5.13.2009

:: Rhubarb "Big" Crumb Cake ::

:: I have a garden of rhubarb, this is my second year of yielding crop from my very own garden. I'm the proud Mama to two little boys and a crop of rhubarb ::

:: My MIL told me to pull my first crop of rhubarb early so that my garden is more fruitful, so I obeyed and pulled a lovely handful of fresh rhubarb ::

:: A few days prior to pulling this years first crop I was reading PW Cooks {If you don't make this a weekly read you should!} & she had a visitor to her ranch, Smitten Kitchen - in which she shared this recipe. Now if you know PW - you know that she don't make nothing that don't taste real good! So since I had such a fabulous crop, I thought why not give it a try ::


:: The cake was declared by my very own food critic aka: Handsome Paul "the best crumb cake ever, it's amazing" - less than 14 hours out of the oven and this cake was devoured ::

:: So here is the recipe directly from Smitten Kitchen's blog - try your hand at it, I'm sure you won't be let down! ::

‘Big Crumb’ Coffeecake with Rhubarb
Adapted from The New York Times 6/6/07

Not rhubarb season? Don’t fret. I think this cake would be amazing with a blueberry, raspberry, sour cherry or any other tangy fruit filling you can think of. Simply adjust the sugar level accordingly–most of these will need far less than rhubarb does to make them palatable.

Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling

Butter for greasing pan

For the rhubarb filling:
1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumbs:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 3/4 cups cake flour (I was out and used all-purpose and it worked great)

For the cake:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour (ditto on the all-purpose flour–worked just fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

2. To make crumbs, in a large bowl, whisk together sugars, spices, salt and butter until smooth. Stir in flour with a spatula. It will look like a solid dough.

3. To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

4. Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.

5. Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

5.12.2009

:: And still, there is more! ::

:: Told you I had LOTS to catch up on here...and there is still more to come! I know, you're waiting with baited breath I'm sure! But first I must go feed my little ones ::

:: Welcome Jack Michael Becher ::

:: Early last Tuesday Morning, my SIL Jennifer {Paul's Sister} welcomed her second baby into the world, a BOY! ::

{Picture from Pixie (Michael's Mum) an hour or so after Jack was born}

:: Jack was a quick little arrival, her water broke at 12.30 am and he was born just before 5.30 am, and he was born 5 days before his due date {lucky girl!} -- He's a beautifully perfect little guy and a welcome addition to our family. Victoria is a big sister at 15.5 months old - Yikes! ::

:: Congratulations Michael, Jen & Victoria...can't wait to enjoy some Summer BBQ's and family time with y'all! ::

:: XO - Shawna & the Boys ::

:: A work in progress ::

:: Did you know that we, er I mean Paul owns a 1972 VW Beetle? ::

:: Well, we do and it's a work in progress, we're really hoping to get it "road worthy" this Summer, it's about time that I was able to go for a ride in it. I've only been with Paul for 10 years this Summer...I mean really! Let's get this baby on the road! ::

:: Pray for us ;) ::

:: Seasons are Changing ::


:: Here is some evidence that Summer is on it's way - Spring is in full gear here and I love it! Now most of the cherry blossoms have fallen off the trees and made quite the mess of the road, but it was pretty while it lasted!!! ::

:: | Happy Spring | ::

:: Happy Easter...um a few weeks late! ::


:: So this post on what we did for Easter was lost in the planning, executing, delivering & recovery of the the conference. So I apologize for the tardiness of this post. But I want there to be record of what our family did to celebrate one of our most favorite times of the year! ::

:: We started off the weekend at our friends brunch put on by K&C - We always have a blast at this event, and this year was no different. We have a huge Easter Egg Hunt along 28 other kids (yes, there were 30 little ones running around). Thank the Lord the rain held off because we were able to send the kids out to the fabulous backyard and let them wear off all the candy ::

'

:: We had special times with each of our families (unfortunately I don't have any pictures of our events) - but I can tell you that we enjoyed lots of candy, fellowship and visiting with our nieces -- oh and you can't forget the Paska, I didn't make my Paska until a few days before, which is a really good thing because it was CONSUMED constantly in our home! ::


:: Our boys & their cousin, Victoria received a slide for their Easter present from Nana & Papa. What fun, I bet they didn't thin that their living room would be turned into a giant jungle gym upon receiving their slides! ::


:: Here we are in our Easter Sunday Best - Yes, that's an ascott (not a nest!) on my head. Now, I have a story with this little accessory. My girlfriend is getting married and there was a tea party for her where we had to wear hats. Lovely, however I
wanted a new hat, so I decided since I didn't have time to look for one I would make one, total cost for my little ascott - $5. So I decided that I would wear it to church for Easter Sunday, and oh my stars I was the ONLY one in a church service of 1200 wearing a hat - on EASTER Sunday! ::

:: Anyway, here is our attempt at a family picture - there isn't a good one of all of us, so I thought I would post us attempting to get the boys to pay attention and smile...smile for crying out loud! You're full of chocolate eggs and ham...so SMILE! ::
:: Oh, and there are Cole's lips, if you didn't notice he's not lacking in the lips department! ::

:: We hope ya'll had a great Easter, we did and look forward to continuing to make more wonderful memories in the year to come! ::

Posted by Picasa

5.11.2009

:: Season of Change ::

{ SOOC Tulip Photo by Moi }


:: Well, I have fallen terribly behind on blogging! It's been a crazy few weeks here for us and we are trying to adjust to a season of change ::

:: We are getting back on track and hopefully getting into the swing of Spring. I love Spring but it
also brings lots of extra things to do around the house ::

:: So I'll be back, I promise....with Easter update {see told you I was behind!} and lots of other lovely random thoughts! ::

:: Happy Mothers Day!!!! Hope y'all had a great day! ::
Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin