On January 13, we celebrated my mother’s birthday. Her birthday fell on a Sunday, so we had a
birthday lunch at my parent’s house. I
gave Mama two different menu options.
She chose Herbs de Provence Roasted chicken, Mashed Butternut Squash,
and Sautéed Asparagus. Everything was
delicious and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the main dishes. Her birthday cake is a different story. I usually make Mama a chocolate cake for her
birthday. Remember these? Double Chocolate Layer Cake & Claire’s Dark Chocolate Cake.
She is not supposed to eat chocolate anymore so we had to come up with a
different alternative. Mama gave me a
recipe for an apple cake, which I have made before. The cake was supposed to bake for an hour,
but after an hour and a half the cake tester still came out wet. I gave it a little more time in the oven but
was worried about burning the outside.
The recipe stated that the cake should cool completely in the pan. I reasoned that it would continue to cook in
the pan so I would go ahead and take it out.
This was a bad decision. The cake
also had a glaze that was supposed to be applied as soon as it came out of the
oven. After letting the cake cool for
several hours, I decided to remove it from the bundt pan. Bad decision number 2. The cake fell apart completely and it wasn’t
even cooked! I stared down at a plate of
uncooked, mushy, cake. My first reaction
was to scream but I instead held it together.
I tossed the whole cake, glaze and all, back into the mixer. Then, I beat it until it held together like
dough. I then mashed it down into a 9-
inch round cake pan and baked it for 30 minutes. This apple cake now became twice-baked apple
cake and it was delicious. The cake was
more dense and moist than what the original recipe would have been. I am sure this is due to the glaze being
baked inside the cake. Astatically
speaking, the birthday cake needed help.
I caramelized apples in a skillet with brown sugar and butter and then
spread them on top of the cake. The only
reason I am not blogging about my twice-baked apple cake is because I do not
have a concrete recipe to share.
Everything was a gamble and it happened to turn out in my favor. Another birthday cake disaster averted! Unlike the apple cake recipe, the mashed
butternut squash recipe comes from the always reliable Ina Garten. It was easy to make and tasted great! Even the men in my life who don’t always care
for “sweet” vegetables loved it!
Ingredients
·
4
to 5 pounds butternut squash (2 small or 1 large)
·
3
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
·
3
tablespoons coconut oil
·
¼
cup brown sugar
·
2
teaspoons kosher salt
·
¼
teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
·
¼
cup almond milk
Directions
1.
Preheat
the oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cut
the butternut squash into ¾ inch cubes.
Toss the squash with olive oil, coconut oil, brown sugar, salt, and
pepper. Spread on a large sheet pan and
roast for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through.
The squash should be very tender when pierced with a fork, but not
browned.
2.
Transfer
the roasted squash and any accumulated juices to the bowl of an electric mixer
fitted with the wire whisk attachment.
Add the almond milk and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until
thoroughly combined and slightly fluffy.
Keep warm or reheat over a bowl of simmering water. If reheating, add an additional ¼ cup of
almond milk. Serves 6.
My mother is probably going to kill me but here are a few pictures from her birthday. I was told not to publish any because she was "having a bad hair day."
Mama with her birthday cake
The hubs and I
The whole family minus J.T. and Otis. J.T. was taking the picture and Otis hates having his picture made.
I told my parents I wanted a good picture made.
This is what they gave me.
The birthday girl wanted her picture made with her favorite grandson, Otis. He wasn't having it. I told you he was camera shy. She was pointing at the camera trying to get him to focus. That never happened.
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