Bake Sale Recap/ Port City Java- Eastern Market, DC

Yesterday was my 1st time at Eastern Market.

Other then it being super windy, it was a nice day to walk around, check out the vendors, sell baked goods and sip on some coffee.

The night before I made 3 different kinds of pound cake for the sale using the original Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe as my starting point. I made: Almond with Kahlua Glaze, Lemon & Poppy Seed with Lemon Glaze and Chocolate Chip with Peanut Butter Glaze.

Look at our little table! Earlier in the day the treats filled the underside of the table too. We raised over $600 for Share Our Strength, yey! Nationwide, all of the bake sales collectively raised over $16,500. Thank you everyone that came out and supported! It was a fun time meeting other bloggers and yelling out "Bake Sale" for a couple hours, haha.

Before my bake sale shift, I stopped by Port City Java on the corner to help wake me up. It's a tiny coffee shop that has a couch and a lot of outdoor seating.

I ordered a grande 'Iced Vanilla Coffee' for $2.92. Refreshing and I didn't have to add any sugar to it.

There were so many people and cute doggies that day. I'll definitely come back with mine whenever the weather is nice.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This Saturday is the DC Blogger Bake Sale! I decided to try something I've never made before: Pound Cake. This was my 1st test trial before actually baking up a storm tomorrow night. The recipe from Smitten Kitchen (loveeee this blog), has an amazing flavor and crispy crust that I've never seen with store-bought pound cake. I also tried making a lemon version (not pictured) by replacing the almond extract with lemon extract.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 package (8 ounces) Philadelphia brand cream cheese*, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract plus 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons vanilla but I liked this mix better)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
* Philadelphia cream cheese is often recommended for baking for consistency purposes, as in, bakers know this brand works, and because it contains less water than other brands.

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a 10-inch tube pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Alternately, you can use a 12-cup bundt pan, and simply butter and flour it.

2. Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth.

3. Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, at least five minutes.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla, almond, then the flour and salt all at once. Beat just until incorporated.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake lightly to even out the top. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 1 1/4 hours.

6. Place the pan on a cake rack and cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely. Serve at room temperature. Why did my cake rise so much?

Then I made a glaze to pour on top of the cake:

Kahlua Glaze

2 tbsp melted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Kahlua

Place sifted powdered sugar in a medium size bowl. Add melted butter, milk, vanilla & Kahlua to powdered sugar. Stir until smooth. Add more milk if necessary. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Ta da! It's a very easy and yummy recipe. Not overly sweet but full of flavor. It's quite addictive, and the bf loved it.

DC Food Blogger Bake Sale REMINDER

This Saturday April 17th, 2010, The Great American Bake Sale will feature food bloggers from all over the US selling yummy baked goods/desserts in their hometowns to help benefit Share Our Strength's efforts to end childhood hunger.

DC will be participating from 9am to 12:30pm at the farmers market at Eastern Market (7th Street & North Carolina Avenue, SE). Come on by and support this great cause! 

My girls Sqrl from Squirrels and Sweets and Maiya from Beans Rice Life will participate with me and we'll be manning the table starting at 10:30am. Come visit! Rain or Shine! 

DC Food Bloggers Bake Sale: April 17, 2010

On April 17th, 2010, The Great American Bake Sale will feature food bloggers from all over the US selling yummy baked goods/desserts in their hometowns to help benefit Share Our Strength's efforts to end childhood hunger. From their website:

The reality is that nearly 17 million children in America—that’s almost one in four—face hunger.

DC will be participating from 9am to Noon at the farmers market at Eastern Market (7th Street & North Carolina Avenue, SE). Come on by and support this great cause!

If you'd like to participate in the DC area, join our team! You can also make a donation. 100% of the proceeds goes towards the cause. Colleen from FoodieTots is in charge of the DC event.

I was able to get my girls Sqrl from Squirrels and Sweets and Maiya from Beans Rice Life to participate with me! As food bloggers, we have the luxury of eating amazing food all the time. This is a great way to give back. It's going to be a ton of fun, so mark your calenders!