Two Bowl Cake Recipes

TWO BOWL CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, and salt--stir to mix well.
• In a large bowl combine water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Dump the dry ingredients into the water mixture and stir with a fork until smooth. DO NOT BEAT. Pour batter into an UNGREASED 9x13 inch pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes.

CHOCOLATE CAKE FOR TWO

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.
• Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla in a measuring cup. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and beat with a wooden spoon until well combined, scraping the side and bottom of the bowl once or twice with a rubber spatula. Stir in the hot water until it is all absorbed and the batter is smooth (it will be thin).
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until the top is shiny, the cake is just beginning to pull away from the side of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a crumb or 2 attached, about 20 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan, remove the parchment paper and let the cake completely cool on the rack, right-side up, about 1 hour. (The cake will be thin, but don't worry-it will magically be OK once it's stacked with frosting.)
• For the frosting: Pulse the butter, cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor 10 times, stopping halfway through to scrape the bottom and side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the corn syrup and vanilla, and pulse 5 times. Scrape the bottom and side of the bowl, drizzle in the chocolate and pulse 5 more times to combine. Transfer the frosting to a small bowl.
• To assemble: Cut the cooled cake into 4 even quarters. Frost the top of each quarter with about 2 tablespoons of the frosting (an offset spatula helps spread the frosting evenly). Stack the frosted quarters directly on top of each other on a serving plate, resulting in a 4-layer wedge of cake with frosting between layers and on top. Frost all 3 sides of the cake with the remaining frosting until completely covered. Let sit for 30 minutes. Halve and serve.

TWO-STEP POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Generously grease bottom, side and tube of 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pan with shortening; lightly flour.
• In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. On low speed, gradually beat in flour alternately with milk. Pour batter into pan.
• Bake 1 hour 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

MEAT LOAF CAKE FOR TWO

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the carrot, oats, milk, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into two 1-in. thick patties., Grill burgers, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 160° and juices run clear., Meanwhile, place potatoes in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Press through a potato ricer or strainer into a small bowl. Stir in the milk, salt and white pepper. , Place one burger on a serving plate. Spread 3/4 cup mashed potatoes over top. Top with remaining burger. Spread remaining mashed potatoes over top and sides of cake. In a small bowl, tint 4 teaspoons cream cheese orange; pipe carrots over top of cake. Tint remaining cream cheese green; pipe tops on carrots. Press bread crumbs into sides of cake.

LEMON LAYER CAKE FOR TWO

Steps:

• Spray the inside of a 4 1/2-inch springform pan. Place it on a baking sheet for easier handling; set aside.
• Place the buttermilk and baking soda in a small bowl, and whisk until the baking soda is dissolved. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and melted butter, and whisk to combine.
• Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl and whisk to blend well. Add the buttermilk mixture, and whisk just until blended and smooth.
• Place the rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and place the springform pan on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take the cake out of the pan, and place it upright on the rack, letting it cool completely.
• To make frosting: Place the cream and confectioners' sugar in a small mixing bowl and beat on high speed until firm peaks form (about 2 minutes).
• Add half of the lemon curd and beat to mix.
• To frost: Cut the cake in half horizontally. Place the bottom half cut-side up. Spread the remaining lemon curd on the cake bottom, and a small amount of frosting on top of that.
• Place the other half of the cake, cut side down, on top of that. Frost the tops and sides of the cake.
• Keep refrigerated for up to 6 hours, and let the cake return to room temperature before serving.

BASIC WHITE TWO-LAYER CAKE AND WHITE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and make sure that the rack is in the center of your oven. Spray two 8" round cake pans very generously with non-stick cooking spray (I used Baker's Joy ).
• In a large bowl, mix together cake flour, salt, and baking powder; set bowl aside.
• In another large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until it's light and fluffy (you can use a standing mixer or an electric hand mixer).
• In a large measuring cup, combine the milk, vanilla, and almond extract.
• Now it's time to add them all together! Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend on a low speed for about 30 seconds. Add about 1/2 of the milk mixture and blend again. Add in half of what's left of the flour mixture and blend again. Add in the rest of the milk mixture, blend for a couple of seconds, then the remaining flour mixture and blend at a low speed until the ingredients are barely mixed together (don't over mix!).
• In a separate bowl (or in your stand mixer using the whisk attachment), beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they reach "firm peak stage" (a.k.a. when the whisk is held sideways, the peaks will hold and the ridges will be distinct - this took about five minutes of whisking for me!). Fold the egg whites into the cake batter.
• Pour the cake batter evenly into the two prepared pans and bake them for 20-26 minutes (mine were done at 25), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cakes and let them finish cooling on wire racks.
• Combine the shortening, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl (you can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer). Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, alternating with the milk or heavy cream, and mix it together until you have used it all. If the frosting is too thick, add more milk. If the frosting is too thin, add more sugar.
• Place one of your cooled, leveled cake layers on your cake stand . Using an offset spatula, place about 1/2 cup of frosting in the middle of the cake. Using your spatula, push the frosting out to the edges until the frosting is about 1/4"-1/2" thick (if you have a rotating cake stand, this step is really easy, but you can do it without it).
• Place the second layer of cake on top. You will now create the crumb coat (a thin layer of frosting that seals in all the crumbs to make it easy to decorate). Using the offset spatula, spread the frosting that has spilled out from between the layers smoothly over the surface. Add more frosting as needed, just keep the layer thin and smooth.
• Place about 1/2 cup of frosting on the top of the cake, pushing the frosting out to the edges until it's a smooth, flat surface.
• Now place the spatula against the edges of the cake and smooth out the excess frosting pushed over from the top of the cake.
• To help the cake firm up, stick it in the freezer for about 1-2 hours.
• From here, drop 1/2 cup frosting on the center of the cake and push it out to the edges as you did before, making the surface nice and smooth.
• Continue adding frosting to the top and edges of the cake until it's the smoothness and thickness you want. (Amanda says that the best way to get smooth frosting is to practice!)
• From there, continue to add more frosting to the top and sides of the cake until it's completely covered. I topped mine off with sprinkles, but you could get fancy and add some frosting decorations