This past week I was supposed to make the winner of the cake drawing their favorite cake. Well that was super easy since Suzanne won and her favorite was chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. So I made her my favorite which is Pioneer womans chocolate sheet cake. I hope you liked it Suzanne. :)
And I'm obviously not going to give you all that recipe since I have already told you about that cake before.
It also took me all week to get it to her. This past week just felt crazy. I have seemed to have a lot of crazy weeks lately. I always start out with mellow expectations but some how seem to pile on the chaos and before I know it I barely have time to breathe. Does anybody else have this problem. Seriously I don't quite know how to juggle it all. Maybe I just need to realize that this is just life with a husband and four kids, a home to care for and clean, laundry to wash to fold, (and sometimes put away,) home school 3 kids, care for animals, go to mom's group, drive to ballet, soccer, play practice, and cook 3 meals a day. And those are just to name a few. I love it all, don't get me wrong. It's just a lot some times. And that's not factoring in the things that really matter. That would be relationship with one another and friendship. These are my favorite things. People are my favorite I should say. I could ditch all of it and just do people things. I love playing with my kids and going places together. I love quality time with my husband. I love being with girl friends and talking about life and cooking together. These are the things that fill my love bucket. I wish cobwebs didn't form on my ceiling or dust on my furniture. Then I would have more time for all the stuff that makes life rich. Cob-webs are not my friend.
So speaking of friends, a couple weeks ago I made cupcakes to take over to my dear friends house along with another friend and we had a great meal together, let the kids run and play and then let them decorate
yummy cupcakes with frosting and a plethora of sprinkles. It was happy.
Here is the recipe.
350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
Honestly just test them with a tooth pick to make sure.
I can't remember how long they took. It was a cake recipe I made
into cupcakes instead.
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
Frosting: I always kind of wing it with this frosting. I'm a wing it kind of baker.
I know this is bad but I just do it anyway. :) It's one of my flaws. Other than that I'm almost
perfect. Ha.
One stick of butter melted
1 to 2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups of powdered sugar
2 or 3 Tbs. milk
Just fiddle with it till you get what you like. Hows that for perfection.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Banana cake with Strawberries and chocolate (#11)
Oh my goodness, I am two weeks behind in my blogging. I'm sure you've all just been dying for the latest cake recipe. Now I have to catch up while Juby is sleeping. Let me tell you this is not my fault. My computer has crashed. It is full of demonic viruses. Seriously, I am not kidding you. One time I turned it on and it growled at me. It was kind of crazy. And before it crashed I couldn't even get this blog spot to work. I'm now thinking it was because of the viruses. Computers drive me a bit nutty. I love and hate them at the same time. So now I am on my friends tiny little lap top and I keep messing up because I'm not used to typing on it. :) But oh so thankful for her letting us use it until she gets back from a far off land. Thanks AmyBeth.
Well just so you know I am not giving up on my 52 weeks of cake making. I bake at least two cakes a week. And believe me my middle is starting show it. Summer is coming and I really better start to do something about it. So tomorrow I will start. :) Actually a friend is going to come over and we are going to exercise. Woohoo!
Suzanne won the cake drawing from a couple of weeks ago and I finally got her a chocolate cake this weekend. I loved making a cake for someone else. I really needed to not eat a cake this past week also. I think I might keep doing this for the sake of my belly and my dear husbands belly. But also it was just fun to make something for someone else. So you may just randomly receive a cake from me.
Now for the last cake recipe. Goodness which one was it? I'm pretty sure it was the Banana cake with strawberries and chocolate. I loved it. Oh it was really yummy. Here is the recipe.
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbs. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 bananas
2/3 cup milk
Bake at 350 in two round cake pans (greased) for about 30 minutes.
Let cool and then layer strawberries in the middle of them and on top.
Drizzle warm chocolate frosting in middle and on top.
I used spelt and whole wheat and regular flour
I used organic sugar and raw sugar and organic brown sugar
I used coconut oil instead of butter. I think you can pretty much do what you want.
Warm chocolate frosting to drizzle or to pour heavily upon it. :)
1 1/2 sticks of butter heated in sauce pan
3 to 4 heaping Tbs. of cocoa powder
4 Tbs. of milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 of a pound of powdered sugar (approximately)
This will be thickish but very pourable still and warm. You can
fiddle with the sugar to get the consistency you want.
Sorry I don't have pictures for the past few cakes. This again is the computers fault.
As soon as I get it working I will go back and post pics. You'll want to see this one for sure.
Well just so you know I am not giving up on my 52 weeks of cake making. I bake at least two cakes a week. And believe me my middle is starting show it. Summer is coming and I really better start to do something about it. So tomorrow I will start. :) Actually a friend is going to come over and we are going to exercise. Woohoo!
Suzanne won the cake drawing from a couple of weeks ago and I finally got her a chocolate cake this weekend. I loved making a cake for someone else. I really needed to not eat a cake this past week also. I think I might keep doing this for the sake of my belly and my dear husbands belly. But also it was just fun to make something for someone else. So you may just randomly receive a cake from me.
Now for the last cake recipe. Goodness which one was it? I'm pretty sure it was the Banana cake with strawberries and chocolate. I loved it. Oh it was really yummy. Here is the recipe.
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbs. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 bananas
2/3 cup milk
Bake at 350 in two round cake pans (greased) for about 30 minutes.
Let cool and then layer strawberries in the middle of them and on top.
Drizzle warm chocolate frosting in middle and on top.
I used spelt and whole wheat and regular flour
I used organic sugar and raw sugar and organic brown sugar
I used coconut oil instead of butter. I think you can pretty much do what you want.
Warm chocolate frosting to drizzle or to pour heavily upon it. :)
1 1/2 sticks of butter heated in sauce pan
3 to 4 heaping Tbs. of cocoa powder
4 Tbs. of milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 of a pound of powdered sugar (approximately)
This will be thickish but very pourable still and warm. You can
fiddle with the sugar to get the consistency you want.
Sorry I don't have pictures for the past few cakes. This again is the computers fault.
As soon as I get it working I will go back and post pics. You'll want to see this one for sure.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Orange Apricot Chiffon Cake (#10)
I just can't seem to keep up on this blog. I don't fear making a cake every week for the rest of the year but sitting down to tell you about it may just prove to be a whole other story.
I have decided that home-schooling and having a toddler is quite the challenge. There is always, always something to be done around here and there is almost always some one needing something from me. At the moment two little people are outside, one is playing down stairs and the littlest of them all is asleep. I am not going to look behind me at the mountain of laundry for the next little while so I can escape for a few minutes to cake land. Oh that would be a happy place indeed.
Last week I asked you on Facebook to choose between two cakes and I went with the Orange Apricot Chiffon. It was super yummy. It once again came out a lot more like the texture of a banana nut bread. Or something of the sort. It was dense and hearty. I have determined that trying to bake healthier cake with whole wheat flour is just going to have that effect. But it was still really good and super moist. It has a bazillion eggs in it.
I even had to send Mark to the store half way though the process to get more eggs. This cake has a wonderful citrus flavor and topped with a little chocolate sauce made it more dessertish. I really like chocolate and orange/apricot flavor together. Oh yum. But I also loved the cake just plain.
This week I am going to give a cake away to one of you. Just answer this question in the comment area and I will randomly select a winner and bring you a cake. So sorry for those of you out of town. I just can't drive that far.
Tell me what is your favorite cake?
Recipe for Chiffon cake: preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in a tube pan.
This cake is kind of a doozy to make so don't just try to whip it up if you don't have time.
2 medium size oranges
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 &1/4 cup flour
1 tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup finely chopped dried apricots
4 lg. egg yolks
8 xtr. lg. egg whites
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1. Prepare tube pan by cutting out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan.
2. Grate off the orange peel with a zester or fine grater. Place in a bowl and set aside.
3. Squeeze the juice from the oranges into a small sauce pan and simmer on low to reduce the juice to
two tablespoons.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine the water, oil, vanilla, orange peel and two tbs. juice.
5. Sift together the flour and baking powder in large mixer.
6. Add salt, and the first two sugars. Not the last 1/4 cup. yet.
7. Add the water mixture and dried apricots and egg yolks to flour and blend with a spatula.
8. Place egg whites in a separate mixer and beat on high till frothy.
Add the cream of tartar and beat. Slowly add the 1/4 cup brown sugar.
9. Beat till glossy and firm but not stiff peaks.
10. Transfer to prepared tube pan and bake for about an hour. Or until tooth pick comes out clean.
11. When you take it out of the oven you should invert it over a bottle or some how put it upside down so that the cake does not turn in on itself. My cake was plenty firm and did not do this and I actually removed it from the pan right away. My tube pan is in two separate pieces so it makes it easier to do.
Well, there you go. Orange Apricot Chiffon Cake. I told you it was a doozy. I also said I was going to bake the mocha angel food cake this week and I ended up making some thing different. I will tell you about it later. It was really good though. :) Happy cake baking.
I have decided that home-schooling and having a toddler is quite the challenge. There is always, always something to be done around here and there is almost always some one needing something from me. At the moment two little people are outside, one is playing down stairs and the littlest of them all is asleep. I am not going to look behind me at the mountain of laundry for the next little while so I can escape for a few minutes to cake land. Oh that would be a happy place indeed.
Last week I asked you on Facebook to choose between two cakes and I went with the Orange Apricot Chiffon. It was super yummy. It once again came out a lot more like the texture of a banana nut bread. Or something of the sort. It was dense and hearty. I have determined that trying to bake healthier cake with whole wheat flour is just going to have that effect. But it was still really good and super moist. It has a bazillion eggs in it.
I even had to send Mark to the store half way though the process to get more eggs. This cake has a wonderful citrus flavor and topped with a little chocolate sauce made it more dessertish. I really like chocolate and orange/apricot flavor together. Oh yum. But I also loved the cake just plain.
This week I am going to give a cake away to one of you. Just answer this question in the comment area and I will randomly select a winner and bring you a cake. So sorry for those of you out of town. I just can't drive that far.
Tell me what is your favorite cake?
Recipe for Chiffon cake: preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in a tube pan.
This cake is kind of a doozy to make so don't just try to whip it up if you don't have time.
2 medium size oranges
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 &1/4 cup flour
1 tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup finely chopped dried apricots
4 lg. egg yolks
8 xtr. lg. egg whites
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1. Prepare tube pan by cutting out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan.
2. Grate off the orange peel with a zester or fine grater. Place in a bowl and set aside.
3. Squeeze the juice from the oranges into a small sauce pan and simmer on low to reduce the juice to
two tablespoons.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine the water, oil, vanilla, orange peel and two tbs. juice.
5. Sift together the flour and baking powder in large mixer.
6. Add salt, and the first two sugars. Not the last 1/4 cup. yet.
7. Add the water mixture and dried apricots and egg yolks to flour and blend with a spatula.
8. Place egg whites in a separate mixer and beat on high till frothy.
Add the cream of tartar and beat. Slowly add the 1/4 cup brown sugar.
9. Beat till glossy and firm but not stiff peaks.
10. Transfer to prepared tube pan and bake for about an hour. Or until tooth pick comes out clean.
11. When you take it out of the oven you should invert it over a bottle or some how put it upside down so that the cake does not turn in on itself. My cake was plenty firm and did not do this and I actually removed it from the pan right away. My tube pan is in two separate pieces so it makes it easier to do.
Well, there you go. Orange Apricot Chiffon Cake. I told you it was a doozy. I also said I was going to bake the mocha angel food cake this week and I ended up making some thing different. I will tell you about it later. It was really good though. :) Happy cake baking.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Coffee cake kind of morning (9)
I did make a cake this week I promise. I actually made two but I'll just tell you about one. I woke up Wednesday morning thinking I better make my cake today the week is going fast. Here it is already Sunday and I'm just now getting to blog. I really need to work on priorities in my life. After all, cake should be high up on the list don't you think? I did work on resting better this week. I challenged two friends to do the same. Last Sunday I asked them to purposely try to rest each day. Sometimes we moms are not so good at taking care of ourselves. So Monday I shopped in a cute store all by myself for a whole 45 minutes. This is considered rest because it was fun, happy and made me feel alive. I know that must sound terribly shallow. But we said we would consider it restful if it was anything like that or anything that brings life to you some how. Well shopping alone in a clothing store does the trick for me. I think on Tuesday I failed at resting all together at any point in the day. It's kind of all a blur now. I pretty much live one day at time and when the next one comes I forget about the one before. Is that bad? I think I did have a couple more restful moments in the week but they were brief and obviously not too memorable. This week I will try to do better. I may just shut myself in a closet now and then. Or I can do like Wednesday and not get dressed all day. Please tell me some of you have those days too. Actually I know you do because I know who reads this. :) That is why you're my friend. Karen came over Wednesday and I hadn't even brushed my teeth. And she stayed and we even cooked and baked.
So if your anything like a typical wife, mother or woman, you need to take better care of yourself and rest. It will look different for all of us. For some of you it's eating lots and lots of chocolate fondue. But I won't mention who does that. Or for others of us it might be watching a total tree hugging, life/health/food sort of movie all by your self. But again, I won't tell who does that. For me it was 45 minutes of blissful shopping alone.
I'm done with my tangent, now back to coffee cake. Did I tell you already how happy it was. Well it was. And it wasn't even terribly bad for you. I used only good ingredients. Good as in organic coconut oil, organic spelt, and organic raw sugar and rapadura.
So here it is. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8x11 inch pan
3/4 cup organic coconut oil (very soft/melted)
1&1/2 cup sugar (organic, unrefined, unbleached, whole cane)
3 cups organic spelt flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1&1/4 cup milk
1 apple diced very small (I used a food chopper and went to town) Or you could shred or grate them.
The apple adds extra flavor and moisture.
3 egg whites, beaten until stiff. Add these after all the above are mixed.
I literally dump it all in my kitchen aid, mix it up a bit and then add the egg whites.
I really think the egg whites make a big difference in this cake.
Topping:
1 stick butter melted (yes, I used butter)
1/2 cup flour (I used spelt)
1 cup organic brown sugar
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 cup pecans or walnuts
A dash of nutmeg and allspice
Drop little spoonfuls all over the top until spread out evenly
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Voila. Delicious!
So if your anything like a typical wife, mother or woman, you need to take better care of yourself and rest. It will look different for all of us. For some of you it's eating lots and lots of chocolate fondue. But I won't mention who does that. Or for others of us it might be watching a total tree hugging, life/health/food sort of movie all by your self. But again, I won't tell who does that. For me it was 45 minutes of blissful shopping alone.
I'm done with my tangent, now back to coffee cake. Did I tell you already how happy it was. Well it was. And it wasn't even terribly bad for you. I used only good ingredients. Good as in organic coconut oil, organic spelt, and organic raw sugar and rapadura.
So here it is. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8x11 inch pan
3/4 cup organic coconut oil (very soft/melted)
1&1/2 cup sugar (organic, unrefined, unbleached, whole cane)
3 cups organic spelt flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1&1/4 cup milk
1 apple diced very small (I used a food chopper and went to town) Or you could shred or grate them.
The apple adds extra flavor and moisture.
3 egg whites, beaten until stiff. Add these after all the above are mixed.
I literally dump it all in my kitchen aid, mix it up a bit and then add the egg whites.
I really think the egg whites make a big difference in this cake.
Topping:
1 stick butter melted (yes, I used butter)
1/2 cup flour (I used spelt)
1 cup organic brown sugar
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 cup pecans or walnuts
A dash of nutmeg and allspice
Drop little spoonfuls all over the top until spread out evenly
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Voila. Delicious!
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