Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's Double-Post Tuesday. Today's Double-Post deals with (yum!) cake!
I always thought it sounded a little strange when someone would say, "You can't have your cake and eat it, too." Why have it if you can't eat it? Somehow, it just didn't make sense. The first time I heard this, I must have been 5 or 6, and asked my parents about it. Try explaining that to a 5 or 6 year old! (Yes, I'm sure I drove my parents nuts at times!)
Well, enough of the chit-chat. Here are six cake recipes to help you through the day, including Red Velvet Cake and All-in-One Chocolate Cake. Enjoy!
Note: By the way, I also have a cookbook that many of my recipes on this blog are in. It's called Off The Wall Cooking, available at Amazon for your Kindle. Give it a try! Also, I'm planning to update it in the near future, as well as possibly pulling it to send to a regular publisher, so if you'd like to check it out while it's inexpensive, that would be appreciated.
ROCKY ROAD CAKE
This is one of the recipes from Off The Wall Cooking.
I was taking a speech class at a local junior college. One week we had to give a demonstration speech; one lady demonstrated how to make this cake, passing out copies of the recipe along with pieces of cake. It’s absolutely delicious. The icing can be used on almost any kind of cake; it would be really good on carrot cake!
Ingredients
1 C chopped nuts
4 eggs
1 C raisins
1 C mayonnaise
1 C mini-marshmallows
1 C water
6 oz. package of chocolate
1 package (18.25 oz) Devil’s Food cake mix w/pudding
Directions
Grease & flour 2 9" pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first four ingredients in medium-size bowl. In large bowl at low speed, mix cake mix, eggs, may & water until blended. Increase speed to medium & beat for 2 minutes. Stir in nut mixture. Pour into greased & floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes on cooling rack.
Icing (for Rocky Road Cake)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 box confectioners sugar
Place ingredients in bowl & cream together. When cake is cool, ice. ENJOY!
POOR MAN'S CAKE
My friend Maryann and I went to high school together, then wrote back and forth for years. She managed to visit twice, two years apart. In one letter, she sent along this and the next recipe. "Maybe my cousin’s recipe," she wrote. We've since lost touch, but I've often wondered why ever happened to her.
Ingredients
1 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 C water
2 C flour, shifted
1/3 C oil
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 C raisins
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions
Mix brown sugar, water, oil, raisins, nutmeg & cinnamon in pan. Boil 3 minutes. Cool thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients. Bake in square pan in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 35 minutes.
POOR MAN'S CAKE #2
Aunt Sammy’s Depression Days
Maryann wrote, "Mom’s recipe. 1931 era. Don’t know if it’s (era) important or not."
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 C sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C bread crumbs
Directions
Mix all ingredients together, blending well by hand. Grease 8X8" baking pan. Press mix into pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Add raisins, fruit, or wine if available.
THE CAKE
This recipe was given to my mom by a friend, who worked as a lawyer for years. She was married to an Episcopal priest; both were involved in the civil rights movement.
Ingredients
1 package (18 oz.) yellow cake mix
1 egg, unbeaten
3/4 C oil
1 package (small) vanilla pudding
3/4 C sherry
Directions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Put ingredients in bowl. Beat for 5 minutes. Pour into greased tube cake pan or mold. Bake for 45 minutes.
RED VELVET CAKE
Another one of the recipes from Off The Wall Cooking.
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
Ingredients
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
Note: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
ALL-IN-ONE CHOCOLATE CAKE
This comes from Nigella Lawson, from The New York Times' cooking newsletter. If you haven't signed up for their newsletter, I highly recommend it. Nigella writes, “This is the perfect chocolate cake: beautiful, melting, intense but not heavy. The batter comes together quickly in a food processor, and the cake bakes at 350 degrees for a while, giving the baker time to assemble the frosting, which is given a luscious sheen by a bit of corn syrup. Use the best chocolate you can find for the frosting, and gild it however you like: with a few flowers, some birthday candles or nothing at all.” Time: 1 hour 15 minutes; 10 to 12 servings
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
Butter for greasing baking pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup best-quality cocoa powder
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
For the Frosting:
6 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
Preparation
For cake: heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter sides of two 8-inch cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment paper. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a knife blade, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Process to make a smooth, thick batter.
Using a rubber spatula, divide batter between pans, and smooth tops. Bake until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes; do not overbake. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing from cake pans.
For frosting: Combine chocolate and butter in a large heat-proof bowl, and heat until melted in a microwave oven or over a pan of simmering water. Remove from heat, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Stir in corn syrup, sour cream, and vanilla. Whisk in confectioners' sugar until very smooth. Frosting should be thick and spreadable. If necessary, add a teaspoon or two of boiling water to thin it, or additional sifted confectioners' sugar to thicken.
Cut four strips of waxed or parchment paper, and place them side by side on a cake plate, covering the surface. Place one cake layer domed-side down on plate.
Spoon about a third of the frosting onto center of cake, and use a knife or a spatula to spread it evenly. Place the other cake on top, domed side up. Spoon another third of frosting on top of cake, spreading to make swirls or a smooth finish. Spread sides of cake with remaining frosting, and allow to sit for a few minutes until set. Carefully remove paper strips. Place cake under glass or in an airtight container, and set aside in a cool place until serving.
Showing posts with label Red Velvet Cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Red Velvet Cake. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Cake - Double-Post Tuesday
Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Today's double post is dedicated to that wonderful treat, cake. Here are six cake recipes to help you through the day, including Stuffed Pinata Cake and Red Velvet Cake. Enjoy!
AMBROSIA CAKE
This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “If you love the combination of oranges, coconut and marshmallows found in a traditional ambrosia — the salad or dessert that often also contains pineapple, bananas, cherries and some kind of creamy dressing such as whipped cream or sour cream — you’ll adore this cake. The coconut is baked into the cake layers and used as a sweet, shaggy garnish, while the oranges (in this case, diminutive, seedless clementines) are juiced into curd and sliced fresh for the filling. Then, as a final, fluffy touch, a homemade marshmallow frosting tops it off. It may be a lot of work, but it’s an impressive result. And you can make the curd and cake a few days ahead. Just be sure to make the frosting and assemble everything within 8 hours of serving. Otherwise the fruit starts to break down and the icing may crystallize.”
Yield: 12 servings; Time: 3 hours
This was originally featured in “An Ambrosial Cake, and That’s Just the Filling” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut rum or dark rum (or use 1 teaspoon coconut extract)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled (or use more butter)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature, whites and yolks separated
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest (from about 2 clementines)
For the Filling:
1/3 cup fresh clementine juice (from about 4 clementines), plus 2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks (reserve whites for frosting)
7 tablespoons sugar
Pinch kosher salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cubed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch kosher salt
For Decorating and Assembling:
8 to 10 seedless clementines
1 1/2 to 3 cups shredded sweetened or unsweetened coconut, to taste
Strawberries, sliced (optional)
Preparation
Bake the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the middle. Butter two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper on the bottom.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, coconut milk, rum and vanilla.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, coconut oil and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, then beat in zest. Beat in half the flour mixture, followed by half the milk mixture. Repeat, beating just until combined and scraping down bowl as necessary.
In a separate bowl, use an electric beater to whisk egg whites just until stiff peaks form. Fold into cake batter.
Divide batter between pans. Bake until lightly golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then unmold cakes and cool completely on rack. (Cakes can be made up to 2 days ahead; once cool, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.)
Meanwhile, make the filling: Bring clementine juice and lemon juice to a boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, sugar and salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot juice into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Push through a strainer set over a medium bowl, and stir in clementine zest. Cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of curd and refrigerate until cold. (Curd can be made up to 5 days ahead.) Or to speed up cooling, set bowl of curd in a larger bowl filled with ice water and stir curd until very cold, 7 to 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Prepare clementines for decorating the cake: Cut the top and bottom off a clementine and set it cut-side down on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut away peel and pith, following the curve of the fruit from top to bottom. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, carefully cut out each segment from the membrane; it should fall into the bowl as you cut. Lay segments out on paper towels to dry slightly while you cut remaining fruit.
Use a large knife to trim tops of cakes to level them, and cut both cakes in half horizontally to make layers.
Place a cake layer on a serving dish and spread a third of the curd over it, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Layer a third of the clementine segments on top of curd, spacing them evenly so cake will be balanced. Top with another layer, spread another third of curd over it, and layer with 1/2 cup shredded coconut. Top with cake layer, repeat curd and clementines, saving some clementines for top of cake. Place the remaining cake layer on top, and chill while making frosting.
Make the frosting: Bring a medium pot with 1 inch of water to boil. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until eggs reach 160 degrees, or the sugar has melted. Remove from heat, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Immediately spread frosting on cake and press coconut shreds into tops and sides. Top with clementine wedges and strawberries if using; serve within an hour or two. (Or, keep refrigerated for up to 8 hours and wait until just before serving to top with fresh fruit.)
GRANNY’S CHOCOLATE CAKE
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This cake recipe was adapted from the chef Larry Forgione, who served his grandmother's cake recipe at his restaurant An American Place. The dessert proved so popular that every time he tried to take it off of the menu, he said his customers threatened to riot. It's a perfect proportion of crumb to buttercream, ideal for birthdays or other celebrations where layer cake is required.”
Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling
This was featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
Butter and flour for preparing pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
q/w teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
Chocolate frosting (see recipe, which follows)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 3 9-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with wax or parchment paper. Lightly butter the paper. Dust pans with flour, and shake out excess.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and vanilla.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium-high speed, cream the butter. Slowly add the sugar, and continue beating until well blended and light colored. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk mixture in 2 or 3 additions, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate until well blended. Spoon batter into prepared pans, and smooth tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake layer comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then invert onto other racks and peel off the paper. Invert again, and let cool completely on the racks. Frost with chocolate frosting.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
This is also from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “Here is a buttercream frosting like your grandmother might have made. Pair it with chocolate cake for a rich birthday treat.”
Yield: 2 cups; Time: 20 minutes.
This was also featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Preparation
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with 1/3 cup water and the cocoa, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and let cool.
Add confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla, and stir until smooth. Stir in egg yolks until smooth, and then chocolate. Use immediately.
STUFFED PINATA CAKE
This is from The Food Network, and begins, “Your guests will certainly be delighted by the sight of this bright cake. But make sure they don't put their cameras away too soon: once you cut into it, a candy surprise comes spilling out!”
Total: 3 hours 15 minutes; Active: 1 hour 5 minutes; Yield: 8 to 10; Level: Intermediate
To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/stuffed-pinata-cake.
Ingredients
Frosting:
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch fine salt
6 large egg whites
4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks, at room temperature
5 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Filling and Decoration:
Blue, orange, yellow, purple and pink food coloring
2 cups of your favorite small and soft candies (none in wrappers), such as gummies or candy-covered chocolates
Cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
Directions
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottom of each with parchment.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the milk, vanilla, eggs and egg yolk together in another medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high until light and fluffy. Add about a third of the flour mixture and beat on medium low until incorporated. Now add a third of the egg-milk mixture and continue to beat on medium low until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat with the remaining flour and egg-milk mixtures, finishing with the flour.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake until the cake bounces back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the cake pans on a rack.
For the frosting: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof stand mixer's bowl above the water.
Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and egg whites to the mixer bowl and whisk together by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and whisk until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar completely dissolves. Transfer to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until cool and the whites hold stiff peaks, 10 to 15 minutes.
Toss in a couple of chunks of butter at a time, making sure the pieces are incorporated before adding more. After all the butter is added, continue beating on medium-high speed. The mixture will deflate and appear curdled. Continue beating until the frosting comes back together to a smooth and spreadable consistency. (If the frosting is very soft or begins to break, refrigerate until set but still spreadable, then beat until light before using.)
For the filling and decoration: Dye the coconut: Have ready 5 resealable plastic bags or plastic containers. Put 1 1/2 cups of the coconut in one container with 6 to 8 drops of blue food coloring. Put 1 cup of coconut in the second container with 5 to 6 drops of orange food coloring, 1 cup of coconut in the third with 5 to 6 drops yellow food coloring and 1 cup of coconut in the fourth with 6 to 8 drops purple food coloring. Put the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in the fifth container with 4 to 5 drops pink food coloring. Seal each container and shake vigorously until the coconut is evenly dyed. Add more food coloring 1 drop at a time as needed to get bright, vibrant colors.
Assemble the cake: Cut a 4-inch circle out of the center of each cake (reserve the small cut-out cake rounds). Put one of the cake rings on a cake stand or serving platter and frost with about 1 cup of frosting. Put the other cake ring on top and push down slightly. Fill the hole with candy. Cut one of the reserved cake rounds in half horizontally to make 2 thinner rounds. Use one to fill the hole on top of the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
Cut a strip of parchment about 30 inches long and 3 inches wide. Wrap this parchment around the cake like a collar, leaving 1 inch of frosting exposed around the bottom perimeter of the cake. Pack some of the blue coconut onto the exposed frosting to make your first strip of color. Lift the collar up another 1 inch and do the same with the orange coconut. Remove the collar and fill the remaining inch of frosting with the yellow coconut. For the top, make 1-inch-wide rings, starting on the outside and working your way in, with the purple, pink, blue and orange coconut until the top is completely covered. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.
THE CAKE
This recipe was given to my mom by a friend, who worked as a lawyer for years. She was married to an Episcopal priest; both were involved in the civil rights movement.
This can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.
1 package (18 oz.) yellow cake mix
1 egg, unbeaten
3/4 C oil
1 package (small) vanilla pudding
3/4 C sherry
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Put ingredients in bowl. Beat for 5 minutes. Pour into greased tube cake pan or mold. Bake for 45 minutes.
RED VELVET CAKE
Another one of the recipes from Off the Wall Cooking.
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
AMBROSIA CAKE
This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “If you love the combination of oranges, coconut and marshmallows found in a traditional ambrosia — the salad or dessert that often also contains pineapple, bananas, cherries and some kind of creamy dressing such as whipped cream or sour cream — you’ll adore this cake. The coconut is baked into the cake layers and used as a sweet, shaggy garnish, while the oranges (in this case, diminutive, seedless clementines) are juiced into curd and sliced fresh for the filling. Then, as a final, fluffy touch, a homemade marshmallow frosting tops it off. It may be a lot of work, but it’s an impressive result. And you can make the curd and cake a few days ahead. Just be sure to make the frosting and assemble everything within 8 hours of serving. Otherwise the fruit starts to break down and the icing may crystallize.”
Yield: 12 servings; Time: 3 hours
This was originally featured in “An Ambrosial Cake, and That’s Just the Filling” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut rum or dark rum (or use 1 teaspoon coconut extract)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled (or use more butter)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature, whites and yolks separated
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest (from about 2 clementines)
For the Filling:
1/3 cup fresh clementine juice (from about 4 clementines), plus 2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks (reserve whites for frosting)
7 tablespoons sugar
Pinch kosher salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cubed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch kosher salt
For Decorating and Assembling:
8 to 10 seedless clementines
1 1/2 to 3 cups shredded sweetened or unsweetened coconut, to taste
Strawberries, sliced (optional)
Preparation
Bake the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the middle. Butter two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper on the bottom.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, coconut milk, rum and vanilla.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, coconut oil and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, then beat in zest. Beat in half the flour mixture, followed by half the milk mixture. Repeat, beating just until combined and scraping down bowl as necessary.
In a separate bowl, use an electric beater to whisk egg whites just until stiff peaks form. Fold into cake batter.
Divide batter between pans. Bake until lightly golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then unmold cakes and cool completely on rack. (Cakes can be made up to 2 days ahead; once cool, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.)
Meanwhile, make the filling: Bring clementine juice and lemon juice to a boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, sugar and salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot juice into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Push through a strainer set over a medium bowl, and stir in clementine zest. Cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of curd and refrigerate until cold. (Curd can be made up to 5 days ahead.) Or to speed up cooling, set bowl of curd in a larger bowl filled with ice water and stir curd until very cold, 7 to 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Prepare clementines for decorating the cake: Cut the top and bottom off a clementine and set it cut-side down on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut away peel and pith, following the curve of the fruit from top to bottom. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, carefully cut out each segment from the membrane; it should fall into the bowl as you cut. Lay segments out on paper towels to dry slightly while you cut remaining fruit.
Use a large knife to trim tops of cakes to level them, and cut both cakes in half horizontally to make layers.
Place a cake layer on a serving dish and spread a third of the curd over it, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Layer a third of the clementine segments on top of curd, spacing them evenly so cake will be balanced. Top with another layer, spread another third of curd over it, and layer with 1/2 cup shredded coconut. Top with cake layer, repeat curd and clementines, saving some clementines for top of cake. Place the remaining cake layer on top, and chill while making frosting.
Make the frosting: Bring a medium pot with 1 inch of water to boil. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until eggs reach 160 degrees, or the sugar has melted. Remove from heat, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Immediately spread frosting on cake and press coconut shreds into tops and sides. Top with clementine wedges and strawberries if using; serve within an hour or two. (Or, keep refrigerated for up to 8 hours and wait until just before serving to top with fresh fruit.)
GRANNY’S CHOCOLATE CAKE
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This cake recipe was adapted from the chef Larry Forgione, who served his grandmother's cake recipe at his restaurant An American Place. The dessert proved so popular that every time he tried to take it off of the menu, he said his customers threatened to riot. It's a perfect proportion of crumb to buttercream, ideal for birthdays or other celebrations where layer cake is required.”
Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling
This was featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
Butter and flour for preparing pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
q/w teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
Chocolate frosting (see recipe, which follows)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 3 9-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with wax or parchment paper. Lightly butter the paper. Dust pans with flour, and shake out excess.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and vanilla.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium-high speed, cream the butter. Slowly add the sugar, and continue beating until well blended and light colored. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk mixture in 2 or 3 additions, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate until well blended. Spoon batter into prepared pans, and smooth tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake layer comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then invert onto other racks and peel off the paper. Invert again, and let cool completely on the racks. Frost with chocolate frosting.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
This is also from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “Here is a buttercream frosting like your grandmother might have made. Pair it with chocolate cake for a rich birthday treat.”
Yield: 2 cups; Time: 20 minutes.
This was also featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Preparation
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with 1/3 cup water and the cocoa, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and let cool.
Add confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla, and stir until smooth. Stir in egg yolks until smooth, and then chocolate. Use immediately.
STUFFED PINATA CAKE
This is from The Food Network, and begins, “Your guests will certainly be delighted by the sight of this bright cake. But make sure they don't put their cameras away too soon: once you cut into it, a candy surprise comes spilling out!”
Total: 3 hours 15 minutes; Active: 1 hour 5 minutes; Yield: 8 to 10; Level: Intermediate
To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/stuffed-pinata-cake.
Ingredients
Frosting:
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch fine salt
6 large egg whites
4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks, at room temperature
5 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Filling and Decoration:
Blue, orange, yellow, purple and pink food coloring
2 cups of your favorite small and soft candies (none in wrappers), such as gummies or candy-covered chocolates
Cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
Directions
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottom of each with parchment.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the milk, vanilla, eggs and egg yolk together in another medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high until light and fluffy. Add about a third of the flour mixture and beat on medium low until incorporated. Now add a third of the egg-milk mixture and continue to beat on medium low until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat with the remaining flour and egg-milk mixtures, finishing with the flour.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake until the cake bounces back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the cake pans on a rack.
For the frosting: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof stand mixer's bowl above the water.
Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and egg whites to the mixer bowl and whisk together by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and whisk until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar completely dissolves. Transfer to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until cool and the whites hold stiff peaks, 10 to 15 minutes.
Toss in a couple of chunks of butter at a time, making sure the pieces are incorporated before adding more. After all the butter is added, continue beating on medium-high speed. The mixture will deflate and appear curdled. Continue beating until the frosting comes back together to a smooth and spreadable consistency. (If the frosting is very soft or begins to break, refrigerate until set but still spreadable, then beat until light before using.)
For the filling and decoration: Dye the coconut: Have ready 5 resealable plastic bags or plastic containers. Put 1 1/2 cups of the coconut in one container with 6 to 8 drops of blue food coloring. Put 1 cup of coconut in the second container with 5 to 6 drops of orange food coloring, 1 cup of coconut in the third with 5 to 6 drops yellow food coloring and 1 cup of coconut in the fourth with 6 to 8 drops purple food coloring. Put the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in the fifth container with 4 to 5 drops pink food coloring. Seal each container and shake vigorously until the coconut is evenly dyed. Add more food coloring 1 drop at a time as needed to get bright, vibrant colors.
Assemble the cake: Cut a 4-inch circle out of the center of each cake (reserve the small cut-out cake rounds). Put one of the cake rings on a cake stand or serving platter and frost with about 1 cup of frosting. Put the other cake ring on top and push down slightly. Fill the hole with candy. Cut one of the reserved cake rounds in half horizontally to make 2 thinner rounds. Use one to fill the hole on top of the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
Cut a strip of parchment about 30 inches long and 3 inches wide. Wrap this parchment around the cake like a collar, leaving 1 inch of frosting exposed around the bottom perimeter of the cake. Pack some of the blue coconut onto the exposed frosting to make your first strip of color. Lift the collar up another 1 inch and do the same with the orange coconut. Remove the collar and fill the remaining inch of frosting with the yellow coconut. For the top, make 1-inch-wide rings, starting on the outside and working your way in, with the purple, pink, blue and orange coconut until the top is completely covered. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.
THE CAKE
This recipe was given to my mom by a friend, who worked as a lawyer for years. She was married to an Episcopal priest; both were involved in the civil rights movement.
This can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.
1 package (18 oz.) yellow cake mix
1 egg, unbeaten
3/4 C oil
1 package (small) vanilla pudding
3/4 C sherry
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Put ingredients in bowl. Beat for 5 minutes. Pour into greased tube cake pan or mold. Bake for 45 minutes.
RED VELVET CAKE
Another one of the recipes from Off the Wall Cooking.
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Cake! - Double-Post Tuesday
Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Today's double post is dedicated to that wonderful treat, cake. Here are six cake recipes to help you through the day, including Stuffed Pinata Cake and Red Velvet Cake. Enjoy!
AMBROSIA CAKE
This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “If you love the combination of oranges, coconut and marshmallows found in a traditional ambrosia — the salad or dessert that often also contains pineapple, bananas, cherries and some kind of creamy dressing such as whipped cream or sour cream — you’ll adore this cake. The coconut is baked into the cake layers and used as a sweet, shaggy garnish, while the oranges (in this case, diminutive, seedless clementines) are juiced into curd and sliced fresh for the filling. Then, as a final, fluffy touch, a homemade marshmallow frosting tops it off. It may be a lot of work, but it’s an impressive result. And you can make the curd and cake a few days ahead. Just be sure to make the frosting and assemble everything within 8 hours of serving. Otherwise the fruit starts to break down and the icing may crystallize.”
Yield: 12 servings; Time: 3 hours
This was originally featured in “An Ambrosial Cake, and That’s Just the Filling” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut rum or dark rum (or use 1 teaspoon coconut extract)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled (or use more butter)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature, whites and yolks separated
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest (from about 2 clementines)
For the Filling:
1/3 cup fresh clementine juice (from about 4 clementines), plus 2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks (reserve whites for frosting)
7 tablespoons sugar
Pinch kosher salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cubed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch kosher salt
For Decorating and Assembling:
8 to 10 seedless clementines
1 1/2 to 3 cups shredded sweetened or unsweetened coconut, to taste
Strawberries, sliced (optional)
Preparation
Bake the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the middle. Butter two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper on the bottom.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, coconut milk, rum and vanilla.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, coconut oil and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, then beat in zest. Beat in half the flour mixture, followed by half the milk mixture. Repeat, beating just until combined and scraping down bowl as necessary.
In a separate bowl, use an electric beater to whisk egg whites just until stiff peaks form. Fold into cake batter.
Divide batter between pans. Bake until lightly golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then unmold cakes and cool completely on rack. (Cakes can be made up to 2 days ahead; once cool, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.)
Meanwhile, make the filling: Bring clementine juice and lemon juice to a boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, sugar and salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot juice into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Push through a strainer set over a medium bowl, and stir in clementine zest. Cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of curd and refrigerate until cold. (Curd can be made up to 5 days ahead.) Or to speed up cooling, set bowl of curd in a larger bowl filled with ice water and stir curd until very cold, 7 to 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Prepare clementines for decorating the cake: Cut the top and bottom off a clementine and set it cut-side down on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut away peel and pith, following the curve of the fruit from top to bottom. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, carefully cut out each segment from the membrane; it should fall into the bowl as you cut. Lay segments out on paper towels to dry slightly while you cut remaining fruit.
Use a large knife to trim tops of cakes to level them, and cut both cakes in half horizontally to make layers.
Place a cake layer on a serving dish and spread a third of the curd over it, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Layer a third of the clementine segments on top of curd, spacing them evenly so cake will be balanced. Top with another layer, spread another third of curd over it, and layer with 1/2 cup shredded coconut. Top with cake layer, repeat curd and clementines, saving some clementines for top of cake. Place the remaining cake layer on top, and chill while making frosting.
Make the frosting: Bring a medium pot with 1 inch of water to boil. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until eggs reach 160 degrees, or the sugar has melted. Remove from heat, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Immediately spread frosting on cake and press coconut shreds into tops and sides. Top with clementine wedges and strawberries if using; serve within an hour or two. (Or, keep refrigerated for up to 8 hours and wait until just before serving to top with fresh fruit.)
GRANNY’S CHOCOLATE CAKE
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This cake recipe was adapted from the chef Larry Forgione, who served his grandmother's cake recipe at his restaurant An American Place. The dessert proved so popular that every time he tried to take it off of the menu, he said his customers threatened to riot. It's a perfect proportion of crumb to buttercream, ideal for birthdays or other celebrations where layer cake is required.”
Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling
This was featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
Butter and flour for preparing pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
q/w teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
Chocolate frosting (see recipe, which follows)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 3 9-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with wax or parchment paper. Lightly butter the paper. Dust pans with flour, and shake out excess.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and vanilla.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium-high speed, cream the butter. Slowly add the sugar, and continue beating until well blended and light colored. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk mixture in 2 or 3 additions, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate until well blended. Spoon batter into prepared pans, and smooth tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake layer comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then invert onto other racks and peel off the paper. Invert again, and let cool completely on the racks. Frost with chocolate frosting.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
This is also from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “Here is a buttercream frosting like your grandmother might have made. Pair it with chocolate cake for a rich birthday treat.”
Yield: 2 cups; Time: 20 minutes.
This was also featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Preparation
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with 1/3 cup water and the cocoa, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and let cool.
Add confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla, and stir until smooth. Stir in egg yolks until smooth, and then chocolate. Use immediately.
STUFFED PINATA CAKE
This is from The Food Network, and begins, “Your guests will certainly be delighted by the sight of this bright cake. But make sure they don't put their cameras away too soon: once you cut into it, a candy surprise comes spilling out!”
Total: 3 hours 15 minutes; Active: 1 hour 5 minutes; Yield: 8 to 10; Level: Intermediate
To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/stuffed-pinata-cake.
Ingredients
Frosting:
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch fine salt
6 large egg whites
4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks, at room temperature
5 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Filling and Decoration:
Blue, orange, yellow, purple and pink food coloring
2 cups of your favorite small and soft candies (none in wrappers), such as gummies or candy-covered chocolates
Cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
Directions
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottom of each with parchment.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the milk, vanilla, eggs and egg yolk together in another medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high until light and fluffy. Add about a third of the flour mixture and beat on medium low until incorporated. Now add a third of the egg-milk mixture and continue to beat on medium low until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat with the remaining flour and egg-milk mixtures, finishing with the flour.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake until the cake bounces back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the cake pans on a rack.
For the frosting: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof stand mixer's bowl above the water.
Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and egg whites to the mixer bowl and whisk together by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and whisk until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar completely dissolves. Transfer to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until cool and the whites hold stiff peaks, 10 to 15 minutes.
Toss in a couple of chunks of butter at a time, making sure the pieces are incorporated before adding more. After all the butter is added, continue beating on medium-high speed. The mixture will deflate and appear curdled. Continue beating until the frosting comes back together to a smooth and spreadable consistency. (If the frosting is very soft or begins to break, refrigerate until set but still spreadable, then beat until light before using.)
For the filling and decoration: Dye the coconut: Have ready 5 resealable plastic bags or plastic containers. Put 1 1/2 cups of the coconut in one container with 6 to 8 drops of blue food coloring. Put 1 cup of coconut in the second container with 5 to 6 drops of orange food coloring, 1 cup of coconut in the third with 5 to 6 drops yellow food coloring and 1 cup of coconut in the fourth with 6 to 8 drops purple food coloring. Put the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in the fifth container with 4 to 5 drops pink food coloring. Seal each container and shake vigorously until the coconut is evenly dyed. Add more food coloring 1 drop at a time as needed to get bright, vibrant colors.
Assemble the cake: Cut a 4-inch circle out of the center of each cake (reserve the small cut-out cake rounds). Put one of the cake rings on a cake stand or serving platter and frost with about 1 cup of frosting. Put the other cake ring on top and push down slightly. Fill the hole with candy. Cut one of the reserved cake rounds in half horizontally to make 2 thinner rounds. Use one to fill the hole on top of the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
Cut a strip of parchment about 30 inches long and 3 inches wide. Wrap this parchment around the cake like a collar, leaving 1 inch of frosting exposed around the bottom perimeter of the cake. Pack some of the blue coconut onto the exposed frosting to make your first strip of color. Lift the collar up another 1 inch and do the same with the orange coconut. Remove the collar and fill the remaining inch of frosting with the yellow coconut. For the top, make 1-inch-wide rings, starting on the outside and working your way in, with the purple, pink, blue and orange coconut until the top is completely covered. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.
THE CAKE
This recipe was given to my mom by a friend, who worked as a lawyer for years. She was married to an Episcopal priest; both were involved in the civil rights movement.
This can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.
1 package (18 oz.) yellow cake mix
1 egg, unbeaten
3/4 C oil
1 package (small) vanilla pudding
3/4 C sherry
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Put ingredients in bowl. Beat for 5 minutes. Pour into greased tube cake pan or mold. Bake for 45 minutes.
RED VELVET CAKE
Another one of the recipes from Off the Wall Cooking.
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
AMBROSIA CAKE
This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “If you love the combination of oranges, coconut and marshmallows found in a traditional ambrosia — the salad or dessert that often also contains pineapple, bananas, cherries and some kind of creamy dressing such as whipped cream or sour cream — you’ll adore this cake. The coconut is baked into the cake layers and used as a sweet, shaggy garnish, while the oranges (in this case, diminutive, seedless clementines) are juiced into curd and sliced fresh for the filling. Then, as a final, fluffy touch, a homemade marshmallow frosting tops it off. It may be a lot of work, but it’s an impressive result. And you can make the curd and cake a few days ahead. Just be sure to make the frosting and assemble everything within 8 hours of serving. Otherwise the fruit starts to break down and the icing may crystallize.”
Yield: 12 servings; Time: 3 hours
This was originally featured in “An Ambrosial Cake, and That’s Just the Filling” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut rum or dark rum (or use 1 teaspoon coconut extract)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled (or use more butter)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature, whites and yolks separated
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest (from about 2 clementines)
For the Filling:
1/3 cup fresh clementine juice (from about 4 clementines), plus 2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks (reserve whites for frosting)
7 tablespoons sugar
Pinch kosher salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cubed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch kosher salt
For Decorating and Assembling:
8 to 10 seedless clementines
1 1/2 to 3 cups shredded sweetened or unsweetened coconut, to taste
Strawberries, sliced (optional)
Preparation
Bake the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the middle. Butter two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper on the bottom.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, coconut milk, rum and vanilla.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, coconut oil and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, then beat in zest. Beat in half the flour mixture, followed by half the milk mixture. Repeat, beating just until combined and scraping down bowl as necessary.
In a separate bowl, use an electric beater to whisk egg whites just until stiff peaks form. Fold into cake batter.
Divide batter between pans. Bake until lightly golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then unmold cakes and cool completely on rack. (Cakes can be made up to 2 days ahead; once cool, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.)
Meanwhile, make the filling: Bring clementine juice and lemon juice to a boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, sugar and salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot juice into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Push through a strainer set over a medium bowl, and stir in clementine zest. Cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of curd and refrigerate until cold. (Curd can be made up to 5 days ahead.) Or to speed up cooling, set bowl of curd in a larger bowl filled with ice water and stir curd until very cold, 7 to 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Prepare clementines for decorating the cake: Cut the top and bottom off a clementine and set it cut-side down on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut away peel and pith, following the curve of the fruit from top to bottom. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, carefully cut out each segment from the membrane; it should fall into the bowl as you cut. Lay segments out on paper towels to dry slightly while you cut remaining fruit.
Use a large knife to trim tops of cakes to level them, and cut both cakes in half horizontally to make layers.
Place a cake layer on a serving dish and spread a third of the curd over it, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Layer a third of the clementine segments on top of curd, spacing them evenly so cake will be balanced. Top with another layer, spread another third of curd over it, and layer with 1/2 cup shredded coconut. Top with cake layer, repeat curd and clementines, saving some clementines for top of cake. Place the remaining cake layer on top, and chill while making frosting.
Make the frosting: Bring a medium pot with 1 inch of water to boil. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until eggs reach 160 degrees, or the sugar has melted. Remove from heat, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Immediately spread frosting on cake and press coconut shreds into tops and sides. Top with clementine wedges and strawberries if using; serve within an hour or two. (Or, keep refrigerated for up to 8 hours and wait until just before serving to top with fresh fruit.)
GRANNY’S CHOCOLATE CAKE
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This cake recipe was adapted from the chef Larry Forgione, who served his grandmother's cake recipe at his restaurant An American Place. The dessert proved so popular that every time he tried to take it off of the menu, he said his customers threatened to riot. It's a perfect proportion of crumb to buttercream, ideal for birthdays or other celebrations where layer cake is required.”
Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling
This was featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
Butter and flour for preparing pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
q/w teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
Chocolate frosting (see recipe, which follows)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 3 9-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with wax or parchment paper. Lightly butter the paper. Dust pans with flour, and shake out excess.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and vanilla.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium-high speed, cream the butter. Slowly add the sugar, and continue beating until well blended and light colored. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk mixture in 2 or 3 additions, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate until well blended. Spoon batter into prepared pans, and smooth tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake layer comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then invert onto other racks and peel off the paper. Invert again, and let cool completely on the racks. Frost with chocolate frosting.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
This is also from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “Here is a buttercream frosting like your grandmother might have made. Pair it with chocolate cake for a rich birthday treat.”
Yield: 2 cups; Time: 20 minutes.
This was also featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Preparation
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with 1/3 cup water and the cocoa, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and let cool.
Add confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla, and stir until smooth. Stir in egg yolks until smooth, and then chocolate. Use immediately.
STUFFED PINATA CAKE
This is from The Food Network, and begins, “Your guests will certainly be delighted by the sight of this bright cake. But make sure they don't put their cameras away too soon: once you cut into it, a candy surprise comes spilling out!”
Total: 3 hours 15 minutes; Active: 1 hour 5 minutes; Yield: 8 to 10; Level: Intermediate
To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/stuffed-pinata-cake.
Ingredients
Frosting:
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch fine salt
6 large egg whites
4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks, at room temperature
5 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Filling and Decoration:
Blue, orange, yellow, purple and pink food coloring
2 cups of your favorite small and soft candies (none in wrappers), such as gummies or candy-covered chocolates
Cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
Directions
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottom of each with parchment.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the milk, vanilla, eggs and egg yolk together in another medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high until light and fluffy. Add about a third of the flour mixture and beat on medium low until incorporated. Now add a third of the egg-milk mixture and continue to beat on medium low until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat with the remaining flour and egg-milk mixtures, finishing with the flour.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake until the cake bounces back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the cake pans on a rack.
For the frosting: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof stand mixer's bowl above the water.
Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and egg whites to the mixer bowl and whisk together by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and whisk until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar completely dissolves. Transfer to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until cool and the whites hold stiff peaks, 10 to 15 minutes.
Toss in a couple of chunks of butter at a time, making sure the pieces are incorporated before adding more. After all the butter is added, continue beating on medium-high speed. The mixture will deflate and appear curdled. Continue beating until the frosting comes back together to a smooth and spreadable consistency. (If the frosting is very soft or begins to break, refrigerate until set but still spreadable, then beat until light before using.)
For the filling and decoration: Dye the coconut: Have ready 5 resealable plastic bags or plastic containers. Put 1 1/2 cups of the coconut in one container with 6 to 8 drops of blue food coloring. Put 1 cup of coconut in the second container with 5 to 6 drops of orange food coloring, 1 cup of coconut in the third with 5 to 6 drops yellow food coloring and 1 cup of coconut in the fourth with 6 to 8 drops purple food coloring. Put the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in the fifth container with 4 to 5 drops pink food coloring. Seal each container and shake vigorously until the coconut is evenly dyed. Add more food coloring 1 drop at a time as needed to get bright, vibrant colors.
Assemble the cake: Cut a 4-inch circle out of the center of each cake (reserve the small cut-out cake rounds). Put one of the cake rings on a cake stand or serving platter and frost with about 1 cup of frosting. Put the other cake ring on top and push down slightly. Fill the hole with candy. Cut one of the reserved cake rounds in half horizontally to make 2 thinner rounds. Use one to fill the hole on top of the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
Cut a strip of parchment about 30 inches long and 3 inches wide. Wrap this parchment around the cake like a collar, leaving 1 inch of frosting exposed around the bottom perimeter of the cake. Pack some of the blue coconut onto the exposed frosting to make your first strip of color. Lift the collar up another 1 inch and do the same with the orange coconut. Remove the collar and fill the remaining inch of frosting with the yellow coconut. For the top, make 1-inch-wide rings, starting on the outside and working your way in, with the purple, pink, blue and orange coconut until the top is completely covered. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.
THE CAKE
This recipe was given to my mom by a friend, who worked as a lawyer for years. She was married to an Episcopal priest; both were involved in the civil rights movement.
This can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.
1 package (18 oz.) yellow cake mix
1 egg, unbeaten
3/4 C oil
1 package (small) vanilla pudding
3/4 C sherry
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Put ingredients in bowl. Beat for 5 minutes. Pour into greased tube cake pan or mold. Bake for 45 minutes.
RED VELVET CAKE
Another one of the recipes from Off the Wall Cooking.
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Let Them Eat Cake! - Double-Post Tuesday
Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Today's double post is dedicated to that wonderful treat, cake. Here are six cake recipes to help you through the day, including Stuffed Pinata Cake and Red Velvet Cake. Enjoy!
AMBROSIA CAKE
This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “If you love the combination of oranges, coconut and marshmallows found in a traditional ambrosia — the salad or dessert that often also contains pineapple, bananas, cherries and some kind of creamy dressing such as whipped cream or sour cream — you’ll adore this cake. The coconut is baked into the cake layers and used as a sweet, shaggy garnish, while the oranges (in this case, diminutive, seedless clementines) are juiced into curd and sliced fresh for the filling. Then, as a final, fluffy touch, a homemade marshmallow frosting tops it off. It may be a lot of work, but it’s an impressive result. And you can make the curd and cake a few days ahead. Just be sure to make the frosting and assemble everything within 8 hours of serving. Otherwise the fruit starts to break down and the icing may crystallize.”
Yield: 12 servings; Time: 3 hours
This was originally featured in “An Ambrosial Cake, and That’s Just the Filling” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut rum or dark rum (or use 1 teaspoon coconut extract)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled (or use more butter)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature, whites and yolks separated
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest (from about 2 clementines)
For the Filling:
1/3 cup fresh clementine juice (from about 4 clementines), plus 2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks (reserve whites for frosting)
7 tablespoons sugar
Pinch kosher salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cubed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch kosher salt
For Decorating and Assembling:
8 to 10 seedless clementines
1 1/2 to 3 cups shredded sweetened or unsweetened coconut, to taste
Strawberries, sliced (optional)
Preparation
Bake the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the middle. Butter two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper on the bottom.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, coconut milk, rum and vanilla.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, coconut oil and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, then beat in zest. Beat in half the flour mixture, followed by half the milk mixture. Repeat, beating just until combined and scraping down bowl as necessary.
In a separate bowl, use an electric beater to whisk egg whites just until stiff peaks form. Fold into cake batter.
Divide batter between pans. Bake until lightly golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then unmold cakes and cool completely on rack. (Cakes can be made up to 2 days ahead; once cool, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.)
Meanwhile, make the filling: Bring clementine juice and lemon juice to a boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, sugar and salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot juice into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Push through a strainer set over a medium bowl, and stir in clementine zest. Cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of curd and refrigerate until cold. (Curd can be made up to 5 days ahead.) Or to speed up cooling, set bowl of curd in a larger bowl filled with ice water and stir curd until very cold, 7 to 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Prepare clementines for decorating the cake: Cut the top and bottom off a clementine and set it cut-side down on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut away peel and pith, following the curve of the fruit from top to bottom. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, carefully cut out each segment from the membrane; it should fall into the bowl as you cut. Lay segments out on paper towels to dry slightly while you cut remaining fruit.
Use a large knife to trim tops of cakes to level them, and cut both cakes in half horizontally to make layers.
Place a cake layer on a serving dish and spread a third of the curd over it, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Layer a third of the clementine segments on top of curd, spacing them evenly so cake will be balanced. Top with another layer, spread another third of curd over it, and layer with 1/2 cup shredded coconut. Top with cake layer, repeat curd and clementines, saving some clementines for top of cake. Place the remaining cake layer on top, and chill while making frosting.
Make the frosting: Bring a medium pot with 1 inch of water to boil. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until eggs reach 160 degrees, or the sugar has melted. Remove from heat, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Immediately spread frosting on cake and press coconut shreds into tops and sides. Top with clementine wedges and strawberries if using; serve within an hour or two. (Or, keep refrigerated for up to 8 hours and wait until just before serving to top with fresh fruit.)
GRANNY’S CHOCOLATE CAKE
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This cake recipe was adapted from the chef Larry Forgione, who served his grandmother's cake recipe at his restaurant An American Place. The dessert proved so popular that every time he tried to take it off of the menu, he said his customers threatened to riot. It's a perfect proportion of crumb to buttercream, ideal for birthdays or other celebrations where layer cake is required.”
Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling
This was featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
Butter and flour for preparing pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
q/w teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
Chocolate frosting (see recipe, which follows)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 3 9-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with wax or parchment paper. Lightly butter the paper. Dust pans with flour, and shake out excess.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and vanilla.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium-high speed, cream the butter. Slowly add the sugar, and continue beating until well blended and light colored. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk mixture in 2 or 3 additions, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate until well blended. Spoon batter into prepared pans, and smooth tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake layer comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then invert onto other racks and peel off the paper. Invert again, and let cool completely on the racks. Frost with chocolate frosting.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
This is also from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “Here is a buttercream frosting like your grandmother might have made. Pair it with chocolate cake for a rich birthday treat.”
Yield: 2 cups; Time: 20 minutes.
This was also featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Preparation
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with 1/3 cup water and the cocoa, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and let cool.
Add confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla, and stir until smooth. Stir in egg yolks until smooth, and then chocolate. Use immediately.
STUFFED PINATA CAKE
This is from The Food Network, and begins, “Your guests will certainly be delighted by the sight of this bright cake. But make sure they don't put their cameras away too soon: once you cut into it, a candy surprise comes spilling out!”
Total: 3 hours 15 minutes; Active: 1 hour 5 minutes; Yield: 8 to 10; Level: Intermediate
To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/stuffed-pinata-cake.
Ingredients
Frosting:
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch fine salt
6 large egg whites
4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks, at room temperature
5 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Filling and Decoration:
Blue, orange, yellow, purple and pink food coloring
2 cups of your favorite small and soft candies (none in wrappers), such as gummies or candy-covered chocolates
Cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
DirectionsFor the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottom of each with parchment.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the milk, vanilla, eggs and egg yolk together in another medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high until light and fluffy. Add about a third of the flour mixture and beat on medium low until incorporated. Now add a third of the egg-milk mixture and continue to beat on medium low until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat with the remaining flour and egg-milk mixtures, finishing with the flour.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake until the cake bounces back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the cake pans on a rack.
For the frosting: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof stand mixer's bowl above the water.
Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and egg whites to the mixer bowl and whisk together by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and whisk until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar completely dissolves. Transfer to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until cool and the whites hold stiff peaks, 10 to 15 minutes.
Toss in a couple of chunks of butter at a time, making sure the pieces are incorporated before adding more. After all the butter is added, continue beating on medium-high speed. The mixture will deflate and appear curdled. Continue beating until the frosting comes back together to a smooth and spreadable consistency. (If the frosting is very soft or begins to break, refrigerate until set but still spreadable, then beat until light before using.)
For the filling and decoration: Dye the coconut: Have ready 5 resealable plastic bags or plastic containers. Put 1 1/2 cups of the coconut in one container with 6 to 8 drops of blue food coloring. Put 1 cup of coconut in the second container with 5 to 6 drops of orange food coloring, 1 cup of coconut in the third with 5 to 6 drops yellow food coloring and 1 cup of coconut in the fourth with 6 to 8 drops purple food coloring. Put the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in the fifth container with 4 to 5 drops pink food coloring. Seal each container and shake vigorously until the coconut is evenly dyed. Add more food coloring 1 drop at a time as needed to get bright, vibrant colors.
Assemble the cake: Cut a 4-inch circle out of the center of each cake (reserve the small cut-out cake rounds). Put one of the cake rings on a cake stand or serving platter and frost with about 1 cup of frosting. Put the other cake ring on top and push down slightly. Fill the hole with candy. Cut one of the reserved cake rounds in half horizontally to make 2 thinner rounds. Use one to fill the hole on top of the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
Cut a strip of parchment about 30 inches long and 3 inches wide. Wrap this parchment around the cake like a collar, leaving 1 inch of frosting exposed around the bottom perimeter of the cake. Pack some of the blue coconut onto the exposed frosting to make your first strip of color. Lift the collar up another 1 inch and do the same with the orange coconut. Remove the collar and fill the remaining inch of frosting with the yellow coconut. For the top, make 1-inch-wide rings, starting on the outside and working your way in, with the purple, pink, blue and orange coconut until the top is completely covered. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.
THE CAKE
This recipe was given to my mom by a friend, who worked as a lawyer for years. She was married to an Episcopal priest; both were involved in the civil rights movement.
This can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.
1 package (18 oz.) yellow cake mix
1 egg, unbeaten
3/4 C oil
1 package (small) vanilla pudding
3/4 C sherry
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Put ingredients in bowl. Beat for 5 minutes. Pour into greased tube cake pan or mold. Bake for 45 minutes.
RED VELVET CAKE
Another one of the recipes from Off the Wall Cooking.
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
AMBROSIA CAKE
This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “If you love the combination of oranges, coconut and marshmallows found in a traditional ambrosia — the salad or dessert that often also contains pineapple, bananas, cherries and some kind of creamy dressing such as whipped cream or sour cream — you’ll adore this cake. The coconut is baked into the cake layers and used as a sweet, shaggy garnish, while the oranges (in this case, diminutive, seedless clementines) are juiced into curd and sliced fresh for the filling. Then, as a final, fluffy touch, a homemade marshmallow frosting tops it off. It may be a lot of work, but it’s an impressive result. And you can make the curd and cake a few days ahead. Just be sure to make the frosting and assemble everything within 8 hours of serving. Otherwise the fruit starts to break down and the icing may crystallize.”
Yield: 12 servings; Time: 3 hours
This was originally featured in “An Ambrosial Cake, and That’s Just the Filling” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut rum or dark rum (or use 1 teaspoon coconut extract)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled (or use more butter)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature, whites and yolks separated
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest (from about 2 clementines)
For the Filling:
1/3 cup fresh clementine juice (from about 4 clementines), plus 2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated clementine zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks (reserve whites for frosting)
7 tablespoons sugar
Pinch kosher salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cubed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch kosher salt
For Decorating and Assembling:
8 to 10 seedless clementines
1 1/2 to 3 cups shredded sweetened or unsweetened coconut, to taste
Strawberries, sliced (optional)
Preparation
Bake the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the middle. Butter two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper on the bottom.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, coconut milk, rum and vanilla.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, coconut oil and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, then beat in zest. Beat in half the flour mixture, followed by half the milk mixture. Repeat, beating just until combined and scraping down bowl as necessary.
In a separate bowl, use an electric beater to whisk egg whites just until stiff peaks form. Fold into cake batter.
Divide batter between pans. Bake until lightly golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then unmold cakes and cool completely on rack. (Cakes can be made up to 2 days ahead; once cool, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.)
Meanwhile, make the filling: Bring clementine juice and lemon juice to a boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, sugar and salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot juice into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Push through a strainer set over a medium bowl, and stir in clementine zest. Cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of curd and refrigerate until cold. (Curd can be made up to 5 days ahead.) Or to speed up cooling, set bowl of curd in a larger bowl filled with ice water and stir curd until very cold, 7 to 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Prepare clementines for decorating the cake: Cut the top and bottom off a clementine and set it cut-side down on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut away peel and pith, following the curve of the fruit from top to bottom. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, carefully cut out each segment from the membrane; it should fall into the bowl as you cut. Lay segments out on paper towels to dry slightly while you cut remaining fruit.
Use a large knife to trim tops of cakes to level them, and cut both cakes in half horizontally to make layers.
Place a cake layer on a serving dish and spread a third of the curd over it, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Layer a third of the clementine segments on top of curd, spacing them evenly so cake will be balanced. Top with another layer, spread another third of curd over it, and layer with 1/2 cup shredded coconut. Top with cake layer, repeat curd and clementines, saving some clementines for top of cake. Place the remaining cake layer on top, and chill while making frosting.
Make the frosting: Bring a medium pot with 1 inch of water to boil. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until eggs reach 160 degrees, or the sugar has melted. Remove from heat, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Immediately spread frosting on cake and press coconut shreds into tops and sides. Top with clementine wedges and strawberries if using; serve within an hour or two. (Or, keep refrigerated for up to 8 hours and wait until just before serving to top with fresh fruit.)
GRANNY’S CHOCOLATE CAKE
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This cake recipe was adapted from the chef Larry Forgione, who served his grandmother's cake recipe at his restaurant An American Place. The dessert proved so popular that every time he tried to take it off of the menu, he said his customers threatened to riot. It's a perfect proportion of crumb to buttercream, ideal for birthdays or other celebrations where layer cake is required.”
Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling
This was featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
Butter and flour for preparing pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
q/w teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
Chocolate frosting (see recipe, which follows)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 3 9-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with wax or parchment paper. Lightly butter the paper. Dust pans with flour, and shake out excess.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and vanilla.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium-high speed, cream the butter. Slowly add the sugar, and continue beating until well blended and light colored. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk mixture in 2 or 3 additions, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate until well blended. Spoon batter into prepared pans, and smooth tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake layer comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then invert onto other racks and peel off the paper. Invert again, and let cool completely on the racks. Frost with chocolate frosting.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
This is also from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “Here is a buttercream frosting like your grandmother might have made. Pair it with chocolate cake for a rich birthday treat.”
Yield: 2 cups; Time: 20 minutes.
This was also featured in “Endangered: The Beloved American Layer Cake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Preparation
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with 1/3 cup water and the cocoa, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and let cool.
Add confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla, and stir until smooth. Stir in egg yolks until smooth, and then chocolate. Use immediately.
STUFFED PINATA CAKE
This is from The Food Network, and begins, “Your guests will certainly be delighted by the sight of this bright cake. But make sure they don't put their cameras away too soon: once you cut into it, a candy surprise comes spilling out!”
Total: 3 hours 15 minutes; Active: 1 hour 5 minutes; Yield: 8 to 10; Level: Intermediate
To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/stuffed-pinata-cake.
Ingredients
Frosting:
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch fine salt
6 large egg whites
4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks, at room temperature
5 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Filling and Decoration:
Blue, orange, yellow, purple and pink food coloring
2 cups of your favorite small and soft candies (none in wrappers), such as gummies or candy-covered chocolates
Cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
DirectionsFor the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottom of each with parchment.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the milk, vanilla, eggs and egg yolk together in another medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high until light and fluffy. Add about a third of the flour mixture and beat on medium low until incorporated. Now add a third of the egg-milk mixture and continue to beat on medium low until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat with the remaining flour and egg-milk mixtures, finishing with the flour.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake until the cake bounces back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the cake pans on a rack.
For the frosting: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof stand mixer's bowl above the water.
Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and egg whites to the mixer bowl and whisk together by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and whisk until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar completely dissolves. Transfer to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until cool and the whites hold stiff peaks, 10 to 15 minutes.
Toss in a couple of chunks of butter at a time, making sure the pieces are incorporated before adding more. After all the butter is added, continue beating on medium-high speed. The mixture will deflate and appear curdled. Continue beating until the frosting comes back together to a smooth and spreadable consistency. (If the frosting is very soft or begins to break, refrigerate until set but still spreadable, then beat until light before using.)
For the filling and decoration: Dye the coconut: Have ready 5 resealable plastic bags or plastic containers. Put 1 1/2 cups of the coconut in one container with 6 to 8 drops of blue food coloring. Put 1 cup of coconut in the second container with 5 to 6 drops of orange food coloring, 1 cup of coconut in the third with 5 to 6 drops yellow food coloring and 1 cup of coconut in the fourth with 6 to 8 drops purple food coloring. Put the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in the fifth container with 4 to 5 drops pink food coloring. Seal each container and shake vigorously until the coconut is evenly dyed. Add more food coloring 1 drop at a time as needed to get bright, vibrant colors.
Assemble the cake: Cut a 4-inch circle out of the center of each cake (reserve the small cut-out cake rounds). Put one of the cake rings on a cake stand or serving platter and frost with about 1 cup of frosting. Put the other cake ring on top and push down slightly. Fill the hole with candy. Cut one of the reserved cake rounds in half horizontally to make 2 thinner rounds. Use one to fill the hole on top of the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
Cut a strip of parchment about 30 inches long and 3 inches wide. Wrap this parchment around the cake like a collar, leaving 1 inch of frosting exposed around the bottom perimeter of the cake. Pack some of the blue coconut onto the exposed frosting to make your first strip of color. Lift the collar up another 1 inch and do the same with the orange coconut. Remove the collar and fill the remaining inch of frosting with the yellow coconut. For the top, make 1-inch-wide rings, starting on the outside and working your way in, with the purple, pink, blue and orange coconut until the top is completely covered. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.
THE CAKE
This recipe was given to my mom by a friend, who worked as a lawyer for years. She was married to an Episcopal priest; both were involved in the civil rights movement.
This can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.
1 package (18 oz.) yellow cake mix
1 egg, unbeaten
3/4 C oil
1 package (small) vanilla pudding
3/4 C sherry
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Put ingredients in bowl. Beat for 5 minutes. Pour into greased tube cake pan or mold. Bake for 45 minutes.
RED VELVET CAKE
Another one of the recipes from Off the Wall Cooking.
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Have Your Cake - Double-Post Tuesday
Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's Double-Post Tuesday. Today's Double-Post deals with (yum!) cake!
I always thought it sounded a little strange when someone would say, "You can't have your cake and eat it, too." Why have it if you can't eat it? Somehow, it just didn't make sense.
Here are six cake recipes to help you through the day, including Poor Man's Cake and Crazy Cake #2. Enjoy!
By the way, I also have a cookbook that many of my recipes on this blog are it. It's called Off The Wall Cooking, available at Amazon for your Kindle. Give it a try!
ROCKY ROAD CAKE
This is one of the recipes from Off The Wall Cooking.
I was taking a speech class at a local junior college. One week we had to give a demonstration speech; one lady demonstrated how to make this cake, passing out copies of the recipe along with pieces of cake. It’s absolutely delicious. The icing can be used on almost any kind of cake; it would be really good on carrot cake!
1 C chopped nuts
4 eggs
1 C raisins
1 C mayonnaise
1 C mini-marshmallows
1 C water
6 oz. package of chocolate
1 package (18.25 oz) Devil’s Food cake mix w/pudding
Grease & flour 2 9" pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first four ingredients in medium-size bowl. In large bowl at low speed, mix cake mix, eggs, may & water until blended. Increase speed to medium & beat for 2 minutes. Stir in nut mixture. Pour into greased & floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes on cooling rack.
Icing (for Rocky Road Cake)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 box confectioners sugar
Place ingredients in bowl & cream together. When cake is cool, ice. ENJOY!
POOR MAN'S CAKE
My friend Maryann and I went to high school together, then wrote back and forth for years. She managed to visit twice, two years apart. In one letter, she sent along this and the next recipe. "Maybe my cousin’s recipe," she wrote. We've since lost touch, but I've often wondered why ever happened to her.
1 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 C water
2 C flour, shifted
1/3 C oil
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 C raisins
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix brown sugar, water, oil, raisins, nutmeg & cinnamon in pan. Boil 3 minutes. Cool thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients. Bake in square pan in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 35 minutes.
POOR MAN'S CAKE #2
Aunt Sammy’s Depression Days
Maryann wrote, "Mom’s recipe. 1931 era. Don’t know if it’s (era) important or not."
3 eggs
1 C sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C bread crumbs
Mix all ingredients together, blending well by hand. Grease 8X8" baking pan. Press mix into pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Add raisins, fruit, or wine if available.
THE CAKE
This recipe was given to my mom by a friend, who worked as a lawyer for years. She was married to an Episcopal priest; both were involved in the civil rights movement.
1 package (18 oz.) yellow cake mix
1 egg, unbeaten
3/4 C oil
1 package (small) vanilla pudding
3/4 C sherry
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Put ingredients in bowl. Beat for 5 minutes. Pour into greased tube cake pan or mold. Bake for 45 minutes.
RED VELVET CAKE
Another one of the recipes from Off The Wall Cooking.
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
ALL-IN-ONE CHOCOLATE CAKE
This comes from Nigella Lawson, from The New York Times' cooking newsletter. If you haven't signed up for their newsletter, I highly recommend it. Nigella writes, “This is the perfect chocolate cake: beautiful, melting, intense but not heavy. The batter comes together quickly in a food processor, and the cake bakes at 350 degrees for a while, giving the baker time to assemble the frosting, which is given a luscious sheen by a bit of corn syrup. Use the best chocolate you can find for the frosting, and gild it however you like: with a few flowers, some birthday candles or nothing at all.” Time: 1 hour 15 minutes; 10 to 12 servings
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
Butter for greasing baking pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup best-quality cocoa powder
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
For the Frosting:
6 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
Preparation
For cake: heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter sides of two 8-inch cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment paper. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a knife blade, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Process to make a smooth, thick batter.
Using a rubber spatula, divide batter between pans, and smooth tops. Bake until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes; do not overbake. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing from cake pans.
For frosting: Combine chocolate and butter in a large heat-proof bowl, and heat until melted in a microwave oven or over a pan of simmering water. Remove from heat, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Stir in corn syrup, sour cream, and vanilla. Whisk in confectioners' sugar until very smooth. Frosting should be thick and spreadable. If necessary, add a teaspoon or two of boiling water to thin it, or additional sifted confectioners' sugar to thicken.
Cut four strips of waxed or parchment paper, and place them side by side on a cake plate, covering the surface. Place one cake layer domed-side down on plate.
Spoon about a third of the frosting onto center of cake, and use a knife or a spatula to spread it evenly. Place the other cake on top, domed side up. Spoon another third of frosting on top of cake, spreading to make swirls or a smooth finish. Spread sides of cake with remaining frosting, and allow to sit for a few minutes until set. Carefully remove paper strips. Place cake under glass or in an airtight container, and set aside in a cool place until serving.
COFFEE CAKE
1 C flour
1 1/2 T shortening
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 T sugar
3 T cold water
2 tsp. baking powder
1 T (rounded) raisins
Sift & measure flour. Combine dry ingredients & work in shortening. Add egg & water; stir gently. Add raisins. Spread dough on small greased pie tin. Sprinkle sugar & cinnamon on top. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
CRAZY CAKE #2
This was from the February 11, 1979 issue of Parade Magazine
2 C sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
1 C milk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 C cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
1 C shortening or oil
3 C flour
1 C boiling water
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease & flour 9” square pan & 9" round pan. Into large mixing bowl, put all ingredients, except water, in order listed. Do not stir. Add boiling water & mix well. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake about 35 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool at least 1 hour before frosting.
To shape heart: Place square cake upside down on large tray. Place one corner at top in diamond shape. Cut round cake in half. Turn upside down. Straight sides will join top of diamond to form heart.
Buttercream Frosting for Crazy Cake
3/4 C butter or margarine, softened
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
6 T milk
1 1/2 pounds (6 3/4 C) sifted confectioners’ sugar
Place butter, milk, salt & vanilla in mixing bowl. Add 1/2 of the sugar, mixing slowly. Gradually add the rest of the sugar. Continue beating until mixture is light & fluffy. Frosting will be off-white. Color some for trim.
I always thought it sounded a little strange when someone would say, "You can't have your cake and eat it, too." Why have it if you can't eat it? Somehow, it just didn't make sense.
Here are six cake recipes to help you through the day, including Poor Man's Cake and Crazy Cake #2. Enjoy!
By the way, I also have a cookbook that many of my recipes on this blog are it. It's called Off The Wall Cooking, available at Amazon for your Kindle. Give it a try!
ROCKY ROAD CAKE
This is one of the recipes from Off The Wall Cooking.
I was taking a speech class at a local junior college. One week we had to give a demonstration speech; one lady demonstrated how to make this cake, passing out copies of the recipe along with pieces of cake. It’s absolutely delicious. The icing can be used on almost any kind of cake; it would be really good on carrot cake!
1 C chopped nuts
4 eggs
1 C raisins
1 C mayonnaise
1 C mini-marshmallows
1 C water
6 oz. package of chocolate
1 package (18.25 oz) Devil’s Food cake mix w/pudding
Grease & flour 2 9" pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first four ingredients in medium-size bowl. In large bowl at low speed, mix cake mix, eggs, may & water until blended. Increase speed to medium & beat for 2 minutes. Stir in nut mixture. Pour into greased & floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes on cooling rack.
Icing (for Rocky Road Cake)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 box confectioners sugar
Place ingredients in bowl & cream together. When cake is cool, ice. ENJOY!
POOR MAN'S CAKE
My friend Maryann and I went to high school together, then wrote back and forth for years. She managed to visit twice, two years apart. In one letter, she sent along this and the next recipe. "Maybe my cousin’s recipe," she wrote. We've since lost touch, but I've often wondered why ever happened to her.
1 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 C water
2 C flour, shifted
1/3 C oil
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 C raisins
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix brown sugar, water, oil, raisins, nutmeg & cinnamon in pan. Boil 3 minutes. Cool thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients. Bake in square pan in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 35 minutes.
POOR MAN'S CAKE #2
Aunt Sammy’s Depression Days
Maryann wrote, "Mom’s recipe. 1931 era. Don’t know if it’s (era) important or not."
3 eggs
1 C sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C bread crumbs
Mix all ingredients together, blending well by hand. Grease 8X8" baking pan. Press mix into pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Add raisins, fruit, or wine if available.
THE CAKE
This recipe was given to my mom by a friend, who worked as a lawyer for years. She was married to an Episcopal priest; both were involved in the civil rights movement.
1 package (18 oz.) yellow cake mix
1 egg, unbeaten
3/4 C oil
1 package (small) vanilla pudding
3/4 C sherry
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Put ingredients in bowl. Beat for 5 minutes. Pour into greased tube cake pan or mold. Bake for 45 minutes.
RED VELVET CAKE
Another one of the recipes from Off The Wall Cooking.
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
1/2 C butter (note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 8" round pans. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring & cocoa. Add to 1st mix. Add salt & buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in vinegar & add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans & bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour & milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes & add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy & refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9" round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
ALL-IN-ONE CHOCOLATE CAKE
This comes from Nigella Lawson, from The New York Times' cooking newsletter. If you haven't signed up for their newsletter, I highly recommend it. Nigella writes, “This is the perfect chocolate cake: beautiful, melting, intense but not heavy. The batter comes together quickly in a food processor, and the cake bakes at 350 degrees for a while, giving the baker time to assemble the frosting, which is given a luscious sheen by a bit of corn syrup. Use the best chocolate you can find for the frosting, and gild it however you like: with a few flowers, some birthday candles or nothing at all.” Time: 1 hour 15 minutes; 10 to 12 servings
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
Butter for greasing baking pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup best-quality cocoa powder
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
For the Frosting:
6 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
Preparation
For cake: heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter sides of two 8-inch cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment paper. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a knife blade, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Process to make a smooth, thick batter.
Using a rubber spatula, divide batter between pans, and smooth tops. Bake until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes; do not overbake. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing from cake pans.
For frosting: Combine chocolate and butter in a large heat-proof bowl, and heat until melted in a microwave oven or over a pan of simmering water. Remove from heat, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Stir in corn syrup, sour cream, and vanilla. Whisk in confectioners' sugar until very smooth. Frosting should be thick and spreadable. If necessary, add a teaspoon or two of boiling water to thin it, or additional sifted confectioners' sugar to thicken.
Cut four strips of waxed or parchment paper, and place them side by side on a cake plate, covering the surface. Place one cake layer domed-side down on plate.
Spoon about a third of the frosting onto center of cake, and use a knife or a spatula to spread it evenly. Place the other cake on top, domed side up. Spoon another third of frosting on top of cake, spreading to make swirls or a smooth finish. Spread sides of cake with remaining frosting, and allow to sit for a few minutes until set. Carefully remove paper strips. Place cake under glass or in an airtight container, and set aside in a cool place until serving.
COFFEE CAKE
1 C flour
1 1/2 T shortening
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 T sugar
3 T cold water
2 tsp. baking powder
1 T (rounded) raisins
Sift & measure flour. Combine dry ingredients & work in shortening. Add egg & water; stir gently. Add raisins. Spread dough on small greased pie tin. Sprinkle sugar & cinnamon on top. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
CRAZY CAKE #2
This was from the February 11, 1979 issue of Parade Magazine
2 C sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
1 C milk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 C cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
1 C shortening or oil
3 C flour
1 C boiling water
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease & flour 9” square pan & 9" round pan. Into large mixing bowl, put all ingredients, except water, in order listed. Do not stir. Add boiling water & mix well. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake about 35 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool at least 1 hour before frosting.
To shape heart: Place square cake upside down on large tray. Place one corner at top in diamond shape. Cut round cake in half. Turn upside down. Straight sides will join top of diamond to form heart.
Buttercream Frosting for Crazy Cake
3/4 C butter or margarine, softened
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
6 T milk
1 1/2 pounds (6 3/4 C) sifted confectioners’ sugar
Place butter, milk, salt & vanilla in mixing bowl. Add 1/2 of the sugar, mixing slowly. Gradually add the rest of the sugar. Continue beating until mixture is light & fluffy. Frosting will be off-white. Color some for trim.
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Double-Post Tuesday
Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Here are six recipes to help you through the day, including Beef Stew and Red Velvet Cake. Enjoy!
PICADILLO
This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “Picadillo is one of the great dishes of the Cuban diaspora: a soft, fragrant stew of ground beef and tomatoes, with raisins added for sweetness and olives for salt. Versions of it exist across the Caribbean and into Latin America. This one combines ground beef with intensely seasoned dried Spanish chorizo in a sofrito of onions, garlic and tomatoes, and scents it with red-wine vinegar, cinnamon and cumin, along with bay leaves and pinches of ground cloves and nutmeg. For the olives you may experiment with fancy and plain, but rigorous testing here suggests the use of pimento-stuffed green olives is the best practice. A scattering of capers would be welcome as well.”
Yield: 6 servings; Time: 1 hour.
This was featured in “The Ultimate Cuban Comfort Food: Picadillo”, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium-size yellow onions, peeled and chopped
2 ounces dried chorizo, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and crushed
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 bay leaves
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of nutmeg
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup pitted stuffed olives
Preparation
Put the olive oil in a large, heavy pan set over a medium-high flame, and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add onions, chorizo and garlic, stir to combine and cook until the onions have started to soften, approximately 10 minutes.
Add the ground beef, and allow it to brown, crumbling the meat with a fork as it does. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Add tomatoes, vinegar, cinnamon, cumin, bay leaves, cloves and nutmeg and stir to combine. Lower the heat, and let the stew simmer, covered, for approximately 30 minutes.
Uncover the pan, and add the raisins and the olives. Allow the stew to cook for another 15 minutes or so, then serve, accompanied by white rice.
CUBAN-STYLE ARROZ CONGRI
This is from Kim Severson, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Kim wrote, “The combination of white rice and black beans is a Cuban staple. Black beans served on top of or next to white rice is most commonly called Moros y Cristianos, a reference to the medieval battle between Islamic Moors and Christian Spaniards on the Iberian Peninsula. When rice and beans are mixed with sautéed aromatic vegetables and sometimes bits of pork, the result is called congrÃ. (In some Cuban households, it is also called Moros y Cristianos.) As a rule, congrà is a fluffier and drier dish than Moros y Cristianos. Yolanda Horruitiner, who has lived in Cuba for all of her 70 years, makes this simple version of congrà without pork or cumin, which is a staple in some versions. Feel free to add either to the sofrito base. This recipe uses a stovetop to cook both the rice and beans, although the dish can be assembled more quickly using a pressure cooker and rice cooker and making the sofrito in a separate sauté pan, then mixing it into the rice before it’s all cooked.”
Yield: 6 to 8 servings; Time: 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
This was featured in “For Cuban Home Cooks, Ingenuity and Luck Are Key Ingredients” and can be viewed online here.
Note: This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon dry red wine, or vino seco. Since I don’t keep alcohol around, I would substitute 1 tablespoon water.
Ingredients
1 cup dried black beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small green pepper, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
5 or 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
2 small bay leaves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dry red wine, or vino seco
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed
Preparation
Rinse the beans and pick them over for any small stones. Put the beans and 8 cups water in a medium-size pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer, partly cover and cook until tender, about 1 to 2 hours. (Time will vary depending on the bean.)
Meanwhile, make the sofrito: Put the oil in a medium-size pot (large enough to hold the rice as well) over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the onion, green pepper and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. Sauté until the vegetables are limp. Stir in the oregano, dill and bay leaves and remove from heat.
Drain the beans, reserving the broth and being careful to not break the beans. In a large measuring cup, add the vinegar and wine, 1 cup of the reserved bean broth and enough water for all the liquid to measure 2 1/4 cups.
Put the sofrito back on medium heat, add the rice and stir to combine. Cook the rice for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the seasoned bean broth/water mixture and the salt. Bring to a boil, stir, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 17 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and return cover to pot for 10 minutes.
Remove bay leaves and put rice mixture into a mixing bowl. Gently mix in the beans, being careful not to break them. Season well with salt and pepper and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve hot.
BEEF STEW
One of my invention; the recipes I had for stew seemed too bland. You can find this in my e-book, Off the Wall Cooking.
2 – 3 lbs. stewing beef
1 clove garlic, minced
3 T oil
4 carrots, cut up
2 C water
1 large potato, peeled & cut up
1 onion, chopped
6 oz tomato paste
8 oz tomato sauce
4 T vinegar
1 C flour
3 T honey
1 T soy sauce
salt & pepper
Cut beef into bite-sized pieces. Trim fat & dredge in flour & brown in oil. Add everything except carrots & potato. Cook 15 minutes. Add carrots & cook 15 more minutes. Add potato & cook 30 minutes. Add water as needed. Serve over noodles.
SCOTTISH SCONES
Servings: 16
Source: Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine
Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/156.shtml
Ingredients
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp whipped butter
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup golden raisins
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add the butter and mix it into the flour with your fingers. Add buttermilk and knead into a soft dough. Knead in the raisins.
On a floured board, roll out the dough until 1/2" thick.
Cut dough into 16 rounds. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden in color.
Serve warm or let cool and store in an airtight container.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 97; Protein: 3 g; Fat: 3 g; Sodium: 115 mg; Cholesterol: 7 mg; Carbohydrates: 16 g; Exchanges: 1 Starch/Bread
RED VELVET CAKE
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
You can find this in my e-book, Off the Wall Cooking.
1/2 C butter (see note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8” round pans.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs.
Make paste of food coloring and cocoa. Add to first mix.
Add salt and buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla.
Dissolve soda in vinegar and add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (see note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour and milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes and add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy and refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9” round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
FIVE BEAN SOUP
This comes from Eden Kitchens
Serves 10. Prep Time 10 minutes. Cook Time 40 minutes.
2 Tbs Eden Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 C celery, diced
1/2 C carrots, diced
3 Tbs barley, rinsed
3 C water
1 can Eden Organic Pinto Beans
1 can Eden Organic Black Beans
1 can Eden Organic Kidney Beans
1 can Eden Organic Navy Beans
1 can Eden Organic Garbanzo Beams
1 C sweet corn, fresh or frozen
1 can Eden Organic Diced Tomatoes with Roasted Onion
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp crushed bay leaf
1 tsp Eden Sea Salt – French Celtic
Heat oil in soup pot, sauté garlic & onion until onion is translucent. Add water, celery, carrot & barley, beans, corn, tomatoes & herbs. Add salt, cover & simmer 30 minutes. Serve.
PICADILLO
This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “Picadillo is one of the great dishes of the Cuban diaspora: a soft, fragrant stew of ground beef and tomatoes, with raisins added for sweetness and olives for salt. Versions of it exist across the Caribbean and into Latin America. This one combines ground beef with intensely seasoned dried Spanish chorizo in a sofrito of onions, garlic and tomatoes, and scents it with red-wine vinegar, cinnamon and cumin, along with bay leaves and pinches of ground cloves and nutmeg. For the olives you may experiment with fancy and plain, but rigorous testing here suggests the use of pimento-stuffed green olives is the best practice. A scattering of capers would be welcome as well.”
Yield: 6 servings; Time: 1 hour.
This was featured in “The Ultimate Cuban Comfort Food: Picadillo”, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium-size yellow onions, peeled and chopped
2 ounces dried chorizo, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and crushed
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 bay leaves
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of nutmeg
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup pitted stuffed olives
Preparation
Put the olive oil in a large, heavy pan set over a medium-high flame, and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add onions, chorizo and garlic, stir to combine and cook until the onions have started to soften, approximately 10 minutes.
Add the ground beef, and allow it to brown, crumbling the meat with a fork as it does. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Add tomatoes, vinegar, cinnamon, cumin, bay leaves, cloves and nutmeg and stir to combine. Lower the heat, and let the stew simmer, covered, for approximately 30 minutes.
Uncover the pan, and add the raisins and the olives. Allow the stew to cook for another 15 minutes or so, then serve, accompanied by white rice.
CUBAN-STYLE ARROZ CONGRI
This is from Kim Severson, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Kim wrote, “The combination of white rice and black beans is a Cuban staple. Black beans served on top of or next to white rice is most commonly called Moros y Cristianos, a reference to the medieval battle between Islamic Moors and Christian Spaniards on the Iberian Peninsula. When rice and beans are mixed with sautéed aromatic vegetables and sometimes bits of pork, the result is called congrÃ. (In some Cuban households, it is also called Moros y Cristianos.) As a rule, congrà is a fluffier and drier dish than Moros y Cristianos. Yolanda Horruitiner, who has lived in Cuba for all of her 70 years, makes this simple version of congrà without pork or cumin, which is a staple in some versions. Feel free to add either to the sofrito base. This recipe uses a stovetop to cook both the rice and beans, although the dish can be assembled more quickly using a pressure cooker and rice cooker and making the sofrito in a separate sauté pan, then mixing it into the rice before it’s all cooked.”
Yield: 6 to 8 servings; Time: 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
This was featured in “For Cuban Home Cooks, Ingenuity and Luck Are Key Ingredients” and can be viewed online here.
Note: This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon dry red wine, or vino seco. Since I don’t keep alcohol around, I would substitute 1 tablespoon water.
Ingredients
1 cup dried black beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small green pepper, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
5 or 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
2 small bay leaves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dry red wine, or vino seco
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed
Preparation
Rinse the beans and pick them over for any small stones. Put the beans and 8 cups water in a medium-size pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer, partly cover and cook until tender, about 1 to 2 hours. (Time will vary depending on the bean.)
Meanwhile, make the sofrito: Put the oil in a medium-size pot (large enough to hold the rice as well) over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the onion, green pepper and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. Sauté until the vegetables are limp. Stir in the oregano, dill and bay leaves and remove from heat.
Drain the beans, reserving the broth and being careful to not break the beans. In a large measuring cup, add the vinegar and wine, 1 cup of the reserved bean broth and enough water for all the liquid to measure 2 1/4 cups.
Put the sofrito back on medium heat, add the rice and stir to combine. Cook the rice for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the seasoned bean broth/water mixture and the salt. Bring to a boil, stir, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 17 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and return cover to pot for 10 minutes.
Remove bay leaves and put rice mixture into a mixing bowl. Gently mix in the beans, being careful not to break them. Season well with salt and pepper and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve hot.
BEEF STEW
One of my invention; the recipes I had for stew seemed too bland. You can find this in my e-book, Off the Wall Cooking.
2 – 3 lbs. stewing beef
1 clove garlic, minced
3 T oil
4 carrots, cut up
2 C water
1 large potato, peeled & cut up
1 onion, chopped
6 oz tomato paste
8 oz tomato sauce
4 T vinegar
1 C flour
3 T honey
1 T soy sauce
salt & pepper
Cut beef into bite-sized pieces. Trim fat & dredge in flour & brown in oil. Add everything except carrots & potato. Cook 15 minutes. Add carrots & cook 15 more minutes. Add potato & cook 30 minutes. Add water as needed. Serve over noodles.
SCOTTISH SCONES
Servings: 16
Source: Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine
Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/156.shtml
Ingredients
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp whipped butter
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup golden raisins
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add the butter and mix it into the flour with your fingers. Add buttermilk and knead into a soft dough. Knead in the raisins.
On a floured board, roll out the dough until 1/2" thick.
Cut dough into 16 rounds. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden in color.
Serve warm or let cool and store in an airtight container.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 97; Protein: 3 g; Fat: 3 g; Sodium: 115 mg; Cholesterol: 7 mg; Carbohydrates: 16 g; Exchanges: 1 Starch/Bread
RED VELVET CAKE
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
You can find this in my e-book, Off the Wall Cooking.
1/2 C butter (see note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8” round pans.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs.
Make paste of food coloring and cocoa. Add to first mix.
Add salt and buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla.
Dissolve soda in vinegar and add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (see note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour and milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes and add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy and refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9” round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
FIVE BEAN SOUP
This comes from Eden Kitchens
Serves 10. Prep Time 10 minutes. Cook Time 40 minutes.
2 Tbs Eden Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 C celery, diced
1/2 C carrots, diced
3 Tbs barley, rinsed
3 C water
1 can Eden Organic Pinto Beans
1 can Eden Organic Black Beans
1 can Eden Organic Kidney Beans
1 can Eden Organic Navy Beans
1 can Eden Organic Garbanzo Beams
1 C sweet corn, fresh or frozen
1 can Eden Organic Diced Tomatoes with Roasted Onion
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp crushed bay leaf
1 tsp Eden Sea Salt – French Celtic
Heat oil in soup pot, sauté garlic & onion until onion is translucent. Add water, celery, carrot & barley, beans, corn, tomatoes & herbs. Add salt, cover & simmer 30 minutes. Serve.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Double-Post Thursday
Yes, besides being Diabetic Thursday, it's also Double-Post Thursday. Here are six yummy recipes to help you through the day, including Red Velvet Cake and Pasta Primavera. Enjoy!
RED VELVET CAKE
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking.
1/2 C butter (see note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8” round pans.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs.
Make paste of food coloring and cocoa. Add to first mix.
Add salt and buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla.
Dissolve soda in vinegar and add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (see note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour and milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes and add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy and refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9” round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
SCOTTISH SCONES
Servings: 16
Source: Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine
Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/156.shtml
Ingredients
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp whipped butter
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup golden raisins
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add the butter and mix it into the flour with your fingers. Add buttermilk and knead into a soft dough. Knead in the raisins.
On a floured board, roll out the dough until 1/2" thick.
Cut dough into 16 rounds. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden in color.
Serve warm or let cool and store in an airtight container.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 97; Protein: 3 g; Fat: 3 g; Sodium: 115 mg; Cholesterol: 7 mg; Carbohydrates: 16 g; Exchanges: 1 Starch/Bread
SIMPLEST ROAST CHICKEN
This is from Mark Bittman, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Mark wrote, “With an ingredient list just four items long (chicken, olive oil, salt, pepper), the genius of this bare-bones roast chicken is in its technique. To make it, thoroughly preheat a cast-iron skillet before sliding into it a seasoned bird, breast side up. In under an hour you’ll get a stunner of a chicken, with moist, tender white meat, crisp, salty chicken skin, and juicy dark meat all done to a turn. If you don’t already have a cast-iron skillet large enough to hold a whole chicken, this recipe is a good enough reason to invest in one.”
Yield: 4 servings; Time: 50 to 60 minutes.
This was featured in “The Minimalist: Simplest Roast Chicken”, and can be viewed online here.
Note: Check out Melissa Clark’s guide, “How to Roast Chicken”.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Put a cast-iron skillet on a low rack in the oven and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Rub the chicken all over with the oil and sprinkle it generously with salt and pepper.
When the oven and skillet are hot, carefully put the chicken in the skillet, breast side up. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Continue to roast until the bird is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of the thigh reads 155 to 165 degrees.
Tip the pan to let the juices flow from the chicken’s cavity into the pan. Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. Carve and serve.
PASTA PRIMAVERA
This comes from Publix. Makes 4 servings.
12 ounces of dried linguine, ziti, or penne pasta
2 Tbl olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium red sweet pepper, sliced
1 medium yellow sweet pepper, sliced
1 small zucchini, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 C chicken or veggie broth
1 C snipped fresh basil
1/4 C finely shredded Parmesan cheese
2 Tbls pine nuts, toasted
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Return pasta to saucepan; cover & keep warm.
Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat olive oil. Add garlic & onions; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in carrots & sweet peppers. Cook & stir for 3 minutes. Add zucchini, salt, & pepper. Stir in chicken or veggie broth. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 minute or until vegetables are just tender.
Stir vegetable mixture & basil into pasta & toss. Transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with cheese & pine nuts. Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: Calories: 443; fat: 20 g (9 g sat. fat); chol: 38 mg; sodium: 328 mg; carbs: 51 g; fiber: 6 g; protein: 14 g.
CURRIED LENTILS WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH
This is from the October 2007 issue of Runner’s World.
1 C dry lentils
1 small butternut squash
1 Tbls olive oil
1 Tbls curry powder
1 tsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 C shredded coconut (optional)
Spray 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray & set aside. Pour lentils into deep pot & cover with cold water. Bring water to boil, reduce heat, & add raw chunks of the squash (leave skin on to add nutrients & texture to dish). Simmer until squash is soft (about 1 hour). Remove pot from heat, drain, & set aside. With tongs, pull out chunks of squash & mash roughly, skins & all, with a fork, ricer, or potato masher.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In large bowl, mix drained cooked lentils & mashed squash with olive oil & all the spices (including salt & pepper). Spoon mixture into baking dish. At this point, you can cover the dish & refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. When you’re ready, bake until piping hot, about 20 minutes if you’re putting it into the oven right after mixing, or 25-30 minutes if it’s been refrigerated. Serve warm garnished with shredded coconut if you like and with a serving of wild greens, such as blanched chard. Serves two as a hearty main dish or four as a side dish.
Calories: 530; Protein: 32 g; carbs: 94 g; Fat: 8 g.
ALIGOT (MASHED POTATOES WITH CHEESE)
This is from Tejal Rao in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Tejal wrote, “Somewhere between buttery mashed potatoes and pure melted cheese lies aligot, the comforting, cheese-enhanced mashed-potato dish from central France. The key to getting a smooth, airy texture is to rice the potatoes while they're still hot, then incorporate cold butter, hot milk and grated cheese over low heat. To build up the stringiness of that melting cheese, Ham el-Waylly, a chef at the Brooklyn restaurant Hail Mary, suggests whipping it with confidence, speed and vigor. This is what will create aligot's characteristic cheese strings: long and sheer, with some elasticity. ‘They should fight with you,’ Waylly says. While fresh tomme or Cantal is traditional, Gruyère or Comté work well, too.”
Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.
This was featured in “Cheesy Mashed Potatoes for the Soul”, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/4 pound cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup cream, heated
1/2 pound Comté or Gruyère cheese, grated
Salt to taste
Preparation
Simmer the potatoes in water until very tender to the point of a knife, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, and tip out any remaining water from the pot. Push the hot potatoes through a ricer back into the pot. Over low heat, use a heatproof spatula to move the potatoes around the pot for a minute so that any excess water can evaporate.
Add butter to the potatoes, half at a time, stirring until completely incorporated. Add hot cream, half at a time, stirring until incorporated. Add cheese a little bit at a time, stirring vigorously, until all the cheese is evenly melted and the spoon makes cheesy strings as you pull it away from the potatoes. If necessary, turn the heat up a little. Taste, and season with salt. Serve.
RED VELVET CAKE
We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.
This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking.
1/2 C butter (see note)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T cocoa
2 1/4 C flour (sifted)
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8” round pans.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs.
Make paste of food coloring and cocoa. Add to first mix.
Add salt and buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla.
Dissolve soda in vinegar and add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.
Frosting For Red Velvet Cake
1 C butter (see note)
1 C milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T unbleached flour
Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour and milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes and add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.
NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy and refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9” round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.
SCOTTISH SCONES
Servings: 16
Source: Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine
Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/156.shtml
Ingredients
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp whipped butter
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup golden raisins
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add the butter and mix it into the flour with your fingers. Add buttermilk and knead into a soft dough. Knead in the raisins.
On a floured board, roll out the dough until 1/2" thick.
Cut dough into 16 rounds. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden in color.
Serve warm or let cool and store in an airtight container.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 97; Protein: 3 g; Fat: 3 g; Sodium: 115 mg; Cholesterol: 7 mg; Carbohydrates: 16 g; Exchanges: 1 Starch/Bread
SIMPLEST ROAST CHICKEN
This is from Mark Bittman, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Mark wrote, “With an ingredient list just four items long (chicken, olive oil, salt, pepper), the genius of this bare-bones roast chicken is in its technique. To make it, thoroughly preheat a cast-iron skillet before sliding into it a seasoned bird, breast side up. In under an hour you’ll get a stunner of a chicken, with moist, tender white meat, crisp, salty chicken skin, and juicy dark meat all done to a turn. If you don’t already have a cast-iron skillet large enough to hold a whole chicken, this recipe is a good enough reason to invest in one.”
Yield: 4 servings; Time: 50 to 60 minutes.
This was featured in “The Minimalist: Simplest Roast Chicken”, and can be viewed online here.
Note: Check out Melissa Clark’s guide, “How to Roast Chicken”.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Put a cast-iron skillet on a low rack in the oven and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Rub the chicken all over with the oil and sprinkle it generously with salt and pepper.
When the oven and skillet are hot, carefully put the chicken in the skillet, breast side up. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Continue to roast until the bird is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of the thigh reads 155 to 165 degrees.
Tip the pan to let the juices flow from the chicken’s cavity into the pan. Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. Carve and serve.
PASTA PRIMAVERA
This comes from Publix. Makes 4 servings.
12 ounces of dried linguine, ziti, or penne pasta
2 Tbl olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium red sweet pepper, sliced
1 medium yellow sweet pepper, sliced
1 small zucchini, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 C chicken or veggie broth
1 C snipped fresh basil
1/4 C finely shredded Parmesan cheese
2 Tbls pine nuts, toasted
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Return pasta to saucepan; cover & keep warm.
Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat olive oil. Add garlic & onions; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in carrots & sweet peppers. Cook & stir for 3 minutes. Add zucchini, salt, & pepper. Stir in chicken or veggie broth. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 minute or until vegetables are just tender.
Stir vegetable mixture & basil into pasta & toss. Transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with cheese & pine nuts. Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: Calories: 443; fat: 20 g (9 g sat. fat); chol: 38 mg; sodium: 328 mg; carbs: 51 g; fiber: 6 g; protein: 14 g.
CURRIED LENTILS WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH
This is from the October 2007 issue of Runner’s World.
1 C dry lentils
1 small butternut squash
1 Tbls olive oil
1 Tbls curry powder
1 tsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 C shredded coconut (optional)
Spray 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray & set aside. Pour lentils into deep pot & cover with cold water. Bring water to boil, reduce heat, & add raw chunks of the squash (leave skin on to add nutrients & texture to dish). Simmer until squash is soft (about 1 hour). Remove pot from heat, drain, & set aside. With tongs, pull out chunks of squash & mash roughly, skins & all, with a fork, ricer, or potato masher.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In large bowl, mix drained cooked lentils & mashed squash with olive oil & all the spices (including salt & pepper). Spoon mixture into baking dish. At this point, you can cover the dish & refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. When you’re ready, bake until piping hot, about 20 minutes if you’re putting it into the oven right after mixing, or 25-30 minutes if it’s been refrigerated. Serve warm garnished with shredded coconut if you like and with a serving of wild greens, such as blanched chard. Serves two as a hearty main dish or four as a side dish.
Calories: 530; Protein: 32 g; carbs: 94 g; Fat: 8 g.
ALIGOT (MASHED POTATOES WITH CHEESE)
This is from Tejal Rao in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Tejal wrote, “Somewhere between buttery mashed potatoes and pure melted cheese lies aligot, the comforting, cheese-enhanced mashed-potato dish from central France. The key to getting a smooth, airy texture is to rice the potatoes while they're still hot, then incorporate cold butter, hot milk and grated cheese over low heat. To build up the stringiness of that melting cheese, Ham el-Waylly, a chef at the Brooklyn restaurant Hail Mary, suggests whipping it with confidence, speed and vigor. This is what will create aligot's characteristic cheese strings: long and sheer, with some elasticity. ‘They should fight with you,’ Waylly says. While fresh tomme or Cantal is traditional, Gruyère or Comté work well, too.”
Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.
This was featured in “Cheesy Mashed Potatoes for the Soul”, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/4 pound cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup cream, heated
1/2 pound Comté or Gruyère cheese, grated
Salt to taste
Preparation
Simmer the potatoes in water until very tender to the point of a knife, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, and tip out any remaining water from the pot. Push the hot potatoes through a ricer back into the pot. Over low heat, use a heatproof spatula to move the potatoes around the pot for a minute so that any excess water can evaporate.
Add butter to the potatoes, half at a time, stirring until completely incorporated. Add hot cream, half at a time, stirring until incorporated. Add cheese a little bit at a time, stirring vigorously, until all the cheese is evenly melted and the spoon makes cheesy strings as you pull it away from the potatoes. If necessary, turn the heat up a little. Taste, and season with salt. Serve.
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