Thursday Recipe Swap Meet ~ Nutella Swirl Pound Cake

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OK... we know you have all these recipes that you love to make. You got them from your mother, your grandmother, a magazine, or maybe you made it up, perhaps you don't even remember where the recipe came from. Well, how about sharing them with all of us? We are going to share ours with you every Thursday!


My good friend and (according to her husband) excellent cook, Dolly over at XmasDolly and I are now doing a recipe swap; we want to share ours with you and wold LOVE to get some of your favorites as well... So, Welcome to Thursday's Recipe Swap Meet, here is all you have to do:




<br /><a href="http://wmjshewbridge.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket"src="http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz61/xmasdolly/Female-Chef.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /><br /><br />

Post a recipe on your blog, sign the linky on either blog (they will be linked), grab our new button - isn't she cute - hubby says she looks like me... TeeHee? (above, on my sidebar and on my Co-Chef Dolly's blog) and check out the recipes. Don't forget that each week you actually will be getting at least TWO for the price of ONE because both Dolly (Hi, my dear friend!!!) and I will post a recipe on each of our blogs. How simple is that??

Nutella Swirl Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. pure vanilla
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
13-ounce jar Nutella
Sparkling crystal sugar (optional)

~ Preheat the oven to 325°. Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, tapping out any excess flour. Lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and salt.

~ In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed of mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer at medium-low speed, gradually beat in the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating at low speed between additions until just incorporated. Continue to beat for 30 seconds longer.

~ Spread one-third of the batter in the prepared pan, then spread half of the Nutella on top. Repeat with another third of the batter and the remaining Nutella. Top with the remaining batter. Lightly swirl the Nutella into the batter with a butter knife - do not over mix; sprinkle crystal sugar on top of batter.

~ Bake the cake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes; invert the cake onto a wire rack, turn it right side up and let cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut the cake into slices and serve.

This comes out SO moist and I love the chocolaty/nutty flavor of the Nutella inside. Bill and I both like to add a little ice cream and whipped cream on top for an added treat. The cake gets 6 out of 6 puppy tail wags, too - we just make sure not to give them any of the Nutella. =)

So now all you have to do is sign our linky so we all can find your recipes. You check out all ours and we will check out all yours. If you don't want to write it all down and you know of one on line just post a link to it on your blog or leave it in a comment if you prefer!


Let's get cooking..... Bon Appetit!

Thursday's Recipe Swap Meet ~ Pink Champagne Cupcakes

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OK... we know you have all these recipes that you love to make. You got them from your mother, your grandmother, a magazine, or maybe you made it up, perhaps you don't even remember where the recipe came from. Well, how about sharing them with all of us? We are going to share ours with you every Thursday!




My good friend and (according to her husband) excellent cook, Dolly over at XmasDolly and I are now doing a recipe swap; we want to share ours with you and wold LOVE to get some of your favorites as well... So, Welcome to Thursday's Recipe Swap Meet, here is all you have to do:





<br /><a href="http://wmjshewbridge.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket"src="http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz61/xmasdolly/Female-Chef.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /><br /><br />
Post a recipe on your blog, sign the linky on either blog (they will be linked), grab our new button - isn't she cute - hubby says she looks like me... TeeHee? (above, on my sidebar and on my Co-Chef Dolly's blog) and check out the recipes. Don't forget that each week you actually will be getting at least TWO for the price of ONE because both Dolly and I will post a recipe on each of our blogs. How simple is that??


 
Pink Champagne Cupcakes
 
Cupcakes:
1 box white cake mix (you can make scratch, but I just use box mix for this recipe)
1 1/4 cups champagneat room temperature (use a sweet, cheap sparkling wine - don't waste the good stuff)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 egg whites
4 to 5 drops red food coloring


Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup champagne at room temperature (again, use a sweet, cheap one)
1 tsp. vanilla (I only use Mexican pure vanilla)
4 to 5 drops red food coloring


~ Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
~ In large bowl, combine dry cake mix and room temp. champagne. Add oil, eggs and food color. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly into paper-lined muffin cups.
~ Bake 17 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting (at least 30 minutes).
 
To Make Frosting:
~ In medium bowl, beat ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
~ Frost cupcakes. Decorate with pink sugar and/or sprinkles, edible pink pearls.
 



Photo Credit

  
The champagne make these SO light and fluffy and give the frosting a delicious flavor.... it received 6 out of 6 puppy tail wags because my dogs are very strange. =)  I like to frost with my Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator to make them look purdy - but of course I don't have a photo of these because I haven't made them in a while, it's just too hot.
 
 
So now all you have to do is sign our linky so we all can find your recipes. You check out all ours and we will check out all yours. If you don't want to write it all down and you know of one on line just post a link to it on your blog or leave it in a comment if you prefer! 
 
 
Let's get cooking..... Bon Appetit!


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Thursday Recipe Swap Meet ~ Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

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OK... we know you have all these recipes that you love to make. You got them from your mother, your grandmother, a magazine, or maybe you made it up, perhaps you don't even remember where the recipe came from. Well, how about sharing them with all of us? We are going to share ours with you every Thursday!


My good friend and (according to her husband) excellent cook, Dolly over at XmasDolly and I are now doing a recipe swap; we want to share ours with you and wold LOVE to get some of your favorites as well... So, Welcome to Thursday's Recipe Swap Meet, here is all you have to do:


<br /><a href="http://wmjshewbridge.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket"src="http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz61/xmasdolly/Female-Chef.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /><br /><br />
Post a recipe on your blog, sign the linky on either blog (they will be linked), grab our new button - isn't she cute - hubby says she looks like me... TeeHee? (above, on my sidebar and on my Co-Chef Dolly's blog) and check out the recipes. Don't forget that each week you actually will be getting at least TWO for the price of ONE because both Dolly and I will post a recipe on each of our blogs. How simple is that??

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Cake Ingredients:

I couldn't find my photos of the cake I
made, so I "borrowed" this one from
the internet.

1 1/3 C All-purpose flour
2/3 C brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 C Whole milk
1/4 C Unsalted butter, softened
1 Large egg, room temp.
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 tsp. Princess cake & cookie flavoring (optional)

Additional Ingredients:

2 Tbls. Unsalted butter
1/3 C Packed brown sugar
8 oz. Can Sliced pineapple, drained
Maraschino cherries, as needed for center and around pineapple rings


~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
~ Melt 2 T. butter in 9 x 1 1/2" round baking (or saute pan, I have a fabulous 12" non-stick pan from Pampered Chef that I use every day to cook, fry, saute, and even bake in... it can go from the stove top to the oven up to 500 degrees, so I use this one. I LOVE this pan.); stir in 1/3 C brown sugar and 1 Tbls. water; mix until smooth and no lumps.
~ Arrange pineapples in circular pattern in pan on top of sugar mixture; add cherry to center of each pineapple ring and between rings if wanted.
~ Prepare cake batter as follows:
   ~ Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder; add milk, butter, egg, and flaorings. Beat on low speed until combined; then beat on medium speen for 1 minute.
~ Gently pour batter into pan, over pineapple and cherries, careful not to disturb arrangement.
~ Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
~ Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes then loosen sides with thin spatula and invert onto plate. (MAKE SURE PLATE IS AT LEAST an inch larger than baking dish/pan all the way around - otherwise you will have a mess - been there/done that!); Serve warm.... YUMMY!!!

This received 6 out of 6 puppy tail wags for the batter and the cake, but 0 out of 6 for the cherries and the pineapple, oh well, that's OK, Bill and I love it and it is my oldest son Nik's favorite cake I make. He requests it every year for his birthday. I even sent him one when he was at Army Basic Training, but because of all the red tape to get the mail to him, it was partially moldy by the time he got it. He said that he and his roommates ate part of it anyway and it was still good: BOYS - OMG!!


So now all you have to do is sign our linky so we all can find your recipes. You check out all ours and we will check out all yours. If you don't want to write it all down and you know of one on line just post a link to it on your blog or leave it in a comment if you prefer!


For more recipes, head on over to Ms.BiBi at Daily Organized Chaos.

Let's get cooking..... Bon Appetit!

{Disclosure: I was not provided any compensation for this post, the links provided are just for my friends, the readers. I have found that these items work the best in my recipe and I wanted to share that information.}

Photo Meme: In My Neighborhood Tuesday (Yes, I'm a Day Late)

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I'm joining my friend Jennifer over at Eighty MPH Mom called In My Neighborhood Tuesday – a fun photo meme where you spend some quality time with your family and friends and discover average things in a new light, get creative and try and get outdoors on occasion. There will be an assignment/prompt for each week, and hopefully you will have some time to take a walk and show us what you found in your neighborhood!



This week's assignment was "Birthday Celebrations" in honor of  Jen's son's 21st birthday - Happy Birthday Speedy Boy!! :)
 
The reason I am late for this assignment is because my hubby Bill celebrated HIS birthday yesterday also - not his 21st... just a few years older.... TeeHee. Here are a few photos of his birthday cake AND something special for those of you who read my first Monday Mingle. I am sharing my Grandma Sullivan's special frosting recipe.
 
Grandma Sullivan's Secret French Butter Cream Frosting (Don't Tell Anyone, OK?)
 
1.5 cup whole milk
7.5 Tbls all-purpose flour
1.5 Sticks unsalted butter softened
3/4 cup shortening (I like to use butter flavored Crisco sticks - SO much easier)
1.5 cups granulated sugar (I use superfine surgar, makes for easier mixing)
1.5 tsp. flavoring (for this one I used vanilla, but I sometimes us a combo of vanilla and Kahlua or Rum)
 
~ Cook milk and flour on medium heat until thick stirring constantly to avoid lumps; allow to cool completely (can be done in the fridge)
~ Cream butter and shortening with sugar, add flavoring, mixing until smooth and creamy.
~ Add cooled milk/flour mixture all at once and mix at high speed for at least 5-7 minutes (scraping down side occasionally) until creamy, buttery texture.
 
I used it in Bill's favorite: a Devil's Food Zuccotto cake (or as my boys call it, A Boobie Cake).  See photos below:
 



My trusty Kitchen Aid



Stirring flour and milk



Thickened mik and flour

 
 


Top 1/2 of Zuccotto cake

  



Top 1/2 of Zuccotto sitting in bowl



Bottom of Zuccotto



Fill top of Zuccotto with frosting



Put bottom over filled top and flip







Frost and decorate Cake



So this is what the cake looks like when you slice a piece... I have even made it with homemade whipped cream and filled it with strawberries. That s my son, Alexander's favorite kind of cake and I make it for him when he is around for his birthday. You can fill it with any kind of filling you want: pudding, even ice cream in the summer.

 Occasionally the doggies will leave one of their toys out after playing with them right before going to bed... I had to laugh when I woke up Tuesday morning and found this toy on the doggie bed.

So that's my post for In My Neighborhood Tuesday, a day late, and a little long... if you'd like to join, here is all you have to do: It is easy to join in! Just take your picture and post it on your blog, with the button above and link up on Eighty MPH Mom. Make sure you visit the other participants to see what they have found in their neighborhood {or house or wherever} recently! Don’t worry if you didn’t have a chance to take a walk over the weekend to snap the perfect shot. If you already have a picture that fits into the “assignment” of the week, feel free to use it. If you want to write down the upcoming assignments and take photos for several of them while you are on a walk, you can do that too! There really aren’t many rules, except to stick with the theme of the week and be creative! You can even post more than one photo if you so desire.

Let's also help Jen out by tweeting about this meme:

Please RT: What cool things are in your neighborhood? Photo meme: This week’s theme: Birthday Celebrations! http://www.eightymphmom.com



Hope you like the frosting.... we sure do, just remember DON'T tell anyone because it's a secret! :)


{Disclosure: The links posted in this post are just to help you find the things I use for my recipe, I was not paid anything by any of the companies who's products I use, I just think they are high quality products that work well in this recipe.}
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Cartoon of the Day - Why Do They Always Wait Until the Last Minute???

As a mother, I think everyone of us has been in this situation at least once.  It drives us crazy but we would never think of buying cupcakes.... OH NO, we are perfect mothers!!!  TeeHee.

Until next time..... Lorie

Happy Birthday to the Love of My Life!!

Today is Bill's birthday... WooHoo!! We will be going out to dinner to celebrate {thank you to our friend Tyna for the wonderful gift certificate} then we will come home and have a piece of cake that I made for him.

The cake is devil's food (his favorite) and my grandmother's frosting recipe that he loves. It is a dome cake that has a really deep half-circle in the center that is filled with frosting and dark chocolate chunks..... mmmmmm!

{I'm not that good at decorating}

I just want to say to Bill that I love you more today than I did yesterday and the day before. My life is so much more fulfilled since I met you and I am so lucky that you are in my life, I don't know what I would do without you. Thank you for making me so happy and for being the most wonderful man I have ever known. I will love now and will love you forever!!

Until next time..... Lorie