Sweet Treat of the Week: Unbirthday Cake

I have a bit of buttermilk in the refrigerator that is quickly reaching its time of expiration so I pulled out my favorite Southern Living cake book for some inspiration to use it up.  (No food left behind, right?)  I chose to make a simple cake for which I had all the ingredients on hand.  It's simply called "The Celebration Cake".  In this case, since our cake was not truly a celebration cake, I left the cake in the pan I baked it in and frosted just the top. It's the lazy-woman's way to decorate a cake--what, are you gonna call the food police on me?  But again, the cake wasn't for an actual occasion. Truthfully, it was purely a way to avoid throwing out the remainder of my buttermilk! And I say when life hands you buttermilk, you'd better bake a cake!

Since the cake is for "celebrations", I decided to make it a "merry unbirthday" cake for my husband.  Hey, we all like to feel special every now and then, right?  Why should that only happen on our birthdays?

If you have never made a cake from scratch before, this is a pretty straightforward and fool-proof one to make!

Southern Living's Celebration Cake

Prep: 25 min., Bake: 35 min., Cool: 55 min.
Yield: Makes 24 servings (In my house, it's more like 12 servings!)

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups cake flour*
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk

Cream Cheese Frosting**

Preparation:

1. Beat sugar and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until yellow disappears after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla.

2. Combine flour and baking soda in a small bowl; add to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at medium speed just until blended after each addition. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13- x 9-inch pan.

3. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan to wire rack, and cool 45 minutes or until completely cool. Place cake on a serving platter (or leave it in the pan if you're being a lazy bum like me!). Frost as desired.

*If you don't have cake flour in your pantry, don't fear!  You can make some with this simple hint:
For each cup of cake flour use 7/8 cup all-purpose flour (1 cup minus 2 tablespoons) PLUS 2 tablespoons of corn starch. The addition of corn starch helps to make cakes light and tender.

**Use whatever recipe you like.  The way I make it is basically a ratio- 1 8 oz. brick of cream cheese, 1 stick of butter and 3.5 cups of powdered sugar.  If you're making a layer cake, just double the ingredients.  Or triple, if you like a lot of frosting.  I won't judge you!

...and a very merry unbirthday to you!



Edited: After reading this post, my mom shared a tip she read about freezing buttermilk (and bananas).  Genius!

Sweet Treat of the Week: Fall Favorites

Last night we hosted a chili party and had a fabulous time!  Rather than baking a cake for dessert, I opted for a few simple fall favorites.  Here's what we had:

I had never heard of mixing candy corn and peanuts until this year, and now I see the combination everywhere!  How was I so out of the loop?  I'm not a fan of candy corn so I thought I may enjoy it with some salty roasted peanuts.  The verdict?  I still don't like candy corn.  Yuck.  But some of my friends do!

While I may not love candy corn, I do love hot apple cider and I'll find any excuse to make it. 

I make hot apple cider by pouring a gallon of bottled apple cider into a crockpot and I add:

• one cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves
• a few slices of orange

Just keep your crockpot on the warm setting and keep the lid on until your guests arrive.  Once your guests arrive, remove the lid so that your cider will be a more "drinkable" temperature.  (I forgot to do that and we all had to wait on our cider to cool before we could sip it--no big deal of course!)

Caramel Apples were the "official" dessert of the evening...the quintessential fall treat!

It had been a while since I made these so I asked my mom how she makes them with her preschool class and it turns out that she uses the recipe from a bag of caramels.  This is a great treat to make with a child--can't wait 'til my Junebug can get in the kitchen with me (and appreciate it)!

You'll need:

10 medium apples, washed, well dried 

2 bags (11 oz.) KRAFT Caramel Bits

2 Tbsp. water

Sticks for the apples

INSERT one pop stick into stem end of each apple. Cover large plate with waxed paper; spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

PLACE caramel bits in microwaveable bowl. Add water; cook in 1 minute intervals, stirring after each minute, until caramel is melted.
DIP apples into melted caramel until evenly coated, spooning caramel over apples if necessary. Allow excess caramel to drip off. Scrape bottoms of apples; place on prepared plate. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator 15 min. before serving. Store any leftover apples in refrigerator.

How's that for some simple fall dessert ideas?  Chili night was a hit--I'll be sharing about that soon!



What are your favorite fall treats?

Sweet Treat of the Week: Pumpkin Pie Mousse

Regardless of the weather, the month of October requires hearty and spice-filled desserts. Apple pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie... or how about some Pumpkin Pie Mousse?  I'm not a pie person (ask my family!) so this is a great alternative to the classic pumpkin pie.  It tastes light, but folks, a dessert like this can be pretty deceiving.  I cringed as I poured 3 cups of heavy whipping cream into my mixer!  Not only will this dessert stick to your ribs--it'll stick to your hips, thighs and butt, too.  I'm just tellin' it like it is.  But all things in moderation, right?  Let's proceed.

Pumpkin Pie Mousse (Courtesy of one of my past Food Network faves, Dave Lieberman.)

Here's what you'll need:

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

3 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine pumpkin, 1 cup cream, sugar and spice in a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Cool fully.

Whip remaining heavy cream and vanilla to soft peaks. 

Fold whipped cream into cooled pumpkin mixture.

How easy was that??

Chill and use however you see fit!  I piped the mousse into some homemade brownie cups.  You can make a pumpkin pie parfait by layering the mousse with MORE whipped cream and crumbled ginger snaps.  Or you could make a graham cracker crust and fill it with the pumpkin pie mousse for a twist on the traditional pumpkin pie. I guess you get the picture--the possibilities are endless.  Enjoy!

Sweet Treat of the Week: Chocolate Scotcheroos

Ahh, butterscotch and chocolate combined with playful and unpretentious Rice Krispies.  Does it get any better?  These Chocolate Scotcheroos from the Rice Krispie website are a step up from the ordinary Rice Krispie Treats.  And because I bought all of the ingredients at Aldi, I made a large pan for about four bucks.  Not too bad for a delicious treat!

Chocolate Scotcheroos

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies®
1 package (6 oz., 1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup butterscotch chips

1. Place corn syrup and sugar into 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Mix well. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated. Press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Set aside.

The swirling of the peanut butter into the corn syrup mixture is an artful experience.

2. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over cereal mixture. Let stand until firm. Cut into 2 x 1-inch bars when cool.

And there you have it!  An inexpensive, quick, crowd-pleasing dessert that travels well. 

What more can a Spartan ask for?

Sweet Treat of the Week: Classic Key Lime Pie

Ahh, Key Lime Pie.  How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways...

Well, folks, I have to admit a few things when it comes to making a "classic" Key Lime Pie.  The "classic" version is made with key limes, which are the size of a kumquat and are a bear to squeeze.  I have made the pie with real key limes before, but never again!

Let's examine the size of the lime to the key lime:

This photo is borrowed from the blog Taste and Tell.  It's a blog I ran across and am in love with it!

Also, traditional key lime pies are not baked.  The egg yolks are "cooked" by the acidity of the lime.  I have made the "unbaked" version with success before, but much prefer to just pop the pie in the oven for a few minutes to let the custard set.  Many foodies would say baking a key lime pie is a "no-no" but I say it gets you to the end product in a quicker and safer way, so let 'er rip!

So here's the classic Key Lime Pie recipe:

11 graham crackers, crushed with rolling pin or in food processor
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup fresh lime juice (12 to 15 key limes or 3 to 4 common limes)

4 teaspoons grated lime zest
4 egg yolks
1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Crust:
Preheat oven to 325.
Combine first three ingredients and press into a standard pie plate.
Bake crust 10-15 minutes, or until it appears to have become a cohesive crust.

Whisk the egg yolks and lime zest together in a bowl until tinted light green. This takes about 2 minutes. (Save your arms by doing this in your stand mixer!)  Beat in condensed milk, then juice and set aside at room temperature till it thickens. 

Pour the lime filling into crust, spread evenly, and then bake for 15 minutes until the center sets, but still wiggles when shaken.  How's that for a technical term?
Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
Refrigerate for at least three hours until well chilled.

Some people use the leftover egg whites to put a meringue on the top of the pie.  I don't really prefer to do that but it is a good use of the egg whites.  I'll probably turn the egg whites into an egg-white omelet for the little Junebug.  A dollop of lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream is a great addition, though in my opinion it's totally unnecessary.  I'm a minimalist.

And yes, I had Key Lime Pie for breakfast this morning.  Watcha gonna do about it--call the food police?! 

Sweet Treat of the Week: Almost-Famous Mocha Frappes

I am proud to say that it has been well over a year and a half since I last had Starbucks.  Fo' real.  I was pregnant when I last had Starbucks.  And I have purchased one cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee since Elliott was born 15 months ago.  Uno.  Why? 

((Stepping onto my soapbox)) Well, $3 here and there adds up--especially when you consider that you can buy a pound of good quality coffee beans for a few dollars and brew it yourself for pennies.  It takes little effort to create even coffee shop quality specialty drinks in your home--they're a much more frugal alternative. Besides, do you know how bad those coffee shop drinks are for you?  Check out the Starbucks Nutritional Info.  They're certainly not drinks that you should have on a daily basis.  Bad for your body and bad for your budget.  But a sweet treat of the week?  Well, sure.  Plus, I hate having to call small drinks "tall" or larges "venti".  Come on people.  Starbucks, if you're listening, I am not willing to pay 800% mark-up because you give your sizes fancy names.  Sheesh.  ((Sheepishly stepping down from soapbox with a red face from ranting))

This particular recipe is in Food Network Magazine this month (thanks to my MIL for the subscription--great gift).  I'll bet you have all the ingredients in your home already!

Almost-Famous Mocha Frappes
Ingredients

For the coffee ice:

3 tablespoons sugar

2 cups warm strong coffee

For the chocolate syrup:

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ounce milk chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frappes:

1 cup reduced-fat milk

Whipped cream, for topping

Directions

Make the coffee ice: Stir the sugar into the coffee until dissolved, then let cool. Pour into a 16-cube ice-cube tray and freeze until solid, about 3 hours.

Make the chocolate syrup: Combine the sugar and cocoa powder in a saucepan and slowly whisk in 2/3 cup hot water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking, until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 5 minutes; do not boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, honey and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cool.

Make the frappes: Puree 8 coffee ice cubes, 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 to 1/2 cup chocolate syrup and 1 cup plain ice in a blender until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses, then repeat to make 2 more drinks. Top with whipped cream and more chocolate syrup.

(I personally don't like whipped cream on top of my drinks, so I am omitting it.  For me, it doesn't add enough flavor value for the calories it adds.  To each his own!)

Added bonus of making these drinks at home?  You're not selling out to "the man".  Boo-yah!


So what's your take on Starbucks?  Love 'em?  Hate 'em?  I want to hear your opinion!

Sweet Treat of the Week: Tiramisu

Aren't vacations great?  Sometimes don't you need a vacation to recuperate from your vacation?  Well, more on that later--but we're back from a splendid and fun-filled week in St. George Island, FL.  While we were away, I celebrated my twenty-____th year on earth with my husband's family. What a fun time we had!

When we arrived safely at home, we celebrated my "trip around the sun" with my side of the family--so my mom made my favorite birthday dessert and my dad played the Beatles' "Birthday" song--just like every year.  Ahh, love it!  Tiramisu is my new favorite birthday dessert--this is the 2nd year in a row I have requested it and, well, let's just say I'm already looking forward to next year!  Thanks for sharing the recipe, Ma.

Ingredients:

40 Roland Lady Fingers (Italian SAVOIARDI)
8 large egg yolks*
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ lbs mascarpone cheese
4 large egg whites, beaten in a medium size bowl until stiff peaks form*
2 cups cold, strong espresso coffee
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick. Fold mascarpone into eggs until smooth, then fold egg whites into the mascarpone mixture thoroughly.

2. Pour espresso into a shallow bowl. Dip ladyfingers quickly into the mixture one at a time and place a layer of them very close together in a 14x10 inch dish.

3. Spread half the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers and sprinkle with cocoa powder.

4. Make another layer of ladyfingers the same way and top with the remainder of the mascarpone cheese. Sprinkle with cocoa powder.

5. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. Decorate with chocolate shavings if desired.

Makes 10-12 Servings

*With all of the egg recalls in effect right now, please be careful when choosing eggs to use for this recipe!  And just to be on the safe side, don't let babies or the elderly or anyone with a weakened immune system consume uncooked eggs!

Sweet treat of the week: Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade cinnamon rolls are amazing, and this recipe, from the book Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy is by far my favorite version.  Let's get down to business.  Pop on an apron and roll up your sleeves 'cause things are about to get messy.

Oh, and one more thing.  This recipe requires quite a bit of butter.  Please, use real butter!  Julia Child loved butter and lived to be 91.  Butter is best!

For the dough you'll need:

1 Tbsp. instant yeast (not active dry)

1 cup warm milk

1/3 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm milk.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well (I use the dough hook on my trusty KitchenAid Artisan Mixer).  Knead into a ball.  Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

Here's the dough ball:

I took advantage of the hot Florida sun and let the dough rise in the sticky, moist heat outdoors (after wrapping tightly with plastic wrap, of course).  The AC is running a lot to keep the house cool so there are cold drafts in the kitchen--which can really impede the rising process.  Be sure to find a nice, warm, draft-free place for your dough to rise.

And here's what it looks like after rising:

But don't forget about your dough, or you'll come back to this: 

Ooops! Luckily yeast dough is pretty forgiving!

Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a clean and dry floured surface. 

Roll into a rectangle until dough is about 1/4 inch thick.  You're ready for your filling now! 

For the filling you'll need:

1/4 softened butter

1 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp. cinnamon

Spread butter on dough evenly.  Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over dough evenly.  Roll dough up.  Slice roll into 1.5 inch slices. (I made a dozen rolls, and discarded the ends of the dough roll because they do not get very much of the cinnamon swirl throughout.)

 

Place in a greased 13x9 metal or glass baking pan.

Let rise again until doubled--this took about an hour for me. 

Look how pretty they are when they're ready to bake:

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. 

While the rolls are baking, you'll want to make the delicious frosting! 

For the frosting you'll need:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened (1/2 brick)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Beat all ingredients together until fluffy.  Set aside.  Just after you remove the hot cinnamon rolls from the oven, you'll want to spread all that delicious frosting over the top.

Eat 'em as soon as they're not so hot that they'll burn your mouth. 

Tip:  You can make these the night before they're needed.  Skip the final rising step and let rise overnight in the refrigerator.  Bake as directed in the morning.  What a way to impress overnight company! 

So, who's gonna make cinnamon rolls this weekend??

Sweet treat of the week: Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Doesn't everyone love chocolate chip cookies?  I know I do!  I like the thick and chewy kid--not the hard kind.  And never the packaged kind.  I'm picky like that!  This recipe includes a few technical details, but baking is science and if you keep this in mind and follow the specific instructions, you're sure to be pleased with the results.

Here is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe-courtesy of America's Test Kitchen.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I prefer Ghiradelli 60% dark chocolate chips)

Directions:

Adjust oven racks to upper & lower -middle positions and heat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  (Or if you have Silpat, this is the perfect time to use it).

Whisk dry ingredients together; set aside.

With electric mixer, or by hand, mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined.

Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined.

Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in chips.

Roll 1 1/2 T dough into ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving ample room between each ball.  (This ensures that you'll have a bumpy, textured top, not the rounded tops where you can't see the chocolate chip goodness hiding below...)

Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft & puffy (about 13-14 minutes in my oven).

Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking and place on wire rack to cool.

Makes about 30 cookies.  I normally make 18 cookies when I make the dough (two cookie sheets with 9 cookies each) and freeze enough dough for another dozen cookies to bake another day.  Here's how:

Portion dough just as you would before baking and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Instead of baking, just pop those suckers in the freezer for as little as 2 hours or as long as overnight. 

Once frozen, move the dough balls into a Ziploc bag, seal, and mark with baking instructions.  (Baking instructions remain the same for the frozen dough but you'll want to add 2-3 extra minutes of baking time.) 

The frozen dough will last up to 2 months in the freezer, but I can guarantee it won't stay in there that long!

My husband chops up the frozen cookie dough balls and adds it to vanilla ice cream for a homemade version on cookie-dough ice cream.  Because the dough is frozen, there's no risk of food-borne illness due to raw egg.  Personally, I don't understand the popularity of cookie-dough ice cream--it doesn't appeal to me--but plain ol' chocolate chip cookies?  Oh yeah, I "get" it!

Sweet treat of the week: Piña Colada Freeze

From here on out, Saturdays will officially be the day that I share a "sweet treat of the week".  So all you dessert lovers, mark it on your calendars--Saturday is now even sweeter!

Today, I am sharing a new favorite recipe that James found on the Sweet Sensations blog.  Check it out for some extra inspiration.   This recipe is a real keeper--it's simple, quick and delicious--making it the perfect frozen summer dessert!

Piña Colada Freeze

from Kraft Foods Food & Family (Summer 2010), kraftfoods.com

1 cup finely crushed pretzels
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (melted)
1 pkg. (8 oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened)
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping (divided)
1 can (8 oz) Dole Crushed Pineapple in juice
1/4 cup toasted Baker's Angel Flake Coconut

1. Mix pretzel crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom of plastic wrap-lined 9-inch round pan. Freeze until ready to use. .

2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, pineapple and toasted coconut until well blended. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip; spoon over crust.

3. Freeze 4 hours. Use plastic wrap to remove dessert from pan. Top with remaining cool whip.

Enjoy!  (And remember to check out Sweet Sensations for some more sweet ideas!)

Preview for next week's sweet treat of the week--my FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie recipe!  So be sure you have your baking staples and chocolate chips on hand!