Pistachio Cake

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 18

Ingredients

■1 box White Cake Mix
■1 package (4 Ounce) Pistachio Instant Pudding Mix
■½ cups Orange Juice
■½ cups Water
■½ cups Vegetable Oil
■4 whole Eggs
■¾ cups Chocolate Syrup (such As Hershey's)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan.

Mix all ingredients but chocolate syrup and beat for two minutes on medium-high. Pour 3/4 of the batter into the bundt pan.

Add chocolate syrup to the remaining batter and mix well. Pour chocolate-laced batter on top of the pistachio batter.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Note: You can use a knife to swirl chocolate batter into the pistachio batter for more of a marbled design.

Variation: Coat cake with chocolate ganache!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/pistachio-cake/

Tres Leches Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

5 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk

1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup heavy cream

1 pint heavy cream, for whipping
3 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Separate eggs.
Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla.
Pour egg yolk mixture over flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.
Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer on, pour in 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.
Fold egg white mixture into other mixture very gently until just combined.
Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out surface.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and 1/2 cup heavy cream in a small pitcher.
When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times.
Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.
Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes.
Whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable.
Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped maraschino cherries. Cut into squares and serve.

Delicious!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/tres-leches-cake/

Banana Bread

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups PLUS 2 tablespoons sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe (overripe is good, too) bananas
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour bundt pan.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Add mashed bananas and beat.
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the mixing bowl. Beat well until all combined.

Pour into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Invert on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool slightly before slicing and serving with softened butter.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/08/just-a-recipe-banana-bread/

Pioneer Woman’s Mother-in-Law’s Christmas Rum Cake

Cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 small package INSTANT vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup rum (dark or light is fine)
1 cup chopped pecans
Brown sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 325.
Grease and flour Bundt cake pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. If desired, sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar over the nuts.
Mix all cake ingredients together.
Pour batter over nuts. Smooth out ’til the top is even.
Bake 1 hour, or a little less if the pan is black. Do not overbake!

Glaze:
While cake has ten minutes to go, make the glaze.
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup rum
Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off flame and pour in rum. Stir to combine and reheat for 30 seconds.
Remove cake from oven. Immediately drizzle 1/3 of the glaze on the bottom (top) of the cake. Allow to sit for five minutes.
Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Prick surface a hundred times with a fork (gently, please.) Slowly drizzle remaining rum glaze all over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Cool to room temperature before serving to ensure glaze has soaked in.
Eat. Enjoy. And don’t feel guilty. It’s Christmastime!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/12/christmas-rum-cake/