Dairy Farmer's Party

 

A birthday down on the dairy farm is always a celebration.

These new calves represent the growth of our dairy herd

and the future production of high quality milk.

My daily job is caring for these new babies.

It truly is a celebration when you witness a calf that is

 born and raised on the farm give birth to her own calf.

It's one of the labors of  dairy farmer love to watch 

this process over a two and a half year process.

It's our own brand of dairy farmer party!

 

                              

                                      We're also finding the fun in farm family birthdays

                                              with the expert candle blowers.

                                Hattie and Breck definitely bring more fun to the party!

Sheath Cake is one of our family favorite birthday

requests. It's not so pretty but if you love

chocolate cake with a big dip of vanilla ice cream,

this is perfect!

Sheath Cake

Ingredients:

1 stick butter

1/2 cup shortening

4 Tablespoons Cocoa

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1/2 cup buttermilk

 1 teaspoon soda

2 eggs,slightly beaten

Bring margarine, shortening, cocoa and water to a rapid boil.

Pour over the sugar and flour,beat well.

Add buttermilk and soda, vanilla and eggs.

Beat, then bake at 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes.

Cover with the following.

Icing:

1 stick butter

4 Tablespoons cocoa 

3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

6 Tablespoons milk

1 cup pecans (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring butter, cocoa and milk to a boil.

Add powdered sugar, vanilla and pecans.

Beat well, pour over cake while hot.

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Whether you are nearly 3  or celebrating your 88th year,

birthdays are special occasions down on the dairy farm.

I'm finding that with each family  birthday celebration,

life becomes sweeter and richer as each year passes.

I'm thankful for the sweet relationship I  share with my

Mother and my granddaughter Hattie

and 

                                             
                                             for the birthdays that are just in time to help us
                                                                      kick off spring!

Farmer Celebrates June Dairy Month with a Birthday

It seems fitting for a dairy farmer to celebrate his birthday during June Dairy Month! It's a tradition in our family for the birthday celebrant to choose the kind of cake or pie for his day. Ryan's favorite is his mother's recipe for  Applesauce Cake. Thank goodness I inherited  my mother-in-law's recipe box and can fulfill his request!

Applesauce Cake


2 cups unsweetened applesauce
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup raisins
1 cup black walnuts
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix sugar,flour, and spices together. Soak raisins in water,squeeze and then add to flour mixture.
Heart applesauce and butter. Add baking soda and applesauce to flour mixture.  Stir in nuts.
Bake  in floured and greased 13 x 9 inch pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes . Cool completely before adding icing.

Icing:
6 Tablespoons Butter
3 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
Light cream (about 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream butter; gradually add about half the sugar, blending well. Beat in 2 tablespoons cream and vanilla. Gradually blend in remaining sugar. Add enough cream to make of spreading consistency.

                              Serve with several scoops of vanilla ice cream for best results!

Rave Reviews Coconut Cake

A special friend shared this recipe with me many years ago but it's still a favorite choice for any special occasion-- especially December birthdays!

Rave Reviews Coconut Cake


1 package (2 layer size) yellow cake  mix
1 package (4 servings) Jello Brand    Instant Pudding
11/3 cup water
4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 cups Bakers Angel Flake Coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Blend cake mix, pudding mix,water, eggs and oil in large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed for four minutes. Stir in coconut and nuts. Pour into 3 greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes; cool in pans 15 minutes, then remove and cool on rack. Fill and top with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

4 Tablespoons butter
2 cups Bakers Angel Flake Coconut
1 package 8 ounce cream cheese
2 teaspoons milk
31/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet; add coconut, stirring constantly over low heat until golden brown.  Spread coconut on absorbent paper to cool. Cream 2 tablespoons butter with cream cheese; add milk, beat in sugar gradually. Blend in vanilla.Stir in 1 3/4 cups of the coconut, and spread on tops of cake layers. Stack and sprinkle with remaining coconut.

Optional: I spread icing between the layers, on top and the sides.

Dairy Sweet Cake

When trying to decide what kind of cake to bake for my Mother's birthday last week, I found  this recipe tucked in my stack of  recipes that I had pulled from a December 2012 edition of Southern Living. It's a stately three layer cake, perfect for a celebration of any kind and has the perfect dairy ingredients--milk and butter!

Even though we never met Mrs. Billett, we certainly thank her for providing this sweet dairy-filled cake  recipe!


Mrs. Billett's White Cake

1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter,softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups cake flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
5 egg whites
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 (8 inch) round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper, and grease and flour paper.
Stir together milk and vanilla.
Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar beating until light and fluffy. Sift together flour and baking powder; add to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.
Beat egg whites at medium speed until stiff peaks form; gently fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks; discard parchment paper. Cool completely (about 40 minutes).
Spread Vanilla Buttercream Frosting between layers (about 1 cup per layer) and on top and sides of cake.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter,softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (32oz) package powdered sugar
6-7 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Beat butter and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer 1 to 2 minutes or until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar alternately with 6 Tablespoons milk, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition. Stir in vanilla. If desired, beat in remaining 1 Tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until frosting reaches desired consistency.

 

                            You can't go wrong with this cake, especially if it's topped with ice cream
                                                           or served with a glass of milk!

Pastel Tres Leches---A Four Spoon Cake

It seemed fitting to be enjoying lunch today  with three of my childhood friends in the downtown area of our hometown to celebrate Donna's February birthday and the first day of her retirement.  Tres Leches Cake was the choice of our birthday girl and she loves us enough that she had the waitress bring four spoons!  It was delicious and we were grateful for her generosity.

I'm thinking this is a recipe for a dairymom to try for an upcoming family  birthday or Easter celebration. With three different kinds of milk in one recipe,  how could you go wrong?  I found this version of the Three Milk Cake on the Nestle website that was introduced to American cooks in the 1960's on the Nestle Evaporated Milk can.


Three Milk Cake--Pastel Tres Leches

Cake:
6 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar,divided
6 large egg yolks
1 cup all purpose flour,sifted

Cream:
1 can (14 oz.) Nestle Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 can (7.5oz.) Nestle Media Crema, or 1 cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup (5 oz.) can) Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk
1/4 cup brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Cake:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour 9 inch springform pan.

Beat egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar in large mixer bowl until stiff peaks form. Combine egg yolks and remaining sugar in medium bowl; beat until light yellow in color. Fold egg white mixture and flour alternately into egg yolk mixture. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until just golden and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven to wire rack.

For Cream:
Combine sweetened condensed milk, media crema, evaporated milk, brandy and vanilla extract in medium bowl; stir well. Prick top of cake thoroughly with wooden pick. Pour 2 cups cream over cake. Spoon excess cream from side of pan over top of cake. Let stand for 30 minutes or until cake absorbs cream. Remove side of pan.

For Topping:
Beat cream, sugar and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until stiff peaks form. Spread over top and sides of cake. Serve immediately with remaining cream.

                                                                   

Celebrating Birthdays and Friendships

What do you give a friend for her December   birthday  who has everything and  tells you not to buy any birthday gift ?   Birthday cake seemed the perfect choice--not a purchased gift,nothing to dust but straight from the heart to celebrate a friend's special day!    Rave Reviews Coconut Cake is a great cake for any occasion and from past experience,  it's always a tasty treat for any celebration.

Rave Reviews Coconut Cake

1 package yellow cake mix (2 layer size)
1 package (4 serving) Jello Brand Instant Vanilla Pudding
1 1/3 cup water
4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 cups sweetened  coconut flakes
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Blend cake mix,pudding mix,water,eggs and oil in large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed for four minutes. Stir in coconut and nuts. Pour into three greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Cool in pans for 15 minutes,remove and cool on wire rack. Fill and top with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups sweetened  coconut flakes
1 package 8 oz. cream cheese
2 teaspoons milk
3 1/2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet, add coconut,stirring constantly over low heat until golden brown. Spread coconut on paper towel to cool. Cream 2 tablespoons butter with cream cheese; add milk and beat in sugar gradually. Blend in vanilla. Sitr in 1 3/4 cups of the coconut. Spread frosting  on top of each layer,stack and ice top and sides. Sprinkle remaining coconut on top.

December's Gift for the Dairy Farm

I can't think of a better way to start December than finding a newborn calf on the dairy farm! It's December's gift to our  dairy farm along with extremely warm,mild weather.
Just as soon as we finished feeding our other calves this morning, we brought this new calf to the calf raising area and placed him in his own private calf hutch and fed him  a bottle of colostrum. He's had a great birthday so far!

 Even though we will have many celebrations  through  the month of December, why not celebrate today with a birthday cake? When I came across this Birthday Pound Cake recipe in one of my many cookbooks, I just had to give it a try!

I've already got a couple of pound cake recipes in my collection, but I'm adding this one, too! I loved the lemony smell while it was baking and the lightness of the pound cake (It's amazing that a pound cake can be light!).   Topped with a couple of dips of vanilla  ice cream drizzled with  strawberries, this cake  would be a perfect choice for any celebration!


Birthday Pound Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup Crisco shortening
1 1/2 sticks butter
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix shortening,butter,sugar. Add eggs,one at a time. Add vanilla and lemon flavorings. Add small amounts of flour, then small amounts of milk until all is used. Spray tube pan with cooking spray, and pour batter into pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Cool for 10 minutes and turn cake out on a plate.

                                                                     Happy December!!

Double Dip Celebration

It's fitting that a dairy farmer celebrates his birthday during June Dairy Month!  June 3rd will mark a record number of 58 birthday cakes my dairy farmer husband has enjoyed on his special day.  His requested birthday cake  this year was  applesauce cake. I used the recipe I found in my mother-in-law's recipe file but unfortunately, there's no recipe for the icing.  Until I find the icing recipe that was almost like a vanilla candy, I'm using the butter frosting  recipe found in my old faithful Better Homes and Garden cookbook. It will have a double dip  of vanilla ice cream on top so maybe he won't notice it's not just like his mama made!

Mom-Bonnah's Applesauce Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups applesauce
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup raisins
1 cup black walnuts
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2  teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour 9x 11 pyrex baking dish.
Mix sugar,flour,and spices. Soak raisins in water till they plump then drain and squeeze dry; mix with flour mixture. Heat applesauce with butter; add soda. Fold applesauce mixture into flour mixture. Fold nuts into mixture.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 


Buttercream Icing
6 tablespoons butter
3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Light Cream (about 1/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Cream butter; gradually add about half the sugar,blending well. Beat in 2 tablespoons cream and vanilla. Gradually blend in remaining sugar. Add enough cream to make of spreading consistency.

                                           I love celebrating birthdays with this dairy farmer!
                                              June Dairy Month is perfect for a Double Dip!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

August always seems to melt slowly into September as the seasons begin to change,school starts and we are beginning to harvest our crops. It's also the time for a birthday celebration in our family. Our birthday traditions include dinner with the family, birthday cake and ice cream. I'm thankful for the twenty one birthdays that we have celebrated with Casey!

Birthday Cake Traditions

As I was mixing birthday cake batter for my oldest son's birthday, I thought about the many birthday cakes my mother-in-law baked for our family and friends during her lifetime. For every birthday in our family, she baked an angel food cake and iced it with seven minute frosting. When my sons were little, she would make miniature angel food cakes, frost them and allow the boys to decorate them with sprinkles and eat them with their fingers. Icing would be from head to toe and anything they touched. As the boys grew older, the angel food cake was an expected part of every birthday. Since the passing of my mother-in-law, I now proudly continue the birthday cake tradition. Cody's requested cake today was Chocolate Sheath Cake. I hope that I don't get the request for the seven minute frosting because although it is beautiful to look at, I'm more of a powdered sugar and cream cheese icing kind of dairymom! Chocolate Sheath Cake is a family favorite and a great cake for any occasion.

Chocolate Sheath Cake

Ingredients:

1 stick butter

1/2 cup Crisco

4 Tbsp cocoa

1 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. soda

2 eggs slightly beaten

Bring butter,Crisco,cocoa and water to a rapid boil. Pour over the sugar and flour and beat well.

Add buttermilk and soda, vanilla and eggs. Beat, then bake at 400 degrees F. in metal loaf pan for 20 minutes. Cover with icing.

Icing:

1 stick butter

4 Tbsp cocoa

6 Tbsp milk

1 cup pecans (optional)

1 tsp. vanilla

3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Bring butter,cocoa, and milk to boil. Add the powdered sugar,vanilla and pecans. Beat well and pour over cake while hot.

Just before serving, add a great big dip of vanilla ice cream!