Desperately seeking autumn

I think I'm losing my Texas flair.

I'm hot ALL.THE.TIME.  And I hate it.

There, I said it.  

I'm hot and it's only been 80 degrees this week.  I realize it's somewhere near 110 in Dallas and that I am completely lame for complaining about a hot New England summer.  

In my defense, I must say that I am attached to a small person for at least 10 hours a day and he is a freaking furnace!  This kid sweats all the time.  I don't know how many times I've checked his temperature only to find out he's a totally normal 98.6. 

Since I'm hot all the time, the most logical thing would be to bake, no?  I realize I am a masochist, but I had a very important playdate to attend and treats were necessary.  And because I am so desperately longing for fall, I figured I could transport my taste buds forward with a well-chosen cake. 

When I think of fall, I think of cinnamon: apple pie, spice cookies, chili.  Cinnamon adds warmth to any dish.  To indulge my autumnal desires, I found the Sour Cream Spice Cake recipe in my very favorite cookbook- Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook.  I love my 1st edition- it is so charmingly retro and informative. 

Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake

Adapted from the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook:

For one 13x9 oblong cake:

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla (my addition)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream (I used low-fat)
3 tbsp salted butter, melted
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease the 13x9 pan. 

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir to combine and set aside.  

In a stand mixer, add eggs and beat until very thick (5 minutes).  Then, gradually beat in the sugar.

To the egg and sugar mixture, alternate adding the flour mixture and sour cream until all combined.  Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly.

To make the cinnamon swirl, combine the melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar.  Stir until well combined.  Dollop the mixture on top of the batter.  Using a knife or offset spatula, carefully swirl the cinnamon sugar into the batter.  Start by putting the tip of the knife in one corner of the batter- it should be touching the bottom.  Without removing the knife, drag it in a straight line through the batter to the other end of the pan.  Move it over about 1 inch and repeat.  Do this until you have waves of cinnamon sugar in one direction.  Repeat going the other direction.

Bake about 30-35 minutes. 

2 year old approved!

Mom approved!


More scenes from the day:

I swear, someday they will be the best of friends.

They just don't know it, yet.

-

The Baby Rodeo

I spent the beginning of February visiting my family in Texas. While my trips home are always special (mostly because they're so rare), this one had a special twist!

A baby shower! (Surprise- his name is Samuel!)

My mom and sister have been such a huge support to me throughout my entire pregnancy and they were sweet enough to throw me a cowboy-themed shower. Even though I've been in Massachusetts for the last decade (seriously, when did 10 years fly by?), I'm still a Texan at heart. I can't wait to teach my cowpoke all about his Lonestar roots!

From the decorations to the cake, this shower was pure country.

Baby boots filled with bluebonnets! My mom's boss has saved her children's cowboy boots since they were small and she has quite the collection. For her son's graduation party, her sisters filled them with flowers to use as centerpieces. She was kind enough to loan us these adorable decorations.

Don't squat with your spurs on!

Everyone's favorite cartoon cowboy, Woody!


I was blown away by the cake- this boot cake was the end-all, be-all of cakes. It was a monster- I'm guessing it was cut from at least a half-sheet cake. A&J Bakery on Oaklawn in Dallas made this yellow-cake and chocolate-frosted dream come true. I'm not ashamed to say I ate three pieces.

Because it was a book shower, my friends and family generously gave us copies of their favorite children's books. Sam has quite the library now! We got the Berenstain Bears, several Sandra Boynton classics, the full set of Boxcar Children books, and so many more. I already read one of the Hardy Boys books- quite an adventure! Everyone was so sweet explaining why they gave us each book- many were favorites of the shower guests or their children. I'm a huge book lover, so this was the perfect way to celebrate my sweet boy.




In true Betty-fashion, I completely forgot to take pictures of myself with any of my guests. I think my mom may have a few stashed on her camera.

As much fun as I had swapping stories with my friends and family, the real star of the show woke up from her nap half way through.

Isabella is going to be the best cousin ever!

A mermaid for a princess

My niece Isabella's first birthday was August 23rd. To celebrate, Nick and I flew to Texas. In true Texas fashion, this little girl needed a whole lotta cake to celebrate her first year on Earth. Enter- the mermaid cake!

My aunt Laura found the inspiration for this cake here. We used cake mix to make the process go a little faster.


She had a strawberry head, vanilla body, and chocolate and vanilla tail.

Avert your eyes, sailors, this mermaid isn't dressed yet!


Getting her hair done- chocolate cupcake style. And check out those luscious fruit roll up lips- so kissable!

We couldn't find any pastel Necco wafers, so cousin Grace was tasked with painting chocolate Neccos with edible glitter. It was time consuming, but the result was lovely!

Finally, she was ready for her close up- ooh la la!


Time to dig in!



Isabella was a true lady- she was so dainty while she ate this cake! She finally got a bit dirty when her daddy smeared some frosting on her face.

Here's to many more frosting-filled days!

A birthday cake

Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. A classic. Kind of like me, but sweeter.

Today is my birthday. Another fun fact about today? It's the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. More time to celebrate my birth, you lucky ducks! Another fun fact? It's also Prince William's birthday. Unfortunately we have not yet been able to exchange presents just yet, but soon. Very soon.

Birthdays are kind of weird. You didn't really do anything to earn and frankly, your parents should be commended for bringing you into the world and letting you stick around. But really, birthdays should be celebrated for one reason and one reason alone.

Cake.

Now, I'm not one to wait around all year for a delicious slice of sugary goodness. That's a regular occurrence in the Cupcake household. But birthdays deserve something a little extra special, dontcha think?

I got this recipe here, but I'm fairly certain it was stolen from Cook's Illustrated. What up, Chris Kimball? Dude knows his food.


Start by oiling and flouring some 9 inch pans. Really get in there with the oil. One of my cakes may have broken and may have been smushed back together. I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations.



Mix your dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk them up. Combine the wet ingredients and whisk them, too.


Then you should whip up some eggwhites. Set them aside.


Dump your flour and leavening into the empty bowl. Don't wash it out first. That's a waste of time.

Slowly mix your wet ingredients into your dry.


Then gently- I said gently!- fold in those egg whites. The whipped eggwhite is a delicate thing and needs some TLC.


Measure out your batter evenly into your prepared pans. Bake until done. Cool beside an open window if you're like me and don't have air conditioning. Or cable. Or 200 amp electrical service. I'm practically Amish!

While your cakes are cooling, you can wash dishes and clean up the flour bomb you made in your kitchen. Then, you ought to get your frosting on.


I'd never chocolate buttercream frosting before today. It was pretty darn simple. Get some cocoa.

Melt some butter.


Put the cocoa in your KitchenAid and aid the melted butter.

Mix it up.


Add approximately one ton of powdered sugar and drip of milk.

And beat the everloving fudge out of it.


Now comes the fun part. Dig out your cake stand. Mine lives in the basement on a shelf underneath the giant fake spider we use on Halloween. What? You don't keep yours next to arachnids?? Weird.

Put one layer of cake, maybe the "broken" one on the cake stand and slather on some frosting. Really give it a good coating.


Add the 2nd layer and admire.

Pour out the rest of the frosting on top. Wonder quietly to yourself if there is such a thing as too much frosting. Quickly dismiss the ridiculous notion and spread all over with an offset spatula.


I decorated mine with some swirlies and gold sprinkles in honor of the Bruins- go, go Black and Gold!

Then you can take your cake on a field trip. Oh the places this cake has been!

The great state of Texas (or just my Texas flag picnic table).



It lounged in the sun on the adirondack chair.


It even visited Kevin the garden gnome. Check out that kale! Kevin's been whispering sweet nothings to my veggies this year and they are growing like gangbusters!

Once the tour de garden is over, take the cake to your inlaws. Carefully balance it on the front seat of your SMART car, hold with one hand, drive with the other, and try to convince your 90 pound labradoodle not to knock it over as he's wedged in the trunk.


Conduct the ritual singing of "Happy Birthday".




Make a wish.



Eat a large slice and share a few others! 27 is going to be a good year.