White Vanilla Cake: a sturdy, filling and delicious white cake

My White Vanilla Cake was made into a trifle cherry dessert

Yesterday I posted the recipe for what I ultimately made with my white vanilla cake - a cherry dessert meets a trifle.   You can use any white cake you wish but I thought I'd 'scribble down' (type) the recipe I used for mine.  It was a mixture I threw together using about 3 or 4 different white cake ideas.  I thought it was good and turned out well for a dessert like this.  It's a nice heavy, spongy, durable cake - not airy and breakable like a store bought but not as heavy and thick as a pound cake.  It's in between.  It is hardy and filling and oh so delicious.  I'm planning on making it again today or tomorrow and making cupcakes out of it. 

White Vanilla Cake

1 c sugar
1 3/4 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) real butter
2 large eggs
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c canola
2 T vanilla extract
1/2 c milk

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the sugar.  Add the butter and beat until fluffy and crumb-like.  Add the eggs, sour cream, oil and vanilla.  Pulse to mix and then beat until smooth.  Slowly add the milk last and pulse to add until blended.  Pour into a greased or lined baking pan 9X13 or similar.  Bake at 350 until the center is done and the edges are golden brown.  Do not under bake.  Cool.  Use or serve as you wish.

 

 

Cherry Dessert - Trifle Style! Great Idea for 4th of July

Followers of An American Housewife might remember about 2 weeks ago, when I posted that I made both a chocolate cake and white vanilla cake in the same day.  We obviously can't eat that many baked goods around here so the white cake was cooled and put in the deep freeze. 

This weekend it was released from the confines of the freezer and put to good use.  While I thought perhaps I'd do strawberry shortcakes out of it, I then changed my mind to do a trifle (layers of cake and whipped cream) but then completely changed gears and decided to combine a cherry dessert idea with the trifle idea and in the end, it was a huge hit with the family.

Just because I used a from-scratch white cake doesn't mean you have to.  Simple use a white cake of your choice.  You can also play with the filling.  Blueberry, cherry, strawberry...  whatever you wish.  I particularly like cherry pie filling with this and although I do sometimes make my own, I had a can of cherry pie filling in our camping supplies and it was the perfect 'quick' filling I needed.

Cherry Dessert Trifle

1 white cake of your choice
1 can cherry pie filling
1/2 cup (approximate) graham cracker crumbs
2 T melted butter
2 cups whipped cream (you could use spray whipped cream in a can)
1 c heavy whipping cream (or use 2 cups Cool Whip)
2 T sugar
1 package cream cheese

Cut the cake into cubes.  This is sometimes easier if it's frozen first.  But they don't have to be 'pretty' as no one will see them. Place 1 cup of the whipped cream in the bottom of a glass dish.  Place the cake cubes. Top with the can of cherry pie filling and push down a bit into the crevices of the bowl between the cake squares.  Smooth evenly on top.  Mash the graham crumbs with the melted butter and place over the cherry layer.  Mix the whipping cream with the sugar and cream cheese.  Beat smooth.  Spread this over the graham layer.  Top with the last cup of whipped cream.  Add a cherry or strawberry or blueberry for garnish to compliment your filling.  Chill at least 2 hours if you can before serving but up to 6-8 hours.

I think this tastes best with cherry filling

I left off the melted butter this time but it was too powdery. Add the butter to the graham crumbs.

Mixing the cream, sugar and the cream cheese.  I love this layer.

My Grandma's Cherry Dessert Meets A Trifle.  And they got along just fine!

Honey Mango Popsicles - Homemade Goodness Without Sugar!

Homemade Fruit Popsicles

Fresh Fruit
A Blender or Processor
Popsicle Molds or Dixie Cups and popsicle sticks

Clean, cut or dice the sweet fruit of your choice.  (Strawberries, mangoes, kiwi, peaches, bananas, etc.)
Place them in a blender and blend until smooth.  For a thick, fruity pop add no liquid.  For more of a popsicle style that has an ice base, add fruit juice, water or Kool-Aid.  Pour into your molds.  Place in the deep freeze for about 4 hours or until solid.  

I used Honey Mangoes this time

Blend Smooth - add a bit of fruit juice or yogurt if you wish.  I don't.

Fill your molds.  Freeze until solid.  No preservatives or chemicals!

Dutch Letters - Flaky Pastry with Almond Filling (Quick and easy version!)

I finally made them!  Yesterday was a crazy baking and cooking day.  From homemade Mango Popsicles to Fish Taco's and Sauces and Zapple Pie to yes, even Dutch Letters.  I was a whirlwind of baking and it felt like 'the good ol' days' before we were thrust into the crazy world of promotions, relocation's, moving across the country and everything else we've gone through recently.

Yesterday I baked and cooked up a storm and did not turn on my oven once.  It's over a hundred degree's here and I would be nuts to use my oven and spike our electric bill even higher.  No, once again I am ever-so-thankful I invested in a solar oven.  I baked til my heart's content yesterday on the front stairs of my home.  Obviously you will probably bake these Dutch Letters in your oven, which is what I would expect - but if you have a Global Sun Oven® they can be baked with solar heat easily as well.

On to the recipe!  I previously posted a recipe for Dutch Letters here on An American Housewife, but yesterday I had Puff Pastry on hand leftover from the last time I made Cream Horns.  If you want a quick and easy version of Dutch Letters I can tell you it worked great, was fast and tastes just like the pastries you find in any bakery. 

I kind of made this up as I went along and the results were perfect.  Here is what I used;


Quick Dutch Letters

1 package Puff Pastry, thawed
8 oz. almond paste
1 egg, separated
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 t molasses
1 t vanilla extract




In a medium bowl, beat almond paste and 1 egg white on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until smooth. Add the sugars, molasses and vanilla and beat until smooth, 1-2 minutes; set filling aside. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining egg yolk with about 1/4 cup water.

Unroll dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll dough lightly into a larger rectangle.  Cut rectangle into strips about 2 1/2 inches wide. Working with one strip at a time, put 1 heaping tbsp. filling lengthwise down the center of the strip, using your fingers to spread it to each end. Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash down one edge and then, beginning with the dry side, roll strip over filling and into a cigar shape or a rope. Transfer pastry rolls, seam side down, to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and form into an "S" shape; repeat with remaining dough, filling. and egg wash.

Heat oven to 375°. Brush each pastry with egg wash and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Bake, rotating baking sheets once halfway through cooking, until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

The almond filling - mixed and ready to go

I went a little heavy on the almond filling because I love it so much

Rolled up and ready to shape into an S

I used metallic silver sugar sprinkles but you can use regular sugar

Baking mine in a Solar Oven but of course most people use a regular oven

Edible Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (and a recipe to eat raw OR bake)

Although I'm not a fan of eating desserts like cookies and cakes... I am a fan of cookie dough and cake batter.  It's probably a little weird that I don't really like chocolate cake, but I love eating chocolate cake batter. 

Ever since I was a kid I've mixed cake mix with water (leaving out the oil and egg) and enjoyed just the batter.  However, I, like most people, have also eaten raw cookie dough with a spoon while making cookies.   Although the chance of salmonella  poisoning is remote and small, it is present - so for that reason, whenever my kids wanted cookie dough, I would simply mix up the recipe but leave out the eggs.

Did a light bulb just go off in your head?

Something I have done for almost 20 years now is make cookie dough without eggs and freeze the dough balls on a baking tray in the deep freeze before transferring to a ziploc.  Needing a sweet treat, wanting a bite of comfort food, or just craving cookie dough?  Not a problem when it's right there and perfectly safe sans eggs!

But there is also a great way to have your cake and eat it too....  (sorry, couldn't help myself).  To make edible raw cookie dough that you can enjoy and still make cookies out of, consider using Powdered Whole Eggs. They are pasteurized so they are safe to eat, but because you still have eggs in the recipe, you can bake them as you usually would and have both edible raw dough AND freshly baked cookies!


Edible Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

1 cup butter, soft
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)


In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add a mixture of the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

***Note:  You can leave the baking soda out if you like since you aren't baking them, but if you leave it in, it tastes a little more authentic.  If you want to make this recipe into baked cookies, simply add 2 eggs to the recipe when you add the vanilla.  And your third option;  using Powdered Whole Eggs equal to 2 eggs means you can eat the dough AND bake cookies from the same recipe.