Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting

. . . this is the best chocolate cake EVER!

My daughter just turned the big 10. To celebrate we had a wonderful outdoor party with a bird theme. This birds nest cake played the part, too.



For the past few years I have been using the same recipe whenever I make a chocolate cake, Sandy's Chocolate Cake. The taste appeals to a more mature taste as it has a bit of a sweet-tart taste. I wanted to use something that would certainly appeal to younger children but would be delicious, not just sweet.

This cake was terrific! Lots of chocolate and a great buttercream frosting. It used only brown sugar which added a subtly pleasant taste compared to other chocolate cakes I have made. The frosting was "just like bakery frosting" according to many taste buds.

I asked my oldest daughter if it looked like a bird's nest on top. Her response was, "It must be for one prolific bird!" There were quite a few eggs, but I thought it was beautiful. Maybe not as beautiful as the birthday girl though.



Chocolate Bird's Nest Cake with Buttercream Frosting
adapted from foodnetwork
Cake Ingredients
3 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
3 eggs
2 2/3 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/8 cups cocoa powder

Frosting Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup vegetable shortening
8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 ounces heavy whipping cream

Directions for Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three round cake pans.
2. Combine the brown sugar and oil. Mix at low speed and add the eggs one at a time. Let the sugar, oil, and eggs mix while sifting together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Set this mixture aside.
3. In another small bowl, mix the vanilla into the milk and set this aside as well. Bring the water to a boil and pour over the cocoa and whisk it until it is smooth. 4. To the egg mixture, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture beginning and ending with flour. With the mixer off, scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. With the mixture at a low speed add the cocoa. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pour this mixture into the prepared cake pans. Bake the cakes about 25 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
5. Allow cakes to cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans. When cake layers have cooled, remove from pans and refrigerate until ready to frost.

Directions for Frosting
1. Place shortening and butter in mixing bowl. Beat at low speed, slowly increasing speed to medium high. Cream butter and shortening until light and creamy, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Add salt and vanilla. Blend. Add sugar, one cup at a time and mixing after each addition. Mix on low and slowly add whipping cream. Once well mixed, increase speed to medium high and beat for an additional 5 minutes till fluffy.

To make a bird's nest cake, simply toast 1 1/2 cups of coconut. Sprinkle in a round on the center of the cake. Add some pastel egg shaped candies such as almond M&M's. Garnish the bottom of the cake with remaining toasted coconut.

Slice and enjoy!

Not Your Average Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

As the days begin to warm and the nights remain cold, I look forward to a bowl of steaming fresh soup. And the yummiest sandwich ever to dip in it.


All you need are some roasted tomatoes. . .


thick multi-grain bread with mozzarella cheese. . .


and a few other things like fresh parsley and olive oil.


Put it all together and you will have your self a deliciously hearty meal.

These Italian grilled cheese are incredible, not only the day they are made, but the next!


Same for the soup, it just builds itself up with all the flavor of the fresh parsley and roasted tomatoes.


Both of these recipes are from my two favorite Foodnetwork chefs, Giada De Laurentiis and Ina Garten. I adjust the soup recipe by using handfuls of fresh Italian parsley instead of basil, and processing the cooked soup in the food processor so there are no apparent traces of what is in it {keeps picky eaters from asking questions}.

You may also notice that the recipe for the sandwiches calls for fresh basil leaves, but I omit these. I also use less oil to fry with, just enough to come up about half of the sandwich. One last change is that I serve the sandwich with the roasted tomato soup for dipping, not pesto.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
from Ina Garten
3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) canned plum tomatoes, with their juice
4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 quart chicken stock or water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Pass through a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade. Taste for seasonings. Serve hot or cold.

Grilled Italian Cheese {Mozzarella in Corrozza}
from Giada
1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced smoked mozzarella
12 slices whole-wheat
18 fresh large basil leaves
8 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil, for deep frying
2 cups (about) all-purpose flour
1 cup purchased pesto

Divide half of the cheese equally among 6 bread slices. Top with the basil leaves then the remaining cheese. Cover with the remaining bread slices, pressing gently, to form 6 sandwiches.

Whisk the eggs, salt and pepper in a large bowl until well blended and frothy. Place the flour in a medium bowl. Add enough oil to a heavy large frying pan to come 1/2-inch up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat. Dredge the sandwiches in the flour to coat lightly, then dredge them in the egg mixture to coat completely and place in the hot oil. Cook until the cheese melts and the sandwiches are golden, about 3 minutes per side. Cut the sandwiches into triangles. Transfer the sandwiches to a platter and serve with the pesto.

A Buggy Birthday Party

Four children's birthday parties down in the past few weeks, one more to go! My youngest turned two a few days ago. He has been interested in living things, but not ones that are larger than he is {unless they are his family members}. So I thought it would be great to have a bug birthday party for him. The funny things is, and I did not realize it until we picked up his balloons, that he does not like bugs! He was a bit terrified by the smiling lady bug balloon. Despite that oversight, he had a great day.

For younger children, I believe it is best {and sanest} to keep to fewer guests, so we only invited some family members to the celebration. We still had games and lots of food. The food was very much geared towards the younger crowd, but the adults thought it was not only adorable, but surprisingly tasty.

Food
I love coming up with cute foods for little kids to eat. I think if it looks fun, they will try it and eat it!

 
Ant Hill~
1 cup cream cheese, 1 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup chocolate chips mixed together and formed into a cheese ball. Roll the cheese ball in graham cracker crumbs, then poke a hole in the top. Place a line of chocolate sprinkles from the ant hill hole, down the side and around the edges. For an extra cute touch, sprinkle praline crunch around the bottom of the cheese ball. Serve with Bug Bites {graham cracker bug shapes}.

 
Caterpillar Kabobs~
Again, sweet and simple. Ball a canteloupe and a honeydew, then thread onto a wooden skewer.

 
Ants on a Stump~
An apple, sliced into rings, then cored; dip in lemon juice to keep from browning. Drizzle a bit of honey around the top {sap, of course}, then add some craisins. These were very tasty.

 
Dragonflies~
Celery stick with four mini heart-shaped pretzels attached with spray cheese {I don't know what it is really called}.

 
Centipede Sandwich~
Super hero sliced and shaped into curving shape with pickles added under and on the side of each piece for legs, green olives for eyes and celery sticks for antennae.

I think this looked more like a sick fish or turtle, but it tasted great!

Bug Juice~
I simply served limeonade. It is green. It is sweet. The children liked it.


Games and Activities


Put the Spot on the Lady Bug~ Very simple, just like the donkey version
Cut out from red poster board a ladybug shape. Add a head and face if you like. All you need are enough black spots {cut from black poster board or construction paper} for each participant to have one or two.

Buzz, Buzz, Sting!~ Again, like the traditional game, just different words
This is very easy for little ones to play, even if they don't catch on to taking the seat in the correct place.

Making Antennae~ Simple, creative, and fun
Only four things needed for these cute little things~ headband, pipecleaners, pompoms, and glue. Securely wrap one end of each of two pipecleaners around the top of the headband. Then glue one pompom to the other end of each pipecleaner. Allow to dry for a few minutes before wearing.

Other Ideas
We did not have time to get to other games I had planned to play, but here are some of them for those interested.

Bug eating contest~ Fill a plate full of chocolate sprinkles or other colorful sprinkles. With hands behind backs, children eat the sprinkles as quickly as possible. If you have various ages, give the older children more sprinkles than the younger ones.

Caterpillar Crawl~ Children, one at a time, manuever through an obstacle course or just across the room while in a sleeping bag.

Decorations and Cake
These were simple. Green tablecloth with little plastic bugs. Plates and forks and balloons in bright colors. The most elaborate decoration were the napkins.

A wooden clothes {not the spring kind} was used as the body of a butterfly. A bright yellow napkin {any color could be used} was folded accordion style, gathered in the middle, then inserted into the middle of the clothes pin. The napkin was spread apart to form the wings of the butterfly.


The caterpillar cake was made from about eighteen cupcakes, each iced in either bright yellow, green or blue. They were arranged to form a caterpillars body with the front one decorated with m&m's as eyes, nose and mouth. I few slivers of chocolate bar were used as antennae.

The cupcakes were perfect for serving up cake and ice cream quickly.

Hopefully these ideas will be helpful for your own buggy birthday party.

He wasn't so fond of this happy lady bug. I don't blame him; she kind of looks freaky.

Old Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

Some dishes I only make on specific occasions and holidays.  Turkey is usually reserved for Thanksgiving.  Prime rib is my Christmas main dish.  For the Thanksgiving dessert table I always make honey crunch pecan pie.  And Christmas is the occasion for Old Fashioned Bread Pudding.

Bread pudding is a way to use up stale bread.  While I'm mixing up a batch, I'm always reminded of my father taking day old cornbread and mixing it with buttermilk for his breakfast.  It was a reminder of his days growing up on a small farm.  It was old fashioned, much like this bread pudding.  Funny thing is, I never use stale bread.  I always use a fresh loaf of sandwich bread.  The bread is supposed to be torn into pieces, but I will often cut it into cubes, working with four or more slices of bread at a time.  It make the work quick.  I've listed 'a loaf of white sandwich bread' in the recipe which is a rather unspecific amount.  Loaf sizes vary quite a bit.  Just fill a 4.5 quart mixing bowl with pieces of bread.

I know bread pudding isn't only our traditional Christmas dessert, but my children may not appreciate other recipes that use raisins and rum.  I think the lack of these ingredients is why this is such a loved recipe in our house.  We aren't huge fans of fruit in our cakes or breads and prefer to drink our rum.  Even with freshly baked pies with crust from scratch, this is the most popular treat at the Christmas dessert table.  Whenever we have a visiting guest, I'm always asked for this recipe, especially for the vanilla sauce.

I've learned a few things accidentally with this recipe.  One, the vanilla sauce is just as delicious without the vanilla; my husband actually prefers it without.  For some reason, he isn't a fan of vanilla, though he will hardly pass up a second helping of bread pudding.  Another thing I've discovered are substitutions for nutmeg.  A few times I've run out of nutmeg during holiday cooking and start making bread pudding before I've replenished my spice pantry.  If that happens, just substitute cloves for the nutmeg, but use half of the amount as cloves have a stronger flavor.  And, if you're out of cloves, too, try equal parts cinnamon and ginger.
 
Old Fashioned Bread Pudding
adapted from Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook

Ingredients
Pudding
1 loaf of white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
3 c milk
1/4 c butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 c white sugar

Vanilla Sauce
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c whipping cream
1/2 c butter
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9"x13" baking dish; for thicker pudding, use a deeper 2 quart baking dish.  Place bread pieces in large bowl. In a small saucepan heat milk and 1/4 cup of butter until butter is melted; whisk to combine. Pour milk and melted butter over bread; let sit for 10 minutes before stirring.


Whisk together eggs, nutmeg, a tablespoon of vanilla and half cup of white sugar. Add to bread and milk; stir well.  Spread pudding mixture in greased baking dish. Bake in 350 F oven for 40-45 minutes.

While pudding is baking, make vanilla sauce.  Head half cup white sugar, half cup brown sugar, whipping cream, and half cup butter in medium saucepan and heat to a simmer, stirring frequently. Allow to simmer for about 4 minutes until sauce slightly thickens.  Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla.  Serve pudding warm, topped with vanilla sauce.

Under the Cherry Blossoms~ A Family Picnic with Black Cherry Cupcakes

The cherry blossoms are in peak bloom now, and my family has been wanting to do something fun. So today we went down to DC for a picnic beneath the cherry blossoms.


These were everyone's favorite treat to eat {see the end of post for the recipe}.

But these are what we came to see.






We all enjoyed our festive meal under the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin.

Cherry Blossom Picnic Menu

~Cherry Chicken Salad with Croissants~
a simple mixture of rotisserie chicken, chopped dried cherries and mayonnaise

~Mincemeat Pies~
seasoned browned ground beef with dried fruit and sweet young peas baked in single serve pie crusts, brushed with an egg wash

~Spring Vegetable Pasta Salad~
fusilli pasta with your favorite vinaigrette tossed with frozen peas, fresh steamed asparagus pieces, green onions and shredded carrots

~Festive Leaf Lettuce Salad~

a bunch of leaf lettuce with sweet dried cherries, crumbled feta and an easy vinaigrette {1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup grape seed oil, 1 tsp thyme, 2 tablespoons of honey}

~Black Cherry Cupcakes~
pureed sweet black cherries make these an extra special treat {see below for recipe}

~Pink Lemonade and Sweet Iced Tea~

Black Cherry Cupcakes Recipe
from Schweet 'n' Savory
Ingredients
For the Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup Raw Can Sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup pureed, frozen black cherries

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and 1 cup of the black cherry puree; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add the eggs and mix until just blended.

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

 
Buttercream Frosting for 12 Cupcakes
1 stick of butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 ounces heavy whipping cream

Whip butter until light and fluffy. Slowly mix in powdered sugar; blend well. Add salt and vanilla; blend. Scrape sides of bowl. With mixer on low speed, add whipping cream and increase speed to medium high; beat for 2 minutes.


Fill pastry bag with frosting and ice cupcakes. Embellish with sprinkles.

Amphibians and Reptiles Birthday Party

Do you have a boy in the house with a birthday coming up? Are you uncertain what to do? Just think about what boys like. . . animals, mud, gross things. If you agree, then here is a party possibility for the young man in your life.

Let me get to the point~ this was a terrific party for boys of all ages. Browse the pictures below to see activities, decorations, and food. Let me know your ideas on customizing the party.



Activities
We held our party at a local park with the help of a nature guide. But you could do some of the same things on your own in a wooded area or near a pond.

*Finding frog eggs.
*Feeding toads {live worms, yuck!}.

Have the boys dig for worms then go on a frog/toad hunt. Toads will only eat it if they see their food moving. Watch the eyes, we learned the muscles of the eyes are used to push the food into the stomach, that is why they close while the toad is eating.
*Salamander and slimy creatures hunt.
 Look under rocks, logs and wet leaves for salamanders. Always roll logs and rocks towards you so if something unpleasant is hiding underneath, it has an escape route away from you!

The boys found lots of salamanders of various colors. Because it was a bit cold still, they didn't run away as easily. Some slugs and centipedes were unearthed as well.

At the nature center, the boys were even able to hold a small cobra, feed a turtle and examine reptiles eggs.  If you don't have a nature center near you, there are companies that bring reptiles and amphibians around to parties and for classroom education. Just search if you would like to add this aspect to your son's party.

Food
I like to make food follow the theme of the parties, so I scoured the web for ideas and added some of my own creations. Each item was labeled with the name, what it actually contained, and some interesting facts related to the food and reptiles or amphibians. To drink, the children had chocolate milks, bottles of water, and fruit juice boxes. My son even said that the chocolate milk was "mud."

Frog Eggs Salad~ Frozen Peas with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing over Shredded Lettuce




Snake Eggs~ Green Grapes




Squiggly Worms~ Sliced Boiled Hot Dogs

Simply slice the hot dogs in four pieces, length-wise, and boil. I kept them warm in a crock pot. The boys gobbled them up!

Frog Tongues~ Red Fruit Tape

Another hit, some the the amphibian hunters let these hang from their mouths and pretended they were frogs. Not very appetizing, but entertaining.

Coiled Snakes in a Basket~ Bread Sticks




Frogs on a Log~ Celery with Cream Cheese and Green Olive Halves




Trail Mix~ Popcorn, Graham Bug Bites, M&M's, Craisins

This snack mix is easily taken along for the "hunt", fill a lunch bag and tie with some string.

Slippery Snake Cake~ Chocolate and Yellow Bundt Cakes with Butter Cream Frosting

A red fruit tape makes a super tongue for this slippery green snake. A few green and yellow skittles are used for some shiny scales.

I made one chocolate bundt cake and one yellow bundt cake, cut each in half and made a curved s-shaped before icing the cake with buttercream frosting tinted green. It was s-s-s-super!

Decorations
These were simple, but they brightened up the nature center {which was a bit dark and stuck in the 70's}. I stuck with green plastic table clothes {which allowed me to just gather all of the trash from the table by just wrapping it up} as well as green plates and napkins. I used blue forks and spoons mainly because they were left over from another party, but they also went along with the theme and added a bright touch.

Scattered across the table were little blue and green "gems" I picked up at Michael's. In addition were little lizards, frogs and snakes in bright colors I bought at Target. I let the boys take these and add them to their goodie bags.



The goody bags were a brown bag in which they placed their gems and amphibians and reptiles. They were also given a Smithsonian Handbooks: Reptiles and Amphibians as well as a magnifying glass for them to use in their own hunts at home.

All had a terrific time. Especially this one~

Happy Birthday!