Friday, April 25, 2014

White Almond Sour Cream Wedding Cake

Hi Friends,

We moved to the new radio station this week!!  It has been a process over 2 years in the planning & remodeling of the building for WEEC & WFCJ to come together under the umbrella of Strong Tower Christian Media.

I am so blessed to be part of this ministry.  I never dreamed when Greg died & the kids & I relocated to Xenia, Oh (Ohio's City of Hospitality, no less) that God's plan had a radio career in store for me.  I get paid to drink coffee, visit with a friend, & TALK !!  *grin*  My dream job!

My segment, called Confectionately Yours, will be changing too.  Since I'm on air so much now, it doesn't make sense to pre-record and produce the segments.  

I WILL continue to post recipes and talk about food & the spiritual lessons God brings to mind along the way.  

I baked cupcakes this week for my son's birthday.  He is involved with a kid's ministry on Wednesday night's at my church, so a lot of them were needed.  

This recipe makes a large number.  I have done wedding cakes in the past, & this one's a keeper.  

Gotta go....I'm headed to the new station at the Legacy Center campus in Xenia!!


Confectionately  Yours,

Sue



WHITE ALMOND SOUR
CREAM WEDDING CAKE

2 (18.25) boxes white cake mix
1/4 c. vegetable oil

2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. almond extract

1-1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. sour cream

2-2/3 c. water
8 large egg whites



Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir with a wire whisk. Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour into greased and floured cake pans, filling each a little over half full. Tap cakes lightly to bring air bubbles to top. 

Bake in a preheated 325° oven until they test done. Baking time varies according to size of the pans used. 

Yield: One-14" & one 6"round OR one 16" round
OR one 12" round & one 10" round OR one 12x18" sheet cake OR one 12" round,
one 8" round, & one 6" round OR two 9" squares OR 5 dozen cupcakes.

Amazing Buttercream Frosting
1 c. butter or margarine
 1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. vegetable shortening
1 T. meringue powder

2 lbs. (8 cups) powdered sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp. clear butter flavor

1 tsp. vanilla extract
4-6 oz. whipping cream

1 tsp. almond extract

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add a portion of the sugar, 1/2 of the cream and the meringue powder. Slowly cream until ingredients are incorporated, adding the rest
of the sugar a little at a time to prevent a sugar "snowstorm" in your kitchen. 

Add salt, flavoring and enough of the whipping cream to make the consistency you need. Beat at medium speed until icing is fluffy.

You may substitute all shortening for the butter
to get a pure white frosting, but it will not taste as good. The frosting will be a pale ivory color with the butter. You can also add Wilton's white coloring to make the
buttercream a white color.

Note: This is such a great cake for a wedding or if you need a large quantity of cupcakes for a bake sale. It freezes beautifully. 

Be sure to put 2 pieces of wax paper between the layers if you freeze them together so you can get them apart easily.

Use the leftover egg yolks for burnt cream, homemade pudding, or pastry cream.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Breakfast Burrito


My son Andrew has taught me a few lessons over the years.   He is not interested in cooking, but he is interested in eating on a regular basis.  I have watched him throw almost any kind of meat and cheese together in a tortilla, nuke it for a minute in the microwave, and dunk this quesadilla into Ranch dressing or Hot wing sauce and make a meal of it.

If he adds some fruit and veges to the mix, it makes for a fairly well balanced meal.  It gave me an idea this week to make a breakfast burrito using what I had leftover from Sunday dinner. 

I had roasted a chicken, baked some potatoes, and made a chef salad.  There were ham chunks left over from the salad, a quarter of an onion, eggs, grated cheese, and those baked potatoes in the fridge.

  I heated an iron skillet with some vegetable oil and cut up a potato in small pieces.  I even left the skin on.  I chopped up the onion in small pieces and tossed it into the skillet with the potatoes and ham chunks.  I did add a little butter to the mix, too.  It adds great flavor.

As the potatoes browned, I beat together a couple of eggs.  I added the eggs to the skillet, turned the heat way down and allowed them to cook through.  I added some cheese, then seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.  Cheese can be very salty, so I wait to season until I’ve tasted the dish.

A flour tortilla heated briefly for 30-40 seconds in the microwave and a generous spoonful of the skillet mixture, and some salsa from the pantry made for a quick and filling breakfast.  I enjoyed it with a cup of coffee while listening to Circle of Friends on WEEC.


What a great way to start the day!! 

Confectionately  Yours,

Sue