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cake

Breaking Some Rules: Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

There are two rules that I break all of the time.

1.) Don’t head to the supermarket when hungry.
2.) Don’t be pinning things and surfing for recipes when hungry.

The other day I broke rule number two, when I saw an awesome recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction for Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake. For those that don’t know I LOVE the combination of lemon and berries you can tell by my recipes for lemon blueberry cookies and fresh pink lemonade. Looking at recipes while hungry, led to me breaking rule number one.

However, if being wrong creates this delicious cake, I don’t want to be right.

There are two other rules that I break all of the time too.

3.) Don’t adapt baking recipes as it is a delicate balance.
4.) Give a cake ample time to cool before frosting.

Ok, I’m a rebel, what can I say. I adapted the recipe and I waited as long as I could, but we just couldn’t wait anymore!!

Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake (adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction)

CAKE
3 cups all purpose flour + 1 Tbs reserved
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
4 eggs
1 Tbs (yes a tablespoon) of pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
3 or 4 lemons zested and juiced (should yield about 1/2 – 3/4 cup of juice)
2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together 3 cups flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In another bowl, toss together blueberries and reserved flour and set aside. (NOTE: this will keep the blueberries from sinking into the bottom of a cake, my mom taught me this trick and it can be done with raisins and chocolate chips in breads and cakes too.)

With a stand mixer or large mixing bowl with hand beaters, cream together butter and sugars until well blended. Then, add eggs, vanilla, and mix until incorporated.

Next, add slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combine. (NOTE: don’t over mix it is ok if you can still see some flour in the mixture.)

Then, add buttermilk, zest, and lemon juice and mix until incorporated.

Next, using a spatula carefully fold in blueberries.

Finally, pour mixture dividing evenly between two cake pans and bake 26 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove cake from oven, and cool slightly for about 7 minutes in the pan. Then remove from pan let cake cool on a cooling rack about 1 hour. (NOTE: The cake should be cool to the touch before frosting, but if it is still a little warm because you cannot wait anymore that is fine too).

FROSTING
1 16 oz can Betty Crocker Vanilla frosting
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 lemon zested and juiced.

In a small bowl, whisk together ingredients.

When cakes are cooled, put one cake on a plate and put half the frosting in the middle of the cake and spread out with a spatula letting it fall over sides. Top with second cake, and add the rest of the frosting to the top and spread out and fall over sides. Garnish with blueberries.

Now, go break some rules, you little rebel you!

You know you want to.

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Happy 4th!

Last week was my George’s 4th Birthday! When your kids’ birthdays fall around holidays like my kids, a lot of celebrating happens. We celebrated a little bit with all of our extended families on Easter Sunday, but on his actual birthday, we tried to make the day special.

He started the day wearing his favorite baseball jersey he got from Nana. After school we played lot of baseball in the yard and colored some pictures. When Daddy got home we had George’s favorite dinner of all George’s favorites: chicken nuggets, grapes, carrots, and cucumbers.
His wonderful Godmother dropped off some allergen free red velvet cupcakes and as you can see, he couldn’t have been more thrilled.
Next up, was present time. For those of you that know George, you know he LOVES anything equestrian. We have books, toys, movies, and clothing. So he received lots of gifts with this kind of theme.

 

Russell, however, decided to go against the grain, and buy George a limited edition Lighting McQueen. That too was a hit!
I cannot believe George is four. When he was born, I remembering feeling scared about going from one child to two in such a short span of time, but we quickly fell into a wonderful routine. Russell loves playing with his baby brother, and Caroline calls him her Georgie. We cannot imagine our family without this wonderful, rambunctious, cuddly, considerate, smart, and hilarious boy.
Happy 4th, Georgie Boy!

Cake for Breakfast: Russell’s 5th Birthday

I kind of use this blog as an online scrapbook sometimes to share pictures of what we do around here. Maybe someday when my kids have access to the internet they can check out what their Mom wrote about our family and them. I will always have a real scrapbook for them, but this is more immediate. Let’s face it real scrapbooking takes a lot of time, and I might get around to finishing Coco’s baby book before she is three.

Anyway, last weekend my oldest turned 5! 5, people! That is practically a teenager… I kid, I kid. Still, we are sailing in unchartered territory here. He is entering the realm of big kid. It is definitely weird that it was 5 years ago I delivered a 6 week early 5 lb 6 oz munchkin. I guess it is true what they say: time flies when you’re having fun (or tired)!

Russell is a very thoughtful kid. So much so, that even on his birthday he is thinking of other people. He was so excited to share his new toys with George and Caroline and he made sure that everyone was having fun.

He also asked if we could help other people for his birthday.

A few weeks ago, we were watching Disney Channel and there was a story about a girl who collected shoes for her birthday instead of presents. Russell asked if he could do something like that for his birthday or Christmas. I told him to think about what he would like to do, and we could see what we could do. After nap time was over, Russell came downstairs and said, “I would like people to bring me glasses. I will give them to people who don’t have any. I wear glasses to see better, and some people probably can’t see because they don’t have money to get glasses.”

My heart melted. I really wanted to honor this request for him, so I started some online research, and I found a charity that collects gently used metal and plastic eyeglasses and sunglasses, called New Eyes for the Needy. I told Russell all about it, and he began making some posters. In a few weeks we will be collecting glasses from everyone we know and sending them. So far, I think we have 11 pairs. Which doesn’t seem like a lot, but that is 11 people who will be able to see better because of a (then) 4 year old boy. Amazing! George got wind of this and is planning what he can do for his birthday. Maybe this will become a birthday tradition in our home.

To celebrate, Russell specifically requested bowling with his friend and dinner at Red Robin. We gladly obliged as Brian and I love bowling as do George and Coco.

Birthday boy almost got a spare here.

George and Coco watching.

Keeping score.

 

Happy Birthday Russell!

He had his favorite dinner (cheeseburger, fries, apple slices, and chocolate milk). However when we got home there wasn’t time for both cake and presents, so Russell chose to open presents.

The next morning we ate cake for breakfast! I felt like that Bill Cosby comedy routine. “Dad is great, gives us chocolate cake!”

Autumn Comfort Food: Pumpkin Pound Cake

This past weekend my sister, Beth, hosted Sunday Dinner for everyone. I thought it might be nice to make a dessert with some autumnal flavors, but I also wanted to steer clear of the traditional apple or pumpkin pie. I didn’t want us to be burnt out on pie before Thanksgiving is even here.

After a little internet searching, I found a recipe for Pumpkin Pound Cake with Cinnamon Glaze. There is just something about the combination of pumpkin and cinnamon that says comfort. It was absolutely delicious!

 

There are two things I wanted to note, the original recipe calls for the use of a bunt pan. I do not have one, so I just used my spring form pan that I make cheesecakes in, and it worked perfectly fine. I even used the same baking time and temperature as the recipe.

 

Also, just a note about the glaze. You can see from the picture below it is more of a frosting. Is there anyone that doesn’t like frosting? (crickets chirping) Didn’t think so.

 

This was a perfect addition to our Sunday dinner, and I am thinking of making it again for another fall gathering coming up.

Linking up at Centsational Girl today with a bunch of other comfort food recipes. Check it out for some great comfort food recipes to add to your autumn menu.

She’s Two: Coco’s Birthday

My youngest is two. No more babies in the house.

Birthdays at our house often get celebrated a few times. Sometimes it is a little crazy, but it works for us.

Because of this, we have lots of cake, and lots of opportunities for adorable photos.

On Coco’s ACTUAL birthday, we had a very busy day, so the boys wanted to give Coco the gifts they had picked out before they left for school. We don’t have a ton of dolls in the house, and because of this, the boys thought it might be a nice gift for her. They picked out toddler versions of Rupunzel from Tangled and Merida from Brave. Needless to say she loved them at first sight.

 

 

 

The next night she got to celebrate with Brian’s family. I made a cake for her with the sun from Tangled and her Meema got her a Tutu. She danced and twirled for everyone to see.

 

Sunday, my family got to sing happy birthday to her at our monthly Sunday Dinner, which of course meant more cake!

 

You don’t turn two every day you know… well unless you are at our house, you get to do it three times.

 

 

Happy Birthday, Big Guy: Triple Chocolate Layer Cake

Brian’s birthday is in August, however, this also marks the busiest time for Brian at work. He spends long hours away from home, and when he comes home he spends a lot of time at his computer. Because of this, we typically wait to celebrate his Birthday with our extended family well into September. However, I always make his favorite dinner and a special dessert on his actual birthday.

Brian’s Favorite Dinner is grilled filet mignon, homemade smashed potatoes, and fresh steamed green beans.

 

This is not really what this post is about though. It is ALL about the dessert. Brian loves all things chocolate. Basically, to Brian, if there isn’t chocolate involved, it isn’t dessert. So, I decided to combine three types of chocolate to make a Triple Chocolate Cake. Apparently, it was so good some people couldn’t wait until after dinner to try it. We are still trying to find the culprit. My guess is one of the boys (as in Brian).
This cake has a three parts to it, but overall is not that hard to make.
The first was I used a simple Betty Crocker boxed cake mix (Chocolate Fudge), and made it in two 9 inch round cake pans.

 

Then, I made a simple chocolate buttercream frosting.

2 sticks unsalted butter softened
3 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

In a mixer with paddle attachment or large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, mix all ingredients until well incorporated and set aside.

 

Then, I made simple dark chocolate ganache.
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
In a large bowl put over simmering water, heat cream. Then slowly add chocolate chips and vanilla. Whisk together until chocolate is completely melted and remove from heat.

 

Then, comes time for assembly. Once the cakes are completely cool, place one of the cake rounds on a cake plate and frost the top with a thick layer of the chocolate buttercream. Next, layer the second cake round on top of the buttercream, and frost the sides and top of the cake. Finally, using a ladle, spoon the ganache over the entire cake and let fall down the sides.
Once the cake was complete, I went to grab my camera, and this is what I found.

 

Fingerprints! I literally turned my back for two seconds. I guess when there is this much chocolate involved, some people just cannot resist.
The kids and I were happy to make something so special for Brian, and I know with how hard he has been working lately, he appreciated it.