White Cake with Strawberry and Lemon Frostings

Birthdays can often be difficult for me, as I am sure they are for many others. I never seem to know what someone truly wants to do and how to ensure that they feel important on their special day. Are they the type who want a long and thoughtful card or do they just want a really good gift? Do they want to just spend the day chilling or do they want a crazy, spontaneous day filled with surprises?

When trying to figure out what to do for birthdays, I seem to always find myself going back to the cake. If I know someone well enough, I can make a flavor and ‘genre’ of cake that will help them appreciate that I took the time to think of them and worked to make their birthday special. The other day was our family friend Laura’s birthday, and I ultimately decided to spend the day making her a cake.

After speaking with her husband, I decided that Laura was more of a fruity, sweet person rather than a warm, chocolatey, savory person, and that I would make a simple white cake with fruit frosting. Laura loves the summer (who doesn’t), so I decided to make a summer cake, filled with a lemon filling and topped with a fresh strawberry frosting. The middle layer of the cake was a tie-dye purple and pink pattern and the cake was topped with bright sprinkles. Laura, and the rest of the guests who came to our apartment to celebrate, raved about the cake.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

FRESH STRAWBERRY FROSTING

4 cups of Powdered Sugar

1 cup Butter (We use Salted Sweet Cream Butter)

1/2 cup Pureed Fresh Strawberries

1/2 tsp vanilla

LEMON ICING

1/2 cup Butter

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups of confectioners sugar

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter for 7-9 minutes (the timing is very important!). Beat in the eggs one at a time for 3 minutes each, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, sift and add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.
4. Meanwhile, make the strawberry frosting and lemon icing.
   1.  For the strawberry frosting blend the butter and sugar for around 5 minutes and then add the vanilla and strawberry puree.
   2. For the lemon icing, Combine all ingredients and beet until fluffy (3 minutes). Add more confectioner’s sugar, or lemon juice to adjust the consistency as needed. For stronger lemon flavor, add a little lemon test.
5. Frost the white cake with both frostings and enjoy!!

Love,

Ally

** I tripled the recipe to make a three-layer cake.

Chicken Shawarma

Looking through my blog posts, it is evident that I haven’t posted many (if any) recipes with an international flair. As I love trying foods and recipes originating from different locations around the world, I was disappointed by the lack of variety on this site. I also realized that just last week, I made this incredible chicken Shawarma that was rated as one of the top recipes by the New York Times for 2015. My great-grandmother, who is still unfamiliar with what a burrito is, was surprisingly impressed with this dish. The strong and robust taste of the herbs and spices are mouthwatering, and they come together with the chicken to form a intense flavor experience. For any Shawarma lovers…. this recipe is definitely for you! ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS:

2 lemons, juiced

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

½ teaspoon turmeric

A pinch ground cinnamon

Red pepper flakes, to taste

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 large red onion, peeled and quartered

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1. To prepare the chicken marinade, combine the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon and red pepper flakes in a large bowl, then whisk to combine. Add the chicken into the bowl and toss well to coat. Cover and store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
2. When you are ready to cook, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Use the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to grease a rimmed sheet pan.
3. Add the quartered onion to the chicken with the marinade, and toss once to combine. Remove the chicken and onion from the marinade, and spread everything evenly across the pan.
4. Roast the chicken in the over until it is browned, crisp at the edges and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let sit for 2 minutes, then slice into bits.
5. Scatter the parsley over the top and serve with whatever desired (tomatoes, cucumbers, pita, feta, rice etc).

Love,

Ally

Fall Chicken and Pumpkin Soup

I’m sure a ‘pumpkin pattern’ is starting to reveal itself on my blog this year. Pumpkin, being a vital symbol to Fall spirit, is one of my favorite items right now; not only in cooking and baking. My bathroom hand-soap is pumpkin scented, we have pumpkin pie and cinnamon flavored candles all over our apartment, and my dad just brought home pumpkin almond milk and pumpkin Cheerios from the grocery store.

This A-M-A-Z-I-N-G soup is the perfect pumpkin dish. It is unique and my dad said “It’s the first dish I can say is better than my Halloween chili!!” (A compliment that I never thought I’d hear him offer). The flavor of the pumpkin is subtle enough that it doesn’t overshadow the other ingredients but is strong enough to make the soup very full-flavored and interesting. The spices give this hearty dish a strong eccentric flavor that is memorable and a perfect representation of Fall cooking. After helping ourselves to seconds (despite being full), we decided that this recipe will become a Fall regular in our home. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!!!

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

5 cups chicken broth

1 large chicken breast (3/4 lb.)

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin pureé

1 (15 oz.) can black beans

½ cup frozen corn kernels

1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 Tbsp cumin

½ tsp salt

½ bunch fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add both to a large soup pot along with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are translucent (3-5 min.)
2. Add the chicken breast (whole) and chicken broth. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and allow it to come to a full boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and allow the pot to simmer for 30 minutes. Make sure the pot does not stop simmering after turning down the heat. If it does, increase the heat slightly until it is gently simmering.
3. After 30 minutes, remove the chicken breast from the broth and use two forks to shred the meat. Return the shredded meat to the pot.
4. Add the pumpkin purée and stir until the it has mixed into the broth.
5. Take one or two chipotle peppers from the can (one pepper for a milder soup, two for a spicier soup) and mince them. Add the minced peppers and about a teaspoon of the adobo sauce from the can to the soup.
6. Rinse the black beans and add them to the soup, along with the frozen corn kernels and cumin. Allow the soup to come up to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes more to allow the flavors to blend.
7. Taste the soup and add about ½ teaspoon of salt if desired. Roughly chop the cilantro and stir it into the soup just before serving.

Love,

Ally

I give an immense amount of credit to Budget Bites, for this flavorful and incredible soup (http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/08/chicken-pumpkin-soup/)

Caramel Chocolate Cake in a Mug

Made In a Mug Miniseries

One problem that often arises when I bake is the mess. Unless I am working extraordinary hard to be clean, the kitchen always ends up looking like a tornado blew through. After a couple years of making an absolute disaster, my parents came up with a checklist that I had to complete while cleaning up. If I don’t complete the checklist, than I can’t bake or cook for the rest of the week.

Another problem with baking so often is that there is no one to eat the leftovers. My family has next to no willpower; so whenever I bake something, they make me immediately take it to school, volleyball or give the treats to a friend.

So since I am tired of bringing my treats to school all the time, not being able to bake for a week,  and having to clean up for so long after I use the kitchen, I have decided to take a short break from ‘baking’. I decided that for the rest of the month, that I am going to do a “Made in a Mug miniseries.” Basically, I’ll only be posting recipes that are created in mugs and baked/cooked in the microwave. This allows me to cook single serving recipes for my brother or parents, minus the mess that baking usually creates.

I have loved making mug cakes, brownies, pies etc. since I got a book from our very close family friends. This book has a hundred really creative mug recipes. Before receiving the book, I tried making mug cakes and they seemed to always turn out either dry or overly sticky and have little flavor. So far every recipe that I have tried from this book has been so amazing and sometimes even better than a real cake.

Here is my first recipe in the miniseries; “Caramel Chocolate Cake in a Mug.” I gave both servings to my brother (after trying a bite of course), and he thought that it was sooooo delicious.

Caramel Chocolate Cake in a Mug

 

Ingredients

1 egg

3 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 1/2 tbsp milk (skim, 2%, whole milk)

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup of flour

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of Kosher Salt

5 tablespoons of caramel sauce (homemade preferred)

Caramel Sauce Recipe:  Add 2 cups of packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup of heavy cream and pinch of salt to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Combine with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula until completely mixed. Next, cut 1/2 cup of salted butter into pieces and and add to the pan. Allow the butter to melt completely. Cook while constantly stirring until the caramel sauce thickens, about 5 to 7 minutes, the mixture will reach a large simmer/small boil. Stir in 1 tbsp vanilla and cook for an additional minutes. Allow to cool in the saucepan for about 3 minutes and then transfer to a container and cool for 15 minutes before adding to the brownie.

Directions

1. In a large mug or small bowl, whisk together the egg and oil with a fork. Stir in the milk, sugar and vanilla until combined.
2. Add the cocoa, flour, and salt. Beat the batter until smooth.
3. Stir in only 3 tbsp of the caramel sauce and divide the batter into two separate mugs.
4. Microwave each mug separately for 1 to 2 minutes. When you take out the mug, the batter should look moist, but a fork should will come out clean. It is very easy to overcook because the cakes continue to cook in the mug after removing from the microwave. 
5. Top each mug with one of the remaining 2 tbsp of caramel sauce. Let cool for 3-4 minutes and serve.

Love,

Ally