The special thing about bringing this homemade cake to Christmas with my Grandpa and my dad's youngest sisters' house with her family was the cake plate I brought it on.
This cake plate was given to Matt and I from my Grandpa at our wedding. It was a wedding gift to him and my Grandmother on their speical day and is over 50 years old. One of my most special possessions.
This cake was incredibly delicious but not the easiest thing to make. Warning: only attempt if you have baking-patience and some time!
Another note, this is supposed to be a FOUR layer cake but I only had 2 round cake pans so I made two layers...and I made them at about 11:00pm at night so I wasn't thinking and used the same amount of batter...NOT the best idea. If you want to make the 4 layers, go for it! If you want to do 2 layers, cute the recipe in half!
Fudgy Peppermint Stick Torte
(remember cut in half if you want 2 layers like I did, otherwise make 4 layers)
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
3-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour
1-1/4 cups baking cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2-1/2 cups cold water
Filling:
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, divided
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup crushed peppermint candies, divided (A neat thing I found at Target this year was a jar of these, already crushed, kind of like a sprinkles(jimmies) container - time saver!)
In large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture alternately with water, beating well after each addition.
Transfer to four (or 2 if cutting recipe in half) greased and floured 9inch round baking pans. Bake at 350* for 18-22minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
In small bowl, beat the cream until is begins to thicken. Add 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and extract; beat until soft peaks form. In another bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped cream, then 3/4 cup crushed candies.
Place bottom cake layer on a serving plate, top with 1/4 of filling; Repeat layers 3 times. Refridgerate for a least 1 hour.
Just before serving, sprinkly remaining candies over top. (I skipped this part - sometimes they bleed right away)
The other dish I made was our version of the "seafood family feast" for Christmas Eve.
We baked a nice haddock fillet from HyVee and bought 1 lb large shrimp for the pasta. This is a pasta we make a lot using 1 bag frozen, cooked, peeled shrimp. Very convient and easy!
Shrimp & Tomato Linguine Toss
1 pkg linguine noodles (we like the whole grain)
1 lb shrimp or 1 pkg frozen, small, cooked shrimp - be sure to gently pull the tails off, much easier to eat that way - also check that the tails are fully cleaned
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp, olive oil
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp minced fresh basil, or 1/2 tsp dried basil
Dash pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Additional minced fresh basil, optional
1/4 cup Zesty Italian Dressing, optional
Cook linguine according to package. Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat either the olive oil or the dressing with minced garlic. Add shrimp and warm through - approximatel 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until heated through.
Drain linguine; toss with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with feta and additional basil if desired.
No comments:
Post a Comment