This December, the HiLite held its second annual holiday baking contest in which we asked students to submit traditional holiday recipes. The following are our first and second place winners, as well as other student submissions.

First Place Winner

The first place winner is junior Zach Beeler for his “Buche de Noel.” Beeler’s festive dish is closely tied to his family’s holiday traditions. Beeler said his family began the tradition of baking Buche de Noel after his sister’s trip to France. During his visit, Beeler said he learned how to make this French holiday dish and brought the recipe back to his family. Beeler said now his family’s typical tradition of decorating their Christmas tree centers around him and his sister baking Buche de Noel for the family. While waiting for the dish to cool, Beeler said he and his family put ornaments and other decorations on their Christmas tree. He said after their decorating is complete, they eat the Buche de Noel while watching the movie “Elf” together.

Cake:

6 egg yolks

½ cup white sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

6 egg whites

¼ cup white sugar

Filling:

2 cups heavy cream

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:

6 teaspoons butter, softened

2 ⅔ cups confectioners’ sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup milk

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whip the cream, confectioner’s sugar, ½ cup cocoa and vanilla until they are thick and stiff. Then, refrigerate.

2. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and pale. Blend in ⅓ cup cocoa, 1½ teaspoons vanilla, and salt. In a large glass bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites to stiff peaks. Immediately fold mixture into the whites. Spread butter evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Dust a clean dishtowel with confectioner’s sugar. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and turn the warm cake out onto the towel. Remove and discard parchment paper. Starting at the short edge of the cake, roll the cake up with the towel. Cool for 30 minutes.

4. For icing, place butter in a bowl and beat until creamy. Add sugar and cocoa, mixing well. Stir in milk in portions, stirring each time and then, add the vanilla.

5. Unroll the cake, and spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll the cake up with the filling inside. Place seam side down onto a serving plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Spread icing evenly on cake and drag a fork through the icing. Refrigerate until you serve and before serving, dust the cake with confectioner’s sugar.

Runner-up

Our second place winner is sophomore Noah Sim and his “Cheesecake Banana Bread.” According to Sim, his inspiration for baking this dish came to him during a fight between his sisters. He said one sister wanted to bake cheesecake and the other wanted to bake banana bread. Instead of taking sides, Sim suggested they bake a mix of the two. Although he said his first attempt with a recipe he found online was lackluster, after experimenting with his own variations on the recipe, Sim successfully baked his “Cheesecake Banana Bread.”

Banana Bread:

2 slightly overripe bananas

1 large egg

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 cup flour

A decent amount of vanilla

½ cup greek yogurt

A dash of salt

½ cup softened butter

Some baking soda

Cream Cheese Filling:

2 large eggs

4 ounces cream cheese

¼ cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. For the banana bread, mix together mashed banana, egg, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, yogurt and vanilla into a large bowl. Mix in flour slowly. Then, mix in the baking soda and salt.
3. For the cream cheese filling, in a separate bowl, mix cream cheese, egg, and sugar. Add in flour slowly.
4. Pour half of banana bread mixture into a 9 inch by 5 inch bread pan. Then, pour in cream cheese filling and spread it evenly with a fork. To finish, pour in the rest of the banana bread mixture and spread evenly.
5. Bake for 47 to 52 minutes or until golden brown.

Other Submissions

Junior Tori Moss submitted meringues, a family recipe which she has grown up eating.

Ingredients:

4 egg whites

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

15 drops green food coloring

15 drops red food coloring

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer.
3. Add the cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form.
4. Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Then, beat until dissolved and stiff peaks form.
5. Beat in the vanilla extract. To add color, separate the mixture into three bowls and beat red coloring into one, green into the other, and leave the last one white.
6. Make rounded balls that are about one teaspoon in size and place them onto two large baking sheets. Keep them each one inch apart.
7. Bake both sheets for 45 minutes. Then, turn the oven off and leave the meringues stand inside for at least one hour.

Sophomore Melina Palakal submitted a family fudge recipe.

Ingredients:

1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips

1 can (14 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk

⅙ cup of butter

Directions:

1. Mix the chocolate chips and condensed milk in a microwaveable bowl.
2. Thinly slice the butter and add it to the bowl.
3. Place the bowl in the microwave and set it for one minute.
4. Take the bowl out and mix the ingredients until smooth.
5. Place the bowl back in the microwave for an additional 20 seconds.
6. Pour into a well-greased glass baking dish that is around 8 by 8 inches.
7. Refrigerate until set.

Junior Luana Cacula submitted Cuca, a traditional Brazilian banana cake.

Yeast:

1 cup warm water (100 – 115 degrees Fahrenheit)

¼ ounce or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

3 teaspoon sugar

Dough:

5 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, warmed

2 to 3 large eggs

1 cup warm milk

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

Optional: 1 cup raisins

Crumble topping:

4 teaspoons butter, warmed

1 cup sugar

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. For the yeast, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water in a small bowl, and let it rise for ten to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix 4 cups of flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Make a well in the center and add butter, eggs, milk and yeast. Mix well, and add raisins if desired. Cover the bowl and let rise for about one to one and a half hours.
3. While the dough is resting, make the topping. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and butter. Mix it with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs, and then set it aside.
4. When the dough is double its original size, stir in the remaining four, ½ cup at a time to form a smooth and elastic dough. Let it rise again for about 30 to 45 minutes or until it is double the size.
5. Pour the dough onto a lightly greased and floured 10 by 14 inch pan. Wash the surface of the dough with a slightly beaten egg. Sprinkle the topping over the dough.
6. Bake at 385 degrees Fahrenheit on the middle rack for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.