White Buttermilk Cake with Vanilla Cream Frosting

This makes quite a large cake, perfect for birthday parties! I have sucessfully halved the recipe, using a 8x11" pan. For the eggs I used 2 in the halved recipe. Recipe from Canadian Living.

Cake

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs, seperated
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups buttermilk

• Generously grease a 13x9 inch pan.
• In a large bowl, beat butter with 2 cups of the sugar until light. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time; beat in vanilla.
• In a seperate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and two of milk.
• In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually beat in remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold one-quarter into batter; fold in remaining egg whites. Scrape into prepared pan, smoothing top.
• Bake in center of 350F (180C) oven for about 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted into center comes out clean. Crumbs on the tester are fine. Let cool in pan on rack.

Vanilla Cream Frosting

Adapted from this recipe from Canadian Living. *I've cut one third of the original recipe off, as it made way too much frosting.

2/3 cups + 1 tbsp butter, softened
4 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

• In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Alternately beat in sugar and cream, making three additions of sugar and 2 of cream. Beat in vanilla.
• Frost cooled cake. Tastes like vanilla ice cream! Yum!
  

Key Lime Pie

Crust:
2/3 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
2/3 cup flaked coconut
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1 10 oz (300mL) can sweetened condensed milk
5 large egg yolks
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 tsp lime zest

These are miniature versions I made for a party.

Topping:

1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp sifted icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (180 C). Combine all ingredients until an even, crumbly texture. Press into a lightly greased 9-inch pie plate. Bake for about 12 minutes, until coconut browns lightly and let cool.
Reduce oven tempurature to 325F (140C). Whisk together all ingredients until smooth and pour into cooled pie shell. Bake for 20 minutes, until set. Let cool, then chill completely, at least four hours.
For the topping, whip ingredients until soft peaks form, dollop cream all over chilled pie (or use a piping bag) and serve.

Chocolate Truffle Tart

Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup cold butter
1/3 cup 35% whipping cream

Filling:
1 2/3 cups 35% whipping cream
2 eggs
8 ounces (250 grams) dark chocolate, chopped
2 tsp vanilla

Method

• Crust: Mix dry ingredients together and cut butter into mixture until it resembles fine crumbs. Stir in whipping cream until dough clumps together. Transfer to a 10-inch tart pan and press the dough evenly on the bottom and up the sides. Prick all over with a fork; refrigerate for 15 minutes or until chilled.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake tart shell for about 25 minutes or until firm. Let cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile make filling. In a saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium heat just until steaming; remove from heat. In a heatproof bowl, whisk eggs to blend. Gradually whisk in about half the cream in a thin stream; whisk egg mixture back into pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes (do not boil.) Remove from heat; stir in chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Pour into tart shell. Chill until set, about 2 hours.
• Variations: Chocolate Cinnamon: Add 3/4 tsp cinnamon to the cream on the stove. For the Adventurous: Add 1/4 tsp ancho chili powder or 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper with cinnamon.
  

Buttery Apple Torte

Ingredients

Crust:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup apricot or raspberry jam

Filling:
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
3 cups thinly sliced apples
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Directions

Crust: Cream together butter and sugar. Blend in flour. Work with hands to form a smooth dough. Press evenly into the bottom and 1 1/2" up sides of a 10" springform pan. Spread jam evenly over bottom of crust. Beat all filling ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread carefully over jam. Toss apples, sugar and cinnamon together to coat well. Spoon over filling. Sprinkle with almonds.
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 400 for 25-30 minutes longer, or until apples are tender-crisp. Cool slightly, then remove pan rim. Serve warm or cool.

Easy Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter

Filling:
2 packages cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk
three large eggs
1/3 cup lemon juice

Directions:
Crust: Mix ingredients together and press into the bottom of a nine inch spingform pan. Filling:
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add milk and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. A-teamtir in lemon juice. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan, and cool on a wire rack. Chill. Top with your choice of fruit filling before serving.