Bake Sale

Our local Chamber of Commerce had a bake sale to raise funds for their scholarship fund. I took a Lemonade Pound Cake and also this Fresh Banana Cake. I live in a small community, but I am impressed at what a great Chamber we have and what good things they do.

FRESH BANANA CAKE

1/4 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 very ripe bananas (medium), mashed
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
2-1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Dried banana chips for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 pan. (This can also be made into a bundt cake). In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla, bananas and the buttermilk until well combined. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to banana mixture. Stir gently to combine. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool cake in pan on rack 30 minutes before turning out onto platter. Cool completely.

EASY CREAMY FROSTING

1/3 cup cold milk
1 package vanilla instant pudding (4 serving size)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup butter, softened
3-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Mix ingredients together until creamy. Spread on cooled cake. Sprinkle dried banana chips on top.

Texas-Sized Cookies

There are 100's of recipes for chocolate chip cookies. I got this recipe from one of my best friends and it has always been my 'go-to' recipe. I was thinking about making big cookies, kind of like what you would get at a deli where you buy just one cookie. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup and pressed them down and they made some big cookies. I also made some normal-sized ones to take to work for New Employee Orientation today as well. The big cookies went to a 'nice home' as well.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1-2/3 cups shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 12-oz. package chocolate chips
1-2 cups toasted chopped pecans (optional)

Beat shortening, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs one at a time. In another bowl mix flour, salt, baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture. Add chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. (Or in this case 1/4 cup measure). Bake 11-15 minutes until light brown. Cool on baking rack.

Cranberry Orange Scones

CRANBERRY ORANGE SCONES

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter

1/2 dried cranberries

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons orange juice

In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Cut in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cranberries and zest. Measure buttermilk into small bowl. Break egg in and beat together. Pour into dry ingredients and mix with a fork. Use your hands to get mixture into a ball. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat and form the batter into a large circle, about 10 inches. Cut it into 8 triangles, leave on baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-25 minutes, until golden on top. Mix powdered sugar and juice into a glaze and dribble over the scones.

Lemonade Pound Cake

I don't usually like baking with cake mixes, but I have had this recipe in my files for a while and I'm trying to work through some of them to try them out.


LEMONADE POUND CAKE

1 package plain white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 container (6 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
3 large eggs

GLAZE:

1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Place the cake mix, sour cream, lemonade concentrate, cream cheese, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Spoon the batter into a bundt pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray, smoothing out the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. Prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon rind in a bowl. Turn the cake out onto a serving plate. Spoon the glaze over the top.