peonies and a cake
These last few weeks have been my favorite time at Trader Joe’s. Immediately upon entering you see and smell the peonies. At $7.99 a bunch, I can not resist. Even when the petals are falling off, they are the perfect still life. When I went to bed the night before, they looked perfect, when I woke up, this was the vision, still perfection.
Marti, a student in my series at Les Gourmettes, shared the recipe for the cake that I’m sharing with you today. After listening to my constant complaints about baking and my disdain for it, Marti handed me a printout from the January 2019 issue of Costco Connection.
The article is about the book The Gown, by Jennifer Robson. The story takes place during WWII. This one-egg cake recipe is one of Robson’s favorites because she imagines it represents the shortages of war and the community spirit of sharing that prevailed. And I imagine that Marti thought I might enjoy making this cake since it has so few ingredients and is simple and quick to put together.
Could Marti be right in that basic assumption? Let us see… Looks beautiful, doesn’t it? Look at those peonies, gorgeous! But… what are they hiding?
Surely all is well, nothing to see here, move along. I mean, there is nothing to be suspicious about, peonies are edible after all. According to the Thompson and Morgan Edible Flower Guide, the petals taste lovely in fresh salads. I’m certain they would taste lovely on a slice of cake too.
Fine, I’ll remove the flowers for cutting.
Seriously! Is it any wonder I hate to bake?
I followed the recipe. I did substitute watered-down heavy cream for the milk because that’s what I had available and in the spirit of rationing, that seemed a fair way to go. Also, the recipe did not indicate if you were to leave the baked cake in the pan, on a rack, to cool completely or take it out after 10 minutes or any sort of instruction on that step. As such, I have added it to my recipe below. Maybe it would not have fallen apart if I’d let it cool completely. You can give that a try and let me know because I am not making this again, although it did taste quite delicious.
Marti, thank you for having faith in me, sorry to let you down. xoxo
On a side note: I do know a baking rule or two such as, always checking the expiration date on your baking powder before you use it. If it’s expired, run out and get another can. As you can see, I can’t blame my failure on that.
[Read more →]May 30, 2019 7 Comments
2019 Easter Cake
I made this cake for our Easter supper and served it alongside THIS Citrus Sorbet. Since baking is not my forte, of course, there is a mishap story to go along with it. I found the recipe is a real estate magazine that my mother-in-law sent me from Illinois. Thank you, Mom!
I switched it up a bit. The original recipe was for a Tangerine and Chamomile Cake, using chamomile tea bags. I am not a fan of chamomile, so instead, I used my absolute favorite tea, Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea. If you love chamomile tea and want to switch it back to the original, use four chamomile tea bags instead of the two Bengal Spice that I use here.
Here’s the mishap story. On the Saturday before Easter, I had several Harmony Boards to make and deliver. The first deliveries began at 2:30 and the last was at 5:00. I made all the boards and delivered the first batch. I came home and realized I had just enough time to put together the cake batter, get it in the pans and bake them. My timing was impeccable. The layers were finished baking 5 minutes before I needed to pack up and leave. I knew better than to leave them to cool on the kitchen counter because of these two cats.
I set up the cooling racks on top of my washing machine.
I set the cakes on top and Bombay was immediately interested. I went back to my bedroom to set the alarm. I closed the laundry room door and went out into the garage. That’s when I realized I’d left the car keys on the kitchen counter. I knew I had enough time to go back in and grab the keys before the alarm was fully set. I went in and had a brief moment of panic when I didn’t immediately see the keys. I found them and hurriedly went back out the garage door.
It wasn’t until I came back home that I saw that not only had I forgotten to close the laundry room door, but that one of the cats had tried to jump up on the washing machine and in the process, knocked down one of the racks. I didn’t look to see what damage was done until after I’d gone to the bedroom to disarm the alarm. I came back and saw the rack on the floor by their food dishes. Where was the cake? I looked behind the laundry door and there it was, out of the pan, upside down, while the pan was further back in the corner behind the door. The good news is that the cake was completely intact with the parchment still stuck to the bottom, not a crack or a crumb missing. The pan was as clean as a whistle, and that is a win in my baking history! I picked up the cake, sliced a clean layer off the top, and used it.
I knew the cat or most likely “The Cat”, had not touched it after it fell. He was probably too startled from the crashing he’d caused. And I am certain it was “the he”, Bombay, and not “the she”, Bailey. I say this because Bailey was sleeping in her usual spot when I went looking for them, while Bombay was hiding in the front room, where he seldom, if ever, goes. But it is nearly impossible for me to be mad. I mean, look at that face! OK, enough about my cute cats. Recipe time.
[Read more →]April 23, 2019 14 Comments
Patriotic Kabobs
Independence Day has come and gone, but there are plenty more patriot holidays between now and July 4, 2018. Labor Day is only eight weeks from today. Columbus Day is a month after that and before you know it, Veterans Day is upon us! The point is, don’t wait a year to make these fun and easy dessert kabobs.
I whipped a few of these up for the grilling tips segment I did last week and then made them again the next day for a 4th of July party I was invited to. Technically, I may have invited myself. But I tried to make the hosts feel it was worth it by bringing these kabobs along with an awesome flag appetizer, the recipe for which I will post tomorrow.
When I made the kabobs for television, I used pound cake. I quickly discovered that pound cake is not the best choice. Angel food cake works better, so that is what I used on the 4th. The pound cake is too dense and has a tendency to break apart when skewered. The angel food cake is light and fluffy and stays in place. Large marshmallows would be a great choice too.
I’m not providing you with any quantities here. I made as many as I could until I ran out of one of the ingredients. The first thing I ran out of was strawberries, then I was done.
After making four or five, it was getting tedious, so I decided to make three at once. I held three skewers in my left hand and added the ingredients with my right. I was done in no time.
July 10, 2017 2 Comments
Father’s Day cake
I made this cake for Father’s Day. Isn’t it lovely?
But, as usual, I had a problem while baking. Seriously, what’s new?
This time around, I took extra precautions and not only greased the pans but also lined them with parchment rounds and floured the sides. I was sure that everything else would work out perfectly. Nope.
The original recipe, which I am not going to reference here because there were too many problems with it, did not indicate the diameter of pans to use. Much of my bakeware is packed away. I had two 8-inch diameter pans and three 9-inch diameter pans at my disposal, so I decided to go with the 9-inch. That was a mistake numero uno. Since I wasn’t sure of the pan size, I should have checked the cakes much earlier than I did to see if they were cooked through. As it was, the original recipe called for the cake layers to be baked for 35 minutes. I checked them after 24 minutes and they were already overcooked and dry as the Sonoran desert.
Mistake numero dos was to not then soak them with some sort of orange liqueur or orange juice. I’m certain that would have helped. Instead, I figured that the frosting (there is a lot of it!) would be enough to compensate for the dryness. Again, no.
It’s a pretty cake and if you keep an eye on it while it’s baking, I’m sure it’s a delicious cake too. I served up the 5 pieces to my dad, Connor, Dave, Sloane, and myself and then I tossed the rest of it in the trash (after I picked all the fruit off the top and had that with my breakfast the next morning). I believe I’ve made the corrections and compensations for this to be a tasty cake. If you decide to give it a try – let me know.
In the meantime, let me say, this is just another example of why …
I Hate To BAKE
June 22, 2017 2 Comments
banana boat cake
This was the main dessert for the Friday the 13th Dinner Party.
The frosting is what makes this cake special and bananas are the unlucky ingredient.
It’s crazy how many “explanations” there are for the superstition that bananas on boats bring bad luck, illness, and bad fishing. Here are but a few from Snopes.com:
- When top-heavy ships of earlier eras would sink, precious little other than the bananas they’d carried would be found floating on the surface, thereby leaving some to conclude conveyance of the fruit itself had led to these naval mishaps.
- Spiders, snakes, and other poisonous vermin living among bananas carried in the hold would, on long haul trips, expand their horizons by infesting other parts of the ship.
- Because the speediest sailing ships were used to get bananas to their destinations before they could spoil, those attempting to fish from them never caught anything while trolling.
- Fisherman became ill after eating the fruit.
- Other fruits would spoil more quickly when bananas were being shipped along with them, causing folks to deem bananas “bad luck.” (Technically, it wouldn’t have been ill fate that resulted in the spoilage of other foodstuffs, but instead, the ethylene gas emitted by bananas as they ripen.)
- Crew member injured by slipping on discarded banana peels.
- Banana oil rubs off onto the hands of a fisherman, thereby “spooking” the fish.
Makes me wonder if Banana Boat sunscreen was named as an ode to the superstition. Anyhow, this cake was lucky for me because it turned out perfectly. One thing though, I think it tastes better the day after it is baked.
*** Note: The cake was the first of the recipes I made for the party, so don’t mind me, I thought I was being cute and clever when I placed lucky and unlucky “charms” in the photos as I made the cake. 🙂
May 26, 2016 5 Comments
Meyer Lemon Upside-Down Cake
I made this sweet and tangy cake for a cooking class last week. Since I needed to serve 18 people, I made two cakes, one ahead of time and one in front of the students. For the class cake, I used one Meyer lemon and one blood orange. We decided to serve thin slices from each cake and the students loved them both but especially the the mixed citrus cake.
Either way, this is a simply lovely dessert.
May 10, 2016 4 Comments
Piñata Cake
How I end up with any baking recipes on here, I’ll never understand. I’m so bad at it, but for some reason, I keep trying.
Case in point – this hot mess of a cake.
I know, it looks good on the outside, but if you only knew what it looked like on the inside!
What the heck … I’ll show you!
That’s right – this is the lovely cake I baked – from a Boxed Mix! Seriously, could anything be easier to bake than a cake mix? Small children succeed with box mixes all the time!
Even though I greased the pans and let the layers cool the required about of time before turning over, it looked like that! What the heck? I did my best to salvage it by leaving it on the rack, covering it with plastic, and refrigerating half the day.
Thankfully, the frosting I made turned out perfect and was the glue that magically held it all together. I found the recipe for the super cute and clever Piñata Cake HERE. As you can see, it called for a homemade cake, and I thought I was taking the safer route with the boxed variety. Oh well, at least it looked good. Not only is this the perfect cake for Cinco de Mayo, but it would be adorable for a birthday party any time of the year.
I did change the original recipe a little. I found the amount of coconut the recipe called for was way too much, so I’ve reduced that. Look at how much extra coconut I have! I feel that I have no choice but to bake some sugar cookies to use them up. #nothappy#hatetobake
I did follow the frosting recipe to the letter, thank goodness!
I brought the cake to my dear friend and neighbor, Lisa’s, annual Cinco de Mayo party last night. I cut the first piece out and hoped for the best. I was certain the whole thing would collapse, but it somehow held up. Although, I did not wait around to see what happened when the subsequent pieces were removed. :-/
Oh well, a piñta is supposed to fall apart, right?
May 6, 2016 4 Comments
not perfect, but still perfectly beautiful
I spotted this cake all over the Internet in the weeks leading up to Easter and I knew it was the dessert for me. It has so many things I love!
- Coconut – check
- Malted milk – check
- Malted milk balls – check
- Cuteness Overload – check and Yes Please!
Now, I could just send you to the LINK at Country Living from where the recipe came. But then I couldn’t tell you all of my little trials and frustrations with it and pass along a few hints and tips that might make it easier for you in case you decide to make it.
First, let’s review the differences between the various liquid coconut products available:
- Coconut water is the clear natural juice found when you crack open a coconut.
- Coconut milk has the consistency of dairy milk and is made by simmering one part shredded coconut with one part coconut water.
- Coconut cream is much thicker and much richer than coconut milk. It is made by simmering four parts shredded coconut in one part coconut water. If there is a bit of cream that rises to the top of a can of coconut milk – it is also considered coconut cream.
- Cream of coconut is sweetened coconut cream. It has a thick almost syrupy consistency and is most often used in desserts and mixed drinks, such as a Piña Colada.
The frosting calls for cream of coconut. I accidentally pulled out a can of coconut cream, took photos with it along with the rest of the frosting ingredients, opened it, and only then realized I had grabbed the wrong product.
Here you can see the difference in the look and consistency of coconut cream vs. cream of coconut. Happily, once opened, coconut cream will keep, transferred to another container, covered and refrigerated, for about a week, so I used it to make a chicken curry a few days later. If you can’t find the cream of coconut in the baking section of the grocery store, look in the liquor area or just ask.
Next, let’s once again look at the lovely photo from the Country Living website for this beautiful cake. My frustration in trying to get my frosting to look like my robin eggs was tremendous. Just look at how perfectly their frosting coloring and speckling match their eggs. Seriously, it’s as if they are cut from the exact same cloth.
April 8, 2016 9 Comments
2 ingredient fat-free dessert
That may be THE most misleading title for a post I have ever made!
I’m sorry about that. The fact is that you don’t need a recipe or a post to make this “2 ingredient no-calorie dessert.” All you need is to buy a box of Angel Food Cake Mix to achieve the same end result.
Except for one minor little change…
The Angel Food Cake Mix called for water as ingredient #2, I used diet orange soda to make this a Creamsicle Angel Food Cake.
Keep reading if you’re intrigued, if not, come back tomorrow. But know before you go, Creamsicles were my favorite thing on earth when I was 8 years old.
July 2, 2014 2 Comments
Connor’s Cake
Connor worked on Saturday night, so we celebrated his birthday on Sunday. Marissa is in town for a wedding, which was also on Saturday, so it worked out perfectly since she could then celebrate with her brother too.
This is the cake I made for him. I found the image on Pinterest, of course. No need for an actual recipe. Use your favorite cake recipe or a box mix. Frost with your favorite icing, I used a chocolate buttercream, recipe included. Then decorate and trim with KitKat bars, M&M’s, and a ribbon. That’s all there is to it!
Connor’s Candy & Cake Birthday Cake
Chocolate Butter Frosting
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk, half-and-half, or cream
Two 9-inch round cakes (from 1 box cake mix)
Three 4.5-ounce Giant Kit Kat Bars
One 12.6-ounce bag of M&M’s
Kitchen string
Ribbon
Chocolate Butter Frosting: In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and vanilla.
Mix in the cocoa powder.
Add the powdered sugar alternately with the cream. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust the consistency with more milk or sugar.
Place one of the cake layers on a cake stand or platter and frost the top with the frosting. Place the second layer on top and frost the top and the sides.
Immediately after the cake is frosted, begin placing the individual Kit Kat sticks to the sides of the cake, leaving a very small space in between each Kit Kat (you need to do this before the frosting has time to dry and set up.)
Three giant packages is the exact amount you need to completely surround the cake.
May 26, 2014 3 Comments