French Country Cooking
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 large apples
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and center a rack in the oven. Butter an 8 inch springform pan. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the springform pan on it. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl.
Peel the apples, cut them in half, and remove the cores. Cut the apples into 1 to 2 inch chunks.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until foamy.
Pour in the sugar and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half of the flour mixture, when it’s incorporated, add half of the melted butter, followed by the remaining flour mixture and butter.
Mix in between additions so you have a smooth, thick batter.
Fold in the apples with a rubber spatula. Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread with spatula so the batter is somewhat even.
Slide the pan in the oven and bake 50-60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for five minutes.
Run a knife around the edges of the cake and remove from the pan. Cool cake until slightly warm or at room temperature. If you want to remove the cake from the pan, wait until the cake is completely cooled. Slide a long spatula between the cake and pan, cover the top of the cake with a piece of parchment or wax paper, and invert it onto a rack. Carefully remove the bottom of the pan and turn the cake over onto a serving platter.
*Note-you can serve the cake with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Do not cover the cake because it is so moist. Just press a piece of plastic wrap against the cut surfaces of the cake.
This is Red Velvet Cake. It has no cocoa. The ones with the cocoa are properly-"Red Devil Velvet Cakes".
2 ½ cups self-rising flour (preferably White Lily)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole buttermilk
2 ½ tablespoons red food coloring
Cream Cheese Frosting
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 9-by-2-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, and line with wax paper. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking soda. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla. With an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until flour has been incorporated. Slowly add buttermilk. Add food coloring, and beat to combine.
Divide batter among pans; each pan will be about half full. Tap pans on counter to remove bubbles. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the pans to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Invert pans onto wire racks sprayed with vegetable oil to cool cake completely, or quick-chill in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
To assemble, place one layer, top side down, on a cake stand. Using an offset spatula, spread with 1/4 inch of frosting. Repeat with remaining layers. To frost the top and sides of the cake, work from the center toward and over the edge, making sure to evenly coat. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.
Cream Cheese Frosting for Red Velvet CakeMakes 6 cups
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup (1 stick) margarine, room temperature
1 pound confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Place cream cheese and margarine in a medium bowl. With a handheld electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar, pecans, and vanilla. Beat, on low speed to combine. If too soft, chill until slightly stiff, about 10 minutes, before using.
Traditionally used at Christmas and for weddings. Follow the directions! You will need a LOT of good Myers Rum. Don't stint on it. Soak the fruit mixture at least a month before you make the cake. If you're still in search of a decent fruit cake look no further. It's wildly different and beautiful; Noir comme la nuit.
1 lb. butter or margarine, softened
1 lb. dark brown sugar
1 dozen eggs
1 lb. flour
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. burnt sugar (found in Caribbean markets) or substitute molasses
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 cup Rum (Meyers)
Dried Fruit Mixture:
1 lb. prunes
1 lb. golden raisins
1 lb. black currants
1 lb. cherries
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until pale yellow. Add 2 eggs at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and burnt sugar (or molasses). In a medium bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Add slowly to the large bowl, mixing well. The batter will be very heavy. Add about 2 cups of the fruit mixture (more or less according to taste). Mix well.
Pour into well greased and floured Bundt cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about an 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. (It will begin to pull away from the edges as well. The hole in the bundt cake pan helps assure it gets cooked in the middle.)
Once the cake is cooled (do not remove it from the tin), pour approximately 1/4 cup of rum over it. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Check the cake every 2 to 3 days. If it becomes "dry" add some more rum. Continue in this manner for 1 month. (You might not have to add any rum to it after 2 weeks, but keep checking it.)
Fruit Mixture: Chop fruit in blender or food processor. Put into a jar which can be tightly sealed. Cover the contents with rum and seal the jar.
Keep in a cool, dark place. This should be done at least 1 month in advance of the cake. If you don't use all of the fruit mixture, don't worry...it will keep for years! It's also a great topping for vanilla ice cream.
This is a wonderful tradition. Mothers used this to teach their children how to find scripture passages as well as how to cook with this recipe-one way of making cooking fun as well as educational. A goodeal of intergenerational interaction and parent/sibling bonding. Not a bad idea is it? "Let's see, Psalms is in the center of the Bible, which side is Judges on?"
4-1/2 cups cake flour; 1 Kings IV, 22
1 cup butter; Judges V, 25
2 cups sugar; Jeremiah VI, 20
2 cups raisins; 1 Samuel XXX, 12
2 cups figs; Nahum III, 12
2 cups almonds; Numbers XVII, 8
1/2 cup sour milk; Judges IV, 19
3 tablespoonfuls honey; 1 Samuel XIV, 25Pinch of salt; Leviticus II, 13
6 eggs; Jeremiah XVII, 11
2 teaspoonfuls soda; Amos IV, 5
Season with spices to taste; II Chronicles IX, 9
(Note, I use about a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg and a quarter teaspoon each of ginger and cloves. By the way, you might notice that in most recipes that call for both cinnamon and ginger you use twice as much cinnamon as ginger.)
Follow Solomon's prescription for making a good boy (Proverbs III, 12) (beat it well), and you will have a good cake. Bake in slow oven.
Burnt Jeremiah Syrup
An old fashioned dessert sauce recipe to turn your Scripture Cake into a delicious cake/ pudding/dessert.
1 1/2 c. Jeremiah 6:20 (sugar)
1/4 c. Genesis 18:8 (butter)
1/2 c. Genesis 24:25 (water) Melt Jeremiah 6 in heavy skillet over low heat; continue cooking until syrup is deep amber. Add Genesis 24; cook until syrup is smooth. Remove from heat; add Genesis 18 and stir until melted. Cool. Makes approximately 1 1/4 cups syrup.
