Lacy Crochet and Red Cinnamon Cake

Many of you out there know and love Olga

from her beautiful blog

Lacy Crochet

&

her lovely Etsy Shop

Olga's Crochet Frenzy

From time to time I just have to crochet one of her creations.

Olga makes such exquisite items and her patterns are clearly and professionally written,

 aided by the loveliest pictures.

This is just the beginning of her

Oversized Infinity Crocheted Scarf

After crocheting to 50 inches you flip it to form a twist,

creating that ever popular Mobius effect.

I actually have at least twice as much finished now 

since I snapped this picture yesterday morning.

It's a very soothing piece to crochet and grows under your

hook and fingers as if it's magic.

But now...

Let's have a little Cake with our Lacy Crochet...

Red Cinnamon Cake

1 Cup Crisco

{Yes I know it's really bad stuff...so don't live off it}

1 1/2 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla

1 Ounce Red Coloring

Cream first 5 ingredients together.

Sift together the following ingredients:

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

{Yes I said a Tablespoon}

*Add Sifted ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with

  1 Cup of Buttermilk 

saving last portion of buttermilk back.

To last portion of buttermilk add:

1 Teaspoon Vinegar

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

{this mixture will fizz}

Pour into entire batter and mix well for approximately 2 minutes.

Now here's where I start getting fussy about the whole process.

As far as I'm concerned

NO kitchen

{at least one that is Baked in}

can be properly ran without this wondrous thing called

Parchment Paper.

If you have trouble with cakes sticking,

and this particular recipe is prone to it,

your days of crying in your cake are 

OVER.

Trust me on this.

If you've never used parchment paper and you love to bake...

Stop whatever you're doing and run to your nearest store and purchase some

and never, ever be without it again.

Now...

Once you've lined the bottom of you're pans with this heavenly stuff

you still need to Spray it with cooking spray ...

all over the parchment paper and up the sides of the pan.

Then we pour in all that lovely batter and...

weigh it.

Yes I said 

Weigh it

Make sure you come out with the exact same amount of batter in each pan.

This ensures both layers will bake evenly.

***Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.***

*This is the time it takes in my oven...

 but I recommend you check it after 20 minutes

and then again every 10 minutes until it's done.

See ... Perfectly even.

After 10 minutes of cooling in the pan

turn the cake layers out onto another cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

See how nicely that parchment paper peels off? 

Do be sure to peel it off slowly however, as the cake is still warm.

Now for the truly yummy part...

The Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 Stick Unsalted Butter - softened to room temperature

1 - 8 Ounce Block of Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese -softened to room temperature

2 Pound Bag Confectioner's Sugar

1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla

2 - 3 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream

Mix all ingredients till smooth and creamy.

Use more or less cream according to your preference on the consistency of your frosting.

{I tend to like my frosting a bit on the stiff side}

Use a dash of milk instead of cream if you prefer.

I realize there are a whole lot of recipes out there for Cream Cheese Frosting,

this is just how mine has developed over the years.

And I have to add here...

When it comes to this lovely thing called 

Frosting

I am decidedly not

a

 "less is more"

kinda Girl.

When your cake is completely cooled do this first...

Smear a dab of frosting on the cake plate.

This will "glue" the cake in place to prevent slippage

 while you frost it and when you carry it about.

{Nobody wants their masterpiece sliding off into the floor!}.

And Voila'!

We have a Cake.

I sometimes use an Icing Comb

for the sides.

My Mother in law gave this to me many years ago

when I was newly married.

So now we're ready for a lovely bite...

*** Just a few more baking tips ***

Unless a recipe tells you not to sift the flour always sift the flour.

Use exact measurements - when cooking savory food we can fling things in willy nilly, 

not so with baking. 

Unless you want flat cakes, hard biscuits, runny cookies,

or

 cookies that could be used as weapons.... 

you get the picture.

Always use a timer.

If the recipe says to use butter don't use margarine 

{unless you wan't those runny cookies we already mentioned}.

Don't try to substitute to make things low fat/low sugar...

 just find a recipe that is already designed that way. 

Now don't get me wrong on this one -

There are a lot of us with health issues,

 Me included. 

I have 2 Rheumatoid Diseases and have to choose sparingly

when I decide to treat myself

as high fat and sugar flare me up!

I have been a Vegetarian and basically a clean eater for almost 20 years now...

but we all need an occasional treat.

And I'm talking about good 

old fashioned

full fat

scrumptious

baked goods

here.

 And for those who genuinely cannot ever have such things

Thank God

there are a gazillion cookbooks out there

 with professionally tested recipes with substitutions.

I know a lot of you out there are fabulous bakers.

I also know that many people love to bake but can't figure out why

they continue to encounter the same issues over and over.

Here's my secret to baking success:

For one thing I come from a long line of natural born bakers.

My paternal grandmother

Isal 

{she was Swedish}

was a truly phenomenal baker.

Growing up on a farm in Illinois,

she also settled on a farm as a new bride

where she raised her family.

When you entered her house and were enveloped by the 

divine smells of her baking

you thought maybe you were in heaven.

Then with the first bite

you knew you were in heaven.

I have yet to meet her equal in baking

{and a few other things, I'm sure}.

She definitely planted the seeds of interest in baking for me at a very

 young age.

The other thing is that I've had professional baking classes.

Years ago, along with my sister,

 I used to have a home based cake baking business.

Bridget is still in full swing and while her business has grown tremendously,

I have spent the last several years pursuing my true passion of 

Fiber Arts.

But I do still love to bake and hope you like my original cake recipe

and that you find some of my baking tips useful in your kitchen.

XO, 

   XO,

Danette

Rosy Tea Cosy

Hello Everyone!

As usual it's been

 coming up roses

 around here once again.

And I love

tea cosies

almost as much as I love

roses!

So ~

a

Rosy Tea Cosy

always makes me squeal with delight :)

One thing I really like about this one

is that it's just as pretty from

the back

as it is from

 the front.

It's even pretty from the side!

And not much is lovelier

or more feminine

than the lacy look

of crocheted shells.

The pattern didn't call for leaves

but I usually like to include them

around my roses

if possible.

And once I sewed the roses on

it just didn't look quite complete

without leaves.

So I used a pattern written and posted by

the lovely

and creative

Olga

at

Lacy Crochet

{thanks for all your wonderful inspiration and pattern sharing!}

I like the sweet, genteel look

it adds to my kitchen china cabinet.

I feel the freshness of

 Spring

and the hope of

Summer

every time I glance at it.

 

Several days ago

Sarah

from

Sarahsweethearts

said to

"go have a beautiful day and crochet something fabulous".

Thanks for the inspiration!

Hope you like what I came up with.