Summer's Last "Hoorah!"

Believe it or not, it's Labor Day weekend. The final "hoorah!" of summertime. As we all scratch our heads and wonder where June, July and August went, we must get on with our fun Labor Day weekend festivities.

So put on your white jeans, sandals, and sunglasses and head to that barbeque, lobster bake, or summer house to soak in the last rays of summer sunshine and enjoy a couple more warm, balmy nights.

See you in September!

xo Belle

Belle's 24 Karat Cake

Vegetables are necessary for a balanced diet. My suggestion:

Carrot Cake.

Having tried out many carrot cake recipes in the past, and having always found fault with them for one reason or another, I decided to take all the things I liked about the various recipes and make my own.

And I'm glad I did. And I think you will be too.

Deemed "THE BEST carrot cake EVER" by all of its plate-lickers, I've been somewhat reluctant to share my secret recipe. I soon realized that was quite selfish of me. After all, when something is as brilliant as this recipe is, it should definitely be shared.

So here I am, being unselfish and sharing. (A+ for pre-school lessons!)

I give you... Belle's 24 Karat Cake.

Ingredients

CAKE:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded carrots (about 4 or 5 carrots)
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
2 tablespoons raisins

ICING:
1.5 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1.5 cups (12 ounces) cream cheese at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
1.5 cups (12 ounces) mascarpone
1.5 teaspoons vanilla

To begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees (F). Grease and flour two 9" rounds.

To start on the cake, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

 

Once combined, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.

 Mix together well with a wooden spoon.

NOTE: It will seem very moist and dough-y. Don't panic. That's how it should be.

Shred your carrots.

Throw them into the batter, along with the coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins.

Stir, stir, stir. 

You're almost finished with the cake now... just divide the batter into the two cake pans.

Smooth them out.

And stick 'em in the oven.

After about 38 minutes, take them out and leave them to cool.

And now for the frosting...

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese, pinch of salt, and powdered sugar till light and fluffy.

Add the vanilla and beat till mixed in.

Next, gently beat (or manually fold) the mascarpone in. Be careful though, it you beat it too much, it could start to clump.

Once the mascarpone is fully mixed in, give your spoon / beater a lick (delish, yes?). Congrats, you've just finished with your icing.

Now the fun part... the assembly.

You can go about this various ways. 

Previously (for my Dad's birthday),  I went the traditional 2-layer way - with frosting in the middle, and all around the outsides (with walnuts and coconut on the edges of course).

This time around, I chose to go the more "rustic" route - with 4 thinner cake layers (halve the two cakes), frosting in between the layers, and dusted powdered sugar on top.

 

Viola!

Though it's certainly less fancy looking that the traditional 2-layer way, it is just as scrumptious.

This is definitely some golden 24 Karat cake.

Let me know how it turns out for you... Happy Baking!

xo Belle

"Do Your Thing"

If you're in need of a "hump-day" pick-me-up... 

 

xo Belle

Afternoon at the Arboretum

I went down to New York again this past weekend for my cousin's bridal shower. While there, my sister, Mom, and I took my Nana out for afternoon tea at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum.

The arboretum, now officially a state park, was originally the private estate of the Cutting family in the early 1900s. Similar to the Newport mansions, the estate is a beautiful and intricate home surrounded by breathtaking grounds and views.

I remember visiting the arboretum many times when I was younger. In fact, when my Nana would take my sister, brother and me there, she used to tell us that leprechauns lived in the gardens and throughout the grounds. She would then drop coins at the bottoms of trees or tie green ribbons on branches for us to stumble across. We of course, thought they were gifts from the leprechauns.

I also remember climbing these really cool trees. They had tons of low, strong branches that gradually slanted up towards the top of the tree. It was as if they were meant for little kids to climb up. My siblings and I would spend all day under those trees if we could.

Trading leprechaun hunting and tree climbing for tea drinking this time around, the four of us ladies made our way to the main house.

Where we were then seated at a table in the library, with a nice view towards the backyard.

There were a ton of tea selections to choose from and we were quite happy when our waitress told us that we were not limited to the same flavor for every 2-cup-teapot we had.

I ordered Irish Breakfast, Nana got vanilla cream, Cait chose maple, and Mom went with her favorite, earl gray.

Warmed teacups and plates were shortly brought out, along with our tea.

 

As we sipped our tea, we gabbed and gossiped about what we were up to and what was going on in each of our lives. 

My Nana also told us stories of when she was younger, relating the present day to how it was back then. In some ways similar, in others different. 

I swear she has had the most fascinating and fulfilled life. Each story was more interesting than the next. I could have sat there all day, listening to times past.

After a cup or so, our food was brought out.

Scones, sandwiches, and desserts galore!

There was so much of it - and all of it looked, smelled, and tasted amazing.

The scones were my favorite though... warm and heavenly.

We couldn't possibly finish all of what was served.

Cup after cup and bite after bite, we all had our fill and had to package up the rest.

Once through with our tea (a high ranking tea on my list so far, I might add),

we headed off to walk around the arboretum for a bit.

 

 Not too shabby of a view, huh?

The arboretum holds so many good memories as a child for me. I'm glad I can now add this (adult) memory to the collection as well.

xo Belle

Lilly Pulitzer Endless Summer Sale

FYI... today's the last day of the Lilly Pulitzer Endless Summer Sale! 

They have a ton of cute things...Happy Shopping!

1-2-3 Pasta

It's already been a busy week and it's only Tuesday!

Wanting to make a no-fuss but healthy and tasty dinner, I whipped up a simple, 3-step dish. 
Fresh pasta with chicken and veggies in a light white wine sauce - nice and light, perfect for summer.

I got out my main ingredients:

• fresh pasta
• vidalia onion (chopped)
• red and green bell pepper (cut into bite-size pieces)
• spinach
• chicken (cut into bite-size pieces)
• olive oil
• white wine

and got down to business.

Step 1: Lightly coat chicken in some flour and cook in a pan with some olive oil.
In a separate pan, saute onions and peppers in olive oil. Boil salted water for pasta.

Step 2: Once chicken is cooked through, pour the onion/pepper mix into the chicken pan. Now get out your wine and pour so that you have enough liquid to have as your "sauce. " Boil off the alcohol by turning up the heat for a few minutes. Add some salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic (or whatever spices you chooses!) to your "sauce."

Step 3: Cook your pasta. Add some spinach to the "sauce" pan and let in wilt and mix in. Your "sauce" should be thickened and a light brown color by now.

 

 

Once your pasta is cooked, drain and plate it.

Pour your chicken, veggies and sauce on top.

 And sprinkle with some parm cheese.

Serve with some warm, toasty bread.

And dig in!

Simple, quick, and tasty.

xo Belle