Raw Apple Cake

Sorry I don't have a picture to go with this, but it all got eaten up before I could snap one!

This recipe is really easy for those days when you are in a baking mood, but go to the fridge and have none of the liquids required to bake with :) All you need is:

2 c. Sugar
2 whole sticks butter (or margarine)
2 eggs

Step one: mix together

2 c. flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder

Step two: sift dry ingredients together

1 1/2 c. chopped apples
1 c. chopped pecans

Step three: mix ALL ingredients

Step four: spread into pan*

Step five: bake at 350 for 1 hour.

* dough is tough to spread evenly in pan, so don't worry... just do your best!

I think I 16th-ed my apples and they turned out alright in this dish... also, I only baked for 45 minutes, but then again I am in Colorado so just keep an eye on it :) If you are cooking at a high alt. like moi, it would be best to use High Alt. Hungarian Flour.... it comes in a yellow bag :)

All the Best,
A Victorian Cowgirl

Monkey/Gorilla Bread with a twist

Okay, so Gorilla Bread is BASICALLY the same as Monkey Bread ... but with an extra ingredient. I made it extra special simply by adding 3 extra's. Those ingredients would be ... Raisins, Philadelphia Creme-cheese, and chopped/crushed Walnuts.

Now, for regular monkey bread you quarter the Pillsbury flake-y bisctuits, and toss them in the Bundt pan. But, with Gorilla Bread, you 1/2 them and roll a little cream-cheese in the slices... THEN toss them into the Bundt pan. Same for the special kind I made, but with * lots * more layers :D 

I know my mom has the recipe for Monkey Bread on her blog already, so I'm gonna "steal" it and post here for you guys... then use a little ** sign and help you along with the extra's. LOL... I know, I know... But today I'm being lazy :P

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

6 cans biscuits

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

By the way, go ahead and preheat your oven to 375 BEFORE you get started with construction...

First, quarter all the biscuits and put to the side

next, get your butter, heavy whipping cream, and brown sugar melting together in a saucepan. 

** I just whip them all together in a bowl, and don't bother heating them in a sauce pan... they turn into a nice sauce well enough by just being put in the pan with all the trimmings and biscuits, and left to bake like everything else...

Then, mix your granulated white sugar and your cinnamon together and start tossing the biscuit quarters into the mix

** Here is where you will want to start with your layers. One layers of sugared biscuits (about 1/2 of what you're using) then toss the raisins and walnuts in, spreading evenly throughout the section. Add about 1/2 of your sauce, and repeat the layers with what you have left... 

Finally, layer the sugar and cinnamon coated biscuits with the sauce in your bundt pan... I like to do a few layers so that the oooey, gooey sauce gets into every little nook and cranny of the biscuits; [** see... ;) ] I dump whatever sugar-cinnamon mixture is left over on to the top of the pan -- waste not, want not ;-) 

Make SURE you let your monkey bread cool down really well before you dump it out of the bundt pan onto a plate!!! Our daughter (that'd be me :P) nearly scalded her legs several years ago because she was in a hurry to get it turned out and didn't wait for me to come help... It was the grace of God reminding me of every first aid lesson I'd ever learned regarding burns that kept her from getting even a single blister!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and my oddly worded post ;)

Have anything you like to bake or make in particular? 

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Going to Tea

I am back home from Colorado to a much warmer (and muggier) North Carolina! I am thrilled to be back home with my parents and three little monkeys once again :)

One thing I love to do when visiting my Oma is to go to tea with her at Glen Eyrie Castle in Colorado Springs near Garden of the Gods, another favorite hangout...

Who wouldn't want to go to tea when you get to be dressed up in your Sunday best like this?

My Oma and I went to a Victorian Tea (how perfect?!? lol) on this visit. They had sweet little treats and I especially loved the raspberry swirl cookies, as well as the Brie cheese. Brie is one of my favorite cheeses to put on anything from crackers to Granny Smith apple slices. If you buy the Brie that still has the wax on it then you can slice off the top layer and pop it in the microwave for a few minutes to get it all ooey-gooey. It's just so lovely :D

We recently discovered the yumminess of Brie en Croute (similar to this one) over the holidays and my mother recreated it for our own New Years Eve snack table. Hers was a little different than the Christmas one we tasted because she used her very own fig jam and pecans. It was scrumdiddlyumptious!!

Did you discover any new treats this holiday season?

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

A trip (onto the patio), Muggish Days, and Opa's Cast

We've been having rather muggish, cold, and windy days here in the Springs. On Saturday, a nice bright day at the start, we decided to go out for breakfast since my cousin Austin was in town.

(Austin)

Walking out the door my Opa fell on the front porch by tripping over the itsy-bitsy door mat. We didn't know his foot was broken and we went about our day until he couldn't stand the pain :( It was rather muggish again in the end... When we came out of the commissary Pikes Peak was clouded by rain.

(Arrow points to the rain & clouds near Pikes Peak) 

We took Opa to the ER and got the X-rays in the afternoon. EARLY this morning he had surgery, the result being a screw in his foot, stitches, and a cast. But, he was feeling much better when he got home!

(Opa's cast with ILY in English and German.. plus plenty of other silly things)

(Opa in his chair downstairs)

(Cast Art)

(It's close to Halloween & Thanksgiving so I was in an artsy pumpkin-y mood and he only had 2 Sharpie pens... 

in 2 colors... Orange and Purple)

(Purple Cats are so much better than Black Ones :P )

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Beautiful Butterfly Biscuits..

Don't let their lovely looks fool you.... They're tasty and delicious too!! (My momma found the recipe on the back of our "Clabber Girl Double-Acting Baking Powder" can.) I ate my butterfly bisquits smothered inside with plenty of butter, and topped with a lazy drizzling of honey. My brother, Caleb, says he had his with just plain maple pancake syrup. And, momma says hers were delightful when spread with butter, and topped nicely with a bit of fig jam that we had made last picking season.

Old Fashioned Biscuits

Ingredients:
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•2 1/2 teaspoons Clabber Girl Baking Powder
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/3 cup shortening
•3/4 cup milk
•1 tablespoon soft margarine or butter

Instructions:
In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, Clabber Girl Baking Powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the milk all at once. Using a fork, stir just till moistened and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (dough will be sticky).

On a floured surface, lightly knead dough with floured hands for 30 seconds or till nearly smooth. Lightly roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts.

Place biscuits close together on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with soft margarine. Bake in a 475° oven for 11 to 15 minutes or till golden brown. Serve warm.

Makes about 8 - 10 biscuits. ENJOY!!

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Blueberry Streusel Cake

My mom and I love to bake. She made a Blueberry Streusel Cake for our breakfast this morning so I thought I'd share!

For the cake:

4 tablespoons butter or margarine, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh blueberries

For the topping:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 inch square baking dish.

Cream the butter or margarine with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, beat to combine, then mix in the milk until blended.

Pour the two cups of flour into the center of the mixture and sift the baking powder, salt, and cinnamon over the flour. Stir just enough to blend all the ingredients.

Add the blueberries and stir.

Transfer to baking dish, and set aside.

Place the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter in a separate mixing bowl and cut in with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle the topping over the batter that is already in the baking pan.

Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Serve warm or cold, with or without a nice dollop of whipped cream! ENJOY!!

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Scrum-didlly-umptuous Dinner :-P

Tonight (this was in my draft box for the past 2
days because I forgot about it... OOPS) we had our dinner courtesy of The Pioneer Woman. I am telling you... Mrs. Ree knows her stuff!! Our "menu" for dinner was her recipe (from: The Pioneer Woman Cooks ~ recipes from an accidental country girl ) for Chicken Fried Steak. Can you say "YUM!!" !?!?

I cooked our cubed steak according to her recipe variation for a quick, simple dish. I tossed in a dash .. or two.. (okay, so I am not great in the "exact measurements" department... LOL) of our selection of Emeril Essence spices.

I then sandwiched (ha, ha, ha..) the steak in between 2 slices of whole wheat bread, with mayo, and mild cheddar cheese. Serve with salad (I had a strawberry Yoplait yogurt cup for dessert..) and Voila!!

God Bless,

A Victorian Cowgirl ♥

Trying New Things

I seem to be trying new things a lot lately! I have an older widowed friend at our church who makes cakes as part of her income. I was trying on hats at her house one evening and she and my mom where chatting while she prepared some decorations for a wedding cake she was working on. She encouraged me to try my hand at making a few small simple tiered cakes and that seemed like a pretty good idea :-)

My mom and I have a favorite lemon cake recipe from Betty Crocker called a Lemonade Party Cake. You can find the recipe for it here. It is AWESOME!! Very tart... and sweet... just like me... ROFL

I have recently seen several lemon cakes with a raspberry filling and knew I wanted to give this combination a try. My mom already owns several small specialty round and square cake pans so I was able to start experimenting with this new adventure without two much out of pocket expenses: a few cake mixes, frosting containers, and a jar of jam and I was set!

The trick to stacking the cakes (and trust me when I say I tried several different ways!!!!!) is to freeze your cooled cakes and then frost the bottom layer completely first. Next, add a layer of raspberry jam to the bottom of the top tier and GENTLY place it on top of the already frosted bottom layer. Then, frost your top layer to blend the two layers together. This keeps all the jam nicely hidden and the tiers remain in their proper place without sliding all over the place!!

I will warn you that this cake was very rich. I think perhaps the next time I make it, I will use a fluffy white frosting instead of lemon, and I probably will not use the lemonade concentrate... or at least not as much. It WAS very good. But not everyone may like lemons as much as I do ;-)

-- A Victorian Cowgirl