Irish Apple Cake for St. Paddy's Day!

 

The sweet juicy apples nestled in the 

delicious cake 

made a big hit here!

 

 

That awesome crumbly struesel topping makes the cake a glorious treat to enjoy with a "cuppa" to soothe your nerves any time!

Celebration Time ~ Classic Yellow Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

 

From the rich, creamy, sweet frosting to the delectable moist cake, it’s hard to be in a funk when devouring a cupcake!

The gems first appeared back in 1828 when an ingenious young woman, Eliza Leslie, published her cookbook, Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes and Sweetmeats, which included the recipe for the first cupcake.

Coconut Cashew Cake

It goes by sanwin makin in Myanmar.  It's a traditional favorite sweet cake there that's full of flavor, and very moist ~ a one-bowl cake; meaning, wet and dry ingredients are mixed together in one bowl.

I’m a fan of the good taste and texture of semolina bread and was intrigued when I saw Thomas Keller on his Milk Street PBS show making this cake.  I just happen to have the The Complete Milk Street TV Show Cookbook but evidently cruised on by this recipe.

Summery Peach Loaf Cake with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

We all really like peaches here, some more than others, but we all are hooked on this cake!

This is a scrumptious summer dessert starring fresh peaches!

Peaches have been “iffy” here this summer.  Most of them not ripe, and when they do ripen up, they’re rotten.  Thankfully, our favorite farmers’ market had a huge supply of Michigan peaches.  They looked near perfect ~ I couldn’t resist them ~  fragrant, ripe and drip-down-your-chin juicy.  Just what this cake called for!

The simple streusel topping is spiced with fragrant cinnamon and cardamom.  It’s equally good for breakfast, brunch, a snack or dessert.  Finish it off with a scoop of ice cream or a swirl of whipped cream, or just eat it plain, like we do.

It’s a moist cake filled with little chunks of sweet peaches!


Enjoy!

Yield: 1 large or 3 mini loavesAuthor: Pam

Peach Cake with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

This is a delicious, moist and sweet cake!

prep time: 20 MINScook time: 30 MINStotal time: 50 mins

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 2-3/4 cups flour
• 1 -1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1-1/2 cups diced fresh peaches

Streusel Topping

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon water

INSTRUCTIONS

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
   Grease and flour three - 3x5x2-inch or one - 9x5-inc loaf pan(s).
2. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together the sugar and oil. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.
3. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat until well combined. Stir in diced peaches. Spread the batter into prepared loaf pans.
4. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean; about 25-30 minutes for small loaves and about 55-60 minutes for large pan. Allow to set for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely before slicing.

For Cinnamon Streusel Topping:

1. Cream softened butter well, add remaining ingredients. With a fork or pastry blender, combine until crumbly.
2. Scatter over cake before baking.

A Birthday for Grandpa with Classic Yellow Cupcakes

Grandpa needed help blowing out the candles on his birthday cupcake yesterday, so Matthew, came to the rescue! 

Grandpa and Matthew

Bill loves cupcakes and so does our 6-year-old grandson, and this Martha Stewart recipe came to my rescue.

Woo hoo!

Bill's birthday is actually today ~ he’s having 2 days of celebrating.  It was going to be a day of golf with Bubba, but due to thunderstorms, that’s postponed for a sunny day; instead, it’s off to lunch later at a favorite Mexican restaurant. 

On with the cupcakes…

Who doesn’t like a cupcake!  These cupcakes are moist, delicious and full of flavor.  The recipe calls for a dozen cupcakes, I doubled it.  Yellow is Bill’s favorite with chocolate buttercream frosting.  Matthew opts for yellow cupcakes with buttercream frosting. 

 The options for decorating are endless, we like sprinkles here!

Believe me, these cupcakes disappear quickly!

Yield: 12Author: Pam

Classic Yellow Cupcakes

prep time: 25 MINScook time: 20 MINStotal time: 45 mins

Perfect classic treats for a birthday or any day!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CUPCAKES

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• Sprinkles, for decorating

FOR BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3 cups congerectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup of Cocoa Powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons of milk

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°, line cups of a standard muffin tin with paper lines. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder,and salt. Set aside. In a liquid measuring cup, mix milk and vanilla; set aside.
2. In large bowl, with electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy,  3-4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. With mixer on low speed, add half of dry ingredients, followed by milk-vanilla mixture, then remaining dry ingredients. Do not overmix.
4. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in tin, then remove and cool completely on a rack before frosting.
6. Prepare frosting: In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Mix in up to 1/2 cup more sugar, (more for chocolate) or a few teaspoons of milk as necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency.
7. Frost cupcakes, decorate with sprinkles before frosting dries to ensure that thy stick.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Enjoy!

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Birthday Cake for Bill's Birthday!

We celebrated 

Bill’s  71st birthday 

yesterday!

What Bill really likes on his big day is the cast iron crowd-please of cakes ~ Chocolate cake ~ A good old-fashioned chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting, and his 5-year-old grandson, Matthew, to help him eat it!

This is a simple rich moist cake recipe, from a Hershey’s Cookbook.

According to a University of Michigan study, chocolate contains chemicals called opioids.  Opioids are also found in opium, and they produce a euphoric feeling and are very pleasurable.  

Apparently, one of the effects of chocolate on the brain is to release natural endorphins so that when we eat chocolate, it dulls pain and gives us a little euphoric feeling. That could explain why chocolate is craved.  

There’s a sweet solution to that craving ~ feed it!

And this chocolate birthday cake with chocolatey fudge frosting, “filled the Bill!”

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Birthday Cake
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

4 squares Hershey’s Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
5 tablespoons hot water
½ cup butter
1½ cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, separated
1¾ cups sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Melt the baking chocolate, cut into small pieces, with the hot water in top of double boiler over simmering water.
Cream the butter and sugar together well.
Add the egg yolks, well-beaten, and whip thoroughly.
Then add the melted chocolate mixture, slightly cooled.
Add the flour, sifted with the baking powder and salt, and the milk.
Fold in the stiffly whipped egg whites and vanilla. 
Pour into well-greased and floured, 2 round 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans or a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan.*
Bake for about 20-25 minutes for round pans, 40-45 for oblong pan or until done when toothpick is inserted in middle and comes out clean.
Let cool in round pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
Frost when completely cool.
*I used two 9-inch round pans, they baked for 22 minutes.

Classic Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Ingredients:

½ cup butter
3 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
1 pound confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup milk

Method:

Melt chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler, or in the microwave.  
In a large bowl, combine confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and ½ cup of the milk.
Blend in the melted chocolate mixture.
Add remaining milk, a little at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
Let stand until spreadable, frosting will thicken as it cools.
Frost cake.

Serve 


Enjoy!

Classic Strawberry Shortcake for Memorial Day

Three years after the Civil War ended, on March 5, 1868, John A. Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.  

He declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30.  It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.  

This poster from 1917 shows the name change and honors the memory of the dead from the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War.

Known commonly now as Memorial Day, it’s the day for us to reflect, honor and acknowledge those who gave their selfless service and the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  

It’s also a time to remember our present veterans and those in service now.  To them all, we owe an unplayable debt. Here’s Bill, my favorite veteran, my husband:

Home from Basic Training, 1965,  Private

 

Bamberg, Germany, early 1967, Sergeant

Machine Gun Instructor
1st Engineer Training Brigade
Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo 
Fall 1967
Sergeant E5  

Here’s a little Memorial Day Trivia for you:

*  Red poppies are known as a symbol of remembrance, and it’s a tradition to wear them to honor those who died in war.

*  President Bill Clinton signed the National Moment of Remembrance Act on Dec. 28, 2000, designating 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day as a National Moment of Remembrance.  Television and radio stations play the “Taps” to give Americans pause during their busy Memorial Day.

*  The crowd that attended the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was about the same size as those that attend today’s observance:  about 5,000 people.

*  It has been often reported that “Taps,” the most famous bugle song came from a Civil War captain who discovered his long lost son in a field of Confederate bodies, but this is nothing more than an urban legend.  In fact, the bugle song comes from Union Brig. Get Daniel Butterfield during the Civil War.  He didn’t care for the “customary firing of three rifle volleys at the conclusion of burials during battle” and wanted a softer and more somber bugle song to honor his fallen soldiers. 

*  More than 150 years later, the Civil War remains the United States’ deadliest conflict.  More than 620,000 people died during the war.  Many of the casualties occurred as a result of disease, rather than as a direct result of injuries.  The second deadliest conflict was World War II, in which more than 400,000 American soldiers lost their lives.

*  Memorial Day is now the second-most popular holiday (after the Fourth of July) for a sun-baked barbecue:    53% of people grill on the holiday, according to Hearth, Patio and & Barbecue Association.

*  And, to wrap it up:  The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council notes that on Memorial Day, Americans will consume a stomach-busting 818 dawgs per second.  That’s just a few wieners short of 71 million in a day. They’re not sure how many packages that equals, but they’re betting the equivalent number of bun packs would fall short by, oh, 1.3 million or so.

Memorial weekend also ushers in summer.  

Woo hoo!

My favorite time of year!

It’s also the beginning of strawberry season.  And what better way to give a nod to it than classic strawberry shortcake!  

Here you won’t find any of those little sponge discs that look like sofa casters that you see displayed by the strawberries at the grocery store.  I always pass on them as they taste like I suppose foam rubber would. 

This is all about serving the juicy strawberries over rich, flaky buttery homemade biscuits made with cream and a touch of sugar, topping it all off with whipped cream, of course!

Classic Strawberry Shortcake
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

1½ pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced, tossed with 2-4 tablespoons sugar; set aside.

For the shortcake:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ cups heavy cream 
Whipped Cream, recipe follows

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar and salt.
Add cream, mix until just combined.
Place mixture in an ungreased 8-inch pan.
Bake until golden, about 18 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, while shortcake is baking, place a metal bowl and beaters in the freezer.
When shortcake is baked, remove from pan and place to a rack to cool slightly.
Cut into 6 pieces and split shortcake in half horizontally.
Beat all whipped cream ingredients in the metal bowl with chilled beaters about 1½ to 2 minutes, until peaks form.
Spoon some strawberries with their juice onto each shortcake bottom.
Top with a spoonful of whipped cream and the shortcake top.
Place a couple of strawberries over all and an additional dollop of whipped cream for garnish.

For the Whipped Cream 

1½ cups heavy cream, chilled
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Makes 6 servings



ENJOY! 

Here’s to Memorial Day

summer

and

strawberry shortcake!

Sherry Wine Cake

Drinking wine is great ~ 

eating dessert is great ~ 

combining the two is ecstasy!

We hosted a neighborhood get-together at our house recently, and Valery brought this luscious cake.

Evidently, the cake has been around awhile, but it was new to Bill and I, and I was very happy to meet it. 

It’s a buttery, dense cake with a unique taste.  It’s easy to make, and sophisticated, without tasting boozy ~ it’s delicious!

Cream sherry is a fortified wine made by fermenting white grapes and then adding brandy, which is a distilled wine with a high alcohol content.  

The wine is deliberately exposed to air, which makes it darker and sweeter than other fortified wines. 

Sherry is nutty in taste with hints of vanilla, fruit and caramel --- a perfect ingredient for this cake.

It’s a great cake to whip up for any occasion!


Sherry Wine Cake
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) vanilla instant pudding mix
4 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup cream sherry or sweet golden sherry
Powdered sugar

Method:

Beat cake mix and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 10” tube pan.
Bake at 350˚ for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan, and cool on wire rack.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Serve with ice cream or berries, if desired.



ENJOY!

Irish Apple Cake for St. Paddy’s Day

We all turn a little bit Irish on St. Paddy’s Day, and it’s fun and tasty when our food can follow suit!

Apple cakes like this one are the traditional sweet in Ireland.  In the old days, it would’ve been baked in a "bastible," a black iron kettle by an open fire.

 

Bastible hanging over a fire on a crane

I happened upon this recipe, created by Margaret Johnson ~ who is perhaps the most prolific Irish-American writer of topics regarding Irish food and drink ~ and knew I had to try it.  This version is slightly adapted, using more cinnamon and less sugar, and pecans swapped for walnuts, with Honeycrisp apples substituting for Granny Smith. 

Maybe you’d like this moist cake served straight from the oven, with a dollop of whipped cream, but I think it’s perfect for breakfast the next morning!

Irish Apple Cake
Adapted

Ingredients:

½ stick butter

¾ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
4 Honeycrisp apples, cored, peeled and diced (2 cups)
¼ cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup all-purpose flour

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Generously grease an 8-inch square cake pan.
In a large bow, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg, apples, nuts and vanilla, and stir well.
Sift dry ingredients together and add to apple mixture, combing well.
Pour batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.
Bake until cake is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes.
Let cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then unmold and serve hot or cold with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Serves 10 to 12

ENJOY!

Devil’s Food Cupcakes for Halloween

It’s that time of year ~ close to Halloween ~ and ending my fifth year of posting recipes here ~ that translates to 593 recipes I’ve shared with you…

Speaking of Halloween, this cupcake recipe turns out delicious moist cupcakes for all you chocolate lovers. 

Spread on top is a great buttercream icing for decorating.  That’s the fun part, decorating them your way:  whether it’s creepy, crawly, wicked, ghoulish, spooky, or just plain cute.

These cupcakes are perfect devil’s food for Halloween!

Devil’s Food Cupcakes

Ingredients: 

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened
1¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ cup (2 ounces) Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ cups milk, water or cool coffee 

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners, set aside.
With electric mixer in a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and salt, till light and fluffy, beating for at least 5 minutes.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and cocoa, making sure there are no lumps.
Add eggs to butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Mix together the milk and add vanilla.
Add one-third of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture.
Add half the milk.
Add another third of the flour.
Add the remaining milk.
Add the remaining flour.
Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally while mixing.
Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin cups.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes.
Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frost with Buttercream Frosting.
Decorate as desired. 

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients: 

6 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/8 teaspoon salt
4-5 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ to 1/3 cup milk
2 or 3 drops orange food coloring, optional

Method: 

In a large bowl, beat together butter, shortening and salt until fluffy.

Add half of the confectioner’s sugar and beat slowly until well blended.
Add vanilla and half of the milk until fluffy.
Continue mixing in the sugar and milk alternately until they’ve been completely absorbed, using as much milk as needed for spreading consistency.
Beat until light and fluffy.                                     

ENJOY!

After 5 years of recipes, I’ve decided to take an extended leave of absence.

Thanks to all of you for your support and kind comments, it has been a great ride.   

So long for now…

Here’s wishing you an early

 Happy Halloween!