For the Love of Strawberries Cake Recipe

This cake is bursting with Strawberries and flavor! I love Strawberries and for Easter lunch this year I made this from scratch Strawberry cake with Strawberry Frosting. This cake is so packed with Strawberries that I thought the perfect name has to be "For the love of Strawberries Cake". Anybody who loves fresh strawberries needs to make this cake. This cake turned out so good that it is now a staple for me to make at least once every Spring. I hope you have a wonderful Monday and I will be back here all week!

For the love of Strawberries Cake:

Ingredients:

Approx. 8 oz strawberries, either fresh or frozen

1/4 cup milk, at room temperature

4 eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cup cake flour

1 3/4 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temp

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese

½ cup butter, room temp

3½ cup confectioners' sugar

¾ cup fresh strawberries, mashed or chopped fine

 

Directions:

1. Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and process until completely smooth.  Measure ¾ cups of strawberry puree and return to the blender

2. Add egg, vanilla, and milk to the blender and mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy and set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter.

4.  Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.

5. Add strawberry mixture and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute.

6. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl, mix for 30 seconds more.

7. Divide the batter evenly among the pans or cupcake tins.

8. Bake for about 25 minutes for layer cakes or 18 minutes for cupcakes.

9. Let cakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks.

10. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
11. Mix 1 1/2 stick butter and cream cheese together until smooth.

12. Mix in the rest of the butter and the confectioner's sugar.

13. Lastly mix in the strawberries until it is smooth and tasty.

14. Frost your cake and top it with any extra strawberries you have left over.

 

See you tomorrow with a tasty recipe to help celebrate Cinco De Mayo!

 

 

Lots of Love,  Natalie

Weekly Favorites

 

Lots of Love, Natalie

 

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

Today we have the Snowflake Sugar Cookies to finish up my five different sweet treats for this Christmas holiday. Decorating sugar cookies always takes me back to being a little girl in my grandmother's kitchen on Christmas eve. I remember my bothers and I making a mess while making our very colorful sugar cookies for Santa. I just feel that it is really not Christmas unless there are some cutout sugar cookies. The recipe I used to make these was one that I found here on FoodNetwork.com. I know usually sugar cookies are topped with royal icing but I decided to make a homemade vanilla buttercream for these. Well I hope you enjoy making and decorating these cookies for Christmas!

Vanilla Buttercream Icing:

 

Ingredients:

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup butter (softened)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

 

Directions:

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together the sugar and softened butter.

Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more.

Adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Decorate and enjoy!

 

Lots of Love,  Natalie

 

Tousled Toffee

I usually do not post of the weekends but with Christmas approaching I decided I would take advantage of any extra days I can get. To keep the trend of my five different sweet treats for this Christmas here is the fourth recipe. This was one that I had never made before and it turned out a little messy and imperfect so I have decided that "Tousled Toffee" was an appropriate name for it. Even though it is disheveled it still taste amazing. I will let you know ahead of time you will want some milk to help wash it down because the toffee and milk chocolate make this treat very rich. I hope you enjoy how easy and tasty it is!

Tousled Toffee:

 

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

40 saltine crackers (I used as many as would fit on my baking sheet)

aluminum foil

non-stick cooking spray

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking (cookie) sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray

Lay a flat layer of crackers out on the foil.

Melt the sugar and butter until it boils, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. 

Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the toffee becomes bubbly.

After removing the pan from the oven, let it sit for 3-5 minutes.

Sprinkle on the chocolate chips, let them soften and melt, then spread them into an even layer.

Let cool, then break into pieces the size of your choice.

 

 

P.S. Remember to stay tuned for the last recipe and Stocking Stuffer Ideas tomorrow!

 

 

Lots of Love,  Natalie

 

Lemon Kris Crinkle Cookies

For the holidays I decided to make a variety of different sweet treats to take to Starkville Physical Therapy as a little Christmas present and thank you for letting my do my internship there. At first I wasn't sure what all I would make, but then I stumbled upon a recipe for Lemon Crinkle Cookies. I knew right when I saw the name that I was going to make these! These cookies might be my new favorite because they are the perfect mix of sweet and tart. I would recommend this recipe to anyone who wants to make a refreshing but still scrumptious cookie!

 

Lemon Kris Crinkle Cookies:

*makes 2-3 dozen

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cups butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 whole egg

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cups powdered sugar

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice.

Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar.

Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar.

Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte (not shiny or melted)

Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

 

Be sure to keep checking in because there will be at least four more delicious recipes to come!

 

 

Lots of Love,  Natalie

 

 

Thanksgiving Dreams

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches it makes me realize that I need to go ahead and get all the ingredients for the dishes I plan to make. I love looking at Pinterest and Instagram and seeing all the different holiday images so I decided to share a few of my favorites with you!

 

 

 

Lots of Love,  Natalie