What's Cooking Wednesday...

What's Cooking Wednesday...the birthday edition! 2 weeks ago at birthday party central, it was more like "what's BAKING wednesday!" someone had requested the cake recipe mentioned in Big Bro's birthday post, and so this week i present...

RED VELVET CAKE & RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE! Big Bro has a serious affinity for cream cheese icing and all the young'ins like that red velvet look, so that was his specific birthday request. Baby Girl has a more refined birthday taste; she went with the pie that combines all her favorite (& mine too!) tastes. on their special days, they choose the meal and dessert. i look forward to their creativity each and every year!

RED VELVET CAKE

for the CAKE...

*preheat oven to 350

*butter & flour 9X13 pan (or two 9" round pans)

*sift together into a bowl...2 1/4 c. cake flour, 2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 t. baking powder, 1 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. salt

*whisk together in separate bowl... 1 c. buttermilk, 1 T. red food coloring, 1 t. distilled white vinegar, 1 t. vanilla extract

*beat together with mixer 1 1/2 c. sugar & 1/2 c. butter

*add 2 large eggs (one at a time) to the butter mix until well blended

*alternately add the flour mix and the buttermilk mix over 3 additions

*pour batter into prepared pans & bake 27-30 minutes, until tester comes out clean

*cool on a rack & prepare frosting

for the Frosting...

*soften two 8 oz. packages cream cheese

*soften 1/2 butter

*beat butter & cream cheese together until smooth

*add1 T. vanilla extract

*gradually add 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar, beat until smooth

*frost cooled cake

ENJOY! (Big Bro sure did!)

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE

for the Pie Crust...(from my aunt's "Favorite Country Recipes", an awesome Amish cookbook)

*mix together in a large bowl...5 1/2 c. all purpose flour, 1 T. salt, 1 t. sugar

* cut 2 c. shortening (or lard if you're brave) into the flour mix

*beat 1 large egg in a 1 c. measuring cup & fill to 1 c. level with cold water

*add egg/water to flour mix with hands

*knead dough until good consistency for a pie crust...for this pie you only need a bottom crust but the recipe makes 4-5 bottoms - i suggest forming the rest into balls the size one needs to make a crust and freezing them for future pies

*roll out crust and place in pie plate, add pie weights or dry beans

*bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes

*cool on wire rack

for the Raspberry layer...

*combine 3 T. sugar & 1 T. cornstarch in a saucepan

*add 2 c. fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed

*bring to a boil over medium heat & stir 2 minutes

*remove from heat & cool 15 minutes, then spread over pie shell

*refrigerate

for the Cream Filling...

*beat one 8oz. package cream cheese, 1/3 c. sugar & 1/2 t. vanilla extract til fluffy

*in a separate bowl beat 1/2 c. whipping cream until soft peaks form

*fold whipped cream into cream cheese mix

*carefully spread cream filling over raspberry layer

*cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

for the Chocolate layer...

*melt 2 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate and 3 T. butter

*cool 4-5 minutes

*pour over cream filling

*cover and chill at least 2 hours

(i used Valrhona 71% dark bittersweet...pure chocolate bliss, i tell ya!)

LA DOLCE VITA, indeed!!!!