Today is football Saturday. Andy is equipped with his birthday (tomorrow)
binoculars that the boys and I got him. He is so happy. He says they are so
strong that he can pick tomatoes (with his eyes) from the house back to the
garden without making the trip. He and Matt have great seats at the game but it
is C deck and the binoculars come in handy so he does not miss a beat. I try to
have something good for them to eat when they get home. The prices at OSU are
incredible with water at $4. a bottle and I shutter to think what a hot dog
costs. Marie, from The English Kitchen always has something special for the day
and iced coffee and walnut cake fits the bill. Her pictures and recipes always
please and I have a nice box of walnuts from Andersons to make this easy
cake.
*Iced Coffee and Walnut Cake*Makes 8 to 10
servings
Picture and cake from The English Kitchen.
125ml of whole milk (1/2 cup plus 1/2 TBS)
75g of butter chopped (1/3 cup)
1 tsp instant coffee granules
110g caster sugar (1/2 cup plus 1 TBS)
60g of chopped toasted walnuts (1/2 cup), plus extra whole walnut halves to decorate
1 medium egg, at room temperature and beaten
150g of self raising flour, sifted (1 1/3 cup plus 1/2 TBS)
Coffee Butter cream Icing:
7 Tbs butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
160g of icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)
1 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water
splash of milk, if needed
Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter an 8 by 3 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper, allowing it to drape over the sides, for ease of removal.
Put the milk, butter and coffee granules in a large saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the butter is melted and the coffee granules dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and chopped walnuts with a wooden spoon. Stir in the egg until thoroughly combined. Stir in the flour gradually, until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface over with the back of a metal spoon.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until well risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the butter cream, using an electric whisk, beat the butter and vanilla together in a small bowl, until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, a bit at a time, until well combined. Dissolve the coffee granules in 1 tsp boiling water and then cool. Beat into the butter cream. If the butter cream is too thick, you may beat in a little milk, only adding 1 tsp at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
Picture and cake from The English Kitchen.
125ml of whole milk (1/2 cup plus 1/2 TBS)
75g of butter chopped (1/3 cup)
1 tsp instant coffee granules
110g caster sugar (1/2 cup plus 1 TBS)
60g of chopped toasted walnuts (1/2 cup), plus extra whole walnut halves to decorate
1 medium egg, at room temperature and beaten
150g of self raising flour, sifted (1 1/3 cup plus 1/2 TBS)
Coffee Butter cream Icing:
7 Tbs butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
160g of icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)
1 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water
splash of milk, if needed
Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter an 8 by 3 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper, allowing it to drape over the sides, for ease of removal.
Put the milk, butter and coffee granules in a large saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the butter is melted and the coffee granules dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and chopped walnuts with a wooden spoon. Stir in the egg until thoroughly combined. Stir in the flour gradually, until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface over with the back of a metal spoon.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until well risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the butter cream, using an electric whisk, beat the butter and vanilla together in a small bowl, until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, a bit at a time, until well combined. Dissolve the coffee granules in 1 tsp boiling water and then cool. Beat into the butter cream. If the butter cream is too thick, you may beat in a little milk, only adding 1 tsp at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
The Lechlers have many birthdays in September and luckily, this year Kohl's 50th anniversary sale hits the spot. Nate and I went there yesterday for a birthday shopping spree and if you can believe this, we got just over $500. worth of items for $181. Plus $30. of Kohl's dollars, plus 15% (discount) for when I take Matt for his spree. I don't know how they do it, but I appreciate their quality and pricing.
Well, I had better get to baking. Go bucks!
Note:
This week has been a nightmare 'bundle' wise. I am not sure it is a good idea to bundle the phone, alarm, TV, computers all with one company. First the electric went out due to the construction workers knocking down the transformer. Eight hours later AEP had it back on but CUT and left all the cable wires for our house and our neighbors across the street, thank you very much. We have Insight, they have WOW (and they are still not fixed.) So for days, nearly a week, we were without a lot of safety backups and this makes me uncomfortable. We've gone with a new system and reduced some of the items we were paying for that are not worth it like turbo Roadrunner--which is not 'turbo' at all and Showtime--NOT worth the money. Insight used to be great and fast and concerned. Now that they have 'bundled' with Time Warner, not so much.
