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"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."
julian: i can't believe that he will be a teenager in just over a month.
milla plum: big girl, little car.
birdie: it's hard to get her to keep clothes on these days.
sailor: i am so proud of this boy. he has been sleeping in his own bed for two nights now. it was a tough decision to make but we are both getting more sleep now.
footnote: julian and milla's photos were taken by their dad, while in florida.
i have been dying to try this cake since i first discovered it about a year ago. i've never gotten around to making it until now. it's a dark chocolate guinness cake with cream cheese frosting. you guys! this cake is one of the top three best cakes we have ever made. you need this cake in your life!
chocolate guinness cake by nigella lawson.
you will need...
1 cup guinness
8.83 oz unsalted butter
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups superfine sugar
¾ cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
for the frosting
8 oz cream cheese
1 ¼ cups confectioners sugar
½ cup heavy cream (or whipping cream)
directions in nigella's words...
preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/350ºF, and butter and line a 23cm / 9 inch spring form tin. pour the guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter - in spoons or slices - and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb. pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.
when the cake's cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the icing. lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the confectioners sugar and then beat them both together. or do this in a processor, putting the unsieved confectioners sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese. add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.
the other night we decided to have a few friends over for dinner. not the kind of dinner where i cook and our guests enjoy my cooking, but rather an everybody get in the kitchen, cook together, laugh together and then enjoy the fruit of our labor, type of dinner. those are my very favorite kind.
we decided to make tacos. not just your regular old beef and cheese tacos, no no. we got creative and made fancy vegetarian tacos. we made a curry potato taco with a cool cucumber raita. we found a recipe for crispy kale and brussel sprout tacos with white bean creama. lastly, a sherry mushroom taco with roasted corn relish and red onion marmalade. needless to say, dinner was excellent.
we didn't have recipes for the components that aren't linked above, so i will just try to explain how we made them the best i can...
curry potatoes: we used fingerling potatoes and cut them into small bite size pieces. we put them into a pot of cold water and brought them to a boil. we then drained the potatoes and put them to the side. next using a large cast iron skillet, we heated two tablespoons of coconut oil, one chopped onion and curry powder. we then added the potatoes and cooked them until crispy. we then seasoned them to with more curry powder and sea salt. so simple.
sherry mushrooms: simply saute sliced mushrooms of choice with two tablespoons of grape seed oil for two minutes. next add a half cup of sherry cooking wine and cook until the mushrooms absorb the sherry. again, simple and delicious. i make them all the time and use them in omelets, on cheese toast and in panini.
roasted corn relish: i used to make this the hard way. i would heat the oil and cut eight or so ears of corn off the cob and then brown in a large cast iron skillet with green onions until nice and roasted. never again! trader joes sells bags of frozen pre-roasted corn. i sauteed my green onions in a little bit of grape seed oil until cooked down and then added the frozen roasted corn. it tasted exactly the same as the more time consuming method.
this meal was fairly simple to prepare. try a fancy taco or two, or all three. you won't be disappointed!
fab.com and kate spade saturday have teamed up again to bring you colorful, carefree and versatile pieces. the majority which are exclusive to fab and many of them are on sale. the collection is full of playful dresses, graphic leather bags and bold accessories. sign up for fab to shop my favorites...
from left to right: bibbed perfect day shirt, adjustable hobo bag, utility pocket shorts, half circle flats, oh shap! shell, square tote, boxy crop top, awesome wallet, romp-around romper.
*this post is sponsored by fab.