Strawberries and Cake for February

2/18/11: Sponge Cake Served with Strawberries

I was just going through my Sabbath Supper photos and saw a folder named "Sponge Cake and Strawberries." Oops! I forgot to post about this dessert I made all the way back in February. So without further ado, I bring you my account of sponge cake and strawberries that should have been made public a month ago. :)

The sponge cake recipe came from the good ol' Betty Crocker cook book of ours. I chose the recipe entitled: "Fluffy Sponge Cake" because it was calculated for a 13 x 9 pan and also because it uses all the egg yolks and whites. It is not always easy for me to use up the leftover yolks or whites quickly, so it is a good idea to have recipes like this one on hand. Find the recipe below.

The strawberries are actually our own which we froze with sugar last year. Learn how to freeze your own by reading this previous post.

Here is the recipe written out for you:

Fluffy Sponge Cake

Yield: One 13x9 pan

Ingredients:

6 egg yolks

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1-1/2 cups cake flour OR all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. cold water

1 tsp. grated lemon rind

1 tsp. lemon extract

6 egg whites

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions:

Grease your pan BUT ONLY THE BOTTOM.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks until thick (at least 5 minutes). Beat sugar in gradually. In a separate, smaller bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat dry ingredients into egg yolk mixture alternately with water, lemon rind, and lemon extract.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff. Gradually and gently cut and fold the egg yolk mixture into the beaten whites. Pour batter into pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve with strawberries.

In Memory of the Pillsbury Dough Boy

image source here

I don't normally do this here at Sabbath Supper but I wanted to share with you a little snippet about the Pillsbury Dough Boy's Funeral. My younger sister just sent it to me today and it proved to be one of the most hilarious news articles to date! Enjoy! :)

"Dear friends, It is with the saddest heart that I pass on the following.  Please join me in remembering a great icon.  The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes in the belly.  He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly-greased coffin.  Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs.  Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Cap'n Crunch.  The grave site was piled high with flours as long- time friend, Aunt Jemima, delivered the eulogy, describing Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.  Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers.  He was not considered a very "smart" cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes.  Despite being a little flaky at times, he -- even still, as a crusty old man -- was considered a roll model for millions.  Toward the end, it was thought he would rise again, but alas, he was no tart. 

Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough; two children, John Dough and Jane Dough; plus they had one in the oven.  He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.  The funeral was held at 3:50 for about twenty minutes."

Source found here.

Cooking Lesson -- How to Make Kolache Step by Step

Ah, Kolache! This delightful Czech pastry has a cream cheese or fruit filling and is one of the undisputed favorite desserts of my Papa. What better time to make this delicious favorite than Fat Tuesday? I was thinking about doing Paczki, a Polish pastry, but it requires deep frying and I didn't feel like tackling a pot of hot oil. It takes me awhile to build up enough confidence to take on such an ordeal!

So Kolache it was. And this time I am going to do something different. I am going to share with you a step-by-step cooking lesson on how to make cream cheese filled Kolache, from start to finish. I just recently bought a digital camera for myself so I wanted to give this a try!