Third time's a charm... right? (Coconut Pound Cake)

We decided to put up new curtains a couple of weeks ago.
Bought the rod...
... it was too short.
Took it back and bought another rod (the right length this time).
It was missing a piece.
Took it back and got one more...
it fit and worked.

Third time;s a charm.


It was time to get a new dining table.
Er... get our own dining table, instead of using a hand-me-down one.
It arrived.  We opened the box.  The screws were loose and the table was broken.
Called, complained, and waited for a new one.
The reviews were all 4 1/2 stars or above...
Excellent packing, no loose screws, but broken top.
We are waiting for another one.
Which will be perfect, they assured me...

Third time's a charm.

Made a recipe the other day.
Didn't have all of the ingredients, so I thought would substitute.
The pictures were amazing.
The taste was good.
The texture was awful.

Made another recipe after that.
The texture was good.
The taste was pretty darn incredible (my husband feel in love with me even a bit more, I think...)
The pictures?  They are the ones you see here.
Not terrible, but good.
Just Ok.
But I want more than OK.  I want GOOD and GREAT and YES, I AM PROUD OF THESE pictures.

Next time, it is going down.  Beautiful pictures and a fabulous taste to accompany it.  How do I know?

Because third time's a charm.

(Seriously, though, MAKE THIS.  Trust me, OK?  Ok.  Thank you.)

Coconut Pound Cake
Recipe adapted from Everyday Food, Oct. 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk mixed together with 1 teaspoon of white vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted, divided
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 8 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down bowl. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with two 1/2-cup additions buttermilk, and beat until combined. With a rubber spatula, fold in 1 1/4 cups coconut.
2. Transfer batter to pan and bake until a skewer inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, 1 hour. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack. (Store at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, up to 4 days.)
3. Whisk together confectioners' sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Drizzle over cake and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup coconut.
   
   

   COST: $4.39  COST PER SLICE (10): $0.44

The Wednesday Files (Ain't no Corinthianos in this casa!)

As you know, soccer is a big deal in Brazil.  A BIG deal.  Like, my husband wouldn't buy a certain cellphone because that brand sponsored his team's rival.

Seriously.

And it isn't just my man.  Talk to any Brazilian who follows futebol (wait -- are there any that don't?!) and you feel the intensity they have for the game.  My last roommate (also Brazilian) warned me one day that if my then-boyfriend-now-husband would ever be asked to choose between me and soccer, he would pick soccer.  She was dead serious.

What can I say?  Brazilians are passionate about everything.  Why would their favorite past time be any different?

And so the battle began...

We invited some friends (also-Brazilian) over for dinner.  They came bearing gifts: drinks, cookies, and this lovely cake (which is -- WOW -- our favorite dessert.  Lucky for you I have the recipe HERE).  But there was one more 'gift' present that night: A Corinthians shirt.

Let's back up 2007.  I was in Brazil for the very first time, exploring the country of beauty and love with a hot man by my side, when I was welcomed into the family.  It went something like this --

"If any body asks you what the best team is, the answer is ALWAYS São Paulo.  Got it?"
"Ok..."
"And if anybody asks you the worst team, the answer is ALWAYS Corinthians. São Paulo, good.  Corinthians, bad."
"Yeah, sure..."
"No no no!  Not just sure!  You have to really mean it!  Try it with me."

And so we practiced.  It became one of the first conversations I could carry on in Portuguese.

Back to present day... (this is starting to feel a bit like LOST, isn't it?)
This dude walks into our house wearing a Corinthians shirt...

It's a good thing he brought cake.

When the time came to take a picture for proof of our get-together, my husband jumped up, ran into the other room, and came back waving a yellow shirt in his hand.  "You cannot take a picture in my house with that shirt on.  Here!"  In his defense, he did not ask our friend to put a São Paulo shirt on, just show a little Brazilian pride.  But the fact remains, a Corinthians shirt was in our house, and he was having none of that.

It took a little coaxing, and some sneakiness, but after several tries we finally got the picture the way it is supposed to be -- no promotion of the "other" team, happy smiles on most faces.

Poor Rodrigo.

Now, everybody, repeat after me: "São Paulo, GOOD!  Corinthians, BAD!"

Alright, you are free to come visit us :)

Lemon Cheese Cake -- A Taste of the South

As you probably read, I made my way down South last week.  And not down South as in, "I'm going down south [to Southern California]."  That may be what we in the Northern part of this state say when we are headed to Disneyland or to watch the Lakers, but I am talking the real down South.  Like, Alabama and Tennessee.  Country roads, rolling green hills, and some good Southern cookin'.  That's the South I am talking about this week.

I must fess up right away.  I did not actually make this cake.  My good friend Leigh, whom I refer to as my Southern Mama, did.  I just merely ate it.  And enjoyed every bite.  Then I had her daughter help me find plates, a table cloth, and some props and take pictures.

Yes -- I went into someone's house, ate all their food, and then made them help me turn their house into a food-photo studio.  What can I say... that's how I roll.  (Anyone want to invite me over yet?)  Luckily for me, they are always up for anything artistic, so this was a good experience for all of us.

According to Leigh, who is an Alabama native (or a 'bad mama jama from down in Alabama' according to a country song that I like), this cake is also an Alabama native.  It doesn't actually have any cheese in, despite what the name suggests.  Instead it has lemon filling that frosts each layer and the top, making it super lemony -- perfect for summer time!

Recipe from the Gift of Southern Cooking

INGREDIENTS
The Cake -

• 1 1/4 cup cake flour
• 1 1/2 t. cream of tartar
• 3/4 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp.
• 8 egg whites
• 1 cup milk
• 2 t. vanilla extract

The Filling - 

• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 12 egg yolks
• 3 T finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 t. salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Sift flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
3. Beat the sugar and butter in large mixing bowl, scraping the bottom and sides once or twice, until light and fluffy.  Whisk the egg white until blended but not foamy, then add to the butter in four batches, beating well with each addition.  Add the sifted dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk, and mixing only until well blended after each additions before proceeding to the next.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl again, and blend in the vanilla.
4. Divide the cake batter between four buttered parchment-lined baking pans.  Drop each filled cake pan gently on the kitchen counter to remove any large air pockets.  Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until the cake layers spring back in the center when lightly tapped, or a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer the pans to cooling racks, and let rest for 5 minutes before turning the cake layers onto the racks to cool completely.
5. Make the filling: Put all of the ingredients into a nonreactive saucepan, and whisk well to blend.  Set over moderate heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the filling thickens and a candy thermometer registers 170F, about 10 minutes.  DO NOT allow the filling to boil or come to a simmer.  Transfer the cooked filling to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
6. Place one layer on a platter or cake stand and spread with 1/2 cup of the cooled lemon filling.  Tip with a second cake layer and 1/2 cup more of the lemon filling.  Continue stacking and filling this way, using all of the remaining filling to spread over the top layer and sides of the cake.

Of all the things I've lost... (Zucchini-Squash Cream Cheese Cake)

It just sat there on the shelf, staring at me.

Where did it come from?  And why was it here?

I flipped the lid open.  Still closed, never been used.  Seriously, why was this almond extract sitting on the shelf inside my cupboard?

I had a slight recollection of purchasing it.  Lucky's.  I bought it at Lucky's.

But why?

Opening up this blog, I started scrolling through my posts.  Nothing that looked like it was supposed to have almond extract added to it, no mention of me forgetting to add an important ingredient.

Yet there was one notably missing post.  One of these weekly Sundays with Joy posts.  Where it should have been, one week after zucchini pancakes and one week before s'mores brownies, was nothing but a line separating two other, non-related posts.

Quickly I opened up the document to which recipe I missed, and lo and behold, blueberry pancakes with a citrus glaze stared back at me.  A recipe in which I had bought all the ingredients.  I picked them out, swiped my card at the check out stand, brought them home and put them away... and then forgot all about them.

So that's why we had so many blueberries about a week ago!

Sigh.  I am too young to have these 'senior' moments, aren't I?!  Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised... my mother did by me a key chain when I was in high school that said --

Of all the things I've lost, 

I miss my mind the most.  

I guess this moment was destined to happen.

Another moment that was destined to happen?  Zucchini-squash cream cheese cake.

My local grocery store was out of zucchini so I went for the next best thing, zucchini-squash.  I added some other ingredients, like nutmeg, and I had a sensory masterpiece.  You should have smelled this thing as it was cooking!  Oh my word, it was all I could think about.  I tried to clean but wound up just hanging out in the kitchen, just to be closer to the smell...

And I made cream cheese frosting from scratch!  This was a proud moment for me, friends.  There are those times when I realize that I can do what Betty Crocker does and I just cannot believe it.  This was one of those moments.

The end result?  Heaven on a plate.  The BEST baked something-or-other that I have ever made.  My husband agrees, so there, proof.

Zucchini-squash cake.  Oh yeah.

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook, which you should totally get.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 extra large egg or 1 1/2 regular size
1 t vanilla extract
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
1 cup shredded zucchini or zucchini-squash, or even carrots ;)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Grease 9x13 cake pan/loaf pan and set aside
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in medium bowl.
4. With either hand mixer or standing mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until well mixed.  Add egg, mix.  Add vanilla, mix.  Add butter, mix until very smooth.
5. Add flour mixture to bowl and stir to incorporate.  Beat until mixed.  Add zucchini squash and stir. 
6. Batter is very thick at this point.  Spoon into pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.  Top with cream cheese frosting (that either you make or you buy -- check the recipe HERE). 

COST (without frosting): $3.36
COST (with frosting): $5.87

Cost per serving (10): $0.34 or $0.59

Sundays with Joy -- Avocado Pound Cake (Tiffany Style)

I have been on an avocado ROLL these past few weeks!  And here I am again, bringing that delicious green fruit (although commonly thought of as a vegetable) to you.

This is my first time making pound cake, and yes, the ingredients are a little different that one would normally use.  What can I say?  Joy (the Baker) shares my love of avocados, and I am grateful she does because that means my weekly recipe handed out by our group has had a lot of avocado recipes.  No complaints there!

I made the cake just following the directions straight as written, except I omitted the cornmeal.  I don't like it that much.  Other than that I just followed orders, and it turned out quite nicely. 

It is good by itself, don't get me wrong.  But when I think of pound cake I think of strawberries and whipped cream on top.  However, that didn't sound right for this.  So after a moment or two of pondering what would be good with it I decided that since avocado is one of my husband's favorite fruits (and he really eats it like a fruit, with sugar and everything), I would put his other favorite fruits on it... bananas and maracuja, or passion fruit to you non-Portuguese speakers.

Armed with a pint of heavy whipping cream and a canister of passion-orange concentrate, I set to work.  It really is simple: pour 1/2 of the carton of cream (or buy the one-cup carton instead) and scoop out a tablespoon worth of concentrate.  Stir and add some sugar, if you want (I used about 1T).  Using a cake mixer, beat the mixture together for about 2 - 3 minutes until the cream is getting kind of stiff.  That's it.  Flavored whipped cream.  And you can use any concentrate you like, really.

Random fruit mixture?  Maybe.

Good fruit mixture?  Definitely.

I found out it also tastes really good with a spread of butter on top.  Yum oh yum.  Now we have one and a half loaves of avocado pound cake on the counter, a tub of passion-orange whipped cream in the fridge, and happy tastebuds in our mouths. 

Head on over to Joy's page to get the recipe, or better yet, pick up her book to find this and many more unique-yet-yum things to try!

MORE AVOCADO RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:

//avocado pineapple salsa//

//chocolate avocado vegan cupcakes//

//avocado fries//

//avocado pizza//

 

COST: $8.60         COST per serving (20): $0.43

(Cost includes pound cake, whipped cream, and bananas.  It is the whole package.)

Blueberries N' Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, Take 2

A few months back, well, actually like 9 months ago (man, time flies!) I attempted baking.  I say attempted because baking is one of those things that I never do as well as I would like to.  But I have been dabbling in it a little here, a little there, and I am think I am getting better at it.  Here is some blueberry cream cheese coffee cake to prove it!

It turned out beautifully, don't you think?  My belly sure thinks so.  So do my hips and thighs... you seriously do not want to see the calorie count of this little treat.  I am grateful that I do not pay thaaaat  much attention to calories.  Until I am on the treadmill, that is.  Then I run and run and I look at that calorie burner count and I think, "REALLY?!  That's it?"

I have a new diet idea: make people burn the calories before they eat the treat.  Then everybody would give up sugar. 

Whatever.  I will take these calories and enjoy my cake.  Because it is so incredibly delicious and perfect for Spring.

I read somewhere, "Eat as much junk food as you like, as long as you make it yourself."  I like that motto.  Really, it can't be all junk, it has fresh blueberries in it for crying outloud!  And zested lemon peel.  That's got to count for something, right?

See?  Fresh.  Delicious.  And only 50 cents more expensive than the frozen ones.  About five times tastier though, I am sure.

I am off to grab another piece...  don't try to stop me, because it can't be done.

Blueberries N' Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, diced
• 
  TOPPING:
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 2 tablespoons cold butter

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon peel. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk and water. In a bowl, toss blueberries with remaining flour; fold into batter along with cream cheese. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan.
• For topping, combine the flour, sugar and lemon peel in a bowl; cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: 15 servings.

 Note: If using frozen blueberries, use without thawing to avoid discoloring the batter.

(Recipe taken from the Taste of Home cookbook.)

Cost: $10.09                   Cost Per Piece (15) $0.67