Chocolate Truffle Cake

=)

"Mousse like cake"

I just found this post....blogger said that it was a draft....hmmm....well, clearly I did start to work on it.

Notes: 

...I remember that it was quite good...but that is all I remember, lol!

 I remember I would make it again! =)

Lemon Cake from Cook's Illustrated

 Peter's Cake. Just the way he "ordered" it: a lemon cake "stump" not frosted, with a 3 foot long gummy snake coiled on top! ...I think that he liked it!    This was the first "fun/crazy" cake I've baked or helped bake in a LONG time- I really enjoyed the challenge.  We served it with whipped cream, it was quite tasty, and I look forward to baking another.  

 

Notes:
~ Cake is on page 129 & 132 in "The Dessert Bible" by Christopher Kimball
~ I made the top of the stump & leaves with pie crust.
~ Used store-bought lemon curd for the filling AND gave the whole cake a "crumb coat" with the lemon curd (worked well!).
~ The gummy snake came from nuts.com: HERE.
~ I used Lemon extract in place of Lemon Oil.
~ The night before the party, Dad & Mom helped me make the marzipan mushrooms!   (we found the marzipan at IKEA)

~ I made lightly sweetened stabilized whipped cream: 1c heavy whipping cream, 1/3-1/2c sour cream, about 1/2 Tablespoon powdered sugar & about 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

~1960's Lemon Yellow~

(Go HERE to see more photos)

"If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked A Cake" sung by Eileen Barton

 

Did you know this song???   

I did not (until just now), 

but it conveys my sentiments very well!

~ Listen HERE! ~

Mamie Eisenhower’s Cheesecake with a Chocolate Crust

Mmm...cheesecake for a party!

....it rose SO tall (you beat it like 20-25 minutes!), but it sank as it cooled.

I got the recipe for Mamie Eisenhower’s Cheesecake in Bill Yosses & Melissa Clark's book "The Perfect Finish", but I also found the recipe on this blog HERE.  I guess that that Gal got it from The Perfect Finish, as the recipe is almost word for word from the cookbook I used.

Notes:
~I used a 9" pan instead of a 10" (8 generous servings)
~Left out the lemon peel
~Used 2&1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
~If you have one, use a stand mixer, not a hand mixer.
~I think that I over beat it...and maybe over cooked it... =/
~Served with your choice of chocolate or caramel sauce or homemade cranberry sauce! 

Chocolate Pudding Pies (recipe link too)

How do you like these little baby Chocolate Pudding Pies?  I made them for an upcoming lunch date. I've never made a chocolate pie before, but during the last lunch I was (good-naturedly) requested/ordered (by a 4-5 year old) to bring chocolate pie next time....so I did...it was easy and SO, SO tasty!  I thought that I could see more such pies in my future... (Recipe HERE) ...It was one of those times that mine did NOT look like the picture. Oh, well. 
It was also one of those recipes that acted like pudding, not pie. It would not thicken, and I don't know what I did wrong. BUT, IT TASTED REALLY GOOD!!!!

 (I just love this new blog I found!  Monet has such a way with photographs and words...! )

http://www.anecdotesandapples.com/chocolate-pudding-hand-pies  

Notes:

~I baked the 2.5" circles of dough over the bottoms of an upside-down pan: find instructions here
~We had no milk, so I used Cream

~Per Mom's suggestion I increased the Cornstarch by 1 Tablespoon

~Used one of Mom's Famous Pie Crusts (recipe here)
~If I was making them for children, I think that I would cut the cocoa powder a bit, for adults, use it all! 

Brownies for 2-4 (recipe too!)

Get the recipe HERE!

I found Christina over at "Dessert For Two" while looking for Baby-Cakes back in February, and now I subscribe to her blog.  (She grew up in Texas!) I'm even thinking of getting one of Christina's cookbooks- probably check them out at the library first.

This was an easy recipe to make completely Organic! 
(It's also vegan, and could be Gluten Free.)

Notes:
~ We doubled the recipe (making 2 - 9x5 pans), and froze some.
~ Used half and half Almond Butter & Fresh made Pecan Butter
(Mara Hubbard's Organic Pecans).
~ Butter in place of Coconut Oil.
~ I could not bring my self to use SO much Maple Syrup, so I used half Honey.
~ The Fair Trade Organic Dark Chocolate  chips came from Azure Standard- HERE. 

Next time:
~ I'd cut the sweetener, and add an egg.
~ Maybe add some pecan chunks.

Get the recipe HERE!

Classic Lemon Cream Pie (1960's)

Mmmm...what says "Happy Spring" better than a Lemon Cream Pie?  What about "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"?  It's the ultimate "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow! 

To my knowledge, I've only had Lemon Meringue Pie once in my life, and did not care for it.  But I just knew that I'd like a Lemon Cream Pie- in fact, I was prepared to love it...and I did.  =)

 I wanted to make a really tasty pie, and preferably one from scratch, so I began to hunt through cookbooks that should have held the recipe that I was looking for...and turned up nothing.  That's right- nothing.  So I went to the computer, and the 2nd blog I clicked on was a winner!  (I did try to look around a bit more, but this was the only one I found.)  RECIPE HERE!!!

Notes:
~Mom was very nice to cook up the filling for me! =)  Thanks, Mom!
~We used regular cream cheese, and next time will try upping it from 12 oz to 16 oz.
~I don't think that I'd put the lemon peel on top next time...or maybe just less.

~I made changes to the crust- I used one of Mom's pie crusts (recipe here), and Cooks Illustrated said to roll your regular crust in 1/2 Cup crushed Graham Crackers and pre-bake (lined with fork-pricked foil) for the best cream pie crust. So I did- it was a mess, but worth it!
Place oven rack lower than normal, bake 15 minutes at 400, remove foil, turn pan and bake another 8-10 minutes longer. (I wish I'd covered just the edges at that point.)

Thank you, Erin and Erin's Grandma-- we just love the pie, and you are right, I could NOT find another one like it, not even a cute copy of the original 1960's pamphlet, titled Philly Pies.

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(I'll share this post on "Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson")

Pineapple Lush Cake (recipe too)

Let's see...I got this recipe from my new blog & Facebook Friend: Akram over at Akram's Ideas

 I baked a cake from scratch, and not being a fan of Cool-Whip (and feeling like there was enough sugar in this recipe), I replaced it with whipped unsweetened cream.   I would make this cake again~ it was easy and impressive.

 
Notes:
~ Cake: "Hot Milk Sponge Cake" from "Better Homes & Gardens".
~ I did not make this "diet" =)
~For the first time ever, I tried to add Gelatin to the whipped cream to stabilize it-- ended up not miking in, and the result was good sized lumps of gelatin... =(  I guess that I need to practise that technique!  =)
~ Next time, I think that I'd serve additional whipped cream
~ Original recipe for Pineapple Lush Cake is HERE
~ Turning this into a trifle (with pineapple chunks) would be good too!

Gluten Free & Paleo Baked Doughnuts (recipe too!)

Hi everyone! It's been a long time

 I was having a movie party (Anne of Green Gables), and wanted something fun but not not too "bad" to eat...I've been thinking Doughnuts lately, so I did an internet search for paleo doughnut recipes.  

The third blog I looked at was Shannah @ Just us Four.  Her recipe (HERE) is a winner! 

 See notes the below...

 Notes:
~I did not have a "doughnut pan"...what I had was a "Whoopie Pie Pan". One recipe made 9.
~ The recipe did not call for Salt- I added 1/4t.
~I completely forgot to add the melted butter...it was trickier to mix, and I was prepared to butter them before I ate them, but that was not necessary- they were that good!
~ Oh,  I did not pipe the batter, I just carefully scooped/scraped..
~ I only baked the Doughnuts for about 10 minutes- maybe I could have pulled them a few minutes earlier. (I let them get a little golden, so the edges are just a tad crisp (not much), but the egg whites make them SO light- not dense!!!)
~ After cooling them (not as long as Shannah said), I tried to dip them in the chocolate, but it was NOT coating. (next time- cut the coconut oil) At all...so, I dumped a little chocolate into each cavity, and set the doughnuts on top, and popped them back in the fridge- took a while to harden.
~ If they are not hard/cold enough they will not pop out- they will brake.
~STORE IN THE FRIDGE!!!!!  =)  DO NOT LEAVE THEM OUT!!!  =)

Easy Lemon Squares (recipe too!)

 Easy Lemon Squares from the Recipe Box

Easy Lemon Squares

Crust:
1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup white Flour
(maybe add a pinch of salt next time)

Filling:
3 large Eggs (3/4 cup)
3/4 cup White Sugar
2 teaspoons fresh grated Lemon Rind
1/3 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Tablespoons white Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt

1) Preheat oven to 350

2) Using a reasonably sized bowl & large fork, combine the crust ingredients- keep working it till the mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Gently press mixture into the bottom of an 8X8 baking pan.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.   
While it bakes, start on the filling!   
Remove from oven...(I let it cool maybe 5 minutes on a wire rack. Cooks Illustrated says to fill while hot, so that's kind of what I did.)

3) To prepare the filling, beat eggs at medium speed until foamy.  Add all the rest of the filling ingredients, and beat until well-blended.  Carefully grease the edges of the pan before you pour mixture over the hot partially baked crust.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until set.  Cool on wire rack.   Cut into 16 squares. 

Topping:
When the bars are cool & on the serving plate, sift Powdered Sugar on them. 

Note: 
~If you sift Powdered Sugar on them too soon, the sugar will melt right in to the Lemon Squares...so you'll have to do like me, and re-sprinkle them when it's time to serve. =)

Photo from a 1954 Family Circle Magazine...

Blueberry Gateau (recipe too!)

Blueberry Gateau (cake) clipped from a Country Living magazine (August 2001)

Delicious, simple, easy, fresh berry cake. I have plans to bake more! =)

Let me know if you need a better copy....

Notes:
~ Next time I think that I would use more salt- say 1/4t.
~ Maybe I would add a little lemon to the cake batter....
~ Thanks to Mom's suggestion, I only baked the cake for 50 minutes, and I probably should have paid a little more attention to it and probably could have pulled it a few minutes earlier. 
~ I could have used Hawkins Berries, but I did not have them at the time. You could~ find them HERE!

~ Here again, I used golden free-range eggs (from:  www.facebook.com/GuadalupeRanch)!

Serve a Blueberry Gateau to anyone, any time of day! =)

Chocolate Frozen (Greek) Yogurt (recipe too!)

Hi friends!  Long time no see!  ;)  How are you all???  I'm good, I've not been baking/cooking much because: I've been sewing new clothes!  =)

Chocolate Frozen (Greek) Yogurt

I found this recipe on allrecipes, and tweaked it....I hope that you enjoy it!  =)

• 1/4 cup White Sugar
• 10 drops Sweet Leaf liquid Stevia
• 1-2 Tablespoons Organic Cornstarch (3T is too much)
• 3 Tablespoons Organic Cocoa Powder (Frontier)
  
• 12 oz Cream
  

• 1/2 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
  
• 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
  
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
  

Directions

1. Place some of the Milk in a jar, add the Cornstarch & Cocoa Powder- shake it up good (like you were making gravy). 
2. (now think pudding) In a saucepan: stir up the remaining plain Cream, the chocolate Cream, the Sugar and Chocolate chips. Cook over medium heat until chocolate is melted and the mixture is thickened. Stir constantly to prevent burning. (You have to cook the cream concoction til it boils, but not too long!)
3. Remove the mixture from the heat, and stir in the plain yogurt, butter, Stevia and Vanilla. (I used a whisk, because the yogurt was hard to incorporate.)
4. Refrigerate until chilled. 
5. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.   (click here for our preferred method)

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Notes:
~YUM!
~3T Cornstarch is too much, unless you want to eat it like pudding, and not try to freeze it.
~I'd add more Butter next time. =)

Notes from allrecipe commenters I'd like to remember:
~My family loves this recipe and I think next time I'll try adding 1/4 peanut butter or a few peppermint sticks for a change. Excellent ice cream.

~I used Truvia sweetener and nonfat GREEK yogurt.  Wow oh wow, this was incredible! Everyone loved this, even my froyo hating husband. This recipe will be made a lot this summer, I can tell you that!

~I used sweetened condensed milk (didn't have cream), 1 cup yogurt, 3 tbs of cocoa, and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Omitted the sugar and the cornstarch because the condensed milk was sweet enough and thick enough.

1940's kitchen

Piece of Cake recap

 

~Memorable Moments~

My favorite frosting: Maple (here)
My favorite cake & frosting set: Gooey Chocolate Cake (here)
My favorite cheesecake: Coffee Cheesecake with Pecan Sauce (here)
My favorite un-frosted cake: Iced Lemon & Ginger Cake (here)

Easiest/most fun cakes? Coffee Cheesecake with Pecan Sauce & Baked Alaska Birthday Cake, Cinnamon Swirl Tea Bread (here, here & here)
Most challenging?  The Roulades & The Genoise cakes =/
Most interesting? Middle Eastern Orange Cake & Brown Butter Frosting (here & here) 
Most blog views? Applecake Bars (here), with 40 views!

A few things I learned...

~ Not every bad thing is a tragedy.
~ 30 is NOT old.
~I can be calm (or calmer) under pressure. (Bach remedies are great!)
~"Folding" things together is not that hard.  =)
~ I have such good friends & family- they'll choke down rather inedible cake, and tell me I'm doing great! (Yes, there is a time & place for not telling the exact truth!) 

And just because I know that some of you are wondering:

Q: Did you buy any stuff/gadgets along the way?
A: The answer is yes- I made a few new cute aprons.

Q: Did I borrow anything?  
A: Yes- a jelly roll pan from Mrs. Hale. 

Q: Are you planning to buy anything?  
A: YES!  I decided that I NEED an 3" deep 8" round cake pan.   And a new hand mixer-- ours smells like it will shoot flames at any moment! (Can anyone recommend a good brand?  The Cuisinart we paid big bucks for has been disappointing!)

~Many Thanks~

Thank you all for all the comments and encouragement you have given me during this baking project!  The project & all of you have gotten me through a rough time- Grandma Hale's passing & my turning 30.  You all have meant a lot to me, and I pray that the Lord will bless you for your kindness. Thank you.  I don't yet know what I shall do next- besides take a little break....

 Thank you for the Music   -ABBA

 What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

I've been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair
I wanna sing it out to everybody
What a joy, what a life, what a chance!

So I say
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?

Baked Alaska Birthday Cake

Week 28, recipe 24 ~ Baked Alaska Birthday Cake found on page 90

The last cake of this baking challenge is also my very first Baked Alaska! (For my 30th birthday!)  The Baked Alaska is an impressive cake, and really rather easy- keep that in mind if your husband's boss ever comes to dinner (Does that even happen anymore these days?)!  After watching some YouTubes on the subject, I decided to bake the cake, fill (with raspberry jam from Egypt) and freeze it ahead.  Leaving the topping/assembling with the fresh Raspberries, Vanilla Ice Cream & Meringue for last minute...worked pretty well!
 As it was I ended up being a jack-in-the-box! (playing the game & getting the cake in the oven!) 

Notes: 
~(mostly) Step by step photos can be found HERE.
~The Ice Cream I chose was Breyers natural vanilla (the shortest ingredient list!) 
~Changes: I used salted butter, my 3" deep 8" springform pan- I'm glad that I did!
~After being SO careful with the cake baking, the freezer dried my cake out, and I only made it the day before...I don't think that I would freeze it next time.
~I took the cake out about an hour before,but it was still at least partly frozen when I served it.  (not so good I think)
~ The frozen cake may have helped the ice cream not melt!
~I put together a little YouTube playlist of Baked Alaska tutorials for you (& me!). You can find it HERE. 
~The lovely yellow color is due to the fact I used golden free-range eggs (from: www.facebook.com/GuadalupeRanch). I also used the DeLaGarza's egg whites in the Meringue.  I sure do like eating eggs that I know are good healthy eggs, from good healthy chickens, and a good healthy family! =)
~I think that the filling/cake/ice cream choices are limitless. 
~Oh! If you make an Italian Meringue instead of the one in this book, you would use a sugar syrup instead of just adding sugar.  Pro: no crunchy sugar granules   Con: more work 
~I'll bet that it would be easier to make a Baked Alaska style cake with a sheet cake or 9x13 pan...I may have to try that...  

I'd like to think that this baby got a Baked Alaska for his birthday!
(American Standard ad)

We have a winner!

 

Congratulations, Rebekah B!  

Keep an eye on the mail box for your

 very own copy of "Piece of Cake".  =)

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(Remember folks, if you did not win, and still want a copy of your own, you can buy one HERE.)