March 17, 2011

Lime French Toast

From:  Michelle Cox

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c light corn syrup
4 TB frozen limeade concentrate*
1/2 c light brown sugar, packed
Zest of 2 limes
1 1/2 c. milk
5 eggs
1 TB vanilla
Dash of salt
1 loaf French bread cut into 1” slices

Spray lightly a 9X13 baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a medium saucepan, over low heat, place the butter, brown sugar, syrup, limeade and zest. Cook until butter and sugar have barely melted (3-5 minutes). Pour into the baking dish.

In a bowl, mix eggs, milk, vanilla and a dash of salt.

Arrange the bread slices in one layer over the syrup mixture and pour the egg mixture over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Half hour before baking, remove the French toast dish from the refrigerator. 

Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with whipping cream and strawberries.

VARIATION:
* Instead of frozen limeade, use 1/3 cup of key lime juice and 3 TB of sugar

Belgian Waffles

From: Bobbi Johnson
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk
non-stick cooking spray

  1. Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions. 
  2. In 1 medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 
  3. In a second bowl use the wooden spoon to beat together the egg yolks and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and eggs have turned a pale yellow. 
  4. Add the vanilla extract, melted butter, and milk to the eggs and whisk to combine. 
  5. Combine the egg-milk mixture with the flour mixture and whisk just until blended. Do not over mix. 
  6. In third bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. 
  7. Using the rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. Do not overmix! 
  8. Coat the waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and pour enough batter in iron to just cover waffle grid. Close and cook as per manufacturer's instructions until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

March 7, 2011

Lemon Buttercream

From: www.ourbestbites.com

1 1/4 c. butter (2 1/2 sticks)
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 c. powdered sugar

Beat butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice in an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating to spreading consistency. Makes 2 3/4 c.

Lemon Cupcakes

From: www.ourbestbites.com

1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) of REAL butter
3 c. cake flour (no substitutions here–you really need the lightness of cake flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons (just zest the other lemons before you squeeze them)
1 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners (I used yellow, although white would also be cute).

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Don’t go skimping here–you want the mixture to be almost white and super fluffy. This is absolutely essential to the outcome of the cake.

While butter and sugar are mixing, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. After butter and sugar have mixed sufficiently, With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until fully incorporated.

Using a standard cookie scoop, place about 2 scoops of batter into each muffin cup. Fill these almost to the top–due to the final texture (again, think super-moist and light pound cake), these cupcakes won’t have a nice, curvy crown, but that’s okay–no one will ever know or care.

Bake about 20-25 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. You don’t want to overbake these even a bit, or they’ll start to lose their delicious moisture.

Remove from oven and cool completely. Frost with lemon buttercream and garnish with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or fresh mint leaves.

FROST WITH LEMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING