a chocolate ipa cake, friday links, and a lightroom giveaway

i made a cake! i made a cake! it's a rich little chocolate thing, spiked with fargo brewing company beer, and it's in the newest issue of the beeeeeautiful fargo-based wolftree magazine. yay, north dakota!

in the venn diagram of my cravings right now, we have this pineapple pico de gallo on the left, this coconut quinoa pudding on the right, and then in the middle there is this coconut milk grilled pineapple.

and furthermore on the subject of coconut, i made these dark chocolate coconut granola bars yesterday and they were beyond.

for supper yesterday i made ottolenghi's black pepper tofu for the egg parents and egg cousin and it was, how do you call it, sofa kind good.

stoop is making a funfetti wedding cake for us, so does that mean i have permission to wear a sprinkle dress?

i bought a bar of lux almond soap when i was in new york and it pretty much smells exactly like marzipan and i know this is not normal, but sometimes i just stand at my desk and smell it for minutes on end. i'm afraid to use it because then i will use it up.

i've spent lots of time looking at pictures of dumplings and trying to take good ones myself, but i'm going to stop now because these win everything.

cake tutorials are my new favorite genre of reading material. i really want someone to have a birthday soon so i can make an ombre cake and a ruffle cake, but i'm slowly becoming convinced that all farmers plan to have their offspring in the winter.

i miss college?

annnnnnnd a fake shack burger.

i'm giving away lightroom 5 today! it's my most favorite photo editing software. for the longest time i tried to hack my way through photoshop, but then i made the switch when i learned that lightroom isn't a lesser version of photoshop, it's actually just plain different. and way easier to use if i'm editing a billion photos of cake at once. i use it pretty much every day along with some snazzy vsco filters and i love it like a sister. almost. this giveaway is open to all north american residents. to enter: leave a comment with your favorite photo editing tip! the winner of the giveaway will be chosen at random next friday. update: this giveaway is now closed.

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chocolate ipa cake

ingredients

2 c all-purpose flour

2 2/3 c sugar

3/4 c cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/3 c milk (dairy, almond, or coconut)

2 large eggs

2/3 c canola or vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 (12-oz) can Fargo Brewing Co. Wood Chipper, or other IPA

for the glaze:

3 c powdered sugar

5-7 tb milk

clues

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a large bundt or angel food pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla.

Whisk the milk mixture into the dry ingredients.

Bring the beer to a boil and immediately remove it from heat. Whisk it into the batter until just combined. Pour into the pan and bake for about 45-55 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool slightly in the pan and then remove and let cool completely. To make the glaze, mix the milk into the powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. Pour the glaze onto the cake and garnish with orange slices.

Enjoy with friends!

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-yeh!

choco tacos + friday links

happy fourth of july, everyone!!!!!! if you, like me, forgot about the fourth until two days ago, don't panic. you can still have a really fun party, even if it's just you and your cat and a taco. these choco tacos, which are up on food52 this week, only require really basic ingredients that you might (should) have in your kitchen already. and they're actually very easy to make, so it's ok if you're half in the bag already. go get the recipe here!

also check out these hot dog toppings. i am most excited about the furikake and everything bagel seasoning.

two weeks ago, i met up with todd, who had just wrapped up a boozy snow cone shoot (!!!) now that i'm seeing the photos, i am mad at myself for not just straight up crashing his shoot. 

as if each sound was dipped in butter.

it's another kind of chocolaty taco, but a savory kind! perrrrfect.

i plan on grilling a lot of fruit this weekend. specifically for this caramelized peach caprese.

steamed buns instead of a pita with your souvlaki? that is albert einstein genius. 

explain, how is a wedding diet in the cards when things like the funnel cake burger and this curly cheese fry burger and hand pie ice cream sandwiches are floating around the internet?

pop rocks truffles!!!!!!!

-yeh!!

new york

in a way, it was like i never left. and in much the same way, i haven't one clue how i lived here for six years. how did i ride the subway every day? how did i do all of my grocery shopping with a basket and not a cart? how did i not spend all of my money on smelly cheese and pistachio cake at bklyn larder? 

(how did i sleep through the hum hum humming of the falafel truck out front and roommate patrick's 3am passion-pit-soundtracked no-girls-allowed patio parties? (i love you, patrick!!!))

and on the other hand: ask a 22-year-old me how i would ever be able to live more than two subway stops from the nearest pork bun, and no, i would not have been able to tell you.

today i go home to the farm after three weeks of making music, spending time with old friends and new, and eating approximately everything. i'll go home with a very full belly, an even more full heart, and a ring on it! i wish i could give all of my friends here one more hug, but i mustn't be long, as i've got to go home and plan a (omgomgomgomg) wedding.

here are a few of my favorite links and things from this past week in new york:

my first stop when i got to new york was black seed bagel with donny. it was a very tasty first stop and a good primer for the roberta's, the mission chinese, and the peekskill simple sour at the dog-friendly bar that i would later have with him. (hashtag my wedding diet starts tomorrow?)

i had three halvah desserts that i cannot get out of my head: an ooey gooey sandwich cookie at mimi's hummus, sticky crunchy halvah ice cream at the russ and daughter's cafe, and the kadaif at hummus place, which is covered in a mountain of shredded halvah. i later bought some shredded halvah from sahadi's to take home with me.

my first time performing in central park was with the knights last tuesday and it was so much fun. you can listen to the concert online!

the steak salad at five points. i want it every day of my life.

maria and i went dress shopping and saw pnina in real life and i got all kinds of starstruck. my kleinfeld experience was magnificent, but i think perhaps the wedding dresses at veka were much more farm girl me. 

tema introduced me to bakeri and i had a total cute attack.

yesterday's beautiful morning turned into a glorious afternoon in prospect park with some of my most favorite humans. the good people behind dolly and oatmeal, two red bowls, cake over steak, food52, apt. 2b baking co., and the tart tart came out for some serious noshing. serious noshing. and instagramming, obviously.

and but really, if i had to marry a restaurant and not eggboy, i would marry bklyn larder.

bye bye for now, new york!

-yeh!

biscuit donuts with naturally colored glazes

out of all the hacks in life, the biscuit donut might be my favorite. you know, the donut where the hardest part is having to withstand that terrifying moment of a tube of dough exploding in your hands? and the second hardest part is deciding if you want to call them donuts or doughnuts?

hi. 

i could use a good hack right now. i'm home for a week before leaving for tour with the knights and my to-do list is bursting with things that i cannot mess up: perfect those bacon truffles, get better at the snare drum, fiiiiind the perfect grey maxi dress. ok the last one isn't that important, but it still kind of is because i don't know that i could get away with wearing my overalls every single day for three weeks in front of people that aren't eggboy?

speaking of eggboy... he is almost done with planting!!!!! he comes in at night looking like he just ran a tough mudder and it is just the cutest thing. yesterday the ground was still a bit wet from some rain, so he came in a little earlier than normal and we thought it would be nice to pack up all of these donuts and deliver them to friends. 

so i packed them up perfectly in a little box and then stepped outside and dropped them face down on the driveway. oops.

(they still taste good...)

happy almost donut day!!!!!

biscuit donuts with naturally colored glazes

ingredients

for the donuts:

vegetable or canola oil, for frying

a few tubes of biscuit dough (i like pillsbury's "simply" buttermilk biscuits, but their basic buttermilk biscuits work well too)

for the glaze (this will make enough for about 40 small donuts):

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 tb light corn syrup

2-3 tb milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 c powdered sugar

natural food colorings such as india tree's line, or you could use things like jams, matcha powder, fruit juices, etc. 

clues

in a large pot, heat 2 inches of oil to 360ºf. you'll want to keep the temperature in the 360-375 range. while the oil is heating, set out your dough. you can either keep the rounds of dough as they came or roll out the dough into a big sheet and cut out your own circles (i like doing this if the biscuits are really big). if doing the latter, it will be easier to roll out the dough if it's close to room temperature.

if you don't have a special donut cutter but want to cut out holes in the center, you can use a large piping tip as a cutter.

fry the donuts on both sides until golden brown and cooked through and remove them with a slotted spoon to a paper towel. 

to make the glaze, mix together all ingredients, adding milk to your desired consistency. divide into bowls and stir in the coloring. dip the donuts in the glaze and let dry. you could also roll them in sugar and/or pipe filling in the center.

these are best enjoyed the day of!

-yeh!

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p.s. i am celebrating national donut day this week with some mighty fine homies! head over to their blogs this week to check out their donuts!!!

the faux martha: mix and match donuts!

i am a food blog: waffle donuts!

hummingbird high: sour cream donuts!

studio diy: marshmallow donuts!

wit + vinegar: peanut butter oreo donuts! (aka lindsey lohan donuts!)

edible perspective: gf samoa donuts! kale donuts! sooo many donuts!

a cozy kitchen: rhubarb poppy seed baked donuts!

coco cake land: milk tea donuts!!!