Best Chocolate Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

This cake is extremely moist and dense, without being overly rich.  It really is the best chocolate cake recipe I've come across thus far.

Grandma Hill's Cheese Cake

Today's my birthday. 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

It snowed today.  First snow of the season, and a frigid cold day.

So the girls and I huddled inside and baked.

Rainbow Sour Cream Cupcakes

My youngest baby girl Gigi recently turned one.  

She's my angel baby.  Sweet, quiet, cuddly and the calm observer amongst her two spunky, boisterous elder sisters.  And like all babies of the family, my unabashed favorite child.  

Berry Crumble Bars

These bars were bonkers good.  

They remind me of my sweet Grandma Hill and all of the happy childhood memories of the lovely home baked goods that she spoiled us with as kids.  Mmmmmm.  

My choc-aholic P-Man loved 'em too.  He's always proving me wrong that way.  I'll make something that I'm sure he'll reject on principle alone, and he's like "Hey these are super good".  

Perfect Chocolate Buttercream

I made this and spread it upon a reeeaaallly good chocolate cake- recipe to follow soon, it was snarfed up by family members before I could document it's greatness- as a belated Father's day dessert for my beloved P-Man.

He's an exceptional Dad to his girls.

We're all darn lucky to have him.  

I'm sorry to have to say this, but I was raised in a family that could take or leave chocolate. 

Yes people like that really exist. 

We prefer fruity desserts over double-chocolate-chunk-ganache-fudge-cocoa-smothered whatevers...  It's a genetic thing I'm sure.  But my choc-aholic husband has gradually eroded my ways and today I find myself sitting somewhere in the middle. 

I do like and even crave chocolate occasionally now.  Quite the evolution.

This frosting really was divine.  My P-Man's say on the matter was that he normally scrapes off the cloyingly sweet frosting and just eats the cake, but this frosting was in his words perfect.   

Balsamic Strawberry Shortcake Sugar Cookies



Perhaps using the word "shortcake" is being a bit liberal with the term, but it just felt right.

Aren't they lovely? 

Almost too darling to eat?  Maybe that's what I said before two or three disappeared. 

I'm still perplexed as to how that happened.  Ahem.

To be honest, the first time I laid eyes upon the marriage of balsamic vinegar and strawberries, I can't say that it seemed too appealing.

An initial eewww may have crossed my mind. 

But for some reason the idea lingered and kept nagging at me for a few weeks.  Weeks! 

So finally I grabbed a carton of berries and mustered up the gumption to give them a try.  I cringed a little as I poured the vinegar over the freshly sliced berries and with my P-Man casting more than a few unsubtle doubtful glances my way... The mood was tense.

And then I dusted on the black pepper.  And that's when P-Man had to just leave the room.

But there's a happy ending to this story.  When I spooned a dollop of lightly sweetened cream onto a perfectly soft melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookie and topped it all off with those marinated berries, the result was glorious. 

bite. moan. bite.

Continued in that order.

Instead of overpowering the natural flavor of the strawberries it only enhanced and brightened their flavor, and color too.  Oh the possibilities.  I'm already diabolically plotting for future mind-blowing balsamic/strawberry concoctions.  And I'm a dork.
      

Memorial Day is a comin' my friends, and these eye and mouth candy treats will impress your BBQ crowd.  Try them.  Love them.  And you're welcome.  



Balsamic Strawberry Shortcake Sugar Cookies

Recipe by Bliss From Scratch  | Printable Version

• 2 dozen sugar cookies, recipe here.  (You may not need this many, it just depends upon how much topping that you pile on 'em.)
• 4 cups whipped cream, lightly sweetened

For the berries:

• 16 oz. fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and gently stir.  Cover, and allow to marinate for about an hour. 

Spoon the fresh whipped cream onto the sugar cookies and top with the marinated strawberries.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy.

Soft melt-in-your-mouth Sugar Cookies

Everyone needs a killer sugar cookie recipe in their dessert arsenal.   

Here's mine. 

The oooper doooper secret for fabulous sugar cookies?  Sour cream.  That's right.  They're soft, moist and perfect for use with cookie cutters.  You'll never need another recipe, trrrust me.

Shamrock Cheesecake Brownies

Being that we've got a good amount of Irish heritage in our clan, there's a special place in our hearts for St. Patty's day. 

And I'll tell you a secret; I've never really been a lover of traditional brownies.  But cheesecake brownies... Oh that's another story for this Lass.

Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

There were a few extra strawberries in the fridge that I had somehow managed to hide from my girls.  This small miracle resulted the epiphany that I needed to fold fresh strawberry puree into the vanilla buttercream. 

The verdict: lovely, fragrant, pastel pink perfection. 

Vanilla Buttercream & Doctored Cake Mix

Oh Buttercream.  Thank you for being so flawlessly easy to whip up and so sinfully perfect.  I shan't ever open a can of store-bought frosting again.  

You surpassed my every expectation.  

But there's more!  My lovely Mom-in-law Charlyn--who has loads of cupcake wisdom--shared with me the secret to achieving wonderfully moist, flavorful cake from a box.  

Mayonnaise!  Who knew?!

Pecan Pie Mini Tarts

I needed a sweet holiday fix.  One that was miles away from chocolate.  Being that I'm more of a vanilla girl and my soulmate is a choc-aholic, every now and again chocolate and I have to take a break. 

This recipe was heaven sent, and they're dainty and lovely to boot.  The caramely filling and cream cheese crust are a positively scrumptious pairing.