Zucchini Cake

Have you ever had a ton of zucchini and you don't know what to do with it?????

Last week I was at the veggie store and they had zucchini on for 6 for a buck.......so I bought some. Then a couple of days ago I was at the same store and the zucchini were the same price. Me being always in a rush and hurry.....who knows why???? Totally forgot that I had buried someplace in my refrigerature those darn zucchini's from last week. Also we went south over the border to Buffalo shopping for a few days..........so I guess over the excitement I forgot I had bought the first bunch :-(

So what to do with all those zucchini's...........then I came across this recipe that I had copied off a Foodie Board that I'm on from a fellow foodie going by the name of 'Chefbear'. She states that it is plain but goooood! She's right it is moist and delicious.

As you can see I have no picture of a whole cake because as soon as it cooled down and I wasn't home my husband and daughter had dug right into it.

Can you see the green flecks of zucchini in the cake.

Zucchini Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3 eggs, beaten

2 cups sugar

1 cup veggie oil

1 Tbsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

2 cups zucchini, grated, unpeeled

1 cup chopped walnuts, (optional)

1 cup raisins, (optional)

Combine all ingredients together in the order listed with the zucchini last. (Then add walnuts and raisins if using.)

The batter will be dry...............until the zucchini is added.

Pour into greased and floured pans and bake 50 - 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (I use a wooden kabob stick, I find it reaches the bottom better).

*****I didn't add any nuts or raisins because I didn't have any at the moment and didn't want to venture out to the store due to the extreme heat and hunidity out of my 'cold' house.

but............I did sprinkle some cofectioners sugar (icing sugar in Canada).

*****Makes 1 large loaf OR 4 smaller loaves OR 1 bundt pan

Stil have more zucchini's left so today I'm making Zucchini Pancakes, Turkish style which they call Mucver.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!!!!!!

Best Summer Fruit Torte

Linked to http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com


All Time Best Summer Fruit -Torte

I got this off a Foodie Board that I'm on and it came from one of the members who by the way is Linda, a fantastic cook and baker..........and if she said it's good well then I know it is good. :-)

This has to be my all time favoutrite cake........it's very humble looking but the taste is amazing. I love it especially in the summer time when the fruits are ripe and sweet. My favourite is the peach and raspberry while my husband loves the Italian Plum version I make.

It's not WOW! looking but I get requests for the recipe all the time..........it's very simple and easy and everyone usually has all the ingredients in the pantry. I don't even need to yank out the huge mixer..........just use my Kitchen Aid hand mixer for the liquidy ingredients.

You can make this cake your own by sprinkling on a combo of sugar and cinnamon or just plain sugar, whatever hots your fancy. My family loves sweets so I sprinkle it on with the sugar and my husband adores anything with cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 360 F. degrees.

Makes - 8 or 9 inch single layer cake.


1 stick butter, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 scant cup flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
2 peaches or nectarines, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup blueberries OR raspberries
sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling

1. Butter the cake pan.

2. Mix butter at medium speed til' light and fluffy. Beat in sugar and vanilla; beat in the eggs, one at a time.

3. In a small bowl, stir together with the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter mixture and stir til' just combined and no longer.

4. Scrape the batter into the pan; smooth the top. Scatter the fruit over the batter. Sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon combo.

5. Bake til' cake is golden brown and baked through about 45 minutes.

6. Cool on wire rack.......serve at room temperature.

*****other fruit combinations; -12 purple plums, halved, pitted and skin side down down.

-apples and cranberries

-cherries

Straight out of the oven.........also yummy with ice cream on the side. :-)

Enjoy!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!!! I appreciate all 'comments' and enjoy reading them.

Pound Cake

Pound Cake

I have been meaning to make this cake for a long time and just never got around to it so last week I made time and made it and it was sooooo good.
.............this is a recipe I got from a Food Forum that I belong to and it came from Becky.........who's a great foodie. She mentions it's her husband's favourite cake and she has been serving it to him for over 27 years.
So..........I figured it if it's been in the family this long then it must be good. My husband also loves pound cakes, he likes it with a glass of milk. This recipe is definetly a 'keeper'. It's very tasty and has simple ingredients and easy to make.

1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature

3 cups sugar

5 eggs

3 cups unbleached flour

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pinch salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions;

...........grease and flour a large tube pan.

Cream butter and sugar till smooth.
Add eggs one at a time beating well after each.
Add flour a little ata time.
Slowly add milk, flavouring and salt.
Put the baking powder last.
Pour batter into pan and place into a cold oven.
Turn temperature to 325 deg. F. and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or till till done.
Cool slightly and remove from pan.........yummy!

*********You can eat this plain or with some sort of lemon drizzle....or glaze.


Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend. I appreciate all comments left here and love to read them.



.......................... be sure and visit the other foodies for some fun!!!!! at

Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

Banana Bread

Periwinkle..........I have these in my garden all over the place. I like to incorporate these periwinkles on my tablesacpes, I think it makes the table look so summery and fresh. I love the beautiful colour periwinkle has of Lavendar Blue. ***The first recorded use of 'periwinkle' as a colour name in English was in 1922.


My Maternal Grandmother told me when she was a lil' girl in the Ukraine a Bride would make a wreath with these periwinkles and use it as a veil for her wedding and sometimes poke other flowers around...........other times she said that in summer girls would gather around a river make these periwinkle wreaths with flowers all around and send them down the river. In hopes whichever boy would pick up that wreath would be the one who she marries........ mind all this was at the turn of the century.

Banana Bread
(Martha Stewart Recipe)
1/2 cup (i stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat to incorporate.

2. In a med. bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix well until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake until a cake tester inserted intot the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.




Notes; I omitted the nuts in this recipe and at my daughter's request I added chocolate chips instead.

This has to be my favourite Banana Bread and I have experimented with with a few recipes.........what I think makes this so smooth and moist is the sour cream.

Thanks for stopping By!!!

Blueberry Pound Cake

Be sure and visit

designsbygollum.blogspot.com.

for Foodie Friday.

BLUEBERRY POUND CAKE

Today I decided to do a Blueberry Poundcake. I got the recipe from a fellow Blogger at vegetablematter.blogspot.com.........it looked so good and I had all these blueberries hanging around so I decided to make one. You must try it, it is so delish and very blueberry tasting.
My husband after dinner always likes something sweet, so this cake will do him for a few nights, so far he's given me his thumbs up for this cake.

Ingredients

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar
4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

1/4 cup flour for bluberries

1/4 cup sugar for the pan

butter for greasing pan

10" tube pan or similar

Method

Preheat oven to 325 deg. F.

Grease pan and dust well with 1/4 cup sugar.

Combine 2 3/4 cups flour with baking powder and salt.

Dredge blueberries with the 1/4 cup flour and mix well to coat. You can use frozen blueberries as they also work well.

Cream butter and sugar.

Add eggs one at a time. Mix well each time.......add vanilla and mix well.

Slowly add dry ingredients........when fully incorporated, fold in gently blueberries. Batter will be thick so some of the blueberries may get mashed up in the mixing process.

Bake til' golden on top and baked through, about 60 min. to 75 min....depending on your oven.

Cool, then dust with powdered sugar.

........................ serve at room temperature or toasted with some preserves........on the side. Next time I bake it I'm going to put on a Lemon Glaze.

Store well wrapped at room temperature and great for freezing for later.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Raspberry Cake

Be sure and visit the other participants for some yummy food at

Designs by Gollum.

I had to put these pictures in. These French lilacs grow right outside my breakfast room. They are a gorgeous deep purple. Last fall my husband cut them quite low because the bush was getting quite large and when it rained it was leaning right to the ground. So.......this year we got a small amount of blooms but next year it will be nice and full.
In two days when the sun was shining and it was warm the French Lilacs opened to this gorgeous deep purple colour.

RASPBERRY CAKE

This cake is from one of the other boards I'm on and it came from Anne of Thibeault's Table and she got it from a 1985 Canadian Living Magazine.

This cake is very light and delish.........I always have these ingredients on hand and it was quick and esay to make.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

1 cup raspberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl sift flour, baking powder, soda and salt.

In another bowl beat butter and sugar til' creamy and add eggs.

Beat well and add vanilla.

Mix in flour and sour cream.

Fold in raspberries.

Pour into a 9 inch springform pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes or til' done.

*****I have also substituted the berries for blueberries and it was very delish too....or for company I've added a dollop of whipped creme.

............. ready to eat and enjoy but just waiting for my tea.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Your comments are always appreciated and fun to receive!

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

Today is "Foodie Friday" which we have the gracious Hostess Michael from Designs by Gollum for hosting this weekly. Be sure and visit the other participants for some inspiration and great foods.

Last weekend I made this Hershey's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake..............I had some pints of raspberries hanging around my fridge so I decided to decorate with them.
That weekend I had some nieces coming over for dinner and their favourite along with my daughter Jackie love Chocolate and raspberries...........so I created this cake.

I melted some Chocolate squares and drizzled on top.

I got the recipes off the back of the Hershey's Cocoa container.......for the cake and frosting.

Thank you for visiting........I love reading "comments".

Fruit-Torte

This is one of our favourite Fruit Tortes......I got this recipe off a board that I belong to and it got great reviews. I make it all year long with different fruits. It was an original recipe by Marian Burros a long, long time ago and has been the most requested recipe on The New York Times. Here I made it with some Prune Plums that I purchased at the local farmer's market........and sprinkled some blueberries on top.

Ready to be baked......I used a 9" springform pan.

Sprinkled with granulated sugar and cinnamon, before going into the oven.

Right out of the oven........yummmmm.

All-Time-Best Summer Fruit Torte

Preheat oven to 350F.

Makes one 8- or 9-inch single-layer cake............. serves 6-8

1 stick butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 scant cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbl. baking powder

Pinch salt

2 peaches or nectarines, peeled, pitted, and sliced

*1/2 C. blueberries

*Sugar for sprinkling

Cinnamon for sprinkling

1. Butter a 8 or 9 inch round cake pan.

2. Mix butter at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar and vanilla; beat in the eggs, one at a time.

3. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir until just combined, no longer.

4. Scrape the batter into the pan; smooth the top. Scatter the fruit over the batter. Sprinkle w/sugar and cinnamon.

5. Bake until the cake is golden brown and baked through, about 45 minutes.

6. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Serve at room temp.

Variations: Marian Burros' original recipe calls for 12 purple plums, halved, pitted, and arranged skin side up. Raspberries also work well. In fall or winter, substitute sliced apples and fresh cranberries.

I like to serve with whipped cream, ice cream or just powdered sugar.

Thanks for stopping by.