Thursday, December 20, 2012

French Toast…

Did you know that when you make French toast, that “batter” is actually called custard and not batter? Did you know that nobody is sure where the name French Toast came from. It did not come from France. There are some thoughts that the French baguettes were used as the bread and that is where the name came from.
There are two secrets to making French toast.
First is the custard, will taste much better if you make the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
The second is you want to use stale bread. If you use fresh bread, you will end up with a soggy mess. You can either use old bread, leave a loaf open and exposed to air overnight. I usually turn the toaster to the lowest setting, toast as many pieces as needed and then let them cool.
I double this recipe and can usually make enough to serve my family of four. As it is written, it will make enough for two people.
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup of milk
3 Tablespoons of flour
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 slices of bread
Powder sugar, sifted
Directions:
In shallow bowl beat eggs
Add milk, flour vanilla and spices to the egg.
Beat until combined
Cover and refrigerate over night
Heat skillet or griddle over medium heat, when hot spray with pam cooking spray
Dip one slice of bread into the batter, making sure to coat each side.
Drop bread on to hot pan (you can add as many slices that will fit)
Cook about 2 minutes on each side until golden in color
To serve:
Slice each slice in half across the diagonal and arrange six slices per serving on plate, sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar.
Can be served with butter, syrup or jam.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Golden Amaretto Cake…

I am not a huge fan of Amaretto. This recipe makes a wonderful tasting cake, since the ingredients are almost exactly like the Chocolate Kahlua cake.
Ingredients:
1 box of yellow cake mix,
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 6 ounce box of vanilla pudding, instant
4 eggs
3/4 cups Amaretto liqueur
½ cup water
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons of Amaretto liqueur
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F
Combine the first 7 ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend well.
Pour into buttered and floured 9 ½ inch Bundt pan. Bake 45 minutes
While the cake is cooking, combine 6 tablespoons of Amaretto and 1 cup sifted powdered sugar.
 After removing cake from the oven, do not remove from pan.

 Take a knife I suggest a slicing blade and poke holes in the cake.
Pour the Amaretto and powdered sugar mixture over the cake. If the Amaretto mixture is pooling on top you probably need to add more holes.
Allow cake to cool for two hours in pan before removing.