Raspberry Rosé Cake

You know how they say that you shouldn’t go to the grocery store hungry, because then you’re just going to buy all of the bad food? WELL! That’s sorta, kinda how this recipe stumbled into my head…

I was, as always, craving cake, but then also the day was pretty spectacular—the warmth of the summer sun was upon my skin, the sound of birds chirping was all over, the flowers were blooming gorgeously, and people were just happy. It’s days like these that no matter what, I can’t be brought down—and then I thought why not add a little rosé wine into the mix?!

And so I did.

I went to the store and bought too many bottles for a little taste-testing afternoon. No regrets!

…Except maybe the fact that I have been missing out for a whiiilllle. Like, can someone please tell me why I’ve never been a rosé drinker? Because I sure can’t! I’m a true Riesling gal in the warm months, I can’t get enough of it—but this cake has led me rethink my summer beverage choices. The crispness, slight sweetness, with just the hint of a red wine, there are no bad qualities to this wine!! Well, maybe the fact that I drank an entire bottle while perfecting the recipe—hey, what can you do!?

So, along with the glorious addition of wine to this recipe, fresh fruit also shows its face. Like, hellooooo juicy and luscious raspberries. Gosh, I am so obsessed with this season and all of the beauty it produces, fruit will be making many, many appearances over the next few months for sure! Et voila my friends, a masterpiece was created, and just in time for the true start of the summer—Memorial Day Weekend!

Yes, a barbeque, a big fruit salad, some cold beers, that may be your go to, but I promise that this cake will 1. Be a huge hit, 2. Fill up those alcohol filled tummies and 3. Get people to switch to an ice-cold glass of rosé…quite a classy BBQ if I do say so myself!

Oh, and did I mention that I soak the raspberries in the wine as well?! You’re welcome.

…And now we are at the end of this nice long rant about my newfound love for pretty pink wine. So see, my hunger made me want cake, which made me step out into the beautiful sunshine to pick up some fresh fruit, then some rosé, and then I made a beautiful, Welcome Summer cake. Not all cravings are bad, and I sure hope that this one satisfies yours!

cake ingredients

Butter, room temperature—4 oz, or 8 TBL

Sugar—8 oz, or 1 C

Eggs—2

Vanilla—2 tsp

Flour—12 oz, or 2 C

Baking Powder—2 ½ tsp

Salt—½ tsp

Milk—4oz, or ½ C

Lemon Juice—3.5 oz, or ½ C

Lemon Zest—2 medium

process

Preheat your oven to 350˚ F.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugar.

Once light and fluffy, add in the eggs and vanilla. Scrape.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Alternating between the sifted ingredients and the milk/lemon juice, slowly add to the mixer in 4-5 increments.

Add in the zest.

Once you have all of the ingredients combined and mixed together, pour into 2-6” cake pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray and lined with parchment or a light dusting of flour.

Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes, until the top springs back slightly when touched.

*Note: if you do not have 2-6” cake pans, cut the recipe in half and just make in two separate batches!*

Allow to cool completely before building your cake

buttercream ingredients

Butter, room temperature—12 oz, or 1 ½ C/3 sticks

Confectioner’s Sugar—18 oz, or 4 C

Vanilla—1 tsp

Rosé Wine—2 oz, or 4 TBL

process

In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter until very, very smooth.

In a separate bowl, sift the confectioner’s sugar, and then slowly add to the creamed butter.

When all smooth and incorporated, add in the vanilla, and then slowly stream in the rosé.

Optional—if you want a light pink color, add in just the smallest drop of red food coloring!

Turn the mixer up to high and whip the buttercream for about a minute, this will make it light, fluffy, and easy to apply to the cake!

filling ingredients

Raspberries—6 oz, or ~1C

Rosé—2 oz, or 4 TBL

process

In a small bowl, combine the berries and the wine.

Smash a little bit with the back of a spoon, and allow to marinate just slightly before putting them in between your two cake layers.

assembly

Once both of your cake layers have cooled completely, trim off the tops of each of the cakes so that they are flat in both sides.

Place one cake layer on either a plate or a turntable, whatever you are going to decorate on.

Fill either a piping bag, or a plastic baggie that seals shut, with the buttercream; make a moat around the outside edge of your cake, about ½” thick—this will help make sure that your cake is level, and the filling will not ooze out of the cake.

Take a dollop of buttercream and spread evenly inside of the moat you just made.

Slightly strain the wine soaked raspberries, and add on top of the buttercream.

Place your second layer of cake on top of the first, making sure to press just slightly.

Take another big spatula-full of buttercream and place on the top of your cake, smoothing it out.

Now, some of that will go over the sides, which is great, and you can just use it to cover the sides of your cake as well.

Once you have finished and are satisfied, you make decorate however you would like—naturally I went for the star sprinkles—and take a nice big piece to enjoy.

Bon Appétit!

Spicy Pineapple Margarita Cupcakes

How are we at Cinco de Mayo again already?! Wasn’t I just making that Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake?! While I am not complaining—the quicker the days go by, the sooner I get to marry the handsome man in my life!—it’s just hard to believe May is here already.

These unreal and unbelievably tasty cupcakes were inspired by one of my most wonderful of friends…all because we love our margaritas, and she sure loves hers spicy.

So, there’s this little restaurant in downtown Charleston, Black Sheep, and they have all things we seem to love the most. Chips, salsa, guacamole, beer, and, most importantly, margaritas! Their margs are the size of my head (almost!) and only $4.50 during Happy Hour…2 being my limit. I am a house margarita kind of gal, but my food and drink enthusiast friend, Elena, gets the Spicy Pineapple Margarita, extra spicy, please. She tells them exactly how she wants it each time, the hotter the better, and won’t take it any other way!

This all started last year when the weather began to get toasty a little earlier than we thought, so patio happy hour it was—time to vent, get sort of sun burnt, and each pick out, without knowing, what would be our go-to drink in the many months to come.

Now, here we are, over a year later, too many margaritas down to say, and we are all moving in the next handful of months to places far too far from one another—yes, tears all around, my friends!

So, to highlight an amazing friend, and a holiday that I will forever love, I made these salty, spicy, sweet little cakes! Moist pineapple cupcake, check! Tart and spicy jalapeño lime curd, absolutely! And what is better than some sweet tequila buttercream? Nothing if you ask me! Naturally, you top these drinks-in-cake-form with a little bit of salt or sugar, and there you have it. Whether throwing a little 5th of May fiesta, lounging on your porch, or wishing safe travels to one of your nearest and dearest friends, there’s hardly a better addition to the party than these Spicy Margarita Cupcakes!

cake ingredients

Butter, room temperature—2 oz, or 4 TBL/½ C

Sugar—4 oz, or ½ C

Eggs—1

Vanilla—1 tsp

Flour—6 oz, or 1 C

Baking Powder—1 ¼ tsp

Salt—½ tsp

Milk—2 oz, or ¼ C

Pineapple Chunks—3 oz, or ½ C

process

Preheat your oven to 350˚ F.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.

Add in the egg and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Combine the milk and pineapple chunks—blend them together.

*Note: if you do not have a blender, chopping the pineapple into tiny pieces will be just fine!*

Alternate adding some of the dry ingredients with the pineapple milk until all is added.

Line a cupcake tin with liners and fill each one up about ¾ of the way.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.

Allow to cool completely before cutting out the middles to fill with curd.

curd ingredients

Lime Juice—3 oz, or ½ C

Egg Yolks—3

Sugar—4 oz, or ½ C

Butter—2 oz, or 4 TBL

Salt—1 tsp

Jalapeño—½, split with seeds

process

In a small saucepan, combine the lime juice, sugar, butter, salt and chopped jalapeño.

Put the egg yolks in another bowl large enough to temper into.

Bring the lime juice mixture to a boil.

Once boil, slowly temper it into the egg yolks—doing this by constantly whisking the yolks and slowly streaming in the boiling liquid, maybe sure not to cook the eggs.

Transfer everything back into the small saucepot and bring to a second boil, constantly whisking.

When it comes to a second boil, strain the curd (catching the jalapeño) into a heatproof container, covering very tightly on the curd with plastic wrap so that no film will form.

Refrigerate until you are ready to use.

To use—cut out the centers of the cupcakes and put about 1 tsp of curd (or however much to fill it) in the centers, and then top with the buttercream.

buttercream ingredients

Butter, room temperature—4 oz, or 1 stick

Confectioner’s Sugar—9 oz, or 1 ¾ C

Tequila—1 oz, or 2 TBL

process

In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter until smooth.

Slowly add in the sifted confectioner’s sugar.

Once all is added, scrape down the sides of your bowl.

Stream in the tequila.

Turn the mixer up to high so that the buttercream becomes nicely whipped and white.

Pipe onto your cupcakes!—I use a star tip, but any can be used or you can smear it on with a spatula.

Sprinkle the top with either some salt or sugar for added flavor and texture!

Bon Appétit!

Lemon Honey Poke Cake with Lavender Cream

April showers bring May flowers, right? Well with all of this rain that we are experiencing in Charleston right now, there better be a dang field of flowers growing all over this entire city once May hits! Yes, I love the rain, I love the smell, I love how peaceful it can be if you happen to be walking in the rain—with a parapluie of course—I am all about the rain, don’t get me wrong! Yet this kind of rain isn’t the cute kind, isn’t the let’s go dancing in it and splash in puddles and be adorable, it’s the aw shoot. We are about to get some slight flooding, some really drenched lawns, and I’ll definitely be getting splashed walking to work—that kind of rain.

So, my ever so sweet baking friends, I have decided to play a little bit of pretend!

Don’t worry, I realize that I am almost 26, but this is the acceptable kind of make believe.

While making this recipe, I turned on some good ol’ Edith Piaf and pretended it was springtime in Paris; just another reason that rain can be absolutely gorgeous and romantic. I then began to daydream about this time last year, when I was actually in Paris, having my fair share of Champagne and people watching, which is probably one of my best talents…

…

…Okay, back to reality! Yes I love rain, I love France, I love springtime, and what do all of those add up to? Me craving lavender. Lots and lots of lavender. And voilá, I give you a cake that is soaked in lavender! Of course, mes amies, you read that right, and it’s every bit delicieuse as it sounds. I made these little cakes, well, petits! In my opinion, single serving, and when you drench the lemon honey cakes in lavender infused cream, I mean, need I say more?!

Oh and remember why rain is so magnifique?! This cake was born during a terrible rain storm, yet filled with the most love and happiness and lavender!

Here you have it, my April showers please bring May all of the flowers poke cake—poking being what you must do to the cake in order to create some nice little homes for the lavender cream to seep into! As I listen to the rain come crashing down outside, my ears are filled with a little bit of “…je ne regrette rien…” and my tummy is stuffed full of a yummy, light little cake!

cake ingredients

Butter—2 oz, or ¼ C

Sugar—3 oz, or ¼ C + 2 TBL

Honey—1 oz, or2TBL

Eggs—1

Flour—6 oz, or 1 C

Baking Powder—1 tsp

Salt—¼ tsp

Lemon Zest—1 lemon

Lemon Juice—1.5 oz, or 3 TBL

Milk—4 oz, or ½ C

process

Preheat your oven to 350˚ F.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and honey.

Add in the egg, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the lemon zest to the dry ingredients.

Alternating between the milk and dry, add to the mixer, while on low speed.

When you have finished, add in the lemon juice.

Scrape down the bowl one final time to make sure that everything is combined.

Spray 4-4” can pans, I used our Le Creuset mini cocottes for this, with nonstick spray.

*Note: if you would rather use a larger 6” or 8” cake pan and just make one big cake, that would be equally as delicious! Make sure to bump up bake time.*

Fill each one up halfway.

Bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the top springs back when touched and the cake is a light golden color.

Allow to cool completely before adding in the Lavender Cream!

lavender cream ingredients

Whole Milk—4 oz, or ½ C

Dried Lavender Buds—2 TBL

process

In a small saucepot, combine the milk and lavender; bring to a boil.

Once at a full boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot.

Allow to steep for 10-15 minutes.

Strain the lavender buds, keeping the milk.

When you are ready to use for your cakes, poke little holes all over the cake for the cream to soak into.

Pour a few spoonfuls all over your holey cake and let sit about 1 minute.

Top with fresh fruit (Strawberries work wonders!), whipped cream, or nice and simple by itself, and enjoy!

Bon Appétit!

Almond Joy Cupcakes

You need this cake in your life, and you need it right now! Bright and early in the week, I promise that you won’t regret it!

Here is my story for the week, my sweet baking friends—I got in this wildly unmotivated mood the past handful of days. I was feeling all sorts of exhaustion, from working to baking to wedding planning, when I finally had a second to sit down, I didn’t want to get up for maybe a month or two. It felt crazy, and even more out of this world saying it out loud!

Okay. Out loud aka typing…

We all have those moments, right? When you decide for a few minutes that you don’t know what you’re doing with your life, that maybe you should be going down a different path, that maybe eating a bowl of cookie dough isn’t the right answer but you’re okay with being wrong…right?!

Say yes! Anyone!

Well that was little Miss Katie these past days. I have started planning my training schedule for some upcoming races, and then I realized that there is 2 million wedding things to get done, and then it was like oh my gosh we are moving in a few months, but shoot, I need to focus on the wedding…and clearly I’m veering off course. So, as you can see, my mind has been everywhere, my urge for baking was more like another task—what?! You live for sugar, Katie—and I couldn’t seem to focus on one thing at a time.

In comes my future husband, aka the man with all of the answers, aka the reason for this amazing recipe, aka why I am a bit calmer than I was 2 days ago!

He tells my stubborn self to take a break, forget about everything for a while and come back to it—so we go to Target, because DUH, and then after we try on wedding bands…instantly more relaxed.

And I am back, refreshed and ready to get elbow deep in some dark chocolate, almonds and coconut—it’s just as incredible as it sounds.

So here we have it, the cake that seemed to save my life this weekend all because of the man who surely gives me life! Insanely rich chocolate cake that is stuffed with even more bittersweet chocolate chunks, almonds and coconut…plus coconut buttercream, it’s everything you will need to make this week magnificent, and more!

Whether you are feeling like Slumpy Katie from Sunday or World Conquering Katie from Tuesday, this cake will give you the power to do all of the things—which may be a laundry list or just a little self love!

cake ingredients

Butter—2 oz, or 4 TBL

Sugar—2 oz, or ¼ C

Brown Sugar—1 oz, or 2 ½ TBL

Egg—1

Milk—1.5 oz, or 3 TBL

Vanilla—½ tsp

Corn Syrup—0.5 oz, or 1 TBL

Flour—2 oz, or ¼ C + 1 TBL

Cocoa Powder—0.75 oz, or 2 ½ TBL

Baking Powder—½ tsp

Baking Soda—¼ tsp

Salt—½ tsp

Shredded Coconut—0.5 oz, or ¼ C

Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped—2 oz, or ½ C

process

Preheat your oven to 350˚ F.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Combine the milk, egg, vanilla and corn syrup in another cup.

Once the butter is smooth, alternate between the wet and dry, slowly adding it into the mixer.

Make sure to always scrape down the sides of your bowl!

Once all of the ingredients are in the bowl, fold in the coconut and chopped chocolate.

Fill your cupcake tin with liners and put enough cake batter in each to fill them up about ½ way.

Bake in your preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until the top springs back slightly when touched.

Allow to cool completely before frosting!

*Note—this is a small batch of cupcakes, only makes 6, so this way I won’t eat them all myself! It is very simple to double or triple the batch for any type of party, gathering, etc.*

buttercream ingredients

Butter—6.5 oz, or 13 TBL

Confectioner’s Sugar—12 oz, or 3 C

Milk—2 oz, or 4 TBL

Almond Extract—2 tsp

Shredded Coconut—0.5 oz, or ¼ C

process

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth.

Sift the confectioner’s sugar and slowly add it to the creamed butter.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then stream in the milk and almond extract.

Whip on high until smooth.

Add in the coconut.

I used a medium-sized star tip to pipe onto these cupcakes, but you may use either a spatula or a flat tip—whatever you think looks the best! Sprinkle on more coconut and chopped chocolate for garnish.

Bon Appétit!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake

Question—have you ever realized that you had all of these quirky habits as a child and then one day, as an adult, you’re like well what happened to them?! When did I become this semi-normal grownup?

WELL, my sweet baking friends, that happened to me the other day and I just couldn’t get it out of my head!

I woke up the other day simply craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. All I wanted the entire day was my simple PB&J&C. We will get back to the C shortly. Sadly, as a sort of adult, I don’t usually make myself a good old childhood sandwich—I’m constantly thinking about what the best nutrients for my body are, how I can fuel myself each day so I’m not falling asleep by noon or waking up with a stomach ache from too much ice cream.

Adulting is way too hard.

Back to my ever so important craving.

I used to come home most days after school as a child to either an empty house, or my stepdad working, aka Katie makes her own snack time. Now, Roberto will make fun of me until the end of my life for this—but here it is, out in the open for the world to see—the two top afterschool snacks I would make myself.

1. Either about half of a box of noodles with butter and cheese,

Or 2. A toasted peanut butter, jelly, and chocolate chip sandwich.

Carbs and I were, and still are, BFF’s. Just picture this though, warm, toasty bread, melty peanut butter and chocolate chips with cold jelly…I mean come on! It doesn’t get much better than that does it?!

Lately though, I have just been needing one of those sandwiches, which is where the inspiration for this cake came about! So, I give you an ever so rich peanut butter cake matched with even more moist and delightfully light strawberry cake, all sandwiched together with smooth dark chocolate buttercream.

It’s my childhood dream of a cake! …I will still take that sandwich though…

While maybe some days we aren’t feeling young enough to pack up this old favorite in a little baggy, cut into cute triangles with a side of sliced apples, this cake is my more adult version. I swear, put it out for your friends, kids, families, young, old—all will like it, my 25 year old self guarantees it!

peanut butter cake ingredients

Butter, room temperature—2 oz, or 4 TBL

Peanut Butter—3 oz, or ¼ C + 2 TBL

Sugar—8 oz, or 1 C

Eggs—2

Vanilla—2 tsp

Flour—12 oz, or 2 C

Baking Powder—2 ½ tsp

Salt—½ tsp

Milk—8 oz, or 1 C

process

Preheat your oven to 350˚ F.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and sugar.

Once smooth, add in the eggs, one at a time; and then the vanilla.

Scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Alternating with the milk, slowly add this to your mixer while it is on low.

Once all of the ingredients have been added, scrape down one final time to make sure that all has been incorporated evenly.

Prepare an 8” cake pan by spraying with nonstick spray and then either lining the bottom with parchment paper or sprinkling a light coat of flour on it.

Pour the cake batter into your pan and bake for 40-45 minutes until the top springs back when touched.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before assembly!

strawberry cake ingredients

Butter, room temperature—4 oz, or ½ C

Sugar—8 oz, or 1 C

Eggs—2

Vanilla—2 tsp

Flour—12 oz, or 2 C

Baking Powder—2 ½ tsp

Salt—½ tsp

Milk—6 oz, or ¾ C

Strawberries, cut—5.5 oz, or ½ C

process

Preheat your oven to 350˚ F.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.

Once smooth, add in the eggs, one at a time; and then the vanilla.

Scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a separate cup, combine the milk and strawberries.

Whether you want to use an immersion blender or regular blender to combine the fruit and milk is up to you—this will make sure that the berries are added evenly by blending them!

*If you do not have a blender, very finely chopping the strawberries will work just as well!*

Alternating with the strawberry-milk, slowly add this to your mixer while it is on low.

Once all of the ingredients have been added, scrape down one final time to make sure that all has been incorporated evenly.

Prepare an 8” cake pan by spraying with nonstick spray and then either lining the bottom with parchment paper or sprinkling a light coat of flour on it.

Pour the cake batter into your pan and bake for 40 minutes until the top springs back when touched.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before assembly!

chocolate buttercream ingredients

Butter, room temperature—8 oz, or 1 C

Confectioner’s Sugar—15.5 oz, or 3 ½ C

Cocoa Powder—2.5 oz, or 1 ½ C + 2 TBL

Vanilla—2 tsp

Milk—2.5 oz, or 5 TBL

process

In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter until very smooth and light.

Scrape down the sides of your bowl and the paddle.

Sift together the sugar and cocoa powder.

When the butter is ready, slowly add in your sifted ingredients.

Add in the vanilla and the milk.

Once everything has been added, scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.

Turn the mixer on high for about 5-10 seconds, just to get a nicely whipped and smooth buttercream.

Now it is ready for assembly!

assembly

This cake can be assembled in oh so many ways, or just slather on a bunch of butterceam onto an entire cake and eat it that way—but I have decided to do checkerboard.

To do this it is simple.

First, cut off the tops of each of your cakes to make sure that they are even and flat.

Next, cut each cake in half—giving you 4 layers total (between both cakes).

To make the checkerboard, use a large circle cutter—or I used a 6” cake pan—to cut out the center of each cake.

Next, using a smaller cutter, cut the center out of the larger circle you just cut out.

Now you should have cut each layer into 3 sections.

To put back together, take a larger circle of one flavor, the middle sized circle of another flavor and then the smaller circle to match the outside flavor.

Example—large PB cake, medium strawberry cake, smallest PB cake.

Do this with each layer, although it is easiest to assemble when you are frosting each layer.

Next, coat the bottom layer with buttercream, spread evenly and put the next layer of checkerboard cake on top.

Do this until you have used all of the cake layers.

For the top and sides, I have left this cake a little messier than usual—because it is a peanut butter and jelly cake and we all make ours a little differently!

Once assembled how you would like, cut a nice large slice for yourself and enjoy.

Bon Appétit!