Toasted Coconut + Lemon Tres Leche Cake

If you follow me on Instagram you have already seen this video earlier this month. So you may already know that along with  help from my little Monkey Man, we made a Tres Leche Cake but what you didn't see was it getting topped with ooey gooey lemon curd, fresh whipped cream and toasted coconut! We made it to take to a cookout at my Nana's, I also took a chocolate pie and my sister made some ooey gooey butter bars that were amazing and some sprinkle sugar cookies that my kids loved. Food, as always, was the best!  Maybe one day Lee can learn to do what ever kind of magic my Dad has over the grill. :)

Back to the cake! I've been dreaming of a tres leche cake for sometime now and finally settled on this combo but I've thinking of making a chocolate version that may include dulce de leche. I can't wait! But in the mean time, this little guy was pretty fantastic and EASY! Considering my four year old did most of the work on the cake. Easy and delicious, what could be better?

adapted from: Shutterbean

For the Cake:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

6 eggs, separated

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 cup a/p flour

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

1 (14 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 cup whipping cream (heavy cream)

1 cup lemon curd

1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat a 9x13 baking pan with generously butter and set aside. Whisk egg whites, baking soda and and salt until stiff peaks form. (I used a stand mixer but a hand mixer would be fine and if you are looking for a work out this could be done by hand also) Beat in yolk on low speed once combined gradually start adding in your sugar. Fold in remaining butter, then coconut and lemon zest. Gradually fold in flour 1/4 cup at a time. Pour into pan and bake 18-20 minutes. 

While cake is in the oven, in a large measuring cup or medium bowl combine your three milks and set aside. Once cake comes out of the oven use the back of a wooden spoon or a fork pierce the cake several times, the more wholes the better it absorbs. Immediately pour milk mixture over and let sit until pan is cool to the touch, then top with curd and refrigerate for 5 hours minimum. While oven is still warm spread coconut out in a thin layer on a baking sheet, toast the coconut for 5-8 minutes. Do NOT leave it. Once it is golden brown remove it, it will burn int the blink of an eye. Let it cool at room temperature. Once the chilling time is up and you are ready to serve, whip your cream to soft peaks and top cake. Sprinkle coconut on top. 

Enjoy!!!!

Mickey Party Part 3: Recipes and other fun

These are some of the recipes we used. I don't have links to all of the yet, but I will get them and update the post as soon as I do. We simplified this year by only having desserts on the menu. All of these recipes are really easy and most can be made in advance. You can freeze cakes and frosting, jello will keep for day before hand and cookie dough can be frozen as well.  

My boys love cupcakes, then again, what kid doesn't?As I mentioned before I wanted to simplify and I knew most of the kids wouldn't be able to tell the difference between cakes made from scratch and boxed mix so my Mother in Law made the cupcakes with a strawberry cake mix and I topped them with this Swiss Meringue Buttercream that I had frozen left from Liam's birthday dinner, I added a teaspoon for strawberry extracts and red food coloring and topped them with red sugar.

Once again, we had jello. We've had it in some form at Caleb's 2nd and 3rd birthday parties also. We used Food Librarian's Finger Jello Recipe (again) except we used Pineapple Jello and Strawberry Jello to make it in our color palette. 

If you know Caleb you know that boy LOVES doughnuts so we made Fudge Doughnuts (recipe to follow in a separate post) and Cherry Lemonade Doughnuts. I made a double batch the the recipe and baked it in a full size doughnut pan for about 8 minutes. I made the glaze thinner as well but that is just my preference. These doughnut are delicious and I high recommend them! 

Caleb asked for an orange cake and I don't have the exact recipe to share since my Mom made it out of a few different recipes but it was a white cake with orange zest and orange extract with orange curd between the layer and a basic buttercream scented with orange zest and orange extract. It would be an easy thing to replicate with your favorite cake recipes and you could use this lemon curd and swap lemon juice and extract for orange.  

My Mom made these cookies. I know they were a cream cheese sugar cookie and they were delicious! But, I don't know what recipe she used on these either but when I find out I'll update and post it. We got the cookie cutter from The Disney Store. 

The punches were a Berry Lemonade and a Pina Colada Punch that was similar to this. The lemonade was a mix (simply because of sheer volume needed) with frozen berries stirred in that flavored it as they thawed.

Well, that is it for the food. This year was pretty simple. Of course most of the fun came in the form of the bouncy house. We love having it and so do the boys. We also love that my in laws do that for the boys as their birthday gift too. We may need to start looking into investing in one since we would be a third of the through paying for one by now. :) I believe the conclusion is that we need a slide next year though and as much as I hate to admit it, I have to agree. Although that injured back of mine did not love me after I got out of that thing, it was worth it to play with my boys. 

 It's hardly noticeable but I used my other Ikea end table by the bouncy house as a place to for people to leave their jewelry, glasses, drinks, etc and to store shoes underneath. I also placed another sigh that said Liam's and Caleb's Playhouse. I'll be making blank or generic forms of those signs and posting as PDFs soon. Then I will be done posting about the party, finally. :)

***UPDATE: for more info on the party look here, here and here. 

Family Cookout

Well... Ok the title is a bit misleading. We did cookout on the grill that morning but about an hour before there was a huge downpour so we set up inside but luckily it stopped and we could eat out side and the kids could play in the pool. But it was still a bummer because we had a lovely table planned out and anddddd all of decorations clashed with my Mom's hideous wallpaper. (no that is not an insult to her it came with the house she just hasn't gotten it covered up yet) Thenn I went to print out my neon menus and they printed some wacky colors no where near what I designed but they still worked out. It's all good we still had amazing food and so much fun... Until my Granny had to go to the emergency room at the end but that's another story and no worries she is fine. She just gave us a bit of a scare.

You can see more shots on my Instagram feed, 

How about roasted veggie kabobs? Yum!

And I didn't take a good shot but COCONUT RICE y'all!!! 

So goood!

We had several homemade salsas for the chicken, pork tenderloin and sausages.

Pineapple Mango

Creamy Tomatillo

Spicy Red (Restaurant Style Salsa)

and 

Lemon

The "drink bar" had Sweet Tea

with Blackberry Syrup,

Peach Mint Syrup

and

Lemon and Lavendar Syrup

 and

Watermelon Coconut Cooler

For dessert we made S'mores.

We set up a S'mores Bar that had so many options and was a hit with the kids and adults. 

Cookie options were:

Graham Crackers

Chocolate Chip (crispy and soft)

Pecan Sandies

and Butter Cake

Marshmallow options were:

Extra Large Plain

Strawberry

Keylime

Chocolate and Other Goodies options were:

Milk Chocolate

Dark Chocolate

White Chocolate

Mini Candy Bars

Lemon Curd

Toasted Coconut

Strawberries

(We were supposed to have a caramel sauce too but I forgot to get it out, oooppsss. Just pretend its there on the otherside of the lemon curd, okay? Thanks.)

We made a list of suggestions but some of the best ones were one of a kind creations!

My little monkey had Chocolate Chip cookie with milk chocolate, a strawberry marshmallow and fresh strawberries.

This one is chocolate chip cookies (soft batch) a plain marshmallow, a mini 3 Musketeers and toasted coconut.

The one on the right was the same as Caleb's first one but minus the strawberries.

On the left was butter cake, a huge marshmallow, Lemon curd and toasted coconut. No chocolate at all.

It was my favorite!

 My cousin, Keith, created this, it was an open face s'more with butter cake on the bottom, a lime marshmallow, lemon curd and toasted coconut. He may have also added a piece of pork tenderloin to it. Not for everybody but that sounds pretty good to me.

My Momma about to try to stuff all of that in her mouth. Her's was butter cake, plain marshmallow, lemon curd, coconut and strawberries.

I'm pretty sure the cake, lemon curd, coconut, strawberries and lime marshmallows were the surprise favorites among the options. I really think we may have to recreate this idea, sooner than later!

Quick and Easy Lemon Curd

I've been meaning to post this and the cake that this went into for welllll, a week now but I wound up with a gnarly migraine and could not sit at the computer to write this. All is well now and my brain no longer feels as if it is about to spontaneously combust. I used this in the middle of a lemon blueberry layer cake. That recipe is next up to be posted.

This curd is so good and doesn't use a double boiler, which is a good thing for me since all of my metal bowls, with the exception of one with a plastic shell and the one to my Kitchen Aid, disappeared when we moved two years ago and I keep forgetting to replace them. D'oh! I found myself using it as a dip with fresh strawberries this afternoon. I love this stuff!!!! It's great for between cake layers, filling cupcakes, trifles, toast, eating with a spoon... Just about anything works with a bit of curd. The name curd really sounds disgusting though huh? I believe something this tart, thick and luxurious deserves a better name!

For the curd you will need:
4 lemons, zested and juiced
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/8 tsp salt

Zest and juice your lemons making sure no seeds get in. (add water to equal a 1/2 cup if lemons do not produce enough juice) Cream butter, sugar and zest. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in lemon juice and salt. Add everything to a 2 quart pan cook over a low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Refrigerate. Keeps up to two weeks.

Honey Lemon Chicken Pitas

I cannot get enough of this chicken! I want to eat it everyday. I crave it all the time. I'm in love with this meal. For reals! It is so good that some of the sauce from the chicken was running down my arm and before I even realized what I was doing I licked my arm! Luckily for me Monkey was napping so I didn't have to do damage control in manners and the Mr. was so into his wrap he didn't notice. Doodlebug was the only one that caught me but he's got my back, he has no choice he can't talk yet.

This is super simple and tastes sinfully delicious. The only thing that can be tricky is that sometimes if you let the sauce thicken too long the chicken can become too dry. Once that sauce begins to thicken do not turn your back. 

Honey Lemon Chicken Wraps
(feeds 3 to 4)
3 chicken breast, thawed and diced
1 tablespoon Paprika
salt to taste
1 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup tablespoons of honey
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha

Combine all ingredients in a bowl toss and marinate 30 minutes.  In a large skillet bring to a medium high heat pour everything into the pan. Once sauce begins to bubble turn down to medium heat and cook until sauce has thickened.
Serve on pita or in a whole wheat wrap with guacamole spinach and tomato.
**I like a tad bit of sour cream on mine however the Mr. not so much a fan of the sour cream.

Old Fashioned Tasty Goodness

 

     So this cupcake looks like any other unassuming vanilla cupcake cake with plain vanilla butter cream right? WRONG! It's a miniature bite of heaven! My Mom made these for a party she had and she sent them home with me. Manners are very important to me and it would have been extremely rude to turn them down, right?

     One bite teleports you back in time. You know the three layer cakes that ladies always bring to church socials?  But then again all of the recipes she used came out of a Pillsbury cookbook, circa some time in the 1970s, maybe older. It was Granny's but, when she realized Mom had the bug to bake and she was off the hook for baking for everything, she passed it on to her. One day, I'll get it but until then I have to call her every time I need a recipe. That book also has the best muffin recipe ever in it, but I'll save that for another post.  The cake recipe is our go to, make for everything, super adaptable cake. The frosting is very similar to 7 minute frosting but easier and just as good in my opinion. I'm not sure if we've ever used the lemon filling before, but I will be using it again that is for sure!

 

For the cake:
2 cups of AP flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of shortening
4 egg whites
vanilla (us as much as you like)

Butter and flour two 8 inch round pans or fill 2 cupcake pans with liners. Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat the first 6 ingredients on medium for two minutes. Add egg whites one at a time then vanilla. Beat two more minuets. Pour into prepared pans. Bake cupcake 20-25 minutes and round cakes 30-35 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool then fill and ice.

For the Lemon Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups water
2 egg yolks lightly beaten
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons lemon zest

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a small sauce pan. Stir in water. Cook over medium heat until just boiling. Boil 1 minute. Pour 1/3 of hot sugar mixture into eggs and stir until combined. Add mixture back into hot sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in juice and zest. Cook until just bubbles. Add butter and stir until melted. Allow to cool. Fill cupcakes.

For the White Cloud Frosting:
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In small bowl, beat egg whites and salt until foamy. Gradually add sugar, continuously beating until soft peaks form. In small saucepan, beat corn syrup to boiling. Pour in thin stream over egg whites. Continue to beat until frosting is stiff. Beat in vanilla. Allow to cool slightly the frost the filled cupcakes.

Circus Shower Part 2... The Recipes

Mocha Cupcake with 
Chocolate Ganache

For the cake:
*all ingredients  should be at room temperature

1/2 cup cocoa powder 
2/3 cup hot coffee 
2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate coarsely chopped
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt 
Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine cocoa, coffee and chocolate, whisk until lumps dissolve. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating 1 minute after each. Add the vanilla. In a separete bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add half of dry mixture to butter mixture. Mix on low until well integrated. Add the yogurt and mix well. Add the remaining dry and mix until combined. Add the chocolate mix until blended but do not over mix. Fill liners and bake. Standard cupcakes bake 20-25 minutes, mini cupcakes bake 7-10 minutes.

For the ganache

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup chocolate finely chopped

Heat the cream over low heat and stir in chocolate. Let cool to room temperature. Dip the cupcakes in the ganache and decorate with sprinkles.

Lime Cupcake with 

White Chocolate Buttercream

For the cake:

*all ingredients should be at room temperature

1/2 lb of butter

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs 

3 cups AP flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons lime zest

2 tablespoons lime juice 

Preheat oven to 325 F. In large bowl cream butter and sugar using an electric mix for 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time beating 1 minute after each. In another bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. In small bowl stir together milk and sour cream. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture alternating with milk mixture. Add lime juice and zest. Fill liners and bake. Standard cupcakes bake for 20 minutes, mini cupcakes bake for 7-10 minutes.

For the buttercream:

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

6-8 tablespoons butter (at room temperature)

3-9 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 1/2 to 5 cups confectioner sugar

Heat chips, 4 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of milk in a saucepan over medium heat until totally melted. In a mixer combine the white chocolate mixture with sugar and vanilla. Add more butter, milk and sugar as needed.

Fever Fudge 

(I renamed it Red Hot Fudge for the Shower)

This is actually a recipe that my sister found and is a take on "Fever Fudge" from the Harry Potter novels. She made it for our July 4th get together and asked her to make it for the shower. She made the vanilla and spicy version instead of the mint and spicy version. This time she added yellow to match the the theme. I think it was absolutely adorable. For the recipe go here. Don't be fooled by the bright colors it is very tasty and I think she has added it to her growing collection of go to recipes. :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

If you have a major sweet tooth like me then these are going to rock your world! For the recipe go here and if you make them be prepared to over indulge!

Baby Boy Blue Punch

This punch is not only super easy but is surprisingly great tasting.  It is also very easily customized to any color palette. It is another one of those recipes that make you raise an eyebrow when you see it but trust me it is actually very good. 

1 bottle of White Cranberry or White Grape Juice

1 2 liter of Club Soda (or Lemon Lime Soda)

1 envelope of unsweetened blue powered drink mix (Koolaide)

1/2 a 48oz container of Vanilla Ice Cream

Chill the juice and soda before the party and just before serving mix juice, soda and drink mix then scoop ice cream on top and then serve.

Lemon Trifle

So for this recipes go here. I did leave the whipped cream off of these only because we ran out of time. They are good either way.

Snack Mix

It isn't much to look at but ap[paently is is quite good.

It is 1 lg bag of pretzels coated with white chocolate and nonpareils mixed with blueberry kettle corn and animal crackers. I didn't actually eat any but I was told it was a great pairing. I found the kettle corn at my local grocery store but you can order it at their website.

I don't have the recipe for the strawberry fluff because I keep losing it. I am going to get it and keep up with it this time because I am starting a family recipe scrapbook. I plan on doing a post about family recipes as soon also.

I bought the cupcake liners and mustache mold at bake it pretty. I love everything in their online shop!!!!

Lemon + Coconut = DELICIOUS!

I made this Lemon Coconut Trifle For our 4th of July family barbecue and I must tell you it was very good. Everyone liked the red, white and blue cupcakes but they loved this. I'm planning on making mini versions of this for a baby shower later this month and wanted to give the recipe a try. I may make some changed next time, the coconut cream was a bit runny and I plan on making a basic white sheet cake for it. I bought a plain store bought angel food cake this time. It was good but I would prefer a bit of a denser heavier cake next time. 

You'll Need
store bought angel food cake cubes into bit sized pieces placed in the bottom of clear bowl.

for Lemon Filling
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 cups coconut juice (look in the Latin food section of the grocery store)
4 large egg yolks
1 cup lemon juice (preferably fresh)
3-4 teaspoons lemon zest

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Gradually whisk in the coconut juice until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring then boil 1minute. Remove from heat.

Beat egg yolks in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of hot mixture. Return all of the filling to the saucepan, whisking constantly. Whisk in lemon juice and and zest boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat. Let cool slightly and cover the cubed cake pieces.

for Coconut Cream
1 package of cream cheese (at room temp)
1 container of marshmallow fluff
1/2 can of coconut milk

After lemon mixture has cooled. Beat cream cheese and marshmallow fluff until blended. Slowly beat in coconut milk. Top the cooled lemon mixture wtih coconut cream. Chill until ready to serve.

Just before serving beat 1 small container of heavy whipping cream till soft peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons of confectioner sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Pour on top of trifle and Cover with coconut.