Monday, May 20, 2013

The Pink Cake

Hello everybody, here I am again, with my monthly post! I feel weird to not be as active blogging here but I hope to be able to "get back at it" soon! Not much is going on here, we still have ONE car only, I mentioned 1 of our cars got stolen in my last post, we don't see the possibility of buying another car anytime soon... My 2 yr. old is potty trained! It took me a day! but I shouldn't say it took "ME" I should say that with God's help and with her good attitude this was done quickly! She only had 1 real day of being trained, three days ago, after that she hasn't had any accidents EVEN AT NIGHT! It's amazing that she just "GOT IT" she even wakes up in the middle of the night and lets me know she needs to go potty! What a big girl! It's a little bittersweet I must admit, as I see her grow up so quickly makes me realize I no longer have a "baby" ... But let's not talk more about potty training, especially because we're about to start talking about CAKE!... it's time to reveal the "cake of the month" ... as you know I bake with

The Cake Slice

 Which by the way, we're now on Facebook too! LIKE us here. Well, we, The Cake Slice Bakers, have to bake 1 different cake each month, as you may or many not know, this year we're baking from the book Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson, and it's been awesome! None of the cakes has disappointed, pretty much everyone has enjoyed each of the cakes so far and that makes me very happy! For May the Cake that won the "poll" was "The Pink Cake" which is a triple layered chocolate cake with a Raspberry Buttercream... I voted for this cake, and the cakes that I vote for usually never win LOL! so I was thrilled to try this one! I must say I was tempted to change the raspberries for strawberries because I am not that big of a fan for raspberries... but I usually like to adhere to the recipe just as it is, even when it calls for ingredients I would not normally use because I see it as an opportunity to try things that might not be my favorite or that I am not so "sure" of... and sometimes I get great results (not always) but I am happy to say that I am definitely happy it worked this time!

The intense color of the raspberries gave the frosting its beautiful pink (and totally natural) color and delicious fragrance! Plus the fact that the raspberries are pureed and strained to remove the seeds "did the trick" and made them "the special ingredient" of this cake! giving it a slight tart freshness that went great with the deep chocolate flavor of the cake.


I went for something simple and decided to make 2 9" layers instead of 3 8"
 I thought this cake would be perfect to have for hubby's birthday... I know it looks a lot like a very girly cake but trust me... any man that is not afraid to have "The Pink Cake" for his birthday will really enjoy it!

I used fresh raspberries for decoration

My husband wasn't sure if he'd like it or not, he's not a fan of raspberries either and he's just happy to have "chocolate on chocolate" kind of desserts... but he trusted me and he was actually shocked by the results, when he had the first bite he actually dropped his hands on the table in actual disbelief, his jaw dropped as well and he just managed to say "this is awesome"

he enjoyed it so much!
Dear friends of ours enjoyed the cake with us, they liked it very much as well.

Our friends Venessa and Bill were happy to enjoy this cake with us!

I am so happy with this cake, it will definitely be one of those "go to" recipes, plus it's pretty simple to make.

It's great that hubby's birthday is in May because I got to have a slice for Mother's Day as well!
If you would like the recipe for this cake, I encourage you to get this book! Really do! You will not regret it! If you love good cakes this is a must have!



© Paloma K.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Better late than never - Almond Streamline Cake with Lemon Custard

Hello everybody! Yes... I am back! At least I am faithful to post something once a month! Don't you think? Everything here is going well, I am running and preparing for my first 5k which will be on Saturday, the girls are growing, hubby's work is good.... oh wait... well... his car got stolen last week... but .... that's another story! Let's focus on our blessings! :D

So... today... I am going to share with you about "April's Cake" ... as you know... I am part of The Cake Slice Bakers  (find us on Facebook here) and I should've posted about our latest cake on the 20th... so I am a little late but here I am and that's what matters...

This month... the "winner cake" was an "Almond Streamliner Cake with Lemon Custard" from the Vintage Cakes Book by Julie Richardson, it is such a great book and all the recipes have worked for me so far! I didn't vote for this cake because hubby doesn't really love "lemony desserts" so I was actually a little "bummed" when this cake was chosen... I think the same thing happened last month... LOL! But we're a team so I still joined the group and baked it... I usually try to share my cake with friends... I just invite everyone who wants some cake to come to my house for cake and coffee (an open house kind of thing) and they come, children and everything for some good conversation and a sweet treat! I hadn't done this since last year because of Holidays... but once Easter was done I knew it was time to re-start my tradition.... And like usual I had a great turn out!

I decided to also make sugar cookies, brownies and chocolate cake to share with kids... and had the greatest time with wonderful, wonderful people!

This cake calls for Almond Paste which I had never used and I am so happy to have discovered this ingredient! Some of the ladies from our group even made their own paste, I just bought it but I will make sure I make my own next time I bake something with it! (There'll be definitely a next time) ... I must say that my almond paste gave the cake a delicious fragrance and just a subtle hint of "Amaretto flavor" in the background... it was very good! Everyone seemed to enjoy it (I hope they weren't just being nice) and most of the Cake Slice Bakers have agreed this cake is a keeper... My husband (as expected) didn't like it at all... but again... that's something I knew would happen because of the lemon custard (that man only wants chocolate! LOL!)

So... here we go with some pictures (If you want the recipe for this cake visit: my friend Anne and her blog "From My Sweet Heart"





 © Paloma K.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

A delicious time of the month

Today is March 20th, and every 20th of every month I get to talk to you about the cake we, The Cake Slice bakers, made...  by the way... "The Cake Slice Bakers" now has a Facebook Page make sure you visit and like it! It will be a fun place to talk about cakes and all kinds of yummy desserts! Well... anyway... this month, the cake that was chosen was a Honey Bee Cake... and I wasn't too excited, to be honest... I am not a fan of "honey flavor" ... I do love honey... with lime... when I am sick... but for dessert? Not so much! Hubby is not a fan either... so I wasn't thrilled when this cake won the poll! Being a member of a group doesn't mean you're always going to get your way... but it means supporting the group and its decisions... and I am always up for experimenting with flavors, even those that I might not be so sure about...

Well.... I invited a friend over to my house, we were going to do a Bible Study but the people from my Bible Study ended up not being able to come, so it would be just my friend and I ... I thought it would be the best opportunity to make this cake... you know... and have a slice with good company and good conversation... I have another friend who I would've loved having over for cake and coffee, but my other friend and I are trying to lose some weight so I wouldn't put her in the way of temptation... I made my cake and it was SUPER easy and fast to make, not many steps, not many pans, it was just easy and quick....just like I like it...  and guess what? It was DELICIOUS! I chose "Pure Orange Blossoms Honey" and the delicate flavor and texture of the cake with the delicious almonds and honey glaze on top were just excellent for our "brunch" kind of time... ah! I so wish hubby had loved it as much as I did... he did have a slice and said it was good but didn't really love it... he just TRULY doesn't enjoy honey flavor... I'd say "this is the cake" ... it's from the "Vintage Cakes" book by Julie Richardson and it's in the "Everyday Cakes" section.. well... it sure is the perfect cake for "any day" at "any time" whether it's dessert or brunch... it's lovely and fragrant! and it's just excellent for a Spring Day! I am tempted to make it again for Easter, my mom and sister will be visiting with us!

I also made a brown sugar whipped cream to go with it, the recipe for the cream I took from the previous book we used in the Cake Slice Group, "The Cake Book" by Tish Boyle. and it was the perfect accompaniment.

Here are the pics of my cake:



For the recipe... well... I will just encourage you to get this book! I know! I know... Now you want it, right? Well... you truly must have it... you can get it: here, just know that I am not earning any commissions from the sales of this book, LOL! This is just an honest, personal recommendation.

If you want to see what the rest of the bakers from the Cake Slice are baking and what their cakes look like... visit:


The Cake Slice
© Paloma K.

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