Tag Archives: powdered sugar

Recipes - Desserts

White Texas Sheet Cake

Bring your sweet tooth for this one!  This great cake, perfect for winter with its frosty cool look, is also perfect for spring with its delicate almond flavor. The simple frosting only adds to the cake’s allure. this is a sweet creamy frosting, yes indeed, so serve cut into small squares. You can substitute slivered toasted almonds or walnuts for the chopped pecans, but definitely want to add nuts for texture in the frosting. Public Service Announcement: for users of my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook, please note that the recipe, as written in the cookbook, has two typos.  The recipe should say begin with 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of sugar so e kalamai, please excuse that mistake.  The recipe is correct below.

The cake requires just a short prep yet it nets you big results.  Allow your butter-water mixture to cool slightly before adding the dry ingredients; whisk and stir well from this point so that the batter is free of lumps.  The batter is thin so don’t worry that you have made a mistake; the hot liquid thins an otherwise traditional cake batter. The thinness of the batter produces a finished almond-flavored moist cake.   Today I baked it closer to 28 minutes than 22 as my oven runs slow of late; bake it definitely  for 22 minutes, minimum, then give it more time to set and brown slightly on top.  Two great things about this true sheet cake are that what isn’t in a tall cake is definitely made up for in volume and the cake will serve 20 easily so great to take to a potluck or a picnic, and, also this cake tastes even better the next day so any leftovers are always welcome.

Cool at least 20 minutes before frosting.  Almond extract also goes into the frosting; whisk well to remove all lumps before spreading on the still-warm cake. Guaranteed, every sweet bite will remind you of soft breezes and trees ready to burst forth into glorious bloom.  Ahhhh, Happy Spring to You!

White Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. In large mixing bowl, mix and stir the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Bring butter and water to boil in saucepan on stove. Add to dry ingredients and add beaten eggs, sour cream, and almond extract. Stir all until smooth; batter will be thin. Pour into a greased 15x10x1” pan (jelly roll pan) and bake for 20-22 minutes, until set and browned on top. Cool 20 minutes.

FROSTING Ingredients and Directions Prepare by melting 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup milk in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add  4-1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp almond extract. Mix and whisk well. Fold in 1 cup chopped pecans, thoroughly blending. Spread over the slightly warm cake.

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Recipes - Desserts

Grandma’s Lemon Cake

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I could write forever about this cake, but somehow that isn’t a fitting accompaniment for this quick-to-prepare totally delicious cake.  It’s a simple cake with a simple text:  it is an old recipe, my Grandma Opha’s, it has a delicate texture, airy and light, the glaze is tart with the juice of fresh lemons, and it tastes better the longer it sits.  And, oh, men love this cake (go figure).

No matter how “artistic” I was while taking pictures, the best ones today are also simple.  Moist sunny squares flavored with the thin powdered sugar and lemon glaze.  I couldn’t resist eating three of the five pieces on the plate here, still warm, with a glass of cold milk. The cake serves 15 people easily, or a few people for several days, and honestly, this is one of those cakes where it is great to get the last piece because the longer it mellows, the better it tastes.

Only five ingredients in the cake, two of those boxed mixes, and finished in less than an hour, cake baked and glazed, with the kitchen cleaned! There’s just no way you cannot make time to bake this for a church dinner, or to carry in to a friend’s house. I guarantee your baking dish will come home empty. Simply put, this is a simply outstanding offering!  Do enjoy every bite!

Grandma James’ Lemon Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

1 box Duncan Hinds Lemon Supreme cake mix
1-(3 oz.) box instant lemon pudding mix
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs

Directions Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl and beat at low speed with electric mixer until smooth then allow to breathe in the bowl for five minutes. Do NOT grease or flour your baking pan. Pour into a 9×13 glass baking dish and bake for 40 minutes or until the top springs back when touched.

GLAZE:

2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 T. butter or margarine, melted
1 T. water

Directions Do not cook glaze; just whisk until completely smooth then poke holes in cake with fork and pour glaze over cake while it is still hot from the oven.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Brown Sugar Cookies with Buttermilk Glaze

First up, on Tuesday, nibbles of dark brown sugar cookies with plenty of chewy texture glazed with buttermilk and powdered sugar. The dough is a basic sugar cookie recipe made with dark sugar.  With the buttermilk in the glaze, this is a cookie of contrasts. Their soft centers balance with the crisp edges, their chewy texture pairs opposite the smoothness of the glaze, and brown sugar answers the  tang of  the buttermilk .  Contrast and complements all in one cookie.

Soften your butter early on then cream it with the sugar and an egg. Add in dry ingredients gradually, then bake and you’re all pau except for the glaze. Flavored with cinnamon and allspice, rich with butter, they bake quickly; just eight minutes was fine.  Let them cool completely before drizzling on the glaze

I found these tasted even better on Wednesday after sitting, airtight, overnight. Their mellowing set the most magnificent aroma wafting  when I opened the container, so be ready for that! The recipe made 3 dozen.  When you next have time, why not declare a cookie day and bake these, make a pot of fresh coffee, and sit down with your book?  Sweet nibbling!

Brown Sugar Cookies w/Buttermilk Glaze

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
12 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and spices. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Add flour mixture and beat until well incorporated, scraping sides of bowl as you go.

Drop by large tablespoonfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until edges are browned. Cool on the sheet for a nice crisp outside and a soft inside. Cool completely before glazing. Yields 3 dozen cookies.

Buttermilk Glaze

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Use a whisk to blend all ingredients until smooth.  Drizzle over cooled cookies with a fork.

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Recipes - Side Dishes

Squash Fritters

It’s outrageous how intense food whispering is at times! Last night mama and I were looking in my cookbook and talking about recipes and again today at church my mind kept returning to Squash Fritters with syrup. For lunch. Nothing to do then but beat it to the market after church and cross my fingers that they still had yellow squash in the produce section. My efforts were rewarded as the squash was all I needed for stirring up a batch of these tasty treats; everything else is found readily on hand. If you are out of Bisquick baking mix, use all-purpose flour instead.  Some cooks also add grated onion to the mix but I prefer just the flavor of the raw crook neck squash.

The grated squash goes right into the batter with the eggs and the dry ingredients; do allow the batter to  breathe for 10 minutes so it thickens before you begin frying the fritters. Heat your oil briefly then fry in the hot oil for a few minutes per side, drain, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and do not forget to give them a good splash of maple syrup before serving. I am certainly satisfied now, until the next whisper that is.

Squash Fritters

1/2 to 2/3 cups Bisquick baking mix
1/4 cup Parmesan or Cheddar cheese, freshly grated
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups raw yellow squash, grated
Cooking oil for frying
Powdered sugar and  maple syrup, optional

Directions  In large shallow bowl, combine all ingredients except the oil, stir well to blend. Allow the batter to rest for ten minutes then drop the mixture by tablespoons into preheated oil over medium heat.  Cook fritters 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  Dust with powdered sugar;  serve warm with maple syrup if desired.

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Recipes - Desserts

An Old Favorite

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shauns pistachio angel delight

One of my hanai nephew’s favorite desserts (and he has already changed the recipe and made it even more his own), Shaun’s Angel Delight is a wonderful dessert for Christmas or any time at all. The mac nuts Shaun added in lieu of the pecans I used at Kete-Yama’s are a wonderful connection as well to our island home, Maui. And, of course, he used his favorite Pistachio pudding and not my recipe’s French Vanilla. I made this dessert daily at Kete-Yama’s, my small café on Maui, and it quickly became Shaun’s favorite. The middle layer is the custard so you can be creative here (i’m thinking chocolate pudding mix and adding chocolate shavings to the top instead of flaked coconut). No matter the flavor, the texture is always complemented by the crispness of the shortbread crust. Mama’s sister, our Aunt Lou, sent me this recipe when I asked at home for good dessert recipes for the café, and it became a reliable and popular item on our menu. This one you made looks so yummy, Shaun! Hark, the Herald Angels Do Sing!

Shaun’s Angel Delight

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup pecans, chopped small
1-(8 oz.) block cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup of 12 oz. container Cool Whip, reserve extra for topping
2-(3 oz.) boxes French vanilla instant pudding
3 cups milk
Shredded coconut

Directions Preheat oven to 350. To make crust, combine flour, butter, and nuts in medium bowl. Stir well to mix thoroughly then press into the bottom of a 9×13 pan; bake 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool well.

When crust has cooled, make the second layer by combining cream cheese, powdered sugar, and the Cool Whip in a large bowl and stirring well to thoroughly blend. Spread on top of crust.

Prepare the top layer by combining the instant pudding mix and milk in large bowl. Beat well with electric mixer until thickened. Spread on top of the second layer and top with reserved Cool Whip, shredded coconut, and more chopped nuts if desired. Chill well before serving.

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