Search Results for: My Favourite Breakfas

Shmoo Torte

Shmoo Torte has been my husband’s favourite dessert for years, so I figured it would make a perfect 50th birthday cake for him. It’s actually not that difficult to make, but does contain pecans, so it’s not appropriate if you’re serving it to guests that may have a nut allergy. I was given this recipe many years ago, but my good friend Pat. I must admit I have only made it a few times, but only because it is much too dangerous to have in the house! This is an incredibly delicious recipe and a guaranteed hit!

Shmoo Torte Recipe:

Cake Ingredients:

  • 12 eggs (separated)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla
  • 2 cups ground pecans
  • 1 cup of cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Separate the eggs and then beat the egg whites until very stiff.
  3. Add cream of tartar. Beat. Slowly add 1 cup of sugar, beating as you add it.
  4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla. Continue to beat this mixture until it is thick and light.
  5. Fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites.l
  6. Sift the cake flour and baking powder together. Fold the dry ingredients into the eggs.
  7. Fold in the ground pecans.
  8. Divide the batter in half and pour into two greased angel cake pans.
  9. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 300 degrees on the lowest rack in the oven.
  10. When the cakes are done, invert them immediately to cool.
  11. Remove the cakes from the pan while they are still warm. (I actually baked my cakes the day before and left them in the pans until the next day with a clean towel laying over the tops of the completely cooled cakes. I simply used a butter knife and slid it around the edges and the cakes released just fine.)
  12. Cut the cooled cakes in half so that you end up with 4 horizontal layers.
  13. Place whipped cream between the layers and on top.
  14. Drizzle a scant amount of caramel sauce over the top to decorate the cake. (I didn’t do this because it was a birthday cake and I wanted to pipe on top, but normally I would.)
  15. Serve the torte with warm caramel sauce drizzled on top. (It isn’t necessary, but if you want to “plate” it nicely, add a little extra dollop of whipped cream and then the caramel sauce drizzled on top, with a pecan set in it for a lovely presentation.)

Caramel Sauce:

  • 2 cups of whipping cream
  • 2 heaping tablespoons of butter
  • 2 cups of brown sugar (packed)

Place the ingredients in a sauce pan and let simmer cover for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (When I make a sauce like this, I will often put it on the stove early in the day on the lowest setting on my stove until all of the ingredients are melted and well mixed. I will then turn it off and just let it stand until closer to serving time and then just heat it up.)

Cream for Layers:

  • 3 cups of whipping cream
  • 1 1/2 – 2 Tablespoons of icing sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whip the cream until it holds its shape. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat to mix. (The original recipe calls for 2 cups whip cream, 1+ T. icing sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla, but I find that it isn’t quite enough to get good coverage of the sides and top, so the above is 1 1/2 times the original and made plenty.)

*This recipe makes a lovely tall 4 layer torte that served all 20 people at Tim’s birthday. The pieces weren’t huge, but everyone got a piece and there was a good hunk of cake left. I was worried about how many it would feed and actually made 12 cupcakes as well, just in case. I would say this cake would easily serve 16 to 20 people.

*I have also halved this recipe and made only one cake when serving less people.  I then slice the single cake into thirds to get 3 layers.

*I don’t generally have “cake flour” in my house, but did go to “Bulk Barn” and bought 1 cup just for this recipe. I am not sure how important that is??

Did you know?

I already had this recipe, but was originally wondering if I might try to bake it in regular round cake pans, so was researching to see if it would work or not? (I found mixed responses to this and ended up using my angel pan and a borrowed one from a neighbour.) Anyway, in my research I discovered that Shmoo Torte is somewhat of a Winnipeg/Manitoba phenomena. I never realized that, but evidently it’s rare to find it in a bakery or on a dessert menu outside of our lovely province. Interesting? I don’t know if there is any truth to this or not, but if you are reading this post and you live outside Manitoba, I’d love to know if you’ve ever heard of Shmoo Torte before. If Shmoo is new to you, it is an absolute MUST TRY!  Let me know how it works out for you when you have a chance to try it!

P.S. I didn’t have a great picture from the party, so I “plated” a piece this morning just for this post. After snapping a few pictures, I thought “Ah, what the hell! No body else is around…”, so I ate it for breakfast! Not the healthiest start to the date, but well worth the temporary euphoria!

Pineapple Smoothie

I’m not sure what’s up with me, but for the past few weeks I have had very little appetite. It’s not that I am not eating, but more just that I don’t crave anything in particular and nothing really seems all that appealing to me. This is especially true at breakfast time. I am not the type of person to skip breakfast. I absolutely need breakfast every morning, especially on a work day when I know I won’t really get an opportunity to snack before lunch. I have my breakfast staples like eggs (of any kind) and homemade flax granola, but lately I just don’t feel like eating breakfast. I like smoothies, but I try to drink 16 oz of water as soon as I get up and always have a large coffee before I leave the house, so the thought of more liquid before work doesn’t seem like a good idea, but I honestly need to change things up a bit. We always have frozen berries in the freezer because my daughter eats them like there’s no tomorrow, but my husband brought a bag of frozen pineapple home from his last Costco trip. I love fresh pineapple, but the frozen bag has been sitting in the freezer untouched for about 2 weeks already, so I decided that I might try a pineapple smoothie for something completely different to start off my day. Pineapple is packed with nutrients and is supposed to aid in digestion as well, so it seems like  great choice. In preparing for this post, I found this article on  Style Craze,  that highlighted 17 Amazing Health Benefits of Pineapples. If you like pineapple, check out the post and stock-up on this delicious nutritious fruit.

We make fruit smoothies all the time, but I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever made one with pineapple. I searched the web and came up with several different recipes. I decided to try a few and see which one I like this best. Here’s today’s Pineapple Smoothie Recipe taken from Creme de la Crumb.

Skinny Pineapple Smoothie

pineapple smoothieThis simple recipe takes less than 5 minutes to make and has good flavour.

  • 1 cup frozen pineapple
  • ½ medium banana (I used a frozen banana)
  • ½ cup crushed ice (I omitted the ice in lieu of the frozen banana)
  • ½ cup vanilla yogurt (or greek vanilla yogurt)
  • 1 cup coconut milk

Toss the ingredients in the blender. Blend and serve.

I liked the taste of this smoothie, but I can’t say it will be my new “go to”. It was a bit creamier than I like and so I think I will test out another recipe next time and see if it is more to my liking. Don’t get me wrong, this recipe is good, just not quite what I’m looking for.

Protein Particulars

With age, I have come to know and understand my body so much better. It has taken me years to begin to figure things out regarding what constitutes a healthy diet for me personally and I still feel that I have so much to learn about proper nutrition and my body in particular. However, my experience with exercise programs and various fad diets has revealed a few things that I know for sure:

  • protein is absolutely essential to how I feel each day (I am quite conscious of my protein intake and try to have an adequate source of protein with every meal.)
  • I have trouble digesting many forms of meat. I am not saying I can’t eat meat, but I have learned what kinds of meat are “friendly” and easily digested by my body. I have also discovered that I must eat red meat in moderation (one to two times per week), fish rarely (depending on the kind) and turkey once in a while. For me, chicken is the staple that I eat several times per week.  I also try to plan a minimum of one meatless dinner per week.
  • For me, I get most of my protein from eggs, nuts, seeds and chicken.

How to Calculate Your Protein Needs:

I do not count or keep track of my protein intake, but it is sometimes interesting to reflect on what you are eating just to see if you are in fact falling short on your protein intake. Here is a link for a protein calculator.  I used two different ways to calculate my recommended levels and both systems came out about the same. For my age and size, I should consume between 74 and 80 grams of protein per day, depending on my activity level.

Protein Sources:

Despite the fact that we often equate “meat” with protein, there are numerous other foods that offer great sources of protein as well. It really wasn’t until recently that I discovered the value of seeds. I had always tried to incorporate plenty of nuts in my diet, but never really consumed seeds other than the not so healthy salted sunflower seeds we would eat over the summer months. It was The Plan that actually taught me the value of seeds and since then, a day rarely goes by that I do not eat seeds. Raw pumpkins seeds have become one of my favourite additions to my lunch time salads and I will often add raw sunflower seeds or chia seeds to soups and salads as well.  Seeds are packed with protein and when eaten raw, make a very healthy addition to any meal.  Below are some of my favourite protein sources with a quick comparison of their protein, fat and caloric values. Of course, there are many other nutritional elements in each of the foods below, but I am primarily looking at their protein values.  If you are interested in searching for other protein rich foods, Health Alternatives offers some great charts with nutritional information.protein chart

As mentioned earlier in the post, pumpkin seeds are one of the few foods that I eat almost every day. You can see how just an ounces of pumpkin seeds on a salad can boost your protein intake and help you to maintain that “full” feeling for much longer than when you eat vegetables only.  I found a post that highlights some of the many nutritional benefits of eating raw pumpkin seeds. To learn more about these protein packed little morsels, check-out this post on Young and Raw.

Next time you make a salad, add a handful of raw pumpkin seeds to it and see how much longer you feel “full”.  Also, when considering your breakfast choices, always consider how you might incorporate some protein into your meal.  We all know breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day and including a good source of protein is vital!

If you are interested in learning to blog, do not miss this opportunity to learn how the pros blog with a revolutionary new blogging platform.  Click here to learn more.

 

Birthday Cake Pancakes

Eden had a sleepover birthday party last night and the girls will soon be up and ready for breakfast. Traditionally, I always make homemade waffles for her parties, as waffles are one of her favourites. This year, I thought I would try something different. There are several versions of these on-line, none of which I have ever made. I opted for this recipe and hope they are a hit with the girls ~ especially the birthday girl!

Birthday Cake Pancakes:

This recipe was borrowed from Seeded at the Table, but I do believe Nikki adapted this recipe from My Life As a Mrs. For the complete recipes and suggestions, please follow the  links.

I have never made these before, so I decided to stick to the recipe. My last attempt at trying a new pancake recipe didn’t go that well. I make pancakes for the kids regularly and seldom have issues flipping them or having them stay together, but those Cinnamon Swirl pancakes weren’t my best work. They tasted great, but were a horrible mess to serve. Hopefully, these will go off without a hitch.

Here’s Nikki’s Birthday Cake Pancake Recipe:

Ingredients:

    • 1 1/2 cups  flour
    • 1 cup yellow cake mix
    • 1 Tablespoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
    • 1/2 cup milk
    • 2 Tablespoons melted butter
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1/3 cup sprinkles
For the icing (optional):
  • Whipping cream
  • Powdered sugar

Heat a griddle or non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a whisk. Add the milks, butter and vanilla and whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until fully mixed. Fold in the sprinkles.

Scoop just shy of 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake, leaving room for the batter to spread into larger rounds. When the pancakes begin to bubble, flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover with a kitchen towel to keep warm until serving. Serve with syrup or optional icing.

Optional Icing:

Mix together powdered sugar and whipping cream to reach desired consistency and taste. Pour over top individual stack of pancakes.

Want to learn how the pro’s blog? If you’re interested in earning money from home, it makes sense to learn blogging and internet marketing techniques from the best on the web. If you’d like to receive the same training that’s helped me to launch my blog, you should click to find out how I did it.