Pineapple Angelfood Cake, the 2 ingredient one that's making the rounds

FINE, I admit it, I needed a break from the pressure cooker.

I also admit I too have seen the "new" 2 ingredient cake all over the net.  Really people, who told you this was new?

In any event, I caved and jumped on the bandwagon.  EVERYONE is making this cake, it's fun and easy and pretty tasty. It's soft and moist and spongy and a very different animal from the usual texture.  I have seen "recipes" for it in many of my old fashioned cookbooks, the ones church ladies put together to raise money, along with fabulous casseroles that no one makes anymore.  That reminds me, I need to make more casseroles.  But I digress, as per usual.  I love seeing the newest fad hit the net and then looking through the piles of old cook books I have on my kitchen table and finding that Mary Margaret Evans made it and submitted the recipe at the 1943 Ladies Auxillary Fund Raiser. It's funny to me that this particular cake is making the rounds, touted as a "new" thing.  Really, there aren't really that many new recipes, and this isn't any different, it's from the early 40's or 50's.

So, yeah, I want to be one of the cool kids, I want to be part of the 'in' crowd so I made one today.  I made these years ago for office parties.  I'd make it in a 9x13 pan, cut it in squares and slather it in whipped cream with pineapple chunks on top.  I have my own little tricks to make this my own.  Sometimes I put a little brown sugar in the bottom of the bundt pan to make a little crunchy edge and it'll add just a little something to the top without anyone being able to absolutely define it.  Sometimes I add vanilla.  Sometimes I add chunks of pineapple with the crushed.  There'a loads of ways you can personalize this, either way you do it, make it.  Be one of the cool kids making the "newest" fad cake.  *giggle*

PINEAPPLE ANGEL FOOD CAKE (the quickie version) 

1 Duncan Hines Angel Food Cake mix (you MUST use the single bag mix, the 2 bag mixtures will NOT work)
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple with juice

Combine the two ingredients.  Pour into (lightly greased) 9x13 pan or bundt pan.  Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes.  Allow to cool 10 mins in pan, eat!

Here's the commentary and beauty shots: 

Ok, here's the cake mix and pineapple I used, Ah, here's the oven set to 350 (so I didn't forget) Here's my bundt pan, yeah, today I fancied it up with a little brown sugar, it's NOT necessary and sort of defeats the whole TWO ingredient cake, just ignore it ;)
 
Dump the cake mix into the bowl, add the pineapple and juice and mix.  You know you're on the right track when the crazy chemicals FOAM up about about over take the bowl.  Foaming is good.
  
Pour into your pan, it almost fills it with the foamy goodness and 30 minutes later, LOOK at this beauty!
  
I cut it up and put it on a tray and took it to a friend with a tub of cool whip, I'm THAT kind of friend.
  

Jump on the bandwagon like the cool kids, make this "new" old fashioned cake.  It's delicious and I think you'll love it.

/enoy

Classic Cake; 1234 Cake

We all know I'm an old school cook at heart.  I love classic recipes, recipes people have been making in their kitchens for years notwithstanding technology or fancy tools.  I love the stuff they made with love.  I would rather have a small piece of something rich with butter and cream and full fat milk than a big bowlful of something made with genetically altered, fat free and made with sugar substitute.  I guess I just like real food.  

A friend posted pictures of the cake she made on her page and I could not believe my eyes.  I had to have it, immediately.  I copied the recipe for this classic, 'almost a pound cake but somehow richer and more delicious and sort of lighter too in a buttery sort of way' cake, I had to make it.  I had to make it immediately. 

I, as we all know, am incapable of following a recipe, even one handed down since who knows when.  I apologize in advance for my version.  I didn't make the ACTUAL recipe I was given but I was close. 

The most shocking thing about this is that Connor (my 13 yr old son) LOVES this cake.  That wouldn't be newsworthy if he liked ANY cake.  He is not a sweets guy, doesn't like birthday cake or icing.  He doesn't think flavors belong on the outsides of cakes in any fashion, no glaze, no dusting, no nothing.  He loves this cake, did I mention that? 

I made the cake yesterday, in an angel food pan, promptly delivered half to a girlfriend who was luckily celebrating a birthday and left the other half on the counter, assuming it would die a slow, stale death.  NOT SO! 

Connor ate slivers all day long and then, wait for it, asked me to make another one today.  OH HECK YES! 

So, without further ado, here it is, how *I* make the old school classic, 1 2 3 4 Cake. 

CLASSIC 1 2 3 4 CAKE (my version)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter (2 sticks) room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs (although mine are extra large)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice

Here is my beautiful new angel food pan.  I got it at Sur La Table at the Domain in Austin.  Great price and super nice people.  Anyway, in the bowl of a kitchenaid mixer (don't all my recipes start like this??) cream butter and sugar.
   

When it's all creamed and lovely, add 4 eggs, one at a time until it's well combined.

   

Give it a moment to mix up after the last egg then *purists avert your eyes* dump all 3 cups of all purpose flour, the baking powder and salt on top.  You can mix it around if you want but I just dump it all in at once.  Mix it slowly to combine.

   

As soon as it's JUST combined *don't over mix this* (and looks like cookie dough) add the milk in a slow steady stream. Oh look how cake dough-y it looks!!  

     

Transfer the thick, light, airy batter into a lightly buttered pan.  I use angel food but you can use a bundt pan of course. 

Bake at 350 for an hour.

  

I remove it from the pan rather quickly once it's out of the oven because the angel food pan has the removable side and bottom.  I would just leave it in a bundt pan.  Brush the top of the warm cake lightly with melted butter (not much, just a little) and then sprinkle sugar on top.  It adds a lovely little rich crunch to the top.  I may make a light lemon glaze for half the cake, I don't want to change it up after we finally found a cake Connor likes!  

Here's the requisite beauty shots!  This cake is rich and light at the same time, it's a classic and it's clear to see why. 

Go make this cake.  Everyone will love it.

       

Go make something old school.  There are classic recipes for a reason, even if I can't actually follow them :) and really, I only changed it up a little bit.

/Enjoy!!!  

Tracy

Apple Cobbler

One of my favorite ways to spend time is sitting with grand ladies of Texas and listening intently while they tell me about the food their mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers cooked, 'back in the day'.  I had just such an opportunity last week.  Ms. MaryJo sat under a large Live Oak tree with an enormous straw hat that she'd embellished with hundreds of brightly colored ribbon twists and told me stories.  She talked about killing snakes by shooting their heads off, by chopping 'vermin' up with a hoe and she talked about the food.

One of the things she told me to make was a "real cobbler".  I can't imagine arguing with Ms. MaryJo so I didn't, I dutifully typed out (on my iphone) the directions as given and this is the result.  Yes, it's ridiculously good, easy and I'm going to make it all the time.  This is apple but the same day I made a peach and my mother made a raspberry/blackberry.  It turns out perfect each time and it's old fashioned, pure and ab-so-lutely delicious!!! 

The "recipe" is below the beauty shots.

Heat oven and take a stick of butter or margarine or both (this is half and half) and put it in your pyrex dish.  Shove it in the oven to melt it.

Meantime, heat about 2 cups of some sort of fruit.  If it's fresh, cook it down in a saucepan a little bit with some water and flour.  If it's in a can, just heat it up.  I heated up a can of unsweetened pie filling to which I added a little cinnamon, a squirt of lemon to freshen it, some water and a little flour.  I nuked it. In another bowl, mix the batter.

  

When the butter is melted, pour in the fruit and sort of flatten it out a bit but don't mess with it too much.
  

Pour the batter into the middle of the hot fruit, hot butter/margarine.  Do not mix!  "You can run your knife through to do a figure 8 once or twice but don't mess it around"
  

Bake it 30 minutes then sprinkle it with some cinnamon and sugar then let it cook another 15 or so, until it's bubbly and beautiful.  *I think this is pretty beautiful.
  

She said let it sit a bit then eat it.  So I let it sit, then we ate it.
  

I added a little cream. See how it's thick like a super moist cake with the fruit in layers through it.  Oh my goodness it was so crazy crazy good.  The sprinkle of sugar cinnamon added a really lovely crunch.
  

Connor added cream out of a can.

Apple (fruit) Cobbler ala Ms. MaryJo

Heat oven to 375

1 stick butter or margarine

2 1/2 cups hot fruit for filling with a little (4 Tbsp) flour mixed in

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle

1 stick of butter or margarine (1/2 cup) melted in 9" round or square pan

Add hot fruit to melted butter and spread out gently, don't mix in! 

Mix flour, sugar and milk in separate bowl and pour into the middle of the hot fruit.  Gently run knife through in figure "8" pattern to distribute if you'd like, you can do it without doing the cutting in.

Bake in 375 oven for 30 minutes, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake another 15-20 minutes until it's bubbly and brown and you just can't stand it anymore. 

Let rest a few minutes before you devour it.  

/enjoy!