Chocolate Chip Pound Cake with The Cake Slice Bakers

This month  our group  picked a simple, traditional and may I say delicious Pound Cake... I think, for me, this will be my "go to" recipe when it comes to Pound Cake. Not too dense/heavy, very delicious vanilla flavor with a beautiful crumb! We are currently baking from Great Cakes by Carole Walter and this book is loaded with recipes (although not that many pictures) and so far, the recipes from this book have worked for me. I do look forward to baking a bit more challenging cakes, I miss making puddings and frostings for our group... but I must say my "lazy side" has enjoyed the easy method of the cakes that have been picked.

You can make this pound cake in a snap! It is great to enjoy over coffee when having guests, it doesn't use any unusual ingredients and ... it's so easy to make that I actually made 2  of these within the same week. You can choose from three versions of this cake, a "nutty" one, a "spirited" one and a "chocolate chip"... which is the one I picked and ah! I am so happy I did... The chocolate chips are processed to make them smaller (in a food processor)... ehem... believe it or not... I don't own a food processor yet... so I used the blender... which gave me a bit of trouble because the recipe warns to not over-process the chips (or you'll end up with lots of powder instead of smaller chips) What I did to fix this was that I actually used a sifter to separate the bigger chips from the smaller ones. The chocolate chips, once they were processed added to this cake a delicious chocolaty creaminess in every bite and I loved that the chocolate chips didn't have the "perfect chip shape" but were rather rustic and made it look more "from scratch" I feel.

The cake batter reminded me of a Dairy Queen "Oreo Blizzard"

 So... fear not! The delicious "chocolate chips" that turned into dust were put into good use though... I used them to garnish each slice of cake! I made a classic vanilla whipped cream and dusted it with the semi-sweet "powdered" chocolate chips. It was the perfect complement for the cake.

Get this book and you'll get this and many more recipes that I am sure will give you lots of fun in the kitchen and a good time with family and friends.


© Paloma K.

First Cake - New Book! Applesauce Spice Cake

Hello everybody! Today I am excited to make some revelations...

We are now baking from a New Book at "The Cake Slice" (like us on facebook here) ... it wasn't easy to let go of the amazing book Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson but it had to be done... We choose a different book every year and then we vote on a cake each month... so... I am about to reveal our new book that we'll be using from now until October 2014... ready? - Drumroll -

We all vote each year for a different book and this one was a winner based on the reviews, etc.... When I (and some of my fellow bakers) received it ... I must say we were a bit disappointed to see that it doesn't have many pictures, the whole "look" of the book, especially the way the recipes are put together seems very old fasioned... BUT... we are not giving up on it... I think there must be a reason why this book has pleased so many people for so long and Carole Walter is definitely known for her desserts and wonderful cakes... So.. our first Cake is the "Applesauce Spice Cake" and here's my experience with it:

 

1. Making this cake was a delight, the batter was rich and fluffy, the aroma of the spices and the apples flooded my kitchen! I couldn't wait to have a taste of it!
2. The book specifies that the baking time for this cake is from 55-60 minutes. Thankfully I was in a hurry so I kept checking on the cake, which was ready at about 34 minutes (and actually looking a bit too browned)
3. I got scared it could be overbaked (nothing better to ruin a cake than overbaking it!) so I didn't want to leave it in the pan for the recommended time to cool off because I knew it would continue "cooking" with the heat IN the pan so I forced it out of the bundt pan right away which resulted on big (BIG) pieces of cake getting stuck to the pan! I wanted to ... CRY!

   

   Doesn't look as bad as it could've looked -sigh-

4. I managed to get the pieces unstuck and kind of put them back on the cake, making it look as "good as possible" it still didn't look pretty but the delicious Brown Sugar Glaze on top of it definitely helped things. 
   
5. We loved the cake! Just loved it... Especially hubby! I decided to go for cubed granny Smith apples which I think was key to add some freshness/tartness to this cake, the grated lemon rind also helped brighten the rest of the flavors.

 Want a slice?

I also want to mention real quick that we have new members in our group (and even 2 returns)! We accepted people that would join and I am so excited to see how they enjoyed this first cake! If you'd like to join us stay tuned! We'll be opening another window of opportunity in the middle of our baking year around February/March and then another one at the end (around September).

© Paloma K.

Bittersweet! - Last cake of the year

Hello everybody! It's once again time to share the "Cake of the Month". In The Cake Slice Bakers we are closing our baking year. During 2012-2013 we baked from Vintage Cakes Book by Julie Richardson and it was just a total and absolute delight. The recipes we tried were amazing and we all truly recommend this book! It is definitely a MUST HAVE.

 Because it is our last cake from the book and our last official month of our baking year we each had the opportunity and freedom to pick any cake from the book! I almost immediately knew which cake I would bake and when I asked hubby to pick a cake for me to bake I was delighted to see he picked the one I wanted to bake!

Here it is:

Watergate Cake with Impeachment Frosting
According to the author of the book this cake is from the early 70's and it is a pistachio cake with pistachio frosting.

Cake batter mixed with pistachio pudding, yes, all from scratch

I loved the beautiful golden color of the cake layers, the luscious cream was infused with pistachio pudding as well.

Caramelized pistachios for garnish

Because this cake had to stay refrigerated I couldn't garnish it to make it look prettier otherwise the caramelized pistachios would've gotten soggy and just not good to enjoy. 

Sliced and garnished!

Each slice could be garnished with the caramelized pistachios although I gave my guests the option to have them on the side instead since hubby didn't like the pistachios on the cake. My friends said they loved the caramelized pistachios AND the cake (I loved this cake!!!) but most of them preferred them separately... I am glad I offered the caramelized pistachios as an option. This cake was super moist and flavorful and the pistachio just adds a subtle flavor that is not overpowering or overwhelming, just really delicious, buttery, nutty, PERFECT!

Every ending is bittersweet... There's the sadness to end a chapter and the excitement to start another one! I can't wait to start baking from our new book! (sorry I still can't reveal the name!). I have been honored to be leading such a wonderful group of ladies at The Cake Slice (Like Us on Faceboook) and I hope we'll continue to bake for many more years together! If you'd like to join our secret group (we never reveal what we're baking until the 20th of every month) let me know... I'll be happy to share with you how you can join us (it's very simple! The main requirements are: love baking, have a blog and want to eat cake).

So... now... let me invite you to some other blogs. My friends and fellow bakers baked great and beautiful cakes too... make sure you do some blog hopping to see what they picked!

© Paloma K.

The Cake Slice - Maple Pecan Chiffon Cake

Hello everybody! Here I am, right on time to reveal the cake of the month! We, The Cake Slice Bakers, bake a different cake every month. This year we have been baking from the beautiful and awesome book "Vintage Cakes" by Julie Richardson (who, by the way, is as sweet as her cakes! she rocks!)

This month the cake that "won" with a majority of votes was a "Maple Pecan Chiffon Cake" with a Brown Butter Frosting... It was fun making this cake... and it looked beautiful when it came out of the oven... I wish I could tell you what this cake tastes like but... MY CAKE was bland and dry... and it's not the recipe's fault... I FORGOT ONE VERY IMPORTANT INGREDIENT: Brown sugar! Yes!! How could I forget? I don't know! I just know I hate myself for forgetting about it because I invested so much in this cake... time, money and hopes! LOL! ...

So... here are the pictures of my attempt... I will probably have to make it again just because I am THAT OBSESSIVE and I will have to know what it is like if I add all the ingredients the recipe calls for!

On a brighter note... it seems that hubby (and friends) didn't find it bad (wait, hubby is just telling me that the frosting grossed him out, he said it's a buttery/gelatinous disgusting thing)... and I felt the same way (and I didn't even forget any ingredient for that one)... my friends said it was a good "coffee cake" ... I am sure it would've been better with the brown sugar... Anyway... don't judge this book based on this cake... because I've loved... LOVED... the rest of the cakes from it!

Now... if you want to see the hopefully more successful cakes of the rest of the Cake Slice Bakers hop around through their blogs as they join the party with their cakes of the month!


© Paloma K.

Boston Cream Pie-Lets

Hello everybody, it's again time to reveal our "Cake of the Month" if you've read this blog before then you know that I am part of: The Cake Slice Bakers  , we are an online group of bakers, we choose a different book each year and vote on a different cake each month, then we keep the secret for the entire month until it's time (every 20th) to finally reveal what we baked... Of course you don't have to wait a whole month to "be part of the fun" we also now have a Facebook Page where we get to talk, share tips, ideas and even our most embarrassing disasters in the kitchen! So go ahead and like us there, please.

So, this year we have been baking from the book Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson and it has been a lot of fun, there are definitely many recipes that I will be making again! This month we baked "Boston Cream Pie-Lets" and it was sooo good! Hubby wasn't that impressed... He said it reminded him of just a "Chocolate Eclair Torte" I agree, it does remind you of that but... just improved! I loved it that instead of having a whole "Boston Cream Pie" this version makes individual mini cakes... served in pudding cups (I just bought smaller glasses, didn't have pudding cups, my presentation is not that great, sorry!) but the flavor is incredible... The original recipe calls for a vanilla bean... but being that 1 vanilla pod costs about 9 dollars I just used vanilla extract for the pudding which is also made from scratch!
 

When I made the cake for this "pie-lets" and I got it out of the oven (which by the way... I halved the recipe) I was enchanted by the wonderful color and aroma... I loved even the fluffy/airiness of the cake batter and the flavor was just subtle and heavenly... perfect! When I tried it I even wondered if I really wanted to "do anything else" with it!

 Interestingly I have no round cookie cutters (or anything sharp enough that was the size of the serving glasses), so I used the "glass itself" (and it wasn't pretty, did you see that?) to cut the miniature cakes for each glass... I got 4 individual desserts... I only got to try a spoonful of one... I need to watch my calories! But I soooooooooooo wanted to keep eating! Definitely a keeper recipe! Hopefully I will make it look prettier next time...

The Miniature Cakes were then sliced in half horizontally to make "bottom and top" layers of cake.

From Bottom to top: Pudding, cake, pudding, cake and then it will be covered with chocolate ganache

This time was almost an "accidental" project... I was running out of time to make my cake and then... I chose a day when I almost was in a car accident and had a ton of other things to do... But still... it's an enjoyable dessert to make... the mini cakes are adorable! Go ahead and buy this book... You will not regret it!

I heard that the amount of pudding was very abundant but I think I overestimated it and miscalculated the size of the glass

Enjoy!

Edited to Add: After one whole day in the fridge, hubby had another one and LOVED IT! He devoured it! So I guess this is one of those desserts that are better the next day... I am so happy it was that successful! :) Loved it!

  © Paloma K.

Black and White never tasted better!

Hello friends... and patient readers... patient because I don't blog often anymore but those of you who remain faithful to "The Coffee Shop" wow... THANK YOU! I appreciate it! I continue to bake and enjoy cooking... I just don't find the time to blog as much as I used to... But... here I am ... at least once a month to share about my baking experiences with "The Cake Slice Bakers"  and by the way... we are now On Facebook TOO so you can join us there to see what we're baking and learn from our own experiences as we experiment in the kitchen, we'll share our successes and our fails as well!

We are currently baking from the "Vintage Cakes" book by Julie Richardson... most cakes in this book have been a great success for all of us! We have unanimously raved about some outstanding cakes from that book, so please make sure you get it...

I must say that the "Black and White" seems to be everyone's favorite so far... We had friends over who enjoyed it with us... Hubby was just in some other "dimension" while eating it! He ate so much he gave himself a stomachache... and my friend Laurie said she "never wanted it to end" it was THAT GOOD!

This cake is formed by 2 chocolate layers of cake, the batter calls for some warm coffee, then once the cakes are baked, and cooled off, you cover the first layer with a sumptuous chocolate ganache, then add some of the AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS vanilla bean buttercream, place the other layer, spread the rest of the ganache on top and then entirely frost it with the rest of the buttercream... It was a bit tricky for me to not get the ganache and frosting mixed... the top layer was easier because I left it longer in the fridge before completely frosting, the frosting by the way was amazing, this buttercream required you to make a "meringue kind of thing" it has almost a "marshmallow" texture to it ...and then, after all those egg whites have been whipped with the melted sugar, you start adding butter and more butter... for some of our bakers this proved to be a little bit challenging.... maybe I just "got lucky" and it turned out just FANTASTIC! I am definitely keeping this recipe close by so I can make it again and again!

If you want to know exactly how this cake tasted... remember you can make it too... Get this amazing book! You will not regret it!

Now... some pictures of my cake:

A lot of stuff going on in the background, lol! Here you can see the ganache both in the middle and on the top layer

Here I am ready to completely frost it, the crumbs have been sealed with a thin layer of white frosting

 I hope you will take some time to check out our Facebook Page and our Blogroll so you can see how the rest of the Cake Slice Bakers did as they reveal their cakes!

© Paloma K.

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.

Pumpkin Walnut Cake with Caramel Whipped Cream!

So today, I get to display the cake I baked for "The Cake Slice" Group for the month of October. Since is the last cake to bake from the book for the period of 2011-2012 we decided to make it a surprise and choose whatever cake we wanted to bake from the Book .... "The Cake Book" by Tish Boyle, which we used pretty much from the month of October 2011 to this day!

It was bittersweet to say good-bye to this book... It was a great book to bake from and I don't think that any recipe disappointed! ... Most of the bakers were pleased with the results we all got each month! But we are excited to move on to what's next for us... and we've already chosen the book that we'll be using to bake from for our new year! Of course I can't reveal it just yet... but stay tuned and you'll see the (hopefully) beautiful cakes I'll present each month!

If you want to join "The Cake Slice" you're lucky... because we are open and receiving requests to join for a short period of time as we transition to our new book! just send me an e-mail at love.for.coffee@gmail.com with "New Cake Slice Member" on the topic, then just let me know you want to join and send me your info (along with your blog address) so I can help you follow the very easy process to be part of this great (and secret) group!

Now... The Cake that I chose for this month:

Pumpkin Walnut Cake with Caramel Whipped Cream

It was easy and delicious! The amount of spices was just so balanced that it was a very delicate, moist and aromatic cake! Just perfect for fall!

The whipped cream with a mixture of caramel and mascarpone cheese in it took it to a whole new level! I had just a small piece of it (I am really watching it!) but I had friends over who enjoyed it with a cup of coffee and everybody agreed it was delicious!

The caramel was really easy to make! and it added a special touch!

You can also eat it on its own! (the squares are from the cooling rack)

Enjoy!

And if you'd like to make this cake... Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Walnut Cake
from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups cake flour  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 large eggs 
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar 
• 3/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup safflower or other neutral vegetable oil 
• 1 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. Position rack in middle of oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9" square baking pan.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs with both sugars at medium speed until pale, about 2 minutes. Add the oil, pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla extract and mix until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and stir in the walnuts. Pour the batter into the greased pan and smooth the top.
4. Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.
5. To serve, cut the cake into squares, and top each with a large dollop of caramel cream.

Caramel Cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 heavy cream, divided
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a small heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and stop stirring. Occasionally brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush (I confess: I never do this when making caramel and it seems to turn out ok). Cook without stirring until the syrup turns a golden amber color, about 4 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Be careful because the mixture will bubble up. Pour the caramel into a heatproof glass measuring cup and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the caramel until chilled, about 2 hours.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the remaining 3/4 cup cream with the mascarpone cheese and vanilla at medium speed until blended. Add the chilled caramel and beat at high speed until the mixture forms soft peaks. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to eight hours.

© Paloma K.

Coffee Friday - Link UP!

Today... To enjoy our coffee I am serving  a NY Style Crumb Cake! It is such a delicious, delicious Cake! And very easy to make... You can't go wrong with this one! Trust me! I hope you try it! Plus... it is delicious with a cup of coffee! And talking about coffee... don't forget to link up at the end of this post.

Next week we'll have a featured blogger on our Coffee Friday! Add this party to your calendar so you can join us each week! And if possible... spread the word!

NY Style Crumb Cake

(Adapted Original Recipe from Martha Stewart Living Magazine)

Ingredients

• For the crumb topping:
• 3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Coarse salt
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• For the cake:
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Coarse salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 cup store-bought blueberry jam (optional) - I do not use it.
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Make the crumb topping: 

1. Mix together flour, sugars, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Pour warm melted butter over mixture, and mix using your hands until medium to large clumps form.

 Make the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2.  Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Continue to beat until well combined.
4. Spoon batter into pan, and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Spread with jam, if using. Sprinkle crumb-topping mixture evenly over top.
5. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer pan to a wire rack. Let cake cool slightly, about 15 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

© Paloma K.

Yummy Buttercream Fondant Recipe

 So I just want to share really quick the recipe that I used to make the fondant on my girl's birthday cake. It wasn't that easy to handle (for me) but again, remember, it was my first time making and handling fondant ever! What I think makes this recipe totally worth it is the flavor, everyone ate the whole thing! You usually see people "avoiding" the fondant, because it's gummy or it has a weird fake taste, that's not the case with this recipe.... And Before the recipe just remember that tomorrow we'll have a great featured blogger! You can't miss it... and you can also link up to our "Coffee Party" just by adding (mentioning) "coffee" in any of your posts this week and linking back to us! (our Coffee Friday Button is on the right sidebar if you want to use it) So here goes the successful, delicious fondant recipe:

Buttercream Fondant Recipe
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com)
Yield: Makes 3 pounds of fondant dough, I used it on two round 9 inch single layered cakes and I had about 1/2 the amount of dough left over.

 Ingredients

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup shortening  (many reviewers used less, I am going to try 1/2 cup next time I make it)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla or almond extract (depending on the flavor of your cake and your taste)
• 2 pounds confectioners' sugar (sifted)
• food coloring (I used gel)
• (Regular frosting to frost your cake before using the fondant, just a thin layer)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the shortening and corn syrup. Mix in the salt and vanilla flavoring, then gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar until it is a stiff dough. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment. Otherwise, knead by hand. 
2. Divide your dough into balls if you are using different colors, add your food coloring to each,  and knead separately until the color is mixed evenly. If the dough is sticky, knead in more confectioners' sugar until it is smooth. Wrap each colored ball of dough with Saran Wrap and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 30 mins. before rolling out.(or you can make it a couple days ahead of time and it will keep well in the fridge)
3. To use, roll out on a clean surface that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar until it is 1/8 inch thick or thinner if you can. (you can also use parchment paper and roll it out, many found it easier to transfer the fondant to the cake that way)
4. Drape over frosted and chilled cakes and smooth the sides down, or cut into strips to make bows and other decorations.(I used a flower shaped cookie cutter to make the flowers for the design of my cake)

Enjoy!


© Paloma K.

First Fondant Cakes ever for my birthday girl!

Hello friends! I had an amazingly busy couple days... Sorry if you've sent me e-mails or comments and I haven't responded yet... I am sooo behind with everything (blogging wise) but I am very proud to say my oldest girl (now 4) had an amazing Birthday! ... I opened a fb invitation for all my friends in the area who wanted to stop by to have a slice of cake with us (yesterday) and wish her a happy Birthday... well... It was total success! I am so blessed to have found such an amazingly loving church family and friends here! We are overwhelmed with such amount of love and affect we've received! My girl had an amazing day and my cakes turned out really great! I was afraid to work with fondant (ehem... I still am!!) but I wanted to make her cakes extra special! So I made two cakes on Monday (taking advantage hubby was off from work) and the hard part... the fondant... in the end was totally worth it! A friend even commented it was better than "The Cake Boss" cake and fondant she had in his bakery! So... wow! I'd say I did pretty good! and my girl loved the fact that her mommy made her pretty cakes!  We had people start showing up a little before 10 a.m. and the last person left after 7 p.m.! we had snacks, cake, coffee, great conversation, so much fun, even some rice and salad for some (lunch time) and a great time in the pool in the evening with those that were here after 5 p.m.!

Before I share the pictures I just want to remind you we have our Coffee Friday! And we will have a special featured blogger that... if your mom ever told you to not lick the plate where you eat... well... she'll have to forgive you because you'll lick the bowl with her recipes!

So... tune in! Don't forget to add some coffee to link up with us! I try to tweet and pin all those links who join on Friday! Plus I choose a post or two to feature each week (which I will do tomorrow with those who linked on Friday) ...

Now... My birthday's girl and my first cakes ever using fondant!

Ta-da!

Happy girl!

First round! Singing Happy Birthday!

Many friends!

Just with mommy!

Second round! Evening cake! Blowing candles again!

Happy Friends!

Let's swim!

So... you can see it was great... I will now just leave you with my "Coffee Friday Party" Button ... grab it to link back with us and spread the word!

<center> <a href="http://www.love4coffee.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Coffee Shop" src="http://goo.gl/XfoA6"></a></center>

© Paloma K.

I'm Baking Friends! Yes, with a B!

Hello friends! I usually post a HAPPY Monday Post on Mondays... but...  It's already that time of the month when I post about my experiences baking a cake for the great baking club I belong to: "The Cake Slice" (don't worry... it's a Happy post anyway)

This year we have been baking from a FANTASTIC book: The Cake Book by Tish Boyle, we've been enjoying month after month great, luscious cakes and desserts that have been voted by the members of this special baking club.

This month the selected cake was "Ultimate Lemon Roll"... I am not posting the recipe this time but you can find it here

Today I just want to mention that I am enjoying so much this whole baking a cake a month because I am actually "baking friends" LOL! ... I've used my passion for baking as a great opportunity to meet other people, this month I just made the cake and posted an open invitation on fb to all my friends for whoever wanted to join and eat some of the lemon roll! I've done that previously ... I had some friends show up and some others that requested a slice... it was a lot of fun! I just moved here a year ago (from Wisconsin to Texas) and it's about a year ago that I joined the Cake Slice Bakers club, so it's all worked out perfect and now I have made great friends that have just gotten closer through my baking! I enjoy cooking/baking a lot... but mostly because it brings people together! Everybody enjoyed this cake... although I must say that I did get some "it's too lemony" comments, so if you are not a "lemon lover" this might not be for you.

Now... some pictures of the making of the cake and the enjoying it too!

The lemon curd / Chilling in an iced water bath

The sheet cake before going into the oven

Cake right out of the oven

Rolled up, cooling off

I had some issues when filling it up, and the cake cracked a little but I still think it looks great

Some of the sweet friends who enjoyed this dessert (and my almost 4 yo)

I also baked some M&M cookies, my girl of course had to pose.

 So... I think inviting people out of the blue... and or having something sweet always at home for those who want to stop by is one of many great friends to get to know people.. what do you do to make friends? Sometimes when we feel lonely we isolate ourselves even more... but.. if we want friends we can find ways to meet people and/or get to know them better... who knows... maybe they are waiting for you to give the first step.

 © Paloma K.