{TRY} Mema's Hot Milk Cake with Buttercream Icing

The reason I love food so much is because of the power it has to bring people together over the the kitchen island, a vegetable garden or a chef's tasting table. Bridget shared this family recipe that has brought her big Irish family together for decades of birthday celebration's.  Lucky for me, I got in on the tradition and was surprised with this for my 30th.  Here's a take on traditional hot milk cake, which, by the way, comes from the Mid-Atlantic region...no wonder I never had this growing up in Michigan!

[Recipe]

½ c. butter

1 c. milk

4 eggs

2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 8” layer cake pans. 

In small saucepan, heat butter and milk together until butter is melted, set aside. Beat eggs, gradually add sugar, then vanilla and flour and baking powder. Make sure you really beat the eggs and sugar until frothy. Pour hot milk mixture in and blend well. Pour into cake pans.

Bake 33-35 min for layer cake pans, until top is golden brown and springs back when tested. Cool completely, remove from pans, frost.

Optional Buttercream Icing 

4 c. powd sugar 

½ c. butter 

1 tsp vanilla 

3-4 T. milk to get the right consistency.

If you don't want buttercream icing (what's wrong with you?), you can just dot the top of the cake with butter when it is hot out of the oven, spread the melted butter then sprinkle with powdered sugar. That is the traditional way. ~ 

I'm not a baker, so I admire anyone who has the attention to detail and patience for it.  Thank you Bridget for sharing with me your family traditions. Maybe next you can try hot milk cake cupcakes?

  

{EAT} Review: Seasonal Pantry

After hearing SO much about Seasonal Pantry, I had been dying to try it out. Lucky for me, Brendan surprised me for my 30th birthday with two seats to Supper Club. As directed, we arrived promptly at 7:45pm, dinner started at 8. With little information about the menu outside of 4 keywords "potato", "jerky", "ravioli" and "lamb", we didn't know exactly what was in store.

Upon entering the space just large enough for a long skinny chopping block table for 12, founder Dan O'Brien casually welcomed us and our fellow stranger diners. A mix of 20 and 30 something couples and friends as well as 2 solo patrons, the crowd was casual and intrigued.  I did meet the founder of City Blossoms, a DC non-profit working with children to create community green spaces and fell in love with the organization. Our first bite was a triangular piece of crispy chicken skin, which tasted like a salty, crunchy chip.   Three courses later a little slice of heaven appeared in front of me, Uova da Ravioli. Yeah, that's a direct translation, egg ravioli.

And one might ask, but why would you need bread with ravioli. Well, because the minute you cut into the perfectly crisp ravioli shell, egg yolk pours out onto the plate. The lamb, the main dish, was tender and spiced with cumin.  It was unnecessarily large and an excessive use of product given we already had 4 courses, but it was delicious.  Red and white wine was paired with the meal and served in large carafes in the center of the table.  I was introduced to fluffernutter, yes that marshmallow and peanut butter creme, that Dan used in an inventive dessert.  The SECOND dessert however was my personal favorite since it incorporated chocolate. 

Dan was more than hospitable.  I would have liked to hear more about the food and the history of the place.  I'd also like a bit more thought put into the wine pairings.  Otherwise, I'd go back in a heart beat and recommend it for the food-adventurous.  Looking forward to Dan's next move...