sevenUPsunday

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While I planned to bake a 7-UP cake and a gluten free dessert, only 1 of the 2 happened.

There just wasn’t going to be enough time and rather than rush around and get stressed out, I decided I’ll make the GF dessert tomorrow.

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Have you ever had 7-UP cake?  I used to think it was a family recipe, but sadly it’s not, although I don’t know many who have had it.  My mom has been making this for over 25yrs!  It is full of eggs, butter, flour, sugar, lemon extract and yes, 7-UP!

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While the cake was in the oven, my dad and I went for a long walk in the neighborhood.  Don’t worry, I would never leave an oven on if no one was home.  My mom was home monitoring the cake. :)

When we got back, I slurped on a smoothie. 

strawberries + banana + almond milk + chocolate Sun Warrior protein powder

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It was my first time trying the chocolate, and I thought it was worse than the original flavor.  To me, it was just as chalky, but also had a sickly sweet taste from the stevia.  I don’t use much sweetener, especially in fruit smoothies, and I’m not a fan of stevia at all.  This brand of protein powder is just not my cup of tea. 

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We headed to dinner with the whole family. 

Mom + grandma

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my other grandma + dad + grandpa [mom’s dad] + mom

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Uncle Alan [mom’s brother] + Aunt Sherie, AJ, Jenna, and Josh

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Chris, my brother and I chipped in on a very pretty but simple necklace for my mom from Tiffany & Co.  Since it’s a big birthday for her this year [60!!], we wanted to do something special.  Over the holidays I did a lot of homemade photo based gifts, so for her birthday we wanted to do something different. 

The only problem is, there are no Tiffany’s in Cleveland!  So, I got creative!  I printed out the Tiffany blue color on a piece of paper, wrapped a jewelry box, printed the Tiffany’s logo, taped that on the box and wrapped it with a white ribbon.  I printed out a photo of the necklace and included it in the box.

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I told my mom we’ll go shopping for it in Denver, when she comes back to Colorado with me next week!

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Don’t you just love Papyrus cards?  I typically don’t buy them because of how pricey they are but I thought this pop up card was too cute!  It had 6 cakes to represent 60 years of life!

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My dad bought a gift for them to share, since they are both turning 60 this year.  An iPad!  Jealous!

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My cousins are growing like weeds!  AJ is about to turn 16 + start driving.  Scarrrry. ;)

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Jenna is about to enter 8th grade.  All grown up!  *sniff sniff

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#1 babysitter back in the day :)

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And then it was cake time.

The best thing I can compare this to is pound cake.

A lemony pound cake, with a thick exterior + a slightly crunchy crust.

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Cake with crust?  What could be better?

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No frosting needed.

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It’s perfect on it’s own.

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No crumb left behind!  I’ve been really good about not consuming gluten, since I found out I have a mild sensitivity to it.  Having this cake around though, there was no chance.  I had a small but perfect slice and so far feel fine!  It’s really strange that some gluten foods turn my stomach into a knot but some leave it feeling fine.  Like beer!  Oh the complexities of my digestion. ;)

7-UP Cake

  • 1 1/2c unsalted butter [let sit on the counter until room temp – 3 sticks]
  • 3c sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 3c white flour
  • 3/4c 7-UP
  • 2T lemon extract
  1. Preheat oven to 325*
  2. Cream the sugar + butter in a large bowl until fluffy. [with a hand or stand mixer]
  3. Mix in the eggs 1 at a time.
  4. Mix in the flour, in 3 increments.
  5. Slowly mix in the 7-UP and lemon extract.
  6. Beat until smooth.
  7. Grease [with butter] + flour all of the sides and creases of a bundt pan.  The flour is key in the cake releasing from the pan.  Make sure every square inch is covered with both.  Hold pan upside down + tap out the excess flour.
  8. Pour batter in and smooth out.
  9. Bake for 1hr 10m – 1hr 20min.  Toothpick test for doneness.
  10. Let cool for about 20min [not fully cooled], and slide a knife or small spatula around the edges to help it release.
  11. Cover the cake with a large plate and flip the cake over onto the plate.  It should easily release.
  12. When fully cooled, dust with powdered sugar.

This cake will make you dance with every bite!

Ashley