Some people believe that you should eat something round for New Year’s Eve. It is suppose to be symbolic of bringing the year to a full circle. I like the idea of anything that is full circle getting the full comprehension of the year, and especially when it is in the form of cake. Hahhahhahhaa silly me…. I just brought cake into the equation. I needed to find a way to make sense of my cake addiction and New Year’s Eve traditions….. and I just made my own.

Have you ever had a Jarritos cake? A delicious cake made with pudding and citrus soda….. it’s so moist and close to perfect, and I personally love it. Especially when you find the Jarritos at Walmart for .50 cents a bottle. That makes it real easy to pick up a few bottles drink a couple and use one for your Jarritos cake. This is one of the desserts I will be making for New Year’s Eve this year. I will say it is for the kids to eat, but in reality it will be for me. Happy New Year Friends! Enjoy!

Ingredients for Jarritos cake:

• 3/4 – cup Jarritos grapefruit or lime soda
• 1 – box yellow cake mix
• 1 – small box lemon pudding
• 3/4 – cup vegetable oil
• 4 – eggs

Icing:

• 2 – cups confectioners sugar
• 2 – tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 – tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick baking spray, and set to the side.
3. In a large mixer add all cake ingredients and mix until smooth for about 5 minutes.
4. Pour into the prepared bundt pan and place in the oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
5. Allow to cool completely before flipping it over onto a plate.
6. Then whisk together the icing ingredients and drizzle over the top of the cake. 
7. Enjoy!

Disclosure: I was treated to an afternoon with the CA Strawberry Commission that included dinner and lots of strawberries, I was also given a stipend for my recipe. All opinions and recipe are my own.

I recently went on a trip to an Oxnard, California Strawberry field. I know, that makes you think of the Beatles song “Strawberry Fields Forever.” I couldn’t stop humming that tune to myself the whole day, such a melancholy song in one of the sweetest fields of California…. I learned all sorts of new fun facts about strawberries, and got to spend the day with a few of my good friends. I ran around in the fields looking for the biggest prettiest reddest strawberry I could find and tried to shove as many in mouth as possible.  Picking them fresh and tasting them at the warm temperature made such a sweet difference. I guess I’m use to eating them out of my fridge and cold.  Here are a few interesting facts that Farmer Bill Reiman and The CA Strawberry Commission shared.

• Every day superfruit: 8 strawberries contain more vitamin C than an orange. Low in sugar, with only about 50 calories, strawberries are a great source of fiber, folate and potassium.
• Good for your heart: Potassium found in strawberries can help control blood pressure and fight strokes. Plus, antioxidants, fiber and phytochemicals in strawberries have been shown to reduce total cholesterol levels.
• California’s strawberry farmers are among the most progressive and environmentally conscious in the state. In fact, they have invested millions of dollars in research and sustainable farming practices to reduce pesticide use and environmental impacts.
• There are no genetically modified strawberries commercially grown and shipped. Different varieties of strawberries are developed for different climates and growing conditions. These varieties are developed using traditional breeding methods that involve selecting two parents and crossing them using their flowers.

With all these great facts about strawberries I decided to bake a cake to celebrate strawberries and how much my family loves them.

Ingredients for Strawberry Blueberry PoppySeed Olive Oil Cake:

• 3 1/2 – cups flour
• 3 – teaspoons baking powder
• 1 – teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 – teaspoon salt
• 2 – cups sugar
• 1 – cup whole milk
• 5 – extra large eggs (or 6 regular sized ones)
• 1 1/3 – cup extra virgen olive oil
• 3 – tablespoons poppyseeds
• 2  – cups fresh strawberries (chopped into 1/2 inch cubes)
• 1 – cup fresh blueberries

Ingredients for Strawberry Icing:

• 1/2 cup strawberry puree (about 8 to 10 strawberries)
• 3 – cups confectioners sugar

Directions for Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Spray a 12 cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray, and set to the side.
3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl, and mix to combine. Set to the side.
4. In a mixer add in sugar, milk, eggs and olive oil. Mix to combine for 5 minutes on a medium speed.
5. Then gradually add flour mixture to sugar/olive oil mixture, mix until completely combined.
6. Add poppy seeds, strawberries, and blueberries to batter and mix to combine. 
7. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and back for 60 minutes. 
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 3 hours. 
9. Then pull cake away from the edges of the pan and center.
10. Invert cake onto a platter.

1. In a blender add strawberries and blend until completely liquified.
2. Then using a sieve strain strawberry puree into a cup.
3. Pour confectioners sugar and strawberry puree into a bowl together and mix with a whisk or fork until completely smooth. Icing with be slightly thick.  
4.  Then slowly pour icing over cake and allow to harden for a minimum of 2 hours.
5. Slice and ENJOY!!!!!!

Here are a few pictures from the field trip!

Ericka and I being greedy with our strawberries, and hoping nobody catches us!

Thank you CA Strawberry Commission for a fun and sweet day!

This giveaway is officially closed! Congrats to Candy!!!!

For a chance to win the gorgeous teapot pictured below, leave a comment on how you enjoy strawberries, and for an extra chance to win share this post with your facebook friends. Winner will be chosen by random.org. Contest ends Sunday May 12th at midnight PST.

The Ooooie Goooie chocolate will draw you in.  The worms will tickle your tongue. This Halloween cake will be the slime of the party.  I made this dessert with rats banging at my back door to get a bite of my worm cake.  I didn’t answer but one managed to get in just in time for cake cutting. Let the festivities begin.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN…….

Ingredients for worm cake:

2 – boxes of Devil’s food chocolate cake mix

eggs, water and vegetable oil

2 – can of milk chocolate frosting

1 – bag of gummy worms

chocolate cookie crumbs

Bake cakes according to instruction on the box for a total of four 8 inch cakes. Allow to cool completely.

Place first layer on a cake stand and frost with 1/2 of can of milk chocolate frosting, then add second layer and repeat till done with all cake layers and both cans of frosting.

Then poke holes into cake with a straw and insert gummy worms into holes so they can pop out. Then dust entire cake with cookie crumbs.

SCARY HALLOWEEN CAKE …. made easy.

 What do I do when my guy asks for a coconut birthday cake?  I think winter wonderland. It’s not my fault his birthday falls in December.  I got to making his cake and instead of going with a traditional decoration I went the holiday route.  In the end I put some birthday candles so he’d have something to blow out…. He didn’t mind, as long as he got his cake!

Ingredients for coconut almond cake:

2 1/3 – cups flour

1/2 – cup sliced almonds (coarsely chopped)

1 – teaspoon baking soda

1/2 – teaspoon salt

1 – cup buttermilk

3 – eggs

1 – cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 – teaspoons almond extract

1 1/2 – teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 sugar

2 – cups sweetened shredded coconut

Ingredients for the frosting:

16 – ounces cream cheese (room temperature)

1 – cup butter (room temperature)

1 1/2 – teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 – cups coconut

1/2 – cup strawberry preserves

Optional decoration:

Holiday cookies

red candies

dried cherries or cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.

Spray edges of (2) 8-inch round cake pans and place a round piece of wax paper at the bottom of pan for easy removal.  Set to the side.

In a small bowl add flour, almonds, baking soda, and salt.  Mix with a fork and set to the side.

In a mixing bowl add buttermilk, eggs, vegetable oil, almond extract, vanilla extract, and sugar.  Mix on low speed to combine for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Then slowly add in flour mixture till combined.  Fold in coconut.

Fill both prepared pans with cake batter, make sure to give each pan the same amount.

Bake for 30 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove from oven and allow cakes to cool completely.  Then remove from pans and remove wax paper bottom.

Let’s make frosting: In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and butter till smooth for about 2 minutes on a medium high speed.  Then add in vanilla and mix for an additional minute.  Next add in the powdered sugar a little at a time mixing until completely combined and fluffy.

Place one cake upside down on a cake plate and frost with cream cheese frosting, then spread strawberry preserves in the inside leaving a half inch away from the edge.  Then top with the other cake.  Fill with frosting all around the edges in the open space between both cakes.

Then frost entire cake.  Once completely frosted place coconut on entire cake.  If you wish place holiday cookies around the edge of cake and make a border with red candies and dried cranberries or cherries.  Happy Holidays!  Or in my man’s case, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

                                                 All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Last year my Mom , my Auntie Rosie, and I made candy wreaths for Christmas and we used Lindt chocolates to give our wreaths a red accent.  I love spending time with two of the most important ladies in my life, but the truth is we had to go out and buy more Lindt because we couldn’t stop eating the chocolate.  Yes we love to eat and pass our Sunday afternoon in project mode.  I thought to myself how am I going to recreate that feeling of closeness again this year?  What could we do?  We wouldn’t want to make the same wreaths.  That’s when I found out about this super fun contest Lindt is having.  I know a ton of my readers LOVE CHOCOLATE, and I know a bunch of you enjoy baking too….. Naturally I want to share this tidbit of info with you.

Lindt is giving chocolate lovers a chance to submit an original recipe to their Fall Recipe Contest from now to Nov 7th, 2011.  The only rule is you must use Lindt chocolate in your recipe…  Want me to tell you what the prizes are?

– A year’s supply of Lindt Chocolate

– A brand new KitchenAid 7-quart bowl-lift residential stand mixer

– Lindt gift cards ($100 & $50)

– Lindt chocolate passion recipe book

This lady will not only tell you about the contest she’ll show you the prizes too.

Want to enter? Click HERE to submit your recipe!

Once your all done with that…. you might want to look at the rules. You can click HERE for the regulations.

So back to what us girls will be doing this holiday season….  I think my Mom, my Aunt and I will make chocolate tamales.  I don’t know if we will end up submitting them to the recipe contest or not.  We are such tragonas (big eaters), the chocolate will probably never make it into the recipe. 🙂  Good Luck Friends!