Daring Bakers Challenge #5

Dorie's Perfect Party Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut (I didn't have raspberry so I used pineapple preserves and it worked very well. However, I'd really like to try the cake again with raspberry or blueberry.)

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet. I used 2 square pans, because I like to be different.

(This is the lemon sugar in the first step for the cake)

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).



To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.




The result was very good~ we liked this cake a lot and shared it with friends. My only adjustment for making it again, is making the buttercream a little less lemony. I think 1/2 cup of lemon juice is overkill. Overall this was very very good.

The Newest Deacons at Reformation Church

One of them happens to be my husband.

All Cleaned Up

(Sorry Dabney's blurry in this one~ I just had to show you Joshua's face. Managing 3 from behind a camera is hard work!)

Easter Morning '08

We hope you had a wonderful Resurrection Day! Our kids woke up and had a good time with their treats. We sang hymns about the resurrection and retold the story (hopefully tying the story and the day together). We didn't do big presents or anything because we didn't want to lose focus with the meaning of the day but we did give them a few small token gifts to symbolize the gift of new life we receive every day because Jesus rose from the dead, and the sweetness of life in Him. And needless to say we didn't tell our children that some ridiculous giant bunny left them presents either. While they were in that early morning chocolate haze, I slipped the rabbit ears on them and caught a picture of our munchkins for posterity. And for those of you concerned, Josh didn't eat any chocolate for breakfast.

No time to post pictures of my own

Tomorrow is Good Friday and the stock market is closed (and that means that Tim is off) so we are going to have a sweet family from church over for a nice lunch. I’m quite excited about this because apart from entertaining during the week, it also means our Saturday is left wide open and we will have our Easter celebration, just the 5 of us. We’re going to have a ham and rolls and potatoes and strawberries and all the deviled eggs we can handle (eggs finally went on sale) and a nice red wine. I even changed out our snowflake dishes for our Pfaltzgraff flowered ones~ fitting I think for Resurrection weekend. Anyway, I wanted to share Friday’s entertaining menu and a recipe or two with you.


I wanted to have a nice light appetizer so I chose Fruit Salsa with cinnamon chips .


Then for lunch we’ll have pizza, (Philly cheesesteak, pineapple and ham, margharita & our version of meat lovers/ supreme), along with our favorite tortellini soup and parmesan breadsticks.

Last month, I told a reader that I’d share the recipe for the Philly cheesesteak pizza so here it is. I love cheesesteaks (real ones from Gino’s~ not Pat’s~ in real Philadelphia) and I think this recipe comes close~ barring the fact that I don’t use Cheez Whiz on my pizza. Going to Philly with my family and getting cheesesteaks is one of my favorite memories. I’m kind of winging it~ this is based on the most delicious pizza I tasted from California Pizza Kitchen. It’s not regularly on the menu, it was a monthly special a few years ago. Saute in a small amount of butter or olive oil: a half of an onion (sliced), and a few sliced mushrooms (canned or fresh) and a few steak-ums steaks. I used my own pizza tomato sauce, and topped with the sauted ingredients and green bell pepper and finished it with provolone cheese and some mozzarella (more provolone than mozzarella).




Then for dessert I’m making Tiramisu (for the adults) and our favorite brownies for the kids.



I’ve got to go for now, hopefully I’ll finish all of the ironing tonight, napkins included. Happy Spring!

Happy (belated) Birthday Caitlin!

Happy Birthday Cait!
(Can you really be 20?)

**** These pictures were taken 20 years ago by a big sister who never claimed to be a photographer.***

With lots of aloha from your Colorado family.

Happy St. Patty's Day

Little Leprechaun

Dabney made a paper plate hat at church with the other girls. I helped her put it on her head and she said, "You crowned me Mom!"

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day everyone! It’s a snowy day here in Colorado and we’ve been watching Riverdance today, or as Dabney calls it, “The dancer of the pond” (“I love their green skirts! Are they mermaids? Is he a fish? Where's the pond?) Even after all these years, Riverdance still mesmerizes me and make me wish my legs were longer. We’ve got plans to make Soda Bread later this afternoon, after naps. We had a great weekend and we had a wonderful family over for most of Saturday which was so fun. We found a great recipe online for some bread and the kids helped me make some little loaves this morning.

Dabney is her usual imaginative self. Yesterday she was “Pongo the dog with black spots and a white body”. She continues to be a help to me, especially with the boys. She makes Joshua smile continually and she “reads” books to David and she even tried to teach him his letters with the easel the other day.

David has continued his potty training triumphs and we are so thankful. One minor aspect is the fact that we are trying to get him to consistently say “underwear” instead of panties, which is of course what Dabney calls her underclothes. But he’s working on it and improving.

Joshua continues to be his jolly, happy self. He loves to grab everything he possibly can and eat new solid foods. Lately his favorites are bananas, pasta and yogurt. He’s outgrowing clothes at breakneck speed. He can now scoot on his bottom and crawl backwards, too.

Yesterday we were on our way to church and, as always, our kids were singing. They sing no matter what we do. This time it happened to be the theme for Reading Rainbow, although they don’t know all of the words. All of a sudden David burst into song singing, “Butterfly in the sky…..I.…can….go…. underwear!”

Deja Vu

Taking (Electric) Dominion of our Home

Upstairs Hallway - Before and After

BEFORE:




AFTER:

Look what I did last night! A few weeks ago, I went through the basement and sorted through quite a few things I don't use anymore and last week I sold them on eBay. (Praise God they sold!) This week, I took my earnings and made some investments in our home~ like better, matching light fixtures. (It seems like this will be the year that we finally upgrade the lighting that we opted out of when we moved in.) Also, arriving any day now is a gorgeous, gorgeous exterior lantern for our porch. And in case you are wondering, before I began I did quite a bit of research on lighting and electrical boxes and switching out light fixtures and read and re-read the instructions and low and behold when we turned the breakers on after I finished~ voila! There was beautiful light~ and no flames! Stay tuned for the next installment (get it?)~ our porch light makeover.

Daring Bakers Challenge #4

This month's challenge was Julia Child's French Bread. Currently my laptop is having "technical difficulties" posting my pictures, but you can check out the recipe here and I will be back to add my french bread observations (I know you just can't wait for that!)
The recipe is quite long (9 pages printed out) with instructions on how to form the loaves, and how to steam the crust, etc, so I'll leave you to the linked recipe this time.

Nigella's Shepherd's Pie

Here's a recipe I discovered a few weeks ago when we had extra mashed potatoes. This is definitely a stick-to-your-ribs dinner on these cold winter nights.

Rudolph Pie (Christmas Shepherd's Pie) Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson Show: Food Network Specials Episode: Nigella Bites Christmas Special

Recipe Summary Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes Yield: 14 to 16 servings

Cook's Note: This is one of those simple-hearted, down home kind of dishes that in fact is quite fiddly. Nothing's difficult, but there are quite a few steps. But that's often the way with food that you can simply reheat when you need it: you have to put more hours in earlier. Often, especially at this time of year, it's worth it. I sometimes think that 1 hour's cooking alone, calmly and in advance, is so much more preferable than 15 minutes frenetic, last-minute activity when you're tired and have a roomful of people to entertain. I say this now, as a form of defense on my behalf, but also to warn you, however encouragingly, of the labor to come. 1 3/4 ounces dried porcini mushrooms 4 onions 4 carrots 4 cloves of garlic 3 to 5 tablespoons olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 pound button mushrooms, sliced or quartered 2 1/4 pounds minced venison 2 1/4 pounds minced pork 2 tablespoons flour 2 (14-ounce) cans chopped tomatoes 2 tablespoons tomato paste, diluted in 1/2 cup water 1/3 cup Marsala Worcestershire sauce, to taste 9 pounds potatoes 3 1/4 pounds parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks 1/2 cup full-fat milk 1 stick butter, melted, plus extra to dot on the top Pinch freshly ground nutmeg Pour 2 cups of near-boiling water over the dried porcini mushrooms and leave to steep while you get on with the rest of the cooking. Peel the onions, carrots and garlic cloves and chop them; I use a food processor here, and do them in 2 batches of 2 each. Pour the oil into a very large, thick-bottomed pan and when it's warm add the chopped onions, carrots and garlic. Cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, sprinkling in salt if the vegetables look as though they might burn. Drain the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid, chop them coarsely and add them to the vegetable mixture along with the button mushrooms. After about 5 minutes, when the fresh mushrooms have cooked down a bit into the mixture, transfer the vegetables to a plate so that you can start cooking the meat. Add a little more oil to the pan then add the minced meats, breaking them up with a wooden fork or spatula. Stir for about 5 minutes until the rawness has left them a bit, add salt liberally, and then return the vegetable mixture to the pan. Stir in the flour and, still stirring, pour in the mushroom-soaking liquid, tomatoes, tomato paste, Marsala and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. Stir well, cover partly with a lid and turn down the heat so that the mixture bubbles gently with some of the liquid evaporating and the flavours intensifying, for about an hour. Even longer wouldn't do it any harm providing the heat is very low. Once cooked, taste for seasoning then remove from heat. If it helps you can cook the base in advance (either freezing it or leaving it in the fridge for a few days), which means that when you want to serve the pie, you have only to bother with the topping. Some people are happy to make a shepherd's pie in its entirety and then leaving it to be reheated, but I think that's only OK if you don't need to refrigerate it for days (it does something funny to the texture of the potatoes). An afternoon, even a longer stretch, in a cold wintry kitchen, though, is fine. An easier alternative might be to refrigerate the cooked base and leave the mashed potatoes and parsnips in a plastic wrapped bowl in a cold place in the kitchen for however long you need, bringing the two together just before they go into the oven. Given the amount of potatoes stipulated, I suggest you hand people a peeler if you have any around who ask if there's anything they can do to help. Or use a potato ricer, which means you don't need to peel them. Either way, boil the potatoes in a large pan of salted water until they are nearly tender and then add the parsnips which have been peeled and cut into chunks. Simmer until the potatoes and parsnips are cooked to easily mashable tenderness, but not to the point of disintegration, then drain them and let them dry slightly in the colander while you warm the milk and melt the butter in the heat of the pan that you cooked the potatoes in. Rice the potatoes and parsnips straight into this pan (or mash them) and then grate in some fresh nutmeg and add salt to taste. Put the meat mixture into a large dish approximately 12 1/2 inches by 14 1/2 inches in size. Then dollop the potato mash on top, spreading with a spatula, taking care to seal the edges to prevent the meat below from bubbling up in the oven. Use a fork to draw lines over the top, then dot with butter and sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce. If you're cooking this straight away, in other words when everything's still warm, about 10 minutes in a 425 degree F oven should be enough to make it piping hot and golden and crisp on top. If cooking from cold, about an hour in a 375 degree F oven should do it.

He's Handsome, Too

I am blessed. All you have to do is scroll through my blog and look at my pictures and hear the stories of our children growing before our eyes and taste our recipes, to realize how blessed I am. But every now and then, I am simply overwhelmed by God’s grace and goodness. Today I am struck by the fact that I am married to the only man who was perfectly made for me. My Tim. I am so thankful for him everyday. He is everything I ever prayed for in a husband. Yesterday as I was listening to him speak from his heart before the men of the church, it stuck me like lightning how much I love and respect him. I respect him for working so hard to provide for our family, for aspiring for serving in the church, for his service in our Bible study, his desire to be debt-free and to begin his own business, for his devotion to me, for leading us so faithfully in family worship and for being such an amazing and doting father to our brood. We’ll be married 5 years in April and he’s come such a long way as a husband and a father. I love him for being teachable and for being willing to change when he’s convicted by God’s Word. The Lord accomplished so much through Tim and has blessed him through his service and ministry and love towards me and the kids. I know he will continue to be blessed and I’m glad I’m on his team.

Notice anything about this picture?

(No, not the calculator~ he tries to be just like Daddy)





He's left-handed!

Cold, Slow February

I agree with Caitlin~ February seems to be absolutely dragging on forever. And we have another full week until March. It’s been mostly cold and windy here~ with a conspicuous lack of snow. I feel that if the average high is going to be less than freezing, we might as well have some snow on the ground. Around here, we’ve been mostly hanging out and keeping busy inside. Dabney’s been practicing handwriting and David has been keeping busy by helping Mommy, so that he is occupied with good things and not left to his own mischief. His favorite thing these days is to “Bacuum” and sometimes we even let him push it himself when time permits (it takes a while).

In other news, David is progressing quite well in the potty training realm. He’s been wearing his big boy underwear and he likes them a lot. It seems they inspire and remind him to use the potty. If I remind him ever 45 minutes or so, we can go quite a while without an accident. It encourages me a great deal to be able to see a light at the end of the diaper tunnel.

I’ve been organizing the basement and the outgrown/ yet-to-grow-into children’s clothes. I love it when people give us clothes for the children, but sorting them by color, washing them, sorting them again by size, folding them, and storing them in their respective bins, is no half hour task! We are so thankful for the generosity of others. God surely supplies all of our needs.

The big news around town is that Costco has opened. I must say, I did run over opening day and join their club and so far we are happy. It is quite a bit closer to our house than Sam’s, and I’m enjoying the thought of running over and the trip not taking 2 hours. I emerged from our first trip with lots of good prices (I love that they have coupons) and all the popcorn we could ever eat. My only complaint is that they did not have unsalted butter. Maybe this is not a big deal, but nevertheless, the thought nags at me. As a baker, I rely on the butter being unsalted so that I can regulate the amount myself in my breads and cakes and cookies. For now I’ll have to adjust, but I really hope they will carry unsalted butter in the future.

Thanks for our Valentines!

Thank you Gwamma, Pop Pop, Auntie Cait and Uncle James!

"David, can you show me your card?"

My True Valentine

and the love of my life.

My Funny Valentine (well, one of them)