By NANCY ZAMBELL
For The Vista
I’ve been baking and stocking up the freezer with special treats for my office’s opening.
Here are two that I think you–and your guests–will really like:
Citrus Streusel Quick Bread
1 pkg lemon or orange cake mix, divided
2 T brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 T cold butter
1⁄2 c chopped pecans
1 (3.4 oz) pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1 c sour cream
1/3 c vegetable oil
Glaze:
1 c powdered sugar
2-3 T milk
Combine 2 T cake mix, brown sugar & cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans; set aside.
Combine the pudding mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, & remaining cake mix; beat on med. speed for 2 mins.
Pour into 2 greased 8” x 4” x 2” loaf pans. Sprinkle with pecan mixture.
Bake at 350° for 45-50 mins. or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool in pans for 10 mins. before removing to wire racks. C
ombine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm bread.
Yield: 2 loaves
Note: I don’t normally have orange cake mix on hand, but I usually have oranges. So, I added about 1/4 c. of freshly squeezed orange juice and reduced the sour cream to 3/4 c. It worked great!
Granny Cake
3⁄4 c butter
3 eggs
3 c all-purpose flour
2 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1⁄2 tsp salt 1⁄2 tsp ground cloves
2 c mashed ripe banana (about 6)
1 8-oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 tsp vanilla
1 c finely chopped pecans
Powdered sugar (optional)
Allow butter & eggs to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, grease & flour a 10” fluted or plain tube pan; set pan aside. Stir together flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, salt & cloves; set aside.
Preheat oven to 325°. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds.
Add eggs, banana, pineapple & vanilla. Beat until combined. Add flour mixture to banana mixture. Beat on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed 1 minute.
Fold in pecans. Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly.
Bake for 70-75 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool on wire rack. If desired, sift powdered sugar over cake just before serving.