Friends Food Family

YUM YUM Cake or The Best Texas Sheet Cake

Back in the spring, we were having some friends for dinner and I was looking for an easy dessert. I was watching the Food Network and The Pioneer Woman was on. I have been following Ree Drummond ever since I started my food blog back in 2009. I love her recipes as well as her storytelling.

During her segment, she was making a Texas Sheet Cake and I kept thinking, I have a recipe for this somewhere. When I was younger, my Aunt Joyce would come to visit and she always made some interesting recipes that we didn't necessarily make in New England. She was originally from Alabama and traveled the world with my uncle as he served in the Navy. They lived in California, Japan, Texas, Hawaii, and Florida; and those are only the places I can remember, I know there were more. When she made this YUM YUM Cake, I remember it was more like a brownie, a gooey frosted brownie. It was dense and fudgy, sticky and sweet. Being the chocoholic that I am, this recipe always stuck with me. I went back into an old recipe folder and found the hand written recipe from my mother. Forty years later, it was almost identical. 

I went back and forth between the two recipes and decided to go with the additional cocoa as I do like chocolate. Ree's recipe definitely put a little more chocolate flavor into the cake; 4 tablespoons of cocoa VS 4 heaping tablespoons of cocoa. Both recipes taste delicious, one more fudgy than the other. The sheet cake is addictive and I say that because after you have a piece, you keep taking little slivers or wiping the spatula, gathering all the sweet gooeyness. You don't want to waste even a crumb! 

Since that time, I have made the cake a number of times. It's easy to make and within an hour the cake is mixed, baked and frosted. It can't get an easier than that. Our friends and family have definitely enjoyed this dessert, especially when they leave with a big slab of Texas Sheet Cake "to-go".

The best complement you can get from a dessert like this is...."Please don't make this dessert again because I can't stop eating it." Yup! I'll be making it again.

Tell us what you think. Did you like the cake? Do you make a cake similar to this? Share your favorite sheet cake recipes.

YUM YUM Cake or The Best Texas Sheet Cake 

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 13 x 18 sheet cake pan.

• 2 sticks of butter, melted
• 4 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup of boiling water

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter with cocoa. Add boiling water and boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add to dry ingredients below.

• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 cups of flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Add chocolate mixture. Stir until well blended.

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, baking soda and vanilla. Add this to the chocolate mixture in the large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cake springs back upon touch or a toothpick comes out clean. 

While the cake is baking, start making the frosting.

• 1 - 3/4 sticks of butter (14 tablespoons)
• 4 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa
• 6 tablespoons of milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 pound of confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 cup of chopped pecans

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter with cocoa. Remove from heat and using a hand whisk add milk and vanilla. Add confectioner's sugar 1/2 at a time, whisk until smooth. After 2 cups, start tasting the frosting. You shouldn't use anymore than 3 cups. I use about 2-3/4 cups total. Once you like the sweetness, add the pecans.

When the cake comes out of the oven, frost the cake. 

This cake will feed 18-24 people (or more). As much as it is delicious the first day you make it, it tastes even better the following day.

 (This is my mother's handwriting for my Aunt Joyce's recipe)

Easy Apple Cake Recipe

It's been a while and nice to be back writing about our love of cooking. As much as Jeff and I have been cooking up a storm, I have not been good about posting our recipes. It makes me sad when I think about all the great recipes I could have been sharing, especially the fresh vegetable recipes that we made with goodies from our garden. Now that the garden is done for the season, I feel like I have time to breathe and get back into telling our story.

We did quite a bit of canning this summer and I promise to backtrack through some of the recipes, especially the Red, Yellow and Green Tomato Salsas. I would have considered Jeff the canning expert but with everything we (and sometimes I) canned this summer, I officially took over as the "Canning Queen". Five different types of pickles, pickled beets, pickled jalapeños, tomato sauce, tomato salsa, pickled tomatoes, strawberry jam and the list goes on.

Moving into fall, we normally head to Carlson Orchards to spend the afternoon walking the orchard and picking a variety of apples. This year we were lazy, we opted for The Big Apple, which is local to us. When I mean lazy, we didn't pick any apples, just went in and bought 4 varieties of apples. I do know this, next year I want to pick apples. It was the first time in 10+ years that we hadn't and it's not something I want to put aside. I enjoy the apples as much as the experience.

The apples we got were delicious and within 3 weeks I have made honey applesauce, apple conserve, the Disappearing Apple Crisp, carrot cake jam and this delicious apple cake. When I was looking for a new apple dessert, I wanted something that wasn't too sweet and could be used as a snack or breakfast treat verses a dessert. I know this is a dessert but my idea of dessert for this cake would have been a cinnamon crumble topping...much more sugar. 

The ingredients are fairly straight forward and I had this cake put together in less than 30 minutes. The best part was I got to use this amazing cake pan. I'm not sure how old it is, but it is very special. My sister-in-law, Laura, gave it to me after her mom, Joan, passed away suddenly. Joan had always spent the holidays with us and loved to cook. She would bring us cookbooks as well as treats from her kitchen when she arrived. I'm so glad I have some of her bakeware because it reminds me of her as well as her love of baking. I think she would have enjoyed the apple cake.

The apple cake cooked up beautifully and once it cooled slightly, I had to have a taste. The cake was moist and the warm apples melted in my mouth. It had a nutty taste and it was the perfect sweetness. I love these types of cakes with a cup of coffee or tea at 3 PM in the afternoon; a "pick me up" snack. Jeff likes to have a sweet at night around 8 PM. "This is exactly what I was looking for... little bit of fruit, a few nuts and not a lot of sugar."

Now that we have a simple dessert for apples, I want to find a pumpkin snack cake for all the pumpkin I have and will be cooking over the next few weeks. If you have any suggestions, send them my way. I love highlighting family favorite recipes.

Enjoy!

Easy Apple Cake Recipe

Adapted from Food Mayhem

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup of white sugar

1 cup of canola or vegetable oil

2 teaspoons of vanilla

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

3 cups of apples - peeled, cored and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 cup of dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup of chopped pecans 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 or 12 inch cake tube pan.
2. Mix a small bowl, mix dry ingredients of flour, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon. Set Aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together for 1-2 minutes until the mixture begins to lighten. 
4. Slowly drizzle oil into the sugar and eggs and whisk continually until blended. The mixture will be slightly thickened and light yellow.
5. With a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients and mix until blended.
6. Add chopped apples, dried cranberries and pecans. 
7. The mixture will be thick.
8. Place in tube pan and bake on center rack for 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven when cake is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool on baking rack in pan.
10. Enjoy warm or cold.

Serves 8-10 people.

 

 

Tuscan Apple Cake

The other day, I was thumbing through some magazines and came across a Tuscan Apple Cake recipe. I knew I needed a quick dessert for the 4th of July and this recipe looked easy to make. The next day, as I gathered a few of the ingredients - I knew it had butter and 2 granny apples - I couldn't find the recipe. I looked at all the magazines we had in the kitchen and couldn't find it. It wasn't in Real Simple, Bon Appetit, or Foodies of New England. I searched the house and finally came upon a Tastes of Italia magazine from February 2013. At the top of the magazine it said, "Take a Trip to the Rolling Hills of Tuscany". I'm still not sure how I ended up with this magazine, but I found the recipe. 

What I liked about the recipe was the simplicity of the cake and the flavors that complemented it. The topping was made of almonds, sugar and lemon peel. The cake was very plain and there were only two apples in the cake. As I was making the recipe, my head was already filled with ideas...Could I add cinnamon? What if I used blueberries? Or maybe some different nuts? Oh, all the things I can do with a simple recipe.

Outside of grinding the almonds, I had the cake together and in the oven in less that 15 minutes. I don't know what it is, but there is nothing better than the smell of a cake cooking in the oven, even if it is 85 degrees outside. In 40 minutes the cake was done and I couldn't wait to taste it. 

After a paella dinner with friends (yes, I missed the photo opportunity on that recipe), we brewed some coffee and cut the cake. The top was a little loose, almost as if we sprinkled sugar on the cake rather than have baked it in. The apple cake was light and moist with a thin layer of apples through the center. It was the perfect dessert, not overly sweet and just enough as an after dinner dessert.

The next time I make this cake, there are a few combinations I would like to try:

1. Blueberries with pecans and lemon peel (zest)-or
2. Dried  cherries with pistachios and orange peel (zest)-or
3. Fresh blackberries with walnuts and lime peel (zest)-or
4. Raisins with walnuts, orange rind and a touch of cinnamon -or
5. Chocolate chips with hazelnuts and orange peel (zest)

There are endless possibilities, or I could stick to the basics and make a Tuscan Apple Cake. Enjoy!

Tuscan Apple Cake

Ingredients:

Topping - 

• 1 cup of almonds, ground
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• Lemon peel from 1 whole lemon

Cake - 

• 6 tablespoons of sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup of butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1-1/3 cups of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 2 granny apples, quartered and sliced thin

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8 or 9 inch round cake pan. Line with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, mix the ground almonds, 1/2 cup of sugar and lemon peel. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer. Beat the eggs and sugar for one minute on high.  

4. Add the butter and beat for another minute. Add the vanilla and incorporate.

5. Add the flour and baking powder and beat until well blended.

6. Pour into cake pan and place the apple on top, pushing them down into the batter.

7. Once the apples are covering the top, sprinkle with the sugar and nut mixture.

8. Press down slightly to pack the topping onto the cake.

9. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

10. Allow to cool on a rack. When taking the cake out of the pan, cover with a plate as the topping tends to be loose.

Serve warm or cooled. 

Extremely Moist Apple Cake Recipe

Oh, it's so nice to be back writing about food. For the past few months, I have been busy with some marketing projects and have neglected this blog, a food blog I have been writing for 5 years. I'm hoping with the time off, I will come back with fresh ideas and a passion to share everything we create.

Back in March, my mother was raving about a cake my cousin had brought to her house that week. She said it was a dense apple cake that was delicious. As the week went on, she commented on "the cake got better and better." She remarked that the flavors were amazing with chunky apples, raisins and walnuts. With Easter a week away, I decided I would make the recipe and have it for Easter breakfast.

A quick story on holiday breakfasts. Jeff and I normally have the three major holidays at our house. When I say major holidays, for us it is Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Being a mixed family with 6 children between us, there are traditions to where everyone will spend the holidays and they aren't always at the same place. Our tradition is "last resort". If you don't have a place to go, or don't want to attend a holiday celebration at another relatives house, you can stay at home and celebrate with us. Every holiday, I bake a special treat which we enjoy at breakfast. Sometimes it's a sour cream coffee cake, other times it might be a quick bread, muffins or scones. The talk of an apple cake, just prior to the holiday, was perfect.

I had my mother get the recipe from my cousin and she had some crazy explanations for how to make this cake. It started with, "Beat the vegetable oil and sugar, in a mixer, for 5 minutes on high". OK, I can see eggs and oil or sugar and eggs...or anything with eggs but I didn't get the sugar and oil being blended for 5 minutes. I followed the instructions, put all the remaining ingredients together and it was a lumpy looking cake. There were lots of apples and it seemed like there wasn't enough batter to cover them. Then again, this cake seemed a little wacky from the beginning. I put the cake in the oven and waited to see if this was going to be a delicious treat or a bust!

As you can tell from the picture, it came out beautifully. It smelled heavenly with a hint of cinnamon in the air. 

Family members were starting to mill through the kitchen, looking to taste this breakfast cake. It was extremely moist and flavorful, slightly dense but delicious. It was sweet but perfectly balanced with the apples, raisins and walnuts. And like my mother said, "Save a piece because it gets better every day." Jeff was able to squirrel away a piece that he enjoyed for a number of days. As he finished the last piece he said, "That got better every day, I can't believe it's gone"

My response, "Want me to make another?" and Jeff said, "Yeah, at Thanksgiving."

Extremely Moist Apple Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1-1/2 cups of vegetable oil
• 2 cups of sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 3 cups of apples, peeled and cut into chunks (1 inch)
• 1 cup of walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup of raisins

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9 inch tube cake pan.

2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda, set aside.

3. In a mixer with a paddle blade, mix together the vegetable oil and sugar, beat on high for 5 minutes.  

4. Add the eggs and beat until creamy, about 1 minute.

5. Add the vanilla and mix.

6. Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended.

7. Stir in, by hand, the apples, walnuts and raisins. The batter will be lumpy and you will feel like there isn't enough batter. Do not fear! :)

8. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

9. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Remove from tube pan. 

10. Serve warm alone or with ice cream.

11. Save some to eat over a few days. Like my mother says, "It gets better every day."

Feed 10-12 people.

 

 

 

Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

Where do I begin? Maybe with an apology? It has been the longest I have ever been away from blogging. My last post was in early September and then...life got in the way. Jeff and I were planning a trip to France and leaving the first week in October. As we tried to get many of our work commitments taken care of, things needed to be done around the house and it seemed like we were coming home later and later and cooking less and less. I knew that once we got back from vacation, I would jump back into cooking, baking and blogging.

After eating the most amazing French food for 12 days, we came home with some great ideas for the blog. The first thing we did was have a "guinea pig" dinner with our close friends. For those not familiar with guinea pig dinner, we invite friends and tell them we are trying some new recipes and ask if they would like to be our victims or guinea pigs. We haven't had anyone turn us down and I am proud to say everyone has lived. Last night, we decided to find some French recipes, pair them with some great French wines and talk about our adventures from Paris to Aix-en-Provence.

We have a few French cookbooks but our favorite is Dorie Greenspan's "around my french table". We have made numerous recipes from this cookbook and the dishes always turn out wonderful. Now that we have been to France and tasted some of the cuisine, the recipes brought back great memories. Marie-Helene's Apple Cake seemed to be the perfect choice for dessert.

So, we chose a squash soup for a first course, a veal dish for the dinner and an apple cake for dessert. I will start with dessert and work back into the meal. What I loved abut this recipe was the limited number of ingredients and the ease of making it. I started by cutting my apples and chose 4 different types: MacIntosh, Jonagold, Fuji and Macoun. The recipes couldn't have been any easier...eggs, sugar, vanilla, flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt and dark rum. The smell of the dark rum was amazing. When I put it into the cake, I realized that the basics to this recipe had been kicked-up a notch. 

Into the oven it went and I waited an hour and then some. Once it was golden brown, I removed it from the oven. As the cake cooked, it didn't look like the cake Dorie made. Mine looked like I had more apples, but none the less, it still looked delicious. The smell of apple cake filled the kitchen. I let the cake cool and put it aside until dinner was finished. When I brought out the cake, you could smell the apples and a hint of the rum, I couldn't wait to have a bite. After cutting the cake and serving it with the vanilla creme fraiche, I grabbed a fork and dug in. It was slightly dense but sweet and tart, there was a taste of rum which tied in nicely as the cake wasn't overly sweet. All the guests agreed, it was the perfect ending to a wonderful evening of french cuisine. With only a small wedge left, it was devoured by lunch today. 

This is a great dessert that is simple to make and wonderful to eat! Apples are in season, so grab a few varieties and try this recipe before the holidays. Maybe instead of an apple pie, you might want this apple cake. If not, this would be a wonderful dessert to serve on any cold afternoon with a hot cup  of cinnamon coffee. Bon appetit!

Marie-Helen's Apple Cake (Adapted from Dorie Greenspan)

Ingredients:

4 large apples (your choice of apples), peeled, cored and cut into 2 inch cubes

3/4 cup of flour

3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

A pinch of salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup of sugar

3 tablespoons of dark rum

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of butter (8 tablespoons), melted and cooled slightly

1 small container of vanilla creme fraiche

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and generously butter an 8 inch springform pan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the pan on it.

2. In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and pinch of salt. Put aside.

3. In a medium bowl, add the 2 large eggs and whisk until foamy. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended about one minute.

4. Whisk in the vanilla and the rum.

5. Add half the flour mixture to the bowl. Whisk until blended. Add half the melted butter, and whisk until smooth. Repeat again, finishing the flour and butter.

6. Using a spatula, fold in the apples chunks.

7. Place in the oven for 70-80 minutes or until slightly golden on the top or a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Place on a cooling rack.

8. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then run a knife around the edges of the springform pan and then remove the sides, allowing the cake to further cool.

9. Serve with a small side of vanilla creme fraiche...perfect!

9. After serving, this cake lasts for 2-3 days. It can be left out and you don't need to cover the top. Use plastic wrap or wax paper to cover cut sides.

Cinnamon Raisin Buttermilk Coffee Cake

(Delicious Cinnamon Raisin Buttermilk Coffee Cake)

On Mother's Day, we serve a big breakfast for both the Sankey and White families. We open it up to all siblings and their families to enjoy a big breakfast with their mother.

As I was shopping for all the breakfast supplies, I knew I wanted to make one of our family favorites, Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberries. I picked up a large container of buttermilk and upon arriving home, realized I already had buttermilk. So, with two containers of buttermilk, I knew I would be making more than Buttermilk Pancakes. 

Usually, when our family comes for a holiday or special occasion meal, we make a coffee cake. People will snack on it prior to the meal with a cup of coffee. I decided to look for a recipe that had buttermilk and found this Raisin Buttermilk Coffee Cake from Taste of Home. There weren't many ingredients and I knew I could mix it, get it in the pan and basically have it coming out of the oven just prior to guests arriving for breakfast.

We served our cinnamon raisin buttermilk cake warm from the oven. Our mothers got the first taste and I always know that when it ends with, "Could I have just a little bit more?", it's good! Everyone grabbed pieces to enjoy with their coffee as we finished the bacon, eggs and pancakes. My favorite part to making a quick coffee cake is being able to send a little sweetness home with our guests. My daughter enjoyed the biggest piece of cake as she left to go back to her apartment in South Boston, "My roommates will love this, they like everything you make!" I guess as a mother, knowing your kids (and their friends) love what you make, it's worth every recipe.

This works as a great breakfast cake as well as a snack cake, it was very light and melted in your mouth. The cinnamon topping added just enough sweetness to not overpower the cake. There are times I love a bread or cake that has lots of topping but for something light before our breakfast, it was perfect. I even got my nephew, Matthew, to try it and he doesn't like raisins. He said he really liked it.

Try a pan full of cinnamon raisin buttermilk coffee cake, it's easy and your family will love it.

Cinnamon Raisin Buttermilk Coffee Cake (Adapted from Taste of Home)

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Topping
1 cup of brown sugar, packed
1 cup of chopped walnuts (we toasted ours, slightly)
1/3 cup of butter, melted
2 tablespoons of flour
4 teaspoons of cinnamon

In a small bowl, using a fork, combine the 5 topping ingredients and mix until you have a coarse crumb consistency. Put aside.

Coffee Cake Batter
1/2 cup of butter, softened
1-1/2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
3 cups of flour
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
2 cups of buttermilk
1 cup of raisins

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together using a mixer (hand or stand alone).
3. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating them into the butter and sugar mixture.
4. Add half the flour mixture and then half of the buttermilk mixture, alternating until the mixture is completely combined.
5. Mix in the raisins.
6. Place 1/2 the batter in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 the cinnamon brown sugar topping. Put remaining batter on top, finish with the remaining topping.
7. Bake in oven for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool slightly and depending on whether you want to enjoy a warm piece or cooled, slice and serve.
Feeds 12-15 people.

 

The BEST Lemon Raspberry Cake with Lemon Icing

(Lemon Raspberry Cake with Lemon Icing)

Happy Birthday to Jeff! Here's a Lemon Raspberry Birthday Cake with Lemon Icing for You!

This past week we celebrated Jeff's Birthday. Every year when I make his cake, I always try and find something different. For me, it's chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. For Jeff, it is normally something fruit based. I know he is a fan of berries...blueberries, strawberries, raspberries...you get the idea. So, I looked up a number of cake recipes, had some ideas floating around my head and went to the market to get my supplies. Lemons, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, seedless raspberry jam and buttermilk, an odd combination but stay with me.

The cake I choose was from Ina Garten called Lemon Cake. As I was looking at the ingredients, a few things piqued my interest. First was the amount of lemon zest and lemon juice that was used in the recipe. I knew this would give the cake a nice lemony flavor. The second ingredient was the buttermilk. I love using buttermilk when I bake and slightly tangy taste it adds to a recipe. Between the sugary icings and the sour ingredients, this recipe sounded delicious. 

I decided to make the lemon raspberry cake in cake pans versus loaf pans. I knew the consistency would be similar to a loaf cake or pound cake but I wanted something that looked like a birthday cake. Originally I was going to make the cake in a tube pan and fill the center with a mixture of the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Somewhere between making the cake and baking the cake, I put the batter in cake pans.

Looking back, I'm glad I did. This cake is so good, you really want to appreciate the pure lemoniness of the dessert. I struggle sometimes with doing "too much" to a recipe. As food bloggers, I think we are always trying to "kick it up a notch" when we really don't have to. I decided to make the recipe and add a few basic elements to enhance the cake.

After baking the cake and assembling it with raspberry jam, I knew I had something tasty. The ingredients came together easily, it baked up perfectly and assembled quickly for one of the prettier cakes we have made. It looked and smelled AMAZING! After singing "Happy Birthday", we quickly cut into the cake. With a little bit of berry sherbet, the cake was delicious. Just enough sweet and tangy. Jeff kept saying, "This is probably the BEST lemon raspberry cake I have ever eaten." And you have to remember, we cook and bake all the time!

We have been savouring this cake all week. I have been slicing slivers for breakfast while Jeff has been enjoying it as his nightly dessert. You can now begin to understand how we enjoy our sweets!

Hold on to this Lemon Raspberry Cake with Lemon Icing recipe, think - a perfect Mother's Day, graduation or cook-out dessert. Your guests won't be disappointed, and neither will you!

Ingredients for the Lemon Raspberry Cake with Lemon Icing:
1 cup of butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
2 cups of sugar
4 large eggs, at room temp
1/3 cup of grated lemon zest (2-3 lemons)
3 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 cup of lemon juice, freshly squeezed
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temp
1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Lemon Syrup:
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 jar of seedless raspberry jam

For the icing:
2-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 tablespoons of lemon juice, freshly squeezed

For garnish:
fresh raspberries and mint leaves

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour (2) 8 inch cake pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (the mixture is grainy). With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon zest.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter until completely incorporated. Divide the batter between the 2 pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

4. In a small sauce pan, combine the lemon juice and sugar to make the lemon syrup. Cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

5. After removing the cakes from the oven, allow the cakes to cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the pans and brush the top and sides of the cake with the lemon syrup. Allow cakes to cool completely.

6. Prior to assembling the cake, place 1/2 to 3/4 cup of raspberry jam in a small pan and warm to melt the jam. Remove and cool slightly.

7. For the icing, place the lemon juice and confectioner's sugar in a bowl and mix until smooth. The texture should be thick, white and spreadable, adjust the sugar and lemon juice as needed.

8. To assemble the cake, place the first layer on a plate, spread the raspberry jam over the top of the cake and allow it to drizzle down the sides. Place the second layer on top and spread the icing over the top, again, allowing the frosting to drizzle down the sides.

We garnished the lemon raspberry cake with a few fresh raspberries and mint leaves. Cut and enjoy!

Pigs in the Mud Peanut Butter Fudge Cake - Piggy Cake

Last week I saw a picture on my Google+ account of a cake with pigs. It was adorable. Sadly, the only thing I know about the cake is a link which came from tumblr called Pigs in Mud Cake. I decided to post it on my Facebook account expecting the same amount of comments that I normally receive...between 4-6.

After a large response to the picture, people were looking for the recipe. So, last night my daughter, Danielle, and I decided to make the cake. I went to the local craft store to look for fondant. You need this to make the pigs for the cake. It is similar marizpan, and edible. I was able to find Duff's Fondant, the cake creator from Ace of Cakes. He has a line of fondant which happens to come in pink. Since I couldn't open the container of fondant in the store, I decided to buy some white fondant, too. I stopped by the ribbon section and bought a flowery designed ribbon to tie around my cake. 

Next stop was the grocery store. I didn't want to make a cake from scratch (I can't believe that came out of my mouth!) so I grabbed a box of Devil's Food Cake, a few packages of Kit Kat bars and some heavy cream. I now had everything I needed.

We made the cake according to directions and placed the batter in two 8" cake pans. While the cake was baking, we made the ganache and put it aside to cool to room temperature and then started mixing the frosting. We decided on a peanut butter frosting because of the dark chocolate ganache. We make this cake called the Reese's Peanut Butter Cake. It has dark chocolate cake, peanut butter frosting and then we put chocolate ganache all over the cake. It is a huge hit, wherever we take it. Oh, and there are no calories...

After the cake and ganache were cooled, we started by frosting the cake with the peanut butter frosting. We kept the center and top frosting thinner than the sides. I needed the kit kat bars to stick and I didn't want the cake to be any higher than it needed to be. There isn't much length to a Kit Kat bar.

We opened the Kit Kat's and broke each package into 2 bars. We did find there were some height issues so I took a bag of Hershey's Mini Kisses and put a row of them at the bottom of the cake. We then placed the Kit Kats above the mini kisses which made the fence for the pigs the right height.

We let the cake rest and started making our pigs. The pink fondant was very bright so we added white fondant to the pink. It softened the color quite a bit and we decided to have brighter pink pigs rather than flesh colored. In hindsight, we probably should have mixed the pink fondant into the white. It would have given the white a perfect rosy color.

NOTE: Please look at the pigs on the cake for ideas. We also found a video on making fondant pigs at Candy Ribbon Sweets. Take a look, it will give you some ideas.

Once your pigs are made, pour the chocolate ganache on the top of the cake. It should be thick enough to swirl and the consistency of mud. Place your pigs. Our pigs were probably bigger than the original photo but I do like that they fill the pig pen.

Tie a ribbon around the cake and you are done!

I hope you enjoy the cake as much as we have. We are looking forward to making the "Pigs in the Mud" Cake again. Our biggest problem...we didn't want to cut it because it looked too (pig) pretty!

Ingredients for the Pigs in the Mud Cake:
1 box of your favorite cake mix - we used Devil's Food Cake
1 package of Hershey's Mini Kisses
6 Kit Kat Bars, broken into two sticks each
ribbon for decoration

Peanut Butter Frosting
1-1/2 cups of softened butter
1-1/2 cups of chunky peanut butter
2 teaspoons of vanilla
3-4 cups of confectioner's sugar

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup of heavy cream
2-1/2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon of butter

Pigs
1 - 8 ounce container of pink buttercream fondant
1 - 8 ounce container of white buttercream fondant

Preparation:

1. Starting with your favorite cake mix, make according to manufacturer's directions. Bake in 2 - 8" round cake pans.

2. While cake is baking, start the chocolate ganache. In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, add the heavy cream and heat until there is a slight simmer around the edges. Do not allow it to boil.

3. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips. Allow to sit for a minute or two and then begin to mix the melted chocolate with the cream. Once the ganache is completely incorporated, add the butter. Put aside and allow the mixture to cool completely.

4. Start the peanut butter frosting : In a mixing bowl (using a beater), beat the butter and peanut butter together until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat. Start by adding one cup of confectioner's sugar at a time. Beat until blended. After the 3rd cup taste the frosting. Adjust the confectioner's sugar to your taste. We like a less sweet frosting so the peanut butter flavor will come through. We put in about 1/2 to 3/4 cup more.

5. Soften fondant according to directions. Our fondant was very pink so we mixed half white and half pink to softened the color. Making it again, I would probably use more white and add pink to it for a lighter pink. Using a knife and toothpicks, create pigs. For tails - we wrapped a thin piece of fondant around a skewer and let it set for a minute or two, then removed it. Create your pigs (look at the two pictures for ideas...be creative!). See the link above for a video of making fondant pigs.

Assembly: (please read storyline for more in depth directions)

1. Place one layer of cake on a plate or platter and frost top and sides with peanut butter frosting. Add second layer and frost the top and sides.

2. Place a row of Hershey Mini Kisses around the base of the cake.

3. Line the Kit Kat bars around the cake in sets of two. It takes 11-12 (sets of 2 kit kats) to surround the cake.

4. Pour chocolate ganache on the top of the cake and swirl.

5. Add pigs and tie with a ribbon a choice.

6. Stand back and smile, your "Pigs in the Mud" Cake is complete!

Written by Tricia White

Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cake

The holidays were full of such wonderful desserts. From cookies to cakes and pies, I don't think I went through the month of December without tasting something homemade...and most days it was for breakfast.

In my Pumpkin Crunch Cake post, which we made for Thanksgiving, I mentioned a chef named Dennis Littley. He is such an inspiration, not only as a chef but as a social media expert in Google+. He has a blog called A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis which has amazing recipes as well as stories about food. Around Thanksgiving, he had posted a recipe for Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cake. It looked mouth-watering and the recipe seemed pretty easy.

The first time I made the cake was for our annual Christmas gathering. I love trying new recipes because I have 20+ people to use as taste testers. From the first slice to the last, people enjoyed the delicious flavor of this ricotta cake. It was crunchy, yet had a smooth sweet texture. I added Grand Marnier and orange rind to my cake which complemented the chocolate and ricotta. For me, this cake was a great success.

On to Christmas...

Since the Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cake was such a success, I decided to make it for our Christmas Eve dessert. With the craziness of the day, I didn't have any mascarpone cheese and had taken out a package of cream cheese, knowing I could substitute the two. Jeff made a last minute run to the market and picked up the mascarpone cheese I needed. I mixed together the ingredients and got the cake into the oven before the guests arrived. I was so excited to have people try the ricotta cake again. Then, it dawned on me...it's a ricotta cake and I didn't put any ricotta in it. I grabbed the cream cheese and mascarpone and completely forgot about the ricotta. Hmmm...I think I have a cheese cake. There was nothing I could do, so I finished the cake and we served it for dessert. The center was a bit heavy (probably an understatement) and 1/2 the cake sat on the plate until I threw it out about a week later. OK, I need to put that recipe to rest for a while.

On to my After Christmas Holiday Party...

This year, we were going to Tammi's house for our office party. Tammi is not only my co-worker but my social media partner in crime. She writes a great dog blog called Gracies Bark. I volunteered to make the Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cake and I was dreading it. We were picking up the ingredients when I came across coffee-flavored mascarpone cheese. My eyes lit up! This would be perfect for the cake. I couldn't wait to get home to try this out...coffee, ricotta, chocolate and orange...that sounded pretty good. Paying attention this time, I got the ricotta and coffee-flavored mascarpone into the cake.

The first cut went to my boss's husband, Mike, who really enjoyed the cake. We proceeded to cut the cake into large and small pieces and had people guessing what was in it. They loved the orange flavor as well as the subtle chocolate tone. Everyone agreed, it melted in your mouth. It was nice leaving the last piece with Tammi, so no leftovers...SUCCESS!

This Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cake is back on my favorite's list and for good reason...if I can arrive or make a dessert and end up with an empty plate at the end of the evening, it's worth blogging about.

Ingredients for Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cake

Cake

2-1/3 cups of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 egg
1 tablespoon of milk
1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier or orange flavored liquor
8 oz of very cold butter sliced thinly

Filling

8 ounces of ricotta
8 ounces of mascarpone (We used coffee flavored mascarpone)
1 large egg
3/4 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of freshly grated orange rind
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation

1. In a food processor, place all of the cake ingredients into the bowl (except for the butter) and pulse for 30 seconds.
2. Cut the butter into thin slices and add it to the mixture. Using short, quick pulses, mix until chunky (about 8-10 quick pulses). The mixture will be blended but chunky.
3. Press half of the mixture gently into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan that has been greased with butter and dusted with flour. Do note mash down the mixture.
4. Mix the ricotta, mascarpone, egg, sugar and orange rind together using a fork.
5. Add the mini chocolate chips and stir to blend.
6. Spread the mixture evenly on top of the crust.
7. Crumble the remainder of the crust over the filling, covering the filling completely *
8. Bake in a preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes at 350°
9. Remove from oven when the top is golden and slightly firm.
10. Cool on wire rack and serve at room temperature.

Slice and share...no fighting!

Written by Tricia White

The Incredible Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Every year, we have our traditional array of desserts at Thanksgiving. An assortment of pies ranging from apple to pumpkin, a cranberry apple bread pudding and a large bowl of Chocolate Oreo Cookie Trifle. Every year, I try and bring a new twist to one of our menu items. This year, we needed a new dessert and I think I have found it...Pumpkin Crunch Cake!

A few months ago, I started following Chef Dennis Littley on Google+. As some of you know, I teach social media marketing and many times tend to engage with people within the marketing industry. I am always leary about pushing out recipes to social media marketers, which is kind of weird, they do eat! I had a few food blogger within my Google+ circles but I will say, interaction was at a minimum. Chef Dennis invited me to a few of his Chef Hangouts, where you can interact with chefs during an on-line cooking demonstration. The timing to a few of them was difficult, but one day he invited me to a hang-out to discuss Google+. I figured that would be great...food and social media. I have been using Google+ since it started in July 2011 and thought I knew most aspects of the platform. 

Taking the class with Chef Dennis was amazing. He came at Google+ in the direction of a foodie vs a social media marketer. It was a wonderful class learning things that could enhance my food blog vs my social media knowledge. Since the class, I have had a great time connecting with food bloggers and chefs. 

Recently, Chef Dennis started posting about his Pumpkin Crunch Cake. With Kate (Jeff's daughter) being the Queen of Birthday Cakes, I sent her the recipe and said we need to make this cake. As life got in the way, I wasn't able to make the cake until the night before Thanksgiving. Of course, I was supposed to have 4 cake pans for this 4 layer cake and I had 4 cake pans, just not all the same size. I decided I would make (2) two layer cakes. It worked out perfectly since we were having a small group for Thanksgiving and my daughter, Danielle, had a Pre-Thanksgiving party to attend. I thought this would be perfect as I could get reviews from Danielle's party.

The cake was interesting to make as your create a crunch layer on the bottom of each pan that becomes a caramel crust to the cake. Put that between cream cheese frosting and you will think you died and went to heaven. The best part of making this cake was the reaction of those that ate it. I must share:

Comments from Danielle: (I can't do justice to these comments, but they were funny)

"Oh my God, Danielle, that cake your mom made is amazing" and "This is good cake!"

Comments from our house:

"This is amazing" , "I don't even like pumpkin cake and I'll have another slice!", "Better than Carrot Cake" and lastly, I cut a piece for my mother and she said, "Oh, please cut that piece in half, I won't eat all of that." Two minutes later, she said, "I'll take that other piece."

Me: I could have sat eating small slices and devoured the entire cake because I would have said I was only eating slivers!

This cake is sweet, but it is balanced perfectly with the frosting being more creamy (less sugar). The cake is a cross between a carrot style cake and a coffee cake, the sweetness of a crunchy topping and the moistness of a vegetable based cake.

As we begin to round out our holiday season, I will be making this for our annual Christmas Party as well as our Christmas Eve dinner. The first party is so I can introduce more of my friends to this incredible Pumpkin Crunch Cake, the second is a request. My Thanksgiving guests liked the cake so much, they put in a request for Christmas Eve.

Is there a reason why you shouldn't make this cake? 

Ingredients for Pumpkin Crunch Cake:

Crunch Topping
3 cups of walnuts, finely chopped
3 cups of vanilla wafers (about 75 cookies)
3 cups of brown sugar
1-1/2 cups of butter, melted

Pumpkin Crunch Cake
1-1/4 cups of white sugar
10 tablespoons of softened butter
1-16 oz can solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
2-1/2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla
1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice
2-1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
4 large eggs

Cream Cheese Frosting
16 oz of cream cheese, softened
8 oz of mascarpone (or cream cheese)*
1/2 cup of butter, softened
2 cups of confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla

Preparation:

Crunch Topping
1. In a food processor, pulse cookies to a fine crumb, then Pulse
walnuts to a fine chop. Add the brown sugar and mix well. Add in the
melted butter and blend together.
2. Divide mixture into 4 coated cake pans (one very full cup per pan),
pressing into bottom and spreading it evenly into the cake pans.
Reserve about 2 cups of the mixture which will be baked to use on the
sides of the cake.
3. Set pans aside.


Pumpkin Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In your mixer, beat sugar and butter for about 5 minutes until
light and fluffy, scrapping down the bowl frequently .
3. Add in pumpkin and all the rest of the ingredients, except the eggs.
Mix just until blended.
4. Add in the eggs, one at a time just until blended.
5. Divide batter equally into your 4 prepared cake pans, make it as
even as possible in the pan.
6. Place remaining crunch mixture in another cake pan or pie dish and
allow to bake for the same amount of time as the cakes.It will melt together
and look like a brittle.
7. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center
comes out clean.
If you use 2 racks to bake on in the oven, at the halfway mark rotate the pans .
8. Allow pans to cool about 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire
racks and allow to completely cool.
9. Break up the extra crunch mix to very small bits to use as a
final decoration for the cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Whip the cream cheese, mascarpone, and butter till very smooth and creamy,
about 2-3 minutes.
2. Slowly add in the confectioner's sugar while mixer is on low.
3. Add in vanilla and mix well. Set aside.

Assemble your Pumpkin Crunch Cake

1. After your cake is completely cooled, begin frosting the layers
and putting the cake together.
2. Place cake side down with the crunch topping faceup.
3. Frost layers first and then sides.
4. Place crunch topping mixture on top and sides.

Note:
If your cake sticks too the bottom of the pan, place it on a burner of
your stove for about 15 seconds, the heat will help release the cake from the pan.
This process works for all cakes. Just be careful and judge how hot and evenly
your stove top heats the pan. After heating place a plate on top of the pan,
and invert quickly. Tap the pan with the heal of a knife to help release the cake.

Written by Tricia White

Chocolate-Coffee Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream and Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate-Coffee Cupcakes with Cinnamon Creme and Chocolate Ganache, it's a long title for a fairly easy cupcake. I say, fairly easy as I had planned numerous things for this chocolate cupcake. On Tuesday morning, my friend Diane Dias (owner of Our Good Dog Spot) and her daughter, Emily, stopped by to have me photograph some pictures of a veggie burger Emily was submitting to a contest. I wanted to have some muffins for breakfast and went to see what I had for quick packaged mixes. 

NOTE: Do not be shocked...I do use pre-packaged mixes sometimes! :)

The other morning, Chef Dennis Littley (what a great chef - follow him on Facebook or Google+) posted "Who doesn't love chocolate cake for breakfast!!" and those seven little words haven't left my brain. I grabbed a box of chocolate devil's food cake and thought...chocolate cake, chocolate muffins, we are having chocolate cake for breakfast!

So this is what I did for the chocolate-coffee cupcakes:

1 box of Chocolate Devil's Food cake mix

French Vanilla Coffee (cooled)

1 cup of miniature chocolate chips

Make cake according to package instructions. Substitute the coffee where you would normally add the water and stir in the chocolate chips after you have thoroughly mixed the cake. This made 18 cupcakes when filled 3/4 of the way in the cupcake tin. Bake according to directions.

This made an amazing batch of chocolate-coffee cupcakes. They were warm, light and fluffy and you could taste a hint of coffee. After enjoying 6 of the muffins, I still had 12 left. My family likes cake, but it doesn't get eaten as quickly as you would think. For the rest of the day my mind was buzzing. I originally wanted to add cinnamon to the cupcakes but decided not to at the last minute. I kept thinking Mexican Hot Chocolate which is coffee, chocolate and cinnamon. How about a cinnamon cream frosting or filling and a chocolate frosting finish.

The next part of my plan, the cinnamon cream filling:

1/2 cup of softened butter

1-1/3 cups of confectioner's sugar (+ a few tablespoons)

2-3 tablespoons of half and half cream

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

With a hand mixer (or full mixer), whip the butter until smooth, add 2/3 cup of confectioner's sugar, mix until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of half and half, the vanilla and cinnamon, mixing again until smooth. Add the remaining 2/3 cup of confectioner's sugar, mix until smooth. Taste the frosting. It should be sweet with a smooth, soft consistency. If you like your frosting sweeter, add more sugar. If the frosting is a little stiff, add more cream.

Cut a circle in the top of the cupcake, about an inch in from the rim. Cut at an angle so the piece will have a cone shape to it when it is removed. Fill the hole with a slightly full tablespoon of frosting. Push the cake top back into the cupcake. It will sit slightly higher than the cupcake. (See bottom cupcake.)

Now for the chocolate frosting. I had filled the cupcake with cinnamon cream and now I needed something for the top. My new favorite frosting is bittersweet chocolate ganache. It complements a sweet cake and frosting without overpowering the two.

To make the chocolate ganache:

1/2 cup of half and half cream

1 1/4 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon of butter

In a small sauce pan over a medium flame, heat the half and half until small bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips. Once they are melted and the ganche is smooth, stir in 1 tablespoon of butter. When the mixture is cool, frost the cupcakes.

I did have some extra cinnamon cream and chocolate ganche left over, so my son, Stephen and I were enjoying a few little spoonfuls of cinnamon cream dipped in chocolate. DELICIOUS!

The following day I brought some of the cupcakes to work with me. As I was sitting in the conference room of the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce, the director, Kara, came downstairs and said, "Oh, my GOD!" And I said, "Is everything OK?", and she said, "Those cupcakes were amazing!" Those types of complements put a big smile on my face. Nothing better than making something that people truly enjoy.

It's so rewarding being in the kitchen and creating different types of food. Have some fun with everyday kitchen ingredients because you never know what you might create!

Lemon Cake with a Creamy Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Everybody loves cake...and our Lemon Cake with the Creamy Lemon Frosting was definitely the dessert everyone enjoyed.

Since January, we have been baking cakes on a regular basis. Jeff's daughter, Kate, has become the "Cake Queen" as she has been making birthday cakes for some of her co-workers. What started as a fun gesture has turned into a "mini" cake business. People will now request flavors for their birthday. We have made our Peanut Butter Cup Cake - chocolate cake, peanut butter frosting and bittersweet chocolate ganache, our Almond Joy Cake with coconut frosting, Visitandine with Strawberries and Sarabeth's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

When Jeff's birthday arrived at the end of April, we weren't sure what we would make. I am a chocoholic, so a jar of bittersweet chocolate ganache would have suited me fine. Jeff loves fruit. Yes, healthy...but not as much fun as chocolate, unless you dip the fruit in it. I had a yellow boxed cake mix and limited time so this is what I did.

Recipe for Lemon Cake -

1 box of yellow cake mix

Prepare according to directions, but add

2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the water to equal the directed amount

Rind of one lemon

...to mix and bake according to instructions.

Once I had the cake made, I was trying to figure out how I would frost it. I didn't want to add a glaze because I felt like we would have a coffee cake VS a birthday cake. I looked at a few different recipes and came up with this

Creamy Lemon Buttercream Frosting - which I dubbed Lemonade Frosting.

1 cup of butter, at room temperature

3-4 cups of confectioner's sugar

Rind of 2 lemons

Juice of 2 lemons - should yield about 1/2 cup.

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

A pinch of salt

In a mixing bowl, cream butter with beaters, on medium high, until smooth and creamy 1-2 minutes. Add 1 cup of confectioner's sugar. Beat until well blended, add the vanilla, pinch of salt, and 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Beat again until blended. Add another cup of confectioner's sugar and beat until creamy 1-2 minutes. Add lemon rind and another cup of confectioner's sugar. Add lemon juice by the tablespoon to get to the smooth spreadable consistency you like. Taste the frosting and adjust to your taste. We like our lemon frosting a bit buttery VS sugary. We use about 3 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar. When it tastes like lemonade...you are there!

Frost cooled cake.

We served Jeff's birthday cake with fresh strawberries...

1 pint of sliced strawberries with 1 tablespoon of sugar - Mix together.

Place in refrigerator for about one hour. Spoon over cake slices.

This truly became the new "favorite" cake at our house. The cake had a hint of lemon and the frosting was extra lemony which gave it a perfect balance. Sweet and sour, yet melt in your mouth. The photo you see was taken on the cake plate. This was a tiny corner of the cake which was left on the plate a day later. Feeling bad, I snapped the picture and ate the last piece. DEE-licious!

 

Friends Food Family | Quick and Easy Recipes | Delicious Lemon Desserts

Sarabeth's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

We were laughing this morning about how Easter was last weekend, yet it seems like we celebrated it weeks ago. We are still eating ham, and ham related dishes along with the last of the desserts which include biscotti, brownies and carrot cake.

When my kids were little, one of our favorite desserts at Easter was carrot cake. That was one of my signature desserts. But somewhere between the move to Easton, MA 9 years ago, then a second move and a basement flooding, I lost a few of my community cookbooks. You know, those great cookbooks put together through non-profit organizations that always include an old family favorite.

Between the carrot cake and the spinach squares (another one of our favorites), I've never really looked to find another recipe. 

Last year, Jeff and I bought Sarabeth's Bakery - From My Hands to Yours. It truly has become one of our staple cookbooks, especially where dessert is my favorite dish. I found a great carrot cake recipe, but she didn't frost hers. I definitely wanted something with frosting and I knew I could whip something together once the cake was made. It had all the ingredients from my old recipe...carrots, pineapple, walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. The rest of the ingredients were simple and I had the cake mixed and in the oven in about 10 minutes. The toughest part was shredding the carrots, which the food processor did quite well.

As the cake baked, I pulled together some ingredients which I knew would produce a tasty frosting. I used a stick of butter to one package of cream cheese, some vanilla, powdered sugar and milk...it was the perfect mixture as well as the perfect amount to frost a two layer cake. I made the cake a day ahead and frosted it once the layers were cooled.

We served two favorite desserts, my mother's famous cheesecake with strawberries and the carrot cake...along with some homemade biscotti and some fudgy shortbread brownies (the next blog article). You always need finger food desserts, no matter how many rich desserts you serve. ;) The carrot cake was moist and flavorful with hints of cinnamon and toasted walnuts. The frosting was perfect and the responses were a riot. We had 18 people for dinner on Easter and most tried the carrot cake. They would come up to me after and say, "Ya know, that was really good carrot cake"...as if it were a secret. Even Jeff, who only tasted a bite on Easter, reminded me a few days later of how good the carrot cake was.

I'm glad I re-discovered carrot cake. It's been too long to go without this gooey, moist, sweet and ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS cake. Thank you Sarabeth, you truly make the BEST carrot cake.

Ingredients:

Carrot Cake:

1 cup of all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

½ teaspoon of kosher salt

1 cup of superfine sugar (we couldn’t find it so we used regular white sugar and put it through a food processor for 2 minutes)

2/3 cup of vegetable oil

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1½ cups of shredded carrots

1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple, well drained (½ cup)

½ cup of walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

½ cup of seedless raisins

Frosting:

½ cup of butter, at room temperature

1 (8-oz.) package of cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon of vanilla

A pinch of salt

2 cups of confectioner’s sugar (plus or minus for your desired sweetness)

2 tablespoons of milk

½ cup of walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

 

Preparation:

1. Preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour the inside of 2 8 inch cake pans and tap out the excess flour.

2. Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl.

3. Combine the sugar, oil, and eggs in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until the mixture has thickened slightly and is light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low.

4. In thirds, add the flour mixture and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, just until the batter is smooth. Add the carrots, pineapple, walnuts, and raisins and mix until combined.

5. Pour into the prepared pans and smooth the top with a spatula.

6. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert and un-mold the cakes onto the rack and let cool completely.

7. Using the mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt.

8. Add one cup of confectioner’s sugar, as it thickens, add milk to bring it to a spreading consistency.

9. Add the second cup, repeating like the first cup. Taste to see if the mix is sweet enough. I used about 2-1/4 cups of confectioner’s sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. If the consistency is a little dry, add more milk by the teaspoon.

10. When the taste is to your liking. Place the first layer cake on a plate, frost the top. Place second layer on top, frosting the top and sides. Decorate with toasted walnuts.

Serves 8-10

 

Lemon Glazed Blueberry Cake

Now that farm season is in full swing, atleast in New England, there are great opportunities for strawberries, zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, raspberries and soon blueberries. As you enter the supermarkets, there are plenty of blueberries to be had...locally we will be able to pick our own in about a month. So, now is the time to test some amazing blueberry recipes which you can enjoy for the remainder of the summer. 

The Boston Globe recently ran an article on 6 delicious blueberry cakes. After reading the ingredients of each, I decided to go with the Glazed Blueberry Cake. Why this recipe? First, it had a lemon glaze for the cake. I love when blueberries and lemons are showcased in a dessert. It gives a refreshing flavor to the dish. Second, I had a container of buttermilk which I wanted to use and the recipe called for milk. Perfect substitution.

The cake came together quickly and I was really intrigued by the separation of egg yolks and egg whites. I was wondering if it would make a difference in the lightness of the cake, especially if I was adding buttermilk which can be heavy.

Well, the results were delicious. The cake was very moist and even though there was a denseness to the cake, it was light. Jeff thought it was one of the best cakes he has ever eaten. The sweet and sourness of the glaze with the moist cake with flavors of buttermilk and fresh blueberries was melt in your mouth AMAZING! Because it is made in a 9 x 13 baking pan, it allowed for everyone to grab chunks of blueberry cake for breakfast all week long. This is definitely on my short list of recipes to make again. It is perfect for breakfast, snack time or dessert, but I enjoyed it best when it was still warm from the oven. Probably might taste good as a cupcake, too...just a suggestion.

Ingredients:

1 pint (2 cups) of fresh blueberries
3 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, at room temperature
2 cups of white sugar
1 cup of whole milk (we used buttermilk)

Preparation:

Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Dust it with flour, tapping out the excess.

In a bowl, toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of the flour.

In another bowl, whisk the remaining flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a third bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff.

In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the yolks, one at a time.

With the mixer set on its lowest speed, beat the flour mixture into the batter alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with flour.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. Fold in the whites, then fold in the blueberries.

Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes or until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and the top springs back when pressed with a fingertip.

GLAZE

1/2 cup of confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

In a bowl, sift the confectioners’ sugar. Stir in the lemon juice and rind. Add enough additional lemon juice to make a mixture that pours easily.

Drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Visitandine with Strawberries - Better than Strawberry Shortcake

 

This weekend is probably one of the last times you can pick your own strawberries in the New England area. Last weekend we went to C.N. Smith Farms (again) to get more strawberries because we were entertaining family all weekend and knew we wanted to serve a "strawberry" dessert.

Jeff had found a visitandine recipe in Dorie Greenspan's - Around my French Table. Dorie explains that "visitandine is a very simple white cake with an elegant small grain crumb and a lovely springy sponge, and a pure butter and sugar flavor."  It's perfect plain or paired with glazes, frosting, jams or fruits.  Having made strawberry shortcake quite a few times, we thought this would be a nice change.

As we read through the recipe, there was a suggestion that you could use a browned butter instead of the melted butter, giving the visitandine slight flavors of carmel and hazelnuts. We thought that using the browned butter might be different since we love changing up recipes, even if it meaning using browned butter VS melted butter. After we browned the butter, it tasted very nutty...it is amazing how browning butter can change the taste of your product. Outside of having to whip together 4 egg whites - and use the yolks to make thumbprint cookies - the cake was very easy to make and cooked up in about 30 minutes.

We served the shortcake in small dessert bowls. We found a cookie cutter that was the perfect match to the dessert bowls so we cut out rounds and put them in the base and put the strawberries and whipped cream on top. You can cut the cake in wedges or squares depending on the number of people you have to serve. The strawberry shortcake with the visitandine was delicious. Because of the spongy-ness of the cake, it absorbed the strawberry juices making the dessert incredibly smooth and delicious. The caramel, nutty taste of the cake gave the shortcake a flavor that truly complemented the rest of the ingredients. After the first round of servings and then a few seconds, everyone agreed that it was definitely different from true shortcake and thought it tasted better.

There is nothing better than a homemade cake, freshly picked strawberries and fresh whipped cream when it comes to making strawberry shortcake. Celebrate the 4th with this easy white cake recipe, your strawberries and whipped cream will thank you!

Ingredients for Strawberry Shortcake:

Ingredients for visitandine:

4 large egg whites, preferably at room temperature
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
2/3 cup of white sugar
a pinch of salt
7 tablespoons of butter, melted and slightly cooled (we used brown butter - see below)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Ingredients for strawberries:
1 pint of strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 tablespoons of sugar

Ingredients for whipped cream:
2 cups of whipping cream
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Preparation:

Brown Butter:
Place butter in a small sauce pan. Turn up the heat once the butter is melted so that it begins to boil, gently. Watching carefully, continue to simmer the butter until it turns a golden brown. As soon as you get the color needed, take the butter off the heat and place in a heatproof bowl to stop the cooking process. Allow butter to cool.

Visitandine:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Choose a pan of your liking (we used a 10 inch round cake pan). Note that cooking time is based on a 10 inch pan, longer cook time for smaller pans, shorter cook time for larger pans.

Butter the pan and line it with a circle of parchment paper; butter the parchment.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, whip the egg whites until they hold firm peaks but are still glossy.

In a another bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Pour in the melted butter, followed by the vanilla, and, using the whisk, stir until the ingredients are fully blended. The mixture will clump and look "slightly hopeless" but continue stirring gently to mix.

With the whisk, slide half of the egg whites onto the batter, whisk to stir them in gently. Fold in the remaining egg whites and again whisk gently. Scrape the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan to even the top.

Bake the cake for 33 to 38 minutes, or until it's beautifully browned and starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Once out of the oven, run a blunt knife around the edge of the cake. Still in the pan, place on a cooling rack for 3 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack, remove the parchment, and allow the cake to cool to room temperature.

Strawberries:
Place cut strawberries in a bowl with the 2 tablespoons of sugar. This allows the juices to be released from the strawberries. You can do this prior to baking the cake and they can be refrigerated until ready to serve.

Whipping cream:
Place whipping cream, vanilla and sugar in a bowl and using a stand or hand mixer, whip the cream until slightly stiff peaks form. Whip cream just prior to serving the visitandine.

The visitandine can be cut into wedges and served or you can do as we did and using a cookie cutter, cut circles and place them into the bottom of a round serving bowl. Place strawberries on top, followed by whipped cream. Repeat as many times as you would like to enjoy them incredibly delicious dish! This serves up to 8 people.

Epicurious' Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cocoa Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Tomorrow, I am presenting marketing strategies using my Friends Food Family website to the Women's Business Network in Mansfield. This is a great group of women who own small businesses, network like no other and bring their face to face relationships on-line. We are going to discuss ways of helping each other grow our businesses on-line using social media.

Since I am a food blog, I wanted to bring a sweet treat. I decided that I was going to bring cupcakes because...

1. People will eat a cupcake quicker than a piece of cake.

2. Easter is coming and I love to find new cake recipes very year for my 20+ guests.

I decided last week I wanted to make a red velvet cupcake because everytime I go to a  bakery, they are showcasing red velvet cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting. I knew that I also wanted to make a rich chocolate cupcake because I am a chocoholic and lastly, I wanted to bake something that was fruity. Sweet, rich and delicious.

Epicurious had a great Red Velvet Cupcake recipe with great recommendations and it only made 18-24 cupcakes...perfect. It was really easy to put together and the color was amazing. It was interesting to watch this cupcake mixture come to colorful life. This recipe didn't have a frosting to match. I found a cream cheese frosting that was too heavy in cream cheese. I adapted the recipe and decided to add a hint of cocoa, not necessarily for taste but color. The red velvet cupcake recipe had a hint of cocoa, why not add it to the frosting.

So far, the response has been positive. My family loved them...then again, they love sweets, especially since we don't have cake or cupcakes on a regular basis.

Hopefully, after serving these red velvet cupcakes tomorrow, you'll see all sorts of comments. Try them out, if you like them then consider them for the next few holidays which are almost upon us. Whether Easter, Mother's Day or Father's Day, I'm sure you'll have a big fan base after creating these decadent cupcakes!

 Red Velvet Cupcakes 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of butter, softened
1 1/2 cups of white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1/4 cup of water
1 tube of red food coloring (I used the gel)
1 cup of buttermilk
1 teaspoon of vanilla 
1 teaspoon of white vinegar
1 teaspoon of baking soda

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare cupcake tins as directed.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and blend well. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring and add to the butter mixture. Sift flour and salt together into this mixture.

One at a time, add the following ingredients: buttermilk, vanilla, and water. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and baking soda. Fold it into the cake batter. Make sure it's incorporated, but don't beat it.

Pour the batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn the cupcakes out of the tins and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

Cocoa Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup of butter, softened
1-1/2 to 2 cups of confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder

Preparation:

Place cream cheese and butter into a bowl. Using a hand beater or mixer, beat until well incorporated. Add cocoa powder and confectioner's sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Taste after 1-1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar has been blended. If you like it sweeter, add more sugar. When desired sweetness is achieved, add the vanilla.
Frost cupcakes. Eat with pleasure!

 

 

Ina Garten's Sour Cream Coffee Cake with a Holiday Twist

 

We always start our holiday mornings with some type of coffee cake. I'm not sure when that tradition started but it has become an expected (and appreciated) breakfast treat by many of our family members and friends. Last year, we started with Tilly Draisen's Toffee Treasure Cake. It is a big favorite of mine because it uses Heath Bar bits to flavor the streusel middle and topping. This year, I was looking for something easy and with a half package of fresh cranberries left from our cranberry sauce recipe, I was looking to include them in the mix.

I came across Ina Garten's Sour Cream Coffee Cake and had all the ingredients necessary for the cake. No more searching, this was it. I whipped the cake up in no time but decided I would add a few leftovers so there was no waste from Thanksgiving. As part of the streusel, I added some freshly chopped cranberries and grated orange to the inner mixture. It gave the cake some color as well as tangy flavor. I finished off the cake by adding some more freshly grated orange rind to the glaze.

The cake was moist and buttery and the cranberries gave a nice sourness to all the sweet filling. The maple syrup glaze paired nicely with the orange rind to finish the taste of the cake.

Everyone loved the cake and especially liked the cranberries. I kept eating slivers of the cake because the combination of sweet and sour was so good! (Really good...and I definitely want to make this recipe again!)

You can make the cake with or without the cranberries and orange rind but my one suggestion would be to double the glaze as the single batch doesn't make much.

For the Cake:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of freshly grated orange rind

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons of freshly grated orange rind

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts. In a separate bowl, mix the chopped cranberries and orange rind.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Sprinkle the cranberry mixture over the streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and orange rind together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

Move over CUPCAKES, make room for CAKE BALLS!

 

About a month ago, I found this ebook through my iPad apps. It was called Cakeballs!by J. Brentzel. It was this great little recipe book that teaches you how to make cake balls. It was pretty funny and as I read through the introduction there was a

WARNING**** Cake Truffles can be (and usually will be) addictive****

They must be good if the warning mentions the word addictive. So, off to the grocery store to get the two main ingredients 1. A Cake Mix and 2. Frosting.

These were going to be easy...make the cake according to the instructions, let it cool, crumble it up, mix with frosting, shape into balls, dip in chocolate and voila! CAKE BALLS. This is almost to easy to be true. The only issues I had was dipping the balls. They were a bit time consuming but once you got the process down the cake balls got easier to dip. One thing which was time consuming was when everyone wanted to help. On a first time trial, I become a bit of a perfectionist. Jeff and my son, Brian, couldn't understand why a cake ball that rolled over after being frosted didn't constitute a mess. Off with your heads, eat the messy ball and get out of here!Once they cleared out of the kitchen, things ran a bit smoother.

As we were making and eating the defects, I wasn't sure that they were as good as expected, I didn't seem to be addicted. I think part of the problem was I didn't wait for them to fully set. I was able to really get a better taste the following morning as I taste tested them for breakfast. Yes, they were incredible. Yes, they were addicting and yes, I needed to get an audience's reaction.

On Tuesday morning, I packed a container of cake balls and brought them to my Women's Business Network meeting, this could be my audience. Half way through the meeting, someone asked who made the little cake desserts, I raised my hand and she said they were incredible. That was a good sign. During coffee break more people began to taste the cake balls, I deemed them a great success.

I made triple chocolate cake balls, chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and chocolate icing. They tasted like little Ring Dings, but better. They were rich and creamy with a nice chocolate shell. Very easy to eat, and continue to eat. I found myself in the land of "just-one-more". My in-laws (who live next door) absolutely loved them. My father-in-law was eating them un-frosted. He thought they were amazing.

I'm sharing this recipe with you before the holidays so you can try them out before you showcase them. Be the hit of the next party. Don't bring a cake, or cupcakes for that matter...bring cake balls and watch them disappear.

Ingredients:

1 Box of your favorite cake mix

1 can of store-bought frosting or 2 cups of homemade frosting

1 package of dipping chocolate or 1 (12 ounce) package of chocolate chips

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Cake decorations: sugar crystals, nonpareils, colored sprinkles, chocolate jimmies

Preparation:

Make and bake the cake according to directions. When baking, use a  13 x 9 inch baking pan. Once you have removed the cake from the oven, allow it to cool completely, about an hour.

Once the cake is cooled, using your hands, break the cake into small (fine) crumbs. Add the frosting and mix until incorporated. Don't over mix or mash the crumbs.

 

Note: This was my second batch and I used french vanilla cake mix and chocolate frosting. This is what the consistency should look like. (And the combination was delicious!)

 

Using a small melon ball or cookie scoop begin scooping the cake mixture and creating balls. Place the balls in the freezer for at least 1 hour. They need to be frozen to be able to with stand the dipping.

Melt your dipping chocolate in a double boiler or using your bag of chocolate chips (they can be vanilla, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter or your choice). If you use the regular bag of chips, you need to add vegetable oil to get a smooth consistency. That has been a big issue for me. I read one book that suggested I used vegetable shortening and that made the chocolate creamy not smooth and slightly runny. Look at both the dark chocolate balls and the vanilla balls which are shown. They are really creamy and didn't frost well. They tasted great, but don't necessarily look appetizing.

Dipping can be a work in progress.

 

See, I was using crisco...use vegetable oil instead and get a dipping loose consistency. Not creamy like below. I promise to post some different flavor combinations as well as better dipped cake balls.

Using a toothpick or dipping fork, dip each cake ball and place on wax paper to dry. Add toppings such as sprinkles, sugar crystal or leave plain. I was dipping and had extra chocolate so the balls got laced with dark chocolate.

 

Last picture...wish it was clearer. Enjoy!

 

Chocolate Zucchini Cake - My Favorite Bread!

 

Years ago, when my mother first started making zucchini bread, she found this recipe for chocolate zucchini cake. The recipe was featured in the Boston Globe newspaper under the Confidential Chat section of the paper. It was always a wonderful snack cake that disappeared quickly, especially when no one knew there was zucchini in it. She always made it as a cake, but I found it more enjoyable to make as a bread. It allowed me to split it into loaves and share some with family and friends. Plus, I was probably looking for a reason to eat it for breakfast. As a cake, it's dessert, as a bread it's breakfast!  

Even though the cake is made with cocoa and chocolate chips, there isn't an overpowering taste of chocolate. The bread is sweet with a hint of spice but the chocolate flavor comes through in the mini chocolate chips. It is delicious for breakfast, served cold or slightly warmed with raspberry jam. As a dessert, serving it warmed with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate or strawberry topping is delicious, too. 

So, what will it be? Cake or bread? The results of the last loaf I served: 3/4 was eaten at breakfast, 1/4 eaten for dessert after dinner. I'll let you decide.

For those not familiar with Confidential Chat, check out the article A sad ending for a beloved feature.

Ingredients:

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup of vegetable  oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoons of vanilla

1/2 cup of buttermilk

2 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of baking soda

4 tablespoons of cocoa

3 zucchini about 6 inches long (about 3 cups shredded or grated)

1/2 to 1 cup of mini chocolate chips

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 3 small loaf pans. I use aluminum foil pans. They are easier to freeze in the pan or give away as a gift.

Cream sugars, butter and oil together in a large bowl. Add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and mix well.

Measure dry ingredients into sifter and sift into bowl. Mix well, then add zucchini and chocolate chips. 

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tester comes clean. Cool completely before covering or freezing.

Wilson Farm's Strawberry Shortcake

 
On Sunday we took a quick ride to C.N. Smith Farm in Bridgewater, MA and caught the last day of "pick-your-own" strawberries. This is normally an annual trip but this year time got away from us and we figured we had missed strawberry picking season.

We got there still being able to enjoy fresh strawberries, six quarts to be exact. It was wonderful to bite into a sweet, juicy strawberry. Nothing better than fresh from the patch.

We have enjoyed strawberry smoothies as well as strawberry shortcake this week. Jeff found this recipe in the Wilson Farm Country Cookbook. Local farm strawberries with a local farm recipe. We love this cookbook because it has our favorite red skinned potato salad recipe, too.

Jeff decided to make the shortbread as I was baking a double batch of Andria's Chocolate Chip Cookies. Jeff mixed all the dry ingredients together to find we didn't have any shortening. We decided to fore go the shortening and use butter for the entire recipe. It made for a buttery shortcake which was fine with me because I'm not a strawberry shortcake fan but this (hands down) this was "the best strawberry shortcake" I had ever eaten. Everyone enjoyed the shortcake with Jeff finishing off the last of it tonight. Strawberry shortcake with freshly picked strawberries and homemade whipped cream is probably one of the most refreshing desserts you could ever eat. It makes you want to savor each bite.

I wish we could have shared this earlier so that you could enjoy freshly picked strawberries, too. If you can still find them in your local supermarket or farmer's market, pick up a few quarts and treat yourself to this incredible dessert. It could be the hit of the 4th of July weekend!

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease an 8-inch round layer cake pan.

Ingredients for Shortcake:

2 cups of flour

2 tablespoons of white sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

3 tablespoons of butter (softened)

3 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening

2/3 cup of milk

1 teaspoon butter (softened)

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together twice. Cut the 3 tablespoons of butter and shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir the milk into the flour and shortening mixture with a fork. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead it a few times until smooth. Divide the dough in half and pat one half into the greased pan (or roll with a rolling pin to fit the pan). Spread the teaspoon of butter over this layer (so the layers will split easily). Pat the second layer over the first (or roll to fit). Bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes or until browned and baked between the layers.

Strawberries:

1 quart of strawberries

1/2 cup of sugar (or to taste)

While the shortcake is baking, wash, hull and mash the strawberries. Stir in the sugar and set aside until ready to serve.

Whipped Cream:

1/2 cup of heavy cream

2 teaspoons of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Whip the cream with a whisk or egg beater until it is quite thick. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue beating until the cream reaches the desired stiffness.

Remove the shortcake from the oven and place in on a deep serving platter. Lift off the top layer and put aside. Spoon half the strawberries on the bottom layer. Add the top layer and cover with remaining berries. Top with whipped cream. Cut into six pie shaped wedges. NOTE: The shortcake can also be baked as biscuits for individual servings.

Almond Rhubarb Coffee Cake

 

Since we bought our home 5 years ago, we noticed we had a small patch of rhubarb growing in our front yard. Every June, we get to enjoy a few tasty treats made with rhubarb. Most of our dishes include strawberries to create some form of pie or spread.

Sunday was Father's Day and our traditional brunch always includes a coffee cake. After deciding not to repeat our favorites, Jeff found this coffee cake recipe, Almond Rhubarb Coffee Cake, at Allrecipes.com. Not only was this any easy recipe to put together, it made two 9 inch cakes. Perfect for sharing one and keeping the other. The cake was sweet with a bit of tartness from the rhubarb. The cake topping of sugar and almonds gave it a crunchiness in every bite.

With 15 people for breakfast, we proceeded to eat through one complete cake and half of the second. We did get to enjoy a few slices for breakfast this week which made us wish there was more rhubarb left in the yard.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup sliced almonds 

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9 inch round pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla together until smooth. Combine flour, salt and baking soda; add to sugar mixture alternately with milk. Beat until smooth. Stir in rhubarb and 1/2 cup almonds. Pour into prepared pans.
3. In a small bowl, combine white sugar and butter or margarine. Stir in 1/4 cup almonds. Sprinkle topping over batter.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake tests done.

Bon Appetit's Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

 

Mother's Day is Sunday and it's a time when families get together to honor their mothers. At Easter, we made this delicious chocolate cake, but I have been waiting for a special occasion to highlight the recipe. I wanted to give people the opportunity to have time to make the cake and truly enjoy it.

For Mother's Day, I am highlighting the Bon Appetit's Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. It was featured in the April 2010 edition of Bon Appetit's monthly magazine. They had run an article on classic cakes and we actually made two of their featured recipes. One being the chocolate cake, the other was the New York-Style Crumb Cake which I made with blueberries.

The cake came together easily. Beating the eggs and sifting the dry ingredients together were the most time consuming parts of the cake. (If you don't know, I'm not a big mayonnaise fan and I kept smelling strong scents of mayonnaise and kept thinking, "I hope I can get beyond this." And I know, mayonnaise is oil and eggs...what's the big deal!) I didn't have three 8 inch cake pans to bake the layers so I used my two 10 inch pans. Assembly was easy and the frosting was easy to make. I will comment of the frosting... INCREDIBLE. Choco-holics delight! The beaters were covered in frosting when we were done and yes, people did fight over them.

The cake was a big hit, very moist, very chocolaty and the frosting was fugdy but not overpowering. Making the frosting with the bittersweet chocolate brought a richness to the cake. We had coffee ice cream to serve with it. Coffee accentuates chocolate so it was a nice combination.

If you are looking to do something nice for Mother's Day, rather than buying a cake, make this classic Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. I can guarantee you will make one special person very happy. Happy Mother's Day from Friends Food Family.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 3/4 cups boiling water
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cups mayonnaise (do not use reduced-fat or fat-free)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation: 

• Three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Combine chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in medium metal bowl. Add 13/4 cups boiling water and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
• Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat both sugars and mayonnaise in large bowl until well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with chocolate mixture in 3 additions, beating until blended after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Divide batter among prepared cake pans (about 2 1/3 cups for each).
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 20 minutes.
• Run small knife around sides of cakes to loosen. Carefully invert cakes onto racks and let cool completely.

• Place chopped chocolate in medium metal bowl; set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Carefully remove bowl from over water; let melted chocolate cool until lukewarm, stirring occasionally.
• Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth and creamy. Sift powdered sugar over butter and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add melted chocolate and beat until well blended and smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.
• Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over top of cake layer to edges. Top with second cake layer; spread 3/4 cup frosting over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining frosting decoratively over top and sides of cake. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and let stand at room temperature.
• Cut cake into wedges and serve.

Bon Appetit's New York-Style Crumb Cake (with Blueberries)

 

Easter, like any holiday, means lots of relatives and lots of good food. We spent most of Saturday baking cookies, a chocolate cake, Parker House rolls and homemade raviolis. Sunday was the lamb, ham, sweet potatoes and rice, carrots and green beans, finishing with an array of desserts. Say it with me "food hangover".

Our guests normally arrive about 2 hours before we eat and snack on breakfast tidbits. I normally make Tilly Draisen's Toffee Treasure Cake, but today I wanted to make something different. I was craving blueberries.

I found this New York-Style Crumb Cake in the April 2010 edition of Bon Appetit. It was right next to the Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake which I will feature later this week. I was so excited to find a coffee cake with a thick crumb topping. When cooked correctly it melts right into the top of the cake. The cake was amazing, very rich and sweet. I loved the blueberries because of their slight sourness. The cake melts in your mouth, then again, it would have to...lots of butter.

This is a great breakfast cake and can work just as well as an afternoon tea cake. Oh, and don't hold back, sprinkle a little confectioner's sugar on top.

Ingredients:

Crumb Topping

1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, warm

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/3 cups sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries (I added) 

Preparation for Topping:

Mix both sugars, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl and whisk to blend. Add warm melted butter and stir to blend. Add flour and toss with fork until moist clumps form (topping mixture will look slightly wet). Set aside.

Cake Preparation:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla extract and beat just until blended. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, beating just until incorporated after each addition. Fold in the blueberries. Transfer cake batter to prepared baking dish; spread batter evenly with rubber spatula or offset spatula. Squeeze small handfuls of topping together to form small clumps. Drop topping clumps evenly over cake batter, covering completely (topping will be thick).

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean and topping is deep golden brown and slightly crisp, about 1 hour. Cool cake in dish on rack at least 30 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Cover and let stand at room temperature.

Cut cake into squares and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate Root Beer Cupcakes

  
When I started getting ready to promote the Friends Food Family Blog, I came across a very interesting food blog called gastronomy. I was really impressed with the site. They had showcased a recipe called Root Beer Bundt Cake. It had come from a cookbook called Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, written by Baked, a bakery in New York City. If you have time, check out both sites, they are fun and offer great food products and services.

Since Christmas with Root Beer Schnapps in hand, I've been wanting to make this cake. Yesterday, I had a spare hour and thought I'd take on the cake. Next thing I knew, the oven was being used for a number of things...proofing bread, corn bread for the chili...and I found I had 30 minutes not 1 hour.

So, why fret, make cupcakes. I took the recipe and made 30 chocolate root beer cupcakes. My son, Stephen, and I had to try them first, even if they were hot and unfrosted. They were delicious and had a wonderful aftertaste of root beer. I frosted the cupcakes and covered them until this morning. So, for breakfast I enjoyed a cupcake with a big cup of coffee (Oh, another breakfast of champions). The cupcake was even better with the frosting, but the root beer was more of a hint than a strong flavor.

If you need a quick dessert for kids or adults, especially with Valentine's Day coming, consider these over your average chocolate cupcakes. I'm bringing them to a Super Bowl Party tonight. Results in the morning!

Ingredients for the Cupcakes

• 2 cups of root beer (do not use a diet root beer)
• 1 cup of dark cocoa powder, like Valrhona
• 1 stick unsalted butter, chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (packed)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs

Baked Note: If you can find root beer schnapps, substitute 1/2 cup of root beer with root beer schnapps. The root beer flavor will be more pronounced.

Ingredients for Frosting

• 2 ounces of 60% chocolate (melted and slightly cooled)
• 4 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup root beer
• 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Preparation for Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 325º degrees.

Line the cupcake tins with liners, if you don't have liners, spray with Pam and lightly flour, tapping out the excess flour.

In a small saucepan, heat root beer, cocoa and butter over medium heat until butter is completely melted. Add both sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove mixture from heat to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk eggs until just beaten, then whisk into cooled cocoa mix until combined.

Gently fold flour mixture into chocolate mixture. Mixture will be slightly lumpy—Do not over-beat which could cause the cake to be tough.

Pour mixture into cupcake tins, I used a 1/3 measuring cup to pour . Fill about 2/3 full. Bake approximately 30-35 minutes. Rotate tins half-way through bake time. Cupcakes will spring back to touch, or use a toothpick, coming clean.

Cool cupcakes on rack. Make sure they are cooled completely before adding frosting.

Preparation for Frosting:

Place all ingredients, chocolate, butter, salt, root beer, butter, and confectioners sugar, in a food processor. Pulse in short burst until fudge frosting is shiny and smooth. Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the tops of the cupcakes. Let frosting set before serving.

 
The next time I make these I'm going to try a vanilla bean frosting. What better than a root beer float cupcake.

Sue's Peppermint Cheesecake

 

I love when I can get my friends and family to blog with me about their recipes and the stories which compliment them. This recipe was sent to me from Sue McQuaid. Sue is the President and CEO of the Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce. I am fortunate to work with Sue on a regular basis as I counsel for the MSBDC (MA Small Business Development Center) at the Chamber.

Sue and I are always talking about our recipes as we both love to cook and bake. She told me about a Peppermint Cheesecake she makes and actually won an award for her minty creation. I told her I wasn't a big cheesecake fan and she said that her cheesecake was frozen and tasted more like ice cream than cheesecake. I said, "Send me the recipe and I'll make it for our Christmas Eve gathering." Being a fan of peppermint stick ice cream, this frozen delight was easy to enjoy. It was sweet, yet light and didn't taste like cheesecake. The chocolate base balanced the cake perfectly...but then again, I might even add a little bit of hot fudge as a topping. The cheesecake was a big hit, especially with the "non-cheesecake lovers".

Ingredients

Makes one 9-inch cheesecake

 

1 ¼ cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (about 24 wafers) or you can use Oreos (and crush them well)

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup of margarine or butter, melted

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened

1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

¾ cup of crushed peppermint candy (I use a package of 12 large candy canes and finely crush then in a food processor or blender)

2 cups of whipping cream, whipped

 

Combine crumbs, sugar and margarine; press on bottom and up a little on the sides of the spring form pan. In large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk. Stir in crushed candy. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into prepared pan. Cover. Freeze 6 hours or until firm. Garnish as desired or w/o garnish is just fine. 

If you would like to put some hot fudge on this dessert, why not try Bailey's Hot Fudge. The recipe will follow.
 

Quick and Easy Chocolate Pudding Cake

Are you looking for an easy dessert with 4 ingredients?

This will be one of the easiest cakes you will ever make, and you won't believe how it is put together. My Aunt Joyce gave me this chocolate cake recipe when I visited her one Spring in Florida. My aunt comes from Alabama and always had great dessert recipes. She gave me a delicious recipe for Texas Sheet Cake which I will share...if I can find the directions. I have made this cake periodically over the years and forget not only how easy it is, but how quickly it gets eaten.

Ingredients

1 box of Jello Cook and Serve Chocolate Pudding

2 cups of whole milk

1 box of Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake Mix (not the one with the pudding)

1 cup of Nestle's Mini Chocolate Chips

1/4 Confectioner's Sugar (optional)

Mix chocolate pudding mix with milk and cook according to directions. Allow the pudding to cool slightly. Pour the pudding into the DRY Devil's Food Cake Mix. Blend the two ingredients, it will look sticky. Add the mini-chocolate chips and pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until cake is done, springs back to touch or clean toothpick test. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. (Optional) Sift a light coating of confectioner's sugar over the top. Serve warm, or cool. Great with vanilla ice cream. So what do you think?

Tilly Draisen's Toffee Treasure Cake

For year's many of my recipes have sat on 5 x 8 index cards. I always remark that if I ever lost these cards I would lose many recipes that are not written down anywhere else. The chances of ever finding them again would be slim and none. By starting this blog, it has given me the opportunity to not only share these recipes but to have them saved to another medium.

The coffee cake I am sharing this morning is one of those recipes that I found years ago either in the newspaper or family magazine. It's called Tilly Draisen's Toffee Treasure Cake. It has become a Thanksgiving tradition. As our family arrives around 11 AM, they are looking for something to snack on before our 1:30 PM serving of turkey and fixin's. This is a great fill in and even though there are Heath bars in it, you'll never taste the chocolate. And by the way, I just enjoyed a piece with a big cup of coffee. I have to make sure it's OK for the guests!

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Combine 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and put aside.

1 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup of butter

2 eggs

1 cup of sour cream

1 teaspoon of vanilla

A pinch of salt

2 cups of flour

1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

3 Heath Bars broken into small pieces (or use 1/2 bag of Heath Bar Bits)

1/4 cup of chopped walnuts

1/4 cup melted butter

Cream butter with sugar, add eggs and vanilla and mix until blended. Add sour cream and mix well. Add dry ingredients and blend to smooth. Lightly grease a 10" tube pan. Start with a tablespoon of cinnamon mixture in the bottom. Spread 1/2 of the cake mixture into the pan, it will be slightly thick. Sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture, 1/2 the Heath Bars and 1/2 the walnuts over the mixture in the pan. Spread the remainder of the cake batter and repeat with the cinnamon, Heath bars and walnuts. Before you place the cake in the oven, pour the melted butter over the cake. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown and the cake springs back (or passes the clean tooth pick test!). Serving this warm is the best.

 

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

 

I am going to date myself, but does anyone remember Confidential Chat? It was column in the Boston Globe Living section which allowed people (mostly women) to submit and comment on recipes, crafts and household solutions. If you think about it, it could have been called "Twitter without the Technology". Women would write under code names (Mary's Mother, Wonder Woman), hence the "confidential" and they had followings and were considered experts whose advise people admired. My mother was always a fan and cut out many wonderful recipes. I still laugh when I pull out this recipe, which is now a very aged and fragile newspaper clipping.

Today's recipe is from Confidential Chat and it's called Chocolate Zucchini Cake. We make this every year as the zucchini come out of the garden and we make loaves of zucchini bread. This is always the last batch made with the final 3 cups of shredded zucchini. It is very moist and similar to a snack cake, but much better.

1 cup of light brown sugar

1/2 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 cup of buttermilk

2-1/2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of baking soda

4 tablespoons of cocoa

3 zucchini (about 6 inches long, approximately 3 cups shredded)

1 cup of mini chocolate chips

Cream sugars, butter and oil together in a large bowl. Add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and mix well. Measure dry ingredients and sift into bowl. Mix well, then add zucchini. Add the chocolate chips last as you get ready to place into either a cake pan, 9 x 13 in pan or three bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until cake is firm and springs back when touched.

Works best as a breakfast staple for chocoholics or as a snack with coffee or tea. Enjoy!