Make It Monday- Lemon Berry Cake

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Nothing says summer more than fresh berries.  This is a yummy, light, and relatively simple summer dessert.  Perfect for all your summer parties.

You need:

Angel Food Cake- Mine is store bought
Fresh Mixed Berries- lightly sprinkled with sugar (optional).  Let sit for an hour before assembling.

For the Cream Filling:
1 quart plain yogurt
1 cup sugar
zest from 1 lemon
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 container Cool Whip


1. Line a stainer with paper towels.  Pour in the yogurt and let drain for at least 4 hours to over night.  The yogurt will become much thicker.

2. Mix sugar with lemon zest.
3. Once yogurt is drained, combine sugar mix, yogurt, and lemon juice.
4. Gently fold in Cool Whip until well combined.

5. Put cream into piping bag

To Assemble
1. Cut cake into 4 layers
2. Put the bottom layer down on your serving piece and pipe a thick layer of cream around the center of the cake.

3. Scatter berries on top of the cream and then pipe another layer of cream on top of the berries.

4. Top with the next layer of cake and repeat.

Yummy! Yummy!  Off to a great week.  Please take a second to vote.

XO,

Jenny

Patriotic Cake Decorations

I have been thinking a lot about my dessert displays for the patriotic holidays coming up.  I always love the simplicity and versatility of a plain white frosted cake.  They can easily be dressed up for any theme using candy, ribbon, fondant, or even paper banners and they are easy to make with a simple buttercream, or for a smoother look, rolled fondant.  Better yet, any bakery or even your local grocery store can make you one for a small expense.

If you would like the decorations that I used on these cakes, I am happy to email the file to you if ...

1. You are a follower of Bloom (Sign up now, if you're not already one, on the right side bar).

2. You leave me a comment with your email on this blog- (not pinterest or Facebook- sorry it is too hard to keep track of who received it)

I would also appreciate it if you

Like me on Facebook.

Follow me on Pinterest.

Have an amazing weekend!

XO,
Jenny

Cinco De Mayo- Tres Leches Cake

Cinnamon and caramel are two of my favorite flavors, so I love a great tres leches (three milk) cake.  Since Mexican food is my all time favorite food, Cinco de Mayo is a pretty fun day for me.  This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.

This is my first go to cookbook when I am looking for a recipe.  Everything I have made from this book turns out great.  The secret to this yummy dessert is using the microwave to create a caramel out of the sweetened condensed milk. mmm!  I changed the the frosting to my whipped cream recipe found here. So good.


Serves 12
INGREDIENTSMilk Mixture

• 1(14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1(12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1cup heavy cream
• 1teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake

• 2cups all-purpose flour
• 2teaspoons baking powder
• 1teaspoon salt
• 1/2teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1cup whole milk
• 4large eggs, room temperature
• 2cups sugar
• 2teaspoons vanilla extract

Whipped Cream


INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. For the milk mixture: Pour condensed milk into large microwave-safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on low power, stirring and replacing plastic every 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly darkened and thickened, 9 to 15 minutes.
  

  

  

  Remove from microwave and slowly whisk in evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla. Let cool to room temperature.

  
  
  2. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in bowl. Heat butter and milk in small saucepan over low heat until butter is melted; set aside off heat.
• 

  3. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs in large bowl for about 30 seconds, then slowly add sugar until incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until egg mixture is very thick and glossy, 5 to 7 minutes.
  
  

  

  
  Reduce speed to low and slowly mix in melted butter mixture and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, scraping down bowl as necessary, then mix on medium speed until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Using rubber spatula, scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer cake to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes.
• 4. Using skewer, poke holes at 1/2-inch intervals in top of cake. Slowly pour milk mixture over cake until completely absorbed. Let sit at room temperature 15 minutes, then refrigerate uncovered 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
  

  
  

  5. Frosting with whipped cream and serve.
  A perfect ending to a great nacho or taco bar.  Have a great weekend everyone! Back Monday.
  XO,
  Jenny

Happy Friday- What's in Bloom?

Happy Friday everyone. Isn't this cake amazing?!?!  Do you recognize it?  A few weeks back, Fairly Odd Mother from Once Upon a Pedestal emailed me to see if she could use my I Love You Alphabet as inspiration for a cake she was making.  I was honored of course and asked her to send me a photo.  I was just absolutely stunned when I saw this creation.  She is clearly a VERY talented artist.  I read her blog for a bit (she was a finalist in the Martha Stewart's Cutest Cupcake Challenge all the way back in 2008!) and love her philosophy: work at what you love.  I find myself forgetting that a bit lately. So Fairly Odd Mother's photo came on a much needed day!  (Thanks for that!)  Make sure you check out her blog.  She made teacups out of ice cream cones.  Simply stunning!  In her post, Fairly Odd Mother mentions my gumballs.

Don't these gumball tubes just look happy?  I have spent the last few days shipping out order, after order, after order of gumball tubes- empty and filled.  When I first posted the Blow Me A Kiss -Make It Monday, I had no intention of selling these in anyway.  However I've had such an overwhelmingly  positive response to the idea and I've received so many inquiries about the tubes, I figured I might as well!  Now, you can find these gumball tubes and a bunch of other party supplies on my Etsy Store.  A party in one place: invitations, decorations, supplies, and favors. Honestly, I love having the supplies at my house- like a kid in a candy shop:)

Pop over to Etsy and take a look.  I've also added quite a bit of new printable that I'll share soon.

The winner of our Amy Atlas Sweet Designs book giveaway is Els Manning.  Congratulation to you! Everyone else- make sure you pre-order the book now for only about $18.00.  We'll have a lot to talk about come April- hoping my book club picks this book! 

AND FINALLY, thanks again to Jillian and Catch My Party for choosing my S.W.A.K Party as Party of the Day yesterday, Ground Hog's Day, and today!  I just popped over for my daily inspiration and was so surprised and happy to see my Trim A Tree Party rotating.  SO HONORED!  Thank you Jillian for the kind words.

Have a great weekend! Going to bed happy...

XO