The Perfect Birthday Cake

Last week marked the first birthday of A Thyme To Eat. Suzie and I have enjoyed sharing our kitchens and culinary adventures with you all and look forward to another great year. I was recently asked to bake a yellow cake with chocolate frosting for a friend's birthday party and thought that this would be the perfect post for the occasion.

This was actually my first time baking this type of cake so I ended up doing quite a bit of research before settling on a recipe. Several blogs that I respect listed Martha Stewarts recipe as being the best, and I have to say that I agree. This cake managed to be light and rich all at once. And the frosting absolutely made this cake. If you only have time to make one thing from scratch, make this frosting! It is so worth it and will literally melt in your mouth.

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Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients
For the cake
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups whole milk

For the frosting
1 lb semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons Ghiradelli cocoa powder
6 tablespoons boiling water
3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of two round cake pans with parchment paper and grease the pans with either butter and dusted with flour or the Crisco baking spray.

 In the bowl of your electric mixer with the paddle attachment, add the 2 sticks of butter and sugar. Cream on medium speed until fluffy.

 While the butter and sugar is creaming, combine the flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

 Once the butter and sugar is ready, add the eggs one at a time, blending on medium speed fully until adding the next egg.

 Add in the vanilla and blend in.

 With the mixer on low speed, add in a third of the flour followed by a third of the milk and blend in fully. Repeat two more times until all the milk and flour is blended in.

 Pour the batter evenly between the two cake pans. Place in the oven and bake, rotating halfway through until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.

 When ready, remove the pans from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes.

 After 20 minutes, remove from the pan and return to the wire rack until the cakes are completely cooled to room temperature.

Meanwhile, chop the chocolate and place into a heat resistant bowl.

 Place a top of a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is fully melted and smooth.

 When smooth, remove the chocolate from the heat and let cool for about 25 minutes until it reaches room temperature.

 While the chocolate is cooling, combine the boiling water and baking powder in a small bowl and stir until fully blended.

 When the chocolate is ready, cream the 3 sticks of butter and confectioner's sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.

 Pour in the melted chocolate and beat on low speed until completely blended.

 Pour in the water and cocoa powder mixture and beat until mixed in. If you want your frosting at a thicker consistency, let sit in the fridge for an hour or so. I thought it was just right and put it right on the cake.

 Scoop about a cup of frosting onto the bottom cake, you may want to level the top off to remove the rounded top.

 Smooth out the frosting then place the second layer on top.

Add another cup of frosting on top of that layer and smooth it out and add more onto the sides until fully frosted.

The birthday boy, making a wish.

 Enjoy with coffee or milk.

Source: The Martha Stewart Baking Handbook

Buttermilk Chocolate Pound Cake and AnnaLou Glass

Today is one of the most beautiful days I can remember. I have all of our windows in the back of the house wide open. I can feel the fresh 70 degree breeze, bask in the gleaming sun, listen to leaves rustle, watch the puppies romp and play, and just take a deep breath and enjoy this beautiful moment in the midst of winter.

Our w.a.l.k. (if you have dogs you will understand) this morning in the crisp air. 

I want to share the most beautiful glass art I have ever seen, and I am lucky enough to be the sister-in-law of the artist, Anna Curnes! Here is a glass rose that she made for me (buttercup yellow, my favorite color), and here is the link to her website! http://www.annalouglass.com/index2.php#/home/

I fell down on my job as a good neighbor this Christmas. I did not make any fun treats to deliver the decorated doorsteps of my kind neighbors, each of whom dutifully delivered to our doorstep countless cookies, cakes and candies. I decided, rather than just write a thank you note for these sweet treats, I would make a sweet treat in return, in hopes that a special dessert would help start the New Year off on a sweet note!

Shafer Circa: yesterday

Cort Circa: 2008

I have the sweetest neighbors. When you buy a home, you never think about interviewing the neighbors to make sure you are compatible. I honestly didn't think about it until the day we moved in and I met pretty much each of my neighbors, and then I thought about it, and sighed a big sigh of relief, as they were all more delightful than I could have imagined. I appreciate that they watch out for us and our newspapers, deliveries, puppies, lights, anything when we are out of town, or even if we are just out of pocket for an hour! I appreciate that I can chat with them about trivial things, talk about deep things, or just barely wave at one another as we run through our days. However, my neighbors go above and beyond the standard neighborly expectations and niceties; they have built a small community on our block, one in which I am honored to have been accepted as a member.

Do you know your neighbors? If not, go garden out front for an hour...it is a great way to meet people and a great conversation starter.

This recipe is from the All Recipes website. One of the reasons that I chose this recipe was that it had a very high rating with tons of reviews. Another reason was because I had buttermilk in the fridge that I needed to use! Original Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-pound-cake-iii/detail.aspx

Cort with her CJ (my mom) on New Years at the lake. 

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Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of butter, softened
3 cups of white sugar
5 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 cup of buttermilk
2 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt

Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. The original recipe is for 10 inch bundt pan, but I used three 8 x 4 inch giftable loaf pans. I got them from the Container store, and they are wonderful, because you can bake your treat and then deliver them in the baking dish! http://www.containerstore.com/shop/giftPackaging/giftableBakingCupsPans?productId=10031613&N=80717
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. With a spoon, mix together and then set aside.
4. In your mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the butter mixture.
6. Stir the vanilla into the butter mixture.
7. Slowly add half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
8. Slowly add half of the buttermilk into the butter mixture.
9. Add the rest of the flour and then the rest of the buttermilk to the butter mixture.
10. Mix until combined, but do not over mix.
11. Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish or dishes.
12. If you are baking in one large dish, you will need to bake the cake for about 60 to70 minutes. I you are using smaller pans, you will need to watch. My three smaller dishes took about 35 minutes to be fully cooked.

13. Enjoy by yourself or share with a sweet neighbor!

Sleepy Shafer.