Long Time Since I’ve Had Shortcake: Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries happened to be on sale today. They also happened to be sold in two pound packages. The plan was to enjoy their natural sweet succulence as a tasty snack. It didn’t take long after dinner to decide that dessert was a must. I wasn’t feeling like anything chocolate, amazingly. I wanted something light and summery. Shortcake! Not that artificially sweetened sponge Hostess labeled as ‘shortcake’. True shortcake is a sweet, crumbly biscuit; a ‘scone’ if you are British or just real classy.

This delicious impulse was well worth the two trips I had to make to the grocery [you can’t have strawberry shortcake without whipped cream!]. While making the dough I discovered that it was quite a tasty batter and since there are no raw eggs in it, had my fill before the baking. But nothing beats them fresh out of the oven. Luckily it didn’t take long for them to cook – about 15 minutes to be exact. They were so warm and crumbly, even a bit crispy with the sugar-coated outside. It was summertime bliss in my kitchen. They were definitely good enough to eat on their own – perhaps at breakfast?

Putting the strawberries and whipped cream on top was, figuratively, the ‘icing on the cake’. I sat down on the couch with a heaping bowl of this, enjoying not only the creamy, crumbly taste, but also the lingering scents of baked goods. It’s a natural air freshener, don’t you know? It’s my preferred one.

So if you are back at school already and looking for a great way to entertain others or just enjoy it yourself, strawberry shortcake is waiting.

Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

4 T butter

¾ cup half and half

Melted butter to brush cakes, sugar to sprinkle on top

Strawberries

Whipped cream

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400˚.

2. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl.

3. Cut in butter [*meaning cut up the 4 T into smaller pieces and press combine the butter into the flour]

4. Add half and half, mix well. Dough will be shaggy.

5. Make into large balls, drop on cookie sheet.

6. Brush with butter, sprinkle with sugar.

7. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until browned.

8. Best eaten warm, served with strawberries and whipped cream. Nommmm

Makes about 8-12 cakes, depending on size.

Red, White and Blueberry Cake

Summer holidays and American celebrations began the tradition of potlucks. Whether you love or loathe them, most of us will inevitably find ourselves hauling in a bucket of baked beans, a heaping pile of potato salad or the infamous bag o’ chips. Of course, it’s not necessarily about ditching or overhauling the classic dishes. People tend to expect certain staples, and I would recommend not adding anchovies or chocolate sauce to the coleslaw. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t improve on old methods.

Take for example, that all-too-typical, iconic “Flag Cake”. You know that yellow cake with cool whip, strawberries, blueberries like the stripes and stars? As fun as it probably is to make with little kids, if your audience isn’t under the age of 12, I suggest a modified version: a cold blueberry cake with lemon icing. The end product is a refreshing, sponge-like sweet cake with a bit of tangy lemon on top. You don’t get bogged down by bites of just fruit or just cake. Fruit and batter unite to be baked together forever.

The recipe I used from All Recipe’s inspired me to add stiff egg whites to the cake for a lovely overall fluffiness. The icing was my own personal pairing, offsetting the sweet with the sour – turns out it tantalized the taste buds just as I had hoped.

Blueberry Cake

Ingredients:

½ c butter

½ c white sugar

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

1 ½ c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 c milk

2 egg whites

¼ c white sugar

2 c fresh blueberries

1 T all-purpose flour

½ stick butter, melted

2 c powdered sugar

3 T lemon juice

Lemon zest

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease and flour an 8 in square pan.

2. Soften butter, cream with sugar. Add salt and vanilla. Separate eggs, stir egg YOLKS in with butter mix. Set egg whites aside in separate bowl.

3. Combine flour and baking soda. Alternate gradually milk and butter egg yolk mixture to flour.

4. Coat blueberries with 1 T flour, add to mix.

5. Beat egg whites with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add ¼ c sugar, tablespoon at a time until stiff peaks form.

6. Fold egg whites into the batter.

7. Pour into pan, bake for 50 min, or until cake test done.

8. Meanwhile, combine last four ingredients to make icing – should be creamy, not too thick. Adjust measurements on icing as needed. Set aside.

9. Once cake has cooled, spread on icing. Store in fridge as long as it will last.

Your Cake and Cookie Too: Oreo Cookie Cake

I’m home now. That means I have a full fridge and my own kitchen. Unfortunately, the fridge is freezing everything and “my own kitchen” isn’t exactly my own yet. It’s back to cooking for the family again. Family favorites line the shelves and pack the pantry. With summer at hand, I have access to many more tools, time and budgeting. All this needs now is some new inspiration coupled with old fashioned innovation.

Few can deny the allure of the classic Oreo: two crisp chocolate cookies, encompassing a sweet cream filling; especially when it’s enjoyed alongside a tall glass of cold milk. It’s good at any occasion, any time of day. The fond memories that accompany this milk-dunking classic add to the love for this cookie. But can it compete against an all-time favorite, birthday cake?

There is something magical about a birthday cake. It always tastes so much better than a regular cake. Maybe it’s because you get to pick it out, design it, etc. – it’s everything YOU want. Or maybe it’s because you don’t have to make it and whoever does bakes care and affection into every slice.

This year’s birthday request of a family friend was Oreo. Ruling out the ice cream cake that is sometime likened to an “Oreo”, I refused to crumble Oreos on a regular cake and call it an “Oreo” cake. I’ve never been one to deny chocolate, in any form, at any time; the task at hand was one that I was made for.

I had to do some R&D, which was certainly my pleasure because it involved the guilt-free eating of a few Oreos. Happily, I turned, twisted, analyzed and ate. Afterwards, I looked at some other people’s versions and came up with the perfect concoction. Two crisp chocolate cookies would be translated into two chocolate cakes, with some Oreo’s baked into them of course. The cream filling would be a devilishly good homemade cream made from three simple ingredients. Then the hardened chocolate icing would provide for the ideal signature artistic touch.

The great thing too is that you could do this with an assortment of other types of cookies or flavors. Try Chip's Ahoy or Nutterbutters...the grocery store aisle can become your creative inspiration.

The height and size of the cake made it a bite more than you could chew in one bite, but it was one creative cookie! The filling was dangerously close to being completely demolished by the cooks before it got onto the cake and baking the Oreo’s inside was such a pleasant surprise. It was a winner for all, except maybe anyone on a diet. But it’s when it’s your birthday, you can eat if you want to.

So you can’t decide between cake and cookie? I say you can have your cake; and cookie too.

Oreo Cookie Cake

Ingredients:

1 pkg Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

1 pkg Oreo cookies

½ stick butter

1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

½ c sugar

2 c whipped topping [thick is best!]

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven.

2. Prepare cake batter according to directions [I cut the amount of oil in half].

3. Grease two 9 in cake pans; put a quarter of the batter in each pan.

4. Then layer about 10 cookies in the batter, divide remainder and cover cookies.

5. Bake cake. When it comes out, let cakes cool for a while in the pan, then transport to cooling rack if you have then. Cut off a little of the top so that they can sit flatter when layered.

6. Meanwhile, make the filling. With electric beaters, mix cream cheese, sugar, and whipped topping until well blended. Then fold in about 10 crushed Oreo cookies.

7. Afterwards, make the icing by melting butter and chocolate chips in either a double boiler or a saucepan on LOW heat. [Icing spreads better when hot]

8. When putting the cake together, put one layer right side up, then top with the filling, followed by the other cake flipped upside down [you want the flattest surface for the top].

9. Coat the top and edges of the cake with icing, then when it has cooled at the ridges on the side and the “OREO” label on the top.

10. Perfect Oreo bliss.

Makes one giant Oreo[cake]. Recommendation: many glasses of milk :)