Avocado Enchiladas and Blueberry Cake

Today we had Brown Sugar Blueberry Plain Cake from Dorie Greenspan.  This was a great cake. So far everything I have made from her Baking from my home to yours cookbook has been outstanding, and this is just another hit. I gave it a 9, the boys gave it a perfect 10, and the only reason it didn't get a 10 from me is because the blueberries all sank to the bottom. Part of this I think is because I didn't have the right size of pan, and so I had to use a smaller pan and the batter was a lot deeper, but that was why it earned a 9 from me. The calories were 230 for 12 servings, and this just had such a soft, moist texture and a light, summery flavor. Here's the recipe:

Blueberry-Brown Sugar Plain Cake from Dorie Greenspan

1 1/3 c flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 t cinnamon (optional-I used it)

1/8 t plus a pinch of salt

2 large eggs, separated

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c packed light brown sugar

1/2 c whole milk (I used 3/8 c coconut milk, 1/8 c cream)

1 pint blueberries, fresh, preferably or frozen and not thawed

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (I used 1/4 c)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375.  Generously butter an 11x7 (I used 8x8) baking pan and place it on a baking sheet. 

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and the 1/8 t salt.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they form firm, glossy peaks.  Gently scrape the whites into a clean bowl.  Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment.  Put the butter and sugar in the mixer bowl, and beat on medium speed until creamy.  Add the egg yolks and beat 2 minutes more.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, then all of the milk  and then the remainder of the dry ingredients, adding each new batch as soon as the previous batch has been incorporated.

Switch to a large rubber spatula and lighten the batter by stirring in about 1/4 of the beaten egg whites.  Fold in the rest of the whites, working as gently as you can.  Still working with as light a hand as possible, fold in the blueberries, an dscrape the batter into the prepared pan. 

Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes (mine went for almost 50 because of the smaller pan), or until a knife comes out clean.  Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before dusting the top with the sugar and serving warm.

This is best while still warm, but it's still really great the next day too.  We really enjoyed this, and we'll have it again.

Now on to dinner.

I had seen a recipe online called Avocado Enchiladas, and I thought it sounded wonderful, so I bookmarked it.  While planning my menu, I put this one on and just glanced at the ingredients before grocery shopping.  I had salsa verde, tortillas, and just needed to buy the fresh ingredients.  Unfortunately, I didn't check amounts and so I couldn't make the recipe as written.  So I used some of this recipe, but I made up my own recipe.  Here's my take on avocado enchiladas.
Avocado Enchiladas Casserole
10 corn tortillas
1 1/4  c salsa verde
1 can el pato
1 1/4 c cream
3 avocados, pitted, peeled and diced
1/2 lemon juice
2 key limes, juiced
1 T cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T honey
8-10 oz monterrey jack cheese

Mix together the salsa verde, cream, and 1/2 c el pato.  Pour some in the bottom of the pan, then tear up 5 of the corn tortillas and dip them in the sauce.  Mix together the avocados, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin, garlic, honey, and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the avocado mixture over the tortillas, then put half the cheese over the avocado mixture.  Tear up the remaining 5 tortillas and soak them in the remaining sauce.  Pour the remaining el pato over the top, then top with the remaining cheese.  Bake for 20-30 minutes.  Serve.

This was pretty good, and had lots of flavor.  We all gave it an 8, except for Noah who gave it a perfect 10.  The calories for 1/16 of the total casserole were 235/serving.

Tomorrow we're having some donuts.  Hooray!