Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Quick Banana Bread

Group 1 ingredients:
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon milk
2 over-ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
Handful of cropped walnuts (optional)

Group 2 ingredients
1½ cup plain flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt

- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and grease a medium sized bread tin.
- Mix group 1 ingredients together in a bowl
- Add group 2 ingredients to group 1 and mix well
- Pour the mixture into the bread tin – I told you it was easy!
- Cook for 25-30 minutes
- Remove the banana bread from the oven and put on a wire rack to cool
- Cut into slices and enjoy!!

Easy English Biscuits (Cookies)

1/2 c soft butter
1 1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c flour
1 egg
Pinch of salt

Beat butter and sugar together. Add egg and beat well. Add flour and salt and mix until it forms a ball of dough. Add more flour if needed. Roll out and cut into desired shapes. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 for 7-10 minutes (only just golden around the edges).

Cornbread

1/2 c butter
2/3 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c buttermilk
1/2 t baking soda
1 c cornmeal
1 c flour
1/2 t salt

Melt butter, add sugar and stir well. Add eggs, beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk and soda, then add to sugar and egg mixture. Add dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Bake in greased 8x8" pan at 375 for 30 minutes.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Favorite Oatmeal Cookies

These are our families favorite oatmeal cookies. The recipe comes from the Quaker oatmeal boxes. I like to use whole wheat flour instead of white flour.

1 c butter, softened
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
3 c oatmeal
1 c raisins

Cream together the butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well. Stir in oatmeal and raisins.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.

(For bar cookies bake in ungreased 9x13 pan for 30-35 minutes).

My Favorite Brownie Recipe

1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/3 c cocoa
1/2 c flour
1/4 t salt
1/4 t baking powder

In large saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients.

Pour into greased 8x8 inch pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake:
2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (15 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 1/2 (360 ml) cups heavy whipping cream
1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature (may substitute ricotta cheese)
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

Red Velvet Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the freezer for at least an hour. (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Cream Cheese Frosting: In your food processor, or with a hand mixer, process the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and process until smooth. Transfer this mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Then, in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. With a large spatula, gently but quickly fold a little of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream, in two stages. If the frosting is not thick enough to spread, cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour, or until it is firm enough to spread.

Assemble: With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake.

Vanilla Crepes

1 1/2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons melted butter

Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until well blended.

Heat a crepe pan over medium heat until hot. Coat with vegetable oil or cooking spray. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and tip to spread the batter to the edges. When bubbles form on the top and the edges are dry, flip over and cook until lightly browned on the other side and edges are golden. Repeat with remaining batter.