Poppy Seed Cake

Moist, dense, and delicious! This is worth every calorie 🙂

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
13 fluid ounces evaporated milk
1/4 cup poppy seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and add eggs, vanilla, oil and milk. Mix well and fold in the poppy seeds. Pour into a 10 inch tube pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Place cool cake on a pretty plate or cake stand. Using 1/2 container of store bought frosting (vanilla), place frosting in microwavable measuring cup and heat for approximately 20 seconds. Drizzle over cake. I added a few extra poppy seeds on top for decoration.

Eat and enjoy!!

Happy Valentine’s Day

Hand made cake pop in the first picture. Made by one of the parents at my school. She makes the most amazing cake pops, just for fun 🙂
The floral creation in the middle was made by another parent, and friend. She said it’s a Martha Stuart recipe, amazing! (apple pie)
The cupcakes were made by a local bakery.
Have a beautiful and lovely day!

Irish Cream Cake

Fresh out of the oven. Needs to cool down before you put the glaze on top.

Glazed, wrapped, and ready to be delivered!

Here’s the recipe:
CAKE INGREDIENTS:
1 cup chopped pecans
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur. I used Bailey’s

THE GLAZE
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 C). Grease and flour a 10″ Bundt pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over bottom of pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Mix in eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup oil and 3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur. Beat for 5 minutes on high speed. Pour batter over nuts in pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto the serving dish. Prick top and sides of cake. Spoon glaze over top and brush onto sides of cake. Allow to absorb glaze. Repeat until glaze is used up.
4. To make the glaze: In a saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur.

Side note; I used 7 mini-dishes. The cake rises a good amount, I filled the mini-dishes 3/4 full, and baked for 40 minutes. If you are nervous about using a Bundt pan, I would just use a 9″x13″ dish. After cooling-poke holes as directed, drizzle glaze on top of cake. Do what’s comfortable for you 🙂 Have fun and enjoy the delicious cake!

Hazelnut Chocolate Cookies

I love hazelnuts!

Hazelnut Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Adapted from Gourmet

Makes about 2 dozen

1 almost-full cup (4 ounces) hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate (2 or 3 chocolate chips would also work)

Pulse hazelnuts, sugar, matzo cake meal or flour, and salt in a food processor until finely ground. (Be careful not to grind to a paste.) Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter, egg, and extract until combined well. Chill dough, covered, until firm, about 30 minutes.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Drop level tablespoons of dough 1 inch apart onto 2 ungreased baking sheets (though I lined mine with parchment paper, for an easier lazier clean-up). Roll dough into balls, then chill until slightly firm, about 10 minutes.

Press one piece of chocolate firmly into the top of each ball of cookie dough and bake, 1 sheet at a time, until tops are pale golden and undersides are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Be careful not to overbake. Transfer cookies to a rack and cool completely.

*To fill with jam instead: After balls of cookie dough have been chilled for an additional 10 minutes, make a 1/2-inch-wide (1/3-inch-deep) indentation in center of each ball using your thumb, index finger, or the rounded end of a wooden spoon. Fill each indentation with 1/4 teaspoon jam.

*Almond variation: The hazelnuts can also be swapped with 3/4 cup sliced almonds.

Do ahead: Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 3 days.

For complete recipe, visit the link below
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/03/hazelnut-chocolate-thumbprint-cookies/

Cherry Jubilee!

Click on the link (below) for this fantastic, delicious recipe! You will be the talk of the town with this yummy treat. You know you want some!!

http://wickedgoodkitchen.com/cherry-pie-crumble-bars-gluten-free-option/