Cherry Vanilla Pound Cake

I love pound cake.  I love cherries (especially maraschino cherries...and the juice). The two together should be great, right? Right!  If I were having an Easter brunch at my house...I think this would definitely be on the dessert table.

Cherry Vanilla Pound Cake
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
3 1/4 all purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 10oz jars maraschino cherries, drained and chopped (save the juice!)
1 vanilla bean, scraped and reserved

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray with flour.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy.  Add sugar, beating until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.
3. In another bowl, sift together 3 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt.  Gradually add, one cup at a time, of flour mixture to butter mixture until combined.
4. Toss chopped cherries with 1/4 cup flour.  Add to batter and gently stir.  Add vanilla bead seeds. Stir.
5. Spoon into bundt pan and gently tap on counter to release any air bubbles.
6. Bake approximately 1 hour 20 minutes until wooden pick comes out clean.
7. Turn pan upside down on wire rack to cool and allow cake to release.

Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons whipping cream
2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice

Mix together and add additional tablespoons of cream until it thin enough to drip down side of cake.

Recipe adapted from Southern Cakes.

Google Friend Connect

As of March 1, this little feature will not longer be around.  I don't and have never used it to read blogs (so I don't know much about it) but I know many of you do.  I'm just curious- what have y'all read about this change?  How are you planning to continue reading your favorite blogs once that feature is gone? 

Banana-Pecan Rum Cake

This is basically banana bread, in a cast iron skillet, with a crunchy top.  And to be honest, it's the second time I have baked it in 24 hours.  The first time I wasn't paying attention and dumped the entire container of sour cream into the batter rather than just 1/2 cup and then couldn't figure out why it wasn't baking.  And then it overflowed inside the oven.  

Banana-Pecan Rum Cake
8oz cream cheese
1 stick softened butter
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp rum extract
2 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
 chopped pecans
Extra brown sugar for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 12" cast iron skillet with flour cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and grown sugar until just combined.  Add eggs one at a time.
3. In a small bowl, mash 3 bananas until just mashed but leaving a flew chunks.   Add bananas and sour cream to cream cheese mixture and mix.
4. Add flour, one 1/2 cup at a time, to the wet mixture until just combined.  Do not over mix and liquify.  Add remaining dry ingredients.
5. Pour batter into cast iron skillet and sprinkle top with a good amount of extra brown sugar and chopped pecans.  It creates a crust on top that is my favorite part.
6. Bake for 30+ minutes until tooth pick comes out clean.

A little note about this cast iron skillet in particular....My grandmother gave it to me for Christmas 2 years ago.  She wasn't able to be there with us that year so she included a card explaining that this cast iron skillet was now 5 generations old and she wanted me to have it.  It is probably one of the most special gifts I've ever received. 

Sweet Cornbread

I'm pretty sure this is one of my recipes that breaks whatever "southern rules" I'm supposed to be following.  I love sweet cornbread.   I also prefer equal parts flour and cornmeal so that it isn't too "gritty".  Through my extensive research (read: google for less than 2 minutes), I apparently prefer cornbread that is more often found in the northern states and I'm okay with that.  It's better.  It just is.  A big piece of buttery cornbread dripping in honey...yes ma'am!

1 cup flour (I used self-rising because that is what is in the jar on my counter.)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Throw it all in a bowl, whisk it up, dump it into a lightly sprayed cast iron skillet and bake it for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  Enjoy! Which do you prefer? Sweet or unsweet cornbread?

The Neverending Sofa Debate

I'm not good at making decisions that involve big purchases.  I thought I had it all figured out.  I had a sofa picked out and was going back and forth of upholstery.  I've had the samples laid out on the dining room table for months.  Last weekend I was browsing around in Pottery barn where I saw their Carlisle sofa.

It's an substantial well-upholstered sofa rather than their typical slipcovered patio furniture they push off as "living room furniture".  I sat down on it, and even went as far as to lay on it...it's an absolute dream!  The cushions are foam wrapped in down which, in my mind, would add to the durability and keep them looking nice.  I thought I had sworn off Pottery Barn furniture after my seagrass sectional experience but I might have to go for round 2.  I took Todd back to the store a few days ago and made him sit on it...he sank into it and said "oh yeah, this is a good one!"  Price wise, it's the same as the one I thought I had set my mind on but I love that I was able to sit on it.  Try it out.  I won't be paranoid for 8 weeks waiting for it to arrive wondering if I bought another sofa no one wants to sit on.

The sofa in the store is in a "grainsack flax" which has a great texture.  It's what I would choose and is more of the traditional/cozy look that I am going for.  This sofa is nearly identical to one that one of my favorite bloggers pinned on Pinterest a while ago.  And for a fraction of the price. Maybe I should stop thinking about it and just order them...at the rate I'm going, it'll be Christmas before I have my living room finished.

Simply Breakfast

There is a blog that is in my reader called Simply Breakfast.  The simplicity of it is so intriguing to me.  I love the rustic table that is usually in the background.  It's a blog that fulfills my nosy desires.  That blog inspired this picture that I tweeted of this morning's breakfast.

Cafe con leche and heart pancakes.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk Biscuits

 2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold (!!), cut into very small chunks
1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. "Snap" the butter into your flour mixture.  Literally pick up the small chunks of flour covered butter and snap them between your fingers.  This will flatten each little piece of butter but keep the butter "in tact" so you will be able to taste it in your biscuits.  Don't try to cream the butter into your dough.  You can see the butter in my dough in the picture above.
4. Add buttermilk until it's just combined.  Do not over mix.  Dough should be very sticky.
5. Turn dough out onto a floured dough board and gently press it to 1/2" thick.  Do not use rolling pin.  It should be lumpy and bumpy!  Fold the dough in half and gently press it together again (don't press together too much...that "fold" is what makes them easy to split open once they're baked!).  Fold it in half one of more time and press it out to 1" thick.
6. Using a biscuit cutter, cut into rounds.
7. You can use the scraps but they will not be nearly as good as the original biscuits. 
8. Place biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you want soft sides and "taller" biscuits, make all of the sides touch on the baking sheet.  If you want "crunchy" edges, don't let them touch.
9. Bake approximately 10 minutes until golden brown.


I obviously baked mine without the sides touching which is why they aren't as tall as you're probably used to seeing them.  The insides are still incredibly fluffy and perfect, they just have a nice "crust" on the outside which I personally love.

I love biscuits and honey...especially this honey from the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I swear the taste better if the honey is dripping down between your fingers.

 Some people swear that White Lily flour is far superior to any other type of flour...it's all I've ever used because that's what my grandma uses.  It's what I grab when I'm at the grocery store just like people who prefer Heinz over Hunts...or Duke's (or Blue Plate!) over Kraft. Whether it's really better...well, you be the judge of that. :)

ETA: There was a question about using self-rising flour opposed to the all-purpose flour I had originally listed in the recipe.  I used self-rising which is what I pretty much use for everything.  I have a special seasoned flour I use to frying things so nearly everything else I bake would only benefit from the leavening and salt in the self-rising flour.   Sorry for the confusion. ;)