Moist Red Velvet Cake

What's up, my fellow foodies? Y'all doing good? You good? You good? I'm good! You good? Okay, good. Valentine's day is almost here, I thought that now would be the perfect time to share my Red Velvet Cake recipe. Red velvet cake is one of my favorite kinds of cake. The deep red color, the moist cake, and the sweet cream cheese frosting make this dessert irresistible. 

This cake is very easy and simple to make. It's an oil-based cake, which is what I prefer for a red velvet cake. Using oil is what really gives this cake its moist texture. I really love red velvet cake, but I have found is that different people like to do theirs different ways. Some people tend to use WAY too much Cocoa in there red velvet cake, which is saddening to me. A red velvet cake is not a chocolate cake, it a red velvet cake that has been blessed with a little Cocoa for that little something special.

My recipe has the perfect amount of Cocoa in it that doesn't overpower the entire cake. I developed this recipe a little while ago, and everyone loves it. I really hope you give it a try.

For the cake:

- 2 1/2 cups cake flour

- 2 1/2 tbsp. unsweetened Cocoa

- 1 tsp. salt

- 2 cups vegetable or canola oil

- 2 cups sugar

- 2 eggs

- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

- 1 tsp. baking soda

- 1 tbsp. white vinegar

- 1 cup buttermilk

- 2 ounces red food coloring

- 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

For the cream cheese frosting:

- 2 8-ounces packages cream cheese (softened)

- 2 sticks of butter (softened)

- 2 tsp. vanilla extract

- 4 cups powdered sugar

Directions for the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa until completely combined. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together with your mixer until fully combined. Add in the red food coloring and mix until incorporated. Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in to additions, mixing only until combined. Scrap down the sides of the mixing bowl for any flour that has been mixed in. Add in the buttermilk. Lastly, mix the baking soda ans vinegar in a small dish and then quickly add that mixture into the cake batter and mix. Pour the batter into two greased and floured 9-inch cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven after baking and let them cool in the pans for about 15 minutes. Using a butter knife, go around the edges of the cakes to release them from the sides and then flip them over on to a cooling rack to finish cooling. 

Directions for the frosting:

In a mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Slowly add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time until the sugar is completely mixed in, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

After the cakes have cooled, lay one layer upside down onto your cake plate, and spread on a layer of frosting on the top. Take the top layer of the cake, and place it upside down onto the frosted bottom layer. Spread the frosting evenly on the sides and top of the cakes. Stick the pecans all around the sides of the cake.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe. If you make it, please let me know how you liked it. Remember to watch my video to this recipe below, and subscribe to my channel YouTube channel (Devin Cooks) for more video recipes. Thanks, and I'll see you next time.

Buttery Homemade Biscuits

What's up foodies? Y'all doing good? You good? You good? I'm good! You good? Okay, good.

There's nothing like a good, flaky biscuits to go along with you morning breakfast! I loooove a good biscuit, and these biscuits are everything you need in a biscuit. I have been making these biscuits for quite some time now, and they are my favorite. It took me a while to perfect this recipe, but after some time, I finally got it right.

The secret is using Self-Rising flour. Before making these biscuits, I always used All-Purpose flour, but it wasn't until my mom suggested that I use Self-Rising flour that I finally decided to try it. My mom told me that self rising flour is better for biscuits because that's what she uses in her biscuits (which I may share the recipe for one day). If you can, I strongly recommend that you use White Lily self rising flour. White Lily is THE flour for making biscuits. I got go all into the science of why the White Lily brand is the best for making biscuits, but I'm here to share a recipe, not give a science lesson! But trust me, White Lily works. I understand that everyone isn't able to get White Lily, and if you can't, just use another high-quality flour.

Another secret to these biscuits is I like to use half and half instead of just regular milk. I find that the mix of cream and milk gives me a better taste and texture, but you most definitely can use regular whole milk, but watch the amount you use because half and half is a little thicker than regular milk.

Now, I know that I already have self rising flour in the biscuits, and it already has salt and baking powder in it, but I also like to add a little baking powder just to add little more 'rise' in the biscuits and a little salt for flavor.

NOTES: 

- Make sure that the butter is really cold, I put mine in the freezer for about 25 minutes to make sure it's really cold.

- I put my butter in the food processor with a few tablespoons of flour to make sure nothing stuck, and pulsed it a few times until the butter was cut into small pieces, and then added the butter in with the flour. You can also just make these biscuits it your food processor if you have one that big enough. 

- If you want to make layers in your biscuits, fold the dough over on itself a few times before cutting them (refer to the YouTube video below).

Ingredients:

- 2 1/2 cups self rising flour (White Lily recommended)

- 1 tsp. baking powder

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 tbsp. sugar

- 1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) butter, very cold

- 1 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a mixing bowl. sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Cut the cold butter into the flour with a pastry blender, fork, or two knives until its in small pieces. Next, make a well in the middle of the butter and flour mixture and pour in the half and half. Mix the half and half into the flour mixture until it forms a dough. Flour your counter top, and then turn the dough onto the floured surface. Knead the dough a few times to incorporate some of the flour, and then flatten it out with your hands or a rolling pin, and then cut the biscuits out with your floured biscuit butter. Place the biscuits into the pan of your choice, spread the tops with melted butter, and make for about 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe, remember to visit my YouTube channel for the video recipe. If you make this, please let me know how you liked it. Thanks again, and I'll see you next time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gx9W0XFAkA

Cranberry Pecan Loaf Cake

Cranberry Pecan Loaf Cake

                                                        Cook time: 45-55 minutes 

                                                   Servings: Yield 15-20 servings 

What's up foodies? Y'all doing good? You good? You good? I'm good! You good? Okay, good.

Okay, this recipe is probably one of my favorite recipes because I pretty much nailed it with the recipes the first time I made it. This load cake is inspired from a cake that I once had from the bakery at a Publix grocery store. It was a few years ago when I was in a Publix in another city (we don't have one in my city). I went there and passed through the bakery section where this lady was standing there holding a tray with plastic cups. She asked "Would you like to try some of this cranberry pecan cake today?" I replied "No!" I really did want some, but I was being modest. I caught up with my mama and she had some of it to. I tried some of hers and was amazed at how good it was. I went back to the bakery section and bought two of these cakes. I went back maybe a couple months after that and was able to get one and have never had another one since. I first, I though maybe I was just coming at the wrong time. Then, I thought that maybe they only serve them around a specific time of year because of the cranberries being in season. But I soon realized that the cake contained dried cranberries, which can be purchased anytime of year. So, then I just came to the conclusion that maybe everybody didn't enjoy the cake as much as I did and they didn't sell well and so they decided to stop selling them. Either way, I am going to call them one of these days and just asked if they still sell them.

If we had a Publix where I live, I would most definitely check to see if they had them every day, but since the nearest one is about 45 minutes away, that's just not convenient. So, about two or three weeks ago, I decided to sit down and make my own recipe at home, and I think I did a pretty good job. This flavor in this cake is almost the same as the one I purchased from Publix.

In the recipe, you'll see that I use sour cream and half and half. I found that the sour cream really gives this cake a great moistness and I love the richness they half and half adds.

Notes:

-You don't have to make this in a loaf pan, the ones that I purchased from Publix were in loaf pans, I just wanted to get the full effect. You can make this in a 13x9 inch pan or a tube pan, but the cooking time is going to vary depending on the pan you use.

- If you don't have half and half, you can substitute it with regular milk. 

Ingredients:

- 12 tablespoons butter

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 1 cup white sugar

- 1 cup dried cranberries

- 1/2 cup chopped pecans

- Juice of one orange

- 1 teaspoon orange zest

- 2 eggs

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1/2 cup sour cream

- 1 cup half and half

- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- pinch of salt 

Directions:

About one hour before you start making the cake, put the cranberries into a small bowl and add in the orange zest and the freshly squeezed orange juice and stir. Let the sit for an hour, allowing the juice to be absorbed by the cranberries.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 2- 9 inch loaf pans.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until fluffy and combined. Add the eggs in one at a time, beating until the egg is combined. Add in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternate adding the flour and the sour cream and half and half. Once all the flour and half and half/sour cream is added, fold in the pecans and the cranberries that have been sitting in the orange juice. Pour your batter evenly into the two loaf pans and bake for about 45-55 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. After the cakes come out of the oven, let them cool for about 25 minutes before serving. 

I really hope you enjoy this recipe. I found it to be quite delicious. Make sure to visit my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVS-VN3HMfEh1wr41rd7ImA) to view a video of this video and more. Thanks for visiting.

Cornbread Dressing

Cornbread Dressing

What's up world? Ya'll doing good? You good? You good? I'm good! You good? Okay, good! Now, I know the Holidays are pretty much over, but this recipe was originally supposed to be up BEFORE Thanksgiving, but due to other obligations, I never got around to it. I think learning to manage my time better will be a New Year's Resolution for me. 

It's not a complete loss, I mean, cornbread dressing isn't specifically made to be served during the Holiday's, it's just mainly served during the Holiday's.

Cornbread dressing is without a doubt one of my favorite side dishes. When I was younger, I always thought that Thanksgiving/Christmas was the only time you could have cornbread dressing. Again, cause that's is mainly when it is served. This recipe is a very basic dressing recipe that require little ingredients. 

First off, the cornbread. For this recipe, you can use your own cornbread recipe or you can buy any packaged cornbread from the store. I strongly recommend that you don't buy any of the sweet cornbread kind, but it is completely up to you.

Cornbread Recipe:
- 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
- 1/2 cup self-rising flour
- Pinch of sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
-1 tbsp. vegetable oil, plus more for skillet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the corn meal, flour, and sugar. Add the egg, vegetable oil, and buttermilk and mix until all combined. Pour enough oil into the bottom of your cast iron skillet to cover the bottom. Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

NOTES:
-You can also use cream of celery or cream of mushroom instead of cream of chicken. Make it your own.

-The amount of chicken broth you need is going to depend on the texture of your cornbread. When adding the chicken broth, make sure you add enough so that the ending result before you bake it is like a thick, but runny consistency.

For the Dressing:
-1 batch prepared cornbread
-2 eggs
-1 can cream of chicken
- *3 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- ground sage (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, saute the onions and celery in the melted butter on a medium low heat for about five or six minutes. After five or six minutes remove the onions and celery from the skillet. With your clean hands, crumble the cooked cornbread into a bowl. Pour in enough chicken broth to moisten the cornbread liberally. Once you've added the chicken broth, add the can of cream of chicken and mix until everything is combined. Add in the onions and celery and season to taste with salt, pepper, and sage.Taste the dressing to see if it's seasoned enough and then mix in the eggs. Once everything is combined, pour the dressing batter into a greased casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

I really hope you give this recipe a try. If you do, please let me know how you enjoyed it. Like always, the video for this recipe is below. Make sure to go over to YouTube and subscribe to my channel for video recipes (Devin Cooks). Thank you. See you next time.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

Makes about 3 cups of sauce

There's nothing like homemade cranberry sauce. I use to think that making cranberry was a difficult task, but it wasn't until a couple years ago when I tried making it myself and realized how easy it was. The first time I made cranberry sauce, I underestimated how tart cranberries can be, so I only added about 1/4 cup of sugar (I know that sounds ridiculous). I had a major surprise when I tasted. I had already cooked the cranberry sauce before I tasted it instead of tasting it before it was done. Major lesson learned. Anyway, I was able to add more sugar and fix the disaster.

Every since then I have had no trouble making cranberry sauce. My recipe is quick and simple, and is sure to please at your dinner table. It's really just a matter of putting everything in a pot and boiling it.

This cranberry sauce is just the way I like it. Not overly sweet and not too tart to where it tastes sour. You can adjust the ingredients in this recipe to fit your personal taste. If you prefer a more tart cranberry sauce, use a little less sugar than what's listed in the recipe. If you find my amount to be too little sugar, add more. Make this your own.

Notes:

 I've seen people use Pomegranate juice,apple juice, and even pineapple juice, so if that's what you prefer, use it. 

I had a few stubborn cranberries that just didn't want to pop, so if you encounter the same thing, just use a potato masher, or the back of your spoon to help crush them.

Cranberries have pectin in them that will thicken the sauce as it sits and cools down. There is no need to add any flour or cornstarch to thicken it.

If you don't like the cranberries in your sauce, while the sauce is still hot from the oven, run it through a strainer so that you are only left with the sauce and not the berries.

Ingredients:

- 1 (12 oz) package of fresh cranberries

- 2/3 cup cranberry juice

- Juice of a whole orange

- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

In a medium saucepan of medium heat place all four ingredients in, give them a stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes or until all the cranberries have popped, stirring to dissolve the sugar. After all the cranberries have popped, remove the sauce from the heat, and place in a heat-safe container to cool.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce. 

Recipe By: Devin Judkins

Store in refrigerator until ready to use. I really hope you enjoy this recipe and please remember to go over to YouTube and subscribe for video recipes. The video for this is recipe is below.

Sweet Potato Pie

Whats up all my fellow foodies? In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I had to make a classic, Sweet Potato Pie. This was my first time making this, and I think I did a pretty good job. Real maple syrup and a combination of all spice, nutmeg, and cinnamon is really what sets this pie off. You can adjust the spices to fit your own personal taste, but what's below is what works for me.

If you have your own pied crust recipe, you can use that, but it's the holiday's, so I decided to save myself a little time. 

This Sweet Potato pie is delicious and will make a great addition to your Thanksgiving menu. I really hope you enjoy this simple Thanksgiving dessert.

Tip: Will baking, if you find your pie crust is getting too dark, lay a piece of aluminum foil over each pie to prevent them from over-browning.

- 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes 

- 3/4 cup sugar

-1/4 cup real maple syrup

-2 eggs

-1/2 cup heavy cream

-8 tbsp (1 stick) butter

- 1/8 tsp nutmeg

- 1/4 tsp allspice

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 3 tbsp flour

- 2 traditional-sized pie crust 

- 2 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract (optional)

Boil your sweet potatoes until they are fork tender. Once your potatoes are done, remove them from the water and place them on top of a cooling rack that's over a baking sheet to let them cool and drain off any water for about 15 minutes. 

Once your potatoes have cooled, start to remove the skin from them and place the potatoes in a mixing bowl. Once all your potatoes in a the bowl, beat them with you mixer until they're fluffy. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prick holes all over the bottom and sides of your pie crust with a fork (this will prevent them pie crust from puffing up while baking). Bake your pie crust in the oven for five minutes, keeping an eye on them to prevent over baking.

While those are baking, go back to your potatoes and add in your sugars and maple syrup and mix until combined, and then add in the softened butter. In a separate bowl, beat your eggs together and mix those into the sweet potato mixture. Add in your cream, and finish off with your flour and spices. Give your bowl one final stir with s spatula or spoon and pour the batter into the two pre-baked pie crust. Smooth out the matter in the pie crust, reduce your oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake for pies for 45 minutes. 

After your pies have baked, let them cool for about an hour and dig in. You can leave the pies settings out at room temperature, but I prefer to put the in the refrigerator. 

I really hop you enjoy this recipe. If you make it, please let me know how you liked it in the comments. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving.

My Homemade Pound Cake

Pound Cake Goodness

Hello all you foodies out there....Y'all doing good? You good? I'm good, you good? Okay, good. What you are about to witness is going to change your life forever...okay, maybe it's not life changing, but this pound cake recipe is sure to please any and everybody you serve it to. I have gotten praised several times about this recipe, and some people are actually shocked that I made it. I guess everybody isn't aware that I am the self-proclaimed culinary genius. Instead of using regular milk or buttermilk like you may see in other recipes, I use heavy cream just to give it that extract gourmet feel. I have made all types of pound cakes before, and after creating this pound cake recipe, this has become my go-to recipe. This is your standard, and may I say "Old Fashioned" pound cake recipe that includes a pound of each ingredient. With that said, this cake contains A LOT of butter and A LOT of sugar, so this may not be for all you health nuts out there, but remember: "Everything is good in moderation."

This Nielson Massey Vanilla Bean Paste is SOOOO GOOD. I use this when I want to add a little gourmet to all my sweet dishes. I purchased this on Amazon for $8 on sale for a 4 ounce jar. If you've never tried it before, you must try it. Is it obvious that I like to use the term gourmet yet?

Pound cakes are considered a very dense cake, but one thing I noticed in many pound cakes is that they're overly dry. When I developed this recipe, I wanted to stray away from making it too dry. I figured a little trick with egg whites that will help make this cake a little bit lighter in texture than what you are used to in a pound cake. 

Notes:
-Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before you make the cake.
-Separate the egg yolks while the eggs are still fresh out of the refrigerator.
-You can also use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour.
-The cream of tartar isn't necessarily a needed ingredient, but I use it just to help out the egg whites.
-If you find that the batter is too thick while adding the flour, you can add some of the cream...I would hate for you to break your mixer, lol.
Recipe:

• 2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened
• 3 cups  sifted All-Purpose Flour
• 2 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 5 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3 tsp. baking power
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. vanilla paste or extract
• 1 tsp. butter flavoring
• 1 tsp. lemon flavoring
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350°

Cream together the softened butter and the 2 cups of sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Slowly add you egg yolks in one at a time, beating only until the egg yolk is completely mixed into the batter. Next, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. With your mixer on low, slower add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure all the flour is mixed in. Mix all of your flavorings and extracts in with the heavy cream and then add the cream into the batter. 

In a separate clean bowl, beat your egg whites and cream of tarter with you mixer until they start to look foamy, about one or two minutes, then add in the 1/4 cup of sugar, and continue to beat until the form stiff peaks. 

(they will resemble whipped cream and are able to stand once you remove the beaters from the egg whites)

Once your egg whites have come to stiff peaks, you want to carefully fold the egg whites a little at a time into the batter with a rubber spatula until they are fully combined. Grease and flour your Bundt pan and pour in your cake batter. Once all you cake batter is in, tap the pan on the counter a couple time to release any air bubbles that may be throughout the batter. Bake for about 1 hour or and 1 hour and 15 minutes, but keep a check on it  at the 1 hour mark because stoves are different. Once a toothpick or skewer comes out clean, its ready.

Well, that's it, you've got yourself a homemade pound cake. I'm sure this pound cake will be a hit with you and everyone you share it with. If you make it, please let me know in the comments. Below is the video I recorded for my YouTube channel. I was a littler nervous, so some of the things in this blog post are not mentioned in the video, which is one of the reasons I created this blog. Feel free to watch the video and also *cough, cough* go on over to YouTube and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more video updates. I have a lot more coming. Again, please let me know if you make this.