Sugar Cream Cake aka Gooey Butter Cake

Just in time for July 4th.....

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of dining at Bonge's Tavern in Perkinsville, Indiana. It was an awesome meal followed by an awesome dessert---a dessert I had never heard of before--- Sugar Cream Cake topped with a warm blueberry sauce. Oh. My. I have been wanting to reproduce that cake ever since. I do procrastinate however, so it wasn't until this week that I actually Googled the words "sugar cream cake".  The resulting recipe is a mash-up of my Google search. I have no idea if it even comes close to the recipe Bonge's Tavern has on their menu. But dang it's good. 

I made a special trip to the grocery store before work just to get blueberries, because that's how I am...it had to be red, white, and blue......

It didn't take long for someone to point out to me that my "Sugar Cream Cake" looked strikingly similar to a Gooey Butter Cake. Sure enough, the recipes are nearly identical, but for the name. In St. Louis it's Gooey Butter Cake. In Perkinsville Indiana, it's Sugar Cream Cake. The most perplexing thing? I've never made either one of them before. Serious oversight on my part.

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet..."

Sugar Cream Cake

Printable Recipe

Slightly crisp around the edges, with a gooey center that's almost pudding-like, this Sugar Cream Cake is perfect for any celebration!

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs, divided
• 1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.; grease a 9x13 pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the cake mix, butter, and 2 of the eggs. Batter will be thick. Spread on the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Beat together the remaining eggs, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Spread over the top of the crust.
4. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is starting to brown. Cool completely. Serve with topping of your choice.

Yield: 24
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 40 mins.
Total time: 50 mins.

The fresh fruit and real whipped cream compliment the gooey sweetness....imagine what else you could top this with...plain, with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, cranberries for the winter months, grilled pineapple for a tropical twist...the possibilities are endless!

Happy Independence Day, America!

Eggnog Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup

Do you know that I’ve never been a fan of eggnog? Hard to believe when you see me posting not one, but two eggnog recipes in one week and (hold on to your hat), a third one is in the works. It seems that something happened when I added eggnog to my cinnamon roll recipe. I guess the flavor is just a little more subtle, but I really, really liked it. So much so, that I couldn’t wait to try it in my pancakes. That’s right. Pancakes. I had the crazy idea of just subbing out the buttermilk in my favorite pancakes. And it was a good decision. Yes, it was. Of course, just like with the Eggnog and Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls, I wasn’t the first one to think of this combination. About 5 minutes after I licked the last morsel off of my plate, one of my Facebook foodie friends was posting her version of eggnog pancakes. At least my cranberry syrup is different. But then, who knows? I didn’t google it. J

Eggnog Pancakes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups eggnog

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for griddle

Directions

Heat griddle on medium high. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add eggs, eggnog, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

It's really important not to over-mix. Those lumps should be there.

Brush a little melted butter on the griddle. Pour the pancake batter by ¼ cups onto the griddle, keeping the pools of batter 2 inches apart.  When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

They need just a little something....

Cranberry-Maple Syrup

Printable Recipe

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup real maple syrup

1 cinnamon stick

Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the berries are softened and the syrup is reduced. Add additional syrup if too thick. Serve warm.

I ended up adding more syrup to this...it was good, but a little thick.

Can we say "Plate Lickable" ?

And now on to other eggnog delights. How does an Eggnog Cheesecake sound?

Lemon Angel Pie

For many, many years, my signature pie has been a Chocolate Angel Pie. I make one for every holiday and special occasion. What is an angel pie, you ask? Simply, it is a pie with a meringue crust. It looks spectacular. It tastes even better. And it isn’t hard to make.

Several years ago, my mother-in-law came to live with us and I made her one of my Chocolate Angel Pies. She liked it. But, after polishing off her second piece, she wondered out loud if there existed a lemon version. Now, I knew the Lemon Angel Pie existed, but rather than search for the recipe, I came up with one on my own. I liked it. I liked it a lot. And I’m not one for lemony things. Let me present to you the Lemon Angel Pie:

Lemon Angel Pie

4 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten (I use dried egg whites)
1 (8 oz) container non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Grease (or use cooking spray) a 9” glass pie plate.

3. In large bowl, beat 4 egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff, but not dry. Add sugar slowly until stiff and glossy.

4. Spread meringue in pie plate, making a “well” in the center for the filling.

5. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Turn off the heat and leave crust in oven for at least one hour or, preferably, overnight.

6. In small, heavy saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, and sugar. Heat over medium-low heat until mixture thickens and starts to bubble. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool to room temperature.

7. Fold beaten egg whites into lemon mixture (for years, I just used regular uncooked egg whites to do this, but I figure my time is about up for being lucky and not getting sick from them, so now I use powdered egg whites for this step. You can probably skip this part altogether, but I think it adds a bit of lift to the filling) and then fold in whipped topping.

Couldn't you just swim in this stuff?

8. Spread lemon mixture into pie shell and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for several hours.

9. When ready to serve, whip whipping cream with powdered sugar and spread over the top of the pie. Garnish with lemon zest.

Using a glass pie plate, and making sure to grease it well, are key to being able to cut and serve this pie!