All posts by Cak

Retired teacher. Eager food-blogger-to-be. Presently overwhelmed food blogger but continuing to feel optimistic and hopeful!
Recipes - Desserts

White Texas Sheet Cake

Bring your sweet tooth for this one!  This great cake, perfect for winter with its frosty cool look, is also perfect for spring with its delicate almond flavor. The simple frosting only adds to the cake’s allure. this is a sweet creamy frosting, yes indeed, so serve cut into small squares. You can substitute slivered toasted almonds or walnuts for the chopped pecans, but definitely want to add nuts for texture in the frosting. Public Service Announcement: for users of my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook, please note that the recipe, as written in the cookbook, has two typos.  The recipe should say begin with 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of sugar so e kalamai, please excuse that mistake.  The recipe is correct below.

The cake requires just a short prep yet it nets you big results.  Allow your butter-water mixture to cool slightly before adding the dry ingredients; whisk and stir well from this point so that the batter is free of lumps.  The batter is thin so don’t worry that you have made a mistake; the hot liquid thins an otherwise traditional cake batter. The thinness of the batter produces a finished almond-flavored moist cake.   Today I baked it closer to 28 minutes than 22 as my oven runs slow of late; bake it definitely  for 22 minutes, minimum, then give it more time to set and brown slightly on top.  Two great things about this true sheet cake are that what isn’t in a tall cake is definitely made up for in volume and the cake will serve 20 easily so great to take to a potluck or a picnic, and, also this cake tastes even better the next day so any leftovers are always welcome.

Cool at least 20 minutes before frosting.  Almond extract also goes into the frosting; whisk well to remove all lumps before spreading on the still-warm cake. Guaranteed, every sweet bite will remind you of soft breezes and trees ready to burst forth into glorious bloom.  Ahhhh, Happy Spring to You!

White Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. In large mixing bowl, mix and stir the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Bring butter and water to boil in saucepan on stove. Add to dry ingredients and add beaten eggs, sour cream, and almond extract. Stir all until smooth; batter will be thin. Pour into a greased 15x10x1” pan (jelly roll pan) and bake for 20-22 minutes, until set and browned on top. Cool 20 minutes.

FROSTING Ingredients and Directions Prepare by melting 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup milk in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add  4-1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp almond extract. Mix and whisk well. Fold in 1 cup chopped pecans, thoroughly blending. Spread over the slightly warm cake.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Island White Cookies

White chocolate and macadamia nuts star equally in these fabulous cookies!  A friend asked if I would bake these cookies for him if he bought the ingredients and because I am always up for cookie baking, I agreed.  Though I have several recipes with variations on white chocolate-macadamia cookies, I used the recipe on the back of the package of the Nestle white chocolate chips he supplied me, and doing so proved more than satisfactory.

Chewy centers and crisp edges give this cookie its distinctive texture.  Softened butter, brown sugar, and the white chocolate provide the flavorful backdrop for the macadamia nuts.  I put the butter out to soften early so that the prep work would go faster and had 3 dozen cookies within an hour of beginning.  Do not microwave the butter, only soften it until pliable; you want softened butter, not melted butter, for these cookies.

This is a basic cookie recipe: cream the butter and sugars, add an egg, beat well, add dry ingredients, and stir in the chips and the nuts. The cookies bake up rounded and soft with lightly browned edges.  If you’re a cookie lover, do try this twist on the more traditional chocolate chip recipe.  Go white, go island style!

Island White Cookies

Ingredients

1-2/3 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg
1-12 oz. pkg. white chocolate chips
3/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped small
1 cup flaked coconut, optional

Directions Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in small bowl; stir to combine. Beat butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips and macadamia nuts (and coconut flakes, if using). Drop by rounded tablespoons on ungreased baking sheets or cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake 8-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store airtight. Yields 5 dozen cookies.

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Recipes - Desserts

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I have always thought of a Pineapple Upside Down cake as a cake perfect for Spring weather!  Perhaps it is the glossy thin batter or the bright colors of the pineapple slices and the maraschino cherries (the cherries are a must; do not omit!) that bring to mind the Spring flowers that I know are just waiting to appear after a long winter’s hibernation, but this cake always begins food whispering to me once winter loosens her icy grip.  Today was definitely THE day!

I finished the prep work and had the cake in the oven in 30 minutes today.  Basically you have four easy steps: preparing the skillet with melted butter and a layer of brown sugar and pineapple juice, layering in the pineapple slices and cherries, creaming your shortening and sugar then adding the dry ingredients with enough reserved juice from the pineapple to make a thin batter.  That’s it.  Pour the batter over the sugar-fruit-cherry mixture and bake!

I bake this cake in a 10″ cast iron skillet just as my mama and grandma did.  The brown sugar-pineapple juice layer browns perfectly in cast iron and the size is perfect for a cake to serve seven. If you grew up enjoying this sweet delicate cake you know how good it is with a glass of cold milk on a day where you can smell Spring in the air.  Make one today and open your arms wide to this most beautiful season of the year.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

1-(8.5 oz.) can sliced pineapple, juice reserved
3 T. butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
Maraschino cherries, from jar, drained
1/3 cup Crisco shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour, sifted
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions Preheat oven to 350. Drain the pineapple reserving the juice. Melt butter in medium-sized cast iron skillet (no larger than 10”). In small bowl, mix the brown sugar with 1 T. of the reserved pineapple juice from the can and sprinkle this over the butter. Arrange the pineapple rings on top of this mixture leaving them whole but trimming when you need to fit the curved bottom of the skillet. Add a maraschino cherry in the center of each whole pineapple ring.

In large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and white sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla, beat until mixture is fluffy. In small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and add to shortening mixture alternately with at least 1/2 cups of the reserved pineapple juice (if you don’t have 1/2 cup left; add water to get it), beating after each addition. The batter will be thin. Pour the batter over the pineapple mixture in the skillet and use spatula to spread to edges of pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes after removing from oven then invert the skillet over your serving platter and turn out cake to platter.

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Recipes - Breakfast & Brunch

Corned Beef Hash Patties

Hey, Hey, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  I wanted to make some Kete-Yama’s style corned beef hash patties ever since i saw a delicious looking photo on Facebook of someone’s Hawaiian-kine patties and today being St. Paddy’s Day meant the timing was right!  Corned Beef Hash, layered, rice below and fried eggs on top, was one of our most popular breakfast items at Kete-Yama’s. As we did at the café, I made the patties early and chilled them a few hours before frying. Slipping them into hot oil while they are cold and firm helps the patties hang together and fry more evenly.

Sauteing the onion before adding to the mix brings flavor to the simple combination of canned corned beef and diced potatoes. Our Kete-Yama’s recipe also uses snipped fresh parsley, snipped green onion pieces, and lots of black pepper.  Today i gave the Tabasco bottle a few shakes into my mixing bowl as well for added zing.  I only used 1/2 an onion today and substituted Yukon potatoes for the Russets as that is what I had. I like my hash fried up crispy, served up Hawaiian breakfast style over  a bed of white rice and topped with fried eggs, over easy or sunny side up on the eggs. Drizzle all with a little shoyu, add coffee and you have a favorite Hawaiian breakfast or even a  fine St. Patrick’s Day supper.

There is nothing to preparing this simple dish as long as you have already cooked your potatoes until tender.  Hey, everybody’s Irish on St. Paddy’s Day so enjoy your corned beef today, whether a brisket with potatoes and cabbage or in these simple flavorful patties!  And, oh, of course, top of the morning to ya!

Corned Beef Hash Patties

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large round onion, chopped
1 can (12 ounces) corned beef OR 2 cups chopped cooked fresh corned beef
2 large cooked, peeled, diced russet potatoes
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped green onions (optional)
1/4 cup minced parsley (optional)
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet, sauté onions until tender; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the corned beef, potatoes, pepper, green onions, parsley, and sautéed onion. Shape into patties, chill for several hours, and pan fry until crisp and browned on both sides. Serve with rice and fried eggs.  Serves 6.

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Recipes - Entrees

Shoyu Chicken

One of our most popular daily specials at Kete-Yama’s Cafe, on Maui, and still a dish that I get cravings for, especially on rainy days such as this one in Missouri today. Ready in just 45 minutes, this filling and tasty dish, flavored with shoyu (soy sauce for mainland folks), is a popular dish in Hawai’i and one which mainland cooks can easily prepare at home.  If you are using less chicken thighs than the 12 pieces listed in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook, adjust the broth ingredients.  The broth is meant for adjusting to your own liking so don’t be afraid to taste it and tinker some until you are satisfied.

Hardly any prep: only chop an onion, a few garlic cloves, and peel a 1″ slice of fresh ginger root and you’re ready to cook! Start with the water and sugar and the seasonings then taste your broth. If it is too sour, add more sugar, if too sweet, add more shoyu. If it’s just right (and it probably will be), add the chicken thighs and allow the meat to simmer in the broth. That’s it; all pau!

Hawaiian style Shoyu Chicken is traditionally served with both rice and macaroni salad, but today I am making do with just a pot of my favorite short-grain rice. Short-grain rice is much “stickier” than the long-grain rice which is more common on the mainland and it is perfect with any dish that has sauce or gravy (or any dish at all for local Hawaiian folks and myself).  Layer the chicken and a good amount of broth over a bed of rice in your bowl and sprinkle with green onion pieces. You’ll feel like you’re visiting the islands.  Aloha!

Shoyu Chicken

Ingredients:

2 cups shoyu (soy sauce)
2 cups water
1- 1″ piece ginger root, peeled
1 clove crushed garlic
1 small chopped onion
1 cup sugar
12 bone-in chicken thighs; remove skin if desired

Directions: Place the shoyu, water, ginger root, garlic, onion, and sugar in a large sauce pot. Heat slowly until the sugar dissolves. If the broth tastes sour, then add more sugar, if too salty, add more sugar or water. If the sauce tastes good, then add the chicken and simmer 45 minutes. The liquid ingredients should thicken into a very tasty sauce for serving over rice.

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