foolproof

Sometimes you just have to have cake. Cornelius and I had returned from a very decadent lunch at Salad de Fruits where we dined on amazing moules et frites (at a very reasonable $10.99) on an outdoor patio. Afterwards, we went back home and got down to work...yet something was missing. My sweet tooth was on alert and I was soon diagnosed as needing some kind of sweet snack. I didn't want to fuss about with complex recipes or fancy ingredients. I just wanted something satisfying and simple...like my lunch. So I went to the freezer and took out one of my sacred containers of blackberries that I had picked only a few weeks before and made one of the easiest cakes I know. Really, this cake is foolproof. It was adapted so much from a recipe in the Gourmet Cookbook and has had so much mucking about that it just can't be ruined. Once I added too much sugar by accident, added the milk in one fell swoop at the end of the recipe instead of gradually, and used all ww flour instead of the original recipe's 100% all purpose flour. And all those "mistakes" happened all at the same time. It doesn't matter, this recipe is foolproof and it's so tasty that no one will complain.

blackberry coffee cake
1 c blackberries, fresh or frozen
1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1/2 c butter, softened
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c skim milk

1. Grease and flour a 9" round cake pan or bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and cinnamon. In a seperate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and flour mixture alternately in 3 batches, ending with the flour mixture until just incorporated.

2. Spread half of the batter into the cake pan. Add a the blackberries evenly over the batter and then cover with remaining batter.

3. Bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes or so. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes and then invert onto rack. Serve warm or at room temperature and dust with icing sugar if you'd like to get extra fancy.

summer licks

First off, may I direct you to the mp3 blog, Shake Your Fist, where I was asked by the lovely Amy to write a guest post about music. I LOVE music but haven't written about it in ages, so it was a bit nerve-wracking and I was sure the moment that I finished the post I'd be hit with regret for not including this song or that song. But it was a fun post to write and thank you to Amy for asking!

iced coffee
It's summertime and the living is easy. I may drink my coffee hot in the morning, but by the afternoon, I take any leftover coffee out of the fridge and serve it up right. A little simple syrup (which is just equal parts water & sugar that have been boiled together), some milk and lots of ice and I've got a drink that Mr. Brown would be proud of.

strawberry-pineapple popsicles
Another thing I can't get enough of are popsicles. At all times, our fridge is stocked up with these homemade icy treats. I wrote about these last summer and I feel it's time again for a refresher, because they are beyond simple to make and so refreshing. Last time I added some vanilla yogurt for creaminess, this time I just blended up some frozen strawberries, pineapple juice and fresh lime juice, poured the mix into molds and into the freezer they went. Yum.