[cwcdesign]

My phone is dying - I went to post this morning and my phone froze and then refreshed the website losing the post. It was definitely not an issue with the site.

Two years ago, Mrs Cindy gave me a 3/4 full bottle of homemade vanilla with instructions for keeping it going - similar to homemade buttermilk. All I need is vodka and vanilla beans. The premise is not too let it get down to far and then add maybe ½-1" of vodka and a a scraped vanilla bean. It doesn't matter how many vanilla bean pods you have in there. I think she said she has 20 in hers. Anyway, I let it get down too far and am very slowly building it back up. The fun part is that I'm using the scraped insides when a recipe calls for vanilla.

The bottle it arrived in has a label for Mexican Vainilla (that's the spelling on the label). I'm sure she may have started with the remains of it in there, but I think it's been going so long, there is none left in the mix - I had it down to about an inch when I started rebuilding it and it's a quart bottle.

The ingredients in the Mexican Vainilla are: Vanilla Bean Extract in Purifed Water,Vanillin (Artificial Flavoring), Alcohol, Corn Syrup, Natural Dark Color. I had no idea there could be so many ingredients in "pure" vanilla. I assumed that as long as it was a good brand like Nielsen-Massey or McCormick there was nothing but vanilla and alcohol in it. That will teach me to read ALL labels.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by cwcdesign.

[cwcdesign]

The frosting is definitely not a really sweet one, it has that nice balance with the salted butter, I don't recall it being bitter, but I see how it could skew that way. Clever idea for the chips. I hope everyone enjoys it

[cwcdesign]

Interesting, my chips didn't sink to the bottom. I wonder if they will when I use proper baking powder 🙂 Glad to hear your layers rose. I used the grams as well

[cwcdesign]

Hopefully, third time's the charm. I've already tried to post this twice. But, unlike Baker Aunt I didn't copy what I wrote.

A Belated Happy Anniversary, Mike! I hope you had a wonderful day - your dinner sounds delicious.

I tried a recipe I found online for a Croque Monsieur Casserole, basically a bread pudding with Croque Monsieur flavor. It was quick and easy and I will definitely make it again with a couple of minor tweaks. I also made tzatziki, just because I wanted some.

I made the crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken again, really good and I've almost got the recipe where I want it. This time I thought I could taste the ketchup too much (I used HT store brand with no HFCS), so I will use less of that. I think I can reduce the quantity of sauce some more, too. Will keep you posted.

[cwcdesign]

I did not put nearly as many chocolate chips on the cake as in the photo. I just decorated with them. As for the espresso powder, I live in a very humid area. You can mash it with something heavy or put it in the food processor. The KAF powder doesn't clump nearly as badly as the Espresso powder from the supermarket.

I did put it in the fridge after I frosted it and after the frosting was hard, I wrapped it since we were eating it the next day as well. It was really good the first day, even though it was dense (which I still believe was the baking powder), so I don't think you should have a problem.

I just went back and reread your post. I'm thinking that freezing the layers before I frosted (I didn't) might have helped my cake. It was very easy to frost.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by cwcdesign.

[cwcdesign]

I get the impression it's like the old BC - there's both. MaryAnn told me that she had posted about a recipe and Cindy had made it. That's how I knew Cindy was following FB. I do know that it's a private group

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by cwcdesign.

[cwcdesign]

Luvpyrpom, here's the link (it was also posted in the thread Baker Aunt mentioned)
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014217-mocha-chocolate-chip-cake

You might also want to read that thread - we had a good discussion about turbinado sugar.

BakerAunt, referring back to that discussion, my new baking powder is doing wonders in my baking. That goes along way to explaining the problem I had with that cake and the chocolate layer cake before it.

I hope the cake is a big hit!

[cwcdesign]

Just out of curiosity, was the size of loaf mentioned? That could make a big difference, I think

[cwcdesign]

I'm afraid that a lot of people went to the Facebook group, even Mrs Cindy who told me she doesn't use FB ? MaryAnn said that Cindy Leigh is there too.

MaryAnn's daughter got married, I think it was end of August. The pictures are gorgeous! And everyone is very happy. I think all the pups have found new homes.

[cwcdesign]

Sarah, this company came to my attention in an email from American Express. I don't tend to shop in bulk much anymore, but it made.me think of you. The prices look similar to Costco and Target on sale. Free shipping on first order and any order over $50/2 day delivery. Also something about 1% cash back

https://www.boxed.com/why-shop-boxed/

I'm curious what you think

[cwcdesign]

I agree with you Mike. They are 2 different cookies with different spelling and pronunciation. But they're both delicious ?

[cwcdesign]

Maybe she's lurking and knows we're thinking about her.

I think I'm going to go ahead and add the extra honey (1 tbl) and vanilla (1 tsp) because I think it will help with the moisture. My Irish Chocolate cake bakes at 325 so I'm still thinking about doing that. I'm not going back into work until Friday, but I have interviews for a company program on Thursday, so the cake will probably get made Friday afternoon for Saturday.

[cwcdesign]

You could try bread flour instead of AP. I think there might be some tutorials on YouTube for working with really slack doughs.

[cwcdesign]

I like your thinking Baker Aunt. Would you stick with cake flour at the 2 cups? Maybe make the other changes that we talked about and deal with the flour if it's still not right? I'm like Livingwell (I really miss her); I'm not very good at figuring out the science of baking.

[cwcdesign]

Mike, mine comes from Sarah Leah Chase's Open House Cookbook. She was attempting to mimic the recipe from the old Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston. It was a special treat to go there. My father' family always went there for lunch after funerals. Ha!

Anyway, it's very simple - chicken breast, grapes cut in half, celery, lots of mayo, s&p and the main seasonings are dried thyme and garlic powder which of course wouldn't work in your house. She said that when she was testing the recipe she tried fresh herbs and garlic, but they overwhelmed the salad. I also found that using Penzeys garlic powder I only need half the amount.

I love mandarin oranges. I might have to try that sometime

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