Strawberry Crunch Sheet Cake with Buttermilk Frosting

This pretty in pink sheet cake tastes like pure nostalgia, with a moist and tender strawberry cake, tangy buttermilk frosting, and a generous sprinkle of crunchy strawberry shortcake crumbs that add the perfect sweet and salty finishing touch. Inspired by an ice cream truck classic, this strawberry crunch sheet cake combines all the elements you […]

The post Strawberry Crunch Sheet Cake with Buttermilk Frosting first appeared on Love and Olive Oil.

This pretty in pink sheet cake tastes like pure nostalgia, with a moist and tender strawberry cake, tangy buttermilk frosting, and a generous sprinkle of crunchy strawberry shortcake crumbs that add the perfect sweet and salty finishing touch.

Inspired by an ice cream truck classic, this strawberry crunch sheet cake combines all the elements you love about the frozen treat in sheet cake form: a tender strawberry buttermilk cake topped with a cloud-like buttermilk frosting and a scratch-made strawberry crunch topping.

Strawberry Crunch Sheet Cake with Buttermilk Frosting cut into serving squares, on a piece of parchment with messy crumbs, cake server, and a bowl of more crumbs and frosting in the background.

There are few things more nostalgic than the ice cream truck, the tinkling sound of the melodic jingle that starts softly at first but gets louder as the anticipation grows. I strongly recall the breathless feeling of frantically running around the house scooping up the loose change from the couch cushions and bolting out the door before it passes you by.

The sound (and taste) of the ice cream truck is a particularly strong childhood memory for me, maybe because we grew up in an area that ice cream trucks did not frequent, so my only experiences with them were when we were visiting our grandparents in Los Angeles, making it an extra special experience.

The ice cream truck felt like a carnival on wheels, but for your tastebuds.

And of all the classic ice cream truck treats, the strawberry shortcake crunch bars are certainly one of the most memorable flavors, with a core of bold strawberry surrounded by creamy vanilla ice cream and an outer coating of crunchy strawberry shortcake crumbs. I’m usually a chocolate girl through and through, but something about that combo of creamy and crunchy, vanilla and fruit hit all the right notes.

This recipe is inspired by that nostalgic ice cream treat, with all the same flavors and textures, reimagined in a party-ready sheet cake.

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Chocolate Olive Oil & Blood Orange Cupcakes

These tender, deeply chocolate cupcakes are made with extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed blood orange juice, topped with a swirl of flavorful blood orange buttercream and crowned with a jewel-like candied blood orange slice. The blood orange buttercream is the star of the show: with a punchy orange flavor and gorgeous pale pink […]

The post Chocolate Olive Oil & Blood Orange Cupcakes first appeared on Love and Olive Oil.

These tender, deeply chocolate cupcakes are made with extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed blood orange juice, topped with a swirl of flavorful blood orange buttercream and crowned with a jewel-like candied blood orange slice.

The blood orange buttercream is the star of the show: with a punchy orange flavor and gorgeous pale pink hue. The unique eggless mock meringue method produces a frosting that’s much creamier and less sweet than traditional American buttercreams.

Backlit brightly colored Chocolate Olive Oil & Blood Orange Cupcakes with one cupcake in the foreground and more cupcakes on a wire rack in the background, with fresh blood oranges, candied oranges, and frosting.

Happy blood orange season to all who celebrate!

I am a big fan of blood oranges, more than any other kind of citrus. While you’ll rarely, if ever, see me sit down and eat a regular orange, I will devour a blood orange and even choose it as an afternoon snack over chips or chocolate (gasp! I know!) I just love the bright flavor, which is like a sweeter version of a classic orange, both sweet and tart at the same time, with underlying notes of red berries. Not to mention the vibrant red color makes me ever so happy.

Needless to say, you can be sure that when blood oranges appear for a few short weeks in the middle of winter, I’ll be there, eating my fill before they disappear for another year. You can also assume I’ll be cooking, baking, or canning something with blood oranges this time of year (assuming I have some left over after stuffing my face, that is). And sure enough, I’ve put out one new blood orange recipe pretty consistently every year (there’s also a Strawberry Blood Orange marmalade recipe you’ll only find in my book, trust me when I say it’s not to be missed).

This year, I decided to revisit an old favorite and re-make my favorite chocolate blood orange cupcakes. The sunset-hued buttercream and the moist chocolate cake spiked with blood orange flavor are, simply put, stunning in both taste and appearance. Add in some fruity extra virgin olive oil in place of the usual vegetable oil in the cupcake, and you have yourself one delicious treat.

This time around I topped my cupcakes with jewel-like slices of candied blood orange, which are as gorgeous as they are delicious, and add the perfect finishing touch to the swirl of pink buttercream frosting.

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Blackberry Red Wine Chocolate Cake

This boozy twist on a classic chocolate layer cake is made with red wine for a rich and robust chocolate cake with unique fruity undertones and an incredible depth of flavor unlike any other chocolate cake you’ve had before. Three layers of moist, deeply chocolate cake, with blackberry preserves and a fluffy vanilla bean buttercream […]

The post Blackberry Red Wine Chocolate Cake first appeared on Love and Olive Oil.

This boozy twist on a classic chocolate layer cake is made with red wine for a rich and robust chocolate cake with unique fruity undertones and an incredible depth of flavor unlike any other chocolate cake you’ve had before.

Three layers of moist, deeply chocolate cake, with blackberry preserves and a fluffy vanilla bean buttercream in between, and a drizzle of dark chocolate glaze for a dramatic effect that’s as easy as it is impressive. Top it with some gold-brushed blackberries for some serious flair!

Blackberry Red Wine Chocolate Cake with shiny chocolate glaze dripping down the sides, with gold-dusted blackberries as decoration.

Taylor recently celebrated a milestone birthday, and it felt appropriate to re-make one of our all-time favorite cake recipes (and yours too!) This cake was first made back in 2012, 11 years ago to the day actually (scroll down to the bottom to see the original photos if you’re looking for a laugh). Since then it’s been made and loved by countless readers and fans, for birthdays and celebrations and non-celebrations alike.

Why is it so beloved? Other than being gosh darn delicious, and easy to boot, I suspect the glamor of red wine adds to the mystique of this recipe. It just sounds fancy, doesn’t it? At its most basic it is a classic chocolate layer cake, yes, but the red wine brings out the fruity notes of the chocolate, adding a unique depth of flavor that makes for a truly unforgettable cake. Add to that a layer of blackberry preserves, a fluffy vanilla bean buttercream, and a drizzle of dark chocolate glaze… what you end up with is simply perfection (frankly there’s no other way to put it).

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