Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting & 1-2-3-4 Cake

I spotted a recipe for Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting in an issue of Southern Living last week and decided I wanted to give it a whirl. The only problem was I needed something to put the frosting on besides say, my hand. In the magazine, they made some kind of Angel Food for their frosting, but I did not want to crack 92 eggs in order to have the 2 ½ cups of egg whites needed to make the cake. I was going to go the, well I’m not going to say lazy route, but I thought about using a boxed white cake mix. If I had had one I would have used it. There, I admitted it. I quickly thought about a pound cake, but I did not want to use that many eggs. So, I made half of a Basic 1-2-3-4 cake. Very simple. I baked it in a square pan for 32 minutes.
The frosting is very smooth, light, and not stiff like normal cream cheese frosting. Great to dollop; full of lemony flavor. It did note that if you want to use this frosting recipe for a layer cake to cut back on the lemon juice to 1 tablespoon. There would be enough frosting for a basic 2 layer 9 inch round cake.

Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 16oz pkg powdered sugar
2 tsp lemon zest

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy; add lemon juice, beating just until blended. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended; stir in lemon zest.

Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans. Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks. Cool completely and spread cake layers with your favorite frosting to make a 3-layer cake.

Easy Chocolate Glaze

So I'm making a cheesecake today for a Valentine's Party at church. The cheesecake is still chilling and I will be posting it later. The cheesecake recipe noted that there will be a huge crack in the center of the cake so I needed to find a filler. I like to give people options so I decided to make a chocolate glaze plus another topping, but more on that later. This is a glaze recipe I found a little while ago and was going to use it on the Marble Bundt Cake. Well, I did not because I served that cake in the morning time. I thought the glaze would be too over the top for that time of day. However, I thought it would be excellent tonight on my cheesecake.
A few things to note: This glaze is very versatile it can go on cake, ice cream, wherever you need a chocolate glaze. It does not take very long to make; once the chocolate chips are melted you are finished. It is nice that you can make it ahead and reheat it in the microwave. The only drawback is that when it starts to cool it does slightly harden on top so you do need to keep stirring it in the serving dish if that is the way you choose to present it.

Easy Chocolate Glaze
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips. Cook, stirring constantly, until chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Do not allow it to bubble. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Cool slightly before drizzling over a cake. If you want to make this ahead, it can be cooled and reheated in the microwave.

Whipped Cream

Whipped Cream-thanks or no thanks. When I go to Starbucks I always enjoy a nice hot chocolate, "no whip." When I eat Pumpkin Pie I request whipped cream. Whip cools down the hot chocolate too fast plus they give you less to drink. Pumpkin Pie needs the cream to add to the flavor.
So tonight I shared a treat from Sonic topped off with some crazy artificial cream. It was simply awful. The person I shared the treat with was forced to deal with it because I decided not to touch it. This all made me think of my own recipe for whipped cream. When cream has at least 30% fat and is mixed with air it becomes whipped cream. But, it really becomes good when you add at least 4 tablespoons of powered sugar and 1 to 2 tsp. of vanilla. Excellent. If you want a whipped cream to stand up by itself in the corner make sure you use a stand mixer. Very important. I mix mine on high for 2-3 minutes. Just the point where I am so afraid I'm going to make butter and I stop. All cream is not the same. I used store brand cream for a long time and then I bought a pint or two one day at Central Market. There must have been a high fat percentage. It whipped so fast. I was almost afraid to really look. It had to be the best ever. Plus, it remained whipped over 2 days and did not require to be whipped again. So I learned a lesson that day. I also learned never trust fast food whipped cream. hmmm.
So coming this week. Warm Lemon Cake, Snowball Cookies, and a Make It Your Way Bundt Cake. Well, we shall see.....