Cooking On the Side » Cakes

Apple Cake with Butter Pecan Glaze

Kathy Strahs — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:11:12 +0000

This post should come with a long overdue apology to my sister…for laughing at her (hard) almost 30 years ago. Her first grade class put together a little “cookbook” comprised of their own made-up recipes. My sister’s contribution to this handwritten anthology was the concept of an apple cake.

“Bwahahahaha!! An apple cake!! Who ever heard of an apple cake?!” was my far more mature and worldly response. Everyone knew there were only three kinds of cake: chocolate, vanilla and chocolate chip. Apple cake…what a kid.

I am eating those words today. More importantly, I’m also eating a fabulous Apple Cake with Butter Pecan Glaze from the back of my last remaining package of White Lily flour (Southern friends, I’ll be calling on you to ship me some more!). It’s strange to say, but it almost reminded me of a carrot cake, but with a thick, rich caramel-like glaze on top instead of cream cheese frosting. It’s got a lot of sugar, a lot of oil and a lot of apples. I knew it would be super moist and, oh yeah, it was.

What can I say – my little sister was onto something good.

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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

About Cooking On the Side...

It’s the recipe collection I didn’t even realize I had – the one derived from the side of a bag of fresh vegetables, a box of sugar, a jar of mayonnaise. Cooking On the Side – as in on the side of food packaging – is all about “revealing” these on-the-package recipes, with photos of how they actually turn out, cooking notes and more descriptive directions than package space usually allows for. -- Kathy

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Good Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cupcakes – Happy 4th!

Kathy Strahs — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 04:34:01 +0000

Just a short and sweet note to say Happy 4th of July (and, to my friends to the north, a belated Happy Canada Day!)! To help you celebrate, here’s a fabulous recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting.

These cupcakes, from the back of the Hershey’s cocoa powder box, come together almost magically. Wait till you see how thin the batter is – seriously, like a Yoo-Hoo. I found it almost impossible to believe that it would ever set up. But it did. Somehow that super-runny batter transformed into super-light and moist chocolate cake!

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Cream Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake

Kathy Strahs — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:01:08 +0000

It turns out that today, June 14, is National Strawberry Shortcake Day (who knew?). Far be it from me to let this opportunity to try the Cream Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake recipe I’ve been holding for months slip by.

No offense to those Twinkie-like yellow strawberry shortcake sponge shells they sell in the produce department at the grocery store…but why did I ever, ever, ever believe for a second that they were the way to do shortcake? This is the way to do shortcake: homemade cream biscuits. Tender, flaky and buttery with a sugar crust on top, they’re the perfect vessel to cradle a small pile of ripe, red strawberries and freshly whipped cream.

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Flourless Chocolate Cake with Strawberries

Kathy Strahs — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:55:26 +0000

I stepped foot inside a gym this week for the first time in nearly four years.

It was a little strange to be back. A lot has changed in the gym world. There are things like “zumba”, “barre method” and “Lululemon” that I’d only really known about casually via updates in my Facebook news feed. And, of course, the child care area that I used to breeze past on my way in is now my very first destination.

I’m not starting a diet or anything. The only real goal I have is for general health. “Everything in moderation” has long been my mantra. Lately I’ve been thinking that “everything” probably ought to include exercise as well.

Let’s be honest, I want to be able to continue to enjoy treats like Flourless Chocolate Cake.

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Celebrating 2 Years With a PB&J Sandwich Cake & Giveaway!

Kathy Strahs — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:50:50 +0000

Yes, it’s a CAKE!

That seriously looks like a real peanut butter and jelly sandwich, doesn’t it? No kidding, within 1 minute of seeing Sneh’s Cakewich (that’s what this is called) on Cook Republic, I had one-click ordered a Cakewich pan from Amazon. This blog turns 2 years old today and I’m celebrating with a fun, toddler-approved cake (at least the toddlers who live in my house loved it)!

As cute as it is, this cake tastes even better. In fact, I delighted in this pound cake as much as with the Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake I raved about a few weeks ago (yes, it’s been a pound cake kind of month). The cake itself is very moist and flavorful – even after five days at room temperature on my kitchen island – and that frosting is like peanut butter’s richer, sweeter, fluffier cousin. It’s definitely more than a gimmick, this cake is legit. If you’d like to see how I made this massive cake sandwich, check out today’s post on my other blog, Panini Happy.

Cakewich Silicone Pan Giveaway – 2 Winners! [THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED]

In celebration of two years of Cooking On the Side, I would love to send two readers one of these Cakewich silicone baking pans. Here are four ways to enter, you can do any or all of them (please leave separate comments for each entry):

Leave a comment on this post sharing the most unusual cake you’ve ever made, seen or eaten.
“Like” Cooking on the Side on Facebook
Subscribe to free updates from Cooking On the Side via e-mail or RSS
Follow me @paninikathy on Twitter

The giveaway will close on Monday, March 28, 2011 at noon PDT. I will use random.org to select two winners to receive the Cakewich pans and announce the winners in this post. Apologies to my international readers, due to shipping costs I can only send the prize to U.S. addresses.

**UPDATED 3/29/11 – Congratulations to the winners!

Congrats to the Cakewich pan winners, Cheryl (#98) and ironchefman (#103)!

This giveaway is sponsored by yours truly.

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Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake

Kathy Strahs — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:30:47 +0000

I did not have the ingredients, I did not have the time. But I did have the hankering and, it seems, that goes quite a long way toward making food happen in my kitchen. It was through sheer determination, plus support from my husband, that I managed to pull off this Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake – the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted. A window into my world this past Sunday:

2:00 PM – I’m convinced there’s no way I can get a pound cake prepped, baked, cooled, glazed and photographed before the sun goes down.

2:05 PM – We’re gonna do this. Mike dashes to Vons for whipping cream and a new bundt pan (not sure if the one I have is the right size or not, still can’t find that ruler). I preheat the oven, set out the butter and eggs and watch Special Agent Oso with the kids while I wait for him to get back.

2:27 PM – Mike’s back from the store. He takes over the baby duty and I start up the KitchenAid.

2:55 PM – I get concerned about the lack of leavening ingredients in the recipe, but I go with it anyway, resolving to cream the butter and sugar extra well to make sure the cake stays light. I’m anxious to see what the addition of whipping cream will do to the texture of this cake. I pour the batter (which, by the way, tastes like a milkshake!) into my old bundt. We found the ruler, it’s the right size after all. The cake goes in the oven, timer is set for an hour and fifteen minutes.

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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

About Cooking On the Side...

It’s the recipe collection I didn’t even realize I had – the one derived from the side of a bag of fresh vegetables, a box of sugar, a jar of mayonnaise. Cooking On the Side – as in on the side of food packaging – is all about “revealing” these on-the-package recipes, with photos of how they actually turn out, cooking notes and more descriptive directions than package space usually allows for. -- Kathy

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© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/meyer-lemon-whipping-cream-pound-cake/

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Vanilla Cupcakes + Calphalon Bakeware Giveaway!

Kathy Strahs — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:24:56 +0000

Cooking On the Side is one year old today! What better way to celebrate than with the best vanilla cupcakes I’ve ever made and a bakeware giveaway?

I started this blog after becoming intrigued by all of the recipes I noticed on the side of the food packages in my pantry, fridge and freezer. After writing Panini Happy for a little over a year I felt a yearning to explore food blogging beyond sandwiches. “Revealing” these recipes has been an incredibly rewarding (and tasty!) ongoing project – thank you all so much for your thoughtful comments, for sharing the recipes and for coming along for the ride.

And now for the giveaway…

I love my Calphalon cookware and bakeware and have used it to prepare pretty much every dish on this blog. So in honor of my 1st anniverary on Cooking On the Side I want to send one lucky reader a Calphalon Classic 5-Piece Bakeware Set.* It includes the following:

12-by-17-inch jelly roll pan

6-cup muffin pan

8-by-5-inch loaf pan

2 round 8-inch cake pans

That ought to set you up pretty nicely for a whole lot of baking!

[THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED] TWO ways to enter the giveaway:

Leave a comment on this post – What was the best dish you cooked or baked in the past year? Feel free to leave a link to the recipe if you have one!

Leave a comment on the “It’s GIVEAWAY Time!” post on the Cooking On the Side Facebook Fan page (there’s another question to answer over there).

You can enter once in each place, for a total of 2 entries. That’s it – no other crazy hoops to jump through. That said, if you feel like tweeting this giveaway I’ll love you forever.

The giveaway closes on Monday, March 29, 2010 at 12:00 PM PDT. Each entry will be assigned a number and one winner, selected at random via random.org, will be announced on Tuesday, March 30, 2010. Due to shipping costs, this giveaway is open to readers with U.S. and Canadian addresses only. [THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED]

* This is not a sponsored giveaway. It is funded 100% by yours truly.

Who wants cake? (Recipe follows)

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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

About Cooking On the Side...

It’s the recipe collection I didn’t even realize I had – the one derived from the side of a bag of fresh vegetables, a box of sugar, a jar of mayonnaise. Cooking On the Side – as in on the side of food packaging – is all about “revealing” these on-the-package recipes, with photos of how they actually turn out, cooking notes and more descriptive directions than package space usually allows for. -- Kathy

Join us on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
© Cooking On the Side, 2010. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/vanilla-cupcakes-calphalon-bakeware-giveaway/

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Cookies and Cream Cheesecake

Kathy Strahs — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:45:34 +0000

I was the last hold-out among my local circle of friends to hire a babysitter. I just couldn’t bear the thought of entrusting the care of my precious little ones with anyone outside of our family. And given that we have no family closer than an 8 hour drive away…well, you can just imagine how rare our date nights have been.

It wasn’t until I was about a month away from my due date with our second child (as it turned out, it was just a week before he was actually born!) that the reality of two kids finally set in with me. My sanity was going to depend on having a trustworthy helper. End of story – the most wonderful woman now comes over to watch Dora the Explorer and rock the infant seat for a few hours every week while I “get things done”. She genuinely loves children (she’s got three grown ones of her own) and, best of all, she loves my children. My daughter took to her immediately which was pretty much all I needed to observe to move past my fears. If she could get comfortable with a babysitter than so could I!

Did I mention that our Mary Poppins likes to bake too? When I told her about Cooking On the Side she remembered a cookbook she had at home, Philadelphia Cream Cheese Classic Recipes, and offered to lend it to me. How cool is that? I definitely had to make one of the cheesecakes – the Cookies and Cream one, complete with Oreo crust, called my name.

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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

About Cooking On the Side...

It’s the recipe collection I didn’t even realize I had – the one derived from the side of a bag of fresh vegetables, a box of sugar, a jar of mayonnaise. Cooking On the Side – as in on the side of food packaging – is all about “revealing” these on-the-package recipes, with photos of how they actually turn out, cooking notes and more descriptive directions than package space usually allows for. -- Kathy

Join us on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
© Cooking On the Side, 2010. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/cookies-and-cream-cheesecake/

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Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake

Kathy Strahs — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:10:24 +0000

I never ate cake until I was 8 or 9 years old. But I sure ate a lot of frosting! I was that kid at birthday parties who hopped up and down when the corner piece – the one with the profuse amount of frosting flourishes – was being passed out. I’d extract every last bit of sugary, fluffy stuff and leave the cake on the little paper plate. It wasn’t until the middle of my elementary school years that a frustrated parent of a friend finally urged me to try just a bite of the cake “just this once” that I discovered the treat I was missing.

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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

About Cooking On the Side...

It’s the recipe collection I didn’t even realize I had – the one derived from the side of a bag of fresh vegetables, a box of sugar, a jar of mayonnaise. Cooking On the Side – as in on the side of food packaging – is all about “revealing” these on-the-package recipes, with photos of how they actually turn out, cooking notes and more descriptive directions than package space usually allows for. -- Kathy

Join us on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
© Cooking On the Side, 2010. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/chocolate-fudge-layer-cake/

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Pumpkin Spice Cake

Kathy Strahs — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:01:51 +0000

Like a lot of folks, I look forward to making pumpkin dishes this time of year (like this incredibly moist Pumpkin Spice Cake with pumpkin cream cheese frosting, see above) – but have you heard about the pumpkin shortage? I’ve had such a ridiculous time finding pumpkin purée in stores! After numerous canned pumpkin hunting trips over the past two weeks, I can offer these four tips for tracking down this elusive product:

Check the baking aisle (near the canned pie fillings) – I’d assumed it would be with other canned vegetables, but it was not so at my local Vons. If you find it, stock up!

Beware of something called “pumpkin pie mix” - the can looks nearly identical to pumpkin purée but it contains other ingredients besides pumpkin (it’s meant for making quick pies); a store clerk was trying to help me and brought me a can of this by mistake – unfortunately, I didn’t discover it until I was already home.

Ask a clerk for help – Despite my mishap in the above bullet, it’ll probably save you a lot of time to have someone who knows the store aisles by heart find the pumpkin for you – or to let you know if they even have it at all.

Roast your own - I haven’t tried this myself yet but if I didn’t find the canned stuff it was going to be my next option – Elana from Elana’s Pantry offers 10 easy steps to roasting a pumpkin.

Once you’ve got some pumpkin, you’re going to want to make this amazing cake. The recipe comes from a butter company so you know it’s moist!

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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

About Cooking On the Side...

It’s the recipe collection I didn’t even realize I had – the one derived from the side of a bag of fresh vegetables, a box of sugar, a jar of mayonnaise. Cooking On the Side – as in on the side of food packaging – is all about “revealing” these on-the-package recipes, with photos of how they actually turn out, cooking notes and more descriptive directions than package space usually allows for. -- Kathy

Join us on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/pumpkin-spice-cake/

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