Cake - It's Always a Good Thing.

Good Day Blog Readers!

I'm a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due.  I borrow SO many recipes and ideas from others.  The beauty of the internet is that we have access to so much information.  I like to take FULL advantage of the situation.  I follow other food bloggers.  I read so many cook books.  I faithfully watch The Food Network.  I also purchase seasonal cooking and baking magazines by the boatloads.  This week, I am giving major props to one of my biggest sources of inspiration and my favorite baking blogger......Sweetapolita.  Rosie is AH-Mazing.  Her cakes inspire me to no end.  The best part....her cakes are do-able.  I've tried five of her layer cakes, all levels of difficulty, and mine have turned out beautifully.  I can relate to her posts (which include beautiful photos taken by her).  She's a mom that loves to bake.  She gave up a lucrative career to do what she loves and it has taken off for her.  I have never met Rosie, but I follow her facebook page and her website faithfully and I can say with ease that she is one of my idols.  Right up there with Martha Stewart and Ina Garten. 

Other than Rosie/Sweetapolita, the stars of today's blog are two of her cakes.  One is the vanilla cream double chocolate cake and the other is her triple lemon blueberry cake.  The first is an exercise in sheer decadence.  The other is a celebration of pure springtime.  Both of these cakes do have multiple steps in their creation, but every step is necessary and worth it in the end.

First up is the vanilla cream double chocolate cake.  When I saw this cake on Rosie's site (http://sweetapolita.com/) I knew that is was meant for my husband.  He is a true lover of dark chocolate.  He eats some every single day.  So, for his birthday he received this wonderful creation.  I've attached the link to Rosie's site as well as photos of the our end product (as always taken by my husband PRIOR to consuming the cake).

http://sweetapolita.com/2013/02/vanilla-cream-filled-double-chocolate-cake-for-two/

Do you SEE how decadent this cake is??  The husband took the cake into work the day after I made it and it was gone in minutes.  If chocolate is YOUR thing, this would definitely be your cake.  It is a tall layer cake, but I made it with 6 inch pans (Rosie used 5 inch pans).  A little goes a long way when eating.  Make sure you have a tall glass of milk nearby as well.

The second cake is the triple lemon blueberry cake.  Now...THIS was MY kind of cake.  I love lemon.  Absolutely LOVE it.  I came across this recipe when perusing her website.  I have a very good friend that loves lemon as well.  Her request was that I make her something layered and lemony for her birthday this coming June. I found Rosie's recipe and thought it would be perfect.  In between the layers of lemon blueberry cake is homemade lemon curd.  Talk about heavenly.  I could drink the lemon curd...it is that delectable.   I made the lemon curd the day before (Rosie also includes the recipe for her favorite citrus curd).  Once the components of the cake were made, assembling was a snap.  As you'll see in the photos below, when you cut into this cake, the lemon curd oozes out.  Make sure you sop up every last bit of that curd and spread it on your pieces of cake!  It would be a total waste not to do so. 

http://sweetapolita.com/2011/02/triple-lemon-blueberry-layer-cake/

Does it get any better than this?  I think not!  If blueberries are not your thing, swap them out for raspberries or blackberries.  Both would be wonderful.  I personally think this cake would be wonderful as an Easter dessert.  It is truly Springtime to the palate. 

To Rosie - Sweetapolita:  You are an inspiration to me every day.  Thank you for sharing your skills and insight with us.  I hope that you continue to do so.

To my readers - THANK YOU!  Thank you for allowing me to share my love of baking and cooking with all of you.  You are all an inspiration to me as well.  As a relative newbie to this scene, I appreciate the support I've received from each and every one of you.  I hope you continue to follow me on my journey. 

Have a great day!  May you all have wonderful Adventures in the Kitchen!

Chili and Cornbread - A Perfect Pair

Hello Friends.  Warm welcomes to Norway, New Zealand, Azerbaijan and Taiwan.  I am excited to have our new readers on board.

Well, today it's about my husband.  Not only is he a fabulous photographer, but he also contributes in other ways to the blog on occasion.  He's handy with cookie decorating as well as one heck of a cook.  This week's blog entry covers his very yummy chili recipe.  Winters in Michigan can be filled with extremes.  Last year we had an unseasonably warm Winter with very little snowfall.  This year has proven to be the exact opposite.  We've had some frigid temperatures and TONS of snow.  Though, looking out the window today you'd never know it.  46 degrees and rainy (which means all of that snow has completely melted).  The day that the husband made his amazing chili it was a cold and blustery day and chili was a must on the menu.  As you'll see in the recipe below there are tons of ingredients (mostly spices - a pic of which is now a part of my blog header), however, this recipe is very flexible.  For example, this time around we used ground chuck and ground venison.  It was absolutely superb.  The husband also reduced some of the "hotter" spices so that our son could enjoy it as well.  This is a great Saturday or Sunday dinner dish.  Once you've thrown all of the ingredients into your pot, you let it go for hours, stirring occasionally.  As always, chili is even better on day two. 

Accompanying the chili was a jalapeno cheddar cornbread (my contribution to this lovely meal).  I have always wanted to make homemade cornbread but had never tried.  I came across this recipe on Pinterest and had to give it a whirl.  You will need a cast iron skillet (preferably seasoned) for this recipe.  Here is a pic of the meal as well as the recipe for the chili:

Jeff’s Chili

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef chuck/turkey/venison

1 lb bulk Italian sausage

3- 15 oz cans mild chili beans, w/sauce

1-15 oz can medium chili beans, w/sauce

2-28 oz cans diced tomatoes, w/juice

1-6oz can tomato paste

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 green chile peppers, seeded and chopped

5 slices of smoked bacon, chopped

1 can of beer

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ c chili powder

¼ c ancho chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp ground cumin

4 cubes beef bouillon

1 Tbsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 Tbsp white sugar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

Toppers:

Hot pepper sauce; corn chips; shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese; sour cream

Directions:

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Start cooking the bacon, rendering some of the fat.

Add onion and celery, until onion begins to soften.

Place all meat into the mixture and cook until browned; drain excess grease.

Add remaining ingredients and stir to blend; Cover and simmer on low heat for at least two hours, stirring occasionally.  Add additional salt, pepper and/or chili powder as needed.  The longer this dish cooks, the better it tastes.

Here is the link to the jalapeno cheddar cornbread.  As you can see, it can be made as muffins or in a skillet.  We chose to make it in the skillet:

 http://addapinch.com/cooking/2012/10/28/cheddar-jalapeno-cornbread-muffins-recipe/

That's it for today.  I hope to have another post later this week.  Back to a few desserts and the wonderful mac and cheese recipe that my husband has mastered.  Have a great day! Please remember, if there is anything you'd like to see in this blog, please post and I'll see what I can do.  May you all have many Happy Adventures in the Kitchen!