Though I say I will stay away from making desserts I simply cannot. It is the one thing I enjoy making and consuming but it is very easy to find someone to bake for, usually. When we have company over for dinner, it seems as though Ryan and I discuss the dessert options before planning the meal itself. I mean, sometimes the dessert makes the meal, right? To make matters more challenging, not worse, I decided to take Wilton cake decorating classes. Since I enjoy baking and making cakes, I decided it was high time I learned to decorate my cakes better than I have. I have always been one to take classes rather than to teach myself because, well, I like interacting with the teacher and chatting with others. I LIKE it!
One of the things I realized that attending an evening class after being busy with two small girls makes it very challenging coming prepared to class with baked cakes, cupcakes and being set up with all the cake decorating equipment. I probably failed my prep class tonight because I hardly had half the items I needed for my class, but like I told my husband, I managed and succeeded in decorating my first cake. Not only was I happy and tired but the class was also therapeutic. What exactly did I really need to learn from a class that I could not learn on my own? Well, probably nothing that I could not read, but I learned the difference between three icing consistencies. The stiff icing was perfect for cake flowers and decorations while the medium icing was great for filling and the thin consistency was all about the cake topping. I learned in my first class how to cook a cake evenly and even how to slice a cake evenly in order to add filling. What was most exciting was learning how to not let the filling seep from the middle outside the cake. Yes!
Now who wants the cake I prepared tonight? Any birthdays out there? I will drop it off for you. Before I started these evening classes I decided to make a chocolate cake for our guests who came to dinner a few weeks back. Even though I knew I enjoyed making cake, I really did not know what kind of icing to make especially since I only half a stick of butter so I went with a frosting instead. It totally did not come out the way I wanted and was disappointed and wondered what I did but then I realized that the amount of liquid to bring the frosting consistency together has to be done carefully or else the frosting comes out too thin which is what I did.
Even so, the cake turned out to be a great hit especially since it was chocolate. I spiked the preserves with vodka and then filled the cake with the filling and frosted the cake with a chocolate cream cheese frosting. All in all, it was super moist and decadent. Our friends were surprised I even had time to bake it which honestly enough, I was too. Having a hard time deciding what to make this weekend? Make this cake and bring everyone together to talk about the resurrection of Jesus. I know some people on Instagram have been requesting to see the recipe. So enjoy!
Double Chocolate Cake with Spiked Raspberry Filling
cake recipe by King Arthur Flour
filling by Noelle Kelly
frosting by Allrecipes.com
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients (10 slices)
Cake
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1/2 cup brewed, cooled coffee, or water
4 large eggs
Spiked Raspberry Filling
2 – 10-ounce jars Polaner’s All Fruit Raspberry Jam
1/4 cup vodka
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons milk
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Cake
Place a strainer over a large mixing bowl. Measure in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and sugar. Sift/shake the dry ingredients through the strainer into a mixing bowl, to eliminate any lumps.
Add the butter and mix at low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer running, add the oil and continue mixing until the mixture looks like sand.
Combine the vanilla with the milk and coffee or water, and add all at once. Mix for 1 minute at low speed, stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix for 30 seconds.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well at medium-high speed between additions. The batter will be thin.
Pour the batter into two 9″ round pans. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 28 to 30 minutes for 9″ layers. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack before frosting.
Spiked Raspberry Filling
Mix the raspberry filling with the vodka and mix well.
Chocolate Cheese Frosting
In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese,confectioner’s sugar, butter, vanilla, cocoa, and cinnamon. Add 1 Tablespoon at a time of milk to make sure you get spreadable consistency. Beat in additional milk if necessary. For a darker frosting add more cocoa or up to 4 ounces melted chocolate. Spread onto cooled cake.
Assembly
Cut each cake round in evenly in half. Place one cake round base on a cake plate. Divide the raspberry preserves and spread evenly over cake layer. Top with another cake layer and add the rest of the raspberry filling. Add the last cake layer and frost the cake with a spatula and spread frosting evenly around the cake until complete.
I recently had a chance to read a very entertaining book that hit close to home. Jennifer Cohen’s book We’ll Always Have Paris: A Mother / Daughter Memoir was released on April 8th and chronicles Jennifer’s adventures traveling throughout Europe with her daughter Katie over an eight-year span.
Here is a little synopsis of the book:
Jennifer Coburn has been looking in the rear view mirror expecting to see the Grim Reaper for the last 20 years—ever since she lost her father to lung cancer when she was just 19. When she became a mom herself, Coburn vowed to jam-pack her daughter Katie’s mental scrapbook with beautiful memories…starting in Paris.
Jennifer Coburn, author of “We’ll Always Have Paris”, with her daughter Katie
In her forthcoming memoir, We’ll Always Have Paris: A Mother/Daughter Adventure (ISBN: 9781402288630; April 8, 2014; $14.99 U.S.; Memoir; Trade Paper), Coburn shares details of their summer travels through Europe, one city at a time, united by their desire to see the world and spend precious time together.
Even though her husband can’t join them, even though she’s nervous about venturing overseas, and even though she’s perfectly healthy and not actually dying, Coburn decides to leave the bathroom and kitchen repairs for another day, and invest in building memories with her daughter.
Their journey begins in Paris when Katie is 8, and ends in Paris in 2013, when Katie is 16, after taking month-long trips to more than a dozen European (including Paris, London, Rome, Salerno, Florence, Venice, Madrid, Seville, Granada, Barcelona, and Amsterdam).
Whether they are sleeping at Shakespeare and Company Booksellers in Paris, singing Korean folk songs at the Alhambra, playing charades with the locals in Pompeii, or visiting the Salvador Dalí Triangle in Spain, this is the story of how one mother lets go of the fear of death—and how her daughter teaches her to enjoy life.
Nowadays I seem to choose books that have a parallel with my life and I was very intrigued by the title of this book and looked forward on the adventure it would take me with the author. Ms. Cohen took her 8-year old daughter on a European adventure for month-long treks visiting different countries. I personally felt a connection with every adventure this mother and daughter went through.
My grandmother started taking me on trips at the age of 6, starting with a trip to exotic New Mexico. Yes. My first plane trip and days away from my family. I took it with stride which is why my grandmother continued these trips with European adventures by the age of 13. As Ms. Cohen retold her adventures in Rome, Paris, Florence, Venice and more, I was was transported back and realized how thankful I was to have these memories with my grandmother and the cultural education it gave me for the rest of my life.
Maybe some will not think it is feasible to take a month out of our personal lives to take such an expensive trip, but Ms. Cohen and her family made sacrifices in order for them to be able to give a specific experience to their daughter. Whether it be Europe or across America, family trips are always an experience and can leave lasting impressions on young kids.
I especially enjoyed reading this book and laughing out loud with no care in the world. This book is thoroughly entertaining and even though I do not personally know Ms. Cohen, I feel like I connected with her. My desire as a mother to travel and have my daughters experience the different cultures around the world is high on my list. I look forward sharing this with them.
I had a chance to ask the author a few questions of my own.
“If you had the chance to do it again, would you? if not, why?
Without a doubt. Traveling with Katie has been an absolute gift because I got to see her experience new and exciting places. I loved her observations about the world. And frankly, I learned a lot from her, seeing how she accepts life exactly as it is.
On our second day in Paris, we went to a café where babies were not welcome, but dogs were fine. There were several sitting at their owners’ feet like bathroom rugs. A waiter brought eight-year-old Katie a hamburger that was like nothing she’d ever seen. On top of it was a sunny-side-up egg. I was really nervous about how my eight-year-old was going to react. Everything she had experienced in the last two days was new and different. Now, even the familiar hamburger was weird in France. But she looked at, shrugged and said “I guess you get breakfast with your lunch in Paris.”
Later during that same trip, we had the unique opportunity to sleep at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore on the Left Bank. The store lets poor, young travelers – they call them Tumbleweeds — sleep on cots in the bookstore after they close at midnight in exchange for a few hours of work in the store. And if you are a writer, you can sleep in the Writer’s Studio where Henry James once stayed – but the sheets hadn’t been changed since.
A tornado of gnats came from the faucet. A box of Ritz crackers were in the corner with a picture of Andy Griffith when he was 30 years old. Katie’s bed was a door resting on two file cabinets – of unequal height – with a yoga mat as a mattress.
It was broiling hot so I opened the window, and at the same moment, Katie and I shared our thoughts.
I said, “Yuck, I smell hot garbage from the dumpster on the street below.” Katie said, “Look at our view of Notre Dame Cathedral!”
So Katie taught me that sometimes you need to just hold your nose and look for what’s beautiful.
“Would you take more than one child?”
I only have one child so the choice for me was easy. I only brought my own. If I had more I probably would take them all unless there was a big age gap between them. A trip to Paris with an eight-year-old daughter becomes something entirely different when you add a three-year-old boy and a baby to the mix. (Then again, that could be a lovely trip too.)
“Any marital repercussions because of the decision?”
None. My husband and I negotiated what would need to happen to make the trip feasible and both upheld our ends of the deal. If anything it helped our marriage by giving us a little time apart. He enjoyed having time alone and we both had a chance to miss each other.
“Were people friendly during your travels?”
People were incredibly friendly, which was one of the benefits of traveling without my husband. People tend to see families as a closed unit, but a mother and daughter are much more approachable. Europeans – especially Italians – saw a mother and daughter and wanted to help us (usually by feeding us).
We did have an unpleasant run-in immediately upon our arrival in Italy. Our taxi driver in Rome swindled me out of 50 euro by switching bills that I handed him, claiming I paid him too little. I was so exhausted and confused after our very long flight. When I handed over another bill, he gave me a smarmy grin and said, “Welcome to Roma.” It was a very unsettling first interaction.
Later that night, I told a deli owner what had happened and he felt so sorry for Katie and me that he made us a beautiful dinner. “Now, welcome to Roma,” he said. This type of generosity was very common.
“Would you allow your daughter to travel on her own and stay with European families?”
I expect that Katie will study abroad when she’s in college, but right now I am hanging to every moment I’ve got before she graduates high school in 14 months.
“Will there be a follow-up book?”
I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. I am getting a lot of feedback from early readers saying they’d like to her more about growing up in New York City in the 1970s.
“Would you move overseas?”
I don’t know that I’d permanently relocate because I am so attached to the life we’ve built here. But I often fantasize about spending a year in Barcelona. Or Florence. Or, of course, Paris. Sigh.
Jennifer Coburn is a USA Today bestselling author of six novels and contributor to four literary anthologies. Over the past two decades, Coburn has received numerous awards from the Press Club and Society for Professional Journalists for articles that appeared in Mothering, Big Apple Baby, The Miami Herald, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and dozens of national and regional publications. She has also written for Salon.com, Creators News Syndicate, and The Huffington Post. Coburn lives in San Diego with her husband, William, and their daughter, Katie. We’ll Always Have Paris is her first memoir.
Thank you Jennifer for letting me interview you! Pick up this book for your mother for Mother’s Day or enter for a chance at winning your own copy of this this entertaining book?
One US or Canadian reader will have a chance to win this book.
This review was made possible by DoubleDutyDivas and Pampers. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine
Winter is over and with springtime now upon us, it’s not too early to start thinking about the many ways to WIPE out the winter blues. Spring cleaning can be rough, especially for moms of babies, so the team at Pampers is looking to make the process as “gentle” as possible. When I found out that my first daughter had sensitive skin, I knew I had to find the perfect wipes and diapers for my baby’s bum. Pamper’s Sensitive Wipes became the household requirement in our changing room and even 2 years later, we still use them with our second daughter.
The wipes are clinically proven mild, dermatologist-tested, hypoallergenic, and perfume-free, which helps make changing time even better. Pampers Sensitive wipes are even 20% thicker than other regular wipes. During changing time, my baby has the best gentle cleaning. Gentle cleaning is sometimes sought out in our own homes especially when it comes to spring cleaning. When I thought of a gift to give to a friend of mine, I already thought of all the cleaning she had to be doing in order to move out of her house. I thought at least she needed was a gentle and relaxing cleaning for herself, so to speak. With the gift card I was provided, I thought I would give my friend the gift of gentle clean by her having the option of getting a facial, manicure, pedicure or even a massage in order for to relax from all the cleaning she had to do.
In addition to that I threw in the hand lotion for her to have on hand after all those hard days of cleaning before moving out day.
How about a chance to share with other moms exchanging ideas and tips to help make spring cleaning “gentle” while using Pampers Wipes to clean babies toughest messes? Check out the Twitter party that will take place on April 8, 2014 from 9-10pm EST. RSVP for the party here: http://twtvite.com/PampersGentleClean
To participate, follow your hosts @DoubleDutyDivas, @BridgetteLA, @CeceliaMecca @AngieKcom @WhatMommiesNeed @RamblingChick, and our sponsor @Pampers.
Twitter Party Prizes Include:
1 Box of Pampers Sensitive Wipes (448 ct) + $50 SpaFinder.com Gift Card
1 Box of Pampers Sensitive Wipes (448 ct) + $50 Car Cleaning Service Gift Card
1 Box of Pampers Sensitive Wipes (448 ct) + $100 Merry Maids Gift Card
1 Box of Pampers Sensitive Wipes (448 ct)
1 Box of Pampers Sensitive Wipes (448 ct) + Roomba Pet and Allergy (ARV $450)
Can’t make it to the party? How about entering to win your own Gentle Spring Cleaning basket? Check out the entry form below. One US reader will win all the contents shown below. Good luck!
Meals On Wheels Delaware is a nonprofit organization working with five meal-providing agencies and thousands of volunteers from corporations, civic, religious and community groups. Together, the program provides and delivers meals every day to over 4,000 homebound seniors. In fact, last year nearly 635,000 meals were delivered throughout the state. Meals On Wheels Delaware joins the partnership by providing additional financial and volunteer resources to agency providers to ensure that seniors throughout Delaware are given the support they need. Meals On Wheels Delaware provides more than a meal…it also provides the gift of health, independence, and companionship to homebound seniors in Delaware.
Who can you call to ask about Meals On Wheels in your neighborhood?
Meals On Wheels Delaware has five member agencies that provide meals throughout the state. Please contact the agency in your county by calling them directy.
Want to provide help in a different way or in addition to your volunteer service? Are you a foodie who loves tasting gourmet foods? Check out the The Meals from the Masters event happening at the end of the month that benefit Meals on Wheels Delaware and help serve homebound seniors.
Enjoy tastings by 45+ top local and regional restaurants, sample 20+ craft breweries in the tented beer garden, wine and unique cocktails, live music and so much more! Meet WSTW’s Spencer Graves as he hosts the event. This is a 21 years or older event.
April 25, 2014 • 6:30 – 10:00 pm
Doubletree Downtown • 700 N King St • Wilmington, DE
Can’t make it Friday? How about Sunday Brunch on April 27th?
The Meals from the Masters weekend of events culminates on Sunday with the 17th Annual Celebrity Chefs’ Brunch, showcasing the culinary talents from chefs from across the United States and beyond.
In addition to decadent food, wine and specialty cocktails, all guests enjoy a silent auction featuring high-end culinary items, travel packages, one-of-a-kind experiences and luxury gifts. Since 1998, the Celebrity Chefs’ Brunch has been a highlight on the culinary calendar for philanthropic foodies!
April 27, 2014 • 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Hercules Plaza • 1313 North Market Street • Wilmington, DE
Want a chance to win tickets to the brunch? Check out this giveaway. One winner will get TWO tickets to attend on April 27th. Go and enter now! This is a $350 value.
This is a post sponsored by MomSelect. All opinions are my own.
I am now officially a mother of two rambunctious girls. My 13-month old daughter officially started walking a week and a half ago and there really is no stopping her. Now that she is non-stop moving, she is very aware of everything her older sister gets to do. Whatever I serve her older sister, she also desires. It sounds pretty crazy but it is happening vice-versa. My 2-year old daughter asks to eat food packets like her sister and I try to convince her that she has plenty of teeth to chew the whole food I serve her.
I never knew how convenient puréed food would be even for my toddler. My younger child has a total of 8 teeth and even though I use baby-led weaning for feeding my baby, I still rely on puréed food especially for the veggie purees. It is incredible that kids can look at a plate and refuse all the green veggies or even veggies in general, so that is when I fall back to puréed veggies.
As a busy mom, I have to admit that I rely heavily on food packets and jarred baby food. My time is very limited and while I freeze some foods, sometimes I do not get to making fresh batches of food. As my youngest grows older and eats more solid foods, the faster it is required of me to make fresh baby food. When buying already prepared foods, I really try to buy organic or the freshest ingredients.
I recently received a sampling of Beech-Nut’s new line of real baby food. It is all-natural baby food with no additional ingredients. I was able to taste each jar before my daughter consumed all products within a day. Yes. She ate it all for either breakfast, lunch or snack. I received two jars of stage one baby food that consisted of one veggie and one fruit that were so delicious and very fresh. The stage 2 baby food were unique combination of just fruits and just veggies. I like the idea of not combining fruit and veggies to make kids eat their veggies so it was nice to see my youngest daughter quickly consume the Just Spinach, Zucchini, and Peas combo.
The Beets, Pear, and Pomegranate purée was very delicious and probably my favorite. I have made something similar to this combination of fruits that made me happy to say that I would definitely buy this line of real baby food. Beech-Nut uses a gentle cooking™ method that ensures the freshness of their fruits and vegetables, without adding water, so that their food is never over-processed. Here are a few other new flavors: • just honeycrisp apple • just sugarsnap peas • just mango, kiwi & papaya • just mango, apple & avocado • beets, pear & pomegranate • just pear, raspberry & asparagus • just apple & aronia berry • spinach, zucchini & quinoa The new Beech-Nut line will be available in stores, including Wal-Mart, Kroger, Meijer and Publix, in spring 2014 so make sure to visit their website, www.beechnut.com, for more information about their flavors and to find the new Beech-Nut line in your neighborhood. The suggested retail price of a 4.25oz bottle is $1.09.
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