Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

As I write this, I'm eating a second piece of this cake. It is good. Spoiling my dinner completely, but good.

I made this cake as a sort-of going away/I'm-being-really-really-nice-to-you-because-you're-leaving-soon gift for Mark. On Saturday, he's heading over to Georgia to his parents' house, where he'll spend a couple days, then depart on an overseas mission trip as... get this... a CHAPERON. Are we really old enough to be chaperons? Yeesh.

Anyway, he'll be gone a while, which makes me sad, so I'm doing things to make us both feel better. Like baking this cake...

Anyway, kudos to Whole Foods for the Strawberry Cake recipe! I was looking for one with actual strawberries, not strawberry Jello powder. And I found one! Here we go...

You're gonna need...

2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

4 eggs

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

1 c. strawberry puree

1/2 c. milk

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then prep your pans, however you like to do 'em. Then, whisk all your dry ingredients (the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a big bowl. Like so:

Then beat all your wet ingredients together in your mixer (or a separate bowl, using a hand mixer.) Like so:

(I know, looks gross, right?)

Lucille, in action!

Then, after all that's been beaten into a frenzy, you're gonna add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and whisk THEM together. Like so:

When it's ready, it's gonna look like this:

So then you pour all that into whatever you're baking it in. I used 2 round 9" cake pans. 

And then you patiently wait while it bakes for 30-35 minutes.

An excellent while-you-wait activity? Lick the bowl!!!

And then proceed to go insane from the heavenly smells coming from your oven. I swear, this batter smells like pure BUTTER while it's baking.

And then, DING, it's done!

Isn't this pretty?

Goodness, I love to bake.

Okay, so then you've got to let those cakes cool. While I was waiting, I made cheesy zucchini frittata for lunch. It'll be another post :)

Then, once those cakes are cool, time to make the icing!!

Keep in mind: this cake was made for my husband, who loves cheese. I swear, if I'd let him, he would LIVE on cheese. So I made the icing very, very cream chees-y. If you want your icing to taste more like sugar than cream cheese, don't use this one. (Or, do, and just cut the cream cheese in half.)

Here's what I did:

Cream 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter and 2 8-oz. packets of cream cheese really really well.

Then add some vanilla. I used whatever was left in my bottle ... probably somewhere between 1 and 2 tsp. 

Cream that together.

(I love my mixer and her action shots!)

Then add confectioner's sugar - the original recipe I was using called for 2 cups, but I upped it to three so it'd be a bit sweeter.

Then mix all of THAT together, and ice and decorate your cake!!

Another helpful hint: this icing is really creamy. REALLY. It would be next-to-impossible to pipe with. So if you're loving a piped look, you probably want to go with Royal icing to do your pipe work. I personally thought the strawberries were just as good, even though I LOVE a piped cake :)

And then ... eat it!!

(Why yes, we are pigs! However could you tell?)

Happy baking, everyone!

Ina Garten's Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

I got up at 5am to make these bad boys for my co-workers (and my hubby) the other day. In my sleepy stupor, I was lucky to include all the ingredients, let alone pictures. I'll let the "official" Barefoot Contessa Photos be enough...

(source found here)

I don't claim that they're healthy or anything, but man, they sure are good. I probably ate 5 in one day.

Here's the recipe. It says it makes 16 muffins, but I managed to get 24 somehow. Anyway ... you NEED to go and make these. Right now.

Ina Garten's Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

 You'll need:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream

1/4 cup milk

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems

To make:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

They are so, so delightful. Imagine these with fresh-squeezed orange juice and some scrambled eggs ... yum yum yum!!

Orange Bran Flax Muffins!

These are about the healthiest muffins on the planet. They are so full of bran-y flax-y fiber-y goodness you won't know what to do with yourself! And they taste pretty good, too :)

You're going to need:

1 1/2 c. oat bran

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. ground flaxseed

1 c. wheat bran

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 oranges, quartered and seeded

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. canola oil

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 c. golden raisins (I left those out of my muffins, cause I'm not a fan of raisins. I wish I had some nuts to add, though.)

First, preheat the oven to 375. Line or spray your muffin tins (you're going to need 2 12-cup tins - this recipe makes 24 muffins!)

In a large bowl, combine:

oat bran,

flour,

flaxseed,

wheat bran,

baking powder, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

Then, in a blender or food processor (oh my GOSH I want a food processor), combine:

oranges,

(and I hit the pulse button a couple of times so there would be more room)

brown sugar (I ran out, so I used 1/2 c. brown sugar and 1/2 c. white sugar)

buttermilk, oil, eggs, and baking soda. 

Blend well.

Pour orange mixture into dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Stir in raisins (if you're using them. Or nuts. Or whatever else you decide would taste good.)

Then you just divide the batter into the muffin tins. 

(And I put some rolled oats on top of mine, cause I think it's pretty.)

Then you'll bake them at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes. And voila!

Such healthy little muffins ... and they'll last us FOREVER! (It will take nearly two weeks for us to eat up 24 muffins!)

And, for those who are interested, here's the nutritional info:

Per muffin:

186 calories, 4g. protein, 30 g. carbs, 8 g. fat (about 1/2 of that is alpha-linolenic acid, the super-healthy kind of fat), 1 g. saturated fat, 18 mg. cholesterol, 3 g. fiber, 140 mg. sodium, and 4 g. flaxseed.

I would sing the praises of flaxseed all the livelong day if I could. I love that stuff. My body really loves that stuff. It is very, very good for you. If you aren't eating it, you should be! (And these muffins are a great way to start.)