Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Raspberry Curd Filling

Cake:
2 1/3 c. cake flour
2 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 c.sugar
2 Tbsp lemon zest
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c. milk

Raspberry curd:
8 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 12-oz. package frozen raspberries, thawed
5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
3/4 c. sugar
Pinch of salt
2-3 tsp lemon juice

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flower your cake pans. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until frothy then add the cream of tartar. Increases the speed and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

In another bowl cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the lemon zest and milk. Slowly add the flour and mix until well blended. Fold in half of the beaten egg whites until they are incorporated then add the other half.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and cook until golden brown or 25-30 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool completely before adding the filling or topping.



When the cakes are in the oven, start making the raspberry curd. Melt the butter in a saucepan and then add the raspberries, sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice and salt. Mash the raspberries while cooking. Stir frequently for about 10 minutes. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to use so it can thicken.


For the frosting beat the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice together.


Layer the cakes with the curd filling and then refrigerate it to help it set up for a while. Otherwise it can get pretty sloppy like this....


After frosting the cake I would refrigerate it again to harden the frosting a bit.

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving food, as I'm sure most people do because it's all about comfort food. Alex and I had our own Thanksgiving meal and it was delicious. We made green bean casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetable pot pie, and pumpkin pie. Here are some pictures:

Asparugus with Mustard sauce

Asparagus
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp mustard (wholegrain or Dijon)
1 tsp honey
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

Break off the woody part of the asparagus while the wok is heating. Add olive oil to the wok and stir fry the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed garlic and heat for another minute.


Then add the asparagus and cook for 5-10 minutes until the desired tenderness.



Set the hot asparagus aside and add the mustard, honey, and cream to the wok.


Let the mixture boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer until it thickens slightly. Add the asparagus and coat with mustard sauce

Fried Eggplant

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant
oil for frying
water
breading
dipping sauce

Cut the eggplant into strips, dunk in water and coat with breading.
The breading I used was a concentrated mixture that needed flour added to it, but in the past I've used seasoned bread crumbs to coat the eggplant.



Deep fry until golden brown, and then place them on some paper towels.




Serve with your choice of dipping sauces. I used ranch and spicy marinara sauce.

Blueberry Cheese Danish Cake

I saw this recipe on moderncomfortfood.com and I thought that I had to make it someday. I've been saving the recipe all summer, and I finally had an occasion to make this tasty cake. I brought it to a Labor Day cookout and it was a hit.


Cake:
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 c. butter at room temp.
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2/3 c. plain yogurt
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Topping:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp flour
1 egg
2 tsp lemon zest
2 c. blueberries
1/2 c. sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
In a separate bowl cream the butter. Then add brown sugar and the eggs one at a time. Alternately add half of the flour and half of the yogurt. Lastly mix in the lemon juice and vanilla.

Pour the batter into your pan. For the topping combine the cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg, and lemon zest. Pour over the cake batter leaving a one inch margin on all sides.


Then pile the blueberries over your cream cheese mixture, and sprinkle the almonds over the exposed cake batter.


Bake for 50 minutes. Cool the cake to room temperature.

Apple and Blueberry Turnovers

I had some leftover apple and blueberry pie filling, but I didn't have enough to make a whole pie so I made turnovers instead.

The recipe for the crust is the same I use for my pies which you can find here on my blog under Easy Pie Crust.

Then all you need is the pie filling of your choice.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. After making the dough, roll it out and cut into squares. Put a little pie filling in the center of the square and fold it over. Seal the edges by pressing down with a fork. Slice about three holes on top of the turnover and put on a cookie sheet to bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Banana Bread

I always get a few bananas that become overripe, but they are still good for banana bread. So if I don't feel like making bread right away I put them in the freezer to use later. Then when they are thawed out and ready to use they are easy to mash.

Recipe:
3 bananas mashed

1 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 sugar
1/4 c oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
nuts optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Combine mashed bananas, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla.


Mix together the wet and dry ingredients.

Pour batter into a greased and floured bread pan.

Bake for about 50 minutes.

Taffy Apple Pizza

I made this dessert for my friend's rehearsal dinner, and people were grabbing pieces off the plate even before I got in the door.
Then when I got home I was wishing that I had some leftovers so I just made another batch. It's a really simple recipe and super delicious.

Crust:
1 (about 18 oz) pkg of refrigerated sugar cookie dough

Topping:
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c peanut butter
3 granny smith apples
caramel topping
(optional) 1/2 c chopped peanuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out cookie dough to 1/4 inch on a cookie sheet or circular pizza pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes then loosen the cookie from the pan.



Combine cream cheese, vanilla, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Spread over cooled cookie.


Peel, core, and slice apples and arrange over cream cheese mixture.


Drizzle caramel over the top and if you want sprinkle with nuts.