Martha who??

So for a couple of years I have been a subscriber to Martha Stewart Living.  I love her ideas, although for awhile I was finding that when I tried to make some of her recipes or crafts, it was unsuccessful because Martha is to particular and perfect that no matter how hard I tried I could never be Martha!!  A blessing and a curse?!  So at the beginning of July, I threw a baby shower for my sweet friend Jenny and was inspired by Martha's book themed shower with her 'Sugar and Spice' cake.  I attempted the cake...I conquered and made the cake!  AND...wait for it...it was SIMPLE!!!  Yes anyone can do it!!!  Here is the recipe, most ingredients you will have in your house already except for cake flour and mascarpone cheese, but you will want to RUN out and buy them because this is one of the BEST cakes EVER!!
Note: If you make the 4 layers as the recipe discusses, you will want to double the Mascarpone frosting.  I have made it with just 2 layers (not slicing between the 2 round cakes) and only used the written Mascarpone frosting.

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional...I didn't have so I didn't use)
• Pinch of ground cloves (optional...I didn't have so I didn't use)
• Salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature (I never buy unsalted butter)
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups blackberry jam (from one 17.5-ounce jar)

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, line with parchment, and spray parchment. Sift flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl.
2. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Continue to beat until smooth, about 1 minute more.
3. Divide batter among cake pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks, and let cool for 20 minutes. Turn out cakes from pans, remove parchment, and flip right side up. Let cool completely.
4. Trim tops of cakes to create a flat surface. Cut cakes in half horizontally. Spread 1/2 cup jam onto 1 layer, then spread 1 cup frosting over jam. Top with another cake layer. Repeat layering cakes with jam and frosting, leaving top layer (bottom side up) uncovered.

 

Mascarpone Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

1. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy). In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately.

 

Cheesecake...pie...simple yet amazing!!

So the theme for this week is definitely desserts, and one of my favorite desserts I have been making for YEARS is a cheesecake that is simple, amazingly delicious, and the perfect size as it bakes in a pie dish.  How is a cheesecake recipe easy? Well if you have a food processor, you can make it quick! Here is the recipe:

KNUDSEN CREAM CHEESE PIE
4 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Graham Cracker Crust (recipe follows)
Sour Cream Topping (recipe follows)

Make Graham Cracker crust below, THEN:

In food processor: blend cream cheese, whip and combine with the eggs, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice; beat until light and frothy. Pour into graham cracker crust.

Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees F) for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then pour topping over pie. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes longer.

Place refrigerator at least 5 hours before serving.

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

12 to 14 graham crackers
1/4 cup butter, melted

In food processor, blend graham crackers and melted butter and chop until fine crumbs.  Pat crumbs in a 9-inch pie plate and bake at 350 for 10 minutes

SOUR CREAM TOPPING

1 cup sour cream
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend sour cream with sugar and vanilla.

Makes 10-12 servings

Don't forget to add any fruit you want, or eat it plain which is my preference! :)

Desserts! Desserts! Who needs dinner?

I have to be honest, I have become like most, focused on what is for dessert?!  My husband, who claims he has no sweet tooth, when in actuality he does have a sweet tooth, it is just a sweet tooth that needs a few bites of something sweet and not an entire chocolate bomb of some sort. Recently, he realized his love for blackberry pies, at the same time I was getting ready to conquer my fear of making homemade pies.  Yes, fear.  How many of YOU have mastered the art of the, pardon my French, damn crust?  And who has found an easy recipe that you can't easily screw up?!  Well, I did!  For Christmas my mom bought me the recipe book "Cutie Pies" and they have fabulous recipes and ideas, one of which is their butter pie crust...DIVINE!!!  So here is my recipe for my blackberry pie, using the Cutie Pies All Butter crust recipe...of course it's good for you, it's homemade! ;)

Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3/4 cup ice water (be cautious on this as you may not need all of this water)

 

1. Make the crust: In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, salt, and sugar, mixing well. Add butter and mix gently using a pastry blender, a fork, or your hands, until butter pieces are well coated. Gradually add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue mixing until pea-size crumbs have formed; dough should not be smooth and beaten together like cookie dough.
2. Gather dough together and divide in half. Flatten each into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Transfer dough to refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using.

 

Filling:

4 cups fresh blackberries

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 cup sugar (additional)

 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Combine 3 1/2 cups berries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup berries on top of the sweetened berries, and cover with the top crust. Seal and crimp the edges, and cut vents in the top crust for steam to escape.
3. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Don't forget to serve it with homemade vanilla ice cream! O M G!!!