don't grow up too fast

A sweet card and sentiment from Alison Shanik of King Popcorn. She makes each embroidered card by hand.

babycakes

Sweet little mini vanilla cakes with whipped cream cheese frosting. Perfect for any celebration. Even if the celebration is just you...at home...eatin cake by yourself...on a Thursday. Celebrate it, people.

Mixing the cake batter.

Mixed to its full fluffiness.

the final cakes.

GOLDEN LAYER CAKE

(courtesy of How to Cook Everything)

1 and 1/4 sticks butter, softened

2 cups cake or all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 eggs or 8 yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR 1 tablespoon grated or minced orange zest

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (if you are shy about almond extract, leave it out. tasty both ways.)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

For cupcakes, preheat oven to 350. Place your cupcake papers in the muffin tin.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth, then gradually add the sugar. Beat until light, 3 or 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs or the yolks (I used eggs) one at a time, then the vanilla or orange zest, and the almond extract.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the egg mixture a bit at a time, stirring in milk as needed. Stir until just smooth.

Fill the cupcake papers, each with about 2 large spoonfuls of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack. Frost and serve without the paper.

FLUFFY WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon food coloring (optional)

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Add food coloring, if desired. Whip in a stand mixer at high speed, about 4 minutes until airy and fluffy.

quite possibly the moistest cake ever

I LOVE yellow cake coupled with bittersweet sour cream frosting. The combination makes for one tasty dessert treat.

I tried a new frosting recipe for the latest cake bake. They say “everything’s better with butter”, this frosting is the exception to the rule. For one, there’s no softening or waiting for ingredients to reach room temperature, there’s no weird texture issues with the butter, and incorporating warm chocolate with the other frosting ingredients was no problem. The mixture stayed very fluffy and smooth, all the way from mixing and chilling to the actual frosting of the layers. One other word to the wise, using corn syrup also means that you can easily sweeten the frosting to your liking, without changing the consistency.

Now for the cake layers, Mr. Bittman knows how to cook everything. (can you imagine what that would be like???) Well, since I do not know how to cook everything, I look to him for wise words of cooking advice and his broad recipe knowledge.

His recipe for golden layer cake looks slammin (and not just because it includes almond extract), but because it's pretty much just sugar, flour, eggs and butter. I own all of those things. Every baker should be able to knock this one out, no problem.

GOLDEN LAYER CAKE

(courtesy of How to Cook Everything)

1 and 1/4 sticks butter, softened
2 cups cake or all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs or 8 yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR 1 tablespoon grated or minced orange zest
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

For cakes, preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9-inch cakes pans.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth, then gradually add the sugar. Beat until light, 3 or 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs or the yolks (I used eggs) one at a time, then the vanilla or orange zest, and the almond extract.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the egg mixture a bit at a time, stirring in milk as needed. Stir until just smooth.

Fill the cupcake papers, each with about 2 large spoonfuls of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack. Frost and serve without the paper.


CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM FROSTING
This recipe is adapted from The Dessert Bible

Makes 5 cups of frosting, or enough to frost and fill a three layer 8 or 9-inch cake

15 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 to 1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the chocolate in the top of a double-boiler. Stir until the chocolate is melted. You can also melt it in the microwave, just check every 30 seconds to prevent burning. Remove from heat and let chocolate cool until tepid.

Whisk together the sour cream (room temperature!), 1/4 cup of the corn syrup and vanilla extract until combined. Add the tepid chocolate slowly and stir quickly until the mixture is uniform. Taste for sweetness, and add 1 tablespoon at a time, until it’s sweetened to your liking.

Let cool in the refrigerator until the frosting is a spreadable consistency. This should not take more than 30 minutes. Should the frosting become too thick or stiff, just leave it out until it softens again.

markety artsy indian chairs

about 40 years back, my dad saw woven leather chairs in a store and decided to replicate them himself. a DIY-er at heart, he got all of the supplies, and went to work...for years he made bar stools and kitchen chairs for everyone: family, friends, random people on the street, it didn't really matter who they were, if he knew them they were gonna get some chairs. my mom still uses them as her dining room chairs and bar stools, and I have two of the shorter stools in my kitchen.

I have never seen anything that even closely resembles this woven chair style, until last weekend, I saw them TWICE in one trip. apparently, they're mexican inspired and loved by San Franciscans, both sightings were at taquerias in San Fran. way to go dad, your hand made goods are still cutting edge.


At Mijita on Fisherman's Wharf.

At La Taqueria in the Mission.

The original at home, with Olive kitty.

if you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear the warmest clothes you own

Please wear a flower in your hair, but you will need a jacket as well.

Even though I forgot to buy a t-shirt that proves it, I heart SF. this city will warm your heart and belly one minute, and chill you to the bone the next. but the cold's not stopping anyone, there are so many unique little pockets to explore and sights to see, you just gotta keep on keepin on. of all of our adventures my favorites were alcatraz and the mission (i could have stayed there all day sampling different taquerias).

we saw lots of bleu et vert, here's just a sampling from that little city by the sea.

art to art...dip de dip

Pat had the HMG over to her house on Bainbridge a few weeks back, and made the best artichoke dip. Ever. I liked it when I tasted it, and I liked it even more when I saw that the recipe called for an entire jar of mayonnaise. You can't go wrong with that.

2 (14 oz.) cans artichoke hearts, drained, chopped coarsely

8 oz. jar mayonnaise

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 cup grated parmesan

1 teaspoon garlic powder, dip

Paprika (for sprinkling on top)

Mix artichokes, mayonnaise, cheeses and garlic powder. Pour mixture into greased casserole pan. Sprinkle with paprika and bake for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Pat Beal recommends serving this with Garlic melba rounds...or another sturdy cracker of your choosing.

we sing we laugh we dance we do not steal things

thanks so much for making my b-day excellent. you all are loverly and it was a real joy. it didn't feel at all like a quarter-life crisis. also, I appreciate the encouragement to get a picture with everyone. beyond just capturing pivotal moments & pretty lady friends on film, it opened up ample opportunities for lily and i to dance and for ashley and i to do whatever it is that we do (something weird). plus, you all got a b-day hug, and that is invaluable. allison, I am displaying my sweet little cupcake at work, and it's already received quite a few compliments.

Looking back on these pictures a few obersvations, i notice that lily and i are wearing opposite outfits lily: black dress/purple flower, laura: purple dress/black flower. we did not plan this. but we should have. planning twin outfits is where it's at.

Kathleen and Allison - is this the exact same picture from Kathleen's 21st birthday, only now we're 25?? creepy.