Sunday, October 4, 2009, Week 28

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

What better way to start the Fall than with a pumpkin cake!

And this is fabulous!! The entire cake lasted 24 hours!!

1 large can Pumpkin pack

1 can evaporated milk

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 T cinnamon

1 t ground cloves

1/2 t ground ginger

Mix the pumpkin filling together and pour into a 9X13" pan sprayed with Pam.

1 Box Yellow cake mix

2 sticks butter, melted

1 cup chopped pecans

Gently pour the dry cake mix over the pumpkin filling. sprinkle nuts over dry mix. Pour butter over the top and bake at 350 for one hour or until done.

Sunday September 27, 2009

Hello!!! This is Mark and my 24th wedding anniversary and guess what?? We are in Paris!!! So no cake this week!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you to Dad without whom we would not have done this crazy thing!

Sunday September 20, 2009 Week 27

Boston Cream Pie

Regular yellow cake mis in 2 9"pans according to box directions. Let cool completely

Custard Icing
3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 stick margarine
1 tsp vanilla

Cook the eggs, sugar, milk, cornstarch, and margarine in a double boiler; add the vanilla and cook until thick. Cool slightly. Spread between the 2 cake layers.

Chocolate topping:

3 squares (1 oz) bakers chocolate

1/4 cup butter

1 cup confection sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave, add butter and sugar beat well. Add vanilla. Carefully pour chocolate over the top of the cake.

Sunday September 13, 2009 week 26

Angel on Horseback

This cake is a variation on an old girl scout dessert. Cubed Italian bread dipped first in sweetened condensed milk then in shredded coconut. Put cuBe on a stick and roast over a fire. Yum

My variation:

White box cake baked in a 13"rectangular pan according to box directions. When cake is cool drizzle with sweetened condensed milk and sprinkle with coconut. Broil for a couple of minutes until the coconut is toasted. This cake lasted two days!!

Sunday September 6, 2009 Week 25

Halfway Done!!!

This week was an Orange Chiffon Cake that got raves from the recipe but not so much from my family! Mark said, "This looks like a home-ec project gone bad!" We laughed tears! Sheeesh, everyone's a critic. I am including the recipe so if you are brave enough to try you may but this will not be in the top 5!!! The problem came with the icing. Too thick and the cake was too crumby, so I only frosted the top but the cake still came up in spots...well, you get the picture!!

Orange Chiffon Cake

From Country Living
This recipe has been tested by Country Living

Country Living shares this winning recipe from our "Mom's Best Cake Contest."

INGREDIENTS

conv. chart

U.S.

Metric

2 1/4 cup(s)	cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 cup(s)	granulated sugar
1 tablespoon(s)	baking powder
1 teaspoon(s)	salt
1/2 cup(s)	vegetable oil
5 large	egg yolks, beaten
3/4 cup(s)	orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoon(s)	orange juice
3 tablespoon(s)	freshly grated orange zest
1 cup(s)	egg whites
1/2 teaspoon(s)	cream of tartar
5 tablespoon(s)	unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoon(s)	heavy cream
3 cup(s)	confectioners' sugar, sifted

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the cake: Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Sift the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the oil, egg yolks, 3/4 cup orange juice, and 2 tablespoons of the zest. Whisk until smooth and set aside. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar using a mixer set on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until just combined. Pour the batter into a 10-inch tube pan and bake for 55 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean -- 10 to 15 minutes. Invert pan over a funnel and cool completely. Unmold cake by running a knife around the pan sides.
2. Make the frosting: Combine the butter, heavy cream, and remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice and 1 tablespoon zest together in a large bowl. Add the confectioners' sugar gradually, using a mixer set on medium speed, until fluffy. (If necessary, add 1 or 2 additional tablespoons of cream to adjust frosting consistency.) Spread frosting over the entire cake.

Sunday August 30, 2009 Week 24

Mark turned 50 on Friday!!!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday to you and welcome to the pond the water is fine! In celebration I made Mark's favorite combination: Chocolate and raspberry!!! (Who in the world doesn't like this?? The torte is from Epicurious.com and the raspberry coulis is from Foodnetwork.com.

The Torte:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 5 large eggs, beaten

• Equipment: a 9-inch springform pan; a large (18-inch) roll of heavy-duty foil

• Accompaniment: whipped cream (optional)

preparation

Preheat oven to 300&Deg;F with rack in middle. Wrap outside of cake pan in plastic wrap, then wrap tightly in a layer of foil.

Lightly butter pan, then dust with sugar, knocking out excess.

Heat 1 cup sugar with 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool.

Melt chocolates in a large bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let bowl touch water), stirring occasionally, until melted. Stir together butter (2 sticks) and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in another bowl until combined. Stir butter mixture into melted chocolate. Then stir in sugar syrup. Gently stir in eggs (avoid making bubbles) until combined. 3Transfer to pan and bake in a hot water bath until center is almost set (it should barely wobble), about 45 to 50 minutes.

Cool completely on a rack. Chill, covered, at least 8 hours. Run a thin knife along side of pan, remove side, and serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.

Raspberry Coulis:

2 cups raspberries (about 12 ounces), rinsed

3/4 cup Simple Syrup, recipe follows

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Bring the raspberries, syrup, and lemon juice to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the berries are very soft, about 8 minutes.

Sprinkle the cornstarch over 2 teaspoons cold water and stir to dissolve. Pour into the simmering raspberry mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl; discard the seeds. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Freeze any leftover coulis in a plastic container for up to 1 month.Yield: 2 cups

Sunday August, 23 2009 Week 23

This recipe is another from Melanie Crain. (Many thanks!!)

"One of the first cakes I ever made. I don't remember where I found the recipe, but it was probably in one of the well-worn, out-of-date, ladies magazines in the Ladies Room Lounge at Jacksonville University where I finished my bachelor's degree. I used to spend time in between classes transcribing recipes. Hal and I were just married and living on a shoestring. I couldn't afford to buy recipe books."

Orange-Rum Cake

Makes 12 servings

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
Grated rind 2 large oranges and 1 lemon
2 eggs
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
Juice of fruits above
2 Tbsp light or dark rum

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease or butter a 9” or 10” 2 qt fluted tube pan.

Cream butter. Gradually add 1 cup of the sugar and beat until light. Add fruit rinds and eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition of an egg. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition until smooth. Fold in nuts.

Pour into prepared pan and bake about 1 hour.

Strain fruit juices into saucepan. Add remaining 1 cup sugar and the rum; bring to boil. When cake is removed from oven, pour syrup slowly over cake in pan by tablespoonsful. If all liquid is not absorbed immediately, pour remainder on later. Turn out on serving plate.