Strawberry Overload Cake

Despite my tomboy nature, both my daughters are girly-girls.  Princesses, fairies, dress-up, and everything pink rules their world.  This year we ended up celebrating my three year-old’s birthday on Mother’s Day, so I had a lot going on and didn’t want to spend too much time planning and decorating an elaborate cake.  Instead, I found a recipe online for a strawberry cake, created a strawberry frosting for it, and filled it with even more fresh strawberries.  The result isStrawberry Overload Cake!

The strawberry flavor comes from three sources:  fresh berries, frozen berries, and strawberry Jell-O.  Be sure to keep the cake in the fridge until time to serve.  The original recipe called for two 9-inch round cake pans, but I used a rectangular 9×13 pan and cut that in half to make two layers.  Your girly-girl will delight in the layers of pink in this sweet treat!

Strawberry Overload Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 three-ounce package of strawberry Jell-O
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup pureed frozen strawberries

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F.  Grease and flour your pans (two 9-inch round, or one 9×13 rectangular.)
2. Cream together the sugar, Jell-O and butter.  Blend in the eggs, one at a time.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder.
4. Add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, alternating flour and milk, and blend well.  Mix in the pureed strawberries.
5. Pour batter into pans and bake.  Check the cakes at 25 minutes.  I took mine out at about 35 minutes, because I was using a bigger pan.  Do a toothpick test to make sure the cake is not wet inside.
6. Cool for ten minutes in the pan, then turn out on a rack to continue cooling.

For the frosting and filling:

Strawberry Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup whipped cream (or try Cool Whip)
• 1 cup fresh strawberries for layering

Directions:

1. In a pot with a lid, simmer the frozen strawberries and break them up with a wooden spoon, smashing them.  When they are all cooked and smashed, add the cream cheese, butter, and lemon juice and beat with a hand mixer.
2. Add in the powdered sugar, beating well.  Beat in the whipped cream.  Taste.  It should be sweet tart – the cake is very sweet, so I wanted the icing to be a little different.  You can add a squeeze more lemon if you like, or  take it the other direction and add more sugar if you like.  It’s pretty flexible and you can change it to suit your taste.

To assemble:

1. Cut the large cake in half, width-wise, so you have two 9×6 rectangles (or just put one of the round cakes on a plate.)  On a large serving platter, place the cake on the bottom, and frost the top of it with about half a cup of the frosting.  Slice the fresh strawberries and layer them over the frosting.  Carefully add another layer of frosting on top of the fresh berries.  Then place the next layer on top and frost the whole thing, top and sides.  Garnish with more fresh strawberries.
2. This cake is kind of dense and rich, so small pieces are a good thing.

Cranberry Orange Scones

If you have kids, you probably know what summer break is like:  trying to keep them busy and entertained without letting their brains turn to mush!  One of my favorite ways to do that is baking together.    I have my older girl (first grader now!) read the recipe out loud, and both girls love to stir and mix and pour ingredients.  Today’s group baking exercise?  Cranberry Orange Scones!

These are gluten-free, made with coconut flour.  If you’ve never tried it, I can’t recommend it highly enough.  For six big scones, you only need half a cup of coconut flour!  I like making treats for the girls that are single serving – that way there’s no arguing over whether the slice of bread is big enough, or having to share the last one.  These came together in a snap.  I made some changes, but the original recipe (found on the Elana’s Pantry website) directs you to mix all the ingredients in a food processor, and I’m sure that would have made the recipe go even faster!  But because my girls wanted to help, we mixed them by hand – dry ingredients in a large bowl, wet ingredients in a smaller bowl, and then mixed wet into dry.

Try these little heaven-scented beauties today!

Cranberry Orange Scones 

(Gluten-Free)     makes six large scones

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup coconut oil or softened butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• zest of one orange, plus the juice of half the orange

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, blend together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
2. In another bowl, beat together the coconut oil or butter, honey, and eggs.
3. Mix the egg mixture into the flour mixture.  Stir in the cranberries, orange zest, and orange juice.
4. On a Silpat mat or parchment paper, make six mounds of dough.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes at 350*F.

Samson's Carrot Cookies

For Christmas, I got my kindergartner The Disney Princess Cookbook, and I’m so happy I did!  With pretty princesses on every page, it features real recipes (and not just cake mix plus applesauce-type concoctions) that are great for parents and kids to make together.  I have her read the recipes, and she’s learning about following directions, measurements, and even fractions!  We’ve made a few things from her cookbook, but the one we like best is Samson’s Carrot Cookies.

Samson, if you don’t know, is the name of Prince Phillip’s horse in “Sleeping Beauty.”  These cookies are soft and cake-like, with carrots, apples, and cranberries.  (We omitted the walnuts since my girl is allergic, but I know they’d be delicious!)   These make great bribes for little girls who stay in their beds all night, too.  (Yep… guilty!)   Try them this weekend with your favorite little prince or princess.

Samson’s Carrot Cookies

(from The Disney Princess Cookbook)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• (we added 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.  It’s not in the recipe but it was a lovely addition)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup shredded apple
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (raisins would work too)

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 375*F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon,  nutmeg, and ground ginger.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and melted butter.  Then beat in the egg with a fork.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until the batter is smooth.  Then stir in the oats, shredded carrot and apple, walnuts, and dried cranberries.
5. Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart.
6. Bake the cookies until they just begin to turn golden brown on top, about 8 minutes.  (NOTE: The recipe says ’8 minutes’, but I found 12 minutes was more like it in my oven.  Let’s say check at 8 minutes, but be prepared for 4-5 more!)  Leave them on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool.

Hey Mom, I stole another cookie off the counter while you were writing your blog! Want a bite?

Crustless Kale Quiche

Talk about a tongue twister!  It’s worth the effort to say, and the little bit to make, because this Crustless Kale Quiche hits the spot.

I’ve only made this once … and I’ve already eaten almost half of it.  The kale adds a little bitterness and chew to what would otherwise be a run-of-the-mill spinach pie.  Nutmeg, currants, and pepitas add an almost sweet, Middle Eastern flavor profile.  The three eggs are just enough to combine the ingredients without becoming heavy or custardy like a regular spinach quiche.  Don’t get me wrong – a traditional spinach and swiss cheese quiche is wonderful, but this one is lighter, with an unexpected combination of flavors that will have you craving it again.

I ate this hot, and I ate it cold, cut right out of the fridge.  I ate this with a big slab of goat cheese on top and I ate it plain.  I’m going to eat more of it with dinner tonight and see if I can’t discover some new way to enjoy it.  If you want your greens, with a little extra zing, try this instead of a salad tonight!

Crustless Kale Quiche

Ingredients:

• 1 pound bag of frozen chopped spinach
• 1 large bunch of kale
• 3/4 cup pepitas (or try pine nuts or sunflower seeds)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or butter) plus more for greasing the pie plate
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)
• 1/2 cup currants or raisins (next time I’m trying golden raisins!)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• Goat cheese, to serve, if desired

Directions:

1. Wash the kale and remove from the stem, tearing it into smaller-than-bite-sized pieces.  Saute on medium heat in a large pot with a lid.  Don’t add any extra water or oil – just the damp kale by itself.  Stir occasionally until it gets soft, about 15 minutes.  When it appears soft and has reduced in volume, pour in the bag of frozen spinach.  Stir to combine and replace the lid.  Cook on medium-low for another five minutes until the spinach is thawed.  Remove from the heat and let cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350*F.  While the spinach and kale are cooling, heat the coconut oil over medium and add the pepitas.  Stir frequently for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and currants.  Stir for another 3 minutes.
3. Squeeze out as much water from the kale mixture as possible, then dump it into a large bowl.  Pour over the pepita mixture and combine.  Add nutmeg and salt.
4. Beat 3 eggs well and mix into kale mixture.  Grease a pie plate, then fill with the kale mixture.  Smooth it down so you have a flat top.  Bake for 35 minutes or until not wet in the middle.  Serve warm or cold, with goat cheese or without.

Irish Soda Bread

For last week’s recipe, I needed a carton of buttermilk.  I still had quite a bit left, and I knew I wanted to use it all up, so I found a few recipes that fit the bill.  None, however, sounded as tasty as this one for Irish Soda Bread!

A “soda bread” is simply a quick bread that uses baking soda and /or baking powder to rise, as opposed to yeast.  That means you don’t need to wait for it to rise, or worry about the yeast being old and feeble (or killing it with water that is too hot … or not hot enough to wake it up … Have I mentioned lately I hate baking with yeast?!?!)  This recipe comes together in a food processor, but if yours isn’t big enough to fit all the ingredients, or you just like using a pastry cutter, you can certainly put some elbow grease into it and do it the old-fashioned way.

This recipe is based on a Martha Stewart recipe, but I made a few changes.  The biggest change is that, unlike regular soda bread that is kind of bland and dotted with raisins, this one has chopped currants throughout, so it is more of a currant-flavored bread.  Also, the original recipe called for caraway seeds, but I used anise seeds instead.  This bread keeps on the counter, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and foil, for a few days.  Cut a big slice, cover it with butter, and match it up with your favorite coffee or tea.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons anise seed
• 4 tablespoon cold butter, cubed
• 1 10-ounce box currants (or use 2 cups of raisins)
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Butter a large round Pyrex baking dish, all the way to the top.
2. In the bowl of a large food processor, blend together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and anise seed.  Add the cold butter cubes and pulse to blend.  Add in the currants and blend again.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the buttermilk, egg, and baking soda.  Add this to the food processor and blend again until thoroughly mixed.  It will be wet and sticky!
4. Scoop the bread dough into the buttered Pyrex dish and smooth into a mound.  With a brush or the back of a spoon, brush the top with the 3 tablespoons of buttermilk.  Bake for 70-80 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.