Chocolate Chip Cake and Starlight Cake with Fall Candy Decorations

The Fall Festival  at church is tomorrow and I promised to bake 6 cakes for the cake walk. Besides cakes for church, I need to bake mini-cupcakes for the Halloween party at work, too.

In most of my cake/cupcake posts, I choose to use boxes of cake mix. Today is different. Instead of cake mix cakes, I chose to use two recipes from my 1985 Betty Crocker cookbook, chocolate chip cake and starlight cake.

Starlight cake is a yellow cake that is made with vanilla extract. The chocolate chip cake uses brown sugar and granulated sugar. The batter does smell like chocolate chip cookie dough!

Maybe because of my cake mix ways, I did not use the shortening called for in the recipes. Instead, I substituted 1/2 cup of canola oil for the shortening, and reduced the amount of milk from 1 1/4 cup to 3/4 of a cup. Personally, I was happy with the batter and my cakes were nice and moist.

Starlight mini-cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. Each cupcake is topped with black and orange sprinkles and two pieces of candy corn. 

Starlight cake with peanut butter buttercream frosting.  The cake is decorated with a candy pumpkin, candy corn, orange/black sprinkles mix, and mini-flower decors. 

Chocolate chip cake with peanut butter buttercream frosting. See the frosting recipe below.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting - This recipe will frost about five single-layer 8" cakes. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 lbs. of powdered sugar
• about 3/4 cup of milk
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

• Put butter and peanut butter into a large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed until the butter and peanut butter is light and creamy. 
• Add one third of the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until the powdered sugar is blended with the butter mixture.
• Add half of the remaining sugar, and 1/2 cup of milk. Beat on low speed until the powdered sugar is about mixed into the frosting. 
• Add last of sugar and remaining 1/4 cup of milk. Beat on low speed until sugar is incorporated. If frosting is too stiff, add another Tbsp. of milk and blend at low speed. Then, beat on high speed until frosting is smooth and creamy. 

Chocolate Chip Cake

Yield: 1 - 13x9 cake, or 2 - 8" cakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed firmly
• 1/2 cup granulated, white sugar
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. 
• Grease and flour your pans. I used disposable pans and skipped this step.
• Put the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixer bowl. Stir until well blended.
• Add all of the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients. 
• Mix on low speed, scraping bowl constantly for 30 seconds. Then beat on high speed for 3 minutes.
• Add chocolate chips and stir into batter.
• Pour batter into cake pan(s).
• Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. 
• Gently remove  the cake from the oven and place on a cooling rack until cool. 
• Frost with desired frosting. 

Starlight Cake

Yield: 1-13x9 cake, or 2-8" cakes

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup granulated, white sugar
• 3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 large eggs

Directions

• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Grease and flour cake pans. If using disposable pans, you can skip this step.
• Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir until well blended.
• Add oil, milk, vanilla, and eggs to the bowl of dry ingredients. 
• Beat at low speed for 30 seconds. 
• Beat on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. 
• Pour batter into cake pan(s).
• Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. 
• Gently remove the cake from the oven and place on a cooling rack until cool. 
• Frost with desired frosting. 

Note: For mini-cupcakes put about 1 Tbsp. of batter into each liner and bake for about 12 minutes. I made 24 mini-cupcakes and 1-8" layer cake from one batch of cake batter. 

Sallee's Six: A Sextet of Pumpkin Inspired Cupcakes

The annual trip to the pumpkin farm! 

Pumpkin cupcakes that will leave your taste buds singing an Hallelujah chorus!
Just reading the list below makes my mouth water for some yummy, pumpkin, homemade happiness on a plate! I want to make them all. How about you?

1. Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes -  A cupcake that taste like pumpkin pie and you can eat with your hands. Yum!    Click Here for the recipe.

2. Pumpkin Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting - A trinity of fall goodness, pumpkin, caramel, and cream cheese!     Click Here for the recipe

3. Pumpkin Carrot Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting - A fall flavor binge of pumpkin, carrot, and maple cream cheese.     Click Here for the recipe

4. Maple Cupcake with Pumpkin Pie Frosting - A healthier cupcake for those who are trying to be good, but still want a fall treat. This is the cupcake for you.     Click Here for the recipe

5. Pumpkin Smores Cupcakes- Graham cracker crust bottom, pumpkin cupcake filled with marshmallow cream and smothered with chocolate ganache. My idea of fall flavor heaven!
  Click Here for the recipe

6. Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting - A traditional pumpkin cupcake with a rich, made from scratch, salted caramel frosting.     Click Here for the recipe

Spiced Pumpkin - Applesauce Layer Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting

I love the flavors in this rustic layer cake. The salted caramel and fall spices make your taste buds jump for joy! Bill thinks this is the best frosting he has ever eaten. He wants it on his birthday cake.
The Pumpkin and Applesauce Cakes
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon, heaping full
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. all spice
3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup 100% pumpkin puree
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs

Directions
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour two, 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.

• Put the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and baking powder into a bowl and mix well. Divide the blended ingredients between two medium bowls.

Applesauce and pumpkin puree waiting to be beaten into the dry ingredients.

• Add 3/4 cup of applesauce to the dry mixture in one of the medium bowls and add 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree to the other bowl. 
• To the applesauce cake bowl add the cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground allspice
• To the pumpkin cake bowl add the pumpkin pie spice

Evenly divided dry ingredients with a spices. The left bowl contains cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. The right bowl contains pumpkin pie spices.

• To each bowl add 1 egg, 1/4 cup of water, and 1/4 cup of canola 
• Beat each bowl of ingredients on low speed for thirty seconds, and on high speed for about two minutes. Occasionally scrape the bowl sides as you beat the batter.
• Pour each bowl of batter into a cake pan.
• Bake for about 28 to 30 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool the cakes for about 10 minutes in the pans.
• Remove the cakes from the pans and place on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. 

Ready to chill in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes.

• Put the cooling rack with the cakes into your freezer for about 20 or 30 minutes to completely chill.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the Caramel Buttercream frosting.                           See the recipe below.
• Once the cakes are completely chilled, you can level and stack the cake.

Leveling, Stacking, and Frosting the Cake
I used 9 inch cake pans which gave me a thinner round of cake. I did not cut the layers in half. If you use 8 inch cake pans, you can slice each cake in half and have four cake layers.

A fine tooth, serrated knife and a cake level help achieve an even layer. 

• Level the top of the bottom round.
• Place on a cake plate so that the bottom of the cake layer is facing up

A vintage turkey platter stands in for a cake plate. 

• Spread with caramel butter cream frosting to within 1/4 inch from the edge.
• Place the top layer, bottom side facing down,  on top of the frosting.
• With an angled spatula, spread frosting into the gap between the layers and smooth completely.
• Spread caramel frosting over the cake top to within a quarter inch of the edge.
• Swirl the frosting from side to side with the angled spatula
• Drizzle cool caramel topping across the top of cake in the same direction as the frosting ridges. Allow the caramel topping to drip slightly down the cake sides. 

                        

Caramel Buttercream Frosting 
Yields enough to fill and frost an 8 or 9 inch four layer cake. 
Left over frosting keeps for 2 weeks if covered tightly and refrigerated. 

Ingredients
2 lb. bag of powdered sugar
1 cup of salted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup of solid vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. caramel extract
1/2 cup cool water
Caramel topping for drizzling the cake top

Directions

• Place butter and shortening into a large mixing bowl
• Cream the butter and shortening together until blended and light colored
• Add one third of the powdered sugar and blend on low speed until just blended. Scrape the bowl sides constantly
• Add the caramel extract, half of the remaining sugar, and 1/4 cup of water
• Beat on low speed until just blended
• Add the remaining ingredients and beat on low until blended
• Beat on high for another minute or two until the frosting is blended and creamy.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside. Keep the frosting at room temperature if layering the cakes immediately.