Southern Living King Cake

I'm trying to find the perfect recipe and this one is it.  Now I need to learn to make it look pretty.  The yeast really rose and make the cake big and wider than anticipated.  Bread flour really makes all the difference.

1 (16-ounce) container sour cream 

1/3 cup sugar 

1/4 cup butter 

1 teaspoon salt 

2 (1/4-ounce) envelopes active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (100° to 110°)

1 tablespoon sugar 

2 large eggs, lightly beaten 

6 to 6 1/2 cups bread flour

1/3 cup butter, softened 

1/2 cup sugar 

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Glaze

Melt together 2 tablespoons milk, 3 tablespoons butter,few drops of vanilla.  Add about 2 cups powdered sugar til it makes a thick glaze.

Purple-, green-, and gold-tinted sparkling sugar sprinkles 

 

Cook first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts. Set aside, and cool mixture to 100° to 110°.

Stir together yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a 1-cup glass measuring cup; let stand 5 minutes.

Beat sour cream mixture, yeast mixture, eggs, and 2 cups flour at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until smooth. I use my dough hook in my KitchenAid mixer.  Reduce speed to low, and gradually add enough remaining flour (4 to 4 1/2 cups) until a soft dough forms.  Keep beating for 5 mins.

Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top.

Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until dough is doubled in bulk.
Punch down dough, and divide in half. Roll each portion into a 22- x 12-inch rectangle. Spread 1/3 cup softened butter evenly on each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border. Stir together 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle evenly over butter on each rectangle.

Roll up each dough rectangle, jelly-roll fashion, starting at 1 long side. Place one dough roll, seam side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bring ends of roll together to form an oval ring, moistening and pinching edges together to seal. Repeat with second dough roll.

Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 20 to 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
Bake at 375° for 14 to 16 minutes or until golden. Slightly cool cakes on pans on wire racks (about 10 minutes). Drizzle Creamy Glaze evenly over warm cakes; sprinkle with colored sugars, alternating colors and forming bands. Let cool completely.

Orange n Berry Blondies

Thanks NikNak for this tasty treat!

½ cup white chocolate chips

1 cup brown sugar packed

¾ cup dried cranberries

2 large eggs, fork beaten

2 tsp grated orange zest

2 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

Place oven rack in center position, preheat oven to 375°.

Put butter and white chocolate chips into heavy saucepan on lowest heat,

stirring often until chocolate is almost all melted.  Remove from heat.

Stir chocolate/butter mixture until smooth and pour into large bowl.  

Add next 5 ingredients and stir well.  Add flour and salt and stir until just moistened.

Grease a 9”x9” baking pan with cooking spray.  Spread mixture evenly in pan.

Bake in oven for approximately 25 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let blondies cool in pan then cut into squares.

Blondies are a lot like brownies except more fun, sweet cranberries and zippy orange zest will start a party on your tongue.

Raspberry Charlotte

Eliza submitted this recipe from Saveur Magazine online.  Looks yummy and versatile. 

FOR THE CAKE:
1 tbsp. butter
4 eggs, separated
½ cup sugar
7 tbsp. cake flour
1¼ tsp. vanilla extract

FOR THE FILLING:
9 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
¾ cup sugar
1 package unflavored gelatin
¼ cup eau-de-vie de poire (pear brandy)
2 cups heavy cream

FOR THE SAUCE:
3 tbsp. superfine sugar
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. eau-de-vie de poire (pear brandy)

 1. For the cake: Preheat oven to 400°. Butter a 9" springform pan and line bottom with buttered parchment. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale yellow. Gradually beat in flour until mixture is smooth. Add vanilla and set aside. Whisk egg whites in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form, then fold whites into yolk mixture, taking care not to deflate whites. Pour into pan and bake until brown, 25–30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. For the filling: Put raspberries, sugar, and 1 cup water into a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until sugar dissolves and berries break down, about 10 minutes. Press through a sieve set over a bowl to catch purée. Return 2 cups purée to pan and set over low heat. Reserve remaining purée for sauce. Sprinkle gelatin in ¼ cup cold water, set aside until softened, then add to purée in pan, stirring until dissolved, 1–2 minutes. Remove from heat, add eau-de-vie, and set aside to cool. Whip cream in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gently fold cooled purée into cream.

3. Unmold cake and discard parchment. Slice cake in half crosswise, then return cake bottom to pan with ring reattached. Pour in filling, then replace cake top, brown side up. Cover with plastic; refrigerate for 24 hours.

4. For the sauce: Combine reserved berry purée, sugar, lemon juice, and eau-de-vie in a bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved. Slice cake and serve with sauce.

Ooey, Gooey Chocolate Chip & Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Thanks to GingerSoul, I will gain back the 15 lbs I recently lost.  These look Mauv-e-lus!!!

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 cup oats
¼ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a KitchenAid standalone mixer with paddle attachment (or electric mixer), cream butter and sugar together.
3. Add vanilla and egg and mix on low speed.
4. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a separate bowl, and add a little at a time while mixing on low speed.
5. Add oats and mix until just blended.
6. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts by hand with a large spoon.
7. Using a cookie scooper (or teaspoon), drop round balls of cookie dough on a baking sheet at least 1 inch apart.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden brown. Do not overbake or cookies will be too hard.
9. Transfer to a cooling rack using a spatula. 

Makes 16 cookies.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

I should warn you, there will probably be many blueberry recipes posted soon.  My sisters college roommate has a family farm and her mom can't take care of it all by herself.  Last weekend sis and I went and plucked blueberries.  I have 28 cups of them frozen in my freezer.  This is one of my fav recipes.

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar (divided)
2 cups old fashioned oat (I use organic from EarthFare)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teasp baking powder
1/4 teasp salt
the zest from one lemon
the juice from said lemon
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
4 teasp corn starch
4 cups fresh organic blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 and butter a 9x13 pan.

Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, oatmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.  Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in butter and egg.  It will be very crumbly and look like the butter is lumpy, but that's ok.  Pat half of this into the 9x13 pan.

In another bowl stir together remaining 1 cup sugar, lemon juice and cornstartch.  It will be gritty and syrupy.  Fold in berries.  When berries are coated, layer them in the pan.  Plop the remaining crumble on top and try to pat it out without smashing the berries.

Bake until top browns, about 35-45 mins.  Let cool and enjoy!  It's great with homemade vanilla ice cream.

rum pound cake

• Cuisine: Southern/Soul Food
• Course: Dessert
• Features: Make-Ahead Recipes

Summary:

Rich and buttery, with a whisper of rum, this pound cake takes well to any fruit topping, as well as to ice cream. Serve grilled slices of cake for a summer treat topped with grilled peaches. It tastes just as good toasted the next day.
MAKE AHEAD: The cake needs an hour to cool. It can be made a day in advance.

Makes one 10-inch tube-pan cake (12 servings)

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
• 3 1/2 cups flour, plus more for the pan
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup rum
• Scrapings from 1 vanilla bean
• 3 cups sugar
• 8 large eggs
• 1 cup regular or low-fat sour cream (do not use nonfat)

For the fruit

• 1 pound strawberries
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 10-inch tube pan with a little butter, then dust it with flour, shaking out any excess.
Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
Stir together the rum and vanilla bean scrapings in a small bowl.
Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed until lightened and smooth.
Increase the speed to medium-high; gradually add the sugar, mixing to form a light and fluffy mixture; this will take about 8 minutes. Stop a few times to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Reduce the speed to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until the yellow of the yolk is well incorporated.
Reduce the speed to low. Add the rum and vanilla mixture to the batter in two parts, alternating with the flour mixture, beating just to incorporate.
Remove the bowl from the mixer; stir in the sour cream by hand, then spoon the batter into the pan. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes; a toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean. Transfer (in the pan) to a wire rack to cool for 1 hour before cutting.
Meanwhile, hull and rinse the strawberries, then cut them into halves or quarters and place in a mixing bowl. Add the vinegar, sugar and several grinds of pepper, then stir to incorporate.
Serve slices of the cake with some of the macerated strawberries.

Recipe Source:

Adapted from Lee Manigault and Suzanne Pollak of Charleston, S.C., known as the Deans of the Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits.

posted by bambam

Chocolate Kahlua Cake

I had this at my sis-in-law's house over New Years.  She made a mistake and used a brownie mix and it was more dense and fantastic. 

Mix together:

 1 chocolate cake mix (with pudding in the mix)
2/3 cup oil
3/4 cup Kahlua
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream

Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. 

Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.  (If you are baking mini cakes, bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes).  Cool for 10 minutes then turn onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar.

Emeril's Apple Cake

I swear to God when I make this everyone asks for the recipe.  I make it with or without the toppings.

TO.DIE.FOR

Ingredients
Cake:

1 stick plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 or 3 Red Delicious Apples, cored and chopped the size of sugar cubes

Crumble Topping:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Brown Sugar Glaze:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter.

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly. Serve warm.