Cornmeal buttermilk biscuit

Cornmeal Buttermilk Biscuits  adapted from: Cooks Country (Printable Recipe) 1 c. cornmeal 1 1/4 c. buttermilk 2 Tbl. honey 2 c. all-purpose flour 1 Tbl. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbl.) unsalted butter, cut into chunks Whisk together the cornmeal, buttermilk and honey.  Let rest for 10 minutes to soften the cornmeal.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a food processor.  Add the cold cubed butter and pulse until it resembles coarse sand.  If you don't have a food processor you can either use a pastry cutter or your hands to cut in the butter.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together using a rubber scraper until no streaks of flour remain.  Lightly flour board.  Knead dough a few times and pat out into a 9'' circle, 3/4'' thick.  Cut out biscuits using a 2 1/2'' cutter.  Transfer biscuits to a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes, until they just start to rise.  Lower temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 8-12 minutes or until golden and risen.  Yield: 12 biscuits. Jenn's Notes: I added extra buttermilk, because the dough seemed a little dry and I ended up with a fairly sticky dough.  I don't know if that is why my biscuits ended up so moist, but that is how I will make them from now on, because I loved them. 

Banana cake with vanilla bean frosting

·        Cake ingredients 2/3 cup sugar ·        ½ cup sour cream ·        1 egg ·        2 tablespoons butter, softened ·        2 mashed ripe bananas  (about ¾ cup) ·        1 tsp pure vanilla extract ·        1 cup flour ·        ¼ tsp salt ·        ½ tsp baking soda Frosting Ingredients: ·        2 tablespoons butter, softened ·        ¼ cup heavy cream ·        ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract ·        1 ¼ cups confectioner’s sugar Preheat the oven to 375 F.  (350 F for a glass pan.)  Mash your bananas.  (I did this in my mixer but the recipe is easily mixed together by hand.)  Cream bananas together with the sugar, sour cream, egg, 2 tablespoons softened butter, and vanilla.  Add flour, salt, and baking soda, and mix well.   Pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely before frosting. To make the frosting, cream butter and confectioner’s sugar together until smooth.  Slowly add the heavy cream and stir until smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Spread on cooled cake.

Fresh strawberry yogurt cake

Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake (Recipe From: A Spicy Perspective) Ingredients 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 2 cups sugar 3 eggs 3 Tb. lemon juice, divided Zest of 1 lemon 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided ½ tsp. baking soda ½ tsp. salt 8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt 12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced 1 cup powdered sugar Instructions Preheat oven to 325*. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated. Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake. NOTE: I’ve had a few questions over the texture of the batter in this cake. The consistency of the yogurt and the juiciness of the berries, greatly determined the consistency of the batter. Thick, (dryer) yogurt will produce a thicker batter, in which the berries won’t sink to the bottom (top) of the cake as seen in the photos. Either way, it is a great cake–don’t worry about the thickness.