Angel Food Cake - a winner!

Since we found the greatest homemade ice cream recipe (May 9 blog post), I wondered what to do with all those egg whites left from the ice cream process. My husband, remembering his childhood and mother's cooking, was quick to suggest "Angel Food Cake, of course". My experience with angel food cake was limited - mostly helping my kids try to come up with a fair entry (and a very sticky kitchen) or a box mix. But I remembered a former 4-Her entering a chocolate angel food cake in fairs past and it always won. I didn't have her recipe but a search yielded one from Taste of Home that promised to be a "contest-winner". Although I haven't taken this to a contest, it is a winner at our house! (even when the granddaughter calls it 'fairy cake')

CHOCOLATE ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups egg whites (about 10 large eggs)

¾ cup cake flour

1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided

¼ cup baking cocoa

1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.    Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Sift the flour, ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and cocoa three times. 

2.    Add cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar (3/4 cup), about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about ½ cup at a time. Mixture will be thick. 

3.    Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through the batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on the lowest oven rack at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned and entire top appears dry (internal temperature should be 205-209 degrees). Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour. 

4.    Run a knife around the side and center tube of pan. Remove take to a serving plate. 

We like it without frosting. But this frosting recipe was with the recipe from Taste of Home. 

CHOCOLATE FLUFF FROSTING

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

½ cup baking cocoa

Dash salt

            In a large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add the sugar, cocoa and salt; beat until stiff peaks form. Frost top and sides of cake. 

Its Summer time - Zucchini time

     


This is how my family likes zucchini best, in quick breads! So with the abundance I got from our CSA share each week I was scrambling for recipe ideas. I can only serve baked zucchini, cucumber salad, and squash casserole so many times to them. 

     So onto zucchini breads. I tried 3 new recipes this summer - a chocolate that was a favorite until I made the lemon, and a pecan zucchini bread that unfortunately turned out to be a waste of good pecans! In addition to several loaves in the freezer and a few shared loaves, I also froze several packages shredded zucchini pre-measured into 2 cups for future preparations. I like to use a quick bread recipe that makes 2 loaves at a time, so I've adjusted recipes to that yield. 

Here are our favorites (the pecan zucchini bread recipe was tossed, along with the bread!)

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD

(This recipe is from the third Taste of Kansas 4-H cookbook published in the 1990's. It is full of good recipes!)

Ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla

2 cups zucchini, peeled and shredded

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon baking powder

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix beaten eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in zucchini. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, soda, cinnamon, and baking powder. Add to zucchini mixture and mix well. Pour into two greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ . 2 ½ inch loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour. Let cool. Remove bread from loaf pans and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. 

LEMON ZUCCHINI BREAD           

Ingredients:

3 1/3 cups AP flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ cup granulated sugar

4 Tbs. lemon zest

1 cup canola oil

4 large eggs

½ cup plain Greek yogurt

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

2 cup finely shredded zucchini

Lemon glaze: 2/3 cup powdered sugar + 1 ½ tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter/oil 2 loaf pans (8x4) and lightly dust with flour, shake our excess, set aside. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

2.    In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix sugar with lemon zest for 30 seconds. Add oil and eggs and mix until combined. Pour in half of the flour mixture then blend just until combined. Add Greek yogurt and lemon juice and mix just until combined, then add in remaining half of the flour mixture and mix just until nearly combined. Remove bowl from stand mixer, add zucchini and fold into mixture using a spatula. Pour mixture into prepared loaf pans. Bake in preheated oven about 45-48 minutes. Let cool in baking pan for a few minutes then invert into a wire rack to cool completely. Once loaves are nearly cool, drizzle with lemon glaze. Store in an airtight container. 

More Summer Veggies - Cukes

Cucumbers, not something we would choose for a garden produce. But when it came in the CSA package, I was determined to try them in new ways. We've not been fans of cucumbers, but maybe that was because we'd previously just had them sliced raw from a relish plate. I knew I'd had salads from our local restaurant's salad bar that I liked. 
     And we were pleasantly surprised! Not only are cucumbers healthy foods, but these salads are quite tasty. Research shows 7 health benefits of eating cucumbers:
* high in nutrients, low in calories but high in many important vitamins and minerals
* Contain antioxidants
* Promotes hydration
* May aid in weigh loss
* May lower blood sugar
* Could promote regularity
* easy to add to the diet

My favorite of these two recipes is the marinated one, but they are both good and make easy salads that can extend over a few days' meals. 

MARINATED CUCUMBER, TOMATO, ONION SALAD

3 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced

1 medium onion, sliced into rings

3 tomatoes, cut into wedges

½ cup vinegar

¼ cup sugar

1 cup water

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. coarsely ground pepper

¼ cup oil

Whisk dressing ingredients together. Pour over prepared vegetables. Refrigerate for 2 hours or more. 

Could add feta cheese just before serving. 

CREAMY CUCUMBER SALAD

½ cup sour cream or ranch dressing or Greek yogurt or a combo

1 T. white vinegar

1 T. minced fresh dill (or 1 tsp. dried)

1 tsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. garlic powder

3 cups thinly sliced peeled cucumbers

Opt: add thinly sliced onion and/or chopped tomatoes