Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood: Stories and Recipes to Share With Family and Friends (17 page)
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Authors: Trisha Yearwood
Tags: #food.cookbooks
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the gelatin, sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir to mix well. Add the eggs, oil, orange juice, lemon juice, and vanilla. Divide the batter evenly among the 3 pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Test for doneness by lightly touching the tops of the layers or inserting a toothpick. Cool the layers in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto racks.
While the layers are still hot, mix the lime juice and confectioners’ sugar and pour it over the layers on the racks. You can pierce the layers with a fork to allow the glaze to soak in better. Allow the layers to cool completely as you prepare the icing.
Cream the butter and cream cheese. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until the mixture is smooth and easy to spread. Spread the icing between the layers and on the top and sides of the cake.
The cream cheese icing is optional. This cake is beautiful and tastes great with just the glaze poured over it.
Key limes can be hard to find. Substitute regular lime juice for Key lime juice without sacrificing flavor.
FROM BETH:
This is a very moist cake. It can also be baked in a 9 x 12 x 2-inch pan to be easily served in squares.
FROM GWEN:
This recipe comes from family friend Angela Spivey. She uses whichever variety of lime is available in the local grocery.
pound cake
My dad’s aunt Marie had eight children to rear during the Great Depression. Starting a cake in a cold oven was just one way to save on fuel at a time when every penny counted. Times have changed, but I like to make this cake the way Great-Aunt Marie did, and try to imagine what it must have been like to be a mother to eight children. Maybe I’ll just preheat the oven!
SERVES 15
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Do not preheat the oven. Grease and flour the bottom, sides, and tube of a 9-inch tube cake pan.
Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, but do not overbeat. Set the mixer on slow speed and stir in the flour and cream alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Add the vanilla and stir well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and put the cake in a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 325°F. Begin timing now and bake the cake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake. The toothpick should be clean when it is removed. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to continue cooling.
Great-Aunt Marie Yearwood Bruce, my grandaddy Bo’s sister, in her cucumber patch.
Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake
strawberry shortcake
I’m a fan of salt and sweet mixed together. My grandmother Lizzie Paulk often used biscuits in place of pastry in her recipes. Nowadays, most people use angel food cake or pound cake for this dessert, but I like the old-fashioned mix of the not-so-sweet biscuit with the sweetness of the strawberries and the whipped cream. I serve this dessert in the summer with fresh-picked berries from our local strawberry farm.
SERVES 8 TO 10
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
⅔ cup butter (11 tablespoons), cold and cut into small pieces
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 pints fresh strawberries
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ½ cup of the sugar. Add the butter and cut in with 2 knives or a pastry blender to coarse-crumb consistency. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk until fully combined. Gradually stir the egg and milk mixture into the flour mixture. Knead the dough for about 20 seconds on a lightly floured board. Pat half the dough into each cake pan. Brush the surfaces with melted butter. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Turn the shortcake layers out onto cooling racks.
While the layers are cooling, wash the strawberries and remove the hulls. Reserve a few berries for garnish. Cut the large berries in half and sprinkle with ¾ cup of the sugar. Let stand for about 30 minutes.
Spoon half of the berries with their juice over one shortcake layer. Place the second layer on top and spoon the remaining berries and juice over it. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and top with the whipped cream.
cake
My friend Tana first made this cake and left it in our refrigerator for us to enjoy when we returned home from a trip. What a sweet surprise, literally! This cake has become a regular dessert at our house and a popular request for birthdays. I think what makes it unique is that it is cut into six layers. The pureed carrots make for a smoother cake. Of course, at my house, nobody cares about that, they just think it’s good!
SERVES 12
Cake
3 cups granulated sugar
1½ cups corn oil
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups walnuts, finely chopped
1½ cups frozen grated coconut, thawed
1½ cups pureed carrots (about 6 medium, boiled)
¾ cup crushed pineapple, drained
Cream Cheese Frosting
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, room temperature
6 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of three 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, line with circles of parchment paper, and grease the paper with cooking spray.
With an electric mixer, cream the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture. Add the walnuts, coconut, carrot puree, and pineapple, and beat until smooth. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool the layers in the pans for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of each pan and turn the layers out onto wire racks that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Cool the layers completely before frosting (
see Note
).
To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until fully combined. Add the vanilla.
Slice each layer horizontally in half using an electric knife. Frost each layer, the sides, and the top of the cake. Press the chopped walnuts into the sides of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
NOTE: After the layers have cooled, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. They are easier to handle and cut in half the next day. Also, to handle as little as possible, put the first layer of cake on the plate you intend to store it on, slice it in half, ease a piece of parchment between the layers, and lift the top portion off. Frost the bottom slice, and then add the next layer. Continue until the entire cake is frosted.
coconut cake
with
coconut lemon glaze
We found this recipe in my grandma’s recipe file. I thought it was interesting because I’d never made a cake with vanilla wafer crumbs. For years my mom made a more difficult divinity icing for her coconut cakes, only to learn much later that my dad actually preferred the juicier, easier glaze that his mother made. I was really happy to find this recipe because I thought it had been lost forever and I had heard about this legendary cake all my life!
SERVES 12
Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce box vanilla wafers, finely crushed
1 6-ounce package frozen grated coconut, thawed
½ cup chopped pecans
Cocnut Lemon Glaze
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
Grated zest of 2 large lemons
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (juice of about 2 large lemons)
1½ cups water
1 6-ounce package frozen grated coconut, thawed
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch tube cake pan.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well. Mix in the vanilla wafer crumbs, coconut, and pecans. Pour into the pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack.