Sweet Treats Saturday: Lemon Pound Cake

A couple of days before the Gatsby event this past week, Mena and I were emailing each other our plans for the event.  Believe it or not, I was chosen to make dessert. ;)  I actually did a little bit of homework, trying to find a dessert that would be period appropriate for the picnic.  Pound cake seemed to fit into the time, and Goodies by Anna had just post a summer-y lemon pound cake recipe.  Just in time!

Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake
Recipe from Goodies by Anna


Ingredients
Cake Batter:

• 3 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

• 3 cups granulated sugar

• 6 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon lemon extract (Added for extra flavor)

• Grated zest of 2 lemons

• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (Added for extra flavor)

Lemon Simple Syrup:

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup water

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (Added for extra flavor)

Lemon Glaze:

• lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

• powdered sugar

Directions
Start by spraying a 12 cup Bundt pan with Pam for Baking (or you can butter and flour the pan). Set aside. 
Note: I used a regular sized bundt pan, and a lemon-designed loaf pan. It was the perfect amount of batter for both.  So if you don't have a larger pan, you can split it between the two.  I think it would have also fit into two regular size loaf pans.


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.


Cake Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar until fluffly. Beat in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Beat in the extracts and the zest. On low speed add the flour alternating with the sour cream, in three additions. Beat in the lemon juice until batter is smooth. Spread batter evenly in pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours until a wood skewer inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.


Lemon Simple Syrup: While cake is baking, combine lemon juice, sugar, water, zest and lemon extract in a small sauce pan set over medium high heat. Bring mixture a boil and cook until reduced down to approximately 1/2 cup of syrup, around 15 minutes. Let syrup cool before brushing onto warm cake.


Assembly: Poke holes into cake while still warm from the oven. Brush liberally with lemon simple syrup. Let cake cool for 15 minutes then invert cake out onto cooling rack. Poke holes in top of cake and brush liberally with remaining lemon simple syrup. Let cake cool completely on wire rack.

Lemon Glaze: While cake is cooling on rack, in a small bowl add lemon juice by the Tablespoon full to around 1 cup of powdered sugar until a thick glaze comes together. I also added a little lemon extract for extra flavor. Drizzle the glaze over the cool cake. Let glaze set up for around 10 minutes before cutting cake. Store in a airtight container on the counter. 

Fiber Fun, Yarn Giveaway!

And now for week 3 of giveaways for the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog September blogiversary!

Remember, you still have one more day to enter in the vintage pattern giveaway from last week!  Make sure you head on over to the above link for one last chance to get your entry in.  It's for the vintage Simplicity 4920 dress pattern.  It's a size 12, bust 32.

This week's giveaway covers a third area that I love... fiber crafts!  This week you can win a lovely skein of sock yarn by Little Red Bicycle.  Please note, this yarn is from my own collection, but I do highly recommend Little Red Bicycle's yarns.  Check out their Etsy store: Little Red Bicycle.

This giveaway is for one skein, 430 yards/115g of their Snowflake Sock yarn in OOAK.  This hand-dyed yarn is in a gorgeous green with bits of yellow and blue mixed in.

Here's how you can win:

First, be a follower of this blog.  You can do this by clicking on 'Join This Site' from the Google Friend Connect, or on the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog Facebook page.  Both links are on the right side bar.  If you follow via both methods, you get two entries for this contest.  Just be sure to put two separate comments stating each method that you subscribe by.

The contest is open now through next Saturday, September 24th.  Make sure you submit your entry on this post, and include your email address so I can easily contact you if you're the winner.  I will announce the winner, chosen at random (via a random number generator), shortly afterward.

Self-Stitched September Days 11, 12 and... 13

Self-Stitched September continues!

Day 11:

What I wore:

As we've already covered, I attended the Gatsby event on day 11.  I wore my green dress, tights, costume beads, and a cute headband that I found via Pinterest.  The tutorial, that is.  I made it in an ivory lace. A cute and easy project. I may need to make half a dozen more.

Day 12:

What I wore:

My Colette Crepe dress... one of the first items that I made. So comfy, so easy, yet it seems to hang out in the back of my closet.  I don't have a good explanation why, I think I just forget that it's there.  I'll have to fix that...

Day 13:

Sneak peek

What I wore:

Ok, now I begin the excuses.  So, I worked from home only leaving to work out for a little bit. So I pretty much stayed in my workout clothes... none of which I made.  I did however, spend most of the evening working in my sewing room, on a new dress.  I tried it on a few times during the night... does that count? Maybe a fail on day 13, but I'm not ready yet to reveal my new dress.  I will say that it's super-cute and I'm looking forward to showing it off in a few days.

The Gatsby-Era Dress

This week's sewing challenge was a big one for me.  Not just in level of difficulty but also in keeping with the theme.  You see, the ladies over at Sew Weekly (in particular Mena and Debi) were going to be attending the Art Deco Society of California's big Gatsby Picnic.  While I'm a fan of the era, my sewing creations usually have a later influence by a couple of decades.  Not only that, but I'm not normally so confined by specifics when making a garment.  The Gatsby picnic had rules.  Those rules mainly consisted of the terrifying (to me) line: Afternoon attire from 1920-1940 (or reasonable fascimile) is required.  Just that one line was enough to make me so 'no way!'

People setting up and mingling.

After a couple of weeks of being content with that decision, I started to see more and more posts on the Sew Weekly circle about going to the event.  What dress to wear, who's going, how much fun it's going to be.  Slowly these posts were chipping away at my resolve.

Great view of Dunsmuir house.

Over the course of a day I think I said 'maybe I'll try it' to 'what am I thinking' half a dozen times. I finally made the ultimatum... if I can find a dress either in my pattern stash, or a currently available dress at my local fabric store, then I'm in.  I was originally going to use my Highland dance Sailor's hornpipe blouse paired with a white skirt for a nautical look.  That fell through when I was indecisive over what skirt to wear.  I then went through a few other patterns including Vogue 8241 and Mena's Society Sorbetto as choices.  Finally inspiration struck, spurred by fellow Sew Weekly member, Stacey who posted about Butterick 5417.  I was excited to find that the pattern was currently in stores, and ran out to find the pattern and some suitable fabric.

The final dress. I'm really please with how it turned out.

Don't get me started on the challenge of finding the fabric, which is a whole 'nother story. Let's just say that in order to keep it period appropriate, there were a lot of rules about what you could or could not use.  In the end I found some basic white satin and a lovely sea-foam green chiffon. I've never made anything with the latter but I thought I'd just wing it.

Working with the chiffon wasn't too painful, but being serger-less, I didn't know what to do with the hems.  Ultimately I did the same as I would with any other fabric and folded them under or pressed them flat.

With one of the amazing vintage cars. Or should I say, horseless carriage.

The back of my dress, hair and a parasol.

The day of the event, I was only alone for a short period of time which led to some good people watching.  The event was so well put together and felt so authentic.  Mena and Debi arrived just half an hour after I had, so we met up and setup the fantastic picnic that Mena had put together.

Mena's fantastic picnic. This was up in under 5 minutes. She's pro.

I had a great time with them and learned so much about their blogging experiences. And now I know the secret of their fantastic blog outfit photos.  My 2-3 pictures takes just don't cut it.

I'm came home so excited about the whole thing.  It was a great activity to do at my one year blogiversary, and I'm inspired for the year ahead.  I also warned my husband that he would be attending the event next year.  I think he'd get a kick out of everything.  The picnics people setup were so fantastic to see, as well as all of the old cars, the dancing, and music... I'm excited about it already!

Doesn't this look straight out of a painting?

The DecoBelle's put together a fun dance routine.

They arrived to the stage in this great 'bus'

My awesome instrument sensors were going off. A banjo! I wonder if he teaches?

I hope you enjoy the photos. I took some with Debi and Mena, but I don't want to spoil their outfit posts for this week.  But do check in at Sew Weekly to see what they made.

Jewelry Giveaway Winner

Drumroll please...

The winner is...

Hartbarn!

Congratulations on winning the laurenblythejewelry giveaway!  I'll be reaching out to you to get your information.

Thanks again to everyone who participated! Don't forget that there are three more giveaways during the month of September, including the vintage pattern giveaway that is open until Friday.

In other news, I spent the day at the Gatsby picnic hosted by the Art Deco Society of California.  I had a great time, and will be sharing photos and details in the next day or so.

Self-Stitched September Day 9 and 10

Two more days of Self-Stitched September complete!

Day 9:

What I wore:

My Colette Parfait - probably the second most worn item that I've made.  To be honest, this was another day that I could have stayed in work-out clothes all day, but I forced myself to change after my Dailey Method class, and went to get drinks with some friends. Sorry for the cleavage shot - I didn't want to stand up in the middle of the restaurant for the picture.


Day 10:

What I wore:

Simplicity 2579... also known as the UFO dress.  I finished this as part of the Sew Weekly challenge in July and have only worn it one other time since.  It was another beautiful day over here and I was out to lunch with a girlfriend.  Wallace was excited to know where I was going.


So tomorrow I'm off to the Gatsby picnic! I hope to meet some Sew Weekly posters, including creator, Mena, and Debi, correspondent from Scotland (so... jealous...).  I'm really excited to go. My period-appropriate dress, parasol, hat, and a lemon cake to contribute to the picnic, are all packed and ready to go!

Sweet Treats Saturday: Apple Cake

Now you will see why I was hung up on the logistics of a cake vs. a tart last week. This apple cake was definitely that - a cake.  This is not to say that the other recipe was bad.  It was, in fact, quite delicious.  But this recipe had more batter to it, though still a good helping of apples.  In fact, the hubby proclaimed this cake to be one of the best fruit cakes he's ever had.  He's a minimalist when it comes to desserts and not a fan of fruity treats.  I think the softness of the apples in this one was what really won him over.

This cake bakes for about 45 minutes, in a nice, thick batter, which softened the apples considerably.  I think they blend very nicely into the cake, and when coated with the brown sugar glaze, it almost becomes a sticky toffee pudding type consistency.  A spongy cake with a toffee-like glaze? Success! Add some ice cream and you have an excellent Fall dessert.

Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
Recipe from: Lick the Bowl Good

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups finely chopped apples
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)

Brown Sugar Glaze:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp heavy cream

For the apple cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease an 8in pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Stir with a whisk to mix everything together.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs with a hand mixer until light in color and foamy.  Add the oil and vanilla and mix well.

Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon, and continue stirring the batter until the flour disappears.  Add the apples and nuts (if using), and stir to mix them into the batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Place the hot cake pan onto a wire rack.  While it's cooling, prepare the glaze.

For the glaze: Combine all of the ingredients into a saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil.  Cook for 3-5 minutes.

Spoon the hot glaze over the still hot-from-the-oven cake.  Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan.

I added walnuts to my cake and think it added a great crunch and nutty flavor to the cake.  Actually, I have so many apples from my tree that I'm really ready to make this recipe again already.  I had some friends over and we polished off the cake in one night (I swear, it was a large group of friends, not just huge servings... maybe...).  Sadly, there were no leftovers, and now I'm looking for a reason to make some more.  How about because it's a Saturday?

This post will be participating in the following Linky parties:

Tatertots & Jello * Think Pink Sundays * Sundae Scoop * Sunday Showcase Party *Watcha Got Weekend * Family Ever After * Nifty Thrifty Sunday * Making the World Cuter * Home Savvy * Just Something I Whipped Up * Made by You Mondays *Sew Cute Tuesday * Talent Tuesday * We Did It Wednesday * Hoo’s Got Talent * Look What I Made * The Trendy Treehouse * Thrilling Thursday * It’s a Hodgepodge

Vintage Pattern Giveaway!

It's that time again! Week 2 of giveaways for the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog September blogiversary!

But wait, you still have one more day to enter in the gorgeous jewelry giveaway from last week!  Make sure you head on over to the above link for one last chance to get your entry in.  You still have a really good chance of winning a beautiful ring from laurenblythedesigns.

Enough housekeeping - on to the giveaway for this week!

This week, you can win a vintage Simplicity 4920 dress pattern.  It's a size 12, bust 32.

Here's how you can win:

First, be a follower of this blog.  You can do this by clicking on 'Join This Site' from the Google Friend Connect, or on the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog Facebook page.  Both links are on the right side bar.  If you follow via both methods, you get two entries for this contest.  Just be sure to put two separate comments stating each method that you subscribe by.

The contest is open now through next Saturday, September 17th.  Make sure you submit your entry on this post, and include your email address so I can easily contact you if you're the winner.  I will announce the winner, chosen at random (via a random number generator), shortly afterward.

Ginger, Belts, and Self-Stitched September Days 5, 6, 7, and 8

After a weekend of dancing and one extra day off, I was excited to spend more time in my sewing room. I took the time to get a few projects wrapped up and to work on the belt to go with my previous Rooibos.  In order to keep things nice and organized, let's go through the next four days of Self-Stitched September, and I'll address my new items as we get to them.

Day 5:

What I wore:

Labor Day! I wore my Lemonade at Lunch MTL dress.  The weather was beautiful and I was off to a couple of BBQs with friends.

Day 6:

What I wore:

This is where my new Ginger skirt comes in.  I had some leftover grey suiting from the Rooibos sewalong, and it was just enough to make another Ginger skirt.  After reading Colette's recent 'Snippet' on ways to sew faster, I realized that I really hadn't re-used any patterns.  Ginger was still fresh in my mind, and a great addition to my work wardrobe, that I decided to make another skirt.  Here are the details...

Fabric: leftover grey suiting from Rooibos

Pattern: Colette's Ginger

Notions: Just a zipper. I didn't use boning this time.

I have to say that I am loving this suiting fabric.  It hangs so nicely and is so easy to work with.  I didn't use boning in the skirt this time, just to mix things up, and it still has a great shape at the waistband.

For Self-Stitched September, I wore my new Ginger skirt with my previous Violet blouse.  

Day 7:

What I wore:

My Colette Sencha Blouse.  I hadn't worn this recently, just because I've had so many options in my closet, but I do love this blouse.  And to be honest - I really just threw this on, with some jeans, for a dentist appointment. I could have stayed in my workout clothes all day, but I forced myself to put myself somewhat together before going out in public.

Day 8:

What I wore:

My recent Rooibos creation with... (drumroll)... my new belt!  A shout-out to reader, Lynn (and the others who commented and emailed me), who reminded me about where I saw it: A Fashionable Stitch.  I had it in my head that it was a brick-and-mortar store, but once I saw her site, the light-bulb went on.

The belt was really easy to put together, just time consuming (as Sunni warns on her blog).  The little Flash image slideshow on her blog walked me through the belt, step-by-step.  

Unfortunately, I didn't have the tool to fasten the eyelets into place, so I just used the round 'eyelet' feature on my sewing machine to make the notches in the belt.

One of my favorite parts of the belt/coolest part to assemble, was covering the actual buckle with my coordinating fabric.  Sunni's kit provided a double-sided adhesive and clear instructions that made it so easy to put together.  I think I may have actually squealed when I finished.

So there you have it! Days 5-8.  So far, Self-Stitched September has been easier than I imagined.  Tune in for more outfits, and details for the next giveaway!

Self-Stitched September Days 1, 2, 3, and 4

Alright, here we go! My first 'Self-Stitched' or daily journal of wearing only things that I've made.  I committed to wearing at least one item that I made each day in September.  Here are the first four days.

 

Day 1:

What I wore:

My Plaid Summer Dress!  I really don't know why I called it a summer dress as it's really an everyday staple, but I did make it in June.  Anyways, I digress.  I wear this dress quite a bit as it's perfect for work.  It's a good dress to kick off my self-stitched September challenge!

Day 2:

What I wore:

My Spring Stripes dress that I made back in April.  I actually haven't worn this dress since I made it as I was worried about looking like a candy striper.  It was a beautiful day in the Bay Area so I decided to go girl-y and wear it.  I actually received a lot of compliments on it throughout the day which re-invigorated my faith in the dress.  I'll definitely be wearing it again soon.

Day 3:

What I wore:

My first day of a week-end full of dance competitions.  I wore two outfits that I made back in the beginning of my sewing projects.  My Irish jig dress and Sailor's hornpipe outfit.  I was in the fairgrounds for most of the day so when I wasn't wearing my dance outfits, I was in my typical dance capris and workout wear.

Day 4:

What I wore:

Second day of dance competitions, however I didn't get to wear my Highland jacket that I just finished, so you'll have to wait for a picture of that one.  I spent most of the day in an aboyne costume, but when I wasn't, I was wearing my Summer Sails dress.

This dress is one of my favorites and also one of my most worn items.  It's perfect for a competition day because I can easily slip it over my head without messing with my hair and makeup.  I didn't wear it with anything exciting as I was constantly changing.

Sweet Treats Saturday: Apple Tart

As I mentioned earlier, our apple tree is overflowing with apples. It's time to bust out the apple recipes!  The apples are a bit tart, so I think they're perfect for baking.  I made a delicious and easy apple crumble last year with some of the apples from our tree, so I've been looking forward to trying new recipes.

This apple cake was easly to make, and consisted of basics from my pantry.  The consistency was less like a cake and more like a tart - it could have been due to the amount of apples I used.  Having recently done an apple cake, I would call this one more of a tart (minus the crust... so maybe it does become a cake? Regardless, I'm going to still call it a tart).

Apple Tart

From Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

4 large apples (she recommended multiple kinds - I only used the one)

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp dark rum

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter an 8" springform pan and place on a lined baking sheet.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl.

3. Peel, core and dice the apples into 1-2" chunks.

4. In a medium bowl (or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), beat the eggs until foamy.  Pour in the sugar and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the rum and vanilla.  Whisk in half of the flour mixture, alternating with the melted butter.  Mix each time until smooth.

5. Fold in the apples with a rubber spatula and pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Spread so the batter is even.

6. Bake on the springform pan and baking sheet for 50-60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for five minutes.

7. Run a knife around the edges of the cake and remove the pan.  Cool until slightly warm or at room temperature.

This cake is delicious served warm with ice cream or whipped cream.  The original recipe suggest storing with plastic wrap around exposed slices of cake, rather than the whole thing to keep it moist.

This post will be participating in the following Linky parties:

Tatertots & Jello * Think Pink Sundays * Sundae Scoop * Sunday Showcase Party *Watcha Got Weekend * Family Ever After * Nifty Thrifty Sunday * Making the World Cuter * Home Savvy * Just Something I Whipped Up * Made by You Mondays *Sew Cute Tuesday * Talent Tuesday * We Did It Wednesday * Hoo’s Got Talent * Look What I Made * The Trendy Treehouse * Thrilling Thursday * It’s a Hodgepodge

Gorgeous Jewelry Giveaway!

As part of the one year anniversary of What’s Up, Cupcake? I’m excited to host a giveaway for my readers! Lauren of laurenblythedesigns, is a talented jewelry designer who creates chic, vintage-style jewelry in her Etsy shop. I’ve picked up a few pieces from her and am happy to recommend her quality, gorgeous products. 

Lauren originally started her jewelry making career with bridal jewelry and accessories. After a brief hiatus with the birth of her son, she decided to get back into jewelry design. This time, incorporating her love of vintage jewelry into her pieces. Lauren now has over 100 items in her Etsy shop, and is offering to share a piece with one lucky reader.

Here’s how you can win a Lauren Blythe Ivory Dahlia Ring:

Ivory Dahlia Ring (see note on her Etsy page about the base ring color)

First things first, be a follower of this blog. You can do this by clicking on ‘Join this site’ from Google Friend Connect or on the What’s Up, Cupcake? Blog Facebook page. Both links are on the right side toolbar. Then, leave a comment on this post letting me know what your favorite item is from Lauren’s Etsy shop.

For an additional entry, follow Lauren’s shop on Facebook. Leave a separate comment on this post letting me know.

The contest is open now through Saturday, September 10th. Make sure to leave your entry before then (and include your email address in the post) and I will announce the winner, chosen at random, shortly afterwards.

Thanks again lovely readers, and I look forward to hearing what you think about Lauren’s jewelry!

Blogging Year in Review

I’m excited to announce that September is the one year anniversary of the What’s Up, Cupcake? blog.  It’s been a fun year of blogging! I learned a lot in this year:

I started sewing a lot of my own clothing, making 18 dresses, 2 skirts, 5 blouses, 4 jackets, an apron, my owl Halloween costume, 1 bag, 2 sewing notions and 1 duvet cover.

I branched out and knit more than just scarves, and made a total of 12 items.

I learned to crochet, and made 5 items.

I also started cross stitching, and completed 6 projects.

Not only the above, but I’ve made a lot of friends within the blogging/online crafting community.  My list of sewing ‘idols’ is constantly growing - I’m always amazed by what people are whipping up online.

Here’s a recap of some of the things that I’ve made:

Most satisfying creations?

MTL: Day After Day Dress

Colette Parfait

Most worn?

Colette Parfait

Summer Sails

On second thought...

Marie skirt. I might go back and tweak the fit. I’d like to adjust the bubble shape to make it less ‘puffy.’

Let’s do that again!

Basically every Colette pattern. They’re so great to work with.  I’m going to make another Ginger skirt and Sencha blouse right away, but I’d also like to make another Lady Grey jacket.

Hardest Projects?

Highland jacket

Vogue 1233

Monique dress

So to kick off my blogging anniversary, I have a few things in store for September.  First, I’ll be participating in Self-Stitched-September. This is the first time I’ve participated in a challenge like this, but I’m looking forward to it.  For the month of September, I will wear at least one item that I’ve made a day.  I’m going to try to keep this only to main garments with other items (knitting, crochet, etc) as accessories.

 

Second, I’m going to be doing some giveaways! It’s been a while, so to make up for it, I’ll be doing a giveaway each week for the month of September! Each week will be a new theme, starting with some vintage inspired jewelry.  Stay tuned as the first giveaway will launch on Saturday.  Other weeks will feature a vintage pattern, some yarn, and something crafty.  So if you’re not following What’s Up, Cupcake? now is the time to join in the fun and spread the word.

Thank you to my loyal followers for all of your support! I couldn’t keep this blog up without you.  I continue to challenge myself and learn new things and it’s great to be able to share it with my fellow crafty peers!