Recipes
Coconut Cake
Recipe by Traci Crossland
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Coconut Cake
Coconut Pastry Cream
American Buttercream Frosting
To Finish
Cake
Frosting
Putting It Together
- ▢2 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
- ▢1 ½ cups sugar
- ▢2 ⅓ teaspoons baking powder
- ▢¾ teaspoon salt
- ▢1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ▢½ cup cream of coconut
- ▢1 cup milk
- ▢¾ cup vegetable oil
- ▢3 large eggs,, separated
- ▢1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
Coconut Pastry Cream
- ▢6 egg yolks
- ▢¼ cup cornstarch
- ▢½ cup sugar
- ▢2 cups milk
- ▢¼ cup salted butter
- ▢1 ½ cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- ▢1 teaspoon vanilla
American Buttercream Frosting
- ▢2 ¼ cups salted butter,, room temperature
- ▢6 cups powdered sugar,, sifted
- ▢1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ▢3 Tablespoons heavy cream
To Finish
- ▢2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Cake
- Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Spray 3 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and coconut. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together cream of coconut, milk, vegetable oil, egg yolks, and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer to medium peaks. Set aside.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Fold in egg whites.
- Divide evenly into prepared pans.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until cake tests done.
- In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks, corn starch, and sugar.
- Stir together gently with a wooden spoon. Do NOT beat.
- Continue stirring until mixture smooths out. Set aside.
- Heat milk until it just starts to bubble around the edges.
- Slowly pour milk into egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly.
- Return mixture to pot and cook over medium low heat until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in butter.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
- Stir in coconut and vanilla.
- Cover with a piece of plastic wrap touching the top of the custard.
- Refrigerate until needed.
Frosting
- Beat butter until light and fluffy.
- Gradually beat in powdered sugar.
- Stir in vanilla and heavy cream.
Putting It Together
- Level cake layers.
- Place one layer on cake plate.
- Pipe a ring of frosting around the outside of the cake layer.
- Spoon half of custard into the center and spread evenly on top within the ring of frosting.
- Add another cake layer and repeat topping.
- Add last cake layer and spread with remaining frosting.
- Sprinkle coconut on top and press around sides of cake.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
These Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes are made with a moist chocolate cupcake recipe, fresh strawberry frosting and delicious chocolate covered strawberries.
CLICK PHOTO BELOW FOR RECIPE
CLICK PHOTO BELOW FOR RECIPE
Roast Turkey with Stuffing and Vegetables
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Whole turkey–A 10-to-15-pound bird is perfect for this recipe as it will feed a crowd and hold an ample amount of stuffing. When buying a turkey, keep in mind if you choose a frozen one, you’ll need to allow several days for it to thaw.
- Vegetables–We like the combination of carrots, parsnips, and onions here, but you could use turnips, potatoes, or sweet potatoes if you prefer.
- Prepare the turkey. Let the turkey rest at room temperature while you preheat the oven to 450°F. Remove the gizzard, heart, neck, and liver, and rinse and pat the turkey dry.
- Stuff the turkey. Season the turkey inside and out, then loosely fill it with stuffing, taking care not to overstuff.
- Make the basting butter. Sauté the garlic cloves in butter, and brush some over the turkey, along with a sprinkle of paprika.
- Roast the turkey. Cook the turkey for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to roast, basting with garlic butter every hour, until the internal temperature of the turkey and stuffing is at least 165°F.
- Roast the vegetables. When the turkey has about 1 hour left, scatter the vegetables around it. Cook, stirring occasionally until tender.
- Make the turkey stock. While the turkey is roasting, combine the reserved neck, gizzard, and heart in a saucepan with the carrot, onion, celery, parsley, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Cover with plenty of water and simmer for a couple of hours to make your turkey stock.
- Make the gravy. Once the turkey and vegetables are finished roasting, transfer them to a serving platter. Skim off any fat from the drippings, then place the roasting pan over two burners and whisk the flour into the drippings. Slowly strain half the stock into the drippings, whisking to combine.
- Cook the gravy. Simmer the gravy until thickened, adding more stock if needed to thin it. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve the turkey. Remove the stuffing from the turkey and transfer to a serving bowl. Carve the turkey and serve with the roasted vegetables, stuffing, and gravy.
Lemon Bars
Ingredients:
Shortbread Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp salted butter
Lemon Filling
1.5 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2/3 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons) + 1 Tbsp zest
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp powdered sugar (for garnish)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325ºF. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt for the shortbread crust until well combined.
Melt the butter, then pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients for the crust, and stir until everything is moistened and the mixture looks slightly crumbly.
Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Press the shortbread mixture into the bottom of the dish in an even layer.
Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake the crust for 25 minutes*, or just until the edges are lightly golden.
While the crust is baking, juice and zest your lemons. You’ll need 2/3 cup lemon juice and 1 Tbsp zest.
Begin to make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, eggs, and zest until smooth. Add the lemon juice and whisk until smooth again.
When the crust is finished baking, pour the lemon filling into the baking dish on top of the crust, then transfer it back to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles.
Let the lemon bars cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to the refrigerator to chill completely.
Once the lemon bars are completely chilled, remove them from the baking dish, slice into 9 pieces, and then dust with about 1 Tbsp powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Shortbread Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp salted butter
Lemon Filling
1.5 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2/3 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons) + 1 Tbsp zest
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp powdered sugar (for garnish)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325ºF. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt for the shortbread crust until well combined.
Melt the butter, then pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients for the crust, and stir until everything is moistened and the mixture looks slightly crumbly.
Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Press the shortbread mixture into the bottom of the dish in an even layer.
Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake the crust for 25 minutes*, or just until the edges are lightly golden.
While the crust is baking, juice and zest your lemons. You’ll need 2/3 cup lemon juice and 1 Tbsp zest.
Begin to make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, eggs, and zest until smooth. Add the lemon juice and whisk until smooth again.
When the crust is finished baking, pour the lemon filling into the baking dish on top of the crust, then transfer it back to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles.
Let the lemon bars cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to the refrigerator to chill completely.
Once the lemon bars are completely chilled, remove them from the baking dish, slice into 9 pieces, and then dust with about 1 Tbsp powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Red Velvet Delight
Ingredients
Cake
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F
Combine all dry ingredients, that is flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder, and sift into a large bowl.
In another bowl combine all wet ingredients.
Beat in 1/2 of the dry flour mixture and 1/2 of the wet buttermilk mixture until smooth. Repeat with remaining dry and wet mixtures until batter is smooth.
In large bowl, add cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Cream together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.
Divide and pour the batter evenly into (3) 8” round cake pans greased with butter or cooking spray.
Bake all 3 pans at the same time for 15 minutes at 350 F. Remove from the oven, and cool for completely.
Pipe cream out on top of the cake starting on the edge of the cake and working your way towards the middle.
If you don’t want to pipe the cream, you can also layer it using a spatula.
Layer about 1/3 of the berries over the frosting (pressing the berries into the first 2 layers of the frosting)
Repeat the same steps over the remaining cake layers.
The top layer needs to be a little more presentable.
Layout berries nicely on top of the cream. Place half-cut strawberries with stems for a beautiful touch of green.
Cake
- 1 1/2 cup – all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp. – cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. – baking powder
- 1 tsp. – baking soda
- 5 large – eggs
- 1 cup – sugar
- 1 tsp. – pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup – buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons liquid red food
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 16 oz cream cheese , softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1.5 pounds Mix of fresh berries If you're using strawberries, slice them. (Strawberries - Blueberries - Raspberries)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F
Combine all dry ingredients, that is flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder, and sift into a large bowl.
In another bowl combine all wet ingredients.
Beat in 1/2 of the dry flour mixture and 1/2 of the wet buttermilk mixture until smooth. Repeat with remaining dry and wet mixtures until batter is smooth.
In large bowl, add cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Cream together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.
Divide and pour the batter evenly into (3) 8” round cake pans greased with butter or cooking spray.
Bake all 3 pans at the same time for 15 minutes at 350 F. Remove from the oven, and cool for completely.
Pipe cream out on top of the cake starting on the edge of the cake and working your way towards the middle.
If you don’t want to pipe the cream, you can also layer it using a spatula.
Layer about 1/3 of the berries over the frosting (pressing the berries into the first 2 layers of the frosting)
Repeat the same steps over the remaining cake layers.
The top layer needs to be a little more presentable.
Layout berries nicely on top of the cream. Place half-cut strawberries with stems for a beautiful touch of green.
Star Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
¾ cup (12 tablespoons) salted butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, plus more (spoon and level method)
3-inch star cookie cutter
Instructions:
In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until pale and sandy, 5 minutes. You’ll need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom about halfway through so the butter and sugar combine thoroughly. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract, and beat on high speed until combined; 90 seconds. Add the baking powder, give the mixer 15 seconds to combine, then add the flour on low until the flour is *almost* combined. Dough will be quite soft. Finish mixing the flour with a rubber spatula by hand. If the dough seems too sticky for rolling, add one additional tablespoon of flour.
Place the dough on a clean sheet of parchment paper, cut to the size of your baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top, and roll the dough out between the two sheets of parchment into a ¼-inch thickness. Transfer the parchment paper (with cookie dough on it and the sheet you have on top) to a baking sheet then refrigerate the entire thing for at least 1 hour. You could also do this two days in advance, but I do suggest using plastic wrap on the entire sheet pan so that the dough doesn’t become dry and brittle.
Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes.
With a sharp knife. cut a notch into the cookie up to the center point of star. You may want to make a template to use so all the notches are the same.
A smaller cutters need smaller notches, bigger cutters need bigger notches. Also, your cookies might expand some when they bake which means your notch will spread.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Carefully move the parchment paper (with the dough) to the counter. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the top parchment paper from the dough. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into desired shapes and arrange cutouts on baking sheets, 1 ½ inch apart.
Bake cookies for 9-13 minutes for a cookie that is 2½ - 3 inches in diameter. Bake closer to 9 minutes if you prefer the cookies softer in the center like we do. Let them cool on baking sheet for 5-7 minutes then transfer to wire rack.
¾ cup (12 tablespoons) salted butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, plus more (spoon and level method)
3-inch star cookie cutter
Instructions:
In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until pale and sandy, 5 minutes. You’ll need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom about halfway through so the butter and sugar combine thoroughly. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract, and beat on high speed until combined; 90 seconds. Add the baking powder, give the mixer 15 seconds to combine, then add the flour on low until the flour is *almost* combined. Dough will be quite soft. Finish mixing the flour with a rubber spatula by hand. If the dough seems too sticky for rolling, add one additional tablespoon of flour.
Place the dough on a clean sheet of parchment paper, cut to the size of your baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top, and roll the dough out between the two sheets of parchment into a ¼-inch thickness. Transfer the parchment paper (with cookie dough on it and the sheet you have on top) to a baking sheet then refrigerate the entire thing for at least 1 hour. You could also do this two days in advance, but I do suggest using plastic wrap on the entire sheet pan so that the dough doesn’t become dry and brittle.
Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes.
With a sharp knife. cut a notch into the cookie up to the center point of star. You may want to make a template to use so all the notches are the same.
A smaller cutters need smaller notches, bigger cutters need bigger notches. Also, your cookies might expand some when they bake which means your notch will spread.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Carefully move the parchment paper (with the dough) to the counter. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the top parchment paper from the dough. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into desired shapes and arrange cutouts on baking sheets, 1 ½ inch apart.
Bake cookies for 9-13 minutes for a cookie that is 2½ - 3 inches in diameter. Bake closer to 9 minutes if you prefer the cookies softer in the center like we do. Let them cool on baking sheet for 5-7 minutes then transfer to wire rack.
Honey Glaze Roasted DuckIngredients:
6 lb whole Pekin duck salt 5 garlic cloves chopped 1 lemon small or medium, chopped Glaze ½ cup balsamic vinegar 1 lemon , freshly squeezed juice ¼ cup honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Pecans and Zucchini Toss sweet potatoes in olive oil and salt. Roast in the preheated oven at 400 F for about 15 minutes. Toss cubed squash in olive oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Roast in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine roasted sweet potatoes, roasted squash and lightly toasted pecans. Add a small amount of maple syrup and toss it! Instructions: Once the duck is completely defrosted (in the refrigerator), take the duck out of the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking to bring it more or less to room temperature. Remove the giblets from inside the duck. Rinse the duck, inside and outside, with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Set the duck on the working surface. Score the duck’s skin on the breast in a diamond pattern, making sure you only cut the skin, without reaching the meat. Poke the other fatty parts of the duck with the tip of the knife all over, to ensure fat release, especially in very fatty parts. Also poke the duck legs where the duck legs connect to the duck body. Season the duck very generously with salt both inside the cavity of the duck and outside on the skin and legs. Place the duck breast side up. |
Put 5 chopped garlic cloves and lemon slices inside the duck cavity (these are just for flavor, not for eating - you will discard them after cooking).
Tie up the duck legs with butcher's twine. Roast the duck for 3 hours
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