Brooke's VANILLA DREAM CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 
2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 2 large eggs

 

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• up to 3 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 8 inch round cake pans. Set aside. 

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

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine water and sugar. Bring to a simmer and stir until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add butter, stirring until melted. Let cool completely (about 20 minutes in the fridge) and then whisk in vegetable oil, vanilla extract and the scrapings from the vanilla bean. Beat in eggs. Whisk in dry ingredients, until smooth. 

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans until cool to the touch - then frost. 

Vanilla Buttercream: In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Increase speed to medium and add vanilla extract. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting is too thick, add remaining 1 tablespoon of milk. 

To assemble: Assemble the 2 layers with a thick layer of frosting in between the layers. Then apply a thin crumb coat on the top and sides. Pop the cake into the freezer to harden the crumb coat for about 10 minutes. Apply one final thick and even layer around the outside of the cake. Store in the fridge if not serving within the next couple of hours. Let cake come to room temperature before serving (let cake sit on counter for about 30 minutes before serving to warm up!

Mexican Lime Salad Dressing

Ingredients for the dressing:

• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 clove garlic finely minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• taste and add salt if needed

Instructions

1. For the dressing, combine lime juice, honey, cumin garlic and salt. In a slow, steady stream, add the oils, stirring continuously with a fork or small whisk. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.

Vanilla Cake with Mascapone Icing and Raspberries

Yield: Yields one 9-inch cake.

Servings: 12

Ingredients

For the cake layers:

• 1/2 lb. (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature; more for the pan
• All-purpose flour for the pan
• 12 oz. (3 cups) cake flour
• 1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. table salt
• 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
• Seeds scraped from 3/4 vanilla bean, or 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk
• 6 large egg whites, at room temperature

For the frosting:

• 1 lb. mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean, or 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• Pinch table salt

• 2 pints raspberries, rinsed and patted dry

• Preparation

  Make the cake:

  • Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the       oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and sides of two 9-     inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment and lightly flour the sides of the pans, tapping out any excess.
  • Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt onto a paper plate or into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the butter with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand-held electric mixer) on medium speed until smooth, 1 min. Add 1-1/2 cups of the sugar and the vanilla bean seeds or extract. Continue beating until well combined and fluffy, 2 min. Stop to scrape the bowl as needed. Oon low speed, add the one-third of the dry ingredients at a time, alternating with 1/2 cup of the milk at a time, beginning and ending with the flour. After the last addition, scrape the bowl and mix for about 30 seconds to mix the batter fully.
  • In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer (a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a hand-held) on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Increase the speed to high and gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Continue beating until the whites form medium-firm peaks. Using a rubber spatula, scoop up about one-quarter of the whites and stir them gently into the cake batter to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining whites until just blended.
  • Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake until the tops are light brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 min. Set the pans on a rack and let cool for about 15 min. Run a  knife between the cake and the pan to loosen each cake. Invert the layers onto a rack, lift off the pans and peel away the parchment. Let cool completely.

  • Make the frosting: 

    • In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, cream, sugar, vanilla seeds or extract, and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed until almost smooth, 30 to 60 seconds. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the mixture is thick and holds firm peaks, another 30 to 60 seconds. Don’t overbeat or the frosting will look grainy.

    • Assemble the cake: 

      • Using your hands, gently brush away any excess crumbs from the layers. Set one cake layer, top side down, on a flat serving plate. To protect the plate from smears, slide small strips of foil or parchment under the bottom of the cake to cover the plate. Using a metal spatula or the back edge of a table knife, spread about 2 cups of the frosting evenly over the layer. Arrange about half the berries in a single layer on the frosting but leave a half-inch ring of space around the edge of the cake uncovered. Place the second cake layer, top side down, on top of the frosting. Be sure the sides are aligned and then press gently on the layer. Apply a very thin layer of frosting over the entire cake to seal in any stray crumbs. Chill in the refrigerator for 5 min. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake, leaving lots of swirls and peaks on the top. Garnish the top with remaining berries. Carefully remove the foil or parchment strips from under the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 4 hours or up to two days. To keep the fruit looking fresh, cover the cake loosely with plastic after it has chilled for 1 hour.
      • Arrange half of the berries on the frosting; use any less-than-perfect berries for this layer. 
        
        

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Brooke's Friend's Beef Stew

This stew is fabulous. It takes time, but it's worth it. 

Total prep time: 26 hr. 35 min.

Prep: 15 min.

Inactive: 24 hours

Cook: 2 hr. 20 min.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds good quality chuck beef, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 (750 ml. bottle) good red wine
3 whole garlic cloves, smashed
3 bay leaves
2 cups all-purpose flour
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
good olive oil
2 yellow onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut diagonally in 1 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 pound white mushrooms, stems discarded and cut in 1/2
1 pound small potatoes, halved or quartered
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves
2 cups or 1 (14 1/2-ounce can) chicken stock or broth
1 large (or 2 small) branch fresh rosemary
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas

Directions:
Place the beef in a bowl with red wine, garlic, and bay leaves. Place in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Combine the flour, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper. Lift the beef out of the marinade with a slotted spoon and discard the bay leaves and garlic, saving the marinade. In batches, dredge the cubes of beef in the flour mixture and then shake off the excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot and brown half the beef over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, turning brown evenly. Place the beef in a large oven-proof Dutch oven and continue to brown the remaining beef, adding oil as necessary. (If the beef is very lean, you'll need more oil.) Place all the beef in t
he Dutch oven.
Heat another 2 tablespoons of oil to the large pot and add the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Place all the vegetables in the Dutch oven over the beef. Add 2 1/2 cups of the reserved marinade to the empty pot and cook over high heat to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken stock, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables in the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat on top of the stove. Cover the pot and place it in the oven to bake it for about 2 hours until the meat and vegetables are all tender, stirring once during cooking. If the stew is boiling rather than simmering, lower the heat to 250 or 275 degrees F.
Before serving, stir in the frozen peas, season to taste, and serve hot.