lime

Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake

By in Cakes, Easter, Sweets 16 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

strawberry lime cake

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I first posted about our brand new baby girl. Ahhhh! *tears* She’s growing up too fast! I love the baby stage. Just look at those cute baby cheeks (below) and tell me you don’t want to squish them all day long. I know there’s a lot of wonderful times ahead and I’m looking forward to it all so much. But, it’s ok for me to be a little sad that my baby girl is taking one more step to adulthood right?

I wanted to give her a simple but girly birthday party so I decided to go with the theme of Strawberry & Lime. I know that at this age she really couldn’t care less about her birthday so I tried to keep everything simple and stress-free. After-all I wanted to spend lot’s of time with the birthday girl.

The main star to the show (besides the sweet baby) was the Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake – a white cake sandwiched with coconut lime curd and smothered in whipped strawberry frosting. Fruity, refreshing and girly.

The decoration was extremely easy to do and the result was so precious. Perfect for a little girl’s birthday party. I followed a tutorial from Sockerru, where you pipe big dots of frosting and smooth them out with a spoon (I used the Ateco tip# 808 to pipe on the dots). Seriously, it was so simple and quick, anyone could do it. The key is to make the crumb coat as smooth and flat as possible so that everything looks even (I follow this method to smooth my frosting). The only thing I couldn’t figure out was how to finish it up in the back where the pattern met. The solution I came up with? Put the seam in the back where no one can see it. :D

Happy Birthday to my favourite baby girl!

Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake

White Cake
  • 3 cups cake flour*
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup milk
  • 8 large egg whites, room temperature (save the yolks for the curd below)

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and 2 cups sugar for several minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Mixing on low-speed, add flour in 3 additions, alternating with milk, starting and ending with flour. Beat just until combined.

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites on low until foamy. Add 1/4 cup sugar and beat on high just until stiff, glossy peaks form when beater is lifted.

Gently fold 1/3 egg whites into butter/flour mixture to loosen batter. Fold in remaining whites.

Divide batter between 2 9-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper rounds and spayed with cooking spray; smooth tops. Bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool 20 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off parchment. Cool completely on wire wracks before wrapping in plastic wrap to store.

*To make your own cake flour place 2 tablespoons cornstarch into a 1 cup measuring cup, spoon in enough all-purpose flour to fill. Sift several times to combine. This makes 1 cup cake flour.

Coconut Lime Curd
  • 1 (15 oz) can coconut milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • 6 eggs yolk
  • green food colouring, if desired

Place 1 cup coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Mix together the remaining coconut milk and the cornstarch. Pour into the saucepan, stirring to combine. Lower heat to medium, add butter and whisk until melted together. Whisk in lime juice and egg yolks. Cook, stirring often, until thick and it coats the back of a spoon. Do not overcook or eggs will start to scramble. Stir in food colouring, if desired. Allow the mixture to cool slightly and then pour into a heat-proof bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to stop condensation. Allow to cool completely before refrigerating. Beat, to loosen, before spreading on cake layers.

Whipped Strawberry Frosting
  • 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups icing sugar, sifted
  • 1/4 cup strawberry puree (from frozen, thawed berries is fine)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a stand mixer, beat butter for 6 minutes, until pale and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat for an additional 6 minutes, until light and creamy.

If not using all of it right away beat by hand with a spatula, to remove any air bubbles, before using.

To Assemble

Trim tops of cakes flat. Carefully cut each cake in half to make 4 layers of cake (here’s a great video to show you how). Place one cake layer on serving platter, spread with some of the coconut lime curd. Place another cake layer on top and spread with more coconut lime curd. Repeat one more time and then top with the last cake layer (you will have leftover curd). Crumb coat the cake to glue the crumbs to the cake and to make sure none of the curd shows through the frosting. Refrigerate 10 minutes to set. Frost as desired. Refrigerate until serving.

White Cake adapted from Martha Stewart. Coconut Lime Curd adapted from Donna Hay Dec/Jan 2012.

Grilled Fish Tacos with Fresh Salsa

By in GF Mains, Gluten Free, Main Dish, Seafood 10 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Grilled Fish Tacos with Fresh Salsa

I apologize for my absence the last while. Some unexpected events have occurred and I haven”t been able to keep up my posting schedule. Peach Monday, which was missed this week (sorry!), will be posted on this coming Monday. My posting may be a little erratic over the next couple of weeks and I hope you”ll be patient with me. I promise to fill you in as soon as I can but for now, here is the post that I had been hoping to do before Fathers Day.

I grew up with three brothers, which means I got the coveted title of “Daddy”s Girl” all to myself. And, I”ve always been very proud of it. My Dad and I are a lot alike and he always seems to know what”s going on in my head. He”s always been there for me, to help me be a better person, to remind me to always do my best no matter the results, and to teach me to let go of things that are not perfect.

He is a man of utmost integrity. His heart is more pure then anyone I have ever met. His desire for what is right and true in this world has been such an inspiration to me. I often cringe at the way fathers are portrayed today, as whit-less, lying, always up to no good men, because I feel like it takes away from the men who are doing it right. My Dad is one of those men. He”s humble enough to admit when he”s wrong, strong enough to make the right decisions, and courageous enough to stand up for what”s right. He is one of my favourite people in the world and he”s my hero!

Me & Dad/Max & Grandpa

My Dad is my favourite person in the world to cook for. He”s adventurous in the kitchen, always gives his honest opinion and is simply not picky. When I was trying to think of something to make for him for Fathers Day from afar I new it had to be something fishy because he loves to cook with fish.

These Grilled Fish Tacos were perfect. White fish doused in a tex-mex marinade, grilled until flaky tender and then topped with a fresh salsa that”s vibrant and light. It was absolutely delicious even for this on-the-fence fish eater.

Happy Fathers Day Dad! Your honesty and love light up my life. I love you!


Grilled Fish Tacos with Fresh Salsa

adapted from My Recipes

Fish

  • 1 tablespoon lime juice

  • 2 teaspoons canola oil

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 2 teaspoons chili powder

  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • 1 pound white fish fillets (such as halibut or tilapia)

  1. Mix together all ingredients, except fish to make marinade. Add fish and marinate for 15-30 min.

  2. Grill fish on a lightly greased grill over medium high heat for 6-10 minutes or until cooked through and flakes easily with fork. Flip halfway through cooking time.

* If you prefer you can bake these in the oven at 400ºF for the same amount of cooking time. No need to flip.

Salsa

  • 2 cups finely chopped tomatoes

  • 1/4 cup sliced green onions

  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

  • 1 tablespoon lime juice

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  1. Mix together all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

To serve

  • 8- 6 inch corn or flour tortillas

  • sour cream

  • shredded cheese

*these are gluten free if served with corn tortillas.

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Blackberry Lime Cake

By in Cakes, Sweets 17 Comments Tags: , ,

Blackberry Lime Cake

The food blogging world can be an intimidating place sometimes. Food is such a personal experience and there are a lot of very opinionated people out there. When you”re just starting out it can feel a little overwhelming.

Although it would be nice, people who have successful blogs and have been going at it for years don”t have time to devote to a noob who is trying to learn the ropes. Normally.

That”s why I”m extremely thankful for Adopt A Blogger and my gracious mentor Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook. This woman has taken me under her wing and has made herself available to my every prying question. She has even gone above and beyond by offering me tons of advice that I didn”t even know I needed. She is the best!

Founder of the monthly event My Legume Love Affair, Susan is a creative mind who participates in many online foodie events and comes up with mouthwatering results every time. You can tell just by looking at the appetizing photos in her flickr stream that this woman knows her way around the kitchen! This just upped my excitement over choosing something of hers to make and share with you.

Although it was a hard choice, I think I picked it right when I chose this Blackberry Lime Cake. It”s refreshingly comforting and perfect for those first days of spring when there”s still a chill in the air. I have no doubt that if you try any of the recipes that Susan shares it will be golden.

Her helpful tweets on twitter are just a slice of the wonderful wealth of knowledge that this woman has heaped on me. Have I mentioned yet how grateful I am? Thank you Susan! :)

Now head on over and devour some of her goods. Or, stick around here and drool while you stare at this delicious cake.

Blackberry Lime Cake

adapted from The Well-Seasoned Cook

  • 5 Tbsp. butter, softened

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 tsp. vanilla

  • 1 egg

  • 1/2 cup milk

  • 1 cup flour

  • 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

  • Zest of 1 lime

  • 3 cups blackberries, divided

  • 1/4 cup sugar, for topping

  1. Cream butter and sugar until well blended. Add vanilla, then egg, then milk, beating well between additions.

  2. Slowly add dry ingredients into batter and mix well. Stir in lime zest.

  3. Pour batter into well-greased 9×13 pan (I used a 10 inch round). Place half the blackberries on top of batter. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

  4. Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes. Remove from oven (it will not be set). The blackberries will have sunken to the bottom. Sprinkle remaining blueberries over top and place back in the oven.

  5. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Let cool before cutting.

  6. Dust with icing sugar or top with whipped cream (or lime cream) to serve.

Serves: 6-8

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