Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake Squares (Gluten-Free)

If I had a Great Aunt Mabel, I am certain

I would have grown up eating these cake squares at

her kitchen table, with a chilled glass of milk straight from the

ice-box and Frank Sinatra or Judy Garland singing away in the background.

Well, I don't have a Great Aunt Mabel...but

I have several old recipe boxes spilling over with

recipes from Grandmothers and Great-Grandmothers....

recipes that can easily be converted 

to Gluten-Free goodies.

This particular recipe has been adapted from an old McCall's Magazine

yellow cake recipe folded and creased and covered with love.

I used Cup4Cup as a cup for cup flour replacement; however, you can 

use whatever gluten free flour

blend you are accustomed to using.

(Of course, regular white flour also works if you are not on a restricted diet).

I make the cake in a 9 x 12 brownie/cake pan,

let cool 'til firm,

cut into squares, arrange on a platter, and 

then drip the amazing caramel icing over the individual cake squares.

Simply Divine.

(Adjust the amount of liquid in your icing to fit the consistency you enjoy...less

liquid allows for spreading, more liquid allows for drizzling....with leftovers for 

"tast-testing" of course.)

Cake:

2- 2/3 c  Cup4Cup flour 

1/2 t  salt

2-1/4 t  baking powder

1 c (2 sticks )  Unsalted Butter (I love Cabot's) softened

2 cups  superfine sugar 

4 large eggs (separate ahead of time)

1-1/2 t  pure vanilla extract (I have also made with almond extract or orange extract with orange frosting)

1 cup milk (I use whole milk)

Caramel Icing:

1- 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

3 T unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

Dash of Salt (no more than 1/8 t)

1/2 t pure vanilla extract

1 c confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

(I like to sift first to avoid lumps)

Preheat oven to 350˚

grease 9 x 12 pan and dust with rice flour or Cup4Cup

Cake Recipe:

Sift Cup4Cup, baking powder and salt over a bowl. Set to the side.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter. Gradually add sugar, continue mixing until fluffy.

Slowly add egg yolks. Beat well after each.

Add vanilla.

Mix in dry flour mixture a little at a time.

Mix in milk.

Using a hand-mixer, or a whisk, beat the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form.

Fold into batter with a rubber spatula. Do not mix.

Pour mixture into greased, floured pan.

Cook 35-45 minutes (depending on pan type), until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool for 15-20 minutes or until cutting becomes easy.

Place squares on tray or on individual serving plates.

Icing:

Over medium -low heat, stir together brown sugar, butter, salt, and cream in a sturdy medium-sized pan.

Heat until just boiling, stirring constantly.

Shut off heat. Add vanilla and confectioner's sugar. Whisk until smooth. 

For a glazed look, immediately spoon over cake squares.

Enjoy!

Color 《 couleur 》

Have

you ever been captivated,

body and soul,

by a scent, a dream, a touch?

Source

Have you ever been

drawn to a color…

Source

 …a color that

wraps its way into

your blood vessels…your very being?

Source

A color so subtle….

Source

…yet so memorable…

 

Source

…as pure as the clearest ocean…

Source

…as thought-evoking as the first blue sky of springtime….

Source

A color that forces you to be an adult…

Source

 …yet brings out the child in you every time.

The French

not only have a way with words, and fashion, and art,

they have found a way to

capture our spirit…

 

Source

 ….surrounding us with mystery, allure, and pure beauty.

French Blue….

Need I say more?

Source

I am participating in:

Link here

Brave

Sometimes in life we find

someone who inspires. 

Someone who fights 

through hardship with

grace and hope.

Someone who

takes what

she has been dealt, and

tries to help others

to understand, instead

of carrying self-pity or anger.

Our 9 year old is that person.

She has dealt with

Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome

since birth.

Violent vomiting

followed by days of life-altering vertigo.

She pushes through an 

episode every 80 days or so.

(We made it to 79 this time)

Then she picks up where

she left off....

...showing us all that

we need to embrace the

good times,

celebrate them.

She also deals

with her 

diagnosis of Celiac Disease

(unrelated to the CVS)

in such a mature manner.

Yesterday,

Mother's Day,

we went to watch a Mother's Day 5k

near our house.

This is C after 1 hour of sleep.

She is the one who encouraged us to go

to cheer on our friends.

Sit home and feel sorry? No way.

Rest? Not a chance!

Last night was another round.

Today she is

home from school resting, (as am I),

but it won't hold her back.

She has life to live.

She has people to inspire.

She is so brave.

Almost

Almost. Soon. Any day now.

These are the words I have been hearing and

speaking for the past few weeks.

The Asiatic lilies will soon 

bud up in splendid reds and oranges...

The Lilacs are almost ready to open their vibrant purple buds...

The Maples will soon drop seeds from their chartreuse leaves...

The flock of ferns will soon unfurl and fill in this empty space...

The regal Daisies are bound to have snowy blossoms before you know it!

The Phlox is looking good!

Hopefully the butterflies will return to

its vibrant flowers.

The Limelight Hydrangea

is poking along....preparing

to shine

its glory upon our shade garden.

The raspberry canes

have been trimmed and are flourishing...bringing forth thoughts

of morning picked berries folded into fresh

whipped cream.

The Lupine is reaching for the sun,

ready to give us a pastel display that Monet would have yearned for....

The newly planted khol rabi

seems content in its new home....

The grass, in need of a mow,

announces its arrival in inches....

(and a broken tractor)

A few found turkey feathers

decorate a garden post....

a reminder that the babies will soon be

parading through

the yard.

The lavender

is slow to wake...after spending

much of the winter

blanketed in snow...

The Robins

are nesting

on their pale blue eggs,

bringing new life to the season....

Only a nature walk like this could

cause me to change my perspective.

"Perhaps," I now think, 

"Almost is Now."

I often find I am looking forward to what is to come:

spring, the garden, the flowers, summer vacation, the weekend, dinnertime.

When in reality, the moment is what has me enthralled, has me captivated,

pulls me by the hand. 

Emerson says it best:

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” 

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Live for today. Enjoy the little moments.

❀❀❀

Mom

I have decided to help all of you out with

what to buy mom for Mother's Day this year.

But, I am going to approach it

in a very selfish manner.

I am going to share selections based on things I love.

After all, I'm a mom,

I love gifts.

It works.

Love this sign.

K and I are are both teachers, so this is our mantra!

Visit Stacy's shop, InMind4U

48.00

Absolutely adore Hoop Art.

So rustic, so in touch with nature.

Carolyn Manning at fuzzystitches

is so talented!

I need to learn to stitch!

10.00

Donkey Studio

offers this antique

tin hand-painted wall plate.

I am hooked on birds.

Obsessed actually.

Have been since I was a little girl.

23.98 USD

(This shop is in England)

Ok, so we are moving fast from

small, sweet, homemade gifts to

a miniature home.

But I can explain.

This shed, by Cape Cod Sheds, could house a myriad 

of tasks.  I could craft in it. Write in it. Dream in it.

We could use it to dry lavender and garlic.

(I mean you could...or your mom...wink wink)

Cost: Hmmmmm...not sure...

probably out of my budget....but maybe not out of yours!

Your mom, wife, sister would love this!

I am in love with these bands!

And so would any mom.

Hand-stamped by Cinnamonsticks,

personalize

with 

your kiddos names...or mom, dad and the kids....

so many options!

18.00 per band

J. Crew Classic Flip Flops

My go to every summer forever.

Comfy, stylish, perfect with

jeans, shorts, skirts, swimwear.

26.50

A funny movie is always a good gift.

Something's Gotta Give

is one of my favorites.

I actually managed to watch almost the whole movie 

one afternoon when K took the kids on some errands. Of course, when they pulled back

into the driveway, Diane Keaton was buck naked.

Another unfinished movie.

Usually I fall asleep before the end.

So maybe the movie, and

time to watch it would make a great gift.

Of course, I would take Diane Keaton's entire wardrobe from this movie as well.

Or at least one of her white turtlenecks, or the cardigan from the beach scene.

I'm just sayin'....

Check On Demand

Another personal favorite

(shocker)

is comfy bedding.

Bedding that makes you want to stay in bed all day.

(or go to bed really early).

These pretty embroidered hem pink pillowcases

are from Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic Couture.

Rachel knows how to do it right.

I have worshipped her shabby chic style for many years.

Pair 109.99

So there you have it,

my top picks for Mother's Day 2013.

I hope I have helped you with your shopping...or have helped you add a few things to your list !

Rustic

 We have had several inquiries about

our rustic fence, so I thought

 I would share a

 bit about

the fence-making process.

Last spring,

we gathered vines

from the woods.

We call them "Tarzan Vines". 

They were quite thick, and

most had to be cut with a hand-saw.

After we had a good selection, we laid them

out across the lawn.  K had already

placed the posts in the ground.

The posts were trees from

the woods. A post hole digger, 

(and some serious muscle), 

was used to 

put the posts down about

three feet (or whenever we hit a rock).

We laid out string as a guide

for the height and width of the fence,

and tried to stay within

the string, or a little above or below.

We worked as a team,

one of us holding the vine, the other checking 

to see if it fit aesthetically.  If it didn't, we tried another until we were

happy with the look.

Then we used 3 inch deck screws to fasten

the twisted vines to the posts.

K also built an arbor with small tree branches from the woods.

We decided to use the vines on the front of the garden, 

and wrap mesh deer fencing around the rest.

(The mesh fencing doesn't

even show from the street.)

This was an early spring photo.

We were still working on the garden.

We had also planted

a row of perennials

along the inside of the fence.

We used leftover vines as tomato

cages for the volunteer cherry tomatoes from the previous year.

They produced amazing amounts of tomatoes.

Here is a view from the hill.

We had a terrible drought last summer.

This was late summer...we had finally had some rain and

the grass was starting to green up again.

(This is also the view the street.)

We were very pleased with the results, 

and look forward to sharing photos

from this year's garden!

(The photo below was taken

last weekend from our

front door.)

Have you built any garden elements

from nature?

Please share!