Ben's Birthday and Angel Food Cake!

Last weekend was Ben's 27th birthday!

He had just gotten a new row boat, so we went out in that to celebrate the day.

 Luckily it was beautiful out and we really enjoyed ourselves!

We explored new beaches.

Found treasures.

Admired the scenery.

And enjoyed the sunset.

For his birthday dessert Ben had requested an angel food cake with mocha whipped cream, and the same dark chocolate ice cream I had made for the FIL's birthday but with peanut butter swirled in. I complied.

I used this same recipe for the ice cream, but at the last minute of churning I spooned in some slightly melted peanut butter. It took some light stirring by hand, but I swirled it in pretty well! That was all done the day before so it would freeze properly.

I also made the cake the day before, but frosted it the day of. I used Cathy Burgett's recipe for angel food cake. It's the BEST!  Here it is!

Angel Food Cake
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup sifted cake flour (regular flour will work too)
1/2 tsp. salt
10 egg whites
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (I didn't use this and just doubled the vanilla)

-Have ready one unbuttered 9" tube cake pan or springform pan. Preheat the oven to 350*.
-Sift the sugar twice.
-Sift the flour three times with 1/4 cup of the sifted sugar and the salt.

-Whip the egg whites with the lemon juice until the mixture is foamy, then add the cream of tartar and continue whipping at medium speed until the whites take in a lot of air and are stiff but not dry. Do not overbeat the whites. They should be just softly peaked.

-Gradually whip in the remaining 1 cup sifted sugar. The whites should just fall over slightly when lifted up from the whisk.
-Sift the flour/sugar mixture in thirds over the batter. Fold it in gently and briefly after each addition.

-Fold in the extracts with the last addition of flour.

-Pour the batter into the unbuttered tube cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes,

or until the cake is lightly golden on top.

 A knife inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean.

-To cool, invert the pan and let the cake hang by resting the pan on its legs for about an hour.

-When the cake has cooled, turn it right side up and loosen it by running a knife around the outside edge and around the center tube. Invert the cake onto a wire rack or onto a serving platter.

-If the cake is to be used within a day, wrap it in plastic wrap and store it at room temperature. Wrap it in foil for freezing up to one week.

On the day of Ben's birthday i whipped a few cups of cream with some powdered sugar, a tablespoon of instant espresso powder and a few ounces of melted dark chocolate. I covered the whole cake, covered the sides with chocolate shavings, and piped a boarder on top. Oh, and what birthday cake would be complete without sprinkles?! I do love sprinkles!

Everyone gathered at the table, and I lit the candles. Ben blew them out and we dug in!

Everything turned out great! I ate about five times as much as I should have, but I totally enjoyed every bite! The ice cream was especially good. I loved the big chunky swirls of peanut butter in it.

Seriously, what is better than dark chocolate and peanut butter with a bit of cream and sugar mixed in?!

NOTHING!

All in all it was a total success! Ben opened his presents, we watched a movie, and snuck another spoonful of ice cream before calling it a night. What a fun day!!!

Happy birthday Ben! I love you!

Pumpkin Roulade for Bonnie

Hello friends! Happy weekend! Last night at the bakery I was in Autumn mode. I dyed the rice krispie treats orange and put Fall sprinkles on top, I decorated pumpkin sugar cookies, and I adapted one of Cathy Burgetts roulade recipes for my old friend Bonnie.

Bonnie and I have known each other since fourth grade. We were friends through the New Kids on the Block faze, sleepovers with "light as a feather, stiff as a board" and princess underwear. Her dad took us to Marine World at some point, and ever since then I have felt like I owed her, cuz Marine World was awesome! So I'm finally paying her back with this pumpkin roulade recipe. Hopefully she'll get to make it before her third baby girl arrives! This is for you Bon Bon!

Pumpkin Roulade with Vanilla Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. clove
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup pureed pumpkin
2 Tbs. vanilla
1 Tbs. molasses
6 egg whites

For the filling
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tbs. vanilla

To make 
-Preheat the oven to 350*
-Prepare a 1/2 sheet pan by buttering it, lining it with parchment paper, buttering it again, and flouring it. Tap out the excess flour.
-Sift together 1 cup of the sugar with the rest of the dry ingredients onto a sheet of parchment paper.

-In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, oil, pumpkin and vanilla until well blended.

-Gently stir the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture.
-Beat the egg whites gradually until they hold soft peaks. Continue beating at high speed and meringue the whites with the 1/2 cup remaining sugar. Beat the whites until they are stiff and glossy, but not powdery.

-Fold 1/3 of the whites into the yolk batter to lighten it,

 then fold in the rest of the whites until thoroughly mixed in.

-Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, and spread it evenly with an offset spatula.

-Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges of the cake just start to pull away from the sides of the pan, and the middle of the cake feels springy to the touch. You can insert a tooth pick, and it should come out clean.
-Remove from the oven, and cool completely in the pan.
-While cake is cooling make your filling. Pour cream into a mixer and sift the powdered sugar over it. Whisk on high until soft peaks form. Add in vanilla and continue whisking until you have stiff peaks. Set aside.

-When the cake is cool, sprinkle it liberally with powdered sugar. Cover the surface with a piece of parchment paper, and invert the cake.

 Peel off the parchment paper on which the cake was baked.

-Spread the filling onto the rectangle of cake.

-Using the parchment on which the cake is sitting, roll up the cake, starting at the long end,

 into a log.

-Place the roulade, whole or cut, on a cardboard cut to fit it, or directly onto a serving platter, and sprinkle with a final dusting of powdered sugar.

This is such an Autumnal, fragrant and delicious cake! It looks so impressive, but don't be fooled by the long instruction list. It is easy! Your family and friends will "ooh and aah" when you show up with this for parties, or  if you're not careful your husband will eat most of it while you're not looking!

As a variation, you could substitute brandy or rum for the vanilla in the whipped cream filling. But you'll have many opportunities to try different flavors, because once you make this you'll have to make it again and again!

Enjoy!

Some Artisana Nut Butter Love

Hey everyone! The weekend it almost here!!! Ok, I'll try not to get too excited.

Today I really wanted to share with you my new love: Artisana raw organic nut butters!!! YUM! The fabulous folks over at Artisana sent me a package brimming with goodies, and I have been devouring their fantastic variety as fast as possible.

I. Am. In. Love!

First, here's an excerpt from the letter they sent me.
Premier Organics, manufacturers of Artisana organic foods, headquartered in Oakland, CA was founded in 2002 with devotion to sustainable living and through our community we support the organic and living foods movement, the Earth and her forests. We try o buy our foods as close to the farmer as possible. In many cases we are able to buy straight from the organic farmers. It's a choice. It's how we operate. It's how we live our lives. Premier Organics offers Artisana organic raw and now lightly roasted nut butters and cacao butter. The facility is free of peanuts, gluten, and soy and operates under strict food safety protocol. All products are certified organic by QAI and Kosher by KSA. Products are available throughout the U.S., Canada and Internationally.


Nut butters have also been shown to be beneficial to your health. Scientific evidence shows that incorporating walnuts in a healthy diet reduces the risk of heart disease by improving blood vessel elasticity and plaque accumulation. By aiding in the lowering of LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and the C-Reactive Protein (CRP). Coconut has been shown to help reduce LDL cholesterol, help balance female hormones, and assist in weight loss. Nuts really are a super food.


 Here are just some of the ways that I have been enjoying all of the different varieties.

On a banana.

I found that the pecan had an almost smoky aftertaste, even though it's raw. It was very full flavored, and paired well with my banana. Plus no sugar, preservatives or artificial flavors! Score!

 In my oatmeal.

 Walnut may have been my least favorite, and it was still really good!
Not to mention that I was getting my Omega-3 for the day! Thanks walnut butter!

More banana, this time with cocoa nibs too!

I have to say, this cashini is one of my favorites! Very smooth, flavorful, nutty, and delicious on everything! Big score on this new product, Artisiana! Gooood stuff!

I made a tahini based salad dressing.

This stuff was SO good! There is zero bitterness to the Artisana tahini, which has been a problem for me with some other brands of tahini. It is smooth and creamy. I wish I had a vat of this stuff! I can only imagine what it would do for my hummus! The dressing made with lime and jalepeno flavored olive oils was perfect on my southwestern salad!

Cacao bliss was very tasty on my waffle! I would have liked for this to be a bit smoother, but the combo of chocolate and coconut was amazing, and if I had more I'd be sucking it out of the package!

Coconut butter is another favorite!!! I used this packet in a smoothie with a banana, an avocado, 1 tsp vanilla, and vanilla rice milk. So creamy, and the coconut flavor really came out! YUM!

I really want to try more things with the coconut butter like icing desserts with it, mixing it into my oatmeal, and baking coconut butter cookies (instead of peanut butter cookies). Don't know if that last one will work out, but it's worth a try!

Yesterday when we went to town I grabbed another couple of these fabulous nut butter pouches and shoved them into my purse. At about 3 pm we were still without lunch and I was ravenous! I pulled out a pouch of almond butter and an apple and got the hunger beast under control! That in itself is a fantastic selling point for me. I loved having tasty, healthy, real food available instead of stopping for some fries. These little pouches are the best!

You can order these cute little pouches of nut butters from Artisana here, or look for their products at your local natural foods store! These products are fresh, healthy and great quality. If you are a nut butter lover then you have GOT to try Artisiana! I am thoroughly impressed, and most definitely in love!