Tiger Cake recipe

Thursday Nov. 18, 2010

Today I have been combing through some old recipes and clippings. I found all kinds of things! Like the wallpaper and paint samples with estimate for Tricia's nursery, before she was born! I have to get that in a scrap book.:)
I also found alot of Granny Jane and Maggie's recipes they gave me through the years. I found recipes friends gave me when I married. They gave me a recipe shower. It was fun. Everyone brought a recipe and either an ingredient, dish or utensil needed to prepare their recipe.
I remember Granny Jane's friend Mrs. Amos, Sr. gave me a Fanny Farmer Cookbook. She told me that it would tell me everything I needed to know about cooking. She was right. I have worn the cover thread bare in 30 years of cooking. 30 years have flown by.
I posted some of Granny Jane's recipes this morning, along with Maggie's red pepper mayonnaise recipe. There are more of their recipes I will share in a post soon.
For the Alabama Auburn Game next Friday I am making a Tiger Cake! I'm an Alabama fan even though I have been spending alot of time in Auburn lately.  :-)
Tiger cake is made with chocolate cookies sandwiched together with whipped cream peanut butter filling. The tiger stripes are revealed when you cut the cake on a 45 degree angle. Here is the recipe and directions to assemble.

Chocolate Cookie Recipe

2 2/3 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1cup crisco vegtable shortening or 1 cup butter
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder set aside.
In mixing bowl with electric mixer cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla blend well. Add flour in thirds blending well after each addition.
Place on lightly floured surface divide into halves and roll to form two 8" to 10" long logs. Wrap in wax paper and place in refrigerator or freezer until firm. Cut in 1/2" thick rounds and place on cookie sheet with 1" space around each. Bake 350 degrees for 12-14 min.

Tiger Cake

Filling ingredients:
1/2 cup whipping cream....not heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2 use regular whipping cream
5 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons frimly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cup ice cold whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Yellow and Red food coloring....optional
2 tablespoons chopped dry roasted peanuts

You will need to clear out a spot in your freezer for a baking sheet or some type of long dish and have the following utensils to prepare the filling and assemble cake.

• In the long baking sheet or dish cut a piece of aluminum foil a little longer than the dish and reserve for future use.
• Fill a large mixing bowl with ice and place the container with whipping cream and the beaters for the mixer in the ice. Let this sit until you are ready to whip the whipping cream.
• In a heavy sauce pan combine 1/2 cup whipping cream, peanut butter, and dark brown sugar. Heat over medium heat until smooth about 3 min. When smooth remove from heat and let stand until cool.
• Take a length of aluminum foil and make a cradle large enough for your cookies to sit in on end, and long enough for about a 12 to 14 inch stack of cookies that will make up your cake. You want this to be a little smaller in total length than the dish you prepared for the freezer. Use one of your cookies as a guide. By crunching up the sides of the aluminum foil you will be able to keep the cake stable in the freezer.  Line the inside of the cradle with plastic wrap cutting the plastic wrap long enough to hang over the sides.
• Pour the ice out of the mixing bowl and dry the bowl with a clean towel. In the cold mixing bowl add 1 1/2 cups ice cold whipping cream and beat with cold beaters until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla extract and the cooled peanut butter mixture. Blend until smooth. The consistency of the cream should be like a butter cream frosting.
• If you want to add color to the frosting divide the frosting in half and then divide one half again in half. In other words you want 1/2 of frosting plain with peanut butter and divide the other half into two bowls and add a few drops of yellow in one and red in another. Alternate the colors as you build the cookie log.
• Take one of the cookies and spread a large dollop of whipped cream mixture. Stand the cookie on end in the aluminum foil cradle you prepared. Repeat alternating colors and add to the last cookie in the cradle. Continue to add cookies with cream until you have reached the end of the cradle. Use enough cream to make filling 3/4 to 1/2 inch thick when sandwiched between the cookies.
• Pick up the cradle and place it in the freezer for 30 min. Do not cover with plastic wrap. Place whipping cream in refrigerator and do not cover.
• After 30 min. take the cake out of the freezer using the plastic wrap sit it on the tray or dish with foil.
• Apply the remaining whipped cream on the sides and ends of the log and top with crushed peanuts.  
• Return to the freezer on the tray or dish for 3 hours.
• After 3 hours you can wrap with plastic wrap and then the aluminum foil you layed over top of the baking sheet or dish. Freeze up to 8 weeks.
• When you are ready to serve remove the cake from the freezer unwrap and place on serving platter and defrost in refrigerator for about an hour before serving. Remove from refrigerator and cut on the diagonal about a 45 degree angle and serve immediately.

Serving suggestion:
Use a bright colored serving platter and place a large green leaf from a philidendron or banana leaf in the center of the plate. Place the cake on the leaf to defrost. When defrosted drizzle chocolate syrup or caramel topping over the top of the cake and sprinkle chopped nuts around the platter.

Roll Tide!

Ornament recipe for Marcee

Marcee,

This is the recipe I told you about. It's a project that you have to do in stages. But the ornaments are really cute made in the nutshells.....get your Dad to help you hull the walnuts, that's a great job for him if he is hanging around.

This is a good project for the boys if you make the cutouts with cookie cutters and let them paint them!.....directions below......... Have fun. :)

Love you,
Aunt Kaye



Nutshell Ornaments

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup warm water........... not hot just warm tap water

Walnut shell halves
Paper clips or wire with out plastic coating
Acrylic paints and brushes
Clear spray paint
Assorted beads and ribbons, glitter, pipe cleaners etc.
Elmer's glue

Combine flour and salt in mixing bowl. Slowly mix in water. Roll out onto a clean floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 min until smooth. Roll into a big ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze for about 30 to 40 min. Take out about 1/4 to 1/2 of the dough and leave the remaining in refrigerator. You don't want the dough to dry out before you can mold it...... Pinch off enough dough to fill the nut shell. Let it mound up.

You can add small balls of dough for eyes or  ears... make a small ball and attach by applying a small amount of water to small ball....or you can make small balls and attach them with glue.............we made some cute christmas mice with a painted face and ears, santas are always cute too. Make a snowman easily by stacking 3 balls of dough and insert a wooden toothpick in the middle of the dough to hold them in place.

Use wire cutters to cut paper clips in half or use any wire without plastic coating. Each paper clip will give you two hooks. Slide the clip into the dough making a hook for the ornament. Place ornaments on baking sheet. Do not grease sheet. Bake in a 200 degree oven for 2 to 3 hours or until hard. Let them cool completely and then you can paint them and add beads and or glitter what ever you can think of!  One more tip! If you take aluminum foil and wrap it around the back of the nutshell  you can create a cradle by wadding the foil up. This will keep them upright when you move them to the oven. :)

If you are doing this by yourself, Marcee you might want to roll half of the dough in a ball to use with the nuts and then take the other half and roll it out flat until it's about 1/2" thick...make your cutouts put them on a baking sheet and add the hook. Then put them in the refrigerator or freezer...... where ever you have room for baking sheet....After an hour or so take them out and bake them 200 degrees for 4 to 6 hours.....they just keep getting harder and harder but you don't want the edges to curl up. Just cook them until they are definitely hard!

I remember using the cookie cutters with the girls. I think the smaller cutter worked better than the larger. The larger cutouts cracked when they cooked. Glitter covers up those spots good.

After you have added everything and your paint and glue is dry lay them on a piece of cardboard and lightly spray them with a clear latex spray paint. Let them dry for about an hour..... The spray will help preserve them.

After Christmas wrap them in tissue and store them in an air tight container until next year! I kept mine for about 10 years. :)

Maggie's Mayonnaise Recipe, Granny Jane's Cheese Straws, Cheesies and Mint Tea

This is an old recipe for red pepper mayonaise. The first time I heard about it I thought ooh that sounds terrible! Boy was I wrong. It's delicious.

Red Pepper Mayonnaise
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 tespoon ground red pepper
2 cups Wesson oil (or any good quality vegtable oil)
2 tablespoon lemon juice

With electric mixer mix the first 5 ingredients and then slowly add oil in small amounts and beat well after each addition. After 1 cup of oil is added add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and just before you add the last of the oil add the 2nd tablespoon of lemon juice.
Place in jar with lid and refrigerate. Makes slightly more than 1 pint.

Maggie used this to make a great snack for us. When you read it you may say oh that doesn't sound good. But try it you will like it.

Maggie's Cottage Cheese Snack

1 small container of small curd low fat cottage cheese
1 tablespoon of red pepper mayonnaise
1/2 of small yellow onion chopped fine
black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and serve with saltine crackers and mint tea.  You can add more of the mayonnaise if you like. Or add a little extra red pepper if you like. My girls even liked this when they were little!

These cheese straws are everyone's favorite treat.  Great for a holiday party too. Just follow the ingredients and directions closely. My girls wanted to make cheese straws and they asked their Granny Jane to show them how.  They came home and went to the grocery and bought their ingredients but they bought pre shredded cheese and margarine not butter and the cheese straws turned out to be rubbery blobs! They tried and I was impressed with that!

Granny Jane's Cheese Straws

2 cups plain flour
1 stick unsalted butter room temperature
1 pound Sharp Cheddar Cheese grated this should be about 4 cups
1 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder

Ok there are rules that you have to strictly follow to be successful with this recipe
1.  Buy a good quality block cheese. Do not use pre shredded cheese. It does not have enough moisture.
2. Cheese has to be room temperature. I usually leave it out over night.
3. Do not substitute margarine for butter.  Real Butter unsalted at room temp.

With electric mixer mix all ingredients until a creamy. With a star tip pastry bag make 2 -3 inch strips on ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 12 to 14 min in 400 degree oven. The cheese straws should be crispy and slightly browned. When completely cool store in air tight container, they will stay fresh for several days in container. I usually layer them with wax paper or parchment paper.

Cheesies

1/2 pound Swiss Cheese grated about 2 cups
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup butter room temperature
3/4 cup sifted flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 egg
1 teaspoon water
Paparika

Do not use pre shredded cheeses. Buy good quality blocks of cheese.

Knead together 1 1/2 cup swiss cheese and all ingredients except egg, water and paprika. Form into a ball and chill 15 mins. Break off about a tablespoon of the mixture and form into a small ball. Then flatten the small ball into a circle. Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet leaving space between each. Brush lightly with egg and water beaten together. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup grated swiss cheese. Bake 425 degree oven about 10 min. until puffed and lightly brown. Remove from oven let stand on sheet for 2 min and sprinkle with paparika remove to rack to cool completly. Store in air tight container. Makes about 40 pcs.

These look nice if you use the tines of a fork to flatten. Great for a party or gifts. The cheesies will stay fresh up to a week in an air tight container.

Granny Jane's Mint Tea

6 regular Lipton teabags or 3 family size teabags
3 lemons
6 sprigs of mint
1/2 gallon boiling hot water
1 cup sugar

In a large heat proof mixing bowl place tea bags, juice the lemons and add the rinds to bowl, add sprigs of mint. Pour the hot water over all and cover bowl with a towel. Let stand until cool. Remove lemons, and mint. Add 1 cup sugar and 1/2 gallon of water in 1 gallon pitcher stir and serve over ice with a sprig of fresh mint. Store in refrigerator.

Placing the lemon rind in the bowl with the steeping tea bags and mint is key to this tea's success.