Could I have a new talent??!
I have been taking care of my mother in law for over a month now. She has been living with us. And I couldn’t be happier. With her here I know she is safe from a fall, safe from some sort of diabetic episode with no one around, and safe from any stress that my be upon her from her surroundings.
That being said, she has given me a gift that she is unaware of. And I hope she will one day know how awesome this gift is. She has taught me how to make beautiful cakes! I never ever thought I would do such a thing, phhhssst decorate a cake, not ME. But YES, I can do it!! And she has given me the secret to a super moist cake, and the best cool whip icing ever!
See, my mother in law used to do this sort of thing way back when. She figured over 30 years ago since she had kids she would take some cake decorating classes through Wilton. After that she started making cakes for family, friends, and strangers. She made wedding cakes, birthday cakes, anniversary cakes, any kind of cake you could think of! But sadly after her first stroke she was unable to keep strength in her right side so she had to stop making cakes, that was 13 years ago.
She asked if I would like to try to make Miss J’s birthday cake, I was a bit hesitant but came around and said yes. I have to admit, it really wasnt the best looking thing, but Miss J loved it, so that’s all that mattered! And I really had fun doing it, so I decided to try on my own to make Miss J another birthday cake for her real birthday (the first one was for her party), that one came out ehhhhhh ok, but I was still not happy…..yet….still had fun!!! Some how my first 2 ugly cakes impressed my friend and she asked if I would make cakes for her kid’s birthday party, well I also kinda told her I would before she could ask….sooooooo maybe they didn’t really “impress” her…..lol. Either way it was a done deal, she would just buy my supplies (cake mixes, cool whip, secret ingredient, eggs) and I would rock out awesome cakes, hahaha. And guess what! I rocked it!!!! I was impressed with myself!
Check out my cake pics! Now……if I can only figure out a way to make some money off of these cakes! $$$$$
My very first cake!
This is the 4th cake I have done. It was just a cake to pratice.
Here is one of the cakes I did for my friend. This was cake number 5 for me. My favorite so far!
And the other cake I did for my friend. That was my attempt at Star Wars text.....hahahaha
Strawberry Bread
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 C. vegetable oil
1 C. sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1-2/3 C. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 C. Chopped strawberries
1/2 C. nuts (your choice and optional)
Preheat oven 350. Grease a 5X9 pan, set a side.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy.
Add the oil, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract to the eggs and mix well.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until just barely moistened.
Add the strawberries and nuts and lightly mix, being careful not to overmix.
Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about an hour.
If it begins to brown too quickly, place foil over the top of the bread.
Chances are that you will have to bake a few loaves. This really is a super yummy bread!
Easy Homemade Bread!
I don’t think many people realize how easy and cost-effective it is to make your own bread. So far the ONLY down fall I have come across is since homemade bread has none of that extra added crap, it only stays good for about 4 days. Unlike store-bought bread that could sit there for almost a month (ewwww).
My bread calls for little or no kneading. When I told my husband about posting this blog he asked if I was going to use my mixer, I told him no since not everyone owns one. But he insisted I used it because he couldn’t bear to watch me hand mix another batch of bread again (he got me my mixer for Christmas this year, and almost gave it to me early because of the amount of baking I do).
Ready? Here we go…..
What you will need:
1 package of active yeast (or 2-1/4 tsp bulk yeast)
2-1/2 Cups of warm water
1 Heaping spoon (about the size of an egg) of Lard, or Shorting
2 TBS Sugar
1 TBS Salt
And enough Flour to make a soft dough (about 2-1/2 to 3 cups)
Large Bowl
Tiny Bowl
(2) 5X9″ loaf pans
Step 1:
In a small bowl mix your yeast and 1/2 cup of your warm water. It will look like brown water with bubble on top. Just set that aside, we wont need it till a little later. But you need to activate the yeast, so that’s why its done first.
Step 2:
In your large bowl or KAM bowl, mix the lard (or shortening), sugar, salt and remaining 2 cups of warm water.
I can never get the fat to “mix” with the water, so I just make sure that the dry ingredients dissolve in the warm water.
Step 3:
Now get that yeast mixture and add it to your bowl.
Step 4:
Time to start adding your flour! I like to add mine 1/4 of a cup at a time. If you are using your KAM you will have to stop it every so often to scrape the flour off the sides.
This is at about 2 cups in:
Now we are rock’n! Your dough will start wrapping around your hook, but no worries. And if your mixing by hand, just keep at it!!
We are getting close. You DONT want your dough too sticky. If it sticks to your hands then you need to add more flour.
And we are done! You now have a nice non-sticky lump of dough!
Make a ball, put it back into your bowl. Spray the top with Pam or any cooking spray and cover it with a towel or plastic wrap.
Step 5:
Place your covered dough in a draft free spot. I use my microwave above the stove. And then we wait 1-1/2 hours for our dough to rise! Make a drink, take a nap, run errands! The hard part is done.
Step 6:
Now that your dough has risen, give it a few punches to shrink it down.
Step 7:
Spray your 2 pans. And separate your ball of dough into 2 balls (apparently I was very determined here).
Step 8:
Make one of your dough balls into a loaf shape. No extra rolling, just make the shape.
Place you formed loaf into your pan, and do the same thing to your second ball of dough.
Now cover your loaves and put them back into your area that they first rose. Time for rising number two. Please excuse the microwave yuck, I have a rule to always have a clean microwave because you never know who’s going to use it. And I have broken that rule in this one, because its non functional. Opps.
We will only wait an hour this time around.
Go a head and pre-heat your oven at this point to 325
Step 9:
Now that your dough has risen the second time, take the plastic wrap off and put them in the oven!
You are going to bake your dough for 45 mins to 1 hr. You will know its done when it is golden brown and it will sound hollow when you tap it.
When you take your bread out you can brush it with butter for a soft crust, if you want.
You want to remove your bread from the pans and cool it on a wire rack, if you leave your bread in the pans it will sweat and get kinda gross looking.
Tadaaaaa! You have made bread! I wrap up one and put it in the freezer. Your bread can stay frozen for up to 6 months.
If you have any question or additional feed back, I would love to hear it! I also want to hear about the awesome bread you make after this!
ENJOY!
OH! One more thing….I know that the baking bread smells sooooo good, and it’s very tempting to cut into the warm fresh-baked bread. But try not to, you will end up smooshing your loaf.
My favorite breakfast is homemade bread toasted with butter and homemade jam……mmmmmmm.
