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The Good Hearted Woman

Home Cooking & Cozy Living

  • SOURDOUGH RECIPES & RESOURCES

Chocolate Wacky Cake (No Eggs, No Dairy, No Clean-up!)

March 12 By Renée 19 Comments

Chocolate Wacky Cake is the easiest scratch cake you will ever make! (No eggs, no milk, no butter, no clean-up.) Made exclusively with pantry staples, this surprisingly moist, delicious snack cake mixes up in a jiffy, right in the pan!

Wacky Cake, Crazy Cake, Depression Cake

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Chocolate Wacky Cake was the first “scratch” cake I ever baked all by myself. (I think I was eight.) So named because it requires no eggs, no milk, no butter, and is mixed directly in the pan, Wacky Cake is a surprisingly moist, delicious chocolate cake that is easy enough for a child to make. 

Wacky Cake, Crazy Cake, Depression Cake

Wacky Cake is dead simple to make, but the origins of the recipe – also known as Crazy Cake, War Cake, Depression Cake, Magic Cake, and even 3-Hole Cake – are somewhat murky. 

Wacky Cake is a recipe created for difficult times, passed down from one generation of frugal bakers to the next. There are references to similar cake recipes dating back over a hundred years; clear back to World War I, when War Cake could be found in a 1918 Food Administration Department pamphlet entitled “War Economy in Food,” under “Recipes for Conservation Sweets.” 

After The War to End All Wars ended in 1918, Crazy Cake recipes made their way into 1930’s Depression Era kitchens, when budgets were tight, and milk, eggs, and butter were luxuries. Still later, mothers on the home front during World War II relied on this unusual cake recipe as a way to deal with wartime shortages, when milk and eggs were scarce, and other staples (like sugar and coffee) were rationed and in short supply. 

Wacky Cake

Wacky Cake is the easiest scratch cake you will ever make. It is mixed in one pan with a fork. The trick to this cake is the three-hole method of mixing that allows the vinegar and baking soda to combine at the last moment and act as a leavening agent.

Six Simple Steps for Chocolate Wacky Cake

Start your cake now, and it will be ready to eat in less than an hour! 

[Actual amounts can be found in the recipe card below]

  1. Sift together the dry ingredients into a greased 8×8 (or 9×9) cake pan.
  2. Form three wells in the sifted mix.
  3. Fill the depressions with [1] Oil, [2] Vanilla, and [3] Vinegar.
  4. Flood the pan with 1 cup of water.
  5. Stir with a fork until thoroughly mixed. (Check the corners! I use a spoon to do the initial mixing, and finish by whisking it with a fork.)
  6. Bake in a 350°F oven for 25-30 minutes. 

That’s literally all there this to it. If you work super slow, you might need 15 minutes to mix it up. 

BONUS POINTS: No raw eggs in this batter! Go ahead and let the kids lick the fork! 

Wacky Cake, Crazy Cake, Depression Cake

So what does Wacky Cake taste like? It is an exceptionally moist, delicious chocolate snack cake. Surprisingly so, in fact. It’s perhaps not as quite as rich as a true, butter-filled Devil’s Food Cake, but it will definitely satisfy those chocolate cake cravings. 

For 1970’s Kids Only: Remember Betty Crocker’s Snackin’ Cakes? Wacky Cake is a lot like those little cakes as far as texture goes, and it tastes something like a Hostess Cupcake without the cream filling, only a little softer and richer. 

Recipe Updated March 12, 2020 (Originally published July 30, 2013)
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5 from 5 votes

Chocolate Wacky Cake

Chocolate Wacky Cake is the easiest scratch cake you will ever make! (No eggs, no milk, no butter, no clean-up.) Made exclusively with pantry staples, this surprisingly moist, delicious snack cake mixes up in a jiffy, right in the pan!
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time45 mins
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course: Dessert, Sweets
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake, chocolate, Dairy-free, eggless, vegan
Servings: 9 servings
Calories: 236kcal
Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Equipment

  • 8x8 Cake Pan
  • Sifter or Sieve

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup baking cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • 5 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F [177°C].
    Spray an 8x8 pan (or 9x9) with cooking spray.
    Wacky Cake - Pan Prep
  • Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together directly into the pan.
    Wacky Cake - Sifted Dry Ingredients
  • Flatten the sifted dry ingredeints and form three depressions in the top - one large and two small.
    Wacky Cake - make 3 depressions
  • Pour oil into the large depression, vanilla into the second depression, and vinegar into the third.
    Wacky Cake - Fill Depressions
  • Pour water over the whole thing.
    Wacky Cake - Add Water
  • Stir with spoon or fork until thoroughly mixed. Be sure to check the corners.
    Wacky Cake - Stir
  • The cake batter will produce bubbles on the top of the cake.
    Wacky Cake - Batter in Pan
  • Gently tamp the cake pan on the countertop once or twice to release gas.
    Bake at 350°F [177°C] for 25-30 minutes, until the top springs back when touched.
    Wacky Cake - Tap out Bubbles
  • Allow cake to cool.
    Wacky Cake can be served as is, or with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, or iced with your favorite frosting.
    Wacky Cake - Baked

Notes

Be sure to use natural cocoa if possible, and not Dutch-pressed (which is also sometimes called European-style or alkalized). Dutch-pressed cocoa is washed with a solution of potassium carbonate which lessens its acidity, and Wacky Cake depends on that acidity to strengthen the gluten and help the cake rise. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1piece | Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 39.5g | Protein: 2.6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1.5g | Sodium: 269mg | Potassium: 24mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22.3g | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

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Looking for a good STEAM activity? Consider Wacky Cake as a great opportunity to demonstrate the power of baking soda and vinegar outside a volcano! (Whoohoo kitchen science!) 

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P.S. If you love baking cakes, be sure to try my scratch-made Triple-layer Strawberry Cake. It’s amazing!

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THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
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Chocolate Wacky Cake  Chocolate Wacky Cake

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Filed Under: Dairy-free, Recipes, Sweets, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: cake, chocolate, Sweet Somethings

Southern-style Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream {from Scratch}

January 8 By Renée 44 Comments

This sweet southern scratch-made Coconut Cake with coconut buttercream frosting is moist, tender, melt-in-your-mouth perfection. 

Southern-style Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream {from Scratch}

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Last summer, I caught an unexpected bug: the Cake Baking Bug! Specifically, a yen to bake up rich, decadent, double- and triple-layer Southern-style cakes. Traditional, old-fashioned, fancy-pants cakes with layers and frosting and everything. No boxes, no preservatives, no shortcuts. Just Cakes. From Scratch.

I have no idea where this cake-baking urge came from. To begin with, I’m not particularly a cake person: sure, I’ll take a piece if it’s offered, but cake is way down on my list of preferred indulgences. Also, I’m about as Southern as Santa Claus. But mostly, I’ve always considered myself to be more of a Cook than a Baker.

Southern-style Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream {from Scratch}

From my perspective, bakers are, of necessity, meticulous, methodical recipe-followers who measure everything with the slice of a knife. Bakers are good at following rules. Me: not so much. I tend to measure with my hands and throw in extra ingredients and leave out others, and bend a recipe until it comes out the other side as something altogether different than it was when it started. I mean, I can follow recipe if I really want to, but I rarely want to.

Then Mr B and I traveled to Tennessee this August (for the second time in a year) and I returned to Oregon all full of cake dreams and determined to make triple-layer strawberry cake from scratch before fall arrived.

Which I did.

Southern Triple-layer Fresh Strawberry Cake {from Scratch} | The Good Hearted Woman

And it was Fabulous.

After working through the recipe for that first cake, I was hooked. Because while I’m may not be big on measuring and rule-following, I relish a good challenge – and developing a cake recipe that truly sings (and can be successfully replicated by others) is an honest challenge. Now I have a whole list of cakes to learn, tinker with, and roll out on the blog over the next few years!

Southern-style Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream {from Scratch}

Wavy Line

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

After successfully perfecting my strawberry cake, I decided that a coconut cake needed to be next on the docket. Why? Because coconut is one of my all-time favorite flavors. Plus, it’s white and fluffy like snow, and eating a cake in winter that looks like snow is kind of like seasonal eating, right? And also, coconut cake was Elvis’ favorite, and Elvis’ birthday is today [January 8th], and I can’t think of a better reason than that to make it a January tradition.

(If you’re not an Elvis fan, feel free to celebrate David Bowie’s birthday today instead.)

[ATTENTION : LIVING MUSIC LEGENDS – If you are currently a living Legend of Rock & Roll and/or a standing member of the Grand Ole Opry and would like to have a delicious scratch cake dedicated to you on this blog, please Tweet me up! Seriously. {Tom Scholz, I’ll be waiting… Also, Peter Frampton: not. even. kidding.} ? ] 

Coconut Cake with Triple Coconut Buttercream Frosting {from Scratch}

I took what I learned about the cake batter science from my Strawberry Cake and ended up with this Amazing Coconut Cake. As in, delicate, tender, melt-in-your-mouth Amazing. As in, loaded with coconut flavor and light as a cloud Amazing. If you are a coconut lover, you are going to Love it!

Southern-style Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream {from Scratch}

Wavy LineCake Batter Science 

I think the real key to this coconut cake is how and when you introduce the meringue to the rest of the cake batter.

Most recipes similar to this one have you make the meringue, take it to medium or stiff peaks, and set it aside while you make the rest of the cake batter. However, I’ve learned that you get a discernibly lighter cake if you mix up the batter before you whip up the meringue. 

Meringue is basically a mixture of proteins and water. Air whisked into the egg white becomes trapped and surrounded by a network of proteins, and adding sugar stabilizes this protein network. 

Making the meringue after the batter allows you to gently fold it in immediately after whipping it up. This way, the meringue’s protein network doesn’t have time to start breaking down or setting up, and more teeny tiny meringue bubbles make their way into your cake, ultimately making it lighter. 

Southern-style Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream {from Scratch} | The Good Hearted Woman #cakerecipe
5 from 15 votes

Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream Frosting

This sweet southern scratch-made Coconut Cake with coconut buttercream frosting is moist, tender, melt-in-your-mouth perfection. 
Prep Time1 hr
Cook Time25 mins
Cooling time1 hr 15 mins
Total Time2 hrs 40 mins
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Southern
Keyword: cake, coconut
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 456kcal
Author: Renée | The Good Hearted Woman

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • Rubber Spatula
  • Measuring cups
  • Sifter
  • 3 Cake Pans [8" or 9"]

Ingredients

Coconut Cake [3 Layers]

  • 3 cups cake flour measure AFTER sifting
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 large egg whites room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar divided
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 2 teaspoons coconut extract
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 1/2 cups full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk (NOT coconut cream!)

Coconut Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
  • 2-3 teaspoons coconut extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • 5-6 tablespoons coconut milk
  • 2 cups flaked, sweetened coconut
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cake Layers

  • Position oven rack in the center (or just below center) of the oven.
    Preheat oven to 350°F [175°C].
    Grease and flour three round cake pans. Line pans with parchment paper for easy release and clean-up.
    NOTE: 8" or 9" cake pans will work for this cake. (They must, however, all be the same size!)
  • Measure sifted cake flour, baking powder, and salt; sift together three times. Set aside. 
  • Combine sour cream and coconut milk in a small bowl and set aside. 
  • Using an electric mixer with a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
    Add coconut extract and mix to combine. Add flour mixture alternately with coconut milk and sour cream mixture, beating after each addition.
    Remove bowl from mixer and set aside. 
  • [DO NOT begin this step until you have completed the previous step.]
    In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy.
    Add 1/2 cup sugar gradually, beating until meringue will hold soft peaks. 
  • [Do this step by hand. Do not use a mixer.] Carefully fold beaten egg whites into batter.  
  • Pour batter evenly into the three prepared cake pans.
    Bake layers in preheated oven: 22-25 for 9" cake pans / 25-30 minutes for 8" cake pans - or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean.
    (If your oven cooks unevenly, carefully rotate pans on rack at the 15-minute mark.)
  • Allow cakes to cool in their pans over wire rack for 10 minutes.
    Carefully tap out onto wire rack to cool completely.
    Wrap and chill layers in refrigerator for at least an hour (or up to a week if you need to).

Coconut Frosting

  • Using an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high until light and fluffy.
    Add coconut and vanilla extracts and salt and mix to thoroughly combine. 
  • Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. 
  • Add coconut milk, one tablespoon at a time time, beating on medium-high until fully incorporated. 

Cake Assembly

  • Once the cake is completely chilled, trim the layers.
  • Spread the top of the bottom layer of cake with frosting.
    Add the middle layer and frost top. Add the top layer. 
  • Apply a crumb coat to the entire cake. (A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting that covers the top and sides of a cake.)
    Return the cake to the refrigerator for another 15 minutes.
  • Frost the entire cake with a generous layer of frosting.
    Sprinkle flaked coconut over top and sides of cake before the frosting sets.

Notes

VERY IMPORTANT: Sift the flour, and THEN measure it! (If you're wondering why, try measuring it first, sifting it, and then measuring again.)

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 58.3g | Protein: 3.2g | Fat: 24.7g | Saturated Fat: 17.2g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 188mg | Potassium: 178mg | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugar: 43.1g | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Southern-style Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream {from Scratch}

Bake your life easier: Line your cake pans with parchment paper!

Wavy LineIngredient Notes

FLOUR – It is vital that you use cake flour for this coconut cake! 

Cake flour is a finely milled, delicate flour that results in a fine crumb and a good rise.

The primary difference between cake flour and all-purpose flour [AP] is that cake flour has slightly less protein, which translates to less gluten in your cake, which means you will have a more tender cake.

My personal cake flour preference is Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Cake Flour. And I cannot stress this enough: when it comes to flour in baking, sift THEN measure.

Easy Cake Flour Substitute

If you really don’t want to buy cake flour just for this cake, try this easy Cake Flour Substitute: For each cup of cake flour, measure out 1 cup of flour, then remove 2 tablespoons from the cup. Add 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and sift together.

(Note that I have never made this particular cake using this cake flour substitute, so substitute it in at your own risk.)

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of The Good Hearted Woman. ? Be sure to PIN this post!

This sweet Southern scratch-made Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream Frosting is moist, tender, melt-in-your-mouth perfection. #cake #scratchcake #birthdaycakes #birthdayparty #baking     This sweet Southern scratch-made Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream Frosting is moist, tender, melt-in-your-mouth perfection. #cake #scratchcake #birthdaycakes #birthdayparty #baking

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Filed Under: Recipes, Sweets, Vegetarian Tagged With: baking, cake, coconut, southern cakes

The Best Triple-layer Strawberry Cake {from Scratch}

September 10 By Renée 50 Comments

Perfect for any occasion, this Southern Triple-layer Strawberry Cake (made from scratch – no boxed cake mix!) is a moist, amazingly delicious cake with a fresh, bright strawberry buttercream frosting. 

Southern Triple-layer Fresh Strawberry Cake from Scratch | The Good Hearted Woman
This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

For me, baking is often about memories. Sometimes I bake memories for people I love: pineapple-upside down cake when we go camping, peach cobbler in August, pumpkin pie for my mother’s birthday. Other times, baking is a path that takes me back in time.

Recently, Mr B and I traveled to Tennessee, where we had the honor of attending the Change of Command and Retirement Ceremony for one of his best friends from his Navy days.

If you’ve never attended the retirement rites of a senior military officer, I highly recommend it. It may very well renew (or redeem) your faith in both our country and the people who protect it. (And if the flag passing ceremony of Olde Glory doesn’t move you to tears, I don’t know what will.)

Three Old Sailors

After the formal ceremonies concluded, we were ushered into a reception room filled with sailors decked out in their full dress whites, along with families and friends. My eyes roamed from one small cluster to the next; to the smiling faces, the convivial conversations, the warm embraces.

In the middle of the reception room was a long refreshment table with two large, beautifully decorated cakes on either end. Centered between them sat a modest, unpretentious pale pink layer cake.

A memory flickered.

That pink cake. My mother always told me that Southerners love their cakes. I plated a small piece and took a bite.

In an instant, I was four…maybe five, sitting on my stool at my Pop’s yellow chrome and formica kitchen table. I don’t know the occasion, but I remember that cake. Smooth, sweet, pink, and perfectly strawberry.

It tasted like summer.

Southern Triple-layer Fresh Strawberry Cake {from Scratch} | The Good Hearted Woman

Standing in that reception room in Tennessee, I had not tasted strawberry cake in fifty years, but as that single bite melted on my tongue, it was yesterday.

When Mr B and I returned home to Oregon, I set about baking myself a memory.

Building a Perfect Strawberry Cake Recipe

Perfecting a recipe for a Strawberry Cake from scratch wasn’t easy. Nearly every recipe source I could find required a boxed cake mix, and I was intent on baking a cake *from scratch.*

In my quest, I consulted at least fifteen different recipes, cookbooks, and bakers’ websites before I finally felt confident about my game plan. However, once I got the ratios for everything right (the sugar levels were especially tricky) and recognized that those whipped egg whites make all the difference, it all fell into place.

I couldn’t be happier with the outcome!

This strawberry scratch cake is far and away easier to make than you might imagine; and in my opinion, working with the triple layers is easier than two thicker layers. My recipe for Strawberry Cake from scratch results in a moist, amazingly delicious cake with a fresh strawberry buttercream frosting. You are going to love it!!!

Southern Triple-layer Fresh Strawberry Cake {from Scratch} | The Good Hearted Woman

Frosting Philosophy 

There are two basic schools of thought about frosting: (1) the cake is a necessary conveyance for getting as much frosting as possible into your mouth; and (2) the cake is the star, and frosting is, well… frosting. It is for sealing the cake and adding additional texture and sweetness, but don’t go all crazy and let it overpower the cake.

I belong to the second, “less-is-more” group. You may notice that, in the images here, there is only enough frosting between the layers to hold them together, and that the outer frosting isn’t spread on very heavily. For my tastes, this amount of frosting provides the perfect balance for this cake.

If, however, you lean toward the first, “the-more-frosting-the-better” group, be assured that you will not run short of strawberry frosting with this recipe. I had well over a cup leftover when this cake was done. (Hello, late-night frosting-n-graham-crackers!)

Southern Triple-layer Fresh Strawberry Cake from Scratch | The Good Hearted Woman

Southern Triple-layer Fresh Strawberry Cake {from Scratch} | The Good Hearted Woman
5 from 16 votes

Triple-layer Strawberry Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Perfect for any occasion, this Southern Triple-layer Strawberry Cake (made from scratch!) is a moist, amazingly delicious cake with a fresh, bright strawberry buttercream frosting.
Prep Time40 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Cooling time2 hrs
Total Time3 hrs
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Strawberry Cake
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 610kcal
Author: Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

Strawberry Puree

  • 8 ounces fresh hulled strawberries
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar

Strawberry Cake

  • 4 egg whites room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour VERY Important: Sift, THEN measure.
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 3/8 cups white sugar
  • 1 3-ounce pkg Strawberry flavored Jell-O®
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 cup milk 2% or whole
  • 1/2 cup fresh strawberry puree
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla

Strawberry Frosting

  • 6 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1/3 cup strawberry puree
  • 1 tablespoon strawberry jam or 1/2 tsp. strawberry extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make Strawberry Puree

  • Combine fresh strawberries and two tablespoons of sugar in a blender. Pulse until strawberries are reduced to a pulp.
    DO NOT blend until smooth. (You will use 1/2 cup of the puree for the cake. Reserve the remaining puree to use in the frosting.) 
    Set aside and allow to macerate further while you perform next few steps.

Make the Cake Layers

  • Preheat oven to 350°F [175°C].
    Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. 
  • Whip eggs whites until they form medium peaks. Set aside. 
  • Combine sifted flour and baking powder. Set aside. 
  • Whisk together milk, strawberry puree, lemon zest, and vanilla. Set aside. 
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, dry strawberry Jell-O®, and salt.
    Beat in eggs yolks one at a time. 
  • Stir flour mixture into batter alternately with strawberry-milk mixture. 
  • Gently fold in whipped egg whites. 
  • Pour batter evenly into the three prepared cake pans.
    Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean. 
  • Allow cakes to cool in their pans over wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Carefully tap out onto wire rack to cool completely. 

Make Strawberry Frosting

  • Using an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high until light and fluffy. 
  • With mixer on low, add powdered sugar to the whipped butter alternately with 1/3 cup pureed strawberries.
    Combine thoroughly into a soft, creamy mixture that will hold its shape.
    Cool in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, or until it has firmed up slightly.

Assemble the Cake

  • Spread the top of the bottom layer of cake with frosting.
    Add the middle layer and refrigerate again until the frosting has firmed up a bit.
    Add the top layer and frost sides and top of cake. 
    For a cleaner frosting, apply a crumb coat first to keep the crumbs out of your final frosting.
    If you are spreading the frosting on thick, you may want to refrigerate the cake after you apply the frosting between each layer until the frosting has firmed just a bit; about 10-15 minutes for each layer. (If you are frosting it thin, you probably won't need to do this.)
  • Decorate with fresh strawberries if desired. 

Notes

Cake freezes well. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1piece | Calories: 610kcal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 325mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 66g | Vitamin A: 960IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!
The BEST Strawberry Cake Ever (from scratch - no boxed mix!) with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting • You are going to love it!Tweet & Share!

Cakes are Persnickety, and Ingredients Matter

Flour: It’s important to use cake flour for this cake. Cake flour is a finely milled, delicate flour that results in a fine crumb and a good rise.

The primary difference between cake flour and all-purpose flour [AP] is that cake flour has slightly less protein, which translates to less gluten in your cake, which means you will have a more tender cake. My personal cake flour preference is Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Cake Flour.

I cannot stress this enough: when it comes to flour in baking, sift first, THEN measure.

Jell-O®: Y’all know that I try to avoid the boxes, but this recipe just doesn’t fly without Jell-O®. If possible, avoid using off-brand gelatin: the strawberry flavor in them usually tastes like cheap kids’ candy.

Strawberries: Fresh and frozen will both work.

Slice of strawberry cake
Egg White Whipping Stages

  • Soft peaks barely hold their shape, and flop over as soon as the beaters are lifted.
  • Medium peaks can hold their shape, but the peak curls over when the beaters are lifted.
  • Stiff peaks stand straight up when the beaters are lifted.

Pink Cake on Stan

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THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
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Southern Triple-layer Fresh Strawberry Cake from Scratch | The Good Hearted Woman

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P.S. Did I mention how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new cake pans!?!  I finally took the plunge and bought three – count ’em: 3 – matching 9″ cake pans. As in, they are all the same size, shape, and weight! As in, I can put them all in the oven at the same time and take them out at the same time because they all bake evenly!! Aaahh!

I was so excited to get my new pans that I completely cleaned out my baking shelf so that they would have a cozy new place to hang out when they aren’t in use. (For those of you who regularly bake a lot of cakes, this might sound ridiculous, but this is the first time in my life that I’ve ever had more than two cake pans that match exactly, and I am going to celebrate it! Whoohoo!)

If you are thinking of buying a new set of cake pans, check these out; they are the ones I have now.


I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup. Check it out for more great recipes!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Filed Under: Recipes, Sweets, Vegetarian Tagged With: baking, cake, strawberries, Sweet Somethings

15+ Devilishly Delicious Chocolate Cake Recipes

January 27 By Renée 18 Comments

Did you know that January 27th is National Chocolate Cake Day? (Yes! It’s a real thing!) Pick one of these decadent chocolate cake recipes and Celebrate!
January 27th is National Chocolate Cake Day! (Yes! It's a real thing!) Pick a cake from our deliciously decadent chocolate cake roundup and Celebrate! | The Good Hearted Woman

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Oh. My. Goodness. I just spent a couple of hours drooling over these chocolate cake recipes as I was putting this post together. Even after all that contemplation, I can’t pick a favorite. Can you?

Devilishly Delicious Chocolate Cake Recipes

Did you know that January 27th is National Chocolate Cake Day! 

Yes! It’s a real thing! In celebration of this momentous annual celebration, I asked some of my favorite foodies to share their best chocolate cake recipes. Many thanks for all who generously shared. 

Let’s face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me. ~ Audrey Hepburn
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Chocolate Wacky Cake

Chocolate Wacky Cake is the easiest scratch cake you will ever make! (No eggs, no milk, no butter, no clean-up.) Made exclusively with pantry staples, this surprisingly moist, delicious snack cake mixes up in a jiffy, right in the pan! (Kid-friendly recipe!)

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Double Chocolate Bundt Cake

Photo Credit: www.itsyummi.com

Double chocolate bundt cake is the star of any dessert table. Moist, decadent, and not overly sweet, this bundt cake is infused with coffee and topped with delicious dark chocolate ganache.

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.

~ Charles M. Schulz

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Chocolate Caramel & Pecan Bundt Cake

Photo Credit: balancingmotherhood.com

Busy families: Keep a box of chocolate cake mix, a box of instant chocolate pudding, a jar of your favorite caramel sauce, and pecans in your pantry. Then you’ll be ready the next time you need to make a quick dessert — and no one will know the difference!

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Single Serving No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Desserts

Photo Credit: motherwouldknow.com

These no-bake single serving desserts take the wonderful combination of peanut butter and chocolate to new heights with a creamy middle and a crunchy top. With no baking required, they are a snap to put together on a hot, summer day.

Chocolate is the first luxury. It has so many things wrapped up in it: deliciousness in the moment, childhood memories, and that grin-inducing feeling of getting a reward for being good.

~ Mariska Hargitay

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Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cake

Photo Credit: chocolateandmarrow.com

Chewy, dark chocolate brownie, smeared with fluffy peanut butter frosting and stacked, then topped with Reese’s peanut butter cups. 

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Champagne Brownie Cake

Photo Credit: recipeforperfection.com

A moist and delicious cake-like brownie with the subtle flavor of champagne.

He showed the words “chocolate cake” to a group of Americans and recorded their word associations. “Guilt” was the top response. If that strikes you as unexceptional, consider the response of French eaters to the same prompt: “celebration.”

~ Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

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Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake

Photo Credit: norecipes.com

An ultra-moist gluten-free chocolate cake that's as simple as throwing sweet potatoes and a handful of other ingredients in the blender.

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Chocolate Coca Cola Cake Recipe

Photo Credit: www.bakingbeauty.net

A moist pillowy chocolate cake topped with a fudgy chocolate Coca Cola Frosting.

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Cold Chocolate Snacking Cake

Photo Credit: theviewfromgreatisland.com

Cold Chocolate Snacking Cake is cool, dark, moist, and decadent — keep a batch in the fridge at all times!  It’s a copy cat version of the famous Sara Lee chocolate cake, and it’s utterly irresistible.

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Chocolate Mega Muffins

Photo Credit: motherwouldknow.com

Jumbo chocolate muffins are perfect when you want to make cake but can't carry a big one to a picnic or potluck.

What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate.

~ Katharine Hepburn

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The Best Chocolate Mud Cake

Photo Credit: bakeplaysmile.com

You only need one chocolate mud cake recipe… and this is it! It really is the best chocolate mud cake recipe ever! Dense, rich and oh-so-delicious!

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Strawberry Chocolate Cake

Photo Credit: www.karenskitchenstories.com

Light and seasonal, this chocolate cake is layered with a lightly sweetened whipped cream and a fresh strawberry reduction.

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Supreme Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse Filling

Photo Credit: www.sweetandsavorybyshinee.com

For serious chocolate lovers! This decadent chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling is just the thing to satisfy your chocolate cravings!

My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M’s and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.

~ Dave Barry

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Chocolate Almond Pound Cake

Photo Credit: www.thelunacafe.com

This chocolate cake has a moist, tender, dense, and almost chewy texture, with a full chocolate flavor balanced by an equally assertive almond flavor.

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Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake 

Photo Credit: foodiegoeshealthy.com

Perfect for any holiday or dinner party, this fudgy chocolate cake is chocolatey and rich, but not too rich and not too sweet.

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Chocolate Whiskey Bundt Cake

Photo Credit: bigflavorstinykitchen.com

This boozy bundt cake was rich, dense and chocolatey. You can easily serve smaller slices of it than most cakes, because it really packs a punch. 

“Can I come back and see you sometime?”

“Long as you bring me some chocolate,” Gramma said, and smiled. “I’m partial to chocolate.”

“Gramma, you’re diabetic.”

“I’m old, girl. Gonna die of something. Might as well be chocolate.”

~ Rachel Caine, The Dead Girls’ Dance

Wavy Line

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of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

January 27th is National Chocolate Cake Day! (Yes! It's a real thing!) Pick a cake from our devilishly delicious chocolate cake roundup and Celebrate! | The Good Hearted WomanWavy Line

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Filed Under: Recipe Round-ups Tagged With: bundt, cake, chocolate

Holiday Eggnog Cake {with Rum-Bourbon Glaze}

December 9 By Renée 4 Comments

Want to be the hit of your next holiday party? Serve up this amazing, uber-moist Holiday Eggnog Cake {with Brandy-Rum glaze}! This bundt is a crowd-pleaser for any occasion!

Eggnog Cake - Sliced 1

Let me introduce you to one of the most delicious bundts you will ever sink your teeth into – my amazing holiday Eggnog Cake.

{She said “Bundt!”}

OK, I know that at least a few of you just giggled, or at least smiled inside your head. If you didn’t, then watch the short clip below, because you have obviously missed out. 

“There’s a hole in this cake!”


(I think I’ve watched the Bundt Cake scene from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” at least a dozen times and it still cracks me up. (If you’ve never seen the movie, I highly recommend it.)  Now, on to the cake-making.)

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5 from 1 vote

Holiday Eggnog {Bundt} Cake

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1/2 lb unsalted butter 2 sticks, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs separated and at room temperature
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 Tbs baking powder
  • 2 tsp fresh nutmeg
  • 1 cup egg nog

Glaze

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 lb unsalted butter 1 stick
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup dark rum Non-Alch.option: 1 T. rum flavoring
  • 1/4 cup brandy Non-Alch. option: 7 T. apple cider

Instructions

For Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a bundt pan with butter or Crisco and dust with flour.
  • Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolks.
  • Sift together dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture alternately with egg nog.
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  • Note: If you typically make your cakes from a mix, be aware that this batter is much thicker. This is what it looks like before the egg whites are folded in - almost like a very soft cookie dough.
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  • In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks, and fold into batter. Once the whipped egg whites are folded in, spread the batter into your prepared bundt pan. Give the pan a couple of good taps on the counter to make sure all those little ridges are filled in.
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  • Bake 50-55 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Top of cake will crack. Remove from oven and cool in pan 10 minutes before turning out.
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For Glaze:

  • Combine sugar, butter, water and nutmeg in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
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  • Remove from heat and stir in rum and brandy, or flavoring and apple juice. Glaze will be very thin.
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  • Invert cake onto rack. Prick top of cake with a long fork or skewer at 1-inch intervals.
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  • To glaze, start with very warm glaze and a very warm cake. The glaze will be very thin when you start, but will thicken slightly as you go. Use a pastry brush and take your time, or all the glaze will run off. I usually glaze a layer and then wait a minute and glaze again, repeating until all the glaze is gone.
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  • Let cake sit at room temperature for 2-4 hours before serving.
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  • Freezes well.

Notes

If you are concerned about the alcohol being in your finished cake, don't be. It will all boil off immediately when you add it to the boiling hot glaze mixture. In fact, when you do this, stand back a little or the alcohol cloud from the burn-off may sting your eyes. (Voice of experience.)
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!
Eggnog Cake - Sliced

Eggnog Cake makes a simple, elegant presentation, and is delicious served alone or with the festive beverage of your choice.

Filed Under: Recipes, Sweets, Vegetarian Tagged With: baking, bundt, cake, Christmas, Holidays

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