipe with you!

But TODAY, I have something that's equally as wonderful to share. It's magical and wonderful and it's likely to cause you to see unicorns in your sleep. It's gingerbread with a yummilicious twist!

The recipe for the cake is the creation of Joy the Baker. It's a flavor packed, spiced up gingerbread with a wonderful sweetness, thanks to the inclusion of orange zest. Get this...It's in cake form. No crisp yet adorable ginger people cookies for me, thank you. These are tall, fluffy pieces of gingerbread....now that's what I'm talkin' about! To make it even better, the cake is topped with the most delicious cream cheese frosting I've ever eaten! Seriously, I couldn't keep my spoon out of the bowl. Joy's recipe (which you can find in her cookbook, or on her blog), is wonderful in and of itself, but I had some extra cranberries left over from Thanksgiving, so I put my blender on puree and went to town. The tangy cranberries helped to tone down the sweetness of the cream cheese and sugar, making this frosting the kind I'd like to drink through a straw on a daily basis. Cranberries are high in antioxidants so that makes this frosting totally healthy. You can tell your doctor I said so. No, you can't give him my phone number. Well, unless he's single and has an adorable smile and a relatively thick wallet. Yes, I'm very happy in my relationship with Brian. No, it's not cheating....it's...it's... Shush now... go make this cake and enjoy it. I look forward to seeing you here again tomorrow

Orange Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Cream Cheese Frosting

WHAT'S NEEDED

#ingredient#

HOW TO MAKE IT

#instruction#

WordPress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: Cake

Author: Chef Becca Heflin

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 8-12

This light and fluffy gingerbread cake is accented with sweet orange zest then topped with a decadent cranberry cream cheese frosting. It will make the perfect dessert at your holiday table.

Ingredients

[b]FOR THE CAKE[/b][br]
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup unsulphered molasses (not blackstrap)
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons orange zest
3/4 cup warm water
[br]
[b]FOR CRANBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING[/b][br]
1 block (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-4 Tablespoons cranberry puree, depending on desired consistency of frosting.

Instructions

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour an 8×8- inch square baking pan. Set pan aside.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs until thick and pale. Add molasses, honey, and orange zest and stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together until entirely incorporated. Add the warm water and gently stir until the mixture is smooth and silky. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
If you find that the mixture fills the pan more than three quarters of the way full, transfer to a larger 9 or 10-inch round cake pan, or fill a mini loaf pan with excess batter.
Bake cake for 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
While the cake bakes, make the cream cheese frosting.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend the cream cheese on medium speed. The cream cheese should be as soft and smooth as possible. Stop the mixer.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the butter, and beat the two together on medium speed until smooth and incorporated. Add two cups of powdered sugar and mix until incorporated. Add 2 Tablespoons cranberry puree and remaining cup of powdered sugar. Beat on medium high speed until frosting is smooth and silky. If thinner consistency frosting is desired, add more puree a Tablespoon at a time. If thicker frosting is desired, add more powdered sugar.
Allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting the cake.

Notes

If wrapped well, this cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If left unfrosted, it also freezes well.

This recipe was linked up to the following linky party. Head on over and check out more goodness!

Filed Under: recipes · Tagged: cake, cranberries, cream cheese frosting, Dessert, gingerbread, holidays, recipe

Celebrating a Makeover… with Cake!

November 13, 2011 · by Becca Heflin · 12 Comments

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I can't believe this day has finally arrived. I've graduated from "kindergarten blogging" and have my very own self-hosted site! Woo hoo! Let's celebrate, shall we?

I've made us this beautiful cinnamon spice cake with maple cream cheese icing to assist in the celebration. I was going to make my favorite autumnal delight, Dutch apple pie, but a celebration of this caliber deserves multiple layers of love...and frankly, lots of rich, creamy icing!

I'll share the recipe with you in just a bit, but first, I want to fill you in on all of the changes I've put into place.

Besides the new look, which I think perfectly describes me... whimsical, fresh, and fun, there are a number of other changes that will help you in getting the most out of this site.

For starters, I've got a brand new domain name, which should be much easier for you to remember (and type!) Be sure to bookmark this for future reference: http://www.ItsYummi.com

If you were a subscriber of posts for ItsYummilicious.Wordpress.com, you will need to resubscribe to keep receiving my new posts. I apologize for the inconvenience. You can subscribe easily by clicking the RSS icon at the top of this page.

Before we go on, let's have a slice of cake! Yes, I'm sometimes impatient when I'm excited...please don't judge.

I've added ZipList capabilities to my recipes. If you aren't already using ZipList, you are going to love it! It allows you to store your favorite recipes in a virtual recipe box, which can then be shared with others and/or printed in recipe card or full page format. The best part of ZipList is that it will create a shopping list for you based on the recipe that you want to make! What a time saver that's been for me!

I've already shared with you that I'm going to be posting one recipe each week that will link to a current grocery store advertisement, as well as links to coupons for any of the recipe ingredients that might be on sale. I'm hopeful that it will help save you some time and money, while providing your family with a healthy and delicious meal! I plan to create a page specifically for the weekly recipes so that they are easy to find, but for now, I'll be creating them as a traditional blog post.

Another great change are the coupon and savings links that you'll find throughout the posts and pages. Clicking on them will give you access to high value, FREE coupons, e-cookbooks, and other savings and coupon sites. I've placed them here for you to use, so please take advantage of the savings!

If there's something specific that you'd like to see featured here on It's Yummilicious, you have a food/cooking related question, or there's a dish that you're looking for a recipe for, please don't hesitate to contact me at ItsYummilicious (at) Gmail (dot) com or leave a comment here. Thank you SO much for your continued support. I am SO grateful and thankful to have you here to share in the realization of my dream!

Now then...Let's have some more cake!

Cinnamon-Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

16 slices

Serving Size: 1 slice

This cake will keep, refrigerated, for 4 to 5 days. It is best at room temperature, so take it out of the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes before serving.

WHAT YOU\'LL NEED

1.5 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for buttering the paper
1.5 cups (6.6 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup (4.4 oz) cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups (11 oz.) sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

MAPLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 stick (3 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (6 1/2 ounces) PURE maple syrup (Grade A or B)
1 3/4 cups (5 1/2 ounces) sifted confectioners’ sugar

HOW TO MAKE IT

BAKE THE CAKE

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and butter the paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.

In a medium bowl, whisk the 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour with the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until incorporated. In 3 alternating additions, add the dry ingredients and sour cream, scraping down the side of the bowl between additions.

Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake the cakes on the lower and middle racks of the oven for about 30 minutes, until golden and springy and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the cakes to racks and let cool for 15 minutes, then turn the cakes out and let them cool completely. Remove the parchment paper.

UNMOLD THE CAKE

Run a thin, flexible knife or spatula around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake.

Place a cake cardboard or the bottom of a tart pan on top of the pan. Hold the two together and flip over. Lift the pan off of the cake, leaving the parchment on the cake. Flip again so the cake is right side up.

Using a serrated knife, level the top of the cake (if necessary), and slice the cake horizontally into two layers.

MAKE THE ICING

Place the cream cheese and butter in the cleaned bowl of the mixer or food processor.

Blend until smooth. Add the maple syrup and confectioners’ sugar and mix thoroughly.

Scrape down the bowl with a clean spatula and blend again briefly.

ASSEMBLE AND FROST THE CAKE

Place a cake cardboard or serving plate on your work surface. Using the second cardboard or tart bottom, transfer the cake’s top layer to the assembly board cut side up.

With the icing spatula, spread a generous 1/2 cup layer of frosting evenly over the surface. Flip over the bottom layer of cake, slide it into place on top of the frosting then remove the parchment paper. Voila…a crumb-free surface for frosting!

Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and side of the cake. Use a spoon to create swirls all over the top by gently pressing the tip of the spoon, rounded edge down, into the frosting in a back-and-forth motion.

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Recipe From: www.ItsYummi.com