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[Foodie Friday] Birthday Cakes

This year I decided to make a chocolate pumpkin marble cheesecake with a spiced oreo crust for my birthday. I got inspired by The Brown Eyed Baker. Last year I made a chocolate pumpkin layer cake because I wanted a festively colored cake, and mixing chocolate and pumpkin again seemed like a great way to keep that festive spirit alive. You can go to Michelle’s food blog to get the recipe for the pumpkin cheesecake batter — I only cut it in half to accommodate my recipe. I created a recipe for chocolate cheesecake based on recipes by Nigella Lawson, The Joy of Baking, and Smitten Kitchen.

To make the crust:

14 ounces of oreos or chocolate wafers
2 tbsps light brown sugar
6 tbsps melted butter
dash cinnamon
dash cloves

Put the cookies, sugar, and spices into the bowl of a food processor. Turn on the food processor to pulverize the cookies. Pour melted butter through the tube. Stop the food processor once the crumbs pull together. Press them into the bottom of a greased spring form pan. (Don’t make the mistake of lining the pan with foil like I did!) Bake the crust at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 7 minutes.

16 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
9 oz melted 60% cocoa chocolate chips (or any chocolate you desire)
2 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tbsp vanilla

Whip the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the sour cream, melted chocolate, and each egg, one at a time. Add the cream and vanilla, and beat until fluffy and smooth. Pour the batters into the pan, altering between each batter after each addition. Swirl the batters with a flat spatula or knife. You can either put the pan into a water bath or simply put a pan of water on the rack below the cheesecake. (My spring form pan was too big to fit into any of my other pans, so I did the latter.) Bake at 350 for 65 to 70 minutes. Let the cheesecake cool for about an hour before storing it in the refrigerator overnight.

In addition to making my own cake, a sweet co-worker baked me a beautiful, delicious red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. She made a perfect frosting as it wasn’t too sweet like most frostings. She also topped it with crushed walnuts.

And because yesterday was my son’s second birthday, we ordered him a cupcake pull-apart cake featuring Diego — his favorite Nick Jr. character. Even though there was a mistake (they gave us white cake instead of chocolate), he really seemed to enjoy the cake toppers.

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Reverb 10: Party

Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

The party of the year occurred on November 6th and 7th. We celebrated Junior’s 1st birthday that weekend. Day 1 we spent with family; day 2 we partied with friends.

Day 1: My grandparents came to visit. I baked homemade pepperoni pizzas. The kids enjoyed chocolate milk, while the adults drank soda. After pizza, we let the guest of honor open presents. He did quite well compared to his older siblings, seemingly knowing what to do with little prompting. The clothes worn matter little when compared to the cake worn by the birthday boy. We spring for Publix cakes when we celebrate our children’s birthdays. Honestly, I’m not skilled at decorating cakes, and it’s just as much a present to the kids as any other gift they receive. Now, Publix offers complementary “smash cakes” with the purchase of a first birthday cake. The idea behind a smash cake is fairly simple — you have a small round cake that you put in front of the baby, who then proceeds to smash it to bits. Junior, a boy who loves to play with his food, dove right in for a delicious first taste of chocolate cake. By the time he was finished, nearly half the cake had been decimated. Cake coated the table and high chair. It covered his face, bib, and clothing. Chunks lay on the floor, chocolaty reminders of the excitement experienced by a little boy celebrating his very first birthday. I can’t say that my grandparents appreciated the messy show of amusement, but my husband and older children giggled with delight.

Day 2: My friend who served as my doula at Junior’s birth brought her three children over to play and eat cake. For about an hour, the children played with cars and legos. The girls played dress up. The birthday boy marveled over the baby, who was a mere two months away from her own birth at the time of Junior’s birth. Then, there was more cake, chocolate milk, and soda. We had saved the remaining half of cake for more demolition the next day, so we brought that back out. Again, my sweet baby boy poked, grabbed, and devoured handfuls of chocolate cake. Apparently, we inspired my friend’s oldest son — he said he wants a smash cake at his next birthday!

Overall, Junior’s birthday was the most fun party of the year. There’s just nothing like watching a baby complete his first full year of life with a cake to celebrate.

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