Annunciation Cake

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Last week's Solemnity of the the Annunciation had me quite whipped into a frenzy. I had not looked ahead, and halfway through the week I realized that the Annunciation, a solemnity on the calendar, was on Friday -- during Lent no less. As much as it is important to follow the rules of abstention during Lent, I think it's just as important to follow the "rules" of a solemnity -- to celebrate. While you're not obliged, of course, to eat meat, as you are never obliged to eat meat, I took the lesson provided by St. Francis of Assisi and planned a meat meal, and a lovely cake to celebrate for dessert.

This recipe is one I made up myself, using angel food cake for the Archangel Gabriel, and blueberry sweetened cream for Our Blessed Mother. It was a lovely, light, fresh dessert -- perfect for a Lenten Friday, not overly rich or sweet.

Annunciation Cake

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6 egg whites

3/4 t. cream of tartar

3/4 t. vanilla extract

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup cake flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 heaping T. blueberry jam or preserves

1/2 cup fresh blueberries, washed

powdered sugar for dusting

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour and sugar.

In a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat egg whites, with cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt until stiff peaks form. Fold in flour/sugar mixture, one third at a time, until completely incorporated. 

Spoon batter into a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until top of cake is golden brown and cake springs back lightly when touched. Remove cake from oven and turn upside down, using coffee mugs or cans to rest ends of pan on (do not set cake on it's top -- you want to make sure it is hanging upside in the pan).

When cake is cool, remove from pan by running a knife around the edges and lightly lifting it with a spatula. Place on a plate -- preferably a rectangular or large oval.

In mixing bowl with whisk attachment beat 2 cups cold cream with 1/2 cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Remove half of the whipped cream to another container. Add blueberry jam to the remaining cream and beat for a second until cream is purple/blue. Fold in blueberries gently.

Cut cake in half lengthwise so that you have a top and a bottom. Remove top and using a sharp knife cut a space in the bottom of the cake to fill with cream -- leaving about an inch all the way around and on the bottom.

Fill with blueberry cream and replace the top. Dust with powdered sugar and refrigaerate until ready to serve.

To serve, cut cake in crosswise slices and top with additional whipped cream.

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Spring Snow Cake and Quick Lemon Mousse

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This past week presented itself with the opportunity to have a couple of little celebrations with dessert, one of which was this beautiful cake. Mid-week we had a visitor for dinner. College boy brought a "girl" friend for dinner. He says they're just friends, but she is a girl and she is a friend, so she's a girlfriend in my eyes. Irregardless of their relationship, she was a guest and so I prepared a special dessert, which also resulted in a take-off dessert the next night for The Feast of the Annunciation. Both desserts were a little bit Martha, a little bit Sandra Lee. In other words, a little bit scratch, a little bit short-cut. But the cake was awesome tasting and gorgeous, so I will most definitely be making it again.

I had a hankerin' for something lemon, and a pretty cake is always a nice dessert for guests, so I pulled together a beautiful scratch cake, used Jell-o Cook 'n' Serve lemon pudding for filling, and frosted it with real whipped cream. It looked like a gorgeous spring daffodil covered with a fluffy spring snow, hence the name. It would be a beautiful cake for Easter, and would also be a lovely addition to many a feast day celebration -- at the very least, the angel feasts.

I frequently use Jell-o Cook 'n' Serve Lemon Pudding in cooking. Though the base comes from a box, it calls for the addition of real eggs, and I always add a bit of lemon extract at the end to boost the flavor. It's a quick way to get a lemon curd without squeezing all those lemons. If you just can't bring yourself to using a boxed pudding, make a real lemon curd. I'm sure you can find a recipe at Martha's.

I borrowed the Lemon Cake recipe from the ladies at Mennonite Girls Can Cook. It didn't disappoint. I baked two 8-inch cakes and split them in half for four layers.

Spring Snow Cake

4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup whole milk
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. grated lemon peel
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled

1 sm. box Jell-O Cook 'n' Serve Lemon Pudding,
prepared according to package
(you will need more eggs and water)
1/2 t. lemon extract

2 cups whipping cream
1/3 c. powdered sugar
2 T. Jell-O instant vanilla pudding

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray two 8-inch-diameter cake pans with baking spray.
Line bottom of pans with parchment paper; spray again.

Whisk eggs, yolks, milk, lemon juice, and lemon peel in medium bowl to blend.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl to blend.
Whisk oil and butter into flour mixture.
Add egg mixture and whisk until smooth.
Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Cool cakes on racks 10 minutes.
Run knife around edge of pans to loosen cakes.
Turn cakes out onto racks. Cool completely.


Prepare lemon pudding as directed on package.
After pudding has come to a boil, turn off heat and add the lemon extract.
Stir and cover with plastic wrap.
Cool in the refrigerator until room temperature, but not cold.

When cakes are cool and pudding is room temp.,
split both cakes horizontally with a serrated knife.
Place one layer on a cake plate and spread with one third of the lemon pudding.
Repeat with two more layers and the pudding and top with a top layer of cake.

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and instant pudding,
until you achieve stiff peaks.
Frost the entire cake with the whipped cream.
Refrigerate until ready to serve and refrigerate any leftovers.



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The day after we had our Spring Snow Cake, which I also shared with our neighbors so we could avoid having leftovers, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation with some delicious Lemon Mousse and Angel Cookies. I had made a double batch of lemon pudding and had a full half of it left over. I also had two cups of whipping cream left in the carton. In order to use up my leftovers, I created a quick, but yummy, Lemon Mousse to go with the Angel Cookies I made for the feast. I don't know why these are called angel cookies, but their official name, as published in Midwest Living magazine is Ohio Angel Cookies -- the perfect cookie for us. They were a yummy, crispy sugar cookie, and the mix of granulated and brown sugar gives them a good flavor. They were easy to make and all the kids really enjoyed them, as did I. They are a nice tea-time cookie and went well with the mousse, and would go well with a bowl of ice cream or sherbet, too.

Lemon Mousse

1 sm box Jell-O Cook 'n' Serve Lemon Pudding,
prepared as directed (requires eggs and water)
2 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla

When lemon pudding comes to a boil, pour into a glass bowl
and cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate until cold and set.
When pudding is chilled,
whip cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until you achieve stiff peaks.
Whisk lemon pudding into whipped cream,
just until pudding is completely incorporated.
Pour into individual dishes or one large bowl and cover with wrap.
Chill until ready to serve.
To , with additional whipping cream, if desired,
and a raspberry, strawberry or mint leaf for garnish, if desired.

Ohio Angel Cookies

1 c. shortening
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees; grease cookie sheets.
In a mixing bowl,
beat the shortening with an electric mixer on medium high speed
for 30seconds.
Add the brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, baking soda,
cream of tartar and salt; beat until mixed.
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until combined.
Add the flour and mix until combined.
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls; roll in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.
Place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove the cookies and cool completely on a wire rack.


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