Sour Cream Cake Recipe

Sour Cream Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 lb butter
3 cups sugar
8 oz sour cream
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
6 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour one bundt pan. In a large bowl, cream the butter then add sugar and cream well. In another bowl, mix together sour cream, baking soda and vanilla together. Add to sugar mixture and combine thoroughly. Stir in 1 cup flour, beat in 2 eggs. Repeat for the rest of the flour and eggs. Bake for about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Leave in the pan on the cooling rack for 10 minutes, then invert, and if you can wait, let cool then serve.

Guiness Cupcakes

• 1 cup stout (Guinness or other Irish full-bodied beer)
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• ⅔ cup sour cream

Ganache Filling

• 8 oz bittersweet chocolate
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1-2 tbsp of Irish whiskey

Frosting

• 3-4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
• 4 oz (2 nips) of Bailey's Irish Cream or other Irish cream liqueur

Special Equipment

• cupcake tins
• cupcake liners

Bake Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line 24 cupcake tins with liners
2. Bring stout and 1 cup of butter to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Let cool slightly
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and ¾ tsp of salt to blend
4. In a large bowl beat eggs and sour cream to blend. Add the stout chocolate mixture and beat to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on a slow speed. Using a spatula, fold batter until completely combined
5. Divide batter and bake until tester comes out clean or about 17 minutes

Make Ganache Filling

1. Chop up the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan until it is simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let this sit for a minute and stir until smooth
3. Add the butter and whiskey, stir to combine. Let this cool until thick. (You can refrigerate it so that it’s nice and thick)
4. Once your cupcakes are cool enough, poke each cupcake in center to create a well. Pipe ganache into these wells

Make Frosting

1. Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer for several minutes
2. Slowly add powdered sugar and combine. Mix in Bailey's
3. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes

Note Burning and New Church

Yesterday, September 20, 2009, we had a note burning at The Church of Christ at Bethel. It was expected that it would take about 15 years to pay off the note, but due to generous 5th Sunday contributions, it was paid off in 5 short years.

Our land was donated by Bill Staggs, Sr. Today Steve and Bill Staggs, Jr. donated 4 more acres for an even newer building. It seems that in only 5 years, we have filled our church over capacity (400) several times. (Not bad for a tiny community in a small country town!) I don't know when the new building will be started, but Ray and I plan to do our best to help.

The primary cause for our congregation growing so quickly is due to our wonderful ministers, Terry Smith and Bobby Collier. They tend to talk too much about being old, but they're younger than I am, so they will never be old. They are both learned men with a great deal of love in their hearts. They teach and encourage rather than demand. Besides that, they are both awfully cute! We thank God for them and pray that they will be with us for a very long time.

Ruth Ann

Irish Blessing

May the Good Lord take a liking to you... but not too soon!

Ruth Ann
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com

Pink Sangria Iced Tea Recipe

Pink Sangria Iced Tea

(serves 5)

2 cups boiling water

4 orange herb tea bags

3 tablespoons sugar

2 cups cranberry juice cocktail

1 cup dry white wine

Pour boiling water over bags and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove bags from water and stir in sugar. Let cool. Stir in juice and wine.

Serve over ice with a ring of frozen orange slice.


I found this fabulous recipe at
http://www.gritsandglamour.blogspot.com

Barb's blog is simply marvelous.
I spend way too much time reading her blog,
but the time is never wasted!
Drop by and visit her!

Have a fabulous day!
Ruth Ann
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com

Make Your Own Balth Salts

Bath Salts Mix

Three cups of Epsom Salt,
One tablespoon of glycerin and a couple of drops of essential oil,

such as lavender or eucalyptus.
You can add a few drops of food coloring.
Put into a pretty glass jar.
For a soothing bath, place 1/2 to 3/4 cup of this mixture into the hot water.

Enjoy!
Ruth Ann
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com

Julia Child's Cake

REINE DE SABA
(Chocolate and Almond Cake)

CAKE:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 large eggs, separated
Pinch salt
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted with 2 tablespoons rum OR brewed coffee
1/3 cup finely pulverized (ground) almonds
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup sifted cake flour, returned to sifter

CHOCOLATE BUTTER ICING:
1 ounce (1 square) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon rum OR brewed coffee
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

To make Cake, butter and flour an 8-inch diameter cake pan that's at least 1 1/2 inches deep. In a 3-quart mixing bowl, cream butter and 2/3 cup sugar together with an electric mixture for several minutes until mixture is fluffy and pale yellow. Beat in egg yolks until well blended. Beat egg whites and pinch of salt in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Fold chocolate mixture into butter-sugar mixture, then stir in almonds and almond extract. Fold in 1/4 of whites to lighten batter. Fold in 1/3 of remaining whites. Sift 1/3 of flour over and fold in. Fold in remaining whites alternately with flour in 2 more additions each.
Turn batter into prepared cake pan, push the batter up to its rim with a rubber spatula. Bake on middle level of a preheated 350-degree oven, about 25 minutes or until cake has puffed and 2 1/2 to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a tested in that area comes out clean. Center should move slightly if pan is shaken. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pan and reverse cake on a rack to cool completely, an hour or two.

Cake must be cold to ice.
Meanwhile, make Chocolate Butter Icing. In a small metal bowl set over a small saucepan of not quite simmering water, combine chocolate and rum. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from water. Beat butter into chocolate, a tablespoon at a time. Then beat over cold water until chocolate mixture is cool and of spreading consistency. Place cake on a platter. At once, spread evenly over the cool cake with a spatula or knife.

Makes 1 (8-inch ) cake, 6 to 8 servings.

From "Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume One,

" by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck (Knopf, 1961).

Enjoy!
Ruth Ann
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com