When I was in Georgia, a good friend of my SIL came over to visit.  We discovered that we both have Danish heritage and are interested in recipes from that country.  He told me about this Danish Dream Cake that he has learned to bake and he texted me the recipe so that I could try it for myself!  I was finally able to bake it the other day and first of all, I was amazed at how simple it is to make!  Secondly, that caramel, coconut topping is so good that I could have eaten the entire panful with a spoon immediately! (If I didn't have such wonderful self control, Ha Ha!)   And one more thing is that the cake itself is very light and spongey.  It is no wonder that this is such a popular cake in Denmark! I tweaked the recipe just a bit after researching it more, so today I am sharing the recipe that I used, adapted from Skylar's recipe. Thank you Skylar! 

      The backstory of this cake is that in the 1960s, a young girl entered her grandmother's recipe into a national baking contest and she won!  The cake has been popular in Denmark ever since.  I can't help but wonder where her grandmother got the recipe, but I haven't found out that tidbit anywhere.  I mean, coconut seems like an unusual ingredient for Denmark, doesn't it?  Well, whatever the rest of the story is, this is one great tasting cake. 

     Here are a few tips when baking this cake: 

• Using my recipe, you will need to use a scale because the ingredients are listed in grams in true Danish fashion. 
• Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla really well! Some recipes I've seen recommend 8 minutes!  
• Sift the flour very well so that it is fine and clump free.
• Use lots of butter! Live a little!
• Use a large pan that will leave room on the top to hold the topping and not allow it to spill over when it is heated.  

     The topping is so good, I am tempted to make it all alone and use it as an ice cream topping.  Or, just serve some ice cream with your slice of Dream Cake.  You will love it! 
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     As you already know, Alicia recently had a baby a number of weeks early.  He is doing great!  Just after he was born, I flew off to go and give her and her family a hand while the little guy was in the NICU getting stronger. (Lindsey gave some tips about how to help NICU parents on this post!)
     Before I left, my granddaughter pulled out her sewing machine and we worked together to create a special gift for the baby.  Here is what we made! 

     We got into my stash of flannel fabric and found an adorable elephant print and a chevron stripe that coordinated with it.  We wanted to make a receiving blanket with a matching burp cloth.  My granddaughter loves elephants, so it was the perfect choice.  Here are some other choices you might love:

...And don't forget a solid or coordinating stripe or print for the back of the receiving blanket ! 

REMINDER:  Be sure to prewash and preshrink your fabric before sewing your items.  Flannel is notorious for shrinking and getting a little misshapen and you want that to happen before you cut it out and sew it together.  Plus, you will want nice clean fabric to give as a gift to a baby! 
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To Make The Blanket, we used a little over a yard to cut matching sized squares of the main color fabric,  (the elephants) and the backing fabric, (the stripe). 

• Placing the fabric wrong sides together, we pinned the pieces together matching the raw edges.  
• Using white embroidery floss, we tied the fabric together in about 5 inch intervals from top to bottom, left to right. 

     The burp cloth was made much like the blanket only on a smaller scale.  But, instead of tying the fabric together, we simply sewed them right sides together and flipped them right side out before finishing the edge the rest of the way and top stitching around. 
      The burp cloth fabric measures about 8 inches wide and about 18 inches long.  You can adjust these measurements according to how much fabric you have and the way it lays on your shoulder.  Burp cloths are very forgiving and can be sized according to your personal preference.  6 inches by 12 inches could also work! 
     I like to make the burp cloth with double flannel fabric to help it be nice an absorbent.  It can't be simply cute, it has to be functional!  I may have added, (I can't remember), and extra layer of flannel on the inside of the burp cloth just to give it more thickness and absorbency. 

The Stuffed Elephant:  We used Simplicity Pattern 2613 to sew the elephant from gray fleece. 

     The pattern was so simple to make that my granddaughter did most of the sewing by herself and she is an age 13 beginner!  I was very proud of her.  That girl has no fear of trying new things! 
​     We didn't want the eyes to be able to be pulled off and choked on by the baby, so we embroidered them on with embroidery floss.  Then, we used some of the left over fabric from the blanket to make a bow for his neck.  We loved how it turned out! As the baby gets older, I'm sure that he will love it as well! 

      There is something especially special about handmade baby gifts,  I think.  These little works of art can become heirlooms one day, or a cherished blanket that the child adores.  Not only are handmade gifts nice and helpful for mom and baby, I know that my granddaughter felt a lot of pride and happiness, a sense of accomplishment from making it for them.  When I came home from my trip, she asked me if it was appreciated.  I know it was and will continue to be loved by her aunt and cousin.  I hope you will have reasons to give these special gift ideas a try. 

• An Easy 9 Patch Baby Quilt
• An adorable Baby Gift to Make
• A Baby Quilt finished! 

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     I've been crocheting a lot since before Christmas.  I latch onto a project and make a million of that item for everyone and then I find something else to make and the pattern continues.  I guess I am channeling my mom who did knitting and crocheting throughout her life.  
     My most recent addiction has been to crochet diagonal double thick pot holders.  I made them for all of my girls for Valentine's Day in different.  They are so simple to make, made in a inexpensive cotton yarn, they are simply single crochet that you do in the round around the original chain.  Here is a great pattern to follow.  As I was making these beauties, I started using two yarns to make stripes and designs and also to use up small bits of yarn, creating new designs.  I had a little bit of variegated black and white yarn that I wanted to use up.  My girl, Charly, has a lot of marble in her kitchen and I wondered if I could create something that would coordinate with her pallet.  She liked it!  
    

    I had to buy more yarn to try to recreate the look.  The yarn wasn't the same as I had used for hers, but I think it still looks good with the marble.  I tried to start and stop randomly after a few rows of white, adding the black variegated yarn as I went along.  I wanted the affect that marble has with thinner then a few thick places of the veins of dark color.  Or, just a simple striped pattern would work fine I think.  Just choose a main body color and then add stripes of a thinner accent. 
     Of course, I couldn't stop there.  While shopping for yarn, I saw the scrubby yarn in the same black and white pattern.  I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to make a matching set of kitchen item?"  
​I had never worked with the scrubby yarn before, so fair warning, it is hard to see your stitches!  Use really good lighting! 

      For this scrubby, you need to crochet 2 sides of the circle.  One side will be with the scrubby yarn and one will be with coordinating cotton yarn.  The pattern will be the same for each. 
Chain 3 then connect the ends together with a slip stitch, forming a circle.
Chain 3 and then Double crochet 9 times into the circle.  Join to the top of the chain 3 with a slip stitch.
Chain 3 then double crochet twice in each stitch around.  Join with a slip stitch into the chain 3 again.
Chain 3 then double crochet in the stitch right next to the chain 3.  In the next stitch, * double crochet twice, in the next stitch double crochet once. Continue alternating from the * back to the chain 3.  Join with a slip stitch and you are finished! 

After you have two circles completed, put them wrong sides together and join them either with a single crochet around using the scrubby yarn, or stitch with a needle and the cotton yarn, your choice. 
There you have it!  A cute pot scrubby!   
*NOTE- You can make your circle a little bigger if you would like a larger scrubby.  
                    The nice thing is that these are machine washable.
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      Well I couldn't stop there!  I had to make a dishcloth as well! 

     This is simply single crochet like the pot holder.  I chained 36 and then crocheted in the back loop only to get the ridge effect.  I added the dark yarn in 2 rows after a wider band of white.  

      A wonderful thing about these projects is that they make up so quickly!  I love to work on them while watching TV in the evening.  I can get an entire set finished in 2 evenings! 

      So many people are getting marble or Quartz countertops today that I thought that this set would make a great little gift for a bridal shower, house warming gift or just because.  

You could even make a dish towel if you would like, or trim one with a bit of crochet.  
​Let me know if you give any of these patterns a try! 

      After babying and protecting and watering and cutting back and fertilizing my strawberry patch over the last 3 years, this year it is starting to produce like crazy!  I am in heaven over it! 

    I've made us Strawberry Shortcake and used them in smoothies, but now I am wanting to be able to preserve some.  I've frozen berries in the past, I do not like the result of simply canning them in simple syrup, and I have plenty of ​Strawberry Jam in my cupboard. Then, I saw an idea for making Strawberry Pie Filling and I realized that would be the perfect way to preserve some of these beauties! 

     Today I had enough strawberries to measure 8 cups of sliced strawberries.  I wondered if that would be enough to give me at least 2 quarts of pie filling.  I remembered that I did have some frozen strawberries still in the freezer.  My mind started working and I came up with a process that has worked very successfully, tastes so good and is beautiful in the jar! I'm going to share that process with you today.