Thursday, July 9, 2009

Cakes

I have been meaning to post the recipes and pictures of these awesome yummy cakes I made over the past few months - they are so good and I would definitely recommend all of them! The berry torte one is especially good for summer, especially if the raspberries are on sale. :)

This one I made for the Servant Team thank you dinner. Soo good - if you love maple flavoring you'll love it. The icing is so light and fluffy and not too sweet, which I love.

Maple Mocha Brownie Torte

"This impressive-looking dessert is at the top of my list of speedy standbys. It's simple to make because it starts with a boxed brownie mix. Then the nutty brownie layers are dressed up with a fluffy frosting that has a rich creamy texture and irresistible maple taste." —Amy Flory Cleveland, Georgia

SERVINGS: 12

TIME: Prep: 30 min. Bake: 20 min. + cooling

Ingredients:

  • 1 package brownie mix (13-in. x 9-in. pan size)
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons maple flavoring
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Chocolate curls or additional walnuts, optional

Directions:

Prepare batter for brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies. Stir in walnuts. Pour into two greased 9-in. round baking pans.
Bake at 350° for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 2 in. from the edge comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
In a large bowl, beat cream and coffee granules until stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in brown sugar, maple flavoring and vanilla.
Spread 1-1/2 cups over one brownie layer; top with second layer. Spread remaining cream mixture over top and sides of torte. Garnish with chocolate curls or walnuts if desired. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 12 servings.



Raspberry Orange Torte!

This was actually made as a gift/birthday cake for sweet Lindsay Thompson. :)

Guests are sure to be dazzled by this super-moist dessert from our Test Kitchen that’s ideal for special occasions. A rich orange cream filling is spread between the cake layers for a luscious look and taste.

SERVINGS: 10-12

TIME: Prep: 25 min. Bake: 30 min. + cooling

Ingredients:

  • 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix
  • 1 package (10 ounces) frozen sweetened raspberries, thawed
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 carton (8 ounces) Mascarpone cheese
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
  • 2 cups fresh raspberries

Directions:

Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to a wire rack to cool completely.
Press sweetened raspberries through a sieve; discard seeds. Set raspberry puree aside. In a small bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. In a large bowl, beat the Mascarpone cheese, sugar, orange juice and orange peel. Fold in whipped cream.
Cut each cake into two horizontal layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate. Brush with about 1/4 cup raspberry puree. Spread with about 1 cup cream mixture; top with 1/2 cup fresh raspberries. Repeat layers three times. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 10-12 servings.



Triple Layer Banana + PB Cake
This I made at home - mainly because I knew my dad would love it... He's a sucker for PB and banana sandwiches. It turned out well, but I added a little too much milk to the icing when I made it - so be wary of that! It ended up being runny, but still super good - and we had leftovers in a bowl for drizzling that way. But it would have been better if it were firmer. Oh well.
TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 25 min. + cooling

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • FROSTING:
  • 6 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 3 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 5-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 8 to 10 tablespoons milk
  • Peanut halves, optional

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk.
Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
For frosting, in a large bowl, beat the peanut butter and butter until smooth. Beat in confectioners' sugar and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost between layers and over top and sides of cake. Garnish with peanuts if desired. Yield: 14 servings.

All recipes from Taste of Home (my fav site for desserts).

Friday, July 3, 2009

happy fourth!

my favorite part of the fourth:

THE FIREWORKS!

2nd favorite: festive food!

enjoy the people around you, thank God for our freedom in America, and let's eat!

Monday, June 22, 2009

i love colorado, but...

I REALLY MISS COOKING and BAKING! :(

if i were home i would joyfully, excitedly, promptly

make these:

how cute are they!? i'm thinking they'll be an awesome labor day treat.



Wednesday, June 17, 2009

boom boom pow

So our trip out here was wonderful, and I'm going to post about it. But I only have a couple minutes right now and I really wanted you guys who haven't been watching So You Think You Can Dance to see the opening group dance from last week. It was sooo good and Jordan and I have watched it 4 times already!!

ENJOY!




okay, i can't resist...here is my favorite dance from last week, too! :)

Friday, June 12, 2009

Road Trip to Colorado!

Tomorrow, Jordan and I are leaving for Colorado for the summer!! We are going to be joining staff (officially) with Campus Crusade and we'll be going through new staff training for the next 7 weeks! This means some seminary classes, training on how to raise our own support, etc., plus we get to go to the National Staff Conference at the tail end of it, which is a time of fellowship, vision casting, alignment, and rest for all staff across the country. WOO!

We decided that we really wanted to drive so we could have our car out there and bring our bikes with us, so that is what we're doing! I've never driven that far - ever - so it will be a completely new experience for me. I thought I would show you our route and let you in on some of the fun (at least we're trying to make a 25 hour drive fun! I think we'll succeed).

We'll be leaving from Blacksburg, with a filled car and our bikes in tow tomorrow morning at 8 (hopefully!). Tomorrow will be the longest driving day.


We'll be crossing through 7 states to get there! And that means I'll visit 4 new states! (KY, MO, KS, and CO)

Here's the view of what we'll be leaving - our beloved Blacksburg.

We'll be passing through Nashville on our way, which should be really fun! On the way home, hopefully we'll get to see Chez, but for now, we'll probably just have lunch. :0)



Our first real stop is Carbondale, Illinois!
This is 617 mi – about 9 hours 35 mins - from Blacksburg.

The reason we're stopping in Carbondale for the night is to see my dear friend COLLEEN! Can you tell I'm a little excited?? I haven't seen her in 2 years, since we were together in North Africa - she on a STINT for a year, and me there for the summer. We had a great time together and we've done a fair job of keeping in touch, so I'm so glad to see her. She's getting married next month so I get to drop of her present myself, too!

This is me, Sabrina, and Colleen, and the rest are just pictures of us as the summer progressed.
I love her!!!




One of the last days we got to spend together.


Then on Sunday morning we'll head to St. Louis! I hope we'll get to go see/go up in the arch, but who knows. Jordan - major US traveler - has already done it.


St. Louis is the home of the Cardinals! We checked baseball schedules the whole way out to Colorado, but the Cardinals, Royals, and Rockies were all playing away games. :(
St. Louis will be just a little drive - 116 mi – about 2 hours 14 mins from Carbondale. We'll probably spend a few hours there and then head to....KANSAS CITY!
It's a 249 mi drive – about 3 hours 52 mins - from St. Louis.

Home of the original KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce (which Jordan informed me he's very excited about), we're probably going to stop at the restaurant for dinner.

No, we won't be seeing a Royals game. :(

After we spend the night (hopefully somewhere cheap - since my husband has great bargaining skills) in KC, we'll start out on the LONG stretch of highway that is...

Who knew - 424 miles just in Kansas! Yikes.
Needless to say, Monday will be spent looking at LOTS of corn and not too many other cars.
We'll be travelling 407 mi – about 6 hours 2 mins - to Goodland, KS, on the other side of the state to stay for the night. We're hoping there will be something fun to do along the way.

I'm REALLY hoping Goodland doesn't look like THIS when we get there...

Here's the cute little town, also with cheap lodging for weary travellers such as ourselves.

Did you know? Goodland is famous for it's HUGE Van Gogh painting in the middle of the town.

From Goodland, KS, it's the home stretch on Tuesday to get to Ft. Collins, CO, where we'll be living at CSU. (Yes, we'll be in a dorm room all summer).

But, before we get to Ft. Collins, we'll probably stop in Denver, since we have such a short drive that day, at least just for lunch.
It is 196 mi – about 2 hours 52 mins - from Goodland to Denver.

Can't wait to see those gorgeous Rockies!

Arial view of downtown Denver.

HOME of the COLORADO ROCKIES! We're hoping to go to a game in July when the Rockies play the Braves for Jordan's birthday.

Finally, the last leg - only 60.7 mi – about 1 hour 1 min - from Denver to Ft. Collins.
We need to be there around 3 on Tuesday, June 16th. (The day before my birthday!)
We'll be here at CSU for the summer!

Our address there will be:
Jessamyn and Jordan Peace
Campus Crusade for Christ - New Staff Training
Westfall Hall, Room #707
Ft. Collins, CO 80521

WISH US LUCK and say a prayer for us as we head out tomorrow!!