Jack's Cruisin'

Jack really enjoys cruising all over.  He went around the little fish fountain twice.

Jack was cruising so fast, Sean could barely keep up.

Birthday Dessert!

Tiramisu, green tea moochi, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Distracted by the Presents

Was trying to get a good pic of Sean and Justin, but Sean wouldn't take his eyes off the presents they got.

 

Peek-a-boo!

My cousin Justin kept saying, "We should've just got him paper instead of presents."

Jack's Birthday Dinner with the Tans

Jack with my cousin Justin.

Hello, nice to meet you!

I'm Stuffed!

Jack after his birthday dim-sum.

Sean Enjoying his Cake

Jack and His Birthday Cake

Yeah, that's alllllll miiiiine!

Mmmm...  This tower is all mine!

Does anybody want this piece?  I'm getting full.

But I do have a piece in my shirt pocket for later...

Happy Birthday to Sean & Jack!

Sean's cake.  He specifically requested chocolate (of course).

Jack's had a sandcastle cake (cream cheese pound cake).  Had to keep him from grabbing the candle itself.  Boys!  Here he is clapping to his birthday song. 

The Whole Gang

Let's Eat!

Birdwell Boys' Birthday Bash!

Now that Jack's got his birthday hat on, the party starts!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Sean!

Happy Birthday to Grandpa

Here we are having cake and ice cream for Grandpa's birthday. Sean also tried out his king costume that Grandma made for him.

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

I finally baked a cake again! It was our usual chocolate pound cake with ganache, but since Sean would be eating some I left out the soak in Chambord. I have to warn you, it is very chocolatey.

HORTENSIA'S BEST-EVER CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE

Recipe courtesy LATIN FLAVORS ON THE GRILL by Douglas Rodriguez (Ten Speed Press, 2000)

Unsalted butter, at room temperature (but still firm), to brush pan
¼ cup sugar, to line pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Van Leer Dutch process medium cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ¾ cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons espresso extract (or substitute 2 teaspoons instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon buttermilk)
5 eggs
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
Cocoa powder or confectioners' sugar, to finish

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Brush a 10-inch Bundt pan with the room-temperature (but still firm) unsalted butter. Pour ¼ cup sugar into the pan, swirling the sugar in the pan so that the chimney and sides are covered well. Turn the pan upside down to remove any excess sugar and set aside.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter on medium speed. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beating at medium speed, add the eggs, one by one, beating only until they are well blended.

Beating on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture and a third of the buttermilk. Do this twice more with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula in between. Finally, beat the batter on medium speed for 30 seconds, until it is smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top feels springy and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Then turn it out onto the wire rack to finish cooling.

To finish, dust the cake with cocoa or confectioners' sugar.

Yield: Serves 12
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Chocolate Ganache Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2003

2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces

Heat the cream until it just comes to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate. Allow to sit for about 10 to 15 seconds. Then, whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Mixture should be a little thick, but still pourable.

Place the cake on a metal rack set over a sheet pan. Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake and smooth the top and sides with a palette knife. Let set for 1 hour.

Happy 2nd Birthday to Sean!

While we were getting everybody together to sing Happy Birthday to Sean, he decided he should make sure the cake was good enough for everyone to eat. He is becoming quite the chocolate lover...

Birthday Party Picnic

We had a nice little picnic for Sean's 2nd birthday with grilled hot dogs and watermelon, etc. Here's Sean getting ready to check out the water playground. He finally gets up the courage to go in and the water's cold!

Family Portrait

We went to Amy's Ice Cream for my birthday and Matthew took this photo. We don't go that often, but now when Sean sees the cows out front, he knows to say, "I want ice cream!"

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Sean and I surprised Daddy at work with a birthday cake (Domino cake from Ruggles - yum!) at work. Yeah, someday I will bake again...

Happy 1st Birthday!

Oh, no, not another birthday! J/k. He doesn't look terribly happy in this photo because it was kinda windy and he was squinting.