Mocha Torte

Hello, friends! It's February & love is in the air! 

Are you planning a special meal with your sweetheart on Valentine's Day? 

Or are you making a delicious dessert for your family?

Yes...but you don't know what?

Then say hello to my little friend, The Mocha Torte...

Seriously, what says Valentine's Day dessert more than chocolate & red berries? Um... nothing comes to mind. :)

This cake is a chocolately, creamy, coffee concoction of yumminess.

Mocha Torte

cake:

1 - 6 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup margarine or butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk

1) Preheat oven to 350º F.

2) Combine chocolate chips & water in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 45 seconds. Remove from microwave & stir until smooth. 

3) Cream margarine & sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla & melted chocolate. 

4) Sift flour, baking soda, & salt. Add to the chocolate mixture alternately with milk. 

5) Turn batter into 2 - 8 inch round cake pans greased & lined with a circle of waxed paper. Bake at 350º F for 25-30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes & turn out on wire racks. Cool completely. With serrated knife, split each layer in half to make 4 layers. 

mocha cream:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 Tbsp. hot water

2 tsp. instant coffee powder

1/4 cup sugar

250 ml. whipping cream

Combine first 4 ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave & stir until smooth; cool. 

Whip cream until it starts to thicken; add chocolate mixture & whip until stiff. Spread between layers & on top of torte. Chill at least one hour. Sprinkle shaved chocolate over top.

tip: I threw a handful of chocolate chips into my mini food processor & pulsed several times to make the shaved chocolate.

another tip: Before placing the cake on your serving dish, place some strips of waxed paper around the edges. They will catch the crumbs or cream while you're assembling your cake. When you're done, simply pull out the strips gently. 

Make sure to share some with your Valentine! ;)

Thank you for reading & a HUGE WELCOME to all my new readers & friends!!!

Enjoy your day!

Valentine's Vignette

I have to tell you that I don't usually do any decorating for Valentine's Day. 

But this year I was feeling pretty inspired by all the pretty mantels I've been seeing. 

Small problem. I don't have a mantel. 

Bah! That can't stop me!

So I started looking around our house. When I got to the piano, I stopped. It's deeper than a mantel top, but our antique piano has plenty of space to do a vignette. 

Off I went.

Another problem. After looking around, I found almost nothing to use for my desired Valentine vignette. I had red books, a pink candle, & the felt "Love" sign I had purchased at a dollar store a couple of years ago.

I didn't want to spend a lot of money on this display since it's not up for very long, so I started to create. 

I went & bought some bulk Valentine candy & displayed them in clear jars.

The button stash came out & I made a little button heart, mounted it on some pink fabric, & displayed it in an embroidery hoop.

This old frame was hiding out under our guest bed. 

I painted it white with some craft paint to go with the Valentine theme.

This paper heart garland was so easy to make! Paper, a paper cutter, & a stapler is all you need! 

The idea came from The Wedding Chick's blog. Check out the link for the measurements & photo instructions.

My daughter is thrilled with this garland & is begging to have it in her room after Valentine's Day. :)

 So... do you decorate for Valentine's Day? Do you decorate differently each year or the same each year?

Love day is getting ever closer! But hey, don't wait... share some love today!

Enjoy your day!

This project was featured on:

Boy's Bedroom Inspiration

  If you've had a look through my Grand Tour Page, you'll have seen most of the rooms in our house. There are a few I haven't blogged about though. Mostly because I'm not 100% satisfied with the results of a couple of the rooms. One of those rooms is my son's bedroom. Last summer, we gave his room a fresh coat of paint & he was blessed with a cool loft bed. It's a start.

  But I've at last come up with a plan. Here it is!

 I'm wanting to repaint his old dresser into something like this, using the numbers of his birthdate:

Via

Create some wall art like this... using his name & maybe some of his interests:

Via

He needs some cushions for his reading chair as well. I'm looking at creating some like this. Maybe one with a letter & one with a number? 

Via

  Now that I have some kind of a plan, I feel like I can tackle this room. Here we go!

Enjoy your day!

Crab Salad in Endive Leaves

Have you ever invited friends over & needed something quick to whip together for a snack or an appetizer?

 Something other than a bag of chips?

Pretty much everyone has, right?  

This recipe is so fast, easy, & delicious that I think it has officially become my favourite appetizer. 

Crab Salad in Endive Leaves

serves 8

dressing:

1/4 cup white vinegar 

2 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. (450g) fresh lump crabmeat

1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

3 heads Belgian endive, trimmed & leaves separated 

Fresh chives

1) Whisk together dressing ingredients. Add crabmeat & bell peppers, tossing gently to combine. 

2) Stuff endive leaves with crab leaves. Arrange on a platter. Garnish with fresh chives.

Could it get any easier?? :)

What are your weekend plans? Are you having friends over? I hope you enjoy this if you try it!

Enjoy your weekend!

"Guess Hoo Loves You" Valentine Bag & Card

  

Guess hoo loves you? Me!! :) 

  It's been a while since I've made any papercrafts. I'm so happy to bring them back! 

If you know me, you know I have a crush on owls. So any excuse to make something owl-icious... I'm in!

I started with my Cricut & the Hoot 'n' Holler cartridge.

All these pieces were cut of with this cartridge 

(except the bag - those were purchased from the craft aisle at Wal-Mart).

The card was very simple. Just a sweet owl & a sentiment. 

Together they make a cute little owl duet. Happiness!

Enjoy your day! Thanks for reading, my friends!

This project was featured on: