That's a Wrap

Kathleen came home last Saturday to celebrate our March birthdays, hers and Brady’s. I always take requests on birthdays. Naturally Brady wanted a German chocolate cake and Kathleen asked for a poppy seed cake. Brady also said he would like to barbecue and Kathleen chose to invite a friend over. It was a great evening with plenty of laughter.

Today is Brady’s actual birthday and, besides a small cake, he asked me to make wraps for the potluck after Bible study tonight. I spread mascarpone on tortillas, covered them with deli meat and grated Gruyère, then topped them with fresh spinach and slices of sun dried tomatoes. 

Go With What You Got

This past Saturday I cooked lunch for a group of 50 people at a Church seminar. Before deciding on a menu for something like that, you have to take into account the facilities. One small oven with enough stove top for four small pots or two big ones. There were several gluten and lactose free diets to consider. This limited my options quite a bit. I adapted my chili and chicken curry recipes for those dietary needs and made a big pot of each. I borrowed a second rice cooker and, voilà, the main course was taken care of. A big green salad, corn chips, guacamole, and a big fruit salad completed the meal. Ok, I did bake some loaf cakes ahead of time for those of us who are gluten dependent!

 

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

If you don’t care for rich frosting, but you want your cake to look pretty, there’s always the upside-down cake option. My favorite part about not having to wait for the cake to cool to frost it? You can eat the cake while it’s still warm!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1/3 cup (65 g) melted butter

½ cup (100 g) sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large can (800 g) sliced pineapple

Maraschino cherries, kiwis

Mix together the butter, sugar and cinnamon and spread evenly over the bottom of a 9x13-inch (22x32 cm) pan (or a 12-inch [30 cm] round pan). Drain the pineapple, saving the liquid. Arrange the pineapple slices, Maraschino cherries and kiwis over the sugar mixture.

4 cups (600 g) flour

2 ½ cups (500 g) sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2.4 dl) oil

1 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups (3.6 dl) pineapple liquid

3 eggs

Stir together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and beat well. Pour over the pineapple slices. Bake at 350° F (175° C) for 50-60 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean). Turn onto plate. Serve hot or cold.

Cake renversé à l’ananas

65 g de beurre fondu

100 g de sucre

1 cuillère à café de cannelle

1 boite de 800 g d’ananas en tranches

cerises, kiwis

Mélanger le beurre, le sucre et la cannelle et répartir uniformément sur le fond d'un moule de 22x32 (ou d’un moule rond de 30 cm). Égoutter l'ananas en gardant le liquide. Disposez les tranches d'ananas et les cerises sur le mélange de sucre.

600 g de farine

500 g de sucre

1 cuillère à café de bicarbonate

1 cuillère à café de poudre à lever

1 cuillère à café de sel

2,4 dl d’huile

1 cuillère à soupe de vinaigre

1 cuillère à café d’extrait de vanille

3,6 dl du liquide de la boite d’ananas

3 œufs

Mélanger les ingrédients secs. Ajouter les ingrédients restants et bien battre. Verser sur les tranches d'ananas. Cuire au four à 175 ° C pendant 50 à 60 minutes (ou jusqu'à ce qu'un cure-dents piqué au centre en ressorte sec). Renverser sur un plat. Servir chaud ou froid.

 

Lemon Cake

I was asked to make a cake for a going away party at Church yesterday. The lady moving away has spent countless hours doing kind and thoughtful things for many of us. I wanted to take my time decorating her cake to represent a bouquet of daffodils. I don’t make lemon cake often, but, for some reason it seemed to me that lemon was the best flavor to go along with daffodils.

Lemon Cake

1 cup butter (200 gr)

2 ½ cups sugar (500 gr)

4 eggs

4 cups flour (600 gr)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

 ½ cup lemon juice (1.2 dl)

1 cup milk (2.4 dl)

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the lemon juice, milk, and extract. Add the flour and milk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter in 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350° F (175° C) for 50-60 minutes.

Lemon glaze

2 cups powdered sugar (250 gr)

¼ cup lemon juice (60 ml)

Combine the two ingredients and drizzle over cake.

Cake au citron

200 gr de beurre

500 gr de sucre

4 gros œufs

600 gr de farine

1 cuillère à café de poudre à lever

1/2 cuillère à café de bicarbonate

1 cuillère à café de sel

1,2 dl de jus de citron

2,4 dl de lait

1 cuillère à café de extrait de citron

Préchauffer le four à 180 C. Graisser et fariner 2 moules à cake. Battre le beurre et 400 gr de sucre jusqu'à ce le mélange soit bien crémeux, environ 5 minutes. Ajouter les œufs, un à la fois. Tamiser ensemble la farine, la poudre à lever, le bicarbonate et le sel dans un bol. Dans un autre bol, mélanger le jus de citron, le lait et l’extrait. Ajouter en alternance à la pâte les mélanges de farine et de lait, en commençant et en terminant par la farine. Verser la pâte dans les 2 moules et cuire au four pendant 50-60 minutes.

Glaçage citron

250 gr de sucre glace

60 ml de jus de citron

Mélanger et verser sur les cakes

Poppy Seed Cake

When Brady travels to Ukraine, he always remembers to bring me home a pound of poppy seeds that can be found in every market. This is one of Kathleen’s favorite cakes, and mine to.

Poppy Seed Cake

4 large eggs, separated

1 cup (200 g) margarine

1 ½ cups (300 g) sugar

1/3 cup (45 g) poppy seeds

2 cups (300 g) sifted flour

1 cup (2.4 dl) sour cream

1 teaspoon baking soda

Have eggs, margarine and sour cream at room temperature. Beat egg whites until almost stiff; gradually beat in ½ cup of the sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form; set aside. Cream margarine and remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well. Stir in poppy seeds. Combine soda and sour cream; add to mixture alternately with the flour. (Add about ¼ of the flour, then 1/3 of the sour cream, etc. Mix until smooth each time.) Gently fold in stiff egg whites. Spoon into an ungreased tube pan. Bake at 350° F (175° C) for 1 hour. Cool upside-down on a wire rack.

Cake aux graines de pavot

4 gros œufs

200 g de margarine

300 g de sucre

45 g de graines de pavot

300 g de farine

2,4 dl de séré

1 cuillère à café de bicarbonate

Laisser les œufs, la margarine et le séré à la température ambiante. Battre les blancs d'œufs en neige. Incorporer peu à peu 100 g de sucre. Continuer à battre jusqu'à ce que les blancs d’œufs soient fermes et mettre de côté. Bien battre la margarine et le reste du sucre, puis y ajouter les jaunes d'œufs un à la fois, en continuant à battre. Incorporer les graines de pavot. Mélanger le bicarbonate au séré. Ajouter à la pâte en alternance avec la farine (environ ¼ de la farine, puis 1/3 du séré, etc. jusqu’à ce que la pâte soit bien onctueuse). Incorporer délicatement les blancs d'œufs en neige. Verser dans un moule à cheminée non graissée. Cuire au four à 175 ° C pendant 1 heure. Refroidir à l'envers sur une grille.