It’s snowing again. The waterfall now looks like this:
No problem with that here, my friends. Snow is utterly magical to me. We went for a walk in the woods yesterday, and I got to walk across a frozen creek. I could hardly take in the sheer wondrous beauty of it all. (Expect poetry about it soon.)
Alas, not everyone in our little family has taken so blissfully to this northern move. Behold the doggie boy:
We know part of his ennui is simply his adjustment to the transition. A nine-hundred-mile relocation is quite a jolt to any mind, especially a cute little furry one. We are sure he will adjust in time. However, the increasingly distressing issue is his paws. They are red and irritated from the cold and the new terrain, and they keep getting worse because HE. KEEPS. LICKING. THEM. We are able to keep a close watch on him during the day (hence the blanket swaddling on the couch), but at night, my friends…if the icicles hanging outside our bedroom window could speak, they would sing a woeful, restless ballad punctuated by staccato cries of “Doc, NO!” “NO LICKING!”
Last night was a long one in the Nelson household.
Mondays are always hard, but a grey and snowy Monday after a night of little sleep and anxious care for a loved one can be particularly grim. So, I decided to make a cake. And not just any cake; an eggnog cake.
What’s more, as ’tis but one week until Christmas – and in case your household is facing its own set of Monday blues – I thought I would share the recipe for this particular gem.
I started with this “spiked eggnog cake” recipe. But, as you will discern within nanoseconds, my cake looks nothing like that gorgeous towering edifice. Plus, it’s not spiked. (Not that rum and eggnog are not excellent companions; they are. I just thought I’d rather not distract from the star of this show, which is – and should be – the eggnog itself.)
Here’s where my cake construction differs from the roadmap given in the link above:
~ Much of my adventuring is dictated by my equipment (or lack thereof). I have two round 8-in. cake pans, so they are what all my cakes get made in. I thought I would have to do some tricksy math and alter the amount of each ingredient with this recipe, but then I realized: three 6-in. pans (18 in. total) is not far removed from two 8-in. pans (16 in. total). So, I made the recipe as-is, just using different receptacles. (I also do not have a stand mixer, so I used a hand mixer. Works like a charm.)
~ I actually followed this recipe – for the cake itself, anyway – fairly closely. My two improvisations:
- I almost always use less sugar than is called for in any given recipe. This recipe calls for ½ cup white sugar and ½ cup brown sugar. I used ¼ cup of each. (My “white” sugar is finely granulated raw cane sugar.)
- I melted about ¼ cup white chocolate chips and mixed it into the cake batter at the very end, just before pouring the batter into the pans. It added a bit more richness and, I believe, even helped make the cake more moist – neither of which appear on my list of “bad things to happen to a cake”.
~ Once the cakes were in the oven, I stopped looking at the recipe. I knew I wasn’t going to do a rum simple syrup or a white chocolate ganache, and I tend to follow my own drumbeat with frosting, as a rule. Here’s what I came up with:
- You’ll need one 8-oz. package of cream cheese and one stick of butter, both room temperature. (I am slowly learning to take these things out of the fridge before I do anything else, so they can be coming to room temperature while I mix up the cake. Even so, I still ended up placing the butter on top of our pellet stove, which heats our house, for a few minutes to get it soft enough.)
- Put said dairy products into a bowl and mix on high. (I use a hand mixer. If you have a stand mixer, whiz poshly and professionally away; I won’t judge.)
- Add about ½ cup sugar. (Frosting always works out better with powdered sugar, but I work with what I have; in this case, the aforementioned finely granulated raw cane sugar.)
- Mix on high until it’s all fluffy and creamy and you want to stick your face in it. (I didn’t, which only shows how beneficial this move has been for my self-control.)
- Delicately pour in a touch of eggnog. You want to be generous enough for flavor, but not so benevolent that your frosting becomes a glaze. Whiz, whiz, whiz.
- Add a touch of vanilla. (A teaspoon-ish.) Whiz it in.
- If desired, throw in some cinnamon and nutmeg. (It is an eggnog cake, after all.)
- Once your confection has attained the consistency and flavor your heart (and palate) desires, stir in white chocolate chips (I used about half a package, or possibly a bit more; it depends on how lush you’re feeling).
- After the cakes have cooled, spread your white chocolate chip eggnog frosting on top of one layer. Place the other layer on top and cover the whole “gateau” with the rest of the frosting.
Voila! It may not cure the Monday blues, but it will certainly add a brighter, warmer shade to them – especially when paired with a cuppa.
Enjoy, my friends.
BUT, before I leave you, I wanted to give one more gift – my poem for the Third Sunday of Advent.
If you haven’t read the first two, go read this post, posthaste. Trust me; it’s important. I’ll wait.
Here’s another “winter wonderland” photo to tide you over:
Good! You’re back. 🙂
These poems are designed as a series, you see. The last line of each week’s poem is the first line of the next week’s, and they build thematically. (At least, I hope they do.) The purpose of Advent, after all, is to prepare one’s soul for Christmas. The sacred mystery of the incarnation – God, the eternal, taking on flesh and coming to us as a baby – is far too weighty for one mere day’s reflection. Four weeks isn’t even enough; this year, we have only three! Still, this poetry is part of how I “practice” Advent – how I use the time to ready myself for the coming of the Now and Future King.
More this year than ever before, I have been praying that the beauty and truth of this great Wonder of Wonders would slowly grow inside me, just as Jesus slowly grew in Mary’s womb. I am praying that, come Christmas – whether or not I “feel” it or am aware of it along the way – Love would indeed be born in me afresh, as the last line of Week Two’s poem promises.
Here’s Week Three, friends. I pray it encourages you in your own heart-preparation, even – and, perhaps, especially – in a small or unforeseen way.
Third Sunday of Advent; or, First SNOWY Saturday Morning in New England
Love is being born – be still, and see
The silence settling o’er your every “Why?”
As hindered movement sets your spirit free
And snow falls softly from a sunlit sky
Love is in the womb – be still, and hear
The quiet Presence stronger than the storm
Behold the Infinite now drawing near
Hold out your hands, my soul, and get them warm
Beautiful!!
Have you tried putting socks on doc’s paws to keep him from licking them? Maybe some vaseline then socks or something like that? Poor buddy!!!
Lovely thoughts on advent and the cake … Wow!!! ❤
We are using antibacterial cream, and we have started wrapping his paws. Hopefully ’twill show improvememnt soon!
Beautiful poetry!
Thank you for this poem. It reminded me once again that silence isn’t always an evil thing and that it is very needed. Also, Gandalf and I are sending love and prayers from Orlando! I hope Doc returns to his little charming self free of paw pain as soon as possible. 🙂
I really did a double-take at “Gandalf and I”. It’s just not a phrase you see in everyday conversation, particularly in the same sentence with “Orlando”.
Better now. 🙂 Love back to you and the dear doggie!
I used to reflect much during Advent but after hearing you talk so much about it I have come to realize how long it has been since I have contemplated the wonder leading up to the glorious Christmas day. I want to revel in the mystery of the Christ child and even wonder deeply as probably Mary must have wondered at the message told her by the angel. O how Advent can prepare us and make us marvel! Thank you for stirring my memory.
Amen. I am glad these reflections have inspired you thus!