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Vintage Cakes: The Pink Cake

May 20, 2013 By + 24 Comments

“THE VERY PINK OF PERFECTION.”  Oliver Goldsmith

The Pink Cake | From My Sweet Heart

May I just start off by telling you how much I LOVE pink desserts?!  So when Paloma of The Coffee Shop, and leader of The Cake Slice bakers told us that The Pink Cake was up next, I was delighted. It most definitely is….a very pink perfection!  The book we are baking from is Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson.  And this particular cake is an original of hers and one that is featured at her bakery, Baker & Spice.  Pink to me is such a shabby chic vintage color.  And so this recipe fits really well into this book of retro cakes.

This is a rich, moist but light chocolate cake surrounded by a silky Swiss buttercream.  How does the buttercream get it’s beautiful pink color? [Read more...]

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Blueberry Orange Baby Bundts #Bundtamonth

May 8, 2013 By + 43 Comments

“CAN WORDS DESCRIBE THE FRAGRANCE OF THE VERY BREATH OF SPRING?”  Neltje Blanchan

Blueberry Orange Baby Bundts | From My Sweet Heart

So many people await the arrival of spring because it means the days are longer and there is so much more to do outside.  For some, it’s the constant sunshine that they enjoy.  And for others new growth brings with it a feeling of new hope.  For me, spring is like living in a world of aromatherapy.  There is nothing that instantly relaxes me like the scent of lilacs in my yard, freshly cut grass, or even wet dirt after a soaking spring rain.  And so it is with baking.  Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess challenged the Bundt a Month bakers to use berries this month.  While blueberries are not the most fragrant fruit, when you combine them with the warm sweet scent of vanilla and bright and cheery citrus notes, your kitchen is suddenly filled with promise.  And these sweet little blueberry orange mini bundt cakes promise to be delicious! [Read more...]

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Vintage Cakes: Lemon & Almond Streamliner Cake

April 20, 2013 By + 63 Comments

“TRAVELING IS LIKE FLIRTING WITH LIFE.  IT’S LIKE SAYING, I WOULD STAY AND LOVE YOU, BUT I HAVE TO GO; THIS IS MY STATION.”  Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

Lemon & Almond Streamliner Cake | From My Sweet Heart

Travel back to the 1930′s on the Zephyr, the Flying Yankee, or the Comet.  It was the golden age of train travel, when comfort and convenience replaced sensibility.  And you could travel from here to there in luxury and style. These streamlined, sleek, art deco styled trains offered sleeping compartments, observation cars, and sit down dining and buffet lounges.  If I close my eyes, I can put myself there.  Having finished my dinner,  I pat my short, crimped hair with my fingers and reapply my bright red lipstick.  My waiter interrupts to ask what I’ll have for dessert.  Dessert?  Why I think I’ll try a slice of that lovely almond lemon cake!

Julie Richardson, author of Vintage Cakes, discovered a recipe for a Lemon Stream Liner Cake in a 1967 issue of Baking Industry.  Though there was no explanation of the origin of the cake,  she believed that one possibility is that it was named after the streamlined trains of the early 20th century.  And my own imagination took me back in time as I made this really moist, almond buttermilk cake which is topped with a light, lemony custard. [Read more...]

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Coconut Cherry Chip Bundt Cake #Bundtamonth

April 3, 2013 By + 63 Comments

“IN THE CHERRY BLOSSOM’S SHADE THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A STRANGER.”  Kobayashi Issa

Coconut Cherry Chip Bundt Cake | From My Sweet Heart

Well it is cherry blossom season here again in the nation’s capital!  And while the Cherry Blossom Festival is officially underway, it certainly doesn’t feel like spring here yet.  The highest temperature today is a breezy 53° and all I want to do is drink hot chocolate!  But this is my first time participating in Bundt a Month.  This group, founded by Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess, is made up of some amazing and creative bundt bakers.  And when it was announced that cherry would be the theme, I felt like I had to represent!

I chose to bake a coconut based cake studded with sweet Oregon cherries and semi sweet chocolate chips.  Top it off with a drizzle of chocolate cherry ganache and a sprinkling of coconut (tinted the color of cherry blossoms), and I feel like I am on a float in the middle of the parade! [Read more...]

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Vintage Cakes: Honeybee Cake

March 20, 2013 By + 65 Comments

“BEES DO HAVE A SMELL, YOU KNOW, AND IF THEY DON’T THEY SHOULD, FOR THEIR FEET ARE DUSTED WITH SPICES FROM A MILLION FLOWERS.”  Ray Bradbury

Honeybee Cake | From My Sweet Heart

I like milk and sugar in my tea; and butter and jam on my biscuits.  So I’ve never given much thought to honey in the past.  Those amber jars on the grocery store shelf?  They all looked the same to me!  But a couple of years ago, my son came home from his summer landscaping job one day, with a jar of honey in hand.  It seems that his boss was also a bee keeper.  Really?  Now I’m intrigued!  And with one little swoosh of my finger, I was hooked!  There is nothing more luscious than fresh, local honey.  And I was ready to taste more.

So this month, I was thrilled that The Cake Slice Bakers voted on this Honeybee Cake.  [Read more...]

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Vintage Cakes: Red Velvet Cake

February 20, 2013 By + 72 Comments

“WE ARE HOMESICK MOST FOR THE PLACES WE HAVE NEVER KNOWN.”  Carson McCullers

Red Velvet Cake | From My Sweet Heart

The thing I think I love most about baking from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson, is the ability to go back in time to experience memories that were never mine in the first place. I have always wished I had some amazing recipes, passed down through generations of scrappy, resourceful women, who expressed their love of their families through baking.  But the reality is, my history of baking begins with me.  So I am enjoying baking my way through this book, along with a group of wonderful women, who truly appreciate the nostalgia as well.  This month, The Cake Slice Bakers made a really beautiful and absolutely scrumptious Red Velvet Cake.  While I have never been a fan of red velvet anything, these pictures will show you how Ms. Richardson’s recipe won me over. . . . . [Read more...]

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Banana Cake with Coffee Walnut Buttercream

January 20, 2013 By + 52 Comments

“THINK ONLY OF THE PAST AS ITS REMEMBRANCE GIVES YOU PLEASURE .”  Jane Austen

Banana Cake with Coffee Walnut Buttercream | From My Sweet Heart

Have you ever felt that you were born in the wrong era?  I think about all of the kitchen appliances that I have that are meant to make my life so easy.  Yet, I am fascinated by vintage baking and vintage bake ware.  I find myself collecting as much as I can.  And I even enjoy looking at old recipes.  So I am thrilled that The Cake Slice Bakers are baking from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson.  This book is full of recipes from the 1920′s that the author has “revived and updated.”

This month, the votes were so close, that we were allowed to choose between two recipes from the book.  But the combination of flavors for this particular cake had me quite intrigued.  Bananas and coffee?  Together?  There’s more?  Ok.  I’ll bite….. [Read more...]

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Shoo-fly Cake

November 20, 2012 By + 53 Comments

The Cake Slice Bakers go Vintage!!!

Shoo-fly Cake | From My Sweet Heart

Well this is a day I’ve been waiting for since I began blogging!  I LOVE baking CAKES!  And when I began blogging, I happened upon a couple of blogs that featured a group known as The Cake Slice Bakers.  They always featured some amazing cakes, yet I could not find much information about them.  A secret society of cake bakers?  I wanted in!  I am so fortunate to have been invited to be a member.  The women in this group are fun and fabulous bakers and you can find them listed at The Cake Slice Bakers.  What book are we baking from? . . . . . [Read more...]

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Chocolate Pumpkin Icebox Cake

October 1, 2012 By + 41 Comments

“THERE’S NOTHING BETTER THAN A GOOD FRIEND, EXCEPT A GOOD FRIEND WITH CHOCOLATE.”  Linda Grayson

Chocolate Pumpkin Icebox Cake | From My Sweet Heart

I’m going to a party!  A Chocolate Party!   And if you LOVE chocolate as much as I LOVE chocolate, then you should come, too!  Many of your friends will be there with some of their best chocolate recipes! 

It is hosted by the wonderful and creative Roxana, from Roxana’s Home Baking!  Once a month we vote on a seasonal ingredient to pair with chocolate.  This month, the majority ruled on PUMPKIN!  I love pumpkin, but I will tell you that of all the baking and desserts I’ve made with this ingredient, I’ve never paired it with chocolate.  Until now!  The cocoa stenciling on the top of this pumpkin icebox cake is a pretty effect.  But just check out these layers of chocolate graham crackers and spicy pumpkin cream cheese . . . . . [Read more...]

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Chocolate Tweed Angel Food Cake

September 6, 2012 By + 67 Comments

“A TRIP TO THE MOON ON GOSSAMER WINGS.  IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS.”  Cole Porter

Chocolate Tweed Angel Food Cake | From My Sweet Heart

Angels in tweed?  Well then how can they fly?  This cake surely should have been named Chocolate Gossamer Angel Food Cake.  Not at all like those sticky, chewy cakes you buy at the market.  The texture of this cake is so light and silky; it just about melts in your mouth! Flecks of dark chocolate temper the sweetness.  White chocolate pearls float atop a cloud of chocolate whipped cream.  One bite is a trip to the moon on gossamer wings!  And I will never go back!  What is the key to this luscious, ethereal texture? [Read more...]

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