STRAWBERRY CAKE

A few weeks ago, I had some extra strawberries that weren't getting eaten. As usual, I didn't want to throw them away. I really wanted to make a Strawberry Cake with them. I had a fairly hard time finding a strawberry cake recipe that didn't utilize a box cake mix. I finally found this recipe on another blog called "Good Things Catered". It turned out really well. Next time I would do a few things differently, though. I really should have used Bakers Joy to spray the pan but instead I just sprayed with Pam and sprinkled on some flour. This cake is very delicate so it fell apart when I tried to take it out of the pan. I suggest a liberal spray of Bakers Joy and let the cake layers cool completely before trying to remove them from the pans. I had to freeze mine and then frost them. I also would suggest a whipped cream topping which I got from another website called "The Joy of Baking". I used a double batch of this whipped cream frosting for my cake. Next time, I'm going to use a layer of strawberry preserves in between the two cake layers. I may also try to make the cake 3 layers. This cake looks so pretty on the other blog with 3 layers. Look at the picture on Confections of a Foodie Bride blog. I wish she had given the recipe for the 3 layer version on that website. Oh well, I'll have to figure it out myself.


I also added some chocolate dipped strawberries on top for decorative purposes. They are so yummy too!


Katie’s Strawberry Cake


3/4 cup strawberry puree, room temperature (recipe follows)

1/4 cup milk, at room temperature

6 large egg whites, room temperature

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2-1/4 cup cake flour, sifted

1-3/4 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened (not melted)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 8 inch pans: line outside with heavy duty foil (I used Bake Even strips) and spray inside with baking spray with flour.
In small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In bowl of stand mixer, add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.
Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth tops.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary). Let cakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks. Let cakes cool completely (about 2 hours).

Source: Good Things Catered

Yields: 2 8-inch layers

Strawberry Puree

24oz frozen organic strawberries, thawed*

Thaw frozen strawberries in whatever form (sliced, whole, etc) and in whatever container/bag you have them in. Pour into a fine strainer placed over a bowl and let sit. Lightly toss the strawberries occasionally to remove any pockets of excess liquid. Reserve the liquid for another use or discard. Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree.

* You most certainly can use non-organic and you can use fresh strawberries if you don’t have a stash of frozen strawberries in your freezer. Just hull, slice and toss with a teaspoon or two of sugar and cover. Let them sit at room temperature for a couple of hours, or until nice and juicy. Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree.

Use leftover puree to fill the cake or fold into the frosting, if desired. It’s also fabulous spooned over ice cream… and eaten straight with a spoon. I used this puree in the cake and in the whipped cream frosting. It is good!

Yields: Approx 1 1/4 cup strawberry puree

http://www.joyofbaking.com/WhippedCreamFrosting.html

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Grilled Cheese with a Twist

Have you ever had a grilled cheese sandwich? Sure, of course you have. If you're anything like me, you had plenty of 'em when you were a kid. I remember my mom making them on our gas stove back in Brooklyn, New York. She had a special sandwich maker she used for such occasions. For some reason, that sandwich maker made the absolute best grilled cheese sandwiches. I'll never get the same results ever again because I haven't had a gas stove in over 20 years. I use my George Foreman Grill now to make most of D's grilled cheese sandwiches or Panini as he sometimes likes to call them. We have found out that grilled cheese sandwiches are not just for kids. He inspired me to try two new twists on this old favorite. I followed the recipe on the first grilled cheese sandwich and used a heavy pan to grill it in. It is called a French Toast Grilled Cheese Sandwich. It combines two of our favorites so I couldn't pass it up. I didn't know anything about "savory" french toast. Apparently, there are many recipes out there for savory french toast that have passed me by. I didn't have Gruyere cheese so I googled it and found out that it is very similar to Swiss Cheese. Sadly, I didn't even have any Swiss Cheese in my refrigerator so I used Monterey Jack. The cheese combination was fine but I definitely want to try this again with the Gruyere cheese. I'm very curious to see if my local grocery store carries sliced Gruyere. I have a feeling that it doesn't but I'm definitely going to have a look. I found the original recipe on http://www.ehow.com/. It was posted by Samantha Molina. She suggests using turkey or ham to change it up and make it extra yummy.



The second sandwich we tried comes from a television commercial. I think it was a Kraft American Cheese commercial. This grilled cheese sandwich is made with raisin bread which is why I was suprised D asked for it. I haven't seen him eat raisin bread, ever. I found out that D will eat raisin bread on occasion. Big surprise to me because I had no idea. I didn't make one of these grilled cheese sandwiches for myself but I took a bite of his and it was really yummy. It is a very different kind of grilled cheese sandwich but in a good way.



French Toasted Grilled Cheese Sandwich

http://www.ehow.com/

by Samantha Molina



4 slices of white bread

4 slices of American cheese

4 slices of Gruyere cheese

two eggs, beaten

1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese

salt and pepper to taste



Steps:



1. In a large frying pan (preferably a heavy cast iron skillet) melt enough butter to coat the bottom of the pan. Keep the heat on low so the butter and the sandwich don't burn.



2. Put the beaten eggs it a shallow, flat bottomed bowl. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the Asiago cheese over the top of the egg mixture. Dip the slice of bread into the egg, just like you would if you were making french toast. Flip the bread to make sure it gets evenly coated with egg. Place the slice of bread, Asiago cheese side down, onto the hot skillet.



3. Place two slices of American cheese onto the bread in the skillet, followed by the Gruyere. Be sure to sprinkle some more Asiago cheese on top of the egg mixture before coating the second slice of bread. The second slice goes, Asiago cheese side up on top of the cheese slices. Grill on both sides until hot and melty, and the bread has the consistency of french toast.



Repeat this process for the second sandwich.



The second recipe isn't even really a recipe. It is more like instructions. Just take two slices of raisin bread and put two slices of Amerian cheese and two slices of Granny Smith Apple between them. Heat up your pan or grill. Butter the outsides of the bread and start grilling. Let the sandwich grill until the bread gets nicely brown and the cheese is melted. Flip the sandwich if you are using a pan, of course.



The Granny Smith Apples give this grilled cheese a nice tangy taste. It sounds odd but it is really tasty.



Enjoy!



The Creative Cook