It's been 1 year since we met!

I am completely stunned and mystified that a whole year has passed for my "blog". Wow! I started this blog because my family and friends kept asking for “the recipes”. They would say “…remember that cake you made?” or “what was the name of those cookies?” And my favorite “…can you make a copy of this recipe and that one?” That is how this little blog came into existence, as an archive of recipes for my family and friends to print and view. (I still have to figure out how to add a print page.) Soon I was knee deep in sugar, flour, and new friends.

I remember when Garret from Vanilla Garlic welcomed me into the blogo-sphere. Who knew this blog would lead to so much fun, lovely comments by you, and e-mails with new friends across the world. Amazing! I have had a great time here, because you guys have made it a fun and loving place to be.

I want to thank you for all the support you have given me over the last year. C’mon, stay awhile, have a piece of cake and a glass of champagne with me. We’ll toast to friendship, new recipes, and fun. Cheers!


For the cake: From Ina Garten

• 2 ¼ sticks of butter, softened
• 3 cups of sugar
• 6 extra large eggs
• 8 ounces of sour cream, room temperature
• 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
• Zest of one lemon
• 3 cups of flour
• 1/3 cup of cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda

1. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at med-high speed until light and fluffy, 5 minutes.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl if necessary. Then add the sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest. Scrape down the bowl.
4. On low speed slowly add the flour until just combined, finishing the mixing by folding. Pour the batter into a 12x18x2 buttered and parchment paper lined pan.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a cake taster comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

For the frosting use your favorite chocolate frosting. On this cake, I used a whipped chocolate ganache icing.

• 8 ounces of chocolate
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier
  

1. Place the chocolate in the bowl of an electric mixer. Scald the cream and pout over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit without stirring for 5 minutes.

2. Next, whisk the chocolate until smooth and shiny. Add the Grand Marnier and whisk.

3. Let the mixture sit add room temperature until cool to the touch. Then add the whip attachment to the mixer and whip on med-high speed. Whip for 5-8 minutes (if you have a hand held mixer or small mixer this will take a while) until fluffy and the chocolate has changed to a lighter color.

4. Spread the icing on top of cake and make pretty swirls. Refrigerate any leftovers.