It's still hot...still time to make an icebox cake

Most desserts aren't complete without whipped cream. Hot fudge sundaes, pumpkin pie, strawberry shortcake... So when a dessert uses whipped cream as a main ingredient... I'm in! This retro icebox cake is one of the simplest desserts I've ever made. Layers of peanut butter whipped cream in between chocolate wafer cookies. So simple and so pretty! I didn't have patience to really let mine set ( who wants to wait 8 hours for dessert?!?) so it's a little lopsided. I think the Food Network gurus call that rustic charm. 

For the whipped cream: whip 1.5 cups of well chilled heavy cream with 1/3 cup of confectioner's sugar until soft peaks. In a seperate bowl, whisk 1/3 cup of stubborn peanut butter with 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Fold peanut butter mixture into whipped cream. Layer with chocolate wafers! 

This cake would be delectable with chocolate chip cookies.. Or any cookie really. It's an economical way to serve dessert, too! Doesn't everyone already have a dented box of confectioner's sugar and half-eaten jar of peanut butter in their pantry? 

All I had to buy was the cream and cookies. I made mine in a Springform pan for ease of chilling. But any plate would work. Try it before pie overtakes the dessert scene this fall.

Vintage finds on a Sunday

I have been looking for a traveling cake case. I'm not a traveling cake saleswoman, but sometime I want to transport baked goods. A cake plate with a stand is hard to carry in the car, and it can't just be set in the backseat. I've used a flat cake plate with short legs, but you still have plastic wrap to contend with. Plastic wrap and frosting hate each other. 

Last year, I saw a tin cake carrier at World Market, but the wording was in French. I'm a Spanish teacher and I'm an Italian-American...French doesn't work. I've even looked on Etsy and eBay for a cute case, but never pulled the trigger!

In a dusty outdoor stall at Renninger's in Mount Dora, there it was! It had no price listed, and I was sure it would be $20 or more. I took the West Bend cake case home for just $5!!! No dents or scratches... This beauty could date to the  '50s or '60s, and similar cases are priced from $25-$50 online!

And here is an ad for the same cake plate, with my find selling for $5.50... So I really got a good deal if the price hadn't changed in decades!  It's the middle item in the top row.

And then there's my exact tin at the bottom of the next ad, a plug for Mother's Day. It's called a cake humidor to keep cakes "oven fresh."

Wandering at Renninger's, one booth of hats and vintage jewelry called to me. Delicate filigree gold from the Victorian age, Art Deco pieces and rhinestone glamour jewelry were thrown together. When I saw the plastic beads below, I had to try it on! I have ordered an orange print dress from Pin-up Girl Couture... And the orange globes of this necklace screamed Florida!

It was just $20! Almost seems like a piece of little girl jewelry, but with the plastic craze of the 50's, this piece is so retro! It has a metal clasp, stamped with made in Hong Kong. So cute! When in Central Florida, check out the indoor and outdoor stalls of this antique wonderland

.http://www.renningers.net/index.php/main-locations/mount-dora/mount-dora-home