This recipe came about after I attended a German festival and had the best lentil soup I've ever had in my life. Until then, I don't think lentil soup is something that would have come to my mind when thinking of a soup that would knock my socks off. Maybe I'm just overly zealous about soup, but it was so delicious that I had a second bowl instead of one of those scrumptious German pastries. If that doesn't tell you how good it was, then I don't know what will. This is my attempt at recreating that soup and I think I got pretty darn close to the original. The only thing that could use some tweaking is the amount of liquid in the soup because it thickens up so fast. However, that is an easy problem to fix by just adding more stock or water whenever you notice it thickening too much.
Note to fellow Catholics and those of you that are vegetarian-
Yes, I realize I took a dish that's both Lenten and vegetarian friendly and put both sausage and bacon in it, but that's where so much of the flavor comes from! If you should choose to do so, you can easily accommodate your needs by leaving out the sausage and bacon (and adding more vegetables) and using olive oil instead of bacon grease.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon bacon grease (save from cooking bacon)
2 small onions, diced or minced (about 1 cup)
1 lb dry brown lentils, washed and drained
1 teaspoon dried marjoram (This is a spice that's worth buying for this recipe if you don't already have some)
6-7 + cups chicken, turkey, or veggie stock
2 stalks celery, diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
bacon, cooked and chopped (no less than 1/2 package)
smoked sausage, sliced into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1. Cook the bacon in a skillet and then set aside, saving the grease.
2. Brown the onions in 1 tablespoon of grease (use extra olive oil if you don't have enough grease).
3. Add lentils and dried marjoram to onions and cook 1 minute.
4. Add 6-7 cups of stock and bring to a slow boil. Cook 25 minutes.
5. Add potatoes, carrots, celery and cook 35 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.
6. Add the sausage, bacon, salt and pepper and cook until sausage is heated through. Add more stock or water if the soup is too thick.
Enjoy!
I don't like to admit it, but I was a little intimidated when I decided to bake a cake from scratch for the first time. Now, I realize that I shouldn't have been. Although it took a little more time and effort, the taste of both the cake and the frosting was well worth making it from scratch. This cake is something special.
Cake Ingredients
2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus extra for the pans
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 eggs whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract (When I make this cake again, I plan on making it more lemony by using another teaspoon of lemon extract in place of the vanilla extract)
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
Frosting and Filling Ingredients
Enough raspberry jelly or preserves for 3 layers
6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
4 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1. When you begin the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans and line them with parchment paper. This will keep the cake from sticking to the bottom of the pan, giving you a flat surface for stacking and frosting the cake.
2. Whisk the milk, egg whites, and extract(s) together in a small bowl. Then, in a standing mixer, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-low and beat the butter into the flour mixture, one piece at a time, about 30 seconds. Continue to beat the mixture until it resembles moist crumbs, about 1 minute.
3. Beat in all but 1/2 cup of the milk mixture, then increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth, light, and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly beat in the remaining 1/2 cup milk mixture until the batter looks slightly curdled, about 15 seconds.
4. Give the batter another stir to make sure it's thoroughly combined and then scrape it into the pans, smoothing the tops. Tap the pans on the counter to get the air bubbles out (If you have a different method to get the air bubble out, that's fine. I usually end up giving the pans a small drop and a spin).
5. Bake the cakes about 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Cool the cakes in the pans for about 10 minutes and then run a knife around the edge of the cakes before flipping them out onto a cooling rack. Peel the parchment paper.
6. Once the cakes have cooled completely, cut each cake in half with a serrated knife, so that you have four layers. Spread a layer of raspberry jelly/preserves on top of one layer. Be sure not to spread all the way to the edge because when you put another layer on top, the jelly will be pushed out to the edges. Place another layer on top and repeat the process until you have your cake completely stacked. DON'T PUT RASPBERRY JELLY ON THE TOP OF THE LAST LAYER!
7. Now you're ready to make the frosting and frost the cake. Put the white chocolate in a small saucepan and melt over low heat, 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and let the chocolate cool.
8. Put the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and add the melted chocolate and blend on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar and blend on low speed for 30 seconds more. Then, increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is fluffy, 1 minute.
9. Frost the top and sides of the cake and finish with white chocolate shavings (Put the bar of white chocolate in the microwave for a few seconds to make it easier to shave.)I used a potato peeler.
The second time I used this recipe, I cut the cake recipe in half and made 12 cupcakes instead of a single cake. I filled the cupcakes with raspberry filling and topped them off with the white chocolate cream cheese frosting and a dusting of pink sugar crystals. The consistency of the frosting was perfect for piping onto the cupcakes.
