Lemon Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Well, reality set in and it's time to go back to work after my vacation. I'm pretty happy with my planning so a short week will be super nice.

During my staycation I made this delicious Lemon Bundt Cake. The cake is super moist and the frosting is out of this world. So good. It really reminded me of the cakes from Nothing Bundt Cake.

No-Bake S'More Cheesecake

Valentine's Day is sneaking up on us. Chocolates are always a winner in my book but why not take it up a notch and do a quick and easy dessert for your special someone.

This No-Bake S'More Cheesecake is not only super easy, but it's light, airy and packed with graham cracker and chocolaty goodness.

The nice people at Nebraska Furniture Mart sent me delicious See's Candies to use in my baking fun. Plus, I have good news for those of you in need of a new place to store said No-Bake S'More Cheesecake.

From February 3, 2016 thru the 16, 2016 Nebraska Furniture Mart is offering a free box of See’s Chocolates with any Frigidaire Gallery purchase. During that time-frame they will be offering 36-month financing (for Frigidaire Gallery only) and all Frigidaire Gallery products will be on sale.

Chocolate Oreo Cake

I've said this a number of times but I work with some pretty awesome people. And, when they have birthdays I like to make them a special birthday treat. They can pick anything.... well,as long as it doesn't cost me a ton of money or take 3 days to prepare.

This Chocolate Oreo Cake was for Raul's birthday. He's one of the designers in our marketing department. I don't know how he puts up with me, Alison and Laura for 40 hours a week, but he does. We all really work so well together and definitely all have a sense of humor. If you can't have fun at work, what's the point! That's my take on it.

We found this recipe on Lindsay's blog, Life, Love & Sugar. The cake looked amazing and the thought of a whole container of Oreo's in frosting was drool worthy.

The recipe turned out perfectly! I really love the chocolate cake and can see using this as a base for a lot of future cakes. The frosting is very rich which makes for a decadent dessert.

We all agreed that is was for sure a delicious cake, but next time I might opt for a Cool Whip/Oreo frosting to cut the sweetness down a notch and make it a little lighter. Maybe something like this or this.

But there is one thing I'm leaving out - while transporting this cake to work in my cupcake carrier with no lid (seriously, a food blogger that doesn't own a cake carrier - who am I?), it slipped out of my hand and landed on the parking lot floor. This is the first time I've ever dropped a finished dessert like this. Thankfully, only a section of the cake was exposed to the ground and I could salvage the remainder. It was pretty comical.

Visit Life, Love & Sugar for the full recipe.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Cake

My sister-in-law came to town a few weeks ago along with my mother and father-in-law. The trip was for a couple reasons; it was my sister-in-laws birthday weekend and they had Neil Diamond tickets.

Celebrating birthdays is the best. I asked Jill for her birthday cake request. She said she loved Chocolate Raspberry. The first thing that came to mind was raspberry cheesecake. You can never go wrong with cheesecake.

I made a Chocolate Cheesecake Cake a few years back and knew making one similar would be a hit.

Yes, it take a little bit to make but it's so good. I love chilled cake so the chilled chocolate and creamy cheesecake was delightful.

Cider Beer Poached Pears with Pound Cake

I did something fancy. I poached pears using cider beer. Doesn't that sound fancy?!

I'll let you think I'm super cool until you see how easy it actually was. But we can keep the secret and your fiends and family can still think YOU slaved hours making a fancy dessert.

This is the best time of year to buy pears. Our grocery store had like 7 varieties of USA Pears to choose from. There is even a little sign by each with a quick description, taste profile and suggested uses. Much easier than me asking Siri (she's not very helpful).

Do you know how to choose ripe pears? Apply gentle pressure to the narrow "neck" of the pear with your thumb. If it yields to pressure, it's ripe!

I knew I was going to attempt poaching so I went for the Bosc Pears that were a little firm; making them perfect for poaching.

Poaching a pear is super simple but, like I said, looks fancy. The most common poached pear recipe uses wine and sugar. The only time I like wine is when it's in sangria with a ton of fruit so I used one of my favorite cider beers instead. I absolutely loved the pears; it added just the right hint of apple and sweetness.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

One of my dearest friends had a birthday last week. You probably know her from her amazing stationary boutique, Simply Paperie. I asked Laura to pick her birthday treat and she requested this yummy Cinnamon Roll Cake.

Selfishly I was totally on board because I love me some cinnamon rolls. Plus it fits in perfectly with what I like to bake - simply ingredients, quick prep, and delicious outcome.

This final product was not what I expected. I thought it would be like a sheet cake with a gooey cinnamon sugar mix. But the base totally tastes like a quick bread/cinnamon roll dough. Crazy good. The filling was just like that of a cinnamon roll with a gooey cinnamon buttery taste. Amazing.

German Chocolate Cake

We celebrated my dad's birthday while we were on vacation. The only cake I could think to make was German Chocolate Cake. What I didn't realize is that this cake does take a little bit of time to put together. Luckily it was totally worth it - one of the best cakes I've ever made!

My dad loved it too. He took the leftovers home and ate every last bite.

The only thing that went wrong was a broken cake base. I'm sure I wasn't patient enough but one of the layers stuck to the cake pan so I ended up with a 3 layer cake instead of a 4 layer cake.

But...that just meant we got to snack on broken cake while I finished decorating.

Orange you glad I made you a cake.

Last time I saw my nephew, Grant, he was all about telling knock knock jokes. Well, he told the same joke over and over so it was even better. It went like this...

Grant: Knock Knock
Me: Who's there?
Grant: Orange
Me: Orange who?
Grant: Orange you glad I told you a joke!!

Pineapple Whipped Cream Frosting

What a weekend! My sister, bro-in-law, and nephew came to visit. They were in town for a graduation but it was perfect timing to celebrate her birthday and mother's day. Last year I made her this enormous ice cream cake. This year I decided to go for something a little lighter. (Really, anything would be lighter than that cake....it was insane.)

This Pineapple Whipped Cream Frosting is super easy to make and the perfect compliment to Angel Food Cake. It does need to sit overnight so plan ahead!

Giant Sugar Cookie Layered Cookie Cake

Last weekend I made cupcakes for a 3 year old's birthday party. I had to make the cupcakes on Friday night and deliver on Friday night. Because time was tight I made homemade white cake but outsourced my frosting.

Did you know most grocery store bakeries let you purchase their cake frosting?!?! Our local grocery store charges $1.25 per pound. It's a heck of a deal and is so much better than the canned stuff. Plus the consistency is always perfect and makes decorating a breeze.

Chocolate Italian Love Cake

The short story: At work yesterday we threw a fake baby shower so we could have a potluck and my friend Laura made this cake.

The long story: Last year, on a whim, I bought a black toy rat at the Dollar Tree. Since then it has made appearances in my co-workers desks, when they least expect it. I really love to scare people.

White Cake with Strawberry Frosting

My sister and I are taking on Date Night this week. I definitely would not be cooking a meal on date night, but I would make a dessert. It's been awhile since I've made a cake so I knew that would be a special treat. The first thing that pops in my mind when I think of date night or romance is chocolate covered strawberries. Pair those with a white cake with fresh strawberry frosting and you'll have a perfect ending to date night!

Yes, this cake will take a little bit to make, but it's worth it. If you want to speed it up, you could totally make a box cake, I won't tell or judge. But the frosting is worth it. It's so fresh and smooth, like true love.... (?)

Schedule that date night NOW and end the night with this cake. It will lead to many many years of happiness with your significant other. I promise.

White Cake with Strawberry Frosting

Cake
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 whole egg, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature - divided
2-1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour, sifted (No cake flour? Substitute here.)
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into 24 even pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2, 8-inch cake pans by lining with parchment paper and greasing the sides.

In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites, whole egg, 1/4 cup milk, and vanilla. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all of the the dry ingredients together on low speed for about 30 seconds.

Add the butter one piece at a time, every 10 seconds. Make sure the butter is cold; you might need to keep 1/2 in the refrigerator while you add in the other 1/2. Continue to mix on low until the mixture is crumbly. Slowly add the rest of the milk, and mix on low speed for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add  the egg mixture in 3 separate parts, mix until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Scrape bowl one more time to ensure the batter at bottom of bowl is mixed in.

Divide the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans, evening out with a spatula or cake frosting knife.

Bake until a knife comes out with a few crumbs when inserted into the center, about 30 minutes. Do not over-bake. Check the cake after 20 minutes and bake in 5 minutes intervals until done. Let cool on racks for 10 minutes before carefully removing from the cake pans. Let cool completely on wire racks.

Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 2 months. While cake cools, prepare the frosting!

Frosting
1 cup fresh chopped strawberries
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
5 1/2 cups powdered sugar (more/less for desired consistency)
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Puree strawberries in a blender until smooth and strain through a fine sieve (I use a metal  wire strainer). Simmer puree and lemon juice for 15 to 20 minutes or until reduced by 1/3. Cool completely.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat all butter and 1 cup powdered sugar for a couple minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and add half of the strawberry puree, vanilla extract, and 1 more cup powdered sugar. Beat until well combined, couple more minutes.

Add remaining strawberry puree and 1 cup powdered sugar and beat until well combined. Add remaining powdered sugar,  and additional until desired consistency and flavor are met. Beat until creamy and fluffy, 3-4 more minutes.

To frost cake, place one round on cake plate. Frost top of layer, be generous. Place other layer on top. I like to trim edges if the layers don't match up just right. Crumb coat the cake to lock in the crumbs and prepare for final frosting. I used this technique. Place in the refrigerator for an hour to set.  Once set, frost as normal, or try a fancy technique that I'm too impatient to do. ;)

For the chocolate covered strawberries, clean and dry strawberries, melt 3 or 4 bars of chocolate almond bark in the microwave, dip the strawberries to coat, and allow them to set on a plate lined with wax paper. Store strawberries in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Source: Cake - Sweetapolita  |  Frosting - Spoon Fork Bacon

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Let's see what Ginny has for a Date Night outfit! I'm so envious of all of Ginny's jewelry. Luckily, she lets be borrow it when we see each other. #sisterlove

31 Birthday Cakes for My Birthday

Happy Birthday to Me!

To help me celebrate my birthday, let's look at lots and lots of super fancy and delicious cakes! 31 cakes, to be exact, 1 for each of my 31 years!

(Get your scrolling finger ready, this is a long post.)


I have a vacation day today so I have big plans to RELAX and catch up on my TV shows and blog reading - my idea of a PERFECT day! Jacob and I are going to dinner and maybe a movie later tonight too!

Oh, and the painters are here painting my living room so that is probably the best present ever. Pictures to come later.

Now for the cake....

Bite-Sized Birthday Cakes

Birthday Present Cake Pops

Snickers Chocolate Cake

Rainbow Bundt Cake

Banana Bread Cake with PB Cream Cheese Frosting

Strawberries and Cream Cake

Red Velvet Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting

Rainbow Cake

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

Gluten Free Golden Fudge Cake

Chocolate Sheet Cake

Cake Pops

Devil's Food Chocolate Bunt Cake with Chocolate Espresso Ganache

Red Velvet Swirl Bundt Cake

Neapolitan Sheet Cake

Coconut Cake

Upside Down Strawberry Cake

Peanut Butter Cake

Chocolate Covered Cherry Coke Cake

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Watermelon Margarita Cupcakes

Chocolate Cake

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

Pineapple Coconut Cake

Princess Cake

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake

Caramel Apple Pie Cake

Angel Food Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Chocolate Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Momofuku Milk Bar Layer Cake

Please note: None of these photos belong to me but I did get permission from each wonderful blogger to include their yummy recipe and picture in this blog post. If you want to pin a specific image, please click on the link provided under each image to visit it's original source. If you want to pin this collection as a whole, feel free to pin the collage image above!