Too Sweet to be Italian Cake

My original title was "Sweet Southern Treat" but I realized the name of this cake is Italian Cream Cake. I knew before Googling it that there was no way this was Italian. Way too sweet.  I was right, it originated in Texas. I love my Southern heritage and all our delicious sweets! 

Italian Cream Cake (from Texas)

Italian Cream Cake

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

5 large eggs, separated

1 Tbs vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup flaked coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 2 cups of chopped pecans (1 cup for cake and 1 cup for icing (if desired)) on a cookie sheet 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pecans begin to smell toasted and nutty. Do not overbake. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Grease and flour three 9" cake pans (I used 8" pans in photo above). I grease my pans then fit a round of parchment paper in the bottom and then grease again and flour.

In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening at medium speed of mixer until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, mixing well. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine flour and soda.  Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating at low speed to combine well after each addition. Stir in coconut.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into cake batter. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and over tops and sides of cake.

Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting

12 oz cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 Tbs vanilla

5 1/2 cups (24 oz ) powdered sugar, sifted 

1 cup chopped and toasted pecans

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla at medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add powdered sugar at low speed until blended. Beat frosting at high speed until smooth. Stir in nuts.

Pasta Side

Here's an old favorite from life on the island. My good friend gave me this recipe about 20 years ago and I still love it.  I use it as a side dish, tonight with pan-fried chicken and sauteed zucchini.  I will pair this leftover pasta with ham for a tasty lunch.

Lemon Linguine

Lemon Linguine

1 lb. linguine
1/2 cup olive oil
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 2 lemons
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt & fresh ground pepper
lots of parmesan cheese

Cook linguine in boiling salted water til done; drain well.  Combine next 5 ingredients in a large bowl.  Add pasta and toss well.  Sprinkle over salt and pepper.  Toss in parmesan.

Peanut Butter Cookies

These are very sweet and yummy treats.  They take a few extra ingredients but are well worth the trouble.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/4 cups flour
1 Tbs wheat germ  (I used whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
2 Tbs honey
1/2 sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped honey-roasted peanuts

Arrange racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat to 350 degrees.  Line two cookies sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, combine peanut butter, butter, shortening and honey until well blended.  On medium speed, add both sugars and mix one minute.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix for 1-2 minutes until the batter lightens in color.  Add dry ingredients and mix on low until just blended.  Fold in the chopped peanuts.  Chill for an hour or less, just until the dough is firm enough to handle.

Roll dough into 1 1/4 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.  Using a fork dipped in flour, slightly flatten cookies while making a crosshatch design.  Bake two pans at a time for 11-13 minutes, switching pans from top to bottom rack after about 8 minutes.  Remove from oven when cookies are lightly brown.  Let cookies stand on cookie sheet 1 minute then transfer to cooling racks.

Smooth and Creamy Chocolate

This is a chocolate icing with a good consistency that tastes yummy!

Chocolate Sour Cream Icing

Chocolate Sour Cream Icing

12 oz. milk chocolate (I used Hershey bars)
9 oz. semisweet chocolate
2 Tbs. light brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbs. light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Finely chop both chocolates and place in microwave-safe bowl.  Heat in microwave at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds.  When most chocolate is melted, stir until all chocolate melts.

In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, vanilla and corn syrup.  Stir until combined.  Add sour cream and stir 1 to 2 strokes.  Add melted chocolate.  Beat on low speed until smooth.  It thickens quickly if the sour cream was cold.  If it is too thin then let stand at room temperature to reach desired consistency.

Sunshine in a Bowl

Here's a light pasta dish with fresh spring flavors.  I paired it with salmon for a tasty meal.

Spring Vegetable Pasta

Spring Vegetable Pasta

6 oz. orecchiette pasta (or other short pasta), reserve cooking water
1 1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 bunch asparagus
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 shallot
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper
zest and juice from 1 lemon
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
1/4 cup roasted cashews, chopped (or pistachios)
fresh basil, sliced for serving

Cook pasta according to package directions, adding peas during last 2 minutes of cooking.  Drain and reserve cooking water.

Meanwhile prepare vegetables.  Chop asparagus into 2 inch pieces.  Halve zucchini and squash lengthwise then cut into uniform slices.  Thinly slice shallot.  Chop the garlic. 

Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat.  Add asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash and shallot to hot oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 min.  Add garlic and continue to cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add pasta, peas, 1/2 cup cooking water, 2 Tbs olive oil.  Bring to a simmer and cook about 2 minutes to develop a sauce.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, zest, cheese and nuts.  Top with basil.

Strawberry Pickin' Time

I've never had better strawberries than I got today at our local pop-up strawberry stand in town,  These were intensely sweet and delicious without the watered down flavor of typical grocery store berries.  For once, I really wanted a delicious strawberry cake and pronto! YUM

Strawberry Whipped Frosting Cake

Any white cake will do but I made Grandmother's Layer Cake

Strawberry Whipped Frosting

3 cups whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature 30 minutes
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 lbs. strawberries, hulled and diced

In stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Add 1/3 cup powdered sugar and whip until stiff peaks form (do not undermix or frosting will be runny).  Pour whipped cream into another bowl.  Add cream cheese to bowl of stand mixer and use paddle attachment to beat until smooth and fluffy.  Mix in remaining 2/3 cup powdered sugar and vanilla.  Stir in fresh strawberries until incorporated.  Fold in whipped cream.  Frost white cake and decorate as desired with sliced fresh berries.

Birthday Cake Surprise!

A milestone birthday for a very special friend deserves an exciting cake surprise during quarantine.  Any cake will do but the birthday girl loves this white cake with French buttercream frosting.  This time I added fresh raspberry puree to the frosting.  It was tasty.

Sprinkles Cake

White Butter Cake

(from The Cake Bible)
*you will need a kitchen scale to best make this cake
4 1/2 large egg whites (135 g)
1 cup milk (242 g)
2 1/4 tsp vanilla (9 g)
3 cups sifted cake flour (300 g)
1 1/2 cups sugar (300 g)
1 Tbs + 1 tsp baking powder (19.5 g)
3/4 tsp salt (5 g)
12 Tbs softened unsalted butter (170 g)

(NOTE:  All ingredients must be at room temperature or the cake will not turn out as good as it can.
I have a rectangular baking stone that I place on the rack in bottom third of oven.  It heats up with the oven and provides a good hot spot for the cake pans to begin cooking from the bottom up to produce a nice cake.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (place baking stone in oven if you have one).  Grease three 6" x 3" pans, add a round of wax paper in the bottom of each, then grease and flour pans.  (I have also used two 9" x 1 1/2"  pans and cooked for the same amount of time)

In a medium bowl lightly combine egg whites, 1/4 cup milk and vanilla.

In a large mixing bowl of stand mixer, combine the dry ingredients and mix on low for 30 seconds.  Add the softened butter and remaining milk to dry ingredients.  Mix on low speed until dry ingredients are moistened.  Increase to medium speed and beat 1 1/2 minutes.  Scrape down the sides.  Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition.  Scrape down the sides.

Batter will be stiff, scrape batter into prepared pans and smooth the surface with a spatula.  Bake 25-35 minutes or until a tester inserted near center comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly pressed in center.

Let cakes cool in pans on racks for 10 minutes.  Invert on wire racks then re-invert so the tops are up to cool completely on wire racks.

Raspberry Sauce

(from The Cake Bible)
2 - 12 oz bags frozen raspberries with no sugar added (680 g)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
sugar
In a strainer suspended over a deep bowl, thaw raspberries completely.  This takes several hours.  Press the berries to force out all the juice.  There should be 1 cup.

In a saucepan, boil the juice until it is reduced to 1/4 cup.  Pour into a lightly oiled heat proof cup.

Puree the raspberries and sieve them with a food mill or press them with the back of a spoon through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds.  If using a strainer you will press then scrape the bottom of the strainer to get the pulp.  It is time consuming.  You should have up to 1 cup liquid puree.  Add the reduced syrup and lemon juice to the puree and measure.  You need to add 1/2 as much sugar as you have in your measuring cup.  If you have 1 cup of raspberry sauce then you will add 1/2 cup sugar to create a lightly sweetened sauce.

Raspberry Buttercream

(from The Cake Bible)
6 large egg yolks (112g)
3/4 cups sugar (150g)
1/2 cup corn syrup (164g)
2 cups unsalted butter, softened (454g)
1/2 cup Raspberry Sauce

Have ready a greased 2 cup glass measuring cup near stove.

In a bowl of stand mixer, beat yolks with whisk attachment until light in color (don't worry about over-beating). Meanwhile, combine sugar and corn syrup in a nonstick saucepan until combined. Turn heat to medium and stir constantly until sugar dissolves and bubbles begin to form at edges. Stop stirring but continue to heat until rolling boil and large bubbles cover the entire surface. Immediately transfer syrup to glass measuring cup.

Stop mixer, pour a small amount of syrup into yolks and immediately beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Stop mixer and repeat with larger amount of syrup. Continue this process until all syrup has been incorporated. Continue beating until completely cool.

Gradually beat in butter, one tablespoon at a time. Beat raspberry sauce into finished buttercream.

Assemble the Cake

Cut each of the 6" cakes in half horizontally so now you have 6 layers.  Take the best looking top cake and set it aside, it will become the top of your finished cake. 

Find a round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter or small shot glass or other small round device that you can use to cut through center of your cakes.  I found a toothpick holder that was the size I desired - it was 1 1/2" diameter so a good size for a 6" cake.  Cut a hole in the center of 5 layers (don't cut a hole in your top layer!).

Place your bottom layer on the cake plate and frost the top, but don't get icing in the hole.  Place the next layer on top and continue frosting between each layer trying to avoid getting icing in the hole.  Once all 5 layers are iced, create your preferred mixture of sprinkles in a separate bowl - I used some sanding sugar, rainbow sprinkles and some chocolate rainbow chips.  Stir the mixture then use a spoon or funnel to pour the mixture in the middle of the cake and fill it to the top.  Now add your top layer and finish frosting your entire cake.  Decorate the outside as desired.  When the cake is cut, all the sprinkles will flow out.