Zucchini Cake Combination

Now, here is the NEW re-do recipe of 'girlichef' plus my friend's recipe above. Here's my thoughts of each cake (plus my taster-husband's as well).

The new combo recipe is more moist when it first came out of the oven, but drier later on . . . we think it is because of the use of butter and not oil PLUS the use of brown sugar (which contains molasses) and not just white sugar alone. The new cake recipe is also more sweet and less nutty.

Which one did we like better?

Both my husband like the FLAVOR my friend's recipe (above) better, but I like the moistness of the new 'combo' recipe better (however, it did dry out faster as well. We both decided that my friend's recipe was the real keeper of the two. So here's the new combo 'bella/girlichef Zucchini Cake' recipe:

Bella/Girlichef Cinnamon-y Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

What you need for the cake:
.
1 stick of butter (from girlichef's recipe, instead of oil in my friend's recipe)
1 cup brown sugar (added from girlichef's recipe)
1 cup white sugar (granulated)
3 jumbo eggs
NO HONEY -- (eliminated from girlichef's)
2 tsp. vanilla (added from girlichef's recipe)
NO YOGURT -- (eliminated from girlichef's)
2 cups flour -- (and NOT 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour from girlichef's)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt (added from girlichef's)
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups shredded zucchini
NO CHOCOLATE CHIPS, NO NUTELLA -- (eliminated from girlichef's)
1/3 cup walnuts or pecans (less nuts from my friend's recipe)
.
No cream cheese frosting was included for this recipe, so I ADDED THE SAME FROSTING!
.
What you need to do to prepare the cake:
.
The procedure is identical to my friend's recipe that I provided above.

Pin It

Signs of Autumn! Hello October!

Wherever you are, you're probably feeling a little chillier temps, maybe shorter daylight time (sigh!) and possibly decorating your home and gardens with autumn colors. Don't ya just love the cooler nights to sleep with the windows open! Ahhhh, the fresh air does a soul good!
.
I stepped outside my classrooms and kitchen yesterday to snap a few shots of some signs of fall on the acreage. I'll cook something up later this weekend, but for now I'm just in the mood to savor the beauty and the splendor of Mother Nature's slowing down outside.
.
Who doesn't love mums in the fall? This huge monster of a mum was planted last year and came back even bigger!

Hello Yellow....the blooms looks so happy and this is my favorite mum color of all!

.
Next stop on the acreage, a photo of our garage turned into barn . . . we only have a stable for the horses, so our cars stay outside in the winter while the horses' hay stays dry in the garage! We have to stock up on hay to get the horses through the winter months when the grass goes dormant in the pastures.

.

.
And lastly, some of those gorgeous tall grasses! These have a slightly "Italian" name: Adiago! Sort of close to Asiago (cheese). They are so shimmery and wispy when the breeze sweeps through them. We know that autumn is here when these plumes are displayed in the grasses.

.

Well, that's my welcome post for October . . . it will only get more beautiful as the month goes on.....yes, the colors do change down here in the Carolina's....and although it may not be as vivid as the colors in the Northeast, its still pretty stunning!

Pin It

"Blog of the Week" Recognition

I want to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to Wanda over at her blog, "Only Cookware Blog" http://www.only-cookware.com/ for her kind recognition of my little blog, by selecting it as "Blog of the Week".... if you haven't visited her blog, you really must check it out. So many tips, recipes, and cookware reviews for all of us foodies to help us in our cooking and baking! I just wish I could get everything she recommends!

Here is her generous write-up:

Blog of the Week – La Bella Vita
Sunday, September 20th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
http://www.only-cookware.com/blog/2009/09/20/blog-of-the-week-la-bella-vita/ .

"Recently I was doing some research on cooking blogs and came across a cluster of absolutely wonderful blogspot recipe blogs that I will be bringing to you over the next little while.
.
Now this week I have another dream of a site for you to check out.
La Bella Vita – The Beautiful Life, is chock full of mouthwatering recipes that you are just going to want to dive right in and try.
.
Last week I was taken with the Peach Melba and Raspberries and I was going to talk about this recipe this week when I added La Bella Vita as our blog of the week.
.
However, when I went back in I was captivated by the Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake. In fact you could say that this recipe is a dream come true for a chocolate cake lover like myself.
.
The recipes are well set out with beautiful photos to accompany each one. There are tips and hints to help you out where the author has found something doesn’t quite work in the original recipe, plus there are interesting snippets about life on country acreage in the Carolina’s.

So my advice is to get out those baking pans and start cooking up a treat that you and your family are just going to love."
.
So Wanda, here's a big hug and "mwah" for being such a sweet, kind bloggin' friend! You've got a great blog going on too! Pin It