Hat Topper Fun and Lucille's Red Cake Recipe ~

I've knit a lot of hats over the years but my new Kobuk hat has to be a favorite.  It might be the gorgeous yarn which has both silk and mohair making it warm and luxurious, or maybe it's the perfect wintery color, or perhaps it's the fun hat topper, or maybe it's a combination of all three!  It also has a really cool brim design that appears to resemble a crown that shows when the brim is turned down and worn slouchy style.  Which unfortunately you don't see too well in my pictures for the simple reason that the hat was easier to photograph with the brim turned up!  That being said the slouchy look with the brim showing is a cool look and I'll probably knock around wearing it that way too. No matter how you style it this is a great hat to have in your wardrobe.

I hope you noticed the cute hat topper!  This is my first time buying a hat topper instead of simply making a pom pom using leftover yarn.  Hat toppers are super on trend right now and I was curious whether I would like it better - and I do!!!  I think the hat topper gives the hat a more modern and finished look and I'm going to pick up another couple of colors and styles to have a selection to switch up depending on the accent color I want.  How will I do that?  I read on a Rav forum that some hat toppers come with a snap closure which makes it easy to change them.  But not all hat topper come with a snap closure and mine didn't.  Instead I read where someone suggested sewing a button to the inside of the hat to which a hat topper can be tied on and off.  And that's what I've done.  To do this I recommend you select a medium sized button that is plastic and light weight so it is large enough to wrap the topper ties around while being washable and not so heavy that it will drag the hat down.  This makes it easy peasy to have a wardrobe of hat toppers to switch around!

Particulars: Kobuk hat designed by Caitlin Hunter (Boyland Knitworks); knit using the Top Hat Set dyed by Lay Family Yarn (kingfisher colorway) yarn set includes 2 coordinating yarns (1 skein DK 55% Blue Face Leicester 45% silk (100g) and 1 skein 72% fine kid mohair and 28% silk).  I used a Faux Fur pom pom in colorway creme brulee sold by The Burlap Kitchen.  This a super easy and fun hat to knit.  I used the Twisted German Cast-On for a stretching brim and I only knit through the upper (bobble) chart one and a half times to create a less slouch as I have a small noggin.  Caitlin Hunter is a terrific designer and I have recently finished one of her sweaters that I can't wait to show you!

Incidentally the shawl/scarf that I'm wearing in these pictures is Enfilade by Lisa Hannes that I blogged as Multi Colored Shawls and Testing Yarn for Color Fastness.


Lucille's Red Cake Recipe ~
Steve's birthday comes early February and every year I bake him a birthday cake of his choice.  He's chosen a variety over the years but he most often he requests his mother's Red Cake Recipe that she would bake for him when he was a boy.  Lucille, his mother, graciously shared her recipe with me so that I could bake him the exact cake she made.  It's not a typical red velvet cake as Steve doesn't like chocolate so there's less cocoa and it also doesn't seem as heavy and rich as some red cakes I've eaten.  But it is light, colorful and perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  In other words it's a quintessential old fashioned birthday cake.  I'll conclude with what she wrote on the bottom of her recipe card "Good Luck!"

Lucille’s Red Cake Recipe

Yield ~ 9" double layer cake

My only adaptation of Lucille's recipe, if you will, is to add violet icing color.  Sans icing color the frosting is antique white.  

Ingredients

For the Cake

1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, softened

1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar, (I use superfine baking sugar)

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp cocoa powder (use natural cocoa and not dutch process)

1 ounce red food coloring 

2 & 1/2 cups of cake flour (sifted before measuring)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp white vinegar

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Frosting

3 Tbs all purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

           7/8 cup of granulated sugar

1 Tbs pure vanilla extract

Icing color (optional - cake is an antique white otherwise) I use Violet Icing Color by Wilton

Instructions

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans –either line bottom with parchment paper and butter sides or butter and flour entire pan. 

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy - do not rush this process - beat at least 4 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  In a small dish make a paste using the cocoa powder and a small amount of food coloring.  Add to butter mixture and beat well.  Add the balance of food coloring beating well.  Then add flour (mixed with salt) and milk alternately (roughly 4 additions) beginning and ending with flour.  Beat in vanilla.  Lastly combine vinegar and soda in a small dish (it will foam up) and gently stir vinegar mixture into batter, mixing well.

Pour into cake pans and bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool in pans 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to completely cool before frosting. 

N.B. As soon as cake is out of oven I like to begin preparing the frosting (which takes a little while because you have to heat the milk and flour and allow time for it to cool, etc.) and you want to frost your cake as soon as it has cooled so it will be as fresh as possible.

Frosting:

In a small saucepan whisk together flour and milk until blended and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Set aside to cool.  You can set pan in a basin of cool water to speed along the cooling process.

In a larger mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Then add 1 Tbs of cooled milk and flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating well.  Gradually add the rest beating all the time.  Beat in Vanilla.   If you choose to use icing color add it at this time, beating well. The texture of the frosting is similar to whipped cream.   As soon as cake has cooled begin frosting.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Good luck!

Until next time be well, love well, and have fun with hat toppers!!!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake Recipe and My Favorite Coffee Beans

I'm a homebody at heart.  I love being at home and can go days on end without leaving my home other than to go for hikes with Simcha.  One of the things that makes being at home enjoyable for me is having freshly baked breads, cookies, and cakes to eat and that's one reason that I bake as much as I do.  It has literally been years since I bought a loaf of bread from a store or bakery and the same for cookies and sweets.  About the only time I'll eat something store bought is when I'm on vacation or happen to be in a coffee shop. And when I do I'm often disappointed.  It's either heavy (usually because its "gluten free") too sweet, or lacking in flavor.  I think I might be spoiled because when I bake I use the very best tasting ingredients like European butter, Belgium chocolate, and that makes a difference to taste.  But obviously there are exceptions and one bakery in Los Angeles that I highly recommend is Republique (in West Los Angeles on La Brea). You simply can't go wrong with anything you order there!  And I'm sure there are others but as I mentioned at the start I'm a homebody and don't get out much.

Since winter is a time when many people are at home whether they are homebodies or not I am sharing a recipe for a lovely rich and moist Cinnamon Coffee Cake that's easy to make and calls for ingredients that you are likely to have on hand.  I would describe it as having a texture similar to a carrot cake and it's wonderful with a cup of coffee or warm with a scoop of ice cream.  I love that it stays fresh for days (and is actually better the second day) and can be left sitting out on the counter. There's something very inviting about walking into your kitchen and seeing a coffee cake sitting there waiting for you.  I've made this many times over the years and hope you find the recipe as reliable and enjoyable as I do.

Cinnamon Coffee Cake Recipe ~ 8" round cake

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon (divided into 1 1/2 tsp. and 1/2 tsp.)
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 vegetable oil (light tasting such as safflower or canola)
1 cup walnuts - finely chopped
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg - beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (to convert 1 cup regular milk to buttermilk simply substitute 1 Tbs of the milk for either lemon juice or white vinegar, stir and let sit for 5 minutes before using)

Steps:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Prepare 8" round deep cake pan.  You can either use a spring form cake pan or lightly grease a cake pan with butter and coat with flour.  Alternatively you can use an 9" x 13" pan and adjust the baking time.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine: flour, salt, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, both sugars, and oil.  Remove 3/4 cup of this mixture and in a small bowl add this to the walnuts and the remaining 1/2 tps. cinnamon. Set this walnut mixture aside.
4.  To the original large bowl of flour mixture add the baking soda, baking powder, egg, vanilla, and buttermilk.  Mix until well combined.
5.  If using a round cake pan (deep) pour 1/2 of batter into cake pan and cover with a 1/2 of walnut mixture. Pour the remaining batter on top of the walnut mixture and top with the remaining walnut mixture.  If you are using a 9x13 sheet pan pour a layer of mixture and top with walnut mixture.
6.  Bake cake for 60 to 65 minutes or until cake tester comes away clean.  Allow round cake to cool for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to finish cooling.  If using sheet pan allow to cool completely before cutting into squares and removing.


My Favorite Coffee Beans ~

Because coffee cake goes so well with a cup of coffee I thought I would share my favorite method of making coffee and the beans that I use for a great home brew.

As a preface I used to be a huge fan of barista coffees and went out of my way to visit coffee shops for my favorite fix which typically was a cappuccino in a large frothy mug.  But somehow over time I became plain coffee drinker.  I simply realized one day that there's something about the rich flavor and pure taste of coffee that gets lost in all the cream and froth and cinnamon sprinkles.  And a plain cup of coffee has a lot less cholesterol and calories too so there is that as well.  But with a plain cup of coffee the quality of the bean and preparation process becomes much more important as the flavor and body is everything.

For years I used a French Press to make my coffee at home.  But inevitably they would crack, or the wire filter would come apart or in some fashion die and while it made a nice cup of coffee it wasn't a great cup of coffee.  So after tossing yet another french press I looked for a better mouse trap and found one!  It's the AeroPress coffee method and for years I've been a fan.  In fact as soon as I had my first cup I knew this was the end of the road for me.  If you've not heard of or tried this method it's pretty inexpensive to try and I think you'll be hooked.  Now all that's left is your choice of beans....

My Top 5 Favorite Coffee Beans

1.  Intelligentsia - El Diable Dark Roast Blend.  A blend of coffees, changes seasonally.  Celebrates the savory side of coffees highlighted by carmalized sugars, molasses and chocolate flavors.  This is my go to daily brew.

2.  Christopher Bean - Irish Cream.  It's one of their most popular flavors and uses 100% Arabica beans.  I don't drink a lot of flavored coffees but once a week or so I'll go for a cup of this.

3.  Blue Horse - 100 % Kona - dark roast.  Shade grown, hand picked, and sun-dried.  This coffee has a rich, full aroma with low acidity and low caffeine.  It's very expensive but it's nice to have this on hand and I like to offer it to company after dinner with their dessert.  I drink this Kona on Saturday mornings.  With my feet up.  Surfing social media and reading the news.

4.  Stumptown - Trapper Cream Decaf (using Swiss water method).  This has a wonderful buttery flavor combining the sweetness of raisins and caramel.    Stumptown is a local Los Angeles coffee roaster and their most popular blend is Hair Blender (notes of cherry, toffee and fudge) named for the original location that was housed in a "hair" parlor. This is typical "insider" LA humor.  And despite the quirky name it does make a great cup of coffee.

5.  Raven's Brew.  Wicked Wolf - dark roast.  I discovered this coffee on our trip to Alaska and remember loving it.  I've also given it as a gift and it was well received.  I added it to my list because it's a regional coffee that is probably unfamiliar to you.

You might notice that I generally select dark roasted coffees and that is because the dark roasts tend to have less of a caffeine kick.  Most of the coffees listed can be found on Amazon.com.  I gave the links to the individual websites because that's where you will get the best description of the coffee and choices.

Incidentally the beautiful mugs in these pictures are made by Wild Child Clayworks on Etsy. I have several of their pieces including a pie plate that I love.  They do beautiful work.

Until next time be well, love well and this winter enjoy your time indoors, perhaps with a slice of coffee cake, a great cup of coffee and your feet up!

Lemon Pound Cake Recipe with Lemon Glaze

With my tea today I'm enjoying my favorite lemon pound cake. The recipe is slightly adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I have both her Moosewood cookbooks and have enjoyed many of the recipes.

Since I don't like to make a huge bunt cake I simply half the recipe and bake it in a loaf pan for 1 hour. In addition to using lemon extract I like to add the zest of 1 lemon to give it a little extra zing. I also add a lemon glaze once the cake is cooled because otherwise a pound cake can seem a bit plain.

Lemon Pound Cake;

All of the following ingredients should be at room temperature:
1/2 lb. unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 & 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 & 1/2 tsps. baking powder
zest from fresh lemon
2 cups all purpose white flour

Steps:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a loaf pan (butter and flour) to prevent sticking.

2.  Using electric mixer beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Remove mixture from electric mixer and continue using a wooden spoon.

3.  Sift together flour and baking powder.  Set aside.  Mix together milk and lemon extract and lemon zest and set aside.

4.  Alternately add flour and then milk mixture, mixing thoroughly with wooden spoon after each addition.  Both begin and end with flour.  Mix thoroughly but don't over mix and/or beat mixture.

5.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.  Bake for approximately 1 hour or until tester comes away clean.  Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely before glazing or slicing.   

Lemon Glaze:

1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tbs. lemon Juice
1 tbs. whole milk

Combine ingredients and drizzle over cooled pound cake.


By the way, although I don't often drink wine, I do enjoy an occasional glass and would love to hear any of your recommendations!

And I have been knitting too....Just when I decided that I didn't like variegated yarns anymore I discovered the perfect pattern. I can't stop admiring how nice these gauntlets look with a variegated yarn.  Which just goes to show that there really is a pattern for every yarn!

Specs: Pattern: Basic Gauntlets from Capistrano Fiber Studio; US 3 needles; 1 skein hand painted Capistrano Fiber Studio (150 yrds. superwash fingering merino). I bought this yarn and pattern at a LYS that has since gone out of business. The pattern was written by Lori Lawson owner of Capistrano Fiber Studio (who dyed the yarn). I must say her yarns are some of the prettiest yarns I've ever knit with - she also wrote the pattern and and dyed the yarn I used for my Lace Scarf With Ruffle - Ravelry Link).

Have a great weekend everyone!