Last Thursday was one of my favorite holidays – Valentine’s
Day! For many single girls, this particular holiday is dreaded because they are
just reminded of their loneliness and the fact that they are lacking a
boyfriend. I on the other hand, love love and love to celebrate it as much as I
possibly can!
My nana and I exchange phone calls, emails, and letters in
the mail quite often, every couple of weeks to be more specific, and every time
we talk she asks me, “So, are you going steady with anyone?” or “Is there a
special boy?” or some variation of that. I always answer by telling her it is
not going to be a kept secret when I have a boyfriend! But for some reason
these questions keep occurring. Although Nana did not call to remind me that I
didn’t have a boyfriend on this occasion, a girl in my class was able to pick
up the slack for her. As we sat in class and just chit-chatted for a little,
she asked me what my plans for the night were. I excitedly told her about a
party my girl friends and I had planned! She responded by saying, “Oh because
you don’t have anybody, right?” I couldn’t help but to let out a little laugh
as I responded by saying no. I was a little caught off-guard by her question,
but I’m sure she meant it in the nicest way possible, just as Nana always has.
This year, my friends and I wanted to do Valentine’s Day a
little differently. From decorations to food and drinks, we wanted to go all
out this time around! We started planning a good week in advance. We even made
an event on Facebook for it, calling it the “VALENTINE’S DAY SOIREE.” Our
friend Skye hosted our little shindig and provided festive decorations and
drinks, of course! From her outfit to the games she had planned, Skye truly went
all out for the occasion. It’s safe to say that Skye’s infatuation with
Valentine’s Day doesn’t compete with anyone else’s and because of that we only
saw it fitting to refer to this holiday as St. Skye’s Day.
Everyone who came to the party brought a festive dish. We
had Brie, dips, cookies, cupcakes, you name it, I guarantee we had it. There were
many Pinterest-inspired dishes including mine! I insisted on making my nana’s
pound cake because I’m always looking for an excuse to bake it. If I could have
a slice or two for breakfast everyday, I think I’d be the luckiest girl in the
world…I’m sure my aunts and cousin Cooper would agree with me on that one.
Anyway, I wanted to do something to it that would make it festive. I recently
saw on Pinterest a picture of a yellow cake with a pink heart baked in the
middle. I thought it was the neatest thing and knew right away that I had to
attempt something like it. I decided to bake small red velvet cake hearts in
the middle of my pound cake. To be honest, I was a little nervous about this
idea because the pound cake is hard enough to bake on its own, but I was
willing to take a chance for the sake of St. Valentine! It was a bit time
consuming, but don’t worry Mom and Dad, I was still able to make it to my classes.
I knew the baking time would have to be a little different since I was not
making it like I typically do, so I kept a close eye on it and crossed my
fingers as it sat in the oven.
As I pulled both loaves out of the oven, I was pleasantly
surprised. Not only did they look perfect, but they smelled of perfection, as
well! Because the heart-shaped red velvet cakes had already been baked, I was
worried that part of the cake would be dry and deformed. With one eye closed, I
nervously cut a slice of cake to take a peek and immediately squealed. If there
had been anyone around to hear me, they would have thought I won the lottery,
when all I did was simply bake a cake with a flawlessly shaped heart inside.
For me, that was the lottery!
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| Heart pound cake! |
I also made a decadent white chocolate, “fun-fetti,” fudge. This
sweet little dessert was super fun to eat thanks to its array of different
colors. Because of the fudge’s richness, many of the girls couldn’t eat a whole
square, but I sure could! Thank goodness there were leftovers because my sweet
tooth just could not get enough.
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| Funfetti Fudge |
Once everyone’s appetites were satisfied, we danced to a
number of Beyonce songs, played some games which eventually just led to us
drinking and telling stories that had us laughing for hours.
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| Friends |
Between the time I spent with my friends and the flowers and
notes I received from my parents, Valentine’s Day once again reminded me how
blessed I am to have so many people who love me. I wish everyday were Valentine’s
Day! Only in a perfect world, I guess…right, Skye?
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| Flowers from Dad! |
Red Velvet Hearts:
1 box Betty Crocker red velvet cake mix
1. Follow directions on the box and bake in bread loaf pans.
2. Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, cut into 1-inch wide slices.
3. Take heart-shaped cookie cutter and cut hearts into each slice. Put hearts aside for later.
Pound Cake:
3 cups sugar
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. For best baking results, have oven on and preheated for about 20 minutes before inserting the cake. Spray or grease loaf pans and set aside.
2. Sift flour (although we usually do not) with salt and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream together butter and shortening and gradually add in the sugar. Cream thoroughly and then add the eggs one at a time.
4. Then, alternate adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning with the flour and ending with the flour.
5. Add vanilla.
6. Pour a thin layer of batter in the bottom of pans and stick the red velvet hearts in the layer of batter so they are standing up in the bottom of the pan.
7. Pour the remaining batter into pans and place in preheated oven. Usually when baking the pound cake, I let it bake for about one hour and 12 minutes, but because of the different type of pan and the use of the red velvet hearts I did not use the timer and just checked it after 30 minutes and then every ten minutes after that until lightly browned on top with the edges pulling away from the pan.
8. Once cake is finished, remove and let cool.
9. After it has cooled off completely, you may ice the cake (recipe below) if you like!
1/3 cup Crisco shortening
1 box 10x sugar (confectioners)
1. Mix together shortening, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer.
2. Gradually add the milk to mixture (If icing becomes too thick add more milk).
Funfetti Cake Batter Fudge:
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3.5 cups white chocolate chips
3 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
Rainbow sprinkles
1. Pour milk and white chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 2-3 minutes or until white chocolate is almost completely melted. Don't overheat!! Stir until completely blended, melted, and smooth.
2. Immediately add vanilla and almond and combine thoroughly. Add a handful or so of rainbow sprinkles and fold in quickly. Do not stir for too long or else the sprinkles will melt and change the color of the fudge.
3. Pour into an aluminum-foil lined 8x8 inch baking pan. Let set at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
4. Once set, cut into cubes and peel off all the foil. Store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place.
Happy Baking!!
