Hopeful Homemaker

Citrus Lemon Bundt Cake

March 26, 2010 jennifer Desserts

Remember this picture? Here’s how I came to try this cake.

Fifteen years ago I was a missionary serving in the Washington Tacoma area. Just before Thanksgiving I was transferred to the city of Auburn WA. There it was my pleasure to meet a young couple expecting their first baby. Their lives impressed me and I felt drawn to them. Fifteen years of friendship have only increased my regard for them. I have counted myself blessed over and over again to enjoy the friendship of Rohan and Jenifer Shearer.

A few years ago, Ro started cooking. He hasn’t stopped. In fact, he’s turned into quite the chef. I love to follow his blog and see what’s going on with his awesome family and in his kitchen. A few weeks ago he posted this cake recipe and I was excited to see that…

1. I could pronounce the name of the recipe.
2. I was familiar with all of the ingredients.
3. It actually looked very simple.

So I made it the next day! I’m happy to say that it was moist and delicious, as I expected. With his permission, I’ll share the recipe with you here.

Citrus Lemon Bundt Cake Ingredients:
1 box (18 oz) lemon cake mix 1 box (3.4 oz) lemon flavored pudding mix 1 can (12 ounce) citrus soda 3/4 cup vegetable oil 4 large eggs Glaze:
1 1/2 cups confection sugar (powdered sugar) 3 Tablespoons lemon juice 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. In large mixing bowl, combine cake and pudding mixes. Add soda, vegetable oil and eggs. Beat until smooth and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert pan to release cake onto cooling rack. Cool completely. Combine glaze ingredients and pour over cake. Serve.

You can see from my pictures that I didn’t QUITE make it to the “completely cool” mark before I glazed the cake. This is why the glaze looks thin and a bit runny. I was running out of daylight fast and wanted to get a decent picture SO I glazed a warm cake.

It tasted great. I highly recommend it.

Thank you, Ro, for sharing your recipe!

Jennifer

2 comments baking

Vintage Handkerchiefs

March 26, 2010 jennifer Linens

I have a stack of vintage hankies that I pull out every once in a while. I get them out thinking that perhaps I should pass them along to someone, or make something with them so they can do more than sit in a basket in my office. I have around 4 dozen of them, and some are prettier than others. A few have an initial of one of my daughters on them, and some will be saved for weddings and other events in the future. Most of them are just begging to be reinvented in a lovely way.

These are a few that caught my eye recently.

The cloth is thin and has a couple of holes, but I love the “B” monogram. I’ve got a weakness for hand worked monograms, especially when they’re white on white.

Another monogram. The skill is obviously far behind the “B”, but I love the way the little “F” is worked in flowers. The simple lines of flowers on the hem are shabby but sweet.

This bouquet of flowers always makes me pause. I think it’s wonderful, and I always admire the stitching. All of these handkerchiefs are stitched by hand, and on such thin cloth! I’m inspired by the workmanship that went into something you would blow your nose on. A close up:

Another flower, this time on an organdy handkerchief.

These two are especially beautiful to me. I love the tatting around the edges. So simple, but so beautifully executed.

And last but not least, my favorite of the bunch. I love, love, love this rose and the way it sits in an aqua oval.

So there’s a little sampling from my stack of hankies. The problem is, I’m not sure what I want to do with them. Do you ever feel intimidated by the beauty of the supplies to the extent that you’re afraid to cut into them? I’m this way especially with vintage items because I know they’re one of a kind and I don’t want it to be a waste. Still, I’ve got to do more than just store them, so I’m looking for the right project and a bit of courage. What would YOU do with them?

Hopeful Homemaker Linked to The Inspired Room

2 comments Linens, vintage

Lumiere de Noel by French General

March 25, 2010 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

Last week in a LQS I noticed a little table holding fat quarters and charm packs that seemed familiar. I looked closely and discovered that they’re from the Christmas collection of quilting fabric by French General for Moda, called Lumiere de Noel.

Similar to their debut collection in color and style, this collection contains a reprint of the popular medallion prints from Rouenneries along with new prints that are really pretty. I’m thinking that it will be fun to combine a bit of this collection with my scraps from Rouenneries for a fun project.

In fact, I added the fat quarters pictured above from Lumiere de Noel to the Rouenneries quilt I just cut pieces for. I’m excited to see them together.

Once again, I love the pattern on the edges of the fabric.

The bird print is really pretty.

I also like this pattern quite a bit.

Set to ship in June, this line has a few prints I’ll be on the lookout for!

Hopeful Homemaker

One comment fabric

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