Cleveland Cassata Cake

In honor of DD#3's birthday today, I thought I'd share the recipe for the cake she requested: Cleveland-style Cassata Cake (this one is very close to Corbo's in Cleveland's Little Italy.)

Yes, I know it looks like a strawberry shortcake but, trust me, it's SO much more!

Cleveland Cassata Cake

2 1/4 cup cake flour
1 1/4 and 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks at room temperature
8 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the custard:
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups half and half
3 tablespoons cornstarch

For the strawberries:
3 pounds strawberries
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

For the whipped cream:
2 cups chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar

Whisk together all of the custard ingredients in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. Turn down the heat so that the mixture just simmers, and whisk until thick, 1-2 minutes. Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a round of wax paper, and cool. Then, chill custard, covered, for at least 3 hours, or up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with lightly oiled parchment paper. Sift together the flour, 1 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt two times into a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat together the yolks, water, oil, zest and vanilla until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture. In another large bowl beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and beat on high until the peaks are stiff but not dry.

Using a rubber spatula, fold about a quarter of the fluffy egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Then very gently fold in the remaining whites. As soon as the egg whites are no longer visible, stop folding. Scrape the batter into the two prepared round cake pans and spread evenly. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow the cakes to cool in their pans on a cooling rack for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a knife around the sides to release the cakes, cover each pan with a wax paper-lined plate, and flip. Gently lift the pans off of the cakes.

Slice the strawberries thinly and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar and stir. Allow the strawberries to soak up the sugar for 1 hour, giving them a stir every so often. Strain the berries, reserving the released juices.

When the cakes are thoroughly chilled slice them in half so you have four layers. Place each layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet or plate. Whip the cream and sugar together until stiff.

Place one cake layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Brush with 1/3 of the reserved strawberry juice. Cover with a layer of strawberries, and then a layer of custard. Repeat for the following layers. Then, ice the top and sides of the cake with whipped cream. Top with fresh strawberries.

Chill the cake for at least 8 hours before serving, so that the cake has time to absorb the strawberry juices. Bring to cool room temperature before serving.

Calvin & Hobbes crochet project?!? Yes, please!

I found my newest crochet project... Hobbes! As a huge fan of "Calvin & Hobbes", I'm really looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. If it turns out nice, there will be pictures posted. If not, well... eh... maybe not. lol

(Not my photo.  Like I said, if it comes out "right", I'll post my own later.)

Crochet Hobbes Doll

Looking for a unique Father's Day gift for the dad with a sweet tooth?

After seeing examples of it all over Pinterest, last year my girls decided to make DH one of those candy-based cards for Fathers' Day. Here's a picture of how it turned out:

If you're wondering what it said, here's the "transcript" (candy name in CAPS):

Dad, we were going to give you a WHOPPing 100 GRAND for Fathers' Day, but the money slipped through our BUTTERFINGERs. We didn't have an EXTRA WHATCHMACALLIT to sell and it wasn't PAYDAY. We didn't think a pet kitKAT, a trip to New YORK, or an ORBIT around the MILKY WAY would be appropriate. We do want to wish you MOUNDS of Almond JOY both NOW & LATER as you eat this card. We hope it doesn't make you ROLlover and get sick. If it does, we promise not to SNICKERs. Love, your favorite AIRHEADS.

(Note:  I wish they had used Nerds instead of Airheads but this was their idea.)

Homemade "Cream of" Soup Base

You know how most "quick" casseroles have cream of chicken/mushroom/whatever soup in them? I usually try to avoid using these canned soups because of the excess sodium, MSG, and other ingredients that I know my grandmothers wouldn't recognize. (BTW, that's my standard when buying canned or pre-made items. If there are ingredients that my grandmothers wouldn't recognize, I don't usually buy it.)

Anyway, I was reading the comments on a blog (sorry, I didn't write down the blog's name - bad MDG! lol) and someone posted a recipe for homemade "cream of" soups. You make the base, then add the flavoring you want/need. GENIUS! I'm going to have to give this a try.

HOMEMADE CREAM SOUP SUBSTITUTE
2 C instant nonfat dry milk
3/4 C cornstarch
1/4 C instant chicken bouillon
2 tsp dry onion flakes
1 tsp each basil and thyme
2 tsp pepper

Combine ingredients and mix well. Store in jar in cupboard. Makes the equivalent of 9 cans of soup.

To flavor: Add mushrooms, celery or onion when cooking to make whatever cream-of-soup you are replacing.

To make the equivalent of one can of soup, use 1/3 cup of the mix and 1.5 cups water and cook until thickened.

Alton Brown's homemade lemon curd recipe is AMAZING!

Do you like lemon curd?  Of course you do!  Do you hate paying $5 (or more) in the grocery store for a tiny jar that you can polish off in an afternoon?  Duh, yeah!  Did you know you can make your own and it's even better than the store bought stuff?  Yeah... no... well...

No more excuses!  Here's a recipe form Alton Brown that makes the easiest, tastiest curd you've ever had.  And, best part, you can sub in mashed raspberries for the lemons for raspberry curd, or limes for lime curd, or... well, you get my point.

Now it's time for me to make some pound cake, to enjoy this with.  Maybe even add a dollop of whipped cream and a fresh berry on top.  

Recipe: Lemon Curd
(Originally from Alton Brown)

Ingredients
5 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
4 lemons, zested and juiced
1 stick butter, cut into pats and chilled

Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1-inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and sugar in a medium size metal bowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Measure citrus juice and if needed, add enough cold water to reach 1/3 cup. Add juice and zest to egg mixture and whisk smooth. Once water reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low and place bowl on top of saucepan. (Bowl should be large enough to fit on top of saucepan without touching the water.) Whisk until thickened, approximately 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow and coats the back of a spoon. Remove promptly from heat and stir in butter a piece at a time, allowing each addition to melt before adding the next. Remove to a clean container and cover by laying a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

NOTE: I used a double boiler instead of a bowl over a pan of simmering water. And I canned this recipe in a water bath (10 mins. for each 4 oz. jelly jar) because, well, I like to can things. lol

Advice From Billionaires

Forbes magazine put together a list of advice from billionaires for recent graduates; however, I think it fully applies to everyone.  Some of the bits contradict (don't plan vs. plan your decades) but they're all pretty spot on.

Speak up and fight back.  (Michael Bloomberg)

Negativity is noise.  (Tory Burch)

Speak up anyway.  (Sheryl Sandburg)

Live each day as if it was your last.  (Steve Jobs)

From those to whom much is given, much is expected.  (Bill Gates)

We all need makeovers from time to time.  (Oprah Winfrey)

Never be the smartest person in the room.  (Michael Dell)

Don't stay down long.  (Michael Bloomberg)

Failure can be the foundation of success.  (JK Rowling)

Gifts are easy, choices are hard.  (Jeff Bezos)

It's easier if you do something you love.  (Mark Zuckerberg)

Don't have passion, have tenacity.  (Steve Ballmer)

Tackle big dreams, there's no competition.  (Larry Page)

Don't bother to have a plan.  (Eric Schmidt)

You can't be successful by being timid.  (Eli Broad)

Prepare for the unexpected.  (Pierre Omidyar)

Plan your decades.  (H. Ross Perot, Sr.)

Work like hell and advertise.  (Ted Turner)

Be contrarian and be right.  (Reid Hoffman)

Think for yourself.  (Carl Icahn)

The people around you matter.  (Steve Case)

Don't let the news get you down.  (Jerry Yang)

In other words:  Work hard,  be a good person, fight for what's right, don't be afraid of making waves or changes, surround yourself with smart people, and do something you find meaningful.  (MDG)

Yep, that sounds like what I've told my kids (and the kids I've mentored at work) all along.

Infused Water? Yes, please!

I was given a Grosche Atlantis Water Infuser Pitcher to test and review.  And, I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical.  I mean, infused water?  Really?  What, is it supposed to make me think that I'm at the spa when I'm really at home (surrounded by the kids, DH, and the fur baby)?  Yeah... probably not something I'd like.  Or so I thought!

After a couple of weeks with this pitcher, I've gotta say that I'm impressed.  It's really cool!  It's a 50 oz. pitcher with a plastic, perforated insert that screws onto the lid.  You simply place your cut up fruit (or veggies or herbs or tea) into the tube, attach it to the lid, and place it in the pitcher.  Let it sit in the fridge for a while, and voila! you have a refreshing and tasty beverage.

My favorite use for it is to make iced tea -- I place tea bags into the insert, let it steep until at the desired strength, remove bags, add a couple of slices of lemon, and enjoy.

There's also another insert (solid plastic) that fits inside the perforated tube, which you can fill with water and freeze.  That way, you can have chilled drinks without melted ice diluting your beverage.  Genius!  (This works great with the iced tea mentioned above.)

I'm looking forward to using my new Grosche Atlantis Water Infuser Pitcher all summer.

Grosche Atlantis Water Infuser Pitcher

$26.95 if you have Amazon Prime

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free, in exchange for my honest opinion.