Monday, November 2, 2015

November 2015 Newsletter

NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2015


FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

MORNING
Paula Smith 2015

The MORNING breeze greets me with a melody from the Corinthian Bells chime,
Gently swaying in the breeze, & greeting the beautiful day.

The trees adorning their shades of gold, orange, red to greet the MORNING, 
Whispering "Good MORNING" with their beautiful array of colors.

The blanket of green grass covering the ground still drinking in the droplets of the MORNING dew from the early MORNING  hours.

The brilliance of the sun, shining from above, accenting the white puffy clouds against a magnificent blue sky, it's MORNING!

MORNING,  what a glorious time to absorb the Masterpiece blessing us with this another day, created by the Master's Hand.




Italian Creme Cake

Ingredients
Cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk, well shaken
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Cooking spray
Italian Cream Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour four

9-inch cake pans.

Sift the flour and baking soda together and set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and shortening with the sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well between each addition. With the mixer on medium speed, add the flour and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with buttermilk. Add the vanilla, coconut and nuts, and stir well to incorporate.

In a separate bowl with clean beaters, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, just until blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 15-20 minutes. Test for doneness by touching the top of the cake with your finger. The cake is done if it bounces back up. Cool the layers on wire racks sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

For the frosting: With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the butter on high speed until fluffy. Reduce the speed to medium and blend in the sugar and vanilla. Beat well until the frosting is smooth.

When the cake is completely cool, spread the frosting between the layers and on the sides and top of the cake. Sprinkle on the nuts.

Cinnamon Roll Cake




INGREDIENTS




  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease & flour a 13x9 baking pan.
  2. Mix together cake mix, eggs, oil and sour cream. Pour into prepared baking pan.
  3. In a separate bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over cake batter then swirl into batter with a knife. The more you swirl, the more combined it will be so don't over-swirl otherwise the cinnamon/sugar will not be swirly.
  4. Bake for 40 minutes.
  5. For icing (optional) combine milk with icing sugar and mix thoroughly. Pour over slightly cooled (10-15 minutes on cooling rack) cake.

Classic Carrot Cake

Ingredients:
Butter, for pans
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups grated carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick salted butter, room temperature
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar, additional sugar if necessary
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round pans; Line bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, blend until combined. Add carrots and pecans or walnuts,  if using.

Pour into pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

Add all ingredients, except nuts, into a medium bowl and beat until fluffy using a hand mixer. Spread frosting on top of each cake layer. Stack the cakes on a serving plate and frost sides. Mash nuts into sides for garnish.

NANNY FAULK'S BUTTERSCOTCH PIE
3 egg yolks
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cups milk
6 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. butter
6 Tbsp. water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 prebaked 9 inch deep dish pie crust
Combine sugar, milk, flour, water, and salt. Bring to a boil over
medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Boil 2 minutes, stir small
amount hot mixture into beaten egg yolks. Return to cooked
mixture and boil 1 additional minute. Remove from heat and stir
in butter and vanilla extract. Pour into baked pie crust. Prepare
Meringue from 3 egg whites, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla
extract. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spread over pudding and
bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until golden.


Maple-Glazed Pull-Apart Bread

16 balls of frozen roll dough
1 pkg. butterscotch instant pudding
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans
1 stick butter, melted (that's 1/2 cup)

Glaze:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. Maple extract
3-4 Tablespoons Half & Half

Butter a bundt pan. Place frozen rolls in pan. Combine dry pudding mix, brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle over rolls. Drizzle with melted butter. Set pan in cold oven and allow to sit overnight. Rolls will thaw and rise overnight. The next morning, remove from oven and preheat to 350. Place pan in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. Let stand 5 minutes and invert on serving plate.
Glaze:
Whisk together confectioner's sugar, extract and half & half until smooth, pourable consistency. Pour over coffee cake, allowing to drizzle down sides of cake. Serve warm.