And blogging too!

I had a HUGE update post planned (about what we’ve been up to, and what I’ve got planned for fall), but I decided to break it down into several categories over the next few days.

Today we’ll focus on…The Littlest Apple.

The Birthday

He turned FOUR last week!

We had a small family party yesterday.  Pregnancy exhaustion and the record breaking temperatures here made me rethink my original plans to have a big superhero themed bash in the backyard with lots of friends.  I’m so glad we kept it small this year, though I think this is the last year I can get away with a family-only party!

I ordered these great Superhero invitations back when I was still planning a big bash (inspired by this amazing Vintage Pop Superhero Party from AndersRuff).  I LOVE the invitations and will definitely be looking to this amazing crew for future party ideas!

My plans to make The Littlest Apple a Superhero Cake came to a screeching halt when he requested pink cake with pink frosting (aka Strawberry Layer Cake).  After much deliberation, I decided to just go forward with my decorating plans and ignore the pink, knowing it wouldn’t be my best effort.  Thankfully, the pink frosting (homemade, with strawberry preserves) wasn’t as pink as I remembered.  I used some of Wilton’s Sugar Sheets to create a superhero logo for the top of the cake.  I freehanded the design based on the invitation.  Then I used the same sugar sheets with my big star punch for the stars.  Everyone thought the stars and logo were construction paper!  I’m no cake decorator, but this turned out better than I thought it would…

This year, to keep down the number of toys, we asked both sets of grandparents to help us buy a new swingset for our backyard.  This is the one we picked:

It will be delivered sometime this week.  But The Littlest Apple still got quite a few gifts too (mostly of the superhero variety)!

Preschool

The Littlest Apple goes back to preschool on Wednesday.  He’ll go on MWF and stay in the afternoons on Monday and Wednesday for Gardening and Drama electives.  We’re both really looking forward to preschool!  Because his birthday falls on the school cutoff, he’ll be repeating the 3′s class again this year with new teachers (who I already adore!).  I was worried about this at first, but after a playdate with his new classmates, I think he’s going to fit right in.  He’s still one of the smaller kids in the class, and maturity-wise, this is where he needs to be.  He’s actually not even the oldest one in the class!

Medical

4 year old vaccinations are traumatic for everyone involved.  Glad that’s over with.

His 4 year stats: Weight-32 pounds, 6 ounces (19%!).  Height-38 1/4 inches(14%).  Height has tapered off, but weight is still gaining steadily.

Gastroparesis/GI update: The GI doctor was very pleased with our progress when we were there in July (and he’s gained even more weight since then).  We’ve cut back his night feeds (via feeding tube) by 10% in the hopes that his appetite during the day will increase, which it has.  He actually eats something for breakfast on most days now!  I know we still have a long way to go until The Littlest Apple can eat enough orally to maintain his weight without the need for his g-button, but I’m feeling encouraged by his progress.  He’ll be starting an appetite stimulant again too (which we’ve tried once w/o success, but felt like trying again).  Our next appointment isn’t until November.

Next up, a pregnancy update…including the baby’s gender!  (I’m such a tease, ha!)

Banana Crumb Cake

recipe from Good Housekeeping, December 2010

Makes 12 servings

Coconut-Pecan Topping:

• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp.  ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Banana Cake:

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp.  baking soda
• 1/2 tsp.  ground cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp. butter or margarine, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp pure honey
• 2 lg eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup mashed bananas (from 3 very ripe medium bananas)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Prepare Coconut-Pecan Topping: In medium bowl, combine pecans, coconut, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissors-fashion, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with a few pea-size chunks remaining.

Prepare Banana Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 9-inch springform pan; line bottom with parchment paper and grease parchment.  In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until well blended.  In a large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat butter, sugar, and honey until light and creamy, about 5 minutes., scraping bowl occasionally.  Gradually add eggs, beating after each addition.  On low speed, add half of flour mixture, then mashed bananas and vanilla. Add remaining flour mixture and beat just until smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with crumb topping.  Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan on wire rack 10 minutes.  With small metal spatula, loosen cake from side of pan and remove  Cool completely.  (Cake can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature up to 1 day.)

I love the bright colors of the paper I used!  This is the best picture I have of the whole banner.  We intended to trim the ribbon the left side but got distracted with other party prep.

Love the bright colors!

I used some scrapbook paper purchased about 3 years ago when I thought I would have time to make these amazing scrapbooks to document The Littlest Apple’s life.  3 years later, this is the first time I’ve used this paper.  (You can see more of this paper in the background of the photo in my Apple Pie Scented Playdough post).  LOVE it!

So, Ross Boss and I didn’t really measure anything.  We eyeballed all of it.

First we played “guess and print” until we found a font style and size we liked.  I think we wound up using Font Size 500.  Then we printed out all of the letters we would need.

At this point, we were having trouble figuring out how to get the letters traced onto the solid cardstock.  Ross Boss said “It’s too bad you don’t have one of those cool light table things, so we could just trace the letters onto the cardstock.” And a lightbulb went off in my head…we could use a window. It was pure genius, I tell ya.

Except that it didn’t quite work for the green cardstock.  For the green letters, I just taped the cardstock behind the paper with the letter and cut through both sheets simultaneously.

Next, we glued the white cardstock to the colorful scrapbook paper, then glued the letter on top, leaving room at the top of the cardstock for hole punches.  We used adhesive spray, which works great for projects like this (and I much prefer it to Mod Podge), but Ross Boss and I both learned the hard way that it is REALLY hard to get the spray adhesive off your hands.

I added a rectangle with stars made with a giant star punch to separate “happy” and “birthday.”  I intended to add some stars randomly to the rest of the banner, but didn’t quite get back to that.

Finally, I punched holes at the top a few inches apart (using a regular hole punch) then fed my blue ribbon through, trying to make it lay as flat as possible against the backdrop of the white cardstock.

Now that I’ve entered the world of paper crafts, I can’t wait to make something else with all of the beautiful scrapbook paper.  You know, something besides scrapbooks!

PS.  I also wanted to share a FAIL.  While Ross Boss was working on cutting out the letters for the Happy Birthday Banner, I was attempting to make a Buzz Lightyear Cake, using this cakepan…

Have you ever tried decorating a cake like this?  Well I hadn’t, until this.  I knew it would be tedious, but it was SO DIFFICULT!  I probably should have practice my technique first with a simpler design.  Also, the little insert with the directions and the photo to use as your guide is reversed from the way your cake actually looks.  A few days after this FAIL, I realized I could have rigged up a mirror or something so that the image “matched” what I was trying to decorate.  But my brain kind of imploded while I was trying to do this.  After my cake broke coming out of the pan, trying to smooth it out with frosting (which effectively removed all of the contours of the cake pan), I only got as far as the black outlines (which I kind of just made up as I went along) and filling a few areas before I threw in the towel.  It took me several hours to do that much, and I didn’t even get to the main part of piping in the rest of the colors.  Besides, that was just a practice cake…I was either going to have to do it all over again the night before the party or somehow freeze this cake for a week until the party.  Cake decorating is so NOT my thing.

Poor, deranged Buzz….

We went with hastily decorated cupcakes and cupcake toppers instead.  And they were just fine.

Have YOU ever made a banner?  Have YOU ever used a shaped cake pan like this? What was your experience like?

A quick note about cake baking: I don’t make layer cakes very frequently (see photos below), and this was my first time lining my cake pans with parchment paper.  Not sure why I didn’t try this sooner!  It made getting the cakes out of the pans a breeze!  No more cakes falling apart as you flip them over to release them from the pan.  Definitely try this next time you bake a cake, if you haven’t already!

Strawberry Layer Cake

recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups pureed frozen strawberries
• 8 egg whites
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 to 2 drops red food dye, if using

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pans. Line with parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and strawberry puree and mix to blend the ingredients. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes; the batter will resemble strawberry ice cream at this point.

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk and red food dye, if using, to blend. Add the whites to the batter in two or three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and mixing only to incorporate after each addition. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans.

Bake the cakes for 30 to 34 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes. Invert and turn out onto wire racks and peel off the paper liners. Let stand until completely cooled before assembling the cake, at least an hour.

Strawberry Buttercream

recipe by me!

• 8 ounces unsalted softened butter
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/2 tablespoons strawberry preserves

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter & salt for about 30 seconds and then add half of the powdered sugar and the milk to the butter and beat again until combined. Scrape down the bowl.  Add the rest of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, the lemon juice, and the strawberry preserves and beat until combined.  Scrape down the bowl again.  Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy.

Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bundt Cake

adapted from One Hungry Mama who adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 c flour, plus 1 tsp for blueberries and zest
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 c packed light brown sugar
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 c sour cream
• 2 c blueberries
• 2 tbsp grated lemon zest
• nonstick cooking spray, for pan
  

For the crumble:

• 5 tbsp cold butter, cubed
• 3/4 c flour
• 1 c light brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 c freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk 2 1/2 cups flour with baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of sour cream.

In a bowl, toss blueberries and zest with remaining teaspoon flour; gently fold into batter. Coat a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan with cooking spray. Spread batter in prepared pan and set aside.

Prep the crumb topping: pulse brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and cold butter in a food processor until crumbly. Spread topping evenly over the batter, gently pressing down. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a rack.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze: in a small saucepan, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice over very low heat until smooth and warmed through.

Using a toothpick, poke holes over the top of your bundt cake and pour warm glaze evenly over it. Serve!

Until now.

My friends, THIS is the perfect cheesecake.  I wish I had pictures, but I brought this to Thanksgiving dinner, and we devoured what little leftovers I brought home before we remembered that we needed photos!  If you love cheesecake, then this is THE recipe for you!

Tall and Creamy Cheesecake

from Baking: From My Home To Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

For the Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

For the Cheesecake:

• 2 pounds (four 8-ounce boxes) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two (I used all heavy cream)

To Make the Crust: Butter a 9-inch springform pan–choose one that has sides that are 2 3/4 inches high (if the sides are lower, you will have cheesecake batter left over)–and wrap the bottom of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil.

Stir the crumbs, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl.  Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist.  Turn the ingredients into the springform pan and use a glass to pat an even layer of crumbs over the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides.  Don’t worry if the sides are not perfectly even or if the crumbs reach slightly above or below midway point on the sides.  Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.  (The crust can be covered and frozen for up to 2 months.)

Center a rack in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place the springform on a baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

To Make the Cheesecake: Put a kettle of water on to boil.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until soft and creamy, about 4 minutes.  With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat for another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla.  Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition–you want a well-aerated batter.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.

Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in a roasting pan that is large enoug to hold the pan with some space around it.

Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that there is nothing left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pan.  The batter will reach the rim of the pan.  (If you have a pan with lower sides and have leftover batter, you can bake the batter in a buttered ramekin or small souffle mold.)  Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into it to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, at which point the top should be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan.  Turn off the oven and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon.  Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.

After 1 hour, carefully pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster–be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil–and remove the foil.  Let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.

When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, overnight is better.

At serving time, remove the sides of the springform pan and set the cake on a serving platter.

I’m SO not a food stylist….

Daily life with The Littlest Apple seems to have gotten a lot busier.  He is on the move, a busy little bee.  A 20 month old with his very own social calendar.   Wanting to do it all by himself but not quite able to.  VERY interested in helping in the kitchen, which is heartwarming or annoying, depending on my level of patience at the time!  His favorite thing to do is “mix”, and he is always asking, “Mix? Bowl?  Mix?  Miiiiiiiiiiiiix?!!”  This is typically followed by a screaming tantrum on the floor if I do not indulge his demands.  He recently figured out how to push a chair from the table across the kitchen to the counter where I do most of my food prep.  Gulp.  I think I’m in trouble now!

To kick off my return, here’s a recipe for a bundt cake that’s great for breakfast, dessert, or anytime!  This was one of the first recipes that I really let The Littlest Apple help with.  He helped stir together the dry ingredients, added the blueberries, and poured things.  He was so proud of his cake, and told his grandparents all about it the next day when they came for a visit.

The recipe is from Cooking Light so it is (relatively) healthy, but is absolutely full of flavor.  I’ve had lemon-poppyseed, and lemon-blueberry combinations before, but never this trio of lemon-blueberry-poppyseed.  They make an amazing threesome!

Glazed Lemon-Blueberry Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

from Cooking Light, April 2009

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tbsp dry breadcrumbs (I omitted)
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon extract  (I omitted this)

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp nonfat buttermilk
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To prepare cake, coat a 12 cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust with breadcrumbs.

Combine granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffly (about 5 minutes).  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt); stir with a whisk.  Add blueberries to flour mixture; toss to coat.  Combine 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup juice, and extracts.  Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool pan on a wire rack 10 minutes.  Remove cake from pan; cool on rack.

To prepare glaze, place powdered sugar in a small bowl; add 1 tablespoon buttermilk and 1 tablespoon juice; stirring with a whisk until combined.  Pour glaze over warm cake; cool completely.

Yield: 16 servings

I decided this year to make two pumpkin desserts.  I’ve had my eye on Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for All-in-One Holiday Bundt Cake for a while now.  This recipe is featured in Baking from My Home to Yours and a variation was featured in a recent issue of Bon Appetit.  It’s a great basic bundt cake recipe with lots of “add ins” (cranberries, chopped apples, nuts).  The Picky Apple didn’t much care for the add ins, but I thought they completed the cake.  I topped the cake with a basic glaze of powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.  This cake wasn’t exactly the star of the dessert table (you’ll see one reason when I post the other dessert I brought), but it played a strong supporting role.  I think this cake would be great for a holiday brunch!

All-in-One Holiday Bundt Cake

from Baking From My Home To Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
• 1 1/4 sticks (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• 1 cup cranberries, halved or coarsely chopped (I used Craisins instead for extra sweetness)
• 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9- to 10- inch (12 cup) Bundt pan.  Don’t place the pan on a baking sheet-you want the oven’s heat to circulate freely through the Bundt’s inner tube.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ground ginger, if you’re using it (not the grated ginger).

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the pumpkin, chopped apple and grated ginger, if you’re using it-don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled.  Still on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated.  With a rubber spatula, stir in the cranberries and pecans.  Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool to room temperature on the rack.

Just before bringing the cake to the table, dust it with confectioners’ sugar.

“Cake” is a bit of a misnomer, because it is really quite custard-y.  I suppose it could be called cake since a boxed cake mix is used, but it is not a cake in the traditional sense.  Each time I make this recipe, I add more and more pecans because I like the extra crunchiness and flavor they add.  I’ve reflected my changes below.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
• 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease bottom of 9 x 13″ pan.  Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Pour mixture into greased pan.  Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture and top with pecans.  Drizzle melted butter over pecans.  Bake 50-55 minutes.