Knit Socks and Plum Coffee Cake Recipe

I'm tip toeing through the tulips.  Well not exactly but I'm feeling fanciful in my new socks.  If you have yet to knit a pair of sock I have only one question.  What are you waiting for?  You'll never know what you are missing until you've given them a try and once you do you will be hooked.

I have been knitting socks for many years and so I rarely have occasion to purchase socks but I have been tempted a time or two and I'm always disappointed in both the fit and how quickly they wear out. There is nothing to compare with a pair of custom knit socks as far as cushy comfort, pretty colors, and cool designs. As far as the durability that is highly variable depending on the yarn you choose.  Many yarns labeled as "sock yarn" are really better suited to shawls, hats, and other small accessories because the twist is insufficient or the yarn is too fine.  Simply put the caveat when choosing sock yarn is, as with many things, "buyer beware."  So choose wisely grasshopper.

The yarn that I used for these socks is Twist Sock Yarn from Hedgehog fibers and it is specifically designed for, and uniquely well suited to, knitting socks.  It has a firm twist, is made from blue faced leicester wool (a wool that is less stretchy and a lot less soft than merino wool) and it has a 20% nylon component all of which are important ingredients for socks that will last. Ironically I've lost more socks to moths than I have from actual wear.  Never forget that moths are the enemy of knitters.

Particulars:  Cable Rib Socks by Erica Alexander (blog-less); US 1 needles; 1 skein Hedgehog Fibers, Twist Sock Club; and my only modification was to do 6 fewer repeats on the leg as I prefer having my socks at the midcalve length.  I love these sock and I have a feeling they will wear forever.

N.B. Someone asked me about my shoes pictured above.  They are made by Naot and the style is Matai in black sued (Amazon link).  While they are expensive they are also the most comfortable walking shoe I've ever worn.

Plum Coffee Cake Recipe

With all the summer fruits once again in the markets I thought it was a good time to share one of my favorite coffee cake recipes.  When we lived in the Midwest near the great lakes we would regularly take off to one of the many small towns surrounding lake Michigan and spend the weekend at a bed and breakfast. And one of the best parts of staying at a bed and breakfast is the many wonderful treats they serve both for snacks and for breakfast.  This recipe for a plum coffee cake comes from The South Cliff Inn a charming bed and breakfast in St. Joseph Michigan and it's a perfect coffee cake for breakfast or brunch.  I just have to say that I've stayed in many bed and breakfasts all over the world and I can say without question that the towns surrounding lake Michigan have the absolute best bed and breakfasts and never fail to provide warm hospitality, delicious food, and romantic settings.

Plum Coffee Cake Recipe, slightly adapted from recipe from South Cliff Inn:

1 1/4 C plus 1/3 C flour, divided (the 1/3 C flour is used later for the topping)
3/4 C. granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 TBS plus 2 TBS unsalted butter, softened and divided (the 2 TBS butter is used later for the topping)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 C. milk
1/2 Tsp almond extract
5-10 ripe plums (I use Santa Rosa and only need 5 large plums)
4 TBS organic brown sugar
1/2 Tsp cinnamon

Glaze:
1 TBS butter, melted
1/2 C powdered sugar (sifted) 
3 Tsp milk (approx.)
1/2 Tsp almond extract

Steps:
Preheat Oven to 350 ~ bake approx 40-60 minutes; use an 8 Inch springform pan.  If you don't have a springform pan you can do what I did.... simply line a pan with parchment paper leaving an edge to lift from the pan.  Just make sure you don't leave too much paper (above the pan edge) or it may catch on fire.

1.  Combine 1 1/4 C flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and 6 TBS butter and combine with a pastry cutter until consistency becomes similar to corn meal;
2.  In a separate bowl combine egg, milk, and almond flavoring.  Add to dry ingredients and quickly mix until just combined;
3.  Prepared plums by pitting and slicing evenly and spread evenly over surface;
4.  Combine remaining 2 TBS butter, brown sugar, remaining 1/3 C flour, and cinnamon with pastry cutter - and sprinkle mixture over plums.
5.  Bake until cake tester comes out clean (I bake mine 45 minutes).  Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before removing from pan.  Pour glaze over cake (glaze is made by combining butter, powdered sugar, milk and almond flavoring). 

Until next time be well and love well and why not plan a trip to your local farmer's market!  Now is the perfect time to plan a trip because the markets are brimming with lushes plums, peaches and other stone fruits as well as succulent tomatoes,sweet corn on the cob and other tasty vegetables. With all the bounty during the summer season it is easy to eat healthy and delicious food with hardly any effort at all, plus or minus a coffee cake or two.

Bunny Bunny Who Has the Bunny ~ and ~ Skillet Cake Recipe

This is the well-dressed bunny and it's going to the first child of Steve's second cousin.  He happens to be a favorite of ours and it's been a pleasure watching him mature into a wonderful young man and meet and marry the woman of his dreams.  What a lucky baby this is.

It's not often that I have the occasion to knit for a baby and after giving it some thought I decided on knitting a baby blanket.  I reasoned what better way to wrap a baby in love and warmth and start them off early on the path to enjoying being wrapped in wool and wearing shawls?

But when I told Steve of my plans to make a blanket he asked me instead to make a toy.  Why a toy I wanted to know?  And he told me because he remembers from his childhood that he had a small toy he loved and a handknit Christmas stocking that a neighbor made for him and his sister.  And he wanted this child to have a special toy too.  It's funny how small acts of kindness can have such a lasting impact on someone.  After all these years Steve still remembers that neighbor, the toy, and the stocking.  And so together we chose this bunny pattern ~

Particulars:  Well-Dressed Bunny designed by Fuzzy Mitten; 1 skein Lush yarn by Classic Elite Yarns (50% angora 50% wool); US 6 needles.  This toy is knit flat and a very easy pattern to follow.  It's not as big as some toys I've knit but is the perfect size for a baby.  One of the advantages of knitting a toy flat is that the pieces can be washed and blocked prior to assembly.  To get my bunny's ears to lay flat and have a softened texture I partially felted the ears using hot water, soap and vigorous agitation before attaching them.  I knit this pattern as written but did add a bunny tail with angora yarn and the dress is slightly modified and also embellished with embroidered flowers (I made the petals with a detached chain stitch with a french knot for the center).  The hat is a simple rolled brim design.  For those interested I'll put my pattern notes for making the bunny tail and hat on my Ravelry notebook page.   Other toys I've knit are a mouse, a bear, an elephant, monster, owl, and a rabbit.

Apple Skillet Cake ~ or ~ Cherry Skillet Cake

I don't know if I should be flattered or offended.  Steve raved so much about this cake you would think he never had a nice piece of cake before.  This is the King Arthur Flour Apple Skillet Cake but with a number of modifications so rather than confuse you I've written it out below with my changes.  The original recipe is very highly rated and you might want to just use that.  But mine is a smidgen healthier (e.g. substituting canola oil for butter) and paradoxically a little less healthy (e.g. substituting brandy for apple cider) and has a few other small changes and it came out beautifully.

Apple Skillet Cake (or Cherry Skillet Cake)

Apple Mixture
4 or 5 apples (3 granny smith apples and 2 golden delicious) pealed and thinly sliced
1/3 cup organic dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons brandy
1/4  teaspoon nutmeg
1/4  teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 (scant) salt

Cherry Mixture
4 cups tart pitted cherries (I use 2 large jars of Trader Joe's Dark Morello Cherries in light syrup - drained)
1 1/3 cups sugar (if using unsweetened tart cherries) or 1/2 cup sugar if using drained sweetened cherries
2 1/2 Tablespoons tapioca
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tablespoon sweet butter (crumbled over the top of cherries - just before putting into the oven).

Cake Batter (use the same cake batter regardless which topping you use)
1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup warm milk (whole milk)
1 large egg
6 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Steps:
1.  Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Prepare 9" x 4" cast-iron skillet (butter and flour (or use granulated sugar))
3.  Combine apple mixture and set aside.
4.  Combine dry ingredients and set aside.  Mix wet ingredients and then stir (using wooden spoon) into dry ingredients until combined.  Pour into prepared skillet.
5.  Spoon the apple mixture (or cherry mixture) over the batter distributing the apples a little more heavily toward the edge of the pan and add all the liquid (brandy, etc.) as that will settle into the bottom of the pan and caramelize.  If using the cherry mixture dot the top with 1/2 Tablespoon sweet butter.
6.  Bake 1 hour or until apples are browned and cake tester come away clean.  I baked my cake an extra 10 minute (a total of 70 minutes).

Garnish cake with powdered sugar and serve slightly warm with ice cream or yogurt ~

The MisAdventures of Simcha  ~

G that went better than expected.  I kinda thought he might ask for a paternity test.

Until next time be well and love well and may you enjoy this holiday season with friends and family ~ and good cheer!  We'll be away a lot over the holidays but I hope to have some time for knitting.

The Fleur Wrap and Marmalade Tea Cake

I have to admit that fancy occasions are always a little awkward for me because I don't enjoy getting dressed up and never know what to wear.  Luckily for me I've discovered that wearing a fancy wrap is an easy way to be warm and comfortable and yet appear suitably festive.  And for warmth and wow there is nothing that compares to a mohair lace shawl and, for that type of shawl, I love Heirloom Knitting designs.

The shawl I am wearing is The Fleur Wrap from Heirloom Knitting and the dress was chosen for me by Steve.  That's right, Steve.  He will look through the dress racks to pick just the right one.  And he will periodically announce that we need to have a night on the town.  Really?  Must we??  I do resist an evening out.  I'm a homebody and prefer relaxing at home in a pair of jeans with a glass of wine.  But society and relationships require some conformity and how can I resist when he chooses the dress and makes all the arrangements.  And, truthfully, I always enjoy an evening out.

I also think this shawl is versatile enough to be worn in a less dressy way.   I just haven't figured out how yet.

Particulars:  The Fleur Wrap by Heirloom Knitting (designed by Sharon Miller); 3 skeins Colinette Parisienne; US 8 circular needles.  This was an enjoyable knit and I'm very happy with the finished wrap.   My only modification was to substitute Colinette's Parisienne for Rowan's Kidsilk Haze.  Other Sharon Miller designs that I've Knit are the Birch Shawl; Dove Shawl; and the Cora Shawl (a Shetland hap shawl).


Marmalade Tea Cake ~

To be considered a tea cake I think the cake needs to have more substance than the typical American fluffy white cake that I associate with a birthday cake.  Almost a European cake style.  I love this Marmalade cake because it has the heavier texture while still being lighter than, say, a fruitcake.  This cake is a favorite of mine and a staple with my afternoon tea.  It is wonderful served with a black tea (I prefer Taylors of Harrogate's Yorkshire Gold) and I hope you enjoy it.

Marmalade Tea Cake (recipe adapted from The Baking Book):

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons extra fine white sugar
3 extra large eggs
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, scant (i.e. scant = 2 and 3/8ths teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt, scant
7 tablespoons Seville orange marmalade, gently warmed (check to see that Seville oranges were used on the label.  Regular oranges make too sweet a marmalade for this cake).  I use a marmalade made by James Keiller & Son's, Dundee, sold by Trader Joe's.
2 tablespoons whole milk.

ICING:
1 Cup confectioner sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons whole milk

Steps:
1.  Butter and flour (or use parchment paper to line) an 8 inch round cake pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
3.  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.  Gently fold flour mixture into the butter mixture using a wooden spoon.  When thoroughly combined add half the warmed marmalade (approximately 3 1/2 tablespoons) and add both tablespoons of milk to the batter and fold to combine.
4.  Pour batter into cake pan and level with a knife.  Bake cake approximately 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester comes away clean.
5.  Turn cake out onto a wire rack and while still warm brush with the remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons warm marmalade.  I like to place a sheet of wax paper beneath the cake to catch any marmalade that drips off.  Allow to cool completely.
6.  Prepare icing by whisking the confectioners sugar with the milk.  I like to pour this mixture into a small plastic bag (i.e. a sandwich baggie) and cut away a small corner of the bag to drizzle the icing over the cake.  Allow  icing to set, about 1 hour.

This cake would be delightful enjoyed in the afternoon at a tea party wearing, say, a lovely shawl.

Until next time, be well and love well and enjoy the occasions in life that take you out of your normal routine whether that is seeing a live show, enjoying a fancy dinner out, or listening to jazz music in a club.  You might find that you enjoy it more than you expect.

Cranberry Gloves and Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake!

I love immersing myself in the rhythm of the Seasons. The colors and flavors of Fall particularly resonate with me. There's just something about this season that touches the inner Pilgrim in me. I know that Steve would disagree, but I'm sure that I would have made a good Pilgrim. For example I could have made all my own clothes, like the gloves that I'm wearing!

These gloves are not what you think, though. There is no knitting involved. They are my own design and I made them with my own handmade felt! While handmade felt is very popular in Norway and other European Countries (probably something to do with the climate) it is rarely seen or used for clothing in the United States. For those interested, I'll be explaining more about the process of making handmade felt in upcoming posts and I'll explain how gloves like these are made. But I want to see how well these wear and any changes that I need to make before I do that.

Particulars: Cranberry Felt Gloves (my own design); handpainted merino tops purchased from Ingermaaike on Etsy; this is a seamless design using a resist; the cuffs are embellished with sheep locks. My inspiration for making handmade felt has largely come seeing the beautiful designs by Ingermaaike who writes Daily Felt and Sherry who is known as Pink Knitter on Flickr and Ravelry. For a great beginner resource that I found helpful I recommend Uniquely Felt by Christine White.

P.S. If you love wearing fingerless mittens as much as I do, then I recommend you look at the beautiful selection of free knitting patterns for fingerless mittens just published by Theresa at TDoesWool. I'm having a hard time deciding which one to make first!


Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake

It is the practice in American college towns for the local residents to open their homes as informal Bed & Breakfasts to handle the influx of visitors that descend on game day and for graduation events. My parents flew to South Bend, Indiana to see me graduate from the University of Notre Dame, School of Law, and stayed at one such B&B where they served this Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake for breakfast. It's a taste of the American Midwest and I hope you enjoy it!


Ingredients:

1/4 C. Butter (unsalted) - softened (1/2 stick)
1 C. Sugar
2 eggs - well beaten
2 C. All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 C. Sour Cream
1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
* *
8 Oz. Whole Cranberry Sauce 
1/2 C. Chopped Walnuts 

Garnish: powdered sugar (optional)



Steps:

1. Cream butter and Sugar together. Add beaten eggs and mix well.
2. Combine dry ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream stirring with wooden spoon after each addition (begin and end with dry). Stir in Almond extract.
3. Add 1/2 batter to a greased tube/bunt pan. Swirl 1/2 of the cranberry sauce over and into the batter. Sprinkle 1/2 of the walnuts over the sauce. Repeat layers once more. 
4. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees 55 to 60 minutes. Start checking after about 45-50 minutes as you don't want to over bake this.
5. Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then turn out on a wire rack (you may have to loosen with a knife). 

6.  Garnish with powdered sugar, if you wish.

Serve warm with fruit and coffee.

Until next time, be well and love well ~ and look around and enjoy the bounty and beauty of the harvest ~ Fall is here and will soon be gone.

P.S. Thank you for all your comments and concern about Simcha. His surgery went very well and he is doing great. He had a somewhat unusual condition where neither testicle descended so his neutering required abdominal surgery, but I was very motivated that he be neutered for a variety of reasons. I have my fingers crossed because if this doesn't settle him down I don't know what we'll do!

A Traditional Christmas Cake Recipe

In today's busy world I think we have had to sacrificed tradition in favor of ready made convenience. It's so simple when the grocery store has everything you need for a holiday on a ready made platter. But that feels so empty to me and many others. Instead many of us at this time of year will pull out favorite family recipes that we make each year that are special to our family and connect us to generations past.

It's still different than times gone by and the Christmases that my mother and father remember from their childhood. My mother is 83 now, and was a child in England prior to WWII when times were very different. Her family had a separate room that was shut off from the children during the weeks preceding Christmas called Bluebeard's Room. This room was not opened up to the children until Christmas morning when for the first time the children would see the Christmas tree all lit up with presents spread below. The excitement of anticipation was hard to bear. During the night Santa would have delivered a Christmas stocking on her pillow filled with candy, small treasures and a tangerine in the toe. She always received one very special present from Santa. One year she remembers her special gift was a beautiful doll despite her mother having said she was too old for dolls that year and a twinkle in her father's eyes.

One way that I feel connected to my English heritage is though traditional English fare around the holidays. My mother always made a Christmas Cake that was decorated with tiny plastic reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh. I'm not going to share her recipe, though, as it makes too large a cake (it uses a dozen eggs) and, frankly, was sometimes a little undercooked.


Instead I'll share the recipe I used this year. The pictures in this post are my cake from last year (except for the one immediately above). I did this so that you see could see what the cake looks like when decorated, because I will not decorate my cake this year until the night before Christmas. The recipe I used last year came from Denise of The Knitting Den who was kind enough to share her friend's recipe. It made a wonderful cake, but was a little vague on instructions and ingredients so this year I searched and found a very similar recipe here, that I've slightly modified and/or clarified to incorporate aspects of Denise's recipe.

Recipe for A Traditional English Christmas Cake
One 8 inch (20 cm) round or 7 inch (18 cm) square cake pan. Pan should be 3 inches deep. If you don't have a cake pan in this size, the link above to the original recipe gives the recipe for a variety of different sized pans.

Preheat Oven: 300 F (150 C) Approximate cooking time 2.5 hours

Ingredients (ALL ingredients are BY WEIGHT):
12 oz. currants (or I prefer 10 oz. currants and 2 oz. dried figs (or dried dates))
5 oz. sultanas (i.e. golden raisins)
5 oz. dark raisins
2 oz. mixed chopped peel (i.e. lemon and orange)
3 oz. glazed cherries (washed and cut in half)
6 oz. unsalted butter
6 oz. dark brown soft sugar (I like to use organic brown sugar with a rich molassas flavor)
3 eggs
1 tablespoon molasses or black treacle
7 oz. all Purpose (i.e. plain) flour
1 oz. almond flour or Ground almonds
1 tsp. All Spice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

Additional Ingredients:
Brandy (I buy a very large bottle and it's enough for two cakes)
Apricot Jam
Marzipan (I use 2 of the 7 oz. tubes)

Royal Icing Ingredients:
powered sugar 1 lb. (sifted)
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Ribbon and Ornaments for decorating
Wax Paper (to line cake pan)

Steps:

1. Begin by soaking dried fruit, mixed peel and cherries overnight in brandy. I use enough to cover the fruit mixture entirely plus an extra 1/2 inch so that all the fruit is soaked well because, if I haven't mentioned it yet, I enjoy a strong brandy flavor to my cake. Almost all of it will be absorbed by morning. Drain off excess prior to using.

2. Prepare cake pan. Trace a liner in wax paper by using your cake pan as a template. Cut out forms to fit bottom of pan and strips to line sides. Use butter to moisten pan which will hold the wax paper in place. Set baking pan aside while you prepare your cake mix.

3. Soften butter prior to using. Measure out all ingredients ahead and have ready to combine as needed. Eggs should be at room temperature.

4. Beat butter, sugar and molasses until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. A small amount of your flour may be added at this stage to prevent curdling.

5. Remove mixture from mixer. Add all purpose flour and ground almonds (alternately) and stir by hand with a wooden spoon. When mixture is well combined stir in dried fruit (drained).

6. Spoon cake mix into prepared cake pan and bake approximately 2 hours 45 minutes. Because I have an oven that runs hot, I only needed to bake mine for 2 hours and 30 minutes. The cake is done when tester comes away clean.

7. Cool your cake completely in cake pan sitting on a wire rack or your stove top.  When cake is completely cool poke holes in the top and drizzle with a small amount of brandy.  Then wrap cake in cheesecloth and store in an airtight cake tin.

8.  Feeding your cake.  You will need to "feed" your cake brandy periodically during the maturing phase. It should be clear by now that I like a strong brandy flavor to my cake.  Remove the cheesecloth and drizzle with approx. 1 tablespoon brandy and reapply the cheesecloth.  Feed your cake brandy once a week by adding approx. 1 tablespoon brandy until ready to ice and decorate.  If, however, you don't like a strong brandy flavor (and bear in mind the cake already has lots of brandy in the fruit) you can periodically add a couple of apple slices to the cake tin to keep the cake fresh, but remove them after a day so that they don't go moldy.  I actually have begun doing this the past few years instead of adding so much brandy and actually like it better.

9. Allow cake to mature for several weeks. Decorate the day ahead of serving.

DECORATING YOUR CAKE:

Begin by applying a thin layer of apricot jam to the entire surface of the cake.  Then unwrap your marzipan and kneed until soft and pliable (coat your hands with powdered sugar to prevent sticking) and roll out your marzipan as you would a pie crust.  Make sure it is large enough to cover the top and sides.  Press the marzipan into the jam which should help it to stick and smooth with your hands. Now you are ready to make the icing.  N.B. Do not prepare your icing until you are ready to decorate your cake (i.e. gather any ribbon and/or ornaments that you need) as the icing will quickly dry into a hard surface.

PREPARE ROYAL ICING:

Royal Icing:

Whip egg whites until creamy. Add powdered sugar and lemon juice and whip until soft peaks form. Quickly ice cake and immediately decorate before the icing sets (which happens very quickly).

ALL FINISHED:

Step back and admire your creation! Remember, if all fails and your cake is not "all that" then just smoother it in more brandy, light it on fire, and serve with a side of custard and call it a Christmas Pudding! If it is a success (and I'm sure it will be) then enjoy it on cold afternoons with a cup of tea or a glass of sherry.


Of course, wearing an appropriately saucy apron while doing your holiday baking does help put one in the proper mood! As will listening to cheery holiday music. My favorite holiday CD is Martina McBride's White Christmas which was recommended by the lovely Renee of Renee Knits too last year. Thank you Renee, I love listening to this CD!

I know that not everyone enjoys Christmas Cake, but there is no need to stick your tongue out and go ewww. Thank you Puff, that's quite enough. If you are like Mr Puffy who does not enjoy the flavors of brandy and dried fruits then it is probably not for you either. Instead, you might prefer these holiday cookie recipes shared in years past: Old Fashioned Gingerbread Men; Walnut Cookies; and Almond Crescents.

Until next time, be well, love well, and happy holiday baking! Up next are some quick knits and other last minute Christmas gift ideas!

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I've added below a recent picture (from 2019) of a cake that I made for my mother's 93'rd birthday.   I asked her a few years ago what kind of cake she would like for her birthday and she wanted a Christmas Cake and so that is what I've made her every year since.  I wanted to show that this cake is versatile and can be decorated in a different style and enjoyed year round!  

The small flowers are handmade in royal icing that I purchase from Etsy.