Recipe Swap: Strawberry Tres Leches Cake

I love recipe swap time and our theme this go around was deserts.Well, my cake didn't turn out as pretty as the one on So Tasty, So Yummy but it sure was delicious! I'm not sure what I did wrong but my cake fell. Like it literally had a hole in the center of it. I did the best I could with what I had and although it wasn't terribly pleasing to the eye it was definitely pleasing to the tummy! I will be giving this recipe another try.

Strawberry Tres Leches Cake

4 large eggs, separated
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons whole milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Milk topping:
1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup heavy cream

Strawberries:
1 pound strawberries
1 tablespoon sugar

Frosting:
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9 by 9-inch baking dish and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually with the mixer running and peak to stiff peaks. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. (Do this quickly so the batter does not lose volume.) Add the vanilla. Bake until golden, 30 minutes.

To make the milk topping: In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream and blend on high speed. Whisking works as well and doesn't dirty your blender

Remove the cake from the oven and while still warm, prick the cake with a skewer several times and pour the cream mixture over it. Let sit and cool to room temperature.

Hull the strawberries. Crush the strawberries and toss with one tablespoon sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes. Spread the strawberries over the cooled cake.

Whip the cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Top the cake with the whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

RecipeSwap: Strawberry Muffins

It's recipe swap time and the theme this time was fruit. I was given Strawberry Muffins from DeLish. The batter was so good that I had to stop myself from eating it so that I would have enough to make muffins. I had enough to make 12 muffins and 2 tiny heart shaped cakes. Sorry for the bad photo. K doesn't understand the art of taking a good pic for blogs sake! We loved these muffins so much that I plan on making different kinds of muffins with this mix. K loves blueberry so that is next.

Strawberry Muffins

1 cup diced fresh strawberries (+1 TBSp flour)
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 12 muffin tins with cooking spray. Toss the strawberry pieces in the flour to coat; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt & baking soda; set aside.

Using a mixer, beat the butter, sugar, & vanilla until fluffy. Add in the egg.

Now, alternating between the two, stir the dry ingredient mixture & sour cream into the batter. Muffin Batter should be lumpy! Fold in the strawberries.

Fill muffin tins about 2/3 of the way. Cook for about 30-35 minutes. Muffins will be golden brown when done but, of course, do the toothpick test!

Glazed Apple Cream Pie

I was in the mood to bake a pie the other nite. I asked him what kind of pie he liked best and he said he liked them all. I researched and found a Glazed Apple Cream Pie on Allrecipes. one I wanted to make. When we went to the store I headed to the apples. He then asked me why I was getting apples and that he didn't like them! Well, he missed out. I ate half the pie cuz it was so frickin good! I gave the rest of the pie away after I realized ate I had eaten so much. :(

Glazed Apple Cream Pie

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (15 ounce) package pastry for double-crust pie
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream, and 1/4 cup butter. Heat until butter is melted, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, 2 tablespoons milk, and vanilla; stir into saucepan. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a medium bowl, combine the apples, flour, and cinnamon. Mix well.
3. Line a 9 inch pie pan with pie dough. Pour thickened filling mixture into pastry-lined pie pan. Arrange apple mixture evenly over filling. Top with second crust, seal and flute the edges. Cut slits in top crust.
4. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and apples are tender. Cool for at least 30 minutes.
5. In small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon softened butter. Blend until smooth; pour evenly over warm pie.

The recipe said to refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hours before serving (longer is better). I didn't. I even reheated it for about 30 seconds in the microwave.

Blueberry Crumb Pie

My 15 year old son LOVES blueberry pie, go figure. I am not a baker but decided to give it a try. My mother-in-law- gave me some blueberries over the holidays and they were taking up freezer space so I scoured the net for a recipe using things I had on hand. I found several great looking recipes but they called for a crust top and I only had a bottom. I found this recipe from Allrecipes and it sounded good to me. I did NOT follow the advice of others and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch so my pie was a bit soupy (I added it to the recipe below). I will make this again and add it next time as it was super yummy and my son hugged me for it. :)

Blueberry Crumb Pie:

Filling:

• 1 (9 inch) deep dish unbaked pie crust
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp corn starch
  
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Crumb Topping:

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, corn starch, and flour. Mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Gently stir in the blueberries. Pour into the pie crust.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, oats, flour and cinnamon. Mix in butter using a fork until crumbly. Spread the crumb topping evenly over the pie filling.
4. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until browned on top. Cool over a wire rack.