Friday, February 7, 2014

Golden Butter Cake w/Creamcheese icing & Toasted pecans YES PLEASE!





This one is just a quick blog for my sister...She asked for this recipe oh so long ago and I'm just getting around to posting it because...I mentally checked out for a few days lol.  ANYWAY  I used a box cake mix for this cake, but I do have a Butter Cake recipe from scratch that I will be posting soon...don't roll your eyes I promise I will :-).

What You'll Need:

  • Duncan Hines Golden Butter Cake mix
  • Eggs
  • Milk
  • Butter/Margarine
  • (6oz) Cream cheese
  • (1cup) Powdered sugar
  • (2TBS) Vanilla separated
  • (1cup) Chopped Pecans

Prep:
Preheat the oven based on box directions

Prepare the cake mix according to the box measurements with the following substitutions: Milk instead of water and Butter or Margarine instead of oil.  Mix the cake with a hand blender for 2 additional minutes extra from box recommendations.  This helps make the cake fluffier.  After it 's all nice and mixed add an overflowing teaspoon of vanilla and mix again for about 30 seconds. 

Grease and flour your pan (I prefer this to using non stick spray and even with a non stick pan I still grease it. But you do whatever cranks your tractor).

Wait for it....don't pour yet. 

Once the oven is ready beat just one more time for about a minute and then pur your batter into the pan.  Make sure to get it nice and even after its poured and pop it in the oven for about 35 minutes.  Check on it (do the knife test) if it's still a little runny give it 3-4 more minutes and you should be good to go.  Take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 20-30 minutes. 


The Icing:
In a mixing bowl, using a hand blender, cream the cream cheese (chuckle break...I'm just weird and I like to laugh. LOL) and 2 tablespoons of Butter...make sure it gets nice n'creamy. Add in a cup of powdered sugar, plus a handful more if you're feelin' froggy.  Then add in an overflowing TBS of vanilla and mix everything together.

It should be thin enough for a thick drizzle over the cake. If you want to thicken it for spreading add a tablespoon of cornstarch or flour and 1/4 cup granulated sugar mix and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes at room temperature. 

Sprinkle it with chopped pecans and enjoy!

Toast em'

For added flavor toast your pecans...

heat the oven to 375

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter a put the pecans in it to soak up the butter.  Spray a cookie sheet with PAM or any non-stick cooking spray and spread the pecans out on the sheet.  Dust them with granulated sugar and and just a hint of ground nutmeg (nutmeg is optional...they're just as tasty without)

Pop em' in the oven for about 4 minutes

Instant deliciousness! 

Monday, February 3, 2014

The Sweetest lil Accident

Some of my happiest accidents happen in the kitchen lol...that wasn't always the case though.

When I was about 9 years old, my mom was taking some cake decorating classes and since I was her shadow of course I got to sit in on these fantastic classes and I think I even learned a thing or two while I was there.  Well...Mother's Day came around and I decided I was gonna bake my momma a yummy cake and decorate it myself with her favorite...homemade butter cream icing! So the cake came out great...for a nine year old lol & the icing was in the works. Shortening, salt, butter, dash of milk, blend and spread ALLLLL over the cake.  Then I took the cake in to my momma just as proud as I could possibly be.  As she held back some laughter after asking me what was in the icing, she ever so politely told me that all I did was pretty much spread shortening all over the cake since I'd forgotten the sugar. I was so hurt! But I tell you what, I never forgot how to make buttercream icing after that LOL.

In any case, this latest accident of mine turned out to be a rather refreshing one and a hit at my family's Super Bowl party so I thought I would pass it along to y'all.  I love Lemon cake and I toy around with lemon icings and glazes.  I had planned on using fresh lemon juice, but I was a bit zoned out so I grabbed the lemon juice instead, or so I thought. Anyway, I ended up using Lime Juice instead and I was horrified when I first saw what I did, but I rolled with it and it was a wonderfully delicious accident that I'll be making going forward lol. The only thing that makes this more refreshing is actually eating ot on the porch barefoot on a nice spring/summer day!



What You'll Need:
  • Lemon Cake mix (I used Duncan Hines super moist)
  • Prepare cake as directed...well kinda. Instead of water use milk and instead of oil used butter.
For the Glaze:
  • 4oz Cream cheese
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp Lemon Zest
  • 1 TBS Lime juice
  • 1-1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

Prep:
Sit the cream cheese out to let it soften a bit (maybe 10-15 minutes).
Scrub your lemon with soap & water prior to zesting.  (Tip: if you don't have a zester or a grater small enough, use a steak knife to gently scrape the top layer of the lemon peel off. Be careful not to get any of the white part in on that action.  Scrape...don't cut.)

Using a hand blender in a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese until it's nice n'creamy.  Then add the lemon zest, vanilla and Lime juice. Continue to mix well. You may have to take a wooden spoon and scrape the sides of the bowl to bring everything back down to the center of the mixing bowl. Slowly sift in the powdered sugar and continue mixing.

If you're planning to use this as a glaze...take it a put it in a cup (I used my pyrex measuring cup since it has a pour spout) and pop it in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds (depending on how strong your microwave is) to thin it out. Pour it over the cake however you 'd like. Dust the top with a lil more powdered sugar and enjoy!