strawberry shortcake with almond glaze

i've never made strawberry shortcake before. and i'll never make a different one. nothing could be better than this one.

it's moist, moist, moist, soft, soft, soft, and oh so heavenly. ooooooooohhh it was good. i'm sad it's gone.

i got it from here.

here's the recipe itself, just in case that blog goes away. i never want to lose this--it's that good.

Strawberry Shortcake with Almond Glaze

1 yellow cake mix

1 cup sour cream

 4 eggs

1 small vanilla pudding mix

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all the above ingredients together for a few minutes until well combined. Pour the batter into 2 round cake pans that have been greased or lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes and then gently remove from pans and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Almond Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons almond extract

1-2 Tablespoons milk, if needed

Mix the glaze ingredients together while the cake cools. Once cake is still warm but has cooled slightly, prick the cake with a large fork or the back of a wooden spoon. Spoon the glaze over the two round cakes letting it sink in. Save about 1/3 or so of the glaze and set aside.

Strawberries and Cream Topping

1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream

3-4 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1-2 pounds of fresh strawberries, sliced

Whip cream with 3-4 Tablespoons of powdered sugar, using a mixer. Wash dry and slice the strawberries and set aside.


Assembly:

Place one of the glazed cake rounds on a cake stand or large plate. Top with freshly whipped cream and a layer of strawberry slices. Follow with the second cake, more whipped cream and arrange more fresh sliced strawberries on top in a pretty pattern. Next drizzle the more of the almond glaze over the top and down the sides. Store in fridge until ready to serve. We like it chilled.

Sure Jell, Strawberry Freezer Jam

2 cups crushed strawberries (buy 1 qt. fully ripe strawberries)
4 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
3/4 cup water
1 box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin

1. RINSE 5 (1-cup) plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly. Stem and crush strawberries thoroughly, 1 cup at a time. Measure exactly 2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.

2. MIX water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring 1 min. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min. or until sugar is almost dissolved. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)

3. FILL all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or in freezer up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.

banana split cake

We got this recipe from someone in our singles ward, AGES ago. They made it for us for a service auction (well, for Tommy, but we shared it) and it was delicious.

Banana Split Cake

Crust:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 stick butter

dash of salt

Mix and press in a 9x13 pan, bake for 10 minutes at 350. Pull it out and let it cool before spreading the filling over it.

Cream cheese filling:

8 ounces cream cheese (softened)

1-2 cups powdered sugar

8 ounces Cool Whip

1 tsp vanilla

Spread over cooled crust, then add layers of:

8 ounce can of crushed pineapple (we didn't actually add this when we made it, but I'm sure it would be good!)

3 bananas, sliced

2 cups strawberries, sliced

Dollop some more Cool Whip and melted chocolate chips over the whole thing.

pizza dough and breadsticks

i love this food blog. the people who write it are clearly mormons--one of their favorite recipes is a cafe rio knockoff we have yet to try. this recipe is a knockoff of the pizza factory breadtwists, and the dough can be used for pizza dough. it's DELICIOUS and really easy--i'm always afraid of dough-like recipes and this one worked like a charm.

i'll just put a link to it because i'm lazy, and it's got pictures: http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2010/03/breadtwists-our-version-of-pizza.html

pizza sauce recipe

tommy and i tried this pizza sauce recipe tonight and really liked it. it was a bit spicy, so we'll probably cut the peppers down when we make it next, but really flavorful. i just wanted to put it up here so we'd remember about it! we found it on allrecipes.com and changed a few things to make it more delicious for us.

Ingredients

• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 6 fluid ounces warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• salt to taste

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.
2. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

strawberry swirl cream cheese pound cake

i got this recipe from southern living magazine and just made it for a party we're going to tonight. we had to sample it beforehand of course--and it is GOOD. especially with some whipped cream. mmm mmm.

ingredients:

1.5 cups butter, softened

3 cups sugar

1 package cream cheese, softened

6 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup Marzetti strawberry glaze (i found this in the produce section by the strawberries)

1 wooden skewer

1. preheat oven to 350. beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. add cream cheese, beating until creamy. add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

2. gradually add flour to butter mixture. beat at low speed just until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed. stir in almond and vanilla extracts. pour one-third of batter into a greased and floured tube pan. dollop eight rounded teaspoonfuls strawberry glaze over batter, and swirl with wooden skewer. repeat procedure once, and top with remaining third of batter.

3. bake at 350 for one hour to one hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. cool in pan on a wire rack 10-15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

italian herb bread (for the breadmaker)

1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons dried onion flakes (we've always just used onion salt, i think)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

directions:
you know the drill. wet ingredients, dry ingredients, make a well for the yeast. the only thing different about this one is that it needs to be on the "french" setting. it's delicious!