Sweet Potato Bourbon Cake

[colls]

My mother lives 2 hr away from me, but since last year we've been in a quasi-bubble and see each other every month or so. For her birthday, I wanted to visit and bring her a homemade cake. She asked for a sweet potato cake like the one found in The Victory Garden Cookbook (which is one of her favorite cookbooks).


( Sweet Potato-Bourbon Cake )

The result was a very dense and flavorful cake, which both my mom and I liked. I would definitely make again. I would add a bit more whisky and fiddle with the spices a bit (but the flavor was very good as is) and would like to try the frosting from the linked recipe at some point.
I don't have a picture because I forgot to take one once I'd gotten it to her house and assembled/frosted it. My frosting skills aren't all that artistic anyway and my mom is worse! but it tasted good - and that's what counted! :)

Swiss Walnut Cracker Snack

[fuzzyred]

Since I saw my grandma and dad for Super Bowl Sunday, I thought it would be a good time to make the Swiss Walnut Cracker Snack from the Tasteofhome Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2010 cookbook.

( recipe )

Thoughts and Variations
I used mozarella cheese because I couldn't find swiss in the store (again) and I forewent the parsley because I would have had a ton left over that probably would have gone in the garbage. When I started making the recipe, I realized I didn't have enough sour cream, so I think initially there was only about a quarter cup in there. When I got to my grandma's she tasted it and said it was kind of thick and after I explained about the lack, we added more sour cream. Two heaping spoonfuls, so maybe it was a half cup total, or a bit more? Then my gram thought it was missing something so she added a scoop of Miracle whip and seemed pleased with it. I think what it was lacking was a sharpness or some acidity, based on the ingredients in Miracle whip, though I don't yet have my grandma's skill for knowing what is missing and what to add.

Overall it tasted pretty good and works as a quick snack when you need a dip type thing. I was tasting mostly the cream cheese and sour cream though, so maybe next time I'd leave the walnuts bigger?

Cappuccino nanaimo bars

[yuuago]

I've never made nanaimo bars (though I love eating them). When this recipe floated across my tumblr dash a few months ago, I decided I wanted to give it a go eventually: Cappuccino Nanaimo Bars via Rock Recipes.

( Recipe under cut )

I made it in a 9x13 using the author's suggested adjustment, because I wanted something that wouldn't be as thick as a standard bar. That worked out well. Definitely would do that again.

Not sold on the cappuccino-flavoured filling; it sounded delicious, but alas, wasn't quite as nice as my dreams. Probably will make it plain vanilla next time. But at least my curiosity is satisfied now. ;)