This is the second time making this rich buttery cake. The first time I took a bold risk and made mini egg shaped cakes. It was bold because I hadn’t done a trial run on the recipe, and delivery for an Easter wedding left me no time for a redo. But, I must say that James is a man who can be counted on. Time after time his recipes have proven to shine and his leading along the way have given me courage.

The egg cakes my dear friends were stellar and I think of them daily. Especially since these small little morsels of cake were glazed with a chocolate ganache. My little indulgence with a cup of coffee in the morning. Sorry to say, not one picture to show you as it was a mad week of baking for the Easter wedding-my first wedding cake, mini tarts, mini blueberry pies adorned with tiny running bunnies around the top edge to form  a crust, macarons, strawberry shortcakes with caramel sauce, and more.

Of course I had to come back to this cake and try it again. My bundt pan was missing so I use an angel food cake pan-no good I must say as it leaked and stuck to the pan. The cake tester was clean, but the cake needed more time to bake. Next time, I’ll add 15 minutes to the baking.

The flavor is wonderful and toasted this cake shined. No need to butter before toasting as there is plenty in the batter.

I plan to do a re-run of mini shapes glazed with the chocolate ganache. Though I am not a chocolate lover, the combination is divine and the almond flavor comes to life.

James talks about a cold oven and how he imagines that was how pound cakes were baked 100 years ago. I on the other hand, imagine that I have a chance to spend some time in the kitchen with James.

If you want a moist, rich, buttery pound cake to nibble on-then try this.

COLD OVEN POUND CAKE

James Villas, The Glory of Southern Cooking

3 cups sugar

2 sticks butter, softened

8 tablespoons of vegetable shortening

5 large eggs

3 cups of all-purpose flour (White Lily or other soft wheat)

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla or pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Grease a 10 inch tube pan with butter and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and shortening with an electric mixer, then add the eggs one at a time, beating till well blended.

Alternately, add the flour and milk and beat till the batter is smooth. Add the two extracts and the lemon juice and mix till well blended.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and place in the center of the oven. Heat the oven to 325degrees and bake till a cake tester or knife blade inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 ½ hours. Turn the cake out onto a rack and let cool completely.

What do you do when a Southern girl tells you that her favorite birthday cake isn’t the cherished Southern Coconut Cake but instead she would prefer Boston Cream Pie instead?

Well, I am all about having your favorite for your birthday so I promised to come through with a fabulous Boston Cream Pie. I am from the North, so I ought to be able to come up with a great recipe.

I must confess that I do love BCP, and have fond memories of my mom making them. They are actually a cake and since I am all about cake-especially white cake, I knew this would be fun coming up with something special.

My mom has a great recipe which I lost and I didn’t have time for a rewrite, I chose to go for broke. I tried a recipe from an unknown source at the last minute and held my breath.

Mid way through the cake I had my doubts, the same was true with the cream filling and chocolate ganache.  Any doubts that I had were quickly erased once I had a bite of this yummy dessert. The cake was absolutely fabulous and is on my all time favorite list. The ganache was creamy and oh so good.

I will add that I like lots of filling so will increase the recipe by 1/2 more next time. Save your cake scraps for your am coffee or freeze them for making another last minute trifle or banana pudding dessert.

For the recipe please click this link to visit Design Sponge and have fun, I know I did.

This is a grand cake and although it may appear daunting and overwhelming to bake and assemble, it isn’t. I have the pleasure of catering a birthday cocktail party next week for 100 people and this is one of three cakes that will be served alongside my Chocolate Layer Cake and Coconut Cream Cake.

The party is a blend of Southern/Italian cuisine. I am finalizing the plans and adapting a few recipes for the event. The menu is impressive and I am counting on my team to help me carry it out. Some of the choices are tried and true while a few new recipes will be included.

I’ll have lots of goodies for you to sample, and it only seemed natural to start with dessert first. This cake is light, mildly sweet and moist for an angel food style. The taste of orange paired with praline candy and whip cream is wonderful. The Italian cream filling is lucious and mildly sweet as well making the layers that much better to eat.

I decided that the cake is best without the crunch in between the layers after trying one layer with and one without so I will be reserving the brittle for the top alone. Please feel free to change this if you want and add it to the layers. You may also use whip cream between the layers instead of the Italian Cream that I chose to save time, just double the whipped cream ingredients.

When you finish assembling the cake it appears that cutting it will be an issue. I assure you that it is not. This cake cuts beautifully, which is just what you want when serving lots of guests. It is especially important to read through the entire recipe and take this one step at a time and you’ll be rewarded for your hard work.

Southern Praline Crunch Layer Cake

Praline

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

¼ cup minus 2 tbsp water

2 tbsp grand Marnier or orange liquor

1 ¼ cups toasted pecan halves

1 ½ tsp sifted baking soda

Cake

1 ¼ cup

1 ½ cup superfine sugar

6 egg yolks, room temperature

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tbsp grated orange peel

1 tbsp orange liqueur

Pinch of salt

8 egg whites, room temperature

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Italian Cream Filling

6 egg yolks

6 tbsp flour

6 tbsp sugar

3 cups milk scalded

2” piece of orange rind

Topping

2 cups whipping cream

3 tbsp superfine sugar

2 tbsp orange liquor

For Praline-

Grease a large baking sheet. Cook sugar, corn syrup and liqueur in a heavy saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to med-high and boil until candy thermometer is just shy of 300 degrees which is the hard ball stage.

Add the toasted pecans which you have coarsely chopped and remove from the heat. Add the baking soda and carefully stir till combined. Pour mixture onto your prepared sheet, being careful not to burn yourself. Spread mixture with the back of the wooden spoon. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool and then break apart into pieces. Using a rolling pin or mallet, crush the praline till the size of coarse crumbs. The easiest way to do this is to bag praline in a freezer baggie, wrapped with parchment paper.

For Cake-

Preheat oven to 350 degree. Sift flour and ½ cup sugar into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Mix together ¼ cup sugar, egg yolks, juice, peel, liqueur and salt. Using a mixer beat until you have slowly dissolving ribbon forms when beater is lifted. About 3 minutes. Don’t overbeat.
Using a clean and dry bowl and beaters, place egg whites and cream of tartar in bowl and beat till soft peaks form. Slowly add your remaining ¾ cup sugar and beat until peaks are stiff. Gently mix 1/3 of egg whites into cake mixture. Then fold the remaining 2/3 egg whites into batter. Turn into an ungreased 10”tube pan, with removable bottom. Using a knife or your spatula cut through batter to remove any air bubbles. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Invert pan and let cake completely on a rack while in pan. When cool remove from pan being careful.

For filling-

Scald your milk and orange peel, set aside till it cools some. Meanwhile in another pan, beat your egg yolks, flour and sugar. Gradually add your scalded milk and stirring constantly heat until mixture come to a slight boil while on low heat. 5-7 minutes to bring filling to this stage. If there are any lumps pass through a sieve. Cool stirring occasionally so that a skin doesn’t form.

For topping-

Beat heavy cream in a chilled bowl and wire beater, till soft peaks form. Gradually add your sugar and continue beating till stiff peaks form. Gently fold in orange liqueur.

Assemble your cake-

Cake may be made up to 3 days ahead.

Praline may be made up to a week in advance.

Italian cream may be made up to 3 days ahead.

Carefully cut your cooled cake into 3 even layers. Put bottom layer on a 10” cake round cardboard. Spread ½ of Italian cream on cake. Top with another layer of cake and spread remaining Italian cream on cake. Top cake with final layer and chill for about 5-10 minutes in freezer to set. Spread whip cream on sides and top of cake spreading evenly. Cover sides and top of cake with crushed praline candy pieces. You can gather up praline that fell from the sides and sprinkle on cake.

Serve immediately, using a cake knife and pie server. Cake will feed about 20 people. If you make cake ahead of time, keep in refrigerator and remove about 30-60 ahead of serving.

These last few weeks I have made it a point to go through some piles of recipes, which I have been holding on to for a decade or more. This recipe is one of those. The AJC had a huge article on poundcakes that I cut out for a rainy day.

The only problem with waiting so long is that your expectations run high, very high. Mind you I wasn’t disappointed at all, it was quite good. It’s just that by now I have become use to a pound cake with 4 sticks of butter rather than the three that this one called for. I am also use to a poundcake that is not fussy to make as this one seemed.

The Cocoa Poundcake is much lighter in flavor, more cake-like than the Million Dollar Pouncake that I have made before. It is perfect for cocoa lovers, as the flavor is not as intense as a chocolate poundcake would be. This cake is good with a cup of coffee mid-morning or afternoon and it keeps well.

Here are some tips to make your poundcake baking a huge success. I say huge, because it is a great way to start baking cakes as it is hard to mess up. Good for your culinary confidence, and you are sure to enjoy the results.

As a note, I used Scharfen Berger Cocoa for this, but by all means use your favorite brand.

Tips for making great pouncakes-

• Take the time to sift your flour onto wax paper or a bowl. Then measure again by spooning the flour back into the measuring cup using a spoon and then level off the excess with a knife. This is to prevent a cracked dry top, which I got anyway with this recipe.
• Gradually add your sugar and take the time to beat the butter/sugar mixture till it is light, creamy and turns whitish.
• Generously butter your pan, especially a tube pan, or the pouncake can be tricky to get off of the tube.
• Always add your eggs one at a time, beating each one thoroughly before you add the next egg.
• Run your knife through the batter after it has been scraped into the prepared pan to remove air bubbles. Or, take your batter filled pan and lift it one inch above the counter and let it have a good drop.
• Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the rack below to catch any dripping from tube pan.
• Never eat a poundcake straight from the refrigerator; it is best at room temperature.

What’s up next this weekend-  A delightful Pumpkin Pirleau made with fresh pumpkin and Carolina Gold Rice and the best Crusty Country French Bread -a recipe that I have been using for over 25 years.

Rae Simpson’s Cocoa Poundcake 

½ cup half and half cream

½ cup whole milk

½ teaspoon salt

3 cups cake flour

½ good quality cocoa

½ teaspoon double acting or homemade baking powder

1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or homemade bourbon vanilla

3 cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs, at room temperature 

Set the oven rack in the middle position of the oven. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 9 or 10 inch tube pan (with removable bottom) by generously buttering.

Mix the salt, milk and cream in a microwavable dish, warm on high for 15 to 30 seconds-just until it is lukewarm.

Sift your flour onto a sheet of wax paper. Then spoon the flour into your measure, level off the excess with a knife across the top and put into a bowl. (You probably will have leftover flour after leveling off, save it for another use). Sift the cocoa and baking powder on top of the flour and mix the dry ingredients well.

Whip the butter on high speed until creamy, add the vanilla and whip again until well blended. Gradually add the sugar and then whip a third time till the mixture is airy and turns whitish. Reduce your speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl if needed and mix each egg thoroughly between additions.

Now stop your mixing and remove your bowl from the stand. Sift one quarter of the flour-cocoa mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Put your bowl back on your mixer and thoroughly incorporate the flour mixture. (If you are not using a mixer, just skip this step.) Drizzle in one third of the milk/cream mixture and blend together. Do this all on low speed and repeat the process 3 more times ending with the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl if needed between flour/cream additions.

Scrape the batter into your prepared pan evenly. Run a knife through it to remove any air bubbles, and then smooth the top.

Bake the cake on the middle rack for 1 hour and 20 minutes, turning it from front to back after the first hour, for even browning.

When fully baked, the cake should be firm when lightly pressed. Use a cake tester or toothpick to also test the center, it should come out clean.

Let the cake cool on a rack for about 20 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the pan, but leave it on the tube till cool enough to remove completely without the cake breaking.

Store the cake on a covered cake stand, or refrigerate and bring to room temperature before eating. If well covered, this cake will keep for about 3 weeks stored either way.

I would be hard pressed to pick my favorite pound cake from all that I have tried this past year. This one is fabulous and this one is just as good but a touch sweeter. But really, how can you go wrong with any combination that includes butter, sugar, flour and sour cream along with homemade vanilla. You simply can’t. One way or the other- either warm from the oven or lightly toasted for breakfast-pound cake is the best.

Wanting to make use of a basket of fresh peaches I gave this recipe a try. I picked up Charleston Desserts and Savannah Desserts books by Janice Shay and have been leafing through them for weeks. For my money Savannah wins in the dessert department. Less fussy, more homey and decadent- Savannah desserts was the book that I kept coming back to.

Contrary to the opinion in the book, this recipe is not too sweet with the glaze. In fact the glaze gave it the added sweetness that it needed, especially with a good kick of lemon juice as the liquid ingredient.

Pick fresh ripe peaches and don’t even think of trying it with canned peaches- it would be a waste. It keeps well in the refrigerator, but with all pound cakes. Let your slice come to room temperature, or it will seem as if you are eating a pound of butter.

Substitute peaches for another fruit, and let me know how it turned out.

Adapted from-Savannah Desserts Cookbook; Janice Shay

Martha Giddens Nesbit’s Peach Pound Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups white sugar

6 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups finely peeled, chopped fresh peaches

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Prepare a 10 inch tube pan.

Combine the butter and white sugar and mix with a paddle attachment until well combined. Scrape the sides and cream again. Add your eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Scrape down your sides again and beat till your batter is smooth. Add your sour cream and beat well again.

Combine your sifted flour and baking soda and fold into the batter. Add vanilla and almond extract and beat mixture till it is smooth. Stir in your chopped fresh peaches, folding till distributed throughout batter. Pour into your prepared pan. Smooth the top to ensure even baking. Lift your pan a few inches from the counter, and let it drop. This removes any air bubbles.
Bake your cake for 1 ½ hours or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. The top should spring back when lightly touched and the sides should be pulling away from the pan.

If the cake isn’t done in 1 ½ hours, turn your temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 10 minutes more, testing again.

Let the cake cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Loosen the edges with a sharp knife and invert the cake onto the rack.

Lemon Glaze- Whisk together your confectioner’s sugar and fresh lemon juice until smooth. Glaze your cake while it is till warm. It might seem like a lot of glaze but go ahead and use it all. The glaze hardens when completely dried.

Garnish-Slice a medium firm peach into thin slivers and place them on top of the cake while the glaze is still moist, so the peaches will set.

Serve at room temperature for best results.

Strawberry season is over in the South. Even though, this minor detail won’t stop me from finding ways to enjoy them all year long.  About a month ago, I had to make mini pies for an event; Banana Cream with Chocolate, Coconut Cream with Caramel, Lemon Cream with Blueberries, and Lemon Chiffon pies.

(I realize that I am holding out- on what could very well be the best pies that I have ever eaten. My camera is almost always on stand-by when I cook and bake. This time was no exception. Except-that I forgot to take pictures when sampling the pies. You see,  I totally lost my head in a swoon of sugar decadance and simply forgot about my  obligation to share with you.  Then I delivered the pies forgetting about photos once again, loosing any chance of redemption.  I am still thinking of those pies- sweet tart dough, coconut crusted tart dough, bananas, coconut cream, chocolate, homemade caramel and toasted coconut all topped with freshly whipped cream. All I can say is that I am sorry. So sorry that I promise to make these pies soon and share. Once you give them a try, you will understand how I could loose my head and forget about you or anything else for that matter. Till then, I ask your forgiveness.)

It just so happened that I planned on making a larger version of the Coconut Cream Pie with some leftover dough. Upon moving the tart shell to a rack while turning my head, I managed to burn my arm-badly. I dropped the pan breaking the tart away from the sides. Normally, I would just toss my error and begin over. This time though, I decided to learn from my mistakes and keep my pastry error for future use. So, I froze the side-less shell for a rainy day and a burst of inspiration.

Receiving the Southern Table book as a gift, I spent the better part of last Sunday afternoon reading it. When I came across this recipe, immediately I knew it was a good thing that I had saved my mishap. Especially, since I  had some mascarpone in the refrigerator- waiting to be used.

You could substitute any berry for this dessert. It was simple to make, full of flavor and pretty to look at, and I had some leftover preserves to go on toast the following morning. What more can you ask for in a dessert?  Well, maybe you could ask for Banana Cream Pie, Coconut Cream Pie………………..in which case I would say yes, of course I will make you some.

 Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

Adapted; Frank Stitt, Southern Table

FOR THE TART PASTRY

Prepare your favorite crust for the tart. If you want a flat tart as I have done, roll your dough into an 8 to 10 inch round and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Puncture the dough with tines of a fork and top with pastry weights.  Bake for about 15 minutes, remove the weights and finish off baking the oven for another 4 to 5 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Let cool and proceed with the preserves and mascarpone.

FOR THE PRESERVES

2 cups quartered ripe strawberries

½ sugar

2 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Combine the above ingredients in a small saucepan, bringing to a simmer, cooking until the juices thicken to a jam-like consistency, 30 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, allow to cool, skimming off any foam that settles on top of the mixture.

FOR THE MASCARPONE TOPPING

1 cup mascarpone cheese

1/3 cup sugar

Grated zest of 1 medium orange

2 cups sliced strawberries, reserving a few whole

Combine the mascarpone, sugar and orange zest. Slice the strawberries and set aside to top the tart with.

Place the tart on your serving dish or a cake stand. Top with the mascarpone topping and spread evenly. Spread a thin layer of preserves on top, reserve any extra strawberry preserves for glazing.

Layer the sliced strawberries in rows around the tart, overlapping them. With a pastry brush, glaze the strawberries with the preserves. Reserve the rest of the preserves for another use.

Serve the tart at room temperature or chilled, topped with whip cream if you want. Keeps for 2 days.

This “Very Good Chocolate Cake” recipe has been marked in my cookbook- as a must do for almost a year. It took a birthday request for chocolate cake to actually move me to make it. I have not hidden from you, the fact that I am not a big chocolate fan and prefer a Coconut Cake over chocolate anything.  

That being said, I have made this cake no less than 6 times within the past month. It really is a most inappropriate name, as the cake should be called; “The Best Chocolate Cake that you have ever eaten” or “Don’t make this and expect to stay slim Chocolate Cake” or “Don’t think that you will want to share this Chocolate Cake” might be more fitting. By no means is this just my opinion. Rather, it is the opinion of many, many people. 

After cooking my through a good deal of Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis’s cookbook; The Gift of Southern Cooking you can’t help but realize that they have a great deal of humility. I wouldn’t expect them to be so brazen as saying that their Chocolate Cake is the best. I will be so brazen and tell you that it is the best Chocolate Cake!

In case you were wondering what on earth I was doing making six of these cakes, wonder no more. We did not eat them ourselves; they were ordered and delivered or given to lucky recipients as a gift.

In fact this cake is so good; I might have to make this Chocolate Cake instead of the coveted Coconut Cake that I traditionally demolish, as I celebrate each year that passes.  If you are lusting after this cake and are thinking if only I could bake, hold on, we are getting to the really good part.

This Chocolate Cake is so easy to make that a novice in the kitchen could tackle this in no time. You don’t need any equipment other that a whisk and a bowl. The only part of the process that is tricky is the frosting. The challenge in making the frosting is two-fold; first you must wait till it cools, which can be upwards of an hour and a half. Second, you must fight off the passers by, who are determined to stick a spoon in the bowl in order to grab a taste.  This requires vigilant supervision; you must not leave the frosting unattended for any reason.

The moist light chocolaty cake is made to sit out on the counter, as it is best eaten at room temperature. My dad loves chocolate, and if I lived near him rather than 1500 miles away, he would have this cake to celebrate Father’s Day with. My dad has a great sense of humor and often had fun tricking us.

As youngsters my parents took us traveling often and we learned to sit quietly in restaurants. We were always allowed to order what we wanted as long as we ate what we ordered. My father did give us a note of caution when it came to ordering though.

If we chose to order an “ala carte item” we were forewarned that this meant the food would come “without a plate”. As young kids trusting our dad without question and not wanting to deal with food that came without a plate; we always bypassed the “ala carte” and my father always bypassed a steep tab at the restaurants.

So Dad, I am wishing you a Happy Father’s Day to the best dad in the whole world. Know that you will have the opportunity to enjoy this chocolate cake soon when I come to visit. Rest assured that this cake will be offered from the main menu and the “ala carte”, I wouldn’t want you to have to eat this “without a plate”.

Very Good Chocolate Cake

Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis; The Gift of Southern Cooking

The Cake

 2 cups granulated sugar

1½ cups cake flour

½ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup hot double-strength brewed coffee

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

2 eggs, at room temperature

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup sour cream, at room temperature

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 

The Frosting

1 cup heavy cream

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½ pieces

1/3 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 pound semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

¼ cup hot double-strength brewed coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

To make the cake: Sift together the sugar, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Pour the hot coffee over the finely chopped chocolate and allow the chocolate to melt completely.

In a separate bowl, whisk together until well blended the eggs and vegetable oil, followed by the sour cream, vanilla and coffee-chocolate mixture. Stir this liquid mixture into the dry ingredients by thirds, stirring well after each addition until completely blended.

Divide the batter evenly between two buttered and floured parchment-lined 9″ cake pans. Drop each cake pan once onto the counter from a height of 3 inches, to remove any large air pockets, which could cause holes or tunnels in the baked cake layers.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until the cake springs back slightly when gently tapped in the center or a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove immediately to cooling racks and allow to rest for 5 minutes before turning out of the pans. To unmold, run a flat-edged knife or spatula between the cake layers and the sides of the pans. Turn the pans facedown onto the cooling rack, and carefully life them off. Allow cakes to cool completely before peeling off the parchment bottoms and frosting.

To make the frosting: Heat the cream, butter, sugar and salt in a heavy saucepan until the butter is melted. Add the chocolate and cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, just until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat, and blend in the coffee and vanilla.

Transfer the frosting to a bowl to cool, stirring occasionally, until it is of a spreading consistency- about 1 hour, depending on the temperature of the kitchen. (If your kitchen is very warm, move the frosting to a cooler area to cool and thicken, but do not refrigerate or chill over ice water. Chocolate and butter solidify at different temperatures, and harsh chilling could cause the frosting to separate and turn grainy.)

To assemble the cake: When the frosting is of a spreading consistency and the cake layers are completely cooled, put one cake layer on a serving platter, bottom side up, and frost the surface thickly. Top with the other layer, bottom side down, and frost the top and sides. For best results, allow the cake to sit for 2 or more hours before slicing.

NOTE :  For the richest, darkest frosting possible, resist the urge to whisk or beat to cool faster. Excessive stirring incorporates air, which will cool and set the frosting more quickly, but will also dilute its dark color and flavor. And, because it takes a little while to cool to the proper consistency, have all the ingredients ready and make the frosting as soon as the cake layers are in the oven to bake.

Makes one 9″ cake, enough to serve 12-16, or two 6″ inch three layer cakes.

Kitchen Notes: After baking this cake 6 times I took a few liberties.

I found that the frosting took over 1 ½ hours to set, so speeded up the process by putting the bowl in the freezer for 2 minutes, whisking frosting immediately for a few seconds.  This process was repeated 2 to 3 times till desired consistency was achieved.

I also removed the parchment from the cake at around 10 minutes to speed up cooling.

Don’t worry if cake sticks some to the bottom of the cooling rack. This cake is so moist that any pieces that break apart can easily be pressed back into place.

If you have to chill this cake for any reason, let it sit out till room temperature before eating as it does make a difference.

A “Benne” seed is the old Southern name for “sesame” seeds. They were brought to the Lowcountry in 1769 by African slaves. They are still called Benne seeds to this day in the South, and frankly I would be surprised if that ever changes. It is part of the charm of the South. Southerners hold fast to traditions, refusing to budge, especially when it comes to food and entertaining. This is something we all can be grateful for, especially if you have the chance to try these wonderful buttery morsels.

Legend says that eating Benne seeds will bring you luck and good fortune. I am not one who subscribes to the notion of luck. Instead I prefer to hold to the belief that, “there are no coincidences” and that Benne seeds and the good fortune from eating them, are simply another of God’s great blessings.

There are countless ways to make Benne wafers and you will find that no two recipes are alike. I have made thousands of these in the past few weeks, and have altered my recipe to accommodate mass production. I don’t even bother making a small batch anymore as it seems to never be enough.

This recipe is for a small batch, about 4 dozen cookies. That might seem like a great deal, but trust me; no one can eat just one. They are wafer thin, and have the tendency to melt in your mouth, just in time to pop another one in. Before you know it, the entire batch is gone. 

For a warm weather dessert or decadent breakfast try the blueberry and creams with Benne seed wafers. The cream mixture needs to sit overnight, so plan ahead.

Blueberries and Cream with Benne Wafers

1 container of blueberries

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup sour cream

½ cup Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

Mix heavy cream, sour cream and yogurt together in a small bowl. Sprinkle sugar on top, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Before serving, mix in the brown sugar, add vanilla and mix again. Layer blueberries and cream; serve Benne wafers on the side.

Adjust the taste to suit your needs. I prefer a tangy cream taste. Makes enough for 4-6 people.

 Benne Seed Wafers

½ to ¾ cup white sesame seeds

¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks)

1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread sesame seeds onto a baking or cake pan and toast, stirring often to a rich golden brown. When done, remove and let the sesame seeds cool.

Meanwhile line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a small bowl mix the flour, salt and baking powder, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Lightly beat the egg, and add to the butter/sugar mixture mixing until incorporated, then add the flour mixture and mix completely. Add the sesame seeds folding them into your batter till evenly distributed.

Drop onto the baking sheets using a ½ teaspoon full. Make sure that you leave at least an inch apart, as they will spread considerably during baking.

Bake until the cookies are a nice toasty brown, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on the parchment paper on baking racks. I like to have the next batch prepared on parchment paper and carefully slide the parchment onto the baking sheets.

If the cookies stick together, you can break them apart when cool. Store in an airtight container, will keep for two weeks, though they won’t last that long.

Somehow, the pleasure of having a Panna Cotta had escaped me till this past week. Frankly, I am not sure how. Even though I am not a fan of custards, flans, Crème Brule and the like, something about a Panna Cotta has always intrigued me.  The talented Tartlette, has made a few Panna Cottas, and I salivate over the thought of eating one. I just never did act on my desires, which is till this past week.

Coming across a Bourbon Panna Cotta in Frank Stitt’s amazing cookbook was the answer to my dilemma; how to finally experience this dessert, while staying true to my mission, cooking Southern food. Of course I should have been so smart month’s ago and thought to add Bourbon to a plain Panna Cotta. Just by having Bourbon on the ingredient list automatically makes it Southern.

This is an easy dish to make, please don’t let the caramel scare you off. The only truly hard part is waiting the six hours or overnight to dig into this creamy vanilla-pecan scented dessert, which finishes off with a kick of Bourbon at the end. Don’t make the same mistake that I did. If you haven’t had a Panna Cotta, run don’t walk to the nearest grocery store to buy your ingredients and get cooking. You won’t want to miss this, trust me.

Frank Stitt- Frank Stitt’s Southern Table

1 cup plus ½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

4 cups heavy cream

½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

3 tablespoons good bourbon

2 cups whole milk

2 envelops unflavored gelatin

Set aside eight or ten – 8 ounce custard cups or ramekins.
Combine the ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, and water in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, boiling until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium, brushing down the sides with a wet pastry brush to remove any sugar crystals, and cook, shaking the pan to swirl the caramel, until the caramel is a mahogany in color 10-20 minutes. Do not stir the caramel mixture.

Once the caramel is ready, spoon a tablespoon or so of the caramel mixture into the custard cups and swirl to cover the bottom. Repeat until all the custard cups are coated with the caramel. Set aside while you make the custard.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, the 1 cup of sugar, toasted chopped pecans, and bourbon, bringing the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer the custard for about 10 minutes to infuse the cream with the flavor of the bourbon and toasted pecans.

While the mixture is simmering, put the milk in a medium size bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Do not stir. Let the gelatin soften for about 5 minutes, this will allow a skin to form on the top of the milk.
Pour the cream over the gelatin mixture, whisking to dissolve the gelatin. Strain the mixture into a large bowl or measuring cup. Pour into the caramel lined cups and refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours.

To unmold, run a knife around the edge of each cup and carefully invert onto a dessert plate. The caramel will have melted some, forming a sauce around the Panna Cotta. Enjoy!

 

How fitting to return once again from a lapse in posting with yet another cake, this time to celebrate the arrival of another beloved grandson and the 2^nd birthday of the other.   

But, before we go into the story, I have few words for those of you that had the misfortune to visit my site on April Fool’s day. My apologies for what you saw.  You see, a FOOL hacked into my site, tore it down, and spent precious time (for that is all our time on earth is-precious) putting up obscenities. Unfortunately, the world is made up of some rather disturbed individuals consumed by evil and no sense. 

A FOOL’S actions are never worth getting angry about, but rather an opportunity to be grateful that I am surrounded by loving family and friends. In the scheme of all that counts this was a mild inconvenience and embarrassment along with a little time needed to have my site rebuilt. I am up and running again- this time with lots of steam and all sorts of fun upgrades on my site, behind the scene.

Now back to the cake. Armed with recipes and layers of clothing to brave the chilly month of March in Alaska, I set out to do what else?  Why, cook of course. Not only did I have a cake to bake for the birthday party, I also had a freezer worth of food to prepare along with cooking instructions, so that my daughter could have the pleasure of mending and resting leaving meals up to me after I was long gone.

Living in Alaska, knowing that it will be home for only a few years and that taking belongings is not an option, left me in my daughter’s kitchen without cake pans. A quick improvise that turned out for the better, I chose to make cupcakes. This was one of those times that a lack of equipment turned out for the best. Especially, since the cupcakes were a hit with the Birthday Boy and fitted perfectly into his pint size hands.

Flying to Alaska is a haul, 16 hours total with a stop in Phoenix to change planes. The stop in Phoenix was great. Stopping in Phoenix meant that I could take my oldest grandson who is almost 4 and had never seen snow, on the journey. This gave the oldest two boys lots of good cousin playtime while mom focused on the new baby and I focused on them all. 

This also gave me time to bond with my older grandsons, both outdoors playing in the snow and indoors trying to bake cupcakes and cook while they played. I do say that by the end of the trip, I almost got the hang of them riding indoor bikes in the kitchen while I maneuvered around them. I most certainly got down pat, dodging balls thrown at me while cooking. Alaska child rearing takes into account being homebound and needing exercise. Normal activities left for the outdoors, is often experienced inside. Sounds rather indulgent and permissive, but I can assure you that with the short daylight hours and often bitter cold-it is the only sane thing to do. 

Cuttaloosa Carrot Cake has been baked by my family for years. This is the same splendid cake that my sister made in a 12″ round for my brother’s funeral a few months ago. Her version stood tall and glorious with miniature rosette butter cream mounds topping the entire top and sides. I have had this cake both with and without nuts, preferring the no nut version. The cake seems lighter and moister when the walnuts are omitted.

I am doing something that I don’t normally do which is show personal photos. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and I couldn’t begin to express how precious and dear my grandsons are. They call me “Meme”, which makes my heart warm every time I hear my name being called.

My tomboy side and love of the cold came in handy on this trip.  Almost every afternoon, as we bundled up to keep warm, I took my grandsons for a play in the snow as Alaska has lots of splendid groomed trails. When their little legs got tired, they hopped onto the sled for a good pull. A long rope rigged around my shoulders, I pulled them along for miles in silence, as we looked for moose from afar-until they called out “Meme” go faster. I turned to them smiling………..then went faster.

Cuttaloosa Carrot Cake

1 3/4 cups finely grated carrots

1 cup crushed drained pineapple (save liquid)

1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts or pecans- optional

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup corn oil

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix above ingredients together till well mixed.

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

Mix above ingredients together till well mixed, then add to carrot mixture mixing well. Divide into 3-8″ cake rounds that have been well greased or 18-24 well greased muffin tins.

Bake cake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or till knife comes out clean. 20 minutes for cupcakes.  Cool on rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan.

 
Butter cream Icing

2 8 oz packages of cream cheese

2 1/2 packages 10x sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

reserved pinneapple  juice to taste

Cream cheese, add vanilla, gradually add sugar and liquid ingredients until smooth. Beat by hand or with a mixer till it reaches a good creamy consistency.

When cake or cupcakes are cool, frost with lots of frosting. Store cake in the refrigerator.