White Chocolate Raspberry Cake

I get a magazine, Southern Lady from a woman at church brought back when she visits Alabama relatives. On the cover of one is a 6-layer White Chocolate Raspberry Cake. I knew I had to try this one and it turned out great. Here's the recipe:

WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CAKE

4 (1 oz.) squares white baking chocolate
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 1/2 cups cake flour
1 TBSP. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla
8 egg whites
1 (18-oz.) jar seedless raspberry preserves, thinned with 1 TBSP. water
1 recipe White Chocolate Frosting 

Preheat oven to 325.

Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans; set aside

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate squares in microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted. Set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening at med.-high speed for 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar; beat 4 min.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed, blending well after each addition.
Add vanilla and melted white chocolate, beating to combine. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Spoon batter in prepared pans.

Bake 40-50 min. or till a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min, remove to wire racks and cool completely.

Slice cake layers in half horizontally to make 6 layers. Place 1 layer, cut side up on a cake plate; spread with 1/4 cup raspberry preserves, omitting preserves on top of last layer. Spread White Chocolate Frosting on top and sides of cake. Garnish with raspberries and chocolate curls.

WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING:
8 (1 oz.) squares white baking chocolate
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
8 cups confectioners' sugar
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate squares and cream in microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Cool completely.
In a large bowl combine white chocolate mixture, butter and vanilla. Beat at med. speed until smooth. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating till light and fluffy.

I have my own raspberries growing and gathered enough fresh raspberries to garnish. Raspberries are really easy to grow. You might want to get plants - can even grow in your flower bed.

Summertime chores

Busy time of the year. Canning tomatoes, freezing corn, picking blueberries. Grew a different bean this year, Rattlesnake beans. They're absolutely delicious. Was able to get the seed at a local hardware/seed store in our small city that's been in business for 50-60 years and still run by the original owner. I've picked blackberries and frozen lots of the juice to make blackberry jelly. I made Zucchini Bread this morning. It's like banana bread, date nut bread, more like cake really.  Grated zucchini makes it moist. I had  grated zucchini left over and made fried zucchini patties. Into two cups zucchini grate small amount onion, add one beaten egg, 2-3 Tbsp. flour (to bind it) and 1/4 cup grated Cheddar. Have oil in iron frying pan sizzling hot, use both hands to form a patty (won't hold together completely but when it hits hot oil it will) and place in pan. Put lid on pan. When very brown on one side turn over patty. (They're fragile so don't turn them till they're well browned). Cook till browned on other side.  Place patties on a cake cooling rack over newspapers (to catch grease). The rack will keep them crisp; in a plate they'd get soggy on one side.  HINT: All fried items should be placed on a rack. Also cornbread,  as it keeps it crispy too. My cake cooling racks are indispensable in my kitchen. Granny Bett

Collards - They're Not Just for New Years

To view the video and learn how to make collards fresh in your kitchen, click on the following youtube link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW9H3dHd2gw

Angel Food Cake

I'd made banana pudding which used 4 egg yolks and had 4 whites left. Thought I'd make Angel Food cake, checked my recipe and it called for 2 1/2 cups egg whites. Do you have any idea how many egg whites it takes to make 2 1/2 cups? I'll answer that - 14 large eggs, that's how many. I had no idea!  I went ahead and made it; turned out well. Won't be making that cake again soon. I now have 10 yolks to do something with (I already had 4 whites, had to break two more eggs to get enough whites, hence the 10 yolks)

Laid Back Farm's Super Bowl Party

Goats and more Goats

The newest babies on Laid Back Farm

On The Farm

We have a registered Kikko buck goat borrowed to breed our female goats.  They all delivered one or two babies  each 6 or 8 months ago.  And now - we've kept Larry (the male goat) too long and they were bred again. We had no idea we were expecting babies. They don't look pregnant. Went to the barn this morning, there were two. This afternoon another female had two. At this rate of multiplication we could be covered up with baby goats. They sure are cute though. And you always want females; can't build a goat herd with males. The four babies so far are 3 males, one female. I'm just glad the mamas are okay and can feed them. Feeding goat babies a bottle several times a day is a real drag. I've done it and getting up in the middle of the night is no fun.   And you can't have goats contained in a pasture without an electric fence and sometimes the fence will have an electrical short and you have to walk the perimeter of the fence to find it. I walked about half of the pasture today and wouldn't you know it? I walked the total area and found the short in my last few steps. Will make that repair in the morning. Should have started walking at that point and could have saved a lot of steps.

Cornbread Dressing

 

To view my video of the "how-to" of making delicious dressing, a/k/a cornbread dressing or chicken dressing, visit this link 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o4COphg5sM

Here are the step-by-step directions with a few photos to follow: 

 CHICKEN DRESSING

1 cup onions, finely chopped

1 cup celery, finely chopped

3 Tbsp. butter

4 eggs

6 cups crumbled cornbread

2 cups crumbled biscuits

1 Tbsp. fresh dried sage, crumbled

2 tsp. poultry seasoning

2 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. salt

1 can cream of chicken soup

chicken broth, amount needed to make a thin dressing mixtuture

chopped cooked chicken, amount as desired, up to 1 1/2 cups

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pressure cook chicken (don't use all breasts, not enough flavor). Remove chicken from broth. Melt butter is Corning Ware dish. Cook onions and celery in Corning Ware dish on stovetop till tender. Whisk soup in broth or eggs to mix well before adding to large bowl of all other ingredients. Add broth and  chicken and mix well. Pour into dish (will already be buttered from cooking celery and onions). Cook for 20 minutes and slide under broiler for final browning of top.  Delicious!

Boss Bros.

Boss' Store was having another special day to benefit Toys for Tots this time.  I'm sitting, Grandaddy's standing as we watch the police dogs show us how they catch the bad guys. I do know I wouldn't want to be the bad guy with that dog all over me. They were great. You can see some of the antique tractors in the background. They had locals selling fresh collards, homemade barbecue with all the fixin's. The rocking chairs were for sale also. Each year at this time they put out boxes and boxes of Christmas candy for sale - coconut bon-bons, chocolate peanut morsels, divinity, orange slice candy (love it!), and just about any old-time candy you can think of. We always buy enough to fill a platter during the Christmas holidays. We love the Boss family and we're so glad they're there as friends .

Pear Relish Recipe

Pear Relish is so yummy over dried beans. Another idea is to spread it over softened cream cheese and it's so good you can't stop eating till it's gone. The pear variety is Keiffer, sometimes known as the preserving pear because you make pear preserves with this pear. We have several trees that were loaded down this year. We fed most of them to our goats and donkeys; they absolutely love them. I also grow my own red peppers, which cost $2 each at the grocery.


PEAR RELISH

10 pounds prepared pears (peeled, cut into pieces)
6 red sweet peppers
fresh hot pepper to taste (I used Jalapeno, which is very hot and I only used about 1/2 of a pepper)
1 TBSP. each salt, celery seed and mustard seed
4 cups sugar
3 cups vinegar
2-3 medium onions, not Vidalias

Coarsely grind pears, peppers and onions. Mix other ingredients and cook 2-3 hours. Ladle into pint or half-pint jars, seal jars. Can process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes if desired.

Handy Recipe Holder

Here's a good idea I'd not used before to keep my recipe I'm using at eye level and nearer my stove and counters when I'm cooking. (Also keeps the recipe clean, without splatters). Use a clothes hanger that has clips that slide across (used in stores to hang skirts) to clip the recipe. Then hang it on the cabinet knob or cabinet handle. 

Money-Saving Tips - Seminar Part I

On March 15, 2012, I presented a seminar at Yellow River Baptist Church.  I shared money saving tips for the grocery store, how to find a bargain at thrift stores and household tips.  Hope you enjoy both Part I and Part II.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ibxDqWZEfM  - Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5D_IeLW5ZY&feature=relmfu – Part II