Momma's Daily Relish

Monday, September 10, 2012

Summer Strawberry Coconut Cake

In order to use up the remaining strawberries (from the icebox cake on my last Pinterest post) I searched for a cake that had them specifically. I love fruity things and I am cuckoo for coconut! Fruity candle scents. Fruity salads. Fruity and coconutty cake? Yes, Please!

Here is the original post if you'd like to check it out:

Summer Strawberry Coconut Cake

Here is the link to the actual recipe (it is not on the original post):

Summer Strawberry Coconut Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 (18.5 ounce) box white cake mix
4 T. strawberry gelatin powder
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
2 T. granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. pureed strawberries
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. coconut extract
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, finely diced
1 c. coconut, finely shredded in food processor
several strawberries to fill cake and garnish

Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
2 16-oz. boxes powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl and stir together. Beat in oil, eggs, water, strawberry puree, vanilla, and coconut extract. Mix well. Stir in diced strawberries and coconut. Pour into two 8- or 9-inch round pans, greased and floured. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the cakes are pulling away from the sides of the pans.

Put pans on wire racks and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and leave on racks to cool completely. While cooling, make icing.

Icing: Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until desired consistency. Add a tablespoon or so of milk if icing is too thick.

Spread some icing on first layer, then top with sliced strawberries. Place second layer on top and ice the rest of the cake. Cover entire cake in shredded coconut and garnish with fresh strawberries.

Cost for ingredients we did not have on hand:
Box of white cake mix: $1.98
Strawberry J-ello: $.68
Coconut Extract: $3.56
Shredded Coconut: $1.28
Total: $7.50

Total prep, mixing, and baking, cooling and decorating time: 1 hour 45 minutes

As you will see in the pictures I cut the recipe in half. I didn't see the need for Hubby and I to eat another entire double layer cake ourselves! It worked out perfectly (though for some recipes this is not possible). Our cake was sort of short, but super cute!

I diced the strawberries in the food processor, so they were a little more wet than they would have been if done by hand. However, they worked out perfect.

Since I cut the recipe in half I had some leftover J-ello. I added in the rest of the leftover strawberries, a little water and refrigerated. We had some good fruity J-ello to enjoy as well! (Now, if I could just figure out what to do with that extra cake mix...)

Here are photos documenting the process:

Taste and evaluation:

This is one of the most refreshing cakes I have ever tasted! It is so light and full of flavor. We kept the cake in the refrigerator so it was quite chilled when we ate it. I think it added to the enjoyment to have our cake cold. It is a perfect summer cake - very refreshing! I was pleasantly surprised that the strawberries did not overpower the coconut. I was worried since there were so many berries. The coconut added a soft tone to the strawberries and really complimented them well.

Overall:

This is going to be in my permanent collection of cakes to make! This recipe was very simple to follow and the ingredients were easy to find. I am very pleased at how beautiful the cake turned out! The pink is so vibrant! This would be a perfect 4th of July cake as well as a little girl's birthday party. I would be willing to guess that you could change the strawberries for raspberries, but don't hold me to it (I'll try later and let you know). I give this recipe and it's creator kudos for a job well done!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

All's Well that Ends Well

I feel that it has been way over do to write my next post. The past week and a half has been quite tiring on this end and I would like to explain. I'd also like to say that I hope to never have such a long time away again for such a reason.

My Husband is in the Navy. His current job is quite exciting - he's a Hovercraft Craftmaster! He flies hovercrafts. He spends his days at his command either flying, providing maintenance to his craft or doing boring paperwork. He is a very physically fit person and thoroughly enjoys his mornings PTing (physically training). Last Wednesday while running the obstacle course on base he fell, landing on his rear end. Normally this type of fall would warrant a little rub on the area and not much else. However, he fell over 8 feet off of a platform.

It had been raining (like it does so often in our area) and the course was slippery. He usually just jumps down from the platform and continues on, but for some reason on this day he decided to be careful. He tried climbing down and dangling so he'd only drop 2 feet or so. In the process his hand slipped before he was in position resulting in him falling and landing on his bum. He stayed put for a minute, got up, checked for tingling/pain/numbness, felt nothing out of the ordinary so continued on the course.

Later in the day he was sore. Sore enough that he actually went to see someone about it. In typical Navy remedy fashion they gave him some Ibuprofen for the discomfort. But the doctor felt it was a serious enough incident to take some x-rays. Thank goodness! It turns out he really did do some damage to his back (not his booty). The next step was to head over to the hospital for a CT scan. After lots of waiting in the emergency room (because that's how the military healthcare works) he finally got to see a doctor who...ordered more x-rays. Again, the doctor was concerned enough that he said my Hubby needed a CT scan (Duh! That is why he was there in the first place!!). Well, those results came back and it turns out that he had a compression fracture in his T12 vertebrae. It was serious enough that the doctor admitted him immediately, put him in back brace and told him he'd be there at least overnight.

As you can imagine Hubby was less than thrilled at this whole occurrence. Fast forward to the following morning. I pack up the baby and head over to see our wounded man. After a few more doctor visits, a consultation with a prosthetic technician, and some not-so-good hospital lunch food my Husband was released on the terms that:

1.) he was getting a custom brace made and should be in it on Monday (Labor Day).

2.) he had to be back Tuesday for more x-rays to see if the brace was helping.

3.) he had to leave the brace on whenever up and moving or lay down without it all weekend. No out and about. No lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk (which our daughter is). No bending, twisting, working out, etc. No driving.

4.) he was scheduled for surgery on Tuesday if the brace was not doing what it needed to be. The surgery would fuse together 5 of his vertebrae (T10-L2) permanently. He would lose about 10-15% of his mobility due to this surgery and most likely have pain in the area later in life.

After a very long, tiring, and boring weekend we all headed back in for the follow-up. We got the most amazing news! He didn't need surgery! The doctor was very happy with how the brace has been supporting him and feels that if he heals how his back is currently holding he would be able to live a very active life. Then came the bad news. No working for 30 days (minimum). No driving. No lifting.

It has been hard on my Hubby because he is usually so active. The brace is uncomfortable, keeping him in a strange position and itchy. And he wants to be doing much, much more with our daughter.

It has been frustrating for my daughter and I because we have become accustomed to him interacting with us both more often than he is capable of right now. Plus, I'm whooped from 100% baby time!

We are looking at the positives of the situation and focusing on his improving status. We are very thankful that the outcome wasn't more serious (because it could have been so much worse). I am impressed with the level of care he received at the naval hospital. It was unexpected and is apparent that they had concern for my Husband's welfare. There have been a few emotions surrounding this incident, and I'm sure more will come as he heals (he could be in the brace for 3 months or longer which means the same limitations apply). I am just so very thankful that he is o.k..

Have you had scary medical moments in your or your loved one's life?

Thursday, August 30, 2012

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Strawberry Crunch Icebox Cake

I have been seeing these pop up all over Pinterest, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Here is the original post if you'd like to check it out:

Strawberry Crunch Icebox Cake

Here is the link to the recipe (it is not on the original post):

Strawberry Icebox Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
1 box Nature Valley Granola Bars
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 lemon
4 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 cups freshly chopped strawberries

Directions:

Put the Nature Valley granola bars in a food processor and process until you achieve a course crumb. In a large bowl, add the crumbs, brown sugar, flour and melted butter and mix together. Then spread into an 8x8" pan that has been covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool. Then divide in half and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs whites and sugar and mix on high. Add the heavy cream and continue mixing for another five minutes. Continue to add the fresh squeezed lemon juice and softened cream cheese. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Fold the fresh strawberries into the cream mixture. In a buttered glass cake pan, press half of the crumb crust mixture on the bottom. Top with strawberry mix and then add the remaining crumbs to the top. Cover and freeze for three hours or more and enjoy!

Cost for ingredients we did not have on hand:
Nature Valley Granola Bars: $2.98
Heavy Whipping Cream: $1.98
Total: $4.96

Total prep, mixing, and freezing time: 35 minutes + 5 hours to freeze

I did not chop the strawberries, instead I put them in the food processor so they were a little more squishy for me. I think it worked awesome and took less time than hand chopping them.

I also did not use parchment paper. We have wax paper on hand and it does the same thing for this process as the parchment paper would have. But, considering the crumbs stayed super crumbly I don't know that you'd need a liner at all. Use one though - just in case!

Here are photos documenting the process:

Taste and evaluation:

This is a very light and summery flavored cake. So refreshing that it is cold! We ate it out of the freezer the first time, but after that we cut small pieces and put them in the fridge for about an hour to soften them up. I liked the very subtle flavor the lemon added to the cake. The amount of available crumb for the crust was almost a perfect fit.

Overall:
Though this cake was quite tasty I do have to point out that the crumbs did not solidify at all for me. I'm not sure if more butter should be added to half of the mixture and the bottom layer be baked separate so that it hardens in to a crust or if there is another alternative. The bottom for me stayed crumbly, which made a mess getting it out of the pan and usually meant that they weren't any left on the filling by the time it got to my mouth. I would have preferred it to have been solid so when you take a bite with your fork it doesn't fall apart. The crumbs on the top of the cake were great and seemed to be just the right consistency. This is the only thing I would change when making it in the future.

I could see adding any kind of berry or fruit to this recipe. I will try it later on (with a different bottom layer) and let you know how it turns out!

This recipe is so super easy I would let kids help. It would be fun for them to break up the granola bars, stir in the strawberries and put it all together.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Good Morning!

Is thoroughly impressed by all of the wonderful people that said "Good Morning" on our walk this morning, which was every single person we passed!!! What a difference a friendly hello makes :)