Wedding Cake and Raspberry Cream

My sweet friend, Jennifer, was married this past weekend and requested months ago that I make a cake for her Moroccan themed wedding.  It was so much fun!  A little stressful...not gonna lie, but fun nonetheless. 

I always freak about about any cake I make.  There's always a point at least once during the process where I feel the panic rising in my chest and feel certain that it's not going to work and I'll let someone down.  After a couple calls to my baking genius friends and a couple deep breaths, I was talked off the ledge of throwing it all away and starting over. 

There was nothing particularly difficult about the cake.  They just wanted a chocolate cake with raspberry cream filling and a chocolate ganache frosting, plus a bunch of little cupcakes.  The cake itself had a honey, coffee and chocolate flavor.  It came out much more dense than I would have liked so I ended up brushing it all with a raspberry simple syrup, which helped with the consistency.  I probably won't make it again and therefore, won't share it with you here. 

The raspberry cream, however, was amazing!  I've used it before as both a filling and a frosting.  It's light, and fruity and makes everything better.  This weekend, I decided it would be great as a topping for french toast or Belgian waffles and tonight, I'm using it for a parfait. Honestly, though, it's good straight off the spoon.  Of course I forgot to take a picture of it, but just imagine a big bowl of pink fluffy delicousness. 

Raspberry Cream

6 ounces unsweetened frozen raspberries
1 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar

In a saucepan, cook the raspberries over medium low heat until they release their juices.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.  Puree in a blender, then strain the seeds out with a sieve.

Whisk the cream until stiff peaks form.  Mix 1/3 cup of the puree with the sugar and stir until dissolved.  Fold in the whipped cream.

Warm Bean Salad with Salmon and Cauliflower

During my 'Tone and Zone' class at the gym earlier this morning, my instructor informed us to grab heavy weights because we'd be 'burning out' our biceps during the session.  As she spoke these words, she smiled...the whole time.

Though I smiled back at her, the hamster on the wheel inside my head was squealing 'We're going to do what to our biceps?!?!?!'  I bravely grabbed my heavy weights and prepared for the worst as I looked around the room.  To my dismay, I saw that most of the women in the class were older than me if not twice my age.  No excuses, Aubrey.

I took a deep breath while the drill instructor inside me head yelled 'C'mon, pansy, you can do this...you WILL do this.  Your classmates don't look scared and neither should you.  Burn those biceps, burn those biceps...burn those...'  I quieted his voice and silently prayed..."Dear sweet Lord, help me!"

Soon thereafter, I learned what it means to burn out my biceps.  Oh. My. Goodness.  Let's just say it's good thing I can rest my arms on the table right now and only have to use my fingers to type this blog post.  At the end of class, the instructor reminded us to drink lots of water and eat some protein for lunch. 

This salad is what I came up with based on leftovers and what I had on hand in the pantry.  I wasn't expecting much as I haven't been to the grocery store for a while, but I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor and texture of the dish.  Another plus is that it came together in no time at all.

Now, please excuse me while I go ice my burned out biceps. 



Warm Bean Salad with Salmon and Cauliflower

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 cup cauliflower, chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 can white beans (cannelini, navy), drained and rinsed

4-6 ounces cooked salmon, cut into small pieces*

1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Saute the cauliflower for 4-5 minutes or until it begins to soften (we don't want mushy).  Add the garlic and continue to saute for 2-3 more minutes until the garlic starts to brown. 

Add the beans and cook for about a minute to warm the beans, then add the salmon and heat through. 



Remove the skillet from the heat and add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and parsley.

Serve warm, though I'm sure this would taste great cold too. 

*You can use canned, drained salmon or be like me and use last nights leftovers.  I suspect his salad would still be tasty even without the salmon.