Magic Cake

MAGIC CAKE CYCLED through the food blog circuit about a year ago. I was intrigued by these pretty little squares and finally decided to try them out.

One thin batter really does separate into three different layers during baking, but I would not necessarily call it cake. Perhaps "Chiffon Custard" more accurately describes it but I really love the name, "Magic Cake"

The recipe is rather fussy to make; you must separate eggs, beat the whites separately, warm the milk, melt butter. I enjoy this type of baking and I will make this recipe again, maybe with a twist next time, but this is not something to make in a hurry.  Also, it needs to cool for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Magic Cake
4 eggs, separated, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup flour
2 cups warm milk
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 8 x 8 inch baking dish.

Beat egg whites until stiff and set aside.

Beat egg yolks and sugar until light. Add melted butter and vanilla and continue beating another minute or two. Add flour and mix well.

Slowly add the milk (milk must be warm or the butter will seize up) and mix until well combined. Add the stiffened egg whites to the batter, one third at a time, gently folding in each addition with a spatula.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 50 - 60 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the cake is no longer jiggly.

Cool completely before cutting into squares. Dust with powdered sugar.

Pound Cake French Toast Muffins (with Chocolate)

 My 4-year-old Sous Chef had spent the night and when I asked her what she wanted for breakfast, she declared, "French Toast"!

I knew I had some leftover pound cake from one of my cake classes,  denuded of its frosting, hiding in the back of the refrigerator for just such an occasion.

Little Sousie is getting quite good at her cooking skills. She stands on a chair at the kitchen counter. She cracked 6 eggs and only got one bit of shell in egg #1. I gave her a cutting board and a butter knife to cube a few pieces of pound cake and she did a fine job while I worked on another board making the remainder of the cake cubes.

I measured the milk (carton is still heavy for her) and she poured from the cup into the bowl with the eggs. Then she whisked to blend. I handed her a half bag of chocolate chips and suggested she add as many as she wanted. She made herself a little pile of chips on her cutting board to sample and dumped the rest into the egg mixture.

I poured in a little vanilla and asked (silly question) if she wanted cinnamon. She loves sim-a-non! Again, I let her decide how much to add.  Lastly, we tossed in our cake cubes and stirred to coat them. A couple of little hands might have been used.

After the muffins came out of the oven, and we waited a few minutes for cooling,  she enjoyed sprinkling them beautifully with powdered sugar. 

Just in case her mother is reading this, I want it to be known that we drank a smoothie made with fresh pineapple, banana, pear, yogurt, and almond milk while we waited for the muffins to bake.

Pound Cake French Toast Muffins (with Chocolate)
8 - 10 cups cubed pound cake or dense bread
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
Chocolate chips, to taste
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 12 cup muffin pan.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Mix in the vanilla, cinnamon, and cake cubes. Divide into the muffin cups.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes until set and golden brown. Let cool in pans for about 10 minutes. Remove muffins to a cooling rack and dust with powdered sugar.

Avocado Smoothie

So far, this has been my favorite smoothie. It was so creamy and delicious and I never imagined it would taste so good, based on the ingredients.

Avocado Smoothie
1 ripe avocado
1 banana
Fresh orange juice, squeezed from 3 oranges
1 cup almond milk, or other milk, or yogurt
2 Tbsp. honey, optional
1 serving protein powder, optional

Blend together until smooth and creamy.

Creamy Rice Pudding

I had some organic milk in the fridge which was getting close to date. Because I was also considering the Indian meal I was preparing to cook, I decided to make rice pudding. Rice pudding is a dessert I have always loved. It is not too sweet and because it has nutritional benefits on its side, one I have made often over the years. 

Rice pudding is a very flexible dish. It can be cooked on the stovetop or baked. It can be made with any kind of rice, any kind of milk, and many different fruits and nuts can be added for additional texture, flavor, and health. Also a number of spices work well--cardamom, saffron, cinnamon.  I have baked it with brown rice, soy milk, and dried apricots. The possibilities really are endless.

Here, I have cooked it on the stovetop using basmati rice, organic whole milk, golden raisins, and finished with a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg. 

Creamy Rice Pudding
3/4 cup uncooked basmati rice
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups milk, divided
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup golden raisins
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium saucepan, combine rice and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook rice for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and leave the pan undisturbed for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.  Add milk and sugar, along with a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy--15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the egg and combine with the additional 1/2 cup milk and the raisins. Stir into the rice mixture and continue to cook for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.

Pour into a serving bowl. Delicious served warm or very cold.

Shared with Sweets for a Saturday #11 at the blog, Sweet as Sugar Cookies