butter cake

Sour Cream, Butter and Lemon Pound Cake
By Susan McGourty

This Sour Cream, Butter and Lemon Pound Cake recipe goes back a couple of generations. It was my husband's grandmother's recipe for an old-fashioned Sour Cream, Butter and Lemon Pound Cake. My mother-in -law taught me how to make it. It's almost foolproof with its easy directions. (She nicknamed it her "One-step Pound Cake.") When it comes to good tasting cakes, this is a reliable show stopper! This cake has been served to many people from all over the world, and they all rave about it and it's addicting flavors.

I have a funny story to tell you about this cake.

A major incident happened that became part of the "McGourty Folklore."This happened a month or so before my husband and I were married --when I was still getting "to know" my future family.

One day while I was staying with his parents, in Aptos California making preparations for our upcoming wedding at the Santa Cruz Mission, I was helping my husband's mother with the cleaning of the household. I was finishing up my chores while she was busily making something for dinner. She realized that she needed to make a quick trip to the grocery store for some ingredients for that night's dinner. As she was leaving the house, she told me "Susie you're the only one that I can trust to take care of my cake, please take the cake out when the timer goes off."

My father-in-law, who was very intimidating to me at the time and never seemed to crack a smile was sitting at the kitchen table talking with his closest friend (and brother-in-law) Uncle Jack. I finished up what I was doing and waited for the timer to go off. The timer went off; I got the hot pads, and opened the oven door. There I saw a cake in a tube pan that looked just like an Angel Food Cake. Quickly I asked my father-in-law where I could find an empty Coke bottle. He looked at me in bewilderment and asked what I needed a Coke bottle for? I said "there's an Angel Food Cake in the oven and it needs to be inverted" (which is standard for angel food cakes while they cool). So he motioned me toward the pantry.

In the pantry, I found an awfully old and dusty Coke bottle. So I grabbed it and quickly washed it and inverted the heavy cake over the neck of the bottle. Now my husband-to-be had told me that his mother was a great cook, but try as she might, his mother just couldn't make an Angel Food Cake. From the "heaviness" of this cake I thought that it definitely wasn't a good Angel Food Cake! Then I started to leave the kitchen to go to see what my betrothed and his siblings were doing in the game room.

All of a sudden, behind me there was a huge crash-bang-boom. I looked around and saw my father-in-law and Uncle Jack with big ear-to-ear "bunny rabbit smiles and laughter" on their faces as the cake and the bottle had fallen and split all over the counter and the floor. Then I heard running feet. I watched in horror as my future husband and his siblings sampled the fallen cake pieces on the counter as they picked up the remaining pieces on the floor.

"Oh MY God" I screamed! No-no we've got to put that back together! No I'll make a new one!" What kind of Angel Food Cake is it?" It wasn't an Angel Food Cake --far from it! It was this treasured recipe of his grandmother's Pound Cake! Boy ! Was I ever embarrassed!"

There was one good thing about the "Pound Cake Incident" though. It really broke the ice with my father-in law. That's how I figured out that he was just "testing me" and trying to see how much gruff I would take from him. He was really a softy down deep.

You'll love this cake! --It's so reliable! Not a Prima donna like a cheesecake! Your friends and family will love it! It serves AT LEAST ten to fifteen people. If you keep it refrigerated in a "cookie tin" it'll keep for weeks. It is most yummy served with tea or coffee.

This cake tastes best made a day or two ahead of serving so the flavors intensify.

Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour and 10 minutes MAKES 10 SERVINGS.

Ingredients. (Best Results all ingredients should be at room temperature.)

• 1 Cup Unsalted softened butter
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 3 Extra-large Eggs , Lightly beaten
• 2-1/2 Cups All-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoons Salt
• 1/2 teaspoons Baking soda
• 1 teaspoons Lemon zest , (Grated lemon peel-generous amount)
• 1 teaspoons Vanilla extract , (generous)
• 1/2 teaspoons Nutmeg
• 1 Cup Sour Cream
• Powdered sugar , for dusting and presentation

Preparation Directions.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. The oven rack should be in upper half of oven.
2. Combine ingredients in a large mixer bowl in order of ingredients.
3. Blend well, scraping up the bottom of the bowl to get all the ingredients dispersed well throughout the mixture.
4. Set timer and beat the mixture THREE minutes at medium speed. Scrape well to make sure all ingredients are combined evenly.
5. Pour into a greased (with Crisco)and floured tube pan.
6. Bake at 325 degrees 60-to 70 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center.
7. Cool the cake upright in pan for 15 minutes or so.
8. After fifteen minutes cooling, carefully run a thin knife around the outer circumference of the tube pan, as well as around the inner tube itself. Rap the pan a couple of times on the counter. Then invert on a cake cooling rack for complete cooling.
9. When cake is room temperature, lightly sprinkle some powder sugar over the cake for presentation.
10. To place on serving plate, invert cake once to another plate, then again for final placement on the serving plate.
11. Store in a "cookie tin."

Serving Suggestions.

This is a wonderful cake to be served with coffee or tea!

cake icing

Scrumptious Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Icing
By Linda Pogue

Grandson's Favorite Cake
Before my oldest grandson was three, he decided the best cake in the world was carrot cake topped with cream cheese frosting. Each grandchild gets to choose what cake is baked or purchased for their birthdays. We all know when my grandson's birthday comes along, the recipe below will be on the menu!

Carrot cake is not only delicious, it provides fiber and protein, as well as vegetables and fruit to picky eaters. Even children who do not like vegetables will eat this cake. I hope you enjoy this homemade cake as much as we all do.

My Grandson's Favorite Cake!

2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups oil
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups grated carrots
1-8oz can crushed pineapple
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup grated coconut, optional--I leave it out.

Combine sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in bowl; mix well. Stir in sifted dry ingredients. Add carrots, pineapple, pecans and coconut; mix well. Pour into prepared 8x13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until cake tests done. Use buttermilk frosting or a cream cheese frosting.

The perfect cream cheese icing for your carrot cake!

1 8oz package of cream cheese
½ box powdered sugar
½ stick margarine
2 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients stir until smooth, and spread over cake while hot. Sprinkle pecans and or coconut on top of icing. If desired for carrot cake, purchase orange and green icing in a tube and decorate cake with icing carrots.

Family Traditions
In our family, it is now traditional to have carrot cake with cream cheese icing at my oldest son's birthday bash. These kinds of traditions have helped strengthen families for generations. Whether it is carrot cake, your grandmother's banana pudding, or mom's yeast break, family food favorites can become traditional fare that provides memories for years to come. If you don't have family food favorites, consider starting your own family traditions with this cake recipe.

coconut cake

Coconut Almond Mocha Macaroons Recipe
By Shelley Pogue

Macaroons are a Passover favorite for many, who have a sweet tooth. For this new harvest season celebration, I have come up with a new recipe. If you love espresso, and also love coconuts and almonds then you should try this recipe. This is a delicious treat for any and all who love coconut but we are going to spice them up just a little bit, by adding espresso coffee flavor to these little coconut desserts. These mini espresso, coconut and almond macaroons will melt in your mouth, and are made with just a few ingredients. These will take some time so you may want to make these in advance.

Coconut Almond Mocha Macaroons:

1/2 cup honey

1/4 Teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon instant powdered coffee or espresso

2 1/2 Cups shredded, sweetened coconut

1 Cup of ground almonds

3/4 Cup matzo cake meal

2 Egg whites

1 Bag of Chocolate covered coffee espresso beans, from your local store or Starbucks has them.

First things first you will line a baking tray with non stick baking parchment paper. You will finely grind the 1 cup of almonds in short bursts in a food processor until they form a fine meal and set aside until ready for them. In a small saucepan you will combine the honey, cocoa powder and coffee powder while cooking and stirring over a low to medium heat until powders are dissolved and mixture is smooth. You will remove from the heat and let cool about 10 to 15 minutes.

While the cocoa mixture is cooling you will place the egg whites in a bowl, and whisk until they form stiff peaks, when they start to get stiff you will start to gradually add the sugar, and you will continue whisking until it forms a thick and shiny or glossy meringue.

You will then stir in the coconut, matzo cake meal, vanilla bean paste, and ground almonds into the somewhat cooled espresso mix, and stir for about 30 seconds or so. You will then start to combine the glossy egg whites in thirds until well-folded in. When ingredients are well mixed you will spoon out about one tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball. You will place the macaroon balls on the parchment-lined baking sheet. You will continue to repeat with remaining dough, placing the macaroon balls about one inch apart. You will press one of the coffee beans into the middle of each macaroon ball.

You will then bake at 300F for 15 - 20 minutes, or until firm. You will then remove the baking sheet from oven, and remove with a spatula from the parchment covered baking sheet and cool on wire baking/cooling racks for about 20-30 minutes. Once cool you will remove the macaroons from the wire cooling racks and store in airtight container for about 4-6 hours to make sure they are good and set. I hope that you enjoy this recipe.

Enjoying the Cake Decorating ideas