Zucchini Cream Cheese Pound Cake

      So.....in my last post I shared a delicious pasta dish that had the wonderful flavors of lemon and mint, and the "ever-present" summer vegetable....zucchini.  Check that recipe out here.  

      Today....zucchini again!  But, this time, folded into a yummy pound cake with a rich and delicious Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting!!  Everybody needs a little zucchini and spice in their life, don't you think?

White Chocolate and Banana Cake w/ White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

    Is it just me, or does banana eating go in spurts?  It seems that, when I only buy a few of them, they're gone in a day or two and everybody's looking for more.  I can't seem to keep them in the house.  Then, all of a sudden, just when I think I've got a handle on the whole "supply and demand" thing, I have bananas turning speckled and black left and right!  What is going on?  

    I recently found myself in this predicament and decided to use it to my advantage.  Banana cake it would be.  But, not just any banana cake.  A White Chocolate Banana Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting!

Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cake

    So, have I ever mentioned my slight obsession with anything chocolate and mint??  Well........I have a  slight obsession with anything chocolate and mint.  There, I said it.  I feel better.  Now, let me tell you what I decided to do for my birthday this year.  I decided to bake myself a birthday cake!  But, not just any birthday cake.....a Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cake!!  This delicious dessert has a layer of scrumptious peppermint cheesecake, sandwiched between two layers of dark chocolate cake.  And to top it all off...a generous coating of peppermint  frosting!!  I had seen this recipe on another food blog called Shugary Sweets. (With that name, you know I had to check it out....and Aimee, the writer of that blog, did not disappoint.)  I had every intention of making it over the Christmas holiday, but I just never got to it.  I still had some Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses and a couple of the bars in my cupboard, just waiting to be eaten, so...... the choice was clear!  After a couple adjustments, this would become the cake for my special day!

Grapefruit Cake with Grapefruit-Cream Cheese Frosting

    Let me start today by asking a question.  How many grapefruit lovers do we have out there? Are there really some of you who just can't get your day started until you've had your morning grapefruit?  Be honest! Well, I have to admit that my hand is not raised.  I think I've pretty well established that I have a big sweet tooth, so grapefruit is not exactly one of my favorite go-to foods.  That being said, a nice, ripe grapefruit can be very juicy and actually a little sweet.  One day, maybe I'll share with you a recipe for Grapefruit Zabaglione that is so delicious....almost addicting!

    So.....what's a girl who doesn't love grapefruit do when her husband (who, by the way, cannot say no to any young child selling whatever to raise money to help his or her school, soccer team, or sick puppy) brings home a huge bag of them?  Well, after some initial juicing events, this girl makes cake!!

Orange Cornmeal Cake

    Today......something sweet!  This cake is delicious and refreshing........a perfect spring or summer dessert!  And, it contains two Italian ingredients you might not expect......olive oil and white wine!  That's right....a little unusual, maybe, but they give this cake a subtle and delicious flavor.  The cornmeal adds a little bit of texture. 
   
    Now, it's pretty well know around here that I have a real sweet tooth, and chocolate is at the very top of my list of indulgences.  That being said, I found this to be a very nice light, not too sweet dessert, totally acceptable to this "chocolate lover".

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Frosting

    O.K. friends......the object of this post is not to share a complicated or extravagant recipe with you, but instead, to share a very simple, yet delicious cake that has always been one of my family's favorite birthday cakes.....nothing fancy, just plain chocolate and peanut butter deliciousness!  By now, I'm sure you know how popular that combo is around here!
    I found this recipe on the back of a Hershey's cocoa tin years ago, tweaked the frosting a bit, and have been making it ever since.  Our next to the youngest son, Brady, turned 15 today (I really can't believe it!!).  And, although there are plenty of other cakes I could make for such an occasion, this is the one he wanted.  So.....this is the one he got!  And, I have to say, simple as it was, it was yummy!

Panforte di Siena

    Well, Christmas is almost upon us!  I can hardly believe it!!  In just shy of two weeks it will be here!!!  Every year I tell myself  I'm going to get all my baking, etc. done early, but......somehow that never seems to happen.  We usually take our vacation toward the end of October and, when we get back, it's time to start thinking about the holidays.  Well, we have several birthdays in October and November, then there's Thanksgiving, and then Christmas is....well....HERE!  (And this year we didn't get back until two days before Thanksgiving!!)

    O.K., now that I've vented a little about my lack of time to prepare for  this WONDERFUL HOLIDAY, let me say that  I LOVE CHRISTMAS!! 

Fudge-Glazed Creamy Peanut Butter Cake

    Today's cake......not an Italian recipe......but sometimes a girl just has to have her chocolate, Italian or not! Throw some peanut butter in there and I'm a happy camper!  A chocolate cake with a creamy peanut butter filling, chocolate ganache topping, and salted peanuts......I mean, come on......really.  This is scrumptious!  Did I mention that chocolate and peanut butter is one of my family's favorite combinations?  (As I type I'm actually munching on a chocolate and peanut butter protein bar.) 
    Anyway, I have so many recipes that have peanut butter and chocolate in them, but this is one I had cut out of an issue of the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalogue forever ago and hadn't tried yet.  As I was frantically searching for something to make that would quiet the chocolate cravings I came across this recipe and thought....Yes, this should do it!  So, here it is! I hope you'll try it. A big  little splurge now and then won't hurt, right?