Friday Foodday

Happy Friday lovebugs! Here are my favorite recipes this week.

The Breakers 75
c/o Five O'Clock Cocktails

Ingredients

Champagne, about 3 to 4 ounces

1 ounce gin

1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Pour gin and lemon juice into the bottom of a champagne flute. Top with your bubbles. Down the hatch.

Overnight Apple Pie French Toast Casserole

c/p Spend with Pennies

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 large granny smith apples (approx. 8 cups peeled and sliced)
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 14 slices white bread, crusts removed
• 6 large eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine eggs, milk and vanilla. Set aside.
2. Peel & slice apples approximately ¼" thick.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add apples,brown sugar, cinnamon and water. Cook on medium heat for about 8 minutes or until apples are slightly softened. In a separate bowl, combine 1 tablespoon corn starch and 1 tablespoon water to create a slurry.
4. Push the apples over to one side of the pan, turn the heat up to medium high and pour some of the corn starch mixture into the boiling liquid until it thickens. Depending on how much liquid was in your apples, you may not need all of the slurry.
5. Spread apple mixture into a 9x13 pan. Top with ½ of the bread slices and spoon ½ of the egg mixture over the bread. Top with a second layer of bread slices and remaining egg mixture. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning

1. Remove the pan from the refrigerator while preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bake covered for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until bread is firm. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes. Invert into a pan.

Chocolate Cake with Marshmallow Frosting

c/o Country Cleaver

Ingredients

Chocolate Sheet Cake:

• 2 1/2 cups Flour
  
  
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 cup Hot Water
• 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1 cup Unsalted butter, Cubed
• 2 cups Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 tsp Vanilla

Marshmallow Frosting:

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Chocolate Sheet Cake :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13"x9" cake pan. Line it with a parchment bottom to ensure it won't stick. Set aside. In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, and whisk. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together hot water and cocoa and set aside.

In stand mixer, beat together butter, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time until completely mixed in. Reduce the speed to low, and add in flour mixture, alternating adding in the buttermilk. Scrape bowl as needed. Add in cocoa and vanilla and mix until just completely incorporated.

Pour into prepared cake pan. Place in oven and baked for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick placed in center comes out clean.

Marshmallow Frosting :

For the frosting, whisk together the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a heat-proof metal bowl placed over top a small saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly for 3-4 minutes until the sugar has dissolved completely and the egg whites are slightly warm.

Immediately remove the bowl and place it on your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beating slow at first and gradually increasing the speed to high. Beat for 6-7 minutes until glossy and thick and the peaks are stiff, then beat in vanilla extract for another minute until combined. Frost cake and use blowtorch to toast the marshmallow topping if desired. Or don't, it's delicious either way!