White Texas Sheet Cake

I would take this over chocolate sheet cake any day. Almond extract never hurt anything, and especially not this cake. I frosted this cake with a double batch of my favorite whipped buttercream vanilla frosting.

1 cup butter
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. In a medium saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl add flour and sugar and mix. Then add in the eggs, sour cream, almond extract, baking soda, and salt. Slowly pour in the butter/water mixture. Stir until well combined and smooth. Batter will be thin.
3. Pour into a greased sheet pan. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.
4. Frost with a double batch of this frosting. Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract to the frosting.
5. Cut the cake (into big pieces, the only way to do it!) and top with fresh berries.

source: recipe adapted from here

Have any questions about this recipe? email me at me@amandaabby.com

Vanilla Brioche French Toast with Marscapone Cream and Berries

If that title didn't find you drooling... I don't know what will. This recipe is my adaption of a dish from a quaint little place called Recipe in NYC (update: it has since closed!). It is really yummy- it's more of a dessert than a breakfast, though.

Marscapone Cream with Berries

16 ounces of Marscapone Cheese softened for about 10 minutes on the counter
3/4 - 1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

Mix together and set aside.

Maple and Vanilla Candy Syrup

1/4 cup butter
1 cup milk or buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Melt butter in large saucepan.
Add milk, vanilla, maple and stir.
When boiling, add baking soda and take off heat, stir.

Store in the fridge.

French Toast

1 loaf of Brioche, cut into 1/2 - 3/4 inch slices
2 cups half and half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces Ghiradelli white chocolate chips
1 whole egg
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar

In a medium saucepan, heat the half and half until hot, but not boiling. Add the white chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted. Cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, beat egg, egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Whisk in the warm white chocolate and cream mixture, and vanilla.

Quickly soak slices of bread in the egg/milk mixture and place on a buttered and hot griddle. Cook until browned. Keep warm.

To assemble: place french toast on plate, add a scoop of marscapone cream, add berries and drizzle syrup on french toast.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

These were so simple to make and delicious too. I love blueberries- I really do. In the third grade, I did a report on blueberries- and now I bake with blueberries! This recipe is from allrecipes.com via Smitten Kitchen (who's writing a cookbook! I'm very excited.). I modified it a bit more.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder


• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter shredded on box grater or cut into tiny pieces


• 1/2 egg (whisk one egg and estimate 1/2 of it)


• 1/8 teaspoon salt


• splash of lemon juice


• 2 cups bluberries (fresh or frozen)


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 2 teaspoons corstarch

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 9 inch pan


2. In a small bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Use a fork, pastry cutter, or hands to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the pan


3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and bluberries. Sprinkle the bluberry mixture over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer


4. bake in oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely (or throw in the fridge if you're impatient like me) before cutting into squares.

-amanda

The Best Blueberry Muffins with a Cinnamon and Sugar topping

Back in June, my mom and my little sister picked bluberries, froze them on a sheet tray, put them in a ziploc, and put them in the freezer. Today, I decided to make bluberry muffins. My last two attempts weren't so succesful, so I was determined to find a good recipe.

Thanks to Vanilla & Lace, I found the perfect recipe. She puts on a streusel topping, but I didn't want to mess with defrosting the butter, so I just ommited that. They were so good. I used bluberries straight from the freezer and they worked so much better than defrosting and draining them- and took no time at all.

Here's the recipe + picture

Blueberry Muffins
makes 10-12

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup milk (I used skim)
1 egg
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries. (if frozen, do not defrost- just use frozen)
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line or grease muffin tin.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in mixing bowl.

Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg, and enough milk to fill the cup.

Mix the oil, milk, and egg mixture into the flour mixture

Fold in blueberries.

Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way and sprinkle about 1/8 tsp sugar on each one and just a bit of cinnamon.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean

happy blueberry muffin eating,

amanda abby