Show Stopper Cake

You are in for a treat!
from:
Darcy's Delicious Dinners

    We have the recipe thanks to  Annies Eats!

Tuxedo Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups water

1 cup canola oil

4 cups sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tbsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

For the frosting:

4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream

1¼ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

For the chocolate topping:

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup light corn syrup                                                                                                    

2 tsp. vanilla extract                                                                                              

Directions:

To make the cake layers, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line three 9-inch round cake pans (or two 10-inch round cake pans) with parchment paper.  Butter and flour the inside edges of the pan, shaking out the excess flour.  

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, water and canola oil; heat until the butter is melted.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and flour; whisk to blend.  Pour the melted butter mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then whisk in the buttermilk.  Add the baking soda, salt and vanilla to the bowl and whisk just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of each cake layer and invert onto a wire cooling rack.  Allow the cake layers to cool completely before frosting, at least 2 hours.

To make the frosting, add the heavy cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until thoroughly combined and stiff peaks form.  Be careful not to over-beat!

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cake platter and spread a layer of the whipped cream frosting over the top.  Top with a second cake layer, more frosting (and the third cake layer, if using).  Frost the top and sides of the assembled cake.  Refrigerate until the frosting has stabilized, at least 1 hour.

To make the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate in a medium bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit 1-2 minutes.  Whisk until the mixture is smooth and homogeneous.  Blend in the corn syrup and vanilla.  Pour the glaze into a pitcher or measuring cup and let cool for 10 minutes.  (Do not let the glaze cool longer or it may become difficult to pour over the cake.)  Slowly pour the glaze over the cake, ensuring that the top is covered and the glaze drips over the sides.  

Refrigerate the cake until the glaze is set and the whipped cream frosting is firm, at least 1 hour.  Slice with a long, sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between slices.  

Printed from Annie’s Eats

Now for the filling used for this special birthday cake! See recipe here --> Seedless Rasberry Filling

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Photos by CherLea Productions

#TRIPSare25

My Triplets are 25 years old - a "quarter of a century"!

I started out with my first born, their Big Brother in 1983 ~ since then, the expansion of the family has not stopped!  More and more are coming into the circle as the years go by and the chapters change..... this whole family thing is about to snowball!

So now to look back ~ wow!

They still love each other, but maybe they don't hug as much as they used to....

They used to HAVE TO hold hands, every time we went somewhere, every time they crossed the street!      It was how I could make sure we all stayed together.  I think they are relieved they no longer have to hold hands!

Their big brother was 41/2 when they were born.  As they grew, he was always trying to teach them stuff.  They did not always cooperate, but at times, he caught their attention!  It was like he had his very own classroom to experiment with.

Dezi is still at the pool as Director of a huge Aquatic Center since graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration.  She insists that she is only happy when the smell of chlorine surrounds her!

Joey still loves cooking and  is a Cook for the Holiday Retirement Facility nearby.  He often cooks for as many as 80 people at a time!

Cassie pursued her love for writing with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Literary Journalism only to find her passions in Education.  She now works with children with autism and recently graduated with a Masters Degree in Applied Behavoiral Analysis.

Their Big Brother, Jeremy, is serving in the US Army and has served one tour in Iraq.

He still teaches them stuff but sometimes they teach him stuff!

The day the Triplets were born changed a lot of things for a lot of us.  Our family doubled in size over night!  It's been a wild ride with tons of fun and lots of craziness.  I hope for nothing less in the years to come!

New Year

It's New Years Eve and the evening finds me hopeful.

So far my lineup for the year includes my best friend having complicated surgery, my son's overseas deployment and two daughters planning weddings for Fall!  That's not including all the stuff that I do not know about yet!  My prediction?  That 2013 will be eventful beyond many years I have lived so far.

The end of 2012 brought me reunions with 2 special friends from days gone by.  The years fall away when a reunion of this type takes place. Yes, I am hopeful that the loves and the happy surprises will outweigh the losses, challenges and disappointments.

Tonight, our plans with friends were sadly canceled due to illness - then the sun was setting up and I grabbed the camera and took a short drive up Clements Road in Lodi, California.  This, the last sunset of 2012!

Happy New Year!

Springerle For Christmas

Most families have at least one special Christmas tradition, many that evolve through the years.  My own family had several, but the one that stands out most, and continues to this day, is the baking and mailing of the German Springerle Cookies.
  

This is a 2 day process and not conducive to today's working families and busy lifestyles.  Yet each year, magically, someone manages to pull this off to make the familiar happen for the whole family.  This year, the next generation stepped up!

Notes form Laura:

Some of the best recipes begin with the fewest ingredients. One of my favorites is a family tradition passed down many generations...German Springerle Cookies taught to me by my Gammy and Gampy. Last year my Auntie Susie entrusted this years' family batch to me. :)
  
They take about 10-12 hours to make and you have to order two ingredients online. I have already called Gammy & Gampy three times to make sure I am getting it right. Gampy told me that of anyone he has taught, I seemed to just 'get it' right away. That is saying a LOT, because I reserve baking for the grocery store! It must be in my genes.

Also, you will need a Springerle roller. This is a Springerle roller. Basically you roll the dough between 1/4 inch guides...then you roll over it to get the 3D pictures onto the cookies. 

Once the long drying process is over...only one more hour till baking starts. Then I start all over tomorrow! Hartshorn (ammonia carbonate) is the leavening agent used in these cookies to keep the shape of the designs from the Springerle roller. It gives off a very strong odor during baking when it is released from the cookies. Combined with the strong anise oil, Springerle cookies have a very characteristic flavor.

"These traditional German cookies are in the Leonhardt DNA." ~ Lynn (Leonhardt) Laura's Mom

This video show's Ray Leonhardt and his daughter, Lynn making Springerle in 2008.

Springerle (Enhanced) from CherLea Productions on Vimeo.

Company Sweet Potatoes

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, a most talked about side-dish in salons and bridge club luncheons is what to do with the Sweet Potatoes. To bake or mash, marshmallows or not? light or yams?  

This is my own recipe for "Company Sweet Potatoes", we have it often and throughout the year!

Peel and slice 2 Sweet Potatoes (we like the light ones) and one Onion

Alternate in a buttered Pyrex pie plate or 10 x 14 pan (double the  recipe and place in rows or layers)

Mix 1/4 cup heavy cream & 1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup (pour over all)

Top with French Fried Onions & fresh ground Black Pepper

375 degrees BAKE ~ 45 minutes

Set the table extra pretty this year. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

November

November, the essence of Autumn insists a change beckoning us inside the same way that Springs calls us to come outdoors.  The Harvest is in and the bounty stored.  This month often shows a variety of conditions like no other.  The clear starry nights, crimson sunsets, ominous cloud-scapes and grey foggy mornings can happen with only days that seem like moments in between. This is the time of year that a tree loaded with leaves of every color will show barest branches by month's end.

Laura's Sunflowers

Until the last grapes are cut from the vine and the last  nuts are swept off the orchard floor is the Harvest Season allowed to wind down. And then, the quiet... the waiting... as the Season will shift toward a peaceful calm. Contentment to be inside, behind closed doors replaces hours of scurrying about form place to place.  The wind whips through the air and the rain beats against the window.  Was it just last week that you stood alone in the orchard and could actually hear the falling leaves softly hitting the ground?

Donna's Peppers

Antoinette Celle Vineyards

This shift happens each year in November when it's time to gather in, slow down and get out fuzzy socks and warm blankets.  Books and knitting needles will sitting by the favorite chair and cookbooks are strewn about as the planning for Holiday baking has begun.  Soup is simmering on the stove in a huge pot permeating the air with smells of steamy vegetables somehow reconciling the fact of short days and dark evenings.

Year's end is so close that reality insists attention to the details that come soon enough... oh so soon enough... but for now - it is November. Beautiful, Glorious November.

The Vineyard

I was invited back into the vineyard ... it's the closest one to my house. The sun came up, I had a million things to do... but the day called me to go. The light was just right at 7AM and the cup of coffee brought just the right amount of motivation to the idea. So, I grabbed my camera and was off to capture the sacred limited time to find the "colors" on the Dolcettos!

Antoinette Celle Vineyard has a longtime history and an even more charming story about the rare grape that flourishes on this small farm.
"This type of Dolcetto has unusual characteristics that are not common in the types of Dolcetto typically planted in California. The state as a whole, only has 100 acres of Dolcetto planted, period. My Dolcetto produce a more complex wine and the grapes are able to hang on the vines much longer than other grapes." writes Antoinette Celle.

 I kid you not, once you are standing in the rows of grapevines, you understand that it is a truly magical place! If you read my last post about veraison and this sacred stage of the grapes as they are ripening, you might know what I mean even if you have never had the opportunity to stand in the middle of a vineyard on an August day. The morning air feels cool and fresh and stages the perfect setting to discover half hidden tight bunches of grapes. The sight of the "jewels" amongst the deeply veined leaves are like finding treasures with your eyes. The bunches of grapes are suspended in mid-air with room to grow, yet nestled within the rows and the branches of the vines that shelter them.

Antoinette explains more about the Dolcetto grapes and her vineyard,
"I grow a rare type of an Italian winegrape varietal: Dolcetto di Dogliani, which is believed to be the grandfather of the twelve types of Dolcetto. In February 2011, Dr. Andy Walker at UCDavis, propagated cuttings from my vines, and planted them in the old vineyard at UCDavis. The Foundation Plant Services are keeping a close eye on them, to study. My husband Jim Roberts and I farm organically. We are on the California Registered Organic list of small-scale farmers. We sell brown eggs from cage-free hens and fruits, organic walnuts and pecans, flowers, herbs, and vegetables. I also "put up" small batches of preserves under my label: "Twice the fruit/half the sugar" and also pickles, green olives, salsas, and herbs in jars -- just like Penzeys."

As I leave the vineyard I am thinking that I might try to learn a little more about this special grape variety and the process of growing this type of fruit. I promise myself to regularly visit this perfect backdrop to the Seasons having my camera ready to capture it's beauty.