Pineapple Bunny Cakes

Autumn is fast approaching and I want to hang on to summer for a little bit longer. So in hopes of capturing a little sunshine, I have made pineapple bunny cakes. These yummy little cakes are in tribute to my beloved rabbit, Stewart Vincent BunBun. Stewie loved pineapple, so it was only fitting to make these cakes in a bunny mold. If you don't have bunny molds you can always make this recipe in a 13” by 9” by 2” baking pan. If you make the little bunny molds you will end up with 12 bunnies. Unlike rabbits that like to multiply, bunny cakes like to add. The beautiful thing about this recipe is all you have to do is count to two. Yes, two, you make this cake with two of everything.

So for you to make Pineapple Cake you will need;

2 cups sugar

2 cups of cake flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 eggs

2 (8 oz) cans crushed pineapple

In a mixing bowl combine everything and mix well.

If you want, at this time, you can stir in about a cup of chopped pecans.

Pour batter into ungreased molds or cake pan.

Bake at 350º for 20 minutes for small molds and 40 minuets for cake pan.

Top with a cream cheese frosting. (see past post)

Have this beach bunny with some Dr. Pepper and Rum

or lift your pinkie as you have tea with this charming couple.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 Cup Softened Butter
8 oz. Softened Cream Cheese
1 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Combine all and beat until smooth.

ABC

Not so easy as 1-2-3.

Down in the south liquor is sold at a different store than the grocery store. It is called the ABC Store. I really didn't think about this before I moved to the South. In Wisconsin I had it made. I could do all of my baking shopping in one simple trip. I just had to do it between 8:00 AM and 8:30 PM. Now I have to make two trips. Also the only ABC store I know of is in a very small city and has a very small selection. Oh how I miss the mega-liquor stores. Everything from Absinthe to Zima. So dear readers, I have to apologize to you for the lack of liquor in my baking. I also have to apologize for my lack of baking in general; most of what I have been baking has been very experimental and not quit blog worthy. But never fear…I will conquer my shortcomings in regards to the 3 B’s…Booze, Baking and Blogging and I will be back in the Ovens again.

Do-Ri-Mi…1-2-3, baking you and me!

Irish Coffee Cookies

For my birthday this year I was given the coolest set of cookie cutters. I love them, they are so adorable. One major problem though, I have never been good at making sugar cookies. I have always stuck to low fuss cookies. So one night I decided to make my very first batch of sugar cookies. I think they sucked. There were so boring. So what makes things better in my book....? Whiskey. Those who know me know that whiskey is my liquor of choice. I was sneaking it in the dorm rooms back in the day and well I think I might have to blame it for half of my boyfriends. Plus Whiskey gave me the Irish courage to take on a new form of sugar cookie. Irish Coffee Cookies.

So to make the best Irish Coffee you need to start with an Americano. It is going to be so much smoother than just regular coffee.

For Irish Coffee you need:

1 1/2 oz Irish Whiskey
1 tsp brown sugar
6 oz hot coffee
Heavy Cream

Combine whiskey, sugar and coffee in a mug and stir to dissolve. Float cold cream gently on top. Do not mix.

In the summer I love iced Irish Coffee. Milwaukee's Irish Fest got me hooked on that.

So to make this into a cookie I took a basic sugar cookie recipe. If you have one you like it can be easily converted.

You will need:

For cookies

1/3 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup shortening

1 teaspoon baking powder

Dash of salt

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon Irish Whiskey

1 pack Italian VIA (or instant espresso)

For Royal Icing:

2 cups sifted powder sugar

4 teaspoons meringue powder

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

¼ cup warm water

½ teaspoon Irish Cream

In a medium bowl beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add in your sugar, baking powder, and a dash of salt. Beat until combined. Add in your egg, vanilla, VIA and Whiskey. One cup at a time add in the flour. Cover and let chill. It takes about hour to chill and you know what that means... Happy Hour!

Preheat your oven to 375°.

On a floured surface roll out our dough so it is about ¼ inch thick. Get now it is time to get creative. You can use any type of cookie cutter you want. Hey if anyone comes across cookie cutters in the shape of martini, wine glass or beer mugs, please, let me know where you found them.

Place your cutouts on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes and let cool on sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

Right before you are ready to ice your cookies make your royal icing.

Combine all of you icing ingredients and mix on a low speed for about 7 minutes.

Pipe icing on your cookies and you are set.

Please don't look too closely at my cookies... they look like a drunken person decorated them... ummm well... I did have a happy hour while the dough was chilling.

Since I am sweet enough, I only frost the cookies a little. I don't like overly sweet things but you may find you like them fully frosted.

“Russian” Spice Cake

As of late, I have had time to catch up on my reading. This means I have been reading all of Nick Hornby's columns for the Believer magazine. His clever columns got me thinking about how the books I am reading, shows and movies I am watching and just everything around me affects my baking.

These past few weeks the Russian spies have been a news topic and I have been wearing my favorite Mireasma perfume, “Russian Spice Cake.” So I thought I should make a Russian Spice Cake. Having no recipe I hit the internet looking for one. I came across a few and they didn't seem to be the best sounding. I took what I liked from a few of them and then created my own version of a Russian Spice Cake.

This is what I used:

6oz Hot water

1 pack of Starbuck's VIA, instant coffee in Italian

½ cup clover honey

¾ cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

3 cups All Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon allspice

a good grating of nutmeg

To make:

Heat oven to 325º F

Grease and Flour Bundt Pan.

Prep the instant coffee according to the directions on the box and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix honey, sugar, oil and eggs until light and fluffy.

Next add flour, one cup at a time.

Once incorporated add coffee, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cloves, allspice and nutmeg.

Mix well.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 60 minutes. Make sure your tester comes out clean. Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to completely cool.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

You will have a spicy cake that is as sexy as Russian Spy Anna Chapman.

Pound Cake (Not GreatGrandma's)

So before I packed up everything to move down south, I made one last treat for everyone in Wisconsin. I made my Great Grandmother's pound cake. The recipe is a guarded secret in our family and it was very hard for me to come by. I had to get my 85 year old Grandmother drunk before I could get her to divulge the family secret. I guess it really wasn't that hard, my Grandmother adores Hot Sex, a chocolate milk flavored liquor. It has to be a very low proof, but the way she was acting, you would have thought it was 110 proof. But once I got Grandma talking I heard much more about all of my family secret’s that I really would have been happy not to know....it explains why she likes Hot Sex. OK, time to get back to baking.
That being said, you all are going to hate me. I will not be sharing my Great Grandmother's recipe with you but, yes but, I will share a modified Chocolate pound cake with you instead.


There are some rules.
Rule #1: Everything needs to be added to the butter 3 tablespoons at a time

Rule #2: You must use the best cocoa and pure vanilla you can afford, you can drink PBRs for a while.

Rule #3: You can NOT open the oven door while your pound cake is baking... It's a big no no. If you are one who is not very patient, my I suggest some spirits or the thought that if you open the oven doors all the spirits of your Grandma's past are going to haunt you.... ick.

Rule #4: This only applies if you or anyone in your family owns a dog. The pound cake smells so good while it cools that it is very hard for dogs to resist. Even the shortest of dogs will find a wayonto the counter to get to it. So protect your pound cakes, bakers, while it is cooling. Since the pound cake takes a while to make, it would be a shame to see it lost in a few seconds. My first pound cake was lost to my Dad's dog Mac. He may look cute but he was the foil of my baking triumph.

Rule #5: Have all of your ingredients measured out before you start baking.

So this is what you are going to. The best part of pound cake it you can get a little workout while you gather the ingredients.
1 pound All-Purpose Flour (for the Chocolate version, use 2 ¼ cups flour and 1 cup unsweetened cocoa)
1 pound Unsalted Butter, at room temp. (Best to have the butter and eggs sitting out an hour before you start baking).
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
9 large eggs, at room temp.
2 cups Sugar, my GG's called for more, but I thought we could be a little more health conscious.

So let’s get started. Get your stand mixer out and preheat your oven to 325°F.

In a large bowl, of any kind, whisk together flour and cocoa.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter.
Now slowly mix in the flour, 3 tablespoons at a time.
Once the flour is incorporated add in one egg at a time, making sure each egg it completely mixed in before adding the next.

Now carefully add in the sugar 3 tablespoons at a time.

Lastly add in your vanilla. Vanilla bean paste is amazing in here.

If I have forgotten anything just add it in 3 tablespoons at a time, I have been up since 4am and I am drinking a PBR on a relatively empty tummy, bet you can guess where all my money goes... quality cocoa and vanilla beans.
I normally make my pound cakes in bunt molds; I think they are prettier that way. But you can make this pound cake in loaf pans, I know this will make one large bunt cake and maybe it will make two 5 by 9 loafs. (I think that sounds right)

Before you move your batter to pans, you will need to grease and flour them. The best thing to use is a baking spray with flour in it already.
Now it is time to pop the pound cake in the oven for 1 hour and 40/55 minutes for the bunt, and about 65 minutes for the loafs.

At this time you make open your oven to make sure a tester comes out clean.

Let your pound cake cool for a half an hour in the pan and then flip it over onto a wire rack.


Now you have a wonderful pound cake every generation will enjoy! It is Kid friendly... unlike Grandma's stories.

Banana Bread

For some reason I have the nutrition for this Banana Bread. I know when I collected this recipe I was on a major diet so I am sure that it is from some health food magazine. I also think this bread is much better with nuts and I will usually mix in a hand full or two of walnuts.

Nutrition:

Calories 230

Fiber 1.6 g

Sodium 246 mg

Protein 3.7 g

You will need:

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter

¾ cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 ½ cups mushed bananas

(I don't know about you but this really doesn't sound all that healthy. I think it worked for me because my boyfriend at the time was eating the loaves before I had a chance.)

So to make it you start by preheating your oven to 350°F and lightly greasing your pan or pans

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream together mashed bananas, butter, brown sugar and eggs. Stir in flour mixture to banana mixture. Pour into prepared pans.

Allow to bake for 60-65 minuets or until tester comes out clean.