Buttercream Frosting

Hello Everyone!  Unfortunately, I do not have a picture for this recipe.  I could not figure out how to take an attractive picture of frosting.  While  we are on the subject,  do any of you have any ideas on how to take a pretty picture of frosting?  I am clueless.  Oh, before I forget,  this is an extremely large recipe. 

Buttercream Frosting

3 sticks butter

5 teaspoons vanilla

7 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Beat all  ingredients until fluffy and enjoy!

I love frosting recipes.  They are super easy.  This one I think is my new favorite!  

Triple-Layer Banana Caramel Cake

Happy New Year everyone! Sorry this post is late! I was out all day yesterday and forgot! 

For this post, I have a delicious cake recipe to share with you! It is a great way to use up overripe bananas in your house. Thanks to Faith Durand, you can make good use out of those bananas that you would otherwise throw away! Mine doesn't look as pretty as hers did, but it still tasted yummy. The original recipe also says to bake it for 40 minutes, but I found that mine were not cooked all the way through then. It ended up being an hour for mine, so that's what I'll put on this one. 

 I hope you try this recipe, and let us know what you think! Happy Eating! :) 

                        Triple-Layer Banana Caramel Cake

 Caramel Sauce:
                        2 cups cream (half-and-half) 
                        1 1/2 cups white sugar
                        1/2 cup water
                        1/4 cup butter
                        pinch of salt

                Cake:
                        3/4 cup butter, soft
                        3/4 cup white sugar
                        3/4 cup brown sugar
                        3 eggs
                        3 cups all-purpose flour
                        1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
                        1/2 tsp. salt
                        1 1/2 cups milk
                        2 tsp. vanilla
                        5 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
                        1 1/2 cups caramel sauce

Caramel Icing:
                        1/2 cup unsalted butter
                        1/2 cup caramel sauce
                        1 tsp. vanilla
                        1/4 tsp. salt
                        1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
                        
                        extra sliced bananas for on top (optional) 
For the Caramel Sauce:
This is probably the most difficult part of the whole recipe. Once you get through this, the rest will seem easy! :)
Warm up the cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Keep it warm, making sure it doesn't boil. 
Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Let it boil until it becomes slightly darker, then begin swirling it around, making sure it doesn't burn. When it reaches a dark color, turn off the heat. Be really careful! Don't let it burn.  
Slowly pour in the cream, constantly stirring the mixture. Be really careful! It will bubble up ferociously. Mine ended up overflowing out of the pot. 
Once the cream is mixed in well, and all is once again calm, stir in the butter and the salt. Return it to medium heat, continuing to stir until everything is mixed in well, and it is smooth. 
Turn off the heat and allow the caramel to cool. It will be used a few times later in the recipe. 

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 325*, and grease and flour three 9-in. cake pans.
Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix well. 
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt, then set them aside.
In another bowl, mix together the milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, then pour into the creamed mixture alternately with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed until smooth. 
Divide the batter evenly between the three pans. Pour about 1/2 cup of caramel sauce in each one, and swirl with a knife. 
Place them in the oven and bake for about 1 hour. (I used a spring-form pan for the third layer, and it became rather mangled, as you can probably see by looking at the middle layer in the picture.) 
Once the cakes are done baking, take them out of the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then take them out of the pans and transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the icing. 
In a mixer, whip the butter, vanilla, caramel sauce, and salt until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix it until it is well combined and spreading consistency. 
Now it is time to assemble the cake! Spread a small bit of the icing onto your cake stand or cake board as kind of a glue so the cake doesn't slide. Place your first layer on the board, and spread a thick layer of icing on top. Stack all of the cake layers in this way, then spread the rest of the icing on top. You can put the banana slices on top now, if you want. Drizzle the rest of the caramel sauce on top, and enjoy! 
This is a complicated recipe, but it is a lot of fun to make and totally worth it! :)

~Nutmeg

Chocolate Cream Pie

Hi Everyone!  Today's recipes is something my dad usually makes for special occasions.  He was very nice and let me make it to share with you all!  I remember when I was little, one of the reasons I was excited for a holidays was because I would get this pie.  I hope you all enjoy it!

 

Chocolate Cream Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

3 T. cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)

1 1/2 cups water

5 egg yolks, beaten

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 nine inch pie crust, baked

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine the first six ingredients. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Whisk 1 cup hot mixture into egg yolks. Return all to the pan; bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool slightly. Pour warm filling into pastry shell. Cool for 1 hour. Chill until set.  Enjoy!

Yum!  This always make my mouth water!  I hope you will try it soon!

Homemade Bread

Hello!  I hope you all had a pleasant Christmas!  My Christmas went wonderfully.  Today's recipe is homemade bread!  It is delicious.  The bread is a bit time consuming, so make sure you have a day to do it.

Homemade Bread

1/2 cup warm water(not hot)

2 pkg. active dry yeast

1 3/4 cups lukewarm liquid

7 cups sifted flour

3 T. sugar

1 T. salt

2 T. softened butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 425*.

Combine warm water and yeast until yeast is dissolved.

Add 3 1/2 cups flour, and, with spoon, stir until dough falls from spoon in "sheets".  Add the remaining flour and ingredients and combine with hands until dough pulls away from bowl.  Cover, and let rest 10-15 minutes.

Knead until smooth and blistered(about 10 minutes).  Round up in a greased bowl; bring greased side up.  Cover with cloth.

Let rise in a warm place until it doubles in size(about 1 hour). 

Press two fingers into dough.  It will leave indentations when dough is doubled.  Punch down.  Let rise again until almost double(about 30 minutes).

Divide into two parts.  Round up cover; let rest 10 minutes.  Put two parts into greased 9x5x3 loaf pans.  Cover, and let rise until sides of dough reach the top of pan and center is well rounded(50 to 60 minutes).

Test gently with finger.  A slight indentation shows loaves are ready to bake.  Be careful loaves do not rise too much.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes.  To test the loaf, tap crust.  It should sound hollow.  If it does not, bake for a few more minutes.

Whew, what a recipe!  I will admit, this was a long one.  I hope you all enjoy it!

Homemade Eggnog

Hello everyone!!!  I found a recipe for eggnog!!!  I am really excited to share with you all, because I LOVE eggnog!  Eggnog is one of the things I look forward to every Christmas season.  I am going to warn you, unless you use whole milk, the eggnog will not be as thick as store eggnog.

Homemade Eggnog

1 egg, well beaten

2 Tbs. sugar

1 cup chilled whole milk

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Add all ingredients together and combine well!  Enjoy!

I am going to say once again that I love eggnog.  I hope you all enjoy the recipe!

*FOLLOW UP*  After trying this recipe at a friends house, I would suggest using FARM eggs for this recipe.  We used store eggs, and were very disappointed with the result.

Crispy Tossed Salad

This recipe is one of our family's favorites.  It is light, flavorful, and perfect for company.  I like to get the chopping and toasting done ahead of time so that I can throw everything together just before serving.  

This salad can easily serve 4-6 as a side dish, but Koko and I love it so much that we can split it between ourselves!

Crispy Tossed Salad

Dressing:

2 Tbs. rice vinegar (or white vinegar)

2 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sunflower oil (or vegetable oil)

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Salad:

1/2 bag broccoli slaw

1 head iceberg lettuce, sliced

1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (or 1/3 cup pieces)

4 green onions, sliced

chow mein noodles (we like rice noodles, which are like           chow mein, only crispier!)

In a glass measuring cup or a small glass bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, and salt.  Microwave for 20-30 seconds; whisk.  (The goal in heating the vinegar is to dissolve the sugar and salt as much as possible when whisking.  This is not necessary, but it results in a much smoother dressing).  Add oil and pepper; whisk again to combine.  Chill.   (I usually toast the almonds and seeds to give the dressing time to set up.  It doesn't have to be cold - just cool.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine slaw and lettuce.  Just before serving, top with seeds, almonds, bacon, onions, and dressing (whisk dressing again just before adding).  Toss to combine, and serve immediately topped with rice or chow mein noodles.

Just as a warning, this salad DOES NOT keep well overnight unless you serve/store the dressing separately.  If you refrigerate the dressed leftovers, you will end up with a watery, undesirable mess.  Thankfully, it is so good that there is ALWAYS a willing volunteer to finish it off right away!

Delicious Peanut Butter Fudge

Merry Christmas everyone! :) For this recipe, I am posting a classic treat for our family at Christmastime. Since Koko posted traditional fudge last week, I thought it would be cool to post peanut butter fudge for this one! I hope you guys make this and enjoy it as much as I did! Happy eating! :) 

                                         Delicious Peanut Butter Fudge

                      1 2/3 cups creamy peanut butter
                      2/3 cup evaporated milk
                      1 jar (7.5 ounces) marshmallow cream
                      3 cups sugar
                      1 tsp. vanilla extract
                      1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
                     
Prepare  a 9x13 pan by lining it with wax paper. 
Spray a heavy saucepan with non-stick cooking spray. 
In your saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and milk, and heat until it comes to a rolling boil. Reduce to a lower heat and add the peanut butter, marshmallow cream, and vanilla extract. Continue to stir until everything is well combined and the mixture is smooth. 
Pour the mixture into your 9x13 pan and cool in the refrigerator until set. Cut into little squares and enjoy! 
I hope you all liked this recipe! 
I will not be posting next week, since it is Christmas. I hope you all have a great holiday! :) 

~Nutmeg