cake, part 2

so, the chocolate cake. it was pretty good, if i can toot my own horn. i wanted it to have the flavor of mexican hot chocolate (one of my favorite treats in the world), so i experimented a bit. first i tried melting a couple abuelita tablets to substitute for the cocoa powder and water mixture from the recipe. this was a bust as the chocolate was way too gritty. so instead i stayed true to the recipe and added 2 teaspoons of freshly ground mexican cinnamon. i also boiled a couple cinnamon sticks in the water. you can find mexican cinnamon down the "latin foods" aisle at the grocery store. all of the spices are sold in packets. i don't like to get the cinnamon that's already ground; you get so much more flavor from the sticks. and yes, there is a difference between regular cinnamon sticks and the mexican cinnamon sticks; the mexican cinnamon is softer and little more papery, not to mention the flavor being completely different. i ground the sticks in my magic bullet. can i just tell you that i love that thing? i bought it at costco and it works so well, especially for the price. then i sifted the cinnamon a bit --  you need to do this to pick out the tiny "sticks" (when you do this, you'll see what i mean). 

between the layers of cake, i used marshmallow creme as the filling. still going for that hot chocolate flavor, ya see? it was very yummy, just know that it will run a bit when it is cut, but it won't make the cake soggy. for the frosting, i added about 2 teaspoons (you'll really just have to add to taste) of mexican cinnamon to my chocolate buttercream. i also used mexican vanilla in both the cake and the frosting. so there you go, a mexican hot chocolate cake. seriously delicious. 

and here's the quick chocolate buttercream recipe, in case you need one:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

6 cups confectioners' sugar

6 T milk (plus more, if needed)

2 t vanilla extract

1/4 t salt

1 cup dark chocolate chips, melted and cooled to room temp

beat together butter, sugar, milk, vanilla and salt with flat paddle attachment*. scrape down sides of the bowl; continue mixing for a couple more minutes. add in chocolate and mix until combined. add more milk if frosting is too dry. 

*i like to use the whisk attachment to make my frosting really light and fluffy, rather than rich and dense. it's personal preference, however. and it depends on the cake. 

does alcohol really burn off?

i was discussing this question with a friend on saturday. we've both heard conflicting information, so i thought i would research it a bit to find the answer. so, to answer jana's question: 

check out ochef.com

for alcohol substitutions, check here.

this site also has quite a bit of really useful information. i refer to it often. 

whenever you substitute alcohol in a recipe, however, i would be careful. it will absolutely change the flavor of your finished product. so i wouldn't try it out when you're throwing a dinner party or anything. good luck, and happy cooking! 

do you yudu?

                               

have you heard of the yudu? it's the coolest toy ever -- a personal screen printer. apparently you can silk screen (or something like it) onto t-shirts, pillow covers, paper, etc. it looks like way too much fun. i think i could be totally out of control with something like this in my possession (i'm a total freak about my name on stuff, everything i owned would say "m" or "missy" in cool fonts. i think laverne & shirley had a serious impact on my psyche). but i won't have to worry about that for a while, since it's about $300. anyways, check it out. if you're interested, michael's stores across the country are having yudu demonstrations this saturday, march 28, from 1 -3. 

speaking of michael's, if you're not getting the coupons in the mail anymore, you can sign up for email updates here and your 40% coupons will get emailed to you. kinda nice. 

images via www.whatdoyudu.com

mmm... cake.

i'm baking up a chocolate cake for my friend's birthday. i always love an excuse to bake a cake. i just love the whole process. the preparation, the measuring, the way my house smells, and of course the satisfaction of the finished product. there's nothing like the feeling of looking at a beautiful, frosted, from-scratch cake just waiting to be enjoyed by those you love. i tweaked my favorite recipe a bit -- if it turns out, i'll share my secrets. if not, i'll hang my head in shame... either way, the original recipe is the best chocolate cake i've ever tried. it's moist and rich, just perfect. and it really doesn't need frosting, just a dollop of whipped cream is enough. but you better believe i'm gonna be frosting it today... 'cause birthdays are like that. 

i'll have a cake update on the next post. 

p.s. i have this cake pan, and i seriously get giddy when it releases perfectly. i almost don't want to cut into it. almost. 

picture via williams-sonoma

the sonic scrubber (i'm not kidding)

okay, i just went to walmart and saw this down the aisle where the dish soap and sponges are. the sonic scrubber? seriously? where has this thing been all my life? of course i bought one (and the set of 4 attachments) immediately. it's like 10 bucks. and there's already batteries in it. grout, beware. if you go to the website, they have all kinds of other attachments, etc. so check it out, already! now i have to go and attack the corners and crevices in my shower. what fun. 

picture via sonic scrubber

fruit pizza

i finally talked to my long lost friend jeannie today. one of the sweetest, most tender-hearted moms i know. she's holding her applesauce chocolate-chip cookie recipe hostage for my fruit pizza recipe. so per her request, here's my recipe for fruit pizza (yummy, yummy). 

crust: 

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 1/3 c. flour

1 t. cream of tartar

1/2 t. baking soda

cream butter and sugar. mix in egg, then add dry ingredients. press into a greased half sheet pan. bake at 350 for 10 minutes. let cool. 

topping:

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 c. sugar

2 T pineapple juice

mix together and spread over cooled crust. top with any fruit, but i like to have a variety of colors and place them in rows: blueberries, kiwis, raspberries, strawberries, mandarin oranges, bananas (only if you're eating it quickly or they will get squishy and brown), pineapple, mangoes, etc. 

glaze:

3/4 c. pineapple juice

1 T cornstarch

cook in a small saucepan until clear. drizzle over fruit. chill pizza for at least 3 hours before serving. 

miss you, jeannie! enjoy the fruit pizza -- now hand over that cookie recipe! 

story time

i'm always excited to find a kids book that's not about star wars or princesses, thus eliminating the nightly fight over what we're going to read. i love these books by nick bruel. bad kitty is great for pre-school aged kids (the text teaches the alphabet in a fun way), and bad kitty gets a bath is fun for older kids as well. my second grader reads it to my kindergartener (you can't buy that kind of endorsement, really). there's also a third book in the series, poor puppy. 

here are a few other books that we've loved (for preschool age and up), if you're trying to satisfy both boys and girls: 

a bad case of stripes by david shannon (although we love the david books, too!)

llama llama, mad at mama by anna dewdney

mike mulligan and his steam shovel by virginia lee burton

pinkalicious and purplicious by victoria kann and elizabeth kann (boys will pretend they don't like it, but they will laugh) 

pirate mom by deborah underwood, illustrated by stephen gilpin

cloudy with a chance of meatballs by judi barrett, ill. by ron barrett

on the nights that we don't want to read a story, sometimes we will flip through the audubon first field guide to birds (lots of info and colorful photographs) or the fantastic animals of the world book that i received as a baby gift when i had my oldest (thanks, rach!). i know costco always sells books like this, and i even saw a great planet earth book that i know my kids would flip for.  happy reading!