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Yogurt Pound Cake

March 17, 2012 by 1 Comment
Yogurt Pound Cake

Yogurt Pound CakeI found this yogurt pound cake recipe in a food magazine, but as with most recipes – I have to put my own stamp on it. I always think I can improve it. Sometimes I make it better, sometimes not. In this case, there were a couple of things I should have left alone and not changed and there was one thing I changed which I think improved the taste a bunch.

The original recipe advised using plain whole-milk yogurt and baking the cake in a metal loaf pan. Since I prefer Greek style yogurt and had some on hand, I used that instead. I also didn’t have a metal loaf pan of the requisite size, so I used Pyrex. Both of these changes resulted in a need to cook the cake about 10 minutes longer, which gave it a little more crisp on the crust than I would like. So, next time – I will go get regular plain yogurt and use a metal loaf pan.

Yogurt Pound Cake is Great for BreakfastThe one customization that I made that really worked was the glaze that goes on top after the cake is baked. I used apricot preserves, thinned with a small amount of orange liqueur. Killer.

We loved this for breakfast with a cuppa joe. We felt less guilty knowing it wasn’t full of butter fat.  Let us know how yours turns out!

Ingredients

For the glaze
1 tsp Cointreau or other orange flavored liqueur
¼ cup apricot preserves

For the cake
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated lemon peel
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
½ tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder – if yours is more than 6 months old, throw it out and buy new
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Procedure
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch metal baking pan with butter flavored cooking spray. If you don’t have the correct size metal baking pan, use one of the tin foil throw-away kind you can buy in the grocery store.

Put the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk together. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then add yogurt, sugar, lemon peel, and vanilla. Whisk these ingredients until smooth. Add the flour mixture a little at a time while stirring. Finally, stir in the oil until the mixture is consistent. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake on a cookie sheet for 50 minutes. Test with a toothpick in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, back in the oven for 5 minutes at a time until its cooked.

While the pound cake is cooling, make the glaze. In a small saucepan combine the orange liqueur with the apricot preserves and warm over medium heat while stirring. When the glaze is warm, remove the cake from the pan and brush the glaze over the top. Allow the glaze to cool before serving.

Your Daily Bread

Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while He may be found;
call to Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked one abandon his way
and the sinful one his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD,
so He may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for He will freely forgive.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not My ways.”
            This is the LORD’s declaration.
9 “For as heaven is higher than earth,,
so My ways are higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven
and do not return there
without saturating the earth
and making it germinate and sprout,
and providing seed to sow
and food to eat,
11 so My word that comes from My mouth
will not return to Me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please
and will prosper in what I send it to do.”

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Sunday French Toast Casserole

February 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Here’s a special breakfast that is always a hit. Its easy to make, and most of the prep is done the night before. Pop it in the oven, make a warm berry syrup to go on top, and you have something really special. Berry syrup is really easy to make, and so good, I’m sure you’ll be happy you made it.

About 10 years ago, I was working for a multi-billion dollar consumer products company that had a wellness initiative. Once a quarter, everyone would get a little magazine with health tips and a few “healthy” recipes…… Ha! My dad lived to 89 and my mom is still kickin’ at 91. I ‘m going to enjoy life while I can.

I found the basis for this recipe in the magazine one spring, and adapted it to use whole eggs instead of egg whites, and “real” cream cheese instead of no-fat cream cheese. I actually like it with 2% milk instead of the skim milk that was originally specified.

This week, we decided to make it again. Where’s the recipe? Can’t find it. OK, well then we’ll make it from memory. So here it is:

Ingredients:

4 – 6 slices of “country style” thick white bread – depending on size, you use as much as will fit in a glass 9x13x2 baking dish.
Cream cheese – about 12 oz.
2 cups 2% milk
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp almond extract
½ tsp salt

Instructions:

Cut the bread slices in half, as if they are the halves of a sandwich. Spread the cream cheese on them generously. Coat your baking dish with cooking spray, then lay the bread, cream cheese side up, in the dish.

Whisk the milk, sugar, almond extract, and salt in a bowl – then pour over the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

To cook :

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and cook the casserole for about 30 minutes, or until the edges of the bread are starting to crisp just a little. Top with warm berry syrup and enjoy!

Berry Syrup:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp corn starch dissolved in 2 Tbsp water
1 pint of blueberries (you can use any berry you like – I prefer raspberries, but sometimes I make both syrups so guests have a choice)
2 Tbsp butter
¼ tsp salt

Combine water, salt, and sugar, and bring to a rolling boil over high heat stirring frequently. Add the berries and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly for a few minutes until the syrup turns the color of the berries and the berries start to disintegrate. Add the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. As soon as the syrup is nice and thick, take it off the heat and add the butter. Stir until the butter is melted. Serve with the French toast.

Your Daily Bread

John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

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Make the Perfect Quiche

February 16, 2011 by 3 Comments
Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Julia Child taught me how to make great quiche.  Well, not personally.  I used her “The Way to Cook” book which is big, colorful, and radiates personality, just like the great French chef herself!  Chef Child explains that quiche is somewhat of a state of mind.  Once you have the basic concept down, the possibilities are endless.  That basic concept is to follow these simple steps:

  1. Pre-bake your crust with weights
  2. Fill your shell with flavorful ingredients
  3. Pour in the custard to surround and fill the shell
  4. Bake until brown and puffed

I use frozen, store-bought shells and prefer deep dish for quiche.  Today, I chose Mrs. Smith’s brand, but have used Pillsbury and a couple of other brands.  Right out of the freezer, let the shell stand on the counter for about 20 minutes.  Prick the bottom all over with a fork, then line the shell with aluminum foil and weight with dried beans or pie weights.  If you don’t do this, your shell will puff and bubble and you won’t see a clear separation of custard and crust.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, discard the beans, and let the crust cool.

Meanwhile, you can prepare your custard and filling.  Because pie shells vary in depth and some fillings will take more space than others, it’s best to use a custard ratio rather than a set amount of eggs and cream.  It may seem strange to say, but quiche is not all about the eggs.  In fact, you want to be careful not to have too much custard.  The goal is to allow the custard to surround and embrace your filling ingredients and, as the eggs slowly cook, suspend them in a creamy cloud of goodness.  So, for each egg you break into your glass measuring cup, add enough liquid (you can use cream, low fat, or skim milk here, but I find whole milk is best) to reach the 1/2 cup mark.  It follows, then, that 2 eggs would need liquid to reach 1 cup and 4 eggs would reach 2 cups.  I used 4 eggs today, but I prepared custard with 5 eggs and had some leftover.  That’s better than having to mix up additional custard if you come up short, so I recommend preparing 4-5 eggs’ worth of custard.

Cheese is another must in quiche.  Finely grated cheese is best and any cheese will do.  If you buy a bag of pre-shredded cheese, you’re making your task much more pleasant and easy!  When you’re ready to fill your shell, start with a layer of shredded cheese covering the entire bottom.  Then, add your flavor ingredients (I’ll get to those in a minute), then the custard, and top with a few more tablespoons of cheese.  Fill the shell to the top, just below where the fluted edge begins.  The quiche will puff while baking, then settle on the counter.  Bake at 375 degrees, usually for about 40 minutes.  The top will get quite brown, which is a good thing.  You want to make sure the custard is fully set or you’ll have runny quiche.  So, don’t go for a gorgeous, pale yellow appearance.  I’ve used the toothpick test and also just slightly jiggled the quiche to see how much wiggle it has to help determine doneness.

Ready to go in the oven

Okay, now the filling!  Once you’ve got that whole feel for what a quiche ought to be, you can fill your shell with anything you like!  I have two favorites.  The one pictured here is broccoli, green onion, and mexican 4-cheese and it’s just delicious!  The other favorite is shrimp, green onion, and Parmesan cheese.  Here’s how I do those:

Broccoli Quiche

Cut florettes into small pieces to make about 2 cups
Slice 3 green onions thin, about 3/4 of the way up (discard the tops)
Prepare custard and add salt/pepper
Line the bottom of the pre-baked shell with shredded Mexican 4-cheese blend
Fill to top with broccoli and green onions
Pour in custard starting in the center and moving out to the edge in a spiral
Top with more cheese and bake

Shrimp Quiche

Chop 12-15 large cooked shrimp, cold (I buy shrimp cocktail)
Grate 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese (don’t even think about the stuff in the green can!)
Slice 2-3 green onions thin, about 3/4 of the way up (discard the tops)
Line the bottom of the pre-baked shell with Parmesan cheese
Add the shrimp and green onions
Pour in custard starting in the center and moving out to the edge in a spiral
Top with more cheese and bake

Your Daily Bread

1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”

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