Eggnog is the drink of the God's.

Well probably not, but I have such an affinity to it that I have to limit my consumption. I've resorted to using philosophy's Old Fashioned Eggnog 3 in 1 Body Wash to get more of a fix. But I digress...

Last night was my hubby's annual family cookie swap and being the newest member of their fam, I volunteered to host and provide the snacky bits. One of the hits of the spread was this easy peasy Eggnog Cake. As much as I enjoy a scratch cake, one that comes from a box saves time and with the week I'd had this week, I was looking for as many time saving things that I could.

This cake is super moist and dense all at the same time... the eggnog, rum, and nutmeg flavors work so beautifully together to make this cake a new favorite in our house for years to come!

Enjoy!

Eggnog Cake







Ingredients - Cake:

4 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1 packaged yellow cake mix

1 1/2 cups commercially prepared eggnog

2 eggs

1 teaspoon rum extract

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Ingredients - Glaze:
2c. powdered sugar
2T. melted butter
3T. eggnog
1t. vanilla

Directions - Cake:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cake mix, eggnog, eggs, rum extract, nutmeg and melted butter on low speed for 30 seconds or just til moistened. Beat on medium for 2 minutes or until smooth. Pour into greased bundt pan.
Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Poke holes in the hot cake and brush with half of the eggnog glaze.
Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Drizzle with remaining glaze.

Directions - Glaze:
Combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl, whisk well. Add more eggnog if needed for a consistency that will drizzle from a spoon.

I'm coconuts for you, Mom!

As mentioned in the Crab Dip post, we had a little birthday get together for my Mom in late November and I, again, was put in charge of cake duty!

Besides her love for anything crab, she also loves coconut.. which in my humble opinion, makes a much tastier cake!!

I made her a coconut layer cake with coconut buttercream... this cake was pretty dense with the coconut milk and really packed a coconut punch... which was exactly what I wanted!

Enjoy :)


Coconut Layer Cake with Coconut Buttercream Frosting




Cake
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco Lépez)
4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
Pinch of salt
4 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and sweetened cream of coconut in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients and then buttermilk, each just until blended.
Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites with pinch of salt in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold beaten egg whites into batter.
Divide cake batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.
Place 1 cake layer on cake plate. Spread 1 cup Frosting over cake layer. Sprinkle 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut over. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle remaining coconut over cake, gently pressing into sides to adhere.

(Coconut Layer Cake can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours before serving.)




Icing
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon coconut extract
4 cups confectioner's sugar (approximately 1 lb.) sifted
2 Tablespoons milk

Directions

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer.
Add vanilla.
Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed.
Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.
When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry.
Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.


Happy Birthday Mom!

Spooky & delicious!!

I heart cake.
I heart truffles.
I heart lollipops.

If you're anything like me and enjoy the above 3 treats, this recipe is so for you! I've made these cake balls before (right around St. Pats!) and they were a hit so I figured, why not make them Halloween-a-fied! Mr. Tana-Licious and I are headed to a Halloween party and I was asked to bring something sweet (besides my sweet self!)... Cake balls it is!

I decided to do chocolate cake with chocolate icing on the inside and then dip them into both white chocolate and milk chocolate. And, I decided to use lollipop sticks to make them easier to eat for the party go-er's. Frankly, I don't think I would make this recipe again without using lollipop sticks! The stick helped so much with dipping and even more with dropping the nonpareils over top!

Who says ghosts can't be adorable?!

Cake Balls



1 box cake mix of your choice (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can frosting of your choice (16 oz.)
1 bag of chocolate meltable discs
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl. (I tend to then put my crumbled cake into the fridge to get extra cold).
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can frosting (I found it easy to use a spatula to blend).
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet (I used a small cookie scoop and ended up with 60+).
4. Chill for several hours (I left them in the fridge for 24 hours).
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Stick lollipop sticks into the chilled cake balls.
7. Dip balls in chocolate and stand on wax paper until firm -- if you're using nonpareils, drizzle those over the warm chocolate and if you're making ghosts or drizzling chocolate, wait until the chocolate has set!


Trick or Treat!

Oh it's ladies night...

Once a month myself, 2 of my bridesmaids, and my matron of honor get together at one of our homes and do dinner, drinks, and lots of girl talk! Instead of us going out every month, the person who hosts that month, also fixes the meal! Not so shabby!

This month it was my turn and I used Ms. Rachael Ray as an inspiration! I went on my quest to find something quick, easy, tasty to make, and impressive (of course!). I stumbled upon Rachael's Chicken Brasciole that she served with Lemon Pepper Cappelini. SWEET! Then the question was, "what veggie to serve alongside?"... how about some simple steamed squash?! FAB! And to drink... well, even I impressed myself with this one! I dubbed it "Semi-Homemade Sangria". So delish & perfect!

The crowning jewel of my meal was dessert... a Bailey's Irish Cream Cake with Bailey's glaze. O. M. G. SO GOOD. It was such an incredibly simple recipe and absolutely one I will make again.

This meal was incredible from start to finish and I got raves from all three of my lovely gal pals!

Now go... Enjoy it yourselves :)

Chicken Brasciole
(adapted from Rachael Ray)



1/2 cup hot water
Handful raisins
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, a few sprigs, leaves chopped

Pour very hot tap water into a small bowl. Add raisins and plump 5 minutes.
Drain raisins and pat dry. Place raisins, nuts, parsley, lemon zest, garlic, bread crumbs, and cheese into processor and pulse into a stuffing.
Butterfly the chicken open by cutting into and across the breast but not all the way through. Pound out the cutlets and season the chicken with salt and pepper. Fill the breasts with stuffing, roll and secure with toothpicks.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Brown the brasciole all over 7 to 8 minutes, remove and set aside. Deglaze pan with wine, scraping up the drippings. Stir in tomatoes and tarragon, add chicken back, cover and simmer 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.


Lemon Pepper Cappelini
(adapted from Rachael Ray)



2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
2 lemons, zested and juiced
Salt
1/2 pound capellini
1/2 cup shredded or torn basil leaves
Grated cheese, to pass at table

Place water on to boil for pasta.
In a large skillet combine olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic, pepper and the lemon zest.
Salt water when it boils then cook cappellini to al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Add a ladle of cooking water to lemon pepper butter and stir in the lemon juice. Drain pasta and toss with lemon-pepper butter and salt, to taste. Add the basil to the pasta and serve a small bundle alongside your entree or serve as a delicate first course.


Semi-Homemade Sangria



2-750 ml bottles of Arbor Mist Sangria wine
Splash of peach schnapps
Splash of Cointreau
Splash of brandy
Fruit of your choice (I used 1 lemon, 1 lime, 1 apple, 1 peach, 1 orange and sliced them all into 8ths)


Place sliced fruit into the bottom of the pitcher.
Pour liquids over top.
Muddle the fruit & liquors together & serve on ice.


Bailey’s Irish Cream Cake



CAKE
1 c. nuts
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 (3 oz.) pkg. Jello instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. Bailey's Irish Cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a tube or bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts on the bottom of pan. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Pour over nuts. Bake 1 hour. Cool cake completely. Remove cake and pour glaze over top and sides.

GLAZE:
1 stick butter
1/4 c. water
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. Bailey's Irish Cream

Melt butter. Stir in water and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. REMOVE from heat. Stir in Bailey's Irish Cream.

*Note: I poured and repoured the glaze over the cake about 5 times to get it to really soak in. I then took the remaining glaze and put it into a tupperware container and drizzled it over top with each piece I served!

Birthdays are a labor of love!

So last month I decided that I would tackle the challenge of making Mr. Tana-Licious' birthday cake. I knew that I wanted to use fondant in some form... and that my darling fiance loves cream cheese icing & cinnamon. How to incorporate all 3 became my challenge... and I knew that I wanted to do it mostly all from scratch!

I found a recipe on Food Network for a Spicey Cinnamon cake (courtesy of Paula Deen!) and decided that that would be a solid base... and with a few tweaks I could make it work. Then, I took a classic buttercream recipe & adapted it to make it into a cream cheese frosting.

The result? Heavenly! The cake was moist & delicious and the frosting was soooo good... the cream cheese really works with the buttercream to give that sweet, but not too sweet taste.

Here are the recipes... I'll post pics after the recipes! Remember: the recipes have been tripled from their original amounts due to the amount of cake I was making! Enjoy :)

Cinnamon Swirl Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting


Cinnamon Swirl Birthday Cake
(adapted from Paula Deen’s Spicy Cinnamon Cake)
*Note: this recipe makes a 2 tiered cake (10” & 8”)

3 packages white cake mix
3 4-serving packages of instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups of sour cream
12 eggs
1 ½ C corn oil
7/8 C + 1 T of sugar
2 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease cake pans.

Combine cake mix, instant pudding, sour cream, eggs, and corn oil and beat together well.

In a separate bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.

Pour 3 C batter into prepared pan # 1 and sprinkle with half of sugar mixture. Pour another 3 C of batter on top.

Pour 1 ½ C of batter into prepared pan # 2 and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Pour remaining 1 ½ C of batter on top.

Bake 1 hour. Let cool and remove from pans.



Cream Cheese Frosting
*Note: this recipe has been tripled to frost a 2 tiered cake*

3 - 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
1 C + 2 T of shortening
9 C powdered sugar
3 dashes of salt
¾ C of milk
3 t of vanilla
3 T of meringue powder

Cream shortening, cream cheese, milk, vanilla.

Add salt & mix.

Beat in sugar & meringue until desired consistency has been reached.


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Now for photos...


The cake!!!


All lit up! Sparkler candles!


The inside... loved that swirl!

Love me the Food Network challenges!

I was watching the FN one lazy Sunday and the "Challenge" show was on and it was featuring cakes. Luckily for me, I was in search of a good recipe for dessert to bring to Easter at the Future Mr. Tana-Licious' Mom's house (that's a mouth full... could have just said future mother in law, or FMIL (if you're a Knottie!!)).

The tropical pound cake called out to me. I kid you not. Ok, well maybe a little. Nevertheless, it was a fairly simple recipe to follow and everyone devoured it. I do plan to whip it up again in the future... it is a good go-to pound cake recipe too! My plan is to switch up the extracts next time around... maybe go with a lemon & lime flavor! The possibilities with this cake are near endless!

Only thing I will add to this... I found it to take an additional 25 minutes of cook time. Each stove is different I suppose!

Tropical Pound Cake



Cake:
Floured cooking spray
3 stick butter
8 ounces cream cheese
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour (recommended: White Lily)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract

Icing:
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
4 ounces cream cheese
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 box confectioners' sugar (more or less depending on desired frosting consistency)
1 small can coconut

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Spray a 10-cup tube pan with floured cooking spray and set aside (make sure the pan is coated well).
Cream together the butter and cream cheese on low speed until mixed well. Slowly add the sugar. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy at medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed. (Mix from 15 to 30 seconds.) Slowly add flour. Once the flour is mixed in add the extracts. Beat the mixture on medium-low speed for about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides, beat another 30 seconds. TIP: do not overbeat, cake will be dry.
Pour batter into the tube pan and distribute evenly. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. Test for doneness. Remove from over and let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes turn the cake out on a serving dish. Put the dish on a wire rack to complete cooling. One cake is cool, frost.
Icing: Take the strained crushed pineapple, put in a small bowl, and with the back of a large spoon, press out as much juice as possible. Set aside.
Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add the crushed pineapple and extracts. Beat about a minute. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, until you reach the desired spreading consistency. You will most likely use the entire box. Beat until light and fluffy. Frost the pound cake on all sides, top and middle. Carefully press the coconut on the sides, and sprinkle on the top. Hint, put the cake dish on waxed paper so that the coconut that falls off can be easily collected.

Back to my roots, ya'll!

So I stumbled upon this recipe yesterday for Kandy Kakes... not just any Kandy Kakes, the delicious PB & Chocolate ones! Ya can't get these little squares (or circles!) of goodness up here in RI... only when we go home to MD and spend some time at the shore are we able to scoop up enough boxes to last us through the winter... or at least the 6+ hour ride home!

Needless to say, I'm thoroughly pleased with how they turned out... and they taste just like them! And can ya tell we have a thing for the combo of PB & chocolate in my house? Mmmm, delicious!

This recipe does make a whole sheet worth so make sure you can either blow your whole diet and eat them yourself
or have someone to share them with... but trust me, they'll go fast!

"Kandy Kakes"



4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
2 c. flour
2 tsp. butter
1 cup hot milk
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
2 (8 oz) Hershey bars (I used one 16 oz. bag of the meltable chocolate wafers)

Beat eggs. Add sugar, vanilla, baking powder and flour. Melt butter in hot milk and add to batter. Pour mixture into greased jellyroll pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
Spread at once with peanut butter. Refrigerate until peanut butter is hard. Melt Hershey bars and spread on top. Refrigerate until chocolate is hardened. Bring to room temperature before slicing into bars.