Italian Cream Cake: Easter Bliss

Italian Cream Cake

For Easter, I made an Italian Cream Cake (recipe below).  I love this light and airy cake filled with layers of pecan and coconut cream cheese frosting!

The only difference between my cake and the recipe below is I didn't have three 9-inch round pans.  So I had to make three thin layers in a 9x13 and a 13x18 pan (cut in half).  It makes for a very low three-tiered cake, but being a college student, I made what I had on hand work!

A few tips: I used a Pampered Chef Food Chopper to chop the nuts.  I wish I had a food processor, but this chopper works pretty well.  Actually, my brother chopped most of the pecans on a little plastic bread board.  I did have an angled spatula for frosting the cake.  It makes slathering the thin layers of frosting easier.  Also, I let the cake completely cool before filling and frosting!

So with the cake being Italian (though I don't really know why it's called Italian Cream Cake) I thought I'd showcase Dean Martin singing "Mambo Italiano."  Even though Rosemary Clooney recorded Bob Merrill's tune first in 1955 and made it a hit, I love something in Dean Martin's version.  It has a certain "je ne sais quoi."

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE          

Cake:

2 sticks of butter, at room temperature

2 c. sugar

5 egg yolks

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. buttermilk (or slightly less than 1 cup milk combined with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. Baker's sweetened flaked coconut

1 c. toasted pecans, finely chopped

5 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks

Cream butter. Add sugar and beat until mixture is smooth. Add egg yolks and beat well. Combine flour and soda and add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla. Add coconut and pecans. Fold in beaten egg whites.

Spray Pam on three greased and lightly floured 9-inch round pans. Bake at 350 degrees until done, approximately 30 minutes.  (My thin cakes only needed to bake for about 22 minutes.)

Frosting and Filling:

2 - 8 oz packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick of butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. Baker's sweetened flaked coconut

2 c. finely chopped pecans

Combine cream cheese and butter in mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated. Gradually add in powdered sugar, mix on low speed until the frosting reaches the desired consistency. Add coconut and chopped pecans and mix well. Drop three dollops of frosting onto first layer and spread from the middle to the sides. Repeat with remaining layers. Frost sides of cake.  The frosting on top and sides as well as the filling layers will be very thin if using the 9x13 pans as I did.)

Creating the Perfect Outfit

So I love clothes, which you probably guessed already!  I love to put outfits together and create ensembles.  I'm also a very good shopper!  Everything I've ever worn I paid less than full price for.  Thank goodness for thrifty spending habits!

Sometimes it takes years to put together an ensemble.  Often, alterations are involved.  But once I discover a certain look, the result is classic and unique!

I think it's important to look right for every occasion!  Tonight was the Traditions Ball.  This is my retro "let's-dance" outfit!  So the song "The Way You Look Tonight" sung by Frank Sinatra is for all those times we love to dress up and dance the night away!

Easter Lilies...Almost

So my recent appreciation of flowers has brought me...flowers!

I love lilies.  In fact, my favorite flower is rather unique: the calla lily, which is also known as the Easter lily.  I love the clean lines of the calla lily.  I've always loved my surroundings uncluttered.

My dream home would be filled with a lot of glass, chrome, wrought iron, and sleek designs.  I don't like a lot of colors around me as I find them distracting.  So the calla lily would fit in just right!
Even though the lilies I have aren't calla lilies, I still love them for their tender look!

I immediately thought of the jazz standard "Tenderly" sung by Ella Fitzgerald for today's song.  Enjoy!

Baking: Darn that Dream

Peanut Butter Cloud Cookie, Brownie

So my favorite peanut butter cookies are Peanut Butter Cloud Cookies with a chocolate star.  I made a double batch today--which makes A LOT of cookies!

I also made brownies and added white chocolate chips to the semi-sweet chocolate chips on top.  Delicious!

So I love to dream of baked goods and that's no joke.  I really do!  I LOVE baked goods and I love to make them.  I don't regret dreaming about baking!

And I love the song "Darn that Dream."  Here's a version sung by Doris Day.

Retro: Variety Shows

Today I went totally retro.  Okay, not totally, since I didn't dress retro (although I wish I had).  But I found this great 1976 variety show Van Dyke and Company, starring Dick Van Dyke.

I absolutely love Andy Kaufman's skits on the show.  Andy shows up randomly in the middle of sketches and interrupts them.  He insists on doing his bit so everyone else leaves the stage.  He is hilarious!

Of course, when I think of Dick Van Dyke, I also think of Mary Poppins and the song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

Corgi Love: Deno

I love dogs.  End of story.  And I especially love Pembroke Welsh Corgis, those funny little dogs with the big attitudes and short legs.

Dogs love unconditionally, it seems.  Give them a good brushing, a few treats and they love you forever.  But there's more to it than that.

A Corgi has a mind of its own--if they think fetch is a dumb game, it's a good bet you'll be the one fetching.  They love food and figure out ways to get it from you--they're sneaky that way.  But they also are fiercely loyal to their people.

It took Deno a month or so to adjust to us, but he was loyal from the beginning.  He loved all of us and we loved him.  Sure, he had a few accidents on the rug (I think they were temper tantrums when he didn't feel we were paying enough attention to him) but accidents are fixable.

He's never chewed on anything--except the corners of books!  Talk about a weird thing to chew on.

In short, we just love our six-year-old puppy, Deno.  He's a handful sometimes, but what family member isn't at some point in life?

Here's a song from another of my favorite Dinos, Dean Martin.  It's "Sway," which I've highlighted before, but it's such a great song!  I have a live recording of me singing this with my jazz combo that will be on an upcoming jazz album.

Jimmy John's: Magic with the TV Set

Jimmy John's sandwiches are more than just "so fast you'll freak," they're magic!

Seriously, whenever I'm having a good day, a bad day, a regular day, an anything day, a #9 with hot peppers and no mayo just makes the day better.  For those of you who don't know, a #9 is an Italian Night Club.  And yes, it's awesome, even though it has nothing to do with night clubs (I couldn't resist the pun).

So back to the magic, I had the weirdest thing happen tonight.  I walked up to the TV and it turned on.  The remotes were all accounted for.  I turned the TV off.  It turned back on.  I turned it off again.  This happened two more times.  Basically, I must be magic.  And Jimmy John's must have been what gave me the magic.

Okay, so I don't believe in magic at all, but this was pretty much like magic and quite funny.  The TV is an older model.  The on/off button just kept getting stuck then unstuck turning itself on.  But it was fun to pretend I had magic powers to turn the TV on just by walking past it--even for just a few seconds!

So I thought of the jazz standard "That Old Black Magic" for today's song.  And, of course, it has to be sung by Frank Sinatra!

Asiago Bread: When It's Sleepy Time

Asiago Bread

Yesterday I made asiago bread for the first time!

I used to be afraid of making bread that had any yeast in it.  I just skipped over that section in the cookbook and went straight to "quick bread" recipes.

When I was seven, I helped my mom make French bread and I accidentally killed the yeast by making the water too hot.  My mom wasn't upset, but from then on I thought I could never make yeast breads...ever.

Fortunately, I've now made two kinds of yeast breads: focaccia (which I make all the time) and asiago bread!  In fact, yesterday I made both.  I used the oven timer for raising the focaccia dough and the microwave timer for raising the asiago bread dough!  It is important to keep the details straight when making yeast breads!

Ironically, the recipe for asiago bread is from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.  I looked online for other recipes, but couldn't find one better.  I'm glad I stuck with the old stand-by because it came out great!

Let me just say that making bread is exhausting!  As satisfied as I was with my results, it's definitely faster to let a bakery do the work.  So in light of exhaustion, here's "When It's Sleepy Time Down South," an old jazz song sung by Louis Armstrong.

Amy's Birthday...Celebration!

As you know, we take birthday's very seriously in my family.  My sister, Amy, has her birthday next week, but we celebrate early, of course!

So today we went for lunch at Magleby's!  It was very tasty!

Since we celebrate birthdays "to the max" I thought "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang would be the perfect song for today!

Winter Weather...In Spring?

Today it SNOWED!  I think we've passed the official first day of spring.  Yesterday it was so warm, but today I woke up to incredibly large flakes of snow and visibility of less than thirty feet!

I remember a few years ago when it snowed on Easter.  Our neighbors made a "snow bunny rabbit" with their kids instead of a snowman!

So with all of this winter weather, I thought of the song "Winter Weather" sung by Peggy Lee!  Peggy Lee is one of my favorite jazz singers.  I also love her taste is clothes and jewelry!

Baklava: A Friend Like Me

Today I made baklava, the most delicious and unique pastry ever created!  It is the real thing--authentic and quite an experience to savor!

It's made with phyllo dough, honey, butter, nuts (I use pecans not walnuts), sugar, and cinnamon.  Sometimes I add nutmeg.

It's a tradition in the Chaston family to have baklava at Christmas.  Not that everyone in the family likes baklava, but it just wouldn't be Christmas if there weren't baklava!  The Chaston family tradition of baklava runs much deeper but I will save that for another time.

In short friends and neighbors have grown accustomed to receiving a gift of homemade baklava when we sing carols at their houses on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Eve Eve (also known as Christmas Adam)!  Many send requests during the year for baklava if we happen to make it at times other than Christmas.  It's quite a hit!

But whenever I think of baklava and music, I remember a line from Disney's Aladdin in the song "A Friend Like Me."  It goes, "...how 'bout a little more baklava?"

Citrus Streusel Bread: Sunny

Citrus Streusel Bread is so...sunny.  The recipe is very simple, too!

I like to put lots of streusel in the middle of the cake.  Because I baked this cake in my new favorite silicone bundt pan, I didn't put any streusel on top.

To give the glaze more punch, I add lemon juice and lemon extract.  I just test taste until the glaze is as lemony as I want it!

So I was thinking about how "sunny" this bread is and immediately thought of Stevie Wonder singing "Sunny!"

Turtle Brownies: Too Marvelous for Words!

Turtle Brownies: Sugar Rush!

These Turtle Brownies are from Mary Engelbreit's Cookies Cookbook: The Queen's Best Recipes, the same cookbook the Double Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe came from.  Let me warn you: these brownies will give you a sugar rush!

Chocolate, caramel, and pecans are a perfect combination.  And these brownies are surprisingly easy to make.  However, the recipe says to do all the mixing by hand.  I cheated and used a handheld mixer.  I used to be a purist until I wound up with sore arms and poorly mixed dough.  Now, the only mixing I do by hand is folding whipped cream or beaten egg whites into batter, and kneading bread gently!

As you know, I like almost all my baked goods frozen--or at least chilled.  These brownies are no exception.

So turtle brownies are just "Too Marvelous for Words."  Ella sings it best in this live version!

The Simple Joy of Flowers: "For Sentimental Reasons"

There are reasons I've never really known how great it is to receive flowers.

When I was five, I got hives while helping my grandmother trim her rose bushes.  No roses for me!

At 12, I found out I was allergic to just about every living thing.  No flowers for me!

However, I've started to "outgrow" some of my allergies--including allergies to some flowers.  So far, I know lilies and daffodils do not bother me.

Today, a bouquet of bright, cheerful daffodils were delivered to me.  Now I know why flowers bring joy to people!

I hear that flowers are sentimental for some people. Maybe some day flowers will carry sentimental meaning for me!

So here's the beautiful jazz standard "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" sung by Ella Fitzgerald, who has an equally beautiful voice.

St. Patrick's Day: Lucky...

St. Patrick's Day 2012

I like to be cautious on St. Patrick's Day so I prevent any pranks by wearing my special "Do Not Pinch" shirt.  This picture is from 2012 but Erik and I actually wore the same shirts today, but didn't think to take a picture...

Yesterday I made Pistachio Cake for St. Patrick's Day.  Since I don't like corned beef and cabbage, I made Oriental Cabbage Salad with ramen noodles today!  I know it is a bit of a stretch for St. Patrick's Day, but at least it uses cabbage...and cabbage is green!  Also, as a college student, ramen noodles are in generous supply!

I do have some Irish blood in me and I am quite proud of it!  I like to think dying my hair red makes me even more Irish.  However, I didn't utilize the "kiss me, I'm Irish" ploy today and since I don't drink alcoholic beverages, I drank IBC Root Beer instead.  My Lucky Charms cereal box was empty so I should have planned for that.  I did pass on drinking any green milk--that's just gross even if people claim the food coloring doesn't change the taste.

The closest song I could find to being anything Irish, lucky, or green is "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So" sung by Ella Fitzgerald.  I really do like this fun little song!  And it's an extra bonus that the album art from the album Fine and Mellow is green!

Pistachio Cake: Little Girl Blue

Yesterday I got a new bundt pan: a silicone bundt pan!  I made pistachio cake and it was light and  ... green--just in time for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!  The almond flavoring punctuates the flavor of the cake and the glaze.  That silicone bundt pan released the cake so that it literally slid right out.  I will never use a metal bundt pan again!

I tried to find an Irish-themed jazz song and struck out.  I couldn't even find a song with the color green in it, so I settled on the next best color: blue.  So here's "Little Girl Blue" sung by Ella Fitzgerald.

Friday: They Call it Stormy Monday

I absolutely love the song "They Call it Stormy Monday" as sung by Nancy Wilson.  However, today--Friday--was a wonderful day and there was nothing "stormy" about it.

Really, the only correlation is the days of the week.  But I wanted to share the song, so enjoy!

Time After Time: Chocolate Cheesecake

I made the chocolate cheesecake!  I probably shouldn't have since the hot oven made my apartment unbearably warm...yet the creamy chocolate is so worth it.

My chocolate cheesecake never does stay as tall as the one in the recipe photo, but it still tastes marvelous!  And I make it repeatedly to savor the flavor time after time after time!

Here's "Time After Time" sung by Judy Garland!  It's the jazz standard, not the pop song.

Dearly Beloved: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today I made my favorite chocolate cookies: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies.  This is a recipe adapted from Mary Engelbreit's Cookies Cookbook: The Queen's Best Recipes.  I love this cookbook.  My favorite recipes from it are this recipe and the Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie recipe.

I use almonds instead of macadamia nuts and I alter the flour/cocoa ratio.  The original recipe is quite greasy and the cookies are flat.  I like my cookies less greasy and more cake-like.

So for Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, I needed the perfect song.  I decided on "Dearly Beloved" sung by Nancy Wilson.

White Chocolate: Real or Fake?

White chocolate is a unique ingredient.  Some white chocolate is amazing; and some other white chocolate is disgustingly fake.

It's important when you bake with white chocolate that you check the ingredients and make sure cocoa butter is listed.  Don't bother to buy white chocolate that lacks cocoa butter!  Trust me.  To me it is like the difference between imitation vanilla and real vanilla.  Always keep it real.

So when you need the real thing, check the label.  Always.  No exceptions!

Speaking of the "real thing," I've highlighted "At Long Last Love" sung by Frank Sinatra before, but it's such a great song, it deserves to be highlighted again...because it is REAL!

Chocolate Cheesecake, How I Love Thee...

I love chocolate and I absolutely LOVE chocolate cheesecake.  This recipe--from Kraft--is literally the best recipe for chocolate cheesecake I've ever made.  And as cheesecakes go, it's really a very simple recipe.

Since eating an entire cheesecake is a little impractical for one person--only my sister really likes chocolate cheesecake other than me in the family--so I slice the cheesecake into pieces, wrap them in waxed paper the place them in a freezer container and freeze them for future enjoyment!

I've never put the whipped topping on my cheesecake, but I have eaten it with fresh or frozen fruit.  I've even made a raspberry glaze with sugar, raspberry jam, and frozen raspberries.  It is so easy to make.  You just put those three ingredients into a saucepan and let them simmer on the stovetop for about 20 minutes!  Proportions are almost irrelevant--just wing it!  It's delicious!

I don't know why, but I thought of "Young at Heart" sung by Frank Sinatra as today's song!  I think cheesecake keeps me young at heart!

Daylight Savings: Love to Hate

If we were dogs, daylight savings time wouldn't mean that much...

I try not to hate things.  Hate takes so much energy and I don't have that much energy to spare!  But when it comes to daylight savings, I love to hate it.

It messes with the internal clock and just wreaks havoc with my sleep schedule, which is already not a real "schedule."

And if we were dogs and not people, we would just sleep whenever we wanted to anyway.  But since we are people and not dogs, we have to deal with daylight savings time, losing an hour in springtime. 

So today's song is "People" sung by Barbra Streisand.

Actually, whenever things are tense in the family, someone sings it very melodramatically to lighten the moment using substituted lyrics to refer to the problem at hand.

So think of me as I truly lament daylight savings time while dancing around the room singing, "Sleep, people who need sleep...are the sleepiest people in the world...."

Okay, maybe it loses some of the humor if you're not actually in the room with me!

The Hat and The Way You Look Tonight

I've talked about it before, but one of the best parts of performing (besides the actual performing) is dressing up.  How I wish I lived in another time--and had the money and reason--to dress up every night.

But since I can't, I do the next best thing.  When I can dress up, I really dress up!

The most recent, and most adored addition, to my usual black velvet with feathers ensemble is a beautiful white hat with black feathers.  In the two performances I've worn it at, I've had so many compliments on it and have been asked to pose for "hat" pictures!

I've made the decision that my summer jazz album will have me wearing that Capelli New York hat.  It's new and classic at the same time!

I'll soon have up photos of last night's Chocolate Extravaganza performance.  It was definitely a night to remember!

Speaking of remembering, today's song is "The Way You Look Tonight" sung by Frank Sinatra!

Chocolate Extravaganza!

I just got home from performing at Chocolate Extravaganza.  It was so fun and of course the goodies are always a bonus!  The V Chocolates are always so tasty.  I love to support the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center Foundation Neonatal Unit!

As this is very late, I think I'll just include one of my favorite songs, "Fever" sung by Peggy Lee!  I performed it tonight, too.  I loved singing it!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Today was a much better day than the last two!  It really is amazing "What a Difference a Day Makes!"

My outlook today is definitely forward--I'm looking forward to performing tomorrow at Chocolate Extravaganza!  Performing just makes everyday better!

So here's Dinah Washington singing "What a Difference a Day Makes."

Blurred Vision and Tomorrows

As I'm writing this blog, even with my glasses, my vision is quite blurry.

I always believe that things are better tomorrow, and I'm hoping it's true of this tomorrow.  Here's "Tomorrow" from Annie sung by Aileen Quinn (who played Annie in the movie).

And I know the day after tomorrow, I get to perform, which makes everyday better!

Smile

Yesterday was one of those days that I really needed--a day when all I could do was laugh and smile until I was laughing crying!  I was definitely laughing and smiling during a jazz combo practice!

The days preceding yesterday were rough.  No details!  Just take my word for it.

Although I try to be as self-regulating as possible when it comes to emotions, I sometimes feel overwhelmed at times.  So when external things cause great joy, I embrace them as one of life's added bonuses!

So, for healthy emotions, here's "Smile" sung by Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand.

The Very Thought of Coconut Cream Pie

Coconut cream pie.  So rich, so creamy, so delicious!

I've never before enjoyed custard, but the custard in this pie is amazing!  It's smooth and light with large coconut flakes--no diced pieces here!  The coconut adds just the right amount of texture!

I love how uptempo this version of "The Very Thought of You" sung by Ella Fitzgerald is.  Often this song is sung at a slow and deliberate tempo.  Just as I gained appreciation for good custard in by sampling this pie, I gained new respect for "The Very Thought of You" after hearing this version!

Lemon Cake and "I Thought About You"

Lemon cake is so refreshing!  I'd never had the Magleby's lemon cake before, but it had the perfect amount of tart and sweet!

Plus, lemon goes well with just about anything and adds zest to seafood, dessert, drinks, pasta, etc.  How did the humble lemon become so lofty?  I don't know, but I'm glad it did!

"I Thought About You" is the perfect song for a lemon cake!  And Frank Sinatra is the perfect singer to sing it!

Chocolate Cake and "Heaven"

Chocolate cake is divine. There's just no other way of putting it. And chocolate cake from Magleby's is confection heaven!

A lot of chocolate cakes have a bitter or acrid flavor. Or they may be too sweet (German chocolate cakes are an exception). Magleby's cake is fudgy and has the perfect amount of frosting.

Too much frosting is another downside to sub-par cakes, especially layer cakes. There's nothing like cutting into a two- or three-layer cake and finding out there's more frosting than cake inside. I'd compare it to a plate laden with gravy for a dollop of mashed potatoes.

Since chocolate cake is divine and divinity points towards heaven, today's song is "Cheek to Cheek" sung by Frank Sinatra. The opening lyrics, after all, are, "Heaven, I'm in heaven...."