Inspired by my favorite season, fall, I thumbed through my recipes a couple of weeks ago and found my mama's recipe for fresh apple cake. This is one of 10 recipes that she wrote down for me per my request several years ago. Those recipes are such a treasure to me now! The cake turned out beautifully and was very popular with the group who shared it with me. My dad has always said that German chocolate cake was his favorite but when I made this he informed me that it has been replaced by this apple cake. Pretty high compliment! Hope you enjoy it as much as my family and friends do!
For the cake:
1 1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 c. sugar
3 room-temperature eggs, beaten
3 c. sifted self-rising flour
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. coarsely chopped apples (I used honeycrisp apples)
1 c. finely chopped pecans
For the icing:
3/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar (dark or light,it doesn't really matter)
3/8 c. Eagle Brand milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Cake preparation:
Combine oil and sugar.
Add eggs.
Gradually add flour.
Add vanilla.
Fold in apples and pecans.
Bake in 3 layers (8" pans) at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.
Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake an additional 15 minutes.
While cake is cooling, prepare the icing:
Bring butter, sugar and milk to a boil.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
When icing has cooled, spread on cake.
I'm baaaackk!!! I am sorry that it has been a while since I last posted anything. Life has just been happening at break-neck speed over the past month or so but I hope to be settling back into somewhat of a routine. Since we are in the midst of my FAVORITE season, Fall, I thought I would share one of my FAVORITE recipes! I have a lot of favorite recipes but this is one that I have made so many times that I have committed it to memory and have been known to tell complete strangers in the grocery store about it. Seriously. The beauty of this recipe is it is an absolutely delicious, moist, perfectly pumpkin cake with to-die-for cream cheese frosting, but I have also made it sans frosting and baked it in a 9x13-in. pan. It is wonderful!! Hope you enjoy.
FOR CAKE:
Duncan Hines spice cake mix (yes, it has to be Duncan Hines to pass the test in my kitchen)
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. water
3 large eggs
15-oz. can Libby's pure pumpkin
FOR FROSTING*:
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 box powdered sugar
8-oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
*I halved this recipe when I made the cake in the picture because I didn't want to frost the entire cake.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all cake ingredients and pour into two greased 8" cake pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
While cake is baking, prepare cream cheese frosting. Cream the butter and cream cheese together, then gradually add powdered sugar, mixing on low speed. Add vanilla.
Frost cake once it has completely cooled.
I recently made this for a family dinner and it got rave reviews. Everyone was so anxious to eat that I completely forgot to take a picture though... sorry about that! I had been looking for a carrot souffle recipe for quite a while and as it turns out my BFF Tina had a wonderful one (I should have thought to check with her first LOL). It has certainly taken its place among recipes that I will use time and time again. Try it and let me know what you think!
2 lbs. peeled carrots, cut in half
3/4 c. plus 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter
3 eggs
Powdered sugar (for sprinkling on top)
Boil carrots until tender; drain.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease an 8 x 8-in. baking dish and sprinkle with 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar.
Mash carrots and add remaining ingredients except eggs.
Add eggs one at a time, making sure they are well-blended into the mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Sprinkle top lightly with powdered sugar before serving.
I spent a recent day off in the kitchen trying out new recipes. This is one of the dishes I tried and it was SO tasty! I love slow cooker recipes because they are so convenient, especially for those extra busy days. These ribs got rave reviews from my resident chef as well as the friends who shared a meal with us. Hope you enjoy!
3 lbs. baby back ribs
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
That's it. seriously. Four ingredients*! Gotta love it!
Place the ribs in a large slow cooker.
Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over ribs, being sure they are nicely coated.
Pour soy sauce over ribs.
Add water.
Cook on low heat for 8 hours, turning about halfway through the cook time (if you're not going to be home they will still cook just fine without turning them, I just wanted to make sure they were really coated in the juices.)
*When I made these, we loved them without extra sauce but also wanted to experiment with making a sauce for them in case someone preferred them that way. So, my resident chef (aka Dad) combined about 1 1/2 cups of sweet barbecue sauce (we like Sweet Baby Ray's but you can use whatever brand you prefer) with some of the juice that cooked out of the ribs and the sauce was AMAZING!
This recipe was given to my mom by my Godmother over 20 years ago. She also called them "tea cakes" and I remember having them many times when we would visit her. My godmother was an elderly lady who was the perfect mix of Southern belle and John Wayne (I know, quite a combination but it's true! LOL) Anyway, these cookies are so delicious! I'm planning on making them to include in Christmas goodie packages this year (shh.... don't tell anyone! LOL) Hope you enjoy!
3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt shortening and cool.
Add sugar, molasses and egg. Mix well.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
Add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Mix well. Dough will be very stiff.
Roll dough into small balls. Place on cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart.
Bake about 6-8 minutes.
Yield: About 5 dozen cookies
When I think of my mama's cooking there are a few dishes that come to mind immediately, things she often took to potlucks or just family favorites. Today's recipe is one of those. I cannot count how many batches of these brownies she baked over the years! I have tried to make them a couple of times since she passed and though they turn out quite tasty, they still don't taste exactly like hers. Maybe she just put a little extra "Mama love " in when she baked them. That being said, I hope you enjoy this one and it becomes a classic favorite for you as well!
1 box light brown sugar
2 sticks butter
3 extra large eggs, room temperature
1 c. chopped pecans
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 c. self-rising flour
Melt butter.
Add box of brown sugar. Let cool for 30 minutes*.
Add eggs, one at a time, stirring in completely.
Add pecans and chocolate chips.
Gradually add flour.
Pour into 13 x 9" ungreased baking dish.
Put into cold oven**.
Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, then turn oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake 20 minutes more.
* There's a note on Mama's recipe that says "It is very important to let the butter and brown sugar set for the full 30 minutes." - I guess she learned from experience what would happen if you don't!
** If you are like me, when you read the directions for baking something, the first thing you do is look at the oven temperature and preheat your oven, even if the directions don't tell you to do so. Well, DON'T do that with this recipe! I remember Mama drilling that into me many times when she made these - they have to start in a cold oven! :)
I am a huge fan of "Chopped" on Food Network. The creativity of those chefs and their ability to create amazing dishes with the strangest combination of ingredients is just amazing to me! Though I will never reach that level of culinary skill I decided to raid my cabinets the other day and see what kind of dish I could create, only allowing myself to use ingredients that I already had on hand. This is what I came up with and it turned out very well - my "resident chef" approved and that means a lot! Hope you enjoy!
1 lb. lean ground beef, browned and drained
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1 10 3/4-oz. can beef broth
1 packet Lipton onion soup mix
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce (optional)
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can Leseur small English peas
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
1 packet instant mashed potatoes, prepared according to package directions (you could also make mashed potatoes from scratch if you prefer, but remember I only allowed myself to use ingredients that I already had on hand)
Salt, to taste
Melt butter in large skillet. Add flour and stir until lightly browned. This makes a roux, the thickening agent for your sauce.
Add a little bit of beef broth, then stir in onion soup mix and ketchup.
Add more beef broth, then stir in corn and peas.
Add remaining beef broth, Kitchen Bouquet, garlic powder and salt. Stir.
Stir in browned ground beef. Let this mixture simmer for a bit until it thickens slightly.
Pour this mixture into a 3-qt. casserole dish. Spoon prepared mashed potatoes over beef mixture.
Sprinkle shredded cheddar over top of potatoes.
Bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
