A lovely yummy cake to make for your Labor Day party/get together

 

Strawberry Mousse Cake

Ingredients; cake

Oil or melted butter for greasing

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

Generous ¾ cup superfine sugar

3 eggs beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp. milk

Ingredients; Filling and topping

4 tsp powdered gelatine

3 tbsp. orange juice

5 cups fresh strawberries

3 tbsp. superfine sugar

1 ½ cups heavy cream

Scant ½ cup grape jelly, warmed

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 325F/160C. Grease a 9-inch/23-cm round spring form cake pan and line with parchment paper.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and add the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.  Beat well until the batter is smooth, then stir in the milk.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth level.  Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes or until risen and golden brown.

Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.  Cut the cake in half horizontally and place half back in the cake pan.

For the filling, dissolve the gelatine in the orange juice in a small bowl placed in a pan of hot water.  In a blender or processor, puree 3 ½ cups of the strawberries with the sugar.  Whip the cream until thick enough to hold its shape.  Quickly stir the gelatine into the strawberry mixture, then fold in the cream.

Pour the mixture into the cake pan and place the second half of the cake on top.  Chill in the refrigerator until set.  Turn out the cake and spread the top with the warmed grape jelly.  Decorate the mousse cake with the remaining strawberries.

 

Serves 8-10

Tried and tested in the THASC kitchen

 

Easy Clam Chowder

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, diced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

½ teaspoon dried thyme

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 cup vegetable stock

2 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams, juices reserved

1 bay leaf

2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup half and half

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Method

Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over a medium high heat.  Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, abut 6-8 minutes.  Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, reserving 1 tablespoon excess fat; set aside.  Melt butter in the stockpot.  Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.  Stir in thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in milk, vegetable stock, clam juice and bay leaf, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes.  Stir in potatoes.  Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 2-15 minutes.  Stir in half and half and clams until heated, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.  If the soup is too thick, add more half and half as needed until consistency is reached.  Serve immediately, garnished with bacon and parsley if desired.4

Tried and tested in the THASC kitchen

 

Chocolate Coconut Cake

Ingredients: cake

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) chocolate cake mix with pudding

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

24 Large marshmallows

1 package (14 ounces) flaked coconut

Glaze

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

½ cup butter, cubed

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped almonds

Method

Prepare cake according to package directions.  Grease two 13-in, x 9-in, 2-in, baking pans.  Line bottom and sides of one pan with waxed paper; spray with cooking spray.  Divide batter among pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Cool.

In a large saucepan, bring sugar and milk to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and stir in marshmallows until smooth.  Add coconut.  Spread over cake in unlined pan.

Using wax paper, remove the remaining from the pan and carefully invert on top of filling; carefully peel of waxed paper.  Cool completely.

In another saucepan, bring the sugar, milk and butter to a boil.  Remove from heat; add chips and stir until smooth.  Add the nuts.  Pour over the cake; cool to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Yield; 16-20 servings

Tried and tested in the THASC kitchen

Note; We found that using the waxed paper wasn’t necessary and in fact made the cake slightly misshapen compared to the other layer.  Also recommend freezing prior to cutting as it is a very moist cake and hard to cut successfully otherwise.

Chicken and tortellini Salad

Ingredients

2 (9-oz) packages refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini

½ cup Olive oil

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed

½ cup thinly sliced green onions

½ cup fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and pepper to taste.

Method

Prepare tortellini according to package instructions.

Process olive oil and next 4 ingredients in a blender until smooth. Toss olive oil mixture with tortellini, chicken and next 3 ingredients.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 Makes 12 to 5 appetizer servings

Hands on time:20 minutes Total time:30 minutes

Tried and tested in the THASC kitchen