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Red Velvet Cake

8/22/2015

This has to be my second favorite cake only falling behind the Slice of Heaven Cake. It is Chocolate so it has to be good. The icing is like no other.

1/2 cup coconut                                                red food coloring
1/2 cup shortening                                          1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs                                                                     2 oz red food coloring
2 Tbs cocoa                                                         1 scant tsp salt
2 1/2 cup sifted all purpose 1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter milk                                              1 tsp vanilla                             1 Tbs vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl mix coconut and a few drops of red food coloring. Toss until coconut is covered. Set aside. Grease and flour 3 9" round cake pans and set aside. In a large bowl cream shortening, sugar and eggs together until sugar is no longer grainy. In a cup combine cocoa & 2 oz of red food coloring until a paste. Add this to sugar mixture. Add salt. Combine buttermilk and vanilla. Alternate adding flour & butter milk mixture. Stir don't beat. Then add 1/3 of soda and vinegar until all is added. Pour into prepared cake pans and bake for 30 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Top with Red Velvet icing

Red Velvet Icing

3 Tbs flour                                                        1 cup shortening
1 cup milk                                                         1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar

In a small pan combine flour & milk. Blend until smooth. Cook on low heat until thick. Remove from heat and cool. (I have been known to place mine in the freezer to cool off faster.) In a large bowl combine shortening and sugar and cream. Add in flour mixture and blend in vanilla. Spread over cooled cake and top with colored coconut.

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Banana Nut Bread

7/8/2015

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One of my favorites things to make is banana nut bread. What usually warrants me making bread is bananas the have gotten to ripe for me to eat. Every time I make it it makes me think of 2 people. My Mom who's recipe I just tweeted to make it mine and my PawPaw Achord who LOVED over ripe bananas. Me & my daughter LOVE bananas that are a little green. I would never get to make bread if he was still around. The bread is better the next day. One of my favorite was to serve the bread is with cream cheese. Take and warm the bread for a few seconds in the microwave and slather the cream cheese and dig in.

1/2 cup butter                                                     2/3 cup milk
1 Tb lemon juice                                               1 tsp salt
2 1/3 cup all purpose flour                           1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder                                 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs                                                                      1 Tb honey
2 -2 1/4 cup mashed bananas                      1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup pecans

Spray 2 regular size loaf pans or 18 mini pans with Pam. Soften butter, but NOT liquid and place in a large bowl. In a measuring cup place milk Stir until smooth. Measure dry ingredients and set aside. Place eggs, honey, bananas and vanilla into softened butter. Alternate adding and beating in dry ingredients & milk mixture. When combined beat on high for 3 minutes. Fold in pecans. Pour into pans and bake 45 to 50 minutes 25 minutes for mini loafs.

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A Slice of Heaven Cake

12/19/2014

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This is my all time favorite cake. It is my version of the Berry Chantilly Cake at Whole Foods in Baton Rouge Louisiana. I have bought this cake more times then I can count. I have bought just a slice for me or whole cakes for birthdays and Baby showers. I loved it so much I had to try to figure it out so I could make it on my own. It is the one I made for my daughters wedding. Everyone who has eaten this cake loves it too. If you don't have time for this cake you can make the Jello Cake by clicking on the link but using apricot jello and it will taste good too.

Step 1 Cake:
Cooking Spray with Flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour                               2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt                                           3/4 cup butter, room temp
15 ozs whole milk ricotta cheese        1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tbl
4 large eggs                                                   1 teaspoon vanilla extract         1 orange, zested                                        1 Lemon, zested                            2 tablespoons Amaretto

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8’ pans with Cooking Spray with Flour. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
    With an electric mixer, cream butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and Amaretto until blended. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated.
    Pour the mixture into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
    While cake is baking start apricot glaze.

Step 2:
Apricot Glaze:
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup apricot jam or preserves
1-3 tablespoon Grand Marnier

In a small saucepan heat water and add sugar until syrup has thicken slightly. Add apricot jam or preserves into saucepan over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat. At this point you can strain the sauce through a fine strainer to remove any fruit lumps or if desired you can leave glaze as is. I prefer to divide a small amount out without fruit to glaze top of fruit. Let cool slightly (if using, add the liqueur at this point) until it is only slightly warm. Glaze the top each cake with unstrained sauce, using a pastry brush. Set cakes aside.

Step 3:
FRUIT LAYER & Top:
Strawberries Blueberries
Raspberries Blackberries

Step 4:
RASPBERRY PUREE:
2 pints raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1.Combine raspberries and sugar in a saucepan. Cook until raspberries are broken down, about 10 minutes.
2.Remove from the heat and strain through a strainer to eliminate seeds.

Step5:
CHANTILLY FROSTING:

16 ozs cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon pure Almond extract
2 ½ cups confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted
16 ozs Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
3 cups heavy whipping cream

    In your food processor, or with a hand mixer, process the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the extract and confectioners sugar and process until smooth. Transfer this mixture to another bowl.
    Then in a large bowl whip the cream until stiff peaks form. With a large spatula, gently but quickly fold a little of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream, in two stages. If the frosting is not thick enough to spread, cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour, or until it is firm enough to spread

Step 6:
ASSEMBLY

Place one completely cool layer of glazed cake on a cake dish and add frosting to top. Frosting should be slightly higher near edges than in the center. Add raspberry puree to layer then add a layer of sliced fruit. Continue with remaining layers. (Piping frosting at the edge will help to keep the raspberry puree from running down the sides.) Frost the entire cake with Mascarpone frosting. At this point you can add piping to the top rim of the cake as well as the sides if you like. At this point top the remaining whole fruit. While the apricot glaze is still warm brush the fruit with a thin layer. Place the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve. This cake is best served cold.

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Jello Cake

12/15/2014

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This was my Mom's go to dessert. It was made many times for dinner on the ground at church. It is one of the most moist cakes ever. You can put a glaze on it but most of the time we would eat it straight out of the oven. You can use this with a package of apricot jello and use it in the Slice of Heaven Cake recipe if you are running short on time or ingredients. I will post it in a day or two. I promise you will love this cake. It is one of the few cakes my husband likes because he is not much of a cake eater. Try it and let me know what you think.

1 cake mix
1 pkg. (3 oz.) Jello, Any flavor
2/3 c. water
2/3 c oil
4 eggs

Beat cake mix, Jello, oil, water and eggs for 5 minutes with mixer or until cake mix changes color. Pour the mixture into the a bundt pan that has been sprayed with Bakers Joy or has been grease and floured. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 35-45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. You can drizzle a glaze over the top

Glaze

1 cup confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice or water
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

In a small bowl combine ingredients; drizzle over warm cake.

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Old Recipe boxes & Recipes: Snow Cake

3/9/2014

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I LOVE old recipes and recipe boxes. I have been collecting cookbooks since I was a kid and then started collecting old recipe cards and newspaper clippings when my kids were young. I have a ton of these and I think I will start posting some of them and then cooking recipe as well. Our first will be the first one in the box I found at an Estate Sale a couple weeks ago here in Northern Indiana along with a 1940's Kitchen-Aid Mixer. (Which I'll post later)

1 Box Jiffy Cake Mix (White or Yellow)
Mix as directed on box and add:
{1/4 cup cooking oil
{1/4 pkg. Instant Vanilla Pudding

Bake in 13x9 pan at 350 degrees 20-25 min. Cool

Blend rest of pkg instant pudding
plus 1 more of pkg Instant pudding
with {2 cups milk
{1 Tbls. vanilla
{1 8oz pkg Phil Cream Cheese

Spread this over cool cake.

Drain 20 oz can crushed pineapple
Spread over pudding. Top with 8 oz
Cool-Whip. Garnish with chopped nuts

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Red Velvet Cake

Banana Nut Bread

A Slice of Heaven Cake

Jello Cake

Old Recipe boxes & Recipes: Snow Cake

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