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Vintage Cakes: The Pink Cake

May 20, 2013 By + 53 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 + 50 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...]

Filed Under: Bundt-a-Month, Cake, Little Cakes Tagged With: , , , ,

Chocolate Strawberry Slab Pie

May 6, 2013 By + 55 Comments

“FOOD IS NOT ABOUT IMPRESSING PEOPLE.  IT’S ABOUT MAKING THEM FEEL COMFORTABLE.”  Ina Garten

Chocolate and Strawberry Slab Pie | From My Sweet Heart

It’s always great when a fussy dessert turns out really well.  But I am even happier when I am able to casually throw a few ingredients together and the result is just as satisfying.  This month, Roxana, of Roxana’s Home Baking and the fearless leader of The Chocolate Party challenged us to pair chocolate with strawberries!  It’s such a winning combination in my book.  Strawberries always remind me of spring and summer, and strawberry picking at my favorite farm.  And so I wanted to make a rustic dessert, and one that tastes like home. [Read more...]

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Vintage Cakes: Lemon & Almond Streamliner Cake

April 20, 2013 By + 64 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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Chocolate & Irish Cream Cupcakes

April 1, 2013 By + 47 Comments

“A QUARREL IS LIKE BUTTERMILK, ONCE IT’S OUT OF THE CHURN; THE MORE YOU SHAKE IT, THE MORE SOUR IT GROWS.”  Irish Saying

Chocolate and Irish Cream Cupcakes | From My Sweet Heart

The only quarrel that will likely start over these pretty black and white Irish Cream cupcakes is who will get the last one!  Buttermilk is one of the key ingredients in these light and airy cupcakes.  In baking, buttermilk reacts with baking soda to give your product a light texture and also prevents your baked goods from browning too quickly.  A huge thank you to Roxana, of Roxana’s Home Baking; and the founder of The Chocolate Party for pairing chocolate with buttermilk this month!  And since I am a year round fan of Bailey’s Irish Cream, I knew that I would be making these buttermilk cupcakes.  They are soft and light in texture, with a mellow chocolate flavor; but the Irish Cream is everywhere in this recipe. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chocolate Party, Cupcake Heaven, Simple, The Chocolate Party Tagged With: , , , , ,

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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Mexican Ice Cream for a Special Birthday

March 7, 2013 By + 49 Comments

“A BIRTHDAY IS JUST THE FIRST DAY OF ANOTHER 365-DAY JOURNEY AROUND THE SUN.  ENJOY THE TRIP!”  Anonymous

Mexican Ice Cream | From My Sweet Heart

No birthday celebration is ever complete without ice cream!  Today, I’m participating in a virtual surprise party for one of the ‘Theme Weavers’.  (That great group of women who, once a month, bring you a week long event celebrating a particular food theme.)   And in honor of the birthday girl, I consulted a Texas cookbook for this one.  This Mexican ice cream has a sweet vanilla base, but is studded with maraschino cherries, caramelized sugar bits and toasted pecans!  It’s almost as sweet as the birthday girl herself.  Whose birthday is it? . . . . . [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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Berry Smoothie Ice Cream Pie

February 16, 2013 By + 77 Comments

“PIE IS A SYMBOL OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN MOM AND HER WAY WITH DESSERTS.”  Pascale le Draoulec

Berry Smoothie Ice Cream Pie | From My Sweet Heart

Well if this mom has a way with desserts, her kids would never know.  They don’t eat them much!  I don’t know what to say other than I can’t believe they’re mine.  But my kids just aren’t sweet eaters.  Birthday cakes?  Unless it’s plain vanilla, no icing, with a slight sprinkling of powdered sugar…..maybe.  Ice cream?  Now we’re talking!  So when the “fabulous 14”, the fun loving, creative and talented women who brought you Crêpe Week, Beer Week and Soup Week decided on Sweets Week, my head went straight to this recipe. 

It has been a really fun week of Sweets for Your Sweetie Pies.  The true sweetie pies in my life are my boys (now young men).  So I decided on this incredible Berry Smoothie Ice Cream Pie.  Every luscious layer of this ice cream pie blends together to have you feeling like you are enjoying your favorite smoothie.  Pureed strawberries, bananas and blueberries are combined with vanilla frozen yogurt and stacked on a sweet granola pie crust.  Your spoon may not be fast enough and you’ll be wishing you had a straw!  And I’ve put together a Pie Package for one lucky winner. . . . . [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creamy Ice Cream, Frozen Treats, Pie, Sweets Week, Theme Weavers Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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