Southern Living Test Kitchen

November 26, 2007

I hope you enjoyed our look at the Southern Living Test Kitchens and especially the preparation of the two cakes. We took two recipes from the Holiday issue of Southern Living and I have included those recipes here on my blog...I have to tell you, they are really good!
Here you are and I hope you enjoy them.

Cream Cheese-Coconut-Pecan Pound Cake
Prep: 20 min.; Bake: 1 hr., 35 min. The bourbon gives this pound cake a wonderful aroma and flavor, but you may substitute an equal amount of milk, if desired.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, softened 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 3 cups sugar 6 large eggs 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup bourbon 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted 1/2 cup shredded coconut Powdered Sugar Glaze (optional) Sugared Rosemary (optional) Sugared Cranberries (optional)
Preparation
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until the yellow yolk disappears.
Sift together flour and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with bourbon, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat batter at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, pecans, and coconut. Pour batter into a greased and floured 12-cup tube pan.
Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 35 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.
Yield
Makes 10 to 12 servings
Note: This was the cover of our December 2004 issue. Don’t miss the cover of the December 2007 issue for the latest ‘white cake’ cover.

Powdered Sugar Glaze
Ingredients
Preparation
Stir together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth, adding another 1 tablespoon milk, if necessary, for desired consistency.
Yield
Makes about 1 cup
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2004

Sugared Rosemary
Ingredients
1/2 cup corn syrup 12 rosemary sprigs granulated sugar
Preparation
Microwave 1/2 cup corn syrup at HIGH for 10 seconds or until warm. Brush 10 to 12 rosemary sprigs lightly with corn syrup; sprinkle evenly with granulated sugar. Arrange in a single layer on wax paper. Use immediately, or let stand at room temperature, uncovered, for up to 24 hours.
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2004

Sugared Cranberries
Ingredients
Preparation
Bring 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 1 cup fresh cranberries to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring often, over medium-high heat. (Do not overcook; cranberries should swell and just begin to pop.) Remove from heat, and drain, reserving liquid for another use. Toss cranberries with 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and arrange in a single layer on wax paper. Use immediately, or let stand at room temperature, uncovered, for up to 24 hours.
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2004

Fluted Chocolate-Red Velvet Cakes
Prep: 30 min., Bake: 50 min.Fluted brioche molds, traditionally used to bake the rich and buttery French yeast bread known as brioche, are also perfect for baking fanciful cakes. Sold in a variety of sizes, we chose the 8-inch brioche molds for our cakes. Because we used nonstick molds with a dark outer surface, we covered them with aluminum foil. The shiny side of the foil reflects the heat away from the sides of the mold for a lighter, bright red crust. They're available in kitchen shops (such as Williams-Sonoma, 1-800-541-2233 or www.williams-sonoma.com), in discount department stores (such as Target), through mail-order catalogs, and on Web sites (such as amazon.com and cooking.com). You'll find baking instructions included on the packaging with most pans.
Ingredients
1 Chocolate-Red Velvet Cake Batter 1 Vanilla Glaze Garnishes: fresh mint sprigs, raspberry candies
Preparation
Spoon Chocolate-Red Velvet Cake Batter evenly into 3 greased and floured 8-inch brioche pans.
Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
Spoon Vanilla Glaze evenly over top of cakes. Garnish, if desired.
Yield
Makes 3 cakes
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2005

Vanilla Glaze
Prep: 5 min.
This recipe goes with Fluted Chocolate-Red Velvet Cakes
Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar 5 tablespoons milk 2 teaspoons vanilla
Preparation
Stir together 1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, 5 tablespoons milk, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract just until powdered sugar is moistened and mixture is smooth. Add an additional tablespoon of milk, if needed. Use immediately.
Note: We kept this glaze very thick so that it wouldn't drip all the way down the sides of the Fluted Chocolate-Red Velvet Cakes, but feel free to make it a little thinner if you'd like to drizzle it over other cakes.
Yield
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2005