Kat's Recipe Box

This glaze is used with the Carrot Cake. (Totally burned this mixture on my first attempt, so keep an eye out)

1 C. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C. buttermilk
1/2 C. butter
1 TBSP. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Bring the first 5 ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Boil stirring often!!! Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Here is the frosting for the Carrot Cake, but it would be equally delicious on any kind of cake or cupcake.

3/4 C. butter, softened
1 (8oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1 (3oz) package of cream cheese, softened
3 C. sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.

My first ever attempt a Carrot Cake, and I have to say, AMAZING! Instead of three cake pans, I only used two and it worked out just fine. And I used regular grated coconut from a bag. I have no idea what the canned coconut is. If you have an inkling, give me a shout out. The recipes for Buttermilk Glaze and Cream Cheese Frosting will follow under another post.

2 C. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 C. sugar
¾ C. vegetable oil
¾ C. buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 C. grated carrot
1 (8oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (3 ½ oz.) can flaked coconut
1 C. chopped pecans or walnuts
BUTTERMILK GLAZE
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Grease and lightly flour 3 (9 inch) round cake pans and line with parchment paper; set aside.
Beat eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla on medium speed with a mixer until smooth. In a separate bowl combine, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; whisk to combine dry ingredients. On low speed, add the flour mixture until well blended. Fold in carrots, drained pineapple, coconut and nuts. Pour into cake pans.
Bake at 350° for 35 to 30 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Drizzles Buttermilk Glaze evenly over the warm cakes and let cool on wire racks for 15 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely. Once cakes are completely cooled, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.

Surprise, it’s me! I have been away a long time, and of course I have cooked in my time away so I really need to get back to posting recipes.

Anyway, about two years ago, I found a recipe in a magazine for the above cupcakes (They are all the rage now) and made them for a party I was having at my house; they were a hit! But, instead of just posting the recipe immediately here, I lost the it. So on and off for two years I have searched the internet to find it: and, in case you haven’t heard, cupcakes are all the rage now. I had an idea of what magazine I saw it in and searched high and low for another copy, as well as web searches to no avail. Finally, last week it occurred to me that I was looking in the wrong place. I finally found the recipe in Everyday with Rachel Ray October 2010, of course she had it on line. She really has her stuff together, or at least her staff does. Maybe I need staff, hmmm. So, here it goes, the yummy recipe, two years in the finding.

1 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, at room temp
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar – packed means keep pressing it down for a tight fit…usually the easiest way is with a smaller measuring cup
1/2 granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 rome apples (about 1 lb.) peeled and shredded
1 1/2 cups chewy caramel candies
1 tbsp. heavy cream

Bake these in a 350 degree oven on the middle rack. You also definitely want line the cupcake pan with liners.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and whisk them together.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the oil and vanilla and continue whisking. You then want to add the mixture of wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Next, add the apples and mix. You are now ready to fill the cupcake pan. The easiest way is to use an ice cream scoop; this way each cupcake is about the same size. Fill until almost full. Bake the cupcakes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry. This should take about 25 – 30 minutes depending on your oven. Once you remove them from the oven, transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are baking, you want to take the caramels and cream and put them into a microwavable bowl and microwave for 30 second intervals stirring between until the caramels are melted and smooth. You can generously spread the caramel onto the cupcakes. I found it easier to just dip the top of the cupcakes into the caramel mixture.

Enjoy! This is a perfect fall recipe.

This recipe popped up one day on my facebook page and I was having company come the next night and it looked perfect and easy so I thought I would give it a try. I am not an apple fan so I did not try it but my guests and husband said it was wonderful…the company even asked to take some home. I served it warm with a bit of vanilla ice cream. Let me know what you think.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar ( I used dark)
½ quick cooking oats ( I used Quaker)
¾ cup butter, melted

Filling

2/3 cups sugar
1 ¼ cups cold water
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 cups of diced peeled tart apples ( I used Granny Smith)
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, oats and butter. Make sure to set aside 1 cup for topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9 inch pie plate and set aside.

For the filling, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water in a large saucepan stirring until smooth; bring to a boil and stir for 2 minutes until thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the apples and vanilla.

Pour filling on top of the crust and top with the crumb mixture you set aside earlier. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Well, this year for Christmas I was asked to make two things that I had never made before by my brother Tim. One was the Cranberry Salad and my husband’s grandmothers Apple Cake.
Mom Mom frequently brings this cake to family gatherings and my husband’s family is so used to it but to my family it was something special and a huge hit. I am not a big apple fan so I have not personally tasted it but I hear it is fabulous. I spent Christmas at my brothers house along with my sister-in-law Adrienne’s family and they were so impressed that they asked if I would post the recipe so here it is.

1 ½ cups cooking oil
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoon sugar
3 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup nuts (I used walnuts)
1 cup shredded coconut
3 cups chopped apples (I used Granny Smith)
Grease a 10 inch tube pan. Combine all the above ingredients and beat well. Pour into the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours.
Icing

1 stick of butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup milk
Boil 2 ½ minutes and pour over the cake when it comes out of the oven. Leave cake in the pan until it is completely cooled and turn out onto a serving platter.

I sprinkled with powdered sugar just for a little extra kick.

As per your request…thanks mom.

1 ½ cups quick cooking oats
2 cups rice krispies
2/3 cup chopped dried exotic fruit
pineapple, mango, papaya
½ cup chopped pecans
1 stick butter
½ cup light corn syrup
3 ½ ounces white chocolate broken into pieces

1. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper cups

2. In a bowl, combine the oats, rice krispies, dried fruit and pecans. Put the butter, corn syrup and white chocolate into a saucepan and heat gently until melted. Stir in the dry ingredients until they are coated.

3. Divide the mixture among the paper cups, pressing down lightly. Store in the fridge.

This recipe is great to use up some extra berries that you might have left laying around. I chose fresh blueberries and strawberries.

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/ 2 cup of vegetable oil
2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ cup fresh berries
Beat the eggs and gradually add the sugar. Slowly pour in the oil and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients into a different bowl and add the sour cream and egg mixture alternately. Fold in the berries and spoon into paper lines muffin cups and sprinkle with the topping below.

Topping:
2 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; combine and sprinkle over muffins.

Bake muffins at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

This is my all time favorite lemon cake!!! It takes a bit of time to make but it is well worth the effort. I usually make my husband help me with this recipe…he was he zester and juicer while I did the rest. Fortunately for him, I got an electric juicer so the job is not all that difficult anymore. This cake has three different steps so it seems like a lot of work but once you get the hang of it it isn’t so bad. Use only fresh lemon juice and zest for this recipe.
½ pound of unsalted butter at room temperature
2 ½ cups of sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup of lemon zest (about 6 to 8 8) I cant get rid of the smiley face…hmm?
3 cups of flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ cup of buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla

Simple syrup:
½ cup sugar and ½ cup lemon juice.

For the glaze:
2 cup confectioner sugar
3 ½ tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, grease two loaf pans with butter and flour them. I cut a piece of parchment paper and place it on top of the greased/floured surface just for a little extra help.

Cream butter and two cups of sugar in a bowl with electric mixer, beat until mixture is light and fluffy: I recommend about 5 minutes. While the mixture is on low speed, gradually add the eggs one at a time and the lemon zest. My mixer has a habit of collecting the zest on the paddle so I am constantly cleaning off the paddles to make sure the lemon zest is well incorporated into the batter.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the butter -milk, ¼ cup of lemon juice and vanilla.
Add the flour and buttermilk mixture to the egg mixture in an alternate pattern, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until this is well combined. Divide the mixture into the two pans and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Once the cakes are done, let them cool for about 10 minutes before you take them out of the cake pan. While the cakes are cooling, go ahead and make the simple syrup. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and lightly pierce the bottoms of the cake with a fork and spoon the simple syrup over the bottom of the warm cakes and let set. Overnight would be great but not necessary.
Before serving, make the glaze with the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over cakes and serve.

I made this easy recipe for my father in laws birthday and everyone seemed to like it. It is a great dessert to make in a pinch as the ingredients are something that are easy to keep on hand. It takes just minutes to prepare and minutes to bake and I haven’t had a complaint yet.
1 stick of butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 21oz. can apple pie filling
2 cups sliced granny smith apples
1 refrigerated pie crust
2 tbsp. apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Melt butter in an oven proof skillet and add brown sugar, cinnamon and apple pie filling and simmer for 5 minutes. Add granny smith apples. Heat until mixture becomes bubbly. Unroll pie crust and lay over skillet. With wooden spoon press edges down into skillet and brush with apple juice and sprinkle sugar on top. Bake for about 30 – 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown

My stepdaughters just turned six and we decided to celebrate their birthday along with their grandfathers and the fourth of July on the same day. This was going to be a pretty big get together as some of my husbands family was also visiting from Texas. I was in charge of a fruity dessert and some appetizers. I found this recipe in a magazine and it sounded perfect for the occasion. Although the original recipe called for strawberry jelly, we all decided that the jelly made the Trifle a little to sweet so I will omit it for this recipe. I also found that the Trifle bowl that I had was a bit too small for the amount of ingredients so be sure to have a large or extra large trifle bowl on hand or cut the recipe in half. Also, the berries could be changed out for your favorites. Since it was the fourth of July I used blueberries and strawberries.

1 16 oz. container of cool whip or frozen non-dairy whipped topping thawed
1 8oz. package of cream cheese softened
1 7 oz. jar of marshmallow …I used Fluff
1 tablespoon of lemon zest
2 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
½ cup of confectioners sugar
4 cups of fresh blueberries
4 cups of fresh sliced strawberries
1 already prepared, store bought angle food cake cut into 1 inch pieces

In a large bowl combine the whipped topping, cream cheese, marshmallow, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix well until creamy smooth. Gradually add in the confectioners sugar.

To assemble, add a layer of the cream mixture to the bottom of trifle bowl and top with half of the cake pieces. Put the four cups of blueberries on top of the cake layer and reserve a few for garnish. Top the blueberries with the remaining cream reserving a small amount for the top as a garnish. Put the remaining cake on top of the cream and top with the sliced strawberries. Garnish the top with the rest of the cream and sprinkle the reserved blueberries on top of that and top with a strawberry.

I came across this recipe in a magazine last week and decided that I had to try it because it was so simple to make. My son’s grandparents were coming to visit and so I knew they would be perfect to try this recipe out on. So, I sent my husband to the store for the fruit and left the decision of which fruit to get in his hands. He chose peaches and I have to say, I was surprised. The recipe was so easy and was just delightful. You can choose any kind of canned fruit that you would like, blueberry, cherry, strawberry, blackberry, the possibilities are endless.

1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple in its juice
1 21 oz. can of fruit pie filling…the choice is yours. We used peach.
1 box of butter recipe yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
¾ cup of melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour the pineapple with its juice into a 9×13 baking dish and spread evenly over the bottom of the pan. Spoon the pie filling over the pineapple and sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the top of the fruit and even out with a fork. Sprinkle the pecans over the cake mix and drizzle the melted butter over the top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Just tried this cake yesterday, and there in none left today…It was so yummy I am going to make another one this week for my weekend get together.

1 (18.5 oz) box white cake mix
1 3oz. box of strawberry Jell-O
10 oz. package frozen strawberries thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup water
Strawberry cream frosting – recipe below
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9” cake pans.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, Jell-O. Add the strawberries, eggs, oil and water; mix on medium speed until smooth. Pour into cake pans and bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pans for about 10 minutes then remove from pans and cool on wire racks until completely cooled.

Strawberry Cream Frosting

½ cup softened butter
1 (8oz) package of cream cheese at room temperature
1/3 cup of frozen strawberries, pureed
½ tsp. strawberry extract
7 cups of confectioners’ sugar
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in strawberry puree and strawberry extract. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar beating until smooth.

Frost cake with a thick layer of frosting between cake halves and put remaining frosting on top. Be sure cake is completely cooled before frosting. Do not over beat frosting.

This is one of those recipes that you just add whatever you feel like to. You can change up the fruit and nuts to suit your own tastes. I have added dried cranberries and dried apricots in the past. I am going to mix it up next time with different nuts.

3 cups of quick cooking oats
1 package of dried blueberries
1 package of dried cherries
1 ½ cup sliced almonds
½ cup of coconut
½ cup oil
1/3 cup of honey
Cinnamon

Combine above ingredients and lay flat on a baking sheet, Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook for about 25-30 minutes mixing at least once until golden brown in a 350 degree oven.

Serve over ice cream or vanilla yogurt.

This recipe was given to me by my friend Nicole who stumble upon it somewhere and it has become our all time favorite.

I started serving this dessert to friends in the neighborhood and they all had an issue with the name Frog Eye Salad so the gang tried to renamed it Greenbrier Salad after our development but the name never seemed to stick.

½ cup of sugar
1-tablespoon flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 – 20oz. can of pineapple chunks, undrained
1 – 8oz. crushed pineapple, undrained
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/3 cups Acine di Pepe pasta, uncooked
1 – 11oz. cans mandarin oranges, drained
3 ½ cups cool whip, thawed
½ cup flaked coconut (I prefer to leave this out)
Maraschino cherries
3 cups of miniature marshmallows (I usually leave these out also)

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, flour and salt.
2. Drain pineapple reserving enough just to make 1 cup and with whisk gradually add to sugar mixture along with beaten egg.
3. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat allowing mixture to cool.
4. In the meantime, cook pasta according to box directions. Rise with cold water and drain immediately.
5. In a large bowl, combine pineapple juice mixture and pasta. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
6. Add crushed pineapple and pineapple chunks, oranges and 2 cups of whipped topping, marshmallows and coconut and mix. (I usually leave out the coconut and marshmallow and I always add the whole container of cool whip and maybe a bit more)
7. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Garnish with cherries and serve.

I got this recipe years ago from a man I worked with after I tried it in the office. It has become a house favorite that has been passed around and around. Most people might pass this one by since there is no frosting on it but you should give it a try you might just be surprised.

1 box of Duncan Hines yellow cake mix (not the butter kind but the one that calls for oil)
1- 3 oz. box of instant vanilla pudding
1 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
4 eggs
1 cup of oil
½ cup of water
10 x sugar (powdered sugar)

1. Combine cake mix, vanilla pudding, 4 eggs, oil and water in a mixer until well mixed and fluffy.
2. While cake is mixing, in a food processor or blender and chop up a ½ of bag of chocolate chips. Don not chop until a fine powder forms, just do a rough chop. Add to batter and mix. You want to make sure there are some bigger pieces of chocolate chips in the batter.
3. Pour into a greased metal pan and bake at 375 degrees or until cake is no longer wet in the middle and starts to pull away from the sides of pan. You should start to check cake after about 45 minutes as oven temperatures vary.
4. While cake is baking, rough chop in food processor or blender the remaining chips, leaving some bigger pieces. Remove cake and sprinkle chopped chocolate chips over the top.
5. Cool for about 10 minutes, top with 10x sugar (powdered sugar). Serve warm or completely cooled

Tips: Most people in the family prefer this cake to be served warm. About 20 seconds in the microwave should do it.

My oven doesn’t run as hot as most so baking this is a cake that I just watch to be done instead of timing it. I shake the pan and if the center moves it certainly isn’t done, I also touch the center, if the cake springs back, it is done or if I seen the edges of the cake start pulling away from the pan.

For some reason, the Duncan Hines brand works the best, that is why I specified it is the recipe.

I prefer to eat this cake once it is cooled but most everyone else wants it warmed. You decide.