Everybody Loves Cake!

I gave the Coconut Creme Cake another go today and had much better success.  I posted pictures this time, and you can see for yourself.  It turned out beautifully.  The corrections I made were finding a better creme, which was in the wine and mixed drink aisle of my local supermarket.  It was thicker, so that may have been part of the problem.  The other adjustment I made was in letting the cake cool much, much longer.  I also deliberately made the frosting thicker and cooled it in the refrigerator before I attempted to frost the cake.  Tomorrow at my son-in-law's birthday party we will have that cake and the other one I made and see which is the more favored. The toasted coconut and whipped egg whites are still part of the process and from the pictures I've included here, you can see how that part looks as well! 

The second recipe that I am going to share with you is one that is just as tasty, called 'Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake'.  I have read that the name comes from the fact that there are no eggs or butter in the cake; both items that were hard to come by during war times.  Instead, oil is used.  When I came across this recipe, I admit I was skeptical.  But I was assured that it was tasty and moist.  I was more than happy with the outcome and have made it more than once.  The only change I have made is the frosting.  The original recipe calls for a glossy icing that I just cannot get to work right.  Instead I have opted for a tried and true Chocolate Buttercream.  Yes, I know, it pretty much kills the whole idea of war-time frugality.  But the taste makes up for it.  The recipe and a picture of the final products follow!  Good luck deciding which cake to go for first!

OLD FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CAKE

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
2 cups hot water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 Tablespoon instant coffee granules
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350^o F with rack in the center.  Spray two 8" round cake pans with nonstick spray.  Whisk dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl (sift everything too). (*NOTE: you can still go with shortening and flouring your pans if you prefer the old ways.)

Combine water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee and vanilla in a large measuring cup.  Add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined - a few lumps are okay.  Divide batter among pans (3 cups in each), then bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. (mine were done in 30 flat!)

Cool cakes for 20 minutes on a rack, then invert them onto the rack.  Leave cakes upside down to cool completely (this flattens domed cakes), then frost.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

2 sticks softened unsalted butter

2.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 tbs. HOT water

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted

Beat butter until fluffy.  Slowly add sugar and beat until smooth.  Add water as needed.  Add cocoa to taste.  If needed add more water to desired consistency.  Use between layers and to frost cake.

Peanut Butter Cup Heaven

Some desserts look amazing.  Some desserts taste amazing.  This dessert looks and tastes amazing!  Do you remember the commercial from a few years ago where two people collide and mix up their peanut butter and chocolate? And the result is supposedly the best concoction ever?  Well of course it is.  Peanut butter and chocolate are the go-to comfort food of choice in my world.  Today, I am  posting a recipe that takes some of the all-time favorites: brownies, peanut butter cups, pudding, and whipped cream, and layers them into a beautiful dessert.  An amazing dessert in the summer heat, and you don't have to turn on the oven. The best part of all is that there is nothing difficult in it at all, not one step is difficult.  So invite someone over, put on the coffee and prepare to be praised!

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

Ingredients:

(oil and eggs for brownies)

1 (21.4 oz) Pkg. Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Mix

1 (5.1 oz) Pkg. Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix

3 Cups Milk

½ Cup Peanut Butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 Cup Whipping Cream

2/3 Cup sugar

2-1/2 Cups coarsely chopped peanut butter cup candies

Line a 13x9 inch pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan.  Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and bake.  Cool.  Lift foil out of pan.  Invert brownies onto cutting board; remove foil.  Cut into ¼” cubes.

Combine pudding mix and milk in large bowl; beat at low speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes until thick.  Add peanut butter and vanilla; beat smooth.  Prepare whipping cream by beating whipping cream and sugar in separate bowl until stiffening.  Gently fold ½  (1 cup) into pudding mixture.  Set aside remaining 1 cup. 

Into Trifle Bowl begin layering.  In bottom place half of brownies then half of candies.  Spoon half of pudding mixture over brownies and candies.  Layer remaining brownies and candies, then spoon rest of pudding.  On the top finish with final cup of whipped cream.  Garnish with whole peanut butter cups if desired. Refrigerate before serving.

Not Just Another Chicken Dish

One of my favorite restaurants serves a chicken dish which is not named for my son-in-law, though it is his favorite.  Bryan introduced it to us, and even though I was a little leery of goat cheese, I gave it a try.  I have to admit that I am an all-American girl, and at my ripe age am just now beginning to expand my food horizons in many ways.  I have not been restricted to meat and potatoes, and felt for years that I was adventurous, but truth be known, my excursions into ethnic food territories have always been terribly Americanized. I guess you could say I have a somewhat timid palette. 

After we tried this chicken dish, which consisted of a lemon butter sauce over grilled chicken covered with sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese, I was hooked.  The combination of flavors was extraordinary.  There was sweetness, tartness, and tang.  Amazing.  We found a recipe for this dish on line and began to make it at home.  Being me, of course, I had to find new ways to adapt it and twist it. 

You can buy goat cheese in a log, which can be sliced or pinched off.  It is thick and creamy this way.  You can also buy it in crumbles, not unlike feta cheese.  If you are going to top your chicken, or other meat, you need the log style.  If you want to make a stuffed meat, the crumbles work best.  I am going to give you my recipe today for stuffed chicken breasts, because the other recipe can be found easily on line under ‘Chicken Bryan’.  This also can be used with 1” thick loin pork chops.  Be sure that they are boneless, of course.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 Tb. minced garlic

½ C. minced onion

4 Tb. butter

½ C. dry white wine

¼ C. lemon juice

2/3 C. Cold sliced butter

1-1/2 C. chopped sun dried tomatoes

¼ C. chopped fresh basil

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. white pepper

8 oz. goat cheese crumbles

Olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Saute garlic and onion until tender.  Stir wine and lemon juice into skillet, turn heat to medium high; simmer until reduced to half.  Meanwhile, slice pockets into breasts carefully, making sure not to cut completely through.  When sauce is reduced, reduce heat to low and add butter one pat at a time, stirring continually.  Add tomatoes and basil.  Finally add salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.  Stir in goat cheese.  Stuff the chicken breasts with about 2/3 of tomato and cheese mixture, setting aside remainder to keep warm.  Brush chicken with olive oil, and coat baking dish with scant amount to keep chicken from sticking. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until chicken is done.  Use remainder of stuffing for garnish.  (This is where if you have log goat cheese, it makes for excellent toppitng)

**The other way of doing this, of course, is to not stuff, but to grill the chicken breasts while making the sauce and simply cover the grilled chicken with the wonderful concoction we have made.  Simply place the breasts, brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper, on the grill for the normal time: 6-8 minutes per side.  Place about 2 oz. of goat cheese on each breast, then spoon the tomato mixture over each and serve.**

I have found that having extra sauce is a benefit for my family, as they really like a ‘gravy’ feature.  They also really like the sauce.  So if you double the amounts to make the sauce, you may not regret it.  I usually add garlic mashed red potatoes, some steamed vegetables and garlic bread with it.  It also pairs great with any sort of pasta!  Bon Appetit!!

In Celebration of Birthday Cake

What do you remember about your very best birthday party?  Was it the cake?  Probably not.  Most likely it was an out of this world present, or the very best party your parents ever gave you.  The milestone birthdays, like your 13^th, your 16^th, 18^th, 30^th, 40^th,  (ugh) are the ones that may stand out.  The ones that stand out for my kids are the ones when I changed up the birthday cake.  When they were very young I took the standard cake decorating course so that I could make their birthday cakes special.  And I tried hard to make them nice.  25 + years ago, the cakes weren’t as outrageous as they are now, so they got trains, dinosaurs and Miss Piggy cakes.  They weren’t too bad.  My grandkids are getting some that are a bit more creative.      

                                                                      

A few years ago, someone mentioned they wanted an ice cream cake for their birthday.  The price had gone up outrageously at the favorite ice cream place where we bought them, so I priced them at the grocery store.  Wow.  Stupid expensive.  I began thinking to myself, how hard could this be?  I started disassembling the cake in my head.  Cookie crust, ice cream of choice with filling.  Whipped cream topping.  $30?  Really?  I told whichever child it was I was going to attempt this.  They were somewhat skeptical, if I remember correctly, but were willing to let me have a go at it.  I did a little research on line to see what other people had to say about it and immediately tossed the ones that involved ice cream sandwiches and twinkies.  I made a couple different versions, but the following is by far the crowd favorite and I’ve had multiple requests outside of family to make it.  The cookie crust is a peanut butter cookie recipe that I make, but you can use crushed up oreo cookies or any chocolate sandwich cookie if you prefer.  This one really is best, though, if you use the peanut butter cookies that I make.

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Cake

Start preparations at least 24 hours in advance

Equipment needed:

Springform pan, Parchment Paper, Piping bag and decorator tip

Crust:

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Cup Sugar

1 Egg

Combine all three ingredients and stir until blended.  Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet and press into 2” flattened cookie shape.  Bake in 350 degree oven for approx. 10 minutes.  Allow to cool completely.   Place piece of parchment paper over bottom of springform pan, then close sides. Crumble into bottom of 10” springform pan and freeze.

Cake:

I Gallon French Vanilla Ice Cream; slightly softened

1 lg. sz bag miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped and cut into quarters

2  17 oz  jars hot fudge topping

1 pint heavy whipping cream

2/3 C sugar

Dash of vanilla extract

Slightly warm one jar of hot fudge in microwave, just enough so that it is spreadable.  Put ice cream in large glass bowl and add candies.  Fold in gently until well mixed and evenly distributed.  Pour half of mixture onto cookie crust.  Spread one jar of fudge topping evenly over ice cream, then cover with remaining ice cream.  Using back of spoon, make as level as possible.  Return to freezer for 6-8 hours, or overnight.

At least 4 hours before serving, make whipped cream: 

About 5 minutes prior to making topping place large glass bowl in freezer.   Pour heavy cream, sugar and vanilla in bowl.  Starting out on low speed, then slowly increasing speed on mixer, beat cream until cream thickens and stiff peaks begin to form.  Take ice cream cake from freezer.  Place knife carefully around the perimeter of pan and gently loosen edges, then release pan.  Place cake on serving plate, removing parchment paper. Spread half of whipping cream over top of cake.  If cake is softening, return to freezer for short time. 

Place whipped cream in piping bag with star tip.  Pipe decorating edges like shells, or ropes, around edges and bottom of cake.  Use second jar of fudge to drizzle over top of cake strings of chocolate and place random peanut butter cups on top for garnish.  Place back in freezer to harden for at least 3 hours.  Check to see if it is too hard to cut before you are ready to serve; depending on your individual freezer, you may need to let it sit out for a few minutes before you cut it.  

 (On the right-hand side of the picture, you can see the slight melting of the ice cream causing the whipped cream to start to slide....I will have to repair that before delivery!)

One Upping Chicken Parmesan

               Okay, so I posted a recipe for Chicken Parmesan Alfredo, and then when I went to make it I did exactly what I usually do: I upped it.  I’m seldom satisfied with just going with a recipe the way it is.  In fact that is something my family has always complained about.  I would make something, they would love it, and I could never make it again because I was winging it.  In other words, they would ask me to make it again, and I couldn’t because I didn’t actually know what I did.  I’m sort of like a mad scientist in the kitchen, throwing some of this, a little of that, a pinch of that…oh wait, what was that?  Oh well, smelled right.  It’s sort of like the explorer who doesn’t follow the map but meanders randomly and miraculously winds up at his desired destination.  Or, lo and behold, somewhere even better.  If you have a basic understanding of what foods will go well together, what herbs meld well, what spices compliment one another, you more often than not will succeed.  That’s what happened last night.  Two tastes that go really well together are goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.  Tangy and sweet, they just pop.  It is a great blend and is one of the main tastes in one of our favorite dishes from one of our favorite restaurants.  Add to that a lemon-wine sauce thickened with butter, seasoned with garlic and shallots….my stomach just rumbled in response to the written word!

               So last night, as I was preparing the chicken, I thought of stuffing it with some cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.  So after I had prepared the breading, I pounded out the chicken breasts to about ¼” thickness.  I took  about 1 ½ Tbls. Sun-dried tomatoes per breast and combined it with equal amount of Italian shredded cheese mixture.  Any type will do, some come seasoned even.  I added about 1 oz. crumbled goat cheese to each breast, folded it over tightly then dipped it in the egg, then coated it in the breading.  Into the baking dish and into the oven for 40 minutes.  You can still use the Alfredo sauce if you wish, but I like the following sauce much better:

·        2 Tbls. Butter

·        2 Tbls. minced garlic

·        2 Tbls. minced shallots

·        ½ Cup dry white wine

·        1/3 Cup lemon juice

·        1 stick COLD butter, sliced

·        1 Cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

·        1/3 Cup chopped fresh basil

·        Salt and pepper/to taste

Saute garlic and shallots in butter over medium heat until tender.  Stir wine and lemon juice into skillet, increasing heat from medium to med-high; simmer to reduce by half.  Reduce heat to low and stir in cold butter one pat at a time until melted.  Stir in tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.  Serve over Chicken.  Crumble extra goat cheese over chicken for added flavor and punch!  Yummy!!

Chopped, what?

Okay, so a few years ago, my daughter introduced me to this show on the Food Network about these professional chefs who compete for $10,000 in four rounds of cooking with unknown ingredients in these really cool looking picnic baskets, which I would go on the show just to try to escape out the backdoor with.  Several of the ingredients are pretty snobby sounding things which most of us home-cooks have probably never heard of, then they throw in something random which is there to throw the highbrow chef off his game.  The irony is that the ‘random’ ingredient, which is something like grocery store cereal, or corn nuts, or chocolate cookies, is the part that I would be the most comfortable with and would not despair over. I recall the one show where the chef referred to Ramen noodles as ‘stoner-food.’  And more than one chef has stated that they hate anything from a can.  It is the fish with the head on that needed to be filleted, the vegetable I don’t recognize, or some strange Asian wine that would send me into the panic zone.  I think my sister-in-law Cheri needs to be collecting royalties from the network for this program since in my opinion they stole the idea from her.  She’s been living this programming idea out for years.  Our mother-in-law tells of the times that she would come to her house and offer to cook dinner.  Carrol would say, “Cheri, there’s nothing in my kitchen to cook, but you are welcome to see if you can find something.”  And Cheri would rummage through the cupboards and find random, mismatched ingredients and create a meal.  Raising 11 children she has continued the tradition of creating dishes from miscellaneous and sundry mystery ingredients: sometimes to her children’s dismay.  But that is how we learn, isn’t it?

     I was going through my cookbook, the personal one I keep of my own recipes, and was surprised how heavy it is on the recipe end.  (It explains why my own end is so heavy.)   It also explains why so often, while wanting to cook something ‘different’ for dinner, I am so often at a loss, and will just stand with the pantry open staring vacantly.  That is when I have had my own “Chopped” experience, sans the cursed clock!  I will pull out a few standard ingredients, notice I am missing something vital and then grab something that just might be a viable stand-in.  Like the time I didn’t have seasoned Panko bread crumbs, but Hey!  What if I throw these Garlic Seasoned Croutons through the food processor?  Combined with plain bread crumbs, a little flour and Voila!  It made a wonderful breading for my Chicken Parmesan.  Okay, not exactly standard Chicken Parmesan, but my own take on it: recipe to follow.  My weakness is in forgetting to actually measure accurately, so much of it is just a rough estimate.  I also tend to rely heavily on my sense of smell when I season…tricky sometimes, I know.  But also quite reliable since the nose and the palate are so closely related.

Easy Chicken Parmesan Alfredo

·        4 boneless chicken breasts

·        3 Cups Garlic Seasoned Croutons (should make 2 cups crumbs)

·        1/3 c flour + ½ cup plain bread crumbs

·        2/3  cup shredded parmesan cheese

·        Salt and pepper to taste

·        1-2 eggs for dipping

·        2 Tbs. olive oil (or enough to coat bottom of your baking dish)

Run Croutons through food processor until finely crushed.  Mix in wide shallow bowl with flour, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper.  In  separate bowl lightly beat eggs.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour olive oil in glass dish.  Dip chicken in egg, then coat both sides thoroughly with coating.  Place in oven on middle rack.  Bake 35 -40 minutes, depending upon thickness of breasts. 

Easy Alfredo Sauce

·        1 stick butter

·        8 oz. cream cheese

·        2 cups milk

·        2 tsp. garlic powder

·        6 oz. grated parmesan cheese

·        ¼ tsp white pepper

In medium saucepan over medium heat melt butter, add cream cheese and melt while whisking continually.  Slowly add milk, continuing to whisk.  Add garlic powder and pepper.  Remove from heat and add cheese, whisking to remove any lumps.  Continue to stir until smooth and reaching desired consistency.  Sauce will thicken as it stands.  (A parmesan-romano cheese mixture may be used for added flavor.)

Serve Chicken with Fettuccini or pasta of your choice.  Place chicken on bed of pasta, sauce served over chicken and pasta makes everything scrumptious!  This also covers any drying out that may occur if you overbake your chicken!  Handy little trick, huh?  Serve with salad and garlic bread, and everyone’s full!

Crazy for Coconut

I am going to start a new blog!  This one will be on one of my favorite pastimes, cooking and baking.  I am not sure how I will approach this new blog, nor which direction I will take it, but will give it a go. 

Today I made a Coconut Creme Cake.  Something I have been wanting to attempt for quite some time.  I saw the desert on a new show I found on the Food Network:  Dessert First.  I have to confess, the host of the show sort of annoys me, but she does know her stuff.  I DVR the Saturday morning program and watch it at my leisure.  That way I can FF through the recipes I find not to my interest and slow down on the ones I do like.  All of the recipes are on the Food Network's website, which is extremely helpful, as the hostess of the program, Ann Thornton doesn't give very detailed instructions while you are watching. 
 
I had some bad luck with the cake myself, as it fell to pieces while I was trying to stack it.  I'm not sure if it was because I didn't let it cool long enough, or if it was too moist.  Nonetheless, I was making a half-cake for my daughter-in-law's 'half birthday'.  Her birthday is on Christmas Day and I came up with the idea of on June 25 giving her a half birthday party the first year she and Jason were together.  She was surprised, so now we try to keep the tradition up.  Tomorrow, the 25th, they will be on a plane to Togo, Africa, so we are having them for dinner tonight.  So, my disaster turned out to be not so bad after all!  Besides, it gave me an opportunity to taste test and I was very happy with the outcome!  Very good cake, I must say. 

The frosting is very runny, though and has to be refrigerated to set up.  It is difficult to work with and I didn't like it at all.  The Cream of Coconut made it very runny, I believe.  I could have added more sugar, but was afraid it would have made it excessively sweet. 

If anyone else tries it, please let me know your results.  I will look forward to comments and feedback, both on the recipes I post and on how well the blog is received.


Thanks.....Kerri

Coconut Crème Cake

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 1 1/3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Fine sea salt
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 (13.5-ounce) can sweetened cream of coconut, well stirred (recommended: Coco Lopez)
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut mixed with 1 1/2 cups toasted sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (9-inch) diameter cake pans with 2-inch high sides.

Pour the flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Use a whisk to stir together. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar, butter and sweetened cream of coconut until fluffy and it resembles whipped cream, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir to incorporate all the ingredients. With the mixer on low speed, beat in 1/2 the dry ingredients, followed by the buttermilk, and the remaining dry ingredients, scraping down the sides in between each addition, just until blended.

Using clean, dry beaters, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt in another clean large bowl until the egg whites are stiff but not dry. Cook's Note: You want to get the most volume from your egg whites, that's why it is essential that the beaters and bowl are clean

In batches, fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, being careful not to deflate the whites. Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Spread the batter with an offset spatula to level the batter in the pan. Bake the cakes until a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack, about 10 minutes. Gently run a small sharp knife around the pan sides to loosen the cakes. Turn the cakes out onto the racks and cool completely.

Place 1 cake layer, flat-side up, on a cake plate. Spread 1 heaping cup Cream Cheese Frosting over the cake layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border of cake around the edge. This will give the filling a place to go or spread when the second cake layer is placed on top-you don't want it to bulge out the sides!

Sprinkle 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut mix over the frosting. Top with the second cake layer, flat-side up. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. For a retro look, I like swoopy swirls. The best way to achieve it is to spread the frosting using the back of a spoon. It's that easy!

Sprinkle the remaining coconut mix over the cake, gently pressing into the sides to adhere. Coconut Layer Cake can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut, well stirred (recommended: Coco Lopez)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Fine sea salt

Beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the butter and beat until smooth. Add the sugar, sweetened cream of coconut, vanilla extract and pinch of sea salt and beat until well blended, scraping down the sides as needed, for about 3 more minutes