Category Archives: Sweets

Angel Food Cake with Lemon Cream + 5 Angel Food Cakes Recipes You Should Try!

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Our sweet baby boy, Nate, surprised us all and arrived 2 weeks early. Like his big sister, he arrived just before another major snow storm hit Boston. Everything went smoothly, but it is hard to believe he is finally here. We are now a family of five. C and G are in love; Bubba and I are slowly adjusting to life with three kids. Alice, our fury fourth, seems to have this expression on her face that says: really? another one? Bubba will be home with us for the next month, which will make this transition so much easier. I can’t imagine getting through this with anyone else. The kids love to have daddy home all the time and I am so grateful for the help.

Shortly, after arriving home, G asked me to make something. Really? I just gave birth. I am so tired. I can’t do this now. C chimed in, “something sweet mama.” I needed to rest and recover, but they needed me again. They need mama, even if, mama just had another baby. So, I decided to make an angel food cake with a lemon whipped cream. The kids and Bubba love angel food cake and the lemon whipped cream seemed like the perfect topping to brighten our winter palettes. The cake and cream came together fairly quickly. Nate interrupted me a couple of times to nurse, but that is my reality, at least for now. It is ok. It passes by so fast. That saying “the days are long but the years are short” is so, so true. I remind myself of this when I up at 2am and then again at 4am.

I used Ina Garten’s lemon angel food cake recipe and adapted it only by omitting the lemon zest. Her recipe is by far the best angel food cake recipe I have tried. The cake comes out moist and airy. It is not overly sweet like many of the store-bought versions. The lemon whipped cream recipe is from Martha Stewart. I did not alter her recipe because it is perfect. Her whipped cream has the right amount of lemon flavor and sweetness. The only thing I wish I added was fresh berries but I didn’t have any in the house. Next time! Come summer when berries are abundant, I will make this again.

Ok got to get back to my 3 goosies.

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Angel Food Cake

serves about 8

recipe barely adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted superfine sugar, divided

1 1/3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)

1 dozen egg whites, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl combine 1/2 cup of the sugar with the flour. Sift together 4 times and set aside.

Place the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high-speed for  about 1 minute or until the egg whites make medium firm peaks. Reduce the speed to medium and add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites. Beat for a few minutes until thick and shiny. Add the vanilla and continue to whisk for about 1 more minute or until thick.

Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula. Keep adding the sifted flour by fourths and folding until it’s all incorporated.

Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Smooth the top, and bake it for about 35 to 40 minutes or  until it springs back. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completelyy. Remove from the pan and serve at room temperature with lemon cream and fresh berries if you have them. Cake will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days. Enjoy!

Lemon Cream

Recipe from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cake flour (not self-rising)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions:

Prepare an ice-water bath and set aside.

Whisk lemon juice, sugar, flour, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil and whisk constantly for 1 minute or until it thickens.

Transfer it to a heat proof bowl set in ice-water bath to cool completely. Stir occasionally.

Whisk chilled cream in a mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes or so. Gently fold whipped cream into juice mixture in thirds.

Add the lemon zest and gently fold to combine. Refrigerate the lemon cream until ready to serve or up to overnight. Enjoy!

5 Angel Food Cake Recipes You Should Try!

I love cupcakes. In fact I am a bit obsessed with cupcakes. I think I may need to try this recipe for angel food cupcakes very soon.

If you love chocolate and angel food cake, try this recipe for chocolate angel food cake with fruit and maple yogurt. Yum!

Like all of us, I am tired of winter. My thoughts turn toward spring and summer. Just the picture of this red, white and blueberry trifle from the blog Skinny Taste makes me happy. I can’t wait to try it this summer!

Angel food cake for breakfast? Yes please! How Sweet It Is has the recipe for angel food cake french toast. Give it a shot this weekend.

Now, what to do with the leftover egg yolks? Babble has a list of 24 ways to use up leftover egg yolks and egg whites. Check it out!

Chocolate Dipped Sugar Cookies + 5 Cookie Recipes You Should Try for Valentine’s Day

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cdsc0027A foot of snow fell yesterday in the Boston area. School was cancelled. Our neighborhood quickly went from gray to winter white. The streets were quiet except for the occasional snow plow, but our house was buzzing with excitement. The kids and our dog, Alice, love snow. After some time lounging around in their pjs, C & G decided it was time to explore the new winter wonderland just outside our door. I wrestled them into their snow gear and off they went. The snow fell steadily. I watched them from the kitchen window. I love watching C & G play when they don’t know it. They ran around in circles, occasionally stopping to turn their faces to the sky, open their mouths and let the snow kiss their tongues. Alice followed their lead, only stopping to shake off the snow when too much covered her fluffy blonde fur. Happy and free from the house, they ran around and around each other. I thought: quick take a picture of this. Post this. Document this somehow. Instead of grabbing my phone or camera, I watched. I just watched and it was nice. Not everything needs to be documented or shared or liked. Some moments are just for me, just for my memory.

After a while they came inside, tired from the fresh air. I kissed their cold, rosy red cheeks, hung up their snow gear to dry and made lunch. After lunch, we decided it was a good day to make Valentine cookies. I prepped the sugar cookie dough and decorations while they zoned out in front of the TV.

My favorite sugar cookie recipe comes from Joanne Chang’s Flour cookbook. Her recipe is simple, yet delicious. I never alter it in any way because I think it is the perfect sugar cookie recipe. The cookies are chewy on the inside with just enough crispness on the outside. A whole tablespoon of good quality vanilla extract perfectly flavors the cookies. This recipe is my go to for any holiday or cookie swap. cdsc0005 We used heart shape cookie cutters in different sizes. The kids had a hard time resisting the raw dough. I did too! The cookies baked at 350 for about 17 minutes and then cooled on the baking sheet for 30 minutes. (Cooling cookies on the baking sheet will make them chewy.) I then transferred them to a wire rack to cool completely. cdsc0011 I found a recipe for pourable royal icing from I am Baker here. This icing is much easier for the kids to handle. No piping or flooding required! They simply dipped the cookies face down into the icing and then added sprinkles. I set aside a few cookies to decorate with melted semi-sweet chocolate. Bubba loved the addition of the chocolate, but he also loves chocolate. cdsc0017 The dough will yield about 2 dozen 2 and 1/2 inch cookies. The cookies will last in air tight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, but I doubt they will last that long. Enjoy!

Holiday Sugar Cookies

recipe from Flour by Joanne Chang

makes about 2 dozen 21/2 inch cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup, 2 sticks, unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

sprinkles, non-pareils, colored sugar for decorating

Chocolate Dipped Ingredients:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Pourable Icing Ingredients:

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 tbsp. milk

squeeze of lemon juice

1 tbsp. light corn syrup

food coloring, if desired

The recipe for pourable royal icing is here.

Directions: Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Be sure to stop the mixer a few times and scrap down the sides of the bowl. Once the butter and sugar is light and fluffy, beat in the eggs and vanilla on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beat again to make sure the eggs and vanilla are thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. On low-speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Press the down the dough to form a disk about 8 inches across. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 5 days. (The dough can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month. If the dough is frozen, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and then let sit at room temperature for an hour before rolling out.)

While the dough is chilling pre-heat the oven to 350 and prep your icing, decorations and melted chocolate. Once the dough is firm and ready to use, lightly flour a cutting board or work surface. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. If the dough or surface gets too sticky, sprinkle on some more flour. Using cookie cutters, cut out shapes and place them on a baking sheet. Gather up any scraps and roll them out again. If the dough gets to warm, put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes and then proceed.

Bake the cookies for about 15-17 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Once cool dip a quarter or half of the cookie into melted semi-sweet chocolate. Then dip into sprinkles, sanding sugar etc. Allow to dry before storing in an air-tight container. Enjoy!

5 Cookies You Should Try For Valentine’s Day

If you like chocolate covered cherries, try them in cookie form! A Farm Girl Dabbles has the recipe for you.

Strawberries and Valentine’s Day go hand in hand. If you are tired of the traditional strawberry desserts, try making strawberry sugar cookies this year. Head here for the recipe.

Do you love thin mints? Make your own in 15 minutes with just 3 ingredients.

One of my new favorite food blogs is Pastry Affair. The recipes are fantastic and the photos are beautiful. The brownie cookie recipe is a must try this holiday.

I love milk chocolate in cookies. Brown Eyed Baker takes a simple chocolate chip cookie to a new level by adding cashews and sea salt. Yum! Find her recipe here.