Category: Food

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Wimbledon Cake

Well, THIS was an adventure, I’ll tell you that.

Now, before you say, “Whoa, Launi–what the heck? It’s not…very… ummm…tidy. Is it?” I have to say, it looked very much like some of the things my mother in law used to make. She was 100% Brittish.

In my defense, I did exactly what good old Mary Berry told me to, so how far wrong could I possibly go?

After you bake the two cakes you may be surprised–like I was that they weren’t soft and spongey like American cakes usually are. They were sort of soft on the inside but almost crunchy on the outside.

So, forging ahead, I spread the freshly whipped cream over the first cake and placed the strawberries.

Then, though it felt weird to put a cake right on top of the strawberries, I wasn’t about to argue with the British Bake Show, so on it went.

Another layer of whipped cream and more strawberries and POOF!! It was finished.  Ms. Berry’s cake did look better than mine, but I don’t care.

We served it to Dane and Kortney and do you know what my sweet boy said?! HE said that it was his favorite cake of all time and he wanted it for his birthday next year. Holy smokes. I’d call that a raging success!

Proof positive that he has British blood in his veins.

Highlander blood at least.

Heh, heh.

 

 

Wimbledon Cake

Ingredients

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup self rising flour

Filling and Topping

1-1/2 cups whipping cream- whipped till thick

4 oz strawberries, sliced

Strawberries for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 373 degrees F.  Lightly butter cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment and butter the parchment.

Beat the eggs and sugar on high speed until mixture is pale and thick.

Fold in half of the flour gently, then repeat with the rest of the flour.

Divide the mixture between two 7 inch cake pans.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden. Turn out onto wire rack and peel off the parchment. Allow cakes to cool completely.

Spread half the whipped cream over one of the cakes. Top with half the strawberries. Put the other cake on top and press down gently.

Spread the remaining cream on top and garnish with remaining strawberries.

Wimbledon Cake
 
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:
Ingredients
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup self rising flour
  • Filling and Topping
  • 1-1/2 cups whipping cream- whipped till thick
  • 4 oz strawberries, sliced
  • Strawberries for garnish
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 373 degrees F. Lightly butter cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment and butter the parchment.
  2. Beat the eggs and sugar on high speed until mixture is pale and thick.
  3. Fold in half of the flour gently, then repeat with the rest of the flour.
  4. Divide the mixture between two 7 inch cake pans.
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden. Turn out onto wire rack and peel off the parchment. Allow cakes to cool completely.
  6. Spread half the whipped cream over one of the cakes. Top with half the strawberries. Put the other cake on top and press down gently.
  7. Spread the remaining cream on top and garnish with remaining strawberries.

 

 

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Evil Fudge Balls

Here’s a sinful little thing that traditionally, we save for Christmas time. But since we have way too many treats and goodies to make in December, I decided to stretch out the bliss. So we’re making these little devils for Valentine’s Day. We should be spreading out the holidays any-who. Don’t you agree?

I never thought I’d share this one–because, well because I’m actually very selfish at heart. Or maybe it’s because I’m certain that when the whole world reads this recipe–there will be an incredible run on the Symphony bar market…and there won’t be enough to go around…for me. Either thing is true.

Ok, ok…I’ll risk it.

This is a pretty darn simple recipe. So get ready for some complete decadence that there is no excuse for. I mean it.

Evil Fudge Balls

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Symphony bar chocolate

8 oz. frozen Cool Whip

Vanilla Wafers–crushed

Directions:

Melt chocolate over a double boiler being careful not to even get one teensy tiny drop of water in the bowl. Cool slightly. Spoon the frozen cool whip into a mixing bowl and pour the chocolate over it. Mix on medium speed until well blended.

It will most likely be way too soft to roll,  but if you have a small scoop like mine–you could still do it.  If not, refrigerate for about 1 hour or until the chocolate is firm enough to spoon and roll into balls.

Drop each fudge ball into a bowl of  crushed Vanilla Wafers and coat thoroughly.

Refrigerate in an air tight container and refrain from telling anyone that you made these. I mean, seriously…they’re worth beating somebody up for.

And you don’t want that somebody to be you.

Trust me on this.

Evil Fudge Balls
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 lbs. Symphony bar chocolate
  • 8 oz. frozen Cool Whip
  • Vanilla Wafers–crushed
Instructions
  1. Melt chocolate over a double boiler being careful not to even get one teensy tiny drop of water in the bowl.
  2. Cool slightly.
  3. Spoon the frozen cool whip into a mixing bowl and pour the chocolate over it.
  4. Mix on medium speed until well blended.
  5. Refrigerate for about 1 hour or until the chocolate is firm enough to spoon and roll into balls.
  6. Drop into crushed Vanilla Wafers and coat thoroughly.
  7. Refrigerate in an air tight container
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Funeral Potatoes- Revisited

Oh, I’ve truly become a woman of the 21st century now. For you see, my friends, I’ve discovered something remarkable indeed.

It is called Frozen Southern Hash Brown Potatoes.

Yeah. I know.

Some of us are slow to jump out of the horse cart and move up to light speed.

I took the same amazing Funeral Potatoes recipe that we have used anciently, and traded the 10 billion pounds of potatoes out–those 10 billion pounds of potatoes that took a month to cook and a week to cool and hours to cut up–but I digress…and possibly exaggerate.

ANYway, you trade the old potatoes out for three bags of these little, already cooked, frozen babies and POOF! you’ve just added back a year to your life. They taste just as good and look amazing on top of it all.

Oh, the miracles and wonders of culinary science…

and jumping out of the cart.

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Honey Whole Wheat Bread

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I have no earthly idea why I have never posted this particular recipe before now.

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Most likely, it’s because I haven’t actually baked homemade bread since my boys were in their teens–and that–was a million years ago.

So, it was quite a lovely exercise to pull out my daddy’s old bread pans and the ancient bread cookbook–that was written in the stone age, before microwaves, dough hooks, and bread machines–and show myself that a pretty little loaf of the most scrumptious bread, can indeed be made without all of that fal-da-rall.

I’m really good at run-on sentences. Be brave.

I was waiting around, hoping to find my “I’ll-knead-that-for-you-ma’am” mixer–when it dawned on me that people have been making bread for a very long time, without a mixer.

Der.

Silly me.

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How does it taste, you ask? This stuff is light and fluffy with just the right amount of crusty, chewyness around the edges, that’s liable to make your eyes roll back in your head.

That’s how it tastes. Uh-huh.

I’m not kidding.

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You’ll need to sit down for this.

You can thank me later.

 

Honey Whole Wheat Bread
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp active dry yeast
  • ½ c warm water
  • ⅓ c honey
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • ¼ c shortenting
  • 1-3/4 c warm water
  • 3 c whole wheat flour
  • 3-4 c unbleached flour
Instructions
  1. Dissolve yeast in ½ cup warm water in large mixing bowl.
  2. Stir in honey, salt, shortening, and 1-3/4 c water, and whole wheat flour.
  3. Mix till smooth.
  4. Stir in enough unbleached flour to make dough easy to handle.
  5. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic--about 10 minutes.
  6. Place in greased bowl; turn dough greased side up.
  7. Cove with warm damp towel.
  8. Let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 hour.
  9. Punch down dough and divide in half.
  10. Flatten each half with hands into a rectangle.
  11. Place loaves in 2 greased loaf pans.
  12. Brush lightly with butter
  13. Let rise until double, about 1 hour.
  14. Heat oven to 375.
  15. Place loaves on low rack so the tops of the pans are in the center of oven.
  16. Bake until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped--40-45 minutes.
  17. Remove from pans and let cool on wire rack.

 

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The Origin of Instant

My mom had this little comic pinned to the kitchen bulletin board for most of my life.  I think she used it to defend her love for that “new” product… Hamburger Helper.

I swear, we didn’t know it was a nuclear toxin.

It was just, you know, faster.

Yikes.

Gr Signature