Tuesday, January 25, 2011

It's great to be eight



While I may have issues with January, one part that makes me really happy is Brianna's birthday.  I can't believe she turned 8 today! It seems like just yesterday that she was a tiny baby, and now she's even past the little girl stage. While she's changed so much, one thing that hasn't changed at all is her favorite cake--chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  Both the cake for her party on Sunday and the cupcakes for school today were very chocolatey, though she surprised me by asking for vanilla filling for the cake.  (It ended up being really good!)  

Somehow in the midst of all this chocolate cake baking, I managed to find time for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.  As luck would have it, it was another cake!  Jennifer of Cooking for Comfort picked the Nutty, Chocolatey, Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake for us to make this week.  It still had some chocolate in it, but I figured the vanilla cake would be a nice change from everything else.  I was originally going to bake it on Saturday, but that day got eaten up with a trip to IKEA and some subsequent assembly.  (One down, two to go!)  B's birthday party was at lunchtime on Sunday, so it was Sunday evening before I finally got to tackle the bundt cake.  


This cake was easy to mix up--it uses the creaming method, with sour cream for the dairy/liquid.  The batter is layered with the swirl ingredients--batter, swirl, batter, swirl, batter.  I left a few things out.  I skipped the orange zest in the cake batter, since I wasn't in the mood for orange (and didn't have any to zest, as it turned out).  For the swirl, I used brown sugar in place of the granulated sugar called for in the recipe.  I kept the cinnamon and mini chocolate chips, but skipped the dried fruit and nuts, as they would have resulted in complaints from one or both of my children.  I couldn't pass up the chance to use my new bundt pan again, and the amount of batter was just right for that pan.  I started checking the cake at about 50 minutes, since I'm still getting used to this new pan.  I pulled it out of the oven at 65 minutes.


The verdict?  I liked this one, but the cake was just a tad dry.  I may have overbaked it slightly, but it kept testing not-done in the middle--confused by the swirl, no doubt.  And I'd actually prefer it with nuts instead of the chocolate chips.  I don't like cinnamon with chocolate, but I love it with pecans.  Of course, B&G love anything with chocolate chips, so they thought it was fine as is.  About half the cake went to the daycare on Monday.  When I picked up Gillian today, I found an empty container and a note thanking me for the yummy cake. =)

If you'd like to give this one a try, and come up with your own version of the swirl, you can find the recipe on Jennifer's blog.  To see how everyone else fared, check out this week's Links.  


Some pics of my 8-year-old birthday girl Brianna, then and now.  Where does the time go?  How do they get so big so fast?

15 comments:

  1. Happy birthday, Brianna! Beautiful girl - then and now. =) Love the birthday cake and cupcakes...chocolate chocolate...my kind of girl!

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  2. Eight IS great (Happy Birthday, B!!) and so are all of the cakes that you've been baking, Di. Love the way your bundt browns so nicely. Sorry that it was dry; I found this one hard to test. Mine was on the too moist side, but still yummy.

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  3. That is such a pretty cake! The edges are so sharp. Loved this cake. I found it da dangerously good. So fun seeing the pics of Brianna! Hope she had a great day.

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  4. Gorgeous girl! First she's 8 then she will be driving your car!

    I love how that bundt slice looks like a mountain range!

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  5. Your bundt is gorgeous! I love that pan!

    Happy Birthday to Brianna! Hope you had a fun day celebrating!

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  6. Beautiful bundt, Di! And Happy Birthday, B!! :)

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  7. So many changes they go thru' and how much we love watching them change. She is adorable. Happy Birthday, B!!!

    LOVE that cake pan. It is so elegant.

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  8. B looks so excited to be 8! This would be a great cake to make in that lovely pan, but I'm still planning on making the chocolate one you posted a few weeks ago.

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  9. The cake is so pretty in that pan...oh, I just that shape. We loved this cake and I will make it again no doubt.

    To B: Happy 8th Birthday!! You were so cute in the cradle and I think you are even cuter at the table! :-) Good things coming your way today and always! Hugs for the birthday girl!

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  10. Can one have too many bundt pans?? I so like yours. 8 is such a great age, enjoy every minute of mothering. It is the best thing you will ever do.

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  11. my husband thought it was a tad bit dry too...I didn't:) It looks so good !! I love the pictures of your girl.time flys..I know my oldest is graduation High school this year!

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  12. Beautiful cake Di - I really love that bundt pan. I just don't think I can justify yet another pan right now :)

    Happy birthday to B - she's adorable!

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  13. Happy belated birthday, B! What a great bundt cake tin!

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  14. yah the kids are growing to past the last you change their diaper now look at them, growing so fast.

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