New Favorite Cake

Let’s talk cake today, shall we?

Hands down, chocolate is my favorite flavor in all the world, and chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is the best snack or dessert (or breakfast!)anytime, anyplace.

There is much to be said for lemon, though. I love a sweet, tangy lemon cake with lemon icing. Yum – my mouth is watering just because I typed that last sentence. Others that I like are Italian Cream Cake (smooth and creamy and vanilla-y), Carrot Cake (a little spicy, nutty, and cream cheese frosting – yum).

A few weeks ago I found myself planning a few birthday cakes. The first, Brad’s, was easy – it had to be chocolate for his first birthday. We had buttercream frosting and fondant balls for decorations. It was festive, cute, and tasty.

The second, to celebrate my BIL Randy’s 50th birthday was easy-peasy. He got apple pies. I confess that I did bake those pies, but Marie Callander actually made them. They, too, were delicious.

The third cake was more of a challenge. I wanted something a little sophisticated for my FIL’s  birthday, yet it needed to be easy and simple. I asked for ideas and was told “just not chocolate”. That was covered by Brad’s cake, so not a problem. What to make for a man from the South celebrating his 75th?  There were a few more suggestions, but nothing that sounded “right”. On my way home from work just a few days before the party, it came to me – Maple Walnut! It would be autumnal and Southern and grown-up. Just what I was looking for.

As soon as I got home, I Googled for recipes, and when I found this blog with a recipe for cake with maple-flavored icing and walnuts decorating the sides, I knew the quest was over.

I made a 10” double layer plain white cake (yes, from a mix). The maple frosting mixed up easily. Oh, it was sweet and maple-y and so good!

Pressing the walnuts to the sides wasn’t quite so simple,but a little star border around the bottom took care of the “messies” I made. Next time I will chop the nuts a little finer and coat the top, instead.

There was none of this cake left after the birthday party and I got lots of compliments.

I’m including the frosting recipe as it was printed on that blog, but if you want the entire recipe for the cake and all, go visit The Well-Seasoned Cook.

American Buttercream Frosting (Maple)
[This is a standard recipe, using all butter and no trans-fat shortening. If you are not fond of the metallic gritty sweetness of confectioners sugar, you can use glazing sugar, a powdered sugar without cornstarch. King Arthur carries it.]
Ingredients
½ pound butter, softened to room temperature
1 pound confectioners sugar (or more)
¼ cup milk (or more)
1 Tablespoon natural maple extract (much more highly concentrated than maple syrup)
Method
In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy and fluffy. Add sugar one cup at a
time, beating well between additions. Keep beating until all the sugar is absorbed. Add extract and milk, and resume beating until frosting is smooth
and light. Frosting consistency is a matter of taste. You can easily add more sugar to thicken. You can also stretch your ingredients by adding more sugar and milk incrementally until you have doubled the volume. This is especially useful if you have a large cake to frost and don't want to increase an already high fat content. Keep frosting tightly covered until ready to use to prevent sugar crust. Buttercream does not have to be refrigerated, but should be kept in a cool place so it doesn't melt.
After filling and decorating the assembled layers, gently press approximately 1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts into the sides of cake. Cake
will develop a natural sugar crust while standing; this is perfectly harmless and adds to its character. Cover with a large inverted plastic bowl to keep it fresh.

Mmmm…

I made turkey pot pie for supper yesterday, prepping the filling in the morning, so all I had to do at suppertime was throw on the biscuit topping and pop it in the oven. That left me some extra time to make a lil’ somethin’ for dessert. It needed to be simple, quick, use ingredients I already had in the house, and yes, it had to be chocolate.

Since I already had my Joy of Cooking cookbook out, I took a quick glance through the recipe index and decided on chocolate pudding. Only a few ingredients and it whipped up in a heartbeat. Well, several heartbeats, but it was fast.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pudding

1 3/4 C milk (I used skim)

1/2 C sugar

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/8 tsp. salt

Combine in a heavy saucepan. Heat over med-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted.

3 Tbs. cornstarch

1/4 C milk

Mix together until smooth. Stir slowly into hot milk mixture. Stirring constantly, heat over medium heat until mixture just comes to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, stirring briskly, bring to a simmer and continue to cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 tsp. vanilla.

Pour into 5 or 6 ounce serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface of the pudding. Chill for at least 2 hours. (Serves 4)

Have you ever had homemade pudding? Try this and you’ll never purchase that instant boxed stuff ever again! Enjoy!

(Oh, sorry, no photo. You think there’s anything left to take a picture of?)

Coconut Crème Brulee

When we had our turkey dinner for lunch on Sunday, Greg was responsible for dessert. He thumbed through the current issue of Bon Appetit and found this recipe for coconut crème brulee.

Crème Brulee is really easy to make, plus there’s the fun of torching the sugar on top before eating. This particular dish had a very subtle coconut flavor, and was rich and smooth.

Coconut Crème Brulee  (Bon Appetit, March 2010)

1 C sweetened flaked coconut, divided

3/4 C + 8 Tbs. sugar

7 large egg yolks

1 3/4 C heavy whipping cream

1 14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk

2 Tbs. Malibu rum or other coconut flavored rum (we got one of those tiny bottles)

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Spread 1/2 C flaked coconut on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until light golden, stirring once, 10-12 minutes.

Whisk 3/4 C sugar and egg yolks in medium bowl to blend. Mix cream, coconut milk, toasted coconut, and remaining 1/2 C sweetened flaked coconut in heavy large saucepan. Bring just to simmer over med-hi heat, whisking occasionally. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture. Stir in rum and 1/2 tsp. salt. Strain custard through a fine strainer into medium pitcher, pressing on solids. Divide among eight 2/3-3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups.

Place ramekins in large roasting pan. Fill pan with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake custards until edges are set, but centers move slightly when dishes are gently shaken, 45-50 minutes. Remove custards from water. Chill custards uncovered until cold, then cover and chill overnight.

Sprinkle 1 tsp. sugar over each custard. Using kitchen torch, heat sugar until melted and deep amber. (Alternatively, preheat broiler. Place ramekins on rimmed baking sheet and broil until sugar melts and turns deep amber, 1-2 minutes.) Chill until sugar hardens, about 15 minutes.

You can try to eat this quietly, but I bet there will be lots of “mmmm”s. :o)

Rustic Apple Tart

Several weeks ago Randy loaded a big box of apples into the back of my car. They were fresh-picked from Leslie’s parent’s tree (Thanks Jim and Dee!). The box sat in my cool garage until last weekend when I finally had Greg bring it in the house, and I started looking for recipes.

This “Rustic Tart” is one that my good friend Google found for me. I didn’t save the web site, but I want to say it was cooks.com or some such place.

This went together easily and quickly, even though I had to make my dough the “old fashioned” way without a food processor. While baking, I could smell the butter and cinnamon-y apples. Yum.

To further the “rustic-ness” of the tart, I didn’t worry overmuch about fanning my apples in concentric circles. I made a circle, then just filled in the center with a big pile of apples.

The final step of brushing with melted preserves is optional, and I didn’t do that.

Doesn’t this look delicious? The crust is flaky and crispy, the apples tender and not overly sweet. It was wonderful served warm, but also good the next morning when I ate it cold for breakfast.

Rustic Apple Tart
Ingredients
  1.. 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  2.. Pinch of salt
  3.. 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch
pieces, plus 2 tablespoons melted
  4.. 1/3 cup ice water
  5.. 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  6.. 4 large Golden Delicious apples-peeled, cored and cut into
1/4-inch-thick slices
  7.. 2 tablespoons melted and strained apricot preserves
Directions
  1.. In a food processor, pulse 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the salt. Add
the cold butter and process just until the butter is the size of peas, about
5 seconds. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture and process just until
moistened, about 5 seconds. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work
surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until it comes together. Pat the dough
into a disk. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a
16- to 17-inch round about 1/4 inch thick.
  2.. Line a large unrimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the
dough around the rolling pin and unroll it onto the prepared baking sheet.
  3.. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the sugar with the remaining
1 tablespoon of flour and sprinkle over the dough. Arrange the apple slices
on top in overlapping concentric circles to within 3 inches of the edge.
Fold the dough over the apples in a free-form fashion. Brush the apples with
the melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of
sugar. Refrigerate the unbaked tart until slightly chilled, about 10
minutes.
  4.. Preheat the oven to 400°. Bake the tart in the center of the oven for
1 hour, or until the apples are tender and golden and the crust is deep
golden and cooked through. Brush the apples with the melted preserves. Slide
the parchment onto a wire rack and let the tart cool slightly before
serving.
Make Ahead
  The baked tart can be stored overnight at room temperature. Reheat in a
325° oven before serving.

I'm Just Peachy!

I'm still putting away garden produce, roasting tomatoes and flash-freezing peppers, but then along came the Colorado peaches. A "lug" of the nicest peaches I think I've ever purchased. (They came from the local Lion's Club as part of their fund-raising efforts.) At first I didn't think there were very many in the box, nice as they were, then I started peeling them...

Blanching makes for easy peeling, but I only had time that morning to do part of the pile. Some of them were used for jam, some were frozen, and some were put in this:

Peach and Pecan Upside-Down Cake

Bon Appétit August 2009 by Cindy Mushet

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

For peach and pecan topping:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

40 (about) pecan halves (about 3 ounces)

2 medium peaches (about 7 ounces each), peeled, halved, pitted, each half cut into 6 wedges

For cake: 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup pecans

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

Vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream

Special equipment: 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides (I used a deep dish pie plate.)

Peach and Pecan Topping:

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar; whisk until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute.

Pour mixture into 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides; spread evenly over bottom of pan (layer will be thin).

Arrange pecan halves, side by side with round sides down, in circle around outer edge of pan bottom. Arrange peach wedges, slightly overlapping, inside circle of pecans, covering pan bottom. Set aside while making cake batter. Cake:

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F.

Combine first 6 ingredients in processor. Blend until nuts are finely ground. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until butter is pale in color, about 4 minutes. Whisk eggs and vanilla in small bowl until well blended. Add egg mixture to butter mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beating just until blended after each addition.

Drop batter by large spoonfuls atop pecans and peaches in pan; spread evenly and gently with offset spatula or rubber spatula.

Bake cake until golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.

Transfer cake to rack; cool in pan 25 to 30 minutes (do not cool longer or peach layer may stick to pan).

Run small knife around sides of cake to loosen. Place serving platter atop cake pan. Using oven mitts, firmly hold cake pan and platter together and invert cake onto platter. Let cake rest 1 minute, then very slowly lift off pan. If necessary, rearrange any peach wedges or pecans that may have become dislodged.

Let cool to room temperature. Cut cake into wedges. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

You can tell by my photo that I did not follow the directions for placing the pecans and peaches - my pecans were the end of a bag, and many were in pieces, so I just sprinkled them all over. My peaches were large, so I had more than 12 slices and I just nestled in as many as possible, then popped the remaining couple in my mouth for sweet, juicy snack. :o)

I'll be sure to post the other recipes these peaches were used in, but until then, I'd love to hear about how you enjoy consuming these lovelies. Leave a comment and/or a link to your favorite peach recipe!

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Port Glaze

When we vacationed in Seattle, we made a side trip to some wineries near Woodinville. Our favorite was Chateau St. Michelle, and we brought home several bottles of wine after enjoying a generous tasting session. One of those bottles was a port - a sweet, dark red dessert wine. This wasn't supposed to be included in the tasting, but the gentleman who was pouring was kind of flirting with this one woman who was giggly and flirting back, so we all benefited from his trying to impress her. It worked - on us, anyway. We spent more on this one bottle than all the others combined, it was that tasty. It was so good, in fact, that Greg wouldn't open it after we got home. It was tucked away and all but forgotten.
Last week he was perusing the Gourmet magazine web site and came across this tart recipe with a port glaze. He thought it sounded good, and apparently this was impetus enough to warrant the opening of the special bottle. Oh, and it was yummy!
We followed the recipe as it is written. The crust is very flavorful - we used vanilla from Mexico, and the house smelled so good while it baked.

The mascarpone filling was tasty, but I don't think we need to spend the $$ for mascarpone next time. Regular cream cheese will work fine, considering the price difference.

The strawberries were from Sam's club, a pretty decent price, but they weren't real sweet. Next time I would cut them a bit smaller.

The port glaze was syrupy and reminded me of grapes. Go figure, huh?

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Port Glaze

Serves 8

Active time:30 min

Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr (includes cooling)

For tart shell:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Rounded 1/4 tsp salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 large egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons cold water

For filling:

1 1/2 lb strawberries (about 1 1/2 qt), trimmed and halved lengthwise

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup ruby Port

1 lb mascarpone (about 2 cups)

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Equipment: a 10-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom (we used a regular Springform pan); pie weights or dried beans

Make tart shell:

Blend together flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps.

Beat together yolk, vanilla, lemon juice, and water with a fork, then drizzle over flour mixture and stir with fork (or pulse) until mixture comes together. Gently knead with floured hands on a lightly floured surface until a dough forms, then gently knead 4 or 5 times. Press into a 5-inch disk. Place in center of tart pan and cover with plastic wrap. Using your fingers and bottom of a flat-bottomed measuring cup, spread and push dough to evenly cover bottom and side of pan. Prick bottom of tart shell all over with a fork and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until side is set and edge is pale golden, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and continue to bake until shell is deep golden all over, about 20 minutes more. Cool in pan, about 45 minutes.

Make Filling While Tart Shell Cools:

Stir together strawberries and granulated sugar in a bowl and let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Strain in a sieve set over a small saucepan, reserving berries. Add Port to liquid in saucepan and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool slightly. Meanwhile, whisk together mascarpone, confectioners sugar, lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until stiff. (We found a wooden spoon worked better than a whisk with the texture of the mascarpone.)

Assemble Tart: Spread mascarpone mixture evenly in cooled tart shell, then top with strawberries. Drizzle Port glaze all over tart.

Cooks' note: Tart shell can be baked 1 day ahead and kept at room temperature.

When the Man Has Too Much Time...

Greg's been off work since Christmas Eve, and has had some time to play around - in the kitchen.
I came home one day to bread baking. Nice.
And he's made supper a couple of nights, and the other day had tomato soup and grilled cheeses ready for lunch when I worked extra hours and got home later than usual.
The other day when we were exploring the new HyVee in Lincoln, he picked up some French bread and was asking me if I had evaporated milk and condensed milk, and did I have raisins? Um, yes, I had all of those things, but why? Oh, he thought he'd make some bread pudding. Hmmm - okay.
This came a little out of the blue, but he's had time to surf the 'net for random recipes, so I wasn't too surprised. He was a little surprised, though, when I told him I was going to photograph the process and put it on the blog. He cooperated pretty well early on, but it wasn't long before he asked me to leave. I ignored him. :o)
Here he's checking the recipe on his laptop that he brought to the kitchen. He first set it next to the kitchen sink, where he was mixing things. Hello? I advised that he move it to the other counter and he ignored me. Then he tried to work with it in the way. Then he moved it. I smiled. He told me to go away. First he cut up the French bread. This bread was very fresh when we bought it, but it was extremely dry by the next day. He said that was the way it was supposed to be, and I shouldn't worry about it. And didn't I have something else to do?

So the bread is sliced and measured and put to the side in the large bowl, and it's time to make the custard. That started out with heated milk and butter. Notice his sophisticated stirring utensil. Yep, a butter knife. Whatever works, I guess!
Next he mixed up the brown sugar, eggs, and spices.

When the milk had cooled a little - he set it outside on the deck rail, then I stood out there and guarded it from a neighborhood cat - he combined it with the egg/sugar/spice mixture. We had vanilla from Mexico and he grated fresh nutmeg, and the custard smelled wonderful.

Spray your baking dish, then arrange the bread chunks in dish. The recipe calls for a casserole, but we chose to use an 8 x 8" pan. .
He sprinkled raisins ancd chopped pecans over the whole thing, then poured the custard all over.

He was thorough and made sure each piece of bread was covered.

Into the oven while we cleaned up the kitchen.

When it was time to dig in, he first whipped up the quick sauce from the original recipe, and I suspect he added something from one of the little bottles in the high-up kitchen cupboard. I was banned from taking any more photos, in fact, banned from the kitchen, so I don't know for sure. But I think so. Just a touch.
What I do know is that he brought me a dish filled with warm, yummy goodness that was a wonderful way to snuggle up on a cold winter's night.

He found the recipe he used here.

Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
2 cups milk

1/4 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar (white or brown, depending on taste preference) [we used brown]

3 eggs

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups bread, torn into small pieces (french bread works best)

1/2 cup raisins (optional) [we also added chopped pecans]
Directions:
1. In medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat milk just until film forms over top. Combine butter and milk, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.
2. Combine sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Slowly add milk mixture.
3. Place bread in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.
4. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Pour batter on top of bread.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Serve warm.

If you make the sauce to put on top of your bread pudding, adjust the sugar in the bread pudding recipe, change it to 1/3 cups sugar (the sauce has the other 1/3 cup in it).

Bread Pudding Sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk

2 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup granulated white sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 Tbsp. flour

dash of salt
Directions:
Mix everything together and bring to a boil for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside for 5 minutes, then pour on warm bread pudding.

Enjoy!

P.S. BTW, remember he was asking me about evaporated and condensed milk? There's none in this recipe, but there was in another one, and he wasn't sure which one he was going to use, so he wanted to make sure we had all the ingredients for both recipes. Just fyi.

Simple Little Dessert

This is a recipe I read about a few years ago, but wasn't able to find the chocolate wafer cookies until recently. It's a light dessert that goes together quickly. I used the recipe off the back of the cookie package, but threw that away, so I'm typing from memory...

Chocolate Wafer Dessert 1 box thin chocolate wafers
1 container Cool Whip (or you can make whipped cream)
1 tsp. vanilla
chocolate shavings or cocoaMix the vanilla into the Cool Whip. Put about a Tablespoon of Cool Whip on each cookie.
Adhere to the next cookie, making a "log". (I only used about a third of the package of cookies and it made plenty for the two of us.)

Frost the entire thing with more Cool Whip. Pop into the frig for a few hours, let sit on the counter for a little while before serving.

Garnish with chocolate curls or a dusting of cocoa. To serve, slice the "log" on a 45 degree angle. (I must not have taken a photo of it sliced, but it's very pretty!)
I think this would make a nice summertime dessert when you want something easy and light.

Flaming Bananas

I've been wanting to make Bananas Foster for a long time. I just thought the recipe sounded really delicious. Last night I finally got to it. I had purchased fresh bananas, dark rum, and we had some good vanilla ice cream.

Greg thought it was okay (he's not a huge fruit fan), but liked the flaming pan the most. I have a theory about testosterone and fire...

I know the photo is blurry, but I was snapping quickly before the flames went out. Can you see the blue flame? It was pretty cool!

I got the recipe from this site: http://www.neworleansrestaurants.com/recipes/recipes_brennans.html

I didn't have the banana liqueur, and wasn't buying it just for this. It had plenty of banana flavor without it.

Ingredients: -

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup banana liqueur

4 bananas, cut in half lengthwise, then halved

1/4 cup dark rum

4 scoops vanilla ice cream

Directions:
Combine the butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a flambé pan or skillet.
Place the pan over low heat either on an alcohol burner or on top of the stove, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
Stir in the banana liqueur, then place the bananas in the pan.
When the banana sections soften and begin to brown, carefully add the rum.
Continue to cook the sauce until the rum is hot, then tip the pan slightly to ignite the rum.
When the flames subside, lift the bananas out of the pan and place four pieces over each portion of ice cream.
Generously spoon warm sauce over the top of the ice cream and serve immediately.
Serves Four

Grilling is Peachy!

Ben and Greg grilled some awesome steaks for supper, but I was busy in the house and didn't get any photos. For dessert, Abbie and I prepped some peaches and plums, then Ben grilled them. We sprinkled on a little cinnamon and drizzled some honey while they cooked, then served them hot with vanilla ice cream. MMMMM...

Yummy breakfast

This recipe came from www.breakorbake.com and sounded like an easy Spring morning breakfast to me. I couldn't wait for it to cool completely, so I had to eat my piece with a fork. I thought I might take it to work tonight to share, but having it last that long is questionable... :o)

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/3 cup cooking oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease/flour/spray the bottom and sides of a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan.

Combine 1/3 cup of sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Combine 1 cup of sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat egg. Then, stir in milk and oil.

Make a well in the flour mixture and add the egg mixture. Stir just until mixed. Do not overmix.

Pour half of the batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Repeat. With a wide rubber scraper or spatula, swirl mixtures together with a down and up circular motion. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Then, cool completely on a wire rack.