Old Fashioned Butter Cake

Ingredients:


250g Butter (chilled)
100g Castor sugar
5 Egg yolks
230g Cake flour
1tsp Double action baking powder
4tbsp Milk
1/2tsp Vanilla essence
5 Egg whites
90g Sugar



Instructions:



Preheat oven at 170 deg C, line a large loaf tin or a 8" square tin
1. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until light and creamy. (using medium speed)
2. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and baking powder and beat well to combine. Fold in the milk and combine well.
3. Whisk egg whites in a clean large bowl until soft foam. Gradually add in sugar, and beat till soft peak.
4. Take one portion of the egg white mixture, and use a hand whisk to stir well with egg yolk mixture till combine and thick paste.
5. Slowly fold in the balance egg white with a spatula till well combine.
6. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 55 mins or untill cooked.

CREAMY CHICKEN RITZ CASSEROLE

Ingredients:


3 cups cooked shredded chicken breast meat
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
2 sleeves of Ritz crackers, crushed
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
2 tbs poppy seeds (optional)



INSTRUCTIONS



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 2.5 – 3 quart baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix the soup and the sour cream until well blended. Fold in the shredded chicken.
Turn into prepared pan. Top with cracker crumbs and poppy seed (if using). Drizzle melted butter over the top of the crumbs.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crumbs are golden brown and casserole is hot and bubbly in the center.
Serve with a green vegetable (I generally serve with fresh steamed broccoli)

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Ingredients:


Streusel
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tbsp butter, melted
Coffee Cake
1/2 cup sugar
6 tbsp salted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups blueberries
Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp milk



Instructions



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 inch cake pan with a circle of parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.
2. To prepare the streusel, add flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter to a medium sized bowl and mix with a fork until all ingredients are incorporated. Set aside.
3. To make the cake batter, beat sugar and butter until light in color and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
4. Add sour cream and milk and mix until well incorporated.
5. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
6. Combine flour and baking powder in a separate bowl.
7. Add dry ingredients to batter and mix until smooth.
8. Spread half of the cake batter into the bottom of the cake pan.
9. Top batter with about half of the streusel mixture, then half of the blueberries.
10. Spread remaining cake batter over streusel.
11. Sprinkle remaining streusel and blueberries over the top of the cake batter.
12. Bake for 34-36 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.
13. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Then remove to cooling rack to finish cooling.
14. To make the glaze, combine powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. You can always add a little more milk or sugar, if needed.
15. Drizzle the glaze over the coffee cake and sprinkle a few more blueberries over top.