Last night was a lot of fun at my house; especially in my kitchen.  I put together a Mother’s Day Family Tree and a delicious Mother’s Day Lemon Blueberry Cake.

 LET THE CAKE BAKING BEGIN

GETTING A FEW THINGS READY AHEAD OF TIME

I’m getting ready for Mother’s Day; just a simple after-church lunch/tea with my Mom and husband (my brother told me he couldn’t make it) and a few possible visits from some of our four grown children, their spouses and the grands in the afternoon. 

A FEW HANDY BAKING TIPS:

I’ve been really busy gathering the things for Mom and the luncheon; and as of this moment I have completed baking the lemon/blueberry cake ahead of time.  

The cake  now rests safely inside my freezer.  Did you know that homemade cakes ice much better when they have been frozen first?

I’ve also discovered that there is something magical that happens to the taste buds when the cake has been frozen before it is iced.  Go figure!  All I can tell you is that it works.  I’m not real sure of the scientific explanation.  The pre-frozen cakes always taste especially fresh and moist; as if they just came out of the oven, only cooler.  It never taste dried out or overcooked.

Another little “tip” is to throw a couple of extra lightly beaten eggs and a small box of white cake mix into the mix along with the rest of the recipe.  This just makes the cake rise better and higher and it keeps the layers from sinking in or cracking as they are cooling off in the baking pans.  

I LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER

This little heart-shaped cake did just what I wanted it to do; thanks to those little extra tips.  

It came out pretty and fluffy and extra fresh and delicious.

 

Just to be safe; I made an extra  little loaf cake for my husband so he would not be tempted to sneak a few pinches from the heart-shaped one I’m going to serve on Sunday.  (He has been known to do that in the past!)

WHATEVER IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE:

You know I DID cook the loaf cake JUST for my husband to snack on for the next few days; but I didn’t think he would mind if I took a little to the office.  I’m also really glad it wasn’t iced yet; that might have been detrimental to my diet.

Here are some scenes from the whole happy mess in the kitchen.

I’ll ice the cake on Sunday morning and hopefully have time to take a photo of the finished product to share in the June Newsletter.  

MAKING THE MOTHER’S DAY FAMILY TREE FOR MY KITCHEN 

 What I’m really excited about RIGHT NOW though is how CUTE my little family tree turned out for decorating the kitchen!

 I printed some black and white photos of our family’s Moms-in-action and pinned them on the tree using some pretty pink flags for backdrops.   Very easy and simple; but so novel and fun.

PICKING OUT THE PHOTOS TO USE WAS A HARD DECISION

When it came time to choose, I had gathered so many great photos of our Moms that I could not decide on which photos to leave out!  I only had eleven pink flags.  Finally; I decided to scatter the rest of the photos among the flowers on the table under the tree.  

I love how it all worked out.

ANOTHER STEP TO MAKE A GOOD IDEA GO EVEN FURTHER 

I’m planning to buy a little pink photo album and give it to my Mom when she sees the tree.  Then I will let her take home all the photos on the tree for her little pink book. 

(I’ll probably make her wait a few days to collect them though; because I’m LOVING how happy this tree makes me feel while I’m busy working in the kitchen.)

Seeing so many beautiful, loving, Mothers smiling in the room where I’m cooking our meals just makes this chore seem a whole lot easier.    

 I know I promised to post some recipes and my menu for a Mother’s Day Luncheon/Tea; but I don’t want to give you Mother’s Day overload!  

This will be something to look forward to tomorrow.  Yes; I promise the Lemon-Blueberry Cake recipe will be included along with the others.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!