Bit of Chocolate Raised Yeast Cake

The weather isn't cooperating with me! I'm longing for cold, damp days so I can warm the house with great recipes baking in the oven . . . and we are back to short sleeves and warm days. The one, good thing about the warm weather, however, is that it is perfect for getting a good rise out of recipes requiring yeast. I made bread for dinner the other evening and this cake is going in the oven tomorrow . . . I hope! Lent is coming all too soon and I'm not quite ready to leave the holiday season. Sigh . . . Today, is the last day of the Christmas season so I had better get used to it! Yeah, I'm already planning on baking Valentine's Day cookies next month!

Bit of Chocolate Raised Yeast Cake
1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup lukewarm water
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 large eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour

Topping Mixture:
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup ground almonds
1/3 cup ground pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
½ cup chocolate chips, optional

Grease or vegetable oil spray a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the warm water and set aside until bubbles appear. In another bowl combine the remaining scant ½ cup sugar, and the salt, and butter. Stir the milk and extracts into the butter mixture. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour and beat the dough until smooth.

Spread the dough into the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap (vegetable oil the underside to prevent sticking) and set aside to rise, almost doubling in size.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F .

When the dough is nearly risen, prepare the topping. Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the nuts, spices, vanilla, and orange zest. Drop spoonfuls of the topping evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the topping.

Bake the cake for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden. Cool the cake completely in the pan.

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Stir to combine thoroughly and drizzle over the cooled cake.

This made my day . . .

Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above, Would drain the oceans dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky.

- F. M. Lehman

Where has sanity gone?

 http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/constitutional-experts-pro-life-terrorists-could-be-permanently-detained-wi

I ran across this news report and was shocked. How can our government consider people who are in favor of the unborn be considered terrorists? Even of more concern, the current president seems to have final say on what is considered a 'terrorist' and given his voting record against the survival of the unborn, you can guess what his determination would be.

The fact that an American citizen could possibly be targeted and indefinitely detained in jail simply because they believe in the sanctity of life and the rights of the unborn is almost beyond comprehension.

Yes, we live in a democratic country with freedom of speech . . . so, how does this mesh with the threat of arrest for simply voicing an objection to the murder of the unborn?

New favorites!

"When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it."
-- Bernard Bailey

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday."
-- Don Marquis

Even a crazy world can be funny . . .

My husband ran across some article or report that said a Canadian Anglican 'priestess' had given communion to a dog. I share it with a priest friend and his reply was: "Let's 'paws' and consider this . . ."

An over blessing of lemons . . .

Citrus is ripening at a rapid pace and everyone is trying to find homes for their excess crop. We have a lemon and an orange tree plus an abundance of extra lemons from the branches that hang over into our yard from the neighbor. I was gifted with two, huge bags of lemons, yesterday, and am trying to plan the best way to use them so as not to waste any of the bounty.

My first line of defense in saving the lemons from loss is going to be my favorite dessert - the Lemon Pudding Cake! There are so many recipes around with so many tweaks and enhancements. I just like one that is sweet with the tart lemon taking charge.

Lemon Pudding Cake
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs - separated

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease or vegetable oil spray an 8-inch square or round pan. Have a pan larger than the greased pan ready. Bring to a boil a kettle of water and have it ready.

In a bowl, combine sugar, salt,a nd melted butter. Whisk in the flour. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and extracts. Thoroughly combine the milk and egg yolks and add to lemon mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter and then fold in the remaining whites until no egg white is visable. Pour into prepared pan.

Place the large pan in the oven. Set the pan with the batter into this pan and carefully pour enough of the boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the cake-filled pan, be careful not to get water into the batter. Bake for approximate 30-40 minutes or until top is golden. Can be served warm or cold.

When you put it that way . . .

Familiarity with evil breeds not contempt but acceptance.

- Roy Hattersley