Vanilla Sponge Cake

Final exams are all over, work project is done, and we (hubs and I) flew down to Texas on Saturday, then drove down to Mexico yesterday to spend Christmas with my family.   About 11 days off of work in a row – this is going to be fantastic.  And, (shame on me), I didn’t even bring a single textbook down to prep for classes that start back up January 7th.  This is a much needed week of R&R and bonding with my husband again and enjoying my family that I only get to see a few times a year.  … And perhaps catching up a bit on the blog with the yummy recipes from the past few weeks.

So, this recipe, I can take absolutely no credit for.  Therefore, I’m really just posting a picture of the cake itself and a link to the original website.   But I do have a couple tips of advice…

Original Recipe:

•  http://www.hy-vee.com/seasons/recipe.aspx?r=8057

Tips of Advice

• For the egg whites – use 1 tsp or so of cream or tartar – it helps the eggs whites fluff/whip to the right consistency.  You can be a total nerd like be and look up the chemical reaction that takes place to make this happen 
• You don’t necessarily need to use springform pans – the new silicon round pans work pretty well too such they just peel and bend away from the cake without ruining it.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Accents

Sadly, this is another recipe I can’t take credit for.  BUT it did turn out rich and delicious, so I wanted to share it and let you know where to find the recipe.   This is the first time I’ve used buttermilk in a cake recipe, it does add an extra richness and flavor to the cake.

Original Recipe:

http://www.hy-vee.com/seasons/recipe.aspx?r=8058

Advice & Some Funnies:

• So the recipe calls for baking soda.. USE BAKING SODA.  DO NOT accidentally use baking powder, I did.  My first batch turned into flat, thick brownies.  OOPS & blush.  For some reason, totally misread the directions.  Possibly because I was making a ham and another cake at the same time.
• Purpose of the baking soda – there is a wicked reaction between the buttermilk and the baking soda.  Joy of Cooking talks a little bit more about both baking soda & powder - http://www.joyofbaking.com/bakingsoda.html.  But seriously, the 1/2 cup of Buttermilk rises to about a full glass after mixing it with the soda.  Reminds you of the volcano science projects from 3rd grade.
• Instead of using just regular baking cocoa powder, I used all Ghirardelli.  OMG – you can’t beat the taste of that chocolate!

Cranberry, Walnut, & Orange Cookies with Orange Sugar Glaze

That saying, you know that saying… the way to one’s heart is through their stomach – SO TRUE!  Not that I ever doubted it.  We were working pretty hard at work this week and I had some really great support from some coworkers.  Our facility typically doesn’t work Fridays, but a small group of us had to come in to get some of the project done.  Needless to say, Thursday night I felt like baking up a storm to give a small thank you to a handful of folks that put in a LOT of hard work.  Brought in an entire brunch for them actually – a breakfast casserole (which I’ll post later), a fruit salad, lots of juice, and of course.. COOKIES!

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Butter, Softened
• 1 Cup White Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Orange Zest, grated
• 2 Tbsp Orange Juice
• 2 1/2 Cups Flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 Cups Cranberries, Chopped
• 1/2 Cup Walnuts, Chopped
• 1/2 tsp Orange Zest, Grated
• 3 Tbsp Orange Juice
• 1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

Instructions – Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. In medium-high speed, blend together the butter and both sugars until smooth & creamy.
3. In the same bowl, mix in the egg until well blended then add in 1 tsp Orange Zest and 2 Tbsp Orange Juice.. keep blending away.  Smells citrus-ly amazing at this point, right?
4. In a different bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add into cream mixture and use the cookie attachment and keep on mixing.
6. Once the flour is fully blended with the cream, add in the cranberries and walnuts and mix until thoroughly blended away.
7. This batch will make about 40-48 cookies… so you can do 4 baking sheets at once or in batches.
8. Place parchment paper on the baking sheet.
9. Dollop about 1 hefty Tablespoon (one cookie) onto the sheet about 2 inches apart.  These cookies spread!
10. Baking for 12-15 minutes (golden brown at the top).
11. Pull out of the oven and set aside.
12. Once they’ve cooled down a bit, place to cook on a cooling tray.

Instructions – Icing

1. Either in a bowl or a food processor, add in the orange zest, juice, and powdered sugar
2. Mix until creamy smooth (icing/glaze consistency)
3. Place the icing into a ziploc bag
4. Cut off just a small corner at the bottom and use the bag as the frosting bag.
5. Zig across the cookies after they’ve cooled off a bit to create the glaze pattern.

Slow Cooker Holiday Ham

Class is over, class is over, class is over!  …And final exams are here.   Lucky for me, I had about a week in between class being done and final exams starting to come at me – with a holiday party right in between.  Our department has a yearly holiday party, this was my first one since I just transferred over earlier this spring.  Now, before this law school thing, even with grad school – the holidays were a BIG deal for me.  But law school seems almost to suck the holiday spirit right out of you until the last final exam is complete.   So, since we weren’t going to be hosting our own Christmas party, I could at least make my crock pot ham for others to enjoy!  The reviews at the holiday part were all positive and my husband didn’t complain about the cloves this year ( I got smart & removed them before slicing & serving ).

I actually had 2 crock pots going with 2 different fruit chutney mixes, so I’ll actually post the ingredients for both.

Apricot & Brown Sugar Chutney Ingredients:

• 3-6 lbs of precooked Ham.  Spiral ham isn’t necessary.  Just the one in brown sugar works great.
• 1 Cup of Apricot Preserves
• 1 Cup of Brown Sugar
• 1/8 Cup of Raisins
• 1/8 Cup of Dried Cranberries
• 10 -15 Whole Cloves

Apricot & Brown Sugar Ham Instructions:

1. Slice diamond lines into the top of the ham… the cuts only go in about 1/4″ or so.
2. Where the lines intersect, place in a clove.  for a 3 lb ham – about 7-10 cloves.  (the 1st picture shows where the cloves are placed and how the lines are cut)
3. In a medium sized bowl – mix the rest of the ingredients (apricot preserves, brown sugar, raisins, & dried cranberries).
4. Place the ham in the slow cooker
5. Cover the ham with the fruit mix
6. Cook on high for about 6 hours.
7. Every hour, baste the ham with the fruit chutney so that it stays moist and glazes the ham beautifully.
8. Once the ham is ready, pop out the ham from the slow cooker and let rest for a bit before slicing.
9. As for the fruity goodness at the bottom – scoop that into a serving dish and have guests pour a bit over their ham slices (like gravy to a turkey)

Pineapple & Cherry Chutney Ingredients:

• 3-6  lbs of precooked Ham.
• (3/4) of a 20 oz Can of Crushed Pineapple
• 1/4 Cup of Apricot Preserves
• (3/4) of a 10 oz Jar of Maraschino Cherries (without the stems)
• 10 -15 Whole Cloves

Pineapple & Cherry Ham Instructions:

1. Slice diamond lines into the top of the ham… the cuts only go in about 1/4″ or so.
2. Where the lines intersect, place in a clove.  for a 3 lb ham – about 7-10 cloves.  (the 1st picture shows where the cloves are placed and how the lines are cut)
3. In a medium sized bowl – mix the rest of the ingredients (15 oz of Crushed Pinapple, Apricot preserves, Cherries).
4. Place the ham in the slow cooker
5. Cover the ham with the fruit mix
6. Cook on high for about 6 hours.
7. Every hour, baste the ham with the fruit chutney so that it stays moist and glazes the ham beautifully.
8. Once the ham is ready, pop out the ham from the slow cooker and let rest for a bit before slicing.
9. As for the fruity goodness at the bottom – scoop that into a serving dish and have guests pour a bit over their ham slices

Ham hanging out in the crockpot, about to be basted… again.

Ham all sliced up and ready to head to the party and fruit chutney in serving dishes.