Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries

I love to bake! I  love to try new recipes.  I love tres leches cake! Ta-Da! WINNER!!! YUM! It is a little time consuming and takes a little pot watching but well worth it! I found this recipe in a favorite magazine and it was a definite keeper!



~Recipe~

1. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 2 teaspoons baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 3 large eggs, at room temperature
5. 1 cup sugar
6. 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
7. 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
8. 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
9. One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
10. 1 medium cinnamon stick
11. 2 whole cloves
12. One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
13. 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Topping~1 pint strawberries, thinly sliced
2. 1/4 cup sugar
3. Sweetened whipped cream and thinly sliced mint leaves
4. Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the eggs with the sugar and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla at medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Add half of the flour mixture and mix at low speed until just incorporated. Gradually add the whole milk, then mix in the remaining flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, or until the center of the cake springs back to the touch. Transfer the baking dish to a rack and let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, whisk the cream with the evaporated milk, cinnamon stick and cloves and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and let steep for 10 minutes. In a heatproof bowl, combine the condensed milk with the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla and the ground cinnamon. Strain the steeped cream mixture into the condensed milk and stir to combine. Let cool for 20 minutes. Using a fork, poke holes all over the cooled cake. Gradually pour the milk mixture over the entire cake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. PREPARE THE TOPPINGS: In a bowl, gently toss the strawberries with the sugar. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Cut the cake and serve with the strawberries, whipped cream and mint. Enjoy!

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Bacon and Cheese Muffins

Tony LOVES bacon.  When I find a new recipe that uses bacon in a new way I always jump on it and make it as soon as I can. He has been traveling so much the last 4 months that he is usually leaving on Sunday. This week he left on Monday so I got to make these breakfast muffins for him! I got the recipe here, a favorite site I check in on about 1 time a week. I served these muffins with scrambled eggs and blackberries with cream.  It was a great breakfast!

~Recipe~
2 - cups all purpose flour
2 - teaspoons baking powder
1/4 - teaspoon salt
1/4 - teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 - cup milk
1/4 - cup butter or margarine, melted and cooled
1 - egg
1/2 lb - bacon, diced, cooked and degreased
3/4 - cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together the milk, melted butter or margarine and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fold in the bacon and cheese just until combined. Scoop into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Enjoy~

Yummy Lemon Bars

It is Spring! I love Spring, the colors, the scents and the flavors.  Actually, I love lemon all year round, but I make lemon bars more in the spring and summer....so today I made them for the 1st time! I made enough for a neighbor, too! Happy Baking!

~Recipe~
1 cup butter
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Cream together and press into  a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
6 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Beat eggs until frothy.  Add sugar, baking powder and lemon juice.  Mix until smooth.  Pour egg mixture over the crust and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Cook and dust with powdered sugar.  Enjoy~

Peanut Butter, Honey and Banana Cookies

YUM! I love honey.  I am not a fan of peanut butter...but the glaze on these cookies is to die for! I could eat a bowl of it. I didn't.  I could. I will make these a lot more!

~Recipe~
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sat
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp butter at room temp
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter, smooth
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 banana, mashes
2 cups old fashioned oats
*Glaze*YUM
3 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
1/2 powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk(or more is needed)
1 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon.  Set aside.  Combine the butter and both sugars and mix well until smooth, add peanut butter, honey, vanilla and egg.  Beat until smooth.  Add banana and mix well.  Add flour slowly until just combined, then add oats.  Drop by spoonful 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes.  Cool on wire rack and whisk together the ingredients for the glaze and drizzle over cookies. Don't taste the glaze until the cookies are all glazed....I am serious! :) Enjoy~

Butter Cake with Butter Sauce

Yep....butter and more butter....not so calorie friendly, but Hey! if you add fruit to the top then that helps...right? RIGHT?!?! I love this cake.  Enough said. It is a definite keeper. YUM!

~Recipe~
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup real butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
*sauce*
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour bundt pan.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda, set aside. Cream together 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar and then blend in the eggs, mix in buttermilk and vanilla adding in the flour alternately with the buttermilk.  Pour into a bundt pan and bake for 1 hour.  For the sauce~in a medium sauce pan over medium heat heat the sugar, water and butter, bring to a low boil.  Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and take care not to burn the sugar. Add vanilla and stir well.  When the cake is still very hot and in the pan, poke holes all over the top of the cake**I used the end of a small wooden spoon**.  Drizzle the sauce all over the cake.  Transfer to a plate and dust with powder sugar.  Enjoy and don't think about the calories!!

Sweet BBQ beef

I knew I would be busy unpacking and cleaning and getting all the post vacation stuff done yesterday so I threw a roast in the slow cooker. We had this beef on nachos with all the fixings. it would be good in a sandwich as well. It was not as tangy as I like and I will use a different sauce next time, but it was good and easy.

~Recipe~
chuck roast(as big as you need) you will need to tweak the amounts for how big/small your roast is.
1 1/4 cup root beer
2 cups Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce**I used the honey BBQ**
1 tsp garlic salt

Place all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10.  With about 2 hours left shred the beef in the sauce and continue cooking.  I took the top off the cooker the last 1 hour because I wanted a thicker sauce. Enjoy~

Spring Break

I will be away from cooking and blogging about delicious foods for a week.  We are going on Spring Break! I am sure I will come home with a lot of new recipes, as I am always asking for the recipes when we have a good dish.  Enjoy your week keep on cooking!

Lemon Glazed Pound Cake

With Spring around the corner(well...some days here in DFW ARE already Spring-like) and I am BBQ'ing more I wanted a fresh dessert to go with our dinner.  I was thinking pound cake with a fruit compote when I came along a Lemon pound cake, from KAF! YUM! I made it in the 2 loaf pans in stead of a bundt pan and took it to a friend in the neighborhood that had company!  I added  fresh whipped cream and fresh strawberries to the top and.... WINNER! I hope you like it as much as we did!

~Recipe~

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons  unsalted butter
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups  All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1  Tbs lemon zest
5 large eggs

Glaze~1/4 cup (2 ounces) fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup  granulated sugar

Cake: Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans or one tube or bundt-style pan. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Add the salt, sugar, flour and baking powder, and beat for 5 minutes; the batter will be stiff.
Add the vanilla and zest, and 1 egg. Beat well. Continue to add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition. When done, the batter will be very fluffy. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s).
Bake the cake for 55 to 60 minutes (for the tube or bundt-style pans) or 35 to 40 minutes (for the two loaf pans), or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. **I had to bake mine for 45 minutes, in the 2 loaf pans**Glaze: Just before the cake is done, combine the lemon juice and sugar and heat over low heat (or in the microwave) till the sugar is dissolved; don't let the mixture boil.
Remove the cake from the oven; allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Turn it out onto a wire rack or serving platter. Poke the top all over with a cake tester or toothpick, and gradually drizzle the glaze over it, pausing occasionally to let it sink in. Allow the cake to cool for several hours before slicing. Enjoy~

Lemon Cream Bars

Ahhhh!! I have been so busy getting ready for our upcoming  vacation that I have neglected my blog!  I did make these delicious lemon cream bars this week and they were gone that night! They are really easy and very rich and lemony.

~Recipe~
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter softened
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup oats
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon

Combine the flour, oats, salt and baking powder.  Mix the butter and brown sugar until well combined.  Add the flour mixture and combine.  Press 1/2 of the crumb mixture into the bottom of and 8x11 pan.  Mix together the sweet milk and lemon zest and juice.  Spread this on top of the crumb mixture.  Top with the other half of the crumb mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until brown.  Allow to cook 30 minutes then chill and eat! Enjoy~

Peanut Butter/Nutella cookies

I am not a fan of peanut butter, or chocolate...but the kids are so I made these and I love them! I am glad I tried these and will make them again!

~Recipe~
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup Nutella**I will probably use a little more next time**

Combine butter, peanut butter, egg, vanilla and sugars and mix until well blended.  Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix.  Add the Nutella and swirl it through the dough with a butter knife.  Chill dough for 15 minutes. Roll into balls and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Using a fork, press lightly on the cookies to flatten a little. Bake at 350 degrees until edges are browned(8 minutes).  Allow to cool 2 minutes on a cookie sheet before transferring to a rack. Enjoy~

Honey Spice Cake

I thought this sounded sooo good....I will change it the next time I make it.  It was really dry....I think the frosting needs to be added right before serving. I am not giving up on it, yet...I did not get a photo of it.  My mom was here and I was running around serving it and forgot to get a photo.

~Recipe~

2 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cups honey

1/2 cup buttermilk

10 Tbsp butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups cold heavy cream

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup honey

raspberries for garnish

Coat 2 ~9 inch~ cake pans with cooking spray, then flour the pans.  In a bowl mix the spices, flour, baking powder, soda and salt.  In another owl, mix the honey and buttermilk.  In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs 1 at a time.  On low, beat in flour mixture alternately with the honey mixture.  Spread into the prepared pans.  Bake 25-28 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, turn out and cool.  For the frosting beat the cream sugar and vanilla to soft peaks and gradually add the honey then beat until stiff peaks form.  Place 1 cake on a plate and spread 1 1/2 cups frosting on the cake.  Top with the 2nd cake and frost.  Garnish with raspberries.  Enjoy~

Buttermilk Pancakes

These are so easy and really full of flavor.  I made these for my mom when she was here this weekend. They are definitely a keeper recipe.

~Recipe~
Whisk together:
1 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Whisk together:
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 stick melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
then add it to the flour mixture and whisk all together until blended well. Ladle 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot buttered skillet and cook until bubbly and flip and cook until golden.
Serve with butter and maple syrup. Enjoy~

Blueberry Muffins

Yep! I am on a blueberry kick....they are so big and full of so much flavor. I made these for my mom when she was here.

~Recipe~
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk plus additional 2 Tbsp
1 cup fresh blueberries

Line 10 muffin cups with paper or spray pan with non stick spray. In the additional 2 cups fill 1/2 way with water.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and then add sugar and stir, well.  In a separate bowl whisk the melted butter, egg and all of the milk until just blended.  The batter will be a little lumpy.
Add the blueberries and stir to combine. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.  bake at 400 degrees for 18- 24 minutes...best when warm with butter! Enjoy!