This Easter Dessert Takes the Cake

March 28, 2021 / theblindpig11 / 1 Comment

Easter is next weekend and in anticipation that our Blind Pig readers may be looking for a way to spice up their Easter meal, we decided to share our twist on a delicious classic carrot cake.

Since rum pairs nicely with the rich spicy flavor of carrot cake, we added some rum to this cake recipe along with a yummy rum enhanced brown sugar cream cheese frosting. As a bonus, this recipe is easy to make, as far as making cakes from scratch goes. We based our recipe on a recipe found in the March 2015 Southern Living Magazine. We hope you enjoy!

This yummy rum-enhanced cake starts with toasting some pecans with butter and kosher salt. A few of the pecans will go into the cake and the rest of the pecans will be used to garnish the top of the cake. The saltiness of the pecans brings out the rich frosting flavors.

Start this recipe much like most cake recipes by creaming the softened butter with the sugars. Next add canola oil and the eggs. Once that is mixed well, you will add in the dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk. Add 1/2 ounce of your favorite dark rum. Then fold in shredded carrots and a shredded granny smith apple with the toasted pecans. Place the cake batter into three round cake pans and bake for about 25 minutes.

Once the cakes have cooled, mix together the cream cheese frosting. Instead of vanilla extract, add 1/2 ounce of your favorite dark rum. After frosting ingredients have been mixed, cover your cake with the frosting making sure to place frosting between the cake layers. Sprinkle reserved toasted pecans on top of the cake, and you are ready to serve.

Due to the cream cheese frosting, make sure to refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.

Warning: The Easter Bunny might abandon his carrots for this delicious cake! This cake does not disappoint and will be the one thing everyone wants to see in their Easter basket.

If you are looking for some other great ideas for your Easter celebration, check out these past posts.

Easter Morning Cocktails and More

Ideas for Your Easter Brunch Every Bunny will Love

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

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Bourbon Pumpkin Dump Cake… Yes, Please!

September 29, 2019 / theblindpig11 / 1 Comment

It’s no surprise around here that Rhonda loves pumpkins, pumpkin spice and everything Fall. She shared her love of Fall with you in our post for the Pumpkin Spice Martini, and several times since. We are excited to share one of our favorite Fall recipes with you — Bourbon Pumpkin Dump Cake. We keep this recipe in our autumn repertoire, and every year we look forward to the calendar changing so we can enjoy this treat a few times before we move into our Christmas season of treats. One bite of this yummy, pumpkin spice treat will have you yearning to wear sweaters and smell the scent of falling leaves. An added bonus to this recipe is that it is so easy, just dump the ingredients together, pop in the oven and let that pumpkiny good scent fill your kitchen and home.

To make this delicious dessert you need a can of pumpkin, evaporated milk, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice (of course!) yellow cake mix, melted butter, coarse crushed graham crackers, bourbon and toffee bits.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs and pumpkin spice. Combine and pour into baking pan.

Sprinkle the entire box of cake mix over the pumpkin mixture. Top with graham cracker crumbs. Then sprinkle with toffee bits.

Pour melted butter followed by bourbon over the top of the cake. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

If you are reading this post via email, visit us at www.theblindpig.blog for a printable recipe for Bourbon Pumpkin Dump Cake.

Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream. Yes…please!!!

We enjoy serving Bourbon Pumpkin Dump Cake to family and friends or enjoy baking a batch just for us to munch on for a few days. If your family is not a pie-kind-of-family (not sure if we can still be friends if that is true), Bourbon pumpkin dump cake could be a delicious alternative to pumpkin pie at a Thanksgiving Feast. This treat is great served with whipped topping or ice cream with a little sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice on the top. The sweet flavor of the bourbon with the graham and toffee bits enhances the spicy flavor of the pumpkin…so delish!

Try Bourbon Pumpkin Dump Cake this week and let us know what you think!

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Easy Espresso Cake

July 21, 2019 / theblindpig11 / Leave a comment

We hope that you enjoyed your celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 with our yummy cocktail, The Moon Walk. You haven’t tried it yet? No worries, there is still time to commemorate the historical event with a friendly cheers to NASA.

This week we are sharing with you a terrifically easy dessert that is perfect for a family reunion or last-minute get together. You will be surprised when you see how easy it is to make this cake, and astonished with its rich, moist flavor. We got the basic recipe from our friend Cara when she visited us for dinner one evening. We Blind Pigged it up and bit, and now it is one of our go-to favorites. In fact, we (Rhonda) has made it 3 or 4 times this summer.

To make this delicious dessert you will need a few basic ingredients: 1 box yellow cake mix, 1 box of instant vanilla pudding, 1 box of instant chocolate pudding, eggs, chocolate chips, water, oil, and Cafe’ Borghetti espresso liqueur. This recipe is a popular recipe that you may have used before, but the secret ingredient is the Cafe’ Borghetti. The espresso liqueur elevates the chocolate flavor of the chocolate pudding and chocolate chips. It creates a richness that is divine!

Mix all of the ingredients together with your electric mixer. Place in a greased bundt pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack. Remove from pan and top with chocolate sauce. We drizzled Kerrygold Chocolate Sauce over the top of the cake for added flavor and flair. For the chocolate sauce you need cocoa, sugar,half and half, butter, and Kerrygold Irish Cream or Cafe’ Borghetti.

If you are viewing this post via email, make sure to visit us at www.theblindpig.blog for a complete downloadable recipe for Easy Espresso Cake.

So easy. So tasty. So fresh! This will quickly become your go-to dessert. Try it today and let us know what you think.

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Life is Short. Make It Sweet.

May 4, 2019July 5, 2020 / theblindpig11 / 4 Comments

How has your Cinco de Mayo weekend been? We hope you tried out some of our yummy recipes from last week’s post. This week we are very excited to share our newest yummy cake recipe with you– Strawberry Prosecco Cake!

A couple of weekends ago Blind Piglet #1 was home for the weekend to celebrate her birthday, so we tried out a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens that we have been wanting to tweak a bit. We had never tried a recipe like this before, so we weren’t too sure how it was going to turn out. The risk turned out to be a triple layer of yummy strawberry goodness! This cake is light, refreshing and did we say delicious? It is the perfect recipe for a birthday, a bridal lunch, Mother’s Day or any happy occasion. It is easy, tasty, and fresh.

To make this delicious cake you will need eggs, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, butter, almond extract and prosecco. For the strawberry filling you will need, 1 quart of fresh strawberries, prosecco and sugar. To make the whipped cream frosting you will need heavy cream, sour cream, sugar and vanilla.

To begin take your eggs out of the refrigerator and let them stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and flour three 8 × 11/2-inch round baking pans. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Begin preheating your oven to 350°F. Beat eggs with a mixer on high 5 minutes or until thickened and light in a large bowl. For an additional five minutes beat the eggs on medium while gradually adding sugar. Your batter will be light and fluffy. Next, beat in flour mixture on medium-low until just combined.

In a small saucepan heat and stir milk and butter until butter melts. Add the butter and milk mixture gradually to batter. Add in almond extract. Divide batter among pans.

Bake 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Place pans on a wire rack and cool completely. Remove cakes from pans; cool completely on wire racks over a shallow pan or tray. Remove cakes from pans and place on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Poke the cake with holes all over. We used a meat fork for this. Pour prosecco over cakes. It amazed us how quickly the sponge cake slurped up the prosecco. There was not a drop dripping from the cakes. Next, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and chill for 2-24 hours. We made the cake portion of ours a day ahead.

The following day we made the strawberry filling. We cut off stems and chopped the strawberries (saving a few back for garnish). We added the prosecco, and sugar and stirred completely. We covered the strawberries and let them stand for about 30 minutes. Hint: The smaller you chopped the strawberries the easier it is to layer the cake on top.

To make the whipped cream frosting, place a large bowl in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and add heavy cream, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Place back in refrigerator.

Now you are ready to start layering the cake. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with half the strawberry filling on top of the first layer. Place second cake layer on top and spread with remaining filling. Place third cake layer over second. Spread whipped cream frosting over the top of the cake and let extra overflow over the sides. Garnish top with sliced strawberries and mint leaves. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

As we mentioned before, we were pleasantly surprised about just how good this cake recipe is. The prosecco keeps the cake moist. It is probably the best strawberry shortcake combination that we have ever had!

Strawberry Prosecco Cake looks fresh and tasty, as if it is saying, “Hello summer!” Your taste buds will be overjoyed when the creamy goodness of the whipped cream frosting, the strawberries and the prosecco soaked cake pass over. Are you going to treat your taste buds next weekend?

For a complete recipe for Strawberry Prosecco Cake, please visit our website, http://www.theblindpig.blog.

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Bonus Post: Templeton Whiskey Cake

April 27, 2018 / theblindpig11 / 3 Comments

It is bonus post time! Since we missed posting an extra post in March, we are making up for it with a doubly delectable post in April — Templeton Whiskey Cake.

Rhonda originally found this recipe in the March 2017 Southern Living Magazine. After a few minor changes, it has become Templeton Whiskey Cake. This cake combines some interesting flavors of coffee, Templeton Rye Whiskey and bittersweet chocolate chips. Templeton Whiskey Cake takes a little more effort than our usual easy, tasty, fresh recipes, but it is well worth the extra time! If you are planning a celebration for someone special, we recommend you try out this recipe. Besides, it is chocolate, and you can’t go wrong with chocolate!

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You begin this cake by making the ganache first. It is important to note that the ganache needs 8 hours or overnight to sit at room temperature. Unfortunately, when we made this cake, we didn’t have the luxury of time. Our ganache could have used it.

Begin by preparing a chocolate-caramel ganache. Stir together chocolate chips, corn syrup, and Templeton Rye. Set aside.

Next stir together sugar, cold water, and cream of tartar in a large, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium, swirling pan until sugar dissolves and starts to change color. Increase heat to high and cook until mixture is a rich, golden caramel color, 4 to 5 minutes. At first we were a little skeptical, but after heat and stirring, the sugar mixture did turn in to caramel.

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After heating the caramel, you will blend the chocolate and caramel together. Then let the ganache sit.

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Next you will begin to prepare the cake. The addition of a cup and half of dark coffee gives this cake an amazing flavor and aroma. Yummy!

After mixing the remaining ingredients, you bake the cake for 20-25 minutes. Cool the cake completely.

Once cooled, place one layer of the cake on a serving plate and spread with a cup of ganache. Add the second layer of the cake and spread another cup of ganache on top, and cover sides. Top off the cake with fresh berries. Let stand at room temperature until ready to serve or place in the refrigerator overnight.

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This cake was a moist and delicious treat. The berries are an added bonus that compliments the rich chocolate ganache. We had some ganache leftover, so we saved it and drizzled it over fresh berries a week later. Yummo!

If you are reading this post through an email, click on the website to view the complete recipe.

What do you think about our Templeton Whiskey Cake? Give it a try, and let us know about it.

theblindpig.blog

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Let Them Eat Cake!

September 4, 2017 / theblindpig11 / 1 Comment

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone! We can’t believe this is the official end of summer. Our blog kicked off the summer with our Seagram’s Sweet Tea Lemonade. As we look back at the all of the summer posts we have made since then, we realize the summer flew. Don’t worry, though. We have lots of yummy fall and winter treats to tantalize your tastebuds. We will continue to post.

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Last week we experienced a milestone in our family. Our middle son, Jonathan turned sixteen. When the kids were younger Rhonda started a tradition where she always made homemade birthday cakes for the kids. She made everything from a purse, to a monster truck to an aircraft carrier! The kids laugh today about how their special cake was one of their favorite memories, and they made crazy requests because they thought their mom could make ANYTHING. Oh… how we wish for the days that our kids thought we knew and could do it all. Now that they are teenagers and beyond, that is not the case. 🙂

Jonathan loves chocolate and for the past few years has asked for a triple layer chocolate cake. This year Rhonda decided to try out a recipe she had adapted with Kerrygold Irish Cream. It did not disappoint.

A special birthday requires special candles. We found these sparkling candles and special 16 at Hobby Lobby on the party aisle.

Rhonda made this cake from scratch. No cake mixes for this one. It is adapted from a Southern Living recipe in The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. The addition of Kerrygold Irish Cream to this recipe gives the cake a milky chocolate taste and color.

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For the icing, we adapted a Southern Living recipe as well. The icing is a cream cheese icing recipe, so it had a different texture than the typical buttercream frosting.

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As you can see, our boy was happy with his cake. Gosh, we can’t believe 16 years have gone by.

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Kerrygold Cake

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup Kerrygold Irish Cream
2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 (1 ounce squares) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup Kerrygold Irish Cream

Spray three 9 inch round cake pans with cooking spray.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar beating at medium speed (5-7 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add 1/4 cup Kerrygold Irish Cream beat until well blended.

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Combine flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix at low speed after each addition until blended. Stir in chocolate and vanilla.

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Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.

Kerrygold Irish Cream Frosting

1/4 cup butter softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese softened
1 (16 ounce package) powdered sugar, sifted and divided.
3 (1 ounce squares) unsweetened chocolate melted and cooled
1/4 cup Kerrygold Irish Cream

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and chocolate. Beat until smooth. Gradually add remaining sugar and Irish Cream, beating at low speed until spreading consistency.

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Spread frosting between layers of cake. Spread frosting on top and sides of cake. Store in refrigerator.

Both the batter and the frosting are a thick, creamy consistency. You can tell from the photo that the batter is thick in the pan. This is a great cake to serve for a birthday or any special occasion. We would love to hear if you try it out. Feel free to share comments and questions on our blog. Don’t forget to look for our posts on Pinterest! Have a great week.

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We know the cake is and looks a little lopsided in this pic. We are keeping it real on this blog. Some of the best tasting cakes are a little lopsided and not picture perfect.