 I normally reserve carrot cake for Easter time but I'm really not sure why I associate the two. Maybe it's because the Easter bunny likes carrots? Perhaps it's because of its simple white design with carrot accents. Or maybe it's just because I have a plethora of carrots in the springtime. For whatever reason - I tend to reserve my carrot cake for Springtime. Not anymore though. I'm breaking with my weird seasonal carrot cake tradition and baking carrot cake in the middle of the summer! (I know - living on the edge.)
Carrot Cake Cake 2 1/4 cups flour 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 2 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 3/4 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon cloves 2 1/4 cups brown sugar 1 1/4 cups oil 5 eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 6 carrots, shredded Frosting 1 1/2 cups butter 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup dried buttermilk 3 teaspoons vanilla 18 ounces cream cheese
Spread remaining icing over cake. Tint a small amount green and another small amount orange to make carrot decorations if you like.
Super cute and super easy to make. (Even in the summer.)
Ciao!
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I decided go a different direction with my cookies and cream cake. I turned it inside out - fluffy white frosting with bits of crushed cookie sandwiched between layers of dark chocolate cake and topped with cookie halves. I wonder which version will go over better? 
 Cookies and Cream Cake 1 cup butter 3 cups brown sugar 4 eggs 3 teaspoons vanilla 3 cups flour ¾ cup cocoa 3 teaspoons baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 ½ cups brewed coffee 1 1/3 cups sour cream
Mix in coffee.
Frosting 8 ounces container Cool Whip 1 package Oreo pudding 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1 cup milk Oreo Cookies
Spread a thin layer of frosting over entire cake and refrigerate 30 minutes.  Spread rest of frosting over chilled cake and top with cookie halves.
 I think I may have a sugar addiction - before I even get out of bed in the morning - I'm craving sugar. My normal breakfast consists of a sunny side up egg on a piece of whole grain bread with a slice of avocado. It is super good and it gives me the energy and protein that I need to get through my morning workout.  Even with all of that though, my body still craves a little something sweet in the morning. I have to grab either a biscotti or a little something sweet to finish off my breakfast. (Pretty sure that having a dessert for breakfast isn't healthy but it gets me through my morning. Whatever it takes, right?) Surely, I'm not the only sugar fanatic out there who craves sugar the moment that they get out of bed in the morning. (Please tell me I'm not alone.) If you happen to be one of those people who like a little breakfast dessert - like me - you may want to try this lemon cream cheese coffee cake. It's just the bit of sweetness that I crave in the morning.  Cream Cheese Coffee Cake Lemon Sugar- Almond Topping 1/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest 1/2 cup sliced almonds Cake 2 1/4 cups flour 1 1/8 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/8 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 10 tablespoons butter 1 cup + 7 Tablespoons sugar 1 Tablespoon + 4 teaspoons lemon zest juice from 2 lemons 4 eggs 5 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/4 cups our cream 8 ounces cream cheese
Bake until golden brown, 45-50 minutes at 350.  I think it might be easier to become a morning coffee drinker - then I could add a little sweet creamer to my coffee to get my morning sugar. Nah, this coffee is way better than coffee creamer.
Ciao!  Quite possibly my favorite week of the entire year is the week that my family gets together at my parents house in the summer. I think it's also the fastest week of the entire year. We pack so many activities into just a few short days that we all come home rejuvenated and exhausted. I'll share the highlights of our week in pictures at the end of this post but for now, let's get to the recipe of the day ... Raspberry Sorbet.  Raspberry Sorbet 2 cups water 2 teaspoons Sure-Jell for No Sugar Needed Recipes 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 cups raspberries 1 cup + 4 Tablespoons sugar 1/2 cup corn syrup
Transfer mixture to an ice cream freezer. Churn until mixture has the consistency of a thick milkshake. (15-25 minutes)
We couldn't wait very long to try our sorbet, so ours was a little soft when we ate it. Still good though.  My sorbet had quite a few seeds in it - I think I needed a finer strainer to get rid of the seeds completely. All in all though, that would be my only complaint. Other than the seeds, this was REALLY yummy. Now back to our summer fun week. 
 It makes me tired just looking at all of the activities that we squeezed into one little week. I'm already looking forward to next year.
Ciao!  My family teases me because I love to take bird pictures. In all honesty, there have been family vacations when I come home with just as many pictures of birds that I have of the kids. Last summer, I got some pictures of a hummingbird that just happened to be hanging out at the same coffee shop that we visited one morning. It was really awesome to watch the hummingbird as he busily went about his morning.
I think I may have to get a hummingbird feeder for our house. They are just so much fun to watch. Speaking of hummingbirds, I made a hummingbird cake from the Cook's Country magazine recently - my first one ever - and it was delicious. I wasn't sure how the pineapples and the bananas and the pecans were going to taste inside of a cake but turns out - it's a delicious combination.
Hummingbird Cake 3 (8 ounce) cans crushed pineapple 4 1/2 cups flour 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 3 cups sugar 4 1/2 large eggs 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil 6 large bananas, mashed 2 1/4 cups pecans, toasted and chopped 3 teaspoons vanilla Frosting 30 Tablespoons butter 7 1/2 cups powdered sugar 3 3/4 teaspoons vanilla 3/4 teaspoon salt 30 ounces cream cheese 3/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped
Stir in bananas, pineapple, pineapple juice, pecans and vanilla.
Invert onto cooling racks to cool completely. 
Spread a final layer of icing over the cake and decorate with chopped pecans.   So there you have it - a hummingbird cake. If I had to describe it, I would say that it's similar to a carrot cake, without the carrots. This one is definitely worth a try.
Ciao! |
