Hanukkah Mother's Day!

Although it's too late for Mother's Day, here is another treat I think would be perfect for a special brunch with mom.  These are my go-to sugar cookies that are a hit - every time!  I also made these for the recent bridal shower I hosted, in keeping with the floral theme.  The bride-to-be's favorite flowers are sunflowers, so that was my inspiration for these beautiful cookies.  I just wish that I had saved a few to send to my own mom for mother's day!

Blessings-
LC

Moms are Awesome

With Mothers Day right around the corner, I thought this was the perfect treat to share.  I must admit that I made this for a bridal shower recently, and not for my mom, but I just think it is gorgeous and would be the perfect thing for a special mom this Sunday.

I made this cake taller than usual (4-layers) because there were lots of ladies at the bridal shower, and I wanted to make sure there was enough to go around.  And boy... what a treat!  The bride-to-be is lactose intolerant, so it was my first time making a dairy-free cake.  It was a success!  I wouldn't choose to bake dairy-free (a girl's gotta have her butter!), but my girl friend loved it, and that's all that mattered.  It's a lemon cake with lemon buttercream, not only a great flavor for spring, but one of the bride's favorites.

I don't know if you can really tell from the photos, but the cake kinda looked like a big hydrangea with swirls of green and blue icing - and a little edible glitter thrown on for good measure.  Next time I think I'd make the colors a little less-vivid, but it looked great with the other floral decorations we had for the bridal shower (that were actually real flowers).  All in all, I thought it was a beautiful cake and definitely something different that the guests weren't expecting!

Blessings-
LC

Chock Full 'O Chunks

With the temperatures getting warmer, I've been really excited about baking (and eating!) all kinds of fun summer-time flavors that you don't see as often during the cold and dreary winter.  One of my new favorites is white chocolate and cranberry.

So I made these white chocolate brownies and then stirred in lots and lots of white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.  It's deliciously sweet, but kinda tart from the cranberries.  They were a hit with my coworkers!

Blessings-
LC

Hoppy Easter!!!

If you couldn't tell already, I really get into holidays.  I love the traditions, the time with family and friends, and of course the fabulous food!  Although Easter is most decidedly a celebration of Jesus' resurrection, I also enjoy the other spring-time symbols associated with Easter.

So when I found these cute flower petal cupcake liners at the craft store, I just knew they'd be perfect for Easter!  And what kind of cake does the Easter Bunny eat?  Carrot cake of course!  Because carrot cake is darker, I was afraid it would bleed through the pink petal design of the wrappers.  So I went ahead and baked them in standard foil cups, and then just placed them inside the decorative ones.

This was my first time making a "birds nest" out of the cream cheese frosting (tinted brown), but I just think it's sooooo cute with the little Easter egg candies nestled in them!  I'm definitely going to keep this technique in mind for many Easters to come.

Blessings-
LC

Another Spring Treat

At long last, it's finally starting to get warmer, the flowers are starting to bloom, and you can drive with the windows down without freezing!  So in an ode to the best season of the whole year, today's delightful treat is another tart and sweet lemon treat.  (you like my rhyme?)

This lemon bread is moist and delicious.  The lemon glaze on top makes it seem a little bit more like cake, but since you bake in a loaf pan, that means it's almost as "healthy" as bread, right? : )  Either way, this is definitely worth it!

Blessings-
LC

Basic is Best

Sometimes, simple is best - especially when it comes to cake.  I don't like a lot of unnecessary fillings, toppings, and other shenanigans on my cake.  Give me some good cake, some good frosting, and I'm good to go.  These cupcakes might not be anything fancy, but they are sooooooooooooo good.  A moist vanilla cake and smooth vanilla buttercream - that's all it takes.  No need to overdue it.  Good cake doesn't need it... and that's what you've got here.  Basic is best.

Blessings-
LC

Spring is here!

And that means all my favorite spring-time flavors are in season... like this lemon cake with raspberry filling.  I recently made this for my friend Sarah's birthday, and it was the perfect way to celebrate her birthday and the beginning of spring.  Believe it or not, I had no idea that lemon was her favorite flavor - what a happy coincidence! : )  I usually do a lemon-cream cheese frosting for this cake, but I thought the raspberry filling would be a tasty way to switch things up a bit.  It was a big hit!

Blessings-
LC