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

I need your contest votes, thanks!

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/Tracy

Oatmeal Honey Bread

Blatant self promotion moment!  

I've been writing this blog for a while, I love watching the people come and see it.  I love sharing what I come up with. I'll be honest though, I need to support my cooking habit so a friend suggested I do write more detailed recipe tutorials to sell as .pdf files on Etsy.  Ok, I did it. 

I will still blog about what I'm doing, of course, that's not going to change but I think the super detailed, step by step's will be more limited.  My recipes, all of them, will still be available here so don't you fret, my international darlings, I'm not abandoning you, nor am I going to stop sharing here. 

Oh and if you like what you've seen so far, go help a girl out! 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/107021125/oatmeal-honey-bread-recipe-pdf-download

I'll have the base recipe up shortly, this truly is my most favorite of all the loaves I've developed and with us eating it and giving loaves away, I'm making one a day at the moment, not that that is ever ever ever a bad thing.  With the whole wheat and honey and oatmeal in it, I am smugly having 2 and 3 slices because, well, it's got to be healthy, right? 

Thanks for your support, watch this space for the Oatmeal Bread recipe, without the play by plays this time. 

/enjoy

Dutch Baby Pancake for One !!

Dutch Baby for one

I am starting to think about our home school schedule for this year. Connor is starting the 8th grade and I'm starting to fret. I woke up at 4:22 am this morning and decided it was just easier to get up, write a little then cook a little than to lay there and fret. 

I decided I wanted something with an egg it, but it had to be not too sweet, not too savory and it had to be something I could devour in one sitting. Let's be honest, I am rarely in the mood to share at 4:22 am. I also never (truly never) get to eat anything without being interrupted, stared at or asked why I got THAT on leftover night. Really? I looked in the same fridge and saw the same food and let everyone else pick first... Oh, but I digress.

On this morning I am free to cook, then eat, in the dark, uninterrupted and this is how I rolled.

Call it what you will: 

Tracy's Mini Dutch Baby

Dutch Baby for ONE

Mother's breakfast treat

What I do for me

Put a small (6 inch) cast iron pan (or stainless steel pan just watch the handle!) in the oven and turn the oven on to 400.

In a 2 cup measuring up, combine with a whisk, until smooth:

1 egg

1/4+ cup a/p flour (I heap my measure slightly)

pinch of salt

a scant palmful of sugar (I don't like these too sweet)

enough milk to make a very runny batter

dribble of vanilla

(total measurement on mine, when it's all combined, is 1 cup)

When the oven hits temperature and the cast iron pan is hot, put 1-2 tablespoons of butter in it and coat the pan either by brushing, paper towel or swirling. Put pan back in oven for 5 minutes.

See, the oven time and buttering gave you something to do while you were waiting for the batter to rest. If there are too many bubbles in the batter, it won't rise as well so feel free to let it sit there a few more minutes if you can possibly help it.

Gently stir the batter (no air bubbles!) to combine and pour it into the screaming hot, buttered, pan without removing the pan from the oven, we don't want to lose any heat here.

Close the door and hit timer for 18 minutes. Don't open the door.

Remove when it's hot and puffy and golden. Slide it onto a plate all to yourself and add a little jam or some syrup or a squeeze of lemon and some powdered sugar.

It's how I do a little morning treatie just for me. Here's the beauty shots!

My little 6 inch cast iron pan. Look how it puffs up, the secret is no bubbles in the batter and do.not.open.that.oven.door. Just for my own reputation, such as it is, I don't slather it in vodka. My mother delivers maple syrup, from Quebec, when she comes to visit me in vodka bottles. They're plastic and light and she can portion out from the vats of it she buys and keeps north. I'm pleased to get it and guard it almost maniacally.

  

More beauty shots.
 

It deflates quickly but the sides are crisp and light and the bottom is almost custardy and I absolutely love them.  It slips out in one piece from the pan.  Yes, that's a maple syrup puddle.  Yes, I ate the whole thing myself.  I justified it by it's parts, rather than it's sum.  One egg, a little milk and a little flour is hardly something to fret about for breakfast.  I think there's more flour in a slice of toast so technically, without the maple syrup, this is virtually diet food!
 

Go treat yourself with a little special treatie.  You're worth it.

/enjoy

Roasted Shrimp and Lemon Cream Pasta

Part of the 'husband is out of town and the child and I love seafood so try to eat it every day the man is gone' plan that Connor and I have is tonight's roasted shrimp with lemon cream pasta.  We've had salmon twice and a steak once (his addition which he cooked beautifully I might add)  I had shrimp and was hot and tired so needed some great idea to feed us something with a different flavor profile.  Oh look how chef-y I got there.  I really just wanted something fresh and light and hot and seafood-y.  I love all the parts of this dish individually and couldn't see why it wouldn't work nicely as a team.  I threw it together, in my head, almost as quickly as I threw it together in my kitchen.  

Roast Shrimp and Lemon Pasta

This is another one of my non-recipes.  The amounts are approximate, feel free to up or down any of the ingredients in any combination.  I thought it came out beautifully so you really should try my version first. *grin* 

Crank the oven to 450, put on a pot of water to boil. 

Break half a pack of angel hair (I like Barilla) into thirds.  I like it short for this.  Cook the pasta for 4 minutes, while it's cooking, toss the shrimp *recipe below* in the oven for 8 minutes. 

Save at least a cup of the pasta water and drain it when it's al dente.  Toss it back in the hot sauce pan and add the zest and juice of 1 lemon, a glug of heavy cream, salt and extra black pepper and some of the pasta water to make it saucy, add more pasta water if it tightens up too much.  It's a very light sauce.  Toss the pasta around in the sauce until it's mostly absorbed. 

By this time, the shrimp are cooked, remove them from the oven and add them and all the crunchy topping goodness to the pasta and toss quickly.  

Serve in gigantic bowls with fresh parsley and slivered green onions. 

TO make the shrimp: 

In a small bowl combine: 

handful of Panko bread crumbs

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon of softened butter

healthy drizzle of olive oil

*grated Parmesan cheese if you have it, I didn't use it this time*

combine the mixture with your fingertips until it's crumbly and sandy.  It looks like couscous but it's not.
  

Combine the crumb topping with fresh shrimp, lightly, there's no packing it all together here.  Just toss it lightly and evenly together.  These are 31-40's which were on sale at HEB this week for $5/lb.  This is 1/2 lb.  Do a light drizzle of olive oil and throw them into the hot oven, top third, for 8 minutes.  Feel free to get in there and 'shush' them around if you truly feel the need to be involved.  I didn't this time, I was on the phone arguing with my cable company about my email not working.  45 minutes on hold, seriously? 

Enough about my crisis, back to the shrimp.  In 7-8 minutes you'll see some soft bits and some crunchy bits.  The shrimp is cooked through, do not overcook this!  I could eat it with a serving spoon just like this BUT
  

Toss the shrimp and topping into the pasta.  Again use a little pasta water if it gets too tight on you.  

  

Serve it up in big bowls

 

This is one of those quick and easy, throw it together when you walk in the door, type meals. It made enough for a big bowl each and one bowl leftover which I am sure kiddo will have for breakfast.  


I love the crunch the addition of the topping adds.  I have had pasta with breadcrumbs before but this is lovely combined through.  If there's breadcrumbs left on the tray be sure to use them sprinkled on the pasta.  It's soft and crunchy and creamy and tart and sweet.  It's an all points dish for sure.


It should be added to your own list of 'go to' meals.  I see us having this again in the very near future. 


/enjoy! 

Salmon and Sticky Rice

Asian Salmon and sticky rice

I love seafood, Connor loves seafood, we could eat it every meal.  When husband goes out of town, we eat loads of fish.  It's so much cheaper to feed 2 than 3 so husband misses out.  He also doesn't eat dinner with us, he works until after we eat and there's no way I'm going to invest in a beautiful piece of fish then watch it sit there for 2 hours merely to be nuked.  *shudder*  Hence seafood has become the mother/son go to meal.

Husband went to New York this week and Connor wanted us to eat fish for most of our meals.  [I will say he cooked for me already this week, steak and baked potato and salad.  I'm proud as punch that he cooked without me in the room and presented a beautifully medium rare steak to me.  A chip off this block for sure.]  Back to the seafood, virtually daily?  Oh yeah, kiddo, I'm good with that.  Tonight, Connor thought we should have salmon, Asian style.  Again, that'll work for me, we bought a piece of salmon (just shy of 1 lb which cost $6.99) and set about making up an easy meal for two.

In a bowl I put 1 1/2 cups of thai sweet rice (sticky rice) to soak, at least 2 hours.  When we were ready to eat I just put the rice in a strainer (mine is from Ikea) and set it over boiling water to steam, covered.  After about 10 minutes, flip it over in 3 pieces, test it for doneness and leave it another 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork, as well as you can fluff sticky rice and serve it up! I don't think this rice waits well so try to time it so it's ready when you're ready to eat.  I used to have a straw steamer and bamboo bowl and it held better in bamboo, perhaps I should revisit that and get myself one.  I may have to do a comparison for you.
   

it's steamy and sticky and very flavorful.  

 

The salmon came together quickly as well

1 lb salmon filet

Marinade:

1 teaspoon soy

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon mirin (rice wine)

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Combine and pour over the salmon, flip and leave it to marinate at least 10 minutes. 

Preheat broiler (old school!) and put fish on sheetpan and put it under the broiler for about 8-10 minutes.  Rotate it periodically and I threw some water on the pan after about 5 minutes to help steam the bottom and stop the marinade from burning on the bottom of the pan.  It also made a light sauce which was a bonus
  

Oh goodness, look at this.  A little char and a light pink line through the middle.  Not the dry, overcooked, squeaky salmon I had the last time I ordered it at a restaurant.  This is light and moist and absolutely delicious.  I slid hunks of the salmon off the skin, piled it high on the sticky rice and poured a little of the light sauce over it.  It's rich and delicious and something I need to make again very soon.
 
Beauty shots, plated with the sticky rice.  Connor thought it needed the green onion and he was right.  It added beauty and a lovely taste.  He had some fried shrimp leftover from a lunch and put them on the plate with his salmon in case you were wondering where they came from.
 

I could have eaten 23 bowls of this.
 

Go get some salmon, make this, you'll be absolutely delighted. 

/Tracy