German Chocolate Frosting

I’m not cake’s biggest fan. In the world of dessert-calorie-currency, I’d simply rather spend mine on other desserts. Like apple or banana cream pie, maybe some coconut cheescake, or any flavor of Ben & Jerry’s.

I revealed this fact to Chris during our courtship, and his reaction was complete and total devastation. No, really though. He’s the proverbial fat kid who loves the proverbial cake. It was almost a deal breaker. Somehow, we pulled through those dark days with our mutual love of frozen custard.

For a little “Hurrah!” to mark making it past the two-month mark of matrimonial bliss, I decided to bake Chris a cake. But being the selfish gal that I am, I chose a flavor I prefer: German chocolate cake. It’s smothered in coconut and pecans and a lot of butter. What more could a gal ask for?

I found a recipe on Rachel Ray’s site that looked promising—fairly simple but with real ingredients (butter, mmm…). But since it’s the frosting I really love, and less the cake, I chose a box mix for the cake. The recipe includes the cake and the icing, but I figured, let’s walk before we run, yes?

The Recipe:

For the coconut frosting:
▪ 1 cup sugar
▪ 4 medium egg yolks
▪ 1 cup evaporated milk
▪ 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
▪ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
▪ 10 ounces fresh or frozen and thawed grated coconut
▪ 1 1/2 cups finely ground pecans, walnuts, or almonds
▪ 1/4 cup warm milk

To make the frosting, combine the sugar, egg yolks, and evaporated milk in the top of a double boiler. Stir with a wire whisk until the yolks are fully incorporated. Add the butter. Place over simmering water and bring to a boil (see Note below). Simmer for 12-15 minutes longer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Add the vanilla, coconut, and nuts. Cool.

Whoah, double-take: what is a double boiler? After a quick image search, I surmised it to be a hole-less version of a vegetable steamer, with no match to anything in my pot collection; I shrugged and carried on with a small nonstick pot.

After mixing up the batter and throwing a couple cake pans in the oven, I started off. I decided to one-and-a-half the icing recipe, since a can of evaporated milk is 1.5 cups, and who’s really going to keep that extra half-cup around?

The stirring was an agonizingly boring ten minutes, but I made it through. I dumped in the vanilla, coconut (I chose shaved for some texture) and blender-ground walnuts and pecans.
It was only after I’d completed the frosting and was putting away ingredients and ran into my unopened half-gal of 2% that I realized I’d forgotten that .25 cups of warm milk. Oops.

Taking the cakes out of the pans, one fell apart (of course). I pasted the pieces back together with frosting, slathered its top up, slapped the other layer on top.

I frosted the top, and tried to frost the side but the icing was still warm. It was a mess, and all over that lovely pink Williams-Sonoma cake platter I got as a bridal shower gift (which may have been the real motive behind this cake caper).

I put the icing back in the freezer to cool some more while I enjoyed some Indian food that my husband had been kind enough to bring home (coconut vegetable curry, delish). When I pulled it out, it was pleasantly cool and spread like a dream.

The Result:

For a first attempt, I think it went swimmingly. Although I did scald the milk and was afraid it might turn out grainy, this recipe is robust enough to survive my rookie mistakes.

Taste Tester (Chris) says: “That cakes tastes like straight sugar and butter and coconut. And by that I mean it was awesome.”

So it couldn’t be that bad.

a wonderful weekend.

It really was a great weekend, filled with some of my favorite things.

There was my Dad's homemade salsa, and breakfast burritos to enjoy it on.

I listened to the living prophet speak in General Conference.

I got to hang out with my amazing family.

We were spiritually uplifted together.

We laughed together.

Watched Dirty Jobs together.

I have an interview with the woman who (helped) cater Ashley's wedding reception.

I am rested, rejuvenated, and ready to go!

So, watch out, world!

my day in 10

1) Shaved my legs. Picked at two ingrown hairs, got mild razorburn on my right leg. But what was once hairy and scary is now smooth and sleek!
2) Cleaned my bedroom. This included vacuuming my carpet, making my bed, and dusting. How accomplished I am!
3) Bleached a few black things I have inherited from sisters. One, a tunic top, turned out really cool and almost heathered looking. A pair of capris were a bit spotty and questionable. I'll have to check them out when they dry.
4) Ate caprice salad with Brittany.
5) Read part of Preach My Gospel in preparation to sit in on Jinny's second missionary discussion tomorrow.
6) Karalee came over! We listened to Carol Tuttle's Radio Program from this week. It was about money, and other things, and was most excellent!
7) Helped Tyler with (did for her?) a Strawberry Shortcake puzzle. Also made her into monkey soup. And gave her a horsey ride. It was an eventful afternoon.
8) Attended Institute. I was only ten minutes late (!). We discussed Matthew 13, mostly, with the parables and the Gathering of Israel. I loves me some New Testament!
9) Watched some of the season premier of Pushing Daisies. Lee Pace is too yummy!
10) Was interrupted when Mom and Brittany arrived home from mutual. Assisted in kitchen clean up. Had a good convo with Momma.

It was a good day. Tomorrow will be better.
Goodnight, all.
I love you.

So, it's been well over a month since I posted, so I thought it was about time.
My birthday was yesterday! It was a pretty chill day, but fun. Thanks to everyone who called or sent me a card! That meant a lot to me.
I had a class that went from 6:00-8:45, but afterwards I made Texas sheet cake and had people over to eat it. I can't make it as well as Ashley can, but it was still good--definitely edible! Drew also came over, and he sang me the "Happy Birthday" song from Norway (where he went on his mission). It was pretty awesome; he even translated it for me.
Drew and I are still dating, but still taking it slow. It's hard to find time to hang out since I've been crazy busy and had tons of school work.
Um, what else? Apparently I inspired Tess to learn to the ukulele, and her and I have been jamming lately--her on the uke, me on the cello. It's pretty hilarious/awesome. There is a ward talent show next week and we are planning to perform "Modern Girl" by Sleater-Kinney (which I doubt any of you have heard :D). We are dorks, though, and since I have a microphone, we made a recording of us playing/singing. I uploaded the recording below (it will just be audio--no picture). It's pretty soft so turn up your speakers.


Other exciting things: I rearranged my bedroom so that my desk is in my closet. Now I can fit my matress on the floor underneath my loft bed! That is exciting; the room has a much nicer feel to it. Also, I don't realy like sleeping so far off the floor. It's kind of weird.
Classes have been going well, although I still feel behind. I think that is probably just how this semester's going to go, though. But, I will be out of school five weeks from today! July 18th! So it will all be over too soon; I can hang on a little longer.
Well, Tess and I are probably going to go to Idaho Falls tonight for a B-Day celebration. We will probably have dinner and maybe shop or see the Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton! sigh).
I love you all!

Elyssa Jean

First Week of the Summer Semester

So I drove back into Rexburg, ID last Saturday (the 19th). It was a long drive (10 hours) but was tons better than going down, since Nancy, the girl I drove with, and I were not as tired and had a lot more energy! Our cars was PACKED though; both our moms were nice enough to buy us a bunch of food from Costco and send it to school with us. Seriously, Mom sent me with SO MUCH FOOD!! I had asked her to pick me up some things like mac'n'cheese and apple sauce, and she fully came home with 3 flats worth of food. She also sent me with other useful things like laundry and dish detergent, ziploc bags, and toilet paper. I was so touched by that, I teared up a bit. Living away from home has really helped me appreciate just how much work it is to do simple things like grocery shopping. I have really grown to appreciate all my parents do for me. Mom especially is so amazing.

Classes are going great! My Advanced Writing class is a LOT of work; I have a feeling it is going to be my most challenging. Spanish II will probably be my most time-consuming. Still, I like my teachers; they seem to really know their stuff. I know I will learn a lot. I am also taking a Creative Writing class, which I am really excited about. Right now we are mostly going over techniques and such, but I will have a piece due in there soon. Mostly it'll just be great to actually be forced to show my work to others and to gather critique on it, and to revise it. It'll definitely help my writing.
I am also taking Design and Color, which I need for my Art minor; it is so long! 6:00-8:45 pm, T/Th. Ouchies. Still, I know I will learn a TON about composition; its so much stuff I just never even thought about before when I was drawing. It's also cool because I think a lot of the principles that apply to visual art also apply to other art as well (such as writing). I do feel kind of behind, since most everyone else in there is an Art Major and really knows their stuff; still, I'm not worried about it. I'm a quick study.
The last class I have to mention is my Religion class, which is Provident Living. It's all about the Proclamation to the World, and its application in everyday life. So far the subject and class seems a little dry, but I'm still looking forward to the opportunity to study (and memorize!) the Proclamation. It's most definitely and inspired document.

Other things! I've made a new friend, and her name it Tesiah Wilkinson (though she often goes by Tess). She is fun and crazy--like me! She is from So. Cal., in the LA area. Us two together is pretty much a party. I'm not going to lie. It's definitely awesome to have someone who really gets my sense of humor.
Also, there is this pretty cute guy in our ward that Tess and I have been crushing on a little bit; his name is Drew. And he's pretty cool. And he gives really good hugs. A totally funny thing that happened was last Sunday Tess and I were speculating about who would be in our new FHE groups; we both agreed that it would be beyond amazing if it was our two apartments and Drew's. Well, today my roommate Alisa was called to be our FHE Mom, and she told us who was in our FHE group--and its totally those three apartments! We laughed really hard about that (and even freaked out a little). She knows and is kind of into the Law of Attraction as well, so we were joking about how we manifested that being organized (which we TOTALLY did!). That was a laugh.
We also saw Penelope, the new movie with Christina Ricci and James McAvoy in it. It was sooo cute and wholesome and clever! I would definitely recommend it.

I have also made some goals, which include: working out 4-5 times a week, getting to bed before 10:00 on weeknights, saying my prayers morning and evening, reading my scriptures daily, and so forth. I feel really good about this semester; I know its going to be a time of a lot of growth and progress. And a part besides!

I love and miss you all.
Elyssa Jean