Polka Dot Coffeecake

 Uses a biscuit mix as a base, without apology. An oldie and a goodie.

POLKA DOT COFFEECAKE

OVEN 350

grease a 9 x 9 square pan

 

1 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons room temperature butter

1 large egg

3/4 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

a 6 ounce bag of mini chocolate chips, divided in half

For the coffeecake: 

Combine the Bisquick, sugar, butter, egg and sour cream and vanilla and mix on medium low speed of a mixer for two minutes, making sure all ingredients are combined. Add HALF the mini chips and stir in by hand to evenly distribute. Spread the batter into a greased 9 x 9 pan, then make the streusel topping, below. 

Streusal Topping

3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into bits

3 tablespoons flour

large pinch of salt

3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

remaining half of the mini chocolate chips

Combine all the streusal ingredients except the mini chips and the pecans and work with a pastry blender to combine until crumbly and well mixed. Stir in the mini chips and nuts by hand, incorporating well. Sprinkle streusal on top of the coffeecake batter.  

Bake the coffeecake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs. 

Allow to cool in pan, serve cut into squares. 

Grandma Tillie's Gingerbread

So simple, so easy. It's not fancy, but it is spicy delicious, great in the Fall and Winter.

GRANDMA TILLIE'S GINGERBREAD

• preheat oven to 350 degrees

• butter well a 9 x 9 baking pan
  

In a large bowl, whisk together:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (note: reduce this amount by half if you use salted butter in the next step)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking SODA
Set aside for now.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat:
1 stick unsalted butter (if you use salted butter, reduce the salt in the flour mixture above by half)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar

Beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy.

Add:
1 egg
Blend well.

Then, slowly add in:
1/2 cup molasses (I highly recommend Brer Rabbit Molasses -- nothing else is quite the same)
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
Mix until well blended.

Scrape the bowl down.

Add the flour mixture on low speed until smooth, then add:
1/2 cup hot water
Beat for 1 minute. (mixture may look curdled, but that's ok.) 

Scrape the bowl and mix a little longer if there are unincorporated bits.

Spread in the well buttered 9 x 9 pan, then bake for 40 - 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack.

Cover tightly with foil when cool. Cut into large squares and serve with a dollop or so of whipped cream.

MARCH MADNESS: ORANGE CHOCOLATE MARBLE BUNDT CAKE

A new birthday cake! I had to invent this one, as a search turned up nothing close to what I was hoping for.

CHOCOLATE ORANGE MARBLE BUNDT CAKE

PREHEAT OVEN: 350 DEGREES - MIDDLE RACK of the oven

12 CUP BUNDT PAN: Melt shortening in a cup, and brush the bundt pan with it, making sure to coat all the cracks and crevices. Dust with flour to fully coat the pan, tap out any excess. It’s critical to thoroughly coat the pan well.

FOR THE ORANGE CAKE BATTER:
● 16 tablespoons (1 cup/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
● 2 cups granulated sugar
● 5 large eggs, at room temperature
● 1 tsp. vanilla extract
● ½ tsp. Fiori de Sicilia  (get this on the King Arthur website)
●●
3 cups (361g) All-Purpose Flour
● 1 tablespoon baking powder
● 3/4 teaspoon salt
●●
1/2 cup orange juice**   **if not enough juice from the fresh oranges, add enough commercial orange juice to make up the difference
● 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
● grated zest of 2 large oranges
● 1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the flat beater, beat the room temperature butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add vanilla and the Fiori de Sicilia and blend in well.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture
alternately with the juices.
4. Stir in the orange zest, then scrape off the beaters and mix well by hand until all zest is incorporated.
5. Pour all but one healthy cup of orange cake batter into the prepared bundt pan, and set aside while making the chocolate cake batter. The reserved orange cake batter will be used to cover the chocolate batter later on.
6. Wash the electric mixer bowl and flat beater to use for the chocolate cake batter, next.\

CHOCOLATE CAKE BATTER:
● ½ cup brewed strong coffee
● 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature
● 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
●●
1 cup sugar
● 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
● 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
● 1/3 teaspoon salt
● 1 cup (241g) all purpose flour
●●
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
● 1 large egg, at room temperature
● 1/4 cup sour cream, full-fat preferred, at room temperature
In a small saucepan, place the coffee, butter, and cocoa, and warm over low heat, stirring, just until the butter melts. Remove from the heat, and whisk until smooth. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.
1. While the chocolate mixture is cooling, put the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour into the bowl of an electric mixer, and whisk the dry ingredients to combine.
2. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the mixer bowl with the dry ingredients, and blend gently until thoroughly combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and mix again to incorporate all.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, eggs, and sour cream until well blended. Mix into the chocolate batter, stirring until thoroughly combined and incorporated, scraping bowl sides and bottom to thoroughly blend.
4. Make a deep trench in the orange cake batter with a large spoon, then dollop the chocolate batter into the trench and cover with the reserved orange cake batter. Swirl the batters together all the way around the pan with a butter knife, then smooth the top with a spoon.
5. Bake the cake for 60 minutes, then check for doneness by inserting a toothpick deeply into the center of one side -- if crumbs adhere or if batter is still raw, bake 5 more minutes and check again with a fresh toothpick. Repeat as necessary just until no crumbs adhere to a new toothpick.
6. Make the glaze for the cake during the last 15 minutes of baking time:

ORANGE GLAZE
¾ cup sugar
⅓ cup orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Zest of 1 large orange
1 teaspoon lemon zest
In a small saucepan, bring the sugar, orange and lemon juices to a simmer and stir to dissolve all of the sugar over medium low heat. Remove from heat and add salt, and the zests of the orange and lemon.
7. Remove cake from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes, no longer. Loosen cake from the sides and middle of the pan with a thin bladed knife, and invert onto a wire rack. Immediately brush the top and all sides with the hot glaze, repeating the brushing until all the glaze is used.

Let the cake cool completely to room temperature, about 2.5 hours. Transfer the cake to a serving plate that can be easily covered.

CHOCOLATE ORANGE ICING:
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup confectioners sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
Mix the melted butter with the cocoa, then add confectioners sugar and salt until
combined. Add orange juice and zest, a little at a time, stirring well.Scrape the bowl and
beaters, and blend well. If too thick, add a little more orange juice; if too thin, add more
confectioners sugar until icing is just thick yet pourable. Remove the beaters, and scrape down
any zest adhering to them into the icing by hand. Using a large spoon, drizzle all of the icing
over the top and sides of the cooled cake.
Store cake, covered, overnight, for best flavor before serving. Keep leftover cake covered.

10 - 12 servings

The Cheesecake Edition

Birthday Cheesecake

This will be a real surprise, as I don't make many cheesecakes. This one is special, New York style, as it has a sponge cake crust instead of the usual graham cracker one, and is light and airy, not dense and heavy.

MUST BE MADE ONE DAY IN ADVANCE OF SERVING

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter well the bottom and sides of an 8" springform pan. Cover the entire pan with foil all the way up the sides. Set aside.

For the sponge cake crust:

1/4 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2 extra large eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar, divided 
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 drops pure lemon extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. 

In large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks on high for 3 minutes. On low speed, add 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and beat 5 minutes, until a thick yellow ribbon forms in the bowl. Add the extracts and mix. Sift the flour mixture over the egg batter and stir it by hand until no white flecks remain. Blend in the melted butter. 

In another bowl, using clean dry beaters, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until frothy. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form, mixture will be glossy. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the yolk batter, then the remaining whites. Gently spread batter over the bottom of  the prepared pan and bake JUST until set and pale golden edges, about 10 minutes. Touch the cake gently in the center; if it springs back, it's done. Don't let the top brown!

Place the pan on a wire rack to cool and leave the oven on and continue to prepare the cheesecake batter.

For the cheesecake batter:

3  8 ounce packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (use whole fat only), at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 extra large eggs
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
zests of lemon and/or orange peel, optional

As the sponge cake crust cools, make the batter as follows:

Beat 1 package of the cream cheese together with 1/3 cup of the sugar and the corn starch on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down bowl several times. Blend in remaining cream cheese, one package at a time, beating well and scraping down after each.  

Increase mixer speed to medium and beat in remaining sugar, then the vanilla and optional zests. Scrape down bowl a couple of more times. Beat in the heavy cream on low speed JUST until completely blended. The filling will look light, airy and billowy, like clouds. Be careful not to overmix!  Gently spoon the batter over the crust. Place the foil-wrapped springform pan in a large shallow pan and add hot water to the large pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until the edge is light golden brown and the top is pale golden and the center  barely jiggly, 75 to 85 minutes. Remove from the water bath and cool on a wire rack for 2 hours without disturbing it. Don't move it! Then leave the cake in the pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

On serving day:

Release from the springform pan and leave the cake on the pan bottom. Place on a plate. Cut with a straight edged knife dipped in hot water between slicings. Use the cake within 2 days. Refrigerate leftover cake tightly wrapped. 

Serves 8.

Picnic Cake: Chocolate Sheet Cake

Need a cake for a crowd, picnic, reunion or other summer event? Sheet cakes are the answer. Here's one from my friend Nancy in New Braunfels, TX:

Mom's Chocolate Cake
from The Houston Chronicle

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup vegetable oil 
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, salt, and sugar in large bowl. In a saucepan, combine butter, oil cocoa and water; bring to a boil, remove from heat. Pour the boiled mixture over the dry ingredients and mix. Add buttermilk and stir just until blended. Add eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat well and pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until at toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool.

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa or 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 tablespoons buttermilk
16 ounce box confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine butter, chocolate or cocoa and buttermilk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add the powered sugar a little at a time, beating well between additions; add salt and blend well. Add vanilla and mix. Frost cake after it has cooled completely.

A Cake Among Cakes: Yes, it's Nicki's Carrot Cake!

Hard to believe this recipe hasn't made it up here yet! Thanks to Claire, it's finally getting its place of honor.  I tried a lot of carrot cake recipes, and slowly evolved my own over time. This one, if I do say so myself, is perfect. We've been making it for a couple of decades now. It's a darn big cake, so it's a good recipe to use for a big birthday party or family gathering.

NICKI'S CARROT CAKE

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Grease and flour 3  8" round cake pans

combine and set aside for 30 minutes or so:

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel (fresh orange zest is best, but dried peel can be used)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil (Wesson!)

4 eggs

sift together:

2 1/2 cups flour (I use King Arthur All Purpose flour)

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg OR mace

pinch of ginger

pinch of cloves

pinch of allspice

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 cups grated carrots

3/4 cup shredded coconut

3/4 cup finely cut or chopped walnuts

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat together the sugars and oil until well blended. Add eggs, one at at time, beating well after each addition. SLOWLY  add sifted ingredients and beat well. Add soaked orange peel and any remaining juice, then the carrots, coconut, walnuts, and vanilla.  

Pour into the greased and floured pans, and stagger the pans on the same middle rack of a preheated 325 degree oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center is not sticky. Remover from oven, cool 7 minutes (no more!) then remove from pans and finish cooling on a rack.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

one 8 ounce brick of cream cheese PLUS one 3 ounce brick of cream cheese

1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces) confectioners sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks butter (6 ounces), melted and room temp

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat the cream cheese bars together well, then add the confectioners sugar and salt slowly on very low speed. Gradually increase speed and combine well. Add the melted butter very slowly, incorporating the butter as you go, and then add the vanilla. Beat the frosting on high speed for several minutes until smooth and creamy, then spread between the cooled cake layers and on top and sides of cake. 

Makes a large 3 layer 8" cake, serving at least 12

Bright, Brilliant Flavors: Citrus Cake

Last night at WiNKS, my local knitting group, we were asked to list which cake we loved most for our personal birthday celebrations. The list included, no surprise, many that simply said "chocolate anything!". And while I love chocolate cake (obviously, since it's part of the title of the blog), my favorite cake for my March birthday is Citrus Cake. It's luscious orange and lemon notes are perfect just when the weather can't get much worse and the days more dreary. It's bright flavors and cheery color are the perfect antidote to winter and more pedestrian cakes. This is one cake that benefits from being made a day in advance. Overnight, the orange and lemon juices and zests work their magic to infuse the cake so that it bursts with brilliant flavor.

Amazingly, I have never put it here on the blog! So it's time to remedy that.


CITRUS CAKE

Grease and flour 2 9" round cake pans; set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
4 eggs
the zests of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ~or~ 2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk

Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl on medium low speed. Add eggs one at a time; beat well until blended in. Add the zests of the lemon and orange, stirring to blend. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl, and add alternately with the buttermilk, mixing well. Pour into prepared pans, and bake on a lower middle rack of the oven at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes, just until a wooden pick inserted in the center is clean. After removing from oven, run a knife around the edges of the cake layers, and prick the layers with a fork all over. Immediately pour the Infusion Glaze over the layers. Cool for 5 minutes, then turn cakes out of pans onto waxed paper and allow to cool completely. Frost top, sides and middle with Citrus Buttercream Frosting. Best if flavors can marry overnight, but don't feel bad if you just can't wait. (Confession: I usually can't wait!)

Infusion Glaze:
juice of 1 LARGE lemon
juice of 1 LARGE orange
1 cup sugar
a smidge of salt

Combine juices in a small saucepan over medium low heat and bring almost to a boil; add sugar and salt, and stir well just until sugar disappears into the juices. Remove from heat. Refer to recipe for use, which is immediately after cake comes from the oven.

Citrus Buttercream Frosting
zest and juice of 1 large lemon and 1 large orange
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp. salt
10X (confectioners) sugar - (4 to 5 cups)

Zest the lemon and orange, then juice them; set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream butter and  salt, beating at medium speed until very light and fluffy. Add 2 cups of 10X sugar and beat for several minutes. Slowly add the juices and zest, and beat with additional confectioners sugar until the consistency is right for frosting and filling the cake, which is usually  2 to 3 more cups of the 10X sugar. Beat three to five additional minutes  after reaching desired consistency.   Place a cake layer, glazed side up, on a cake plate and use 1 1/2 cups or so of the frosting to fill the cake. Place the other cake layer, glazed side down, over the frosting and frost the cake sides and top, swirling the frosting into lavish curls. If possible, keep in a cake safe overnight. If you just can't wait, enjoy!


Makes 10 to 12 generous slices.

Friday, November 4, 2011: Roast Chicken and Hot Fudge Pudding Cake for Cold Nights

One of my knitting friends, Beedle Hinely, shared a recipe for roast chicken that is to die for. We love to make roast chicken during the cold months: no meal is as comforting or as satisfying on a cold fall or winter night. Enjoy! For dessert, something gooey and chocolatey seems just right. How about an old-fashioned Hot Fudge Pudding Cake? Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

ENZO’S MOTHER’S CHICKEN

Roasting Chicken – 5 to 8  lbs.

Salt

Sage

A lemon, quartered (leave rind intact)

One or two red onions, quartered

Fresh rosemary sprigs

Olive oil

4 or 5 russet potatos, halved

Butternut squash, peeled and cubed

A red pepper, seeded and cut in eight pieces

2 or 3 heads of garlic, separated but not peeled

6 to 8 carrots, peeled and left whole

Pepper, garlic salt

Several hours ahead of roasting: Wash the chicken thoroughly in cold running water and pat dry. Refrigerate on a platter to allow to dry thoroughly.

Peel vegetables and set aside.

Dust cavity of the chicken with salt and sage. Stuff with the quartered lemon, 1 red onion quartered, and some of the fresh rosemary.

Rub the chicken skin with olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic salt. Brush the bottom of the baking pan with olive oil, and lay several rosemary sprigs in a bed in the center bottom. Lay chicken on top of rosemary.

Toss the second quartered onion, the potatoes, the red pepper, the butternut squash cubes, carrots, garlic lightly in olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Arrange vegetables around the chicken, and sprinkle with pepper and garlic salt. Roast in a 375 degree oven (with rack in quarter of the oven),  until done, based on weight of chicken. Baste chicken occasionally with pan juices, and turn vegetables a couple of times during roasting.

Roast for 2 to 3 hours, based on weight of chicken. Use pop up timer or thermometer to determine when the chicken is done.

* * * * * * * * * *

HOT  FUDGE PUDDING CAKE

To be served warm

1 cup flour

¾ cup sugar

2 tblsp. unsweetened cocoa

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup milk

2 tblsp. Melted shortening or butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

1 ¾ cups hot water

Oven 350 degrees

Measure flour, sugar, 2 tblsp. Cocoa, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Blend in milk and shortening. Pour into ungreased square 9 X 9 pan.

Stir together brown sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa; sprinkle over batter. Pur HOT water over batter, and place in preheated 350 degree oven for 40-45 mins.

While warm, spoon cake into dessert dishes and top with whipped cream or ice cream.

8 servings

Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Haven't posted in some time! Happy New Year, all, and happy birthday to my lovely house mate Patrice. For her birthday I made vanilla cupcakes with raspberry cream cheese icing, and they were a huge hit. Here's the recipe for all who want to make something simple, yummy, and yet sophisticated.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

Yields 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cup granulated sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs, room temperature

4 egg yolks, room temperature

3 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until no flour pockets remain.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake 20-24 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.

RASPBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 (4 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup fresh -0r- frozen raspberries

1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend cream cheese, butter, and salt together until fluffy. Add confectioners sugar alternately with the raspberries, using only as much sugar as needed to make a medium-soft, light frosting. Pile high or pipe high onto cupcakes.

note: I found this recipe at burnmenot.blogspot.com and simply doubled the quantities.

Holiday Treasures: Apple Praline Cake and Soft Molasses Cookies

Food defines the holidays, doesn't it? Like the cookies your mom and grandmother made, the cakes that friends gave to you, the party dishes and traditional "must have" dishes that may only make an appearance once a year, just for the holidays.

Adding to the trove of new holiday favorites are

APPLE PRALINE CAKE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour the bottom and sides of two 9 X 5 loaf pans.

2 1/4 cups pecans, chopped and divided
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups peeled and finely chopped Granny Smith Apples

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
Pinch of salt

On a cookie sheet or low sided pan, toast 1 cup of the pecans in a single layer for 7 minutes, or until fragrant. (Check often after 5 minutes to avoid burning.) Remove from oven and cool; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the sour cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla on low speed of an electric mixer until blended, about 2 minutes.

In separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add slowly to sour cream mixture, beating just until blended. Scrape down sides of blow and beaters; stir in apples and toasted pecans. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle tops with remaining pecans and press very lightly into surface of batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. You may need to shield the pan edges from excessive browning the last 15 minutes or so. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack while making the praline.

Bring butter, brown sugar and pinch of salt to a boil in a HEAVY BOTTOMED 2 qt. pan over medium heat stirring constantly; boil 1 minutes. Place cake loaves back into their pans, pour praline over tops and sides. Let cool completely, at least an hour. Cover tightly overnight to improve flavor and infuse the cakes with the rich apply goodness you love.

Makes two loaf cakes.

* * * * * * AND * * * * * *

SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES
from The King Arthur Cookie Companion book
1 cup butter (2sticks, 8 oz.), room temp
1 cup sugar, plus more for coating dough
2 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1  tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup molasses (Brer Rabbit is the best)
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups flour

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses while beating at low speed, then the baking soda, salt, and spices. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl to incorporate everything well. Stir in the flour. Cover the bowl and refrigerate at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease (or line with parchment paper) two cookie sheets. Shape dough into tablespoon sized balls, roll in sugar, and place 2" apart on cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. The centers will look soft and puffy, which is OK. As long as the bottoms are set enough to lift off the baking sheet without bending or breaking, they're ready to come out of the oven. Cool 10 minutes on pans, then move to wire rack to cool completely. 44 cookies.


Happy Holidays!

One Year Ago Today: The Beginning - Guittard Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

One year ago today, this blog was born. Although none of us are prolific posters, it's important to have a space where we can celebrate small things. So far, FOOD dominates our posts ... that's not much of a surprise, is it?

Here's our FAVORITE celebratory cake; now you can find the recipe 24/7. We seem to make this more often than any other. So often, in fact, that the aging recipe is permanently taped to inside of the spice cabinet door! It's also the cake that appears in the masthead photo for this blog.

GUITTARD CHOCOLATE CAKE

• 3/4 c. butter
• 1 2/3 c. sugar
• 3 lg. eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 c. water
• 2 c. unsifted flour
• 2/3 c. Dutch processed unsweetened cocoa (Guittard is BEST, but Ghiradelli is good too)
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Sift together the dry ingredients and set them aside. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well (for several minutes). Add the vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the water.

Pour the batter into well-greased and floured cake pans lined with wax paper. Makes three 8" layers, or two 9” layers. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Cool on wire rack; remove from pan after 6 minutes to finish cooling.

White Chocolate Frosting

6 tablespoons heavy cream

4 ounces white chocolate, chopped (baker’s)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup butter

4 cups powdered sugar

Bring cream almost to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add white chocolate, stirring until completely smooth. Stir in vanilla and water. Cool, stirring occasionally. Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add powered sugar and beat for at least 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. On low speed, add white chocolate mixture and blend until desired consistency is reached.

Frosts and fills a 9” layer cake.

Note: Dark chocolate curls are beautiful on top of the cake!

Sunday: Pumpkin Bars

What's more wonderful than waking to the smell of cinnamon and baking?

Claire made Pumpkin Bars as her celebration of the season. The recipe makes a large batch, so she left a plateful at home and took the rest to work with her today.

They are fabulous!

Claire's Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
16 ounces pumpkin
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine everything in a bowl and blend thoroughly. Smooth batter into an ungreased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool in the pan, then frost with:

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese
6 tablespoons butter
4 cups powdered (10X) sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until blended. Add 1 cup sugar, blend, then add vanilla and salt. Blend in remaining sugar and beat until creamy, about 5 minutes. Frost cooled pumpkin bars.

Makes four dozen pumpkin bars.