Blueberry Vanilla Bean Mochi Cake

My friend Randy recommended this cake so I tried making it last night. If you like mochi, you will love the texture of this cake. It's also very easy to make. I didn't even need to whip out the KitchenAid. I did this one all by hand.

adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Makes one 9X13 pan, or 24 squares

• 1 lb box of Mochiko flour (3 cups equivalent)
• 2 1/2 cups of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 14 oz cans of coconut milk - not lowfat (I used two cans of 13.5 oz)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup of butter) melted and slightly cooled
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out
• 1 cup of blueberries, washed and picked over

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9X13 baking pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together mochiko flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup (4 cup capacity), beat eggs, then add coconut milk, melted butter and vanilla bean. Mix together until vanilla bean is well distributed.
4. Carefully pour the wet ingredients over the mochiko flour mixture and whisk until mixture is smooth and uniform in texture.
5. Pour batter into greased 9X13 pan. Carefully smooth out the top. Sprinkle blueberries over entire surface.
6. Bake for 90 minutes, until top is golden brown and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
7. Allow cake to cool for about 30 minutes on a rack, and then carefully flip it out and cut into 24 squares, or the size of your choice. Can store mochi cake for three days, covered.

Avery's Sugar Cookies

I ate these at Jessica's baby shower when she was pregnant with Avery. So I decide to just name them after Avery to distinguish them from the other sugar cookie recipe I have. These are delicious, moist, soft and addicting. The frosting isn't the thin kind that you do a color flow with...even those look cute, they harden up to be too hard. This is a softer frosting so decorating isn't as "clean" but it's delicious to eat. Sometimes you gotta sacrifice "cuteness" for deliciousness. After all, we're talking about food, right?

Sugar Cookies
Yields about 24 cookies | Bakes in 7 minutes

2/3 cup butter, soften
¾ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer, medium to high speed, for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides occasionally. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.
Divide the dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill dough for 30 minutes, or until easy enough to handle.
On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough out at a time into 1/8 inch thickness or a smidge more. (A thicker cookie will cook up softer and more moist). The key to a successful batch is consistency. Make sure the dough is rolled out evenly and the cookies on each sheet are the same thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut dough into desired shapes. Place 1 (or ½) inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for 7 minutes, or until the edges are firm and bottoms (not sides!) are very lightly browned. If the sides of the cookie starts to look golden, take them out before they are overdone or burnt! Transfer to a wire race and let cool. Frost if desired.

Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 box powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond extract (the secret ingredient)

In a mixing bowl, beat softened butter on high for 30 seconds to a minute. Add 1 box of powdered sugar and beat on low until sugar clumps up around butter. Scrape bowl. Slowly add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time to butter and sugar. You may need more or less than 2 tablespoons to get the desired consistency. Continue to beat at medium speed until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and almond extract.
Beat thoroughly to incorporate, adjusting vanilla and almond extract to taste.
Note: The more milk used, the wetter the frosting , the longer it will take for your cookies “to set”. It is agood idea to let frosting set up before stacking and plating the cookies (usually an hour or more).

The kids decorating cookies for Santa! -Christmas 2011