Re: June: Regarding Sourdough ........

Hi Elly, Thank you very much. I think the antibiotics the children had made them feel worse than the sickness. Thank goodness little ones bounce back soon! I would be happy to share more sourdough recipes with all of you. I just felt guilty taking up so much space! Get ready for another marathon! Ha SOURDOUGH CHOCOLATE CAKE: 1 cup sourdough starter, 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup butter, 1 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 eggs, 3 squares (3 oz,) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled, 1 cup milk, Cocoa Cream Cheese Filling ( to follow), Sweet Chocolate Glaze (to follow). Bring sourdough starter to room temp. (idealy use right after feeding & standing time) Grease and flour two 9 x 1 1/2 " round cake pans; set aside. Stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl beat the butter on med. for 30 sseconds. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in melted chocolate. Combine the sourdough starter and milk. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately to beaten mixture until well combined. Turn the batter into prepared pans. Bake in 350 oven about 30 min. or till done. Cool 10 min. on wire racks. Remove from pans; cool thoroughly on wire racks. Fill with Cocoa Cream Cheese Filling and glaze with Sweet Chocolate Glaze. Drizzle a design atop with the reserved Cream Cheese icing and top with white chocolate leaves. COCOA CREAM CHEESE FILLING: 1 cup sifted powdered (confectioners' icing) sugar. {* This is powdered sugar with cornstarch added to it found with other sugars at store.} 1 - 3 oz. Pkg. Cream Cheese, 1/4 tsp. vanilla, Milk, 2 Tbls. unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar. In small mixer bowl beat together the 1 cup pow. sugar and cream cheese till fluffy. Beat in vanilla. If necessary, beat in enough milk ( about 2 tsp.) to make pouring consistency. **Reserve 1/4 cup of the mixture and set aside to decorate the top of the cake. Stir in the cocoa to the remaining mixture. Add the 1/2 cup pow. sugar and beat till smooth. Use the cocoa mixture to spread between cake layers. Makes 2/3 cup filling and 1/4 cup icing. SWEET CHOCOLATE GLAZE: 3/4 cup sugar, 2 Tbls. cornstarch, 1 cup water, 2 squares,(2 oz.) German Sweet Chhocolate, cut up, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla. In a small saucepan combine the sugar, cornstarch and dash of salt. Stir in water and chocolate. Cook; stir till chocolate is melted and mixture is thickened. Cook and stir 2 min. more. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 10 - 15 min. until slightly cooled and of spreading consistency. Spread glaze over top and sides of cake. Drizzle the reserved cream cheese icing over top. Chill cake till set. #####*****++++ As you probably knew here are the tips from me: If you don't have the patience to make the white chocolate leaves like I don't they can be bought at a speciality gourmet store or local bakery. Gold leaves can be used in place; just for decoration. I only "fool" with these if I'm entertaining and Jim wants to impress someone. (Ha) INSTEAD... of reserving the extra cream cheese filling. I melt white chocolate and drizzle on top of the cake. Just to make it richer, as if it needs it, I put crushed pecans between the layers and on the sides of the cake. I always add about 1 tsp. butter flavoring as well as 1 tsp. Chocolate extract to the glaze. I probably use more than this, my method of measuring is "pour 'till it looks right"... I KNOW THIS RECIPE SOUNDS LIKE ALOT OF TROUBLE, but it really isn't. The secret to simplicity is READ THROUGH THE RECIPE FIRST, LAY ALL OF YOUR INGREDIENTS OUT IN THE ORDER THEY COME IN THE RECIPE. I speak from experience here. This recipe is hard to follow the way it was written and has alot of surprise things that aren't called for "up front" but, the end result is worth it when your family enjoys it and "strokes your ego with compliments"! LAST OF ALL: Make cake, leaving off nut addition above; chill and on each slice served top with a spoon of canned cherry pie filling and whipped cream. Jim says this is his most favorite dessert. I can usually count on a dozen or two roses by surprise following my surprise with this dessert. Hope some of you try this. It is worth doing the starter if for nothing but this cake and a coffee cake I have. I will give that if anyone would like it. Be sure and store this cake in frig. and start with small slice or your feelings will get hurt when everyone heads for the tums or alka-seltzer from over-stuffing. IT IS RICH!