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Quick & EasyBy Beverly Barbour
Naked cakesFebruary is a favorite month of the year for anyone with a sweet tooth, which is most of the population of planet earth and most of us with a sweet tooth do love cake. Unfortunately some of us don't have the time to top the cake off with icing. So here are three very different and very satisfying cakes that make their way alone in the world with no cooked icing. Individual Spiced Chocolate Cakes These little cakes are much like sweet souffles but with a molten center. There is no baking powder nor baking soda in the recipe; all of the leavening is done by the eggs. The cakes are fun because they can be baked in small souffle dishes, custard cups, pottery coffee cups or mugs, or in soup dishes. You can turn them out of souffle dishes if you like, but it fun to serve them in something unusual. Makes 4 individual cakes. 4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
Butter the custard cups or whatever you have on hand to bake them in. Place on a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 425 F. Melt together the chocolate and butter (you can do this in a microwave) until butter is melted. Then whisk until chocolate is entirely melted and blended with the butter. Stir in juice or wine, vanilla and sugar until combined. Whisk in eggs and yolk and then whisk in combined flour and spices. Spoon evenly into prepared dishes and bake 15 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute before loosening edges with a knife if you want to invert onto serving plates. Dust with confectioners/powdered sugar before serving. Almond Cake(s) This easy recipe makes two single-layer cakes at one time. If you want to make a showpiece cake for a birthday or something special use a serrated knife to carefully slice each cake horizontally into 2 even layers. Then whip 4 cups of heavy cream with 1 cup of sugar. Separate the layers and top each with whipped cream and fresh fruit or spread layers with tasty jam before spreading on the whipped cream. Stack the layers and sprinkle the top with toasted almond slices. Makes 16 servings. 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray or butter two 9-inch pie pans. Stir together flour, sugar, butter, eggs, almond extract and salt. Divide batter evenly between pans and sprinkle each with half of the almonds. Bake until light brown around the edges, about 30 minutes. Nummy Banana Cake Tired of banana bread but too many bananas on hand? This may become a standby for using surplus bananas. Sandra Sowis had a mother who loved bananas and as a result her special cake became the favorite birthday cake for everyone in the family. If you wish to try the recipe but don't have any cake flour, remove 2 tablespoon from your measured all-purpose flour. When you are in a hurry make this with any favorite white or yellow cake mix. Cake: 2 cups sifted cake flour
Filling and Topping: 4 to 5 large bananas
Cake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter two 9-inch cake pans and line each with a layer of parchment paper or waxed paper. Butter paper and then lightly dust with flour, shake off any excess. Whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. At very low speed if using a mixer, add half of flour mixture, mixing until blended. Add milk and mix only until combined, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until batter is smooth. Divide batter evenly between cake pans, smoothing tops. Bake in middle of oven until cake is springy to the touch and tester inserted in center of each layer comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Invert onto racks, remove paper and let cool completely. Assemble Cake: Cut firm bananas into 1/8-inch thick slices and lightly brush both sides with enough lemon juice to prevent discoloring. Beat cream with sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Place one cake layer on serving plate and spread liberally with whipped cream. Top with a layer of banana slices arranged side by side. Place second cake layer over bananas and spread remaining cream over top and sides. Arrange remaining bananas, overlapping a little, on top of cake. Hilly-Billy Cake When the cake tests done you top it with a mixture of butter, sugar and coconut and slip it under the broiler. What could be easier and it is a large cake! Sounds like those hillbillies are pretty smart folks. Cake: 1 cup granulated sugar
Topping: 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted
Cake: Preheat oven to 350 F; butter a 9- by 13-inch cake pan. Stir together the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a full boil. Remove from heat and cool. Combine flour and baking soda before stirring them into the batter. Pour into prepared pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes. Topping: Combine ingredients and spread over cake. Place under preheated broiler and bake 5 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning. Quick cakes cut a pretty caper in a busy kitchen.
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