Killer Flavour Combination - Lemon & Blackberry Part II

Warning: These pretty little cupcakes pack a major punch of bright, summery flavour. Any winterized taste buds familiar with root vegetables and bland stews may be in for a shock. 

My apologies for the delay in writing, these cupcakes were served up at my Grandmother's birthday nearly a month ago, oh how times flies. 

After promising to bring cake for the afternoon celebrations, I went back on my word and switched to cupcakes. Easier to assemble and transport than a large cake, they are also more fun to eat, less messy to serve, and conveniently packaged to send home as leftovers.

Relying on a simple lemon cake mix, I added an extra kick with a tablespoon or two of fresh lemon juice and zest in place of the same amount of water. Although I cheated this little bit, it was impossible to tell after topping the cakes with a generous portion of fresh blackberry buttercream (I used this recipe from Sugar Song Cakes which calls for thawed frozen berries).

The nod of approval, and confirmation that the cupcakes were in fact delicious, came from my grandfather. After being diagnosed with dementia a few years ago we had to move him into a care home last January. Although he doesn't recognize me or remember the relationship we once had, his face lit up after biting into the cupcake and that was all the praise I needed.



Sharing this over at: Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons, Nap Time Crafters, and Just Us Four Blog

Rich and Fudgy Chocolate Truffle Pie

Before the icing on my mom's Lemon-Strawberry layer cake had a chance to firm up, I was asked to whip up another cake, this time for my uncle's birthday at the end of January. 

As the light, lemony cake had turned out so well, I was tempted to use similar flavours, however knowing my dad's family and their love of chocolate I knew I needed something rich and fudgy to win them over. 

After scouring the internet for inspiration I found myself salivating over a beautiful French Silk Pie; it's lovely layers and mouse-like consistency the perfect departure from the traditional chocolate layer cake with Smarties I make three times a year for my dad's birthday, brother's birthday, and father's day (as well as for my Dad's wedding a couple years ago). 

My Inspiration...

Stunning French Silk Tarts (via)

Classic French Silk Pie (via)

Unfortunately, most French Silk Pie recipes contain raw egg and I wasn't overly comfortable bringing something to dinner with a warning label attached, therefore I needed another option that still offered light, chocolatey layers without the risk of salmonella. As luck would have it, I stumbled onto a delicious looking Chocolate Truffle Pie and my concerns of sick dinner guests were no more.

Recipe Synopsis: 

Taste: Rich is the best way to describe this pie, however the use of semi-sweet chocolate was good and not overly sugary like milk-chocolate can often be. The graham cracker crumb crust offered a crunchy contrast to the multiple layers of chocolate mouse.

Texture: This pie is very light, almost mouse like. I would have liked the whipped cream layer to be a bit lighter tasting (perhaps by omitting the confectioners sugar as the chocolate is already sweet). The crust offers a nice bit of crunch.

Wow Factor: My pie wasn't as tall as I would have liked, perhaps a smaller pie plate would have created a more "mounded" result. As a whole, the pie is quite simple looking, however once sliced the layers are very pretty.

Difficulty: This dessert is very easy to make, however it is also quite time consuming as each layer needs to chill before the next can be made, one layer is chilled overnight. With that being said, it's a great option to make ahead of time.

Serve With: Any chocolate fans will love this dessert and as it's a chilled pie it would be quite refreshing on a hot summer day.

Unfortunately after seeing almost a full Litre (33 ounces) of heavy cream find its way into this pie I really didn't want to eat any of it however in the end I opted for a very small piece. Luckily the guests were oblivious and had nothing but positive feedback to offer. Although I wouldn't make this pie again for myself, my tastes sway more towards light lemony chiffon cake, I am sure I'll receive requests from the chocolate lovers in my life. 


I'm sharing this recipe today, for everyone with a sweet tooth over at...
Jam Hands, Say Not Sweet Anne, and Skip to my Lou

Five Minute Bunting Birthday Card

Scrap fabric, ribbon, and glue - the 5 minute bunting card was born

After whipping up an incredible cake for my mom's birthday, gift wrapping and buying a card were pushed to the last minute; in the end gift wrapping didn't happen, sorry mom!

Without a card, I needed to come up with a DIY version quick and turned to one of the most adorable trends plastered all over the internet right now - bunting. 

My Inspiration...

Festive birthday cake (via)

Cute little necklace (via)

Birthday invites - love the bright hues! (via)

This card was not only incredibly easy to make, it also didn't require any special materials and was ready in less than five minutes (plus some drying time for the glue). It's also amazingly cute if you ask me. 

Easy yet effective, there's nothing better for Birthdays than bunting

Using some basic card stock, folded in half (hamburger style - remember learning hotdog and hamburger style?) I sketched the bunting first with a pencil and cut the little flags from scrap fabric and ribbon. After laying everything out to ensure it looked nice, I went over the pencil with permanent marker and then glued my flags down. A few minutes of drying time later, the card was complete! 

Free, easy, and cute - so much better then spending five dollars at a card store!

Lemon Strawberry Birthday Cake

Delicate pink layers of deliciousness

This past weekend we celebrated my mom's birthday and I was tasked with bringing the cake (after offering, begging, and finally insisting to bake something). In year's prior we've indulged in light and airy New York Cheesecake and Incredible Raspberry Trifle (one of my personal favorites), so this cake had a lot to live up to. 

After scouring the internet and second guessing myself a few dozen times I finally settled on the flavours I wanted to incorporate - lemon and berries - and found a few wonderful looking recipes online. Unfortunately I wasn't 100% sold on any one of the recipes so I did what any indecisive perfectionist would do and opted to mix and match components and make a brand new cake.

My inspiration...

Gorgeous strawberry layers! (via)

Triple Lemon & Blueberry Cake (via)

After finding fresh strawberries in my local grocery store (thanks California!) I settled on a strawberry puree filling with light and airy lemon chiffon cake and a whip cream/cream cheese icing. Little did I know what a wonderfully delicious cake was in the making...

Don't mind the poor winter lighting and distracting table cloth

Relying on the abundant positive reviews, I used this recipe for the lemon chiffon cake and used two nine inch round cake pans instead of the ten inch tube pan the recipe calls for (to get that classic birthday cake look). I also added two table spoons each of fresh lemon juice and lemon extract in place of some of the water for an extra oomph of lemon taste. 

Once the cakes were baked and cooled, I removed them from the pans and sliced them in half horizontally to create four layers. Not only did this allow me to use more delicious strawberry filling but also added some drama once the cake was sliced! And speaking of mind-boggling delicious filling, I used this recipe and process for both the strawberry puree filling and the whip cream/cream cheese icing.  

We didn't even wait to remove all the candles before slicing this beauty

It's always a bit nerve wracking to rely on a new recipe for a big event like a birthday, let alone three new recipes from different sources online, however the cake turned out incredible, better than I could have imagined, and I can't wait to make it again. Seriously, I cannot express how AMAZING this cake tastes!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Recipe Synopsis:
Taste: The chiffon is light with a hint of lemon, I may add more zest to the cake batter next time, while the icing is fresh tasting without being overly rich and sugary. This cake's light, fresh taste doesn't weigh you down, even after a generous piece.
Texture: With a nice crumble, the cake resembled a light angel food and the puree didn't make anything mushy or soggy, in fact the leftovers tasted better two and three days later. 
Wow factor: Although the simple white icing exterior wasn't overly pretty, this cake's beauty is in the inside and once sliced the four lovely layers steal the show.
Difficulty: Saying this cake is labour intensive may be an understatement as chiffon is already tedious without the addition of icing and filling. However, I'm no professional and was able to tackle it in a weekend so don't be discouraged from giving it a try. After making the cake a day ahead of time, I simply made the puree and icing and assembled everything the day of. 
Serve with: This cake is delicious enough to stand on its own (we had it after Chinese takeout and it was still great). It would be wonderful for Easter or Mother's Day as well as a perfect finish to summer bar-b-ques and fish/seafood dishes.

Due to the cream and strawberry filling, store the cake and any leftovers in the refrigerator and it will stay delicious for three or four days.

 

Absolutely Incredible Raspberry Trifle

Sharing this recipe, I feel a bit like a traitor selling secrets about national security - yes, it's that good. My boyfriend's aunt has been making it for years, and every time she serves it my mouth does a little happy dance. It's a glorious mixture of light cake, rich cheesecake, and tart fresh fruit!

This year, she slipped the recipe in with our Christmas gift - to which I blurted out something along the lines of " this is the best present ever!" and immediately made everyone else in the room feel inferior. At Christmas time. Well done, me.

Had she known I was going to share the recipe online she may have thought twice about gifting it to me at all...

Anyways, it's too late now.

Unfortunately I was lacking a fancy bowl to use so I had to improvise with a giant glass beaker*

Carol's Fantastic Raspberry Trifle

1 Angel Food Cake

2 bricks of cream cheese (use lite, no one will know)

Lemon juice

1/2 - 1c sugar

500 mL whipping cream

Vanilla

Cocoa

600g Frozen raspberries

Make the angel food cake ahead of time and let it cool completely**

Thaw raspberries in a bowl with some sugar (about 1/4 cup - I like to keep them tart). I put mine in the refrigerator over night.

Beat the cream cheese until soft. Add lemon juice (fresh is best) to taste as well as some sugar (about 1/2 a cup).

In a second bowl, whip the cream until quite firm. Add vanilla (about a 1/4 tsp.) and sugar (about a 1/3 cup) to taste.

Gently fold 2/3 of the whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture. Reserve the remaining whipping cream for the top of the trifle.

Assembly: place a layer of angel food in the bottom of a serving dish. Top with a layer of cream cheese/whipped cream mixture and a layer of raspberries. Sprinkle with cocoa. Continue layering until you near the top of the bowl - finish with reserved whipping cream and sprinkle with cocoa.

Now this part is important - let the dessert sit for 10-12 hours if possible so all the flavors can mingle a bit. However don't let it sit too long or the bottom layer gets all mushy.

Also, the dessert will settle a bit, mine sunk at least half an inch, but now that you know ahead if time you won't panic like me.

My boyfriend claims he's had this dessert before with different fresh berries - as a raspberry purist I'm appalled. However, the idea of peaches and raspberries has been taunting me since that last bite 996 hours ago (give or take a minute) and I may be willing to move out of my comfort zone this summer.

Enjoy!

Calli

*I assure you that the beaker has never been used for experiments and was completely clean.

**You could buy a pre-made cake (easy but kind of careless) or make one from scratch (for those overachievers) however I prefer to use a boxed mix - It shows you care but not enough to deal with a hundred thousand egg whites.