A Special Spring Dessert

This pretty and pink dessert was lovingly made for my mother-in-laws' birthday a few weeks ago. I don't think she'd appreciate me telling you how old she turned, so I won't :-) But I can say she is as sophisticated as this dessert looks. The moment I saw this recipe on Coleen's Recipes, I knew I'd be making it for her birthday. It's light and refreshing and it has my MIL's name written all over it. Even the name- Strawberry Chantilly- sounds like her. I guess you'd have to know her to know that, so just take my word for it. If you're looking for something unique and different, this is the dessert for you.

I keep calling this a dessert, and not a pie or cake, or something else, because that's what it is. It's almost like a mousse, because it has whipped cream folded into it, but it's light and fluffy from the meringue as well. It's a frozen treat that can be made in a 9x13-inch pan or in a springform pan as I have done. I got that idea from Coleen, and I think it makes for a prettier presentation. It's cool and creamy, sweet and bursting with strawberry flavor. All the while, contrasting with the buttery and nutty shortbread crust. If you're not a fan of nuts, you could leave them out. It slices nicely straight from the freezer too. If it's too hard, just let it rest on the counter for a few minutes.

One of the best things about this dessert, other than the taste, is how quickly it comes together. You dump the ingredients in the mixer and let it do all the work for you. This would be a great make ahead dessert for dinner parties, or for Mother's Day (May 8th), leaving you with more time to spend with your guests and loved ones. A simple garnish of fresh strawberries or plump berries dunked in dark chocolate compliment this nicely and make it extra special. Now that I think of it, I think almonds in place of the pecans and raspberries instead of strawberries would be just as lovely.

Strawberry Chantilly slightly adapted from Coleen's Recipes

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For the Crust:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter
• ½ cup chopped pecans

For the Filling:

• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups fresh strawberries
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 drops red food coloring, optional

For the crust: Cut the cold butter into the flour and sugar until crumbly, then stir in the chopped pecans. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish and bake at 300 for 20 minutes (or press mixture into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a springform pan and bake at 325 for 25 minutes). Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before filling with strawberry chantilly. I put mine in the refrigerator to cool faster while I made the filling.

For the Filling: Pulse the strawberries in a food processor til mostly pureed but still a little lumpy. Place the pureed strawberries, the egg whites, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl of your electric stand mixer. Beat on high for ten minutes. Add food coloring, if using, and mix for a few more seconds till the color is fully incorporated.

In a different bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until you get stiff peaks. Gently fold, by hand, the whipped cream into the strawberry meringue mixture.

Pour the filling into the baked and cooled crust and cover well. Freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Slice and serve frozen chantilly with additional strawberries, if desired.

Happy Birthday Nonie!

Cravings and A Conversation With Myself

I have leftover turkey pesto meatballs planned for dinner, but I was thinking of defrosting a couple hamburger patties instead. Then I realized that we don't have any tomatoes, and what kind of burger can you have without a slice or two of red, ripe tomatoes on top? Oh wait, I do have a container or tiny pear tomatoes, I could always use those.

But, I was saving those to make tomato mozzarella salad with balsamic dressing. Yum! We could have that tomorrow for Easter. But I was wanting to make egg salad so we could turn them into sandwiches, but I don't have any bacon. Crisp bacon is a must on egg salad sandwiches. Okay then, lets do deviled eggs instead. Ooh, tomato mozz salad and deviled eggs sound delish. And for dessert we'll have a fruit pizza! I've been craving one of those for a couple weeks now.

Sounds great- burgers, tomato mozz salad, deviled eggs and fruit pizza. Sounds like a perfect Easter meal, doesn't it? ha!

These are the thoughts that perplex my mind. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Aha moment: Why not top off the burger with the tomato mozz salad? Yes, I'm doing it!

Half A Pound

It's time for more cake, this time brought to you by the Cake Slice Bakers! I missed last month's cake because I just plain forgot about it until it was too late and I was already baking a triple layer 70th birthday cake. I didn't want the other cake to go to waste and I knew we wouldn't eat it so it didn't get made. However, I was not going to miss out on this cake though because it got rave reviews from all the other bakers and because it's a style of cake I've never made before- a Cold-Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake. It did not disappoint.

I did make a couple of changes to the recipe to suit my tastes. Firstly, I halved the recipe because I was warned by more than one person that it made a ton of batter. The half recipe still made a substantial amount of cake, but I shared with neighbors so it was more than okay. The second thing I changed was to omit the freshly grated ginger, because I'm not a big fan, but I left the full amount of lemon zest in the recipe. And because they're pretty, I added a handful of fresh blueberries and raspberries to the batter. I have both recipes for you down below, so you can make the pound cake of your choice. Whether you half the recipe or make the full amount, be sure your pan is big enough to accommodate all the batter or divide it up into smaller pans, so you don't have overflow.

I made two smaller Bundts as well as a 4-inch round cake. One Bundt had blueberries, the other had raspberries and the smaller cake that we didn't share enjoyed at home had both berries incorporated throughout. They were buttery and moist, tender yet firm cakes. The cream cheese adds a smooth, creamy richness to the batter that the author describes as "velvety". And another unique thing about this recipe is that it starts off baking in a cold oven, hence the title of the recipe. Those few extra minutes allow the cake time to rise as it develops a lovely golden crust. Speaking of lovely, this would make the perfect dessert this Easter Sunday- top it off with lightly sweetened whipped cream to make it even better. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Berries adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes

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• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1 cup fresh berries (I used raspberries and blueberries)

Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan and dust with flour. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, 1/2 a cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. After the last addition, mix for 30 seconds on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Place the cake in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 325 degrees F and bake, without opening the oven door, until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert it onto a rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

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Cold-Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake from Cake Keeper Cakes

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• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest

Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan and dust with flour. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, ginger and lemon zest.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, 1/2 a cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. After the last addition, mix for 30 seconds on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Place the cake in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 325 degrees F and bake, without opening the oven door, until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 65-80 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert it onto a rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

P.S. I'm 18 weeks pregnant today! I'm more pregnant than I've ever been and it feels awesome!

"Famous" Cake for a 70th Birthday

It's finally here- the cake recipe I promised you over the weekend! A couple of you were correct in guessing that it was an Italian Cream Cake. Most Italian Cream Cakes I've seen have cream cheese frosting on them, with a garnish of chopped pecans on the sides of the cake. But this recipe, incorporates the nuts into the frosting, which adds a nice texture. Having the nuts mixed in also means that the frosting doesn't have to be so perfect looking. It is much more forgiving and rustic, which is perfect for the beginner cake decorator or for those intimidated about layer cakes.

I use an ice cream scoop to measure out the cake batter to ensure that each layer will bake up evenly.

This recipe comes from my favorite hometown cookbook, that was given to me by my grandmother several years ago. I've made several recipes from it and it never fails- this one was no exception. I found out about this particular recipe from my great aunt when I went to visit my great grandmother last December. My aunt Mary is a wonderful baker and crafter so I made it a point to show her my blog and share with her a few of my favorite recipes. She told me about her "famous" cake recipe that she makes for her family and I became intrigued because I had never made an Italian Cream Cake, but always wanted to. I asked her for the recipe only to find out that I already had it in my tattered and trusty cookbook.

This triple layer cake was destined for a special occasion- my father-in-law's 70th birthday! He is a sweets fanatic and well deserving of this treat. I'm not sure why this cake is called Italian Cream Cake, because it's origins are not from Italy, but that's okay, I'm not bothered by it. Are you? It was moist and tender and full of texture from the coconut and pecans. The frosting was sweet and nutty, just like the birthday boy, and complimented the cake perfectly. This would also make a great centerpiece for your Easter table or could be a welcome surprise for your Momma on Mother's Day. Don't forget about this cake, it's "famous" after all :-)

Italian Cream Cake adapted from Gwen Feagley

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For the cake:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 5 eggs, separated
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups shredded coconut
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans

For the icing:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temp.
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 8-inch cake pans. Set aside.

Cream butter, shortening and sugar together in a large bowl. Add 5 egg yolks one at a time, until each is fully incorporated.

Add dry ingredients, vanilla and buttermilk to butter and sugar mixture.

Stir in coconut and pecans and set aside.

In another large bowl, beat 5 egg whites until stiffly beaten but not dry. Fold egg whites into cake batter by hand, being careful not to overmix.

Evenly divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool in pans on rack until cool to the touch.

For the icing: In a large bowl, mix butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.

Add vanilla and slowly add powdered sugar, half a cup at a time, until fully incorporated.

Stir in chopped pecans.

Frost and fill the layers with icing. Enjoy!

P.S. This cake also makes a great accent piece on your side table. Doesn't it look like it belongs there?

Sneak Peek

I intended to blog about this cake all weekend, but daily life got in the way. Then our guest bathroom sprung a leak, which resulted in a few trips to The Home Depot, mold removal, and the demolition of the walls surrounding the tub. Thankfully, Mr. H has done most of the work himself and now we're just waiting on the plumber. I didn't do any of the dirty work, but I feel badly sitting on my butt "playing" on the computer while he's working so hard. I uploaded the pictures and now I just have to type out the recipe. While you patiently wait for another day or two, here's a picture to hold you over.

~Monica H