Lemon Sheet Cake

Okay - this sheet cake should be called "OH SO Lemony Sheet Cake"!! Found this little treasure in my Cook's Country magazine and it has been a bit hit.

CAKE:

2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ cup buttermilk (room temperature)
3 Tbs lemon zest
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
12 Tbs (1 ½ sticks) softened unsalted butter
3 large eggs plue 1 yolk (room temperature)

Heat oven to 325 degrees F and adjust the rack to the middle of the oven. Grease and flour a 13-inch X 9-inch baking pan. (I used a foil pan to take this to an event and it worked fine!)

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside. Combine buttermilk, lemon juice and vanilla in another bowl (I used a medium sized pitcher – which worked well when I later combined with other ingredients).

With an electric mixer on medium, beat the granulated sugar and lemon zest until well combined – about a minute. Set aside ¼ cup in a covered container.

Add the butter to the remaining sugar and beat until light and fluffy (2 minutes). Beat in eggs and yolk one at a time and mix thoroughly. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour and buttermilk mixtures a little at a time alternating between the two until all ingredients are fully incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Pour into the greased and floured pan and bake until the cake is golden and toothpick comes out clean – approximately 25-35 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for ten minutes and cover with glaze.

GLAZE:

3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs buttermilk

Whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Gently spread over warm cake and sprinkle evenly with remaining lemon sugar. Cool completely (at least 2 hours).

This travels well and serves approximately 16. Once squares are cut you can also garnish with small twisted lemon slices! Enjoy!!

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

1 1/2 cup flour
1 Tbs sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3 Tbs butter - unsalted/melted
1 to 1/14 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh blueberries

Mix together all dry ingredients - the add milk, vanilla, butter and beaten egg. once completely mixed fold in one cup of washed berries.

Cook in a hot greased skillet flipping once. Serve with berries and syrup of your choice.

*Best Practice: These are great anytime, but especially fun when camping. Simply mix all dry ingredients and place in a plastic storage container - when you are ready to mix add wet ingredients as indicated above - YUMMMOOOO!

Best Ever Blueberry Pie

Pie crust - unbaked enough for pie and top crust

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbs cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1Tbs butter

1 Tbs fresh lemon juice

4 cups fresh blueberries

Heat oven to 425 degrees, toss berries with dry ingredients, place into unbaked pie shell dot with pieces of the butter, sprinkle the juice over top and adjust a top crust and vent.

Bake until golden - about 45 minutes (for a fancier crust you can do a simple egg wash on top prior to baking.

Choclate Mousse Cake with Ganache Icing

CAKE:

1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs cocoa
¼ cup butter
½ cup water
¼ cup buttermilk
1 egg
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients, sugar, flour cocoa together and set aside. Combine in a saucepan butter, water and oil heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in the dry ingredients until mixed well. Then add buttermilk, soda, egg and vanilla.

Grease and flour pan and bake at 350 degrees until cake springs back – depending on pan 10-20 minutes. You can use two 9 inch round pans, two 9 inch square pans, one 13 X 9 inch pan. If you are using this recipe with the mousse and ganache you can use an 8 in spring form pan to make assembly easier.


MOUSSE:

8 oz good quality semisweet chocolate
2 oz of butter – unsalted
¾ cup heavy cream
3 eggs – separated

In the top of a double boiler melt the chocolate and butter with the beaten egg yolks, remove from heat and cool slightly.

In a separate bowl beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. In another bowl repeat the process with the egg whites.

Fold the whipped egg whites and whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. This is no ready to be spread or piped on to a cake.

*Best Practice: I make two cake layers in parchment lined spring form pans, leaving one layer in the spring form pan I then layer in the mousse and place second cake layer on top and chill for a couple of hours – once it is set I then make the ganache frosting.


GANACHE:

1 cup heavy cream
8 oz bittersweet chocolate – chopped
2 Tbs butter – unsalted and softened
1 Tbs light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan bring cream to just a boiling, remove from heat and stir in chocolate, butter vanilla and corn syrup. Let this all stand three minutes then whisk the mixture until combined and smooth.

Chill until mixture is just cooled. And frost cake of your choice.

*Best Practice: I use a squirt bottle (like the kind you can buy to put ketchup in) and pour the mixture into that and then cool. The small opening gives you control over the flow when you are icing the cake and you can store this for up to two week. If stored just leave at room temperature for a half hour and shake well.

For variation on any of these recipes you can add extracts such as orange, almond or peppermint. You can also add orange or raspberry liqueur to the mouse or ganache for an extra zip and garnish with fresh berries or mandarin slices.

Ice Box Key Lime Pie

Okay, you are expecting a heat wave and don't want to have the oven on for hours, yet you want to have a few friends over and need a tasty, refreshing dessert. This is the answer to you problem - cool, refreshing, simple to make and a crowd pleaser!

Even better - no innocent Key Limes need to be harmed - regular supermarket limes are just fine!! This is not a traditional Key Lime Pie - but a favorite everywhere I take it!

SERVES: 8-10

Crust:

8 whole graham crackers, 2 Tbs sugar, 5 Tbs melted unsalted butter and 1 Tbs lime zest

Filling: 1/4 sugar, 2 Tbs lime zest, 8 oz cream cheese-softened, 1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk, 1/3 cup of instant vanilla pudding mix, 1 1/4 tsp unflavored gelatin. 1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about7-9 limes), 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the crust - adjust oven rack to middle and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse crackers, sugar and lime zest together until finely ground. Add melted butter and pulse until the crumbs resemble damp sand. Press into bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate and bake until fragrant and brown around the edges - about 12-14 minutes. Cool completely!

Fro the filling - process sugar and zest in food processor until sugar turns bright green. Add cream cheese and mix until combined, scraping down sides as needed. Add condensed milk, pudding mix.

Set aside 2 Tbs of the lime juice, mix with the gelatin and heat in microwave for about 15 seconds - stir until dissolved and with machine running add to mixture in food processor. Add remaining juice and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.

Pour into cooled crust, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days. To serve, let pie sit at room temperature for 10 minutes prior to slicing - ENJOY!!

Easy Lemon Bars

For Base:

2 cups sifted flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter (softened)

For Top:

4 large beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

For the base mix the butter into the flour and sugar together with a fork or pastry cutter - until it clings together.

Press into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

For the filling, beat together eggs, sugar, zest and lemon juice. Sift together flour and baking powder. Stir into egg mixture.

Pour over baked, cooled crust. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.

Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into bars. Serve right away or store in fridge up to one day. Lovely and lemony - a great take along!!

Guinness Stew

Perfect for Saint Patrick's Day!!

2 pounds stewing beef
3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons tomato puree, dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cups Guinness
2 cups largely diced carrots
Sprig of fresh thyme
Chopped parsley, for garnish

Trim the meat of any fat or gristle, and cut into 2-inch cubes. Toss beef with 1 tablespoon of the oil. In a small bowl, season the flour with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Toss meat with seasoned flour.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Brown the meat on all sides. Reduce the heat, add the onions, crushed garlic and tomato puree to the skillet, cover, and cook gently for 5 minutes. Transfer the contents of the skillet to a casserole and pour half of the Guinness into the skillet.

Bring Guinness to a boil and stir to dissolve the caramelized meat juices on the pan. Pour over the meat, along with the remaining Guinness. Add the carrots and thyme. Stir and adjust seasonings. Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat, or in a 300 degree F oven until the meat is tender, 2 to 3 hours. Garnish the beef with parsley and serve.

For extra taste I added a small amount of rosemary and a friend tried his with mashed potatoes on top! YUM!!