A Little Chocolate Cake

The window I shoot from is in the kitchen. It overlooks the back yard - the fenced in portion of our acreage that houses the dogs, the garden, and a large holly tree. I watch Elsa eye squirrels from the frustrating fence line. I watch Murphy avoid mud puddles. I watch Milo, restless, trying to find anything to keep his mind busy, his teeth busy, his paws busy.

I look out this window and it's officially a year since we first looked at this house of ours. Time's flown and here we are. This morning I held Elsa for an hour, made coffee, cleaned up a mouse that had died in our barn. Washed my hands, ate a slice of cake. It's all there is on these kinds of Sundays; it's just one thing after the next, small pleasures that have kept me going throughout this year of guesswork and growing our own roots in soil we haven't touched for years and years and years.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 TB espresso or strong coffee
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F
2. Liberally butter and line a 6-inch cake pan
3. Whisk together all wet ingredients until a pale orange and fully incorporated
4. Sift together all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and create a well in the center
5. With a wooden spoon, slowly fold in wet ingredients
6. Stir until just combined
7. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until top is slightly cracked and the sides pool away from the pan
8. Remove from oven, allow to cool completely before removing from pan and decorating (for this, I had some leftover cream cheese frosting to use, but I think a chocolate ganache would be phenomenal here)

With its high oil content, this cake stays moist for about 4 days in a container - so enjoy during and after the weekend!

A Tea Party with Nordic Ware

Rain.

Each day, for the last week, it has rained. The dogs have been restless when they're awake, but sleep most of the day away. Their muddy paws mark the base boards, the tiled kitchen, and, occasionally, the armchairs. We let them on the bed, we let them sleep at our feet. We give them what they want because we can't give them fresh air, warmth, the sun. 

We were busy this week. Photoshoots and cakes and flea market paintings. We ate lunch with Nolan's parents and bought curtains. We took a bath together and then fell asleep on the couch. I feed the chickens four times a day and called my dad to say they were growing. I remembered my uncle on Memorial Day. My brother asked me to be his son's godfather. I found five dollars in the washing machine.

Rain. Like a slow throb in the back of my eyes, I felt tired. Nolan sneezed in the sunlight and I took a puff from his cigarette with my coffee. My body shivering, my eyes still tired, we were up at six most mornings this week. And by three we were tired and by five we were exhausted. And so, this weekend, I wanted to make it special. Something to look forward to mid-day.

I brewed some tea, I baked some cakes. Nolan licked the spatula and squeezed the lemon over the still-warm bakes. We snacked, candles light and a window open, and warmed our hands on the china my mother gave us. A moment when beauty was small but worthwhile, like the steam that rises off the ground and the deer prints are still fresh in mud.

Mini-cakes!

The recipe I used was adapted from the previous madeleine recipe, here. You will, of course, need this beautiful bundt charm pan from Nordicware, which will (honestly) change your tea party game for LIFE.  What made me most nervous was greasing the pan, so I went with a little bit of melted shortening then a light dusting of flour and it was perfect. 

If you do NOT have a charm pan (which I suggest you get), you can use a muffin tin, but just add about 1/3 of the way up and add a 2 minutes to the baking time.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 c sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 8 TB unsalted butter, melted
• 2 TB lemon zest
• Juice of one lemon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400*F
2. Prepare your pan
3. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour and baking powder
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla, and zest vigorously until foamy
5. Add egg mix to flour and stir
6. Finally, add melted butter and fold with a rubber spatula. 
7. Fill about 3/4 of the way up, using a spoon to control the amount better, and bake for 10 minutes or until golden and puffed
8. Immediately turn out and allow to cool. When still warm, squeeze lemon juice over your cakes
9. Enjoy with a warm cup of tea. Remaining cakes can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days (or frozen forever!)

A special thanks to Nordic Ware for sponsoring this post. Nordic Ware has been producing quality kitchenware products in their 70 years and are now one of America's most beloved and iconic brands. Today, Nordic Ware manufactures the vast majority of its products in America, at our Minneapolis headquarters, including cookware, bakeware, grillware, microwave, and kitchen gadgets and accessories.For more information or products, check out their website! I highly recommend buying the charm pan mentioned above, as it is just so cute! With its gold finish, its heavy cast aluminum and its 6 unique charm shapes, it will be a staple in your kitchen for years to come!