Week 61: Return to Normal?

It feels like August was gobbled up by the time goblin!  Seriously, we traveled for one week to Oregon, had a week home, and then were blessed with almost two weeks with visitors!  During all of the excitement, the kids started school and now I feel like things are slowly starting to come together!  I don't think we've encountered 'normal' yet, but we're enjoying each day!

We had a special treat this weekend by visiting with my best friend from high school, Stef, and her family!  Here's a picture of the girls with Stef's 2 kids!  We visited a barbecue festival up in Kennesaw and then ate dinner at our house!  It's been over 6 years since we've seen each other, so it was indeed a special treat for everyone!

I did not even attempt a menu plan last week while we still had family in town!  Now, I'm back and ready to get creative with some cooking. . .

Week 61 Menu

Sunday - Marinated salmon (Costco) and roasted frozen veggies

Monday - Sirloin pork roast, potatoes, broccoli

Tuesday -  Thai basil shrimp, cabbage, red peppers, white rice

Wednesday - Leftovers 

Thursday - Roast chicken, carrots, potatoes, couscous (just use whatever veggies you have on hand)

Friday - Out of town

Saturday - Out of town

Have a great week!  I'd love to see those menus!  Doesn't matter if it's fancy or simple!  We can all inspire one another!

Sarah

Coconut Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

And my fascination with coconut continues. . .

I wasn't really happy with that last batch of coconut cupcakes I made a few weeks ago, so I found this recipe from Ina Garten and I couldn't resist making them for an event last night.  OMG!  They were SO amazing (especially right when they came out of the oven - no frosting required for that goodness, baby)! I made two dozen, but my family devoured almost half of those before I left the house.

Ina Garten is one of my favorites because her recipes almost always turn out perfectly when I attempt to make them.  The cake was moist and held together really well inside the cupcake liners.  I've been trying to find a good yellow cake from scratch, but this might be my go-to cake now since the kids liked it so much.  The only changes I made to her original recipe were to replace buttermilk with unsweetened coconut milk (So Delicious brand) and I used buttercream frosting rather than her cream cheese frosting.  I prefer buttermilk because my hubby can eat it.  His milk allergy makes cream cheese a little difficult, but butter is tolerable thank goodness. . .

Coconut Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting (adapted from Ina Garten's recipe)

Ingredients:
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the coconut milk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Buttercream Frosting (adapted from Betty Crocker's 'The Big Red Cookbook')

Ingredients:

6 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

3 tsp. vanilla extract

3-4 tbls. coconut milk (or any kind of milk)

Directions:

Mix powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl with spoon or electric mixer on low speed.  Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the coconut milk.

Gradually beat in just enough remaining coconut milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable.  If the frosting becomes too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.  If frosting is still too thick, add a bit more milk.  

This is double the recipe written in the cookbook because I like to use a lot of frosting on my cupcakes.  If it's too much for you, then just cut the recipe in half.  

Mocha Chocolate Cake

Ok, here's the recipe that I've been dying to share with you for a totally delicious, can't-wait-to-eat-another-bite chocolate cake.  This is an Ina Garten recipe called 'Beatty's Cake,' but I wanted to title this post with a better descriptive title for the cake.  I made it a few weeks ago when we were celebrating multiple birthdays for coffee lovers and I didn't realize how much I would love it. 

I've found that this cake (as is the case for all cakes) is very sensitive to cooking.  I made it the first time and it was perfectly cooked, moist and I even thought a little underdone until I tasted it.  I made it into cupcakes earlier this week and I way overcooked them!  So sad, but the frosting made up for it and not one was left in the teacher's lounge.  I made the round cake again last night and it came out moist and delicious!  I'm definitely better at timing the round cake pans than the cupcakes.  ;o)

Beatty's Cake  (adapted from Ina Garten)

Ingredients:

• Butter, for greasing the pans
• 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour (or AP) plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar (1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white)
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken (as a substitute, I use whole milk with 1 tsp. of vinegar and let it sit 10 minutes)
• 1/4 cup oil (olive, vegetable or whatever you prefer)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
• Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool in the pans for 30 minutes (mind your oven as mine are done right around 24 minutes), then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting:

• 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (I prefer dark chocolate)
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (I'm a lazy cook and will always use the microwave for this).  Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.