Husband's Proper Birthday

 

Jam session at our place.  Ummmm, too loud.  Gonna have to rethink the drum plan.

  

  

Smells like teen face.

 

The spread:  baby back ribs, spiced yam mash, oven baked beans and roasted green beans with leeks.

 

First time cooking ribs, people.  Very easy and very tasty.

  

  

For baked beans, I always start with one can of actual "baked beans" and the rest are plain.  I caramelize a ton of leeks and garlic, add vinegar, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and molasses before adding all the beans.  I put that mess in an oven proof dish, cover and let them bubble away for a couple hours.

  

Wow, can you tell this cake is homemade?  I assembled and frosted this sucker in my mind about 50 times, but it had a mind of it's own.

  

See the 43?  I bought a 4 candle and a 3 candle, but somehow the 4 candle did not make it into my shopping bag, so Austin and I improvised, making the number 4 out of regular birthday candles.

It's the thought that counts.

  

When making a wish, before one blows out the candles one should raise their left foot.

  

The cake.  The cake itself was a bit dry, although it felt moist when I cut it.  Weird.  I used gluten free flour and chocolate soy milk, so I knew it was a bit of a crap shoot.  Flavor was decent.

The frosting was awesome!  I ran out of chocolate mocha buttercream (made with Earth Balance), so at the last moment Austin and I whipped up a batch of peanut butter buttercream (made again with Earth Balance).  SO good!

Here's what to do:

Take 1 cup of Earth Balance, put it in a mixer and whip it for a couple minutes, until light and fluffy.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and whip some more.

Add sifted powdered sugar, about 3/4 cup.  You need to sift it because otherwise you get little lumps of powdered sugar in your frosting (which actually isn't terrible, it happened to me and it tasted fine).

Finally, add your flavoring of choice.

For the chocolate mocha, I added 1 cup of melted bittersweet chocolate and 2 Tablespoons of hot espresso.

For the peanut butter, I added 1 cup of melted peanut butter chips.  You could easily sub peanut butter, although it might make a stiffer frosting.

  

I had two pieces because I am a sugar addict.  I am now giving away copious amounts.  Come and get it.