RED VELVET CAKE

Image via Wikipedia

This Red Velvet Cake is so rich and moist you simply won't be able to put your fork down.  Chase it with a cold glass of milk and you'll think you are in heaven.
Steve

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 2 ounces red food coloring
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• White frosting, recipe follows

White Frosting:

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the shortening, eggs and sugar. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa and food coloring. Add the paste to the shortening mixture. Sift the flour and salt together over parchment. Add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk in 3 additions. Add the vanilla extract. Fold in the baking soda and vinegar. Pour the batter into 2 greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack. Invert the cakes from the pans.
Frosting: Over medium heat, cook the flour and milk until thickened. Let cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour mixture.
Frost the top of the first layer with frosting and set the second layer on top. Frost the entire cake with remaining frosting.

Heavenly Silver Dollar Hot Cakes

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This is one of my favorite recipes for hot cakes.  They are small, easy to prepare and you can easily control the portions served.  Having a large hot cake on your plate is messy, too much to eat and just plain wasteful.  Try these little hot cakes and see what you think.
Serve them with some steaming hot sausage or bacon.  Top them with your favorite fruit.  Sit back and enjoy.
Steve

These are the lightest sour cream silver-dollar-size hotcakes I’ve ever had—they seem to hover over the plate. They are heavenly and certainly should be served hot.

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cake flour
2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar

PREPARATION:

 

1. Put the eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until well blended. Add the salt, baking soda, flour, sour cream, and sugar, and mix well. All of this can be done in a blender, if you prefer.

2. Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is good and hot, film with grease, and drop small spoonfuls of batter onto the griddle—just enough to spread to an approximately 2 1/2-inch round. When a few bubbles appear on top of the pancakes, turn them over and cook briefly.

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CHOCOLATE FUDGE POPS

Image by jspace3 via Flickr

Baby it is hot outside! The kids are cranky and want something NOW! So what do you do when it's hot? Well of course you try to find ways to cool down. Here's one of my favorites and I think you'll love it too. Chocolate Fudge Pops. They're easy to prepare and just the answer you are looking for on a hot, sticky day. Cool down today with one of these delicious treats.

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 cup water
3 tablespoons golden brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

PREPARATION:
In a small saucepan, whisk the milk, water, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa and salt. Heat over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until all of the solids are dissolved and there are no lumps. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and butter until melted.

Cool the mixture to room temperature. Pour into molds and freeze for about 6 hours or until solid.

To Store: Freeze up to 3 months. Store in molds or release, wrap well in waxed paper and store in a marked sealable plastic bag.

There you have it. Now take some time to cool down with these delicious chocolate fudge pops.


Happy Summer Fun To Everyone!
Steve and Kim

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Lemon Sponge Pudding

Image by stu_spivack via Flickr

I simply love the zesty taste of lemon when added to anything. And, in that line of thinking, here's a wonderful way to get the lemon-fresh taste without the lemon-like sour face. Lemon Sponge Pudding.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter or margarine, softened
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of flour
As a garnish for this dish I would recommend raspberries but it is your choice of course.

PREPARATION:
Heat your oven to 325 degrees. You'll need eight 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups and a roasting pan large enough to hold them.

In a medium saucepan, heat milk just until it is simmering. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk yolks to blend then gradually whisk in hot milk. Whisk in lemon zest and juice and then add butter until it melts. In a small bowl, whisk sugar and flour until blended. Whisk into lemon mixture just until smooth.

In another medium-sized bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Gently whisk half the egg whites into the lemon mixture. Whisk in remaining whites until blended.

Ladle into ramekins. If the mixture in the bowl starts to separate, gently stir, then proceed to ladle mixture into remaining ramekins.

Place the ramekins into your roasting pan. Carefully add very hot tap water to pan to come about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for 25 minutes or until puddings are firm to the touch and very light golden brown. Remove from the water and place on a rack to cool. Let them cool about 30 minutes before inverting, or cover cooled ramekins and refrigerate up to 2 days.

To serve your lemon sponge pudding, run a knife along the edges of the ramekins, then invert puddings onto serving plates. Spoon any of the mixture clinging to the ramekins over the top. Garnish with your raspberries.

You're going to love this!
Steve and Kim

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Old Fashion Fig Newton Bars

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I love figs. They're full of nutrients that are difficult to get anywhere else and most of all they are delicious. Try this easy recipe for making your own fig-newton bars. I think you love them.

Ingredients
FOR DOUGH:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/8 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
12 tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into pieces
4 eggs, divided
FOR FILLING:
2 cups figs, chopped (can use dried)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup apple juice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. orange peel, or zest of 1 orange

Directions
FOR DOUGH:
Combine the dry ingredients in a lg. bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter pieces until the dough is sandy loooking.
Whisk 3 eggs together and add to the dough. Mix to combine. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
FOR FILLING:
Combine all the filling ingredients in a saucepan or skillet and cook over medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed by the figs and the mixture is thick. Stir during cooking.
Let the filling cool slightly, then puree in a food processor until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to bake.
Note* : for an easier version, sub the filling with 2 cups of fig preserves.
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 375F. Make an egg wash by whisking the remaining egg with 2 tsp. of water.
Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. On a lightly floured surface roll out each portion of dough into a rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Work with 1 portion of dough at a time. Cut the dough lengthwise into strips, at least 2 1/2 inches wide.
Paint around the edges of each strip with egg wash. Spoon the fig filling down the center of the strip and then fold the dough over to enclose the filling.
Place the tubes, seam side down, on the greased (or lined with parchment paper) cookie sheet. Press down lightly to flatten. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Brush the newtons with the egg wash and bake until light golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Let cool, then cut with a sharp knife into 1-inch pieces.

Frozen Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwhiches

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This treat was one of Elvis's favorites. We think you might just enjoy it too. Perhaps while eating this concoction you could slip in an old Elvis movie and watch it while munching.

INDGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons of grape jelly
About 48 Graham Crackers, shortbread or vanilla wafers

PREPARATION:
Whip the cream and sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer until the cream forms soft peaks. Add the peanut butter and continue blending until well combined. Add the grape jelly and blend for just a few seconds, until just swirled into the mix.

Spoon the peanut butter and jelly cream between 2 of the cookies and place in a freezer-safe container. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Cover the container with plastic wrap and freeze until firm.

That's it! Now, about the movie selection. Yes, you could put in a Elvis movie but there's another choice. In the movie Lilo and Stitch (2002) there's a scene where it says "It's sandwich day! Every Thursday I take Pudge the fish, a peanut butter sandwich. So... maybe this would be a good peanut butter and jelly movie too. It's a little more kid-friendly than Elvis and you'll get a laugh out of it too.


As always, we wish you good eating.
Steve and Kim

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Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce

Image by Molas via Flickr

Here's a dipping sauce that we think you'll really enjoy. It's hot to the touch and hearty to eat. You'll love it.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup Contadina All Natural Tomato Paste
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon
12 drops of hot Tabasco red pepper sauce or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

PREPARATION:
Mix the tomato paste and lemon juice until it becomes the consistency of ketchup. Mix this with the vinegar, sugar and pepper sauce. Cover and refrigerate before serving. Serve with appetizers or stir-fry chicken or pork as a dipping sauce.

It's HOT but worth the pain!
** Consider bottling this and giving it as a special gift.**

Steve and Kim

Olympic Quick Fruit Salad

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This recipe is so fast and easy to make you'll think you are in a speed skating race with Apolo Ohno! It just can't be beat.
Fruit Salad for your pleasure. A taste delight in every bite. And, it's healthy.

INGREDIENTS:
1 package of sugar cookie dough
16 ounces of fat-free cream cheese
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1/4 cup of fat-free milk

PREPARATION:
Spray a 10 x 13 inch jelly roll pan with Pam
Press 1 package of sugar cookie dough into the pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool

Blend all of the other ingredients together and spread it out on the baked dough.

Arrange fresh fruit of your choice on top and then chill.
**If you're using bananas, add them just prior to serving this delicious treat.

I told you it was quick. Now, go watch the Winter Olympics. Go USA!

Steve and Kim

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