Our 4 Year Anniversary, Marrying Into The Hood, & Swedish Swirl Cake

Good morning! I hope you all had a very happy and patriotic Independence Day!

We missed our ward crepe breakfast, but spent time as a family, wore red, white, and blue, watched The Sandlot (new tradition because it's an All-American classic, in my opinion), made a quick trip to Kroger (because there's nothing more American than buying stuff on a holiday, amiright?), had burgers and hot dogs with some friends, and played games at another friend's house. All-in-all it was a pretty great day!

We decided to forego the fireworks this year. Maybe next year...?

I also made a yummy cake that we shared with our friends at game night. They all enjoyed it, as did I, so I want to share the recipe! First I'm going to tell you a little story, though. Ready?

My husband, Spouse Unit, and I have been married for 4 wonderful years. Today is our anniversary, in fact. Woop woop. He's the best. He's a hottie. I still love him a lot. We're gonna have a lot of fun throughout eternity together. You can read our love story here!

He played the piano and sang The Luckiest by Ben Folds for me, gave me a love letter and flowers, and made me cry (good cry) when he proposed.

I love my ring! "Extreme close-up! Wooooooaaaaahhh!" Name that movie.

Ain't no party like a wedding party, what what!

They disconnected our car battery and our car got boxed in.

Off we go in Fester the Festiva

Also, Spouse Unit started his first O&P residency rotation this morning! "Let's hear it for the boy!.... Let's give the boy a haaaaaaaaaaaaaand..."

When I married him, though, I not only married an amazing guy with an absolutely wonderful family, but I married into his group of friends, The Hood. They're super cool guys and gals and most of them grew up in the same neighborhood together. One of the happiest memories of our wedding day was when friends and family were congratulating us after our sealing (we got married in the Brigham City LDS Temple, aka "our castle") and one of his friends hugged me and whispered, "Welcome to The Hood!" I seriously about cried. It was the best.

We weren't able to capture the whole group, but we're sure lucky to have some great friends.

They're also pretty good at making faces, as you can plainly see

One of the perks of being married into Spouse Unit's family and The Hood is access to yummy recipes, i.e. this cake. Whenever Spouse Unit's parents make it or the "P-Nouds" (they're the source of this cake recipe and I am indebted to them for changing my life) make it, I have a really hard time controlling how many pieces I eat. It is called Bular, it is Swedish, and it is flipping delicious. 

This is one of our favorite desserts, so if you want to celebrate our anniversary right, go make some of this delicious cake and share it with a loved one. Or eat it all yourself. Not gonna judge.

Ta-da!

I added a few blueberries to make it a little more patriotic. I felt like it was okay to make a Swedish cake on the 4th of July because our country is a melting pot of diversity, right? Well, it's a stretch, but it made a heck of a lot more sense than a crepe breakfast. However, crepes are amazing and I would have gone if I could have. I digress.

BULAR 

(Boo-lar. AKA Swedish Swirl Cake. Source: The Blessed P-Nouds and Spouse Unit's 4th grade cookbook. Awww.)

Cake:
1 c. softened butter
1 3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1/4 c. whole milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 (20 oz) can cherry pie filling (you'll love it, even if you hate cherry pie. Promise.)

Glaze:
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. whole milk
1 tsp. almond extract
Powdered sugar, about 2 cups

Grease a 13x8" sheet pan (large cookie sheet with an edge) and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Cake: Cream sugar and butter, add cream cheese and beat well. Add eggs and milk. Beat well. Add salt, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix. Add the baking powder and 1 cup flour. Mix well. Add remaining flour 1 cup at a time. Mix until smooth. Spread 2/3 of the cake batter onto the sheet pan. Spoon cherry pie filling over the top. Drop remaining batter by spoonfuls on top of filling. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown on top. 

Glaze: Heat butter, sugar, and whole milk in a small pan on stove until melted. Remove from heat, add almond extract. Beat in powdered sugar. The glaze should be white but runny. Drizzle over the warm cake. 

Yield: 24 large pieces, or one extra-large piece. Like I said, not judging.




What have been some of the perks of marrying your Spouse?

Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading, I'll catch you on the flip-flop!

Melissa