Cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening, room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1cup shredded coconut
1 cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped

Icing:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Garnish:
1 cup toasted coconut *
Pecan or walnuts halves

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease 3 (9-inch) cake pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk.
Add the vanilla and blend well.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
Fold in the coconut and pecans or walnuts.
Divide the batter among the 3 cake pans, about 2 cups per pan.
Bake for 25 minutes, until a tester comes out clean when inserted in the center of each cake.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes.
Turn the cakes out onto wire racks to finish cooling.

While the cakes are cooling, prepare the icing.
In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth.
Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix thoroughly until combined.

Stack the cake layers with a layer of icing between each layer. (See tip below)
Spread the icing on the sides and top of the cake.
Press the toasted coconut into the icing around the sides of the cake.
Decorate the top of the cake with the pecan or walnuts halves.

How to toast coconut:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Arrange shredded or flaked coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.
Stir and check frequently to prevent burning.
Remove from oven and cool before using.

You can also toast coconut on the stove top:
Place the coconut in a dry non-stick skillet.
Gently stir it over low heat until golden brown.
Transfer the coconut to a plate and allow it to cool before using.

Tip for frosting a layer cake:
To begin frosting a layer cake, place the bottom layer on the serving plate.
Place small strips of waxed paper under the edges of the cake to keep the serving plate clean during frosting.
Remove the strips after you finish all your cake decorating.

Prep: 10 min.This recipe goes with Chocolate Marble Sheet Cake

Yield: Makes 2 1/3 cups

3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 tablespoons hot brewed coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 to 4 Tbsp. half-and-h

1. Whisk together sugar and cocoa in a medium bowl. Combine coffee and vanilla.

2. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar mixture alternately with coffee mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Beat in half-and-half, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until smooth and mixture has reached desired consistency.

Mocha-Almond Frosting: Decrease vanilla extract to 1 tsp. Proceed with recipe as directed, adding 1/2 tsp. almond extract to coffee mixture in Step 1.

recipe difficulty 3/5 Difficulty:   3 (1=easiest :: hardest=5)

Serves/Makes:   10

Ingredients:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2/3 rounded cup sugar

3 eggs

6 ounces unsalted almonds, skins on, very finely ground

1/3 cup bread crumbs (preferably your own)

1 lg. orange, zested

***Glaze***

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1/4 cup butter

1 tablespoon honey

Turn this recipe into a puzzle! [click]

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake pan. Line bottom with parchment paper or wax paper. If wax paper, butter it also. Melt chocolate in double boiler over hot, not boiling, water.

Cream the butter and sugar in electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix in well, scraping down sides with spatula as needed. Add almonds, mix, then bread crumbs. Add chocolate. Mix well, add orange zest. Pour into cake pan and bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in pan placed on a rack for 30 minutes. Turn out into dish, remove paper and cool completely.

Glaze For French Chocolate Cake:

Melt chocolate and butter in top of double boiler, stirring regularly. Add honey and stir well. Remove from heat. Beat with wire whisk for 5 minutes to help cooling process and assure smoothness. When the glaze mixture has cooled but is still tepid. Pour over thoroughly cooled cake.

This is a very rich cake and densely chocolate. A small piece is a completely adequate serving.

This recipe will make a great Valentines Cake!  ….Enjoy!!

recipe difficulty 3/5 Difficulty:   3 (1=easiest :: hardest=5)

Serves/Makes:   12

Ingredients:

1 German chocolate cake mix

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 jar fudge or caramel topping

1 carton (8 oz size) non dairy whipped toppping

3 crushed Heath bars, crushed in package

Turn this recipe into a puzzle! [click]

Directions:

Mix cake according to directions. When baked, poke holes in cake, while warm, with wooden spoon handle.

Warm condensed milk and pour over warm cake. Chill cake.

Pour fudge or caramel topping over cake and chill again.

Spread with whipped topping and top with crushed candy bars.

This Chocolate Dream Cake serves 12

Great recipe for Valentines Day!……Yummyly Delicious!!!

recipe difficulty 3/5 Difficulty:   3 (1=easiest :: hardest=5)

Serves/Makes:   16

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

4 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate — (1 ounce size)

1/2 cup boiling water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

***Caramel Filling***

1 1/8 cup butter

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

2 cups superfine sugar

1 cup milk

Turn this recipe into a puzzle!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour four 8-inch round cake pans.

Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk until smooth.

Place unsweetened chocolate in a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate, and stir until melted. Mix chocolate, vanilla, and lemon juice into the buttermilk batter. Divide batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Caramel Filling: Mix the butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, superfine sugar, and milk in a heavy saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil, and cook until temperature reaches 225 degrees F (110 degrees C) on a candy thermometer.

Remove saucepan from heat, and set in a large bowl filled with ice water.

Beat filling with an electric mixer until spreadable. At first this seems to be just hot, hard work, but the filling will suddenly start to thicken as it begins to cool. Transfer filling to a clean bowl, and it will continue to cool as you frost the top of each cake layer. Stack the frosted layers atop each other.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 363 Calories; 31g Fat (73.9% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 115mg Cholesterol; 400mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 6 Fat.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Myrna!!

Ingredients

Gingerbread:

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Royal Icing:

• 2 cups or more confectioners’ sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon egg white*

Decorating:

• Raisins, as needed
• White chocolate chips, as needed
• Various food coloring
• Various colors of sanding sugar
• Equipment: Pastry bag fitted with small, round tip; cookie cutters in the shape of gingerbread men and women, dreidels, Christmas tree ornaments, and snowflakes; wire, string or yarn for stringing

Directions

Make the Gingerbread: In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and mix. Add the eggs and mix. Add the molasses and vanilla and mix.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves together. Working in batches and mixing after each addition until just combined, add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture. Shape the dough into a thick disk, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 1 or 2 cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out 1/4-inch thick and cut out with desired cookie cutters.

To make the Royal Icing: In a mixer, blend the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and egg white together. Add more sugar to get a pipe-able consistency.

To make Gingerbread Men and Women: Use gingerbread man and woman cookie cutters and cut out the cookies, re-rolling the scraps as needed. Decorate them with raisins and white chocolate chips for eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons down the front. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes, and let cool on the pan.

Meanwhile, add some festive colors to your icing with food coloring and lay out colored sugars in small glass bowls with spoons. Using a pastry bag fitted with the smallest plain tip, pipe a few colorful borders or white borders and coat with sanding sugar. When set, add more lines of icing in white.

To make snowflakes: Use a snowflake-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies, re-rolling the scraps as needed. If you plan to hang the cookies, use a toothpick to make holes in the cookies about 1/8-inch wide, keeping in mind that the holes will shrink as the cookies bake and puff up a bit. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes, and let cool on the pan. Using only white icing and a pastry bag fitted with the smallest plain tip, pipe thin lines from the center of the cookie out to the points, like spokes of a wheel. Connect the spokes with thin lines between them, making a spiderweb effect to give it the look of a snowflake. Let the icing harden before threading the cookies onto wire, string, or yarn for hanging.

To make ornaments: Use any holiday-themed cookie cutter to cut out the cookies, re-rolling the scraps as needed. If you plan to hang the cookies, use a toothpick to make holes in the cookies about 1/8-inch wide, keeping in mind that the holes will shrink as the cookies bake and puff up a bit. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes, and let cool on the pan. Meanwhile, color some of your icing in festive colors with food coloring, or use colored sugars. Using a pastry bag fitted with the smallest plain tip, pipe a few colorful borders and decorations on the cookies. When set, add more lines of icing in white. Let the icing harden before threading the cookies onto wire, string, or yarn for hanging.

To make dreidel trios: Use a dreidel cookie cutter and cut out 3 cookies. Lay 1 on a greased sheet pan. Fanning out at an angle, with the handles overlapping at the top, lay 2 more dreidels next to the first one (it will look like a paper-doll effect). The handle is now 3 layers thick; press on it gently to thin it slightly and make it larger. Repeat with the remaining dough, re-rolling the scraps as needed.

If you plan to hang the cookies, use a toothpick to make a hole in the cookies about 1/8-inch wide, keeping in mind that the hole will shrink as the cookies bake and puff up a bit. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes, and let cool on the pan. Color some of your icing blue with food coloring, or use blue colored sugar and white icing together. Using a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip, pipe Hebrew letters or stars of David on the cookies’ faces. Let the icing harden before threading the cookies onto wire, string, or yarn for hanging.

Myrna!!

Directions

Ah, the maligned fruitcake. Many store-bought varieties, stuffed with unrecognizable candied bits, deserve their bad reputation-but not these wonderful cakes, made with a generous serving of dried fruit and candied orange peel in a light batter. There’s only one trick: buy the best-quality, moist dried and candied fruit you can afford.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice
• 1 1/2 cups chopped candied orange peel (about 8 ounces)
• 1 cup chopped dried cherries (about 6 ounces)
• 1 cup chopped dried apricots (about 6 ounces)
• 1 cup chopped dried pineapple (about 6 ounces)
• 3/4 cup currants (about 4 ounces)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup mild extra-virgin olive oil or walnut oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large egg whites, divided
• 3 glaceed red cherries, cut in half, for garnish
• 8 pecan halves for garnish

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 275degreesF. Coat two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans or 3 mini loaf pans (6-by-3-inch) with cooking spray and lightly dust with flour.

Bring orange juice to a simmer in a small pan over medium-high heat. Mix orange peel, dried cherries, apricots, pineapple and currants in a large bowl; pour the warm juice over the fruit and let sit until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Strain out excess juice; toss the fruit with 1/2 cup all-purpose flour until well coated. Set aside.

Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until blended.

Place sugar, oil and butter in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in molasses and vanilla, then add egg whites one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Stir in the dry ingredients. Pour the batter over the fruit and mix well. Divide the mixture among the prepared pans. Decorate the tops with glaceed cherries and pecans.

Bake the cakes until lightly browned and firm to the touch, about 1 hour and 40 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Let cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Unmold and cool completely.

To “ripen” fruitcakes, wrap the cooled loaves in a piece of cheesecloth drizzled with 2 tablespoons bourbon or brandy, then seal tightly in plastic wrap and foil; refrigerate for up to 2 months, wetting the cloth every 2 weeks.

Candied orange peel is available from The Baker’s Catalogue, bakerscatalogue.com, (800) 827-6836.

Per slice: 202 calories; 4 g fat (1 g saturated fat, 2 g mono unsaturated fat); 3 mg cholesterol; 42 g carbohydrates; 2 g protein; 3 g fiber; 78 mg sodium; 269 mg potassium

Nutrtion Bonus: Vitamin C (15% daily value), Vitamin A (15% dv).

Exchanges: 1 fruit, 2 other carbohydrate, 1/2 fat

Myrna!!

Ingredients

Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake with coconut milk:

• 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups sifted self-rising flour
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup flaked, sweetened coconut

7-Minute Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 egg whites
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 cups coconut, flaked and sweetened
• Artificial holly, optional garnish

Cake:

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and coconut milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4-inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks.

Filling:

Stir together sugar, sour cream, milk, and coconut in a bowl until well blended. Add first cake layer onto pedestal. Using the wrong end of a wooden spoon, poke holes approximately 1-inch apart until entire cake has been poked. Spread a third of filling mixture on cake layer. Top with second layer, repeat process. Top with last layer and repeat process again.

Cook’s Note: As each layer is stacked, stick them with toothpicks to prevent cake from shifting.

Frosting:

Place sugar, cream of tartar or corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler. Beat with a handheld electric mixer for 1 minute. Place pan over boiling water, being sure that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the top pan. Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle top and sides of cake with coconut. Garnish with artificial holly, if desired.

Now its ready to enjoy!!!   Yummy!……….Myrna!!

Ingredients

Gingerbread:

• 16 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 6 1/4 cups cake flour
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Gingerbread House Templates, recipe follows

Royal Icing:

• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus more as needed
• 2 egg whites*

Assemble and Decorate the House:

• Heavy cardboard base for the house
• Pastry bag with a medium plain tip and a small plain tip
• Frosted shredded mini-wheats for the roof, as needed
• Mini tootsie rolls for a fence, as needed
• White Hershey Kisses for roof top spikes, as needed
• Small candy canes for a lamp post outside the door, as needed
• Granulated sugar for snow drifts, as needed
• Necco Wafers for a cobblestone path, as needed
• 3 large marshmallows, for snow man
• Pretzel sticks, for snowman arms, as needed
• 2 whole cloves, for snowman eyes
• Graham crackers to build a shed, as needed
• Assorted candy such as gum drops, peppermint drops, M & M’s, white chocolate chips, red hots, non-pareils or snow caps, silver dragees, green mint jelly leaves, Life Savers, and Animal Crackers

Directions

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time until incorporated. Add the molasses and vanilla and mix.

Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and salt. Working in batches, and mixing after each addition just until combined, add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture. Shape the dough into a thick disk, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease 2 cookie sheets.

On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half and roll each piece out into a large 1/4-inch thick sheet. Transfer the dough sheets to the sheet pans; then cut out the required shapes with your templates (see Gingerbread House Templates below).

Bake until stiff and toast-y, about 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Make the Royal Icing: In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the confectioners’ sugar and egg whites together. Add more sugar, if necessary, to reach a spreadable consistency.

Assemble and Decorate the House: Glue the house walls together by setting them up on the cardboard base, and piping the royal icing at the joints with a medium plain tip from the inside. Prop the sides up with wine or soda bottles and let set for 30 minutes. Attach the roof pieces, using the icing in the same way

Using a spatula to apply the icing, glue the frosted mini-wheats on the roof to look like thatching. Attach the front door, with hinges made from icing (leave it open to be more inviting).

Decorate as you like, following the suggestions in the ingredient list, using the icing as glue, if needed. Use a small plain tip for any filigree style decorative line work, you may want.

*RAW EGG WARNING:

My Kitchen suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

Gingerbread House Templates:

Brown paper bags, as needed

You’ll need to make 7 templates, by drawing the dimensions out on brown paper and cutting them out. Use the templates as a stencil to cut the dough into the required pieces. Here are the templates you’ll need:

Two front and rear walls: 5 inches high by 8 inches long. Cut out 2 windows from each wall, and 2 1/2 by 1 1/2-inch door in one.

Two side walls shaped like a house (triangle on a square): 5 inches high by 6 inches long, with a triangle 7 inches high on top (cut all in 1 piece). Cut 1 window out of each side.

Two overhanging roof pieces: 4 1/2 inches wide by 9 inches long.

One door: 2 1/2 inches high by 1 1/2 inches wide.

After its all assembled, Its time to  enjoy it as a decoration or just by eating it!

Myrna!!