Cherry Coffee Cake

What is your Christmas morning tradition? When I was a little girl we used to all go to my Grandma "P''s house...she had a huge farm house. Us kids would some times sleep right next to the fully lit and decorated Christmas tree, even though there were enough rooms and beds for all of us I remember waking up in the middle of the night staring at the pretty colorful  lights. Grandma always had the multicolored lights - the more colorful, the better. If we didn't wake up first, my Aunt D would come in checking on us kids to see if we were up yet. I think she was just as excited about the days festivities as us kids were! She's fun and super cool like that...still is! So, once Aunt D and us kids were up at around 5 am, we ran around the house gathering everyone else from bed. Still in our jammies we'd all pile into the living room around the tree and start opening gifts. Aunt D delivering the gifts to the kids and Uncle F with his camera. As soon as we were done, Grandma would head to the kitchen and begin her baking and cooking breakfast...well, as soon as coffee was on! We'd get to play with our toys and Aunts and Uncles until someone grab a bite to eat.

I love this tradition and we carry it on as much as we can in my home. One small difference. I want to spend the morning playing and not in the kitchen, so I usually make my well known cinnamon rolls ahead of time and then warm them up or made this Christmas Coffee Cake the night before. This year I'm making Cherry Coffee Cake. My mom used to make a Cherry Coffee Cake similar to this when I as a kid. It was a hit then and it's a hit today!

CHERRY COFFEE CAKE
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 Tbl butter, frozen
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 can cherry pie filling
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
5 Tbl butter, frozen
2 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 pan. In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Grate in butter and mix until it looks kinda crumbly. In a small bowl beat buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. It will be lumpy. Spread into the pan. Spoon the cherry pie filling evenly over the top.

Mix brown sugar, flour, oatmeal and cinnamon in a bowl. Grate butter into the mixture and toss until it resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in walnuts and sprinkle over the cherries. Bake for about 30 minutes.
Serve warm and enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary

White Chocolate French Vanilla Peach Cake

I know! Why can't I just leave well enough alone! I am sure that French Vanilla Cake would be lovely! I am also sure that peach cake would be sweet and refreshing! And I know that white chocolate cake and frosting would be yummy! But put the three amazing flavors together and you get something that you absolutely can not resist! Plus it's a super easy recipe my friends! In fact, looking back, I can't take credit for this recipe at all, looks like the princess and the warrior made the whole thing! Oh well! And looking back, I think that I use the !exclamation mark! too much!!!! Sorry, it's just me!

first the eggs

super easy, a cake mix and a box of instant pudding!

a cup of milk

add the pudding

add the flour, sugar and some other pre-measured stuff

now the oil

mmm...white chocolate

before...

...after

White Chocolate French Vanilla Peach Cake

Ingredients
1 box Vanilla Cake mix
1 pkg French Vanilla instant pudding
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 oz good quality white chocolate, chopped into small pieces


Filling
1 large can Peach slices, juice drained and peaches cut into small chunks (reserving several slices if you choose, for the top of the cake)

White Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients
1 cup butter, room temp
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 oz white chocolate

Heat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer very well. Add all the rest of the cake ingredients except the white chocolate, and beat with the mixer for 2 minutes. Now stir in the white chocolate pieces.

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Or grease a regular cake pan (if you choose not to do the triple layer like I did). Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake for 15 - 20 min (for baking in a jelly roll pan). When done, remove from the oven and cool completely.

While the cake is cooling let's make the frosting! Melt the white chocolate in a microwavable bowl for 30 second increments, stirring after each time. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter with an electric mixer for about one minute. Add the whipping cream and vanilla and beat for another minute. Add the white chocolate and sugar and mix for 2 minutes, it will look fluffy and lovely!

Mix 1 cup of the frosting and the peach chunks together in a bowl.
Cut the cake into 3 equal pieces. Set the first layer on a serving plate or platter. Spread 1/2 of the mixture on top of the first layer of cake. Set the second layer on top and spread the remaining peach mixture on that layer. Top with final layer of cake. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting. Use the remaining peach slices to garnish the top if you choose.

Enjoy this lovely bright and refreshing cake! Didn't the kids do an amazing job! I am so proud! They will each make someone very happy one day!

Warmly,
Mary

Italian Creme Cake

Ciao belli (Hello, beautiful)! Before I head out of town for a few days, I want to leave you with this glorious dessert!

I love to travel. I am an "on-the-go" girl! I can be gone for weeks and be completely content. We live right smack dab in the middle of this beautifully landscaped Country and we get to travel it often. I've never stepped foot on foreign soil though. One day I'd love to travel to this little villa in Italy that I recently read about. That is the inspiration for this cake! Is Italian Creme Cake really from Italy? If so, I hope to have a slice one day when I visit there. And maybe come home with a recipe!

I don't have any culinary training. Never even worked in the kitchen at a restaurant before. But that doesn't stop me from tasting food, loving it and being inspired to create a recipe to make it. This is sooo gooood! Holy Cow you have to try this amazing cake.

And for those of you who know me and are concerned. Yes, I do make this fabulous food and I try it. The key word here is try. I do not eat the whole thing. In fact we give the food away to very appreciative neighbors and friends! I promise you...I am still very careful of the foods we eat and I'll be sharing with you more of those recipes as time goes on! 
 

Italian Creme Cake

Ingredients
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c butter
1/2 c shortening
1 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla
5 eggs
1 c buttermilk
1 c coconut
1 c pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. In a small mixing bowl (I use a 4 cup measuring cup) mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, keeping both. Add vanilla and the egg yolks to the creamed butter and sugar mixture and mix well. Next add the dry ingredients, buttermilk, coconut and chopped nuts. Do not over mix, just until mostly incorporated. Ok, now beat the egg whites until stiff, you don't have to be overly concerned with how stiff, just until it looks nice and white and fluffy. Now gently fold them into the rest of the cake batter.

Grease cake pans, I used 2 - 9" square pans. I also lined the pans with parchment paper because I am otherwise not successful in removing the cake from the pan. Evenly distribute the batter into the 2 pans.  Bake for 35 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool completely. I  am so impatient I always place the cakes on the cooling rack and set them in the freezer while I make the frosting. Is that bad? Probably is, just don't tell anyone who really knows about baking.

Cream Cheese Pecan Frosting
12 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 c butter, room temp
2 tsp vanilla
4 c powdered sugar
1 c coconut
1 c pecans, chopped

Cream the butter, cream cheese and vanilla together. Add the powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Stir in the coconut. Now frost the top of the bottom cake (this will be the middle filling with no pecans). Stir in the pecans to the remaining frosting. Set the top cake on the bottom cake. Frost the top and sides of the layered cake. I would recommend refrigerating it before serving. The frosting will firm up and it will slice better.

Now cut a small slice of cake, take a bite, close your eyes and imagine that you are at a quaint cafe in Italy! Godere!

Warmly,
Mary

Double Lemon Cake Balls

You know those little cake balls that are all the rage now? Well, I'm joining in on all the fun! I don't know where to give due credit to for these delectable little bites! I've seen them for a while now and I see them everywhere! I'm going to be completely honest with you, I had never had one nor had I ever made them. Yep, it's true! Being very careful about what we put in our bodies, I didn't want these little treats sitting around our kitchen! I knew I wanted to make them though and needed a place to share them! This week I had the perfect opportunity, when my little warrior had his preschool end of the year program. The warrior boy and Superman were insistent on my famous Chocolate Chip cookies (the all time favorite in our home), but I needed to try something new. These lemony refreshing treats were calling my name. It is spring, and lemon treats are definitely a spring must!

Basically pick any cake mix and frosting and go! Lemon had been on my mind, so that's the cake I chose and even more lemon sounded amazing, so that's also the frosting I picked. I heard you can dip them in candy melt things or almond bark, but I never use that stuff. I've dipped a lot of goodies in my time and I always use good old fashion chocolate. In this case Ghirardelli white chocolate and ran out so I finished with Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate.  Wish you were there don't you!

Double Lemon Cake Balls

Ingredients
1 box Lemon Cake mix (I used Duncan Hines) plus the ingredients to make the cake, eggs, oil, water.
1 can lemon frosting (I used Duncan Hines)
1 lb good chocolate
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Follow the directions on the cake mix. Bake and cool the cake. Then crumble the whole thing up. I just took a fork to it. Add the frosting I did the whole thing, I don't really know if you're suppose to or not, but it seemed to work for me. If you think it's getting too moist stop adding frosting. Mix it together very well. Next time I'll add the zest of a lemon.

Next I used a cookie scoop to make little balls and placed them on a cookie sheet to go in the freezer for 15 minutes.

During the last 5 minutes of freezer time, I prepared the chocolate for dipping. Take 1lb of chocolate, cut into pieces or use chocolate chips. Pour in a microwavable bowl with the vegetable oil. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir then microwave for another 30 seconds and stir. If the pieces don't melt all the way when you stir, then repeat the process in 15 second intervals.

Line a cake pan or cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Take half the balls out of the freezer and dip in the chocolate, letting the excess chocolate drip off. I used 2 spoons to do the dipping, do what works best for you. Place the dipped balls on a the lined cookie sheet and allow the chocolate to set. Repeat with the second set of balls. If the chocolate seems to get thick, scrape the sides of the bowl and microwave the chocolate for 15 - 30 seconds. Repeat as often as necessary. I only had to do this once.

Mine made 45 cake balls. Store in the refrigerator.

Warmly,
Mary