Do you believe in the magic of the holidays? I have always enjoyed Christmas probably more than I should, but this holiday season seems a little extra special for me. I don't know why?
Everything feels simpler. Less dramatic, complicated, and time consuming. Slowly things are starting to fall into place one by one.
And speaking of simple, this cake could not be any less dramatic, effortless, or elaborate. I found the recipe in Gelson's weekly flyer. The recipe is so easy to put together that you'll cry ...tears of happiness that is.
It has a delightfully bold pumpkin taste. I think walnuts, dark chocolate chunks, cranberries, or even a nice white chocolate glaze would make this lovely cake extra special.
The recipe doesn't call for any add-ins but I think the batter would hold up well to one or two additions of your choice. This is a wonderful base for any pumpkin bread lovers!
First, I want to say that I am sorry for not posting on a regular basis this year. It has been an emotionally filled roller coaster year. For every single great moment that has occurred this year there has been an equally devastating one to match it. On bright side, as I type this post I can feel the shift of sadness leaving my life and love coming towards me.
In June, I graduated from school (magna cum laude). Then in late August, I took a job that I was unsure of, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. I have met the most wonderful people at work ...F & J. And lastly, I learned a life lesson (the hard way). I learned, that some people are cruel, mean, and vindictive. I learned that I cannot "love away" their meanness no matter how hard I try to. There is a lot more to tell, but I want to focus on the positive and wonderful things in my life.
And speaking of amazing things, these cookies are just that. Who could turn down a giant, buttery, chewy, cookie packed full cranberries, coconut, nuts, chocolate and good for you oatmeal? Not I.
Also, here are some FYI tips. I used a 4 ounce scooper and only placed 6 cookies per pan. I then placed the pans with dough in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes before baking. I do this to ensure that they don't over-spread. Add an extra minute or two to the baking time. These are really giant cookies. One cookie per person is more than enough.
"When we two parted In silence and tears, Half broken-hearted To sever the years, Pale grew thy cheek and cold, Colder, thy kiss; Truly that hour foretold Sorrow to this.
The dew of the morning Sunk, chill on my brow, It felt like the warning Of what I feel now. Thy vows are all broken, And light is thy fame; I hear thy name spoken, And share in its shame.
They name thee before me, A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me... Why wert thou so dear? They know not I knew thee, Who knew thee too well.. Long, long shall I rue thee, Too deeply to tell.
In secret we met In silence I grieve That thy heart could forget, Thy spirit deceive. If I should meet thee After long years, How should I greet thee? With silence and tears."
Oh, those wonderful people over at POM Wonderful sent me care package of POM iced coffee. They sure know how to make me swoon.
I even purchased to-go coffee cups and lids just so I could see if it matched up to coffee house drinks and the experience. And it does.
The POM people have extracted all the wonderful antioxidants from pomegranates and added it to Rainforest Alliance Certified Arabica beans. The Arabica beans pair well with the chocolate and pomegranate extract. The end result is wonderfully rich and creamy iced coffee.
The coffee contains rBST growth hormone free milk, organic sugar, and is free of preservatives. It's a tasty and healthy way to get your morning buzz.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines friendship as "...as distinctively personal relationship that is grounded in a concern on the part of each friend for the welfare of the other, for the other's sake, and that involves some degree of intimacy." The concept of comradeship has been on my mind for numerous months now. I have finally concluded that a wonderful friendship contains mutual caring, intimacy, and shared interests.
For me, mutual caring is the method that I use to say: “I love you”. While, I may not have the courage to tell one in person I try to make sure that the people I care about can feel it. I persistently try to give without ever expecting anything in return. Only when we offer without expectations can one truly enjoy the gift of honest camaraderie.
With certain people, friendship is instantaneously, like my friend K, E, and S. With You, I wanted to be your friend immediately. I found delight in the way you titled your head to the left with a crooked smile and giggled at my dumb jokes. That is why “I loved you”, but you also inspired me with your joys, successes, frustrations, and failures. I want to jump for joy when you are feeling bliss and hold your hand when you are sorrowful. Because I believe when life is disheartening and we can only feel our own misery is when our true friends come to our aid without asking.
Furthermore, it is during the arduous times that an intimacy develops between friends. You shared with me the difficulties of your life. My heart broke when you said all you wanted was “unconditional love”. Like a good ally, I promised you exactly that ...unconditional love. I am sorry that I failed you.
In the beginning of our friendship, I truly believed I was strong enough to weather any storms you had. I wanted to be your life preserver the way K, E, and S had been for me. You asked me not to let you go; but I did. Forgive me, for I was weak and let others influence me about you and I …regret it.
I will continue to believe in your ideas because you have promise and that is a beautiful quality in a friend. I will always remember lovingly how much you smiled when you talked about your dreams and aspirations. When you spoke, your eyes gleamed with happiness, as is if they could no longer contain the joy and pride you felt. I wish I could have captured that moment.
In addition, I should have disclosed to you that not only do we share a zeal for cooking; but also that we have the same family structure and up bringing. However, I was too scared to tell you. It is for those reasons that I do understand where you are coming from even if I cannot admit it aloud to myself.
In any case, I know you are strong enough and capable of overcoming any adversary because you are trained to do so. For I know that you have moved on, but I wanted you to know that you were right about everything concerning true friendship.
Finally, I baked this banana cake with you in mind. It is rich, buttery, and travels well. Should it need to trek many, many, many miles from here. It would be my pleasure to ship this cake anywhere ...just for you.
I was born and raised in the Midwest and try to live my life by showing appreciation for the simple things like: good food, health, love of family, and friends. And maybe it's those Midwestern values that draw me towards blue collar pastries.
For example, my father worked the steel mills of East Chicago until he retired. Our family was never one for fancy cakes and such. My favorite childhood memories involve cold winter mornings, hot cups of coffee, and splendid coffee cakes. I can still remember my mom telling me to add more milk to my coffee because it was too dark. I still enjoy coffee cake to this day, but the portions are smaller and occur less frequently.
I recently baked this lovely cake that is spiked with fresh apples, dark raisins, and walnuts. It's incredibly moist, hearty, and fills one's kitchen with a wonderful autumnal scent. It is a magnificent cake to start the morning off with, whether one drinks coffee or not.
For April’s installment of the Cake Slice, the bakers voted for a tea based cake. Chai tea was the cake’s main flavor components. Chai tea literally translates to “spiced tea”; some of the spices found in chai tea can be pepper, cardamom, and cinnamon. A common practice is to mix the tea with milk to make lattes. That is exactly what the recipe instructed to do.
The chai tea bags steeped in warm milk, were cooled and then used in the cake mix. The tea tinted the cake to a lovely mushroom color. The recipe also called for more cinnamon and cardamom, which added pleasant warmth to the cake. The cake itself was light and airy, very much like a chiffon. Keeping with chai tradition, honey sweetens the cake's icing.
The recipe took a conventional cream cheese icing and added more “chai” flavors to it. To start, it called for honey as a sweetener. Make sure to use a very liquid honey to ensure that one gets an icing that will drizzle down the sides of the cake. I do not believe the honey I used had the fluidity called for in the recipe. I say this because I did not achieve the "icicle effect" on the sides of my cake, as the recipe stated I would.
Next, the recipe asked for fresh grated ginger. I did not have any fresh ginger, but I used dried ginger and the icing seemed unaffected. In the end, the exotic flavors in the cake and icing made this a wonderful cake. Definitely worthy of a second bake.
As you may have already guessed by reading this blog; is that I love to bake. Yet, I never share the really simple recipes that my family and friends love.
For example, this bundt cake is utterly moist and full of banana flavor. It will last forever in the fridge without drying out. I love it warm with a glass of soy milk or cold with a cup of hot coffee.
Despite how much I heart bundt cakes, I have only posted one bundt cake recipe so far. Shame on me. Especially since they always bring a smile to my face.
Every single time I bake a bundt cake I think about my mom and a particular scene from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". My mom loves-loves bundt cakes. To her a bundt cake is "real cake". No fancy icings to hide a bland, dry, and over priced cake. I guess you can say, bundt cakes are the "salt of the earth" cakes.
For me, bundt cake recipes are reliable, honestly delicious, large enough to share and show kindness with a slice. Just like my mom's love.
Did you know that March 28th is National Lemon Day? This would be the perfect cake to celebrate the day with. The Cake Slice bakers voted to bake Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman And Peter Wynne.
I cannot believe how easy this cake came together. The curd? Easy peasy. The cake? One, Two, three ...done. The whipped cream icing? Piece of cake.
The only modification I made to the recipe was to add a little agar-agar to the whipped cream. I don't know about you, but I am a slow at frosting cakes. The agar-agar would be the equivalent of adding a little gelatin the whipped cream. This is just my way of insuring that the whipped cream doesn't melt or slide off the cake before I can snap a photo.
If you would like to see more lemonicious cakes then visit The Cake Slice Bakers here.
Awe, ...I didn't know you guys loved ballerinas as much as I do. This is where I bought them ...here.
Do you believe in the magic of the holidays? I have always enjoyed Christmas probably more than I should, but this holiday season seems a little extra special for me. I don't know why?
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