Black Cow Cake Recipes

Steps:

• At least 2 days before baking, combine prunes, raisins, currants, cherries, candied peel, rum and brandy in a glass jar or sturdy plastic container. Cover tightly; shake or stir occasionally.
• When ready to bake, put soaked fruit and almonds in a blender or food processor; work in batches that the machine can handle. Grind to a rough paste, leaving some chunks of fruit intact. Add a little brandy or wine if needed to loosen mixture in the machine.
• If burning sugar, place a deep, heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Add 1 cup white or light brown sugar, and melt, stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir, letting sugar darken. (It will smoke.) When sugar is almost black, stir in 1/4 cup boiling water. (It will splatter.) Turn off heat.
• Heat oven to 250 degrees. Butter three 9-inch or four 8-inch cake pans; line bottoms with a double layer of parchment or wax paper.
• In a mixer, cream butter and 1 pound light or dark brown sugar until smooth and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time, then lime zest, vanilla and bitters. Transfer mixture to a very large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Fold dry ingredients into butter mixture. Stir in fruit paste and 1/4 cup burnt sugar or molasses. Batter should be a medium-dark brown; if too light, add a tablespoon or two of burnt sugar or molasses.
• Divide among prepared pans; cakes will not rise much, so fill pans almost to top. Bake 1 hour, and reduce heat to 225 degrees; bake 2 to 3 hours longer, until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove to a rack.
• While cakes are hot, brush tops with rum and let soak in. Repeat while cakes cool; they will absorb about 4 tablespoons total. When cakes are completely cool, they can be turned out and served. To keep longer, wrap cakes tightly in wax or parchment paper, then in foil. Store in a cool, dry place for up to 1 month.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly spray a 13 by 9 inch pan with cooking spray.
• Mix cake mix, water, oil and eggs with an electric mixer. Blend on low speed for 1 minute, scrap the sides and then mix at medium for 2 more minutes.
• The batter should look thick and well blended.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.
• Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 35 to 38 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack.
• Immediately poke holes in the top of the cake with a drinking straw or chopstick.
• While the cake is baking prepare the topping. Place the caramel topping and the sweetened condensed milk in a small bowl and stir to combine.
• Spoon this mixture over the warm cake so that it can seep down into the holes. Measure out half of the crushed candy bars and sprinkle the pieces over the cake.
• Place the whipped topping and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth and combined.
• Spread the frosting over the candy covered cake.
• Sprinkle the remaining candy pieces on top.
• Place the pan, uncovered, the refrigerator to chill the cake for about 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.
• Store this cake, covered with wax paper, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (if it lasts that long!).
• *Here is a tip from the Cake Doctor: Smaller Cake Mix Fix: Many cooks have been frustrated to watch cake mix package sizes shrink lately. But do not despair! If you are accustomed to baking recipes with 18.25-ounce mixes, there is a simple way that you can add flour to the smaller mixes and still bake Cake Mix Doctor recipes. Pour the cake mix into a large bowl and whisk in 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Now proceed as the recipe instructs. Not only will the cake achieve good volume, but it will have a nice structure and slice evenly. I learned this trick years ago before the mixes were downsized. If I added a little flour to the cake mix, then the cake seemed to have more body, and it did not sink or shrink when cooling. I hope you enjoy this simple solution!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Beat cake mix, water, eggs, and vegetable oil together in a bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until batter is smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 34 to 38 minutes. Poke holes into cake using a straw.
• Stir sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping together in a bowl; pour over warm cake and holes. Cool cake completely, about 1 hour.
• Spread whipped topping over cake and sprinkle toffee bits over whipped topping.

Steps:

• Pour root beer over ice cream and chocolate syrup in a large glass. Garnish with whipped cream and maraschino cherry.