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SOLD OUT on QVC!

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Good News!  In case you missed the opportunity to buy books from QVC, it looks like they have received new stock!  Once on the QVC site, search for Delicious Bundt Cakes and it should take you to the ordering information!  Thanks so much!!!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Our hearts are overjoyed and we are totally “over the moon.” It is so humbling to go on QVC and share our cookbooks with the world. We truly love writing the books and sharing our recipes with you.

Then, suddenly, David Venable of QVC has our books in his hands and is tasting our cakes.

Then, OMG, he says the books are gone—totally sold out. Can you tell we are surprised? It is such an amazing experience and we are humbled beyond words. We are very grateful to each and everyone one of you and we cannot thank you enough.

Yes, QVC is exciting!  Here are some peaks behind the scenes!  Everyone there is so nice, and yes, it is a busy place!

The QVC culinary team is wonderful! The cakes are real and looked (and smelled) wonderful.

It takes a team to get to that QVC segment, not to mention bring a cookbook to market. Our editor, publicist, the entire team at St. Martin’s, the cookbook photographer and the cookbook food stylist are all amazing! Our agents, Sally and Lisa Ekus are the hardest working and best team (and friends) anyone can have.

What a team! But it would not be complete without each and every one of you. If you were our neighbors, we would bake a cake (of course, a Poke Cake or Bundt Cake) to celebrate with you! Thank you so much!

In case you missed the QVC segment, take a look.

Are you ready to enjoy a slice of a Delicious Poke Cake or Delicious Bundt Cake? David Venable is known for his “Happy Dance” when he likes what he is tasting. Let us know if you are doing a “Happy Dance.”

French Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze

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Where, or where, is Spring? In our part of the world, we had snow flurries last weekend, yet now a sunny 70 degree day is predicted for later this week. What crazy weather.

Spring cooking is always different than what I fix on a cold, stormy night. I am eager to visit the farmer’s market, to toss a big fresh salad, to smell the fresh herbs, pick strawberries and to fire up the grill. Are you with me?

I had the wonderful pleasure of going to France with Roxanne and her cookbook club a few years ago—and we traveled there in the spring. That meant time and laughter with other gals as passionate about food as I am. It also meant lots of markets lined the cobblestone streets and carts were overladen with fresh fruit, herbs, lettuce and salad greens and cheese. I am craving that. What fun it was to browse through the freshest ingredients ever and cook those same delicious ingredients for dinner that night at the chateau.

Reality check. A trip to France to explore the local markets isn’t happening anytime soon for me. Even picking fresh herbs from my own garden seems like a pipe dream this spring. So, what’s the next best thing? I zest a lemon as it tastes so fresh and “spring-like” and I turn to recipes inspired by the French.

I know if you say the words French and cooking in the same sentence, you instantly think “hard” or maybe “time consuming.” Strike those crazy thoughts! This French Lemon Cake is ideal this time of year and the best news ever, it is easy as you bake it in your slow cooker. The recipe is in our book, Slow Cooker Desserts, Oh So Easy, Oh So Delicious and baking in your slow cooker is always moist, easy and packed with flavor.

And French cooking is delicious and can be easy. Don’t believe us? We are teaching a class on French spring cooking at The Olive Tree in Overland Park and the recipes really are delicious and incredibly easy. Sign up quick—as our classes keep selling out. (At A Thyme for Everything in Lee’s Summit, we will be teaching a class on electric pressure cookers on April 17—but sorry, that is sold out, then will get out our cast iron skillets again and fry chicken in a class on May 22, but don’t delay, don’t even blink, for that class sells out the minute we post it.)

Easy, fresh and wonderful. Now, say, Bon Appetit with me, pick up that fork and savor a bite. Spring will be here soon.

French Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
½ cup sour cream
Zest from one lemon
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze:
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ cup confectioners’ sugar

Butter a 7-inch springform pan and set aside. Crumple a sheet of aluminum foil, about 24-inches long, into a thin strip, then form into a 7-inch ring. Place the aluminum foil ring in the bottom of a large (5-quarts or larger) round or oval slow cooker.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

Beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the sour cream and blend well.

Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beating until blended well. Beat in the lemon zest, juice and vanilla.

Pour the batter into the springform pan. Place the springform pan on the aluminum foil ring in the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and bake on High for 3 to 4 hours or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove outer ring and allow cake to cool completely.

Glaze: Prepare the glaze by whisking together lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Pour over the cooled cake.

Makes 1 (7-inch) round cake.

Tip: Lemon zest is easy to grate using a Microplane® grater. Remember that the wonderful, intense lemon flavor you want is in the colored portion, but the white is bitter.

 

Delicious Poke Cakes

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It is here! Pop the Champagne and shout with joy! Delicious Poke Cakes is available now! We want to celebrate every test, taste and word—and share our gratitude for the people who helped us through the tasty journey.

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What’s ahead in 2017? The Recipe Request Hot Line is Now Open!

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Happy New Year! There is something invigorating about that pristine calendar. Nothing crossed off yet.  Clean, white pages just waiting!

Holidays are already printed there! Then, do you first put the fun trips and family events that will make the New Year wonderful? What is already written on yours?

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