Buttermilk or "Dixie" Cornbread

I hope all those who celebrated Thanksgiving this month had a great one and had a chance to spend quality time with family and friends. My Thanksgiving was fantastic. I enjoyed every minute of it, and that says a lot coming from me.

I didn't take photos of everything I made because I was too busy enjoying my time with my family. Nevertheless, I made two sweet potato pies with homemade crust (will be blogging about this later), homemade croissants with laminated dough, yeast rolls, brined turkey, easy turkey gravy (roux + turkey drippings + scant amount of chicken broth), chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream, and crockpot chicken and dressing using buttermilk or Dixie cornbread as a base.

One of my aunts made a sweet potato pie, green beans and collard greens. My other aunt made macaroni and cheese, corn muffins, corn, ham, and brought store-bought pecan pie (*inhale* *exhale* :D). My other aunt, who used to live in Venezuela for a long time, made a Venezuelan version of Potato Salad. My mom...um...well, she brought ingredients for a salad, but everyone agreed that she didn't have to put that together. We already had enough anyway. :D (Mom, I still love you even though you don't know how to cook!)

I actually didn't bring any leftovers from the dinner because I was so tired of seeing all the food I had made and other Turkey day dishes that I ate only very little. I just consumed half of a plate and a slice of cake. I returned home yesterday and started regretting that I didn't bring dressing with me today, so I made it for you all and for me. :)
Because this dressing dish is really so popular with my immediate and step family, I though I'd recreate it and blog about it here. Yes, I made the dish again today just for you all (ahh, the sacrifices I make for you all hehe). As I stated before, the base of this dressing depends on cornbread. I always use the cornbread from the same source I obtained the dressing recipe - Southern Plate. Because this cornbread requires 2 cups of buttermilk, I would call this cornbread "buttermilk cornbread". It is really moist and flavorful. Take a bite of the cornbread before mashing it up in the dressing for the full effect. Even though I was born and raised in the south, I do add a little bit of sugar to the mixture. You can make it as sweet or non-sweet as you want.

Please make this your new cornbread today; you won't regret it. I will post about the famous crockpot dressing next; stay tuned!

Buttermilk aka Dixie Cornbread

adapted by Southern Plate

1 1/2 cups enriched white cornmeal (I used yellow this time around)
3 Tbsp AP flour
1 tsp salt (I used kosher)
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg
2 Tbsp of bacon drippings or melted butter
1 Tbsp Crisco (I just use more butter)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a 10-inch cast iron skillet (or cake pan), add a Tbsp of Crisco (I usually add 3 Tbsp of butter in place of Crisco and drippings) and place skillet or cake pan in the oven to melt the butter. Sift (I don't sift) together dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, egg, and add drippings (or the melted butter in the skillet). Mix the ingredients until they are moistened; do not over-stir.

Pour mixture into the skillet or pan (it should already be greased from the butter or Crisco). Bake in a preheated hot oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with butter, or mash up to place in crockpot dressing!

Daring Bakers: Cannoli

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book..

Mise en place...

Making and prepping the dough

Allowing the ball of dough to rest in the refrigerator before rolling out circles

Since I am a linguist-in-training, I thought I would discuss the word “cannoli” to you all before going into what I did for this challenge: As the intro states, the word “cannoli” is the plural form of “cannolo” because it has the plural marker “i” at the end of the word. So, saying or writing “cannoli” with an “s” is repetitive (and incorrect). In fact, the “s” is not a plural marker in Italian, and you never see the letter at the end of Italian words unless it is a borrowed from another language (not applicable to all borrowed words).

Rolling out the dough

Also, “ricotta” is pronounced “ree-COAT-tah” (pronunciation breakdown based on U.S. English phonology), not “ree-CAH-duh”. Lastly, “mascarpone” is pronounced “mah-skar-POE-neh”, not “mah-skar-pone”. In Italian and many other Romance languages, most of the vowels are pure and monosyllabic. Also, each syllable is pronounced. Okay, now that we got the language lesson out the way (haha), here is what I did for the challenge:

Rolling the circles and getting out the egg whites for the tips of the circles...

Rolling the dough around the forms...

Frying the cannoli!

Ecco i cannoli senza ripieno. Here are the cannoli sans filling.

The two cannoli at the bottom were dipped in milk chocolate and chocolate chips. The cannolo at the top was dipped in toffee bits. All three had the mascarpone filling.

I’m not a fan of frying food, but I was still happy about this challenge because I’ve never tasted cannoli before because of my aversion to ricotta and its sour taste. When I read that we could use mascarpone, I felt more comfortable about going through with this challenge. As an added challenge, I made homemade mascarpone, and it was super easy to make! It came out so creamy.

Thank you, Lisa Michelle, for this challenge! Don't forget to check out what the other Daring Bakers have done!

Mascarpone Filling

adapted from Recipes 5000

• 2 containers or 8 ounces of homemade mascarpone cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
  
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter

Beat mascarpone until smooth. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Transfer to a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch star or plain tip. Pipe into the cannoli.

Mascarpone Cheese

To accompany the pastry for the Daring Baker's challenge this month, I made homemade mascarpone cheese and converted it into a filling. This was the first batch of cheese I've ever made, and it was surprisingly very easy. After using the filling in my pastry, I gave the rest of the filling to my walking partner who enjoyed it a little too much. Here are some process photos that I took at night (hence the bad photo quality):

Only two ingredients required! Heavy cream and lemon juice! In the words of Ina Garten, "How simple is that?'

Prepare the makeshift double broiler....

Pour in the heavy cream...

Allow it to heat up to 190 degrees Farenheit before pouring in the lemon juice...

Not there yet!

Once it reaches the desired temperature, pour in the lemon juice and stir a bit more...

Have cheesecloth ready and placed over a strainer over a bowl...

Remove cream from the simmering water...

Pour the hot cream into the cheesecloth...

Then fold over the cheesecloth and let sit in the refrigerator. It will look liquidy at first, but it will look like the above photo by the next morning...Ecco il mascarpone!

This is the mascarpone out of the cheesecloth. It's now ready to be used in the filling...sorry I don't have any photos of that...The recipe for the filling will be on my Daring Baker's post.

Mascarpone Cheese

by Baking Obsession (a LOVELY site)

Makes about 12 oz

• 500 ml whipping (36 %) pasteurized (or ultra-pasteurized), preferably organic cream
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.

The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.

Chicken Spaghetti

I'm leaving for Oklahoma tomorrow morning to spend Thanksgiving with my grandmother, mom, aunts, and cousins. I'll be cooking the majority of the food since only one of all the aforementioned family members know how to cook.

I don't mind, though. I enjoy cooking and baking all of these goodies and knowing that they are eating hearty, from-scratch food made with lots of love. Now we no longer have to order food from Luby's or some grocery store in order to have a decent meal haha.

I have homemade croissants and rolls in the freezer. My veggies are chopped up. I have one sweet potato pie made and another about to go into the oven. The turkey is thawing in the refrigerator. Also, I have most of the dry ingredients together in a cloth bag.

I plan to pack up my "old" KA mixer (hehe I still haven't received my new mixer. I will post a photo of it when I do, though!) that my mother bought for me and thus can never get rid of. I also will be packing up my new food processor, and my crockpot is already in the car.
Anyway, I have made this dish twice now, but I wish I could make it more because it is so good. I don't make it as much as I would like because of the process of cooking the chicken. I don't know; I just do boil chicken very often. However, this time around, I had put a whole chicken in the crockpot after 8 to 12 hours of brining it. Then, I was thinking about what I was going to eat with it and thought about this dish.

I plan to reserve the rest of the chicken broth for the crockpot dressing I'll be making for this Thanksgiving holiday. Even though the main dish won't be part of Thanksgiving, which is the requirement for the giveaway, the broth from the chicken will. I hope that counts haha!

This chicken spaghetti is extremely good and versatile. You can add or subtract any ingredients that you like. Also, you could use another type of pasta, if you want. Enjoy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING again to all those who celebrate this yummy holiday!!

Chicken Spaghetti

by Pioneer Woman

• 2 cups Cooked Chicken
• 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper (didn't have)
  
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained (don't like)
  
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• ⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
• Salt And Pepper (to Taste)
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I used Kraft Deluxe sliced cheese because I ran out of the other cheddar cheese)
  

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

Jacque Torres' Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have tried the Let's Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookies found on Smitten Kitchen, and I have tried two versions of Alton Brown's The Chewy - a brown butter version from Recipe Girl and the regular one from Food Network. I had yet to try the Jacque Torres version until today after being tempted by the cookies found on Tender Crumb.
I made a halved version of the cookie dough on Saturday so that I could allow the flavors to marry by Monday, which is when I baked and sent them off to my stepdaughters. Yes, I sent off more treats to the girls. This time I did it in celebration for the youngest girl's reading achievement I mentioned previously and so that they would have yummy, sweet treats for Thanksgiving.

Not only did I make the cookies, but I also made more cinnamon rolls for them. They will be disappointed, though, that I didn't make a double version of the cinnamon rolls like I usually do. Let's just hope they didn't notice hehe.
Anyway, these cookies were very good, but I'm no longer a good critic of CCCs because I have grown tired of them (shocking, I know!). I'm tired of looking at CCCs and eating them because they are so overly done. There are way too many other dessert recipes out there to explore!

However, if you are crazy about chocolate chip cookies, you should give these a try. I was sure to cook them just below the allotted time so they would stay soft and chewy. They were very soft in the middle and had just enough crunch on the sides. Lastly, I used cake flour instead of pastry flour because I didn't have the latter.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend. For those who celebrate U.S. Thanksgiving, Happy Turkey Day to you.

Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (Full Version)
adapted from Tender Crumb
PRINTABLE VERSION!
Makes 26 5-inch cookies or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4-inch cookies

1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour (I used cake flour)
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.

Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.

Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies.

Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
(Halved version)
PRINTABLE VERSION!

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp (or a little more than 1/3 cup) granulated sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp pastry flour (I used cake flour)
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt (I used kosher salt)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (I used the regular, generic, cheap kind. I'm a grad student hehe)
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used one whole bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined. (I refrigerated the dough for about 48 hours)

Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pan de muertos and GREAT NEWS!

This post is long overdue. I made this bread for my "stepdaughters" for El Día de los Muertos around the beginning of November. I got the recipe from What's Cooking, which is full of authentic Mexican recipes and excellent photography.

This bread took a while to make because I was working on another culinary project concomitantly. The day I was finishing up on the preparation for this bread, I had to hurry with the photos because I needed to mail it off before the post office closed.

The huesos ("bones") or lágrimas ("tears"), which are the rolled ridges on top of the bread, lifted up while baking, and the balls on top of the bread shifted greatly on some of them. Nevertheless, they looked satisfactory.
They didn't look as perfect as Ben's from What's Cooking, but they were pretty good for my first (rushed) attempt.

Since I didn't get to eat the bread (I just ate a little abandoned ball), they told me that the bread tasted very good. I'm glad it didn't go bad during the days it spent in the box en route to California.

One of the ingredients in this bread is orange blossom water, which I had never heard of. It has a strange smell, and it supposedly tastes like licorice.

My first, published, night-time shot in my DIY lightbox. What do you think?

Ben says that a substitute for this water is anise seeds, which I also didn't have. So, I bought the orange blossom water at Whole Foods for around $3.50 (not a bad price for that expensive store).

Pan de muertos
by What's Cooking
PRINTABLE VERSION!

• 250 gr all-purpose flour
• 50 gr sugar
• 1 package dry yeast (7 gr)
• 75 gr butter, at room temperature
• 2 TBSP orange blossom water (or anise seeds)
• 1 pinch salt
• 100 ml milk
• 2 eggs
• zest of one lime and one orange
• 2 TBSP butter
• 1 cup of sugar

In the bowl of a stand-up mixer cream flour, sugar, yeast and butter at slow speed.
Add eggs one by one, milk, orange blossom, salt and zest. Turn speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let it rest for 1 hour in a warm place or until it doubles in size.

• 
• Punch the dough in the middle and turn over a floured surface. Divide in 7 equal parts. 6 of those parts will become your loaves and the last one will be used to make the decorations. Form the 6 loaves, place them on a greased baking sheet and let them double in size, covered.
  The bones and little balls to decorate the bread are placed on a plate, covered and put in the fridge to keep them firm and avoid they expand.
  
  
  
• Pre-heat oven to 180°C (about 355°F).
• Decorate the bread and bake for about 20 minutes.
  
  It will be ready when it is golden brown in the outside.
  
  
• In the meantime melt the 2 TBSP of butter in a small pot. As soon as the bread comes out of the oven brush melted butter and sprinkle sugar over them. You can also place the sugar on a flat plate and roll the loaves in it.

GREAT NEWS!!!

I was one of three winners of a red Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer on Pioneer Woman!!! I feel sort of bad, though, since I already have a stand mixer. I originally entered the contest to win her cookbook, but I'm very happy I have won a stand mixer. What should I do with this new stand mixer? Should I keep it or give it away to a relative? My mom wants it, but she doesn't like to cook and is in inept in the kitchen. I secretly want to keep it, though, but that sounds greedy to me. I guess I'll keep it for awhile and then give it away to someone deserving hehe.

Wow. First, I mustered up the courage to talk to a potential dissertation committee member. Next, I won a blogger award. Then, I won a stand mixer, and then my youngest "stepdaughter" told me that she won a best reader award! It's been a long time since I've had such a great week. Thank you, Lord. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Not-White Hot Chocolate & My First Award!!

This recipe comes from Paula Deen, and it doesn't involve butter *gasp*. However, to make up for its absence, this drink does carry a lot of fat in the form of heavy cream and half-n-half.
I made a halved version of this recipe, and it was just enough for two yummy mugs of this stuff. I will be making this for Thanksgiving for my family since it's such a simple, yet decadent recipe. Top it with homemade whipped cream.
Even though I have white chocolate chips, I used the milk chocolate variety from Guittard (my favorite store-bought chocolate), but you could use white chocolate chips as stated in the original version of the recipe or a combination of milk and white chocolate chips. I'm sure it would also taste fantastic with mint chocolate chips or any other flavored chips. YUM!

Non-White (or Milk) Hot Chocolate

adapted by Paula Deen at Food Network

• 1 cup white chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips)
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 cups half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Vanilla whipped topping, for garnish
• Mint leaf, for garnish (very optional haha)
  

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine white chocolate chips and heavy cream. Stir continuously until white chocolate chips have completely melted. Stir in the half-and-half, and vanilla extract. Stir occasionally until heated through. Pour into mugs and top with a dollop of vanilla whipped topping and garnish with mint leaf.

MY FIRST AWARD!!

Barbara from Barbara Bakes just granted me this lovely award! I feel so honored to be one of the five chosen ones haha. I would also like to thank Barbara for being the first non-relative to visit and comment on my blog on almost every post. She always leaves such nice, heartfelt comments and works hard to leave nice comments on many other blogs as well. More importantly, she always posts yummy dishes and desserts and is a dedicated Daring Baker. I like how she shows a variety of her challenge work and some process photos. Thanks again for nominating me, Barbara!!

According to the rules of the award, I must provide my readers the answers to the below 35 questions. I also must grant SOME of my FAVORITE BLOGGERS this award as well. Let's see if I can answer all the questions in ONE WORD …

1. Where is your cell phone? Table
2. Your hair? Black
3. Your mother? Cute :)
4. Your father? Sick :(
5. Your favorite food? Cheeseburgers
6. Your dream last night? Forgotten
7. Your favorite drink? Juice
8. Your dream/goal? PhD
9. What room are you in? Living
10. Your hobby? Blogging
11. Your fear? Animals
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Europe
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren’t? Skinny
15. Muffins? Blueberry
16. Wish list item? CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
17. Where did you grow up? Texas
18. Last thing you did? Blog
19. What are you wearing? Jeans
20. Your TV? Flatscreen
21. Your pets? Nonexistent
22. Friends? Few
23. Your life? Lonely
24. Your mood? Sad
25. Missing someone? Ex-girlfriend
26. Vehicle? Altima
27. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes
28. Your favorite store? None
29. Your favorite color? Purple
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Yesterday
32. Your best friend? Mom
33. One place that I go to over and over? Wal-Mart :(
34. One person who emails me regularly? Student
35. Favorite place to eat? Home

Now, it is my turn to pick five....hmmm. Forgive me if you have already been picked.

1. Ingrid at 3 Bs
2. Marina de Cabeças de alho choco
3. Nadia at BakeFresh
4. msmeanie at Chocolate Chip Trips (from one grad student to another)
5. Laura at The Cooking Photographer

Thanks, Barbara!

White Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

I never thought I could fall in love with a cake that required only egg whites instead of whole eggs, but I did with this one. In 2008, Bridget from The Way the Cookie Crumbles did a comparison of white cakes from 3 different well-known cookbooks. Then, in July of this year, she did another comparison of white cakes using Dorie Greenspan's Party Cake, CI's white cake, and an adjusted version of CI's recipe that she created herself.
Since she had done all the work for us, I decided to try out a halved version of her adapted recipe immediately. I fell in love with it. I made it again (the full version) for my students this past summer, and they loved it, too. Then, I made the halved two more times just for the heck of it. This cake is so good.
So, I was craving it again, and made another halved version in a bread pan instead of a cake pan. The edges turned dark brown, but everything else was fine. I used a vanilla buttercream frosting recipe from one of my cookbooks instead of my usual one, and it yielded just enough for this cake. I had to add more milk to it to make it more spreadable. This is definitely my go-to white cake. Now, I need to find a go-to yellow cake...

TIP: Since I make custard-based ice creams quite often, I end up with a lot of egg whites. I pour these egg whites in ice trays and place them in the freezer to save just for this recipe and any other recipes requiring egg whites (but really I think about this cake every time I pour the whites in the trays :D). I let the egg whites sit out on the counter to thaw out before making this cake. I just pour the whites into my measuring cup or a bowl on a scale.

Bridget's White Cake (Full Version - Halved version below)

by The Way the Cookie Crumbles
PRINTABLE VERSION!

• Nonstick cooking spray (I use Baker's Joy)
  
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites (¾ cup or 228 grams), at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2¼ cups cake flour (9 ounces), plus more for dusting the pans
• 1½ cups + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (11.35 ounces)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt (I use kosher)
  
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened but still cool

1. For the Cake: Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour. (If you use the Baker's Joy spray, you don't need to do all of those steps. Just spray and proceed to step 2.)

2. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
3. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
4. Add all but ½ cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1½ minutes. Add remaining ½ cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
5. Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.
6. Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1½ hours.

Bridget's White Cake (HALVED VERSION)
by The Way the Cookie Crumbles
PRINTABLE VERSION!

• Nonstick cooking spray (I use Baker's Joy)
  
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp whole milk, at room temperature
• 3 large egg whites (a bit more than 1/3 cup or 110 grams), at room temperature
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp cake flour (4.5 ounces) (plus more for dusting the pans, if no spray)
• 3/4 cups + 1 Tbsp granulated sugar (5.68 ounces)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp table salt (I used kosher)
  
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened but still cool.

1. For the Cake: Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray one 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour. (If you use the Baker's Joy spray, you don't need to do all of those steps. Just spray and proceed to step 2.)

2. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
3. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
4. Add all but ½ of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using hand-held mixer) for 1½ minutes. Add remaining ½ of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
5. Pour batter evenly in a prepared cake pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.
6. Let cake rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1½ hours.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
adapted by Betty Crocker's Cookbook
PRINTABLE VERSION!

• 3 cups powdered or confectioner's sugar
• 1/3 butter or margarine, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-4 Tbsp milk

1. Mix butter until smooth; add powdered sugar on low speed. Stir in vanilla and milk (1 Tbsp at a time until desired consistency is reached).

Frosts 13 x 9-inch cake or fill and frosts an 8- or 9-inch two-layer cake.