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 375º 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

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.

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.

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