Flo's Cakes - Lemon Raspberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Lemon Raspberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Shared by Florence Fox

Another recipe I found in a Taste of Home cookbook, and one of the best! 

 

1/3 cup shortening

1/3 cup butter

1 ¼ cups sugar

3 eggs

½ tsp almond extract

2 ¼ cups flour

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese

½ cup lemon curd

½ cup seedless raspberry jam

1 cup fresh raspberries

Streusel:

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup sliced almonds

¼ cup cold butter

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

4 tsp lemon juice

In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and extract. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Set aside 1 cup batter.

Spread remaining batter into a greased 13x9 baking pan. Combine the cream cheese and lemon curd; spoon over batter. In a small bowl, beat jam; stir in raspberries. Drop by tablespoonfuls over lemon mixture. Drop reserved batter by tablespoonfuls over top.

For streusel, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and almonds. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake the cake at 350˚ for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Combine icing ingredients; drizzle over cake.

Hope for snowy days

Outside there is a fresh snowfall today.

But inside, hope springs anew.



A week or two ago I shuffled through the snow to our forsythia bush and cut off a few branches. I placed the bare sticks on our mantle. This weekend those dead looking sticks burst into bloom.

And I am reminded again of hope. There is life buried under the snow. There is a future filled with life, beauty, and warmth. Spring will come again.

God's promise is true.  "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (Genesis 8:22)

And isn't that where all hope is found?

In God.

In His Word.

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." (Romans 15:4)

Because when I look around me, I don't see much reason for hope. Certainly not in my failures, in my selfish heart, and not in this barren world.

These are some of the words of hope, God's words of truth that I'm thinking on today.

"Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD." (Psalm 31:24)

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." (Psalm 43:5)

 "Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word."  (Psalm 119:114)

 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1 Peter 1:3)

Spring. New life. The resurrection.

There is real Hope.

 

Flo's Cakes - Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake

One thing I love about coffee cakes is that they look special and fancy without the headache of frosting. I always struggle to make a frosted cake look nice so this is a huge advantage to me! This is a recipe from Flo that I've already made three times!

Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake
Shared by Florence Fox

 This recipe is one my mom often made, and now my children like this coffee cake, too.

1 ½ cups flour

¾ cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

2/3 cup milk

¼ cup butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups blueberries

Topping:

¾ cup sugar

½ cup flour

¼ cup butter

½ cup sliced almonds

In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Add milk, butter, egg, and vanilla, mixing until well blended. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with blueberries. Combine sugar, flour, and butter; sprinkle over blueberries. Top with sliced almonds. Bake at 350˚ for 40 minutes or until lightly browned. 


Florence lives in the northwoods of Michigan with her husband and three preschoolers. Her hobbies are writing and baking coffee cakes. A few  months ago she published a book titled My First Deer Hunt. This is a children’s story about the time her husband took their oldest son (then four-years-old) to the woods for his first hunting trip.  Email Flo at foxden @emypeople.net.

White Chicken Chili

I may be wishing for spring. But that doesn't change the fact that the thermometer says it is Cold.

And cold means Soup at our house.

Nothing drives out the cold like a good pot of soup. White chicken chili has been on the menu several times recently.

White Chicken Chili

2 lb chicken breast
1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans beans (navy, black, pinto, or your favorite)
4 cup chicken broth
4 oz can chilies (optional)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
 1/2 cup milk
3 T flour
1 cup sour cream


Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes. Saute chicken, onion, and garlic in oil until meat is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir flour in milk. Add milk and sour cream to soup. Heat but do not boil. Serve.

Popcorn

Random look at life from our house.

February has been a month of snow, snow, and more snow. Not a great amount but enough here and there to give an almost constant ground cover - which is rare in our area.

 

An ice storm added beauty but cut our power for a couple hours. Since our marriage, I never remember losing our power, but this month we were out twice for a few hours each time. The children thought it was great fun and were disappointed when it came back on. They wanted to practice being pioneers and cook our food in the fireplace.



The children have loved this winter and the snow.

And (most of the time) I have enjoyed the excuse to just stay home with my children. Though I will admit that the last week has been rough. One of those times that I'd be glad to hand in my resignation, but I don't know anyone who wants my job. So I'm forced to stay. And wait for spring.

And there are lots of perks to this job.

 

Maybe I just need to take some time to count blessings.

 

Like this little one who continues to give us lots of enjoyment. 



 

Saturday mornings with snow falling, fire crackling, and Daddy and baby studying for a sermon.



Evenings spent creating masterpieces. Here we tried our hand at copying Van Gogh's sunflowers.



 Painting our own summer!

 

Our little girlie continues to sleep, eat, and grow. 

If any of you are looking for a great swaddle blanket - I'm loving this one called the Miracle Blanket. I saw a friend's last summer and loved it. It is rather high price for a piece of cloth but I found two for a great discount on ebay. And they have been so worth it! She has been sleeping so well.  To use, first you put the baby's feet in the pocket.

Then fold in the one wing to hold down their arm.

 Then fold in the second side.

 Fold in the outer wing.

And use the extra long wing to wrap twice around baby to hold it all together. Rarely does she get her arms wiggled out of this wrap. And there is no velcro to stick to laundry. Love my Miracle Blanket.

A few years behind...but I finally joined Pinterest with the goal of finding order in all my bookmarked sites. If you want to check out what I'm pinning, follow me here.





And speaking of blessings...we were able to visit with a missionary that works with a leprosy mission. How I take for granted health and home when so many people in the world have lost not only their health but also their families. The above video will show you some of the amazing people that are showing God's love to these forgotten people.

(If you are reading this by email or in a feed reader, you may need to click over to the blog to see the video.)



Yes, even in the midst of cabin fever and the February blues...I am blessed.

Flo's Cakes - Finnish Coffee Cake

A hot drink and one of Flo's fresh-from-the-oven coffee cakes is perfect for these cold winter days. This one is simple but yummy!

Finnish Coffee Cake

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup oil or melted shortening

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture:

1 tsp cinnamon

4 TBSP sugar

Cream sugar, eggs, oil, and buttermilk. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour half of batter into greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle half of cinnamon and sugar mixture. Add remaining batter and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake at 325˚ for 20-25 minutes. Mix glaze of 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and a little boiling water to make thin consistency. While cake is hot, poke holes with a fork and drizzle with glaze.

Unconventional Rescue - Adventures of a Housewife

  Hasn't every mom had one of those days? Flo shares the story of one of her memorable days.

Unconventional Rescue - Adventures of a Housewife

By Florence Fox

The sun beat down as I exited the air-conditioned store. I heaved the loaded shopping cart in the right direction and started across the parking lot. My fourteen-month-old son, Laramie, jabbered happily, enjoying his ride. I deposited the groceries in the trunk, and then lifted Laramie out of the cart and into his car seat.

It was hot in the car, and I was anxious to get in and start the air-conditioner. I’ll reach back and buckle the car seat, I decided. To keep Laramie occupied so he wouldn’t crawl out of his car seat, I handed him the car keys and slammed the door. Snatching my purse from the shopping cart, I shoved the cart into the nearby cart corral and reached for the driver’s door. At that instant there was a loud honk and the solemn clunk of doors locking.

The car was locked! My son was inside! I stood weak-kneed. What could I do? I didn’t have a spare key. What if my son suffocated in the heat? Or fell out of his car seat?

I remembered the purse on my arm, and pulled out my phone. My husband was immediately informed of the emergency. “How soon can you get here?” I asked. “It’s hot in the car and we have to unlock it right now.”

“Don’t panic,” Marlin said. “I’ll come as soon as I can.”

“But what can I do now?” I demanded. “Laramie could fall out of his car seat, or start crying for me.” At that moment the trunk lid popped open. “Oh, now he pushed the trunk release button,” I said. “Will that help anything?”

“Great! Sure that will help,” Marlin said. “Climb in the trunk and release the latch to push the seat forward. Then you can crawl through and unlock the car.”

The idea was not a new one. Many times I’d seen Marlin lower the back seat to accommodate an item too large to fit in the trunk.

“But the trunk is full of groceries,” I protested. “How can I do that?”

“If you don’t want to, I can come do it,” Marlin said. “But I’d do exactly the same thing.”

I thought of the fifteen minute drive into town and the time away from work.

“No, don’t come the whole way down here if it’s something I can do,” I said. “I’ll try, and if I can’t get through the trunk, I’ll call you.”

“Okay. Let me know how you make out.”

I glanced around the parking lot. How many people could see? This was something I had never dreamed of doing; going through the trunk of the car to rescue my son. But I would do anything to keep him from harm, even if I looked foolish.

I pushed all the groceries to the side of the car trunk. Hefting myself up, I sat in the trunk and felt along the back of the seat. Ah! the latch. It was easily opened, and with a little effort part of the seat was pushed forward. The position was most awkward, but with some huffing and puffing I hauled myself through the opening and was soon sitting on the back seat beside Laramie. He didn’t appreciate all the effort I had exerted to liberate him, though he did seem surprised to see me enter the car in such a manner.

No doubt some curious spectator was highly entertained by the performance. I could imagine them thinking: You got to be kidding! Surely there is an easier way to get inside a car.

The keys were extracted from Laramie’s grasp, and keys in hand, I exited the back seat of the car with all the dignity I had left. Nonchalantly, I slammed the trunk of the car, and hopped in the driver’s seat.

The experience taught me to never hand keys to children for toys. But it was embarrassment that made me vow: It will be years before I shop there again.

Florence lives in the northwoods of Michigan with her husband and three preschoolers. Her hobbies are writing and baking coffee cakes. A few  months ago she published a book titled My First Deer Hunt. This is a children’s story about the time her husband took their oldest son (then four-years-old) to the woods for his first hunting trip. The story is illustrated with real photos, and professionally designed. Told from a child’s viewpoint, this account will entertain and educate young children who love wildlife. If you would like to order a copy, email Flo at foxden@emypeople.net. The cost for one book is $8.99 plus $2 shipping and handling.

 These are the dear ladies in my writer's group when we were able to meet up last summer. From left to right are... me, Regina Rosenberry, Crystal Steinhower, Florence Fox, and Stephanie Leinbach.

Anyone want to 'fess up and share an embarrassing moment with us in the comments?