Bunny Cakelets

Welcome to my Happy Easter Tea.  Please join me for some chocolate bunny cakelets and some Toasted Coconut Tea!  You probably remember my bunny pillow that's made from an old sweater, on my sofa, that I hot glued buttons on in the shape of a bunny.

Isn't this teapot the cutest, with the bunny head on the lid?

A sweet friend gave me this adorable bunny teacup last year, and I love sipping tea from it in the Springtime.

I have a set of four of these melamine plates, each with a different bunny, that I bought from Tuesday Morning last year.

My late friend, Kathryn, gifted me this adorable planter one year, and I always think of her when I see it.

 

 Chocolate bunny cakelets are ready for serving!  Cream cheese frosting makes for a yummy tail, with some sprinkles for fun. I "painted" some tinted frosting on their ears.

 

 

My late beloved mom gave me this cute bunny. She was always thinking of me.

 

 

 

Riley, on the left, won all three of his wrestling matches that my daughter and I attended.  It was so fun and exciting being with her and cheering Riley on.  He pinned his opponent at his last match!  Connor, my Marine grandson, came home for a visit, before heading back to California to quarantine for 2 weeks, before being deployed.  We all went to watch Cissy in her tennis match, which she won! 

Yield: 6 adorable cakelets

Author: Kitty, but the recipe is adapted from Nordic Ware

Bunny Cakelets

You can use this recipe to make vanilla or chocolate bunnies. I used a cream cheese frosting for the tails.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/ 2 cup butter melted and slightly cooled
• 1 1/ 2 cups flour
• 1/ 2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/ 4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cocoa (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Prep pan with shortening and flour or use baking spray.
3. In a large bowl mix sugar and butter at low speed until well blended, then increase to medium speed and beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add flour, milk, baking powder,  cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and eggs.
5. Pour evenly into prepared pans.  Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the cake's center comes out clean.
7. Cool cake in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Turn out on rack and cool completely.

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Happy Easter!!  xo

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Meal Plan Monday

Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Shrimp Scampi

This is one of my favorite meals for Lent, and it's Shrimp Scampi.  

Look what my daughter ordered for my birthday!  Isn't it the best??  I put it above my pantry.

Author: Kitty, but the recipe is adapted from Tyler Florence

Shrimp Scampi

This Shrimp Scampi can be served over fettuccine or spaghetti. I am giving the full recipe, but I only make half.

Ingredients

• pound linguini (I often use spaghetti)
• 4 T. butter
• 4 T. olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely diced (I often use scallions)
• 2 cloves garlic
• pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled & deveined (I use frozen shrimp that has been thawed & I remove the tails)
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (I use dried & just a sprinkle)

Instructions

1. For the pasta, put a large pot of water on to boil. When it comes to a boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt & then the pasta. Stir to make sure it separates. Cook for about 6-8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 T. butter in 2 T. olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute' the shallots, garlic & red pepper flakes until the shallots are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt & pepper, Add them to the pan & cook until they turn pink, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan & set aside.
3. Add wine & lemon juice & bring to a boil. Add 2 T. butter & 2 T. olive oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley & cooked pasta. Stir well & season with salt & pepper.
4. * My addition is that I like to grate Parmesan cheese over the top before serving. Enjoy!

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Thank you for your visit!  xo

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Meal Plan Monday

Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage 

Wee Irish Cottages (Chocolate Pistachio Cake)

 

Welcome to my St. Patrick's Day Tea! Won't you join me for some Chocolate Pistachio Cake and a cup of Barry's Irish Breakfast Tea?

 

This cottage teapot is one of my very favorites to use. 

The delicate Belleek teacup is so charming, isn't it?

My late beloved mom made this necklace for me, as she loved to make jewelry as a hobby.

You can choose a little cottage from my cake stand.

The Nordic Ware pan is called Cozy Village, and it's fun to use not only for St. Paddy's Day, but for Christmas time, too.  

I have my Irish Blessings Journal to look at from when my late beloved and I went to our dream vacation to Ireland in September of 2009.  I also have a photo album filled with memories of our trip of a lifetime.  At this time of the year, a fresh Oxalis (shamrock) plant is needed to grace my home. 

Yield: 1 bundt cake

Author: Kitty

Chocolate Pistachio Cake

I made 7 mini cottages and four mini bundt cakes from this recipe, which is one of my very favorite bundt cake recipes.

Ingredients

• 1 box white cake mix (without pudding)
• 1 box instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1/2 c. oil
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. orange juice
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 c. chocolate syrup

Instructions

1. Mix together the cake mix, pudding mix, oil, orange juice and the eggs, and beat with mixer on low for 30 seconds and then on medium for 2 minutes. 
2. Pour 3/4 of the batter into a greased & floured 10" tube or bundt pan.
3. Into remaining 1/4 batter, add 3/4 cup chocolate syrup, and mix.
4. Pour over top of other batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).
5. Cool on wire rack. Remove from pan. You can sprinkle with powdered sugar, or even make a chocolate glaze, if you'd like.
   

Notes:

I baked the little cottages for about 25 minutes, and the mini bundts for about 30 minutes.

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Thank you for joining me for tea today.  Happy St. Patrick's Day to  you!  xo

I am sharing with:

Full Plate 

Love Your Creativity Link Party

Meal Plan Monday

Encouraging Hearts and Home 

Irish Apple Cake

In anticipation of St. Patrick's Day, I've prepared us an Irish Apple Cake that I've been wanting to make, that comes from Mary's blog Home Is Where The Boat Is. My quilt topper was made years ago, and it's fun to pull out for St. Paddy's Day.   My new heart shaped cake stand is a birthday gift from my forever friend, Joy, who knows me so well.

My late beloved mom gave me these kissing leprechauns years ago.  She always thought of my hubby and I.

This Johnson Brothers teacup called Roland is a beautiful vintage pattern.

This thrifted teapot was made in Cork County, Ireland, where my great grandmother, Hannah, was born.

Another memento is this pair of candle holders that my mom gave me, that belonged to my maternal grandmother.  I love family treasures! 

Let's have a cup of Irish Breakfast tea and a slice of cake together, shall we?

I had a birthday celebration with these two granddaughters and my son, Tim, and DIL, Julie.

I celebrated with the rest of my family, Molly and Eric, Kristen and Kevin, and the rest of my grandchildren, except for Connor, who's in the Marines.

Yield: 1- 9" springform cake or 1 -7" springform cake and 3 mini loaves

Author: Made by Kitty, but recipe came from Mary, at Home Is Where The Boat Is.

 Mary got the recipe from The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook

Irish Apple Cake

Ingredients

• Cake
• 2 large cooking apples, such as Granny Smith
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (the next time I'm going to add a little bit of cloves)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter,  softened
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar (or same amount of granulated sugar processed in a food processor for 1 minute)
• 2 eggs (I use room temperature eggs or put the uncracked eggs into a bowl of warm-hot water for 5 minutes)
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• confectioners’ sugar for dusting
• Streusel:
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (Mary's suggestion)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9- inch round springform pan with cooking spray.
2. To make the streusel topping, sift flour and cinnamon into a bowl (I use a whisk instead of sifting) and cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in sugar and put aside.
3. Peel, core, and thinly slice apples (I used my apple-peeler-correr-slicer). Set the apples aside.
4. To make the cake, sift the flour into a bowl with the baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Place the butter and superfine sugar in a separate bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. I used my mixer for this. Gradually beat in eggs, adding a little flour mixture with the last addition of egg. Gently fold in half of the remaining flour mixture, then fold in the rest with the milk.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top (an off set spatula works great for this this batter). Cover with the sliced apples and sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top. Bake for 1 hour or until browned and firm to the touch. Let cool in pan before removing the sides. Dust cake with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
6. Best served warm from the oven or reheated in the microwave.

Notes:

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream is a nice accompaniment.

I baked the mini loaves for 45 minutes and the 7" cake for 50 minutes.

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Thank you for your visit!  xo

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

Full Plate 

Love Your Creativity Link Party

Meal Plan Monday

Encouraging Hearts and Home 

Rainbow Bread

My youngest son and daughter in law went skiing and my son, Mike, and I watched Harper and Hayden for a few days after our frigid shutdown in Texas.  It was a busy time of tea parties, baking, cookie dipping, slushies from  the neighborhood Ice Cream Truck, and gnome making out of socks.  My son made them an Olaf snowman and drew pictures of Olaf for them to paint.  Harper had kindergarten upstairs with three other little girls and a wonderful teacher.  Hayden was a busy ballerina and tap dancer. 

 

These were our candy dipped Oreo cookies that we had for a tea party. You can purchase molds at Michael's or JoAnn's for making these quick and easy treats. 

 

 

 This was our rainbow bread dough.  I made this several years ago and you can see some of my other grandchildren here.

I love looking back on the grands' younger pictures of fun times in my kitchen.

Yield: 2 loaves

Author: Kitty

Rainbow Bread

This is a fun activity for young ones and the recipe was given to me from my friend, Mary, who had been a preschool teacher.

Ingredients

• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1 T granulated sugar
• 1 c warm water [100° to 115° F, approximately]
• 1/3 c olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 3/4 c hot water
• 2 t salt
• 5 1/2 to 6 c AP flour (start with 5 cups)
• cornmeal or semolina flour

Instructions

1. Stir the yeast, sugar and warm water together in the bowl of a stand mixer; let sit until yeast dissolves and starts to proof.
2. In the meantime, add the olive oil to the hot water and let cool to lukewarm. Add the salt, and combine with the yeast mixture. Stirring vigorously with the dough hook attachment, add the flour 1 c at a time, until the dough almost comes away from the sides of the bowl. [The dough will seem rather soft and sticky at this point.] Continue kneading the dough with the dough hook, adding a couple tablespoons of flour as you go along. Alternatively, you could turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead with your hands. Continue kneading until the dough has absorbed enough flour that it is easy to handle, about 2 to 4 minutes.
3. When the dough is soft and smooth, let rest for 5 or 6 minutes and then divide into two. (At this point, you add your food coloring to dough that has been separated into as many colors as you would like. You can have the child then put them together and stack and twist them). Without food coloring, you roll each half into a rectangle about 12″ x 8″. Starting from the wide end, roll the rectangle up quite tightly, pinching the seams as you roll. Let the rolled loaves rise on a piece of parchment paper, that has been sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina flour, in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 50 to 60 minutes. Place a baking stone* on the middle rack of the oven and preheat to 425° F while the bread proofs. (At this point, I slashed the of the loaves).
4. After the dough has doubled in bulk, place the loaves on top of the hot stone, parchment and all (I use a rimless cookie sheet to transfer the loaves). Bake 30- 40 minutes (directions said 40, but this was too long for my oven!), or until the loaves are a rich, golden color and make a hollow sound when you tap the crust with your knuckles, top and bottom. Cool on a rack and slice when fresh.
5. *If you have no baking stone, butter one or two baking sheets well and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the just-rolled loaves on the sheets, and then let them rise until doubled in bulk. Bake the loaves on the sheet[s] on the middle rack, the same as you would with the stone.

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Thank you for visiting!  xo

I am sharing this with:

Full Plate 

Love Your Creativity Link Party

Meal Plan Monday