Bonus!

I have recently found a couple links I love!

1) Sprout Online has a great collection of kid-friendly recipes, designed around adorable PBS kids shows. http://www.sproutonline.com/sprout/recipes/

2) Cake Wrecks is a hilarious blog that documents the most horrifying professional cake mistakes! Fabulous way to kill a little time and brighten your gloomy days! http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com

Busy, Busy, Busy

We’ve had such busy weekends (and even weeknights) that I’ve missed the last two weeks of blogging! Last weekend my husband and I set out on another cake making adventure. We had two cakes planned and completed them with a fair amount of success! We made a scrumptious triple layer chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, shaped like a box of Coors. The second cake was a triple layer vanilla cake with a pomegranate-lavender filling, covered with buttercream and carved into the shape of a race car. The cakes and buttercream were pretty straightforward, basic recipes. The pomegranate-lavender filling on the other hand, was a spur of the moment, special creation! We started with my well-loved lavender & honey frosting recipe, then added a jar of homemade pomegrante jelly, whipped it together with my hand mixer, and voila! Although a bit on the sweet side, the vanilla cake and special filling were favorites at last weekend’s birthday party.


The pomegranate jelly has been a homemade Christmas staple since my husband and I became engaged in 2002. Each fall when the leaves turn, we go to my husband’s Grandma’s house to pick pomegranates. We spend each night for a couple hours picking all those little seeds from laundry baskets full of the red, juicy fruit. We follow Grandma’s recipe to make Pomegrante Syrup (also known as grenadine, and a special treat itself!). After boiling pot after pot of syrup, we begin making jelly. This week, just in time for fall, I am sharing this family favorite with you!

Wilson’s Pomegranate Jelly

Step1 – Making Syrup
Peel pomegranates and remove pulp. Place 10 parts seeds to 11 parts sugar in saucepan. Let stand 24 hours. Bring to boil and strain at once. Syrup can be poured into jars and sealed until ready for use.

Step 2 – Making Jelly
3 ½ cups pomegranate syrup
1 ½ cups apple juice
¼ cup lemon juice
1 pkg pectin

Bring apple juice, lemon juice and pectin to boil. Add pomegranate syrup and boil 2 minutes. Put into sterilized jars (about five 8 ounce jars per batch) and seal.