Happy 37 th !

Today marks my parent's 37th wedding anniversary! They are the two most loving, generous, caring people I know, and boy are they the BEST example of a beautiful marriage! Mom and Dad, I love you and James, Jordan, Brent and I THANK YOU.

I thought it only appropriate for me to share with you a few photos of the desserts I made them LAST year for their anniversary... one is season appropriate and the other is not, so I may just share the recipe for one. (although, gosh I didn't write anything down, maybe I'll just give you general guidelines) ;)

 Dark chocolate ganache cake and Lemon chiffon cake with lemon lime glaze... they were simply 'to die for.'

Hands down, in my opinion, the lemon chiffon cake drizzled in zesty citrus glaze took the award that night. And like I said, this one is much more season appropriate so let's go with it.

I made these personal sized desserts here so if the measurements sound small, that's why.

For the cake:

• 1 Tablespoon plus an extra teaspoon softened butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 Tablespoon plus an extra teaspoon sour cream
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest (depending on how lemony you think you'll prefer it)

Preheat your oven to 325 and grease and lightly flour two miniature loaf pans. (I wanted to make it look fancier by stacking two layers instead of one bigger piece of cake) Cream together the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Mix together your dry ingredients in a separate, little bowl then add them to the creamed mixture and stir. Now add in the sour cream and lemon zest, mix well and pour into the two prepared loaf pans. Bake for about 30 minutes, but watch them... because they're small, they can burn easily if forgotten about! When your knife or toothpick comes out clean, they're done! Let cool for about 5-10 minutes before loosening the cake from the edges with a butter knife. Then flop them out upside down and let cool. Hard part is done! On to the chiffon frosting and glaze!

The white "frosting" was simple. Mix together a smallish amount of softened butter, powdered sugar and a tiny dash of vanilla extract until creamy and irresistible. (don't make this too fluffy, otherwise you'll lose the "poured- on look" affect)

Now for the lemon lime glaze! Start by making a simple syrup over the stove, equal parts hot water and sugar. Once it's come to a boil, throw in some fresh lemon and lime zest, about a teaspoon each. Let that mixture boil for only 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and let rest until it starts to get thickened when stirred with a wooden spoon. Once its cool enough that you could handle it in a glass jar or other container, pour the mixture through a strainer to catch some of that zest. (but not all of it, the zest is such pretty, natural decoration for the little cake!)

Now assemble! Get out a pretty tea plate and lightly frost between the two cake rectangles with the white chiffon frosting. Next, slowly pour/ drizzle the chiffon frosting all over the top of the cake, making a blanket like covering. It's okay to let some pool on the plate, makes for better presentation! ;) Then, when the glaze is cooled enough to get a spoonful, but still drippy enough to slip right off, drizzle the glaze all over the top and zest a little more lime and lemon for garnishing. Ta da! Welcome to lemon heaven.

And one more thing... considering the season and the wondrous rain we're all getting, thanks to springtime freshness, I just wanted to remind you all to shop at your local farmer's markets! (not The Farmer's Market, your actual farmer's markets) Look at some of my gorgeous finds and get inspired to go yourself!

Here's a quick idea for your fresh basil you found at your farmer's market! I call it the Farmer's Market Spritzer:

Put a generous amount of crushed ice in your prettiest of glasses. Crush in some fresh basil leaves with a knife or stir stick. Pour in some tasty whiskey, just to make a nice bottom layer. Squeeze in the juice from half your lemon. Fill to the top with Bundaberg ginger beer, and spritz a little more fresh lemon juice on top! Garnish with a whole basil leaf and enjoy! Not into drinking alcohol in the middle of the day? Whatever suits your fancy... trade out the whisky for a little of this zingy orange or lemon San Pellegrino!

And there you have the refreshing and light Farmer's Market Spritzer...

Have a beautiful Spring day everybody! Lots of love!

xox