My March Birthdays

Getting ready for our 4 year olds John Deere Birthday Party tomorrow.  My cookbooks  are still packed away.  We move in 1 month so I went on Pinterest for a yellow cake recipe.  There are so many of them!  I went with Smitten Kitchen which has great recipes

http://smittenkitchen.com/recipes/#Cake      

 I picked this as I had cake flour and buttermilk.  It looks delicious and will let you know how it turned out after the party.  I did like that there was enough batter for 2- 9 in pans and it seemed to rise nicely.

For decorating I made custom wrappers and custom cupcake toppers

& a cake banner for decorating as I did not have time to get my natural food coloring. I can not use regular coloring anymore especially for kids.

Whole Foods carries the natural color but no time to get it.  I like India Tree coloring.  Any other suggestions, would love to hear from you.

So vanilla and chocolate icing and chocolate and vanilla cake for my favorite boy.

Happy Birthday seanie!  Love you!

And Happy Birthday Mom who would love that she and Sean could share a special day! Miss you!

A Chocolate Lovers Cake

I'm not really a chocolate person but my family is, my friends are, the people who order from me are.... chocolate lovers! So a few posts ago I was searching for the perfect vanilla cake and went from one recipe to the next so here I am again, never satisfied and always looking for the Perfect Chocolate Cake Recipe. I personally think the frosting is the key to all of this chocolate addiction but you be the judge!

I am working on a couple of recipes but this week I will give you one from my favorite cookbook. A 1950 edition - The Gourmet Cookbook.

My Mom's.

I love everything about this. Each section has beautiful drawings and descriptions.

So onto page 629 "La Patisserie" To quote "First among the fine arts of the kitchen is la patisserie, & possible the most ancient of them, dating back to times when angry pagan gods could be appeased with sweet cakes" Hmmm... I love to bake but only to make family and friends and customers happy. But desserts have been around a long time and aren't going anywhere. For those of you who says they don't eat sugar, are on a diet, never eat dessert, Just Stop & appease yourself with a piece of cake!

Here is the recipe for Chocolate Layer Cake copied exactly!

Sift 2 scant cups sifted flour with 2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder and a pinch of salt. Cream 1/2 cup of butter, add 1 1/2 cups sugar gradually and blend until light and creamy. Add 4 well beaten egg yolks, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add 4 square of bitter chocolate, melted, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and the sifted flour mixture, alternately with a scant 1 1/2 cups of milk. Beat until well blended. Beat 4 egg whites until stiff but not too dry, gradually fold in 1/2 cup sugar and fold this into batter. Pour into 2 well buttered pans and bake in a moderate oven for 40 - 45 minutes. Cool the cakes on a cake rack and frost.

Let's modernize this just a bit! Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 8-9" pans with parchment paper. Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. Use whole milk & unsalted butter. Check the cakes after 25 minutes and turn in oven if necessary. You know your own oven. After completely cooled I slice each layer in half so you have a 4 layer cake. Much much better than a 2 layer cake. Don't be afraid to slice each cake in half, just make sure it is completely cooled. It's easier the next day.

I'll add the frosting recipe later. It's getting late.

let me know what you think! I used this for one of my wedding cake tops

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So Many Cookbooks.....

I have a confession - I have way too many cookbooks but I love it.  I go to the bookstore & head to the cookbooks, the library always has one stop in the same section.  I go to my son's house and ask to borrow "a cookbook!"  Am I a good cook?  Not really.  One day.....

But my favorites are my baking cookbooks.  Here's a few that I am always using.

1.  Rosies Bakery All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar Packed Baking Book by Judy Rosenberg
          Love this Cookbook!  From her cakes (try the Summertime Cake) to her cookies (Soho Globs) & Harvard Squares (all the best brownies & other bars) & even her section "Cutie Pies" (try the All-American Apple Pie) there is nothing I don't like.  Her banana cake is unbelievable & I don't even like bananas! In my mind, the key to all of these successful recipes is butter and no oil.  The Buttercream icing can't be beat. You have to get this book.

2.  All the Best Muffins & Quick Breads by Joie Warner
          Recipes are easy to make, quick and tastes delicious.  Under the section "Sweet Muffins" try Mango Muffins & Blueberry Cornmeal.  Sweet Quick Breads have some of my favorites.  Lemon Bread with Lemon Glaze is unbelievable as is Pink Lemonade Bread.  Again the key for me is the butter.

3.  A Piece of Cake by Susan Purdy
         From the "Understanding Ingredients" Section to the Elegant & Special Cakes - there are many tips & tricks, ideas that could keep you baking for years!  The basic 1-2-3-4 Cake never fails.  I made my 1st wedding cake using "Anna's Sweedish Butter Cake Recipe"  Descriptions on assembling a wedding cake make is so easy.  Great Cheesecakes, layer cakes, Coffee Cakes and even a section on decorating cakes.  This book is a must.

4.  Martha Stewart's Cupcakes - if you can think of a cupcake flavor, it's in this book. 175 of them!

5.  The Gourmet Cookbook - This was my mom's so it is my favorite.  It's a little worn, dated 1950 and will always be on display in my kitchen. To quote from a section: "This index is designed to give maximum aid & comfort to the seeker of recipes."  A special keepsake from my mom, it give me comfort.  Head to page 569 "Sweet Talk" and find an unusual collection of deserts which the chocolate lovers in my house would not try.  "La Patisserie" is more my style.  Intriguing titles such as Blackberry Jam Cake, Dundee Cake, Shadow Cake.  I will have to try these!

So I end this as a Devils Food Chocolate Cake for my husband's birthday celebration bakes in the oven.  Recipe from page 631 of Gourmet.  Thank you mom.  Wish you could be here to join us & thank you for teaching me how to bake.

I almost forgot.  I'd love for you to sign up for my blog & leave a comment.  Have a wonderful day!