Monthly Archives: October 2013

There’s What in the Cake?

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Cakes, Desserts and tagged with , , , , , ,

Bettcha can’t guess what’s in this cake!  A secret ingredient that provides that extra moisture.  Hint:  Theme Thursday?  Tomatoes?

A moist and flavorful apice cake.

A moist and flavorful spice cake.

Some of you may have guessed it by now, but maybe some of you have never heard of  this  recipe for Tomato Soup Cake that dates back quite a few years.  It was popular when my Mom and Dad were young, and my mother used to make it when I was growing up.  She got the recipe from my Dad’s mother.  She made it about once a year, since it was my favorite cake and I always wanted it for my birthday.  I loved it with walnuts and raisins in it and lots of cream cheese frosting.

The recipe got lost after a while, and when my children were young I wanted to make it for them, but couldn’t find the recipe.  I was thrilled to find it on a web site called Heritage Recipes.  We had a family birthday get-together last weekend, and I made this cake.  The flavor and spiciness are just as I remember.  It was like meeting an old friend again.    If you are somewhat put off by using tomato soup in a cake, I promise you will never know its there.  It just tastes like a wonderful spice cake.  You must try it.

Tomato Soup Spice Cake

Tomato Soup Spice Cake

After having written the above introduction to this recipe I found another version of it using a spice cake mix, tomato soup, eggs and water.  So that is the one I actually made since it was quick, but I am including both recipes here because I really want to save the original so it doesn’t get lost again.   You can take your pick about which one to make, the quick version was also very moist and intensely spice flavored.

TOMATO SOUP SPICE CAKE

Yield:

Ingredients:IMG_5199

  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 ( 10.75 ounce ) can tomato soup, undiluted
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. cloves
  • 1 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350*F.  Lightly grease and flour a 13 x 9-inch cake pan.

2.  Cream the shortening with the sugar using an electric mixer.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.  Stir baking soda into the tomato soup and add to shortening/sugar mixture.

3.  Whisk together dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture.  Beat to blend well.

4.  Stir in raisins and nuts.

4.  Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350*F for 45-50 minutes, testing with a cake tester or toothpick for doneness.

5.  Let cool completely on a wire rack.  Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Quick Version:IMG_5181

  • 1 ( 18.25 oz.) box Spice Cake Mix
  • 1 ( 10.75 oz.) can condensed tomato soup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Lightly grease 2  8″  or 9″-round cake pans, or a 13 X 9″ cake pan.

Mix cake mix, soup, water and eggs as per package directions.

Mix all 4 ingredients together at medium speed.

Mix all 4 ingredients together at medium speed.

Pour into prepared pan(s), and—-

Bake  for 30 -35 minutes till it tests done with a toothpick.

IMG_5183

Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting with cream cheese frosting.

IMG_5194

IMG_5195

SOURCES:  Heritage Recipes,  and CampbellSoup.com

Crab Cake Sliders

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Sandwichs and tagged with , , , , , ,
Crab Cakes with BLT topping. Oh, Yum!

Crab Cakes with BLT topping. Oh, Yum!

I was feeling a little “Crabby” today, which is to say that I was in the mood for some crab cakes.   I love crab cakes, but most times when I’ve had them they contained chopped green or red peppers.  In my opinion,  the strong flavor of the pepper overwhelms the delicate flavor of the crabmeat, and so I’m disappointed.   Whenever I’ve tried to make crab cakes at home I’ve had difficulty in getting them to hold a “patty” shape , while dipping in crumbs and frying them.  Any that I’ve attempted fall apart before I’m finished with them.

So, OK, I gave up on making my own crab cakes.  UNTIL I found this recipe for Crab Cake Sliders.  While the idea of small sliders didn’t appeal to me, as in ” oh no, even smaller crab cakes to try to keep together”, there were aspects of this recipe that intrigued me and made me think that these just might be possible.  First, I liked the combination of seasonings that go into them, secondly, some of the buns are broken up and used as a binder with the crabmeat, and lastly, there’s no peppers and no  breading involved.   These are formed, set to chill in the refrigerator for some time, then broiled.  Finely they are enhanced by the addition of BACON, lettuce and sliced tomato.  A BLT on a crab cake—whoever thought this up is at genius level.   I wish I could take the credit, but sadly it goes to someone at Food Network Magazine.

IMG_5046

Because I wanted to serve these as a main meal, I decided to form the crabmeat mixture into patties sized to fit onto regular sandwich rolls.  I used my 1/2 cup measure to portion out the crabmeat onto the baking sheet, then flattened them slightly with a fork.  This technique gave me 5 patties, with a tiny bit left over to nibble on.  😀  I will definitely keep this recipe readily at hand for when I’m entertaining and want to make sliders.  The crab cakes held together better than any others that I’ve made, and the whole sandwich was filling and delicious.  As good as I imagined they would be.

CRAB CAKE SLIDERS

Yield:  Makes 15 sliders

Ingredients:

  • 18 mini potato buns
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise

    All the ingredients.

    All the ingredients.

  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus more for brushing
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. yellow mustard
  • 1 green onion, sliced, green part only
  • kosher salt
  • 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked through**
  • 10 strips bacon
  • finely grated lemon zest
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • Sliced tomato and lettuce leaves, for topping

**  I Use canned crab meat that I found in the seafood dept. of  my supermarket.  It was large pieces of lump crabmeat with no tendons or shell to pick over.  A pound of readily usable crabmeat–a bargain in my estimate.

1.  Prepare the crab cakes:  Tear 3 buns (or similar amount of bread) into small pieces to make about 3/4 cup; put into a medium bowl.  Whisk 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, the melted butter, egg, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, green onion, and salt in another small bowl.

Mayonnaise and seasonings mixture.

Mayonnaise and seasonings mixture.

Add the mayonnaise mixture to the bun pieces and stir to combine.  Let sit for 10 minutes, then gently fold in the crabmeat.

2.  Brush a baking sheet with some melted butter.  Tightly pack the crab mixture into 15 small patties and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.   Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

IMG_5042

3.  Preheat the oven to 350*F.  Arrange the bacon on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake until golden and slightly crisp, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to paper towel-lined plate, reserving about 1 Tablespoon of the drippings.  Break each piece of bacon into thirds; set aside.  Combine the remaining 1/2 cup mayonnaise, the lemon zest, and the reserved bacon drippings in a bowl; season with salt an pepper.

4.  Preheat the broiler.  Arrange the remaining 15 buns cut side up on a baking sheet;  Brush with butter and broil until golden.  Transfer the crab cakes to the broiler and cook, rotating the pan as needed, until golden and warmed through, about 6 minutes.

5.  Spread the cut sides of the buns with some of the lemon mayonnaise.  Serve the crab cakes on the buns with tomatoes, lettuce and bacon.   SIGH!

Good beyond words. :D

Good beyond words. 😀

I served these with my homemade refrigerator dill pickles and a green salad.    Fantastic meal!

SOURCE:   Food Network Magazine,  June 2013

Chocolate Plum Cake

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Cakes and tagged with , , , , ,
Chocolate Plum Cake

Chocolate Plum Cake

The last day of summer has come and gone and we are now officially into the fall season.  However stone fruits are still widely available at the farm stands in my area and in the supermarkets.  All these fruits reach their peak of ripeness in the summer sun, and they are delicious and appealing when you cook with them.   They lend themselves to every kind of preparation:  poaching, sautéing, roasting, grilling, and baking.  So you can work them into your early fall dessert recipes.IMG_5126

In this recipe for Chocolate Plum Cake you can interchange the fruits, and perhaps use nectarines instead of plums.  I decided to make it with plums because I have always enjoyed chocolate with wine; port wine or other dessert wine goes best with chocolate.  Since purple plums have a sweet, wine-like flavor they pair beautifully with chocolate in this moist, single-layer cake.  Another stone fruit that would work well here is the pluot–a cross between apricots and plums.  They are now sold in many supermarkets in the summer.

I loved making the batter for this cake.  There is only 1/4 cup flour (whole wheat) in it.  The rest of the dry ingredients consist of  ground almond flour, with baking powder and a little salt.   This makes the texture of the cake very fine and a little crumbly.  Almond is not noticeable in the taste, instead you’re bombarded with dense chocolate.  The recipe calls for chocolate that is at least 64% cocoa, but I had a bar that was 70% cocoa, so I used that.  With baking, the plums become tender and retain their juiciness.  Oh, boy, this is good!

Tender and moist cake, juicy plums.

Tender and moist cake, juicy plums.

CHOCOLATE PLUM CAKE

Yield:    8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick softened butter, divided  (7 Tablespoons plus 1 Tablespoon.)

    Beautiful black plums and chocolate. Yum-yum!!

    Beautiful black plums and chocolate. Yum-yum!!

  • 4 black or purple plums
  • 1 Tablespoon, plus 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 cup almond meal**
  • 1/4 cup buckwheat or whole-wheat flour##
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 3.5 ounces dark chocolate ( around 64% cocoa content), melted
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • Garnish:  confectioners’ sugar

**  Almond meal – also called almond flour–is sold in the health-food aisle of many supermarkets.  The brand I used is by Bob’s Red Mill.  You can substitute other nut meals, or make your own by pulsing blanched almonds in a food processor until finely ground but not yet nut butter.

##  Substitute a gluten-free baking mix for the flour and this can be a gluten-free dessert.

1.  Preheat the oven to 350*F.  Butter a 9 – inch round cake pan; then line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.

2.  In a frying pan, melt 1 Tablespoon butter over medium heat.  Add the plums, cut side down, and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar.  Cook 2 minutes and flip onto the other side.  Continue to cook 2 minutes more.  Remove pan from heat and set aside.

Sauté the plums in butter and sugar.

Sauté the plums in butter and sugar.

3.  In the bowl of your mixer beat the remaining 7 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup sugar until pale in color.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.  Scrape the sides of the bowl as you go.  Stir in the melted chocolate and then the heavy cream.

Mix melted chocolate into the batter.

Mix melted chocolate and cream into the batter.

4.  Add the dry ingredients, and stir until the batter is smooth.

Almond flour as oart of the dry ingredients.

Almond flour as part of the dry ingredients.

Pour into the prepared pan and arrange the sautéed plums on top, cut side up.

Pour into a round baking pan.

Pour into a round baking pan.

Top with plums

Arrange plums on top.

Drizzle any pan juices over the plums.

5.   Bake until the blade of a sharp knife inserted into the middle comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.  Let the cake cool 5 minutes before removing it from the pan,   Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

IMG_5127

Each wedge gets a half plum.

Each wedge gets a half plum.

SOURCE:   slightly modified from Yankee Magazine