I went to school in Virginia briefly when I was in high school. I was lucky enough to have cooking/baking class as my elective class of choice. The counselor asked me a few questions about interests/hobbies and asked me to choose my elective. Kitchen it is!
It was my favorite time of the day! I learned to make lots of food (sugar cookies, lasagna, manicotti, Welsh Cakes…) and we get to keep a portion to take home, or eat at lunch. I still have a few recipes I copied from that time in a blue notebook that I still make frequently.
One of the things we made was spoon bread. I didn’t quite understand it at that time, but yes, just as the name implies, it is a soft, moist quick bread that you’ll use a spoon to scoop up to eat. It is soft like pudding but with a little more structure that you can cut it.
In this recipe, I used a readily available cornbread mix to make life easier. And the amount of the ingredients are adjusted to fit the big ELB bowl.
Enjoy!
*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*
1. Spray the big ELB bowl with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a bowl, place melted butter,
3. creamed corn,
4. corn kernels,
5. sour cream,
6. egg,
7. sugar,
8. salt,
9. and Jiffy cornbread mix.
10. Mix everything together until well blended.
11. Pour into the prepared ELB bowl. Cover with foil.
12. place 3 ELB cups of water in the base. Place the bowl in the ELB base, cover and steam until it shuts off, about 1 hour.
13. Carefully open the ELB and check the bread for doneness by inserting a skewer in the middle. It is done when a few moist crumbs are sticking to the skewer instead of thick batter.
14. cool completely and unmold carefully. Slice and serve or use a spoon to scoop up individual portions.
Strawberries are pretty tasty this time of the year. I had been purchasing them from farmer’s stands and farmer’s markets as they are always good, unlike other places where it’s hit or miss.
They’re quite expensive though, at $5 -$8 per green basket, but totally worth it as they are sweet and delicious all the way through. I like eating them just as is, after washing. No need for anything else as they are very tasty…and fragrant.
There are no green sour patches on these at all. And since they are so good, I decided to make a cake for my mom’s birthday. I have quart of whipping cream and a dozen home grown eggs in the fridge so I’m all set.
I had been trading loaves of sourdough bread for eggs with my co worker once a week, so the eggs I have are really fresh. Which is important, as the cake is a simple sponge cake recipe where in your ingredients need to be really good and fresh for it to taste great. The frosting is a simple, lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream, and topped with the best tasting strawberries you can find, this will be a cake you will make over and over.
We had to go to a soccer game at 9 am so I baked the layers and let it cool upside down for 20 minutes while we got ready, turned them right side up to cool completely while we were gone. I then whipped the cake, sliced the strawberries, and put the cake together after lunch, then chilled it for an hour before driving it over to my mom’s. Busy day!
I did not expect a lot of requests for this recipe so I did not photograph anything while whipping up the first, full sized cake. I did not have the time to either as I was rushing to get it done before we had to leave. However, since I did get a few requests, and since there was no left overs after it was demolished at my mom’s, I decided to make another, smaller cake for our home.
I halved the recipe and baked them in two 5-inch round cake pans. They were filled and frosted the same way as the full sized 8/9 inch cake. It was just enough for 6 slices, 2 each for me, my husband, and my son.
So here it is. There are a lot of steps but it is easy and the results are more than worth it. Feel free to break the steps down like I did to fit your schedule. I promise you will be amazed with the end results.
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line 2 (8 or 9 inch) round cake pans with parchment paper cut to fit.
2. Combine eggs and sugar in a small metal bowl. You will make a makeshift double boiler using the bowl and a small saucepan.
3. Place bowl over a small pan with simmering water.
4. Cook, stirring, until a thermometer reaches 98F.
5. Transfer the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.
6. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high for 4 minutes.
7. Lower speed to medium and beat until ribbons form, about 5 more minutes.
8. See the videos above to determine when to stop. You should be seeing clear ribbons in the batter. This is important as this cake has no leavening, aside from the air trapped in the egg mixture.
9. Sift flour into a bowl to aerate it.
10. Place milk in a microwave safe bowl.
11. Place the butter in the bowl too.
12. Heat the mixture for 30 seconds and stir to melt butter.
13. Fold in 1/3 of the flour into the egg mixture until combined. Repeat twice more to use up the flour.
14. Slowly add the milk and butter mixture and stir to combine.
15. Do not overmix as you need the air in the mixture to make your cake light and fluffy. Mix just until combined.
16. Pour into the prepared pans. Drop the pans from about 2 inches from the counter to release any big bubbles.
17. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
18. In the meantime, slice a few of the strawberries into thin slices, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch.
19. Remove the cakes from the oven when done.
20. Invert them onto a cooling rack sprayed with nonstick spray. Let cool for at least 20 minutes.
21. Turn them right side up and cool completely.
22. Unmold and peel off the parchment paper.
23. In the meantime, pour the whipping cream in the bowl of the stand mixer. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form.
24. Wash, rinse, and dry a few strawberries left whole. Cut them in half lengthwise if desired.
25. Place on cake layer on the serving plate.
26. Spread an even layer of whipped cream over.
27. Top with sliced strawberries, trying to follow the shape of the cake. Cut the strawberries if needed.
28. Top with a little more whipped cream, just enough to cover the strawberries.
29. Top with the second cake layer and gently press down.
30. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining whipped cream.
31. Top with whole or sliced strawberries. Chill until set, about an hour or so.
32. You can serve it like this or decorate with melted chocolate.
33. I used melted Hershey’s sugar free chocolate to pipe zigzags on the strawberries I used to top my mom’s cake. You can also pipe it across the top of the cake.
34. Slice it carefully, serve and enjoy!
35. See how beautiful this cake is? Yum!
The picture below is my mom’s 9 inch cake, all lit up, with the chocolate topped strawberries and chocolate greeting on the side. It was totally out of this world delicious.
These make amazingly delicious cookies! I already had a staple recipe for chocolate chip cookies (The Original Toll House recipe of course!) but, like I mentioned before, I love to experiment. I am so glad I did, as this just might be my new favorite!
I made the dough twice, using half of the ingredients for each. One batch was made using sugar free chocolate chips, sugar and brown sugar substitute, sprouted spelt flour and added walnuts. The other half was all regular ingredients, without nuts.
Funny thing is, the sugar free version looked a lot prettier! Enjoy both!
Sugar free version
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla paste
3 cups flour, remove 2 tablespoons of flour and replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat.
Line your cookie sheets with silpat or parchment to make it easy to remove the cookies later.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars for around 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla and continue beating for about 1 minute.
4. Blend in flour, baking soda, and salt.
5. When a dough forms, stir in chocolate chips.
6. Measure 1/4 cup dough and form into balls, pull them apart and place the halves next to each other, torn side up. Press together to adhere, then place on the cookie sheet, 12 dough balls per sheet. Or make smaller ones using a tablespoon of dough for each.
7. Bake 10 – 12 minutes, just until set and very lightly browned. Rotate cookie sheets, top to bottom and front to back, halfway through baking.
8. Cool on the cookie sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Or even just enough to not burn your tongue and enjoy! These are absolutely amazing warm when the chocolate chips are still gooey and soft! Yum!
This is one of my mom’s most favorite desserts. Similar to the Hawaiian Haupia, it is made with coconut milk and cornstarch, but with the addition of corn. It is not baked, just cooked over medium heat until thick, then poured into a generously greased pan or bowl. Perfect for when you need something sweet and coconutty real quick!
In the Philippines, the addition of corn is a must. The browned coconut bits is a delicious complement, taste and texture wise, however, if you won’t have time to make the “latik”, some toasted desiccated coconut is an acceptable substitute. You can, of course, skip this all together too, like I do most of the time.
3/4 Plus 3 tablespoons cup canned sweet corn kernels
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups thin coconut milk
Coconut oil for greasing pan
Prepare the “latik”: Boil coconut milk until oil separates from the solids. Pour off the oil. Add sugar to the solids and cook further until crisp and browned.
Grease an 8 inch square pan with coconut oil and set aside.
Prepare the “maja”: Grind 3/4 cup of corn in a blender and pass through a sieve.
In a saucepan, combine ground corn with cornstarch, sugar, coconut milk, and the remaining 3 tablespoons corn. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly.
Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spoon. Cool until set. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 2 hours to chill.
Unmold and top with “latik”. Cut into serving sizes and enjoy!
Apples were on sale this past few weeks so I had bought my fair share. Actually MORE than my fair share that I had to dehydrate some to save them from going bad.
So I thought about making apple torte (https://athomewiththeresa.com/2020/11/27/apple-cream-torte/). But then someone mentioned apple cake with rum…so off to testing I went! I was told that spiced rum works best but I only had Bacardi so I used that. It worked!
You can definitely taste the rum in this cake. Which I like, but feel free to lessen the amount if you have to. Or replace it with apple juice to make it kid friendly.
Hope you like this recipe!
*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*
We have been trying to use sugar substitutes to reduce my husband’s sugar intake lately.
As you can imagine, I am up to the challenge to create sugar-free sweets as he loves baked goods almost as much as I do.
Chocolate chip cookies are a favorite in my home (as with most homes, I would guess!) so this is the first recipe I tried making. We went to the grocery store and I found our that Hershey’s made sugar free chocolate chips! Hurray! And on the back of the package, there is a recipe for sugar-free chocolate chip cookies that I decided to try, with some modifications.
Most of the sugar-free sweets I had before are dry, and compared to my regular cookies this is a little on the dry size. But my husband loves it so I’m sharing it here in case you’re looking for sugar free chocolate chip cookies recipe as it made delicious cookies.
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sucralose granulated sugar substitute
1/3 cup sucralose brown sugar blend, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla paste, or extract
2 large eggs
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup spelt flour(I used sprouted spelt this time)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups sugar-free chocolate chips (I used Hershey’s brand)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Beat butter , sugars and vanilla in the bowl of an electric stand mixer.
3. Add eggs and beat well.
4. Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Stir in walnuts, if using.
7. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto 2 large ungreased cookie sheets.
8. Bake 10 minutes at 375F until edges are lightly browned.
9. Cool for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Enjoy! This recipe makes 4 dozens so feel free to share!
I recently got back into making cake pops, as I discovered a whole bunch of molds made of silicone and plastic.
I ordered a lot of them to start experimenting again after not making it for about 5 years. I also ordered some fondant molds and luster powders for decorating.
It was an easier process back then. Just mix up a box of cake mix and bake as directed. Cool and crumble into little pieces, mix in about half a tub of ready made frosting and make little round balls. Dip into melted candy melts and cool.
Nowadays there are an infinite number of shapes and designs, one much more detailed than another.
For this post, I am using my bunny mold and heart mold, making cake pops without sticks. I will post a photo of my other cake pop with sticks at the bottom.
A box of cake mix, any flavor you like (I used chocolate)
The ingredients needed to prepare the cake (usually eggs, oil, and water)
A tub of ready made frosting (I used Butter Cream and Cream Cheese flavored frosting)
Chocolate or candy melts
Sprinkles, edible glitter, metallic spray, any other decoration as desired
1. First, you prepare the cake mix according to the directions provided on the box.
2. Pour into a greased 13×9 pan and bake as directed on the package.
3. Cool cake completely on a wire rack.
4. For these type of molds, you’ll first coat them with a layer of melted chocolate or candy melts, fill it with cake pop mix after it sets, then add another layer of chocolate or candy melts to seal.
5. To do that, melt some chocolate or candy melts in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring until melted and smooth. Pour about 1 tablespoon into the mold and work it up the sides with the back of a spoon. Try to coat the inside of the mold evenly. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or so to set. You can add another, thin layer to reinforce the shell if needed after it has set. Return to the fridge to set again.
6. While the shell is in the fridge, place the completely cooled cake, cut into pieces, in a food processor and pulse until finely crumbled.
7. Transfer to a bowl.
8. Add about half of the frosting and mix well. You want it to have a consistency similar to play dough.
9. Take the chocolate shells from the fridge and fill with cake pop mixture.
10. Press gently but firmly to fill throughout the mold.
11. Make sure to leave some space on top for another layer of chocolate or candy melts.
12. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of melted chocolate or candy melts over the filling.
13. Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon then a straight edged spatula to remove excess.
14. Place in the refrigerator to set, about 30 minutes or so.
15. Carefully unmold the cake pops. Tada! Aren’t they beautiful?
16. Pictures at the bottom are the traditional cake pops that have sticks.
These make the perfect birthday cake for our current Covid-19 situation. They’re individually portioned and easy to wrap up and give out.
Bananas Foster Cheesecake! Minus the flame as I had never done it, so it’s still scary for me to light up my food and watch the flames dance on it. 😊
This cheesecake has bananas in it too so you get to taste a hint of it, but together with the caramelized sugar and bananas ever so slightly toasted in butter…pure heaven in every bite!
Making it in the ELB makes sure you only get a small portion, not too much, so that there is no need to summon much will power. 😊
*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*
3. Place in the big ELB bowl. You can line the bottom with a parchment paper, cut to fit, to make it easier to remove the cheesecake later. You can also add parchment paper slings to make it even easier.
4. Press the mixture down with a spoon. Set aside.
5. Make the filling: In a bowl, place the cream cheese,
6. and brown sugar.
7. Beat well with a hand mixer until mixed.
8. In a small bowl, mash the banana for the filling.
9. I use a fork and just press down on the bananas until they look like this.
10. Add the mashed bananas to the cream cheese mixture.
11. Add the vanilla,
12. Salt,
13. And egg.
14. Beat everything together until well mixed.
15. Pour over the prepared crust and smooth the top using the back of a spoon.
16. Cover with foil and place in the ELB base. Add 3 ELB cups of water to the base, cover and let steam until it shuts off, about an hour.
17. Carefully open the ELB and set the cheesecake aside to cool while you make the topping.
18. Melt butter in a small saucepan.
19. Sprinkle the brown sugar over.
20. Add the cinnamon next.
21. Cook over medium low heat until it melts completely.
22. Place the banana slices on the mixture.
23. Lower heat and cook for a couple of minutes, flipping the bananas over once.
24. Pour the Bacardi rum over and let it heat for a few seconds.
25. Remove cheesecake from the bowl and place on a serving plate.
26. Pour the caramelized bananas over the cheesecake.
