Smith Island Cake

Yesterday, we had a going away party for our dear friend, Robyn.  We asked folks to bring a Maryland themed contribution for a pot luck meal.  We had delicious food: crab dip and soup, Oriole's hot dogs and popcorn, Berger cookies, Smith Island Cake and more.  It was delicious.

I wanted to share my Smith Island Cake recipe with you.
 

A Smith Island Cake is made up 8-15 layers of yellow cake filled with fudge and Reeses and iced with chocolate butter cream frosting.  It is a really special cake. 

• Grind about half a bag of peanut butter cups finely.  Chill until ready to use.

CAKE: [I had to double this portion of the recipe to get 12 layers and a dozen cupcakes.  The amount below produced 9 layers.]

• Pre-heat oven to 350°.
• Line four 8" round cake pans with parchment paper.
• Mix: 
• yellow cake mix 
• 1 1⁄2 cups evaporated milk
• 1 stick of butter 
• 1 teaspoonvanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
•  4 eggs 
• 1⁄3 cup water

• Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 10–12 minutes. 
• Spread one cup of batter into each cake pan.  
• Bake 10 minutes.
• Set aside to let cool slightly, then loosen cake layers with a knife and invert onto cooling racks. 
• Wash and dry cake pans. Reline with fresh parchment.
• Repeat process a second time.  Then, a third for 12 layers.

FILLING:

•  Combine ingredients in a pot and boil for 4 minutes:
• 12 ounces semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
• 3 sticks of butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 15 ounces evaporated milk
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

FROSTING:

• Combine:
• 2 sticks of softened butter
• 6-8 cups of powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup of cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons of milk 
• a pinch of salt

Assembly...

Place the first layer on your cake plate.  Spread the cake with about 1⁄4 cup of filling; sprinkle with about 1 Tablespoon ground peanut butter cups. Top with another cake layer and repeat process to make 12 layers in all. Frost outside of cake with chocolate butter cream. Let sit for 2–3 hours before serving. The cake can be stored for up to a week refrigerated in an airtight container.

Because our friend is moving across the country.  I thought it would be fitting to decorate the cake with a US map.  I print an outline map in the size I wanted, carefully cut it out, laid in on the cake weighing it down on the edges by patting it with damp fingers.  Then I sifted powdered sugar over the top and carefully lifted it.  Easy process.  Big impact.

We'll miss you Robyn!

The Cake

For seven years on this day I have made a special cake for the man I love.  Today is his birthday.  He likes what he likes and what he LOVES is peanut butter and chocolate.  So, each year that is my special task: to create a Reeses's cake.  This year I asked for some input.  The birthday boy said he wanted: "A cookie cake, an ice cream cookie cake! A Reese's ice cream cookie cake cake... with brownie!"  I accepted the challenge and this is what I came up with.  I had a happy helper:

 I started with a Reese's peanut butter cup chocolate chip cookie base.  I pressed about half of the batter into the bottom of a  lightly greased 9 inch spring form pan.  

Yum!

 Baked at 350 for about 20 minutes.  Just until it was a little brown around the edges.  I let it cool for a while and then put it in the freezer.

While that was cooling I made brownies.  I put less than half the batter in a 9 inch cake pan and baked them for a little less than the package directions.

While the cookie and brownie layers were chilling.  I made hot fudge.

It was easy!  And decadent... it froze beautifully.  If I can give any tip for making ice cream cake: include this some how!

Now to assemble:

 I let my ice cream sit out for about half an hour.  It made a good soft texture for spreading on top of the  frozen cookie layer.

First, the peanut butter cup ice cream.

Next, I added the brownie and half of the hot fudge.

Finally, the cookie dough ice cream, the rest of the hot fudge and a a bunch of peanut butter cups.  Back to the freezer...

TA-DAH!!!

It was a success!  It was a time consuming process; but totally worth it!  The birthday boy was pleased.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Hong Kong

I am a country mouse at heart.  I love to travel; but city life moves with a rhythm that I'm not sure I'll ever get used to.  Two of our very best friends grew up in the great booming city of Hong Kong.  I've heard so many stories about this place.  I was stuck somewhere between worrying this city wouldn't live up to expectations and feeling totally unsure what to expect at all.  In reality, it was 100% the second.  This country mouse could not have imagined what Hong Kong is actually like... New York City x 20.  It was fun.  It was hot!  It was unlike any place I've ever visited.  We had a blast.
 We bought passes to a tour bus.  We saw so much:

CITY

MOUNTAINS

THE BEACH

Not to mention shopping and food...

Night market

Dim Sum

We learned a lot about this beautiful, busy, crowded, bustling, extreme, rich, wonderful city in the short three days we were there.  It was truly an adventure.

More Thailand

 

Oh Thailand... you spoiled me.  Big time.  Jazzy pedicure that I refused to take off for weeks...

The MOST beautiful food.  This pineapple fried rice served in a pineapple made me feel like a queen.

Then, there were fire dancers...

 Fire. dancers.  Yeah, that guy's breathing fire.

 The beach...

AND this is the wonder that I can't stop talking about.  Honey comb... drips down and into that pot.  Can you even believe it???  Yum.  Wow.  It's a sculpture.

<sigh>

We had such a peaceful, relaxing time there.  Thank you Sheraton, Krabi.  

Thailand

Here we go!  49 hours later we arrived at our destination...

It was worth the wait.

Comfiest. bed. ever.  I seriously almost stole those pillows.  I'm serious.

This tub was miraculous.

I have never experienced anything like this place.  I could go on and on.  Check out the Sheraton, Krabi.  I'll add more pictures soon.

Physics Conference/Romantic Getaway... vacation.

Father's Day Part II

I've been thinking a lot about what I wrote on Father's Day.  My acknowledgements were lacking.  [by two]  There may be more, but this is what I've been pondering.

Let me tell you a little about my father-in-law.  He is awesome.  I couldn't ask for a better one.  I admire him in so many ways.  He raised my husband and did a pretty fantastic job [with mucho help from his beautiful wife, my mother-in-law].  He is this brilliant professional who stands up [against all odds] for what he believes.  Constantly generous.  Always thinking.  Funny.  Tender.  Thoughtful man.  Strong leader in so many places.  AND a dreamer.  Musician scientist-- right and left brains collide and there his is.   I know he loves me like a daughter.  I feel 100% adopted.  The name-sake of our boy.  I'm so proud to be a part of his family.

And then there's one other father.  A man who is about to enter our lives and stay forever.  A man we've never met, who one day soon we'll be bonded to.  The biological-father of our baby.  I pray for this man.  He has many faces.  I don't know his age, race or ethnicity.  So, I imagine them all.  I am really hoping to meet him someday.  We may not; but he'll still be a part of our family.  And I just wanted to recognize him too.

Happy Belated Father's Day.

Kristen

Thailand?!? Are you kidding me?

Hello again.

I'm taking a packing break to give you a bit of an explanation.  If feel like it's important.  In all the fundraising rigamaroll I've had to fight against my pride to become more open and transparent.  It's not easy for me to talk about money or lack there of.  It's all been very humbling.

In the interest of honesty here we go: We're going to Thailand.  Thailand Thailand.  Not a restaurant.  The country.   In a week.  Whoa.  Little known fact about physicist--they travel.  To awesome places.  For conferences.  And sometimes spouses tag along.  We are a special case.  Because my father-in-law is also a scientist and travels A LOT.  Racking up more airline miles than he can use.  He also happens to have a VERY generous heart.  This is the third time my in-laws have used those miles to send me to the conferences.  It's amazing.  They are amazing.

Because my sweet husband gets his flight, room and food paid for by his job.  I basically get to go for the price of my meals.  It's kind of unbelievable.  I am so grateful.  I LOVE to travel.  I love the whole experience: the packing, the flight [even airplane food], reading, hotels, eating in restaurants, reading... the list goes on and on.  There are two thing I DO NOT like at all: leaving my boy and unpacking.

So, please don't thinking we're secretly wealthy trying to bamboozle folks out of their generous donations for our adoption.  We're not and we're not.  This is a break we've been planning for and anticipating [financially] for a year.  I'm really looking forward to this time away.  It's been a busy year.

There you go.  Here we go.
Thank you, as always for your support.

Kristen

Special thanks to all the Grandpas, Grandmas and Mimis watching the boy while we go.  Not to mention, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins making our time apart that much easier.  We love you.

  

Locked Out

I don't have the best history with cars...  So much so, that my father's speech at our rehearsal dinner was pretty much about this topic.  I wouldn't say I'm a bad driver-- I just do not so smart things with cars and weird things happening to me while attempting to operate vehicles.

I got my driver's license at 16 and was lucky enough to have a car to drive.  I'm now 31 and have had 8 cars.  Yes, 8.  I'd like to say that this is because most of them were at the end of their lives.  Honestly, I may have pushed some of them over the edge.  Oil changes were not at the top of my priority list in college.

So, [grab some note cards Dad] I had an interesting morning.  Tuesdays are library days in our family schedule.  The boy really looks forward to story time.  I wanted to leave a little early to leave time to play before hand.  The thermometer read a chilly 10 degrees.  Like any good Vermonter, decided to warm up the car.  I ran out and turned on the car.  Then it occurred to me: I hadn't sufficiently bundled up my boy.  I shouldn't leave my car running and unlocked!  So, I took the unlock key button thing off my key ring and locked my car.  My running car.  Back in the house, I dressed the boy in multiple layers, grabbed my purse, hustled out the door and locked it behind me.  Unlock button. Nothing. Hmm. Unlock button.  Nothing.  UNLOCK BUTTON!  UNLOCK BUTTON!  UNLOCK BUTTON... nothing.  And there I stopped short.  I looked ahead of me at my locked, running car.  I looked behind me at my locked door.  I looked beside me at my red nosed son.  I looked into my purse to realize my phone was warmly plugged into the charger in my bedroom.  Well, phooey.

The events that followed included rushing around the house checking doors and windows for any way into the house.  It. was. cold.  My sweet cottagey home came complete with stones strewn about the property.  Which of these lucky stones, I wondered to myself, would be the right one to break either my car window or house window?  Thankfully, it did not come to that. 

In the end, I managed to find my way to our house.  Necessity is the mother of invention.  I will not say how--for all those rascals frequenting my blog and wondering how best to break in.  But, I did it.

We didn't make story time today.  My car sat in the driveway, running, for two hours.  But all in all--we were safe and warm while we waited.  For that, I am VERY grateful.

There you go, Dad.  New material for my Mother of the Year award banquet.