Zucchini Soup

It's been cold and rainy here for the past few days so it was the perfect time to make this soup. I made this soup for lunch yesterday and still have leftovers for today. Since it has been so cold and rainy I have been hauled up inside reading and watching reruns of Gilmore Girls. I just finished The Pioneer Woman's: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels and I just started The Help. I love a good spring/summertime read, especially when it is rainy out.
This recipe is from my mom. It's great for lunch or a light dinner and it's a good way to use up the abundance of zucchini everyone seems to have come late summer.

Zucchini Soup
3 cups Shredded Zucchini 
2 tablespoons Chopped Onion
2 tablespoons Water
2 cups Milk (I used 1%)
1/4 cup Butter
2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Freshly Grated Nutmeg (optional, but completely worth it)

Combine zucchini, onion and water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat then whisk in the flour. Once mixture is bubbly, pour in the milk and whisk until mixture is slightly thickened. Pour milk mixture into zucchini mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Pour soup into bowls and top with freshly grated nutmeg. Serve with a hunk of buttered bread.

Serves 2

Happy Belated Cinco de Mayo (or maybe I should just say Happy Nueve de Mayo)

Either way it's a good day for a Tres Leches Cake. D and I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a beans and rice dinner, some good beer and of course Tres Leches Cake. The first time I tried this deliciously milky cake a friend of ours had made it for a dinner party and it was like nothing I had ever tasted. The cake was served surrounded by a pool of milky white and without any frosting on top. I wasn't sure quite what to expect. Once I dug in I found the cake to be absolutely fantastic and I have wanted to try making my own ever since. Most of the recipes I have come across call for a layer of whipping cream on top but the version we had did not have whipping cream on top so I decided to leave it off mine as well. It has been a few years since I tried this cake and I have been meaning to make it ever since and what better day to attempt this creation than Cinco de Mayo?

On another note I mentioned last week that D recently had a birthday. For his birthday I gave him a home beer brewing kit. Over this past weekend we attempted to brew beer, well actually it was mostly D and one of his friends, but I did keep an eye on things while they went to pick up a pizza because beer brewing is a hungry business. Anyway things seemed to run relatively smoothly as far as I could tell with only a little hiccup here and there, but we are still unsure about what to expect. I have heard stories of the beer exploding during the fermentation process and also that the first batch almost never turns out so naturally I am a little concerned. So my question to you is, have you ever brewed beer and if so was it a success or a failure and do you have any advise for a novice home brewer? 

Tres Leches Cake
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
8 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar
5 Eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x13 inch pan, line with parchment paper draping over the sides (see picture below) then butter the parchment and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for about a minute. Decrease speed to medium-low and slowly beat in the sugar over the course of a minute, scraping the sides and bottom as necessary. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and again scraping the bottom and sides as needed. Beat in the vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the rest of the ingredients and beat into the egg mixture in 3 parts until just incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Once cake is done cool in pan for a few minutes then carefully remove cake from pan using the overlapping parchment paper to lift cake and place on a wire rack to cool. Once cake has cooled poke holes over the entire top of the cake with a fork. Trim the edges and cut into squares. Place squares into a large dish with sides (I had to use two dishes for this) then prepare the glaze.

Glaze 
12 ounces Evaporated Milk
14 ounces Sweetened Condensed Milk
3/4 cup Half and Half
1/2 cup Coconut Milk (the full-fat kind) 
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Whisk all of the ingredients together then pour the glaze over the cake squares. I found it best to use a large measuring cup with a spout so I could easily pour the glaze. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Top with whipping cream if you like. 

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker where it was adapted from Alton Brown

 

Two Bean Soup

This soup makes a great weeknight dinner. It only takes 30 minutes to come together, it's healthy and delicious and it easily lasts for two nights when serving two people. I like to serve this soup with cheddar soda bread only this time I left out the cheddar to cut down some of the fat. I made the bread into muffins rather than a round, which shortened the baking time. To make the muffins prepare the bread as directed. Line a standard muffin tin with baking liners and fill each cup 3/4 of the way full. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden on top. 

Two Bean Soup 

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 medium Onion, Chopped

2 medium Carrots, Chopped

1 Celery Stock, Chopped 

Pinch of Kosher Salt 

2 Garlic Cloves, Minced 

4 cups Vegetable Broth, Divided 

1 bunch Kale

2 cans Cannellini Beans, Drained and Divided

1 can Black Beans, Drained

1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

1 teaspoon Fresh Rosemary, Chopped

Pepper to taste 

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat and add a generous pinch of salt. Stir in the onion, carrots and celery, cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for just a minute then stir in 3 cups of the vegetable broth and the kale. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover for 3 minutes. In the meantime pour the remaining cup of broth and 1 can of cannellini beans into the blender and blend until smooth. Pour the broth mixture and the remaining beans into the soup. Cook for 5 minutes or until beans are heated through. Pour in the red wine vinegar and stir in the rosemary. Add more salt if you like and pepper to taste. 

Serves 4-6

Recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light

Raspberry Cream Cheese Layer Cake

Last week was full of parties and celebrations and when there is a party there must be a cake. So last week I made two cakes, one for D's birthday and one for his cousin's graduation. The cake I made for the graduation was actually a concoction D came up with. When we first started dating I wanted to make him a cake for his birthday and so I asked him what kind of cake he liked. He knew exactly what he wanted, a white cake with cream cheese frosting and raspberry filling, and not just any raspberry filling, it had to be the kind bakery used. I went to the bakery and asked them if I could purchase the raspberry filling they use for their cakes. They looked at me strangely and told me they don't usually sell the filling on its own. I told them I was making a birthday cake for my boyfriend and this was what he had requested and I would really appreciate if they could sell it to me so I could impress him with this fabulous cake. They took pity on me and sold me the filling. I made the cake and it was a huge success which was great but then the next birthday came. I had to go back to the bakery and ask for the filling again and this begging and pleading for raspberry filling continued year after year until last year when I found the filling a restaurant supply store and I never had to beg for it again. So usually I make this cake for D's birthday but this year I got a special request from his sister to make it for the graduation party. So this year D got a new cake which he thoroughly enjoyed, but I have a feeling that next year D will request his old standby instead.

White Cake 
2 3/4 cups Cake Flour
1 2/3 cups Superfine Sugar
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
3/4 teaspoon Salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, Softened
4 Egg Whites plus 1 Whole Egg
1 cup Full-Fat Yogurt
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Almond Extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8 inch round cake pans then set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment whisk together all of the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Change attachment to the paddle then beat in the butter until crumbly. Add the egg whites one at a time and beat thoroughly after each addition then add the whole egg and beat until incorporated, scraping the bottom and sides as needed. In a separate bowl stir together the yogurt and extracts. Pour a little at a time into the batter mixing well after each addition, this should take about 3-4 additions. Once all of the yogurt mixture is combined beat batter for 2 minutes until nice and fluffy. Pour batter into the cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in pan for about ten minutes then take a butter knife and go around the cake to loosen it from the pan. Turn cake out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Cream Cheese Frosting
14 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
16 ounces Cream Cheese, Softened
6 cups Powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla (or more depending on taste)

Beat together the cream cheese and butter until combined. Add the powdered sugar and beat on low for a minutes until incorporated. Add the vanilla, increase the speed and beat for 2-3 minutes.

Assembly
Once cakes have cooled wrap them in plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator for for 2 hours to chill (this makes them easier to cut). Once chilled level the tops, if needed and slice each layer directly in half (horizontally). Place the first cut layer on a cake board and frost the perimeter with the cream cheese frosting and fill inside the perimeter with the raspberry filling*. Then add the second layer and frost with the cream cheese frosting. Place the third layer on and frost as you did the first then add the final layer and frost the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting, this is the crumb layer which will help keep the crumbs from showing through the frosting. Once crumb layer is on put the cake in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to allow the frosting to set. Once crumb layer has set remove the cake from the refrigerator and finish frosting. Decorate as desired. To decorate the cake I made I just used a few edible flowers.

*I used Dawn's Raspberry Pie Filling. You could probably use another form of raspberry filling such as a preserve or a jelly with good results.

Makes one 4 layer cake

Raspberry Filling with Cream Cheese Frosting Perimeter 

Crumb Layer

Birthday Cake

D's birthday was this past weekend and we threw a fiesta themed party to celebrate. We had tamales, beans, rice, chips with bean dip and watermelon because it's D's favorite. Of course we had a birthday cake too. I decided to go with a classic, yellow cake and chocolate buttercream frosting. It was quite tasty and a lot of fun to make. Although I must say the frosting did a number on my mixer, it was super thick but my mixer just kept chugging along and eventually got the job done.

Yellow Cake 
2 3/4 cups Cake Flour
1 2/3 cups Superfine Sugar
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
3/4 teaspoon Salt
12 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
3 Whole Eggs plus 2 Egg Whites
1 cup Full-Fat Yogurt
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Almond Extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8 inch round cake pans. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment mix together all of the dry ingredients for 2 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and beat in the butter until crumbly. Beat in the egg whites one at a time then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bottom and sides to make sure all ingredients get mixed together. In a separate bowl stir together the yogurt and extracts. Add the yogurt mixture a little at a time to the batter, mixing after each addition. Pour batter into cake pans. Bake 30-40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. When cakes are done allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then run a butter knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Slightly Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
8 ounces Unsweetened Chocolate, Chopped
6 cups Powdered Sugar
16 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
6 tablespoons Milk plus more as needed
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Melt chocolate in a double boiler then set aside to cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, milk, vanilla and salt on low until combined. My mixer struggled a bit at this point so be sure to add more milk as needed to get mixture to combined. Increase the speed and beat for another minute or two. Pour in the melted chocolate and beat for 2 minutes. Please note this frosting is quite sweet, if you prefer less sweet frosting you could try using a little less powdered sugar.

Recipe from Williams-Sonoma

Assembly
Once cakes have cooled wrap them in plastic and put them in the refrigerator for about two hours (this will make them easier to trim). Trim the tops of each cake so they are level. Set the first layer on a cake board and frost the top. Add the second layer and frost the top, then frost the entire cake. For this cake I did not do a crumb layer* because the frosting was so thick that I didn't find it necessary. After frosting the cake you may have some frosting leftover to save for another use.

*A crumble layer is a thin layer of frosting spread over the entire cake to prevent crumbs from showing through.