A Piece Of Myself

I feel like I have been struggling lately with what I am supposed to be doing. "Whats next?" is constantly being played in my head like a broken record that cant seem to move past the first line of a song. And I'm not exactly sure how to get past that first line, to the place in the song where my heart and my soul come alive with what I am supposed to be doing. I have gotten away from this blog that I love. Put it high up on the shelf hoping to someday get back to it. After all the chores are done, the house is clean, and the kids are content. And after I'm done chasing the dog around the house to retrieve the last roll of toilet paper that he thinks would just be a hoot to spread all over the house. But that never happens. The house is clean, than its a mess. The kids are good, for about 5 minutes, until one of them screams from the other room, as if something is on fire, "He hit me" or "Ollie (our lovely thief of a dog) has my socks". So you can see that this stuff is never done. But I am learning that it is OK for the house not to be spotless, and the kids to work a few things out on their own. I am learning that sometimes it is necessary to put all that other stuff on the back burner in order to get back to myself a bit. To try and figure out what makes me happy and what might be next, so that record is no longer skipping. Capturing the essence of my life through the food that I make and share with those that I love, that's what makes me happy. So I am going to make a real effort to get back to this blog.

So what better way to get back to my blog than sharing with you a recipe for my favorite birthday cake. This is the cake I ask for most every year. And the cake I sometimes drive 30 minutes for just to have a piece of (it is from one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants up the road a bit). It is THAT good. And its even better the next morning for breakfast with a cup of nice strong coffee. And the best part about it is that it is made with love just for me by the ones that I love the most in this world.


Claire's Lithuanian Coffee Cake With Buttercream Frosting
adapted from Claire's Corner Copia Cookbook

Filling:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground coffee (not brewed)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

cake:
12 tablespoons butter, room temp.
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 lg. eggs
2 tablespoons brewed coffee, chilled
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream (can use low fat)
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

preheat oven to 350.
spray a 10 cup bundt pan with cooking spray or grease with butter

combine filling ingredients and set aside.

for the cake, cream the butter and the sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 30 seconds. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go, add the coffee, vanilla and sour cream. Beat until well combined.
In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients in mixer until just combined.
Pour half the batter into the prepared bundt pan and sprinkle half the filling over the top of the batter. Pour the remaining batter evenly over the filling. Sprinkle the top with the remaining filling.
Bake in center of oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted int he center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and then turn it out onto a plate to cool. After the cake cools, frost with butter cream frosting (recipe follows).

Buttercream Frosting
also from Claire's Corner Copia Cookbook

4 tablespoons butter, room temp.
4 tablespoons margarine, room temp.
2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla

Beat together butter and margarine with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and add the confectioners sugar, half cup at a time, beating about 2 minutes after each addition, until light and creamy. This takes a little time but you want to make sure you do it this way so the frosting is very light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla until well combined.

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