Cold Oven Pound Cake

About 7 months ago I came across an interesting cookbook titled "America's Best Lost Recipes." I knew from one recipe that was published a few years ago in a newspaper that this cookbook was something I would like to have. Unfortunately the book's price on line was too steep for my budget. However, recently I searched for the book on Amazon and the price was right...under $10 after shipping and handling. So after examining the recipes cover to cover, I decided to try this recipe first. It sounded extremely rich, but with 8 ingredients, I thought it would be an easy start when tackling this cookbook.

Cold Oven Pound Cake*
America's Best Lost Recipes

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup skim or 1% milk*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 large eggs, separated, room temperature
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 cups sugar

1.   Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. (Do not heat oven.) Grease and flour a 12-cup tube pan. Whisk the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the milk, vanilla, and egg yolks in a large measuring cup.
2.   With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Beat the butter, shortening, and sugar together on medium-high speed until fluffy, (about 2 minutes.) Reduce the speed to low, and add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternately in two batches, beating after each addition until combined. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the egg whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and place in the cold oven.
3.   Heat the oven to 300 degrees and bake the cake for 45 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 325 and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes, run a knife around the edge of the cake, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely, at least 1 hour. Serve. (The cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

*Note: Starting the cake in a cold oven sounds like a recipe for disaster. But instead it helps the cake develop a nice crust and delicate crumb. We tried baking the cake in both a slightly warm oven (the oven had been used for a previous recipe) and a preheated oven. The truly cold oven cake had the sturdiest crust of all. It is important to use skim or 1% milk for this recipe. Using 2% or whole milk will result in a heavier cake, with less height.

Making this pound cake was relatively easy (just a lot of dirty dishes to clean). But that didn't matter in the end, because the taste was excellent. I would make this cake again.

Banana Coffee Cake...moist, delicious, and sweeten just right

I love a good banana, but it has to be at the "perfect" ripeness for me to enjoy. I don't like a green banana, and if it has any brown spots...forget it. One thing I hate to do is threw away a perfectly good banana. That's when I decided to seek out a dessert recipe that calls for the popular yellow fruit.

From cookbooks to baking websites, the number of banana recipes is staggering. One of my favorite desserts is Banana's Foster. But I was looking for something a little less sweet, and can be served at breakfast or after dinner.

After searching my favorite websites and sifting through countless number of food magazines, I spotted a banana recipe that's perfect. It's easy and simple, and I found it in a Quick Cooking magazine from 2000.

I made two cakes and offered them to my neighbors, before making one for myself. Everyone said the cake was tasty and light. I would agree with their findings. But don't take it from me, try it yourself. I think you will be happy with the results.

Banana Coffee Cake
Taste of Home's QUICK COOKING
November/December 2000


1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

TOPPING
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tbl sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the bananas and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Combine topping ingredients; add half to batter. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with the remaining topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

If you enjoyed this dessert as much as I did, just remember, I found it in a decade-old magazine. Just because something is old, doesn't mean it has nothing to offer!

Walnut Cake Anyone?

This being my first year in my new home, I decided to bake a traditional dessert using an item grown in this part of the country, walnuts. I decided to try my hand at baking a walnut cake using the nuts produced from my own tree. The walnuts from my Black Walnut tree have a different flavor than the ones we see at the grocery stores. Black walnuts have a strong, rich, smoky flavor with a hint of wine. My neighbors warned me of this when I announced I was baking the cake. However, I was determined to make use of a handful of those nuts that have carpeted my backyard. Using a recipe from The Web, I found the cake to be very tasty. But as forewarned, the overwhelming flavor of black walnuts was a bit too much for me. Next time, I think I will go commercial and bake with English walnuts.

When I went searching for a recipe, I came to the conclusion that walnut cakes are not a commonly made dessert. I first looked in my cookbook library, which includes three that were published in the 1960s. No luck. Then I found this recipe after searching The Web.

Walnut Cake
cooksrecipes.com

Cake:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups ground walnuts

Frosting:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
5 to 51/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350*F (175*C). Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans; set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk and vanilla. Beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in ground walnuts. Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack to cool completely.

For frosting, beat cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl. Add sugar, mixing well. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts over top.
Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

French Macaroons

My first attempt at making French macaroons was not as successful as I had hoped. I was unable to create the "foot" of the cookie. I think the use of five egg whites may have contributed to this failure. With the used of lemon zest and yellow dye, these macaroons were tasty, even though they didn't correctly form. Next time I make these challenging cookies, I will use one less egg. Hopefully this will solve the problem.