Tag: berries

Cakes

Chantilly Cake

cathysmahaLeave a comment

Chantilly Cake is stunning and this cake was baked by daughter, Megan. Megan is the official family baker, and no one complains!

Chantilly Cake

INGREDIENTS:

Moist Yellow Cake

  • 3 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cup sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ stick unsalted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla (or sub 1 tsp almond extract)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar

Chantilly Frosting

  • (recipe can be halved)
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
  • 16 oz mascarpone cheese, room temp
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
  • 2½ – 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • ⅛ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream (1 half pint)
  • 1 tsp. almond extract, optional

Berry Syrup optional

  • ½ cup water
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 heaping tablespoons of berry jam (I used strawberry)

Apricot Glaze

  • 3 Tablespoons apricot jam
  • splash of water

Garnish

  • Strawberries
  • Blueberries
  • Raspberries
DIRECTIONS:
  1. If making a 4 layer cake: Using a large bread knife, trace the outside of the cake and then slowly saw back and forth through the cake, making sure the knife is as parallel as possible.
  2. Spread a layer of the berry syrup on top of the first layer of cake (this should be the rough, cut side if making a 4 layer cake)
  3. Pipe or spread a thin layer of icing on top of the berry syrup.
  4. Evenly distribute sliced berries on top of the icing layer.
  5. Place the second layer of cake on top, and so on. Do not put any berry syrup on the very top layer of the cake, because the frosting is too difficult to spread and your cake will look too crumby.
  6. Roughly spread the frosting all over the cake to create a crumb coating. I like to refrigerate or freeze my cake for 10 minutes before proceeding. Ice the rest of the cake and garnish with fresh berries.
  7. Glaze the berries with simple syrup or apricot glaze (microwave for about 15 seconds, or until thin and pourable) and refrigerate until serving.

Recipe Notes: 

This incredibly moist cake paired with the sinful, yet not too sweet, mascarpone frosting will send you straight to cake heaven. (If you would like a lighter and fluffier frosting, use 2 cups of heavy whipping cream instead of 1, and only 8 oz of mascarpone cheese) This frosting recipe makes enough for two cakes, so if not doubling the cake recipe, cut the frosting ingredients by half.

Recipe from Suzanne Bruno

Cakes · New Favorite

Lemon Yogurt Cake

cathysmahaLeave a comment

Lemon Yogurt Cake is a moist, delicious cake that can be served on its own or served with fresh berries. I must admit I messed up the recipe and it still turned out great. The recipe read in such a way that I thought the 1/3 cup lemon juice was added to the cake batter. Yikes! I quickly added another 2/3 cup flour to the batter and crossed my fingers. It turned out just fine and added more intense lemon flavor to the cake. I poked holes in the lemon cake (much like my Rum Cake) to assure that the lemon juice/sugar mixture penetrated the cake. I liked the result but that’s the reason for the holes in the cake. I added the glaze and had to take a taste! So, so good. I froze half of the bread and it was good as fresh when I pulled it out of the freezer.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided (reserve 1/3 cup for step 3)
  • 3 extra-large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (reserve for step 3)

For the glaze:

  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
  4. When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.
  5. For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

Adapted from Recipe of Ina Garten the kitchn.com

Breakfast · Cookies and Bars · Gluten Free · Health · New Favorite

Berry Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

cathysmaha1 Comment

These Berry Oatmeal Breakfast Bars are great for breakfast on-the-go or for a snack.  The bars are free of refined sugar and gluten.  The original blueberry recipe from Iowa Girl Eats is delicious (of course everything she makes is!).  My second batch was made with blueberries and raspberries…Yum!  I may try to substitute applesauce for the bananas on a future batch for family members that don’t like the taste of bananas.

Wouldn’t these be great to freeze and have on hand especially for busy Moms once the kids are back to school?

BERRY BREAKFAST OATMEAL BARS

  • 2.5 cups certified gluten-free old fashioned oats, divided (I actually just used the food processor on all of the oats)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup mashed banana (about 2 small or 1 large banana)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 heaping cup of berries
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees then spray an 8×8″ baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
  2. Add 1 cup old fashioned oats to food processor or blender and process until oats have turned into flour (Note:  I blended the entire 2.5 cups).  Set aside.  Alternatively you can use a scant cup of oat flour.
  3. Add milk, mashed banana, honey, coconut oil, egg, and vanilla to a large bowl then whisk to combine.  Add remaining 1.5 cups oats, oat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt then stir to combine.  Fold in the berries then pour batter into greased baking pan.
  4. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the center has set.  Cool before slicing into bars and store in the refrigerator.  Alternatively, you can individually wrap the bars in Saran Wrap and freeze.

Recipe adapted slightly from: Iowa Girl Eats