When times get tough, make vegan cupcakes

I am feeling a bit down today. Logan is on call (as he is every 4th night this month) so he left before 6 this morning and I won't see him until tomorrow afternoon. If I were in Tulsa this would be no big thing--I would hang out with my mom and aunt, have girl time with Katie and Ashley, catch up with work friends, church friends etc but here I am kind of aimless. I just really miss having people around.I entertained for one of the first times yesterday...wait for it...I had the 12 year-old girls who raked my yard in for hot apple cider and then they proceeded to talk my ear off for an hour so perhaps I should rephrase to I miss having people my own age. My neighbors are a good 10-15 years older and have kids so we are in very different life stages. I miss having someone to talk about the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy, to play silly games like Cranium and to simply share a glass of wine while chatting about newlywed life. I think Logan and I are going to have some of his work friends over this weekend so at least I'll get to entertain myself by creating a Halloween themed cocktail and fun spooky finger food.

On a happier note, Logan and I have continued to explore Connecticut. We went out to Storrs (home of the University of Connecticut) and we walked around the campus. It does not hold a candle to Norman--in my humble, unbiased opinion :)-- but it is stunning. The school has a farming program so they have a working dairy farm on site. They make ice cream there and have a Dairy Bar. Check out of the website but I warn you, you'll probably crave ice cream!
http://www.dairybar.uconn.edu/
IT.IS.AWESOME. They have tons of homemade flavors and so I sampled pumpkin with graham crackers and Logan had Pistachio with walnuts and they were some of the best ice cream either of us have ever tasted.

Logan enjoying the beautiful day and his delicious ice cream

The fall colors are absolutely beautiful here. It is one thing I will say that I will miss we move back home is the fall color in New England. We walked around the pasture area just enjoying the view and the crisp fall temperatures.

Can you believe this is on a college campus?

So, in closing the vegan cupcakes...I halved the recipe and made 6 chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting. There are still 4 left but the night is still young. Vegan recipes are great to half because there are no eggs so it is super easy to make only as many as you want. This was my first time trying vegan baking and honestly, if I wasn't the one who made it, I wouldn't have known. They are moist, chocolatey and delicious and since you don't use butter or eggs the calorie count is much lower. Anyway, they definitely make for a tasty treat!

Mmm....Cupcakes :)

The recipe is really easy and seems like it can be adapted easily since I tossed in some Godiva Chocolate liquor and it turned out great.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes (recipe makes 12 cupcakes)
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar (1/2 splenda works fine)
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt


*I reduced the vanilla a little bit and added in some Godiva liquor and it was very yummy*

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then mix the soy milk and vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes so it can curdle (I know, kind of gross but will be worth it). Add the sugar, oil and extract to the mix and beat until nice and foamy. Get all your dry ingredients together and add them to your wet ingredients in two batches and beat until no big lumps remain. Pour into your cute cupcake liners and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting or it becomes a big mess!

Chocolate Ganache Frosting
1/4 cup soy milk
4 oz semisweet chocolate bits
2 Tbs maple syrup ( I used sugar free since that's what I had and it worked fine)

Heat your soy milk until boiling and then remove from heat and add chocolate and syrup. Stir until it is nice and smooth (you should now taste it...just to make sure its good...and maybe a second taste just to be 100% positive). Just dip your cooled cupcakes in and give them a nice chocolate bath. Let them sit for a while and the ganache will be less drippy but trust me, a hot ganache cupcake is just as delicious, if not more so, as a cold ganache cupcake.

Recipes from:
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero
http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cupcakes-Take-Over-World/dp/1569242739
-I highly recommend this cook book. The recipes are yummy and have some really tasty sounding treats like Smores, Toasted Coconut, Green Tea, Hazelnut Mousse, Chai Latte, Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes but also your old favorites of vanilla and chocolate with a ton of great variation ideas.

Vegan baking. Who knew it was so easy and delicious?
Steph

New England Fall + Spiced Nuts

 "Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." -George Elliot

I am over 1200 miles from home; it is currently getting down to the 40s at night; snow within the next month is a strong possibility. All of this is okay because I am in awe of my first New England fall.

In Oklahoma we get very beautiful fall colors but the trees here are just jaw dropping. Yesterday I drove out to the UConn campus for a meeting and along the drive I kept wishing I had my camera because I kept seeing beautiful tree after beautiful tree. Logan and I are going hiking this week so I will take more pictures but here is just one from my backyard. I was shocked when I got home from my two weeks in Oklahoma because all of a sudden the trees were ablaze with gorgeous color. I can't believe that this is my backyard...I love just sitting on the deck with a fire in the chiminea, drinking coffee with cinnamon and just enjoying the crisp fall air...I just wish Logan (or friends or family) were here to share it.

View from deck

Originally I was just going to post this as is but here is a really quick recipe that I whip out when I want a snack or need to convince Logan to mow the lawn.

Spiced Nuts
Beat one egg white (save the yolk and make some sort of custard or something later) and 1 Tbs of water till nice and frothy. Pour egg white/water mixture over about 3 cups of pecans (I imagine you could use other nuts but I always use pecans because I am sort of Southern and it is in my genes, also pecans are delicious) and stir until all the pecans are moistened. In a bowl, mix sugar, salt (I am a big fan of coarse sea salt...I am convinced it is more tasty than other varieties), cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and then sprinkle over the nuts. Spread the nuts on an aluminum foil covered pan (helps with clean up) and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes stirring 2 or 3 times during baking. Watch your nuts for the last 10 minutes or so because some ovens cook faster/slower and you don't want to burn them.

The great thing about this recipe is you can modify it to make savory nuts with different spices. I have done some with rosemary, salt and pepper that were tasty. I also really liked a spicy version with red pepper, cumin and a bit of chili powder. Play with it and make some for when you have company coming for holidays; put them in a pretty bag with a ribbon when you need a quick gift or make them when you are hungry and scarf them all up.

Spiced Nuts
1 Egg White
1 Tbs of water
3(ish) cups of pecan halves
1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 tps of salt
1 1/2 tps of cinnamon
1/2 tps of ground cloves
1/2 tps of nutmeg

Happy Fall Color Watching and Nut Toasting!
Steph

Pretty Crazy Delicious Pumpkin Bread

Hello Again! I am sorry about the long break but I spent almost two weeks back in Oklahoma and now am home again. Flying into Connecticut I was greeted by amazing fall colors and crisp fall temperatures that promise a coming winter (hopefully not too soon!). Therefore, is it really surprising that once I got home, I was back in the kitchen within a few hours? No, not surprising.

When I think of fall baking my first thought is pumpkin. It is so versatile-use it in a savory soup, a sweet pie, or a fragrant and moist bread. In honor of my husband's birthday I chose to make a pumpkin bread. It is one of his favorites because I always add extra cinnamon, nutmeg and do a pecan streusel topping. It is such dense, moist bread that it is more like cake in a lot of ways. My favorite way to enjoy it is a nice slice with a smear of cream cheese with a cup of coffee--add in a bunch of fall color and a deck overlooking the woods and you pretty much have my favorite place-home.

Pretty Crazy Delicious Pumpkin Bread: So first off this recipe makes two loaves if made in a 9" pan so I halved it because I have no idea what I would do with two loaves other than covet them like a squirrel with peanuts so hence: halved recipe.

The best thing about these types of breads is that they come together really fast. You find out you are having company in an hour? you can whip up this bread in 15 minutes tops and then bake and not only does your house smell amazing but you can impress your guests with fresh baked deliciousness.

So first off you beat your eggs, sugar, and oil together till nice and light and frothy. Then mix up your flour, spices (I kind of go crazy with the cinnamon and nutmeg since I love them but be as adventurous as your palate allows), baking soda and salt and set aside (try to avoid stepping away and thus letting your cat stick their paw in the flour because this makes a huge mess and happened about 10 seconds after this picture...I suppose this is only applicable if you have slightly evil kitties)

Libby's Pumpkin...oh how I love you since I never actually have time to roast my own pumpkin

Alternately add your flour and water into your egg mixture until just mixed. Stir in your pumpkin and your good to go. I always taste it at this point to see if I need more cinnamon, salt etc but also cause batter is delicious and I don't care if it has raw eggs in it...the amount of cookie dough I have consumed in my life is a testament to the harmless nature of raw eggs (at least when combined with sugar, flour and other cookie components...perhaps alchemy is involved?)

Making my streusel topping in my awesome immersion blender (yes, the same one from the butternut squash lasagna!)

Pour into your greased 9" pan and if you not feeling like a streusal topping go ahead and pop it in the oven but if you are feeling like a crunchy, sweet and yummy topping mix some brown sugar, cinnamon, a bit of flour and cut in your butter. I am now using my immersion blender because I think it is super awesome and I kind of hate using a pastry blender but to each her own--just get your butter in there till it looks like crumbs. Then put in your chopped pecans and sprinkle on your bread.

Ta Da!

Now bake the bread in a 350 degree oven for about an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center. If you made the topping, I like to cover it with aluminum foil for the last 10-15 minutes or so just because it can get a bit brown and you don't want burned nuts (haha dirty sounding)

The finished product! Don't be jealous of my cat pot holders...I know they are super cool.

As I said earlier, I love this bread with a smear of whipped cream cheese on it and with a cup of coffee but it is delicious plain, heated, or with some cinnamon butter...mmm...the possibilities are endless.

I didn't realize when I took this that Logan had already taken a bite when I wasn't looking. He swears it is delicious.

Pretty Crazy Delicious Pumpkin Bread
*This recipe makes 2 9" loaves,  or 3 8" loaves--it is really easy to half so feel free*

3 Cups Granulated Sugar (does fine with half splenda)
1 Cup Oil
4 Eggs
3 1/3 Cups of Flour (does fine with a 2:1 ratio of whole wheat flour)
2 tps. Baking Soda
1 1/2 tps. Salt
1 1/2 tps of cinnamon (I tend to use between 2-3 tps because cinnamon is delicious)
1 tps of nutmeg (I tend to use more just because nutmeg is amazing)
2/3 Cup of Water
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin

Streusel Topping: I don't really have a recipe for this so these are estimates so feel free to mess with it to fit your tastes :)
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
3 Tbs of Flour
Some Cinnamon
2 or 3 Tbs. of butter (just add enough to make it look like crumbs)
1/3 Cup chopped Pecans (or whatever nut you prefer)


Happy Pumpkin Baking!
Steph

Fall Foods-Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna

This is my first New England fall and many people have requested fall foliage pictures but apparently the fall colors won't truly hit for a few weeks so it is coming I promise!

We are visiting an apple orchard this weekend to pick apples, drink fresh cider and sample the famous cider doughnut so I'll post about that soon also. Fall has always been my favorite season and as soon as mid September hits I start decorating for Halloween, lighting the fall scent candles (I am loving Autumn Leaves by Yankee Candle) and my personal favorite, start cooking with fall flavors.

Fall flavors are my absolute favorite. The flavors are rich, decadent and meant to warm you up from head to toe. Once the leaves start turning it is my license to start making pumpkin cinnamon rolls, maple glazed acorn squash, apple butterscotch tarts, and of course, the subject of this entry: roasted butternut squash lasagna

Butternut squash is a delicious squash that has a fairly sweet flavor so to marry it in a lasagna with sage, nutty Parmesan cheese and salty, smoky bacon...can it get any better?!?

First step in this delicious dish is to roast your squash. You need about 3 cups of squash puree so in my experience you need two regular sized squash or one of those huge walmart monstrosities that make you worry about growth hormones. Now, this is your first chance to add some flavor so after I peel and cut up my squash I flavor it with rubbed sage, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Toss it in an oven for 40 minutes or until you squash is nice and squishy.

Before 

Ta Da! After

So eat a few pieces of your yummy squash but toss the rest in your blender (if you have a nice and powerful one-which I don't so I use my immersion blender and puree it)

I only put this picture on here to show how awesome my immersion blender is and the puree is actually ridiculously tasty! It would make a delicious ravioli filling or you could add some chicken stock and you have a great soup.

Now, what is a lasagna without sauce? Nasty and dry! So have now onto the bechamel sauce! Remember earlier how I wrote that this lasagna has a strong sage flavor? Well you chop up your sage leaves and let them get nice and crispy in your melted butter (this smells divine, try not to swoon).

Meanwhile, go ahead and fry up your bacon ( I used turkey bacon since I am watching my girlish figure but I think pancetta would be ridiculously delicious). Once your bacon is done, chop it up into little pieces and set aside. This is also a good time to go ahead and cook your lasagna noodles. I usually can fit four layers of pasta with this recipe so cook as many noodles as you need and set them aside. I like to lay my cooked noodles out on waxed paper because if you leave them sitting together they will stick together like crazy.

Bacon frying, sage crisping and noodles cooking...I will warn you that this recipe has many dishes. Try to con your significant other into doing them for you since you are "slaving away" at the stove :)

So back to the sauce...now the sage is nice and crispy, add your flour and stir it together and cook over medium heat till it is a nice golden brown color. At this point I like to add salt, pepper, and some nutmeg so season to your own taste. Once it is a nice color, go ahead and add the milk and stir until thickened-usually around 5-10 minutes. Toss in your chopped up bacon and now it is time to assemble.

My assembly area

Now, spread a ladle full of your sauce and a scoop of the puree in the bottom of your pan and put your first layer of noodles. Now, the fun part! Put another couple ladle scoops of sauce onto the noodles along with about 1/3 of your puree. Mix it all together till everything is evenly distributed and then sprinkle 1/4 of the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and add another layer of noodles.

Building the masterpiece!

Repeat until your top layer and then spoon the rest of your sauce on top of the lasagna and top with the rest of your shredded cheese.

Finished product. I love using glass pans because you can see the layers and beautiful colors.

Now all that is left is baking. Cover it with foil and toss it in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes, uncover and put it back in for about 10 minutes or as long as it takes for the cheese to get all melted and browned.

Delicious piece of lasagna...green beans are optional

I know this has quite a few steps but honestly, it is ridiculously delicious and it makes your home smell so yummy. I also love lasagnas because they get even better the next day and Logan and I can eat it for several meals.It is also a recipe that can be adjusted to your tastes; for example, next time I make this I will probably toss in some spinach to get more vegis in there and also for a nice texture and flavor contrast to the squash. You can also play around with adding meat but in my opinion it doesn't really need it.If you aren't careful this dish can become sweet from the butternut squash so season liberally-I think I may add some rosemary also next time to get an even nicer herb flavor (plus I love using things from the garden)

Happy Cooking!


This started out as a family recipe but I have edited it quite a bit so feel free to make it your own!

Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna

 Lasagna noodles ( I like to use whole wheat)
4 Tbs. Butter
a bunch of fresh sage leaves, chopped (original called for 6 but trust me, you need more...I would guess around 15/20?)
4 Tbs. Flour
3 Cups of milk (I use skim and it works fine. Original called for 2 cups milk, 1 cup heavy cream but once again, watching girlish figure and honestly it tastes rich and delicious without it)
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese ( I love Parmesan in this recipe because it has a nice nutty flavor so I increased it from 1 oz and decreased the mozzarella)
1 1/2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese
3 Cups of roasted butternut squash puree
1/3 cup chopped bacon ( I heartily approve of turkey bacon. It was very yummy but seriously, if you try pancetta please tell me how delicious it is so I can live vicariously through you)
Salt, Pepper and Nutmeg to taste

I am addicted to the leaf....no, not that one!

One of my favorite parts about picking up and moving across the country is the opportunity to explore an entirely new area. There are tons of restaurants to patron, book stores to explore, and coffee houses to frequent. A few weeks ago Logan and I went shopping in an area nearby that is simply amazing! It has great boutiques, a Crate and Barrel, amazing restaurants and it's all outdoors. It reminds me of a huge Utica Square (for those of you who live in Tulsa).

Anyway, I have always been a devoted coffee drinker. I worked through high school at Java Dave's where I prided myself on my ability to have a 4 shot iced latte and sleep like a baby right after. In college I worked at Starbucks for a year where I imbibed in coffee based beverages on a daily, if not tri-daily, basis. (I now know all the recipes and trust me, your ridiculous frappuccino does not really have much coffee in it)

So this all leads up to a shameful truth.... I have been cheating on my coffee maker.

I know, I know, it is terrible. I haven't used my coffee maker in weeks and my poor free trade breakfast blend coffee beans have been sadly neglected. This is all because of the new addiction in my life: Tea, but not just tea, tea from The Green Teahouse in West Hartford. It is simply amazing! (free shipping on orders over $50)

http://www.thegreenteahouse.com/

Please do yourself a favor if you are a tea lover and check out their site. They not only have a huge selection of loose leaf green, black, white etc teas but they also do blends. My absolute favorite is the Snow Jasmine blend: This jasmine green tea is one of the most highly prized in our store. The high quality green tea is superbly scented with jasmine flowers in the Szechuan province, which is the birthplace of green tea. (description from website) 

It is delicious hot or iced and there is something extra special about loose leaf tea blends. One of my friends and her husband got Logan and I a beautiful loose leaf tea pot for a wedding gift (Thanks Wes and Elizabeth, I absolute adore it!) and I have been using it daily to brew a pot of hot and put it in the refrigerator and thus have delicious, refreshing and full of antioxidants iced tea. 

Other favorites include Jasmine Berry (apparently I have a Jasmine fixation and it's also great iced), Coconut Spring (imagine drinking tea from a coconut on a sunny beach in Jamaica-it tastes just like that), Sweet Awareness and the Sweet Apple Chai. This list could go on and on but I imagine you get the point: 

                                            
                                The GreenTeahouse=awesome

Happy Drinking,

Steph

Creating a Home

One of the most exciting parts of moving to Connecticut was the prospect of owning our own home. As a serial apartment renter having a large space with an actual yard was exciting and yet scary. The inside decorating came much easier than the outside. I have been decorating apartments for years, but gardening...well it is a new pursuit. 

One of my favorite parts of our home is the deck. It is large and container gardening much less intimidating then actually putting plants in the ground. I love cultivating my own herbs but this year I added several pepper plants to the mix as well as a few flowering containers. 

I have gotten so much out of my containers. I have used my basil countless times and the peppers have done so well this year. Pictured from left to right: dill, cilantro, russian sage, lavender, serrano peppers, jalapeno pepper, rosemary, basil, and a citronella plant.

We moved here in mid June but didn't really get settled until July so fairly late in the growing season but I really wanted to do some veggis. This year I did a small vegetable garden where I grew tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, and cucumbers.

The tomatoes and cucumbers especially have produced prodigiously. Next year I will actually construct large beds because I want to do different kinds of tomatoes as well as some other varieties of vegetables.

Here is the backyard...as you can see, there is a lot of space but I have no idea what to do with it. I have been toying with the idea of raking up the steep hill and creating a wild flower garden. I am tempted but it would be a ton of work but I imagine it would be worth it. I have been researching it and it seems like I would need to get it done before the end of the fall since the seeds would need to be "winterized" meaning they (similar to tulip bulbs) need to sit in the ground through the cold season to help their growth in the spring/summer.

The title of this blog is "Creating a Home" so obviously, I have made a small step to creating a home other than the small bits of gardening...
                                                       WE BOUGHT A TREE!

I love trees and although our backyard has tons, our front yard was sadly lacking. When we started thinking about tree choices we really wanted something that would grow fairly quickly, be low maintenance, and have fall foliage. Back in Oklahoma you see Bradford Pear trees everywhere so when we saw a hybrid of those called Aristocrat Pear we were so excited! It was not some puny twig we were planting, but a nice 10 ft baby tree that already looked like a piece of home.
                                                                     BEFORE

                                                                  AFTER

Logan proudly planting our baby tree (isn't he cute in his scrubs?)

Aristocrat Pear in its glory, also can kind of see Rose of Sharon and the beautiful butterfly attracter flowers near the mailbox.

We also have taken out this terrible bush that was on the far right of the house (you can see if in the before picture). It was nice looking but attracted hundreds of flies so our neighbor helped us and we ripped that sucker out. You can barely see it in the after picture but we plated a Rose of Sharon there that has purple/blue flowers which will look so nice next year next to our blue hydrangeas.

I have bought a couple books on gardening and although I still feel like I have no idea what I am doing, but there is something so nice about putting a plant in the ground and seeing it flourish. We bought this house and we are slowly but surely making it our home.

Happy Planting,
Steph

The Love of Cake

     There are few things in life that I love more than cake...the moistness of the cake, the gooey frosting, I really cannot say enough about it. One thing I do love more than cake (other than my husband and kitties) is baking a cake. I enjoy taking somewhat random things out of my pantry, putting them together in hopefully interesting ways, bake and voila--a cake is born! I have inherited my love of baking from my family and grew up baking bread on weekends and cookies for special occasions but one big thing that my family and I differ on is our view of recipes. They believe that a recipe is an exact science that must be followed. I'll never forget when I made a family recipe with my own modifications, my aunt peered that the dish suspiciously and remarked that the recipe is the way it is for a reason. Now, my point of view is that a recipe is a starting point. It gives you a general idea and then you get to put your own spin on it and off you go--you have an original creation!
     For example, when Logan is on call on weekends I try to make him and his other residents a dessert. Last week it was a chocolate cake (family recipe) but infused with cinnamon (unique twist). Also, I always substitute 1/2 the sugar for splenda and 1/2 the flour for whole wheat flour--you can try to do more but it gets tricky because you start running into problems with taste and texture. This week I was enjoying the cooler weather and decided that for once in my life, chocolate was not the right answer (I just hope hell has not frozen over.) Therefore I found a recipe for a butterscotch cake that sounded delicious but it wasn't quite what I wanted so I gave it some thought and poof! the idea of the coffee butterscotch cake zipped into creation. Now, the first step of this creation (and yes, all cooking is the art of creation. It is not simply throwing some things together in a half-hazard manner. No! It is an act of passion and love. Love your food and your food (and significant other) will love you back.) was to make a caramel sauce. I am sure there are many caramel sauce virgins out there and it really isn't as difficult as it sounds. Sure you could buy a jar of sauce but where is the fun in that? So the first step to making caramel is to dissolve sugar in water at a low temperature and once your sugar is dissolved you get to crank the heat up, let it boil and thus bite your nails and pray that it doesn't burn.

See? When you first start your sugar water is still clear but as you continue to boil all hell is breaking loose as the starches in the sugars are breaking down. As it boils it will continue to get darker and darker and if you don't pay attention it will burn and you will have a smelly, dangerously hot mess! But if you watch it, you will get a velvety caramel color. Don't worry if it takes a while; it may take as long as 20 minutes to get to the right color but really watch it, a good caramel is almost burned, key word ALMOST!

 Now, the fun starts because you get to add your heavy cream! You whisk it in and you my dear, have created a delicious, all purpose caramel sauce.

For this particular recipe, the caramel must be chilled because it is going to become an icing but really caramel can be used for all sorts of delicious things like on ice cream, pancakes, fruit etc. Anyway, so the cake in this recipe is your basic butterscotch which essentially is just a cake that uses more brown sugar than most but to make it more interesting I threw in some instant coffee powder and that will give it a yummy coffee zing and will also contrast with the fairly sweet caramel icing. This is a layer cake so you use two 8 inch pans because you put lots of yummy frosting between the two layers. Once your cake is done you beat some softened cream cheese and then fold in about 3/4 of your cooled caramel and I must say, the end result is one of the most delicious frostings ever created. The homemade caramel is just so smooth and with the cream cheese it helps cut the sweetness so I think if allowed, I could eat it on toast, fruit, my fingers but thank goodness, this is a cake for others so I try to resist (although there may have been some tasting involved.) You build your cake by putting one layer down on your plate and spreading about half of your frosting all over it and top it off with the other cake and other half of frosting. Finally, you take that leftover caramel and drizzle it all over your cake...I love drizzling things on cakes because it helps keep them moist and it is like playing with your food! Final result:

As you can see, I was very generous with the caramel because its yummy! But if you want cleaner lines just use less. Alas, this cake is not for me so I can just request Logan save me a piece but the bits I sampled were delicious and I can already tell I will use that frosting over and over again.

Original recipe credit Nigella Lawson-my variations are in the parenthesis 

Icing:
1 cup of sugar (can't really mess with this one with splenda since candy making it very precise business)
1/2 cup of cold water
1 1/4 cups of heavy cream ( I did 3/4 heavy cream, 1/2 cup skim milk and it came out fine)
14 oz of cream cheese (I used fat free and it still tastes decadent)

For cake
1 cup of salted butter softened (I use 50/50 butter for baking which is 50% butter 50% heart healthy substitute)
7 TBS of brown sugar
1/2 cup of sugar (1/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of splenda)
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of self-rising cake flour (I NEVER  stock self-rising cake flour so the easy fix for this is to use your regular flour but add a bit of salt and a teaspoon of baking powder for every cup so in this recipe I used 3/4 flour, 3/4 whole wheat flour plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder)
2-4 TBS of heavy cream (I just used skim milk)
*I added 1 TBS of instant coffee powder for a yummy coffee kick!

2 8 inch pans lined with wax paper

I lined out how to make the icing but for the cake it is ridiculously simple...just cream your butter and sugars and add eggs one at a time. Each time you add an egg toss in a spoonful of your flour mixture and then once your eggs are in, fold the rest of your flour into your batter. Finally, you are looking for a runny but not liquid consistency so add enough skim milk till it looks right which was about 3 TBS for me. Bake it in a 375 degree oven for about 25 minutes and take out when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool them and then have a blast frosting your beautiful creation! The biggest thing with baking or really any cooking is to make it to suit your tastes. If you like nuts, throw some in! If you want some chocolate flavor, hell yes you can add some cocoa powder!

Happy Baking!