Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the recipe for cream cheese frosting to go along with the Red Velvet Cake. It’s very simple and very good and would be an excellent choice for all of your cream cheese frosting needs (carrot cake, cinnamon rolls, etc.).

In a stand mixer (using paddle attachment) or a in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, combine the following on low speed:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Beat on high speed until light and fluffy (~5 minutes), then add:

• 1 tsp. (or more) vanilla extract

Beat on high a little bit longer. You can now use it to frost your cake. Note: You can store it in the refrigerator for later use (the recipe says 3 days, but I bet it can go longer). If you want to do decorative frosting, it may be slightly more workable after being chilled for a bit.

Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake

I found this recipe on Martha Stewart's website and it is a recipe from Dr. Maya Angelou's cookbook, "Hallelujah." I believe it is her grandmother's recipe. There is a video of Dr. Angelou making this cake with Martha. It's kind of fun to watch. The interesting thing about this caramel cake is that it doesn't contain any brown sugar. The caramel flavor comes from the burnt sugar caramel syrup and from the browned butter frosting. This cake was a big hit when I made it for a dinner party.

Caramel Syrup

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Heat sugar (by itself--no water) in a sauce pan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar liquifies and comes to a boil. Continue cooking, with light stirring, until sugar turns a golden amber color. Immediately remove from heat and add 1 cup of water. BE CAREFUL, it is really hot and some water may splatter. The caramelized sugar will harden when it is cooled by the water. Return to medium heat and continue stirring until the sugar redissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before using.

Cake

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, separated
• 1/4 cup Caramel Syrup (from above)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.

With mixer on low, beat butter and sugar together for several minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in Caramel Syrup.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

With mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture and the milk, alternating with flour mixture being added first and last.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs until foamy (whisk attachment or normal beaters will work for this). Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar to the eggs and continue beating until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir into the cake batter until well combined.

Pour batter into the two round cake pans and bake for 25-35 minutes, until cake springs back when gently touched in the center. Cool cakes for ~15 minutes and then invert to remove from pan and continue cooling on wire cooling rack. When completely cooled, frost the two-layer cake with Browned Butter Caramel Frosting (see below) and serve drizzled with remaining Caramel Syrup.

(If you baked the cake ahead of time, you can wrap the cake in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator until you are ready to frost it. I find that keeping cake overnight in the refrigerator makes frosting it much easier.)

Browned Butter Caramel Syrup

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 16 oz. (1 package) powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more if needed
• 1 T. pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Add butter to saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until nut-brown in color, ~8 minutes. You'll want to watch it closely and continue stirring it to prevent burning it. Once it begins to turn brown, it goes fast! Remove pan from heat and pour browned butter into a heat-proof mixing bowl. Allow to cool.

Once cooled, add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt to the browned butter. Mix on low (with paddle attachment or standard beaters). Continue to mix on low while adding the cream. Beat until smooth. If frosting appears too thick, add more cream until the correct consistency. Generously frost the cake with this delicious frosting.

Coconut Buttercream

I used this Coconut Buttercream with the Chocolate Butter Cake recipe to make a German chocolate cake for my dad's birthday. I put Chocolate Pastry Cream between two of the center layers of the cake. All recipe's are from Cake Love by Warren Brown.

Milk Mixture:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 ounces (1/2 cup) unsweetened coconut flakes
• 7 ounces (3/4 cup + 2 T.) extra-fine granulated sugar

Yolk Mixture:

• 6 egg yolks
• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) extra-fine granulated sugar
• 3 T. potato starch
• ¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Flavorings and Butter:

• 3 ounces (1/4 cup) muscavado or dark brown sugar, packed
• ½ tsp. imitation coconut flavor (to taste)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

Separate the yolks into a large bowl. Add the 2 ounces of sugar and the potato starch and whisk to combine. Add the 2 ounces of butter, but do not stir in. Set aside.

Measure the milk mixture ingredients into a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let the mixture steep for 10 minutes.

Return the milk mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Once it reaches a simmer, slowly pour it into the yolk mixture, whisking slowly in small circles at first and ending with broader strokes until fully combined (it may be helpful to put a damp towel underneath the bowl or to have someone hold it to prevent it from sliding while you stir). Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly but not rapidly, for about 4 minutes (high altitude: 3 minutes). The key is to keep the pastry cream moving so it won't scorch on the bottom of the saucepan. When you begin to see lava bubbles—large, slowly forming bubble that burp steam—reduce the heat to the lowest setting and whisk briskly for 1 minute to pasteurize the pastry cream.

Pour the pastry cream into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire ship attachment. Add the muscovado, coconut flavor, and vanilla extract. Whip the pastry cream on high speed until it's cooled to room temperature, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Whip on medium speed until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Note: This frosting is called BUTTERcream for a reason—it has lots of butter. The butter makes it thicker, but you can get away with adding less butter. I recommend experimenting with it to see what you like best, as far as consistency and flavor. I think you could get away with adding 3 sticks of butter instead of 4 (maybe even less).

Chocolate Pastry Cream

This recipe is from Cake Love by Warren Brown. It is very sweet, but very good. If you feel the need/desire to add chocolaty sweetness to a cake, this will do it! I used a layer of this in making german chocolate cake (Chocolate Butter Cake with Coconut Buttercream).

Milk Mixture:

• 2 cups whole milk

Yolk Mixture:

• 3 eggs
• 7 egg yolks
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

• 24 ounces (3 cups) extra-fine granulated sugar
• 2 ounces (1/2 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup potato starch
• 2 T. flour

Butter:

• 8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled

Separate the eggs and yolks into a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract and whisk to combine; set aside. Mix the dry ingredients into a separate bowl, whisk to combine, and set aside.

Measure the milk into a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat but keep the saucepan on the stove. Meanwhile, combine the yolk mixture and the dry ingredients.

Return the milk mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Once it reaches a simmer, slowly pour it into the yolk mixture, whisking slowly in small circles at first and ending with broader strokes until fully combined (it may be helpful to put a damp towel underneath the bowl or to have someone hold it to prevent it from sliding while you stir). Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly but not rapidly, for about 4 minutes (high altitude: 3 minutes). The key is to keep the pastry cream moving so it won't scorch on the bottom of the saucepan. When you begin to see lava bubbles—large, slowly forming bubble that burp steam—reduce the heat to the lowest setting and whisk briskly for 1 minute to pasteurize the pastry cream.

Pour the pastry cream into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Cover with plastic pressed against the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Immediately refrigerate for at least 3 hours before using.

Pecan Crunch Buttercream

I made this cake for my grandma's birthday. It is the Chocolate Butter Cake topped with Pecan Crunch Buttercream. Both recipes are from Cake Love by Warren Brown. People seemed to really love this buttercream. It's natural flavor and color comes from real pecans.

Milk Mixture:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 ounces (1 cup) unsalted pecan halves
• 7 ounces (3/4 cup + 2 T.) extra-fine granulated sugar

Yolk Mixture:

• 6 egg yolks
• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) extra-fine granulated sugar
• 3 T. potato starch
• ¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Flavorings and Butter:

• 3 ounces (1/4 cup) muscavado or dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 T. honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

2 ounces (1/4 cup) extra-fine granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Separate the yolks into a large bowl. Add the 2 ounces of sugar and the potato starch and whisk to combine. Add the 2 ounces of butter, but do not stir in. Set aside.

Measure the milk mixture ingredients into a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let the pecans steep for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, strain the pecans and capture the flavored milk in a large bowl. Set pecans aside.

Return the milk mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Once it reaches a simmer, slowly pour it into the yolk mixture, whisking slowly in small circles at first and ending with broader strokes until fully combined (it may be helpful to put a damp towel underneath the bowl or to have someone hold it to prevent it from sliding while you stir). Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly but not rapidly, for about 4 minutes (high altitude: 3 minutes). The key is to keep the pastry cream moving so it won't scorch on the bottom of the saucepan. When you begin to see lava bubbles—large, slowly forming bubble that burp steam—reduce the heat to the lowest setting and whisk briskly for 1 minute to pasteurize the pastry cream.

Pour the pastry cream into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire ship attachment. Add the muscovado, honey, and vanilla extract. Whip the pastry cream on high speed until it's cooled to room temperature, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Whip on medium speed until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the drained pecans with ¼ cup sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Place on an ungreased cooking sheet. Toast for 5 to 10 minutes (high altitude: about 15 minutes). Be careful not to burn.

Let the pecans (pralines) cool completely; then break into chunks. Add them to the buttercream and mix on low speed until the nuts are fully incorporated. (You can also save some of pralines to decorate the top of the cake.)

Note: This frosting is called BUTTERcream for a reason—it has lots of butter. The butter makes it thicker, but you can get away with adding less butter. I recommend experimenting with it to see what you like best, as far as consistency and flavor. I think you could get away with adding 3 sticks of butter instead of 4 (maybe even less).

Raspberry Puree

This is a very simple recipe for making a raspberry puree that can be used to flavor (and add color to) the base Italian Meringue Buttercream. It can also be used as a topping itself (e.g. cake, ice cream, waffles, etc.) or any other way that you can dream up. It is from Cake Love by Warren Brown.

• 12 to 16 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) sugar

Thaw a package of frozen raspberries in the bag (do not strain the juice). Combine the raspberries and their juice with the sugar in a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Gently bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and promptly remove from heat. Carefully strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Try to capture all of the raspberry seeds in the strainer. Transfer the puree to an airtight container. Store in refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Italian Meringue Buttercream

If you want a cake that tastes like it came from a professional, this frosting is a great place to start! It is much easier to make than I had originally thought. The recipe here is the "base" recipe, that can then easily be flavored in a variety of ways (I list some of them below). The cake above is my 4th of July Cake. I made a batch of the base and flavored half with vanilla and half with raspberry.

• 5 egg whites
• 10 ounces (1 ¼ cup) extra-fine granulated sugar, divided
• ¼ cup cold water
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter

Separate the egg whites into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment. Measure 1 cup sugar and the water into a 1-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Gently stir to combine. Measure the remaining ¼ cup sugar into a small bowl and set aside. Cut the butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and set aside in a medium bowl.

Make the sugar syrup by heating the 1 cup of sugar and the water in the saucepan over medium-high heat. Partially cover with a lid to capture the evaporating water—this helps to moisten the sides of the saucepan to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Use candy thermometer to monitor temperature.

As syrup is heating, begin whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks. When the peaks are stiff, you have a meringue. Keep the mixer running and pour the ¼ cup of sugar into the meringue.

Raise the heat under the sugar syrup to bring the syrup to 245°F, if it is not there already. When the syrup is at 245°F, remove the thermometer and slowly pour the syrup into the meringue (while the mixer is still running on high speed). After 1 to 2 minutes reduce the mixer speed to medium for 3 to 4 more minutes, or until the meringue is cooled. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the mixer speed to high for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the butter is fully incorporated.

Note: This frosting is called BUTTERcream for a reason—it has lots of butter. The butter makes it thicker, but you can get away with adding less butter. I recommend experimenting with it to see what you like best, as far as consistency and flavor. I think you could get away with adding 3 sticks of butter instead of 4 (maybe even less).

The following flavorings can be added to the base recipe for Italian Meringue Buttercream:

Vanilla: 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Chocolate: ½ cup melted bittersweet chocolate
Raspberry: ¼ to ½ cup raspberry puree (see separate recipe)
Lemon: 2 T. limoncello
Orange: 1 tsp. orange oil
Lime: 1 tsp. lime oil