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Lemon-Lime Pound Cake

I can see Spring is around the corner.  The first day of Spring is March 20th, and I can’t wait for it to get here.  I have noticed that all of my tulips and daffodils are starting to pop up.  I hear the birds already chirping and having fun being free.

I came across this Lemon-Lime Pound Cake recipe in a Southern Living magazine. The cake looked so refreshing and I thought that it would be the perfect cake to make and get me in the spirit of Spring.

Every time I make a dessert with lemon it reminds me of my mom.  My mom’s favorite desserts were all made with lemon.  She loved lemon meringue pie.  The taste of lemon really comes through in this cake because of the lemon zest in the batter.

For the cake I used a stoneware baking pan.  It gives the outside of the cake a beautiful color.  Adding just the lemon-lime glaze over the top was perfect.  The cake turned out really good.  I had  a couple of pieces with my coffee, and gave my neighbors a piece too.  Within a couple of days the cake was gone, a sign that the cake was really good.

The candied lemons were a great addition to the cake and were really tasty.

I cooked the lemon rounds in sugar and water for about 45 minutes, then I placed them on a wire rack for about a couple of hours before decorating the cake.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
3 cups sugar
5 large eggs
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup lemon-lime soft drink (7up)
shortening
lemon-lime glaze
candied lemons-optional
lime rind twists, garnish-optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-inch bundt pan with shortening and flour, set aside. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beat at medium speed 3 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest and extracts.

Add Flour to butter mixture alternately with lemon-lime soft drink, beginning and ending with flour. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 or until a long wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, shielding with aluminum foil after 45-50 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes, remove cake from pan to wire rack. Spoon Lemon-Lime Glaze over warm or room temperature cake. Top with Candied Lemons, if desire.

Lemon-Lime Glaze

2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh lime

In a bowl whisk together all ingredients until blended and smooth. For a thinner glaze, stir in an additional 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp at a time.

Candied Lemons

2 medium lemons cut into 1/8 inch thick slices
4 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar

In a large, heavy saucepan stir together water and sugar, bring to a light boil, stirring just until sugar dissolves. Add lemons, reduce heat to medium low. Gently simmer 45 minutes or until rinds are very soft and lemons are translucent, turning lemons every 15 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, and place in a single layer on a wire rack. Cool Completely.

Source:  Southern Living

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

The first time I had this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread was at a breakfast where I used to work.  My friend Omi had baked it for us and I really loved it.  I love banana bread, but I had never had it with chocolate chips.  This is absolutely delicious.  The bananas with the chocolate chips taste really good together.

This is another way you can make banana bread when you have those ripe bananas sitting on your counter.  The recipe is really easy.  You can enjoy it for breakfast or just as a snack anytime of the day.

When you cut into the chocolate banana bread you can see the melted chocolate chips all over, the walnuts and little pieces of banana.   The bread is super moist, perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. 

The banana breads were in the oven for exactly 65 minutes. Make sure to check the banana bread before taking it out of the oven because temperatures vary depending on oven.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

2 eggs

3 ripe mashed bananas

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup mini-chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.  Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.  Mix on medium speed all ingredients except the walnuts and chocolate chips.  Then stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a wooden stick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes, then remove from  pan.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Individual Calzones

These Individual Calzones are delicious.  This was our weekend treat.  It might seem like a lot of work to do, but it really isn't.  I had made the  Pizza Dough  last week, I cut it in half, made a Deep Dish pizza and saved the other half to make these calzones.  The Homemade Pizza Sauce is made from scratch and really easy.

Most of the times we are in the kitchen trying to figure out what to cook.  The pizza dough can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for about a day or freeze it in a ziploc freezer bag for up to 3 months.  It's great to have it ready to go for those days when you want something quick.

The Week in Review

Happy Saturday!!

1.  How was your week?  My week started great and ended not so good.  Some personal stuff that I'm going through that I'm leaving in God's hands.  He knows everything, and when you have faith and believe, things will turn out great.  No doubt in my mind. 

2.  I usually plan ahead of time what I'm going to cook and post to the blog.  Last weekend I decided to make Deep Dish Pizza.  I made my own Pizza Dough and my delicious and easy to make Homemade Pizza Sauce.  The best part about making everything is that you are able to control what you put into it.  I find that most pizza places add too much salt. You can cut the dough in half and  make 2-12 inch pizzas or you can make one pizza and 4 calzones with the other half.

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

These decadent Fudgy Chocolate Brownies are to die for.  I have never met anyone that doesn't like chocolate.  I find that chocolate makes everything better, at least for me it does.  These fudgy brownies can be topped with pecans, walnuts, chocolate ganache or just a big scoop of ice cream or a glass of milk.

Perfect for any occasion, easy and very satisfying.  Make sure you eat a piece because I'm sure everyone is going to want a second serving.  

Beignets

Beignets are like doughnuts except they are square and have no holes.  If you have been to New Orleans, then you should know about Beignets.  I've never been, but I know these soft as pillow fried deliciousness are their specialty.  Beignets, is French for "fritters". Beignets are raised pieces of yeast dough, that after frying they are sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

I had my eye on this recipe for a while, and finally I decided to make them.  I can't believe I waited so long, these things are delicious, the outside is crispy and soft as pillows on the inside.  You won't eat just one, believe me.  These Beignets are on my top 5 all time favorite desserts.

Deep Dish Pizza

Back in the days when my husband used to travel to Chicago for work, he would always come home talking about a Deep Dish Pizza from Gino's East.  My husband described it as the best pizza he ever had.  Coming from Connecticut and eating pizzas in different places including NY, that was a big statement.

I have not had the privilege of eating it yet, I will soon as Chicago is one of the places I would love to visit in the near future.  Even thought this deep dish pizza is not Gino's, my husband says, it is delicious and perhaps even better.  After bragging about Gino's, I'm not sure if I believe him, but one thing I do know, my deep dish pizza is really good.

Pizza Dough

This is such an easy Pizza Dough to make.  You can make any kind of pizza  you like, Deep Dish Pizzas, thin crust pizzas and calzones too.  This dough makes 2 12-inch pizzas or 8 individual calzones.  What I normally do is cut it in half, use half for a deep dish pizza and the other half for about 4 calzones.

I love this dough recipe and it's the one I always make.   Make it early in the morning and have it ready for dinner time.  You can refrigerate the dough for a few days.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

The best thing about this Homemade Pizza Sauce, is that you can control what goes into it.  It's not salty, it has great flavor and is my go to sauce when making pizzas or calzones.

This sauce is a little thicker in texture compared to a Marinara Sauce for dishes like Chicken Parmesan.  It's not runny and perfect for pizza or calzones. 

Ingredients

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1-28 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes

1-12 oz can of Tomato Paste

1-8 oz can of Tomato Sauce

1 med size onion chopped small

4 garlic cloves-Minced

1 tsp of sugar

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of black pepper

1 tsp of dried oregano

1 tsp of dried sweet basil

In medium size pot add the olive oil, garlic and onions..cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar, salt, black pepper, oregano and basil. Cook until nice and thick, about 15-20 minutes.