On Thursday, daughter #1 turned 14.
Fourteen!
WOW!
Why is it that 14 seems like a bigger deal to me than 13 did? I mean, at 13, she entered the teen years, but 14 is the one that seems like it seals the deal. Now, she's REALLY a teenager. So far, she's a great teenager, so I am not sorry she's there. It's just...it's hard to wrap my head around it. How could I have a teenaged daughter?!?! When did she stop crying out excitedly: "Tum on ~ let's det doin'!" as we headed out for a day of grand adventure at, say, the grocery store and laundromat?
But, this blog is about food, not my melancholy mama moments. In our family, we observe a couple of birthday traditions. The birthday person must wear the "celebration necklace" at the birthday celebration, and, no matter when the party (if there is one) takes place, on the actual birthday, the birthday girl (or boy) gets to choose what we have for dinner. It can be something we make at home or have delivered, or we can all go to the restaurant of choice. This year, Justice chose "The Counter," one of our favourite burger joints. If you haven't ever been, give it a try. They have a veggie patty that is made of all kinds of good stuff, and is very substantial and filling (I get mine on a bed of organic mixed greens, because it would be too much for me on a bun), and you can add whatever toppings and sauce you prefer. Justice chose to have hers on an English muffin, with pesto, olives, grilled pineapple, chives and a fried egg. It was HUGE! She loved it. We also got an order of regular and sweet potato fries and some fried dill pickle slices for the table.
So, that took care of dinner, but what about dessert? I mean, it was a birthday, after all.
Birthday cakes can be challenging for us. Justice and I can't have milk, so I have to make our cakes and other treats without it. Luckily, I have this great, old-timey chocolate cake recipe. It's called "Joan's Grandmother's Cake," and I found it in the back of a freebie magazine at an animal rights convention when I was 18. You know, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. It uses vinegar and baking soda for leavening, and I like to tell myself it is an old pioneer recipe. It has that feel about it. But I am really just making that up. In truth, I have know idea who Joan and her grandmother were, but I sure do like their cake. It has a lovely, moist, delicate texture, and is just chocolatey enough.
The thing is, it's kind of my default cake for Justice. It's quick, easy, dairy-free, chocolate...so, it's kind of a no-brainer. I wanted to do something to make it a little extra-special for her birthday. Something new. Unique. Well, being a girl after my own (and her Nana's) heart, Justice LOVES peanut butter and jelly. In fact, I hear she took it for lunch so much during middle school, that a nickname developed from it. I'll let her decide whether or not to share it :)
Anyway, I decided to make a peanut butter frosting and an optional raspberry sauce on the side to create something reminiscent of peanut butter and jelly. I had already made the cake by the time this occurred to me, but it has since occurred to me that it would be even more like peanut butter and jelly if you used a vanilla cake recipe. However, I am strongly of the opinion that chocolate hardly ever makes anything worse. From a nutritional standpoint, peanut butter, raspberries and dark chocolate are all pretty good for you, so you can even make an argument in favour of this cake's health benefits. (Trust me, I can make an argument in favour of the health benefits of almost anything, if I put my mind to it.)
The cake received rave reviews. Even Hallie and I liked it, and we don't like cake. In fact, she doesn't like peanut butter, either, but she said the cake was "pretty good." Shane, who thinks raspberries and chocolate is the best food combination ever, was duly impressed, and the birthday girl liked it, so that was all that really mattered.
Okay, so, here are the recipes, so you can make one of your own:
Joan's Grandmother's Cake Recipe
1.5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
5 tablespoons of oil or melted margarine
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350°. Using a fork, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa and baking soda in a 9" square baking pan. Stir in the vanilla, vinegar and oil or margarine. Pour the water over the mixture and stir well. Add the chocolate chips over the top of the batter then bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until knife comes out clean. 8 servings*
* Usually, I follow the directions exactly as above. One of the reasons I love this cake is because it requires you to dirty only one dish (the pan you bake it in) and a few measuring spoons/cups. Quick and easy prep and clean up. Well, this time, I wanted to make a layer cake, so I mixed up the batter in a bowl, divided it in to two round cake pans, sprinkled with dark chocolate bits and baked for just 20 minutes. It was perfect for our birthday girl's cake.
Next, the frosting and raspberry sauce:
peanut butter frosting:
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
2-3 TBS butter flavour shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
dash salt
2-3 TBS almond milk
1 cup powdered sugar (approx)
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, with electric hand mixer set on low-medium, cream together peanut butter, salt, shortening and vanilla extract. Add milk and beat on low until combined. Add sugar a bit at a time, beating between additions, just until desired consistency is reached. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.
raspberry sauce:
1 large container of raspberries
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
sugar as necessary
dash salt
water as needed
Rinse raspberries and place in a medium saucepot with just whatever water happens to cling to them. Add vanilla, salt and a little sugar. I know "a little" is not a precise measurement, but the amount you require will vary depending on how sweet your raspberries are. I would start with a couple of tablespoons and go from there. You do want a little sugar to help thicken up the mixture. The salt sounds weird, but, trust me, it brings out the flavour of the berries. Without it, your sauce will be a little flat. Now, the idea is to heat this mixture over low to medium heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low, and allow it to simmer until the berres have completely broken down and sugar has dissolved. Do not ~ repeat: DO NOT ~ just scoop up a spoonful of this and taste it. You will severely burn your mouth. Boiling sugar is super hot! However, you do need to taste it and adjust seasonings, check the texture and decide whether or not to add more sugar. So, dip in a spoon, let it cool for a moment, and THEN taste it. Add more vanilla, sugar, and/or salt as necessary. If you add more sugar, you will need to keep cooking until all of the sugar has dissolved. When checking the texture, keep in mind that it will thicken a bit as it cools. If it is too thick, add a little water, but, really, just a little. Once you have achieved the taste/texture you desire, let it cool, then place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and push the raspberry sauce through the strainer to remove the seeds (seeds will stay in the strainer, sauce will end up in the bowl below).
Now, to assemble your cake:
First, allow your cake to cool completely before attempting to remove it from the pan. You might need to loosen the cake around the edges with a knife. Turn one layer on to a plate and frost the top only with about 1/2 of your peanut butter frosting. Top with the second layer, and frost the top with the other half of your frosting. For a pretty presentation, grate a bit of dark chocolate and scatter it over the top of the cake (you could also use chocolate chips, or even tiny peanut butter cups). Place the raspberry sauce in a small pitcher (like a creamer, perhaps). When cake is served, drizzle a little sauce on the edge of each plate, for an elegant presentation. Peanut butter and jelly just got sophisticated. How appropriate for a 14-year-old's birthday dessert :)
Blow out the candles!
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