Silver Moon Caramel Cake

Recently, my dad and his girlfriend went to Charleston. It is such a quaint, cozy town with a rich southern cuisine. They sent me a dessert cookbook: Charleston Classic Desserts (Classic Recipes Series) It features recipes from some of the best restaurants in Charleston. I am determined to become a better baker. Therefore I decided to try the following recipe: Silver Moon Caramel Cake from the Square Onion Cafe.  This recipe is from the owner Mary Zapatka's great grandmother's recipe and Mary's dad named it when he was a little boy.

Photo of what the cake should look like, mine is not quite there yet :)

Ingredients:
CAKE
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk
SILVER MOON FROSTING
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour three 10-inch cake pans
To make the cake:
1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together 3 times. Set aside.
2. Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff by not dry peaks form.
3. Cream the butter in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or with a hand held mixer..that's what I used) until light. Gradually add the sugar, beating until light and fluffy (after some research this usually takes 3-5 minutes). Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addtiona and scraping down the bowl.
4. Alternately add the dry ingredients and milk, one third at a time. Beat until smoother after each addition. Add the vanilla. Fold in the egg whites. Divide the batter amount the prepared pans.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean. (A trick so that the cake does not over bake, set the time for a few minutes less so that you can gauge the perfect time to take out the cake. This will help keep the cake moist)

TO MAKE THE FROSTING:
1. Combine the butter, sugar and milk in a 4-quart or larger saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, to the softball stage (220F on a candy thermometer). If you do not own a thermometer, this is when the mixture just begins to bowl and it will turn a light beige color.
3. Remove from heat and beat at a medium-high speed until the sheen dulls and the frosting is of spreading consistency. Add the vanilla after a couple of minutes. Care should be taken while beating because the frosting is very hot. Do not beat too long or the frosting will harden. If the frosting becomes too stiff, beat in a little milk. 1 tablespoon at a time, to bring it back to spreading consistency. Work quickly when spreading on the cake or the frosting will set before the cake is covered.

I must say, that I did not have this problem. If anything the frosting was a bit runny. I let it cool for a bit and then spread it on the cake. The icing did harden one I placed it on the cake. I am going to experiment with other icings and will update the recipe if I find out that I like better.

Momma Callie's Banana Nut Bread from The Neely's

My office decided to kick-off the holiday weekend with a pot-luck breakfast on Friday. Of course, I offered to bring in a baked good. Who doesn't love a good piece of banana bread? Although I do have a recipe I love using, I wanted to stick to a more traditional version. I knew I could count on The Neely's for a good ol' fashioned banana bread. Sure enough I found this recipe: Momma Callie's Banana Nut Bread. I knew I couldn't go wrong with that. Sure enough the banana bread turned out great! Golden brown top, super Moist, and a great banana flavor. Definitely give this recipe a try!

Ingredients:

• 1 Stick butter, at room temperature


• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour


• 1 teaspoon baking soda


• 1 teaspoon baking powder


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 3 large VERY ripe bananas


• 1 cup granulated sugar


• 2 large eggs


• 1/2 cup sour cream


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans


• Powdered Sugar to coat the loaf pan (a trick I learned from my friend Callie's momma)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and put a rack on the middle shelf.

Sprinkle powdered sugar into the bottom of a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In another large bowl, use a hand electric mixer or a stand mixer to cream the 1 stick of butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs, 1 at a time and mix until the egg is incorporated. Break the bananas into pieces and put into the bowl along with the sour cream and vanilla. Beat until just combined (it is ok to leave banana pieces). Add the dry ingredietns and nuts and stir until combined. Pour the batter in the pan. Sprink more powdered sugar on the top.

Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, unti la knife can be inserted and come out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. (i actually used a disposable loaf pan and left the banana bread in this pan and it turned out great).

Enjoy!