Rose and Crown's Guinness Cake

I found this gem of a recipe a few weeks ago, and will admit to being hesitant to trying it. You see, I am not a fan of beer (and yes, I have tried many different types and still prefer other adult beverages), and the idea of mixing chocolate with something I don't really like seemed odd to me. Still, though, I decided that this challenge is all about doing things we normally wouldn't do, while sharing Disney with all of you. I am so happy that I decided to give it a try. I will also include a recipe for a Bailey's frosting that is not from Disney, but couples well with this cake (note, if you are serving this to family and want something non alcoholic, substitute with Bailey's coffee creamer, it works well).

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups brown sugar

6 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 TB baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups Guinness Stout

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Frosting:

3 cups of powdered sugar

1 cup (two sticks) of butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 tablespoons of Bailey's

Begin by creaming the butter and sugar together. Gradually add in the eggs, one at a time. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. In a completely separate bowl stir together the cocoa powder and Guinness. Alternate between adding the flour and Guinness mixture to the mixing bowl. Once done, place in greased cake pans (I used one 10*10) and baking for 1 hour and 30 minutes (it took 1 hour and 8 minutes for me) at 275 degrees. Let sit for 5 minutes on a cooling rack before removing from pan and frosting.

Egg, sugar, and butter

After Guinness has been added

Cake cooling!

Combine all of the frosting ingredients together and mix well - it is best to use a hook instead of whisk for these types of frosting. Spread on cake as desired. 

Combine and mix well

Pour on top of cake

Enjoy!

Please join Krystal tomorrow at www.magicaldismom.com for another magical recipe

Easy Breezy Vanilla Cake Recipe

Recently I was in need of a vanilla cake recipe (completely from scratch) - one that could be duplicated with ease and have very similar results. For any of you who have not yet baked from scratch yet, let me say that it is so hard (especially with cake) to have it turn out the same way more than once. Exact amounts of ingredients need to be used, and still things can sink, burn, be flat, too dense, etc.

I ran across this gem, and saw that the reviews were through the roof. I decided to give it a try, and have already made 3 batches in 24 hours. 

You will need:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 cup of milk (it was suggested on the recipe to use 3/4 cups instead. I did and it was worth it!)

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Then, grease and flour the bottom of your cake pan (this is meant for a 9*9 pan or cupcakes, but can be easily accommodating to other sizes). Please make sure that the grease/flour mixture is only on the bottom as this helps the cake rise. If you're worried about the ability to remove the cake once it's done, just let it cool a few minutes and then take a knife gently around the edges of the cake. It will, I assure you, easily pop out. 

Now it's time to cream together the butter and sugar. Then add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla. After that has mixed, combine the flour and baking powder and add to the liquid mix. Then, add the milk.

If you're making a cake, bake this for 30-40 minutes, for cupcakes it takes about 20-25 minutes. The way to know if the cake is done is not only by the tried and true toothpick test (insert pick into the middle of the cake and remove, if comes out clean it's done) but also by touch. If you can touch it and it springs back up, the cake is ready!

For a very easy (and pretty) topping to your cake I have a delicious cream cheese and strawberry recipe.

You will need:

• 8 ounces of cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 cup of whipping cream (or purchase pre done)
• 1/4 pound of powdered sugar
• Strawberries

Combine all of the ingredients, except for the strawberries, in a mixer until it is thick and creamy. If you are making your whipping cream from scratch (best taste ever!) make sure to whip it first before adding everything else (just place the liquid in the bowl and mix on high for about 3 minutes, or until peaks form). After it is thick and tasty, spread on top of cake and place cut strawberries on top in whatever design you choose.