Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Romney Family Table Review Plus Best White Cake Recipe

The Publisher provided me with a copy of this cookbook for the purpose of this review, but all opinions expressed herein are my own.

My first impression of "The Romney Family Table" from just looking at the pictures . . .
. . . This is going to be a good book :)

The first 77 pages are full of family stories, pictures and traditions with at least one recipe included in each category.  It is obvious that family is so important to Ann Romney and she truly believes in the importance of sitting around the dinner table with your children and enjoying a home cooked meal.

She tells you about raising five boys and all the adventures and hard times that come along with that.

Her stories are very well written and they kept me interested and for those of you that are wondering - she does not talk about politics.

Then, you start off the recipe section with Breads.  Like always, I want to make every single bread recipe.  How do Sweet Potato Muffins, Orange Rolls and No-Knead Bread sound?

This book has a lot of classic recipes that I never get sick of, such as . . . Lemon Squares, Great Granny's Banana Cake and Ann's Honey Wheat Bread.

I cannot wait to try her Homemade Caesar Dressing that does not have anchovies in it.

You are sure to find many favorites in the more than 125 recipes that are included in this hard-back book.

Not only are you going to benefit from all the great recipes in "The Romney Family Table,"  but Ann Romney is donating the proceeds to the Center for Neurological Diseases at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston.

That has got to make you feel good about where your money is going.
I wanted to share with you one of the many delicious desserts in "The Romney Family Table."

This white cake recipe intrigued me.  I had never seen the mixing method that was used to make this cake.  I had to see what type of cake it created and if she calls it BEST White Cake, it is worth a try.

The crumb of the cake really is unique.  It is almost dry and it's crumbly, but when you taste it, it doesn't taste dry and the flavor is really good.  I made it exactly as the recipe said, even triple-sifting the cake flour.
The Icing is really the star of this cake.  It tastes like CARAMEL.  You first cook butter, brown sugar and milk on the stove and then mix it into powdered sugar.  It is fairly runny at first, but it sets up SO QUICK.  You have got to work fast.  Since it sets up so fast, I went with a quick layer in the middle and on the top.

I personally really liked it and I know I will end up eating more than my fair share.

Overall, I am happy with this book.  My favorite sections are the bread and desserts (surprise), but the other sections have some great recipes too.
Best White Cake
adapted from: Ann Romney
(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 1/4 c. triple-sifted cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk, divided
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans that have been lined with parchment paper.  Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the flour, baking powder and salt and 2/3 cup of milk.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Whisk together the remaining 1/3 cup of milk, eggs and vanilla and pour into the batter.  Beat for another 2 minutes.  Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes, then invert to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Top with icing.

Icing
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 c. brown sugar, packed
4 Tbl. milk
2 c. powdered sugar

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the brown sugar and bring to a boil.  Continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Stir in the milk and cook just until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add the powdered sugar.  Beat until it is smooth.  Spread half over first cake layer, top with 2nd cake layer and remaining icing.  If icing becomes too thick, simply add a little hot water until it returns to a texture you can work with.

Jenn's Notes: My cake took around 30 minutes to bake.  I garnished mine with pecans and it was super tasty. 

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