24 Mar Mixed Berry Mascarpone Bundt Cake

I promised it, and here it is. My SXSW 2014 wrapped up into a pretty recap, all the highlights, none of the hangover.

Also cake.

But first SXSW, abbreviated in to list form because it was a long 10 days and this girl gets wordy.

The highlights:

The Umbel kick-off party with Local Natives. Umbel is the company I work for. It’s freakin’ awesome.

And then tweeting my friends to tell them I was going home, after the Umbel party with Local Natives after-party. Cut this girl off.

Kristen getting engaged!!! And decorating her engagement suite with allll the confetti. Champs on champs. (Totally not SXSW related, but definitely worth mentioning.)

The Lena Dunham keynote. She’s cooler than school. I left feeling like even though I’m a female in my 20s I can totally still own it. World domination, y’all.

Spotting Shaq at the SXSW Interactive trade show. He’s even bigger in person. 

The Lady Gaga keynote. Because she almost convinced me that being vomited on is art. Almost. Still, ew. 

Meeting Steve’s best friend from college, Jordan, and his girlfriend, Cassie. She’s a blogger too (!!) so obviously, good people. Especially the part where we ate crawfish and then dominated at trivia (or at least the team name part).

Dancing my face off to the Local Natives Thank you, vodka

Phantogram two words – girl crush

Dancing my face off (again) to Chromeo And also making fun of how good-looking the lead singer thinks he is. Enter Blue Steel. 

My #1, funnest, most favorite show of the week, St. Paul & the Broken Bones Nerds with trumpets = my kind of party

Simultaneously being taken back to my days in Spain & blown away by Arizona Baby’s fantastical southern rock + spanish guitar groove-sounds. Hell yethh

Things that weren’t as fun:

**major complainer warning**

Catching a cold half-way through. To the person standing next to me at every show, sorry I coughed/sneezed/hacked in your direction. I hope you take vitamins.  Honestly though, I was drinking Robitussin out of the bottle. You should have know better. 

3 hours. In line. In the cold. While sick. For a “guaranteed entry” Jay Z + Kanye show. Only to be turned away. Samsung, you’re on my shit list. #AtLeastBeyonceWasntThere

And there you have it. So much beer. So many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. One great week.

But can I just say that thank goodness it’s only once a year?

Good thing we have cake to refuel.

I made this cake waaaay back when I made my Damn Good Tiramisu. I had leftover very expensive Whole Foods mascarpone cheese that I was not about to let go to waste. And even though it was February, blackberries were on sale at the grocery store. Go figure.

I love me a good pound cake. Simple, moist and a perfect mate for fresh berries.

This Mixed Berry Mascarpone Bundt Cake is no exception. The mascarpone adds a fancy richness, but you can easily replace it with an additional 1/2 cup of cream cheese. The honey and vanilla & almond extracts result in a sweet nuttiness that highlights the cake’s buttery base and the whole thing is made bright by fresh berries. I highly recommend serving with lemon zest for added brightness and a healthy dollop of fluffy whipped cream. Welcome, Spring!

XO, Katie

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