- Root beer has a unique flavor that, surprisingly, works well in all kinds of different recipes. I’ve used it in Root Beer Brownies, barbecue sauce and, of course, root beer floats. Family Friendly Food used it in a tasty looking Root Beer Pound Cake. The fluffy chocolate cake uses two cups of root beer and even a little bit more in the frosting. Do yourself a favor and use the real thing – not diet – to really get the best flavor out of this cake.
- During World War Two, cooks got pretty creative with some of the ingredients they used. My grandma used to bake a cake with condensed tomato soup that she learned around that time. It sounds strange, but the slightly sweet soup makes for a good spice cake. Tomato Soup Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting from Vanilla Garlic use the classic canned soup, but are a little updated. You’d never know you’re getting some veggies in with your frosting when you eat them this way.
- Add a crumble topping to just about any cake and you make it just a little bit hard to resist. Even without its crumble topping, Lemonpi‘s Black/blueberry and cinnamon crumble cake would be hard to turn down. The cake is packed with berries and is fairly hearty from a mixture of plain and while grain flour. The topping, of course, takes it over the top with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and crunchy nuts. You can use a mixture of your favorite berries, whether in season or frozen.
- A Dash of Sass had a good point when she pointed out the fact that strawberry cake is not something you see too often unless your recipe involves a cake mix and/or a box of jello. It’s possible to make a homemade version, and her recipe for Strawberry Cake doesn’t have a boxed mix in sight. It uses lots of pureed strawberries and a little bit of red food coloring to really make it pop. It also calls for self-rising flour, but you can make up a substitute for it if you don’t have any on hand.
- Snickerdoodles are one of the most popular cookies out there. The basic recipe is for a chewy sugar cookie that has a cinnamon sugar coating to give it a hint of crispness (and a little extra flavor) on the outside. They’re so simple that they’re a great target for variations where you can bring other flavors, like Chai, into play. Closet Cooking‘s Maple Snickerdoodles are a wonderful twist on the classic, making use of maple syrup in the cookie and maple sugar in the topping. Maple sugar can be found in some specialty/gourmet grocers and can also be ordered online.
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Nurit - 1 family. friendly. food.
March 12, 2009Hi Nicole!
I’m glad you liked, and linked to, my root beer cake. Thank you!
In fact, I am starting to run out of bumping into new/innovative ideas for simple cakes with an oomph, so I’ve launched a “Cake Collection†happening last night with a giveaway: http://www.familyfriendlyfood.com/2009/03/launching-cake-collection-with-a-giveaway/
I hope there will be interesting recipes submitted to it.
Nurit