The Farm Chicks

Goodbye Single Digits!

Lukie (also known as "Mr. Blue Sky" in our house) turns 10 today, which is a huge deal because as he explained yesterday, "I'll no longer be a single digit!"

 

And as is the tradition in our house, the birthday boys picks all the meals for the day.  Some highlights are Coffee Cake, fried potatoes, hard-boiled eggs and cranberry juice for breakfast, cupcakes for the class (with blue & green swirly frosting, of course!), and ice-cream sundaes for dessert.  It's good to be 10!

Citrus Water

I've been trying to drink more water lately, and was inspired by The Four Seasons and how they had orange water everywhere, available for guests.  Any citrus works wonderfully and adds the perfect little burst of flavor to every glass.

Design Sponge

Last week, my living room built-in project I wrote about a while back was featured on the super cool Design Sponge blog.  Since I change things up in that area a lot, you'll see how it looked at two different times in the year.

Dark Chocolate Butter Cake

This cake is unbelievably delicious and perfectly dense, just like a bundt cake should be.  And the whole time you're eating it, you're wondering what is that flavor?  The secret is a hint of cinnamon and strong coffee that brings out the flavor of the chocolate like never before.

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), softened 
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
5 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup brewed espresso or very strong coffee, cooled
Raspberry Sauce, for serving (optional, recipe follows)
Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Prepare the pan: Heat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 10-inch (10- to 12-cup) Bundt pan well; then dust with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.

Make the batter: Combine the milk and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside to just slightly thicken.  Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, beating for 5 minutes and occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in a medium-size bowl; set aside. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, beating on high speed after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Whisk the espresso into the milk mixture by hand. In thirds, alternately add the flour mixture and milk mixture to the butter mixture, beating on medium speed and blending well after each addition.

Bake the cake: Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean - 65 to 70 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack. Loosen the cake from pan using the tip of a knife, then invert the rack over the pan and turn the cake out onto a cake stand or plate. If you like, drizzle with Raspberry Sauce or top with whipped cream, or use both.

Raspberry Sauce:
Heat 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until warmed, smashing slightly with a fork to break up the raspberries.  Drizzle over the cake before serving. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Variation 1: This recipe can be adapted into mini bundt cakes.  For 4" mini bundt cakes, prepare pans as described above.  Divide batter evenly between 12 mini bundt pans.  Bake at 325°F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean - 25 to 26 minutes.
For 2.5" mini bundt cakes, prepare pans as described above.  Divide batter evenly between 2 sheets of the mini bundts, which will yield 24 total.  Bake at 325°F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean - 15-16 minutes.

Variation 2: If you don't have any bundt pans, this recipe can also be baked in a 12"x16.5" jelly roll sheet pan.  Prepare the pan as described above.  Bake at 325°F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean - 40 to 45 minutes.  Once cooled, if desired, use biscuit cutters to cut out mini circles.  Layer mini circles to make miniature layered cakes, filling and frosting with your favorite buttercream frosting.

This recipe can be found in our cookbook, The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen: Live Well, Laugh Often, Cook Much.

Image of cake by John Granen.

Fabric under the plate in image of cake by Sandi Henderson.

Cuckoo for the Cuckoo Clock

Turns out, many of you love my cuckoo clock as much as I do.  I saw the clock at Pottery Barn Kids and watched it all season, not really wanting to pay as much as they were asking.  Luckily for me, my watching paid off and they put it on clearance at the end of the season.  I love love love it because the little bird pokes its head out the window and chirps every hour.  You can make it as quiet as you like.  Colin was a little apprehensive when I hung it in the kitchen, as he was sure that little bird was going to drive him, well....cuckoo!  I turned the volume down pretty low and it's the cutest thing ever.  And I'm not kidding, every single time the little birdy appears, softly chirping, the boys stop what they're doing and say, "cuckoo clock!  cuckoo clock!", which Colin and I think is one of the cutest darn things in the whole world. 
I've received emails asking where I got the clock and was sad to see on their website that it's no longer available.  When answering another email about the clock this morning, I decided to take a look at ebay....just in case.  And lucky day!  I discovered there's one for sale on there now!  You can find it here.  It ends in just four days....

Honeymooning

Colin and I are off for a few days to someplace warm.  I always call these getaways a honeymoon, because it still feels that way, even after all these years.  I love this man.

Back to Normal

I finally rehung my kitchen valances that had been taken down for a project just before Christmas.  I love how cheery they make the kitchen.  Now that my kitchen is back to normal, I've started tinkering around in other areas of the house.  Bathroom re-done.  Bedroom next!