Slight trepidation… making cake AND frosting from scratch. I figured I might be in the kitchen all day. It did take a while, so if you’re new at baking, definitely don’t be in a hurry with this one. But I promise it’s worth it.

While the cake was baking, I got right to work on the frosting. A little extra time was added here when I had to clean up this bag of powdered sugar that decided to do a little dance on the kitchen floor.

I whipped up the frosting with my whisk.

I was holding my breath while turning the cakes out of the pans and I almost cheered when they came out in one piece. They smelled so good I wanted to take a huge bite the minute I had one on the cooling rack. The cake wasn’t perfectly level when I put it together. I’m sure there’s some kitchen tool for frosting a cake but I used what I had, a good old-fashioned butter knife. It didn’t look professionally frosted but it tasted like the work of a baker who knew what they were doing, so I was thrilled! This really is the best homemade chocolate cake.

*The second time I made this cake, I used a stand mixer. When I turned it on, the dry ingredients went over the edge of the bowl, be sure to have a shield on your mixer or use a whisk for that part.

What I learned:

I cannot commit… to a cake that is. I cannot make a three layer cake and then just hand it off to some innocent cake loving bystander without making sure it doesn’t taste like poison first. Not that I know what poison tastes like, but you get my drift. So, I made a 2 layer cake and some cupcakes with what should have been the 3rd layer.

Elbow grease works just fine in lieu of a mixer.

What they said:

Mostly things like… can I have another piece? This cake IS amazing! Can you make this for me for my Birthday? WHAT?!? My first request, already?!? YAY!!!

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The Best Homemade Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 3 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 cups organic cane sugar organic
• 1 1/2 cups organic unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons extra fine himalayan pink salt
• 4 large organic eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup organic avocado oil
• 2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting

• 1/3 cup organic butter
• 2/3 cup organic cocoa
• 2 2/3 cups organic powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup organic milk
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

Instructions

Chocolate Cake

• Preheat oven to 350. Prep 3 9-inch cake pans.
• Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a stand mixer on a low speed until combined.
• Add eggs, buttermilk, warm water, oil, and vanilla. Beat for a couple of minutes on medium speed until smooth.
• Divide batter among the 3 cake pans, about 3 cups of batter in each pan.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Let sit for 15 minutes before removing from cake pans to cooling racks.
• Frost and enjoy!

Chocolate Frosting

• Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over low heat. Add the cocoa and stir until mixture is smooth and thick. Remove pan from heat and place cocoa mixture into a medium size bowl. Let it cool slightly.
• Add the milk and vanilla alternately with the powdered sugar to the bowl and beat with an electric mixer or whisk until you have the spreading consistency you desire.

The post The Best Homemade Chocolate Cake appeared first on She Bakes They Eat.

My first actual from scratch recipe. I have to mix two different parts and then put them together. I started sweating a little. Feeling like I have no clue how to bake, I take a deep breath and put on my apron. Sidenote: I normally like to clean as I go along in the kitchen but with my novice extremely in tact, I’ve given in to the fact that I should have exactly zero distractions on this new venture. I’ve decided that a mess is ok on Sundays when I bake. 

Sigh of relief as I finished the first part and put half of the dough in the pan. I was feeling a little more confident sifting and whisking along until it was time to add the lemon juice. It wasn’t coming out easily, so I squeezed really hard and shot A LOT of juice a few feet across the floor. The question quickly became, do I clean this up now… with my socks? I instantly sweating again. But I finished putting it together and when it started baking and smelling delicious, I couldn’t wait to try it! I definitely said a prayer and kept my eye firmly on the oven instead of attacking the dishes.  

The question quickly became, do I clean this up now… with my socks?

Overall, these Blueberry Crumb Bars were a great starting point because they were easy! The anticipation of it being the “first from scratch recipe” was the hardest part. I adapted the recipe with as many organic ingredients as I could find and made it gluten free so all of my taste testing co-workers could eat it. While I was looking for gluten free flour at the store, I realized that all of the packages had conversion charts for substitution and that sounded terrible. I perked right back up when I found Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour, no math! 

What I learned:

I can bake! From scratch! And it tastes GOOD! Hip Hip Hooray!

The sifter I bought with a trigger handle is THE WORST. Way more comes out of the bottom by banging on the side than actually pulling the trigger. I must invest in one with a crank handle, toot sweet. 

Using gluten free flour makes baked goods more dense and moist.

What they said:

Rave reviews! Everyone seemed to love these blueberry crumb bars and wanted another piece or two. Most of my responses were that the recipe was delicious and not too sweet. 

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Blueberry Crumb Bars

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 24

Ingredients

Crumb

• 3 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup organic cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon extra fine pink himalayan salt
• 1 cup organic cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Blueberry Filling

• 4 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

• Prehead oven to 375 degrees.
• Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.
• Make the Crumb. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a fork to blend in the butter and then the egg (the dough will be crumbly). 
• Press half of the dough into the prepared pan.
• Make the Filling. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently fold in the blueberries to coat evenly with the sugar mixture.  
• Spread the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust, drizzling any excess juice in the bowl over the filling.
• Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the blueberry layer.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the top is light golden brown. 
• Cool completely before cutting.

The post Blueberry Crumb Bars appeared first on She Bakes They Eat.