grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

St. Paddy’s Day Cake Balls

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cake balls for St. Patrick's Day

I failed to make a pie for Pi Day (boo), but I made cake balls for St. Paddy’s Day (yay). And since St. Paddy’s Day isn’t until tomorrow, I’m ahead of the game. This morning I enjoyed one with my coffee. The great thing about cake balls is you really can have your cake and eat it too. Satisfy your sweet craving in two little bites.

Yum.

If you’ve never made cake balls, I’ll tell you this—it’s a process that takes a little patience, but it isn’t difficult. And if you’ve ever bought cake balls for a party, you know they can be pricey. But there’s no reason to spend your hard earned money. Make your own instead.

I thought about my Daddy when I made these because he REFUSED to eat green desserts. No green Jell-o, green ice cream, green popsicle or candy. Haha, it’s funny what we remember.Continue Reading

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cake

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Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I made mini pineapple upside down cake for bookclub Tuesday night. Our book of the month was The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin, which I’m sorry to say I haven’t read yet. Even so, since the book was set in the 1950s and 60s, I wanted to make a retro-chic dessert popular during that time.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake has an interesting history that originated back when most everything was cooked in a cast iron skillet. Flip cakes, as they were known, involved some sort of fruit on the bottom—usually apples, cherries or plums—layered with sugar and a thin batter. The cake could be baked on an open fire, stovetop, or oven. When the batter was done, flipping the cake onto a plate made for an instant fruit and glazed sugar display. (If you think about it, this sounds almost like a layered cobbler.)Continue Reading

my favorite things about baking…

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my favorite things about baking

For most folks the end result of baking—the cake or pie or cookies—is the ultimate prize, but my favorite things about baking involve the details. Silly basic things you may never have given a second thought.

You: What sort of things?

Me: Thanks for asking.

Things like…Continue Reading

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