This fall has been so busy. Aside from working my three jobs, I have also made it through my first trimester! Thank goodness for a freezer stocked full. We have continued to eat healthy, and on a budget all fall despite only having two nights a week where I don't have other commitments. I'll have to utilize my break at Christmas to re-stock the freezer to get it ready for sleepless nights this spring.
We had our ultra-sound last week to learn the gender. My cousin Taylor gave us the idea of keeping it a secret until a later time for a "Gender Revealing Party." So, at the ultrasound, I asked the technician to turn the screen away, type the gender, print the pictures, and place them in a sealed envelope. I was a very good girl all week and did not peak at that envelope. This weekend, I prepared a layer cake and icing, took the layers and icing to my friend Cindy who behind closed doors opened the envelope, colored the middle layer to match, and then frosted the entire cake. We had a party at my mom's house tonight (Sunday) where we cut into THE CAKE, and amongst close friends and family found out that the middle layer was BLUE!
The recipe I used came from http://www.marthastewart.com. However, I made some changes so that it would be easier and less expensive. Here is what I did.
Ingredients
2 pounds of sweet potatoes (about 3)
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
Grease for pans
2 cups all purpose flour
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pound white chocolate
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat potatoes with 1/4 cup vegetable oil, and place on a baking sheet. Bake until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove the skins, and puree the flesh in a food processor. (I was able to use Sweet Potatoes from our garden!)
2. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Grease two 8 inch cake pans, dust with flour, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup vegetable oil; beat on medium speed until well combined. Add the cooled sweet potatoes, and mix until combined.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; mix into sweet potato mixture. Mix in vanilla.
4. Evenly distribute cake batter into prepared pans, and transfer to the oven. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let pans cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto rack; cool completely, about 1 1/4 hours.
5. Meanwhile, chop the white chocolate into small pieces, and set aside. Bring 1 cup of cream to boil. Pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate is melted. Chill for 30 minutes. (This was a hard step and I could not get all of my chocolate to smooth out so my icing ended up being a little chunky. If I were to do it again I would go with a traditional cream cheese frosting that is easier to make and spread.)
6. When chocolate mixture has cooled, pour remaining cup of cream into an electric mixer and whip on medium until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture until fully incorporated.
7. Layer cakes with icing and cover.
