Birthdays & the food that goes with them

We've just had a 10th and 16th birthday in the house. September is such a busy month although not as busy as it used to be when number 1 & 2 played sports.

The 10th birthday for number 4 consisted of numerous pizzas thrown together for a large crowd. Definitely not my best work because I was feeling pressured and irritable. I also have decided that I need to hunt for a better pizza dough recipe. I will say that the $3 pizza pan I bought from Evilmart made an AWESOME pizza. I may have to buy another!

The cake, however, is always the same. Number 4 likes banana layer cake with chocolate pudding between the layers and chocolate whipped cream frosting. The cake is made from scratch, but the pudding I always use from the box. I haven't found a chocolate pudding recipe from scratch that I like. One day, I hope. Chocolate whipped cream is just what it says it is. I just add a couple Tbsp. of unsweetened cocoa to the cream before whipping it.

Banana Cake

2 1/2 c. cake flour (I use 2 1/3 c. all purpose with fine results)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. canola oil
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. plain yogurt or sour cream
2 large well ripened bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 375.

Whisk together flour, powder, soda & salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, oil & sugar. When well blended, add the eggs one at a time beating well after each. Add the vanilla.

Add in the dry ingredients alternately with the yogurt. Pour into greased & floured cake pans and bake at 375 for about 30 mins.

The 16th birthday consisted of just 3 extra guests for dinner (easy peasy). As is customary for number 2's birthday, we had Chicken Piccata. Chicken Piccata is such a simple dish, yet, it is like a little bit of heaven on a plate. The whole family devours this particular dish and there are rarely any leftovers. Even my father in law, who HATES chicken, tells me every time that it is the best chicken he has ever had.

For cake I made, for the first time, an angel food cake from scratch. And then I made a whole wheat angel cake with the 12 leftover yolks which fell out of the pan and broke when I tried to cool it. Cakes shouldn't try and run away. It became a very yummy lemon trifle.

Chicken Piccata

4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 8 half)
3-4 c. all purpose flour
6 Tbsp. butter
olive oil
2/3 c. fresh lemon juice
1 c. chicken stock or base
1/2 c. brined capers, rinsed
1/3 c. fresh parsley and basil, chopped
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

Butterfly the chicken breasts (lay flat and slice horizontally.) I usually can get 3 thin (approx. 1/4") pieces out of each breast. You can make them thicker, but I like that they cook faster when they are thin.

Heat two large fry pans on med. high heat. Add in a Tbsp. of butter and some olive oil into each.

Salt & pepper the chicken and then dredge through the flour. Place chicken into pans and brown on both sides. Remove chicken to a pan in the oven on warm and continue cooking the rest of the breasts, adding butter & olive oil when needed. Do not let the pans get hot enough to burn the residual flour, etc.

Once the chicken is browned turn down the heat to med. low and add in the chicken stock (1/2 c. in each fry pan), the lemon juice (1/3 c. in each pan) and capers (1/4 c. each pan). Scrape the bits off the bottom of each pan with a spoon and add the chicken back into the pan and let simmer for another 5-10 minutes (the sauce should thicken up).

Remove chicken to a platter, pour the pan sauce over the chicken and top with the freshly chopped herbs.

Traditional Angel Food Cake

1 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
12 large eggs at room temp
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 325.

Whisk together the flour and 3/4 c. of sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

Separate the eggs being super careful not to get any yolks in the whites. (I used three bowls for this. One for the yolks, one for the whites and the mixer bowl. That way if a yolk breaks into your whites bowl you won't lose all the other whites.)

Add the salt & extracts to the whites and beat until they are just frothy. Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the top and continue beating until they form stiff glossy peaks. Once the egg whites are stiff, add the remaining sugar 1/4 c. at a time and then fold in the dry ingredients a little bit at a time.

Scoop the batter into a 10" tube pan (not a bundt pan) and bake for 40-45 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back when lightly touched and the top is golden brown.

Cool the cake upside down over a bottle or on its feet if it has them for about 1 1/2 hours. A serrated bread knife works well on cutting into this cake.



Whole Wheat Angel Cake

12 egg yolks
3/4 c. boiling water
1 Tbsp. lemon rind (you could use orange too)
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the egg yolks until they are thick and lemon colored. Slowly add the boiling water while beating and keep beating for another few minutes. Add in the rind, extract and sugar while continuously beating (the stand mixer is great for this recipe).

Slowly add in the dry to the egg mixture still beating continuously.

Pour into a tube pan (not bundt) that has been greased on the bottom only. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool cake in the same manner you would a regular angel food cake.

Simple Lemon Trifle

1 whole wheat angel cake, broken into pieces (you could use regular angel cake too)
2 c. heavy cream, whipped and lightly sweetened
1 1/4 c. sugar
The zest of three lemons
The juice of three med. lemons and enough water to make 2 cups
4 1/2 Tbsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
3 Tbsp. butter, unsalted

In a med. saucepan over med. high heat, mix together the sugar, zest, cornstarch and lemon/water mixture. Cook until boiling and thick. Remove from heat and add in the butter and extract. Cool.

In a large trifle bowl, take half the cake and place it in the bottom. Add half the lemon curd/pudding over the top. Spread half the whipped cream. Repeat. Chill for a few hours before serving.