Pumpkin Nut Cake

A great cake to start off the month of October! Enjoy!

1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. cooked pumpkin
3 c. sifted all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. maple extract
1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars thoroughly, then add eggs and pumpkin; mix well. sift together flour, soda, baking powder and salt in separate mixing bowl. Add alternately with milk to sugar mixture. Fold  in flavor and nuts. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan, and bake for 1 hour, or until cake tests done. May be dusted with powdered sugar or served with your choice of glaze. 

Mocha Cupcakes with De Luxe Espresso Frosting

WARNING! This recipe is for serious chocolate and coffe lovers...it is not for the weak of taste!!  Enjoy with caution! =)

Mocha Cupcakes
1 Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake Mix
2 T. Instant coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners, and spray the inside of each liner with a quick busrt of non-stick spray. Prepare cake mix according to directions, adding in instant coffee. Pour into prepared liners and bake for 18-22 minutes.  Cool and top with De Luxe Espresso Frosting.

De Luxe Espresso Frosting
3 c. sifted powdered sugar
3 T. cocoa
1 T. instant coffee
1/4 tsp. salt
2 squares baking chocolate, melted
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/3 c. pasteurized egg whites
1 c. marshmallow creme
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix powdered sugar, cocoa, instant coffee and salt in large bowl. Add softened butter, melted chocolate and egg whites.  Mix until combined and add marshmallow creme and vanilla. Cream ingredients until well blended and instant coffee has completely dissolved. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes.

You will want to make sure you have a pot of hot, fresh coffee on when ready to serve these!

Apple Butter Nut Cake

Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a restful weekend. Mine zoomed by and it seems like I was constantly busy although I'm not sure I have much to show for it except a new cake recipe.  This recipe was sent to me by my cousin, Ron Potter. Ron is actually my Great Aunt Danola's oldest son (you may remember her from my post/recipe entitled Aunt Danola's Baby Ruth Cookies.) (By the way, Ron and his wife have their own candle business in North Carolina called Potterwyx. Their candles are custom made: you pick the fragrance and the jar and they ship them out to you! The quality is excellent and the prices very reasonable. You can check them out here.) 

I actually made this cake Saturday for my grandmother's birthday, and it was a big hit--so big, in fact, that my dad (who seldom likes any cake) ate three entire pieces! So, thank you Ron for sharing this one--it's definitely a keeper!!! 

This cake is very moist, has a delicate flavor and goes great with a cup of coffee! This is also a cake that could easily be served for breakfast, brunch or simply as a dessert. (I can also already see myself experimenting with variations of the recipe accompanied by variations of icings.)

Apple Butter Nut Cake

1 Yellow Butter Cake Mix (I prefer Duncan Hines)
5 eggs
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. apple butter
1 apple, chopped finely
1 c. walnuts, chopped
2 T. brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together chopped walnuts, brown sugar and ground cinnamon, and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix eggs, sour cream apple butter and chopped apple. (Do NOT make cake according to package directions.) Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour 1/3 of cake batter into bundt pan, then sprinkle 1/2 of walnut mixture over batter. Pour another 1/3 of batter on top of this, then add remaining walnut mixture. Top with remaining 1/3 of cake batter.  Place in prepared oven and bake for 45 minutes or until cake tests done.  Allow cake to cool about 15 minutes before turning out onto plate.  Serve plain or with Brown Sugar Glaze.

Brown Sugar Glaze

1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. cream
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter and brown sugar together in small saucepan. Add cream, powdered sugar and vanilla, stirring well. Cook for about 5 minutes, being sure that all sugar has dissolved. Drizzle about 1/2 of this onto cake, reserving the remaining half to be served with each piece as it is cut (if desired.)

Enjoy! And as always, let me know what you think of any of my recipes if you try them! Happy baking!

Oreo Balls

If you don't consider yourself a "cook," then this is a great dessert recipe for you! It is one of the easiest treats to put together, and practically impossible to mess up--not to mention that the finished product is quite elegant and will leave tasters with the impression that you worked on it for hours! (Also, if you would like to add an extra element of specialness, you could always call them "Oreo Truffles" in lieu of Oreo Balls.) 

Be warned, though--this dessert is exceptionally rich and not for people with an amateur sweet tooth!

Oreo Balls

1 pkg. (16 oz) of Oreos, crushed
1 pkg. (8 oz) of Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (24 oz) of Chocolate Almond Bark (Chocolate Candy Coating)
1 pkg. (24 oz) of White Chocolate Almond Bark (White Chocolate Candy Coating)

Crush Oreos by hand or in food processor and add Cream Cheese. Blend well and roll into walnut sized balls. Place onto jelly roll pan or cookie sheet covered with wax paper, and allow to chill for 1 hour. In a small saucepan, melt 1/4 of the Chocolate Bark and 3/4 of the White Chocolate Almond Bark separately, being careful not to scorch. Remove Oreo Balls from refrigerator and insert a toothpick into each ball, dip into white chocolate and return to wax paper to harden. After the coating has hardened, drizzle with melted Chocolate Bark, and again with White Chocolate if desired.  Allow candy coating to harden before serving.

Variations:

While most people coat each ball (or truffle!) in white chocolate, I like to coat some of them in the chocolate bark as well. This not only provides a nice effect for the eye, but is especially pleasing to those of us who are true chocolate lovers. You could also roll some of them in chocolate sprinkles, crushed nuts or powdered sugar. This exceptionally rich dessert is sure to please anyone with a sweet tooth!

You could serve them with toothpicks inserted (they make a nice little "handle" that keeps fingers from getting covered with melting chocolate), or remove toothpicks entirely.  If you want an especially attractive presentation, invest in some miniature cupcake liners and place one truffle in each liner. Use different colored or themed liners for various occasions (baby showers, Christmas, etc.).

Happy baking!

Granny & Tres Leches Cake, or"A Little Piece of Heaven"

I hope everyone had as wonderful a weekend as I did.  Saturday was my Aunt Nellean's 80th birthday, and I got to spend the day with a lot of wonderful family that I don't often get to see.  Nellean is my grandmother Hattie's older sister, and is she a ball of fun to be around!  Nellean has spent her life caring for others and is well-known throughout her community for being a wonderful cook.  I'm sure she has baked hundreds (and probably thousands) of pies, stack cakes, rolls and fried pies for church and community fundraisers.  She has suffered great losses in her 80 years, but has always carried herself with dignity and faith.  She is truly a woman to be admired. When I think of Aunt Nellean, I can't help but automatically think of her high and light rolls, her mile-high meringue on homemade pies and her absolutely delectable $300 cookies.

Being around Granny's family is an obvious reminder that she is no longer here, which is always painful, but it's always nice to spend time with them.  One of the things I do when I start missing her is head to the kitchen and start cooking.  As I have mentioned before, she was an excellent cook, and it was a rare occasion that she didn't have some leftover cornbread or some fresh cake sitting on the counter. For me, cooking is kind of like therapy: I find it relaxing and calming.

So, today has made a few days that I haven't really cooked since we've been busy with other things and I was ready to get back into the groove.  I ended up having a Latin American kick tonight and ended up making platanos fritos (fried plantains), enchiladas, refried beans with fresh crema, Tres Leches cake and espresso coffee with cinnamon and nutmeg-topped whipping cream.  I have already passed along my enchilada recipe and wanted to share my Tres Leches cake with you.

Tres Leches is Spanish for "three milks," so you see where we're headed with this...This cake is absolutely my favorite cake. Period. It is a custardy-textured cake that is soaked in sweetened milk and topped with sweetened whipping cream. If you have never had one, you would probably think there is something wrong with it at first glance, since the cake literally drips with milk.  So, here it is: a perfect dessert for spring and summer!

Tres Leches Cake

Cake:
3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
5 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Syrup:
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. half and half

Topping:
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9" x 13" cake pan and set aside.  In mixing bowl, combine butter (at room temperature) and sugar.  In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the butter and sugar mixture. Then add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. (Batter will look rather thin and like it will be a small amount, but this is how it should look.) Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and pulling away from sides of pan.

After cake has cooled off, poke holes all over the cake using a fork.  In a bowl, combine ingredients for syrup and pour over cake.  Cover and place in refrigerator overnight if possible, or at least 4 hours.  After removing from fridge, take a spoon and scoop up any extra milk that has gathered around edges and pour back onto center of cake.

Prepare topping by whipping heavy cream and sugar together until it holds stiff peaks.  Fold in vanilla at last.  Spoon topping onto cake and smooth out.  Serve cold and keep refrigerated.

Cake just after pulling it out of the oven



Just after pouring milk syrup on the cake to soak in. (Don't worry; it's supposed to look like this.)

Cake topped and  finally ready to serve

Ready to eat! Yum-O!



Cream Puffs

There are very few cakes which are moist enough to suit my dad's taste.  So, many years ago, (probably even way before I was born...) my mom started making him cream puffs for his birthday instead of cake.  Since Dad's birthday fell on a weekday this year, and both he and Mom work, I decided to make the cream puffs so that Mom wouldn't have to worry about it.  Let me warn you...if you have never had cream puffs before, you are missing out on one of the great pastries of the world.  As Dad would say, they're so good, you can't hardly sit still and eat them.

Cream Puffs (Dough)

1 c. water
1/2 c. butter
1 c. all purpose flour
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat water and butter to boiling point in saucepan.  Stir in flour and stir constantly over low heat until the mixture leaves the sides of pan and form a ball (about 1 minute).  Remove from heat and cool.  Beat eggs in, one at a time, blending well after each addition.  Mixture should be smooth and velvety.  Drop by generous spoon-fulls on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in hot oven for about 45 minutes.  Puffs should be browned and dry to the touch.  Makes 8 large puffs.

Custard

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 T. all purpose flour
2 c. top milk
2 eggs, or 4 yolks
2 tsp. vanilla
1 T. butter

Mix sugar, salt and flour in saucepan.  Stir in milk and  cook over low heat, stirring until it boils. Cook for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Transfer a little of this mixture into beaten eggs (or yolks), being careful to add mixture slowly while stirring vigorously .  Transfer egg mixture back into saucepan, stirring constantly.  Return to heat and bring to a boiling point.  Remove from heat, and blend in vanilla and butter.

After puffs have cooled, slice off tops (reserve) and scoop out soft filling. Fill inside of puffs with custard and replace tops.  Sprinkle powdered sugar over them if desired.

Spoon dough out onto ungreased baking sheet

 Puffs are done when golden brown and dry to the touch

Slice off tops (reserve) and scoop out filling

My bowl full of scooped-out filling

Fill each puff with custard, then replace tops

Ready to serve!
(As you can see, I made a double batch; it's one of the requirements of making them
for the family...)

Chocolate Whoopie Pies!

I've gotten behind in my cookie swap recipes due to having spent time with my little sister who is home on break from college. However, I am really excited to share my cream-filled cookie recipe with you guys, as these whoopie pies are a real treat! On a side note, you can make whoopie pies of different flavors: chocolate, pumpkin and oatmeal being the most common.  But it's very versatile, so you could really do a lot of experimenting with them if you felt like being creative. I, for instance, would love to make some maple or butter pecan whoopie pies someday! The recipe I am sharing is that of a Mennonite bakery which is well-known in my little corner of the world for their breads and sweet treats.  Whoopie pies are just one of the many baked goodies that line their store shelves, and the recipe itself is for a rather large quantity of pies, so it may be that you will want to scale-down the ingredient proportions to fit your own baking needs.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

1 1/2 c. margarine
3 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 c. cocoa
2 1/4 c. buttermilk
5 1/2 c. flour

Cream margarine and sugar. Blend in eggs, vanilla, salt, soda and cocoa.  Add flour and buttermilk separately, mixing after each addition.  Chill dough at least 1 hr. Drop onto greased cookie sheet by rounded tablespoonfulls.  Make cookies equal in size.  Bake for 8-10 minutes in moderate oven (about 350 degrees). Cookies should be nice and rounded. After cookies have cooled, place a scoop of filling between two cookies, and wrap individually in plastic wrap for storing. Makes 42 whoopie pies.

Filling:
1 c. margarine
8 oz. softened cream cheese
2 tsp. vanilla
4 T. flour
3-4 c. powdered sugar
2 T. milk

Beat margarine and cream cheese together.  Add remaining ingredients and beat until light and fluffy.

Whoopie pies make for a special treat

For more great cookie recipes, visit here and here!

Meringues

If you want a really fancy-looking treat that is also relatively healthy for you (these have no fat--how many cookies can you say that about!?), try these impressive looking meringues.  They are a dessert that looks complicated, but is actually very easy (not to mention cheap).

Meringues

2 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 c. superfine or powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat until stiff; gradually add sugar, beating until whites hold stiff peaks. Fold in vanilla and food coloring. Drop by teaspoonfulls or pipe onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 40 minutes at 250 degrees, but do not allow to brown.  Let cool in oven for 30 minutes before removing.

Meringues are a very light and special treat

$25,000 Orange Kiss-Me Cake

No frosting--just sugar, cinnamon and walnuts

Hi, everyone! I've been busy with family things for the last couple days, and I tried out a new cake recipe for Mom's birthday yesterday, which I thought was so good, I would pass it along to you all! This cake was the $25,000 first prize-winning entry in the 1950 2nd Annual $100,000 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest.  (Do they even still have those??)  I figured it had to be good, and it is...and I think if you try it, you will be pleasantly surprised, even if you're not big on "fruit" cakes.  The orange flavor is mild and refreshing, and the cake itself is extremely light, especially in comparison to, say, a carrot cake which is also very moist but tends to be on the heavy side. This cake is so moist and perfectly sweet already, you don't even frost it; instead, you drizzle fresh orange juice over the hot cake and sprinkle a sugar, cinnamon and nut mixture over the top.  Perfection!

$25,000 Orange Kiss-Me Cake

1 large orange
1 c. seedless raisins
3/4 c. walnuts
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Zest and juice the orange. (Reserve juice.) Grind together zest, pulp, raisins and 1/2 c. of walnuts. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, soda, salt and sugar. To this mixture add shortening and 3/4 c. milk. Beat for 2 minutes.  Add remaining 1/4 c. milk and eggs, one at time, beating for 2 more minutes. Fold in ground zest, pulp, raisins and nuts. Pour into prepared 13 x 9 x 2" pan, and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until sides begin to pull away from pan and toothpick inserted in middle of cake comes out clean.  Remove from oven, and drizzle reserved orange juice over top of cake.  Chop remaining 1/4 c. walnuts and sprinkle onto cake, then mix together powdered sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over top as well. Cut and serve.

Very moist, light and refreshing: perfect for Spring or Summer!

Aunt Danola's Baby Ruth Cookies

My Aunt Danola was an older sister to my grandmother, Hattie. She was truly a great lady whom I always admired; she really enjoyed a good laugh and always had a good story to tell. She had a chuckle that just made you feel good and would often begin a remark with, "Now, children..." They sure don't make 'em like Aunt Danola anymore.

  



Chewy and rich, salty and sweet,you'll want a tall,
cold glass of milk to go with these!



Like my grandmother, she was an excellent cook, and completely won me over about 15 years ago with her baked beans.  This cookie recipe was given to me by her son, Joel, and I promise you won't regret making them. (I would recommend, however, making sure there is milk in the fridge before you do.)

Aunt Danola's Baby Ruth Cookies

1 c. margarine

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs
2 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 large Baby Ruth bars, cut-up

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs, and beat until creamy. In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda and salt; add to sugar mixture.  Add vanilla and Baby Ruth candy; stir until well-combined.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes, or until tops are delicately browned. Remove from oven, and as soon as cookies have cooled enough to hold together, transfer them onto cooling racks. (This can be somewhat tricky, as any melted caramel from the candy will harden onto the cookie sheet as they cool.) Makes about 52 cookies.

I like to use a small ice cream scoop to drop cookies; this insures that they will be a uniform size,
and it allows you to skip the step of chilling the dough, since you don't have to handle it.  

Mom-ma's Gingerbread

If you have ever had my grandmother's gingerbread, then you will understand when I say it clearly needs no introduction, and that whatever description I might give--however good--will still not adequately convey how absolutely delicious it truly is!

  

Mom-ma's gingerbread: the best you'll ever eat!

I also have several other recipes for "gingerbread" (most of which are of a cake-like texture and baked in a square cake pan), and recipes for gingerbread cookies, but this is a recipe for what one might describe as individual gingerbread cakes.  If you have read my "About Me" page, then you already know that gingerbread is one of Mom-ma's signature dishes.  Regardless of the fact that she's my grandmother (and I could, therefore, be somewhat biased), she makes the best gingerbread I've ever had...and I'm sure many of my family members would attest to that.

Like many breads, much of how this turns out will have to do with the handling of the dough, as opposed to how it's put together.  Try to handle it as little as possible, while still shaping it as necessary. Also, Mom-ma and I like our gingerbread very chewy and moist in the middle, so we usually pull ours out of the oven after about 10 minutes of baking.  However, if you prefer yours to be on the dry side, you will want to leave it in for about 12-14 minutes. Also, I will give you the recipe as Mom-ma gave it to me, which will make a lot of gingerbread (about 44 pieces), so I always half it when making it for just my husband and myself.

Mom-ma's Gingerbread

6 c. self-rising flour
3 tsp. (heaping) of ginger
3 eggs
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. molasses
2/3 c. oil
1/2 c. water or milk
(plus 1 egg and about 3 T. milk for glaze)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In large mixing bowl, combine flour and ginger. In separate bowl, combine eggs, sugars, molasses and oil.  In small bowl, beat additional egg with milk and set aside. Pour liquid into flour mixture and stir to combine. Make sure that it is well-blended, but do not over beat.  Pour dough onto a generously floured counter top.  Sprinkle with flour and be sure to keep flour on your hands so it does not stick. Roll into individual cakes and place about 1" apart on greased baking sheet.  Glaze tops with egg wash and bake for 10-14 minutes.  If you want gingerbread to be very moist in the center, start checking after about 10 minutes of baking, and take it out when it is still soft to touch.  If you want it to be dry, leave it in for about 14 minutes or until firm to touch. Remove from oven, place on cooling racks, and enjoy! Warning: you will want a tall, cold glass of milk to go with this!

Also: When making the gingerbread for the pictures below, I didn't have any plain molasses.  Not to worry, though: I did have blackstrap molasses. However, if used alone, blackstrap molasses would be entirely too dark and too rich to use by itself, and would basically ruin the bread.  So, I used 1/2 the amount of molasses the recipe calls for, and used honey for the remaining 1/2. This helped to balance out the flavor.  

You will need to be generous with the flour while shaping the dough as it is very sticky.

 Space individual cakes out about 1" apart on prepared baking sheet and brush with egg & milk wash.

Out of the oven and ready to cool (and eat!)

Get the milk ready!

Perfect Brownies

If you like your brownies chewy, moist, and dense, this is the recipe for you!  I  know a lot of people like buying brownie mixes (which I could never bring myself to do), but if you aren't very comfortable in the kitchen, I think you will be surprised at how easy homemade brownies are.  This recipe makes enough for an 8"x8"x2" pan, if you plan on feeding a crowd, you will want to double this recipe.



Perfect glossy crust with a rich and chewy center



Perfect Brownies



2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate 

1/2 c. butter
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. chopped Walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray an 8"x8"x2" glass baking dish with nonstick spray. In a cooker, melt butter and chocolate. Be careful not to heat too quickly, or chocolate will scorch.  While this is melting, combine flour, salt and baking powder in separate bowl, and set aside. Remove melted butter and chocolate from heat. Add sugar to this mixture and blend thoroughly. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla.  Add flour mixture and stir until combined, but do not over-beat. If you are adding Walnuts, you may add them to the batter now, or sprinkle them over batter after it is poured into the pan. Pour into baking dish, and bake in slow oven (325 degrees) for about 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into middle of brownies comes out clean.  Cool before cutting.  Serve with sweetened whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream if desired.



Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, or with sweetened whipped cream.

 



Lemon Meringue Pie (and Robert Taylor!)

I bought some lemons that were on sale the other day and happened to notice earlier that I had two pie crusts in my fridge that needed to be used.  It didn't take long for me to realize that lemons + pie crusts = lemon meringue pie! So, I thought I would share my afternoon baking with you guys.  It really is delicious! 

Pie #1

Lemon Meringue Pie

Filling:
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
1 1/2 c. water
3 egg yolks
3 T. butter
4 T. lemon juice
1 1/3 T. lemon zest

Meringue:
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
6 T. granulated or powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Prepare meringue as follows: Beat egg whites with a mixer until frothy.  Gradually add in cream of tartar and sugar.  Beat until stiff peaks form and egg whites hold their shape.  Finally add vanilla, and mix thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Separate 3 large eggs, reserving the whites for the meringue. In a separate mixing bowl, beat yolks and set aside.  In heavy saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch.  Gradually add water, and heat to a boil, stirring constantly.  Mixture should be thick.  Remove from heat.Very slowly pour 1/2 of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks. (Caution: do this gradually, while stirring vigorously, otherwise you will scramble the yolks! I like to use a large measuring cup to transfer it so that I have more control over the amount I'm pouring in.) After this is well-blended, gently pour egg mixture into hot mixture on the stove, and return to a boil.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  (Careful: heating too fast and insufficient stirring may cause pudding to scorch!) Remove from heat, and add butter, lemon juice and lemon zest.  Stir until blended.  Pour into prepared (baked) pie shell and top with meringue.  Be sure that meringue is sealed to edge of pie crust to help prevent shrinking.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until meringue is a delicate brown color.  Cool completely before cutting.



Pie #2



If you're like me, and you want to make the most of your pie-making efforts, you can actually double this recipe and make two pies.  (Since I had two crusts to use, that's what I did: one for us at home and one for Steve to take to the office.)

 





From the trailer for the film Waterloo Bridge, from 1940



This recipe is from my favorite cookbook, Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook from 1951, and comes with an interesting note: apparently, this was Robert Taylor's favorite pie, and the recipe was obtained from his mother and was featured on their radio cooking school. (For those of you who don't know who Robert Taylor is--and probably, you don't--he was a famous movie star in the 40s and 50s.)

One last thought: when life gives you lemons, make some pie!!!

(Thanks to Robert Taylor!)  

Whipped Cream Cupcakes with (Pink!) White Mountain Frosting

For some reason, I have really gotten into making cupcakes lately.  I guess it's because they are like individually-wrapped bites of heaven.  For fat, this recipe uses whipping (or heavy) cream instead of butter or shortening which lends to its very moist, rich eating quality.  If you prefer 9" x13" or 8" or 9" pans, please feel free to use them instead! (Just make sure you adjust your baking time!)  Since it is Valentine's Day, I took the liberty to tint the batter pink with about 5 drops of red food coloring and arranged the cupcakes (ever-so-cheesily) in the shape of a heart on my large cutting board.  By the way, if you're wondering why the frosting is "Pink" White Mountain Frosting, it's because I also added a couple drops of red food coloring to tint it in honor of St. Valentine.  So, that being said...make these, and feel the love! Here's the recipe:

Whipping Cream Cupcakes

1 1/2 c. whipping cream
3 large eggs
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Line muffin/cupcake tins with 24 paper liners, and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whip cream in large mixing bowl until stiff. (This will take a good 5 minutes.) Next, fold in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, sugar, powder and salt.  Fold the flour mixture in gently with a whisk. Add the vanilla and blend. Fill cupcake liners until 2/3 full.  Place in preheated oven and bake for about 18-24 minutes.  Cakes are done when knife/toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  Cool and frost.

(Pink!) White Mountain Frosting

2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 2/3 T. water
1/3 light corn syrup
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar, water and syrup in medium saucepan and bring to a boil over low-medium heat.  Boil gently, without stirring, until syrup spins a 6-8" thread (242 degrees). Caution: Place lid on saucepan for first 3-4 minutes; this will help prevent sugar crystals from forming on the sides of the pan. (If this happens, your frosting will be grainy and yucky, and you will have to start over--ugh!) While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form.  When the syrup has reached the thread stage, remove from heat, and pour very slowly into egg whites, beating constantly.  Add vanilla, and continue to beat until frosting holds its shape.  If desired, add two heaping tablespoons of marshmallow creme to frosting and beat until blended for extra marshmallow-y flavor.  Leave white for traditional White Mountain Frosting; Add two drops of red food coloring to achieve a delicate pink color, or add coloring of your choice.

For some reason, you hardly ever see this kind of frosting anymore (maybe with the exception of Grandma's kitchen...).  Since it has no fat, it is actually one of the "healthiest" frostings you could eat.  But don't be fooled: it is still rich, sweet and sure to satisfy. Its lustrous sheen, as well as its soft and luscious texture provide a very high eating quality.  You will be sure to impress with this one!