angel lush cakes

The Littles and I try to venture North to my mom's house at least once a week throughout the Summer months to spend extended time with her. I don't get to visit as often when our little ones are in school, so I seize the lazy days of Summer to spend extra time with her.

During one of my visits she surprised me with two cookbooks.

They weren't just any ol' cookbooks though . . . they were hers!

I remember one of them from my growing up years . . . and the other was one that was given to her by her family and friends as a wedding gift. They filled it with their favorite recipes; and over the years, my mom has added her favorite recipes, too . . . and now I have them! I'm pretty sure I heard my heart sing that day!

We spent upwards of 4 hours combing through the cookbooks and loose-leaf recipe cards and papers . . . It was so much fun!

It's a treasure to have so many of my maternal grandma and great-grandma's recipes . . . and the best part is that so many of them are written in their own hand-writing!

We also found recipes from my dad's Kansas family, most of which were from his sisters. These also mean a lot to me because our family spent Summers in Kansas every year . . . so I have fond memories of all my aunts and cousins great home-cooking!

The recipe that I'm sharing with you today is one that my dad's family shared with my mom more than a decade ago, as Angel Food was my dad's favorite cake. It's fun to have a pretty and delicious twist on one of his favorites.

Although the real Angel Lush recipe calls for angel food cake, I thought I would bake a white vanilla cake instead. (I'm more of a cake gal!)

It's ridiculous how easy this cake is to prepare and assemble! And if you buy an Angel Food from your local bakery or market, then it'll be that much faster to put together.

The light and fluffy vanilla and pineapple pudding filling is delicious! The vanilla pudding 'warms up' the pineapple juices giving it a more tender sweetness, and the fresh berries brighten up the whole cake. YUM!

Since my from-scratch white cake recipe yield a crumb that's too tender for this kind of cake, I used a moist vanilla cake mix, and then added and an extra teaspoon of vanilla to the batter. And voila, you have my version of an Angel Lush Cake!

This beautiful cake can also be made into mini cakes and cupcakes . . . and topped with a single berry or combination of fresh berries. I chose strawberries because they're absolutely gorgeous and ripe this time of year!

I will be making Angel Lush Cupcakes for my mom's Annual End-of-Summer Family Gathering this weekend. I'll post a photo on Facebook or Instagram so that you can see how darling they are!

I hope I've inspired you to whip up one more Summer-inspired dessert before this beautiful season ends!

angel lush cakes

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1 20-ounce can CRUSHED pineapple, undrained

1 3.4-ounce package instant vanilla pudding   

1 8-ounce package Cool Whip whipped topping

1 10-ounce package round angel food cake, cut into 3 (or 4 layers)

fresh seasonal berries

.     .     .     .     .

Preparation

Mix pineapple and dry pudding mix in medium bowl. Gently stir in whipped topping.

Stack cake layers on plate, spreading pudding mixture between layers and on top of cake.

Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve. Garnish with your favorite seasonal berries.

Enjoy!

 

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strawberry & basil water

A small group of friends and I met at one of our favorite Tea Cafe's a few weeks ago to enjoy lunch, desserts, and tea.

It's a darling Cafe and Bakery that's set up in a floral and gift shop. They serve the most delicious food and desserts!

Our server brought us tall glasses of water before she took our order.

It wasn't until I/we sipped on the water that we all ooh-ed and aah-ed. The water was amazing!

I could taste a hint of basil, and my friends could taste a hint of something sweet.  Whatever it was, it was so good! You see, there was nothing in the glasses but water and ice . . . so we were all wondering what made the water taste so good.

I had to ask . . . So what's in the water!?!

Our server shared that it was infused with strawberries and basil. Ahhhh!

Poor thing . . . I must have asked her 20 questions about it, as I knew that it was something that I had to re-create at home for family and friends.

CLASSICS strawberry : basil : water ratio is perfect. It's mild enough to give your taste buds a hint of sweet basil and strawberries, yet strong enough to make it special.

I even asked our server how many strawberries and basil leaves she adds to each pitcher of water, so that I could re-create the perfect ratio . . . 2-3 sliced strawberries and 2 basil leaves.

I feel a little silly sharing something so simple, but it's too good not to share!

I always have strawberries, but now I keep basil, too.  I make a big pitcher every morning, and enjoy it throughout the day.

It's the perfect Summer drink to share with friends and family when they come by for a visit!

strawberry & basil water

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32 ounces of water

2-3 strawberries, sliced

2 large basil leaves

.     .     .     .     .

Combine strawberries and basil in a large pitcher. 

Add water and ice. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving, or up to 2 days.

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Simply Suzannes at Home

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Sharing with . . . .

Thoughts from Alice, DIY Showoff, Stephanie Lynn, It's Overflowing, Twelve O Eight, Carrie This Home, Huckleberry Love, Dwellings, Smart Party Planning,  The Dedicated House, Mod Vintage Life, Lori's Culinary Creations, Home Stories, StoneGable, An Extraordinary Day, I'm Not a Trophy Wife, Karen's Up on the Hill, Three Kids and a Fish, Between Naps on the Front Porch, Tumbleweed Contessa, A Stroll Thru Life,, Life With Garnish. Elizabeth & Co, Home Remedies, Time Warp Wife,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, Just a Girl and Her Blog, The Recipe Critic, Janine Huldie, Carolyn's Homework,  Fluster Buster   Designs by Miss Mandee,  Craftie Allie,  Wednesday morning The Blissful Bee,  The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Lamberts Lately, Live Laugh Rowe, The Charm of Home, From My Front Porch to ours, Delightsome Life., Posed Perfection, Katherine's Corner,Imparting Grace, Nancherrow, The Freshman Cook,  Jann Olson, Home  Maid Simple, Anderson + Grant,  Rooted in Thyme, Shabby Nest Sunflower Supper Club, Blooming Homestead, The Girl Creative, Reasons to Skip the Housework, View from the Fridge, 3 Little Greenwoods

fresh strawberry lemonade

The Littles and I made strawberry lemonade on our first official day of Summer break.

We make fresh lemonade every Summer. It's been a tradition of ours for several years . . . and I couldn't think of a better way to kick-off the season.

We picked up several baskets of these beautiful, sweet berries from the Farmers Market . . . and couldn't wait to make the Strawberry syrup for this amazing lemonade.

The strawberry syrup is what makes this humble drink extra special!

It's so simple to make, and can be added to traditional lemonade, orange juice, 7Up/Sprite, sparkling water, or even drizzled over ice cream, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, and angel food cake.

We love adding it to our fresh lemonade most!

Strawberry is their favorite flavored-lemonade . . . so they're always so excited to help squeeze lemons and stir the macerated strawberries, in hopes of making more syrup.

We have so much fun making lemonade . . . and creating new flavors to enjoy throughout the warm Summer months.

It's simple traditions like these that bring fun and happiness to our Summers 'at home.'

strawberry lemonade

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zest of 1 lemon, in wide strips

2 cups sugar

2 cups chopped hulled strawberries

2 cups fresh lemon juice, strained (from about 10 large lemons)

.     .     .     .     .

Lemon syrup

Bring the lemon zest, 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring, until the sugar dissolves; let cool to room temperature.

Strawberry syrup

Toss the strawberries and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, stir, and let sit at room temperature until the sugar dissolves, about 45 minutes. Strain the strawberry mixture; reserve the strawberry syrup and berries separately.

Strawberry lemonade 

Combine the lemon juice, lemon syrup, and 4-6 cups cold water in a pitcher. For each drink, put about 1 Tablespoon (or more) of the strawberry syrup in a tall glass. Fill with ice, then top with the lemonade and some of the reserved strawberries; OR slowly pour strawberry syrup into a pitcher of lemonade until your reach desired strawberry flavor.

LET'S STAY in touch!

Simply Suzannes at Home

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Thank you so much for stopping by!

I love reading your comments and appreciate them so much!

Sharing with . . . .

Thoughts from Alice, DIY Showoff, Stephanie Lynn, It's Overflowing, Twelve O Eight, Carrie This Home, Huckleberry Love,  Smart Party Planning,  The Dedicated House, Mod Vintage Life, Lori's Culinary Creations, Home Stories, StoneGable, An Extraordinary Day, I'm Not a Trophy Wife, Karen's Up on the Hill, Three Kids and a Fish, Between Naps on the Front Porch, Tumbleweed Contessa, A Stroll Thru Life,, Life With Garnish. Elizabeth & Co, Home Remedies, Time Warp Wife,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, Just a Girl and Her Blog, The Recipe Critic, Janine Huldie, Carolyn's Homework,  Fluster Buster   Designs by Miss Mandee,  Craftie Allie,  Wednesday morning The Blissful Bee,  The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Lamberts Lately, Live Laugh Rowe, The Charm of Home, From My Front Porch to ours, Delightsome Life., Posed Perfection, Katherine's Corner,Imparting Grace, Nancherrow, The Freshman Cook,  Jann Olson, Home  Maid Simple, Anderson + Grant,  Rooted in Thyme, A Dish of Daily Life,  Shabby Nest Sunflower Supper Club, Blooming Homestead, The Girl Creative, Reasons to Skip the Housework, View from the Fridge, 3 Little Greenwoods

strawberries & cream scones

It's no secret, I love scones!

I've shared many combinations over the years on this blog, my favorite one being the orange and cranberry scone . . . but I must say that this one is also quite delightful.

I've had thoughts of making strawberry scones over the years, but struggled with how they would turn out using fresh strawberries. 

Given that fresh strawberries contain a lot of moisture (at least the wonderfully sweet ones do), my concern was how it would affect the dough while baking. Would the added moisture create a 'soggy' scone and a barely noticeable strawberry flavor?

And so began my quest to figure out how to add real strawberries to scones without compromising the perfectly tender and light texture of the bread.

Well, I found my answer (on accident!) while browsing in the dried fruits and nut aisle at my local Trader Joe's a few weeks ago.  

              Freeze dried strawberries!

They're the real thing, only freeze dried. What that means is that the moisture that I was concerned about is gone. So you're left with the total sweetness of a strawberry without the added 'water.' 

And I must say, these little freeze dried strawberries have a concentrated sweetness and scent that is quite intoxicating. They're so much fun to just munch on, too. 

I was so excited to bring them home and try them out in my favorite sour cream scone recipe. 

                     . . . And they were even better than I had hoped they would be! 

I added white chocolate chips to the dough for a 'creamy' factor, giving them the flavor of 'strawberries & cream.'

I served my strawberries & cream scones alongside a big bowl of fresh whipped cream & fresh strawberries from our little garden. What a pleasant Summer treat!

strawberries & cream scones

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons COLD butter, cubed

1 cup cold sour cream

1 egg yolk

2 cups white chocolate chips

2 cups dried strawberries, roughly chopped

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar in the raw

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add the cubed COLD butter until a coarse meal forms. Pulse in the sour cream and egg yolk until just combined. Add white chocolate chips and dried strawberries until just combined.

Turn the sticky dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough comes together into a ball. 

Gently pat the dough down into a 3/4 inch thick square shape. 

Using a fluted cookie cutter, cut out shapes. 

Transfer onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle it with some sugar in the raw. This will create a shiny and crunchy top for the scones.

Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes until the bottoms of the scones are light brown.

Remove from oven, cool slightly on the sheet pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

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end of Summer harvest table . . .

It' so hard to believe that it's already September.

In a few short weeks we will welcome Fall . . . and its humble beauty and cooler temperatures (hopefully!). 

I mentioned in an earlier post that I embrace the end-of-Summer.

For me, my thoughts naturally fall towards a time of harvesting . . . vegetables, like eggplant, asparagus, yellow squash, and zucchini . . . and fruits, like berries, apples, pears, and plums.

I dream of simple, delicious meals . . . and desserts.

Sunflowers.

Apples. Beautiful apples.

I make plenty of salads through the end of Summer.

And along the way, I discovered dandelion greens.

I add them to our salads for their unique flavor and health benefits.

 

Eggplants . . . Summer's most beautiful purple fruit.

Did you know that they come in all sizes, shapes, and colors?

The smaller eggplant (seen below) is called Italian Eggplant. 

I love to slice them in discs, and then bread and bake them. They are wonderful added to pasta dishes, and atop salads (instead of croutons)!

Hello, strawberries!

                    Our kids LOVE them!

I buy up to 5 baskets every week, year round. 

I will share, however, that they are best in the Summer . . . and the most affordable at the end-of-Summer (smile).

Ahhhhh . . . . asparagus.

I tried it for the first time last Summer in a beautiful ribbon salad.

Since then, I've ventured into new asparagus dishes.

My favorite way to prepare them is simply sauteing them in olive oil  . . . and then dressing them with salt, pepper, lemon zest, and shaved Parmesan. So light and delicious.

Aren't they beautiful?

Stone fruits, like yellow & red plums and peaches have been exceptionally sweet this year. 

What a treat!

Each season brings forth its own unique fruits and vegetables.

And although I'm excited for the variety of squash, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes brought by Fall,        

I am so grateful for the bounty brought by Summer . . . and its end.

LET'S STAY in touch!

Simply Suzannes at Home

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