Speckled Egg Easter Cake

I'm not usually a baker, but I made this Easter masterpiece upon the request of my sister.  It took a long time, but it was definitely worth it and made a nice centerpiece, too. The recipe came from countryliving.com.


Cake
3 c. cake flour, spooned and leveled
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 c. malted milk powder
1 t. kosher salt
1 c. canola oil
1 c. half and half, at room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1 t. pure coconut extract
1 large egg plus 2 large egg whites, at room temperature

Whisk the flour, baking powder, malted milk powder and salt in a bowl.

Whisk together the oil, half and half, sugar, vanilla, coconut extract, and the whole egg in a separate bowl until smooth.

Fold in the flour mixture just until incorporated. 

Beat the egg whites on medium high until stiff peaks form, 1 or 2 minutes.

Fold the egg whites into the batter just until combined.

Lightly grease 3 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. 

Divide the batter among the pans.

(Layer cake tip:  Make a collar for each pan, wet it and wrap around each layer pan.  It helps to bake the layers flat without the dome that sometimes forms in the middle)

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then invert onto racks to cool completely.

Coconut Butter Cream
1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. cream of coconut
6 c. powdered sugar
1 t. pure vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt
Blue gel food coloring

Beat butter and cream of coconut with mixer on medium until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar.

Beat in vanilla and salt until combined.

Beat in blue gel food coloring, one drop at a time until desired blue color.

Once the cakes are cooled, place one layer on a cake plate and frost the top with 1 cup of the Buttercream.  Repeat 2 more times.  Frost the sides with remaining coconut cream.


Garnishes
Brown gel food coloring
4 sheets of phyllo dough
Cooking spray
Malted Milk eggs, or other egg shaped speckled candies
(Alternate to phyllo dough nest:  toasted coconut.  I'm going to try that next time!)

Stir together brown food coloring and 2 drops water in a bowl.  Dip the tip of a wide stiff paintbrush or basting brush into the mixture.  Holding the brush away from the cake, gently fling the mixture on the cake (Tip:  Cover all surfaces around the cake to avoid messes!)

Tightly roll 4 sheets of phyllo dough lengthwise and very thinly slice. 

Transfer to a baking sheet, loosely separating the layers.  Spray with cooking spray and toss gently.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.  Cool completely.

Spread the phyllo (or toasted coconut if you prefer) next around the base of the cake and make a nest on the top for malted milk egg decorations.  Place other egg candies around the base of the cake.
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c = cup
t = teaspoon

Homemade Pretzels

I was skeptical when I saw this recipe on Tasty.  Only 2 ingredients?!?  Sounded easy enough so I gave it a try.  So glad I did!  These are doughy soft pretzels and would be great with a cheese sauce.  This same recipe can be used for pizza crust, garlic knots or bagels (I know, not a real bagel because bagels are boiled, but a cheater's version).  And only 100 calories per pretzel!

I've also seen a version saying to mix 1/2 c. boiling water and dissolve 1 T. baking soda in it.  Then dip each pretzel in that before backing. This is supposed to give it a nice crust.

Homemade Pretzels

1 3/4 c. self rising flour (Do NOT use regular flour!)
1 c. plain greek yogurt (I used Chobani)

Mix the 2 ingredients until formed in a ball.  Pat the dough down a bit and cut in 8 wedges. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll each wedge into a 14" long rope.  Twist into a pretzel shape and put on a parchment lined baking sheet. 

Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with pretzel salt.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until golden brown.






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Garlic knot version:  Take each wedge and roll into a smaller length, thicker 8" rope.  Twist into a knot and brush with a mix of 1/4 c. olive oil,  4 cloves minced garlic, a pinch of salt and 1 1/2 t. dried parsley (or 2 T fresh parsley).

Pizza Dough version: Press dough in a 12" pizza round, top with pizza sauce and toppings of your choice.

Bagels: Divide into 4 wedges, roll them in 8" ropes and form in a round  brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with Everything seasoning.

Bread Machine Hamburger Buns

On the way home from the grocery store, I realized I forgot to buy hamburger buns.  Lines were horrible, and I was not going back there!  So, I did a quick google search for bread machine hamburger buns and found this one on geniuskitchen.com.  Everyone raved about them, so I gave them a try.    Definitely worth it!


Bread Machine Hamburger Buns

18 oz. bread flour (I prefer to weigh mine, regular recipe called for 3 3/4 c.)
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 t. salt
1 1/4 c. warm milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/4 t. active dry yeast (I used bread machine yeast)
2 T. butter melted for tops of buns before baking

Put the flour, sugar, salt, milk and egg in the bread machine  on the dough setting.  Once it is finished (my dough setting takes 2 hours 20 minutes), place the dough on a floured surface and divide in 2 even sections.  I use a food scale to get it about equal.

Roll each out to about 3/4" to 1" thick.   Cut into 6 or 7 circles, depending on thickness of dough, of 3 1/2" diameter. I used a british pint glass which worked perfectly.

Place the rounds fairly far apart on a greased sheet pan and brush them with the melted butter.  Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray and let rise for about an hour, until doubled in size.

Bake them at 350 degrees for about 9-13 minutes, depending on size and oven.  I got 14 buns out of my batch and they took about 11-12 minutes.

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oz = ounces
t = teaspoon
T = tablespoon

c = cup

Antipasto Squares

Need a game day appetizer?  This one is a good one.

Antipasto Squares


2 tubes of crescent rolls
1/2 lb. sliced ham
1/4 lb. sliced pepperoni
1/4 lb. sliced mozzarella
1/4 lb. sliced provolone
1 c. sliced pepperoncini
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. shredded parm
oregano

Roll out one crescent roll and pinch seams.

Layer ham, mozzarella, pepperoni, provolone and pepperoncini.  Top with the second tube of crescent roll and pinch the top and the bottom crust seams together.

Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with parm cheese and oregano.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Cover with tin foil if top is getting too brown.

Let it cool 15 minutes before cutting.

Spring Rolls

This light meal is so healthy!  Give it a try.  There are no rules, just include those ingredients that sound good to you. Here are some ideas, but don't overstuff!

Spring Rolls

Teriyaki chicken breast, thinly sliced or in matchstick size
various veggies cut in matchsticks, ideas:
zucchini
carrot
cucumber
green pepper
red pepper
green onion
avocado
rice noodles seasoned with szechuan sauce
micro greens
sprouts

rice paper wrappers

peanut sauce
chili garlic sauce (careful, it's hot!)




Put the chosen ingredients on the prepared rice paper wrapper, season with sauce and roll up.  Enjoy!

Grandma's Peanut Butter Cookies (Blossoms)

This recipe is WAY better than the Peanut Butter Blossoms recipe on the bag of Hershey Kisses.  Good cookies come from Grandmas, this time from the other side of the family.

Cream together:
1 c. shortening ( I used 1/2 c. lard and 1/2 c. butter or 1 c. butter)
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. creamy peanut butter

Add 2 eggs

Sift together (only if your flour seems lumpy):
3 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt

Add the flour mix to the mixture.

Add 1 t. vanilla

Roll into balls (about the size of a quarter) and roll the balls in white sugar.

Bakes on parchment covered cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes.  When just out of the oven, press a Hershey kiss candy in the middle.

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c = cup
t = teaspoon

Grandmother's Ginger Creams

Baking isn't usually my thing but I was feeling nostalgic for some Christmas cookies this year.  My Grandma seemed to have these every time we went to the farm and are one of my dad's favorites.  The recipe itself is well over 100 year old and deserves to be seen as my Grandma gave it to me.  She was a teacher back in the day when it was important to have perfect handwriting!

There was no time for baking on it, so I added the 9-10 minutes note.  For icing I used just under 2 c. of powdered sugar and 3 T. of milk.  Adjust for your preferred consistency.