Zucchini Cake

http://www.chow.com/recipes/30390-zucchini-layer-cake-with-tangy-buttercream-frosting

Apple Cake

McKenna recipe

Mix in a bowl:
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Add (it will be thick):
3 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp soda
1 tsp salt

Fold in:
3 cups chopped apples
1 cup chopped walnuts

Bake in greased and floured 9x13 pan, at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla

Mix in a pan and boil for 2 1/2 mins. Pour over hot cake. Let stand overnight or until fully cooled.

Fruit Snacking Cake

from SmittenKitchen

This cake was designed with rhubarb. I made it with rhubarb and strawberries, but most fruits would work. I switched the sour cream for yogurt too. 

Cake
1 1/4 pound (565 grams) rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch lengths on the diagonal
1 1/3 cup (265 grams) granulated sugar, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice (psst, skip ahead and zest it for the cake before you cut it)
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups (165 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup (80 grams) sour cream

Crumb
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces, or 55 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Make the cake: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking pan with butter or a nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper, extending the lengths up two sides. (It will look like a sling). Stir together rhubarb, lemon juice and 2/3 cup sugar and set aside. Beat butter, remaining sugar and lemon zest with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at at time, scraping down the sides after each addition. Whisk together flour, baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon table salt and ground ginger together in a small bowl. Add one-third of this mixture to the batter, mixing until just combined. Continue, adding half the sour cream, the second third of the flour mixture, the remaining sour cream, and then the remaining flour mixture, mixing between each addition until just combined.

Dollop batter over prepared pan, then use a spatula — offset, if you have one, makes this easiest — to spread the cake into an even, thin layer. Pour the rhubarb mixture over the cake, spreading it into an even layer (most pieces should fit in a tight, single layer).

Stir together the crumb mixture, first whisking the flour, brown sugar, table salt and cinnamon together, then stirring in the melted butter with a spoon or fork. Scatter evenly over rhubarb layer. Bake cake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes. The cake is done when a tester comes out free of the wet cake batter below. It will be golden on top. Cool completely in the pan on a rack.

Cut the two exposed sides of the cake free of the pan, if needed, then use the parchment “sling” to remove the cake from the pan. Cut into 2-inch squares and go ahead and eat the first one standing up. (If it’s written into the recipe, it’s not “sneaking” a piece but, in fact, following orders, right?) Share the rest with friends. Cake keeps at room temperature for a few days, but I didn’t mind it at all from the fridge, where I kept it covered tightly.

Yogurt Cake with Fruit

1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup sugar
1 large pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp almond or vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup of fruit, chopped into 1/2 pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 10 inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

2. Whisk yogurt, sugar, salt and extract until smooth. Pour the oil in slowly and whisk until smooth. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth.

3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add to the batter until just combined. Add the fruit. Fruit will be suspended in the batter if you dredge it in flour first. Pour into the cake pan.

4. Bake for about 45 minutes. Cool.

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Bluebonnets and Brownies--Hummingbird Cake

Hummingbird Cake

adapted from Walnuts.org

3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup fresh pineapple, crushed
4 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped roasted California walnuts

For the frosting:
1 1/2 sticks chilled butter
3 8 oz bars of chilled cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ (powdered) sugar

1 1/2 cups chopped roasted walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 3 round cake pans with baking spray for baking. Line with parchment paper if desired.

In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, add sugar, brown sugar, and eggs. Mix on high until well combined and light and fluffy. Add vegetable oil and vanilla extract and mix again.

Add crushed pineapple and mashed bananas, and mix again. Add the chopped roasted walnuts by hand.

Divide batter equally between the 3 pans. Tap each pan lightly against the countertop to remove any air bubbles. Place in the oven and bake 25-30 minutes in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool for several hours or overnight, removing to a cooling rack after the pan comes to a handle-able temperature.

When cakes are completely cool, make frosting. In a mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add in powdered sugar a 1/4 cup at a time, mixing after each addiction until completely incorporated and fluffy.

Apply a crumb coat to each layer of the cake, applying it thicker between each layer. Then refrigerate for an hour or more. When crumb coat has hardened, add walnuts to the rest of the icing and re-frost so that the cake is completely covered and there are no “bald” spots.

Refrigerate for another hour so the frosting will set, then the cake is ready to serve. Enjoy with a glass of Southern iced tea or lemonade.