I have connected with my cousin Lynette on Facebook and she asked me lately if I had Grandma’s angel food cake with strawberry glaze recipe.  Every birthday growing up my Grandma Boerschig would make whatever cake we requested  for our birthday.  Often I went for the pineapple upside down cake make in an iron skillet, but more often I went for her Angel Food Cake with a hardened strawberry glaze.  Sometimes she made a homemade Angel Food Cake and sometimes she used a box mix.  You could tell if  she used a box by the colored speckles in the cake!  I remember her teaching me how to make the glaze once, with a tin of frozen sliced strawberries, but for the life of me I am not sure if she used egg white or egg yolk.  This cake I made with a yolk, and except for it it being made with fresh berries and not hardening because I put it on so thick, I think this glaze is dang good!

Angel Food Cake Recipe adapted from www.epicurious.com

1-1/2 cups egg whites (11 to 12 large eggs) room temperature (save 1 yolk for glaze)

1-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 cup sifted cake flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

a 10-inch tube pan (about 4 inches deep) with a removable bottom

Macerated Strawberries and Glaze

4 cups thinly sliced ripe strawberries

½ cup granulated sugar

Combine above strawberries and sugar and refrigerate overnight.

1 egg yolk

½ cup powdered sugar

For the Cake

Set oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

Sift together powdered sugar, flour, and salt onto a sheet of wax paper.  Beat whites in mixer until frothy.

Add cream of tartar and beat at medium speed until they form soft peaks.  Add granulated sugar gradually, beating, and continue beating just until whites are thickened and form soft, droopy peaks. Beat in vanilla.

Sprinkle one fourth of sifted dry ingredients over whites and fold in with a rubber spatula gently but thoroughly. Fold in remaining dry ingredients, one third at a time. Gently pour batter evenly into ungreased tube pan and bake until top is light golden, cake retracts a bit from pan and springs back when touched lightly, and a tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.

Invert pan and cool cake completely. Place cake small end up on an over-sized plate.

Divide cake into 3 even-ish layers with serrated knife.   Arrange 1/3 of the macerated strawberries on the two inside layers of the cake. Sprinkle a bit of the juice on as well.

For the Glaze

Strain the remaining strawberries and mash with a fork or wooden spoon –

Beat the egg yolk with about 2 tablespoons of the strawberry juice and stir gently into the mashed berries – try not to make a lot of bubbles. Gradually and gently stir in sifted powdered sugar until consistency of lumpy gravy. Drizzle over cake. Top with any remaining strawberries.

I think I went a bit heavy on the drizzle and the glaze will probably not harden up – perhaps 2 tbl of the strawberry juice is too much also.  It’s delicious whether it hardens or not!

Happy Birthday

But, unfortunately my dyslexia took over – Rick is obviously not a day over 46!

Rick by the way was our host this past weekend for the Acardia Valley Bluegrass Music Festival down in Ironton, MO. See the Walter Knoll Florist Director’s Chair! That was a Christmas gift company-wide last year. Comes in very handy!

And finally, I wanted to share a family recipe I received from our customer and my blog pen-pal Sheri Vandermolen in India – another use for cherry pie filling that I can’t wait to try.

DENVER CRUNCH

CRUST
2 c. flour
1 c. pecan pieces
1 c. butter
1/2 c. light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Soften butter slightly, letting it warm up some (I usually just set my wrapped sticks on the stovetop for a couple of minutes), and then use a mixer to combine it with the brown sugar and flour until crumbly. (It won’t be as smooth as cookie batter, since there are no eggs.) After it is blended, stir in pecans by hand. Press mixture into an ungreased 9X13-inch pan and bake approximately 15+ minutes, until light golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for a few minutes, and then crumble the dough with a fork, setting aside about 1 c. to use as topping. Press the rest into an 8X8-inch Tupperware container, to form the crust (a 9-inch round casserole dish or a combination of smaller dishes works too).

If using the same mixing bowl for the crust and filling preparation, wash it thoroughly in between, so the residue doesn’t interfere with the rising action of the Dream Whip.

FILLING
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
2 pkgs. prepared Dream Whip (+ milk and vanilla, see package)
1 can sweet cherry pie filling (or any sweet filling of your choice)

Prepare the Dream Whip according to the directions on the packages (using 2 packets Dream Whip + milk and vanilla), beating it with a mixer for several minutes, until fluffy After finishing the Dream Whip, add the powdered sugar and cream cheese to it (in chunks/spoonfuls) and mix until relatively smooth.

After pressing the crust into the desired container, spread half of the cream-cheese mixture over the crust. Then spoon all of the pie filling over that. Spread the remaining cream-cheese mixture over the cherries. With your hand, finely crumble the cup of pecan crust held in reserve and sprinkle it on as a topping. (Layers = crust / cream-cheese mix / pie filling / cream-cheese mix / crumb topping)

Cover and chill immediately. It tends to taste best after it’s been in the refrigerator at least overnight (so I’ve been told).

Thanks Sheri!

So, as easy as Sheri’s Denver Crunch sounds, if you just don’t have the time or inclination and need something sweet for a celebration or hostess gift – might I suggest something from Mimi’s family’s bakery on the Hill like Italian Cookies, Peach, Apple or Cherry Pie, or our fresh baked cookies or chocolate covered fruits – or perhaps a fancy cake or cheesecake!

BUTTER BALLS

Whether you call them Cuernitos (Mexican), Kourabiedes (Greek), or Butter Balls these cookies are everyone’s favorite! The following recipe uses granulated OR powdered sugar—the granulated sugar cookies have a more “sandy” texture and the powdered sugar version is a creamier cookie. If you use almonds, add 1/2 tsp almond extract along with the vanilla extract.

3 sticks unsalted room temp butter
3/8 cup granulated sugar
OR 3/4 cup powdered(confectioner’s) sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour
1.5 cups finely chopped nuts, either pecans, walnuts, almonds or pistachios (chop with a knife—don’t use a grinder or food processor, the nuts will be too fine)
1.5 to 2 cups powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325F.
Cream together softened butter and sugar until well combined, mix in the extract(s) then gradually add salt and flour and finally the chopped nuts. Roll into 1 tsp size balls and lay out on un-greased cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. They’ll just barely brown on the edges and bottoms. Remove to cooling racks and dust liberally with powdered sugar. (I put tea-towels under the racks to collect the excess powdered sugar which can be collected and used for the second dusting.) When cool, again sift more powdered sugar over them. These keep really well in a cookie tin.

These cookies are often called
“Wedding Cookies” and we just happen to have lots of wedding information.

And, finally, if you just don’t have the time or urge to bake, you can buy freshly baked cookies for delivery anywhere across the USA!