Popovers

Popovers

Oven 475 degrees

Light as balloons, and ever so crusty. 

Place 2 eggs in a bowl; add 1 cup milk, 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Beat 1 1/2 minutes with an electric beater.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil (or any oil of your choice); beat 1/2 a minute more.  Do not over beat.  Fill 6-8 very well greased custard cups 1/2 full.

Bake in very hot oven (475 degrees) for 15 minutes; reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until browned and firm.

A few minutes before removing from the oven pick each popover with a fork to let the steam excape.  If you like popovers dry inside, turn the oven off and leave them in 30 minutes more with the door ajar.  Serve hot. 

Gingerbread

Something a bit different for breakfast.  The house smelled so good.

Gingerbread

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup boiling water

Oven 350 degrees                                          35 to 40 minutes or until done

Stir shortening to soften.  Gradually add sugar, creaming till light and fluffy.  Add the egg and molasses; beat thoroughly.  Sift together the dry ingredients; add to molasses mixture alternately with boiling water, beating after each adddition.

Bake in well greased 8x8x2-inch pan in moderate oven.  Serve warm

Rocio December 2011

This was a strange request.  A cake with no filling, icing or decorations.  I promised to control my urges and give her a "plain cake". 

Gold layer Cake                                                                                   Oven 350 degrees
  Stir 1/2 cup shortening just to soften.  Sift in 2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt.

  Add 2/3 cup milk; mix until all the flour is dampened.  Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.  Add 1/3 cup milk, 2 eggs and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla; beat vigorously 2 minutes more.

  Bake in 2 well greased or paper-lined 9 1 1/2 inch round pans at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  I choose to use the fluted cake pan and baked it for about 35 minutes.

   A simple glaze of powdered sugar, vanilla and milk was drizzled over the top when the cake was completely cooled.  Then chopped pecans and flaked coconut was sprinkled in the glaze.

Drunken Cranberry sauce

One of the favorite additions to Thanksgiving dinner is Cranberry Sauce.  It is wonderful to be able to have fresh cranberries to serve.  Everyone enjoyed this version very much.

Cranberry-Bourbon Compote
cooking time:  20-25 minutes

1 12 ounce package of fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple juice (I substituted orange juice)
1/4 bourbon (brandy is an excellent substitute)

Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan, heat to a slow simmer and cook, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat when the cranberries have begun to burst and the sauce has thickened.  Chill.

Dulce De Leche

These cupcakes have a wonderful crumb. Straight from the oven they are heavenly.

Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

(Originally from www.joythebaker.com)

Oven: 350 degrees

Bake: 18-20 minutes

Makes about 24 cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

For the Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup dulce de leche, plus more for drizzling

1/4 tsp salt

2-3 cups powdered sugar

Place racks in the center and upper 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with liners. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until fluffy and pale brown, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add one egg. Beat on medium for one minute. Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute between each addition. Stop the bowl and scrape down the sides as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Add half of the flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture. Beat on low speed and slowly drizzle in the buttermilk. Beat until just incorporated. Stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients. Beat on low speed until just incorporated. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and finish incorporating with a spatula. Try not to over mix the mixture.

Dive the batter between the prepared cupcake pans, filling each liner about two thirds full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let rest in the cupcake pans before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Cupcakes should be completely cooled before frosting.

To make the frosting:

Place the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds, until very soft and pliable. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the butter and the dulce de leche. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Stop the mixer and add the salt and powdered sugar. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until fluffy and lighter in color. Generously spoon frosting on top of each cupcake, or use a large frosting tip to pipe on the frosting.

For garnish, heat a few spoonfuls of dulce de leche over a low flame until just pourable. then drizzle it over the cupcakes and top with a few sprinkles.

These are best served within two days of preparing them. They can be wrapped and refrigerated but brought to room temperature before serving.

Boiled Icing

Ingredients:


1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tbs. light corn syrup
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla

Method:
Combine the sugar, corn syrup and the water in a quart pot.
In a separate mixing bowl, whip the egg whites until the are stiff and hold a peak. Set aside.
Bring the sugar mixture to a boil and then to 238 degrees F. (use a candy thermometer)
Pour the hot syrup over the egg whites in a steady thin stream, beating constantly.
Add the vanilla and beat until cool and of spreading consistency. If the icing does not seem stiff enough, beat in 2-3 tablespoons confectioners sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until still enough to hold its shape. Spread over your cake.

Lane Cake

This is a traditional Southern holiday cake-white cake with lavish amounts of rich frosting made with pecans and coconut.

This cake improves in flavor as it ages and mellows; make it up to 1 week before serving and keep it covered and uncut at room temperature. For better flavor I used homemade baking powder. Triple sift together 2 tablespoons cream of tarter and 1 tablespoon baking soda. Sore in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Ingredients

Cake:

16 tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans

3 1/2 cups cake flour, plus more for pans

1 tbsp. homemade baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

8 egg whites, room temperature

Filling

8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

8 egg yolks

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup finely chopped raisins

1 1/4 cups coconut

1/4-1/3 cups whiskey or brandy

Directions:

to make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottoms of three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper; grease and flour parchment paper and sides of the pans.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a glass measuring cup, combine milk and vanilla. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy, occasionally scrapping down the sides of the bowl. reduce the speed to low; add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk-vanilla mixture. Mix until combined, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Transfer the batter to a large bowl; wash and completely dry the mixing bowl and beater attachments. In the clean electric mixer bowl, beat the egg white just until the form soft peaks. Stir one-third of the beaten whites into the batter to lighten, then, in two parts, gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pans; gently tap the pans on the counter to remove air pockets. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until the cake center springs back when lightly touched. Place the pans on racks to cool; invert the cake layers onto racks to cool completely (do not remove the parchment paper).

To make the filling: In a large nonreactive saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat; set aside to cool. Whisk in sugar egg yolks until well blended. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula while also scraping the bottom of the pan, until the mixture reaches 170-180 degrees when measured with an instant read thermometer and thickly coats the back of the spatula, about 10 minutes (make sure the mixture does not simmer). remove from heat and stir in the pecans, raisins, coconut, bourbon, and vanilla. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until thickened and chilled.

to assemble the cake: Peel the parchment off the cake layers. Invert 1 layer onto a large cake plate. top with about 1 cup of the filling, spreading the filling to the edges of the cake, top with the second cake layer and spread that layer with 1 cup of filling. Repeat with the final cake layer and remaining filling. Cool completely before serving. (I iced the cake with Boiled Icing just before serving.)