eggboy is 30 today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yayayayy!!! we celebrated the other night with eggpop (whose birthday was yesterday) and the whole eggfamily and ate big bowls of goulash, tara's roasted carrots, and a citrus fennel salad. eggboy and eggpop both received antique books on sugar beets that i found at omnivore last month, and eggboy's gettin a little birthday trip in the new year to hawaii! and then we had cake, of course. eggboy's favorite cake is a classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting--he loves it so much that he made *me* one for my birthday this year--so i took the hint. i used sarah's recipe from her new book, vanilla bean baking book, and it was solid gold. (i wouldn't have expected anything less though because everything i've made from her blog and every recipe test she fed me over the last year was fantastic. my mom has this fear of making new recipes for the first time for special occasions because what if it doesn't turn out? but i've learned that i can trust sarah's recipes to come out amazingly every time and if you like baking and want a book full of reliable amazing beautiful recipes, you need her book, 100%).

so we had cake for breakfast! and listened to the beatles. and then ate muhammara and drove to fargo for the annual sugar beet farmers meeting (partayyyy)! and that's where we are now. we're getting ready to party with all of our farmer friends tonight but first we have to go to barnes and noble for more eggboy birthday books. the barnes and noble is a must-stop in fargo (aka the big city). 

yay!

p.s. i have a few #mollyontherange events coming up: fargo, grand forks, and d.c.! just when i thought i was going to stay put for a few weeks, the d.c. trip came up but i could not be more excited! see you guys there :) details this way. 

classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting

from sarah kieffer's the vanilla bean baking book

makes one 2-layer 8-inch cake

ingredients

for the cake:

3 large eggs

2 egg yolks

1 tb pure vanilla extract

3/4 c sour cream

1/4 c buttermilk

2 c (284 g) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c (297 g) sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 lb (2 sticks; 227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces

for the frosting:

8 ounces (226 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 lb (3 sticks; 339 g) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 tb corn syrup

1/4 tsp salt

2 c (226 g) confectioners' sugar

clues

for the cake:

adjust an oven rack to the middle position. preheat the oven to 350ºf. butter and flour two 8 by 2-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

in a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, sour cream, and buttermilk.

in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low until combined. with the mixer running on low, add the butter one piece at a time, beating until the mixture resembles coarse sand. with the mixer still running on low, slowly add half the wet ingredients. increase the speed to medium and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. with the mixer running on low, add the rest of the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. increase the speed to medium and beat for 20 seconds (the batter may still look a little bumpy). scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and use a spatula to mix the batter a few more times.

divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. tap the pans gently on the counter 2 times each to help get rid of any bubbles. bake 17 to 22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cakes are golden brown and pull slightly away from the sides and a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.

transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. turn the cakes out onto the rack, remove the parchment paper, and let cool completely. once cool, the cakes can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated overnight or frosted.

for the frosting:

put about 1 inch or water in a medium saucepan and bring it to a gentle boil.

melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over the pan of boiling water, being careful not to let the water touch the bottom of the bowl. stir constantly until just melted and set aside to cool slightly.

in  the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. add the vanilla, corn syrup, and salt and beat on medium until combined. turn the mixer to low and gradually add the confectioner's sugar. beat at medium, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. add the chocolate and mix on low speed until no streaks remain.

layer and frost the cake. enjoy!

-yeh!