Happy Birthday to me via German Chocolate Cake

Tradition in my family dictates that the birthday girl (or boy) gets a birthday dinner - picking the menu or restaurant and the cake. At 32, this isn't that big of a deal anymore. At least as the restaurant goes. The cake, however, is still pretty special.

Half of the cake went into the freezer in nice, plump slices. Bring it out and let it sit for a few minutes until room temperature and it's almost as good as the day after it was made.

Cake:
1 package (4 oz) Baker's German sweet chocolate
1/2 cup water
4 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

Filling & Frosting:

4 egg yolks
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 package (7 oz) coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
 
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter three 9-inch round baking pans and line with parchment paper. 
Melt chocolate, heating until just melted and stirring. 
Beat egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks form. 
In another bowl, mix flour baking soda and salt. 
Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well between each one.
Blend in chocolate and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. 
Add egg whites and stir gently until well blended. Pour into pans. 
Bake 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes before turning onto wire racks. Be careful turning out, as this cake is incredibly delicate. Cool completely before frosting.

 

To make frosting, beat egg yolks, milk and vanilla in a large saucepan with a whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter. Cook on medium heat 12 minutes or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add coconut and pecans, mix well and cool. 

How to Eat a Mango

I've eaten mangoes in several countries on two continents.
I love mangoes and will eat them regardless of how messy there are.
I've eaten them on the way to work, in the car, risking my shirt and getting juice all over my front.

Not smart. But thankfully, a fruit seller in Washington Heights has an ingenius method: as a flower on a stick.

Nori Gato Cookies

Nori is a sweet little calico cat who lives in an apartment on the upper (upper) west side. She used to be an alley cat, begging passersby for scraps, until my sister scooped her up and gave her a forever home.

Little Nori became fat and cantankerous and had to be put on an eating regimen and diet. Now slim and sleek, her new new look has brought out a sweet side and more gentle temperament.

These calico cookies are named for Nori.


Nori Gato Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
250 g flour
1 tsp baking soda
225 g granulated sugar
200 g brown sugar
225 g oats, ground in a blender
3oz of each: semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, & white chocolate chips
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter. Add sugars and blend until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture and blend. Add vanilla and blend until all ingredients are well incorporated. Fold in chips. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.

Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins

Using up the remains of my sister's kitchen before the move, we made a whole army of cookies and a delicious raspberry pound cake. All good stuff, but nothing that seemed like breakfast this morning.

Plus, I just read an article on BBC about how sugar ages your skin. Oh mon dieu, if they're right, I'm going to look ninety soon!

Soaking the oats in buttermilk turns it to oatmeal pre-baking and helps incorporate them into the muffin batter. A great little technique. I'm wondering what else I can use it in. These muffins are not too sweet, making them perfect for a little honey or fruit preserves.

Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins
1 cup oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/3 packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground flax seed
2/3 cup raspberry, fresh or frozen

Mix the oats and buttermilk and let set 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add egg, sugar and oil to oat mixture and blend. Blend in dry ingredients, then gently fold in raspberries. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-17 minutes.

Wondrous Small Cakes

This week I'm in New York City helping my sister pack up and move. In the process, we realized there were four sticks of butter in the frig that simply couldn't be wasted. So we dug this recipe out of one of the boxes and whipped up a batch of small cakes. They are an awful lot like shortbread cookies and would make an excellent crust for fruit pies or put in mini muffin pans as cups for fruit preserves or berry compote. They are highly addictive with tea. I found some delicious roasted green tea at a store in Korea town and it's the perfect pairing.

Small Cakes
adapted from The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock
Makes 12 cakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground ginger
demearara sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 12 muffin tins or muffin pan.
Put butter, flour, sugar, salt, and ginger in a bowl. Mix on low until blended. (I do this with my fingers.)
Spoon equal amounts of  batter into muffin tins and press gently to flatten. Top with demearara sugar. 
Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Cool for five minutes before turning onto a cooling rack.

Eagle Brand Magic Lemon Pie

My family often escapes to North Georgia for the Fourth of July. It's a little cooler up in the mountains where my grandmother lives and let's face it, any degree below the 100+ temps and killer humidity we've been having in Atlanta is welcome. Plus, the small towns around here throw the best birthday parties for America. I'm not sure how they do it, but the fireworks are always amazing. The little downtown areas come alive and every four-way stop is a traffic jam, especially this year since they just discontinued the only two red lights in town. If I listed all the food we consumed, one would easily think we were providing for a small army camped out in the hills. But no, just three petite women with healthy holiday appetites. By the second day we had run through all the planned desserts so my Granny whipped up an Eagle Brand Lemon Pie. This is a recipe from "The Dessert Lovers'Handbook" printed in 1969. In the introduction, it explains that "Eagle Brand is the 'magic' milk product...And what a wonderfully easy way of getting extra milk in your family's diet!" I just might be gullible enough to believe this, or let it make me feel a little better eating something magical!

Filling
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice (we used 2.5 large lemons)
2 egg yolks
Combine the milk and juice. Blend in the yolks.
The original recipe calls for a pastry shell or crumb crust. We use ground Nilla Wafers in the center surrounded by whole wafers standing up for the crust. Starting in the middle, pour in the filling. Meringue
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread on top of the filling. Bake at 325 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. I like this best chilled.

Vintage Revival @ the goat farm

I've been hearing about a compound in the middle of bustling Atlanta where acres of land lay littered with broken barns and hidden gems of hide-outs. Where a pulsing vibe echos through the buildings as artists jam out in the old cotten gin and find sanctuary in their studios. Where the Vintage Revival pop-up market makes it home this weekend.

Entering the Goat Farm today and walking up the dirt road was like entering a different space far from the city. It almost forgave the 100+ degree heat and the Georgia sun. What didn't was soothed by a cold King of Pops chocolate and orange popsicle.