Happy Independence Day!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Fourth of July! Jason and I spent the holiday weekend visiting my family in Charlotte. It was such a treat to have everyone together for a long weekend of fun and celebration. First on the agenda was a visit to Mom's house where we enjoyed a delicious dinner on Friday evening, followed by a Saturday afternoon filled with lunch, shopping for fabric, and (my personal favorite) polishing some of mom's beautiful silver serving pieces! She has acquired quite a large collection over the years, and every time we get her silver out I fall in love with a new piece. =)

We spent the rest of the weekend at Dad & Jackie's house. On the agenda: Saturday evening cocktails at Selwyn Pub with the siblings and spouses, a Sunday afternoon belly flop contest for the men (yes, you read that right), followed by a yummy cookout courtesy of my Dad and Step mom, and then on to the National Whitewater Center for lunch and rafting on Monday. The whitewater center was REALLY neat (its where the US kayak/canoe Olympic teams train) and I can't wait to go back. Jason and I are dying try out their canopy tour! 

It was a fun-filled weekend and wouldn't have been complete without trying a new dessert recipe! I decided to make a Key Lime Pound Cake, and was quite pleased with how it turned out. I've posted the recipe below, along with some photos from the weekend!

bon bon spoon - my new favorite!

Me and Jason at Selywn Pub

my Sunday tanning and napping locale...

until I was interrupted by the boys =)

my brother-in-law, belly flopping

Key Lime Pound Cake - this cake is lovely and refreshing, and a great summer dessert option! It was just a little bit sweet, a little bit tart, but very velvety and super yummy. The only thing that disappointed me was finding that most of the glaze dripped onto the cake plate. I will probably make this cake again, and just play with different ways to ice it, so as to not lose most of the glaze. Enjoy and happy baking!

Cake Ingredients:
1 c butter, softened
1/2 c shortening
3 c sugar
6 large eggs
3 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lime zest
1/4 c fresh key lime juice

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the butter and shortening together until creamy. Then, gradually add sugar (beating at medium speed) until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended together after each addition.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the milk. Be sure to begin and end with the flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Then, stir in the vanilla, lime zest, and key lime juice. Pour the batter into a greased and floured bundt cake pan, and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. *I checked on the cake at 1 hour and then every 10 minutes afterwards until it was done* Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan to a wire rack or cake stand.

Prepare key lime glaze (recipe below) and immediately drizzle over the top and sides of cake. Cool completely.

Glaze Ingredients:
1 c powdered sugar
2 tbs key lime juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Whisk all 3 ingredients together in a small bowl, and use immediately.

key limes, so much smaller than I expected!

ready for the oven

glazed and ready to eat