Southern Desserts!!

So fired up to have a place to post cooking excitement!!! I have been baking lots of cakes lately. Lots of cakes.

Last night I made a Thibodaux Chocolate Doberge Cake. This 4 layer concoction required a thick pudding like filling and a cooked frosting (which I never have the patience for). Despite all that, I forged ahead. 4 hours and 2 cans of evaporated milk later....I was left with a sliding, slanted cake. The cake was good but probably not worth all that it required. We are having it again tonight so maybe it will be better. In fairness to the recipe which came from my beloved Southern Cakes book by Nancie McDermott, it does suggest making the cake a day before you plan to serve it, but I obviously don't have the patience for that.

Last weekend I made a Buttermilk cake with fudge icing which also came from my Southern Cakes book. The cake was OK but the fudge icing tasted just like FUDGE!!!! It required cooking the frosting to the soft-ball stage and I went a little over that which resulted in some difficulty spreading the frosting. I was surprised by the ingredients for the frosting which were: 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, 3 cups light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, salt, 1 cup evaporated milk, 2 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. You can taste the hints of the brown sugar in the frosting but I think that gave the frosting a more complex flavor.

Next on my list to make is a Tomato Soup Cake. I have pretty much decided it will taste so horrible and gross but I want to know what color it is and whether you can taste the soup! Mama and Papa have both already suggested that they will not partake.

I think you should either make a coconut cake (white cake with 7-minute frosting with sweetened coconut pressed into it) or a caramel cake (white cake with James Villas' caramel frosting) for the party you are going to. For both of those cakes I would use the Lane Cake Recipe in the Recipes from Home binder that Mama gave us a while ago. I'm pretty sure that is an Edna Lewis recipe. That is a really nice cake that is light and holds up to a lot of frostings.

James Villas' caramel frosting recipe is the best I've found:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and milk. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring. Remove from the heat and let cool, then gradually add the powdered sugar and stir till well blended and very smooth.

**I usually let it boil for a minute or so because I like the way it looks and it seems like a good idea.
**When you are frosting the cake, dip the spatula in hot water as you are spreading to create a nice shiny finish


So many other cakes and main courses to write about! I am thrilled that you started this blog lil biddy!! I will be taking crappy iphone photos to post as I continue cooking. Tomorrow I think I will practice making some hot cross buns. Oh and I have an amazingly easy crusty/italian/french/country bread that maybe I will make tomorrow too.

Wish we could eat all of this food together biddy! I can't wait to make the porkchops with the cranberries! Sounds so amazing!

LTB!!!!!!