Too good too be true (WW Cake Recipe)

Cleaning out the filing cabinet, I found this recipe. It was in a notebook circa 2003. First of all, let me say that I do not remember this recipe. So, I don't know if it's too good to be true or not. The paper does look as if I used it at least once in the kitchen. Perhaps I will try it again. 

Here is the recipe: 

1 yellow butter recipe cake mix

6 oz. very vanilla low-fat yogurt

2 eggs or egg substitute

1/4 c. unsweetened apple sauce

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. melted butter

Mix together all ingredients and pour into a greased and floured 9"x13" cake pan.

Then, stir together:

2 eggs or egg substitute

1/2 tsp. vinegar

1 lb. powdered sugar

16 oz. fat free cream cheese

1 tsp. vanilla

Pour this mixture over the cake batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-45 min. or until it bubbles in the center and it begins to brown.

Top with sliced fruit of your choice. Makes 12 servings.

The points calculated on the notebook paper are not valid under the current WW points plan. As they were calculated under the old system. 

Bon appétit! 

Fraisier

I made a French strawberry cake for my husband's birthday. 

I made a genoise. 

Then, made a batch of pastry cream.

2 cups milk
3/4 c. sugar
pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
5 tbsp. cornstarch
1 vanilla bean (or 1 tbsp. vanilla extract)
2 tbsp butter
3 sheets of gelatin (bloomed in cold water)

Place milk in sauce pan. Slice vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds out with a knife. Place bean and seeds in the milk. Bring milk to a boil on high heat. Meanwhile, Whisk together sugar, salt and cornstarch. Whisk in egg yolks. 
When milk comes to a boil, slowly whisk into sugar/egg mixture to temper eggs. Then, add back to pan. Cook on high heat stirring constantly for one minute or until it thickens.
Next, strain pastry cream through a fine sieve to catch any egg bits, vanilla bean, and lumps. 
Drain the water from the gelatin and add into pastry cream while it is still hot. Stir in to melt. Add in the butter. If you are using vanilla extract you can add it in at this point. Allow to cool completely in fridge. 

When pastry cream is completely cool. Whip up 1 c. of heavy whipping cream. Add in almond extract to taste and 1 tbsp. Grand Marnier. Gently fold whipped cream into pastry cream. 

Layer genoise, brush with syrup of choice. Layer with strawberries and the cream. Top with jam, marzipan, or both! I used the ring from my spring form pan to build the cake on a plate, and it worked out great.

Sorry no pictures! They ate all the evidence before I found my camera! Too bad because it was prettier than the last one. Here's the picture of last year's cake. 

Quick Dessert

Tonight's Dessert was a simple one.

Step 1) Make a berry salad. Rinse some berries. Chop them up. Toss together in a bowl. Heck, be fancy: throw in some mandarin oranges (drained please) and a few chopped mint leaves...

Step 2) Stir together

• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp brandy (or for those who don't partake... 1 tsp vanilla)

Step 3) Next, whip a cup of heavy cream to stiff peaks. Then, fold in the sour cream mixture... (um, yes, of course you can cheat, get the real whipped cream in a can and squirt it out.. but do adjust the amount of brown sugar..... ) 

Step 4) Spoon some berry salad into a bowl and top with whipped cream mixture:

Voilà dessert!

Yogurt

Some quick ideas for yogurt:

My favorite yogurt! :) Yummy! So many possibilities.

Layer yogurt and vanilla wafers. Top with a dollop of lemon curd. You can eat it
immediately, or you can store in the refrigerator until the cookies soften slightly.
Tastes like a decadent dessert. If you measure your ingredients judiciously, you will
have control over the calories you are using. Don't want cookies? It's great with just a
teaspoon of lemon curd. 

Top with your favorite granola. I like to place fruit in a bowl, top with
yogurt, then granola on top. 

More ideas:

• Plain yogurt with a drizzle of honey, a sprinkle of granola
• Summer oatmeal: Basically, combine equal parts oatmeal, yogurt, milk. Let set in refrigerator overnight. Serve cold. Top with fruit. 
• Try with a dollop of Nutella
• Try crushed up cookies, graham crackers
• Add lime curd
• Add chocolate chips or crushed candy
• Use banana and vanilla wafers for a banana pudding type experience. 
• Stir in fruit pie filling
• Add unsweetened apple sauce (another favorite of mine)
• Add a chopped up apple.
• Stir in apple butter

I'm looking forward to your comments. What do you add to your yogurt? 

Raw? Bars...

Originally, I started to make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Raw Bars from Beard + Bonnet. Except, #1) I can't seem to follow directions, and #2) Of course, I adapted the recipe to what I like and what I had on hand. 

I put a question mark by "raw?" because I don't know if they were named raw bars because they are following a raw diet or if it is because they are not cooked. Mine are probably not going to fit anybody's diet. But they turned out pretty yummy.

 Raw??? Bars

1 cup dates, chopped

1 cup natural almonds

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

OK, the original recipe told me to mix the nuts and dates until and sticky dough has formed.... BUT... I just wasn't reading carefully and I threw all these ingredients in the food processor and whirled away. Make a chocolaty dough. I tasted it. It needed something. It was really begging me to add some Frangelico or Amaretto. However, since I'd like to enjoy my "raw" bars at work, I decided to add in:

1 tsp. almond extract

100 g. (3.5 oz) Marzipan 

and pulsed just until it was incorporated. Then I patted the dough out into a rectangular prism on some wax paper (parchment paper would work, too) in my brownie pan. Refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes or so. Then, using a pizza wheel, I sliced into smaller bars. 

Sticky Goody Yumminess!

The original recipe says that you can roll the dough into balls if your prefer. Raw balls... no comment.....

I wrapped each bar in a small piece of wax paper and then placed them all in a tightly sealed container. Back into the fridge.  

Beard + Bonnet says they last a few weeks in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.  With my version, all I taste is marzipan  so I highly doubt they will last that long.  

Another recipe I tried just because it was interesting. Turned out not so bad! What's not to like about almond, dates, and chocolate? 

 Raw??? Bars

1 cup dates, chopped

1 cup natural almonds

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

100 g. (3.5 oz) Marzipan 

Pulse in food processor until it is incorporated into a dough. Then,pat the dough out into a wax paper (or parchment paper) covered 9x9 pan.Refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes or so. Then, slice into smaller bars.Wrap in wax paper, place in an air tight container. Store in the fridge.

The Evolution of Banana Pudding

Banana Pudding

Mom’s banana pudding recipe is one she learned from her grandmother. I’m starting to think that Granny Koonce didn’t really have a recipe, because my aunt’s copy was slightly different than mom’s. Either way, it will turn out, and you will layer this delicious, smooth and velvety pudding with bananas and vanilla wafers.  It’s gone through some updates through the years. But we do not add whipped topping, and you will not use pudding from a box or you will get chased out of town….

Aunt Tutu’s recipe:

Granny Koonce's Banana Pudding 2 eggs 3/4 cup sugar 3 Tbs. flour 1 1/2 cup milk Mix flour and sugar together and set aside. Whisk eggs in a saucepan, add milk and slowly add sugar - flour mixture. Continue to stir over low heat with the wire whisk. After it thickens, add 2-Tbs. margarine and 1 tsp. vanilla. Layer with sliced bananas and vanilla wafers. Serve warm or chilled. Double or triple recipe as needed. (Trust me, it will be needed.)

Mommy’s Recipe:

Granny Koonce's Banana Pudding Mix 1 egg and ½ c. sugar in a sauce pan. Sift together ¼ c. sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, ¼ tsp. salt. Add to egg mixture. Stir in 2 cups milk. Cook over low heat until boiling or desired thickness. Stir constantly. Remove from heat add 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tsp. vanilla.

Why the change between butter and margarine, one egg or two? Why is there is a difference in the amount of milk or flour? My guess, that’s what was in the house the day each girl was taught to make it. I really don’t know.
Basically, you are going to need: eggs, butter, flour, sugar, milk and vanilla. I don’t recommend using margarine, ever! Use the best vanilla you can get. Add another egg if you want a richer pudding. Use whole milk, or replace part of your milk with half and half or cream for a richer texture. Mom has been known to use canned milk, and it turns out just fine.

OK, I know it says stir constantly, but don’t freak out yet! Like I said over the years, it’s gone through some updates.  Mom now makes hers in the microwave and it turns out great. I usually use the same procedure as making pastry cream. I get to use the stove and it doesn’t take as much time stirring.

Microwave Pudding Procedure: In a microwave safe bowl combine: 2 eggs ¾ c. sugar 2 tbsp. flour ¼ tsp. salt 2 c. milk Place in microwave and zap for 2 min. Stir. Microwave in one minute intervals stirring each time until it reaches desired consistency. Remove from microwave. Stir in 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tsp. vanilla.

Pastry Chef procedure: In a heavy sauce pan, heat 1 ½ cups milk and ½ cup half and half to boiling. If you have a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds out and place seeds and bean in the pan with the milk. Place a mixing bowl on a towel and just before your milk is boiling, whisk together 2 eggs, 2 tbsp. flour, ¼ tsp. salt, and ¾ c. sugar. When milk is boiling. Temper eggs (while stirring quickly, add hot milk to egg mixture). Return mixture to sauce pan over high heat and stir until it thickens. Remove from heat, pass mixture through a strainer (in case you have any cooked egg bits).  Add a tablespoon of unsalted butter. Add vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste if you did not use a vanilla bean.

Ok now that you have your pudding. Put down a layer of vanilla wafers and sliced banana. Top with pudding, repeat layering until you have no more pudding. Top all this with another layer of vanilla wafers. Sure, you can dig in now, but it will be much better later when it’s cold and the cookies have softened. Store in the refrigerator. J

Banana Cake

To Die for Banana Cake

from ButterYum (Hey, with a name like that you know it has to be good!)
Makes one 8x8-inch pan (double recipe for a 9x13 pan)

Cake:

2/3 cup sugar
½ cup sour cream
1 egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 mashed super ripe bananas (about 3/4 cup)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼  c. heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or equal amount of pure vanilla extract)
1 ¼ c. confectioner's sugar

To make cake (easily mixed by hand…really it is… I did not get out the KitchenAid! I used a wooden spoon.):

Mash the bananas with a fork then stir in. 

Preheat the oven to 375°F (350°F if using a glass pan.).  Cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and 2 tablespoons softened butter.  Add mashed bananas and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.  Add flour, salt, and baking soda; mix well.  Pour into greased 8x8 pan.  Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting:
Cream butter and confectioner's sugar together until smooth.  Slowly add the heavy cream; stir until smooth.  Stir in the vanilla bean paste until fully incorporated.  Spread on cooled cake. 

I wonder if the frosting is what makes it so good? So delicious and simple!

Not dense like banana bread, this cake is light and moist.