Strawberry Cake Recipe and Tips

Image : http://www.flickr.com

Snow may still be on the ground, but spring is right around the corner. What better way to celebrate the change of season than with a home-baked strawberry cake?

While strawberry season traditionally runs June through mid-August, these days, thanks to improvements in horticultural techniques, you can find ripe strawberries in the produce section of your favorite supermarket as early as April. And if you're craving spring in February, you can use frozen strawberries. The cake will be just as delicious.

But put that box of Jello back on the shelf! You won't need it, and you won't need artificial food coloring either. This is strawberry cake as it was meant to be - melt-in-your-mouth luscious and 100% natural.

Ingredients:
-3/4 cup strawberry puree (recipe below)
-1/4 cup milk
-6 large egg whites
-1 Tbsp vanilla extract
-2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
-1 3/4 cup sugar
-4 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)

Yields: Two 8 inch cake layers

An hour before you begin, take the strawberry puree, milk, and eggs out of your refrigerator so they are at room temperature when you blend them. Half an hour later, take out the butter - it shouldn't be at room temperature, but it will need to be "softened."

Preheat your oven to 350. Line two 8 inch circular cake pans with aluminum foil, spray with baking spray (don't overdo!) and lightly dust with flour.

Separate your egg whites. Then blend the strawberry puree, milk, egg whites and vanilla with a fork in a small bowl.

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Attach the bowl to the mixer, and then s-l-o-w-l-y begin beating in the butter. The resulting mixture should look like crumbs.

Add the strawberry puree blend to the mixing bowl, a little at a time. Beat the resulting mixture at medium speed for a minute until everything is blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix for another 30 seconds.

Pour the mixture into the cake pans, dividing evenly and smoothing the tops. Bake for approximately 25 minutes - time will vary depending upon your altitude and how evenly your oven heats. The best way to tell if your cake is baked is always the old toothpick trick - stick a toothpick into the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, you're good.

The cakes will need to cool for ten minutes before you turn them over onto your cake rack. And they should be at room temperature (another two hours) before you frost them.

Strawberry puree:

Three boxes of ripe strawberries or 24 oz of frozen strawberries

Yield: 1 and 1/4 cups strawberry puree.

If you're using frozen strawberries, you will need to defrost them before you use them, making sure to remove all the excess liquid that you can.

Fresh strawberries will need to be washed, hulled, sliced and sprinkled with two teaspoons of sugar. Let them sit at room temperature for two hours before you use them.

After the strawberries are prepped, just pop them into a food processor or blender and hit "puree."

Chocolate Cake

Image : http://www.flickr.com

There's an old saying that says that 'you will not know whats heaven like until you have not tasted chocolate'. For a chocolate lover like me, I couldn't agree more. My heartfelt sympathy goes to those who are allergic to this heavenly gift. For the rest of us, then I'm sure that you're already aware the chocolate cake (or anything that has chocolate in it for that matter) is the best ever and most popular dessert ever created.

There's just something magical about a piece of dark, moist, rich piece of chocolate cake with a layer of sinful looking creamy chocolate frosting on it, Smiles appear, happy moods return, grumbles turn into giggles.

I'm convinced that anyone can find a type of chocolate cake that he or she loves. Here's a lit for the still uninitiated. The list is endless :-

Here goes:

Chocolate chip cheese cake, German chocolate cake, jelly roll chocolate cake, chocolate kraut bundt cake, chocolate fudge cake, chocolate mud cake, chocolate crème cake, chocolate eruption cake, best ever chocolate cake, chocolate caramel cake, rich chocolate cake, flourless chocolate cake, chocolate and orange cake, sour cream cake with chocolate, chocolate lava cake, chocolate banana cake, royal chocolate cake, molten chocolate cake, chocolate cherry cake, chocolate chip cookie cake, chocolate walnut cake, chocolate pudding cake, sinless chocolate cake, chocolate mousse cake, chocolate mayonnaise cake, chocolate chip pound cake, double chocolate chocolate cake, chocolate rum cake, low fat chocolate cake, chocolate zucchini cake etc etc ...........

If you still can't find something you like, you don' know what you're missing. It doesnt matter
what you put in , just make sure its moist and taste good. It will bound to put a smile even on the most grumpy of all grouches.

A Few Simple Tips On How To Lose Fat

Image : http://www.flickr.com

Being overweight can make you miserable, even if it is just a little bit. You can tell even if others can't. It affects your self-esteem, makes you self-conscious, and can even be depressing. There are no miracle diets, and working out ten hours a day, seven days a week is no way to live, and you couldn't, even if you wanted to. With just a few simple tips on how to lose fat, you can start to feel better about yourself with really very little effort on your part.

Of course everyone will tell you that exercise is the key. That is true, but really you just want to move your body, do something and not sit around all the time. Skip the car and the bus when you can and walk to where you need to go. Forgo the elevator and take the stairs at least once a day if you have the choice. Don't force yourself to do things you hate, build up a habit so that you automatically do things that are good for your body and that give you natural exercise.

Say no to white food. Yes, discriminating against your food is necessary, and white carbohydrates are many dieters downfall. It can be hard at first, especially when it seems like everywhere you turn pasta, rice, cakes, and bread are calling out to you. But remember, these are not your friends. Sure they taste great, but they won't make you look great. You can break this rule though by eating some carbohydrates after a good workout.

Skip the calorie intense drinks. People tend to forget that they can drink their calories as well as eat them. Drink your coffee and tea without the sugar and cream; grab a diet cola instead of a sugar filled one. And, remember to drink plenty of water.

One tip successful dieters share is eating the same meals again and again. Create a selection of good for you foods that taste great, and mix and match them so it doesn't get too boring. Add plenty of good proteins like lean beef, egg whites, chicken breasts, and pork. Don't skimp on the vegetables, things like peas, spinach, and mixed vegetables are full of good stuff and will fill you up without adding the extra calories.

When you do eat, eat as much as you want, but don't overstuff yourself. Replacing your pasta and rice with vegetables will cut 200 or more calories from each meal, and you'll still leave the table full and satisfied. And eat frequently. Some recommend four to eight small meals a day to help you lose weight.

The downfall of many dieters is that they restrict all the "bad" foods. So when they crash, they crash hard, overeating and giving up on the diet because they feel they have no self-control. If you restrict yourself from all those foods, you set yourself up for a fall. Take one day a week and make it your crazy food day. Eat whatever you want, whenever you want. If fast-food is your weakness, then enjoy it. Candy and chocolate calling you, then eat it. One day of eating what you want will actually help maintain your metabolism and prevent you from failing.

Vampire Bat Chocolate Cake

Image : http://www.flickr.com

Everyone loves chocolate cake; hand here is a fun recipe to make a Halloween cake that looks like a bat. It's not hard to make, it starts off as a simple Chocolate Victoria sandwich cake but it is cleverly cut and put together to look like a bat.

Ingredients

2 tbsp cocoa

3 tbsp boiling water

225g/8oz soft margarine

225g/8oz caster sugar

4 eggs

225g/8oz self-raising flour

2tsp baking powder

For the Filling and Topping:

Strawberry jam

50g/2oz soft margarine

175g/6oz icing sugar, sifted

1 tbsp milk

A bar of Cooking Chocolate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and base line 20cm / 2x8in sandwich tins with greased greaseproof paper.

2. Blend the cocoa and water in a mixing bowl then leave to cool slightly. Measure all the remaining ingredients into the bowl and beat well until thoroughly blended. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and level out.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until well risen and the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed with a finger. Leave to cool in the tins for a few moments then turn out, peel off the paper and finish cooling on a wire rack.

4. To make the butter cream, blend together the margarine, icing sugar and milk until smooth. Keep one of the pieces of sponge cake whole to form the base. Spread a thin even layer of jam on the cake base, and add half the icing and spread this out over the top of the jam.

5. Take the second piece of sponge and with a large round pastry cutter, cut a circle in the middle of the sponge. Now cut two more circles, one above and one below the centre hole. The two big cake halves left form the bats wings, stick them on top of the base of the cake with the scalloped shaped edges sticking outwards. (See picture at link below)

6. Take two of the three circles that were cut away when making the wings. Stick the two circles together with jam and icing and stick them in one of the triangle shapes between the wings to form the bat's head. The final circle should be cut in half and stuck with icing above the bat's head to form the ears. Bats have large ears you know.

7. Melt the cooking chocolate in the microwave for a couple of minutes - stirring half way through. Melt the cooking chocolate in the microwave for a couple of minutes - stirring half way through. Spread the chocolate evenly over the bat's wings, head and ears. Give the Bat a face with some icing and red jelly sweets for spooky eyes.

This lovely bat cake makes a great centrepiece to any table. It will look as if you have spent hours slaving away to make him but as you will know, he was rather quick and easy. Just watch the slices of cake fly off the plate!

A few batty jokes...

Why don't bats live alone?

They prefer to hang out with their friends.

How can you tell a vampire likes baseball?

Every night he turns into a bat.

How does a lady bat attract a mate?

She bats her eyes.

Why doesn't anybody like Dracula?

He has a bat temper.

A group of bats, hanging at the ceiling of a cave, discovers a single bat standing upright underneath on the floor of the cave. Surprised by this unusual behaviour, they ask this fellow: "What the heck are you doing down there?" And the fellow shouts back: "Yoga!"