I have been making this cake for several years. I’ve always made it with “common” limes and it has always been delicious. This past weekend, I picked up my “Bountiful Basket” and was pleased to find 15 or so key limes. Well, there was something magical in those tart little limes. The cake was sweeter, yet more tart at the same time…like all the flavors were intensified. The cyclist commented, “I remember eating this cake before, I just don’t remember it being SO GOOD!”
Key Lime Pound Cake with Raspberry Sauce
recipe adapted from Williams Sonoma
- 3 1/4 cup cake flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 18 T unsalted butter
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 T fresh key lime juice (I used about 15 limes total for the juice and zest…that should cover the glaze too)
- 2 tsp lime zest
Have all of the ingredients at room temperature before you begin. I left my butter, cream cheese, and eggs out on the counter over night. Position rack on lower third of oven. Preheat to 325 degrees F. Thoroughly grease and flour a 10 cup Bundt pan. Sift together flour, soda and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, with flat beater, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy and smooth-30 to 40 seconds. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl until light and fluffy-about 5 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla and lime juice. Reduce the speed to low and fold in the dry ingredients in three additions, blending each addition until just incorporated and stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the bowl. Using rubber spatula, fold in the lime zest. Spoon batter into pan, making sides about one inch higher than center. Bake until golden and tester comes out clean-about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and glaze.
Glaze (one of the best things about the cake…)
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
Whisk together and generously brush surface of warm cake with glaze. Let cool completely before serving. Drizzle with raspberry sauce.
Raspberry Sauce
- 1 pint fresh or 12 oz frozen (thawed) raspberries
- 3 T granulated sugar
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Puree in blender. Press through fine sieve to remove seeds.
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The cyclist and I just spent a week, playing in the sun, with 40 of our favorite people. Yep, 40. Go ahead and count.
Going anywhere with our six blonde daughters brings a lot of attention (open mouthed stares). Throw in another few dozen people and we were a traveling circus.
White Wonders have forever been my favorite sugar cookies. They are sweet and soft and the cream cheese frosting makes them perfect. It’s hard to eat just one. But since I have four months until I need to squeeze my body into a bathing suit again…
White Wonders
recipe from my Kathy
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 1/2 cups flour
Cream together sugar, shortening, sour cream, and egg. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Roll into balls and bake at 425 degrees F on a lightly greased baking sheet for 5 to 7 minutes. They will be WHITE when done.
Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- milk to desired consistency
Blend until smooth and firm enough to frost cookies.
It was so hard to leave paradise and return to 30 degree weather. These cookies are easing the pain today.
Since I was a little kid, I have always favored orange candies. When my girls open a pack of treats, they know to give me the orange skittles, runts, sour patch kids, gummi bears, what have you…. Orange has just always been my favorite. I’ll never forget the Christmas when my sweet husband filled my stocking with gummy orange slices, chocolate orange sticks, and only orange starbursts (picked out of several whole bags I’m sure). I think it’s my favorite flavor because orange always tastes like orange. Plain and simple.
Well, these cookies have plenty of orange flavoring. The best kind…from about 5 real oranges.
Orange Cookies
from Peacocks on my Porch
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup orange juice (just squeeze a couple that you zest)
- 3 T orange zest
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add sour cream and eggs; beat well. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, orange juice, and orange zest. Blend well. Drop by spoon on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown (they are better a little underdone than overdone). Frost while warm (I frost them right out of the oven, still on the pans, so the frosting melts and turns into a glaze.)
Orange Frosting
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 T orange zest
- 2-3 T orange juice
Combine and frost warm cookies.
How about you? What’s your favorite “flavor”. And what is the best orange candy you’ve ever eaten? Here’s mine.
You need a dessert…and you need it in under 30 minutes…and you don’t want to head to the store for any fancy ingredients…oh, and can it please include chocolate?
Ever find yourself in that sort of pickle? Well, here’s your recipe. Serve these yummy bars warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or let cool and enjoy them with a glass of cold milk. They travel well, so bookmark these for your next picnic. (How long until picnic weather?)
Chocolate Chip Swirl Bars
recipe adapted from my friendly neighborhood cookbook
- 1/2 cup butter, softened (microwaves vary, but if I put a refrigerated stick of butter in mine for 30 seconds at 50% power…good to go)
- 6 T granulated sugar
- 6 T brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup plus 2 T flour
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a hand mixer, mix butter, both sugars, and vanilla. Add egg. In a small bowl, combine soda, salt and flour. Add to creamed mixture. Spread into greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. (The batter is thick and might need some coaxing. I just use my clean hands to get it in all the corners.) Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for three minutes. Remove from oven and marbleize chocolate by lightly running a knife tip back and forth. Bake an additional 9 minutes. Cool and cut.
We eat our fair share of cookies around here. But you know what else we eat a lot of? Lean meats (poultry and fish), whole grains, fresh veggies…
See, when I want a dessert, I want to know I’m eating dessert. So as a trade off, 99% of our meals are very healthful. We’ve been enjoying these “un-fried french fries” for years. So when I came across this recipe for an “un-fried onion ring”…I had to try it.
Oh my! These are absolutely delicious. Everything you could expect from an onion ring. Crispy coating, sweet onion inside. Perfect alongside your favorite (veggie) burger.
Baked Onion Rings
adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food
- 3 cups cornflakes
- 1 cup plain dried breadcrumbs (I prefer Panko breadcrumbs. Crispier crunch…)
- 2 large egg
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, quartered crosswise and broken into rings (discard small center rings)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (I’m still not calling them fried)
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl (this crumb mixture gets pretty clumpy pretty quick. My recommendation is to use 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture at a time. Refill your bowl as you go). In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.
- Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet. (I love how they sizzle). Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt.
Try these. You will not be disappointed!
My second daughter inherited many wonderful traits from her paternal grandmother. Looks, intelligence, an uncanny ability to memorize. It seemed fitting to me that this recipe (one of my mother-in-laws signatures) became my nine year old’s signature recipe over the holidays. ”Number 2″ (see below) made no less than a dozen of these simple cakes to share with friends, family and neighbors.
She made it so often, she no longer needs the recipe.
Almond Cake
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 2 eggs
- slivered almonds
Mix sugar, flour, butter, almond extract, and eggs on high for 3 minutes. Pour into greased pie pan. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
It’s amazing that such a humble looking cake could taste so good.
It seems that the Cyclist and I are running a little late this Christmas season. The cards got mailed today, homemade gifts are still in various stages of completion on the craft room table. Neighbor gifts are going out, a few here, a few there.
These two have thrown a wrench in my life. (Albeit the best kind of wrench).
This pasta dish is the perfect meal during a busy season. It’s delicious and filling, and it takes literally just minutes to make (prepare the pesto while the water comes to a boil…I’m thinking on the table in 20 minutes tops.) And it’s one of the Cyclist’s favorite leftovers.
While it’s simple to put together, it’s good enough to serve to company.
From Quick from Scratch Pasta
Serves 4
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/3 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley with thick stems removed
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 3 T grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 lb fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
- 1 T butter
In a food processor or blender, pulse the walnuts, parsley, garlic, Parmesan, salt and pepper to a coarse puree. While the processor is running, slowly stream in the olive oil until it reaches your desired consistency. (The recipe originally calls for 1/2 cup…I generally use a little more than 1/4 cup).
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the tortellini until just done (read the package directions). Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the tortellini.
In a large bowl, toss the pasta with 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, the walnut pesto, and the butter. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the pasta water. Sprinkle with the additional Parmesan and pass more at the table.
Every December, we embark on a progressive dinner. Appetizers at my sister’s house, salad at my brother’s, main course at my parent’s, then to our home for dessert. My nine-year-old found this scrumptious holiday cake as she was thumbing through my calendar
.
There’s just something inherently festive about eating warm gingerbread at Christmas.
Serves 9
Lemon Sauce (can make ahead)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 T cornstarch
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 T fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 T butter
- dash of nutmeg
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in boiling water. Cook and stir over medium heat until clear and thick. Blend in lemon juice, zest, butter and nutmeg. Cover. Refrigerate if not serving it right away.
Gingerbread Cake
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 T molasses
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 4 1/2 T melted butter
- 1 egg
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Stir together sugar, molasses, cinnamon, salt, cloves, ginger and butter. Beat in egg. Sift flour and soda together and add alternately with the buttermilk. Butter an 8-inch square pan. Pour bater into pan and bake for 35 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 T sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Just before serving in a CHILLED BOWL, using COLD BEATERS, whip cream with sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.
To serve, spoon lemon sauce onto dessert plates, set a square of warm cake in it and top with a dollop of whipped cream.
This hot, spiced cider has been a holiday tradition in my family since I was a child. I love the way it makes my kitchen smell. I love warming my hands with a hot mug.
It tastes like Christmas to me.
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 cups water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 8 whole allspice
- 10 whole cloves
- 3 cups orange juice
- 2 cups lemon juice
- 1 gallon apple cider
Combine sugar and water. Boil for five minutes. Add cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Simmer ten minutes more. Add orange and lemon juice. Simmer 10 minutes. Add cider. Simmer and serve.
These are such a cute addition to a holiday dessert spread. I love something that you can hold in your hand, and eat in a bite or two.
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
Tassies:
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup cold butter
- 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
- 2 T cold water
- mint candies for topping (I used junior mints)
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar and cocoa powder. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. In a small bowl, combine egg yolk and water. Gradually stir egg yolk mixture into flour mixture. Gently knead dough just until a ball forms. If necessary, cover dough with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until dough is easy to handle. (I was able to use it directly after kneading).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Divide dough into 36 pieces. Press dough pieces onto bottoms and up sides of mini muffin cups. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until shells are firm. Cool in muffin cups for 10 minutes. Remove from muffin cups and cool completely.
Peppermint Filling:
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 7 oz. marshmallow creme
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 T + milk
In large mixing bowl, combine butter, marshmallow creme, and peppermint. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Beat in 1 T milk. Gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar. Add enough milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches piping consistency.
Using a piping bag fitted with a star tip, pipe filling into cocoa shells. Top with a mint candy.
PS For the past few weeks, I’ve been posting a sweet treat to serve for Monday night/family night. If you want to make the treats along with us on Mondays, follow me on facebook and you’ll get an ingredient list the Friday before!
