Red Velvet Cake
is a very dramatic looking cake with a bright red color sharply
contrasted by a white frosting.
more
Vanilla Cupcakes are wonderfully sweet and buttery and are frosted with a
lovely Buttercream. more
Chocolate Chip
Cookies are made with butter and a combination of white and brown
sugars which produces a rich and chewy cookie with caramelized edges.
more
Red Velvet Cupcakes have a
subtle chocolate flavor with a bright red color that are iced with a
Cream Cheese Frosting. more
These beautiful chocolate
cupcakes have a wonderful chocolate flavor and are frosted with a
chocolate fudge frosting. more
Its
thick sweet batter is full of mashed bananas, cinnamon and toasted
nuts and when you pull the banana bread from the oven the golden brown
crust is delightfully crisp.
more
Depending on where you
live, you may still be in the throes of Winter. Luckily,
February 14th gives us a opportunity to forget about the
cold weather and instead just celebrate with those we love.
Valentine's Day is named after the patron saint, St.
Valentine, and we celebrate this day with the exchange of
candy, flowers, cards, and gifts as a token of affection to
our loved ones. The history of this day is very sketchy but
it does appear to derive from Christian and Roman
traditions. The story I like dates from the third century
when Rome was ruled by the Emperor Claudius II. The Emperor
outlawed marriages for young men as he felt single men made
better soldiers than men who were married. A priest, named
St. Valentine, didn't agree with the Emperor and married
young lovers in secret. When the Emperor discovered
what St. Valentine was doing, he sentenced him to death.
While St. Valentine was in prison, waiting to be put
to death, he met and fell in love with the jailor's
daughter. Before he died he sent her a love letter and
signed it "From your Valentine". This expression is still
used today and St. Valentine is now best remembered as a
romantic and heroic figure.
Next we have
Shrove Tuesday which falls on
February 21st this year. This is also the day before Lent
(Ash Wednesday) which is when Anglo Saxon Christians
begin 40 days of Fasting before Easter. Shrove Tuesday, depending on where
you live, may go by the names 'Pancake Day', 'Mardi
Gras', 'Fat Tuesday', 'Tuesday of Carnival' or 'Paczki Day'.
It is a day of celebration for it is the last day we can
"feast" before the "fast" begins. Shrove Tuesday became
known as "Pancake Day" because making pancakes is the perfect
way to use up any leftover eggs, milk, sugar, and flour that
are forbidden during the period of Lent when only 'plain'
foods are eaten.
Have you ever
wondered why we call this day "Shrove' Tuesday? The word
'shrove" comes from the custom of "shriving" which is when
Anglo Saxon Christians go to church to confess their sins
and obtain absolution. Only then are we ready for Lent and
its time of abstinence and fasting. The actual calendar day
of Shrove Tuesday can vary from one year to the next
(anywhere from early in February to early in March) as the
date depends on when Easter is celebrated that year.
Since pancakes
are definitely the theme of the day, I offer you a few
choices. For North Americans the choice might be the
traditional Pancake
served with butter and maple syrup. A slight variation on
this theme is the
Buttermilk
Pancake which simply replaces the milk with buttermilk.
If you want more of a dessert pancake, then maybe you would
like to try the Berry
Pancake or the
Apple Popover. Both are excellent and provide a
wonderful ending to any meal.
A Black Forest Cake is a delicious
combination of chocolate cake, Kirsch soaked Morello cherries, and loads of
whipped cream. more
This batter produces a
pancake that is light and fluffy with a soft crust and spongy texture.
more
These sweet and buttery
cut-out cookies are always a favorite for not only can you tailor the
shape of the cookie to the occasion but you can also dress them simply
with granulated or colored sugars or make them very decorative by
frosting them with royal icing. more
Although you may be able
to buy these gorgeous buns, nothing compares to the smiles you are
rewarded with when your family wakes up to the smell of these baking
in the oven. more
Molten Chocolate Cakes
have a rich chocolate flavor with a pudding-like center that is dense
and moist. Delicious hot or cold. more
These rich and elegant,
bite-sized round petit fours are made from a mixture of dark or white
chocolate and cream to which various flavorings can be added: butter,
liqueurs, extracts, nuts, coffee, purees, spices, candied or dried
fruits. more
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