A Christmas Cake...

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe for everyone or taken any pictures of the things I've made...so shoot me. :)

I have been busy with traveling to NY and then came home to the birth of a new Grandbaby (a girl) within a week or so. In between that I've been scrambling for Christmas gifts, getting interviewed for a job (that I've waited and hoped for for almost a year) and just the general every day stuff. HOWEVER..all that said I do have a cake recipe for you to try this Christmas season.
It's fattening, decadent and totally delish!

Ready for it? Here ya go..

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

3 sticks of butter, softened
1 pkg (8 oz.) Cream cheese, softened
3 Cups Sugar
6 eggs
3 Cups flour (self rising)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Line the bottom of a tube pan with wax paper and coat lightly with butter. (I use a brush) Heat oven to 300 degrees.
Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add sugar and beat till light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Begin adding flour 1/2 a cup at a time, beating after each addition till all 3 cups are incorporated.
Bake on center rack of oven 1 1/2 hours.
Cool and remove from pan.

Additions you can do:
1. Sprinkle the top with sifted powdered sugar, serve.

2. Heat up to 2 Cups of strawberry jam, adding 1/2 C. (or more if needed) apple juice to make a hot sauce. Sever over cake slices.

3. Melt 2 bars of your favorite chocolate, add 1/2 C. heavy cream, drizzle on top of slices.

Or do it like I do..and just EAT IT like it is! YUM!!!

ENJOY!!

Ok, here we are again

If you've kept up with the main page "Sagewood Farm" then you know, we've been busy with cake baking, wedding decorations and the 'I do's' around here!

This was not my first adventure in cake baking, and SIMPLE decorating..like "Happy Birthday" written on the top, but this was my first adventure into something a bit more elaborate. I'm sure many of you know to buy a cake from a professional can cost you ENORMOUS amounts of money and since the economy is the way it is we certainly didn't want to spend a good portion of our budget on a cake, I decided to 'make' the girlchilds wedding cake.
I already had a fantastic cake recipe, (one that withstands freezing, is firm but moist and is just the best recipe) so now all I had to do was 'learn to decorate', at least the little tips and tricks. I searched the 'net', studied up on it a bit and yep, sure did learn a few things.

So with recipe in hand, let the adventure begin!

PREP WORK:

Let all ingredients get to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 325 °

Butter and flour your pans. (Use a one tube pan or 4 loaf pans)

Mix all dry ingredients.

*I also used waxed paper on the bottom of the tube pan. (allow small cut sections to come up on the sides. This prevents any batter from escaping out of the cracks in the pan!)

*I'm doing this recipe twice here, once in a tube pan for the cake bottom, and one in a small souffle dish for the small cake at the top. The loaf pan is for the extra batter on cake #2.

Now, for the recipe:

Wanda's Butter Pound Cake

1 C. butter, softened

2 1/2 C. Sugar

6 eggs (separated)

3. C. plain flour
1/2 t. baking soda

8 oz. sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon (optional)

1/2 C. Sugar

Cream butter and sugar

Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing between additions.

I put the eggs in a separate bowl, pick up the yolk carefully, the transfer the white to my 'mixing' bowl, putting the yolk in my batter then mix. Repeat for all 6 eggs.

Combine all dry ingredients in separate bowl. Add dry ingredients one cup at a time, alternating with sour cream, mixing after each addition. Add vanilla and lemon (if using). Mix well.

Beat the egg whites till stiff, but not dry. Adding in the 1/2 C of sugar, one T. at a time. Fold egg whites into batter.

Fill tube pan and bake for 90 mins in center of oven.

** hints and tips:

This cake is a bit twitchy to opening the door of the oven, so you know what?? DON'T! Stomping around the kitchen is not recommended either, this cake WILL fall! (ask me how I know this!)

So..if you don't beat and bang about the kitchen, this is what you should have when you're done.

Ok..there ya go. Cool in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

This cake does NOT need icing, trust me! HOWEVER, since I used this for a wedding cake, next comes the icing of course!

Classic Butter Cream Icing

Here's what I do to make a 'semi stiff stable' pipable frosting.

1 C. Butter to 1 bag of powdered sugar.

1tsp. vanilla to each bag of sugar. I do add a touch of lemon flavoring to 'tone down' the sweetness.

Mix well!

Let butter come to room temperature (very soft). Blend butter, add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing as you go till the icing is smooth. Add vanilla, mix again. This recipe does NOT need any liquid. It keeps it more stable in 'warm summer' temperatures and makes for good 'decorator' icing on speciality cakes. :) HOWEVER..if you find it is too stiff, add cream or milk, 1 Tsp at a time until it's the consistency you desire.

ENJOY!!

NEXT post: Icing and decorating tips and tricks I used!