Color Chic

Wasp Nest...

Who knew a "Wasp  Nest" could get this big and go unnoticed? Especially since they're driving by it almost daily when they pull out of the drive.

 

I'm not really into wasps but their nest is quite intricate & amazing!

Best Overall Chocolate Cake!

Now that I've won "Best Overall" for this cake I promise this is the very last post on the subject of  Dark Chocolate Cake with Fluffy White Frosting! The last post simply had a photo of the cupcake version, which if I do say so myself was pretty darn good.  Since the cake was requested for last weekends Chocolate Party I decided to take photos of the process. You can find the recipe at the above link.

I added Strawberries picked from the garden for an extra layer to the already rich chocolate filling:

 

The fluffy white frosting is a process which is well worth the time spent:

 

I don't usually put Strawberries on top, but they were inside, so I did:
  

Like I said "Best Overall"... and look at those fabulous prizes... Fun!

 

Now it's time to come up with a new "Favorite Chocolate Cake" because I'm finally sick of this one! 

Do you have a favorite dessert?

When Honey Cooks.... A Birthday Dinner!

As most of you know I love to cook, but then there are times I want to turn the kitchen over to my Honey! Like for a birthday dinner... Now my birthday was a few days ago and instead of having a big blowout party (I'll save that for the big ones) I love to spread out the fun for a couple of weeks and spend quality time with family & friends individually. It makes getting older that much more fun! Anyway... Last night I just sat back and relaxed while my honey prepared an amazing meal.  We could have gone out but then we have all these wonderful fruits & veggies growing in the garden:

   

And he came up with this: 

 

He opened a bottle of top tiered wine and set a lovely table.... 

 
 And I just sat back and kept him company. Later we sat outside roasted marshmallows and made s'mores for dessert! Perfect!

How do you like to spend your birthday?
 
 

Cupcakes.... The Recipe

Devil's Food Cake with Fluffy White Frosting

 On Father's Day I tempted you with this fabulous cake made into a cupcake. I made them into cupcakes so they could be shared.  I wish I had a photo of the cake it's fabulous, but you will just have to take my word for it. The recipe:

To make Devil's Food "Cake":

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter bottom and sides of two 9" round cake pans, I also put parchment paper in the bottom and butter so cake comes out easily. Dust pans with flour and tap out excess.

Sift together dry ingredients:

2 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar, 1 3/4 Cups unsweetened non-alkalized cocoa powder, 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda, 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk together: 3 large eggs, 1 large egg yolk, 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon melted butter (cooled), 1 Tablespoon Vanilla.  Add 1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk & 3/4 Cups Strongly brewed coffee (cooled).

Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk just until smooth.  Divide into pans. Bake 30 - 35 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool cakes on wire rack for 20 minutes before removing from pan.

Rich Chocolate Filling:

Place 9 ounces semisweet chocolate in bowl. In medium saucepan heat 1 Cup heavy cream until comes to gentle boil. Pour this over chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes to allow chocolate to melt.  Once melted stir mixture until it is smooth. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Set bowl with chocolate into larger bowl of ice water and stir for about 5 minutes to a spreadable consistency. Set aside until ready to fill cake.

Fluffy White Frosting:

Place 5 large egg whites, 1 3/4 cups sugar, 1/3 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar in large deep bowl (I use kitchen aid) beat until foamy about 1 minutes.

Place bowl over saucepan of simmering water (make sure bowl doesn't touch water) beat constantly at low speed until mixture reaches 160 degrees about 7 minutes. Remove from heat add 2 teaspoons vanilla and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks about another 7 minutes.

Assemble Cake:

Using long serrated knife cut each cake layer in half horizontally. You will have 4 layers chocolate cake. Place chocolate between each layer.  Spread "White Fluffy Frosting" over sides and tops of cake. Serve immediately or refrigerate & bring to room temp before eating.

To make cupcakes:

Place batter in large cupcake tin. Bake, make a slit and place chocolate inside and on top of baked cupcake. Mound frosting on top,

Note: Cupcakes share well but cake is better because there is more rich chocolate filling inside.

Enjoy!

A Kiss of Sunshine in the Garden!

So happy to see a bit of sunshine in my "Garden"!

Here's a peek:

 

 

  

 

 It's growing.....

Little Cowboy's Nursery - Organizing the Closet

It's been awhile since I've participated in Metamorphosis Monday, but after the project I worked on last week I thought I should get this posted so I could.

As you may already know I have been transforming a home office into a nursery for a "little cowboy".  We moved the office into another area of the home a few months ago, and had made a bit of progress on the nursery, but last week we decided it was time to organize the closet!

Remember when it looked like this:

 

Now it looks like this:

  

and this:

 

Everything is neatly organized:

 

And those cute little boots Julia received at the shower:

 

I think they look adorable on display until he grows into them:

 

We even organized a little space for him in the bathroom:

 

For now, Rubber Ducky will just have to sit and wait:

 

Happy Father's Day... Eat a Cupcake!

For any holiday which involves doing something for my honey I make his favorite "Devil's Food Chocolate Cake with Fluffy White Frosting"! Today he has to share so I made cupcakes. Under all that Fluffy White Frosting is Chocolate Ganache! 

Happy Fathers Day Dearest!

Thank you Swap buddy!

A while ago I signed up to do a craft swap put together by Amber @ Life in Color and Sarah @ Just Me.  Well mine came today and let me just say a huge "Thank You" to Michelle @ bsktgirl!

Just opening the box it was so colorful and fabulous....

I couldn't wait to start digging in...

Look at that beautiful "Candy Apple" "Homespun" yarn.  Does anyone have a great idea for 185 yards of this wonderful, bulky 5, soft yarn?  I can't wait to get this on some needles!

 

But wait there's more....

 

and more... Look at all this crafty stuff! Michelle you're awesome... your craftiness is far superior to mine. I will surely find something fun to do with everything in this box! I might have to make those cookies tomorrow, from the recipes you sent!

After opening this box I know I need to keep filling the box I'm sending so my swap partner isn't disappointed! This is one so amazing!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Cranberry Cream Scones

 When life gets a little stressed I take to the kitchen and bake. It just makes everyone feel better. So a couple of days ago I remembered a recipe from Smitten Kitchen that called for heavy cream. My honey commented that we had a lot of dairy products... cream, heavy cream, buttermilk to be exact, and I knew I needed to start using it up. So I decided to make Cranberry Cream Scones. I started with the basic recipe and modified it a bit... because that's what I do.

 

Start with the dry ingredients: 2 Cups Flour, 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder, 3 Tablespoons Sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt. 

Add 5 Tablespoons of Butter. I put all of this in my cuisenart since I was trying to hustle then put back into a bowl and added Zest from 1 Lemon, 1/2 Cup of Dried Cranberries (I noticed mine were getting a bit dried out so I soaked them for a bit in hot water, drained the water of course before adding to dry ingredients) I also added pecans (because we all need a bit of protein when we're stressed)!

 

Once all dry ingredients are blended add: 1 Cup Heavy Cream

Shape into a ball, turn dough onto a floured surface, work into a circle with hands, then cut into traditional triangles or use a biscuit cutter such as the decorative cutters above.

 

Once you have your scones cut, place them on an ungreased cookie sheet or silpat (which I use all the time for baking). Bake at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes. Cool on rack until cool enough that you won't burn your mouth when you bite into them!

 

Sharing these with those stressed around you should make things a bit better... perhaps!

What do you do when you're stressed?

Creativity Bootcamp - Day 13 {the end}

I'm not sure why she chose this word as I'm sad to see this come to an end. This has been a fun experience and one that has made me think outside the box. 

Todays word  prompt was "Smile". 

What I'd really like to do is take the time to do a mosaic with all the wonderful smiley photos of family & friends. But with limited time I love this photo as it smiles with the eyes and what makes one smile more than anything but a good cupcake!

 

Thanks to Creativity Bootcamp for the inspiration!