For the boys’ 6th birthday celebration I skipped throwing a party for their friends and we went directly to Legoland for a raucous day of fun. {Photos Here} Beck & Max had their first REAL grown up rollercoaster ride! Immediately after the ride, they were like “I WANT TO GO AGAIN!!!!” We ended the day at Pizza Port, “the best pizza in the world,” according to Beck.
The boys requested chocolate cupcakes...so I made this recipe via SmittenKitchen:
Chocolate Stout Cake
Adapted from the Barrington Brewery in Great Barrington, MA via Bon Appetit
This recipe was originally intended to make a layer cake of 3 8-inch rounds. Upon many reviewers’ suggestions, I halved it and it fit perfectly in a bundt pan. The halved amount is below, and the icing replaced with a simple ganache.
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules
Cake prep:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well; make sure you get in all of the nooks and crannies. (Some people even go so far as to brush the inside of their bundt pans with melted butter–you cannot be too careful!). Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn cake out onto rack for drizzling ganache.*
Ganache:
For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of cooled cake.
I guess I was on holiday most of August. Miss me? After popular demand (from my mom) I decided to share the images of my mini remodel. Unfortunately, I must have archived my photos of the kitchen as it was when we bought it. Grrr. It's so nice to have Before and Afters. I've held off long enough though and am sharing now. The paint is Decorator White, Premium by Behr and the table is from IKEA. This will have to do until I inherit a small fortune and can afford a real Saarinen. Sigh.
