happy halloween...here have a turd.

yummy kitty litter cake.....enjoy a turd on me. happy halloween!

ps-yes it is really me and not a zombie. i am still alive and well, just been busy and with a lack of enthusiasm to blog. i will do a farmhouse update soon. i promise.

gingerbread snack cake

okay, so this is not a cookie, but it could be a cupcake, little loaf or even a small bundt cake for gift giving. i was in the mood this week for some gingerbread and guess what? i can not find my copy of martha stewart's gingerbread cake anywhere, not even the net. guess what, again? you may think i am joking, but her recipe is actually dang tasty. why the sarcasm? well, i tend to find that ms. stewart's recipes quite frankly, stink. i love her, but her recipes not so much. instead, i found a quick and easy gingerbread on the food network website. i made it. it is okay, but not as good as the queen's. it is moist, but not enough bite for me. honestly, i doubt i would make it again, but if you prefer an easy listening gingerbread as oppose to an heavy metal one, this is it. you can enjoy yours in the elevator and i will mine in the mosh pit.

you can find the recipe right here. enjoy

ps-a lemon sauce, caramel sauce, buttermilk syrup or even some vanilla whipped cream would have added a nice touch, but i didn't do it. my bad.

Week 6 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

apple spice cake with buttermilk syrup

we went riding around in gloucester on sunday, in the rain. we were prowling around on six hundred acres of the most beautiful farmland adjacent to the york river. it kills my soul everytime we visit because it is not mine! we ran into the caretaker, a friend and co-worker of jamie's. he told us to go visit the red apple tree over by the old plantation house for a treat. gosh, i wish i had my camera, so you could see it all. anywho, in the pouring rain,caroline and i filled the only thing we had, our shirts and an old baseball cap, as jamie and travis watched from the dry pickup. .i have no idea of the type of apple, but it was just fun watching caroline jumping for highest ones possible. now, what to make?

i scoured the web and found a recipe for an apple spice cake and buttermilk syrup. i have never visited this lady's blog before, but both recipes just sounded delcious and easy. i was right. the cake, it's moist and flavorful, not overly spicy and no nuts. jamie loved it. the syrup, oh my gosh, pure carmel-y goodness. it would be fantastic on anything from waffles to ice cream. let me tell you what though, it was heaven on the apple cake, but most divine on my spoon.



lookie, lookie, doesn't that look goooooood? you can find the cake recipe by clicking here and the syrup recipe by clicking here. go make this, now. i'm serious. enjoy.

german chocolate cake, simple, quick and unbelievably delicious

and i can not take any credit for it. jamie mentioned the other night he would love a good german chocolate cake. i have made them in the past, both from scratch, boxed and canned, nothing special. this one, this one is special. i got the recipe from my food blogger buddy barbara. over at barbara bakes. i have mentioned her a few times in the past on this blog. her recipes are simply wonderful and no fail. she does have a concern regarding a recent pie crust episode of mine using her recipe. take heart barb, it was strictly operator error.

 i think what i like best, no, i positive what i like best about her german chocolate cake recipe is the frosting. apparently it is a hand me down one from her mother in law that uses sliced almonds rather than pecans. oh my gosh folks. it is to die for. maybe, barbara needs to rename her cake death by german chocolate cake. i know that may not sound so politically correct, but do you know that german chocolate cake has nothing to do with germany? it the last name of the gentleman who developed the specific type of chocolate generally used in the batter, sam german. if you are curious, you read more about sam and the cake's history here.

oh yummy....this had totally ruined my diet and i am giving barbara full credit for that, too.

can you see the almonds? the frosting is not as dark as your typical pecan frosting. the cake, a doctored cake mix is so fluffy and moist. i am not a big cake fan at all, but this has become my all time favorite. you can find barbara's fantastical recipe here! enjoy.

low carb flourless chocolate cupcake

i am still on my low carb diet and i am craving sweets something terrible. i have seen quite a few recipes for low carb desserts, but mostly crap involving ricotta or cream cheeses. forget that, i need chocolate, dark chocolate. when i hit phase two i will be able to have a tiny bit, but that is another whole week away. i want it know. i hit upon martha stewart's recipe for flourless chocolate cupcakes and attempted to make it low carb. there is no flour in the recipe, hence the word
"flourless" in the title, so that is easy enough. i subbed unsweetened chocolate for the bittersweet and xylitol for the sugar. xylitol, packaged under the name of ideal is a natural sweetner and sugar replacement. the cupcakes where pretty good, not great. you bake with ideal and sugar one to one, but since i started with unsweetened chocolate i should have used more than what the recipe alloted. i also may have baked them a tad too long. they were not soft and moist in the middle, but dense and fudgy. all in all, they are definitely good enough for a redo, like maybe tomorrow. enjoy.

the little squirt of whipped cream help cut the bitterness of the dark chocolate. i ate two.

blueberry mochi cake

when i saw the recipe for blueberry mochi cake over at the food librarian's site, i just knew i wanted to give it a try. i bookmarked it. i had never had any type of mochi before, but was familiar with it, so off to hunt for the sweet rice flour. we have a local, rather large, asian supermarket here, but i had never stepped foot in it. oh my, what have i been missing? i was a like a kid in a candy shop or more like a seaweed and noodle shop. it was so neat, well not reall, but it was fascinating. it would have been amazing if i wasn't continually distracted by travis taking every item off the shelf, almost doing a header out the basket, or hollering that he wanted "that" not grasping that "that" was a vacuumed packed bag of chestnuts not chocolates. nasty. anyway, i did find the boxes of sweet rice flour, grabbed two and headed home to make the cake. i am going back there soon, childless.

i made the cake and well, i am the only one who liked it. mochi is not real sweet, but is sticky, buttery and chewy. it is very textural. travis tried to eat a piece with a fork and it was not happening. he did better with the fork acting as a "holder" and just biting at the cake. for him, that wasn't happening either. he gave up.

overall, this blueberry mochi cake is definitely different. i think it would be delicious served with coffee or tea. it is nothing like your typical american style cake. i do have another box of sweet rice flour to use and i plan to, but this time i am thinking a chocolate or coconut mochi cake might be good. hmmmm..... i hope you will try the recipe for yourself. it would be a food adventure. enjoy.

lemon sunshine cake

i swear, and i shouldn't, since this recipe came from a group of church ladies, but this is the easiest, moistest, tastiest cake i think i have ever made. it is down right delicious. this cake was recently served at a church function i attended with my cousin. it was a woman's fellowship group teaching you how to gift wrap. yep, gift wrap. you laugh. i did too, but i can't make a bow. can you? i can sorta make one now as well as fluff tissue paper, thank you very much. i have been to quite a few of these functions and although this particular one wasn't high on my list, i knew the refreshments and company would be worth it. i get quality time with my cousin and a few hours away from my kids. i always enjoy myself, whether we are adorning gift bags with zots/zaps or blowing eggs, we are always laughing. anyway, they served this cake the other night and i fell in love. i am not suppose to eat it i know, the whole diabetes thing, but i did take a bite, a rather big bite. holy moly! they gave us all recipe cards to take home. how did they know? divine intervention? ptl. enjoy.


lemon sunshine cake

mix and bake

one duncan hines lemon cake mix
one small package of instant lemon pudding
1/2 cup of oil
4 eggs
1 cup water

preheat oven to 350 degrees. pour into greased and floured tube pan(i used a bundt). bake for about 40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

while cake is baking make the glaze and set aside(i made a half recipe of glaze) which is four lemons juiced mixed with 2 cups powdered sugar.

when cake is done, immediately remove from pan. while still warm, poke holes in it with knife or skewer and drizzle lemon mixture onto cake(i brushed mine on with a pastry brush). let cool. refrigerate until ready to serve.

hummingbird cake

no hummingbirds were harmed in the making of this baked good. i promise. i saw this recipe in the latest issue of the foodnetwork magazine and thought it would be perfect for easter. it was. it was a big hit with the whole three adults who attended lunch. my kids, they were too busy stuffing their cake holes with candy. i tasted a small bite for reviewing purposes, only. it tasted like carrot cake, well sorta, except for the bananas. it was moist, dense and flavorful. the cake is chockful of toasted pecans, banana chunks and pineapple tidbits. the only changes i made the network's masterpiece was to use can pineapple rather than fresh. oh and fyi, the cream cheese frosting recipe listed makes a ton, delicious, but way too much. yes, sometimes you can have too much icing, hard to believe, but true. i ended up stashing the leftovers covered in the fridge. hmmmmm, do i sense red velvet cupcakes in the future, only time will tell.

anywho, this cake is a definite keeper and a do over, again and again. once you try it i think you will agree. enjoy.

chocolate coconut bundt

first the lemon cornmeal cake, now this. i am popular in my house right now. i was thinking about the ol' pillsbury tunnel of fudge bundt cake mix the other day and suddenly remembered the chocolate coconut version. i just knew i had to duplicate it. the hubs loves the combination of chocolate and coconut, so i thought i would surprise him with this baby. needless to say, he was not only surprised, but is a very happy camper. once again, i can't eat any due to my diabetes, so i am relying on jamie to give his honest opinion of the cake. i quote, "it is fudgie, moist and i like the coconut part the best. will you make a pot of coffee?" well, okay...sure. i think it is a winner folks. he's wanting a second piece hence the coffee. now, making the cake is a breeze. you simply doctor a box of chocolate cake mix with instant chocolate pudding, whip egg whites for the coconut filling and layer in your bundt, well, maybe with a few extra steps in between. i really like the marbled look of the finished cake, too. it's so pretty with the vanilla drizzle. see.

i know this will be a real keeper at my house. how about at yours? enjoy.

beth's chocolate coconut bundt

coconut filling
2 egg whites
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups flaked coconut(one small bag)
2 tbsp. of all purpose flour
2 tsp. of real vanilla

the cake
1 box chocolate cake mix(w/o pudding)
1 package chocolate instant pudding(4 serving size)
2 egg yolks
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

vanilla glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons of milk( i used ff half and half)
pinch of kosher salt
1/4 tsp. real vanilla
1 tbsp. of butter


preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour your bundt pan. i "pam'd" mine.

beat egg whites until peaks form. gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form. fold in coconut, flour and vanilla. set aside.

next combine the cake mix, instant pudding mix, 2 yolks, 2 eggs, water, and oil in a large bowl. beat with mixer for 2 minutes. i actually beat mine by hand. pour a 1/3 of the batter into prepared pan. spoon in coconut mixture, spread around and then top with remaining batter.

bake for 50 to 55 minutes. i covered my cake about 40 minutes in with foil, so it wouldn't get too brown. remove and cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. cool thoroughly, and top with glaze.

to make the glaze, melt the butter and add the remaining ingredients. yum.

lemon cornmeal cake

jamie loves lemon. jamie loved this cake. i can not eat it, but i could smell it and i did, a lot. it smelled sweet, tart and very lemony. jamie concurred. he said it was dense, moist and full of flavor. it must be nice. this diabetes crap is for the birds. i found the recipe in a woman's day magazine not too long ago, it was online as well. it comes husband recommended. i am told it is tasty with a hot cup of coffee. enjoy.

you can see the sugary glaze that dripped down the sides? it is taunting me.




ps-grease and flour your bundt pan really well, especially those nooks and crannies, so you aren't missing a chunk of cake off the top like mine! i just "glued" it back on with some glaze. it didn't slow anyone down.

the baby shower cake

i volunteered to make a cake for the baby shower held in honor of my nephew's wife. i was inspired by a cake a friend of mine had made, changing it just a bit. i owe the success of this one to my bff julie, she can handle an off set spatula like nobody's business. i think it came out great!




oh, in case you can't figure it out, it is suppose to be a bathtub. see the tiny bar of soap?




ps-if you want directions on how we did it, just let me know and i will post.

sweetened condensed milk pound cake

just a quick post to tell you about a quick cake, a sweetened condensed milk pound cake. my foodie friends on twitter have been raving about engineerbaker's recipe for this simple and delicious pound cake. naturally, i had to make it. i love pound cakes, sour cream, cream cheese, lemon, hot milk, etc... let me tell you folks, baking doesn't get any easier than this, whipped up completely in the food processor. looooove it! the batter was gorgeous, thick and silky, baking and doming beautifully. the taste is that of a lighter pound cake, one that would be fantastic with fruit and some sweetened whipped cream. this is a great "go to" pound cake recipe, perfect for family and company, coffee or tea. thanks caitlin for sharing. enjoy.


coffee's ready!

applesauce cake

so, the other day my local grocery store had little cups of applesauce on sale bogo free. i grabbed cinnamon, everyone loves cinnamon, cinnamon toast, cinnamon poptarts, cinnamon snickerdoodles, right? wrong! too cinnamon-y, too sweet, it smells, it's good for you, ick, gag, i would rather have a sharp stick in the eye than eat that. hey, i would rather have a pap smear that listen to your complaints. oh, i'm sorry, did i say that? anyway, now i am stuck with tubs of taboo applesauce. what to do? i know the whole, if life give you lemons scenario, but what about applesauce?

oh, oh, i know, you make cake. so i went a looking for a recipe and found this one courtesy of cooking light. right off i know i didn't want the icing, although it looked good, we don't need it. the cake, just a few changes, i skipped the pecans(didn't have any) and added only one teaspoon of cinnamon since my applesauce was what? cinnamon, that's right, unnatural cinnamon. i used four of those little cups. oh, it is not a typo, there are no eggs in this cake. the batter is thick like cookie dough, so you need to spoon it into your pan(i used a 9x13) and smooth out the top. guess what? it is delicious! my family loved it. it was moist, dense, not too sweet, not too spicy. i do wish i had some whipped cream for the top, but we don't need that either. i also think walnuts would be way better than pecans, ain't got nun. overall, this is a great, quick, go to applesauce cake. i would recommend whipping one up today. enjoy.

pineapple and coconut bread

i was wanted to make something a simple sweet treat for the kids and hubby and some time ago i found a recipe for this pineapple and coconut bread. i dog eared the page and promptly forgot about it, until today. coconut has been a reoccurring theme lately, mostly to use up leftover holiday baking supplies and this recipe wiped out the flaked coconut stash. it produced two loaves of slightly sweet, pineapple-y, coconut-y, yummy bread. i didn't change the recipe, but to only add some vanilla and coconut extracts. although i think the bread is good, as did jamie, it could be better. i was thinking some smashed ripe banana and a splash of dark rum in the batter would be nice or even some mini chocolate chips, any or all would definitely up the tastiness. you could even take it over the top with a quick orange or rum glaze. i simply did a smear of "butter"(brummel and brown) and ate with my cuppa coffee. enjoy.

beth's pineapple and coconut bread

preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit


one large can of crushed pineapple and its juice
one 7 oz bag of sweetened flake coconut
1.5 cups of sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract
4 cups of flour

grease and flour or baker's joy two loaf pans. mix the above ingredients, it will be thick and sticky. spoon evenly into loaf pans, smooth out tops. bake for one hour. cool for ten minutes and invert on plate.

rebecca's mom's chocolate jack daniels fruit cake

i made a chocolate fruit cake spiked with jack daniels this past weekend and with thirty folks at my house on sunday to eat, it was devoured, not a scrap, a crumb left. i am going to send you over to the foodie blog it's located, so miss rebecca's pic can do all the talking. i think it is fair to stay it was a big hit. i did get to eat a piece though, moist, fruity, jd tangy and delicious. i am a loyal follower of ezrapoundcake, and when this popped up, i just had to make it. the cake is her mama's fruit cake recipe, a family tradition. while you are checking out the recipe, mosey around a bit, ezrapoundcake is one of my absolute favorite sites. miss rebecca cooks and bakes like i like, good ol' comfort foods, but she takes it to the next level of goodness. if you have ever had my(i use that term loosely) king ranch casserole, that is another one of her recipes and its dang tasty. please go check out ezrapoundcake and please go make one of mama's chocolate jack daniels fruit cakes today. it is too easy and too delicious not to and to quote ezrapoundcake, "guaranteed to get you into the spirit". enjoy.

peace and love, bethcomptoncalifornia

too easy chocolate cake

nothing much to say about this cake other than go make it, now. it is quick, easy, moist, chocolatey and nary an egg involved. enjoy.

too easy chocolate cake!


1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 cup cold water

Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt with a whisk until well blended. Pour the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and cold water (all at once) on top of the dry ingredients. Stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended together but do not over-mix. Mix and pour in ungreased 8" pan, bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

i also whipped a cup of whipping cream with about a two tsp of powdered sugar and a half tsp of real almond extract to plop on top.



sorry, for such a short post. i am sick. i was hoping this cake was cure for the common cold, but alas it is not.

chocolate zucchini cake, not so purty

first and foremost, always, always use dark or dutch processed cocoa when making this cake. i had to learn this ugly truth the hard way. it not only contributes a deep dark chocolate flavor, it hides the zucchini! yikes. see, i used plain ole hershey's and just look at those little green shreds dangling out the sides. you are not suppose to see them. i was in too much of a hurry to make this and didn't feel like running back to the market. although it didn't affect the taste, it messes up fooling folks. it doesn't work so good.

now, back to the taste. surprisingly the cake is truly delicious. i tell you, my four year old ate this particular piece without a single complaint. amazing. go here to see how a master does it. the repressed pastry chef is a genius. me, not so much. also, this young lady does a bang up job with her version. it was her recipe that i followed, pretty much. i did add a full teaspoon of vanilla extract that i just received from beanilla plus a teaspoon of instant coffee powder. the cake, although not purty, is moist, fudgie with no taste of the squash. i opted not to do a frosting 'cause my family doesn't like it. i know, i know, sinful, huh? i just sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top( mostly to hide the zucchini). i would like to make this again and do it real justice, but meanwhile, i think i will just stick to oven roasting my veggies. enjoy.

hot milk cake

this is my mama's go to cake. i remember this as being a staple in our family's over eating since well, forever. i had forgotten about this cake till i was reminded of it recently at a family reunion. apparently, my nephew has fond memories of his grandmother baking this for him. she loved to serve it with fresh peaches or strawberries and whipped cream. although i could not find her exact recipe, i am pretty dang sure this is close. it is wonderfully easy to make and with a short list of ingredients i betcha have everything you need right in your cupboard. it is dense, yet light, moist and cakey. also, it is not really a pound cake 'cause it's not as heavy. baked in a tube pan it browns up with a yummy crackly top. this is a great all purpose cake in my book. enjoy.

hot milk cake

1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 pure almond extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder

preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit. grease and flour a tube pan.

in a saucepan over medium heat, bring the butter and milk almost to a boil, but don't actually boil. beat the eggs and sugar, beating constantly add the vanilla and almond extracts. add flour gradually, add the salt and beat until smooth. gradually add the milk and butter mixture, beat well. add baking powder. pour into prepared pan. bake for one hour. cover top with foil if it browns too quickly. cool for about ten minutes before inverting on a plate.
the crackly top....yum.

pineapple shortcake

recipe courtesy of my kitchen snippets, a wonderful food blog full of delicious recipes and fabulous photos. i followed her recipe to the letter with one exception, i didn't have enough pineapple. i only had a small can of pineapple chunks, which i put in my food processor and pureed. it made for a skimpier topping, but nonetheless fantastic. next time i will use the right size can of the crushed pineapple and oh boy howdy, will there be a next time. these are out of this world. i mean really, come on folks, buttery shortcake, brown sugar, pineapple, walnuts, all warm and caramelized. that is some goooood stuff.

thank you to my new friend at my kitchen snippets for sharing such a wonderfully delightful treat.

the contessa's lemon cake

done peasant style. i had been hankering for a good lemon pound cake. ina garten's, the barefoot contessa, lemon cake has been circulating the internet for some time, but i had yet to make it, until now. the recipe makes two loaf cakes, but i opted to use my tube pan. i can see now why this is such a popular recipe. it is brilliant!. the batter bakes up dense, buttery and not over lemony. i was expecting a big lemon kick with all that grated lemon zest, but that comes from the glaze and icing combo. those two will make ya pucker and squeal. this is good stuff folks. i will do again for sure.

recently, big j and myself have fancied a cuppa in the evenings and this cake pairs perfectly. pinkies up and enjoy!

p.s.- i wanted to add that i begun checking my cake around the 45 minute mark, then covered it will foil(i don't like it too brown), and kept checking every ten minutes till it was "toothpick clean" done.