Author: melodyannday

simply a wife and mom, taking it one day at a time, finding Jesus in the smallest moments of life...
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Cake # 38 Kentucky bourbon cake with caramel bourbon glaze

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Well, long time, no cakes,  right?  I promise, I’ve been baking! We’ve had a little glitch with our technology around here and that’s complicated things a bit (to say the least).  But I’m up early this morning, with a good cup of coffee and I’m catching up!

The good news is – two weeks ago I made a cake for a friend’s birthday and it turned out to be pretty darn good!  I took the Kentucky butter cake recipe that I tried back several weeks ago in the summer and turned it into a Kentucky bourbon cake. I also took my favorite caramel sauce recipe and made it into a caramel bourbon sauce.

Here’s the recipe:

Kentucky Butter Bourbon Cake with Caramel Bourbon Sauce

Cake:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp bourbon
3 cups cake flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk

bourbon butter glaze:

1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp Bourbon

Caramel bourbon sauce:
3/4 butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tbsp water
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 tbsp Bourbon

 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325.  Prep the Bundt pan.  Put all of the cake ingredients in the mixer – mix on low for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for three minutes.  Pour batter into the pan and bake for 65 -70 minutes.

Make the butter glaze once the cake is finished baking.  Combine all of the glaze ingredients in a small pan over medium heat – just until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolves. Do not boil.  Poke holes all over the cake and pour most of the glaze over the cake.  When the cake is cooled, invert it onto your serving platter and cover with the remaining glaze.

at this point I made the caramel sauce – combine the butter, brown sugar and water in a small pan.  Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then remove from Heat and stir in evaporated milk and bourbon.  (1/2 cup for moderately thick sauce, 3/4 cup for a thin sauce.  ) serve the sauce warm with the cake.

I think the cake would be super yummy without the caramel bourbon sauce.

 

 

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Cake #37 popcorn snack bundt

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On this cake journey, Ive found myself wishing for a diversion- something different.  I don’t always indulge in that desire because there are just too many cake recipes to test!

But this week, I let myself try a new idea!  A popcorn cake!    It was kind of like salty snacks meet rice krispy treats and combine into a cake! It was super yummy – the kids loved it and it was pretty simple, although sticky, to make! Really, it is a lot like a giant popcorn ball.   It seems like the perfect treat in the fall!

I used the recipe from cookiesandcups.com – its a great site with lots of good recipes!   Next time, I’m going to experiment and make this recipe more my own – maybe with other mix-ins, and some peanut butter somewhere in the gooey mixture.

Cake #37 Popcorn cake.

Ingredients:

  • 2 bags of microwave popcorn, popped with unpopped kernels removed
  • 2 cups M&M’s and Reese’s pieces
  • 1½ cups broken pretzel sticks
  • 16 oz mini marshmallows (8 cups)
  • ½ cup butter

Instructions:

  1. Prepare a large tube or bundt pan by spraying with cooking spray. (I actually lined my pan with press and seal instead – and the cake came out of the pan no sweat) In the bottom of the pan sprinkle a few m&ms to make the top of the cake look colorful.
  2. Microwave the 2 bags of buttered popcorn, dump in a large bowl and pick out the unpopped kernels.  Add the other mix -ins- 2 cups of M&M’s and 1½ cups broken pretzel sticks to the bowl.
  3. Melt 1 stick of butter over low in a large saucepan and then add in a 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows (8 cups). Stir until melted and smooth and remove from the heat.
  4. Allow it to cool for about 2 minutes, while stirring constantly and then pour it over your popcorn mixture.
  5. Stir until all the ingredients are combined and then press into the prepared pan (I make sure I grease my fingers really well for this step).
  6. Cover with foil and let your cake set for at least an hour to cool and set up.
  7. When you are ready to serve the cake, Flip your pan over onto your serving platter. Your cake should come out pretty easily if you lined with press n seal.

 

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Chocolate mascarpone Bundt and a happy birthday!

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Cake #36 was a delight to make because it was for my husband’s birthday – we chose a recipe for Chocolate Mascarpone Bundt Cake.   And, yes, it was very yummy!  Michael’s parents came over for a birthday dinner and shared cake with us!

There’s not a lot to say here, simply because it was a good recipe – and it turned out well!  However, I would say – don’t bake it the full time as recommended.  I baked this one just over and hour and I’m afraid it was just a tiny bit dry around the edges!

Chocolate is so complicated when it comes to baking because it is hard to tell when it is finished baking.   I believe that if there is cocoa in the recipe, the cake bakes and then dries out quickly.

Here is the recipe from thebakingfairy.net.    It is definitely worth attempting!

Cake #36 Chocolate Mascarpone Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

  • ⅔ cup {10.5 tbsp} unsalted butter, softened
  • 1¾ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 oz mascarpone cheese {about ¾ cup}
  • 1¼ cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup cocoa powder
  • 1¾ all-purpose flour
  • 1½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a bundt pan very well.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.
  • Add in the eggs and vanilla, and beat until fluffy. Stir in the sour cream and mascarpone, and mix until combined.
  • Add in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and beat until creamy and fluffy.
  • Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, and bake for 60-70 minutes (I wish I had only baked it for about 55 minutes, instead of 60), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let cake cool slightly in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

happy birthday, Michael!

 

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Hold me tight

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My sweet girl sat on my lap at the doctor’s office, a quaking mess, nervous and jittery.  She’s a bigger bundle than she used to be, but she still fits.  “Should I hold you tight?” I asked – and she’d nod.  I wrapped my arms around her and held on tight.   Truthfully, we were both a mess.

She was scheduled for a small procedure.  If we knew then what we know now, we probably wouldn’t have been so shaken. But, there were many unknowns : how long would it take, how much it would hurt or how long it would hurt…  and as we waited our heart-rates soared to new heights.  And I, I just tried to hold her as snug as I could – so she’d feel secure.

Honestly, I had been dreading the event ever since we put it on the calendar.  I mean, who wants to plan on pain?  As I wrote it on our family daytimer, I had such a heavy heart.  It is one thing to take a journey like this for myself – its another thing entirely to schedule something painful for your child, even if it is for their good.

As we waited, I just kept whispering in her ear, “I’ll hold you tight. I promise.”

You know, I’ve never had the little procedure she had done, so how did I know she’d want to be held?  Because often I need to be held just as tight…

Don’t we all?

 

Last night we sang a song in rehearsal, and I love the words to the chorus – I’ve been singing it all morning…

He’ll hold you
When the tempest rages all around
He’ll hold you
Plant your feet on solid ground
He’ll hold you
When the waves come crashing down
He’ll hold you through it all.

It reminds me of the words Jesus says in John 14, when He’s been telling His disciples what they need to know before He goes back to Heaven. That may be an oversimplification of the passage, I suppose, but towards the end He gives them this promise in verse 27:

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

In the middle of the night, when I’m in the darkest places, I’ve found myself calling out, even begging “Hold me, please…”  The Holy Spirit is always there whispering – “Dear one, I already am.”

He promises – even when I’m not able to ask, even when I’m not sure of His presence – He’s there.  He never lets go.  In the very hardest, most painful places of insecurity, hardship and unrest – He is holding tight, offering supernatural peace for my unruly heart.

 

in my kitchen · more cake, please

Cake #35 Milk Chocolate Pound Cake

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One would think that at week #35 I might be growing weary of cake.  I certainly expected to be reticent by now.  However, I don’t know how I could be with this in my oven!

Cake #35, looks and smells like the epitome of a perfectly light and sweet, chocolate pound cake. Thankfully, I needed to make a thank you gift for a friend and this seemed to fit the bill!  She said she only wanted a few pieces – and since I’m actually really wanting to try this one myself, we will go halve-sies.   (I don’t even know if that’s a word, but I’m saying it anyway.)

The batter was light and fluffy – and the cake calls for milk chocolate, so we are not dealing with a dark, rich, chocolate cake.  It uses one of my favorites : a can of Hershey’s syrup.

(My apologies about these photos!  I used my phone – and they are okay, but just not as good when I use my camera.  I got so excited about the cake, I almost forgot to take any photos, so in a hurry I grabbed my phone!  better pics next time, I promise!)

   

Here’s the recipe for Cake #35: milk chocolate pound cake

( I found this recipe on Pinterest as Granny’s Chocolate Cake, on the blog : cookingbythewater.wordpress.com. It is super simple, but, I think it is going to be very, very yummy!  I will say that I’m hopeful it isn’t dry after baking so low and slow… )

Ingredients
2 sticks margarine (softened)
1/2 cup Crisco
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 – 16 oz. can Hershey’s chocolate syrup
.
Directions
Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Cream margarine, shortening, and sugar.
Add eggs one at a time, and beat well.
Add vanilla.
Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with milk.
Add chocolate syrup.
Mix well.
Bake in greased and floured 10-inch tube pan for 1 hour 45 minutes.

in my kitchen · more cake, please

Cake #34 Lemon Pound Cake and a happy birthday!

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Cake #34 – Lemon Pound Cake – is actually the famous recipe from Lady Bird Johnson.  I can tell you, it is baking right now and smells fabulous!

This cake is shipping out later this week to our friend Shannon, up in Columbus, for her birthday!  I’m so excited to share a cake with her.  She said she loves lemon, so I’m hoping this fits the bill!  What I’m looking forward to is this fabulous glaze I’ll paint on when the cake is cooled – it is different than other glazes I’ve made before!  I think it is really going to make the cake’s flavors POP!    One confession:  I did not sift 3 times.  only once.  In Shannon’s honor, I’m breaking the rules!  lol!

LADY BIRD JOHNSON’S LEMON CAKE

3/4 Cup Softened Butter
1 1/4 Cups Sugar
8 Egg Yolks
2 1/2 Cups Flour
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Cup Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 t. lemon juice
1 Teaspoon Grated Lemon Rind

 

Preheat your oven to 325° F.  Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks until light and lemon colored.  Blend into the creamed mixture.  Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Resift 3 times.  Add the sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk.  Beat the batter thoroughly after each addition.  Add the vanilla extract, lemon rind and lemon juice.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Bake in a greased Bundt pan in the oven for 1 hour or until the cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and cool 19 minutes before inverting on serving platter.

 

LEMON GLAZE

2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 T. fresh lemon juice
1-2 t. buttermilk
Zest of one fresh lemon

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Cake #33 Brown sugar pound cake

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Last week rushed by in a hurry.  Many events packed into what seemed like a few hours now appear to be just a blur.  All in the life of a mom with three kids trying to get the school year off to a good start.

Anyway, in the middle of all that craziness, I tried out a new cake to send up north with my mom for my Grandma B.  We can’t ship cakes successfully over the border, but we sure can hand deliver!

Grandma loves fruity things, cinnamon, and many other flavors, but not chocolate so much.  I was happy to oblige and explore the world of “non-chocolate” because so often I’m baking for folks who want chocolate.  I came across this simple pound cake (a bit similar to Aunt Belva’s pound cake, with cream cheese and vanilla), but it exchanged white for brown sugar.  Sounded good to me!

In the midst of finishing up the cake, I baked it for 80 minutes – the recipe called for 60-75 minutes.  But – I really didn’t want to send a dough-y, not finished cake to my grandma, who is an extraordinary baker.  However –  once I had it wrapped up tight and in the freezer to prepare it for sending with my mom, I began to have doubts!  It is possible I over baked it!  I’m really hoping I’m not sending a dry cake!

At any rate, I’ll have to keep you posted on how it all turns out and a few photos too.  Grandma should be able to catch a bite of the cake later today!

Here’s the recipe! (I found it on “asouthern-soul.blogspot.com”)

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1 8-ounce package cream cheese – softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter – softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar – packed
5 large eggs – room temperature
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan, bundt pan or 2 loaf pans
  • Add cream cheese, butter and sugars to mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  • Add eggs one at a time, mixing well about, 1minute after each egg.
  • Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
  • Combine buttermilk and vanilla in a small measuring cup and stir.
  • Alternate adding flour and milk to butter/egg batter – starting and stopping with flour.
  • Pour batter into buttered, floured tube or bundt pan.
  • Bake for approximately 1 hour or up to 1:15 hours.  Check if done with a cake tester or wooden skewer.
  • Let cool for 15 minutes then gently remove from pan.
friends and loved ones · in my kitchen · more cake, please

cake #32 Kentucky butter cake with caramel pecan bourbon sauce

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A few weeks ago, a good friend of ours had a birthday.  I found out what kind of cake he might like and planned to make something yummy for him.  Do you know what happened?

I made a disastrous version of the cake.  It was terrible!  It was so bad I just could not even bring myself to blog about it.

Today I redeemed myself – I made a Kentucky Butter Cake with caramel pecan bourbon sauce.   And, I think it may be a winner!  The caramel sauce alone I could eat every day for the rest of my life it tastes so delicious.

I will be honest and tell you that I’m not sure the sauce has the exact texture I wanted, so I’ll be experimenting with it more.  However, in today’s form it was anything but terrible.

I used the same Kentucky Butter Cake recipe from cookies and cups blog that I’ve used before.  It is definitely a keeper.  Look back a few posts to cake #26 for that recipe!   But, here’s the recipe for the caramel pecan bourbon sauce – I hope it works well for you – and I promise, I’ll keep you updated on any success I have with it.

Southern Pecan Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup pecans
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon bourbon divided
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 10-12 minutes until browned and fragrant. Transfer pecans to a cutting board and chop.
  2. In a medium saucepan, add sugar, corn syrup and 3 tablespoons bourbon. No need to stir. Have the whipping cream measured and next to the stove at the ready. Place saucepan over medium to medium high heat (depending on how hot your stove runs). Bring mixture to a rolling boil and watching the sugar mixture deepen in color. It will go from a light corn-syrup color, to light brown to amber. The change between light brown and amber is quick. Be ready for it. When it achieves a deep brown (not burnt) color, pour the cream into the center of the pan. It will steam and bubble vigorously — that’s ok. When it calms, remove it from the stove. Stir in the salt and chopped pecans. Let it cool for about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining teaspoon of bourbon. Transfer to a glass storage container. You can store sauce in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

 

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Cake#31. Black and white bundt

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Cake #31 is a Black and White Bundt.

I found the recipe for it on King Arthur Flour’s website, so I feel fairly confident that it will be yummy.  Unfortunately, it is being delivered to the Ronald McDonald House for the evening meal, so I’m not going to know for sure one way or the other.

I can tell you, however, that the chocolate and vanilla marble,  the batter seemed just right, and the crumbs were super de-lish, so I’m hopeful!  It had a nice chocolate frosting, too – which, I don’t think you can ever go wrong with a nice, smooth, chocolate-y frosting!   Maybe you should try this one, and let me know what you think!!

Here’s the recipe, from King Arthur Flour!

Black and White Cake (#31)

VANILLA BATTER

CHOCOLATE BATTER

  • 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder, optional; for enhanced chocolate flavor
  • 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa or natural cocoa
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup vanilla batter, from above

ICING (OPTIONAL)

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa or natural cocoa
  • 1 tablespoon soft butter
  • 3 tablespoons water

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 10-cup or 12-cup Bundt pan.
  2. To make the vanilla batter: Blend together the sugar, flour, salt and baking powder until combined.
  3. Add the butter, beating slowly with an electric mixer until the mixture is evenly sandy textured.
  4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing until each egg is fully blended into the batter before adding the next. Scrape the bowl as necessary.
  5. Slowly add the buttermilk on low speed, then mix on medium speed until the batter is fully combined. It may appear slightly curdled; that’s OK. Sir in the vanilla at the end.
  6. To make the chocolate batter: Mix the cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder, and water together until combined. Stir this cocoa paste into 1 cup of the vanilla batter.
  7. Pour half the vanilla batter into the prepared pan, and dollop with half the chocolate batter. Repeat, pouring the remaining vanilla batter into the pan, and dolloping with the remaining chocolate batter.
  8. Swirl the two batters together using a thin spatula or butter knife.
  9. Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or perhaps with a few moist crumbs.
  10. Remove the cake from the oven, and cool it for 10 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a rack.
  11. To make the icing: Mix the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, butter, and water to make a spreadable icing. Spread the icing on top of the slightly warm cake; it will slowly drip down the sides.
  12. Serve immediately, or within a day or so. Store thecake at room temperature; underneath a cake cover is ideal, but you can also tent it lightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for longer storage.

 

friends and loved ones · home schooling

everything will be okay… right?

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I walked into the room, bringing a wave, no, a tsunami of tension with me.  She wasn’t facing me, standing at the table looking over her teaching materials, and I thought momentarily I might catch her off guard.  “Mrs. Jones,” I said, my voice lightly trembling, “I’m Emily’s mom and I… uh… we …” She whirled around, and stopped me with a gracious warmth in her voice.

“Everything’s going to be alright.  Everything’s going to be just fine,” she said.  

I can still hear those words rolling off her lips.  Her eyes were shining brightly with the light of Jesus and she knew exactly what to say.  All of my worries and anxious thoughts were defused in just one moment.   It was a moment I will never forget.

That day was our first day of school in 2016, and Emily was nervous.  But I… I had taken up that nervous-ness right along with her.  All summer, I had coasted along confidently, happily believing we had made the best plans for Emily’s first year of high school. But, as the first day closed in, we both became less and less confident.

Some years are different than others for me in how and what I plan for our school work, but always, and I do mean always, I reach an anxious point.  And at that point, I pray frantic prayers to the Lord for help and wisdom and peace because I know that I can’t do this BIG thing He’s called me to do without His help.

Last year, He used Mrs. Jones to help calm my heart. (And by the way, we had a fantastic year – thanks to the goodness of the Lord!)   School starts tomorrow, but this year, we don’t have a Mrs. Jones.  And so, I’m remembering, His goodness – but also her words and her heart.

Because He is at the heart of our home school, I am confident:

Everything’s going to be alright.  Everything’s going to be just fine.  

And to everyone starting school, at home, or in christian, public or private classrooms – I pray you will live confidently believing :   He who promises to finish the good work He started, will be faithful!   Have a great year!!