Citrus Poppy Seed Cake

This is the cake that I made for Easter! It was a great springtime cake, and it's big enough to feed a crowd!

Recipe adapted from here.

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest (about two lemons)
1 1/2 tbsp poppyseeds

Frosting Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
4 1/2 tbsp orange juice
4 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp orange zest (about 2 oranges)
2 tbsp lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
8-9 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, and shortening until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat will after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract, lemon juice, lemon zest, and poppyseeds.
3. Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round baking pans. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to wire racks.
4. For frosting, cream butter in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the juices and zests. Beat until well blended. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until frosting reaches desired consistency.
5. After cake has cooled, spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with extra lemon or orange zest!

Enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge.

Lemon Pound Cake

I use this lemon pound cake for my Lemon Berry Trifle, but it's delicious on it's own! It would be perfect with just a lemon glaze!

Recipe adapted from here.

1 cup butter (at room temperature)

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups sugar

5 large eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp lemon zest (about 2 lemons)

2 tbsp lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

Preheat the oven to 325. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Place the butter in a large bowl and beat until soft. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until incorporated after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice.

Pour the batter into the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.

Lemon Berry Trifle

I made this for the wine & dessert party we had the other day, and it was a big hit! I was SO glad we had leftovers, and I may or may not have eaten some for breakfast one day... it has berries - that means it's healthy, right? :) Trifles are just perfect - such a good mesh of flavors and fairly easy to prepare. The only problem is that they look kind of weird when they're plopped onto plates. But, if you can get past that, trifles are WONDERFUL!

Recipe adapted from here.

Note: the trifle should be assembled 5-8 hours before serving for best results! The flavors will blend together during the 5-8 hours.

Berries (can be cooked up to a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator):
2 cups strawberries, stems removed (about one container)
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cornstarch

Lemon Cream:
3 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 10oz jar lemon curd (find in the baked goods aisle)

Pound Cake: 
one 9-inch round or 1 loaf lemon (or plain) pound cake [homemade or store-bought], cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
**I used my lemon pound cake recipe, but I only used about 2/3 of the 9-inch round

Combine the berries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook just until the berries begin to break down (strawberries will take the longest), about 5-7 minutes. Take the berries off the heat and let the mixture cool.

In a clean bowl, whip the cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Put the lemon curd into a second bowl and whisk in about 1/4 cup of the whipped cream mixture to loosen it up a bit. Gently fold in the rest of the cream. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately.

To assemble the trifle, spread a layer of the cream in the bottom of a large glass or trifle bowl. Add a layer of pound cake (you may have to break the pound cake into smaller slices to get them to fit nicely). Then drizzle on about 1/3 of the berry syrup. Spoon a layer of lemon cream on top of the berries and smooth to the sides. Repeat all the layers 2-3 more times, finishing with a layer of lemon cream. Garnish the top with berries and/or lemon zest. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

here's the cream whipping!

berries on the stove...

all done!

lemon curd

pound cake

top of the trifle!

ta-da!

Bailey's Dark Chocolate Cake

I made this the other day for Jeff's post-Confirmation party, and it was a big hit! Chocolately, but not too rich, and perfectly moist!

Recipe adapted from here.

1 box chocolate cake mix (I use Duncan Hines Devil's Food)
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup (8oz) sour cream (I use the light kind and it turns out okay!)
1 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
8 oz bittersweet chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli)
Chocolate glaze (optional)
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a bundt cake pan (or 2 9-inch pans, or cupcake tins) very well.

In a large mixer bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, oil, sour cream, and Bailey's. Mix on slow speed for 30 seconds, then medium-fast for 2 minutes. Don't overmix! Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes for bundt cake (or 25-35 minutes for two 9-inch cakes, or 20-25 minutes for cupcakes). Check that a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs. It's better to slightly underbake this than overbake, so err on the side of less time!


After the cake cools, decorate with chocolate glaze and powdered sugar (optional).

pre-oven...

post-oven...

ta-da!

This stuff is new, and it's amazing! You just microwave it and shake the bottle up, and then squeeze it out! The best part: if you don't use all of it, just stick the bottle in the fridge! Perfect for when you need just a little chocolate drizzle...

See? Just a little chocolate drizzle!

Dusted with powdered sugar!