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Easter Cake Recipe and Gift Card Giveaway

April 2, 2012 in recipe by traveleatlove | 20 comments

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered, and congratulations to Renee for winning the $100 gift card!

Thanks to HP Hood for sponsoring this giveaway and for providing me with a gift card to buy ingredients as well.

 

Well hello there, April. Where did you come from? With our somewhat non-existent Winter, I feel like I am completely confused as to what month it’s supposed to be, and I am just not ready for it to be the month I am running the Boston Marathon. Gulp.

I AM ready to share a delicious recipe that is perfect for Easter or any Spring weekend AND a $100 Visa gift card to help you buy the ingredients and whatever other fun groceries or cooking items you would like.

A few weeks ago I received an email from a representative of  HP Hood sharing a recipe for a Sweet Raspberry Tea Cake (recipe is at the very bottom of this post). I love sour cream cakes, and I love raspberries, so I was definitely on board. Random memory –  the first time I ever made a sour cream cake was in 9th grade in my Food for Daily Living class. My neighbor and class partner was a 12th grader, big shot athlete, and he would always steal my paper during tests, make me do all the work, and then eat everything. I put up with it then, but I definitely would not today. I wonder what he got up to after the glory days of high school sports were over? It’s kind of interesting how memory works, isn’t it?

Anyway,  I received my own Visa gift card to buy the ingredients, and over the weekend I whipped up my own version of the cake. I just can’t seem to ever follow a recipe 100%. . .

The cake came out great, with sweet bursts of raspberry jam popping up here and there. I also threw in whole raspberries, which wasn’t part of the recipe but made it even better.

To help you all make the recipe, Hood is offering a coupon for a discount on their sour cream. To access the coupon, click here.

 

Hood

 

(I used frozen raspberries instead of fresh; the fresh ones didn’t look very good.)

frozen raspberries

If you make the cake, let me know what you think!

To enter the giveaway:

1) Leave a comment here telling me a favorite baking memory or baked good.

2) Like either  HP Hood  or Hood New England Dairy Cook Off on Facebook

3) Check back on Thursday; I will choose a winner and announce it then.

 

Good luck!

 

Hood® Sweet Raspberry Tea Cake

Ingredients

(Cake)

1 cup Hood Sour Cream

1 cup Hood Half & Half

2 sticks unsalted butter, plus 2 tbsp to coat the pan

2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 cup seedless raspberry jam

3½ cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

 

(Icing)

2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp Hood Half & Half

½ pint fresh raspberries

Instructions

Cake:

Before starting, make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.

Generously coat a large 6 cup bundt pan with 2 tbsp of unsalted butter and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325°. In a large mixing bowl, sift dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) together and set aside.

Thin out the raspberry jam with the vanilla extract in a small bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the remaining unsalted butter until smooth. Add in the sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy.

Beat the eggs in one at time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.

Mix in the Hood Sour Cream.

Add the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the Hood Half & Half, being careful to not over mix.

Carefully fold in ½ of the raspberry jam mixture, but do not incorporate completely.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared bundt pan.

Take the remaining raspberry jam mixture and spread it over the batter in the pan, being careful to stay away from the edges.

Pour the remaining cake batter into the pan.

Bake for one hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. Cool completely and remove from the pan.

 

Icing:

Combine the Hood Half & Half, vanilla, and confectioners sugar in a small bowl and stir until smooth.

Pour the mixture over the top, allowing the icing to fall down the sides of the cake. Garnish the top with fresh raspberries and serve.

Tags: cake, dessert, Easter, giveaway, Hood, recipe

You have to go here.

February 10, 2012 in cocktail, Food, Restaurants, wine by traveleatlove | 14 comments

Where, you might be asking? Darryl’s Corner Kitchen and Bar! I can’t believe I have been missing out on this incredible gem in the South End. I first heard about Darryl’s at the Spoonful of Ginger event at the MFA last year. Their fried catfish was crispy and light, and the woman serving was sweet and welcoming. Yet, somehow, with all of the restaurants in Boston, we never got there.

On Wednesday night, we were texting back and forth trying to figure out where to go on a date before I headed to NJ for four days. I was tired from another long-ish run and a crazy work day, and  I didn’t want to go anywhere super fancy. I should tell you that, as much as I like a really nice high-end restaurant, I don’t like eating anywhere super fancy where it’s so quiet everyone looks at you if you drop your fork or something. I like a good level of noise and a feeling of comfort in a restaurant, so when I was browsing through Open Table, I was looking for casual with great food. Darryl’s popped up as having openings, so I checked out the menu. I instantly knew it was the perfect spot for the night.

We were instantly pleased when we walked into the warm, cozy restaurant and saw a jazz band setting up. Darryl’s is dimly lit and has its own unique style, a mix of classic jazz bar meets South End modern.

Our entertainment for the evening turned out to be Phillip Young and Friends, and they set the mood nicely.

Darryl's Corner Kitchen and Bar

I found myself dancing a little in my seat throughout the meal. The music was perfect; we could chat over it. The musicians were super talented, and they looked like they were having a blast.

I kicked off the night with one of Darryl’s specialty cocktails, of which there are many. The “Kind of Blue” featured Cold River Blueberry Vodka, pomegranate juice, and Triple Sec. It was both sweet and tart and actually reminded me of a Sweettart candy. I loved it.

cocktail

Ordering dinner has never been so difficult. I wanted so many items from all parts of the menu, but I finally went with the first thing I set my eyes on, crispy cheese grits with  beans, greens, and tomato gravy.

grits

My husband had the fried chicken with sweet potato fries and mac and cheese, and we shared a side of cole slaw because I love cabbage and mayonnaise.

fried chicken

Once the food was put in front of us, we stopped chatting and enjoyed the music and the heavenly bites put in front of us. Each bite of crispy grits got doused in a tangy tomato sauce and topped with perfectly made greens. I also snagged multiple sweet potato fries which were lightly sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Oh, and the mac and cheese? Total, complete cheesy comfort food. This is the place to be after a week of running.

When our server returned to clear our plates, we did not even need to see the dessert menu to know that we wanted the red velvet cake. Our dining neighbors on both sides ordered it, and we were those people, you know, the ones staring at other people’s food.

The cake was the perfect portion, was nice and cold the way I love cake to be, and was layered with slightly sweet cream cheese frosting. I am in love with this cake.

red velvet cake

The service at Darryl’s was so friendly and warm; they were busy, and our server had most of the room. She totally took it in stride, smiled the whole time, apologized for any wait, which wasn’t long, and just made the experience fun.

We loved the food, the people, and the buzz about this restaurant. It was the kind of place that makes you smile ear-to-ear, the kind of place you want to linger.

We might go back next week.

Happy Friday! I am blogging from NJ this weekend while my hubs works the Boat Show in Boston.

What are you up to this weekend?

Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Tags: Boston, cake, cocktails, dessert, Food, Restaurants, wine

Mini Lemon Goat Cheese Cheesecakes

May 3, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 12 comments

It all started with the cute little ramekins my sister gave me for my birthday. They just screamed “mini dessert!” Somehow, mini desserts turned into mini cheesecakes and then goat cheese cheesecakes and then, finally, lemon goat cheese cheesecakes. Say that three times fast!

ramekins

I scanned a few recipes online and then winged it. I feel like you can do that with cheesecake more than other desserts, and I like it!

I started with a sleeve of graham crackers, crushing them to bits in my mini food processor.

graham cracker crumbs

Then, I mixed the graham cracker dust with several teaspoons of melted butter. I probably needed to use more, but I just eyeballed it. Make sure the crumbs are crumbly, kind of like wet sand, and press them into the bottom of your ramekins or plate.

graham cracker crust

I baked the crusts for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. I think next time I would bake them for a bit longer, maybe 12-15 minutes, so the crusts were golden brown. Or, I might leave the crust out together. While it was good, the cake didn’t even need it.

While the crusts were baking, I zested and juiced one giant lemon. To my delight, this lemon was juicy and flavorful, a contrast to many of the dry citrus fruits I have eaten lately. As a result, the flavor of lemon really came through.

lemon zest

To make the cake batter, I mixed six ounces of softened goat cheese with a brick of Neufchatel cheese that had been microwaved for 10 seconds. I stirred and stirred until the cheeses were blended, adding in two eggs as well as the lemon zest and juice and then really mixing the batter until smooth, yellow, and fragrant with the scent of lemon. Instead of adding a cup or more of sugar, as most recipes called for, I added two teaspoons. I wanted the flavor focus to be on the tartness of the lemon and the tang of the goat cheese, not sugar.

lemon cheesecake

I filled each of the ramekins with cheesecake batter, then put them in a 325 oven for 32 minutes.

lemon cheesecake

Once they were cooked, the tops looked solid, and the filling didn’t move when the ramekins were shaken. I couldn’t help but take a small bite of my “test” ramekin, and even hot, the cheesecake was fluffy, like a lemony custard. I had to have a few bites and ended up burning my tongue in the process. It was so worth it!

The cheesecakes were, of course, better once cooled. I was actually able to tip them out of the ramekins into dessert bowls. Success!

lemon cheesecake

The cooled cheesecakes were rich and creamy but refreshing due to the lemon. The goat cheese made all the difference. I do believe goat cheese is one of my favorite dessert ingredients. Next time? I am making honey and lavender goat cheese cheesecakes. Stay tuned!

Do you like cheesecake? If so, what kind? And with what toppings?

Tags: cake, cheesecake, dessert, recipe

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