Coffee Cake: Take One

Last Monday I decided to come home from work and make a coffee cake. I know it sounds completely random, and a little strange, but that's what I did. It may have been a combination of having an exceptionally long day at work (I find baking incredibly therapeutic) and simply wanting to bake something I've never baked before. Thank goodness I had Supper Club on Tuesday night and was able to give some away! :-)

Overall, I thought this recipe turned out quite well. The cake was moist, delicious, and just the right amount of sweet. I've decided, however, I prefer a coffee cake that has a yummy streusel topping. So, while I would consider my first attempt at making coffee cake a success, I would not say I've found my "go to" recipe. Alas, stay tuned for Coffee Cake: Take Two!

Cake Ingredients:
3/4 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 c sour cream

Filling Ingredients:
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c finely chopped walnuts
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12 cup bundt pan. In a large mixing bowl combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with sour cream.

For the filling, mix brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon together in a separate bowl and set aside.

Spread 1/3 of the batter (approximately 2 cups) into the bundt pan and sprinkle with 1/3 of the filling (approximately 6 tablespoons). Repeat this twice.

Bake for 60 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

fresh out of the oven

yum!

A Sibling Reunion

Over the years my brother, my sister, and myself have become somewhat scattered across North Carolina. Katie lives in Pittsboro with her husband (Shawn), Ben lives in Charlotte, and of course, Jason and I live in Raleigh.  As you can imagine, this means spending time together is less frequent than I would like.

Last weekend Ben drove up to spend a couple days with Katie & Shawn, so Jason and I invited everyone over for a mini reunion Saturday night. It's always quite the event when the five of us get together. We inevitably eat too much food, stay up too late, and have TONS of fun!

My sister is an amazing cook, and volunteered to bring homemade macaroni and cheese (among other things) to pair with the grilled chicken and jalapeno burgers Jason and I were putting together. I will try to post her mac & cheese recipe in the future. It is to DIE for!

Of course, the meal wouldn't be complete without dessert. So, in honor of my sister, I decided to try out a turtle cake recipe that I had found months ago, as turtle candies are her absolute favorite. I must say that I wasn't completely thrilled with how it all turned out. Don't get me wrong, it was yummy, but the cake itself was very dense and very rich. If I decide to make it again in the future, I will likely tweak the recipe a bit. I've posted it below:

Ingredients:

1 pkg devils food cake mix

1 (3.9 oz) pkg chocolate instant pudding mix

3 lg eggs

1 1/4 c milk

1 c canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp chocolate extract

1 tsp instant coffee granules

1 (6 oz) pkg semisweet chocolate morsels

1 c chopped pecans

1 container cream cheese frosting

1/2 c canned dulce de leche

2 (7 oz) pkgs turtle candies

1 container chocolate fudge frosting

1 jar dulce de leche ice cream topping

1/4 c pecan halves, toasted

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 (9 inch) round cake pans and set aside.

Beat cake mix and next 7 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 1 minute, beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Fold in chocolate morsels and chopped pecans. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely. Wrap and chill cake layers at least 1 hour.

Whisk together cream cheese frosting and canned dulce de leche in a small bowl until well blended. Set aside. Cut 6 turtle candies in half and set aside for garnish. Dice remaining turtle candies.

Using a serrated knife, slice cake layers in half horizontally to make 4 layers. Place 1 layer (cut side up) on cake plate. Spread with 1/2 cup cream cheese frosting mixture; sprinkle 1/3 diced turtle candies. Repeat this twice. Place final cake layer on top of cake (cut side down) and spread chocolate fudge frosting on top and sides of cake. Cover and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve. Just before serving, drizzle dulce de leche ice cream topping over top of cake. Garnish with remaining halved turtle candies and pecan halves. Store in refrigerator and enjoy!

Turtle Cake

dinner, YUM!

me, brother Ben, and sister Katie

the hubbys, losing shamelessly at Apples to Apples

Harry and Mollie (Kate and Shawn's puppies)

Going to the Chapel...

Congratulations to the newlyweds... Shelly & Blair are married!! I must apologize for being M.I.A. for the past couple of weeks, but I've been a busy girl! It all began the weekend of May 7th, when my good friend Shelly officially became Mrs. Blair Keeter. It was a lovely weekend filled with endless fun and celebration.

The festivities commenced on Friday with a beautiful bridal luncheon at The Cardinal Club in downtown Raleigh. It was delightful for all of the ladies to spend some quality time together, toast Shelly, and enjoy a fabulous meal! 

The bride, her bridesmaids, and mothers of the bride and groom

Friday evening we reported to Rose Hill Plantation for the rehearsal and dinner. Approximately 45 minutes east of Raleigh, and known today as Rose Hill Conference Center, the property is part of a country estate established in 1762 through a land grant from King George II to the Boddie family. The grounds are breathtaking and the Manor House is exquisite.  

Rose Hill Plantation

The rehearsal was followed by a yummy poolside dinner at Rose Hill hosted by the groom's parents. It was the perfect evening. The atmosphere was very relaxed and everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time. After dinner, Blair's parents gave a beautiful toast to the bride and groom, and then guests enjoyed the sound of beach music and danced late into the evening.      

Celebrating with the Maid and Matron of Honor

The Turners - love them!

grooms cake

(Blair is an ECU alum and die hard fan)

Soon-to-be Mr. & Mrs.

Saturday was a perefct May day. The wedding ceremony took place at six o'clock in the evening by the lake on Rose Hill's grounds, and it was simply beautiful. Afterwards, guests enjoyed a cocktail hour on the back lawn and were soon ushered inside to feast on stations of Italian, Asian, and Southern cuisine. Shelly and Blair couldn't have looked happier, and it was clear they were having the time of their lives as they danced until the wee hours of the morning! Best wishes for a very happy life together, Mr. & Mrs. Keeter!

the beautiful bride

me and the hubby

pretty cake

first dance

cutting the cake

sweet potato cake with white chocolate mousse, mmm

Happy Mother's Day Weekend

Happy Mother's Day to the most beautiful and special woman I know! Love you... xoxo!

The best conversations with mothers always take place in silence, when only the heart speaks.  ~Carrie Latet

Happily Ever After

Those of you that know me, know I have been eagerly anticipating William and Kate's royal wedding since Buckingham Palace announced their engagement last November. So, it will come as no surprise that yesterday morning I got up at the crack of dawn to ensure that I didn't miss one minute of the coverage beginning at 4:00 am. The entire event was breathtaking, and I immediately fell in love with Kate's dress! It was graceful, elegant, and befitting of a princess. Of course, Prince William looked quite dashing himself. Cheers to the happy couple!

In honor of this very exciting occasion, I decided to experiment and whip up a batch of cranberry orange scones to nibble on while I watched the festivities. I was delighted with how well they turned out, and can't wait try some different variations. I've posted the recipe below.

absolute perfection

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Cranberry Orange Scones

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp orange zest (you can be generous with this ingredient)

8 tbsp unsalted butter, frozen

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup sour cream

1 large egg

1 tsp sugar, reserved

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest. Grate butter into flour mixture using large holes of a box grater. Use your fingers to work in the butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal) then stir in cranberries.

In a small bowl whisk sour cream and egg together until smooth. Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press dough against bowl into a ball. (It might seem like there's not enough liquid at first, but as you press the dough will come together)

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7-8 inch square (3/4 inch thick). Sprinkle the top with remaining sugar and cut into 8 triangles. Place on a greased cookie sheet 1 inch apart and bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.

**For lemon blueberry scones, replace orange zest with lemon zest and replace dried cranberries with dried blueberries

**For cherry almond scones, add 1/2 tsp almond extract to sour cream mixture and replace dried cranberries with dried cherries.

I haven't tried these variations yet, but they sound amazing and I will certainly try them in the future!

ready for the oven!

warm and delicious

Happy Easter!

First and foremost, I would like to wish everyone a belated Happy Easter! Ours was a blissfully relaxing weekend filled the company of good friends and lots of yummy food...

On Saturday, I enjoyed a lovely "girls night" with two of my fabulous friends, Lillian and Allie. We left the hubsands at home and started our evening with dinner at Vivace. For anyone who loves Italian food, this North Hills restaurant is a MUST try. I have never eaten anything there that was less than excellent, and this weekend was no exception. I decided to try something new, and ordered the shrimp risotto. It was rich and creamy, and absolutely amazing. I highly recommend! For dessert and cocktails we ventured across the street to Coquette, the charming French Brasserie on the other side of North Hills. For dessert, Lillian recommended the profiteroles: three puff pastries filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with a warm chocolate sauce. I've heard quite a bit about Coquette's profiteroles, and I must say, I was not disappointed. The pastries were light and sweet, and the chocolate sauce added just the right amount of decadence.

Profiteroles... mmmmm

On Sunday Jason and I put together a small brunch to celebrate our first Easter as a married couple! On the menu was a spiral cut glazed ham and a potato and bacon quiche. Those of you who know me, know that I don't typically eat pork (which obviously means that I don't cook it, either). My husband, however, can't seem to get enough of it... so, this weekend I officially cooked my first ham. I was a little scared, but Jason said it turned out great, so I'll just take his word for it. I was much more excited about the quiche. Typically, I would make it with turkey bacon, but it doesn't crumble as well as pork bacon so I caved in and bought the "real" stuff, as my Mom would say. I was very happy with how it turned out: light, fluffy, and absolutely delicious! I'll definitely make this one again. For anyone who loves quiche, I've posted the recipe below.

Ingredients:
6 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I used milk instead and it worked just fine)
Salt and pepper
2 cups of sliced or diced potatoes, cooked but not too well done
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 (9 inch) refrigerated pie crust, fitted to a 9-inch glass pie plate

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Combine the eggs, cream, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Layre the potatoes, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top.

The Ingredients

layered and ready to bake

Bake for 35-45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Cut into 8 wedges.

fresh out of the oven

delightful!

The Study Elf

When I was in college, I used to love getting "care packages" in the mail from my parents. It was always so much fun to open the box and find out what kind of yummy treats and other surprises Mom or Dad had sent to get me through exams. So, in that same spirit, I decided to do some baking for friends of ours who are currently enduring the stress of law school exams.

After looking through numerous recipes, I decided to make a coconut cake. I had never made one before, but it seemed to turn out pretty well. See below for the recipe:

Cake:
3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups white sugar
5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk
4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 pound confectioner's sugar, sifted
6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease 2 round cake pans.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled, don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flower, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 45-55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the baking rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extracts together with an electric mixer on low speed. Add the confectioner's sugar and mix until just smooth.

Once cool, place 1 cake layer on a plate (top side down) and spread with 1/3 of the frosting. Place the second layer on top (top side up) and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. To decorate, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Voila!