Grandma's Cooking School: Poppy Seed Torte

This was originally posted on May 27, 2010 on Cooking for Seven. Because these lessons were such an important part of my life, I will be re-posting them here.

{Grandma’s Cooking School is my chronicles of the informal cooking lessons that my Grandma graciously decided to give us girls. Enjoy!}

This cake is my favorite.  The batter is not too sweet, the custard filling is so rich, and the whipped cream frosting is perfect.

Here’s a tip from Grandma: soak your poppy seeds in milk overnight.

What’s the secret to this cake’s light texture? Egg whites – beaten and folded into the batter.

Grandma cut a pretty round of wax paper for the cake to rest on.

The custard. Oh, the custard! And the frosting. Oh my.

The finished cake. We were a little impatient and filled the cake before the custard was set. Oh well.

This is the best part: sharing our creations with Dad. He is always so happy to taste our desserts at coffee break.

When I asked Grandma if I could share the recipe for Poppy Seed Torte with you, she quietly but firmly refused. I’m sorry to tease you, but Grandma has spoken!

Edited in 2014 to add: Here is a recipe online that's quite similar to the one my Grandma uses. She leaves out the nuts.

**Next Time on Grandma’s Cooking School: Homemade Bread & Cinnamon Rolls**

Part 1: Banana Cream Pie
Part 2: Chocolate Crepes
Part 3: Roast Beef Dinner

Easiest Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

The other night, my family invited my sister's and my family over for a breakfast supper to enjoy their freshly-boiled maple syrup. My sister called me up and said, "I'll make the apple crisp if you make the ice cream." Deal.

Now, in a situation like this, when you're required to make ice cream in an afternoon (I didn't know until about two or three that this was going to be a thing), you definitely do NOT have time to cook up a custard and get it down to bone-cold temperature for churning. Thankfully, you can still make an awesome homemade ice without a custard base. 

All that's required is mixing all of the ingredients together and churning. BOOM. Ice cream in 30 minutes.

It's dangerous knowledge. 

By the way, if you're a big fan of homemade ice cream, you need a good ice cream maker. I love my Cuisinart. I'm sure it's not as nice as the fancy built-in-freezer kind, but it's less than a third of the price. Also, I'm considering buying a second freezer bowl so I can make MORE ice cream at a time.

Note: If you're looking for the creamiest possible ice cream, I would go for a cooked custard (I'll have to share a recipe sometime). However, if you're pressed for time or just don't feel like standing over a hot stove, this ice cream is still fabulous.

Easiest Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

recipe adapted from the booklet that came with my mixer | makes about 7 cups | Printable Page

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup evaporated cane juice
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 of a vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise and beans scraped out

Directions:

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes; you can use a hand mixer or an old fashioned whisk. Stir in the cream, vanilla, and vanilla beans.

2) Pour the ice cream mixture into your mixer and churn according to manufacturer's instructions. Scrape into a freezer-safe container and freezer until desired firmness is achieved. 

Note: Links are affiliate. All opinions are my own. I would never recommend something to you guys that I don't like.

Life Updates

Hey guys! I made pizza for y'all, but it turned out to be a bit of a fail. It was pretty yummy, but there were a few technical difficulties -- the cheese slid all over the place. 

So today I'll update you on what's been going on in our life lately instead!

I do believe that this has been one of the longest Minnesota winters. Or at least it feels that way. I'm usually quite content with cozy winters full of hot tea and warm blankets; but the snow came early and it has been lingering. I just want warm sunshine and growing things.






To make the winter a little less tiresome, we took a ski trip. Reuben's sister kindly watched Helen for us while we hit the slopes. It was the first time we had the chance to go skiing in two years.






This is the food I packed for Helen for the ski trip (she's still nursing): kimchi, grapefruit, oranges, cheese, yogurt, butter and eggs.

Reuben's family keeps chickens, and the hens started laying recently. It's so nice to have good quality eggs again. And they are so very pretty.

Affogato al Caffè. Need I say more?

Helen has really started to enjoy her food lately. For breakfast she'll eat over half a cup of yogurt, two egg yolks, frozen blueberries (hence the face above), and a pickle (go figure). She'll be eating us out of house and home soon.







Our dishwasher is broken. You never realize just how many utensils you use up until you have to wash them all by hand.

I got my hair cut! You can read more about it over on my personal blog.

I have been a bit obsessed with watercolors lately. I gave Buttered Side Up a bit of a facelift -- I painted a new header and social media buttons. What do you think?

I'll leave you with this one of our little munchkin. She loves being outside. I can't wait for the ground to dry up so she can explore without getting sopping wet.

What's been happening in your life lately? Anything new or exciting? What has been bringing you joy?

xoxo

Erica