Try Judy's Scrumptious Cherry Cake! - by Judith Hudson

For years, in two consecutive houses,  we had big – I mean BIG – cherry trees. We had so many cherries every year that some years we made cherry wine just to use them up. By the time we moved two years ago I was hooked on having a freezer full of cherries. Now every year I wait like a cougar in a tree for the prices to drop: $6.99, $4.99, $3.99, then, finally,  when they hit $2.99 a pound, I pounce!

Judy sneaking cherries

The California cherries are the first, then Washington state, then finally, fresh BC cherries from the Okanagan Valley, the inland, fruit and wine producing region of British Columbia.  Sweet, dark and juicy, this year they are very BIG – almost too big for my doubled barrel cherry pitter. Yes, I’m serious about my cherries.

I usually freeze them with a dusting of sugar (don’t judge me!) but today I wanted to share my favorite cherry cake recipe. This buttery, almond flavoured cherry cake is an old family favourite. I’ve recently found it works just as well in a gluten free version made with almond and coconut flour.

The ingredients are nothing really special, just butter, quite a bit of butter, and eggs and flour (or almond and coconut flour) with a touch of almond extract. The secret is in the beaten egg whites that are folded in at the last minute that keep the cake light and fluffy. Then you stud fresh (or frozen) cherries into the top and pop it in the oven.

It's best eaten fresh, but that's okay because in our house it never lasts very long.

You can get the whole recipe, both wheat and gluten free, here on my website

http://www.judithhudsonauthor.com/recipe/cherry-cake-gluten-free-or-not/

Perfect for the holidays coming up on both sides of the border next week. Why not give it a try. The amazing cherry and almond aroma alone is worth the effort.

And don't forget this month's giveaway for your chance to win one of three great prizes:

June Prizes

1st Prize: $20.00 Amazon Gift Card

2nd Prize: $15.00 Amazon Gift Card

3rd Prize: $10.00 Amazon Gift Card

 

Click here to enter!

 

Until next month, keep safe.

Judith Hudson

For Friendship, Family and Happily-ever-after, get Welcome to Fortune Bay, the three book boxed set of Judith's small town romance series, on Amazon.

What do you make with APPLES?

Fall is a time for pumpkins and apples. Personally, I prefer apples.
Apple pie, apple crisp, candied apples, apple jelly, and best of all, apple Whoopie Pie Cookies.

  Apple Whoopie Cookies

Years ago, we had a parent of one of my students who was the most amazing baker. She used to bake the teachers all sorts of goodies and send them in for us. But the absolute BEST thing she ever made was Whoopie Pies but with Apple Cookies instead of the typical chocolate. And the frosting inside was a buttercream, not a whipped cream frosting. 

Thankfully she gave us the recipe and I have made them several times. So good, though they do take a while to put together.

Fair warning: there is nothing low fat or low calorie about these. But they are so amazingly delicious!!

Whoopie Apple Cookies

By Lauren

Cookies

1 ½ cups peeled and grated apples                        ¼ cup apple jelly

1 tsp ground cinnamon                                          ½ tsp ground nutmeg

2 cups all-purpose flour                                         ½ tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) lightly softened butter                   1/8 tsp salt                                                              

¾ cup packed light brown sugar                            1 large egg yolk

*Cream butter and sugar until well blended and fluffy.

*Add egg yolk, apple jelly, and apples until blended. (Tip: place grated apples on a paper towel to absorb some of the extra moisture before you use them)

*Then add dry ingredients; cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda.

*Mix until all ingredients are well blended. Do not over mix!

*Scoop and place onto lightly greased baking pan to make cookies.

*Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes. Let cool a bit before placing on rack.

Buttercream Frosting

½ cup Crisco                                                            ½ cup butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract                                          4 cups confectioner’s sugar

2 - 4 tbsp milk - add more or less for desired consistency

*Assemble cookies: Put frosting in the center of two apple cookies. If desired, drizzle tops with

2/3 cup powdered sugar                                       ½ tsp light corn syrup

2 - 3 drops pure vanilla extract

I am offering one fabulous reader a digital copy of my newest release, ELUSIVE DREAMS. Simply tell me in the comments what your favorite way of eating apples is. Don't forget your email address written out ( so and so at this dot com).  I will choose a winner by October 24 and let you know by email and in this post. Good luck! 

DON'T FORGET THE GEMS HAVE A MONTHLY GIVEAWAY ALSO:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/21df08a230/

Click here to enter our No Tricks—Just Treats Rafflecopter today for a chance to win Amazon Gift Cards. Enter often and tell your friends! (You can also click Monthly Giveaways on the Menu Bar of the blog to see details of the current month’s Rafflecopter and to enter it.)

Food, Fun, and Giveaways by Nancy Fraser #RomanceGems

Well, St. Patrick's Day has come and gone. Hopefully everyone behaved themselves and didn't overdo the revelry too much.

When I can get my hands on a nice piece of corned beef (not easy in Eastern Canada), I love to make corned beef and cabbage on the holiday. It's my way of sharing some of my family heritage with my grandchildren. This year, though, I decided to try another meal I remembered from my childhood ... my Grandma Kelley's Irish Coddle.

Irish Coddle is a one-pot stew of sorts that's good all year round, not just on St. Patrick's Day. If you're a fan of bacon (who isn't?) and sausage, this is an easy recipe for a lazy weekend supper.

Ingredients:

• 10 slices bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1 lb. bangers or other high quality pork sausages
• 2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• 2 onions, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rings
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, divided
• 2 cups beef broth

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
3. Next, brown the bangers in the reserved bacon fat for a few minutes, just until they start to brown but not so they are cooked all the way through. Remove the sausages from the pot and set aside. Discard any leftover bacon fat in the bottom but keep the crispy bits.
4. Layer half of the sliced potatoes, then layer half of the sliced onions over the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle half of the bacon and one tablespoon of parsley on top. Repeat with the remaining potatoes and onions, seasoning with salt and pepper again and sprinkling with the remaining bacon and another tablespoon parsley. Place the browned sausages/bangers on top and pour the beef broth over everything. (Hint: I prefer to cut my sausage into chunks rather than leave them whole as in the picture but either way works.)
5. Cover the pot with a lid and place it in the oven. Bake for 3 hours, checking halfway through cooking to make sure the liquid hasn't all dried up and adding an extra cup of broth if necessary to keep about 1 inch of liquid covering the bottom of the pot at all times.
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of chopped parsley before serving. Dublin Coddle is very forgiving and can stand cooking an extra hour or two if you need it, and the leftovers are amazing the next day even.

Enough about food. Let's get down to some fun news of an upcoming monthly post. Musings From the Romance Gems Authors will appear on the 26th of the month and be filled with comments and insights into what makes us tick! (Scary thought!)

While we have some pre-chosen topics based on often-asked questions, we'd love to hear suggestions from our readers for topics you'd like to see included.

Don't forget, there's still another week left to enter all three of our March giveaways.

Comment & Win

Leave a comment on any post in March + Your Email Addy—written out, i.e. Mary at yahoo dot com. (We need your email to verify you are who you say you are and to contact you.)

The more comments you make; the greater your chance of winning. Winner selected by random draw from eligible entries.

Prizes: $5.00 Amazon Gift Card at the end of each week beginning March 8 for a total of 4 Amazon Gift Cards.

Friends Tell Friends

To enter, send your friends to visit us. When your friend visits and reads a post, he or she should leave a comment with their email address written out and include the name and email of the friend who made the referral. (Readers, coordinate this with your friend.)

Both names/emails will be entered in Friends Tell Friends Giveaway. The more friends you bring; the greater your chances of winning. Winner selected by random draw from eligible entries at end of March.

Prizes: Romance Readers Tee & Audiobook by Nancy Fraser

Luck O'The Irish Rafflecopter

1st Grand Prize Winner: Name a Female Character in an Author's upcoming Book plus $10.00 Amazon Gift Card.

2nd Grand Prize Winner: Name a Male Character in an Author's upcoming Book plus $10.00 Amazon Gift Card.

You can find all the Rafflecopter prizes on the Monthly Giveaway tab.

Click to enter LUCK O' THE IRISH Romance Gems Giveaway

Best of luck to everyone in the draws!

Nancy

Chocolate Cake in a Cup by @JoanReeves #RomanceGems

Do you ever long for a slice of chocolate layer cake, but you don't have time to make one and/or buy one.

Besides, you don't want a whole cake in the kitchen tempting you, calling your name.

Despite your best intentions, you'll find yourself rationalize that it's okay to have chocolate cake for dessert every day—or for breakfast!

Before you know it, you'll have eaten the entire cake. However, it's easy to have a little chocolate cake without an enormous amount left to bewitch you.

5 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Cup

Here's my recipe to go from thinking about chocolate cake to actually eating cake in about 5 minutes.

You’ll need microwave-safe mugs or cups or small Pyrex baking dishes. You can make this recipe in 2 or 4 cups depending on how large a cake you want. I actually use 4 cups and serve them on their matching saucers. Cute little small cakes to serve.

Keep it simple and eat it like that or make it extra special, just add a dollop of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or frost with the recipe I give for my favorite Chocolate Frosting.

Ingredients

Experiment with different kinds of chips

• 4 tablespoons self-rising flour
• 4 tablespoons any kind of sugar (white, raw, brown)
• 2 tablespoons cocoa power (I use plain old Hershey's)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use sunflower)
• 3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crack the egg into a large measuring cup or small mixing bowl and beat. Add milk and oil and mix well. Add flour, sugar, and cocoa. Mix it all together. Stir in the chocolate chips then the vanilla.

Scoop into the mugs, cups, or bowls you selected. Like I said, you can make 2 large ones or 3-4 small ones. Place in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts power. The cakes will rise beautifully. Remove from microwave and allow to cool a little. Serve with a spoon.

Feeling Fancy

If you want to get fancy, ice cream makes it easy.

If you crave chocolate frosting, here's my recipe for that.

It makes a bunch, but you can actually divide it up into small freezer bags and defrost a bit when you need it.

Best Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter and stir in cocoa. Add powdered sugar alternating with the milk. Beat on medium speed until mixture is spreading consistency. Add more milk, teaspoon by teaspoon, until consistency is perfect. Beat vanilla in last. Makes about 2 cups of the most delicious frosting.

Remember Comment & Win

Are you a chocolate lover? If so, what's your favorite chocolate pleasure?

To be entered in Comment & Win, all you have to do is read the post of the day—or any post you may have missed.

Then leave a comment with your email address written out. That means like Mary at yahoo dot com. (Don't leave your email as a "hot link" or web crawlers will harvest it and flood your Inbox.)

The more comments you make; the greater your chance of winning.

Grand Opening Rafflecopter

Be sure and enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a Kindle Fire and Ebook Gift Bundles.

Afterthought

I guess I should say something about BLAME IT ON CHOCOLATE, my Valentine's Day romantic comedy short story. It's a measly 99cents—funny, sexy, and romantic if I do say so myself.

Chloe Elliot was the good girl. She’d never been a hell-raiser. Never gotten drunk, used drugs, smoked pot, or slept around. She didn’t even curse! She'd lived a life above reproach. Truthfully, it hadn’t been that difficult.

Until Hunter Cole returned to his home town.
There was just something about the man that addled her brain and created havoc in her body.

You'll find BLAME IT ON CHOCOLATE at Amazon.