Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake

Okay, if you like lemon things, you simply MUST make this cake. It's coming to you from America's Test Kitchen via Our Best Bites. I loved it, Dave loved it, M loved it. I used regular all-purpose flour despite the dire warnings and it was great. Also I only made half the glaze and I'm glad I did. Oh, and I splashed some extra lemon juice in the glaze and I'm glad I did that too. Okay, on to the recipe so you can get baking.

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake

Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Best Summer Desserts

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) cake flour (no substitutions)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup white sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk

Glaze:

3 cups (12 ounces) powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons buttermilk

Instructions:

Make sure the oven rack is in the middle position (unless you’ve found that another position works better in your oven for baking) and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13″ baking dish and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a measuring cup, combine buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the white sugar and lemon zest on medium speed until moist and fragrant (about 1 minute). Remove 1/4 cup of the sugar mixture and place it in a small bowl. Cover and set aside.

Add the softened butter to the remaining sugar mixture and beat until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the eggs and yolk, one at a time, until incorporated. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk mixture in 2 additions. Mix until smooth (about 30 seconds)

Scrape the batter into the reserved baking pan and smooth out the top. Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (about 25-35 minutes). Be careful not to over bake. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

While the cake is cooling, whisk the glaze ingredients together until smooth. Gently spread the glaze over the cake and sprinkle evenly with the reserved sugar mixture. Allow to cool completely, at least 2 hours.

Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake

Mom made this for my birthday once. Amazing. Um, it's from Pioneer Woman. Verbatim.

Recipe: The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 20 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 24

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1 cup Boiling Water
• 1/2 cup Buttermilk
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• 1/2 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1-3/4 stick Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Note: I use an 18x13 sheet cake pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

Link: Sandy's Chocolate Cake

I'll finish up my spree with my favorite chocolate cake. (If you want a dinner idea, go down a couple of posts. :) ) This, of course is Sandy's. From allrecipes. I crave this thing . . . I made another chocolate cake last month, and was so sad. I also love the frosting with it, though others might differ in opinion. Put the cake in the fridge overnight, then warm up a piece the next day. YUM!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sandys-Chocolate-Cake/Detail.aspx

If I find a superior cake one day, I'll let you know. Might take me a while to try again, though.

Cherry-Pineapple Sunrise Cake

This recipe came from Kathryn's aunt, Anne Goodman. They've always called it "dump cake," but I thought you might like a name that's a little more appetizing. The beauty of this cake is that you just dump all the ingredients into a 9x13 pan with no mixing (hence the name), bake it, and eat a delicious cake an hour later. Super easy and super delicious. So, here you go.

Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Put ingredients into pan in order listed below:

• 1 can cherry pie filling (21 oz)
• 1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 white or yellow cake mix
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Self-Frosting Chocolate Zucchini Cake

From my friend Kim. Tasty and oh, so healthy thing to do with zucchini.

½ cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup oil
½ cup sour milk or buttermilk
1-3/4 cup sugar
4 to 6 Tablespoons cocoa
2 eggs
½ teaspoon cinnamon **
2 cups finely grated zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2-1/2 cups flour

Mix the oil, margarine, and sugar. Add the eggs. Sift the dry ingredients including the cocoa. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk to the sugar mixture. Add the remaining ingredients except the zucchini. Blend well. Stir in the zucchini by hand and pour the batter into a 13 x 9 inch cake pan. Mix the following and crumble on the top of the cake:

¾ cup chocolate chips ¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup chopped nuts

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until done. Serves 12.

** Omit the cinnamon to bring out a better chocolate taste. - That was in the original. I never use cinnamon. If you do, tell me about it.

Mom's Carrot Cake

I don't know where she got this recipe, so it's hers now! (Isn't that probably how these things usually happen?)

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated carrots
1 small can crushed pineapple (half a large can works, too)

Sift first five ingredients together. Add egg, oil, carrots, and pineapple. Mix well and pour in greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Note: That was what the original recipe said. However, I need to play with the bake times a little. 30 minutes was perfect for two 9-inch round cakes.

I liked this cream cheese frosting I loosely got from allrecipes.com. (from several recipes)

1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
3-4 cups powdered sugar (according to desired sweetness/consistency)
1 t. vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and mix well before mixing in vanilla. Don't eat too much of it, save some for the cake.

Skor Cake

We've heard this cake called by lots of names, but Sarah and I like this one. Fantastic part about this is you get a yummy cake but it's fast to make.

1 box chocolate cake mix (I like Devil's food)
whatever you need to make the cake mix
1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 small jar caramel or butterscotch ice cream topping (optional - I like caramel)
2-3 toffee candy bars (Skor or Heath - I say more is better)

Prepare cake according to box directions. When cake has cooled, take a straw and poke holes all over the cake. Pour entire can of sweetened condensed milk all over cake, making sure to get some in the holes. Then, pour ice cream topping all over cake. You may not need the entire jar, depending on the size - go with your preference. Next, spread the entire tub of Cool Whip on top. Finally, break up candy bars into small pieces and sprinkle on top of Cool Whip. It will be yummy if you eat it now, but way better if you refrigerate for several hours. The goo soaks into the cake, and makes deliciousness.