Visby, Sweden

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Baltic cruises would stop in St. Petersburg. To replace this stop, they added Visby to the itinerary. When planning ahead, there were no excursion options available through the cruise for Visby so we planned to walk around the town and see the sights for ourselves. Once onboard, excursion options opened up but we decided to stick to our own plan. 

Visby is right on the water, of course. Most of the town is hidden behind the old town walls, but when you get on the other side of the wall you can have this beautiful view. We walked along the water for a bit.

Visby also has a great botanical garden that is free to visit. Coming in June provided us the chance to see tons of different flowers in bloom!

The other gem that Visby had to offer was church ruins. I don't know why, but I love church ruins. 

And being in Sweden meant we just had to make a fika stop before getting back on the ship! We enjoyed cake and coffee from a little café with outdoor seating. I had carrot cake, but Charles made the best choice with this slice of chocolate cake. 

Guava Cream Cheese Pound Cake

One of my very favorite things on the planet is my cream cheese pound cake. I don't even remember where the original recipe came from, but I make it as often as I can justify. It is creamy and just has the best flavor. 

Recently I had ordered some guava paste online to make guava and cream cheese pastries. With the remaining guava paste packages, I was thinking about making a guava cake. I saw a recipe for guava pound cake where the author said she substituted one cup of sugar for guava paste in her original pound cake recipe. So I chose to do that with my cream cheese pound cake. It turned out so good! 

To top my guava pound cake, I attempted to make lime Swiss meringue buttercream. That was a fail. On my first attempt, it was both soupy and curdled. After fighting with it, I gave up and scooped it into a bowl to mess with the next day. The next day I played around with it again by heating it up and re-whipping. That fixed the curdled part, but it was still too loose. I tried cooling it in the fridge and then whipped it later after bringing to room temperature. It is thicker than it was, but more like a whipped cream thickness. That's ok! I have just been topping my pound cake slice with a dollop of my lime Swiss meringue cream and have been perfectly happy! 

 

Oktoberfest Quiche

I am not normally one to go off-book when it comes to recipes. I love following directions. I love rules. I am not a confident cook. However, I had this idea to make an Oktoberfest or German themed quiche to bring to a Fest potluck with the other residents in our apartment building. I searched Pinterest and did not come up with anything exactly like what I had in mind, so I combined ideas from a couple different recipes and came up with my own Oktoberfest Quiche. It is a little risky serving something you have never made or tried before, but it turned out pretty tasty! 

This was my first time wearing my brand new dirndl! I am in love with it and so glad I found it in the sale section. Not only did I save a bunch compared to buying a current season style, but I had my eye on this exact one from my online browsing. Finding it in my size at 50% off made my day! And of course Suzie was a big hit in her "dirndl". 

In addition to my Oktoberfest Quiche, I brought my German Apple Cake. This is one of my favorite things in life and this time I made a salted caramel frosting instead of the typical vanilla buttercream. Yummy! It's not authentically German AT ALL! Germans would never make something that sweet, but it was made with apples we picked in Germany, so that makes it more legitimate to me. 

Lemon Cream Cheese Cake

One of the neighbors on my street planned a potluck for everyone and I used it as a chance to try out a new recipe. Originally I planned to try a recipe for lemon poppy seed bars, but the grocery store on base was out of poppy seeds so I decided to try for something else instead of stressing out trying to find them at another store. I ended up grabbing some cream cheese while at the store...just in case. When I returned home and searched Pinterest for recipes for lemon desserts, I found this one for lemon cream cheese cake and thought it sounded good for a summer evening get-together. 

It is always a risk trying a new recipe for an event. I worry a bit about if it does not taste good. That was especially on my mind for this occasion because we are new to the street and I had never shared baked goods with my neighbors, so they would have no idea that I am generally a good baker. Luckily they told me the cake was really delicious and I confirmed when I tasted it! It did not have as big of a lemon punch that I thought, but that may be because instead of lemon zest I used a couple drops of lemon essential oil. I also had to bake it quite a bit longer than the recipe stated, but I am not sure if that is an issue with the recipe or with my oven. If you try this one out, just keep an eye on it and take it out when it is no longer very jiggly in the middle. 

Pineapple Rum Cake

Wow! Has it really been since June that I last posted? Well, I am still alive and have been busy, busy, busy.

Recently I had to purchase some rum for a fondue recipe. While at the store I saw pineapple rum and on an impulse bought a bottle. Fast forward a couple weeks, I attended a murder mystery party and we were asked to bring either an appetizer or dessert. I thought, what can I make with that pineapple rum? I searched Pinterest for inspiration and came across a recipe for Rum Cake. I wanted to punch up the pineapple flavor, so I experimented a little with the recipe. It turned out pretty tasty, so I thought I'd share the recipe on here.

I hope you enjoy!

Design: Pumpkin Spice Bunco

I will be hosting Bunco again this month. I immediately thought of Pumpkin Spice as a theme. If you happen to be a fan of Brant Hansen, you may agree that pumpkin spice is all hype and that no one actually likes it--Contrived scarcity and fear of missing out. I will admit that it's not something that I would want to consume all year round, but a little bit around this time of year is enough for me. I've enjoyed a few pumpkin spice lattes and such.

Hosting will also give me a reason to make Upside Down Pumpkin Cake! I was introduced to this dish back when we lived in Ohio. I attended a work party and my boss' boss brought it. It is incredibility delicious and moist. Plus it's super easy to make. If does use a boxed cake mix. If you've been following me so a while you'll know I'm not a huge fan of boxed cake mixes. The last couple of times I've made this dish I was able to find mixes that don't have a lot of junk in them. Hopefully I'll have that same luck again.

 

Vermont Maple Carrot Cake

My sisters and I recently visited my parents. My middle sister, Courtney, brought me some goodies from New England--maple syrup! It reminded me that I have a little cookbook that we purchased when we visited Vermont several years ago. It features recipes that all include maple syrup. I was flipping through it the other day and telling Charles some of the recipes that sounded good. One of which was carrot cake and he asked if I would make it.

Vermont Maple Carrot Cake

Ingredients

Cake
4 eggs
1 cup maple syrup (Dark Amber or B is preferable)
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1 T lemon juice (I didn't have any, so I used 3 drops of my lemon essential oil)
2 t vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1/2 t salt
1 T baking powder
2 t cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots

Cream Cheese Frosting
8oz cream cheese, room temp
1/4 cup butter, room temp
2 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat eggs on high speed until frothy. Add next 5 ingredients and beat together another minute. Combine flour, nuts, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add liquids to dry ingredients. Fold in carrots. Pour into slightly greased bundt pan.

Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick emerges clean. (I didn't need to bake that long. I could smell that it was done and took it out early. You might want to check it with 30 minutes to go just to make sure). Cool in pan until easy to handle. Frost when cool with cream cheese frosting.

To make frosting, cream together cream cheese and butter with mixer on high. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Add powdered sugar and beat until you have your desired consistency.

Creamsicle Cake for the troops

Now that I am not working, I am able to do some volunteer things that I did not have time or make time for previously. One such occasion was simply to bake a cake and hang out with some Airmen. My husband's squadron will have "crew feeds" from time to time. These are often organized by the spouses. The most recent one included a contest for best dish and was called Crocks for Crews. Everyone could sign up to bring a crockpot meal or a dessert. I chose dessert since I am not confident enough in my cooking ability to force other people to eat my savory dishes. I thought and thought about what dessert to make. There are soooo many great options! I had recently ordered some essential oils including a tangerine essential oil. I thought it would be fun to make something with it. So I decided on a creamsicle cake. It turned out to be delicious! I'm going to have to make it again sometime soon.

The cake is just a basic vanilla cake, made from scratch using a recipe from the blog I Am Baker. Of course I found it on Pinterest. This recipe is neat because you can mix the dry ingredients together ahead of time and store in a mason jar or another container. Then when you are ready for some cake, you just add a few extra ingredients and bake.

The frosting is my favorite Betty Crocker vanilla buttercream with a few drops of tangerine essential oil.

Creamsicle Cake

Ingredients for cake
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/4 cups milk
2 T vegetable oil
1 stick butter, softened
1 T vanilla
3 large eggs

Ingredients for frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
3 drops of tangerine essential oil (orange essential oil would also work)
1 1/2 t vanilla
1  to 2 T milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place softened butter in bowl and mix on medium for 1 to 2 minutes.

Place dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) in bowl with butter and combine for 30 seconds.

Add milk, oil, vanilla, and eggs and mix on medium-high for one minute.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake. For 9 inch pans, bake for 20-25 minutes. For cupcakes, start checking around 15 minutes. (I used a 13x9 inch pan and had to bake for longer than 25 minutes... I can't remember the exact time, but I did it in small increments and checked using my cake tester). Cool before frosting.

To make frosting, mix powdered sugar and butter in bowl with mixer on low speed. Stir in essential oil, vanilla and milk (starting with 1 tablespoon and adding more, as needed). I usually have to add more than 2 tablespoons of milk for the right consistency.

Thanksgiving dessert: German Apple Cake

As I mentioned in my Thanksgiving entry, I made a couple desserts to accompany the sweet potato pie that came with our meal. Usually I make Caramel Apple Pecan Pie for this holiday, but I wanted to make something different. For our Oktoberfest party I made an apple cake that was AMAZING! I knew it would be a hit at Thanksgiving, too. Of course, I found the recipe on Pinterest. To see the original recipe, click here.

German Apple Cake

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cup white sugar
1 t vanilla
2 cups flour
2 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
4 cups thinly peeled and sliced apples (Granny Smith are my favorite)

Frosting
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
3 T melted butter
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

*Since my husband does not like cream cheese, I just made regular vanilla frosting from the Betty Crocker Big Red cookbook

Directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
Add oil to eggs in mixer and beat until foamy. Add the sugar and vanilla; mix. Add the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Mix together. Add apples by folding in with a spoon. The batter will be very thick. It seems like there are more apples than batter. This is normal.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

Make frosting. If following recipe for cream cheese frosting, she said add a little milk if it's too thick.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Can I just say yum, yum, yum! For our Valentine's Day dessert we planned to have fondue. One of my favorite fondue dippers is pound cake. Yes, it is a LOT easier just to buy a loaf of pound cake at the store. But if you've been following my blog you probably understand why I would have an issue with that. Who knows what is in store bought pound cake? I would rather make it myself. I am SO glad that I did. This recipe makes a delicious pound cake. Beside eating it with fondue, we have enjoyed it with ice cream and with homemade caramel sauce. It has been delicious every way.

The recipe was found on Pinterest and is featured on the blog This IS How I Cook.

Ingredients
3 sticks butter, room temp
1 8oz package of cream cheese, at room temp
3 cups sugar
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 large eggs, at room temp
3 cups flour, at room temp ;)

Grease and flour (or just grease if you're lazy like me) 2 8x4 loaf pans or one 10" tube pan. I used a bundt pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream butter, cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add salt and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Gradually beat in flour on low speed. Spoon mixture into pan(s). Make sure not to overfill your pan(s).

Bake about 1 1/2 hours or until a skewer comes out clean.

They will love you...

...if you make this cake! Over the weekend, I made Banana-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Peanut Butter frosting. I brought them into work on Monday and Tuesday and everyone cannot stop raving about them. I thought I would share!

The recipe is from Bon Appetit!

Ingredients
Cake:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (I used 3 bananas)
1 cup sour cream
1 10-oz. bag mini chocolate chips (I just had regular chocolate chips)

Frosting:  
2 cups peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides and bottom of bowl. Beat in vanilla.

Add dry ingredients; beat on low speed just to blend. Add bananas and sour cream; beat just to blend. Fold in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly among pans; smooth tops.

I made as cupcakes, but the recipe instructions are for 8x8 cakes. Bake cakes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean (about 22 minutes for cupcakes or about 35 minutes for cakes). Let cool completely.

Frosting

Using an electric mixer, beat ingredients in a medium bowl until a light and fluffy frosting forms, 2–3 minutes. Spread on cupcakes. My frosting was a little runny, but after sitting in the fridge it stiffened up and was perfect.

Upside Down Pumpkin Cake

At work last week, we had a "Steak Burn." I had never heard of a "steak burn" before, so I wasn't really sure what it was. Basically, we all had an extended lunch and my boss's boss, Ron, grilled steaks, chicken, potatoes, etc. The food was really good! And it was nice to have an extended lunch and play some Skip-bo with my co-workers. (If you have never played Skip-Bo, go to Target, buy it and play it...you'll be hooked for life).

Anyway, for dessert Ron brought a dish his wife made. It was absolutely delicious! My boss, Michael, requested several times during the Steak Burn that he email it to us. He did. I wanted to share the recipe since it was so yummy. I haven't made it yet, but it's definitely on my to do list.

Upside Down Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients:
1 29oz can Pumpkin
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
3 Eggs
1/2 teaspoon Ground cloves
1 3/4 cup Sugar
1 12oz can Evaporated milk
1 box Yellow cake mix with pudding
1 cup Chopped pecans
1 cup Melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, blend pumpkin, sugar, spices, eggs and milk. Pour mixture into a 13x9 pan. Sprinkle cake mix and nuts over mix. Pour on melted butter and spread over whole surface. Bake for 60 minutes until firm throughout.

According to the recipe, this is best if made ahead of time and served the next day or later. It's not as good right out of the oven.