Chocolate Milk Poke Cake

I don't like the term "poke cake" because quite frankly, it sounds kind of dirty. Like, I feel like I should be blushing when I talk about them. But I love, love, love eating them. Because poke cakes aren't anything dirty at all: they're simply cakes which have been poked with a skewer of some sort so that they can be more receptive to delicious soaking liquids (tres leches cake would be a famous poke cake, btw. So would Better than Sex Cake).

And I have to say: this poke cake is spectacular. It starts with a cake mix, but it's fancied up right quick by using melted butter and milk instead of the water and oil called for on the package, and then once baked, it's poked and soaked (see? dirty-sounding!) with an absolutely dazzling chocolate and sweetened condensed milk mixture. Even served just like that, this cake could make you cry with joy.

But save the tears, because there's still frosting! I used seven minute frosting, but you can use whatever type of buttercream or topping you'd prefer.

It's a joy to dig into this cake, because it has all the joy of a yellow cake but the moisture and decadence of a gooey chocolate dessert. 

I'll leave it at this: it's a great cake. And anyone you make it for should consider themselves very lucky! 

Chocolate milk poke cake

Printable version here

Makes one, two-layer, 8-inch cake

For the cake

• 1 box cake mix (I used Pillsbury yellow cake)
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 3 eggs 
• 3/4 cup milk
• pinch salt

For the topping

• 4 ounces dark chocolate
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk 
• Pinch salt 

To top it all off

• 1 batch seven minute frosting (recipe here) or buttercream of your choice

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease two 8-inch cake pans. I greased mine with some Bertolli spray because it had recently been sent to me and I thought it would be nice to say thanks. They didn't pay me to say that. 

2. Combine all of the cake ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Blend on medium speed until smooth and lump-free.

3. Divide into the two cake pans, and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.

4. Remove from the oven, and after a few minutes, invert on to a wire rack set above a baking pan (to catch drips in the next step). 

5. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate, stirring frequently, until the chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the salt. You can also do this while the cake bakes (that's what I did). 

6. Poke the cake all over at 1 inch intervals using a chopstick--but don't go all the way to the bottom.
7. Pour the chocolate mixture gently on top. If you're careful you shouldn't have too much loss of chocolate goo. Because it is tasty, and you want it in your mouth, not on the bottom of a pan. 
 

See how interesting they look?

Let the cakes set for a while. Meantime, make some frosting. I used seven minute frosting but you can use whatever kind you like.

Frost the top of one of the layers, stack the second, and frost the sides and top. Enjoy! 

Have you ever tried a poke cake?

Grandma's Killer Chocolate Cake from Author James Patterson

Here's a riddle: what kind of cakes do mystery writers like?

Happily, the new book The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For is ready and willing to answer this question in the most delicious way. It is a collection of recipes culled from famous mystery writers, and it makes for mighty sweet eating. 

When choosing an excerpt recipe to feature here, my eye was drawn right away to "Grandma’s Killer Chocolate Cake: via mystery writer James Patterson. I hope you'll enjoy!

Grandma's Killer Chocolate Cake

Recipe headnote:

Here’s one “killer” Alex Cross always loves to catch—Grandma’s Killer Cake! A special family recipe dating from the 1940s, this decadent cake seems to get better with age; it is tastier on day two. And you need to be a good detective around the house after it has been made, sitting there in its glass­domed cake stand, staring back at you with deadly temptation, because a piece seems to mysteriously disappear every time I go into the kitchen. Not to be caught red­handed, so looms the “Killer Cake Killer”!

YIELD: 1 SINGLE­ LAYER 9x12 INCH CAKE OR 1 DOUBLE LAYER 9­ INCH CAKE

CAKE

• 2∕3 cup butter
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 11∕3 cups buttermilk
• 11∕3 teaspoons baking soda dissolved in 2 ∕ 5 cup hot water 31∕2 squares bitter chocolate, melted gently
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FROSTING

• 1∕2 cup butter
• 3 squares bitter chocolate
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2∕3 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs.

2. Blend in flour and buttermilk in alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour. Add baking soda mixture, followed by chocolate and vanilla extract.

3. Pour batter into one 9­by­12­inch pan or two round 9­inch springform pans. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.

4. Combine all frosting ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a full boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Let cool. You can put saucepan on ice if necessary to cool quickly.

5. Remove the cake from the pan, frost, and serve.

About the author: James Patterson has sold 300 million books worldwide, including the Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women’s Murder Club, Maximum Ride, and Middle School series. He supports getting kids reading through scholarship, Book Bucks programs, book donations, and his website, readkiddoread.com. He lives in Palm Beach with his wife, Sue, and his son, Jack.

Excerpted from The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For edited by Kate White. Reprinted with permission from Quirk Books. 

The Only Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe.

If you believe my mother (and she's a pretty honest person), my first word as a baby, aside from "mama" and "papa"...was "chocolate". Apparently, it occurred following an incident where my grandma gave baby-me a fat spoonful of chocolate frosting, against my mother's wishes. As the story goes, my eyes lit up and I said the magic word: "chok-lit". True story.

So clearly, chocolate has played an important role in my life. It's been a lifelong friend.

In spite of that, however, I don't consider myself a "chocoholic". I would more often choose a blondie than a brownie, and I like the cookie part better than the chocolate chip part of cookies. But when I do get a chocolate craving, it is fierce, and I want chocolate and nothing else in my mouth.

In Santa Fe, where I currently reside, I have been introduced to one of my favorite chocolate cakes, which always satisfies chocolate cravings: the flourless decadence cake at Whole Foods. It's a very dense chocolate cake with (because, why not) a thick ganache topping). I don't know exactly what it is about this cake, but it is GOOD. Here's a picture of it:

When I recently wrote an article for New Mexico Magazine (out in January!), one of the recipes I developed was for a decadent flourless chocolate cake. When I made it, I was surprised at how close the cake part was to the Whole Foods variety, so I tried a new variation which featured not only flourless chocolate cake, but an all-over ganache topping.

Well, my friends, it worked, and I believe I have found the perfect homemade hack of the Whole Foods decadence cake.

I don't know how to express it in words, quite, but I will try. This cake is very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very chocolatey. If you have a chocolate craving, this will do the trick. There's more than a full pound of chocolate encased in its glossy ganache-coated exterior. This cake means chocolate business.

The salt is key in this recipe, as it brings out the chocolatiness. If you want, you can add a teaspoon of coffee powder to amp up the chocolate flavor even more, but I don't find it necessary.

If you love chocolate, this is the only flourless chocolate cake recipe you'll ever need. If you don't love chocolate, this might be he one that makes you a believer.

Process shots from cake making:

Whipping the egg whites

Adding the eggs to the chocolate

Folding the egg whites into the chocolate

Pour into the pan

Baked cake

The only flourless chocolate cake recipe.

Makes one 9-inch round cake

For the cake

• 1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 11 tablespoons (1 stick plus three tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 5 large eggs, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar

For the sauce

• 1 batch ganache with cocoa powder

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the top of the parchment paper.
2. In the top of a double boiler or in a large bowl set atop a saucepan of lightly simmering water with 2 inches between the top of the water level and the bottom of the bowl, melt the chocolate and butter. Stir frequently until the chocolate and butter have melted to the point where there are only a few small lumps. Remove from heat and continue stirring until these unmelted bits have melted in the residual heat.
3. Whisk in the egg yolks into the still-warm chocolate mixture. Whisk quickly so that the eggs will be incorporated without beginning to cook (nobody likes scrambled eggs in their cake). Stir in the vanilla extract.
4. In a separate bowl using a hand mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Once soft peaks form, stop the mixing and add the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary to make sure no sugar has stuck to the sides of the bowl. Continue mixing until the whites have attained firm peaks, but not so long that they become dry.
5. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture in two separate additions (it’s just easier to manage that way). Mix only until there are no more traces of white and the mixture is fully combined.
6. Using the same rubber spatula, scrape the thick chocolate mixture into your prepared baking pan.
7. Place the pan in a larger baking dish or roasting pan, and fill the larger pan with water until it reaches halfway up the cake pan’s height.
8. Place the entire unit (cake pan within bain-marie) into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. The top and sides will be set, but the middle may jiggle a bit. This is OK.
9. Remove the cake from the pan of water (the water level should have reduced making it easier to remove). Let the cake cool in the pan. When ready to remove from the pan, run a sharp knife around the perimeter of the cake pan to loosen the edges. Place a serving platter on top of the cake pan, and flip both the pan and the plate so that the cake is on top. It should come out easily. The parchment may stay in the pan or it may come off with the cake; remove from the cake if so. Store in the refrigerator until the cake has completely set.
10. While the cake cools, make the ganache as specified in the recipe. Let it cool until it has thickened to a spreadable but thick consistency, and spread all over the cake. 
11. Keep the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve; let it come to room temperature before serving.

Do you like flourless chocolate cake?

"The Cake"

I need to tell you about something called The Cake.

Here's the story: my darling one has a handwritten book of family recipes, and one is definitely more captivating than any others, because its name is simple, mysterious, and a bit imperious...

It has a credit of Claire Goddard. I have never had the pleasure of meeting Claire, but based on her cake, I'm pretty sure I would like her. 

This cake is pretty, but perhaps not exceptional to look at: it just looks like a pleasant cake baked in a doughnut shape.

But one bite will tell you that there is something special about the cake. It's rich, probably owing to the high amount of eggs, and it is a bit tipsy, owing to the whopping 3/4 cup sherry (or rum, thankyouverymuch). It also has that certain addictive quality that boxed yellow cake always seems to impart on a cake (evidence: gooey butter cake). It's the sort of cake that doesn't need frosting...

but hey, why not?

Even in spite of the above selling points, I'm not sure how exactly to explain the pleasure of The Cake. It isn't the fanciest dessert you've ever had, but it's got star quality--a certain je ne sais quoi that you can't quite put your finger on, but you're drawn to nonetheless.

The Cake is worth your time--I promise. A little treasure from my family's memory box to yours.

"The Cake"

Slightly adapted from Claire Goddard

Note: the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup vegetable oil; we used part coconut oil. You can use 3/4 cup vegetable oil if you prefer.

I used Pillsbury Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix for this recipe. 

• Serves 6-8 
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Baking time: 45-50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 package vanilla instant pudding
• 4 unbeaten eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup coconut oil plus 1 tablespoon 
• 3/4 cup sherry or rum
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups buttercream frosting, for topping (optional but suggested)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube or bundt pan; set to the side.
2. Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes.
3. Transfer to a greased tube pan (we used a bundt pan). 
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Let cool for about 20 minutes before inverting on to a serving rack. Serve as-is, or covered with frosting (that is my suggestion) or with ice cream. 

Do you have any mysterious family recipes?

Brown Sugar Swirl Birthday Cake With Brown Sugar Frosting

Last week, even though it was a bit early for my August 26th birthday, I made a cake.

You see, I was in New Jersey for a few days with my parents, and I would be leaving before the big day, so I decided we should all have a little party. Any excuse for more cake, right?

I was writing a post for Craftsy about brown sugar buttercream, and I decided to make a cake to go with it (although, for the record, I have nothing against eating it by the spoonful). I hit up my mom's old cookbook collection and found an old treasure: silver white cake, AKA my birthday cake growing up. I doctored it up a bit, making it richer by including the entire eggs and by adding a swirl of brown sugar. The "swirl" came out more like little lumps of brown sugar here and there...but DELICIOUS lumps. Oh, and I also doubled the salt. Because if I've learned anything in my baking years, it is that brown sugar loves salt.

This cake came out tremendously, if I do say so myself. Everyone took seconds, which is always a good sign. Maybe it can add some joy to your non-birthday day, too!

Brown Sugar Swirl Birthday Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

For the cake

Makes one 2 layer 8-inch cake

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated (white) sugar
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 8-inch round cake pans. Set to the side.
2. Beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, milk, and vanilla in a stand mixer on low speed, scraping the bowl occasionally, for 2 minutes.
3. Add the eggs, and increase the speed to high, scraping the bowl occasionally, for 2 more minutes, or until the mixture is pretty much smooth and lump free. 
4. In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and melted butter. It should be pretty thick yet smooth. Fold into the cake mixture, trying to incorporate little bits of the mixture throughout the batter.
5. Pour into the prepared pans. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden on top and a cake tester comes out mostly clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and immediately run a sharp knife around the perimeter of the pans to loosen the cakes. After a few minutes, invert them on to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. While the cakes cool, make the frosting. When ready to assemble, start by generously frosting the top of one of the cakes; layer the second on top of that, and then frost the whole thing all over. I found this cake did not require a crumb coat.

Brown sugar buttercream

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4-6 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup of half and half, plus more if needed

Note: This recipe yields a perfect amount of buttercream to ice a two-layer 9-inch cake or a 9x13-inch oblong cake. This recipe can be doubled.

1. Cream the butter until fluffy. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon; beat until it has become smooth in texture yet whipped.
2. Add three cups of the confectioners' sugar, and mix on low speed so that you don't have a snowstorm. Stir in the vanilla extract, salt, and cream. Stir until incorporated.
3. Add the remaining confectioners sugar to your taste. If it becomes too stiff, add a bit more cream. Store unused portions of the buttercream in the refrigerator for up to a week.

What kind of cake will you have for your birthday this year?

Single Serving Dessert: Microwaveable Chocolate Cake in a Bowl

To some, the idea of a "single serving dessert" seems sad. Like, poor you, you don't have anyone to share dessert with.

I don't find single serving desserts sad at all. I see it as a definite reason not to have to share. It only makes one! So you can see, it's a decision that you can make to treat yourself and no one else. The recipe which follows is for a quirky little single-serving chocolate cake which you can make in the microwave. I stuffed mine with hershey's kisses so it would be a little gooey inside, but you can do whatever you want, from topping it with ice cream or fruit (if you're into health food) or even some buttercream frosting. 

If you started to feel panicky there, don't: you won't be sharing the toppings either.

If this all sounds quite terrible of me, so be it, but I wasn't planning on sharing dessert with you anyway.

I'm going to try something a touch different today and put all of the photos before the recipe, so that if you want to follow the recipe, you can easily follow it without picture breaks. Which way do you prefer? 

All right, here we go.

Next time you're feeling greedy and want something all for you that nobody else can have, here's how you do it. 

First, you'll mix up a couple of wet ingredients.

Then you'll add some dry ones and mix til it's smooth.

If you want, add a generous handful of (unwrapped!) chocolate candies such as Hershey's Kisses.

Then you'll put the bowl you mixed it in right in the microwave for a few minutes. It will puff up and pull away form the sides of the bowl. Actually, it will kind of look ugly. But...

Go for it. Don't share. What do you think?

Single Serving Chocolate Cake in a Bowl

Makes one

• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
• 3 tablespoons milk
• a handful of chocolate candies

Procedure

1. Mix together the sugar, egg, oil, and vanilla in a bowl. And by "a bowl" I mean the one you indend on microwaving. Use one with decently high walls, so that the cake has room to rise.
2. Add the flour and cocoa. Mix until incorporated. Add the milk and mix until smooth. You can use a fork, spoon, or mini spatula for this.
3. Fold in the chocolate candy.
4. Put the bowl in the microwave and heat on high for 3 minutes (if you know your microwave is a lower powered model, go four minutes. It will puff up, and then deflate once removed from microwave.
5. What are you waiting for? Top it, if you want to, and eat.

What's your favorite dessert to not share?

Pugs and Kisses: 10 Awesome Pug Cakes

Photo via Cakesdecor

There are few things that I love more than cake. One of those sacred few things is my little pug, Porkchop. This little love muffin is the darling of my life. Here we are together:

Pugs are definitely on my mind at this moment: I am embarking on a month long trip to New Jersey, NYC, and Puerto Rico and Porkchop will not be coming. I'm going to miss the little dude!

To satisfy my love of all things pug, I've put together a collection of ten awesome pug cakes which will have you cooing, and may either inspire you to bake a cake, go adopt a pug, or (yay!) maybe both.

Here goes:

Two cuddling pugs cake (pictured top)

This cake was inspired by a fawn pug named Boo and a black pug named Onyx. It took the decorator a solid 2.5 days, but it's worth it: she captured the expressions perfectly!

Photo via Baked Cupcakery

Pug-cakes

These cupcakes are cleverly configured with coils of fondant to resemble sweet little pugs. Don't you just want to pinch those faces? And then stuff the cupcakes in your face? Me, too.

Photo via Cakesdecor

Pug face cake

This lovely cake captures the bug-eyes and pink tongue of a pug. The designer has a lot of other great work; check it out at https://www.facebook.com/zoesfancycakes.

Photo via Dailymail.uk

Expressive pug cake

I adore how this cake captures the odd way that pugs sit; when Porkchop sits like this, I say he is "sitting like a real boy". The winsome expression is pure pug, too!

Photo via Betty Crocker

Sprinkle pug cake

The clever use of sprinkles makes this cake party-perfect. Piped chocolate and white chocolate elements make perfect pug eyes, and a peanut butter frosting attains the perfect fawn pug hue.

Photo via Deviantart

Wary pug cake

This pug looks like he knows something's going on. What really made me like this cake is that it vaguely resembles Porkchop, don't you think?

Photo via Coco Cake Land

Black pug face cake

Look at the mug on this pug! Coco Cake Land captures the adorableness of a pug in this cake, which is far cuter than you'd ever expect a cake with all-over black fondant to come out!

Photo via Coloured Bubble Cakery

Pug face cupcakes

Seriously. If these fondant-topped cuties with pink tongues hanging out don't make you want to coo, I don't know what will. 

Photo via Pinterest

Wrinkled pug face cake

Pugs have a lot of wrinkles, which makes them seem wise even when they are little baby pugs. This cake accurately and adorably captures the pug wrinkle-fest in edible form.

Photo via The Butter End

Naughty pug cake

To close out the list, an adorable tricksy cake decoration: a pug adhered to the side of a cake which is slightly torn up. The effect of a naughty pug eating cake is whimsical, clever, and inspiring for future cake decorations I'm planning!

Do you have an adorable pug cake to share? Leave a link to it in the comments!

It's Not My Birthday: Marvelous Marble Swirl Cake Recipe

I understand that sometimes you want a pinkies-out, delicate and beautiful dessert.

And other times...you just wanna stuff your face with cake.

A week or so ago, I was having one of those days. And almost as if it was a sign from the heavens, I opened up Taste of Home Magazine--you know, to gaze at the feature which included my mini pies. Here I am with the spread:

Listen. The cake in the magazine looked like this.

I am not a photographer...but here is mine.

The photos in this post prove that. But I hope that my words can convince you that in spite of the "not ultra pinnable" images, this cake is worth giving a try. Because gosh-darn was it good. It is such a rich cake that I am honest, a slice will do it for you. It's almost like the cake part of a crumb cake, swirled with chocolate. So buttery, so creamy.

And then, the frosting. I sort of improvised with it, and decided to try a sort of sour cream frosting. It was a good decision--the slight tang of the frosting worked so beautifully with the rich cake. The overall result was richer than a king's ransom, and far tastier. 

The decorating was fun, too. Swirling chocolate in the frosting was surprisingly easy, and looked pretty. It also gave a wonderful flavor contrast, adding a solid, dark undertone to go with the sweet and buttery stuff.

Please, please tell me you'll try this cake. It's like having your birthday again, no matter what day of the year. 

Marvelous Marble Swirl Cake

Adapted from Taste of Home

For the cake

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 tablespoons, plus 1 1/4 cups butter, softened, divided
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Frosting

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 6 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• some milk on hand, to thin if needed
• 2 tablespoons chocolate chips

Procedure

1. In a metal bowl over barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and 3 tablespoons of butter; stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 F. Line the bottoms of two 8-inch round baking pans with parchment paper; grease the paper, too.
3. In a bowl, cream the remaining butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream, beating well after each addition.
4. Remove 2 cups batter to a small bowl; stir in cooled chocolate mixture. Drop plain and chocolate batters by tablespoonfuls into the prepared pans, dividing the batter between the pans. 
5. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks. Peel off the parchment, and let cool completely.
6. When you have a feeling the the cake will be cool soon, begin on the frosting. In a large bowl, cream the sour cream with the confectioners' sugar until nice and smooth but thick. If it gets too thick and stiff, add the milk as needed to thin. 
7. If the cakes have rounded tops, level them with a serrated knife. 
8. Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 3/4 cup frosting.
9. Top with remaining cake layer. Apply a thin crumb coat and let chill for 20 minutes to lightly set. 
10. Now, put a nice dollop on the top of the cake. Drop the remaining chocolate on top, and spread the frosting in a circle so that it is woven with chocolate, too. Yum.
11. Ice the sides with the remaining (plain) frosting. 

Enjoy.

The Bake-Off is Coming: Blueberry Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

CakeSpy Note: OMG! The 46th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming! Since I so deeply loved attending the 45th Bake-Off, I thought I would get you excited early by sharing some of the finalists' recipes. Do I need to tell you that the winner will receive one million dollars? My posting is on hyperdrive since the event is less than a week a day--check back often, because I will be posting recipes like crazy until the big event! You can follow them by clicking the bakeoff tag below the post to see which ones have been posted so far. Enjoy! 

Marie Sheppard Chicago, Illinois is the one to thank for this tasty morning treat. Hey, I'll bet it would taste good in the PM, too!

Blueberry Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

Prep Time: 25 Min Total Time: 1 Hr 15 Min Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 medium lemon
• 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup Smucker's® Blueberry Preserves
• 2 teaspoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 cans Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup pecans or cinnamon pecans, coarsely chopped

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray nonstick 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper; place tart pan on cookie sheet.
2. In medium bowl, grate 1 teaspoon zest from the lemon. In small bowl, squeeze 1 tablespoon juice from the lemon; set aside.
3. Mix 2 tablespoons of the blueberries with the lemon zest, mashing berries slightly with fork. Stir in preserves, remaining blueberries and butter; set aside.
4. Separate rolls from both cans; reserve icing. On parchment paper, press rolls, cinnamon side down, into 3- to 4-inch rounds. Spoon about 1 tablespoon blueberry mixture in center of each round. Fold dough over filling, pressing edges to seal. Place filled rolls in pan, seam side up in spoke fashion with 2 in the center.
5. In small bowl, lightly beat egg with wire whisk; brush over rolls. Bake 22 to 32 minutes or until center is deep golden brown. Remove to cooling rack.
6. Cool 5 minutes. Remove side of pan; cool 10 minutes longer. Stir reserved icing into lemon juice. Drizzle evenly over rolls. Sprinkle with pecans. Serve warm or cool.

The Bake-Off is Coming: Mocha Cappuccino Pull Apart Cake

CakeSpy Note: OMG! The 46th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming! Since I so deeply loved attending the 45th Bake-Off, I thought I would get you excited early by sharing some of the finalists' recipes. Do I need to tell you that the winner will receive one million dollars? My posting is on hyperdrive since the event is less than a week a day--check back often, because I will be posting recipes like crazy until the big event! You can follow them by clicking the bakeoff tag below the post to see which ones have been posted so far. Enjoy! 

This recipe allows you to have your coffee and eat your cake, too. And why not incorporporate a little chocolate, while you're at it? I like the way Janet Gill of Canton, Ohio thinks when she creates recipes.

Mocha Cappuccino Pull Apart Cake

Prep Time: 20 Min Total Time: 1 Hr 30 Min Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 container (8 oz) mascarpone cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Jif Mocha Cappuccino Flavored Hazelnut Spread
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 cans Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Supreme refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Generously spray 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray.
2. In large bowl, beat mascarpone cheese, sugar, mocha cappuccino hazelnut spread and butter with electric mixer on low speed 45 seconds or until smooth. Stir in pecans.
3. Separate dough into 16 rolls; reserve icing. Cut each roll into 6 pieces. Place 1/2 of the biscuit pieces into mascarpone mixture, gently folding to coat. Fold in remaining biscuits to coat; spoon mixture in pan.
4. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until deep golden brown and biscuits are no longer doughy in center. Cool 15 minutes. Place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; carefully turn plate and pan over. Remove pan.
5. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir 1 teaspoon boiling water and instant coffee granules until granules are dissolved. Stir in 1 container of the icing until well blended; drizzle over warm rolls. Cool 5 minutes. Drizzle with remaining container of icing. Serve warm.