Chocolate Carrot Cake

If you're a chocolate lover seeking a cake recipe that stands out and delights the palate, look no further than this low-fat, butterless Chocolate and Carrot Cake from Mari's collection. This unique combination is sure to captivate your senses, making you tempted to devour the entire cake yourself. 

While the carrot itself doesn't contribute a distinct flavor to the cake, its purpose is to replace the butter and lend a creamy, moist texture, all while maintaining an indulgent chocolatey taste. With a preparation time of less than 20 minutes, this cake is incredibly easy to make.

En español: Bizcocho de Chocolate y Zanahoria.

This is an exclusive recipe from my home bakery collection, now available for you to enjoy. To access more information and purchase Mari's Chocolate Carrot Cake Recipe, simply click the "Buy Now" button below. Once your payment is processed, the recipe will be sent directly to your inbox.

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Greek Honey and Lemon Cake

Discover the irresistible tanginess of this moist lemon cake, a guilt-free delight for those watching their sugar intake or aiming for a lighter dessert. With its low-fat content and absence of added sugars, it's the perfect option for health-conscious individuals. Plus, the addition of sesame seeds provides a delightful crunch and flavor boost. 

Receta de Bizcocho Griego de Miel y Limon en español.

Don't miss out on this delicious treat! :) Απολαύστε αυτό το νόστιμο κέικ!

Greek Honey and Lemon Cake

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons margarine
7 Tablespoons honey
Grated rind and juice of one lemon (2 Tablespoons)
⅔ cups milk room temperature
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of nutmeg
2 egg whites
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F (200˚C) Lightly grease a 8" (20 cm) square pan.

2. Mix margarine a 4 Tablespoons of honey in a saucepan until melted. Mix in milk; Reserve 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and add the remaining juice to the mixture.

3. Sift flour, baking powder, and nutmeg together, add lemon rind, and reserve. Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and mix. Lightly beat egg whites to soft peaks. Fold in egg whites into the mixture of flour and butter until well incorporated.

4. Pour mixture into pan and sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake for 20-30 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I leave mine for 25 minutes.

5. Mix reserved 3 Tablespoons of honey and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice, drizzle over the cake while it is still warm in the pan. Leave to cool in the pan and then cut into 1" fingers to serve.

Yield: 12 portions.

Notes: Substitute ¼ cup of flour with semolina for an authentic Mediterranean cake.

 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”~ John 16:33.

Delicious Plum Upside Down Cake, Volteado de Ciruela

I never thought an upside-down plum cake will taste this good. For the upcoming celebrations this should be the dessert to prepare for your loved ones. A Easy, Elegant and Enticing cake. Enjoy!
Another three E cake I recommend is the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.

I'm off  to roast some marshmallow, play board games with my family and dedicate this time to God, family, pets, farm and life. I'll be back sometime in January. I hope you do like this cake and that your able to bake it successfully this holiday for your family. Remember Christmas baking is all about enjoying family, friends and neighbors. It a opportunity to be grateful for all our blessings. Bake with love, and share the Christmas spirit. You can find favorite traditional Christmas recipes for previous recipes posted in this blog here: Dominican Traditional Holiday Favorites and More!

Share your cakes and Christmas creations by uploading a photo to our facebook page. We will love to see it!

Delicious Italian Apple Cake: Torta di Mele, a moist and tender Recipe

Indulge in my version of the classic Italian apple cake, Torta di Mele. For apple enthusiasts, this dessert is a heavenly delight, with no spice to overshadow the delicious apple flavor. Enjoy a moist and tender cake with a rustic topping of tender and juicy apples, perfect with a morning or afternoon cup of coffee or tea. It's so delectable that it won't last more than half a day at home. I highly recommend trying it!

Receta de Delicioso Bizcocho de Manzana Italiano, Torta di Mele.

A Torta di Mele (Italian apple cake) typically has a moist and tender texture. The combination of ingredients such as apples, eggs, sugar, flour, and often some form of fat like butter or oil contributes to the overall texture. The apples in the cake add moisture, and the baking process helps create a soft and fluffy crumb. The texture can vary slightly based on the specific recipe and variations used. Some recipes might result in a denser cake, while others aim for a lighter, more airy texture. 

Overall, Torta di Mele is known for being a comforting, flavorful cake with a pleasant texture that combines the sweetness of apples with a soft and often slightly crumbly consistency.

Torta di Mele

Ingredients:

- 2-3 apples (any type except red delicious)

- 3 eggs

- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar (230g)

- 1 cup milk

- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (320g)

- 2½ teaspoons baking powder

- ½ stick butter (60g)

- ½ teaspoon lemon zest

 Juice of a lemon to coat apples

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C).  Lightly grease and line cake pan, preferably a springform pan (with removable base mold) 9" or 10". (See note.)

2. Wash and peel the apples and brush with lemon juice. Beat eggs with sugar until stiff (about 4 - 5 minutes). Once you have the desired texture (pale yellow and fluffy), add the remaining ingredients one by one in the following order: the flour mixed with baking powder, butter at room temperature, and the milk with the vanilla. Whisk at low speed until well blended, and finally add the lemon zest.

3. Pour the mixture into the baking pan and place the apples in a circle starting with the edges and moving toward the center. Bake at 375 °F (190 °C) for 35-45 minutes. Sprinkle a little icing sugar if desired. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy your Torta de Mele!

Notes:

For even baking and rising, try using a greased flower nail placed in the center of your 10-inch or larger cake pan. This simple tip can help ensure that your cake cooks evenly and rises to perfection. Once your cake is baked and cooled, simply remove the flower nail. Give it a try and see the difference it can make in your baking!

The following photo is for those who miss their country, especially for those from Santiago, Dominican Republic who are living abroad. Here is the monument (Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración) during the daytime, as requested by some of you. If you want to see the monument at nighttime, you can check out the photo I posted earlier, here.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also love this one:

Delicious Chocolate Pear Cake Recipe 

Spit-roasted Pig in Dominican Republic

Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice. ~ Job 32:9 

Easy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I couldn't let this weekend go by without a baked treat, so today I finally took out this pineapple upside-down cake recipe from my recipe album to share with you, especially for the following reason: just before yesterday my youngest daughter told me she didn't know how easy it was to bake using cake mixes. She was surprised to know you only need eggs, oil and water to make a complete cake batter in just two minutes. For her it was MAGIC! We see these boxes at the supermarket all the time, so I couldn't believe she didn't know the how-to for the cake mixes. I can't blame her because ever since she was three years old, I stop using cake mixes and have been baking everything from scratch.

 

En español: AQUI

A special cake to give as a gift does not need to be overly elaborated, it just needs to be made with love and of course it should taste delicious. I believe that even when we have learn to make our own cakes, these mixes are still great, and can bail us out anytime we have little time to prepare a cake.

I’ve had this pineapple upside-down cake recipe since 1994 and it is a keeper for generations to come, because it is a cake mix cake made special by using pineapple juice instead of water, and adding a pineapple, cherry, brown sugar and butter topping.  It's a scrumptious and irresistible cake, you'll see!

I grew up baking and loving these cakes, so today I was happy to teach my daughter the "magic" of cake mixes. We enjoyed baking and savoring this delicious "magical" treat together. You are still in time for baking a cake today or this upcoming family Sunday when we celebrate Mother's Day here in Dominican Republic. To all those who like to bake but do not have much experience in baking, I recommend this recipe to you and hope you make it one of your first baking attempts. For those that are experience bakers, I invite you to try it as well, I am sure you'll enjoy its taste. Happy Baking!

Easy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Recipe 
(adapted from Betty Crocker)

Ingredients:
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 can (20 ounces) sliced pineapple or chunks in juice, drained and juice reserved.
1 jar (6 ounces) maraschino cherries, drained
1 package yellow cake mix
Oil and eggs as called for on cake mix package directions.


Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Melt butter in 13x9 inch pan in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter.  
2. Arrange pineapple slice and cherries oven top; press gently.  
3. Add enough water to pineapple juice to measure 1¼ cups. Make cake batter as directed on package-except use pineapple juice mixture instead of the water. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.  
4. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately turn pan upside down onto heatproof serving plate; leave pan over cake 1 minute. Serve warm or cool. Store loosely covered.

Note: High altitude (3500-6500 ft): Grease and flour pan. Stir 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour into dry cake mix. Bake 45-50 min.

En español: AQUÍ

Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.

Have a marvelous day!

Drunken Dominican Cake, Bizcocho Borracho

Hello, it's incredible how quickly February 14th has arrived! Wasn't it just yesterday that we were celebrating New Year's? This month is flying by! Today's recipe is a much-loved classic sponge cake, Bizcocho Borracho. For those seeking a Valentine's Day dessert, this is a perfect choice with its vibrant red color. It might even be considered an alternative to red velvet cake, though I'm not entirely sure about that :)

Receta de Bizcocho Borracho Dominicano en español aquí.

This spongy cake is made without butter and is moistened with a syrup made of sugar, water, red food coloring, and rum. While it's not as commonly found in bakeries as it used to be, it remains a classic favorite for Dominicans. My husband has childhood memories of this cake being sold by a street vendor carrying a wooden box on his head. On the other hand, I fondly remember the "helado borracho," or drunken ice cream, which used to be my favorite. Can you imagine my disappointment when I found out that this ice cream had been discontinued? This tragic and unfair reality fueled my eagerness to learn how to make this cake, and now I have my own version of the recipe.

I had intended to bake this cake last Christmas and share the recipe with you, but time slipped away from me. I'm thrilled that I've finally published it as promised and fulfilled the requests of many readers who have been asking for this recipe. Hopefully, you'll be able to prepare this recipe at home soon.

Why isn't this cake sold as much as before? The reason is that the delicious, intense pink raspberry extract is no longer available in local stores and supermarkets. What's being sold now is an imitation concentrate used to flavor food products in general, but it doesn't taste like the original. We call it "frambuesa," and it is the most important ingredient in this cake because it adds the dark red color that characterizes this drunken cake.

Why so much coloring? First, I would like to clarify why it has to be a dark red wine color. The original recipe was made with red wine, but to make it more economical or suitable for children, frambuesa was used as a substitute for the wine. From there came the infatuation with the intense red wine color. For this recipe, you will see that a lot of coloring is used, something that I don't usually like, but for this cake, I do. I should also clarify that it is not necessary to use coloring; you can use less or none at all. There are several versions of this recipe, and today I will share my version and how I substitute the frambuesa.

Bizcocho Borracho

(Mari's Cakes version inspired and translated from the book (Mujer 2000)

For the cake:

5 eggs (yolks and whites separated)

1 cup granulated sugar (200g)

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted (145g)

½ teaspoon of baking powder (omit if using wine)

¼ teaspoon salt

For syrup:

1¼ cups sugar (250g)

2 cups water (437ml)

½ cup of red wine or rum (118ml)

2 ½ teaspoons of red food gel coloring (optional)

3 drops of blue food gel coloring (optional)

1 tsp. raspberry extract (optional)

To Sprinkle on Top (optional):

¼ cup powdered sugar (32g)

¼ teaspoons cinnamon powder

The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of cinnamon to ¼ cup of powdered sugar, creating a cocoa-colored sugar. I enjoy the contrast of the white sugar against the red, so in this recipe, I use less cinnamon to achieve a soft beige color instead. I do use both sugars. There is a photo almost at the end of the post that shows the cake with both sugars, and I believe using both makes it look interesting.

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Grease and flour an 8 x 10-inch rectangular cake pan, or one tall 9-inch round tall pan. 

2. Separate the yolks from the whites and beat with a half cup of sugar until pale yellow and foamy (on speed # 8 / high for 2.5 minutes). 

3. In a large bowl beat the egg whites with the remaining half cup sugar until soft peaks form (on speed # 10 /high for 1 minute). Incorporate the beaten egg yolks and flour into the egg whites by folding- stirring gently to keep air bubbles in. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake 20 - 30 minutes or until it is golden and when inserted the toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan.

4. Prepare the syrup: combine water and sugar, bring to moderate fire, and boil for 10 minutes. After it has cooled, add the rum or wine, coloring, extract and mix. Bathe the sponge cake with syrup until it is completely soaked, and bring to refrigerator. Sprinkle cake top with the mixture of powdered sugar and cinnamon before serving. This cake can last up one week in the fridge. Serve cold. ENJOY!

If you pour the syrup onto the sponge in the same pan where it was baked, instead of cutting it into slices and placing them on a tray as indicated in the notes below, you can follow the process of pricking holes in the surface of the cake with a knife or skewer. This will help the cake absorb the syrup much better. 

Notes:

a) You can also moisten cake as follows I find this way easier):  cut into slices, put them lying flat on a tray, soak with the syrup, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and place them on a plate or in individual doilies. Although I used a bundt cake pan, I do not recommend it if you are just learning to make cakes. This cake is very soft due to being soaked in syrup and it can break while unmolding.

b) Decorate as you please with Meringue – use half of this recipe: Meringue Frosting.

c) This cake will rise very high in the oven and might shrink a little due to air incorporated in the beaten eggs and a small amount of leavening agent used, if this happens it is OK.

If you have people in your life to love, you are rich. - J. Osteen

  Check out my E-books and exclusive recipes at Mari's E-books.

Mandarin Orange Cake Recipe, Bizcocho de Mandarina

Start the year off right with a delicious Mandarin Cake recipe! 

Made with natural mandarin juice syrup, this cake is a perfect fusion of citrus and nutty flavors. I love to bake this cake during mandarin season, as the fresh citrus adds a delightful twist to the recipe. If you've tried my previous cake recipes, you'll notice that I often incorporate nuts for their unique taste and texture. I believe that nuts add an extra layer of flavor to cakes, making them even more enjoyable. 

Receta de Bizcocho de Mandarina en español.

Give this simple and delicious cake recipe a try and let me know how much you love it! Your feedback is always appreciated.

Check out the beautiful mandarin trees on our farm! We're thrilled to announce that this year's harvest has been exceptional, and we're grateful to God for this blessing.

Dominican Mandarins, Our farm 2012

This recipe yields one 7" cake, on this occasion I doubled the recipe to make two cakes.

Mandarin Orange Cake

Wonderful citrus cake with almonds and freshly squeezed mandarin juice syrup.

Ingredients:

3 mandarins

¾ cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened

1 cup superfine sugar (I used powdered sugar)

3 eggs, beaten

1½ cup all-purpose flour

2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup ground almonds Mandarin 

GLAZE Topping:

½ cup freshly squeezed mandarin juice

6-8 Tablespoons granulated sugar

powdered sugar to sprinkle on top

Follow these simple instructions to make a delicious Mandarin Cake:

1. Grease a 7-inch round pan and line the base with wax paper or parchment paper.

2. Finely chop the rind of one mandarin and cream it together with butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add beaten eggs to the mixture, beating well after each addition.

3. Gently fold in a mixture of flour, baking powder, salt, and ground almonds. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in a preheated oven (350ºF) for 30-45 minutes, or until the center comes out clean. Once baked, leave to cool slightly.

4. While the cake cools, make the glaze. Put the mandarin juice and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes and drizzle the warm glaze over the cake until it has been absorbed. Once cooled completely, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Notes:

a) For an alternative method in step #2, you can chop the mandarin rind in a food processor with ¼ cup of extra powdered sugar.

b) To achieve a chunky sugar appearance on top of the cake, use your thumb and index finger to sprinkle the sugar instead of a sieve.

This recipe yields 8-10 servings of one layer  7" cake. Enjoy!

If you liked this recipe, you would also love these:

Vanilla Pistachio Cake

Delicious Spongy Cake

Marble Cake with Chocolate and Orange

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”- Romans 1:17

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