Farewell 2010... a holiday cake

I made this light, little beauty over the holidays, got caught up in the magic of Christmas, joy of having my family all home together, blessing of a coming new year and general laziness before realizing I hadn't shared it with you. It is so pretty and all dolled up for a holiday table but can easily be dressed for any occasion! I just sugared some cranberries and mint to make it snowy and wreath looking. It is angel food cake at it's finest and simplest. My mother is not a chocolate fan so this was made for her. The chocolate fiends in the family got brownie-mousse cups. May 2011 bring us all happiness, comfort, hope, friendship and more love than we can all bare!!!

Angel Food Cake

1 C sugar
1 C cake flour
1/2 t salt
10 large egg whites
1 1/2 t cream of tartar
1t almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. Sift the sugar and flour together, twice. Add salt and set aside. In your stand mixer, whisk the egg whites for about 3 minutes, until frothy then add the cream of tartar and up the speed until moist, soft peaks form (careful not to over beat). Beat in the almond extract. Dust a layer of the flour mixture over the surface of the egg whites and fold it in. Repeat until the batter is completely combined. Pour the batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan and bake for 40 minutes. Immediately place pan upside down on the pan feet. Cool thoroughly before removing from the pan. Place on cake plate.

Frosting

1 1/2 C heavy cream
3/4 C sugar
1/2 t vanilla
2 C coconut flakes

Whip the cream until very thick, add the sugar and vanilla. Spread with swirls all over the angel food cake then top with coconut, pressing with the palms of your hands so it sticks to all sides of the cake.

Gingerbread 2010

Every year my family decorates gingerbread 2 nights before Christmas. It's become quite a fierce competition. We trash talk and keep secrets, none of us have much real artistic talent... except my father. He's a total show-off (note my jealousy). Notice his Abominable Snow Monster from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Awesome! There is no recipe here... just a few silly shots from our cookie night and a wish to whoever stops by to read this for a Merry and blessed Christmas!

The top photo of our cookies goes like this:
Reindeer by my sister
Yankees guy by my husband
Soldier-ish guy by my sisters boyfriend
tree by me
white snowlady by my mom
gift by my oldest daughter
Alice (from Wonderland) by my youngest daughter
and... drum roll please...
Abominable Snow Monster by my dad

Christmas Party Cakes

My husband and I had a little Christmas party a few weeks ago. We had a lovely night with old friends, new friends, music, drinks and food. One item I served was this chocolate cake. Simple and delicious... it begs to be shared. The recipe suggests serving it warm so it is gooey. When served warm you get just that a warm, gooey chocolate cake. When the cake rests and is served cooled, it is even more delicious as it develops a fudge like texture and is really tasty! I purchased the darling stencils at Macy's, they're from the Martha Stewart Christmas collection and I love them! They make the cakes so cute! There is a third stencil included but not shown (a triple set of snowmen). They make them in smaller sizes for cookies/cupcakes as well. I am dreaming up new ways to use them because I think they are just so adorable! I served a pear butter alongside the cakes but they are wonderful standing alone too.

WARM CHOCOLATE CAKE

3/4 Cup butter + 1 teaspoon for greasing pan
1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons AP flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Cups sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350. Using the 1 teaspoon butter grease an 8" round cake pan. In a small bowl combine the flour and salt. In your stand mixer beat the remaining butter until it is very creamy. Add in the sugar, then the eggs and beat until fluffy (about 3 minutes). In a small bowl combine the cocoa and oil until smooth. Add the vanilla and the cocoa mixture to the butter mixture and just blend. Add the flour mixture in 2 increments and mix until well combined then pour into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan then turn cake out onto a serving platter and garnish as desired.

Merry Christmas! 2010 was a beautiful and blessed year for me and my family and I pray yours was too. I look forward to more fun food adventures in 2011 and wish you all a Happy New Year!