Pound Cake French Toast Stacks with Sweet Goat Cheese Mousse and Warm Balsamic Roasted Strawberries

How was your Thanksgiving, friends?  Mine was wonderful.  I'm still picking the meat off of a smoked turkey carcass and fighting the urge to dig into the remaining coconut pie. (Mom, please stick it in the freezer before I come over and tackle it.) We had one of our three (!) dinners at my brother-in-law's house in the woods.  It is absolutely gorgeous this time of year and some of us even found some treasures buried beneath the crisp fall leaves.

One man's giant acorn is another man's treasure.

I have one more decadent dessert to post before I make myself fast on broth and lettuce leaves until Christmas.  I just felt the urge to get this out of my hard drive and into the blogosphere where it can truly be appreciated.

It probably seems odd to be posting a strawberry dessert at the end of November, but I actually have some very nice looking strawberries in my grocery store right now.  But I bet if you don't have fresh strawberries, you have the frozen ones, and I'm sure they would work just as nicely.  Think of this dish as a cold weather version of Strawberry Shortcake.  I made French toast out of store-bought pound cake slices (oh yes I did), then whipped up a sweet and tangy goat cheese mousse, then layered that with warm strawberries that I roasted in aged balsamic vinegar and sugar.  It was heaven.  And I would be perfectly within my right to eat this for breakfast because everybody knows that French toast is a breakfast food. 

BUT WAIT!!!  There's more!!!

Let's just say that you didn't want to go through the trouble of making French toast out of pound cake slices.  You could easily layer some small cubes of pound cake with the goat cheese mousse and strawberries and put it all in cute little 8-ounce mason jars.  And the great thing about this is that it's instant portion control!

Unless you eat four of them in one sitting, then it's a train wreck.

Could you just die from all the cuteness? 

Here are my notes:

-I've said it before and I'll say it again.  I prefer aged balsamic vinegar, but you can use the regular.

-And if you think you don't like balsamic vinegar on strawberries, you are wrong.

-And if you think you don't like goat cheese, you are wrong.

-And if you think you don't like pound cake made into French toast, well, come one, DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!!!

-The balsamic vinegar and sugar will become thick in the oven and make a syrup.  This is a very good thing. :)

Pound Cake French Toast Stacks with Sweet Goat Cheese Mousse and Warm Balsamic Roasted Strawberries

Printable Recipe

Roasted Balsamic Strawberries:

3 cups sliced strawberries

4 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar

4 tablespoons sugar

Goat Cheese Mousse:

3/4 cup chilled heavy cream

1 (6-ounce) roll goat cheese, softened to room temperature

1/3 cup powdered sugar

Pound cake French Toast:

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon vanilla 

8 (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick) pound cake slices

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the strawberries, the balsamic vinegar and 4 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl.  Transfer to a baking sheet and spread in a single layer, making sure to pour all the liquid over the berries.  Roast in oven, stirring several times, for 40 minutes or until strawberries are roasted and syrup is very thick. 

2.      Beat the heavy cream in a medium bowl on high speed until medium peaks form.  In another bowl, beat the goat cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth.  Fold the whipped cream into the goat cheese until combined. 

3.      Whisk together eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla in a shallow dish.   Dip pound cake slices in egg mixture, evenly coating both sides. Cook pound cake slices in batches, in a large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  Keep warm.

4.      To serve, place one slice of French toast on each of 4 plates, then place a dollop of goat cheese mousse on top.  Spoon some of the warm strawberries over the top, then place another slice of French toast on the strawberries.  Place another dollop of mousse and top with more strawberries and syrup.  4 servings.

Cranberry-Orange Butter

 Do you want your Thanksgiving table to be all it can be?

Well do you, punk?

One of the easiest ways to add some pizazz to your Turkey day dinner is with a compound butter, and this one is a cinch.  My mom always makes this for Thanksgiving, but I never actually tried it until just a few years ago because way back in my youth I had labeled it "yucky", and that stamp of disapproval carried over into my adulthood. One Thanksgiving not too long ago, I got the courage up to slather some on a hot roll.  I was hooked from then on.   

Just three ingredients for this simple, sweet and slightly tart butter.  And I'll tell you what,  I used the off brand for all of them to save a buck.

 Cranberry-Orange Butter

Printable Recipe

2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature

1/3 cup whole cranberry sauce

2 tablespoons orange marmalade

Beat butter until fluffy.  Beat in cranberry sauce and orange marmalade.  Will keep several weeks in the fridge.

Caramel Pumpkin Italian Cream Cake

I have made a countless Italian cream cakes in my life.  For this Thanksgiving though, I want to break out of my rut, so I had an idea running through my mind that I just had to try.  I made a few changes to my tried and true Italian cream cake recipe and voila!  ( I had originally typed "wallah", but something deep down told me that's just not right, Lorie, that's just not right.) (And FYI--I do not know how to put an accent mark over the A.)  A pumpkiny fall version, perfect for any Thanksgiving table.  This cake is very moist and has the addition of a slightly salted caramel filling, because I'm not a huge fan of an excessive amount of cream cheese icing.  I love the way it turned out.

And can someone tell me why these cakes are called Italian cream, because I'm not getting the whole Italian connection. 

Here are my notes:

-This cake should be stored in the fridge, but let it come to room temperature before serving.  I think this can definitely be made a couple of days ahead of time.  Just store in an airtight container.

-Work fast when spreading the caramel icing on the first two layers.  If it gets too thick by the time you reach the second layer, just heat it over low heat while stirring to loosen it again.

-There is just enough cream cheese frosting to frost the outside.  I really didn't have enough to do any piping, so if you like to pipe fancy dollops and scrolls, you may want to increase.

-You could stir in the toasted coconut and pecans into the cream cheese icing, I just never do that.  I prefer to pack it on the sides.

-You could certainly increase the cinnamon and nutmeg in the batter if you wanted.

-Traditional Italian cream cakes are not my favorite.  I like them, I just don't love them.  However, everyone around me seems to love them and I get lots of requests for mine, but I'd take this one over a regular one any day.

-Did I mention that it's really moist?

-When making the caramel icing, it needs to be brought to a rolling boil.  Here's what that process looks like:

See the bubbles around the edge?  We are not there yet, monkey.

 Wait for it....

 ....wait for it....

 ....WAIT FOR IT...

...okay, monkey!  We're there!  When I stirred, the bubbles did not go away.  It is rapidly boiling all over the surface, not just around the edges.  

I'm curious.  How do you feel about me calling you monkey?

You may now proceed with beating in the powdered sugar and vanilla.  But work fast when your spreading, because it hardens quickly.

Caramel Pumpkin Italian Cream Cake

Printable Recipe

2 cups pecan halves

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, divided

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

6 eggs, separated

1 1/4 cup pure canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

Caramel frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/8 teaspoon fleur de sel or other coarse sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cup sifted powdered sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant.  Reserve 8-10 halves for decorating the top, then finely chop the remainder.  Set aside 1 cup chopped for the cake batter, then place the remaining chopped pecans in a small bowl.  Toast 1 cup coconut in a nonstick skillet over high heat until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, stirring often.  Reserve remaining coconut for cake batter.  Place the toasted coconut in the bowl with the pecans and mix.  Set aside.

Cream the shortening, butter, sugar, and 1 cup light brown sugar together until fluffy on medium speed.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, until incorporated.  Beat in the pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well mixed.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Add to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk.  Stir 1 cup reserved (untoasted) coconut and the reserved 1 cup chopped pecans.

Beat the egg whites until stiff in a medium bowl.  Gently fold into batter.  Divide the batter equally among 3 (9-inch round) cake pans that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and lined with parchment paper or wax paper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely on wire rack.

When cakes are completely cool, make the caramel frosting.  Place 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup heavy cream and the fleur de sel in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring to rapid boil and boil for 1 minute while stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 cups powdered sugar with a handmixer on medium speed until mixture is thick and spreadable.  Immediately spread half of the frosting on the first cake layer that has been placed on cake plate or cardboard cake round, bottom side up (flat side up).  Place the second layer on top, bottom up, and spread the remaining frosting to the edges.  Place the third layer on top, bottom side up.

Make the cream cheese frosting.  Beat the butter and cream cheese until creamy and fluffy with the whisk attachment on high speed.  Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until fluffy and smooth.  Beat in vanilla.  Frost the outside and top of cake with frosting.  Carefully press the reserved coconut-pecan mixture into the sides of cake, then place pecan halves on top for decoration.