Scary Baby Lemon Cake Bakery

The bakery can bear her name even if she only showed up for the fun part.

She used the Pampered Chef squirty icing thingy with expertise.

Yes, we are professional bakers with professional tools.

Perhaps I made the rest of the cake.

Labor intensive is an understatement. A cake with 4 different steps is not typically anything I tackle. I leave that to my friend Leigh Anne.

But the lemon cake recipes with gorgeous pictures that appeared on blogs here and here one day apart spoke to me.

So now my biggest Easter cooking decision was which lemon cake to make.

I went with the Lemon Truffle Cake.

The cake recipes are very, very similar with exception of quantity of baking powder, lemon zest and milk vs. buttermilk.

I did get wild and I used the Lemon Curd recipe from the Lemon Crumb Cake because Leigh Anne said it was amazing and she knows her lemon curd! (And I didn’t want to throw away 3 egg yolks.)

For non-bakers I want to break it down for you:

Step 1 >>> Homemade white cake – best cake I’ve ever made.

Step 2 >>> Homemade lemon curd – like I’ve ever made this in MY LIFE?!

Step 3 >>> Homemade filling – yum.

Step 4 >>> Homemade whipped cream – double yum.

Now I know that you could streamline all of this with a boxed white cake mix, a jar of lemon curd and a can of whipped cream (you’ll still have to mix up the filling of white chocolate, cream cheese and lemon curd) but since this was seriously the only thing I was cooking for Easter, I went for broke.

Oh, wait I did make cheeseburgers and baked beans.

Side note: We did go out to eat after church. It was a little weird for us to be a family of three with the darling twins in Arizona and The Grunter working.

Scary Baby did make the cake lovely with her finishing touches. She actually wanted to add lemon slices to the top but I had to nix that idea. (Remember this is the fondant child.) The lemon slices would have put us at 5 steps and I had already exceeded my time investment/dessert ratio.

She is also a 4th child who prefers the store bought, super tacky, premade Easter baskets to the homemade theme baskets created by her loving mother many years before she was born.

I have adapted to that change and sent PhilBillPaul to Walgreen’s on Friday to pick out her basket. Sad but true.

She is very discreetly covering the giant price tag sticker that he left on when he retrieved the said basket from his truck. The sticker was not easily removable from the cellophane.

Hello Walgreen’s? We can’t really pass it off as our own now, can we?

Have a great weekend and if you get bored or have company, bake a lemon cake–it’s a whole lot of cake for 3 people to eat. The Grunter doesn’t like lemon. Whatever.

P.S. I did give two slices to a friend and The Grunter’s girlfriend had a piece too. Rave reviews from both! Just didn’t want you to think that the 3 of us ate the whole cake.

Oatmeal Berry Muffins

My quest for healthy recipes that taste good continues. This recipe is a keeper. In fact, I’m making again this weekend. I love to have something frozen that I can grab that is homemade.

Bonus: The Grunter Seal of Approval…he ate four!

Remember, this is not a food blog which is why I didn’t take bad pictures of these delicious muffins.

Instead just click over to this lovely food blog called Two Peas and Their Pod. They are a sweet young couple who cook together and take great pictures of their food.

Just like me and PhilBillPaul 20 years ago…well except for the cooking together and taking great pictures of food part.

Side note: I had a frozen berry mix of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries and I did not use chunky applesauce. Whatever berries and applesauce you use doesn’t seem to matter – they’re excellent.

Oatmeal Berry Muffins

Adapted from Joy the Baker

* 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 1/4 cups oats
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I used 1 tsp.)
* 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used chunky applesauce)
* 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
* 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 2 tbsp canola oil
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 1 tsp. vanilla (I added this)
* 1/4 tsp. almond extract (I added this)
* 3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (I used frozen raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I put in a full cup)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a muffin tin with paper cases or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl combine applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil, egg, and extracts. Make a well in dry ingredients and add applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist. Fold in berries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. I got 16 regular muffins.

Bake for 16-18 minutes.

Cool on rack. Enjoy! They freeze beautifully too!

Recipe from:Two Peas and Their Pod

******

Have a fabulous weekend and bake some muffins!

Good Food, Good Friends, Good Game

Some people plan their blog posts.

Some people are organized.

Some people take pictures of the food before people start eating it.

Who are those “some people”?

Then I remind myself {again} that this is not a food blog. I’m slow like that.

We did change up our Annual Humpfreeze Superbowl Party tradition since the darling twins are in Arizona and The Grunter had to work.

Scary Baby carried on the sign making tradition.

She wanted her sisters to see that she managed without them.

We carried on the Knox Blox tradition.

She helped with the important toothpick pennants.

It was very nice for our Indiana friends to invite us over to cheer on the Indianapolis Colts for Superbowl last night.

Otherwise it would have been a tiny party of three at our house.

A few appetizers and some blue popcorn and pretzels drizzled in blue were transported over along with our Knox Blox.

Side note: The desserts were not half eaten when we arrived.

There was a ridiculous amount of delicious food which is mandatory for Superbowl parties, isn’t it?

And if the Colts had to lose, it was to a very well-deserving team. The New Orleans Saints really shined and that city is so worthy of the victory!

Good food, good friends, good game…it was a good weekend.

How was yours?

Play-Doh or Fondant

Play-Doh™ wasn’t on her Christmas list.

Fondant was.

Or as she says “Fon-daunt”

A few too many episodes of Cake Boss has got Scary Baby wanting to bake and more importantly, wanting to decorate baked goods.

Finally, this weekend I told her we could make cupcakes so she could use her Fondaunt.

Even though I knew it wouldn’t taste good. And she insisted it would.

We whipped up a batch of lemon cupcakes. High marks for adding lemon jello to your lemon cake mix to make it more lemon-y. I’m sure lemon-y is a word. Warm cupcakes got an A+

Next we discover we don’t have enough powdered sugar to make buttercream frosting. Yeah, that’s me – the mom who doesn’t embrace projects for this very reason. We’re always missing some key ingredient or craft item and the project takes double the time which does not equal double the fun.

After a run to the store, I will admit that I made the best buttercream frosting ever. Recipe was on Pioneer Woman {where else?} and is actually what Bakerella uses with some of her beautiful creations. I did add a little less than a teaspoon of lemon flavoring to the teaspoon of vanilla flavoring which made it light and lemon-y and extra delicious. Scary Baby and PhilBillPaul agreed.

Sorry, no pictures of the frosting.

She then took over and embraced the final details of her fondant project.

Not too bad for her first try.

But I did catch her hiding the fondant in her napkin to throw away.

Ahem…doesn’t taste so good…does it?

I recommend sticking with Play-Doh. Why ruin good food?

Health & Wellness 2010

I’m committed to taking some baby steps in an effort to seriously cut down on my sugar intake this year.

And caffeine.

I quit cold turkey 6 years ago and lived through it.

But the caffeine slowly crept back into my life a few years later.

I blame living in Atlanta for this vice. Because I do love, love, love Coke. As in the classic red can Coke straight up over lots of ice.

Side note: I used to blame my caffeine addiction on my mother because she worked at Pepsi. Then I moved to Georgia where most establishments don’t take kindly if you use the “P” word.

No diet soda here because I really do believe artificial sweeteners are way worse for you than plain ‘ole sugar.

Just my opinion.

Wizzy knows this and says she’s going to give up soda too.

Then she brought this home this weekend…

I’m sorry – can you not read that banner?

Real sugar

Limited time only.

This stuff is like liquid carbonated crack.

Not that I have any idea about crack. But I do know this is good stuff.

She brought home a Mountain Dew too but I forgot to take a picture of its very cool retro label. Which I’ve heard is similar to a double dose of crack.

I think she’s going to give up soda in February.

Me too.

Holiday Food Highlights

Food

It’s standard to say food was a highlight, right?

In addition to the pre-holiday baking frenzy, I dug deep and tapped into my inner Suzy Homemaker since we were all gathered together and cooked real meals. Scary but true. I took no pictures of food since you already know how great my photography skills are.

We had our traditional holiday food which include:

• Fondue on Christmas Eve
• Sausage & egg casserole
• Cheesy potatoes twice
• Cajun Chex Mix x 6 batches (3 batches were given away)

Recipes

But I also tried a couple of new recipes mixed with some old favorites. I’m listing some of the meals here for posterity and to remind the kids that in December 2009, I DID COOK.

Potato Soup and Cheesy Beer Bread
I loved both – the girls said the bread was not their favorite.
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs with Spaghetti
The girls all loved the meatballs – they were okay to me. The Grunter doesn’t eat ground beef or pasta.
Hot Colby Ham Sandwiches*
PhilBillPaul is not a sandwich guy so it was an exciting moment when I made these for dinner and he liked them and everyone else did too. These were such a hit that I made them for again for New Year’s Eve.
Homemade lasagna with extra cheese
Per the girls request – not a food for the boys. I had one small piece and the pan was gone the next day. No recipe, I just always make it up as I go.
Cocktail Meatballs
Is there anyone left on earth who hasn’t made these – the easiest, weirdest ingredients you dump in the crockpot and they actually taste good?!
Mini Turkey Cranberry Cheese Crescent Somethings
I made these up to use the frozen leftover turkey breast from Thanksgiving. The Grunter even ate one. You can’t go wrong with crescent roll dough.
Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip
They were scrapping the pan for more and PhilBillPaul has requested it for Superbowl. I used ranch dressing and mozzarella because we don’t do bleu cheese! I used less than 1/3 C of the hot sauce and it was fine for us. We don’t like anything super hot.
Warning: Website with recipe has automatic music – a personal pet peeve

*Here is the recipe for the sandwiches that are definitely being added to our family menu and the Superbowl party…I used Sara Lee Soft Dinner Rolls ~ 12 in a pack and they made perfect small sandwiches.

Hot Colby Ham Sandwiches

1/2 C butter, melted
2 T prepared mustard
1 T dried minced onions
1 T poppy seeds
2 to 3 t sugar
15 dinner rolls (about 3-inch diameter) sliced
15 slices colby cheese
15 thin slices deli ham (about 1 pound)
2 C (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

In a small bowl, combine the butter, mustard, onion, poppy seeds and sugar. Place roll bottoms, cut side up, in an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan. Top each with colby cheese, ham and mozzarella cheese. Drizzle with half of the butter mixture.

Replace roll tops. Drizzle with remaining butter mixture. Bake, uncovered at 350º for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Yield: 15 servings.

Recipe from Quick Cooking, May/June 2004

I’m now going into hibernation for the rest of winter because I think I cooked more in one month than I did the whole year and I’m tired.

Are you fully recovered from the holidays? List of resolutions for 2010?

New Year Bargains

With the kids all home for the last few weeks, our grocery bill has increased. The darling twins really eat a lot.

I’m always looking for sales and bargains. Remember our trip to Aldi?

Hard to find a meal all six of us will eat without someone complaining. Makes cooking not so fun.

I know we have our individual food issues. Plus the *no* vegetable thing.

Imagine our excitement when we went out for Mexican food on Saturday night and found a new bargain at the grocery next door.

I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a great family dinner after we buy a couple of pounds of…

Shh, don’t tell the kids. I want to surprise them!

Sliced and smoked.

What more could you ask for?

Anyone have any good recipes for hog jowls?

Humpfreeze holiday break highlights coming later this week. What were your favorite (or not so favorite) things about your holiday?

Baking Frenzy

It was in full swing last week. Our annual baking frenzy where we make teacher gifts and various other goodies so we can contribute in our small way to the annual sugar consumption in America.

First we needed to edit Scary Baby’s list of gift giving. 27 teachers, administrators and school staff was a bit excessive since we never gave that many when the 3 big kids were in school. The kid has a heart for giving which is lovely. But hello…not happening.

This year I started with 4 batches of Cajun Chex Mix.

Followed by holiday bark inspired by Leigh Anne who featured this lemon bark. I know it is a popular holiday treat but I’ve never made it. We have so many other favorites that I never get around to this easy goodie. I made also made a two-layer peppermint which was so good!

PhilBillPaul is in charge of pretzels, fudge and sugared pee-cans.

Scary Baby helped design cute little bag toppers for 25 pretzel bags for the holiday party. That’s 25 bags before we even started on the teacher gifts.

They really didn’t say from “Scary B” on the tags.

The next day “we” got busy with the teacher and staff gifts. We got it down to a more reasonable 13 bags as opposed to her original list of 27.

Her teacher and 2 principals + school nurse got the “big” bags. Everyone else got chex mix and fudge. Remind me to tell you why the school nurse totally qualified for the mother lode…on another day.

More cute little tags with Scary Baby’s input on colors and fonts.

Mini loaves of poppy seed bread are always a big hit. It was all about easy stuff this year.

Then I broke out the sewing machine and whipped up these cute felt gift bags. Okay, that is a BIG lie. I don’t even own a sewing machine.

Scary Baby was so excited when she saw the Tar-jay wiener dog gift bag she earmarked especially for her teacher. I was excited it was one dollar.

I used to be more organized and start earlier and freeze in batches. Apparently I’m getting old and forgetful. Is Christmas on the 25th this year?

For the first time in 15 years, I did not make cookies for the teacher gift bags.

I was actually fine with that. She is at a new school and I didn’t really have any reputation to adhere to from past gift giving. It was kind of a relief. And that mini loaf of poppy seed bread takes up a good amount of room.

But we cannot have Christmas at our house without cookies.

So Saturday night I got busy and started mixing up cookie dough.

I had asked each family member what was their one favorite cookie they needed me to make.

Scary Baby – Lemon Drops
Wizzy – Chocolate Mint Cookies
Roger Leroy – Fudgie Bon Bons
The Grunter – Illinois Soft Sugar Cookies
PhilBillPaul – Berry Shortbread Dreams

I always try to add at least one new recipe each year so I finally got around to making these Chocolate Turtle Cookies that I had intentions of making last year. Roger Leroy gave them a nine and says they are keepers.

This is what I did all day Sunday. The oven was on for about 8 hours.

Just so you know, we don’t eat all the cookies ourselves. We make several platters to take to friends.

Side note: Scary Baby picked the green icing color. Also suitable for shamrock cookies at St. Patrick’s Day.

And we mail a few boxes to family and friends.

Anyone else going to the post office today? I’m scared to see how long the line is.

What are your most favorite holiday treats you must have at this time of year? Share the recipe too!

May I Take Your Order Please?

Special note: Our iLashGirls site was hacked yesterday so we had to rebuild a few things from a backup so this post disappeared for a while. If you left a comment and you don’t see it now, please leave another one! Hacking websites…add that to the list of stupid hobbies of people with too much free time.

This is how pizza ordering at the Humpfreeze house goes when all SIX Humpfreeze family members are home.

Side note: Small miracle in itself. All of us being together in the house on a SATURDAY NIGHT. Not just passing each other as someone walks out the door. Or passing each other in the driveway.

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Photo courtesy of callme_crochet

I’d like to tell you that this picture is of the hot, delicious pizza we get here in the South but that would be a lie. Pizza like that is rarely found here but this picture made me think of how much I miss the perfection of Illinois pizza…Chicago style or otherwise. My family lives near the Wisconsin border and it is that awesome Wisconsin cheese that I long for and have every time I go back to visit!

Now let’s get back to ordering pizza for dinner at our house…

I conducted this serious, formal interview with each family member to show you why I am crazy.

Dream Pizza

The Grunter
Crust: Thin
Toppings: Pepperoni
Sauce: Yes

Roger Leroy
Crust: Stuffed crust
Toppings: Extra cheese, 1/2 pepperoni
Sauce: Light

Wizzy
Crust: Regular
Toppings: 3 cheese preferably mozzarella, parmesan, ricotta
Sauce: Alfredo

Scary Baby
Crust: Stuffed crust or nothing
Toppings: Cheese and more cheese
Sauce: Barely

PhilBillPaul
Crust: Thin
Toppings: Pepperoni and sausage
Sauce: Extra

Sherra
Crust: Thin
Toppings: Light sausage, mushrooms and extra cheese
Sauce: Light

Saturday night pizza = Quality family time.

We can’t even agree on THE CRUST.

Would someone create a chart so I can order a freakin’ pizza please?

What’s your favorite dream pizza? I mean the non-compromising kind where you don’t have to share or accommodate other people’s tastes?

Flexible Friday #48 Maple vs. Vanilla

PhilBillPaul snapped this blurry picture last Friday night.

That would be Friday, November 13th.

Which means it could have been a prank.

But it wasn’t.

Don’t mean to be a scrooge but November 13th is just…

Way. Too. Early.

For Christmas decorations.

Now on to a timely holiday topic…

Food at Thanksgiving

Last weekend I made PhilBillPaul’s favorite Thanksgiving treat because he insisted I didn’t make them last year. (Not true.)

He gets a little cranky if he doesn’t have Pumpkin Bars at least a couple of times during this season.

I totally stressed him and Scary Baby by announcing I was changing the frosting. They don’t handle change well.

But I’ve been having a little bit of a maple obsession this season.

So I went wild and substituted one teaspoon of maple flavoring instead of vanilla in the cream cheese frosting.

Woo-hoo. Giant success. Maybe a permanent change. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Recipe here and was even featured here too.

Um, yes, I do believe the frosting should be almost the same height as the cake/bar base.

Imagine my excitement when I found this recipe today for…

Maple Tangerine Cranberry Sauce.

A new addition to our menu I can’t wait to make!

Have a great weekend and feel free to share any of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes (even if they don’t have maple)!

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