Handling Leftovers from the Slow Cooker
Wednesday, August 3, 2011The convenience of the slow cooker allows for making extra-large batches of your favorite dishes, perfect for leftovers to refrigerate or freeze. Handle your leftover slow cooker foods as you would food cooked in the oven or on the stove top. Do not leave food in the stoneware cooker at room temperature for long periods. Remove the contents, store them in shallow, covered
containers, and refrigerate or freeze them within two hours after cooking is finished. Reheating leftovers in a slow cooker is not recommended. Use the stove top or a microwave oven for the full reheat, then, if you wish, place in a slow cooker to keep hot for serving.
Yellow Cupcakes
Tuesday, August 2, 2011This is a classic moist yellow cake in a mini form. The cupcakes will keep for 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container or for 1 week frozen in an airtight container.
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
12 paper liners
11⁄2 cups all-purpose fl our
11⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
3⁄4 cup sugar
11⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1⁄2 cup milk, at room temperature
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place paper liners in all wells of one 12-cup cupcake tin.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.
3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Beat in vanilla extract. Beat in eggs one at a time,...
Classic Confectioners’ Sugar Frosting
Tuesday, August 2, 2011This is very easy to make and is the go-to frosting for many cupcake bakers. This recipe is for a basic vanilla version; flavor variations appear in individual recipes. Make sure to measure your confectioners’ sugar carefully. The frosting is best if used immediately, but it may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Yield: about 3 cups
Ingredients
1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus an additional 1⁄2 cup if necessary, whisked before measuring
1⁄4 cup milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup confectioners’ sugar gradually, beating until light and fl uffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add 1 more cup of sugar and about half of the milk and beat until smooth...
Banana Cake with Fudge Frosting
Friday, July 22, 2011This is a very flavorful, rich, moist banana cake that lends itself to variations: Add chocolate chips, walnuts, or raisins or other dried fruit for a new take on this classic. Make sure to use very ripe bananas—they should show absolutely no green and have some black spots. Do not puree the bananas; rather, slice them into a bowl and mash with a potato masher. This makes a large three-layered cake.
Makes three 9 x 2-inch round layers
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted pecan halves, chopped
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
2 cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 ½ cups coarsely mashed bananas (about 5 large bananas)
½ cup sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk, at room temperature
1 recipe Fudgy Chocolate Frosting (see below)
Directions
1. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of...
