Shortcake

I have always added sugar to my go-to biscuit recipe instead of making actual shortcakes. Oh man, if I had only known what I was missing. These things are amazing!  We have had an abundance of strawberries from our garden this year and had yet to make Strawberry Shortcake.  I remembered seeing a recipe for shortcakes in the June issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine and thought I would try something new. Here is the recipe which I have adapted:

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/4 cups cold shortening, cut into cubes

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. whipping cream (I bought a small container of whipping cream and used the rest to make the whipped cream for the Strawberry Shortcake)

1 egg-replacer equivalent

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl stir together butter and shortening.  Cover; freeze 15 minutes.  In a large bowl stir together the flours, 1/2 cup of the sugar, baking powder and salt.  Once the butter is chilled, rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers leaving large pebble size pieces. 

In a medium bowl whisk together the 1/2 cup cream, egg-replacer, and vanilla.  Add this to the flour mixture.  Stir with a fork until combined.  Gently knead until smooth, about 1 minute (dough should hold its shape without falling apart.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.  Roll until 1 inch thick.  Using a 2 1/2-inch cutter, cut 6 rounds, re-rolling scraps as necessary.  Transfer the cakes to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 15 minutes.  While the cakes are freezing, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Measure the 1 Tbsp. of cream into a small bowl.  Brush the tops of the cakes with the cream and sprinkle them with sugar.  

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted near centers come out clean.

Remove and cool completely before serving.

Here are the Strawberry Shortcakes we had over the weekend: 

Eggless Zucchini Brownies

This recipe was shared with me by a friend.  These are not only amazing they might be the BEST brownies I have ever made.  They are more cake-like than fudge-like as far as brownies go.  With all the zucchini coming out of the garden this year I might be making these a few more times before the season is over.  I wonder if they freeze well.

Brownies

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsps baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsps vanilla
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted, plus additional for topping

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Grease and flour a 9x13" cake pan.

In large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cocoa, salt, and sugar.

Add the vegetable oil, vanilla, and zucchini and mix well.  The mixture will seem too dry in the beginning but the zucchini will release some moisture as you mix it.

Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Pour into the cake pan and spread evenly.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

• 6 tbsps cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

In an electric mixer combine all the ingredients and mix until smooth.

Spread on the the cooled cake and then top with a few toasted walnut pieces.

Eggless Pineapple Upside Down Cake

For Father's Day this year I made an updated version of my dad's favorite cake.  It turned out really well and I like the cake/topping ration on this version the best.   It's very sweet and I needed a glass of water when I was done but the pineapple flavor really shown through.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 20-ounce can of pineapple slices or crushed pineapple, drained, reserving 1/2 cup juice
• 4 dollops sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• maraschino cherries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a 9-inch round cake pan. Add the brown sugar and stir well to thoroughly combine. Arrange 6 to 8 pineapple slices in a single layer over the brown sugar mixture. Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each ring. Set the pan aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside.

Mix the sour cream, sugar and 1/2 cup of the pineapple juice. Add the flour mixture to the sour cream mixture and mix just until combined.

Pour or spoon the batter evenly over the pineapple.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Place a cookie sheet on the rack below the cake in the oven. The cake has a tendency to bubble out of the pan.

Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes, not any longer or it will stick. Use a knife around the cake to make sure it is loose from the pan, then invert it onto a serving plate.

Eggless Carrot Cake

This is BY FAR the best carrot cake I have ever made. I love the consistency and the little crunch of the nuts. The frosting recipe makes 4 cups which was a little much for my family.

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 dollops sour cream

2 cups flour

2 tsps cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl mix together the sugar, vegetable oil, and sour cream.

Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Mix until smooth.

Fold in the carrots and walnuts.

Pour into a greased 9x13" or two 9" round cake pans.

Bake the 9x13 for 40-45 min or the round pans for 30-35 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool at least 1 hour before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tsps milk

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla until smooth.

Slowly add the powdered sugar one cup at a time.

Beat until very smooth.

Ooey Gooey Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This is my dad's favorite cake. It is VERY VERY rich, but it has such a nice pineapple flavor. It's a MILLION times better than normal pineapple upside down cake, and that's not an over-exaggeration!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 20-ounce can of pineapple slices or crushed pineapple, drained, reserving 5 tablespoons juice
• 3 dollops sour cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• maraschino cherries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a 9-inch round cake pan. Add the brown sugar and pecans; stir well to thoroughly combine. Arrange 8 pineapple slices (or spread the crushed pineapple) in a single layer over the brown sugar mixture. Set the pan aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside.

Mix the sour cream and sugar. Add the flour mixture to the sour cream mixture, and stir in the reserved pineapple juice.

Pour or spoon the batter evenly over the pineapple.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Place a cookie sheet on the rack below the cake in the oven. The cake has a tendency to bubble out of the pan.

Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes, not any longer or it will stick. Use a knife around the cake to make sure it is loose from the pan, then invert it onto a serving plate. Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring (or in a circle around the top).

Hummingbird Cake

Mom wanted to make dessert, she acted like we NEVER have sweets. This from the same woman who claimed we were all getting "fat" from all the sweets I make. (We have all actually lost weight lately! HA!) I was craving something with pineapple and coconut, and came across this recipe stumbling around on the net this evening. I just had to try it!! Mom ended up actually making the cake and I played kitchen manager. (I just sat at the kitchen table and told her what ingredients she needed and such.) I did make the icing myself, but icing is so easy I don't think it counts for very much. Oh, and since it's just the 3 of us here, and we really don't want to get fatter, we only made half the recipe for one 9" cake. The cake kinda reminded me of a cross between banana nut bread and cake. It is really yummy.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pecans, chopped
  
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
  
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 dollops sour cream or 3 egg replacer equivalent
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and bake until fragrant and toasted, about 4 minutes. Chop the pecans an mix them with the bananas, pineapple, and 1/2 cup flour.

Mix the remaining 2 1/4 cups flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a bowl. Mix the sour cream (or egg replacer), sugar and oil in a large bowl.
Add the flour mixture to the sour cream mixture, mix well, and then fold in the fruit mixture.

Spread the batter into the cake pan, and bake until the cakes are firm and toothpick inserted in to the middle come out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes then remove them from the pans and let finish cooling about an hour. Once they are cool you can frost them. I made coconut butter frosting, but most people use a cream cheese frosting on this cake. My frosting recipe is below.

Coconut Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup coconut fake or shredded coconut

Fluff the butter with a knife and slowly mix in the sugar.
Add milk, vanilla and coconut and mix until there are no sugar lumps left.
If the icing is too thick add a little milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it is to your liking.

Apple Applesauce Cake

• 2 cups peeled & diced baking apples (I used yellow transparent apples that were given to me by The Harwell's.)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• ¾ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 dollop of sour cream (or 1 egg replacer equivalent)
• ½ cup apple sauce
• 1tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl combine peeled and diced apples with sugar.
In a medium bowl mix the sour cream (or egg replacer), applesauce and vanilla.
Add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix well.
Fold in diced apples.
Spread the batter in a greased 8 or 9 inch round cake pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.