Coconut Cake

I made this almost a month ago and I'm just now getting around to posting it. So sorry! This cake will make you cry with joy. It is a pleasure. The recipe is Ina Garten's (The Barefoot Contessa).

nocoupons

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup milk
• 4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting:

nocoupons

• 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. (Bake times are different depending on your altitude, longer bake time closer to sea level. Start checking the cake at 30 minutes.) Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth (don't whip!).

To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Serve at room temperature.

Beignets (Behn-YAYS!)

My kids were watching The Princess and the Frog for the eleventyhundredth time and Harrison commented that the beignets that Tiana was making looked "reeeeeally good" and asked would I please make them some.  I found this recipe from Paula Deen and was so excited to find out what French Quarter Beignets actually were.  It turns out they're the Utah Mormon version of scones.  I think the dough is probably slightly different, but it's the same idea.  Whatever, dude.  I told my kids we were having gumbo and beignets for dinner and their little hearts exploded with joy.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 7 cups bread flour
• 1/4 cup shortening
• Nonstick spray
• oil, for deep frying (for authentic New Orleans beignets, use cottonseed oil)
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar

Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together.  Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture.  In a seperate bowl, measure out the bread flour.  Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.  Add the shortening and continue to sir while adding the remaining flour.  Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.  (Or let your Bosch do all the stirring and kneading, suckas.)  Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray.  Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel.  (I left it in the Bosch with the lid on.)  Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees or heavy pot on medium-high heat.

Add the confectioners' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inc thickness and cut into 1-inch squares.

Deep-fry, flipping constantly until they become a golden color.

After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towel, then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar.

Hold the bag closed and shake to coat evenly. 

Put them in a heart-shaped tin and make new friends.

Makes about 3 dozen, says the recipe.  I halfed it both times I made these and we had at least two dozen.

Aaaaaahhhhh...Creamy Mango Smoothies!

This is the perfect after school snack when it's so hot outside that the kids get sweaty just walking home from the bus stop. It's sooo good! It's refreshing, easy and healthy. With only 200 calories, 1 gram of fat, and loaded with vitamins, it really is the perfect snack. We had it for Family Home Evening treat this week.

2 mangoes, seed removed, peeled and chopped (I used canned, I've also used frozen and both work)
2 cups Mango Sorbet (Hagen Daas)
12 oz Fat Free French Vanilla yogurt (Dannon Light & Fit)
1 1/2 cups skim milk, or soymilk

Combine in a blender. Makes 6 servings, although, I could drink the whole thing by myself.

Edible Cookie Dough

1 c. butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 Tbsp. water
2 c. all purpose flour
salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. chocolate chips

1.  Assemble and premeasure the ingredients.  Set the butter out to soften at room temperature.
2.  Cut the butter into chunks (my favorite word).  Place it and the brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat on medium until smooth and creamy.
3.  Turn off the mixer.  Add the flour, water and vanilla.  Blend until mixed well.  Add the chocolate chips while the mixer is running.  Continue mixing 15 to 20 seconds until the chips are distributed throughout the dough.
4.  Use a melon baller to portion the dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Place the dough balls in the freezer until firm.  Store in resealable plastic bags and enjoy as a snack.
5.  Make cookie dough ice cream (be still my heart) by blending a softened pint of good vanilla ice cream with 10 to 12 dough balls.  Allow the dough to break up throughout the ice cream.  Store the finished ice cream in the freezer.

Tips and Warnings:
- for a lighter flavor, use half brown sugar and half granulated sugar.
- this cookie dough is NOT suitable for baking.  It does not contain all the ingredients necessary to produce a proper cookie.

Raspberry Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are dangerously delicious. I highly advise using the foil muffin liners. Paper liners result in you having to lick half of the muffin out of the paper, and they're easier to enjoy all in one piece. Also, don't make them when you're home alone with children who won't eat them, because you will eat all of them.

2 C. brown sugar

3/4 C butter

6 egg whites

2 C vanilla yogurt

2 1/4 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 C oats

1 C blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1 C raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 375.

Melt butter on stove and add brown sugar. Let cool.

Leave eggs out to room temperature. Mix whites until fluffy, then add to the butter mixture. Add yogurt. Combine dry ingredients, then add to wet mixture gradually. Stir in berries. Fill muffin tins 3/4 of the way, and sprinkle with sugar in the raw. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Makes close to 3 dozen.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day I am going to share three delicious ways to cook corned beef and cabbage. 

1. Simmering Corned Beef Brisket*

1 Corned beef brisket, point cut (2-3 lbs.)

1 Head of Cabbage

2 lbs. red potatoes

Place corned beef brisket flat side down in a large pot.  Cover with water.  Most briskets will come with a small packet of seasonings.  If yours doesn't, add 20 peppercorns and 2 bay leaves to the pot.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 2 1/2-3 hours or until meat easily separates. 

During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add cabbage that has been quartered.  (The whole head of cabbage probably won't fit into the pot.)  When the meat is fully cooked, remove from water and let sit 15 minutes.  Slice against the grain and serve.

Serve with boiled red potatoes, horseradish sauce, and/or spicy mustard.

2.Roasting Corned Beef Brisket

Place corded beef brisket in a roasting pan and cover with seasoning packet (or 20 peppercorns and 2 bay leaves).  Cook at 350 for 1 hour per pound. 

During the last 15 minutes of cooking, quarter the head of cabbage and place in a medium pot.  Add a small amount of water and plenty of kosher salt.  Steam until the smell of cabbage permiates the air.

Serve corned beef and cabbage with boiled red potatoes.

3. Mom's Cheap and Easy Corned Beef and Cabbage

This is the method we all grew up on and the one my kids prefer.

1 can of corned beef (Sounds gross, but isn't.), sliced

1 head of cabbage

2 lbs red potatoes

Place quartered red potatoes in the bottom of a large pot.  Add kosher salt and cover with water.  (Don't fill the whole pot with water, just enough to cover the potatoes.)  If you have a steaming tray insert, add it here.  Cover potatoes with layers of cabbage leaves.  Top cabbage leaves with slices of canned corned beef.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Boil until the smell of cabbage permiates the room.  By then, the cabbage should be a brighter green, and the potatoes should be cooked. 

Remove the corned beef and place on a platter.  Remove cabbage with a slotted spoon.  Drain potatoes.  Serve with butter and coarse ground pepper.  Serves 4.

*I found that the first method made everything a bit slimy (which was perfect for my 10 month-old, but not for me).  The kids still really liked it, but I would recommend one of the other two methods.

Ribbon Jello

Or otherwise entitled "Takes all day to make Jell-O". Totally worth the effort. It's so pretty and so delicious. I've actually been looking for this recipe for a while, and was very excited to find it in a Mormon cookbook (of course).

6 or 7 packages of 3 oz. jell-o

1 pint of sour cream

Whipped topping for the top

Add 1 cup boiling water to 1 package of Jell-O in a small bowl; stir to dissolve. Pour half of Jello into a 9x13 clear pan and place on a level self in the refrigerator to chill. Set the small bowl with the other half of the dissolved Jell-O into a larger bowl of ice. (I just added one ice cube to it while the first half set). When the layer has set in the pan, the icy jell-o will be syrupy (it doesn't take long since quantities are small). Add a heaping tablespoon of sour cream to the Jell-O on ice, (I forgot the ice sometimes and it still worked), and mix until smooth. Pour this over the clear set jell-o. Return to refrigerator; when set, repeat using contrasting color of Jell-O. The book says that green is a good color to start with.

When you're all done with that, cover with a layer of whipped topping.

Cut in squares and serve. Keep it chilled.

Note: Each layer should be set only enough to hold the next layer. If set too hard, the layers will not bond well and may slip when served.

Another Note: I went to church between layers and they bonded fine. I'm just writing what's in the book.