Cake

This is a moist, fragrant cake with a soft, strong crumb. Its flavors hold up well with chocolate. Use it with Cocoa Chantilly Cream (page 117) for subtle chocolate flavor, or use Sugar Islands Chocolate Buttercream (page 119) for the big bang of chocolate and vanilla together.

This moist cake combines the fruits, nuts, and spices from the New World that the Spanish conquistadores discovered in 1508. Chocolate was part of this Mesoamerican tableau. Brown sugar and ginger arrived much later, but this cake pays homage to the riches of the original jungles and river valleys.

Blending Fair Trade coffee with Fair Trade cocoa allows us to support those who serve the world coffee and chocolate. It also helps us celebrate the classic European flavor combination of coffee and chocolate, mixed here as you might find them in an Italian café, with tangy mascarpone cheese and lemon. To make the cookie crumbs for the crust, see the recipe for Chocolate Sugar Dough (page 132) or buy plain cookies (like Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Chessman). Toss about twenty cookies of either type in the blender, pulse two or three times, and you will have dark chocolate cookie crumbs. You’ll need a cheesecake or springform pan, and most grocery store versions of this work fine. When the cake is baked and chilled, release the latch, slice, and serve. Be sure to clean your knife with a warm wet towel for each slice.

A slice of this chocolate-ribboned cake served on a tray with a cup of hot cocoa, a glass of chilled juice, and a boiled egg, accompanied by a newspaper and a little flower in a vase, will please the soul of any chocolate lover lying in bed. Not so sure? Add a chocolate glaze (see Glaze of the Gods, page 118) and you’ll be guaranteed entry into the boudoir of chocolate heaven.

Ultramoist and deliciously gooey, these dark chocolate cupcakes will disappear quickly.

Cover a cakelike layer on the bottom with a custardlike layer on top to get cupcakes that seem almost like pumpkin pie.

Carrots and fruit juice add a healthful twist to this very easy cake.

A rich pool of fudge sauce works its way to the bottom of this decadent-tasting cake as it bakes. This dessert is best when served warm but is excellent even at room temperature.

Lemon juice and zest give this cake a refreshing taste. The sweetness of the apricot preserves balances the tartness of the lemon.

This dessert is great to take out the door, to sell at a bake sale (if you store the cups in a tub of ice), or even to just open the refrigerator to. There’s just something so much more appealing about food that’s ready to go. Feel free to make this in any resealable plastic container you have sitting around your kitchen. But if you want it to look like it was made by the pros, next time you go to a warehouse or club store, buy 12-ounce clear plastic take-out cups with lids. If you’re making a lot, line them up and fill them assembly-line fashion. If you have a few extra minutes and want the shortcakes to be even more decadent, try following this recipe using the Sexy Strawberry Tapenade (see page 207) instead of plain strawberries—a 1/4-cup serving of the tapenade has only 50 calories and 2 grams of fat. Just layer a serving (or two) of the tapenade between the angel food cake and whipped topping in a 12-ounce cup, and you’re in for an extra-special treat.

Gina: With a spicy, nutty crumb topping and sweet peaches baked right in, this irresistible crumb cake is a favorite for sleep-late brunches (a good option when you have house guests and everyone had a little bit too much fun the night before). The cake is easy enough to stir together the morning of the brunch, or the night before. To continue the decadence, consider serving peach Bellinis (peach purée with champagne), along with plenty of eggs, bacon, hash browns, etc.

Gina: Just about every church cookbook and family recipe box throughout the South has its own version of this dark, rich chocolate cake named for the “muddy” Mississippi River. In our version, we add coffee to deepen the chocolate flavor, and throw in a handful of mini–chocolate chips, creating a sinfully “muddy” bottom that’s fun to drag your fork through. Then we top the whole thing off with mini-marshmallows and a river of icing. This is one Mississippi cake you’ll be happy to drown in!

Gina: Red Velvet Cake is beloved throughout the South. It’s sweet and moist, with a deep-crimson hue that comes from the addition of red food coloring to the cake batter. In the old days, folks used beets or red cabbage to dye their cakes! Red Velvet is a buttermilk cake, which is one of the reasons it’s so moist; there’s also cocoa in the batter, which is one of the reasons it’s popular with children (that, and the traditional cream-cheese frosting). It’s red and white, but it tastes black and white, and it’s always a stunner when you cut into one. Making someone a layer cake is an investment. It takes time, hon. But it’s also a beautiful, loving gesture, and nicer than any present you can buy. This sexy cake is easier than you might think to assemble, and the results are sure to steal the show at any party.

Gina: Multilayered coconut cakes are the prom queens of Southern desserts—and we love them—but, like prom queens, those cakes take time to prepare. This buttery Bundt cake, made with coconut milk, coconut flakes, and fresh chopped pineapple swirled right into the batter, is easier to make and just as satisfying. A pineapple glaze adds a tart punch to the mix.

Pat: Cupcakes bring out the kid in everyone. They certainly bring out the kid in me, and my girls will tell you that I love these cupcakes as much as they do. Who can blame me? They are impossible to resist. The combination of cake flour and buttermilk gives them a tender crumb and a slightly tangy flavor, and the thick, rich cream-cheese frosting—made with melted chocolate chips—puts them over the top. These cupcakes starred in the “If Pat’s a Good Boy” episode of our show. Talk about inspiration to behave! Gina often doubles this recipe so we have enough around to feed a crowd for a party or picnic, because even when folks are on their best behavior these have a way of vanishing. . . .

Gina: Oh boy. When I realized the importance of Strawberry Shortcut Cake to the Neely boys, I knew I had to get baking and learn this recipe! The first step was getting permission from Momma Neely to make the cake. Let’s just say baking the cake was the easy part! Momma Neely always brought this cake to our house on special occasions. Didn’t matter if the occasion was a birthday, a graduation, or a good report card. It got to the point where our girls would say, “I need to call Grandma Neely and tell her about my report card so she can bring me some shortcut cake.” I like to call it a shortcut cake because we use a boxed mix. But no one will ever be able to tell when you serve it.

Gina: Calling all ladies to the kitchen! This is my absolute fa-vo-rite!!! It’s a sour-cream pound cake, but, girl, here’s the surprise: After you bake it, you need to grill it. (That barbecue man got me crazy, huh?) Resist the temptation to use a box mix for this one, because a cake made from scratch will give you the best flavor. I’m all for mixes now and then, especially with everybody’s busy schedule, but, you know, sometimes we have to slow it down and enjoy the fruits (and warm fruit toppings) of our labor. So fire up that grill pan, slice that cake, and brush it with butter (no margarine!) on both sides. The cake, toasted, will take on those great grill marks and be ready to stand up to a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a generous drizzle of Warm Raspberry Syrup, and any other sundae-style toppings that grab you (pass the crumbled Oreos and M&M’s!). When you finally place that plate in front of your man, you can have anything you want afterward—anything! You can also dress this dessert in a fancy outfit by cubing the cake and layering it with ice cream and Warm Raspberry Syrup in a parfait glass.

Gina: This is Momma Neely’s calling card (and when Momma Neely comes calling, people answer). It’s a traditional Southern butter cake filled with pecans and cinnamon and finished with a light sugar glaze. At the restaurant, this dessert rules the house! You can serve it with ice cream at the end of a meal, or for breakfast with coffee to start your day. When Patrick gets to the restaurant early in the morning, it’s the first thing he reaches for. Our recipe yields an extremely moist and delicious yellow cake. It will knock your socks off!

In this recipe, I prepare the zuppa inglese almost as you would a layer cake. Although the method is fairly easy, you may want to try the following more traditional and even easier way the first time you make it. Prepare all the components as described below, but assemble them thus: Line a 13 × 7–inch ceramic or glass serving dish with one layer of sponge cake, cut side up. Brush and fill the layers as described below, finishing with a layer of whipped cream over the top layer of cake. Chill and decorate as described below. To serve, spoon the zuppa inglese from the dish, passing any remaining whipped cream and pastry-cream sauce separately.