Oreo Cake with Oreo Buttercream

This was Miller's cake request this year and it was delicious!  If you have an oreo lover in your house, this is the cake for you.

Oreo Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
¾ tsp. salt
1 ⅓ c. water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. sour cream
2 eggs
10 oreos, crushed

Preheat oven to 325.  In a mixer, combine cake mix, flour, sugar and salt.  Add water, vegetable oil, vanilla and sour cream.  Mix well.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Add crushed cookies and blend well.  Evenly distribute batter into cake pans prepared with Baker's Joy.  Bake for 16-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pans for 5 minutes then move to a wire rack to fully cool.  Top with oreo buttercream.

Oreo Buttercream

15 oreos, processed to a fine powder
1 ½ c. butter, room temperature
4 ½ c. powdered sugar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
pinch of salt

Mix butter and powdered sugar until combined.  Add vanilla and heavy cream and mix well until good consistency.  Add pinch of salt and oreos and blend well.  Spread over cooled cake.

Coconut Refrigerator Cake

Ever since I received this recipe, I always make this cake in the spring for Easter. 

Coconut Refrigerator Cake

1 box white cake mix

14 oz. can cream of coconut (I usually find it in a squeeze bottle on the aisle where you find margarita mix)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

16 oz. cool whip, thawed

8 oz. pkg. flaked coconut

Bake cake according to package directions in 9x13.  Once baked and while still hot, poke holes all over the top of the cake.  Mix together the cream of coconut and condensed milk, making sure there are no clumps.  Pour over warm cake.  Let cake cool completely.  Frost with cool whip and top with flaked coconut.

Classic White Frosting

For Miller's last birthday cake, I decided to change up from my usual buttercream frosting and do a shortening based frosting.  Initially I thought it was a mistake, but once I tasted it with the cake it was delicious and will be my new go to for birthday cake.  It was also perfect for decorating.

Classic White Frosting

2 c. shortening
8 c. powdered sugar
¼ c. heavy whipping cream
1 ½ tsp. vanilla (I used clear to keep it extra white)

In a mixer, blend shortening and powdered sugar until smooth.  Add in whipping cream and vanilla and whip frosting until it reaches desired consistency.

Add in favorite color drops or gels to make desired color.

My Favorite Yellow Cake

• I've finally found the best homemade yellow (but more like vanilla) cake.  I made Miller's birthday cake and my family thought I got it from a bakery!  This cake is pretty high maintenance with room temperature ingredients, but definitely worth the trouble.

• My Favorite Yellow Cake
• 
  
• 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream (light or regular), room temperature

1. To prep, whisk together the milk and sour cream together in a liquid measure and let come to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and make sure an oven rack is placed in the middle of the oven.
3. In a large bowl of an electric stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer, whip the butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat for 4-5 minutes on medium speed. Mix in the vanilla.
4. One at a time, add the eggs and egg yolks, mixing just until combined in between additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
5. Combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift them together through a fine mesh strainer.
6. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add 1/2 of the milk/sour cream mixture and mix. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Add the last 1/2 of the milk/sour cream mixture and beat until just combined. Add the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Give the batter one good, final stir with the rubber spatula.
7. Grease the cake pans and line the bottoms with a parchment round. Grease the parchment and sides of the pan again very well. I use regular cooking spray but you can also use butter or cooking spray with flour. If your cake pans tend to cause sticking, consider also flouring the pans.
8. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Drop each pan from about 3-inches onto the counter to minimize air bubbles while baking.
9. Bake for 25-28 minutes until lightly golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Resist the urge to open and close the oven to check on the cake - this can cause the center of the cake to fall and never recover. And as with all cakes, don't overbake or the cake will be dry.
10. Let the cakes rest in the pans for 5-10 minutes before gently turning them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Frost with Classic White Frosting

Sweet Tea Cake with Lemonade Frosting

• Not much of a sweet tea flavor to me, but a very moist cake perfect for summertime gatherings.  Original directions suggest a 9x13 pan.  I'll likely bake in a half sheet pan next time, which also means it would be good for large crowds.
• 
  
• Sweet Tea Cake with Lemonade Frosting
• 
  
• Shortening
• 1 ½ c. boiling water
• 3 familiy-size tea bags
• 1 c. butter, softened
• 2 c. sugar
• ½ c. brown sugar
• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 3 ½ c. cake flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ¾ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease (with shortening) and flour a 13- x 9-inch pan. Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over tea bags in a heatproof glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and steep 10 minutes. Lift tea bags from liquid, and press against side of bowl, using back of a spoon; discard tea bags. Cool tea 20 minutes.

• 
  
• 2. Beat butter in a separate large bowl at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Whisk together cake flour and next 
• 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with 1 cup tea, beginning and ending with flour mixture. (Discard any remaining tea.) Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Pour batter into prepared pan.3. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack (about 20 minutes). Spread Lemonade Frosting on cake.

Frosting:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

¼ c. butter, softened

6 c. powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. lemon zest

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

Beat all ingredients together until smooth.  Spread over cooled cake.

1. 
   

Southern Praline Pecan Cake

I made this cake for my mom's birthday this week.  She says it is definitely a hit.  It was SUPER easy to make.

Southern Praline Pecan Cake

1 box butter pecan cake mix
1 (16 oz.) container coconut pecan frosting
4 eggs
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. water
1 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Mix first 5 ingredients until well combined.  Stir in 1/2 of pecans.  Sprinkle remaining pecans into bottom of bundt pan.  Pour in cake batter.  Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Pecan Pie Cake

Yesterday was a special day for our family as we dedicated Baby Pea at our church.  While the worship service is the most important part of the day, feeding our family as a thank you for participating is definitely something that I wanted to do.  I decided to serve soups because it would be easy to keep them warm while away at church.  We had Bacon Cheeseburger Soup, Creamy Chicken Divan Soup and Pork Green Chili.  For dessert I tried some new recipes.  This Pecan Pie Cake was my favorite of the day and there is no picture because it is GONE!  It is very easy to make and will definitely be made again.

Pecan Pie Cake

2 c. sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
1-1/2 c. self-rising flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. chopped pecans

Cream butter and sugar; add remaining ingredients, stirring by hand.  Pour into 9x13 baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.  Allow cake to cool.  Crumble cake.  Prepare cake frosting.

1 (16 oz.) container cool whip
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

Cream milk and cream cheese together until smooth.  Fold in whipped cream until combined.  In a large serving bowl/dish, layer 1/2 of cake crumbs.  Spread with 1/2 of frosting.  Repeat layers once more.  Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Grandmama's Butternut Cake

This weekend was our family cookout and when trying to decide what to bring (I took the never fail Corn Salad, too), I made my mind up to attempt my Grandmama's Butternut Cake for the first time.  I haven't had this cake in years, but it has always been a favorite of mine that she would make.  I remember she would make it sometimes for cake walks at the church or school and I would do my best to win this cake to bring home with me!  :-)  The icing was always my favorite part!  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it at first because I couldn't find butternut flavoring anywhere, but then I finally found it at Publix and it was called "butter and nut flavor" and this was the McCormick brand.  I knew after I made it that it smelled just like I remembered it and I had hoped that it tasted the same.  I can now say after having a piece last night that it did and it even got the stamp of approval from Grandmama!  This cake is best if made 2-3 days before you plan to serve it because (and Grandmama says she doesn't know why), but the longer it sets it just does.  Who am I to argue with cake goodness, so I made this on Thursday to be eaten on Saturday.  She also NEVER put it in the fridge, which I wasn't sure about since it had cream cheese in the icing, but I've eaten it that way for years so in the fridge it did not go.  I also left it down there when we left and didn't even get a piece to bring home, trying to be good about these last few weeks to gain pregnancy weight.  I was mad at myself the whole way home and now I would really love to have a piece for breakfast!  HA!

Grandmama's Butternut Cake

1 c. Crisco shortening
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. self-rising flour
1 c. milk
2-3 tsp. butternut flavoring (butter and nut flavoring)

In mixing bowl, cream crisco, sugar and eggs on high speed for 10 minutes.  (I used my stand mixer which does things a little quicker than a hand mixer, so I did it on speed 6.)  In a separate bowl, sift together all-purpose and self-rising flours.  Also, add butternut flavoring to milk.  Slowly, alternate adding flour and milk to batter, beating 1 minute after each addition.  Bake in 3 greased and floured round cake pans at 325 for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in pans and then allow to cool completely on wire rack.

For the icing:
1 stick butter
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 box of powdered sugar (made need additional on hand to thicken)
1 tsp. butternut flavoring
1 c. chopped pecans

Melt slowly on stovetop the butter and cream cheese together.  Beat with a spoon.  Add 1 box of powdered sugar and 1 tsp. butternut flavoring.  Add 1 c. chopped pecans and beat all together with hand mixer.  If too thin, add more powdered sugar.  (I think I may have added 1/2 c. powder sugar extra on this particular cake.)  Spread warm icing over cake, allowing to run down the sides to make it easier to ice the sides.

*Best if kept 2 days before cutting.

Hummingbird Cake

Shall we start with Easter dessert first?  I realized as I was making this cake, that it is essentially the same recipe that I used for Banana Nut Muffins.  The exception is less oil in the cake and honestly, I think it could have used the oil for a little more moisture.  Good gracious, I am sure there would be about 1200 calories in one slice, but for special occasions it would be totally worth it.  :)  I also was a little disappointed in the recipe's amount of icing.  I barely had enough to cover the cake (and definitely not as much as the picture on SL website showed), so next time, I will probably make 1-1/2 times the recipe of icing.  Otherwise, it hit the spot.  I would have loved to include the nuts, but I managed to allow the nut haters in my family to talk me out of using them.  They could be optional, and don't change the original taste of the recipe much.

I used the Hummingbird Cake recipe from Southern Living.

Mall Cookie Cake Knockoff

Somebody has a birthday in our house tomorrow and I can hardly believe he is already 2 years old!  I wanted to get him a cookie cake for his birthday, but I didn't love the $30+ price tag that came with it.  So weeks ago I began searching for a good cookie cake recipe I could make that would be similar to those yummy mall cakes!  I found the perfect one to try from one of my favorite websites, Southern Plate.  You can find her original post about the cake here.  Here's what she suggests:

Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough (16.5 oz. each)
Karo syrup (1/4 cup per 16.5 oz. dough)
Chocolate icing
White icing

I used canned icings just to make life much easier and even used the chocolate she suggested, but I promise that while it is good, it tastes NOTHING like GACC's icing.  Just know you will barely use much of either.

I didn't need a big cookie, so I opted to just use one roll of dough and baked it in a 10 inch tart pan because that is all I had that was round and a little bigger than regular round cake pans.  It surprised me how much it puffed up while baking and I thought it was going to be all wrong, but when the buzzer finally went off, it had flattened down just fine.

Mall Cookie Cake Knockoff

1 (16.5 oz.) roll refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1/4 c. corn syrup
1 can chocolate icing
1 can white icing

In a mixing bowl, combine cookie dough and corn syrup until well incorporated.  Place in a greased baking pan and use damp hands to pat down until flat.  Bake in a 325 degree oven for 25-35 minutes depending on your pan size and how much cookie dough you use.  Allow to cool completely before icing.

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It is definitely homemade looking and I will update on how it tastes once we cut into that bad boy.  I'm sure for much less than $10 it will taste GREAT!!  :)

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Update:  It turned out great!  A little greasy feeling on the bottom, but hits the spot.  I used Betty Crocker whipped fluffy white.

Four Layer Delight - Pumpkin

One of my all time favorite desserts is Four Layer Delight.  This reminds me of a pumpkin version of that, although very different in layers.  The layers aren't as defined, but trust me, there are four layers of yummy goodness!!  I think this may be a new family favorite.  I made it to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family.

Four Layer Delight - Pumpkin

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3 eggs
1 box yellow cake mix
1 c. chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc.)
3/4 c. butter, cut into pieces
1 (12 oz.) container cool whip
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix pumpkin, milk, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and eggs.  Pour into 9x13 baking dish.  Sprinkle cake mix evenly on top.  Do not mix.  Next sprinkle nuts on top of cake mix and dot with butter pieces.  Bake for 1 hour.  Allow to cool completely.  Once cooled, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth.  Stir in cool whip and beat until well incorporated.  Spread on top of cake.  Refrigerate.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Our church is a supporter of The Jimmie Hale Mission, a ministry to the homeless among other things.  Every month on Saturdays several volunteers go and serve lunch.  It has never worked our for us to go, but this week I received an email from the church asking for cake donations to be served this weekend.  It is the perfect opportunity for me to help out.  So today, we baked this cake.  It smelled delicious while baking and all the reviews said it was a very moist cake.  I love moist cake over dry poundcake any day of the week.  It reminds me of the Chocolate Chip Pound Cake. In fact, I thought about adding white chips to it but changed my mind last minute.  And I also love easy cakes that start with a mix!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

1 box spice cake mix
1 small box butterscotch instant pudding
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. water
4 eggs
1 c. pureed pumpkin

In a large mixing bowl, beat all ingredients on low speed to incorporate.  Turn up speed and beat for about 3-4 minutes until light and airy.  Pour into greased and floured bundt pan.  Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pan and then turn out on wire rack to cool completely.

Nutella Chess Bars

You may know these bars from the one and only Paula Deen.  She calls the base recipe Gooey Butter Bars, but growing up we always called these Chess Bars and Chess Bars they will always be to me.  Paula is also well known for changing up the base recipe to make several different flavors like German Chocolate.  I saw this recipe using Nutella over at Plain Chicken and this was the original recipe I told you about when I ended up making Nutella Cookies.  I took these to a family get-together this weekend (again, so good to take these where there are a lot of people to help you eat them) and everyone thought they were just brownies.  And honestly, they did taste like frosted brownies.  They had more of a chocolate flavor and I couldn't taste much Nutella, but they were still amazing!  Very rich!

Nutella Chess Bars

1 box Devil's food cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 c. Nutella
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
1 (1 lb.) box powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, 1 stick butter and 1 egg with electric mixer.  Once mixture is formed, press into greased 9x13 baking dish.  In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese and Nutella until creamy.  Add eggs, vanilla, butter.  Next mix in powdered sugar until smooth.   Pour and spread on top of unbaked crust.  Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes.  Be careful not to overbake.  You want it to have a gooey texture.

Cinnamon Frosted Zucchini Bars

On the way back from the beach, we stopped to drop my mom off and dad had me some vegetables ready to bring home with me.  I had told mom that I saw this recipe a while back over at Tasty Kitchen and thought it would be a good way to use up all of those garden vegetables.  It worked out perfectly when we had some company stop by our house on their way back to Tennessee.  They made the perfect guinea pigs.  I thought these were good.  I expected them to be more cookie/bar like, but it is pretty much a cake recipe.  In addition to dessert, the cinnamon frosting would make these perfect for brunch.

Cinnamon Frosted Zucchini Bars

For the cake:
3/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1-3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
2 c. grated zucchini

For the frosting:
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. milk

For the cake, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix in flour, cinnamon and baking powder.  Blend in zucchini.  Pour into greased jelly roll pan and bake in a 350 oven for 25-30 minutes.

While baking, prepare frosting.  Mix powdered sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, vanilla and milk until creamy.  Add milk if necessary to get desired consistency.  Cool zucchini bars and frost.

Cut into squares to serve.

Honey Bun Cake

Tomorrow is my turn to take a meal to a family from our Sunday school class who recently had a baby.  I am planning to take Baked Ziti, Caesar salad, Speedy Dinner Rolls and this cake.  I haven't made this cake in years.  It is another recipe with about 20 different variations.  This one is from my cousin's wife, who is always known for bringing the best dishes to family get-togethers.  She shared her recipe with Sister years ago when she got married.  Mmm, mmm good!!  I thought of this because it would make a great dessert with dinner and an even better breakfast the next morning! 

Honey Bun Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 c. sugar
8 oz. sour cream
3/4 c. oil
4 eggs
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1 c. brown sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix first set of ingredients and pour half of batter into greased 9x13 pan.  Mix brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle half over batter.  Pour remaining batter and sprinkle remaining brown sugar and cinnamon.

Bake at 300 degrees for 55 minutes.  Remove from oven and pour glaze over warm cake.  I like to poke holes in my cake to let some of the glaze seep through.

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla (less if you prefer)
4 Tbsp. milk

Mix and pour over warm cake.

Strawberry Cake

Another shot of a cake I made for Sunday school baby shower that shows
the color of the cake in daylight.

This recipe is like driving a new car.  It isn't until you have a particular car that you start noticing them everywhere on the street.  I originally saw this recipe in Paula's magazine in May/June 2008 issue.  I've saved it waiting for the right time to make it.  I have also seen a variation of the recipe on Southern Plate.  She uses plain cream cheese frosting instead of one flavored with strawberries, so I decided to stick with my original recipe.  This is my contribution to Easter lunch on Sunday.  Here in this town everyone is crazy about Edgar's strawberry cake.  And I definitely am a huge fan, but I have also discovered Ashley Mac's strawberry cake and it is my most favorite.  BUT, I think this strawberry cake can hang with both of those and it is much cheaper!!!  My version definitely looks homemade, though!  :)
Strawberry Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 (3 oz.) box strawberry flavored instant gelatin
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. water
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease 2 round 9 inch cake pans.  In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin.  Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.  Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool in pans for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.  Spread Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake.  Garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired.

**I had a lot of frosting left over because I always worry about putting too much in the middle layer.  Don't be shy of using plenty in the middle layer.  There will be enough to go around.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed (you'll actually only use 1/4 c.)
1/2 tsp. strawberry extract (I just used vanilla)
7 c. powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy.  Beat in 1/4 c. strawberry puree, reserving remaining for another use.  Beat in extract.  Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.

Note:  For pinker frosting, add 2-3 drops of red food coloring to frosting.  I didn't do this because I liked it's natural color.

**I also prefer strawberry cakes cold, so I have this one in the fridge and will serve it cold.  It's the only cake I like that way!

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcake

Today was The Bun's 1st Birthday party and I made these cupcakes to celebrate the day.  They are a recipe used by Magnolia Bakery in NYC.  I thought they turned out pretty tasty.  I also used the same recipe to make his smash cake.

Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Cupcake

Hot Fudge Brownie Cake

from myrecipes.com

This past weekend, I was able to get away for a day full of tailgating with The Dish Washer.  My mom came up to keep The Bun and I knew I had to feed her well to thank her.  Actually, she probably would have starved just to be with The Bun.  But I tried to feed her well anyway.  I made this as a treat!  It was good.  Not too sweet and PERFECT over ice cream.  It is from Southern Living.

Hot Fudge Brownie Cake

Lemon Poppy Seed Cakes

This recipe from Southern Living was on my mind from the moment I first read the recipe. I found them to be ok, but I never have to have them again. The Dish Washer, on the other hand, is crazy about them

Lemon Poppy Seed Cakes

1/2 c. butter, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1-1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 c. milk
1/4 tsp. poppy seeds
3/4 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. lemon zest, divided
1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1-1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until creamy and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Beat in milk, poppy seeds, almond extract, and 1-1/2 tsp. lemon zest.

Whisk together flour and next 2 ingredients in a large bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Spoon batter into 1 greased and floured (12 cup) mini Bundt pan, filling all cups three-fourths full. Spoon remaining batter into a second pan, filling only 6 cups.

Bake lemon-poppy seed cakes at 350 for 24-26 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean. Remove from pans to wire racks, and let cakes cool 10 minutes.

Whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and remaining lemon zest until smooth. Drizzle glaze over warm cakes. Let cakes stand 4 to 5 minutes or until glaze sets.

Homemade Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Today I gave blood for the first time in 9 years! I am ashamed to admit that, but I had such a terrible first experience at my high school's blood drive...I just couldn't shake it. It isn't the fear of needles, it was the fear of getting sick again. But now, The Chicken Farmer (my brother-in-law) is in need of surgery to repair a heart valve. I would do absolutely anything for him, so today was the day to face those fears of getting sick again and donate blood to be used for his surgery. There is something very special to me about him finally becoming my "blood."


The best news is I didn't get sick at all. So now I have overcome that fear and can become a regular blood donor (which is what I've always wanted to be.) In honor of my experience, mom suggested a post to commemorate the day...she suggested something called Blood Pudding. It was very thoughtful of her, but boy did that recipe GROSS ME OUT! I will go with her MUCH milder suggestion of Red Velvet Cake. This recipe is my grandmother's. She used to always make it for my mom's birthday because it is her favorite. She also always put coconut icing on it because that is her favorite too, but I prefer Cream Cheese Frosting now that I have taken over the tradition. Made from scratch and soooo yummy! His surgery has been pushed back just today to the day after mom's birthday, so we will have to have this for her birthday this year and to celebrate becoming "blood." I'll take a picture next time I make this cake to post.


Red Velvet Cake


1 stick butter
1-1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 (1 oz.) bottles of red food coloring
1 c. buttermilk
2-1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. cocoa
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. vanilla


Cream butter and sugar, add eggs. Beat well, then add food coloring. Sift flour, cocoa, salt and add alternating with buttermilk. Then add vanilla. Mix vinegar and soda in a cup and stir into batter. Bake in 9-inch prepared pans for 30 minutes at 350. Allow to cool completely before icing.


Cream Cheese Frosting


1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 stick butter, softened at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 box powdered sugar
1 small bag chopped pecans, optional


Mix all ingredients, beat until spreading consistency is good. May want to stir in pecans now to spread over cake or use pecans as a garnish.