Christmas, Part 2

Our Christmas in pictures.

Terrible picture of me but I wanted to remember that I was actually there too!

Wiped out after a full day.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Moving right along, next up was my Dad's birthday.  Between the end of May and the middle of July, we have 6 birthdays in my immediate family - 3 of which are in my little family alone!

My dad is a no-frills type of person.  It's hard to buy for him, hard to surprise him, hard to impress him, but easy to love him!  There are 2 thing he loves that I always try to incorporate into his birthday - his grandkids and nuts!  What a combination.

This cake was a conglomeration of 2 recipes and my own style.  I had every intention of making this Butterscotch Cake, until I read it and realized I didn't have butterscotch chips and the author didn't speak too highly of the outcome.  Just goes to show you that looks can be deceiving.

I decided on yet another yellow cake recipe and then looked to Annie from Annie's Eats for icing inspiration.  I had bookmarked her Pumpkin Cake with Butterscotch Filling recipe last fall and decided that was the perfect icing/filling combo.

After making the filling and seeing how much it made, I started to reconsider her frosting.  Time for some alterations.  I wanted the frosting to be more like buttercream or cream cheese frosting, so I went that direction instead.  I've linked to the 2 original cakes but I have to say that my final rendition was pretty darn delicious!  Since I had just finished Granny's cake a week prior, it was easy to compare and I have to say this one won in my book.

Butterscotch Cake
adapted from Annie's Eats & Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Old-Fashioned Yellow Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 + 1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.
2. In a large mixing bowl sift flour and sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Add butter, milk and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides of bowl.
4. Add eggs, beat for 2 more minutes.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally among both. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Turn out and cool thoroughly on wire racks. Frost with cream cheese or whip cream frosting. If using whip cream frosting the cake must be refrigerated.

Butterscotch Filling:

¾ cup heavy cream

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ tsp. lemon juice

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 – 1 oz. pieces

To make the filling, heat the cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat until hot (do not allow to boil or simmer).  Combine sugar and lemon juice in a separate saucepan and stir with a whisk to combine (the sugar will resemble moist sand).  Caramelize the sugar for 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a whisk to break up any lumps.  Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Add the hot cream, one half at a time (be sure you are stirring as you're adding or the caramel will harden).  Add the butter, one piece at a time, stirring to incorporate completely before adding the next piece.  Cool in the refrigerator 45 minutes.  Place in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for 2 minutes, until light (but not fluffy).  Set aside.

Butterscotch Cream Cheese Frosting:

2-3 cups powdered sugar, depending on your desired level of sweetness

6 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened

5 T. butter, softened

1/2 - 1 cup leftover filling

Begin assembling the cake by spreading the filling in between the 2 cake layers, leaving 1/2 -1 cup for the frosting.  In the same bowl, add the cream cheese and butter and mix until fluffy.  Gradually add the powdered sugar until you reach your desired level of sweetness.  (I never measure so the 2-3 cups was just a guess.)  Frost the entire cake and garnish with LOTS of nuts.  Enjoy!

Christmas Eve

This was the first Christmas Eve in many years that I haven't had to work.  It was a real treat to wake up and get to spend the entire day with my family.  After 8 hours though, I was ready for a change of scenery. We headed over to my mom and dad's for dinner.

After a yummy, belly-filling dinner, we exchanged gifts with my sister and her family.  It was organized chaos as paper flew, boxes were ripped open, and thank you's were exchanged.  It was all over in a matter of minutes and the kids were off playing with their new toys.  I prefer the one-at-a-time routine but there was none of that going on.

Everyone had a good time though and before we knew it, it was time to head home to get in bed so Santa could come.

Here are a few pictures from the melee, I mean festivities.

My beautiful nieces.

Colin with one of his favorite people, Grandpa!

Sawyer enjoying his after dinner snack - daddy's thumb.

Elise showing Foxx how to ride his new bike/car.

Sawyer fighting to stay awake on comfy Buff.

Christmas: Part 2

Christmas Eve we all went to my Mom and Dad's for dinner. My mom is a wonderful cook and I always look forward to getting to eat a home cooked meal from her. It's always good and best of all, I didn't have to make it!

We also opened presents with my sister and her family. My nieces are 11 and soon-t0-be 7 and are no strangers to Christmas and opening gifts. Within 5 minutes it looked like a tornado had passed through the family room, leaving behind nothing but paper scraps and boxes. They had a great time though and Colin enjoyed playing with the baby's toy - why do I even try?!

Everyone had a great time and had to get home to get in bed in time for Santa. I really enjoy being with family and wish the night didn't have to end so soon! Here are some pictures of the bedlam. As the camera woman, I managed to escape it all but Wes, the videographer, reassured me that he zoomed in to get a closeup of my bum on camera. Gee thanks!

Foxx doing a little light reading.

Elise, the diva.

Kiara, with her beautifully newly straightened hair.

Buff, cheesing about something.

LC, Foxx, and Colin all looking thrilled to be there.

Colin opening his baby doll (he requested it multiple times).

Playing with the baby's toy.

Foxx showing his mad arm skills and his 3 new teeth!

Deep thoughts with Megan - she's going to love me for this picture!

Announcing...

the arrival of my nephew, Foxx! Foxy graced us with his presence this morning at 1:34 am, weighing in at 7 lbs 13oz (not too shabby for being 3 weeks early!). He was 20 3/4 inches long which is no wonder considering the height of both of his parents. I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture but he has sandy brown hair and blue eyes (subject to change of course).

I went to see him this morning and I could have held him and rocked him all day! It seems like just yesterday that was me in the delivery room but somehow Colin's already 19 months old. Time flies!

Congratulations to the new parents! He's an absolute doll and I hope you weren't expecting him to walk before he's 5. With 2 older sisters and a new dad, he'll be lucky to ever be put down!