Mini Apple Upside-Down Carrot Cakes

Ellensburg’s fall weather always seems to hit with little notice. The leaves change overnight, as does the chill of the wind. There comes a point that all I want to do is curl up with a good book, a fleece blanket, and a great dessert. When that time comes, all I’m thinking of is comfort, and I find comfort in the spiced flavors of fall.

This recipe combines the fall harvest of apples with the sweet spices of holiday cooking. Around the holidays, we are drawn to pumpkin, carrots, apples, cinnamon, and other comfort flavors. It’s our Grandma’s famous pumpkin pie or the local fruit stand’s apple cider that gets us excited about the season, and I wanted to harness all of those flavors in creating the perfect fall recipe.

These mini cakes are meant to comfort you, but also to spark a sense of celebration. The holidays offer us a chance to take time off and to spend time with those we love. It is a time of excitement, relaxation, and really great food. These cakes represent that time, whether you choose to host a large dinner or relax with that good book. Either way, you will find yourself enjoying the flavors of fall.

Mini Apple Upside-Down Carrot Cakes

Caramelized Apple Topping:

¼ C Butter

1/3 C Brown Sugar

1 Large Apple, slice

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, melt ¼ C Butter in microwave. Divide and pour melted butter evenly into cupcake wells. Divide the brown sugar and sprinkle a bit over each well. Push 1 apple slice into each well. Bake for 5 minutes.

Carrot Cake:

3/4 C Saffola or Canola Oil

2/3 C Sugar

3 Eggs

1 1/3 C Flour

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 1/3 Tsp Baking Powder

1 1/3 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

1 Tsp Nutmeg

1 Tsp Pumpkin Spice

1 Tsp Pure Almond Extract

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 C Shredded Carrots

Beat the oil and sugar, then add the eggs. Add the almond and vanilla extracts to the sugar mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, , and pumpkin spice. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat well. Beat in carrots.

Using a measuring cup, scoop ¼ cup of batter over top of the topping mixture in each cupcake well. The liquid may rise over the batter, which is okay. Bake in 300 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Let cakes completely cool in pan. Once cooled, flip each cake over, then top with maple glaze.

Maple Glaze:

½ C Milk

2 ½ C Powdered Sugar

4 TBSP Maple Syrup

Combine ½ cup milk and 1 cup powdered sugar. Stir well, then add maple syrup. Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

This recipe was featured in The Daily Record Newpaper’s 2012 Holiday Insert.

It’s my birthday, and I’m eating Chocolate-Vanilla Marble Cake

Alright, it’s time to get serious. This girl is growing up! Sure, this entire post is going to sound incredibly egotistical, but today, that’s just fine.

Today is my favorite day of the year, and it always has been. It’s always been the sweetest day of the year, for me, by a long shot. There’s always wonderful food, great people, and a whole lot of cake. I do write a baking blog after all, so that last part is inevitable.

As far back as I can remember, I have had a countdown going for my birthday. Every year I would tell my mom 66 days! 34 days! 16 days! One week! and so on…

Well mom, today is the day. Today your little girl who screamed and jumped about birthday cake every year is turning 21. She is graduating from university in four weeks, and well, she is just plain growing up. And as thrilled as I am to grow up, it is terrifying to realize that I am graduating university only four weeks after my 21st birthday. What happened to the idea of being a super senior and not graduating until you’re 27? I suppose that was never my thing.

This year, I’m jumping into new adventures and crazy scary things, and I thank goodness that I have such incredible parents to support me. I have been taught to grow into a strong and incredibly determined woman, and I have been supported for all that I have done. And I think that’s just great!

Feel free to celebrate with me!

This cake is the best of all worlds, in my opinion anyway. It swirls chocolate and vanilla cake batter to create the perfect balance of flavor. I layered and topped it with my favorite basic vanilla buttercream icing and added a few pieces of candy on top. Feel free to do the same.

Chocolate-Vanilla Marble Cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Chocolate Cake Batter:

1/4 C White Sugar

1/2 C Brown Sugar

3/4 C + 2 TBSP Flour

1/4 C +2 TBSP Cocoa Powder

3/4 Tsp Baking Powder

3/4 Tsp Baking Soda

1/4 Tsp Salt

1 Egg

1/2 C Milk

1/4 C Canola Oil

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup Water, Boiling

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add egg, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat well. Pour in boiling water, and stir the batter slowly until combined. Set aside.

Vanilla Cake Batter:

1/2 C Butter

1 1/4 C Sugar

2 Eggs

3 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 1/4 C Flour

1 3/4 Tsp Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp Salt

3/4 C Milk

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Add half of milk and mix well. Add another third of the flour, mix, then add the remaining milk. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed.

Once batters are complete, pour into greased 9-inch round cake pans, alternating between chocolate and vanilla. Give the batter a bit of a swirl with a toothpick if you’d like.

Bake for 20-22 minutes until golden around the edges.

Once cakes have cooled, ice with Basic Vanilla Buttercream Icing or another favorite icing.

Basic Vanilla Buttercream Icing

1 C Butter

4-4 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

2 Tbsp Milk

Beat the butter and 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. Add the extract and milk and continue beating. Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

Sweet Potato Casserole + A Country Crock Thanksgiving Giveaway! (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

Thank you to Country Crock for sponsoring this post. Visit and tell us your favorite Thanksgiving veggie for extra entries into this giveaway. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective.

NOTE: This giveaway is now closed. Please check your email to see if you’re the winner! Thank you to all who entered.

For some families, it seems Thanksgiving can become a time of quarrel. Whose house will we go to? What will be on the menu? Who will carve the turkey?

This year, I don’t want you to have to choose. I want you to have the best possible holiday, and I think this recipe will make that very simple.

Have you ever heard this saying? “Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zuchhini bread, and pumpkin pie.” Jim Davis had some real merit with this saying. Why not have vegetables for dessert, or, if you’re daring,serve dessert as your vegetables. With Country Crock, it’s easy to transform a vegetable side dish into a healthy, delicious, and dessert-like treat.

This recipe serves as a vegetable side dish, as well as a sweet dessert. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s made with sweet potatoes, Original Country Crock, brown sugar, and all of the sweet spices of fall. I included apples and marshmallows as well, offering you even more sweetness to add to your sweet potato vegetable.

To make your Thanksgiving even better, Country Crock is offering one lucky CAKEfyi reader this fantastic Thanksgiving kit to cook and bake your favorites and to spruce up your table. One winner will receive these cute Harvest Pumpkin Tiny Taper Holders from Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table’s Italian Scalloped Bakers and Wire Baker Racks.

TO ENTER:

Note: You do not have to do all of the following to enter. Each entry increases your chance of winning.

-Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite Thanksgiving dessert.

-Visit Country Crock and leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite article on the site.

–Like CAKEfyi on Facebook*

–Follow CAKEfyi on Twitter*

–Follow CAKEfyi on Pinterest*

*Please add an additional comment after you have liked CAKEfyi on Facebook, followed CAKEfyi on Twitter, and followed CAKEfyi on Pinterest. Each comment below with serve as a separate entry to the contest. One winner will be chosen via Random.org on Thursday, November 8th.

Sweet Potato Casserole

6-8 C Water

4 Large Sweet Potatos, cut into cubes (3 1/2 Cups)

1/4 C Original Country Crock

1/2 C Brown Sugar

1 Tsp Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Pumpkin Spice

Dash of Nutmeg

1 Apple, thinly sliced

1/2 C Mini Marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil. Add sweet potatoes, cover, and cook for 10 minutes until tender.

Once cooked, drain potatoes well and pour into heat-safe bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer. Turn mixer on low and mash potatoes. Add Country Crock, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and nutmeg and continuing mashing.

Once creamy, spread mixture into baking dish. Press apple slices into the mixture and sprinkle with more brown sugar, if desired. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove dish from oven, sprinkle with marshmallows, then return to oven. Broil for 1-2 minutes–marshmallows will brown quickly!

For more Thanksgiving side dishes, visit Country Crock.

Thank you to Country Crock for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Reese’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Swirl Cupcakes

I don’t know about you, but when I was a young girl, I always knew which houses to go to on Halloween night. I liked to think of myself as the trick-or-treating queen. I knew which houses would hand out the full cans of soda, the handfuls of Laffy Taffy, and, my favorite, the full-sized chocolate bars. I must have been a no-nonsense candy-loving child. Fun-sized Hershey’s bars just didn’t cut it for me.

Now, quite a bit older and wiser, I suppose, I wish I could be that house. Someday I will. I will pass out cupcakes, full cans of soda, and handfuls of full-sized chocolate bars. All of the dentists in town will hate (or love) me, and the kids will know that my house is the place to go! And that’s what really matters.

It seems that as I grow older, the excitement of trick-or-treating on Halloween dies. Kids just don’t do it much these days, or maybe it’s just the town I live in. I think you should. Take your kids door to door, because when they get older, they will have these wonderful memories, and that will be worth it all.

These cupcakes celebrate my fond Halloween memories. They start with a peanut butter cupcake, and then they’re topped with swirled peanut butter and chocolate icing and a piece of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. The perfect cupcake to celebrate!

Reese’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Swirl Cupcakes

1/2 C Butter

1 1/4 C Sugar

1/2 C Creamy Peanut Butter

2 Eggs

2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 1/4 C Flour

1 3/4 Tsp Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp Salt

3/4 C Milk

Chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for topping

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in peanut butter. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Add half of milk and mix well. Add another third of the flour, mix, then add the remaining milk. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed.

Using a measuring cup, pour batter into a lined or greased cupcake pan.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden.

Once cooled, top with peanut butter and chocolate swirled icing.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Swirled Icing

Peanut Butter Icing:

1/2 C Butter

2 1/2-3 C Powdered Sugar

1 Tbsp Milk

1/2 C Peanut Butter, or more to taste

Cream the butter, then add half of the powdered sugar. Add the milk and continue to beat. Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Beat in the peanut butter.

Add half of the peanut butter icing to a separate bowl. Add 2 TBSP Cocoa to the other half and beat well. Add icing to piping bag, alternating peanut butter and chocolate icing. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Add Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup pieces on top.

Caramel Candy Corn Cupcakes

When I was a young trick-or-treater, I loved the little Brach’s individualized bags of candy corn, and my mom did too. Before my sister and I were allowed to begin our All Hallow’s Eve pig-out session, my mom had to “check” our candy. Now, like many other grown-ups, I realize that she just wanted the good stuff. She wanted the good chocolate and the candy corn. Believe me, this was a hot commodity in our household.

Now, when mid-October comes around, I’m eating as much candy corn as I possibly can.  It’s just one of those things that I tend to do. And because it began as a seasonal candy and I don’t eat it at any other time of year, I get terribly excited when I see it in stores. It’s strictly a Halloween opportunity.

These cupcakes harness the incredible caramel-honey flavor of candy corn. They start with a basic white cupcake recipe, but they are transformed by adding homemade caramel sauce to the batter. Top them with Basic Buttercream Icing, candy corn, and another drizzle of caramel sauce for the perfect treat.

Caramel Candy Corn Cupcakes

Caramel Sauce

4 Tbsp Butter

3/4 C Brown Sugar

1/2 C Milk

1/2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Melt butter on low in a saucepan. Once melted, add brown sugar, milk, and vanilla and whisk together. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool.

Basic Vanilla Cupcake

1/2 C Butter

1 1/4 C Sugar

2 Eggs

2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 1/4 C Flour

1 3/4 Tsp Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp Salt

3/4 C Milk

1/4 Tsp Salt

2 1/2 Tbsp Caramel Sauce (from recipe above)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Add half of milk and mix well. Add another third of the flour, mix, then add the remaining milk. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed.

Using a measuring cup, pour batter into a lined or greased cupcake pan.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden.

Once cooled, top cupcakes with Basic Buttercream Icing, a few pieces of candy corn, and drizzle with Caramel Sauce.

Basic Buttercream Icing

1/2 C Butter

1 1/2-2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 Tbsp Milk

Beat the butter and a 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar. Add the extract and milk and continue beating. Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

CAKEfyi Donates 1,050 Cookies to Local Firefighters

I’m so thrilled to tell you about a recent experience I had in donating 1,050 cookies to local firefighters. With this effort, I combined compassion, love, and a whole lot of butter and flour to put a smile on the face of hundreds of firefighters. I hosted a Call for Cookies both on CAKEfyi and through the Ellensburg Recipe Swap Group to ask community members to donate as many cookies as possible.

The Ellensburg Recipe Swap Group banned together, spread the word, and baked as much as they could. We had everything from ginger snaps to gluten free peanut butter cookies. The outcome was phenomenal! I collected all of the cookies, then bagged them individually and labeled them. That way, when the cookies were set out for lunch at the fire camp, firefighters could just grab their favorite flavor and go!

When I dropped of the cookies, I was incredibly touched. The response was overwhelming, and I truly felt that all of the hard work I had put into the effort was so worth it.

To some, we may have just been offering cookies, but they were all made with butter, flour (almost all), and a whole lot of love. I am shocked and so inspired by the generosity I experienced with this project, and I can’t wait for the next! In the upcoming months, the Ellensburg Recipe Swap Group plans to collect and donate cookies for our local F.I.S.H Food Bank for the holidays.

Have you ever donated desserts to local causes?

Coconut Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Sauce

There comes a time in life when you simply want to scream with joy. It may be a huge promotion, or maybe it’s just because that cute guy asked you out, but really, it happens for everybody. You know what I’m talking about. It’s that moment that just makes you want to jump up and down.

Now, I’ll admit, I’m probably far more enthusiastic about baked goods as some. You may think a cookie is delicious, or perhaps you have a bit of criticism for it, but when it comes to my relationship with baked goods, things can get a little bit insane.

I’m am such a lover of cupcakes. And cookies and cakes as well. It may be a character flaw, it may be a blessing, but I see nothing wrong with having a cupcake for breakfast with your great cup of coffee. Why not celebrate about it?

I may change your mind about this someday. These cupcakes may change your mind. They just might get you as excited about dessert as I am. I don’t expect you to be as drastic as I of course, since I have devoted my life to it, but I definitely think they’re worth a big smile. I’m certain of it.

These cupcakes use a plain vanilla cupcake as a base. Add a buttery coconut filling, then top them with coconut icing and salted caramel sauce. I’m telling you, you will smile.

Coconut Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Sauce

Basic Vanilla Cupcake

1/2 C Butter

1 1/4 C Sugar

2 Eggs

2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 1/4 C Flour

1 3/4 Tsp Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp Salt

3/4 C Milk

1/4 Tsp Salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Add half of milk and mix well. Add another third of the flour, mix, then add the remaining milk. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed.

Using a measuring cup, pour batter into a lined or greased cupcake pan.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden.

Once cooled, scoop out the middle of a each cupcake using a melon baller or cupcake corer. Fill each cupcake with 1 TBSP of Coconut Filling. Then top cupcakes with Coconut Icing and drizzle with Salted Caramel Sauce.

Coconut Filling

3 Tsp Butter, melted

1 C Coconut, shredded

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 C Milk

Stir melted butter and coconut in a bowl. In a saucepan, melt 1 Tbsp butter. Once melted, add coconut mixture and 1/4 C milk and bring to a boil.

Coconut Icing

1/2 C Butter

1 1/2-2 C Powdered Sugar

1 Tbsp Milk

2 Tsp Coconut Extract

Cream the butter, then add half of the powdered sugar. Add the milk and coconut extract and continue to beat. Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

Salted Caramel Sauce

4 Tbsp Butter

3/4 C Brown Sugar

1/2 C Milk

1/2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 Tsp Salt

Melt butter on low in a saucepan. Once melted, add brown sugar, milk, and vanilla and whisk together. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat, stir in salt, and let cool.

Frosted Animal Cracker Cupcakes

Today, I’m not going to ramble. All I will tell you is that today, my friends, it’s time to celebrate!

Have you celebrated yet by entering by one-year anniversary giveaway?

Good ‘ol Merriam-Webster defines the word celebrate as observing a notable occasion with festivities. We’re going to do just that!

CAKEfyi is turning 1 year old today, and I’m having a party! I’m giving away a copy of Jessie Oleson of CakeSpy’s first book, and I am also offering up these sweet treats. What more could you ask for? Let’s party!

Frosted Animal Cracker Cupcakes

Basic Vanilla Cupcake

1/2 C Butter

1 1/4 C Sugar

2 Eggs

3 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 1/4 C Flour

1 3/4 Tsp Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp Salt

3/4 C Milk

1/4 Tsp Salt

24 Frosted Animal Crackers

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Add half of milk and mix well. Add another third of the flour, mix, then add the remaining milk. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed.

Line or spray a cupcake tin. In each well, add a tablespoon of batter, then drop one frosted animal cracker into each. Then add 1/4 C of batter to each well, covering the frosted animal cracker. Add another frosted animal cracker on top of the batter in each cupcake well.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden.

Once cupcakes have cooled, top them with Basic Buttercream Icing and sprinkles!

Basic Buttercream Icing

1/2 C Butter

1 1/2-2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 Tbsp Milk

Beat the butter and a 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar. Add the extract and milk and continue beating. Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

(GIVEAWAY — NOW CLOSED) CAKEfyi Celebrates One Year!

CAKEfyi CELEBRATES ONE YEAR!

AND THE WINNER IS…. Amy D.

This giveaway is now closed.

I don’t know if you’ve been with me from the start or not, but that doesn’t matter.

Whenever and wherever you have joined me along this journey, it’s time to CELEBRATE!

CAKEfyi officially turns one year old this week, and I want to thank you.

CAKEfyi, or Cake For Your Icing, came about two months after I started blogging. I had a silly name going, I wasn’t posting regularly, and my recipes weren’t that thrilling. Since then, I have certainly grown. I changed the name to CAKEfyi on October 3rd last year, and from then on, I aimed to do nothing but impress!

In November, a month after CAKEfyi was born, Jessie Oleson of CakeSpy hosted a contest on her ever-popular blog in celebration of her first book. I entered, became a finalist, crossed my fingers, asked for your help, and won the national So You Wanna be a CakeSpy Contest! With that, I spent the day in Seattle with Jessie hopping from bakery to bakery gathering sweets along the way. We also hung out with Joy the Baker and simply had a great time.

Since then, I have joined the Best Friends For Frosting team and am now the Editor of all articles on the site. Melissa and I have stuck together through so much (fun), and we have successfully created a one-stop shop for all things exclusively dessert!

I also had the opportunity to develop a recipe for Sprinkles & Grins, a website made by Betty Crocker and Cake Mate, so things have certainly been happening!

And now, I want to do nothing but celebrate. I want to eat a lot of cake, and I want you to do that too. My recipes are sometimes for me, but they are mostly for you. CAKEfyi’s purpose is to show you that you can make something wonderful in your kitchen at home. It may not be fancy, but it will look good and always taste great.

To me it seems only appropriate to giveaway a signed copy of Jessie Oleson’s first book: CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life. Jessie and her website have both been such an inspiration to me, especially when I started blogging, and really, if you don’t have this book by now, you’ve been majorly missing out. What other way would you want to celebrate?

How to Enter:

Contest is open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

– Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite cupcake/frosting flavor combination is.

-Like CAKEfyi on Facebook*

-Follow CAKEfyi on Twitter*

*Please add an additional comment after you have liked CAKEfyi on Facebook and followed CAKEfyi on Twitter. Each comment below with serve as a separate entry to the contest. One winner will be chosen via Random.org on Monday, October 8th and will be sent a signed copy of Jessie Oleson of CakeSpy’s first cookbook.

Good luck to all, and thank you for your continued support!

 

Chocolate Raspberry Whipped Cream Cake

There will always be tough things you come to face in life. Some just have to do with which flavor of cookie to purchase, some decisions can impact your daily regimen, and some can be altogether life-changing. For those life-changing decisions, things that you’re contemplating, you should probably mull them over with cake.

Aren’t people always in their right mind when they eat cake? It’s the smell, the texture, and, of course, the taste that helps us find our “happy spot” as they call it. Cake comforts. That’s all there is to it.

This chocolate cake is all about comfort. It’s sweet, it’s flavorful, and it’s downright fluffy. Two layers of chocolate cake are baked and then slathered with raspberry jam and whipped cream in the middle. The cake is covered in whipped cream around the sides and swirled with more raspberry jam on the top. It’s topped with fresh raspberries for extra sweetness! For best results, let this cake set in the refrigerator for one hour.

.Chocolate Raspberry Whipped Cream Cake

Chocolate Cake

1/2 C White Sugar

1 C Brown Sugar

1 2/3 C Flour

1/2 C Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

1 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp Salt

2 Eggs

1 C Milk

1/2 C Saffola Oil

2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

3/4 Cup Water, Boiling

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add egg, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat well. Pour in boiling water, and stir the batter until combined.

Pour batter into two greased, 8-inch round cake pans. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Set cakes aside to cool.

Once cooled, top the first cake layer with whipped cream and raspberry jam. Top with the second layer. Ice the cake with the whipped cream then swirl raspberry jam around the top.

Top with fresh raspberries and set in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Cover and put leftovers in the refrigerator.