Plum Cake With Clotted Cream Frosting
I created this cake when I had a bunch of plums staring me in the face and were on the brink of going bad. I hate wasting food so put this cake together and it turned out very nice. It is also great to eat for breakfast!
INGREDIENTS
2 Cups Unbleached Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ Cup Butter At Room Temperature
1 ¼ Cups Sugar
2 Eggs
¾ Cup Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
6 Diced Plums
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the sugar and continue beating until fluffy. Add the butter and continue to mix. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat in the milk and vanilla. Fold in the diced plums. Pour the batter into a 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350° F oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and completely cool. Frost with the Clotted Cream Frosting. Serves 10
Clotted Cream Frosting
INGREDIENTS
1 Cup Unsalted Butter At Room Temperature
½ Cup Room Temperature Cream Cheese
6 Ounces Clotted Cream
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
Beat the butter, cream cheese and clotted cream until fluffy. Add the vanilla while continuing to beat. Gradually add the powdered sugar through a sifter. Beat well. Frost a cooled cake.
Homemade Potato Chips
It is so easy to make your own potato chips. These chips are delicious. Make sure to season them while they are still warm and some residual oil for the spices to adhere to. I like to season with salt, pepper and finely grated Parmesan cheese. You could season with chili powder, ground cumin, toasted sesame seeds, minced herbs or anything that strikes you.
INGREDIENTS
2 Large Russet Potatoes
Peanut Oil
Salt
Pepper
Peel and slice into 1/8 inch slices on either a mandolin or other handheld slicer. In a large saucepan fill with the oil halfway and heat until the oil is 350° F. Add the potato slices in batches and fry for 3 minutes until light golden brown. Drain on paper towels and season with salt, pepper or any season that strikes your fancy.
If you prefer to bake the chips in the oven then preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl toss the potato slices with 5 Tablespoons of peanut oil. Arrange the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and season lightly with salt. Bake for 14 minutes until light golden brown. Remove from the oven and season again with salt and pepper. Drain on paper towels and let cool for the maximum crispness. Serves 6
Brandy Cake With Chocolate Frosting
I love this rich and decadent cake! It is easy to make and a nice treat for company and birthdays.
INGREDIENTS
3 Cups Unbleached Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Softened Butter
5 Large Eggs
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
¼ Cup Brandy
1 Cup Buttermilk or Sour Milk
2 Cups Sugar
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease two 8×2 inch round cake pans or a bundt pan. Set aside. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl place the butter. With a mixer beat the butter for 3 minutes on medium high. The butter should be light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Stir the vanilla and brandy into the buttermilk. Reduce the mixer speed and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan or pans. Place the pan/pans in the oven on the center rack. Bake for 45 minutes until the cake is lightly brown on the top. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan/pans and let cool completely. Frost the middle layer (if using two pans), top and sides of the cake. Serves 10
Chocolate Frosting
INGREDIENTS
1 Cup Softened Butter
8 Ounces Cream Cheese
½ Cup Cocoa Powder
2/3 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cream
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
In a medium bowl beat the softened, but not melted, butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla extract and cream. Mix in the powdered sugar and powdered sugar. Beat until well combined and fluffy. Put into the refrigerator for an hour and then frost your cake.
Coffee Brownies
These brownies are rich and decadent in texture. I created this recipe a few years ago when I couldn’t stand to throw away the last bit of brewed coffee. Not everyone likes nuts in their brownies, so I tend not to. Add almonds, pecans or macadamia nuts if you like.
INGREDIENTS
1 Cup Butter
5 Tablespoons Olive Oil
8 Ounces Cocoa Powder
2 Cups Sugar
5 Eggs
3 Teaspoons Vanilla
1 Cup Brewed Coffee
1 ½ Cups Unbleached Flour
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Sea Salt
Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a medium sized bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside. In another medium sized bowl beat the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla. Slowly add the cup of cold brewed coffee until just combined. Now, add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until combined. Do not over mix. Grease a large baking pan (or you can use parchment paper) and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until done. Remove from the oven and let cool for 1 hour. Cut into squares. Makes 30 brownies
Watermelon Sorbet
I love all things watermelon. I remember growing up in the hot Nebraska summers eating watermelon everyday that I could. We would have seed pitting contests and had sticky faces while enjoying our last days of summer. Here is a simple recipe to make your own Watermelon Sorbet.
INGREDIENTS
5 Cups Seeded & Cubed Watermelon
½ Cup Sugar
1 Envelope Unflavored Gelatin
1/3 Cup Cranberry Juice
Place the watermelon cubes in a food processor. Cover and process until smooth and stir in the sugar. This should yield about 3 cups of pureed watermelon. In a small saucepan combine the gelatin and cranberry juice. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes. Stir the mixture over a low heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Next, stir the gelatin mixture into the pureed melon. Pour into a medium sized baking pan and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and break up the frozen sorbet and place in a chilled mixing bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until the sorbet is fluffy. Return to the baking pan, cover and freeze for 6 hours. To serve let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before scooping. Serves 4 One Cup Servings
Victoriawich
Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned ice cream sandwich? Ice cream sandwiches are a year round favorite of young and old alike. Store bought is fine, but homemade is always much better. I like to use a small amount of corn syrup and olive oil in the dough as it prevents the cookies from becoming hard when the sandwiches go into the freezer. These cookies are tasty on their own as well.
INGREDIENTS
2 1/3 Cups Unbleached Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Room Temperature Butter
2/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
½ Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Light Corn Syrup
1 Egg
3 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
12 Ounces Chocolate Chips
5 Cups Vanilla Ice Cream
Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl stir together the butter, sugars, olive oil and corn syrup until combined. Add the egg and vanilla until blended to the butter mixture. Next add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and combine. Stir in the chocolate chips. Using a ¼ cup measurer drop the dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. If you want to smaller cookies use two tablespoons of the dough. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned. Remove the baking sheets from the oven to wire racks and cool for 5 minutes. Using a spatula transfer the cookies to racks to completely cool. Repeat until all of the dough is used. Now you are ready to assemble the sandwiches. Let the ice cream soften in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Spread ½ cup of the ice cream on the bottom of one cookie and place a second cookie (bottom side down) on top of the ice cream. Repeat until all of the cookies are used. Wrap each sandwich individually in plastic wrap and freeze for 2 hours. If the sandwich cookies have become too hard then let them sit at room temperature before serving. Makes 8 large ice cream sandwiches
Spanakopita
Spanakopita or Spinach Pie is a wonderful Greek savory pastry with a filling of chopped spinach, feta cheese and other ingredients wrapped or layered in a phyllo pastry and baked to a golden brown. Spanakopita is mostly eaten as a snack in Greece. In rural Greece, smaller amounts of spinach are used, with the missing part substituted with leeks, sorrel and/or chard.
INGREDIENTS
3 Pounds Frozen Spinach
9 Lightly Beaten Large Eggs
2 Cups Crumbled Feta Cheese
¼ Cup Grated Romano Cheese
¼ Cup Chopped Dill
1 Cup Freshly Chopped Parsley
2 Cup Sliced Scallions
½ Cup Sliced Onions
2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Mint
8 Ounces Ricotta Cheese
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 Cups Melted Unsalted Butter
1 Pound Phyllo Dough (Freezer Section at the Grocery)
Thaw and drain the frozen spinach. In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients except for the melted butter and phyllo dough. Brush the butter over the bottom of a 24×12 baking pan. Layer 10 sheets of the phyllo dough in the pan, brushing each sheet generously with the melted butter. Spread the spinach mixture over the phyllo dough and top it with another 10 phyllo dough sheets brushed with butter. Neaten up the edges and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Using a serrated knife, score the spanakopita into 15 squares, cutting about ¾ of the way through it. Sprinkle the surface with cold water to prevent curling and bake until golden brown for between 45 to 60 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before cutting. Makes 15 pieces
French Lemon Pound Cake
Pound cake (“Quatre- Quarts” or Four Quarters) is a traditional and popular cake of the French region of Brittany that refers to a type of cake that was traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: Flour, Butter, Eggs & Sugar. This French Lemon Pound Cake is delicious and makes a great after dinner dessert or snack.
INGREDIENTS
2 Cups Unbleached Flour
½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ Teaspoon Salt
4 Large Lemons
2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
½ Cup Softened Butter
1 ¾ Cups Sugar
4 Large Eggs
1 ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ Cup Sour Cream
Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan. In a medium bowl combine the flour and baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl grate 2 tablespoons lemon zest and squeeze 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. In a large bowl mix together 1 ½ cups of the sugar and butter with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Next add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternately add the flour mixture and sour cream. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 ½ hours until done. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan. In a small bowl mix the lemon juice with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Brush the mixture over the top and sides of the warm cake. Cool completely on the rack. Slice very thin to serve. Serves 8
Blueberry Avocado Smoothie
Adding avocado to this smoothie really thickens it up and adds healthy fats to the equation.
INGREDIENTS
1 Ripe Avocado
1 Cup Wild Blueberries
4 Ice Cubes
1 Tablespoon Agave Syrup
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Cup of Milk
Combine all of the ingredients into a blender or a food processor. Pulse for 1 minute and pour into tall glasses. If you do not want to use milk you can substitute with rice milk, soy milk or coconut water. Serves 2
Victoria’s Garden Party Cake
This cake is so easy to make! People will think you spent all day in the kitchen.
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ Stick Butter (Room Temperature)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Fresh Orange Juice
Zest of 1 Lemon
Zest of 1 Orange
2 Jumbo Eggs
2 Cups Flour
1 ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
½ Cup Crème Fraiche
1 Cup Fresh Raspberries
2 Ripe Peaches (Pitted & Sliced In Half)
¼ Cup Fresh Raspberries For Serving
Whipped Cream For Serving
Preheat the oven to 375° F and grease a nonstick 9 inch sprinform pan. With a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the lemon & orange juices plus the zests and combine. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time. Follow with the dry ingredients, but do not overmix. Add the crème fraiche and combine briefly. Scrape the sides so that all of the ingredients are incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the raspberries evenly around the cake. Set the peaches in the batter, in a circle, with the cut sides up. Place the pan on a sheet pan and bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and remove the outer ring of the springform pan. Let the cake cool completely. Serve plain or with fresh berries and whipped cream. You can substitute blueberries for the peaches if you wish.
Serve 8
