Cakes
It's a Good Idea
To a Devil's-food-cake mix, add 2 packages of frozen spinach and a 16 oz. jar of beets, drained as follows:
Thaw and squeeze dry spinach. Puree spinach and beets. Add to Devil's-food-cake batter. Bake as directed. Neither you nor your child will be able to tell the difference.
Kitchen Tip
Fruit purees, such as applesauce and pureed pears, add sweetness and moistness to baked goods. Use one-quarter of the oil called for, and substitute puree for the rest.
Chocolate Mocha Birthday Cake
I made this cake for Jeremy's second birthday. I baked it in a train mold. I decorated the cake with White Frosting (see page. I cut our faces out from pictures and put them in the windows of the train. It was spectacular.
Servings: 8
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vinegar
1-3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup strong coffee
Preheat oven to 350mF. Grease and flour either two 8-inch round pans or a specialty cake pan. Combine milk and vinegar; set aside for 10 minutes. Combine dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and milk mixture; mix well. Pour batter into prepared pans or pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into centre of cake comes out clean. Remove cake from pans and let cool on racks. (If you do not have any racks, cake may be cooled in pans.) Decorate as desired.
Royal Icing
2 tablespoons meringue powder
6 tablespoons warm water
4 cups icing sugar
Beat meringue powder with warm water until frothy. Gradually beat in icing sugar until very stiff.
White Frosting
Servings: 8
This snow-white frosting is perfect for decorating birthday cakes. It may be coloured using liquid or paste food colourings and it is easy to decorate with. Furthermore, it is not too sweet. Your guests will love it!
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
Pinch of salt
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
Combine shortening and salt. Gradually add sugar; mix well. Add milk gradually, adding only enough to achieve desired spreading consistency.
Coffee Cake
Source: Adapted from a recipe by Jeremy's uncle, Gary Keats
Servings: 16
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup margarine
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown or yellow sugar
2 tablespoons flour
Preheat oven to 375mF. Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan. Cream 1/4 cup margarine and sugar; add egg and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well blended. Pour into prepared pan. Mix 2 tablespoons margarine, cinnamon, brown sugar, and flour until crumbly; sprinkle over batter. Bake 30 minutes.
Cranberry Cheesecake
Servings: 12
3 tablespoons margarine
1 cup graham-cracker crumbs
4 8-oz. packages room temperature cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup jellied cranberry sauce
Preheat oven to 325mF. Melt the margarine; toss with crumbs. Press onto bottom of 9-inch pie pan. Beat cream cheese and sugar until very smooth. Beat in remaining ingredients, except cranberry sauce. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture and pour the rest into the prepared pan. Mix cranberry sauce and reserved cheesecake mixture well. Pour this mixture onto cheesecake in a spiral. Put a skewer or knitting needle into mixture and draw circles along cranberry spiral to form a swirl pattern. Put springform pan in a larger pan. Fill halfway with warm water. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centre comes out only slightly moist, 1-3/4 to 2 hours. Turn off heat and let cake cool in oven with door ajar 1 hour. Remove cake and let cool completely. Refrigerate overnight.
Chocolate Pudding Cake
This recipe is like a cat; it has nine lives. Recently, it was reincarnated in a best-selling Canadian cookbook, Looniespoons,. The Book was financed by David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber.. Consequently, their version of this recipe was broadcasted on T.V. and the radio. It has been published in many magazines and newsletters. It's a classic.
This is one of my mother's favourite recipes. The result is delicious. Since you use only one pan to mix it and bake it, clean-up is super easy.
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1-3/4 cup hot water
Preheat oven to 350mF. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in an 8-inch square, ungreased pan. For easy clean-up, use a non-stick pan. Add milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla; stir well with a fork. Spread evenly. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Pour water over contents of pan. Bake for 40 minutes.
Pretzels
Mother's Chocolate Dessert
Servings: 4
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups hot milk
In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, and flour. Gradually whisk in hot milk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly over medium-high heat, for about 5 minutes, or until boiling and thickened. Remove pan from heat. Divide among 4 custard cups or dessert dishes. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding; let cool to lukewarm or serve chilled.
Variation
Combine 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules with the sugar, cocoa, and flour.
Lemon Pudding
One of my favourite recipes! An old classic! This recipe is inexpensive and so simple to make, yet your guests will be so, so impressed I used to make this recipe frequently when Jeremy's father and I were seeing one another. It can be whipped up at the last minute and it practically makes itself.
Servings: 6
2 tablespoons margarine
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1-1/2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350mF. Cream the margarine and sugar. Separate the eggs and beat in the egg yolks one by one. Add the milk, flour, and lemon juice; mix well. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks; gently fold into the batter. Turn into a small, oven-proof mixing bowl and set it in an oven-proof pan of hot water that comes halfway up the side of the bowl. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Serve either warm or chilled, with a pitcher of heavy cream, if desired.
Gingerbread Cake
This recipe evokes memories of my family's annual trips. We went to Newfoundland and West Virginia during alternate years. My mother prepared gingerbread for us to eat while we travelled in the car
Serve gingerbread hot with a dollop of whipped cream.
Servings: 12
2-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup brown or yellow sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350mF. Grease a 13x9-inch pan. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Stir the molasses into the milk. Beat the margarine and sugar together. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk mixture. Pour into the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean (about 25 minutes). Let cool. Serve with whipped cream or Lemon Sauce (see page.
St. Valentine's Day Cake
(or Any Other Day You Want Someone to Know You Love Them)
There isn't any need to buy a heart-shaped pan; just make do with what you already have and have fun with your kids constructing a cake. What other cakes can they imagine?
Prepare a square, 8-inch cake pan and a round, 8-inch cake pan. Bake cake as directed. Cut cooled circular cake in half. Butt the cut edge of a half-circular cake along a side of the square cake. Butt the cut edge of the remaining half-circular cake along an adjoining side of the square cake. Voila. You have a heart-shaped cake.
Optimized for Netscape 2.0 or better. Last Updated June 10, 2003.
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Copyright Rexanna M. Keats 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. All Rights Reserved.
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