Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This month, and next, Debra of  Eliot's Eats  assigned the  Cook the Books  crew  Honeysuckle Season  by Mary Ellen Taylor.* This is a bi-monthly book group, so you have till the end of May to read it and join the party.  You can read her invitation here . Debra shared: "The book tells the tales of four women. Sadie, a moonshiner's wild child, is trying to help make ends meet while her older brothers are away fighting WWII. Olivia, a new bride, has escaped London and the Blitz by marrying a rich American doctor, one of the "landed gentry." Libby, a wedding photographer, returns to her hometown to escape a failed marriage and three failed pregnancies. Elaine, the current curator of the estate, is working hard to restore the once massive and elaborate gardens and greenhouse. The place setting is a large estate in rural Virginia and the surrounding community. The time setting alternates between the 1940s and today.   These four women's lives ar...

On Wednesday, Jake and I were celebrating two decades of marriage. And while we normally wouldn't have gone out for dinner anyway, I wanted to make a special dessert as we sheltered in place for our 20th wedding anniversary. I don't know about where you live, but people have been making a run on flour and eggs here on California's central coast. Seriously. I keep asking myself, "Did people decide they were going to teach themselves how to bake during this ordeal, or what?!?" Thankfully, Pia gave me a bag of flour and Lin gave me eggs. That's the perfect anniversary presents for a sheltered-in-place baker by the way! So, I started looking at cake recipes and was intrigued by the London Fog cake recipes I stumbled across. Basicially that's an Earl Grey chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream. It sounded divine. But I decided to use the Celebration Tea I had on the shelf from The Republic of Tea  instead of Earl Grey. And I added brewed tea to m...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sweets & Treats, LorAnn, and Dixie Crystals,  #ChristmasSweetsWeek sponsors.  I received complimentary product for the purpose of review and recipe development,  but all opinions are honest and  they are my own.  This page may contain affiliate links. Well, we're at the end of #ChristmasSweetsWeek! Much gratitude to Terri of  Love and Confections  and Christie of  A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures  for coordinating this amazing event. Not only did they keep all of us bloggers organized, but they lined up some great sponsors. Please visit  my kick-off post  for information about the prizes and to enter the giveaway. You may also enter at the bottom of this post. Good luck! And now for the final line-up of Christmas Sweets... Beverages  Eggnog Martini from Everyday Eileen Frozen White Hot Chocolate from Jonesin' For Taste Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate from Rants...

The last cake I made for the Darth Gaber cake: Sour Cream Chocolate Layer cake. This made one 9"x13" rectangle and an 11" round. Ingredients 3 C white whole wheat flour 1 C alkalized Dutch process cocoa powdered 2 t baking soda 4 sticks butter, softened 2 C organic granulated sugar 1 t organic hazelnut extract 1 t organic chocolate extract 4 large eggs 16 ounces organic sour cream Procedure Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your baking pans by lining them with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. When light and fluffy, mix in the sour cream, extracts, and eggs. Fold in the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda until well-combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until firm to the touch. Cool completely on wire racks.

Along with the Devil's Food Cake layers, I made a buttermilk cake for the Darth Gaber cake. This made one 9"x13" rectangle and an 11" round. Ingredients 2-3/4 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 t baking soda 2 stick butter, softened 2 C organic granulated sugar 1 t organic hazelnut extract 1 t organic chocolate extract 4 large eggs 1 C buttermilk Procedure Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your baking pans by lining them with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. When light and fluffy, mix in the buttermilk, extracts, and eggs. Fold in the flour and baking soda until well-combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until firm to the touch. Cool completely on wire racks.