For St. Patrick’s Day this year I’m celebrating with some tie-dyed shamrock looking Polvorones, the ultimate Mexican sugar cookie. These cookies will make you feel so LUCKY like you just fell into a pot of gold. Okay, maybe not a pot of gold but you’ll feel GOLDEN for sure. They will have you doing a little Irish jig and furthering the similarities between Mexicans and The Irish…. What a beautiful union of people and cookie dough.

The first time I had a three layer banana pecan cake was at my Uncle Luke and his bride Vita’s wedding. I was a little girl under the age of ten and had never tasted anything so fine. Having banana cake at a wedding wasn’t a popular thing to do in those days. I distinctively remember instantly falling in love with the taste of banana cake and wondering WHEN I would have this enchanting taste in my life again?

Many banana cakes later I still excite over the taste of banana cake. It’s like the little girl in me is tasting it for the first time with each passing of a bite. This is my banana cake… the one that transports me back to my childhood discovering delicious cake.

Ingredients for Three Layer Banana Pecan Cake:

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 very ripe bananas (mashed)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (packed)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 2 sticks butter (room temperature)
• 12 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
• 4 cups confectioner sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon whipping cream
• Toppings:
• Milk chocolate chips
• Banana chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray (3) 8- inch baking pans with non-stick baking spray then line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper. Set to the side.
3. Whisk cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together in a bowl.
4. In a stand-up mixer on medium speed mix olive oil, and brown sugar together until they fully combine. Add in eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix on low until combined. Slowly add in cake flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time until just combined. Don’t over mix. Stir in pecans.
5. Divide the batter equally between the 3 pans. Bake the cakes for 30 minutes each or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool cakes completely before removing from pan.
6. Let’s make the frosting:
7. Using an electric mixer beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until well combined. Then add in sugar a little at a time until it comes together. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Lastly add in vanilla and whipping cream and mix until completely combined.
8. Frost the cake:
9. Place first layer of cake on cake stand or platter. Scoop 1/3 of frosting mixture onto the top of the cake and spread out evenly to cover top.
10. Repeat process with layer 2 by stacking on top of one another.
11. Top with final layer of cake, and then gently press to make sure top layer is secure.
12. Use offset spatula to frost the entire outside of cake stacks with cream cheese frosting. Decorate with chocolate chips and banana chips.
13. Place in fridge for 1 hour before serving.
14. Enjoy!

My Uncle Luke also used to make me a ‘banana wacky’ his version of a licuado when I was a kid…. here’s his recipe.

Wake up for the holiday season to a cranberry coffeecake with hibiscus glaze:

I’m low key crazy for coffeecake. I always have been. I remember my grandfather would give me $3 everyday to buy nutrition at school, and I would use a portion of that money to buy a piece of coffeecake without fail. That’s where my love of coffeecake began. Fast forward to the present day and the want of waking up to fresh coffeecake at home is strong, especially during the festive 12 days of Christmas.

Did you know it’s #paletaweek ? Yup. Fun right!?! I decided to join in on the lively celebration  and shake things up a bit with a 21 and over version for the adults. 

I’m calling my creations Margarita Enchiloso Paletas! I made a chile lime tequila ice pop to enjoy when you want to get boozy on a stick. If it’s been an extra hard day, make it a double with a shot of tequila on the side. I dipped the tip of my spiked paletas in a mixture of salt sugar tajin and crushed chile peppers! Perfect for a summer night cap or day drinking.

Upside-down Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler: Exactly what it sounds like. A cobbler served like a strawberry shortcake served upside down!

I’m a woman that loves staying in for the night playing fantastic music and eating delicious food. A few weeks ago I got an advanced copy of Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Juanes (which is out May 3rd on CMH Label Group). The album features gorgeous, lullaby versions of Juanes best-known and beloved cuts. I know the album is intended for babies, but it is so easy on the ears and really plays to the baby soul in me.

Strawberry Ricotta Cake: Whipped cream and strawberries tucked between layers of rich ricotta cake and encased in cream cheese frosting.

How my Strawberry Ricotta Cake came to be. I’d been dreaming of a ricotta cake for quite some time now. I played with the idea of different pairings but was ultimately craving a strawberry shortcake at the same time, and figured why not marry the two ideas. Instead of a small biscuit topped with strawberries and whipped cream, I replaced it with ricotta cake.

I can not think of Disney’s ‘Ralph Breaks The Internet’ without thinking of Vanellope’s Sugar Rush game. When I picture being inside of Sugar Rush I imagine the combination of cake and candy coming together and living up to the term ‘eye candy.’ I imagine Sugar Rush Meringue Cake.