Summer Sweets

Summer is in full swing and it is HOT here. Well, hot for So Cal. Which means about 83 degrees. I know I shouldn't complain but it is a balmy 83 degrees and I have no air conditioning because when you live this close to the beach you supposedly don't need it. So there is no escape from the humid heat. For now, I am spending my days sitting in front of a fan and drinking iced tea and eating popsicles and patiently waiting for fall which can't come fast enough. 

Summer also means light, summery food. I made these delicious Key Lime Pie Bars last week and they were so refreshing. I used a different recipe from my normal Key Lime Pie which is also delicious! But this one has cream cheese in it which allows it to hold its shape when cut so it is something that is portable and non-messy. Next time I made these, I think I am going to spread a layer of whipped cream over the top. The piped dollops are cute but with the tartness of the key lime filling, I think there needs to be a bigger ratio of whipped cream to off set it. Here is the recipe:

Key Lime Pie Bars

Ingredients

Crust:

3 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

Pinch of salt

2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

2 egg yolks

1 cup Key lime juice (about 25 key limes)

(optional - 1 drop green food coloring to make them look lime-ier - naturally, they are yellowish)

Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/8 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Crust:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil, allowing the extra foil to hang over the edges of the pan. Lightly coat with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until well blended. Press mixture into the baking pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Refrigerate until cool.

Filling:

Stir together the cream cheese, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the sweetened condensed milk and whisk until completely incorporated and no lumps remain. Whisk in the egg yolks, then add the lime juice and whisk gently until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the crust and smooth into an even layer. Bake until the filling set and the edges are beginning to pull away slightly from the sides of the pan, 15 to 20 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Whipped Cream:

In a large bowl, whip cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form.

This week was also my niece, Ashton's, 6th birthday. For Christmas I made her these Pocket Princesses. Apparently she loves them so I made her some more for her birthday. These are Tinkerbell's little fairy friends, and the one on the end with the flower dress is a little Ashton doll so she can play with the princess and fairies herself. I love making these little dolls, they are so simple and fun. I love that Ashton likes them. Homemade gifts are the best! 

I was born, let's celebrate!

Yesterday I turned 36. Thirty-freaking-six! I am now closer to 40 than I am 30, when did this happen? It is crazy how fast life starts moving as you get older. I remember as a kid, feeling like the school year dragged on at a snails pace but now, you snap your fingers and it is summer already. Woah... slow this ride down!

Regardless of the fact that birthday's are completely anti-climatic at this age (just one year closer to the grave) I still had a good one. It started on Friday, with my office pranking me. My new boss brings a lot of energy to the workplace and since he has come, birthdays have become a time to torture each other. (Where are the good ole days, when people just brought you a cake?!?)

When I arrived at work, my office was completely turned around backwards. My computer, my phone, everything was facing the wrong way. Additionally, things were moved all over the place and placed upside down and cockeyed. People even took the pictures out of my picture frames and turned them upside down! They also threw paper confetti and balloons everywhere. I spent a portion of my day just putting my office back together so that I could actually work! Feel the love!

I do have to admit though, it could have been worse. One of my other co-workers had a horn taped to the underside of her chair on her birthday that blasted to the entire office when she sat down and about gave her a heart attack. And her office got "glittered". Two months later, she is still finding glitter in places. My team knows how to push my OCD buttons but at least they know how far is too far. Had my office gotten glittered they might all be unemployed today. 

Yesterday, my actual birthday, was great. I took the day off of work so for the first half of the day I wondered what to do with myself. What do people do on a Saturday morning? I started to bury myself in a book but my phone kept ringing so I gave up. Instead I watched reruns of Boy Meets World and talked to my parents and my brothers and friends that called and/or texted. One highlight of my day was when I was talking to my brother about getting older and all that comes with it - wrinkles, gray hair,  etc. and I took a good hard look in the mirror and saw ZERO gray hairs! YES! Aging: 0 Tamara: 1!

Last night, a group of friends and I went downtown to celebrate my being born. We had some delicious Italian food at Buca di Bepo then saw a production of Les Miserables then had dessert at Ghirardelli's. It was the perfect night. If you know me at all, you know that theater is my passion and that Les Mis is my absolute favorite. So I got to spend the evening doing what I love with people that I love. It was delightful. Oh, and just for a little added bonus, while walking to the theater from dinner, I was stopped and told that I was beautiful. Granted, it was from a kind of creepy random guy that probably lived on the street downtown but hey, on the day that I turn 36, having someone tell me how gorgeous I am was quite welcome! So thank you creepy random guy, I appreciate the ego boost. 

My friends also brought me this stunning bouquet of flowers which will make my apartment smell lovely for days. Aren't they amazing? My friend, Trisha put them together, she has quite a gift. 

 So, all in all, it was a great birthday and now I slip back into normal life, one year older. Here's to 36 and getting "one day more".

Strawberry Shortcake

After a month of many birthdays, May is finally over. June is pretty slow as far as that goes. Of course there is MY birthday, but I don't make myself a cake so nothing to do there. Last week, my friends, Brooke and Charley and I celebrated Brooke's birthday by hanging out and having dinner and playing a fun (meaning I won) game of Settlers of Catan. We then topped it off with Strawberry Shortcake. Brooke always asks for some type of strawberry cake every year and I happily oblige. We realized that we have been friends for 9 years now which is a lot of birthdays!

It was kind of crazy thinking of the fact that I moved to California 9 years ago! Brooke and Charley actually met in my dining room over a game of Settlers and we used to play constantly. We were in school at the time and life looked vastly different than it does now. Now we are hard working professionals rather than hopeful college students and there was a baby to put down before we could play Settlers. Wow, it makes me feel old. Well, that and the fact that I am turning 36 a week from today. I will soon be closer to 40 than 30. Oi vey! Where are the years going?!?

Anyway, back to Strawberry Shortcake. This isn't traditional Strawberry Shortcake, it is a "layer cake" it is pretty much the same thing, just assembled differently. The trick is making it look good. Layering strawberries in between each layer makes it hard to not slide all over the place. And the frosting is  a cross between whipped cream and butter cream. It is stable enough to frost a cake but pretty light and fluffy so it is hard to do any precise piping or anything so I don't even try and just go with the "homemade" look. It is delicious though, perfect for the summer!

Strawberry “Shortcake” Layer Cake:

Cake

2 cups sugar

2 sticks of butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1 Tbs. vanilla bean paste

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vinegar

Frosting:

1 8 oz.  pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Strawberry Filling:

4 cups strawberries

¼ cup sugar

1/8 cup lemon juice

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture. Pour batter into two 9 inch  round pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool completely. Slice each cake in half so that there are four layers.

Frosting:

Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until smooth. While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl a couple of times while you continue whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak.

Strawberry Filling:

Slice strawberries and add lemon juice and sugar. Let sit overnight for the flavors to meld.

Assembly:

Spread a thin layer of frosting over the 1^st layer of cake. Pipe a border of frosting around the edge to hold the strawberries inside. Spoon the strawberry mixture inside. Put the next layer of cake on top and repeat the steps. Once completely assembled, frost the entire cake.