This has definitely been the year of the crumb cake for me. Once I posted my Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake , I looked for every opportunity to make it again and again....and again. We LOVED it!!! Then, blueberry season arrived...I love blueberries. I love blueberry muffins. I love crumb cake. How could I not make a Blueberry Crumb Cake? So I did. After all, I'd been buying blueberries 4 pounds at a time! I know. Crazy! But when beautiful organic blueberries arrive en masse...I'm all in! Of course, even when blueberries weren't plentiful, I still managed to post some recipes like Blueberry Pancake Cobbler , Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Dip and Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Bars . (Where there's a will, there's a way.) So this cake. Here's how it goes down. We talked about the importance of room temperature ingredients in my Chocolate Chip Cherry Cheesecake post. Room temperature is also important in this recipe. But while I don't cheat in the cheesecake recipe, you can cheat a little bit here. And I don't mean cheat by not using room temperature ingredients. I mean cheat by speeding up the process. Here are my tips for getting ingredients to room temperature faster. Tips to bring your ingredients to room temperature faster: Eggs - Before I begin the recipe, I simply put them in a bowl and cover them with very warm tap water. By the time I'm ready for them in the process, they are ready for me. Butter -Microwave the stick of butter at power level 1. I usually do this for a minute, check it and continue to do it in 1 minute increments until it is soft enough to press my finger into the side without too much pressure. Don't forget to reset the power level to 1 each time you start the oven again. If you forget, you'll get an oven full of melted butter. And yes...been there, done that. Sour cream and milk -Mix them together and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, then check the temperature with your finger. We don't want it to be warm, it should simply feel like it has no chill to it whatsoever. Of course you can skip all of these tips if you remember to set your ingredients out to come to room temperature on their own. If you remember, great. If not, I've got you covered. Now let's make the crumbs. They're super easy because we're melting the butter! (Don't have to worry about room temperature in this step :) Just melt the butter and mix it with the dry ingredients. Press the mixture firmly in a small bowl and stash it in the fridge while you make the cake. I melted the butter to mix it with the dry ingredients, and now we're chilling it to firm the butter back up again. You could skip this step, but this is what helps form chunky crumbs. Just stash it in the fridge while you make the cake. The butter firms up quickly and it will be ready when you are. For the cake, you want to whip your butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy. If your butter is at a nice room temperature, this shouldn't be a problem since it's already soft and ready to incorporate some air through beating. It's important to add the lemon zest at this stage because beating it with the sugar helps infuse the flavor throughout the batter. Then, add the eggs. If your batter is fluffy and your eggs are at room temperature, you are golden. They will incorporate easily. If your eggs are cold, it will chill the butter and you'll have little lumps of solid butter in your batter. The same will happen if your sour cream and milk are cold. If that happens, just keep going with the recipe. Your texture will likely be a little dense, but it will still be edible. But hey, that's not going to happen to you because you're going to make sure everything is at room temperature. Right? Right! Sinking Fruit: Myth or Fact? Now let's talk about sinking fruit. We're about to add the blueberries, but we don't want them to sink to the bottom of the cake. This cake batter is fairly thick, so it's possible they wouldn't sink. I decided not to risk it and tossed the blueberries with a spoonful of flour before I added them to the batter. It took less than a minute. I don't use this method when I make Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins , but this was a whole cake . One that I didn't want to make over if the berries sunk. Theoretically, the flour helps the berries grab onto the batter and remain suspended. However, if you do a search on this method, you'll find many who debunk the whole idea. You'll see tests of muffin batter with and without tossing the berries in flour. Results show little difference. So flour or no flour? I'm leaving it up to you. I hadn't gone into this recipe planning to test out that theory. I had one goal...Blueberry Crumb Cake. Once the berries are folded into the batter (naked or floured), just spread it evenly in the pan. Get your crumb mixture out of the fridge because it's ready for you, just like I told you. You'll need a fork to break through what has become a solid mass of butter, sugar and yum. I like to break it into big chunks with a fork and then break it up into various sizes as I sprinkle it on top of the cake. Once it bakes, you'll have a lovely crumb topping a rich berry filled coffee cake. Go ahead and sprinkle it with some confectioner's sugar. I love the way it looks on top of the chunky textured crumbs. Or....make a lemon icing. Yeah, I didn't think of that until I was typing the recipe up. I kept looking at that zested lemon and wondering if I should have incorporated the juice into the cake batter. But I think the lemon icing is an even better idea. I added directions in the recipe notes for the icing. I think it would be lovely to drizzle that over the crumbs. And, it will add another bit of lemon flavor to the cake. I fell hard for crumb cake this year. I don't eat a lot of sweets for breakfast, but I will make an exception for Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake and Blueberry Crumb Cake. Oh yeah, and scones and umm....muffins... Good thing I like to share ;) Blueberry Crumb Cake For the crumb topping: 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon salt 4 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter For the cake: 2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup granulated white sugar zest of one lemon 8 Tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature 2 large eggs (room temperature) 3/4 cup sour cream (room temperature (I used light sour cream)) 1/4 cup milk (room temperature (I used 1%)) 2 cups fresh blueberries (mine was heaping) 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour Optional Toppings: Confectioner's sugar Lemon icing (see notes) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9" round springform pan with cooking spray, or lightly grease bottom and sides. Set aside. Make the crumb topping. Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together until fully combined. Add the melted butter and stir until fully incorporated. This will take a minute or two with a spoon, or you can use your hands to work it in more quickly. Once the mixture is fully combined, pat it down in the bowl with your hands or the back of a spoon so that it is tightly packed in the bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator while you mix up the cake batter. Make the cake. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, using a hand held electric mixer or the paddle attachment in a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest for about 2 minutes until fully combined and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined after each addition. Whisk the milk and sour cream together in a liquid measuring cup. If they're still cool, you can microwave the mixture for 10 seconds to take any chill off. Just don't allow it to get warm at all. Add the sour cream/milk mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of bowl as necessary throughout the entire mixing process. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. Do not over mix at this stage. In a separate bowl, toss the blueberries with the flour until they are coated. (Tossing them in flour is optional. See notes) Carefully fold them into the batter until well distributed being careful not to crush the berries in the process. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Remove crumb mixture from refrigerator and break up into various sized crumbs. Scatter evenly over cake batter. With a flat hand, lightly press the crumbs into the batter. We're not trying to compress the batter, we're just giving them a little help to stick to the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. I covered my cake with a piece of foil for the last 10-15 minutes or so of baking time to prevent the crumbs from over browning. Take care not to over bake or you'll risk a dry cake. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes on a cooling rack. Remove sides of the spring form pan and allow cake to finish cooling on the rack. (I opted to remove the bottom of the pan as well and finish cooling on the rack, but it's not necessary.) *Instead of, (or in addition to) the sprinkle of confectioner's sugar on top, you can make a lemon icing to drizzle over the cake. To make the icing, mix 1 cup confectioner's sugar with lemon juice (from the lemon you've already zested from the recipe) and a splash of vanilla extract until desired drizzling consistency. It won't take a lot of juice to make the icing. Start by adding a couple of teaspoons of the juice, and then continue to add until you get the thickness you want. I think a thicker consistency is best so that it doesn't get lost amongst the crumbs. *If you don't have a springform pan, you can bake this in a regular pan, just insure you use one deep enough to hold the batter. I think 3" is best. *I find it takes too long to allow sour cream and milk to come completely to room temperature by themselves. For this recipe, I whisk the two together and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then, I use the microwave to take the chill off for about 10 seconds. Stir, then check. If the mixture is still cool, I'll give it another 10 seconds or just enough to bring it to room temperature. If it's cold, it will resolidify the butter in the cake batter. If it's warm it will melt the butter. You can just use the microwave to bring the mixture to temperature, but I prefer to take it out of the refrigerator for a bit to give it a head start. See blog post for more tips on speeding up the process of getting your ingredients to room temperature. *It's not mandatory to toss the berries in flour. I did this step to reduce the risk of the berries sinking, though many claim it's not worth it and you'll get the same results if you skip this step. I don't use the flour method when I make muffins, but was concerned about what would happen in an entire cake. It only takes a few seconds, so I did it. It's your choice. The Merchant Baker Copyright © 2017

I'm interrupting a previously scheduled post to bring you this delicious Jalapeno Bean Salsa. I brought this dip to a picnic last week and there were some pretty passionate recipe requests for it. The first time I had this dip was at a friend's pool party a few or so years ago. She told me it was a consistent hit whenever she served it. This pool party was no different. Everyone loved it! So, I asked her for the recipe. When I saw the recipe, I thought I'd like to try making a lighter version of it. You know me. I'm always in recipe development mode. If I can make a recipe a little lighter or less sweet without compromising the flavor, I try to do that. At least most of the time. The marinade is simple. Sugar, vinegar and olive oil. The original recipe called for a cup of sugar, a cup of olive oil and ½ cup of vinegar. For this recipe, I thought I could lighten it up pretty easily. I took the sugar down to ¼ cup, and then did equal parts (1/2 cup each) olive oil and vinegar. That was a big reduction in sugar, but I was fairly confident that it would work. After all, I reduced the sugar in my favorite Cinnamon Apple Cake ; it was actually better! It improved the flavor and let the apples shine through. I did the same in Orange Olive Oil Cake , and it was another good move on flavor. I also used slightly different measurements for ingredients. You can use whatever ingredients you want. This is a highly flexible recipe. Don’t like black eyed peas? Substitute your favorite bean. Pimentos not your thing? Omit them. (Though, I’ll be sad for you to lose the pretty red color.) I used everything she used in her recipe, but if it was a canned ingredient, I simply used the whole can instead of measuring anything. For everything else, I either got close to her measurement or used my own. How to make it mild or hot: Decide on your level of heat. If you want no risk of any heat, sub sweet bell peppers for the jalapenos. I removed the ribs and seeds from my jalapenos and it wasn’t hot at all. In fact, I thought it needed more heat. People were actually surprised that there were jalapenos in it. Jalapenos can vary in heat. Sometimes removing the ribs and seeds gives me just a small kick of heat, sometimes more. This time, I got none ☹ If you want more heat, leave the seeds and ribs. If you want less, remove them. Taste you peppers before adding them so that you know how hot they are. If you want even more heat, use serrano peppers instead of jalapenos. Or, you could sprinkle in some crushed red pepper. If you want to take some of the bite out of your chopped onions, soak them in cold water for 5-10 minutes, then drain before adding them into the salsa. I would have been fine not soaking them, but I think/know my kids appreciated it. Using canned, frozen or fresh corn: The recipe calls for shoe peg corn. Basically, it’s a crisp sweet corn. Don’t fret if you can’t find it. (Green Giant carries it in their "Steam Crisp” line.) You can sub your favorite canned corn. Frozen corn is also fine. No need to cook, just make sure it’s thawed so it doesn’t stick together in your salsa. Fresh corn would be fab! I might like to grill it or steam it for just 2-3 minutes first before cutting it off the cob and adding it. Tips for Serving Jalapeno Bean Salsa: The dip really needs time for the flavor to meld. It doesn't taste like much right after mixing. Give it at least 8 hours to let the flavor develop. I think overnight is best, but we had it after 8 hours and it was good. You might want to add salt or seasoning. Let it marinate first before you make that decision. I thought I wanted to add salt, but after it marinated, I thought there was enough salt within some of the canned ingredients to carry the recipe. So, let it marinate, taste it, and then adjust if you decide it needs something. I didn't add anything. Serve it with scoop shaped chips. They’ll hold more 😊 For my photos, I put the salsa into the chips. This doesn't work well for a long serving time since the salsa will soften the chip. Just serve the chips on the side. (I actually ate it without any chips. I just added it to my plate like a mini side salad or relish to go with the rest of my food.) So, I made all of my adjustments, mixed it up and parked it in the refrigerator and debated whether or not I should bring some to the picnic. The truth is, I wasn't sure if anyone would even eat it. Not that there was anything wrong with it. But this picnic was very much a kid centric kind of event. I didn't think it was very kid friendly, but I brought it anyway. I was already bringing a couple of desserts, so I figured this would simply be a bonus dish. And, since I was in the midst of developing the recipe, I thought I'd take advantage and get some broader feedback. So, because I didn't think this was going to be a huge hit at this particular event, I only brought half of it. Clearly that was a mistake. I think it was the only thing on a long table of food choices that was completely gone at the end of the picnic. And I still had people circling back to me to beg for the recipe. I shared the marinade portion and then just listed the other ingredients. But I got the feeling that more details were needed. At the time, I didn’t even have a name for it. (My friend calls it “Bean Dip.”) So, I bumped another post so that I could get this Jalapeno Bean Salsa up sooner. I get it. When you taste something you love, getting the recipe insures you can have it whenever you want it. Because you can’t always get what you want. Unless it’s this recipe. For that group of friends at the picnic… This one’s for you 😊 Jalapeno Bean Salsa For the marinade: 1/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup olive oil For the salsa: 1 15.5 ounce can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 4 ounce jar chopped pimento, drained 1 11 ounce can shoepeg corn, drained 3/4 cups finely chopped jalapeno ((I used about 4 medium)) 1 cup chopped celery 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion In a small sauce pan, combine sugar, vinegar and oil and heat just until sugar is dissolved. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all the salsa ingredients from the peas through the onion. Pour marinade over the bean mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, stirring occasionally to insure the whole mixture gets soaking time in the marinade. Use a slotted spoon to transfer salsa to serving bowl. Serve with scoop shaped tortilla chips. *Don't worry too much about buying the exact size cans of beans, corn, etc. I used standard sized cans, so if your ounces are close, that's fine. Or, if you want more of one ingredient and less of another, just vary the mix of ingredients to your taste. *This dip is hardly spicy. I removed the ribs and seeds from the jalapenos and no one could even tell there were jalapenos in it. For more spice, leave the seeds and the ribs in or use a hotter pepper. I'm going to go for a bit more heat next time. *If you find that raw onion has a bit too much bite for you, soak the chopped onion in cold water for 5 or 10 minutes, then drain and add to your salsa. Since I wasn't sure how the group I was sharing this with felt about onions, I went ahead and soaked mine. I just let them soak while I was chopping up the rest of the ingredients. *The dip won't taste like much until it has time to marinate. Mine was good after about 8 hours; overnight works best. *Don't feel like stirring the mixture while it marinates? Put the whole thing in a gallon sized bag and just flip it from one side to the other instead of stirring it. Or, you could double the marinade for more coverage. I only stirred mine 2 or 3 times. *See more tips in the blog post. Inspired by a good friend's recipe The Merchant Baker Copyright © 2017

What is it about a photo of brownies covered in glossy chocolate ganache that is so wonderfully distracting? Really, I'm craving these darn Mayan brownies just by looking at them. Mmm...Mayan Brownies.....Hmm? What's that? What makes these brownies Mayan Brownies? Well, there's the chocolate part, of course. The Mayans were one of the early civilizations that used cacao. And, since I'm not an expert on the subject, I won't digress into the full history of cacao and the path it traveled before the Mayans began to use it. There are theories out there for you to research and agree or disagree with should you have a passion to learn more. I will, however, mention a bit of how some believed the Mayans used it. Their process of enjoying cacao was to make it into a drink. They made a liquid of crushed cocoa beans, chili peppers and water. It wasn't sweet; rather it was a bitter drink. They poured the liquid from cup to cup until a frothy foam was created on top. Think of it as an early cappucino, if you will :) Cacao was treasured and the Mayan's called it, "The food of the Gods." And therein lies the inspiration for this recipe. First chocolate (always a good place to start), then spice and heat... with chocolate. Oh, and Cinco de Mayo :) That's right, I was actually going to develop this recipe for Cinco de Mayo a couple of years ago, but I went with Dulce de Leche Brownies instead. I received so many rave reviews on them, that I just had to post them. But that was then, and this is now, sooooo, Mayan Brownies. Let's chat about them. Chocolate has been going through quite a trend for well over 10 years now. It's always been popular, but stop for a minute and take notice of all of the gourmet chocolate bars and flavors and brands that have increased in both amount and flavor variety. There's a lot more shelf space dedicated to it now then, say, 10 or 15 years ago. I still remember the day I received a box of Vosges truffles as a gift. I was at work and I called some buyers into my office to sample the goods with me. I think I may have even written about this before, but we were reduced to sighs of enjoyment with every exotic flavor bite. We weren't mindlessly snacking on chocolate. We were experiencing it. Fast forward to today, where exotic flavored chocolates are every where. There's a local shop near us that makes Mayan chocolate candy and Mayan chocolate ice cream. My daughter is a huge fan. So that's what I wanted to do with these brownies. Add the flavor of the Mayans...and then some. I started with a sweet spice. I knew I wanted to include cinnamon. So, I added Vietnamese cinnamon. It's sweeter and more potent than the average grocery store cinnamon, so if you use that, you could increase the amount by 1/2 teaspoon or so to make sure you get the full punch of flavor. Then, I added some mini cinnamon chips. Just 2 Tablespoons. I didn't want to overpower the chocolate, so I just added enough to disperse throughout the batter. The heat comes in the form of ground cayenne pepper. It is simply added to the dry ingredients. The question was, how much pepper should I use? I landed on 1/4 teaspoon. You? You could land on more and add a serious kick. The amount I added was definitely noticeable, but not overpowering. With that amount, the heat presents itself as a partner to the cinnamon, kind of amping up the warmth of that spice. So, as you're eating it, you taste the cinnamon first and then you feel the warmth of the pepper. It was enough to excite the palate without worrying that my kids would be running for a drink. It's kind of cool because after you eat the brownie, the warmth stays with you for a bit. It's a gentle, comforting warmth. I thought it was a perfect balance. But, we like our pepper heat more on the mild side. Like I said, if you're a heat seeker, you can use as much cayenne as you want. I would start with the recipe amount and then adjust to taste the next time you make the recipe. No use in ruining a whole batch of brownies if you can't handle the additional heat, right? Of course, they smelled amazing while they were baking. The aroma of cinnamon and chocolate wafting throughout the house was wonderful. That aroma inspired the next part of the recipe...the ganache. I thought, why not infuse the ganache with more cinnamon flavor? I happened to have some cinnamon sticks on hand, so I broke them up a bit and let them steep in hot cream before I used the cream for the ganache. That steeping step added just a hint of spice to the ganache. I thought that perhaps my cinnamon sticks were not as potent as they could have been, not exactly remembering when I had bought them :/ So if you purchase them fresh, just for the recipe, you should get more flavor than I did. However, I didn't want it to be too strong, so it worked okay for me. Of course, if you want a stronger flavor of cinnamon and want to skip the steeping step, just add a pinch of cinnamon (or to taste) to the cream before you add the chocolate. I'm very particular about the cocoa. Check my Black Cocoa Brownies post for more on that subject. Good cocoa makes good brownies. The same recipe made with different cocoas will taste very different. So use your favorite, good quality cocoa. I love using Double Dutch Dark Cocoa for most of my chocolate baking, but for this recipe, I went with Triple Cocoa . I didn't want the chocolate to be so dark and rich that it might compete with the other flavors. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I would have loved it too, but I opted for a cocoa that didn't have quite as much black cocoa in it. Now let's get to the fun part. This brownie is both cakey AND fudgy! In my historical quest for the perfect brownie, I tried to balance cakey and fudgy and chewy. That's no easy feat since those traits often work in opposition to each other. The recipe that worked the best for me was Black Cocoa Brownies . That is my current favorite base brownie recipe...and yet, I didn't really achieve perfection with that one. And I didn't achieve perfection with this one either. I'm not sure that it exists in brownie land. Instead, I think that there's just a host of really great brownies to explore. This will simply be another one of them :) For this brownie, I will tell you that at room temperature, it's a little more on the cakey side. When it's cold, right out of the refrigerator, it's dense and fudgy. The ganache is a fudgy constant regardless of temperature, so it functions as a nice bridge to the various brownie textures. When all was said and done, and spiced and baked and steeped and ganached...this turned out to be a successful and exotic twist on a favorite treat. So, be like the Mayans! Get some spice on with your chocolate. Make some Mayan Brownies! Then you, too, can enjoy the "food of the Gods." :) Mayan Brownies For the brownies: 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used Triple Cocoa) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 large eggs 3/4 cup all purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I used Vietnamese cinnamon) 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 2 Tablespoons mini cinnamon chips For the cinnamon infused ganache: 2 " of cinnamon stick broken into pieces 3 ounces heavy cream 1 1/2 Tablespoons light corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 6 ounces chopped (good quality, dark chocolate) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or spray a 9" square baking pan. (I like to line mine with foil and then spray for easy removal and cutting.) In a medium bowl melt butter in microwave. Don't boil it, just heat it until it's melted. Set aside to cool for a minute. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, espresso powder, cinnamon and cayenne together until thoroughly combined. Stir in chocolate and cinnamon chips to coat them in the mixture. Set aside. Whisk sugar into melted butter then add cocoa and whisk to combine. Add eggs and vanilla and continue to whisk until thoroughly combined. Add flour/chip mixture to butter mixture and stir until combined. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted into center comes out with some moist crumbs attached. Allow brownies to cool completely. Make ganache. Place cinnamon stick and cream into a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, cover and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Strain the cream to remove cinnamon pieces and pour back into sauce pan. Add corn syrup, stir then return to heat until the cream is just starting to simmer. Stir in vanilla and chopped chocolate and remove from heat, continuing to stir until all chocolate pieces are melted. Spread evenly over brownies and allow to cool. Cut into squares. Because of the ganache, I like to store these brownies in the refrigerator. *I used Vietnamese cinnamon which is a sweeter, more powerful cinnamon than the typical grocery store cinnamon. If you're using grocery store cinnamon, you might want to add an additional 1/2 teaspoon or so to the recipe to punch up the flavor. *If you prefer a stronger cinnamon flavor in your ganache, or simply do not have a cinnamon stick, just bring cream and corn syrup to a simmer, then add the chocolate, vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, stirring until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. *I opted for a thin layer of ganache on my brownies, but if you want a thicker layer, simply double that part of the recipe :) *Store brownies in the refrigerator. They also freeze beautifully. For a fudgy brownie, serve cold. For a cakier brownie, serve at room temperature. For a great base for a delicious scoop of ice cream, serve warm. *For super clean cuts, chill in the refrigerator to firm up ganache before cutting. *The amount of cayenne in the recipe is perfect for just a warming spice flavor. It kind of has the effect of a hot cinnamon candy and was not too strong for my kids. If you are looking for more kick, increase the spice to taste, but do so cautiously. *You can use natural unsweetened cocoa or dutch process cocoa in this recipe or a mix of cocoas. Different cocoas will produce different flavors. The Merchant Baker Copyright © 2017

This lightened up version of Italian Cream Cake has been on my list to make since I first discovered it years ago. That was back in the 90's, which, in my head was...like...10 years ago. The fact that we are in the 17th year of a new century still boggles my mind. The fact that I've held on to the book (and the magazine) that held this recipe is kind of amazing. The fact that I could still find the recipe in two places is even more impressive. Although, now, in the age of the internet, you can pretty much find anything as long as you can remember some details about it. I have bookshelves full of magazines and cookbooks that would boggle your mind. (Yes...I'm using "boggle" again. I figure if my mind is boggled, yours might as well be too.) I have always been obsessed with cook books and cooking magazines. To this day, it's hard for me to browse through one in the grocery line or book store without having a stern conversation with myself that I absolutely, positively, do not need another one. But I love to read them, so sometimes I win the argument and sometimes I lose. Sometimes I'm in a store with my sister and she goes ahead and buys it for me, "forcing" me to indulge ;) Big sisters can be like that... Alright, back to the cake. I was looking for something to make for Easter, so I thought, at long last, I'd check this baby off my list. Let me start by saying that I've never had an Italian Cream Cake. Apparently it's all about coconut and pecans and fluffy whipped egg whites and cream cheese frosting. In some ways, it's a little like carrot cake without the carrots, if you're the type who likes nuts in their carrot cake. (That would be me, although all kinds of carrot cake are welcome here.) Since this is a lightened up version, there's less eggs, less nuts and no added coconut, just coconut extract. I didn't have coconut extract and a few hours before I started to bake, I almost completely changed the recipe into something that was not Italian Cream Cake at all. My husband nixed my idea and went to the store to pick up the extract for me. The cake is pretty straight forward. Whip up the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks. Alternate adding dry and wet ingredients. Fold in pecans. Fold in egg whites. Done. Why do we alternate adding the wet and the dry ingredients? Keeps the batter fluffy. After all, we've spent time whipping air into the butter, we don't want to dump all the wet and dry ingredients in at once. You'll end up with a denser cake. No bueno. To add even more lightness, we fold in egg whites. I know this is an extra step. I'm going to tell you that this is just like all of the times that I tell you to embrace cutting butter into flour for biscuits and scones. Egg whites whip up pretty easily. Embrace it. It will be easier to embrace it if you have a clean bowl though. Egg whites don't like fat. So, unless you're positive that your bowl is pristeen, wipe it and your beaters with vinegar to insure there are no traces of fat. Aaaaaand, don't over beat the whites. Start on the low speed of your mixer. Let the egg whites get foamy. Increase the speed and watch them start to become opaque. Increase the speed and beat until you get stiff peaks. You'll need to check periodically to catch them at the right stage. Once you've reached soft peaks, when you lift the beater from the whites and the tips gently fold over, you're close. Time to be vigilant with those egg whites. For if you pass the stiff peak stage, your egg whites will break and there will be no saving them. Then you'll fold the fluffy egg whites into your batter. It will lighten it up and loosen it up. Folding isn't stirring. It's not aggressive. I cut through the middle of the batter with my spatula and then around one of the sides like I'm making the letter "D." Then, I turn the bowl and repeat, cutting through the batter, sometimes bringing the batter at the bottom of the bowl up and over the top, then cutting back in to make another "D." Fold until there are no more streaks of egg whites remaining. Take your time and be gentle with your batter. Then divide it evenly among 3 (9 inch) cake pans. (By the way, if you do the math, you're going to have 4 egg yolks leftover. I made lemon curd with 3 of them. And I have a recipe coming up that uses that lemon curd. Stay tuned!) They're going to bake fairly quickly since the layers are thinner. Keep an eye on it and check it at the earliest time. You can always bake it for a minute or two more, but you can't turn back time and bake it for less. Now....the frosting! The original recipe calls for a cream cheese frosting. I skipped that and used my forever and ever favorite Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting . It's so good that you must try it even if you don't decide to bake this cake. Hands down, it's everyone's favorite. Try it and you'll see. I made one batch of the frosting. I could have doubled it and had much thicker filling and much thicker outside frosting, but I didn't think that was necessary. And, the cake recipe is lightened up. No need to cancel all of that lightening with extra frosting. For me, it was plenty. If you're a frosting lover, go ahead and double it. I did actually add a few nuts on the border for decoration and to punctuate the whole pecan flavor going on inside the cake. So, yes, there was a little canceling out of the lighter version in that addition and the extra whipped cream in the frosting. But who's counting? At the end of day the cake was absolutely delicious! The cake was moist and flavorful. The nuts weren't overpowering and the coconut extract added a wonderful subtle flavor without all the coconut texture that turns some people off. Of course, the frosting was a perfect, creamy, not too sweet, companion to this delicious Italian Cream Cake. I loved it. Everyone loved it. And now that I've made it, I'm kicking myself for not making it sooner. Time flies and before you know it, we're going to be in the 2020's (!!!) Do as I say, not as I do. Don't wait. Make the cake! Italian Cream Cake For the cake: 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup low fat buttermilk (room temperature) 1 teaspoon butter extract 1 teaspoon coconut extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup 1 stick salted butter, room temperature 2 cups sugar 2 egg yolks (room temperature) 1/2 cup chopped pecans 6 egg whites (room temperature) For the frosting: <a style="color:#c91f67" href="https://www.themerchantbaker.com/whipped-cream-cream-cheese-frosting/">One recipe Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting</a> For decorating: chopped pecans Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray only the bottoms of 3 (9 inch round) pans with cooking spray. Line the bottoms of pans with parchment. Spray the parchment with cooking spray and dust with flour. Set aside. Whisk flour and baking soda together until combined. Set aside. Stir buttermilk and all the extracts together. Set aside. Beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until well combined and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture (1/3 of the flour, 1/2 the buttermilk, 1/3 flour, 1/2 the buttermilk, 1/3 flour.) Fold in chopped pecans. Set batter aside. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Do not over beat. Gently fold egg whites into cake batter until no visible streaks of whites remain. Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then loosen edges and turn out of pans onto cooling racks. Once cakes are completely cool, make Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting. Fill and frost. Decorate bottom of cake with additional chopped pecans, if desired. Store cake in refrigerator. *Cake should be stored in the refrigerator. I like it served at room temperature for best flavor, but some in my family preferred it cold. *You'll need 6 eggs for this recipe. You'll use 6 whites, but only 2 yolks. You'll have 4 yolks leftover. When I have yolks leftover, I always make lemon curd . That will use up 3 of them. *This cake isn't heavily filled and frosted, but it was plenty of frosting to complement the cake for us. If you want thick layers of filling and a thicker layer of frosting on the outside of the cake, just make one and a half of or double the frosting recipe. *Room temperature is important for the eggs, butter and buttermilk. The ingredients will incorporate into the batter easier and room temperature egg whites are easier to whip up. *The bowl and beaters that you use to whip your egg whites must be free of any fat or it will inhibit the egg whites from whipping to stiff peaks. To be safe, you can clean your bowl and beaters with vinegar to insure they are clean and ready to go. *Be careful not to over beat your egg whites or they will break. If you over beat them, they can not be saved. Start whipping them on low speed until foamy, then gradually increase the speed until you've just reached stiff peaks. *Toasted pecans add greater depth of flavor. If you choose to toast your pecans before using, do it in advance so they have time to completely cool before you add them to the batter or use them to decorate. You don't want hot pecans to melt your ingredients. Cake recipe adapted from Cooking Light Five Star Recipes The Merchant Baker Copyright © 2017

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So far Ramona has created 299 blog entries.

Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cannoli Scones

By Ramona|2018-02-14T11:16:32-05:00February 14th, 2018|Breakfast, Scones & Biscuits|

These Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cannoli Scones started out as a cake. I don't mean I tried to make a cake [...]

Strawberry Cheesecake Truffle Brownies

By Ramona|2018-02-07T18:03:48-05:00February 7th, 2018|Bars, Desserts|

And just like that, Valentine's Day is just one week away. I often make brownies around Valentine's, but this year [...]

Philly Cheesesteak Sliders {Free Printable!}

By Ramona|2018-08-07T14:39:20-04:00February 1st, 2018|Appetizers, Beef & Pork, Main Dish, Printables, Sandwiches|

Hey...you know the big game is this weekend...how 'bout we make some Philly Cheesesteak Sliders to celebrate? You know, they [...]

Hazelnut Mocha Coffee and Cream Cookies

By Ramona|2018-11-30T00:15:11-05:00January 24th, 2018|Cookies, Desserts|

Hey, are you ready for some cookies? How about some Hazelnut Mocha Coffee and Cream Cookies? Yeah. That's right. Hazelnut. [...]

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pizza Rolls

By Ramona|2018-04-10T22:18:55-04:00January 17th, 2018|Appetizers, Breakfast, Scones & Biscuits|

These Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pizza Rolls are just the latest example of the wonderful things you can do with my [...]

Healthy Winter Fruit Crisp

By Ramona|2018-01-14T01:14:32-05:00January 12th, 2018|Breakfast, Casseroles & One Dish Meals, Desserts, Pies, Tarts & Fruit|

This Healthy Winter Fruit Crisp is perfect for dessert. But guess what? It can also be a great choice for [...]

Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes

By Ramona|2019-08-05T23:17:16-04:00January 3rd, 2018|Breakfast, Pancakes & Waffles|

I thought I'd kick off the new year with a hearty, healthy and easy breakfast recipe. I wanted something that [...]

Holiday Wishes 2017 {video}

By Ramona|2017-12-24T17:09:29-05:00December 24th, 2017|Uncategorized|

[layerslider id="6"]It's the day before Christmas and we're in the final stages of preparation at our house. All gifts are [...]

Overnight Eggnog French Toast

By Ramona|2019-11-29T06:36:37-05:00December 21st, 2017|Breakfast, Casseroles & One Dish Meals|

The holidays are here! Overnight Eggnog French Toast is an easy, festive, make ahead breakfast. Hearty slices of bread are [...]

Rustic Caramel Iced Brown Sugar Cookies

By Ramona|2019-12-15T21:38:15-05:00December 13th, 2017|Cookies, Desserts|

Rustic Caramel Iced Brown Sugar Cookies are a sweet twist on a sugar cookie. Brown sugar brings a hint [...]

Pistachio Bark Oatmeal Cookies

By Ramona|2018-11-30T00:05:06-05:00December 6th, 2017|Cookies, Desserts|

I developed these Pistachio Bark Oatmeal Cookies last year at the tail end of my Christmas cookie baking extravaganza. Unfortunately, [...]

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for The Kid or Kid at Heart

By Ramona|2017-12-11T20:09:40-05:00December 4th, 2017|Gift Guides|

This is the last of my gift guides for the season. It's my 2017 Holiday Gift Guide for the Kid [...]

Christmas Cookie Round Up 2017

By Ramona|2017-12-04T09:42:43-05:00November 30th, 2017|Cookies, Desserts, Recipe Round Ups|

We're going to take a quick break from gift guides and start the wheels turning on cookie baking. I'm rounding [...]

2017 Holiday Gift Guide: Coffee, Tea and Tranquility

By Ramona|2018-07-28T12:50:08-04:00November 29th, 2017|Gift Guides|

Time to kick back and relax with my next 2017 Holiday Gift Guide: Coffee, Tea and Tranquility. There's something for [...]

2017 Holiday Gift Guide: Kitchen Edition

By Ramona|2017-11-29T10:02:06-05:00November 27th, 2017|Gift Guides|

Need some inspiration for gift giving this year? I'm working on a few lists to help get you going. Now...it only [...]

Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting with Video!

By Ramona|2019-09-17T11:46:41-04:00November 20th, 2017|Desserts, Frostings & Fillings|

This post for Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting was originally published on February 7th, 2015. It has been [...]

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Triple Layer Pumpkin Nutella Cheesecake

By Ramona|2018-10-19T11:30:05-04:00November 15th, 2017|Cakes, Desserts|

This Triple Layer Pumpkin Nutella Cheesecake was originally going to be a simple pumpkin cheesecake. But, having just made a [...]

Pumpkin Pie with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Whipped Cream

By Ramona|2019-11-14T21:29:54-05:00November 9th, 2017|Desserts, Pies, Tarts & Fruit|

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, and an Easy All Butter Pie Crust just waiting to be used...I figured now [...]

Easy All Butter Pie Crust

By Ramona|2019-11-08T11:48:25-05:00November 3rd, 2017|Desserts, Pies, Tarts & Fruit|

Yes. That's right. EASY all butter pie crust! I offer up my sister as testament to how easy this [...]

Toasted Coconut Pecan Steel Cut Oats

By Ramona|2017-11-12T14:12:24-05:00October 25th, 2017|Breakfast, Cereals|

I've been waiting for a nice, chilly morning to make this lovely bowl of Toasted Coconut Pecan Steel Cut Oats. [...]

Pancetta Roasted Cabbage Steaks

By Ramona|2020-01-18T23:29:29-05:00October 18th, 2017|Low Carb, Side Dishes|

Hey, do you remember last summer when I told you I joined a CSA? I haven't talked about it much [...]

Upside Down Caramel Apple Spice Rolls

By Ramona|2017-10-18T20:22:43-04:00October 12th, 2017|Breakfast, Scones & Biscuits|

Okay kids, here is my last installment of recipes of the caramel apple variety this season...Upside Down Caramel Apple Spice [...]

Chewy Toffee Apple Cookies

By Ramona|2018-09-12T10:29:46-04:00October 5th, 2017|Cookies, Desserts|

These Chewy Toffee Apple Cookies may look like your average cookie, but I assure you, they are not. We’ll get [...]

Caramel Apple Cider Cocktail (The Merchant Baker turns 3!)

By Ramona|2018-12-19T00:38:37-05:00September 29th, 2017|Beverages|

I had planned to post this Caramel Apple Cider Cocktail this past Monday. It was the day that marked the [...]

Spiced Applesauce Pancakes

By Ramona|2017-11-14T09:09:23-05:00September 20th, 2017|Breakfast, Pancakes & Waffles|

I'm going caramel apple crazy over here this month. This time, I'm bringing those flavors to breakfast with these Spiced [...]

Apple Cider Caramel Sauce

By Ramona|2018-09-17T21:40:24-04:00September 14th, 2017|Desserts, Syrups & Sauces|

Last week I posted No Churn Cinnamon Ice Cream to go with all of your favorite apple or fall desserts. [...]

No Churn Cinnamon Ice Cream

By Ramona|2017-11-14T09:09:42-05:00September 7th, 2017|Desserts, Frozen Treats|

"Be prepared." It's the traditional Girl Scout motto. That's why I'm sharing this super easy No Churn Cinnamon Ice Cream. [...]

Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes

By Ramona|2018-12-19T00:39:28-05:00August 31st, 2017|Recipe Round Ups|

This list of Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes is for all of you who cherish breakfast but have little time in [...]

Peach Ricotta Olive Oil Muffins

By Ramona|2018-07-05T11:30:34-04:00August 24th, 2017|Breakfast, Muffins & Quick Breads|

Last week, I took advantage of the last of the season's blueberries with Blueberry Crumb Cake. This week, it's time [...]

Blueberry Crumb Cake

By Ramona|2017-11-14T09:07:41-05:00August 16th, 2017|Breakfast, Breakfast Cakes, Cakes, Desserts|

This has definitely been the year of the crumb cake for me. Once I posted my Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake, [...]

Chocolate Chip Cherry Cheesecake

By Ramona|2018-08-05T00:43:38-04:00August 9th, 2017|Desserts, Pies, Tarts & Fruit|

Remember that Fresh Sweet Cherry Sauce that I posted last week? You know...the one that would be great on ice [...]

Fresh Sweet Cherry Sauce

By Ramona|2019-08-07T12:48:48-04:00August 3rd, 2017|Desserts, Syrups & Sauces|

I have been reveling in summer's bounty of fresh fruit...blueberries, peaches, cherries, etc. I buy organic, and it's not always [...]

Blueberry Pie Baked Oatmeal

By Ramona|2017-11-14T09:25:04-05:00July 27th, 2017|Breakfast, Cereals|

For all of my passionate fans of baked oatmeal, have I got a delicious new version for you! Blueberry Pie [...]

No Churn Nectarine Ice Cream

By Ramona|2018-07-18T07:40:11-04:00July 21st, 2017|Desserts, Frozen Treats|

Have you tried making no churn ice cream yet? Yes? No? Then let this No Churn Nectarine Ice Cream be [...]

No Bake Ice Box Cannoli Cupcakes

By Ramona|2018-05-24T16:33:08-04:00July 11th, 2017|Cakes, Cupcake, Desserts|

So I said to myself...I said, "Self? If you can make ice box cakes, why can't you make ice box [...]

13 Summer Recipe Favorites

By Ramona|2017-10-13T23:34:25-04:00July 6th, 2017|Recipe Round Ups|

This week, we're going to take a leisurely and delicious walk down memory lane to check out 13 Summer Recipe [...]

Kiwi Berry Spinach Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Dressing

By Ramona|2018-04-10T22:23:16-04:00June 29th, 2017|Main Dish, Salad, Side Dishes|

I love a sweet and savory salad. This Kiwi Berry Spinach Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Dressing hits those sweet [...]

Jalapeno Bean Salsa

By Ramona|2017-12-16T22:10:55-05:00June 21st, 2017|Appetizers|

I'm interrupting a previously scheduled post to bring you this delicious Jalapeno Bean Salsa. I brought this dip to a [...]

Red, White and Blue Cheesecake Dip

By Ramona|2019-07-05T22:23:21-04:00June 15th, 2017|Desserts, Pies, Tarts & Fruit|

Here's a delicious dessert idea for your fourth of July celebrations...Red, White and Blue Cheesecake Dip! Red, White and [...]

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

By Ramona|2018-08-05T00:38:39-04:00June 7th, 2017|Breakfast, Pancakes & Waffles|

Got buttermilk? Here's one more reason you should...Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes! You know, classic, fluffy, ready to drink up melted butter [...]

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

By Ramona|2017-11-14T09:27:47-05:00May 31st, 2017|Desserts, Pies, Tarts & Fruit|

For those of you who have never entered the land of rhubarb, perhaps this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp will be the [...]

Raspberry White Chocolate Pound Cake Biscotti

By Ramona|2017-10-15T20:46:29-04:00May 24th, 2017|Cakes, Cookies, Desserts|

What should one do when one has left over pound cake? Make Raspberry White Chocolate Pound Cake Biscotti! This is [...]

Blueberry Pancake Cobbler

By Ramona|2017-10-14T00:27:56-04:00May 17th, 2017|Breakfast, Pancakes & Waffles|

When is a stack of pancakes not just any stack of pancakes? When it's a stack of Blueberry Pancake Cobbler [...]

Strawberry Lemon Pound Cake Trifles

By Ramona|2018-08-07T14:25:23-04:00May 10th, 2017|Desserts, Pies, Tarts & Fruit|

Strawberry Lemon Pound Cake Trifles. This is the dessert that prompted me to make my Triple Citrus Pound Cake. Let's [...]

Mayan Brownies

By Ramona|2018-12-19T00:40:21-05:00May 3rd, 2017|Bars, Desserts|

What is it about a photo of brownies covered in glossy chocolate ganache that is so wonderfully distracting? Really, I'm [...]

Triple Citrus Pound Cake

By Ramona|2017-11-14T09:28:20-05:00April 26th, 2017|Cakes, Desserts|

This Triple Citrus Pound Cake was an unplanned post. In many ways, it was simply the means to an end. [...]

Italian Cream Cake

By Ramona|2017-11-12T13:33:49-05:00April 21st, 2017|Cakes, Desserts|

This lightened up version of Italian Cream Cake has been on my list to make since I first discovered it [...]

Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Bars

By Ramona|2018-01-03T00:53:29-05:00April 12th, 2017|Bars, Desserts, Pies, Tarts & Fruit|

If you've been following along, you probably would have noticed the trail of crumbs that led to these Lemon Blueberry [...]

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