Chocolate Loaf Cake
July 24, 2009
Show your guests how much you love them with this easy food gift idea,
compliments of Elizabeth W. Gift Baskets.
Happy entertaining!
CHOCOLATE LOAF CAKE
I like to bake this rich cake in paper mini loaf pans and hand them out as party favors. When the cakes have cooled completely, simply wrap a strip of parchment paper around each one and tie with pretty ribbon.
There’s nothing really special about this cake except its simplicity. It’s just a good, basic chocolate cake that’s delicious plain, frosted, or topped with ice cream or whipped cream and berries. It’s the only cake recipe that I know by heart and can make without looking at the recipe. Don’t know when or where I committed it to memory, but whenever I need to whip up a cake on the fly, this is the one I make. The original recipe must have come from one of my mother’s old cookbooks…
INGREDIENTS
(Makes one 9 by 5-inch loaf or about 6 minis, depending on the size of your mini pans. Reduce baking time to 15 to 20 minutes for minis.)
1 ½ sticks butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 (8-ounce) carton plain yogurt
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Cream together butter and sugars, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa. Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix well after each addition.
- Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove cake from pan and let cool completely on a rack.
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Tahini Beanies
July 17, 2009
Another easy appetizer recipe, compliments of Elizabeth W. Gift Baskets.
Happy entertaining!
TAHINI BEANIES
I serve this as an appetizer, but it would also make a great side dish for grilled chicken.
INGREDIENTS
½ cup well stirred tahini (sesame seed paste)
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
About ¼ cup hot water
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup oil-cured black olives, coarsely chopped
½ cup jarred roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped
Two 15.5 ounce cans garbanzo beans (chick peas) rinsed and well drained
Fresh parsley or cilantro, for garnish (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- Spoon tahini into a large bowl. Add the lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Add ¼ cup hot water and whisk until well blended. Add the olive oil and cumin and whisk well, adding more hot water by tablespoons if mixture is very thick. Season to taste with salt.
- Stir in the chopped olives, red peppers, and beans. Mix well. Garnish with fresh parsley or cilantro.
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Nasturtium Blossoms Stuffed with Curried Egg Salad
July 10, 2009
Happy Entertaining from Elizabeth W. Gift Baskets!
A farmer friend of mine once told me that his favorite sandwich as a child was white bread slathered with mayo and stacked high with nasturtium leaves. My nasturtiums are in full bloom so today I set out to make curried egg salad canapés accented with thin strips of peppery nasturtium leaves. But when I saw how pretty the blossoms were, I ended up with these eye-catching party bites.
NASTURTIUM BLOSSOMS STUFFED WITH CURRIED EGG SALAD
If stuffing blossoms seems too prissy to you, simply spread the egg salad on cocktail bread or toast points and top with a single nasturtium blossom or thin strips of the leaves. If nasturtiums are unavailable, top the canapés with peppery radish sprouts.
INGREDIENTS
(Makes 28. You may have leftover egg salad.)
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
1 tablespoon softened butter, plus more for the toast
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder, or more to taste
½ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
28 freshly picked nasturtium blossoms (Do not wash!)
28 toast rounds
DIRECTIONS
- Combine egg yolks and butter in a medium bowl; mash well with fork. Finely chop egg whites and add to yolks. Stir together mayonnaise, curry powder and mustard in a small bowl; stir into egg mixture. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover; chill.)
- Just before serving, spread toast rounds very lightly with butter. Fill each blossom with a scant teaspoonful of egg salad and place one filled blossom on each toast round. Arrange on a platter and serve.
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