Friday, April 4, 2008

Sarah's Bisquick Cake

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Bisquick? In a cake? Seriously, y'all. It's good stuff.

2 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 cups Bisquick
3/4 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour 9" x 13" pan. Mix eggs, vanilla and milk. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Alternately add milk mixture and Bisquick to creamy butter. Pour into pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake 35-45 minutes (test with toothpick for "done-ness"). Sprinkle cake top with powdered sugar.

Texas Sheet Cake

This one is a big hit at our house.

Texas Sheet CakeCake:
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter or stick margarine
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Icing:
6 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°.
To prepare the cake, coat a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with cooking spray, and dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Set prepared pan aside.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour and next 4 ingredients (2 cups flour through salt) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine water, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/4 cup cocoa in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; pour into flour mixture. Beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and eggs; beat well. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake at 375° for 17 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack.


To prepare the icing, combine 6 tablespoons butter, milk, and 1/4 cup cocoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and gradually stir in powdered sugar, pecans, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Spread over hot cake. Cool completely on wire rack.

Note: You can also make this recipe in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 375ยบ for 22 minutes.

Yield: 20 servings (serving size: 1 slice)CALORIES 298 (30% from fat); FAT 10g (satfat 5.5g, monofat 3.2g, polyfat 0.7g); PROTEIN 3.1g; CARBOHYDRATE 49.8g; FIBER 0.5g; CHOLESTEROL 44mg; IRON 1.1mg; SODIUM 188mg; CALCIUM 25mg;
Cooking Light, MARCH 2000

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Emmaline's Chocolate Cake

This is rich, decadent, and easy peasy.

1 Devil's Food Cake mix baked according to package directions in a 9x13 cake pan
1 jar Smuckers Toppings Caramel sauce (for topping ice cream)
1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 small tub Cool Whip, thawed
4-6 crushed Heath Toffee Bars (note: Heath bars come two to a pack, so this will actually be 8-12 crushed bars...I normally end up eating at least 2 while crushing the rest, so it's proably 9 or 10 crushed bars)

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes in the top of the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour the entire jar of caramel sauce & the entire can of sweetened condensed milk over the cake & allow cake to cool completely. Frost cake with Cool-Whip & sprinkle with crushed Heath bars. Refrigerate.

This cake is best if you make it the night before & let it sit in the fridge all night.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Chicken Fried Rice

6 oz of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (diced) and cooked in Pam on Stove Top
1/2 c of egg substitute (cook on stove top like scrambled eggs)
1 can of bean sprouts
1 T of low sodium soy sauce
2 c of instant brown rice uncooked
1 small box of mixed vegetables (carrots and peas)

Serves 4 (1 cup servings)

In pot cook instant brown rice according to directions.

In another pot, steam box of mixed vegetables.

In pan spray Pam, and cook diced chicken breast..Remove chicken from pan into a bowl.

Add egg substitute to pan and cook like scrambled eggs.

Drain can of bean sprouts (or use fresh if you can find them)

In large bowl combine, rice, scrambled egg, chicken, bean sprouts, and steamed vegetables with soy sauce.

Add additional soy sauce to taste.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Pick your Poison

My mom makes this and my kids and husband go nuts for it..I will have to make it on a low cal version..The version below has not been modified for calorie content.

1 box small jello gelatin tart flavor (cherry, blackberry, raspberry, lemon, lime)
1 small container cool whip
1 small container of cottage cheese

It's basically a 1 per 1 ratio.

Mix all three ingredients together and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

CAKE TIPS!

In honor of FarmWife's Cake Off, I thought I'd share this with you.

I learned from watching the Test Kitchen on PBS that if you have the "crown" in the middle of your cakes, you should only grease halfway up the side of the pan.

This keeps the cake from "climbing" up the side of the pan as it initially heats and rises, and then sliding back down as it bakes.

I've tried it a couple times, and there was only a little crown, but I greased it past the halfway point.

Black Forest Cake

This is NOT a fast cake, so DO NOT WAIT until right before you need it. It tastes better if it can sit more than one night before serving it. It it time consuming, but totally worth it in my estimation. Besides, what better reason to have Port and Kirsch on hand?

Ingredients:

FILLING -
1 lb 4 oz can of TART RED Cherries
1/2 C Port
1 Tbsp Kirsch
3 drops almond extract
Combine and chill for 4 hours

MOUSSE -

3 oz semisweet chocolate (I use the Bakers' Friend brand of squares)
3 Tbsp Kirsch
1 beaten egg
1 C whipping cream
2 Tbsp sugar

Melt the chocolate and Kirsch together over low heat (using a double boiler is best) until smooth. Add the beaten egg to the chocolate. Whip the cream and sugar together and FOLD into the chocolate mixture. Chill 2 hours

CAKE -
2 egg whites
1/2 C sugar
1/3 oil
1 C milk (set aside 1/2 C to mix with chocolate)
2 egg yolks
2 oz semisweet chocolate
SIFT together :
1 3/4 C flour
1 C sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Melt chocolate, egg yolks, and 1/2 C of milk together and cool slightly.
Beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar and beat until mixture forms peaks. Mix together the dry ingredients, oil, 1/2 C of milk and chocolate mixture until smooth. FOLD in egg whites.

Bake cake in round pans, greased and lightly floured at 350 for 30 min. Cool in pans for 10 min and remove. Allow to cool thoroughly. Split each cake into 2 layers after completely cooled.

FROSTING -
6 Tbsp butter
1 lb Confectioners' sugar (powdered)
1/4 C CREAM
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 ounces UNSWEETENED chocolate melted

Cream butter, add sugar and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Fold in chocolate.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE -
Spread 1/2 C of frosting over the bottom layer, and use the other 1/2 C to form a ridge, or wall about 1/2 inch wide and 3/4 inch high, AND a 2nd ridge about 2 inches in from the side of the cake. CHILL FOR 30 MINUTES.
Fill the spaces with the cherry mixture.
Place 2nd layer, and spread the mousse evenly. CHILL FOR 30 MINUTES
Whip an additional 2 C of cream with 2 Tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of Vanilla.
Place 3rd layer on top. Spread 1 1/2 C of cream over 3rd layer, leaving about 1/4 C to "frost" the remainder.
Place 4th layer and frost with about 1/4 C of whipped cream.
Sift some confectioners' sugar over the top, make whipped cream "dollops" around edge, and in center of cake. Add some fresh cherries to dollops, and make chocolate curls or shavings.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 large package instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c oil
1 C sour cream

Directions:
Beat together for 7 minutes.

Mix 1 C nuts
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa

Grease a bundt pan, sprinkle 1/4 of the nut mixture in the bottom of the pan. Add the rest of the batter and nut mixture

Bake 1 - 1 1/2 hours at 350

Peach Cake

Ingredients:
CAKE -
1 box yellow cake mix
1 can peach pie filling
3 eggs
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 C chopped nuts

TOPPING-
1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C butter

Directions:
Combine at slow speed on your mixer. Beat 2 min. Spread in a 13 x 9 greased and floured pan. Sprinkle topping over cake batter.
Bake 40 - 45 minutes at 350

White Fruit Cake

I normally do this at the holidays, but I suppose you could do it anytime you can find the candied fruit.

Beware - this fruitcake is actually the yummiest I've ever tasted and is NOT your typical fruitcake.

Ingredients:

1 pound butter
2 C sugar
6 eggs
4 C flour (Set aside 1 C for dredging the fruit)
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz package of white/golden raisins (not the usual Sun-Maid brand of brown raisins!)
1 C candied cherries (NOT the kind you put on your ice cream sundae, these are DRY in the package)
1 C candied pineapple (same as above)
2 C chopped pecans
2 tsp lemon extract

Directions:

Cream butter, add sugar, and eggs (one at a time, beating until smooth in between)
Add dry ingredients and lemon extract. Dredge the fruit, and add it and nuts.

Use a 10-inch tube pan (like a bundt pan, only smooth) or 2 loaf pans greased and lined with parchment paper.

Bake tube pan for 1hr 45 min at 300
OR
Bake loaf pans 1hr 45 min at 275.

I tried once to use a paper bag to line the pans because I didn't have parchment...it didn't work. Next time we tried not lining the pans at all...it didn't work...so use parchment paper...

Feathery Fudge Cake

This recipe is my aunt's, and it is awesome!!!!! I'm not sure where she originally got it from, so forgive me if it's actually from some cookbook that y'all have on your shelf! :D

Ingredients:

2/3 C Butter
1 3/4 C Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate (melted and cooled slightly)
2 1/2 C Cake Flour (I love Swan's Down brand!)
1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/4 C Ice Water


Directions:

Lightly grease 2 9-inch round pans, and flour. Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter, and add sugar gradually. Add vanilla and eggs. Blend in chocolate.

Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternating with the ice water.

Pour half of batter in one pan, and the rest in the other.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

TO TOP this cake...
Chocolate Glaze

1 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 Tbsp Butter
1 1/2C POWDERED sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Melt chocolate and butter together over heat. Stir in sugar and Vanilla until crumbly. Add boiling water 1 - 2 tsp at a time until glaze consistency. Pour and spread over cake.

I also make an exception and use good old Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge Frosting...mmmm...

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Berry Angels

1 Angel Food Cake Mix

Fresh Or Fozen Berries

Fat Free Cool Whip


Our family is watching their intake these days so Our favorite cake now is Angel Food Cake. I prepare cake as directed on the box, and then 1/2 c of fresh or frozen (thawed) berries with the cake and fat free cool whip.

It's lowcal, it's healthy and on a spring and hot summer day it's soooo good..Pull up a slice.

Sun-Drop Cake

Allow me to start off the first ever wha'cha got cookin' Cake Off with an old favorite. It's from a cook book I was given as a wedding present. I take this cake to a lot of pot-lucks & rarely bring home left overs. The best part? It's a doctored mix, so it's super simple.

For those of you who've never been south of the Mason-Dixon line, Sun-Drop is hyper charged Mt. Dew. Any soda of that variety will work.

1 box lemon cake mix
1 small package instant lemon pudding
1 (12 oz) can Sun-Drop
3 eggs
3/4 C. oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine lemon cake mix, lemon pudding, Sun-Drop, eggs, and oil. Mix well. Pour into greased tube or Bundt pan. Bake 35 minutes or until cake tests done. Let set for 5 minute in pan, then invert onto serving plate. While still warm, prepare glaze.

Glaze
1 C. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. water (I use Sun-drop in place of the water)
1 tsp. vanilla or lemon flavoring

Mix all together until sugar is dissolved & mixture is smooth. Pour over cake.

While I'm at it, I should share a story about this cake. I took it to church once for a pot luck for our missionary & his wife. She had a slice of the cake & loved it, so she asked about it. When she was told it was a Mt.Dew cake (since we couldn't get Sun-Drop around here at the time) she nearly panicked. Apparently she was on some kind of medication that reacted badly if taken with caffeine. Since there's only one can in the entire cake, she was fine....but it made for an interesting church dinner.