Old Fashioned Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Making do...with Bombshell results!


Although I won't swear to it, I think this is a Depression Era recipe, and it makes perfect sense if you think about it. When oil, butter and eggs were terribly expensive, home cooks could make use of the ingredients from mayonnaise is made (oil and eggs), and still produce decandent chocolate cakes for their families. The cool thing is that these cakes actually were delicious - and it's hard to find one that is more moist than this. Ask someone who went through the Depression about a mayonnaise cake, and chances are you'll see that dreamy look, along with "my grandmother used to make a cake that was SO good...". That's exactly what this is.



I made just a couple of changes to the very traditional mayonnaise cake, to brighten up and intensify both the chocolate flavor and the faint 'tang' in the background that sets it off so beautifully. The cake also goes together in a snap, and is perfectly paired with a simple chocolate frosting. The result is moist, delicious, not too sweet and perfectly chocolate. They knew what they were doing in the Depression - making do with what they had, and still producing food that was worthy enough of a deep "mmm hmmm!". That's Bombshell in any era!

Ingredients


You'll Need:



· 2 cups flour



· 1/2 cup cocoa



· 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda



· 1/4 teaspoon salt



· 1 cup sugar



· 3/4 cup mayonnaise



· 1/2 cup cold coffee



· ½ cup sour cream



· 2 teaspoons vanilla



Frost with vanilla buttercream, cream cheese frosting or chocolate frosting. The favorite frosting in our house is the simple chocolate frosting - not too sweet and a perfect compliment to the moist cake!

Directions


1. Butter and flour two nine inch cake pans. Preheat oven to 325F.

2.In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

3.In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar and mayonnaise.

4.Add the coffee, sour cream and vanilla, mixing well.

5.Add the flour/cocoa mixture to the sugar/mayonnaise mixture, and stir until compeltely blended.

6.Divide the cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans, smoothing the tops of the batter with a knife or offset spatula.

7.Bake at 325F for twenty minutes, turning and rotating pans halfway through cooking time. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto wire cooling racks. Allow to cool completley before frosting with Chocolate Frosting.




 

Tortellini Soup

Although for breakfast and supper, I usually have at least 6-8 people around my table, at lunch time it's often just myself, or at most my Dad and brother join me during their lunchtimes. This leaves me either digging for leftovers, or actually skipping lunch, since cooking for just one is no fun at all. Even worse - when I run out for fast food. That stuff will kill you. Not good.



One of my resolutions lately was to stop skipping meals, and to avoid fast food at (almost) any cost. On the other hand I really don't want to put too much time into lunch, so I've come up with several quick meals that can come together quickly. One of my favorites is soup - with a good homemade chicken broth and a few ingredients, you have an endless variety of flavor profiles. Pick a starch (potatoes, pasta, rice), a protein (chicken, pork, beef, cheese, seafood) and some veggies (onion, garlic, celery, carrot, bell pepper, peas, spinach), and some herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, cilantro) and you're good to go.



In this case I built the soup around store bought cheese tortellini - and the result was fantastic. The broth is key - so if you must use canned or boxed broth, be careful to taste and adjust the seasonings. You may need to increase the herbs to get rid of the 'canned' taste. Or throw in a bouillon cube to enrich it some. This one works for lunch - but it's just as good for supper time. A little garlic bread and some green veggies and the meal is done!

•1 tablespoon olive oil

•½ small onion, diced

•2 cloves garlic, minced

•6 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

•1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes

•1 teaspoon oregano

•1 teaspoon thyme

•1 teaspoon parsley

•Pinch red pepper flakes

•Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

•10 ounces spinach, rinsed and chopped

•2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

•1 (16 ounce) package prepared cheese tortellini, thawed

Directions


1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook tortellini according to package directions. Set aside.



2. In the meantime, in a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant and onion becomes slightly translucent.



3. Add broth, tomatoes, oregano, thyme, parsley and red pepper. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Taste, and adjust for kosher salt and black pepper. Add fresh spinach, and simmer for 5 minutes. You can also toss in cubed cooked chicken, or a handful of fresh or frozen peas - just add these with the tortellini and allow them to heat through.



4. Add tortellini to the chicken broth, and simmer another minute, or until just heated through.



5. Serve with fresh Parmesan.



A couple of easy changes - feel free to substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth. You can also add small cubed carrot or celery, just saute these other vegetables with the onion and garlic. Also fabulous is leftover sauteed Italian sausage, or meatballs of any kind. This lovely little base soup is very adaptable!

Refried Beans

Refried beans are a staple of both Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisines, and there are many variations on how to prepare them. Tex-Mex cooking uses mainly pinto beans, while further south refried beans may be made with other varieties such as red or black beans. In any case they are delicious.




Sure you can open a can - but this little dish is super simple to prepare and once you taste the 'real' homemade kind, you'll most likely turn your nose up at the prepackaged stuff. Homemade just tastes better. Not only that - but you can tweak the recipe to your heart's content. Traditional refried beans are literally cooked twice - once as they simmer, and a second time fried in lard after they are mashed.



Now - I have no problem with pork of any kind, including lard. But for this dish I just skip that step. There is a slight difference in the taste and 'feel' of the finished dish - but you'll barely notice it. And for me it's not necessarily a fat issue - it's just faster to do it this way. If you wish, feel free to pop some lard or bacon fat in a skillet and fry up the mashed beans. You can add additional onion or jalapeno or chopped tomato at that stage if you like. Since i usually have a table full of kids and brothers waiting to devour what I cook - I cut the final step. Everyone is happy.



Now one note - season the beans as you cook them. There are lots of places out there that will tell you that salting beans at the beginning of cooking will prevent them from getting tender. THAT'S NOT TRUE. If you don't salt at the beginning, the beans will really never taste 'seasoned', and will be salty instead. So season as you go (it's acids like tomatoes that cause beans to stay too hard in cooking).

Ingredients

You'll Need:



•1 onion, peeled and halved

•3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed

•1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped - you can also use serranos for more heat, or pablanos for less heat

•2 tablespoons minced garlic

•1 1/2 tablespoons salt

•1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

•1 bay leaf

•1 teaspoon ground cumin, optional

•1 1/2 quarts water

Optionals:



•1/4 cup lard

•1/2 cup diced onion

•2 Roma tomatoes, diced

•1-2 jalapenos, diced

•1/2 cup cheese - Cheddar, Monterray Jack or cojto cheese

Directions


1. Rinse and pick over dried beans. Place them with the onion, pepper, garlic salt, pepper and bay leaf in the insert of a slow cooker. Alternately, place them in a large, heavy Dutch oven (you'll use very low heat or an oven set at 250F). Add enough water to cover - you may need a bit more or less than the quart and a half. The goal is to keep them covered by about an inch or so during cooking time. Stir to combine.



2. If using a slow cooker, set the cooker to high, and allow beans to cook for about eight hours. You want them tender, but not mushy. You can also use a low oven, or a stove top set to low. If using the stovetop though, don't leave the house!



3. Once the beans are tender, drain off the cooking liquid, but don't toss it out. You'll want it in a minute. With a potato masher, mash the beans, adding just enough cooking liquid to obtain the right consistency. You can use a food processor or blender if you wish, but be careful - the texture can quickly become too soft.



4. You can serve the beans at this point - which is what I normally do. You can also top them with cheese and bake them in a 350F oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Try Monterray Jack or cojito. If you want to go a step further, toward more traditional refried beans, then combine the beans with about 1/4 cup of lard, 1/2 diced onion, and a couple of diced Roma tomatoes. Add a diced jalapeno or two, and bake in a 350F oven for 45 minutes.

Steak Fajitas

My kids - especially the oldest - are fajita crazy. Ricky (said oldest) even went through a phase when he was younger when he wanted nothing for weeks on end except the fillings for fajitas - only flank steak at that.



Needless to say, restaurants are a bit expensive with four kids - especially when those Precious Darlings no longer eat off the children's menu. Yikes. Since I love a culinary challenge, I decided the time had come to make fajitas that tasted better than anything we could pick up in a restaurant. I'm sneaky that way - that would mean the Horde O'Children would want to eat at home.



I was delighted to discover that they're relatively easy - and the meal comes together really quickly too. The only tricks are to remember the marinade, and to use a good cast iron skillet or grill pan. Of course the other 'stuff' - the guacamole, salsa and refried beans on the side make a difference, and for all of these, fresh and homemade is best. A few extra minutes in planning and prep for each of these recipes pays off in spades for both cost AND flavor!

Ingredients

You'll Need:



For the Marinade:

•1/4 cup orange juice

•3 tablespoons lime juice

•1/4 cup olive oil

•3 large garlic cloves, smashed

•1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce

•1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

•1 teaspoon ground cumin

•1 teaspoon kosher salt

•2 1/4 pounds skirt or flank steak, trimmed

For the Fajitas:

•Salt and pepper

•2 bell peppers, thinly sliced - if you have a mix of colors use them! Red and yellow are my favorites, but green will work in a pinch

•1 large onion, thinly sliced

•2 tablespoons lime juice

•1 tablespoon olive oil

•10-12 flour tortillas, wrapped in foil and warmed in the oven

•Guacamole, fresh is best!

•Salsa

•Sour cream - optional

•Cheese - optional

Directions:


Marinate the Beef:



1.In a gallon sized Ziploc bag, combine all marinade ingredients. Add the steak, and massage it to work the marinade in. Place the bag in the fridge and allow it to sit for about 4-8 hours. Turn it once if you remember - if not, no big deal.

2.Preheat a cast iron skillet (cast iron is best) over medium high heat.

3.Remove the steak from the marinade and shake off the excess. Season well with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Place steak on hot skillet and cook for about 5-6 minutes per side. You want a nice crusty outside, so once it's on the heat, don't mess with it until time to flip it over.

4.Once cooked, place the steak on a cutting board and allow it to rest. Don't skip the resting! In the meantime, turn the pan down a bit, drizzle a little olive oil on it, and add the peppers and onions.

5.Cook the veggies until they get really fragrant. You want them to just begin to become tender, but they still have a bit of crunch. Toss on the lime juice, sprinkle with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

6.Slice the steak against the grain - you'll slice from the short end. Slice very thinly, and place steak slices on top of peppers and onions. If you have juices on your cutting board from the steak, drizzle these on top of the sliced steak/onions/peppers.

To serve:



Spread some salsa and guacamole on a warm tortilla. Add guacamole and shredded cheese if you wish. Top sauces with several slices of steak and add several slices each of the peppers and onions. Roll it up and enjoy!

Sothern Blackberry Jam Cake

Fresh berries can be a little tricky to use in cakes - it's hard to know how much liquid they'll release, or how sweet they'll be before you start baking. They are notorious for releasing far too much juice and ruining a batter - or for being so tart that the cake isn't nearly sweet enough.

Some ECG (that's an Evil Culinary Genius) figured out that the fabulous flavor of fresh berries can be captured easily - once the berries are either pureed and sweetened, or when they are made into jam. The Southern Jam cake takes advantage of this second method. Blackberry (or other berries) jam is stirred into the cake batter - giving the cake the flavor of the berry and lending it's sweetness as it does.With blackberries, the cake itself turns a pretty pale purple color, and the spices in the batter give the finished cake a flavor reminiscent of a mild spice cake.



Blackberries tend to be on the tart side, so when assembling this cake I use a sweetened filling. I repeat the blackberries in the filling to intensify the subtle berry flavor. The filling also serves to help keep the cake moist. And this cake is delicious with either a simple vanilla buttercream, or the beloved cream cheese frosting. It's hard to go wrong with this one!

Southern Blackberry Jam Cake


You'll Need



•· 3 cups all purpose flour, sifted

•· 1 teaspoon soda

•· 1/2 teaspoon salt

•· 1 teaspoon ground allspice

•· 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

•· 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

•· 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

•· 2 cups chopped pecans, toasted and divided

•· 1 cup raisins or chopped dates, optional

•· 1 cup butter

•· 1 1/2 cups sugar

•· 3 eggs, beaten

•· 1 cup blackberry jam, seedless

•· 1 cup buttermilk

•Fresh blackberries - to garnish cake

Blackberry Filling (recipe below)

Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions


1.Butter and flour three nine inch cake pans. Set aside.

2.Preheat oven to 350F.

3.In a medium skillet over medium low heat, toast pecans until fragrant. Divide in half. Set 1 cup of pecans with which to decorate the cake, and mix the other half with the raisins.

4.In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.

5.Sift about a half a cup of the flour mixture over the nuts and raisins, and toss to combine.

6.In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, and beat until fully incorporated and again light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add blackberry jam and mix well.

7.Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, working in three batches and beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until smooth after each addition. Stir in half the nuts (1 cup) and raisins.

8.Divide the batter evenly among the three cake pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until springy to the touch, and a wooden skewer inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.

9.Allow cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto wire cake racks and cool completely before frosting.

10.Spread Blackberry Filling between layers. Frost with buttercream or cream cheese frosting.





Blackberry Filling

You'll Need:



•1 cup blackberry jam

•4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

•1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature

•4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

•1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.

2.Stir in vanilla extract and blackberry jam, mixing well to combine.

3.Working in batches, beat in powdered sugar. Mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you work.

4.Chill filling until ready to use.

Fresh Strawberry Triple Layer Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

Scratch Strawberry CakeThis particular beautiful pink bombshell really should be made no earlier than June - wait for the real, homegrown strawberries to make their appearance before making this. You can certainly do it at other times of the year, using hothouse berries, or even frozen ones, and the result will be perfectly acceptable.




But when strawberries are fresh and in season, bursting with intense flavor and natural sugars, this cake becomes far more than acceptable. It becomes something akin to divine. It's a little difficult to find strawberry cake recipes that are truly scratch - that use the subtle sweet/tart thing of a fresh strawberry instead of flavored gelatins or pudding mixes for the flavor. Perhaps if you're making this in January it wouldn't be a bad idea to cheat with a mix. But if you have a batch of fabulous strawberries, then this is the cake for you.



In this case I use a strawberry buttercream frosting with just a hint of lemon zest. I made it for my oldest - who is a strawberry fiend, but who also doesn't like cakes or frostings that are so sweet they overwhelm natural flavors (yeah, I know. I've raised food nerds). A hint for success with this cake: make sure the cake layers are absoltuely cool before frosting. Going a bit further and chilling them is a better idea. The cakes are moist and have a delicate crumb, and can split from the weight of frosting if even a little bit warm. As soon as you've frosted the layers, pop them back in the fridge to chill and set.



Feel free to garnish with fresh berries of course! But keep in mind that very ripe strawberries, which taste the best, will also have a tendancy to 'weep' a bit once they are in contact with the frosting. So garnish at the last possible minute to preserve the appearance of the cake. Or use bueberries and flaked, sweetened coconut for the contrast or to celebrate 4th of July. Or beautiful edible flowers for a baby shower or birthday... you get the picture. So pop this one out next summer - and ach bite will burst with the sweetest taste of summer.

IngredientsYou'll Need:




•butter and flour - for the cake pans

•3 cups all purpose flour

•2 cups granulated sugar

•1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

•1/2 teaspoom salt

•3/4 cup vegetable oil

•1 1/2 cup strawberry puree

•1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

•4 large eggs, beaten

•red food coloring (optional)

For strawberry puree - simple run two to three cups of strawberries through the blender or food processor until very smooth. You can strain the puree to remove seeds if you wish, but I usually don't bother.

Directions1.Preheat oven to 325F. Butter and flour three 8 inch cake pans, and set aside.


2.In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, vegetable oil, baking powder, salt, strawberry puree, vanilla, lemon zest and eggs.



3.Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. The tops of the cakes should be springy to the touch, and a cake tester (aka wooden toothpick or skewer) inserted into the center of each cake should come out clean.

4.Allow cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then turn cakes out onto wire cooling racks to cool completley. You can frost them once they reach room temperature, but it is better to chill the cakes for at least an hour before assembling and frosting.

5.Frost cakes with either vanilla buttercream, cream cheese frosting, or with Strawberry Buttercream (recipe below). Garnish with fresh strawberries or blueberries or with sweeteened flaked coconut. Store finished cake in the refridgerator.



Strawberry Buttercream You'll Need:



•4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

•1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

•1 teaspoon vanilla

•1 cup strawberry puree

•1 teaspoon lemon zest

•4-6 cups powdered sugar

1.In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and stir well. Stir in strawberry puree and lemon zest.

2.Working in one cup batches and keeping the mixer on low, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you work, slowly add the powdered sugar. You may need more or less powdered sugar - depending on what consistency you desire, and how sweet the berries were that you used in the puree. I recently used a full 7 cups of powdered sugar - but I broke my own rule and used frozen winter time berries that weren't the least bit sweet. I've used as little as four cups in the middle of July.




 
 

Banana Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

My sister makes the best banana bread ever - and for some reason I can't seem to remember the recipe. Ever. So every few years I call her for the recipe again, and then as time passes I subsequently get farther and farther away from what she told me to do. Eventually I give up and call her again. I don't have a clue why banana bread seems to be my weakness.



Every once in a while though, what I end up with actually tastes really good - it's not her banana bread, but it's worth eating. In this case I what I got was very cakey - and I realized that while I was light years away from Kelly's banana bread, I was certainly on track for something similar and equally luscious. So of course I slathered it with cream cheese frosting, and out of failure came triumph! Since I have an obsession with the whole great tall layer cake thing anyway - it was a winner all around.



This is what happens when a relatively healthy banana bread goes over to the Dark Side. Rich, moist delicious banana scented cake is filled with loads of cream cheese frosting and slices of banana...mmmm. Unlike banana bread, you can't even begin to pretend this is healthy. But it sure does taste great!

Ingredients

You'll Need:



•2 1/4 cups cake flour

•1 teaspoon baking soda

•1/2 teaspoon baking powder

•1/2 teaspoon salt

•3 medium bananas – ripe, but still firm

•1/4 cup buttermilk

•1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

•1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

•1 1/3 cups sugar

•2 large eggs

•1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting


•2 cups toasted pecans, very finely chopped (optional), divided

•3 medium bananas, sliced thin, for the filling

Directions


1.Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.Butter and flour three 8 inch cake pans. Set aside.

3.In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

4.In a large mixing cup, mash bananas. Add buttermilk and vanilla. Stir to combine.

5.In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, combining well after each.

6.Alternating wet and dry ingredients, add the flour mixture and the banana mixture in three stages to the butter and sugar,scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing well after each addition, and beginning and ending with the dry mixture. If using pecans, stir in one cup of chopped pecans - saving the other half for the frosting.

7.Divide batter evenly between the three prepared pans.

8.Bake cakes for about 20 minutes or just until golden and springy to the touch. A cake tester inserted into the center of each cake should come out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans for ten minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely before icing.

9.Place one of the cake layers on a platter, and spread a thin layer of frosting over the top, leaving a thin border at the edge. Top frosting with half of the banana slices.

10.Frost the BOTTOM of the next layer, and place it, frosting side down on top of the banana slices. You'll have the bananas then sandwiched between to layers of frosting. Repeat with the third layer. Frost the top of the third layer, then the sides of the cake. If you need to keep the layers in place, insert a wooden skewer into the center and through all the layers, then break it off even with the top of the cake. The final order will be cake, frosting, bananas, frosting, cake, frosting, bananas, frosting, cake, frosting.

11.If using the chopped pecans for garnish, press them lightly into the frosting all around the sides. Store in the fridge until serving.