Victory Velvet Cake: Something To Look (Droolingly) Forward To

Picture from Google Images

I made a red velvet cake recently for a family member's birthday, and it reminded me how much fun this cake can be. I've made it in a variety of other colors for their appropriately hued holidays (for example, green velvet for St. Patty's Day), but I had the idea of incorporating the versatility of the cake with a way to celebrate whatever cancer victory you wish (i.e. end of chemo, 2-year all-clear, etc..). Lymphoma is represented by lime green, very close to the cake pictured, although this particular cake is not mine. But you could do any variety of colors depending on your type of cancer. This is now my recipe for red velvet cake, although it is about the fifth or sixth adjustment to the original recipe I used for Paula Deen's "Grandmother Paul's" red velvet cake. I plan on making a lime green velvet cake soon, so I'll be sure to post some pictures as soon as they are available. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this recipe.



VICTORY VELVET CAKE with VANILLA BEAN CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

For the cake:

• 2 sticks butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 to 2 ounces food coloring (depending on color and desired intensity)
• 3 cups cake flour (2 1/2 if using only 1 ounce food coloring)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

For the icing:

• 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 1-lb box confectioners' sugar (more or less depending on taste)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• scraped seeds of one vanilla bean (optional, but recommended)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs, one at a time.
3. Mix in food coloring (use only 1 ounce at this point).
4. On a sheet of wax paper, sift together flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
5. Add buttermilk and sifted dry ingredients alternately to bowl, ending with dry ingredients.
6. In a small bowl, stir together vinegar and baking soda (it will fizz) and add to bowl, stir well.
7. Add vanilla.
8. Observe the color. Cake will bake approximately 1 shade darker. If desired, add up to one additional ounce of food coloring.
9. Divide batter evenly among 3 8- or 9-inch greased rounds, and bake approximately 20 to 25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely.
10. Meanwhile for the icing, cream together butter and cream cheese until thoroughly blended. Mix in salt, vanilla, and vanilla bean seeds. Test for sweetness and add more sugar, if desired.
11. If icing appears too thick, you may add about a teaspoon of milk at a time until desired consistency is reached.
12. Place a little icing on the surface of a cake platter and situate one layer. Add a few dollops of icing, smooth, and place another layer on top. Repeat for the third layer, inverting the top layer so the flat bottom is facing up. 
13. Spoon some of the icing on top and using an offset spatula, spread the icing over the top and down onto the sides of the cake. Continue adding icing in this fashion until a thin layer of icing surrounds the entire cake. (This is called a "dirty" icing, and does not have to be perfect.) Refrigerate approximately 30 minutes until icing has hardened some.
14. Remove cake and frost with the remaining icing. The hardened "dirty icing" will allow you to achieve a smoother, cleaner final frosting. If any icing is left over, spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and use to add a decorate border around the bottom and/or top edge of the cake.
15. Garnish additionally as desired and according to to chosen coloring. Strawberries or raspberries go nicely with red velvet cake, whereas lime wedges or kiwi slices might be nice with a green velvet cake. Use your imagination!
16. If not serving immediately, it is highly recommended that you keep this cake refrigerated. You can remove the cake 30 minutes prior to serving and allow to set at room temperature if you do not like a cold cake.
17. ENJOY!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups: Need I Say More?

I observed an insane amount of peanut butter in my pantry and several partly-used bags of chocolate and thought, peanut butter cups? Oh yes. The photo is of a recipe I made that I found on an app I use, but I have adjusted the recipe to reflect my desired changes. It gives you the general idea of what they end up looking like though. Aren't they great! Yes, there is a disturbing amount of butter in this recipe, but what's wonderful about these is that you can actually eat just one and feel satisfied!










HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

Filling:

• 1 jar (16-18oz.) creamy peanut butter (I use Peter Pan)
• 2 sticks butter (you heard me right, don't judge me!)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (up to 3 cups based on your tastes)
• scant pinch salt

Coating:

• 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)

Assembly Options:

1. 13x9in. baking dish lined with wax paper OR
2. 2 12-count cupcake pans with wrappers OR
3. 2 24-count mini-muffin pans with wrappers 

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Turn the heat to LOW and add peanut butter, mixing constantly until smooth.
3. Take the pan off the heat and add sugar and salt, stir VERY well, it will be a workout.
4. In a separate microwaveable dish, melt butter and chocolate by microwaving for 20-seconds, stirring, and repeating, about 4 to 5 times. Stir in espresso powder.
5. If using the BAR option, just pour PB mixture into the pan, cover with chocolate, and refrigerate until chocolate is set.
6. If using the CUPS option, fill each lined cup about 1/3 the way with the chocolate, and use a spoon to spread the chocolate upwards along the sides of the liners. Refrigerate about 30 minutes until chocolate is mostly hardened.
7. Then, spoon some of the PB mixture (about 1 tsp for mini-muffins or 2 tsps. for cupcakes) in the center of each chocolate cup, flattening out the top just a bit. Reheat the chocolate just enough to make it pourable again (in 20-second intervals ONLY) and cover each cup with enough chocolate to fill the wrapper. Refrigerate again until chocolate is set, at least 30 minutes. Enjoy! 

Cream Cheese Chicken: A Soothing (AND EASY) Meal for the Cancer Patient (Or Anyone, Really)

Picture from a Google Search. The recipe is mine, however.

Easy is where it's at when you're trying to make wholesome meals and be on chemo. Eating out too much is just not good, period. And cooking for yourself has a number of mental and physical health benefits. For me, it's all about slow-cooking. I've had this recipe for a long time, and while it may appear to be unhealthy, it actually isn't at all, and can be easily tweaked to reflect more health-conscious ingredients. Did I mention it's easy???









CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN 

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 stick butter (or half butter, half chicken stock)
• 1 envelope dry Italian dressing (Good Seasonings)
• 1 8oz. package cream cheese (you can use light cream cheese)
• 1 can Cream of Chicken and Mushroom soup (or any Cream of Chicken soup)
• 1 8-12oz. jar mushrooms, drained

1. Place chicken in a slow cooker with butter and dry Italian dressing. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
2. During last hour of cooking, add remaining ingredients. Stir well before serving.
3. Serve over Basmati or brown rice and with broccoli for a healthy meal.

Chocolate Chip Muffies: The Best of Two Wonderful Worlds

 What do you get when you bake chocolate chip cookie dough in a muffin tin? Well, muffies, of course! I saw this idea in the AllTheCooks app that I use somewhat religiously and immediately had to try it. You have all the taste of a perfect, homemade chocolate chip cookie, with the added pluses of a crisp, almost caramelized edge, and a moist, gooey interior. It's the best of every chocolate chip dough world! Here's the recipe if you want a luscious treat:





CHOCOLATE CHIP "MUFFIES"
(Recipe courtesy an AllTheCooks app user)

• 1 c. butter
• 1 c. white sugar
• 1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla
• 2 1/3 c. all-purpose flour, unsifted
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 12 oz. chocolate chips (1 bag)

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cream sugars and butter until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and beat well.
4. Beat in salt, baking soda, and vanilla.
5. Add flour a cup at a time, mixing well, but just enough to incorporate.
6. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Spoon batter into greased cupcake tins (do not use cupcake liners) using enough batter to fill each cup approximately halfway.
8. Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
9. Makes about 18 "muffies."

Luxurious Sweet Tea: Summer in a Glass

So I love sweet tea, and I particularly enjoy McDonald's sweet tea (about the only thing I like from there). But as with almost any foodstuff, replicating it at home can be more trouble than its worth. Coincidentally, I stumbled upon a curious recipe on the NPR website, which I made, and then altered (which I almost always inevitably do), but hot-dog-diggity, the stuff ended up tasting darned-near close to the Mickey D's version. "Recipe?" you're thinking... I know. Sweet tea is hardly a recipe, but the kicker here is a bit of baking soda, which calms the tannins in the tea and gives it a wonderfully smooth mouth-feel, dare I say luxurious. Sweet tea is like mozzarella cheese, its more of a method than a recipe, but find the right one and it is, as Guy Fieri would say, "money!" Here's what I did:

Lasagna Bolognese: A Labor of Love

I took a stab at making lasagna bolognese the other night, which is the laborious product of two already laborious recipes: lasagna and bolognese sauce. A quick note about recipes here, in general: I almost never follow recipes! I research the general item I'm attempting to make and take bits from here and a method from there, and pretty soon I end up with a de facto original recipe. I will, however, give credit where it is due if I post someone else's recipe. That said, here is my recipe for this somewhat ridiculously indulgent meal, Lasagna Bolognese: