Recipe For Tunnel Of Fudge

A cople of you have asked for the Tunnel Of Fudge recipe - so here it is as Melissa Gray from NPR wrote it in her wonderful book "All Cakes Considered". If you love to bake this is one one wonderful book of cakes !


Tunnel of Fudge Cake

This is the recipe Pillsbury offers for the prize-winning cake that started the bundt pan revolution. It is not exactly the same as Ella Helfrich’s because Pillsbury stopped making the double dutch fudge buttercream frosting mix she used in the original. Now you have to make the whole cake from scratch. Nuts are essential to the cake’s success. A "tunnel of fudge" mysteriously appears in the finished cake. This does make it tough to use the usual toothpick method of determining doneness

Cake
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 ¾ cups butter or margarine, softened
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 ¼ cups all purpose or unbleached flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa ( NOT dutch processed. very important!)
2 cups chopped walnuts
Glaze
¾ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
4-6 tsp. milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan (or a 10-inch tube pan). In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter or margarine; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar; blend well. By hand, stir in flour and remaining cake ingredients until well blended. Spoon batter into greased and floured pan and spread evenly.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is set and edges are beginning to pull away from sides of pan. Cool upright in pan on wire rack 1 ½ hours. Invert onto serving plate and cool at least 2 hours.

In small bowl, combine glaze ingredients, adding enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered.

Tunnel Of Fudge: A Seriously Good Cake

First off let me say that I have not been as static lately as my blog might seem to indicate! I have been making cards that needed to be sent off and, in my haste, I forgot to photograph them. I have been working on a knitted shawl in the evenings and  ripped it all out two days ago because I did not like the way it looked and have started again. I've been reading a lot too! Project wise I have one more largeish project to finish this coming weekend and then I can get back to journaling and sewing without guilt!

I had had this recipe for a "Tunnel of Fudge Cake" marked to experiment with and yesterday was the day I finally did try the recipe. WoW ! This really is a wonderful cake. Very rich and remarkably simple. It's from "All Cakes Considered" by Melissa Gray. I love this cook book and reviewed it on my book blog some time ago.  The cake won a $5,000 prize in 1966 (worth, it was noted, $30,000. in today's coin).  The chemistry of eggs and sugar combine to make a tunnel of fudge that runs through the middle of the cake.  It would be a perfect special occasion cake. My friends at work loved it too - and DH thought it was mighty fine

Below: The recipe as it looks in the book

you can double click remember!

 

This is what the NPR website has to say about Melissa Gray and her cakes:

"October 26, 2009 ....Just about every Monday, All Things Considered producer Melissa Gray dashes off an e-mail that reads something like this: "Up front we've got sweet potato pound cake, still warm. Dig in, don't be shy." That goes without saying. When Gray started bringing cakes into the office, she discovered the staff will eat just about anything. Her adventures in baking, and the staff's adventures in eating what she created, are recounted in a new cookbook called All Cakes Considered: A Year's Worth of Weekly Recipes Tasted, Tested, and Approved by the Staff of All Things Considered...."

Below: The cover of this remarkable book

This sort of Bundt pan would be nice to have- I like the design it makes. The recipe calls for an 8" Bundt pan but all I had was a 9" - worked fine.

Below: The cake as it appears in the book.

"Amish Abstractions: Quilts From The Collection of Faith & Steven Brown" Published by Pomegranate Communications

Some of you who have read my blog for awhile may realize that I have been enamored with Amish Quilts for more years than I care to admit to! My obsession with them began with an exhibit of Amish Quilts at the Whitney Museum in New York City in the 1970’s. I have always thought that Amish quilts represent the height of quilt artistry and I’ve collected books on Amish quilts for many years. I was, therefore, thoroughly delighted when I was asked to review this new book from Pomegranate Communications!

“Amish Abstractions: Quilts From The Collection of Faith &  Steven Brown” is a lush, beautifully printed, book presented by the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums and is, as mentioned above, published by Pomegranate Communications . I have known about Pomegranate as a purveyor of fine cards, book marks and wonderful calendars, but I was not aware of their extensive, very beautiful, line of art books. Their catalog is impressive!

 "Tumbling Blocks", circa 1925  Ohio or Indiana  72 X 70 "

 

The forward to “Amish Abstractions” is written by John E. Buchanan, Jr. Director of Museums/ Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Faith & Steven Brown have written an excellent ‘Collector’s Note’ about their superb collection and the book contains essays ,written by noted quilt historians,that are both interesting and very informative.

Janneken Smucker, quilt historian, presents an excellent, very enjoyable, essay entitled ‘Quilts In Amish Contexts : Traditions and Adaptations’ in which she explains a bit about the history of the Amish, the Amish aesthetic, and how the tradition of Amish quilt making began. This essay offers a compact history of how the Amish began making quilts, initially large scale patterns made from fabrics left over from clothes making - progressing to how the Amish ultimately used more mainstream patterns in their quilt making.

The eminent quilt historian Robert Shaw has contributed an essay entitled “Fundamentally Abstract: The Aesthetic Achievement of Amish Quiltmakers”. This is a well written essay that describes the evolution of Amish design work and the historical differences between the quilt styles of various Amish sects. From the Lancaster Amish and their brilliant central diamond designs that feature large open spaces filled with beautiful feathered quilting patterns to the Midwestern Amish quilt makers who favored blue & black, used pieced patterns, and used more main stream cottons and other fabrics as opposed to the wools used by Lancaster County quilters – this essay is an excellent preview to the history of Amish quilt patterns.

An essay contributed by Joe Cunningham, another noted quilt historian, is entitled “All In The Details: The Making of Amish Quilts”. It’s a concise, well presented introduction to the history of the quilt patterns that were most often used by the Amish.

Above: "Unnamed Pattern" circa 1930, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania  70 X 70 "

Above: "Railroad Crossing" circa 1888, Melinda Miller, Walnut Creek, Ohio  89 X 69"

What I enjoyed the most about this book is that the Brown’s collection of Amish quilts contains some amazing examples of quilts- some of which I have not seen. The plates in this book offer some prime examples of the large, beautifully quilted, wool quilts of the Lancaster Amish, but there are also some spectacular examples of quilts made from more main stream patterns: Amish crazy quilts, abstracts, nine-patch and variations, ocean waves, hole in the barn door, broken dishes – all ‘main stream’ patterns that, in the hands of the Amish, become works of art. The Amish aesthetic and their utilization of colors make the patterns sing and their use of juxtaposed colors raise the patterns from traditional patch work to artistic masterpiece. I think that the artistry in Amish quilts is what has always fascinated me about them – they are brilliant, bold, aesthetically pleasing and, to my eye, they always represent the epitome of quilt artistry.

I highly recommend this book for quilt enthusiasts in general but most certainly quilt historians and those who admire Amish design will be especially pleased with the Faith & Steven Brown Amish quilt collection presented in this book. The color plates are very well done and the text portions of the book are excellent reading. I could go on and on about the patterns and color plates in this book – but it is probably best if you just buy the book! All in all, although I seldom provide the rating, I believe that this book deserves five stars!

Below: "Ocean Waves" circa 1925, Holmes County, Ohio   89 X 76"

Below: "Unnamed Pattern" Circa 1930, Crib Quilt 30 X 25"

"Crazy Quilt" circa 1930, Arthur, Illinois  78 X 63 " 

Could anything be more modern, abstract or awesome as this Amish 'Crazy Quilt'?!

Book Review: " Quilt It With Wool" by Nathalie Mornu

Yesterday I reviewed this great new book on my book blog, but today I decided that some of my regular readers here might also be interested. I apologize for the redundancy if you are one of those cool people who actually follow both blogs - and I promise that new content is in the works!

My deep appreciation for the use of wool in quilts began long ago when I first saw a collection of Amish Quilts made of wool at the Whitney Museum in New York City. Wool, aside from being warm , wool is also a pleasure to work with - and it makes color sing.

I've been involved in the quilting world for many years now and I have wondered why quilting with  wool has not made a comeback. It seems like a perfect fit to me. Voila! This new book "Quilt It With Wool: Projects Stitched On Tartans, Tweeds, & Other Toasty Fabrics" by Nathalie Mornu (Published by Lark Books) is finally beckoning sewing enthusiasts and quilters back into the "make it from wool" fold. Things like penny rugs have made a significant reappearance in recent years and wools have become a prominent fixture at large quilt shows. Richly colored and patterned wools have, it seems, become more available. Wool is,perhaps, a bit more expensive than most quilting/sewing cottons - but colors are rendered so much richer in wool! This book offers a variety of projects that will not require a huge expenditure (you can even use re-purposed wool) but will whet your appetite for all things wool!

Ms. Mornu begins her book with a thorough and informative section about wool's history, wool types  and how to choose wool for the projects in the book. She also  reviews things like what the components of a quilt are; batting, non-wool fabrics & thread selection. A handy reference for putting together a basic sewing kit is included in the front of the book as are some suggested settings for using your sewing machine to work with wools.

The projects  range from a sumptuous gathered wool handbag, a beautifully stitched eyeglass case, a fun and quirky wooley bird mobile, wool earrings, an obi styled belt, an adorned wool capelet, a draft dodger (to keep the cold from under your doors out), stylish pillows, pencil holders (aka a container) to footstool covers. All in all this book contains 23 projects crafted from a variety of wools. The instructions are well thought out and richly illustrated. I was thrilled to see that wools are once again becoming a more mainstream selection for quilts and quilter projects. Start your own adventure and discover the pleasures of quilting and sewing with rich, colorful wools! Give this book a try - I highly recommend it !

Please note: The publisher and author kindly supplied me with a galley of this book for review purposes only. No other remuneration was received.

Fallow - Time To Hold & Reflect

 

 

 FALLOW 1 |ˈfalō|

adjective
(of farmland) plowed and harrowed but left unsown for a period 

in order to restore its fertility as part of a crop rotation or to avoid surplus production :

incentives for farmers to let the land lie fallow in order to reduce grain surpluses.
• figurative inactive : long fallow periods when nothing seems to happen.

I have been experiencing a fallow time. We all seem to be plagued with these  creative 'down' periods at one time or another. I can sit in front of a page or piece of cloth and my mind goes blank - nothing comes up. Not one creative thought or desire. I try to take my own advice and "just start". One line of color , one dot of black on a clean surface. Just begin. Eventually it works. I slowly take a halting step towards reconnection with the msue. Slow. Plodding at first but the momentum builds. I am not yet rolling in creative juices but I am closer than I was a day or three ago.

It is, after all, still a retrograde phase for mercury and, during these times, it is supposed to be a good idea to not start any new projects. A time for reflection and reviewing. I have been doing that. Last summer I began to knit a shawl from Cheryl Oberle's book "Folk Shawls" - it's called the Stora Dimun Shawl. I decided to go back to work on it . I am using a beautiful pea green Misti Alpaca yarn that is soft and comforting to work with.  My previous work looks awful - so I take it  all apart and  create a huge ball of yarn. Time to begin again - but I consider it not a beginning but a reviewing! Now, it looks better and I am happier with it. It may do justice to the yarn now - while before it looked awkward and forced - the stitches all 'wonky' and uneven. Maybe my mind was uneven when I first began it! I have several pairs of gloves almost finished as well as a pair or two of socks - all of these are there to be finished during these fallow times when I have no spark of creativity left - when I want to do it stare out the window and watch the birds feast.

Maybe in another day or two I will have something new to share - something more creative - or maybe I will just continue to patiently knit away the evening hours. Then, at least, I will have the real beginnings of a shawl to show you ! Mercury will off retrograde on Friday the 15th. I wait for more creative juice - patiently making one line of color, one knitted row, one line of words in my journal. The good thing is that fallow times are always followed by heady creative times. Just as we must have shadow in order to appreciate the sun we must also have fallow times in order to fully appreciate the gift of creativity when it begins to once again flow through us. The key, I think, is to learn to also enjoy the fallow periods. To consider them not down, useless, times but rather as preparation - a time to fill the well with calmness and with thankfulness. A time to be rather than to do. It's all good.

What Type(face) Are You?

This morning's email brought a delightful little 'test' from my super artist friend, Julie. Basically it is a very fun, interactive test that pairs your answers to four simple questions, to a a typeface. It takes very little time and is a lot of fun. I would love it, if you are so inclined, if you would take the test and leave me a note telling me what your type is ! Thanks Julie for a fun way to begin a Saturday morning!

 hotlink to test: Type face test

What Type Are You?

Since 1974, the design studio Pentagram has come up with a special way to usher in the holiday season, sending a select group of friends, colleagues and clients small booklets with an emphasis on strong graphic design rather that pat holiday greetings. But we kinda think they outdid themselves with 2009’s edition, the charming and incredibly well-executed and interactive What Type Are You? Typeface, that is!

After entering your name and password—happily, we are allowed to reveal here that it is “character”—turn your speakers, as directed, up. A nattily dressed man, seen only from the neck down, goes into therapy mode, speaking in what we’re imagining is a Freud-like accent. He’ll ask you four simple questions, pausing and fidgeting impatiently if you take too long, and will reveal your own individual “type.” There are 16 different possibilities (from Archer Hairline to Universal), and you’ll receive a short and fascinating history lesson on the specified font. Talk about a gift that keeps giving...

Bendable Bright Light : A Review

 Note: If you want to go straight to the Bendable Bright Light website 

- click on the post title!

I have been looking at these lights since 2007 - hemming and hawing about whether they would be a beneficial thing to use and whether or not I should spend the money to try one out. My beloved Bernina 153 (orange!) already has an LED light but my equally beloved Bernina 180 is old enough that it does not. Have I mentioned that without glasses I am legally blind - so I can use all of the clear light I can get?! One year in Houston I picked this up, looked at the price and then put it back down. I repeated this foolish game with myself several times at various booths and ended up spending "my wad" at Beyond Beadery - the first place I generally run to when I vist Houston Festival.

I had this on my Santa wish list this year and, thankfully, Santa came through so that this year in Houston I will not have to embarrass myself with  my continuing, to buy or not to buy, neurotic behavior!

First of all it is very easy to install - and being able to use it on another machine will be as easy as buying one more part for it - an extra bracket. The Bendable Bright Light comes with a generous eight foot power cord. Clips are supplied so that you can snake the cord around the machine - nothing gets in the way of your material or sewing area. The on/off button is within easy reach and only a light touch is need to turn the light on or off. There are NO magnetic parts so no worries about our new fangled computer driven beauties. The clips are attached with 3M adhesive - strong and long lasting but removable if you must at some point. If I can find a bracket in Houston this year I will buy one! The installation is thoughtfully considered and all of the parts work as they should. Light! I am always a bit of a skeptic about gadgets but I am also my father's daughter in that I adore them - all of them - the more gadgets the merrier. I wish I could have found a job as a gadget tester - I would have flourished in that career! Back to the matter at hand -- light. The light from this little appliance is bright, clear and true. It's brighter than the LED on my Bernina 153. The bendable neck is really very bendable - allowing you to move the light where you need it - on the fabric or on the foot. It makes threading the needle really easy!

I think this is an almost necessary accessory to have if your sewing machine is an older model- and I am going to get one of these for my Featherweight. If your machine already has an LED light but your eyes need a bit more light for needle threading or close work than I think that a  Bendable Bright Light would be an excellent thing to consider. All in all I should not have dithered the way I did for so long. This is a great little gizmo that really does help you see better!

Happy New Year .. and my word is........

The main subject of this post really has nothing to do with these photographs - but I did want to share a couple of my latest fingerless gloves with you. These are gauntlets actually. I never thought I would like the longer size but I do ! I found a ball of an Heritage yarn from Australia in my stash and made the first white pair from it. It's 50 % wool and 50% mohair. Yet another thing that I had not thought I would care for much is the mohair but I am astounded at how extra warm this pair of gloves is! Most unfortunately, this yarn has been discontinued  or I would buy more of it. I've been looking for another similar 50/50 yarn to use instead but have not found one yet. This is a light sport weight and I knit them on size 5 (metric 3.75) needle. If you know of something that might work please let me know!  The pink pair is made from Cascade Cloud 9,  which is a yummy, super-soft blend of 50% merino and 50% angora - which is what the pattern called for. The pattern is a freebie from Dancing Ewe, where they carry all of Cloud 9's colors. The pattern is called "Susie's Reading Mitts". I love this pattern! There is just enough of a simple design on top and bottom to look pretty and add interest but it's also just enough boring knitting to be able to sit in front of the TV and stitch away.  I have ferreted out several new fingerless glove patterns - and I am excited to get started on them. Yes, I know - it's the little things that make me smile! I am planning to add some beads the the white pair for a little bit of bling - they look like princess gloves to me!

Now on the main reason for this post! Sorry for the longer than expected knitting detour!

Happy 2010 everyone! I realize that I am a day - or three- late for passing along my New Year salutations but I have been doing a lot of pondering since the calendar turned. I have never been one for making New Year's resolutions. They generally seem to be forgotten after the first week of the New Year and I dislike making resolutions unless I think that there is a fair chance that I will actually be able to follow through. The new thing this year - or perhaps it's just that I have only noticed it this year - is to choose a 'word of the year' - or is it, in my case, 'words of the year'? Whatever. I even found an interesting questionnaire from Christine Kane designed to help you focus in on an appropriate word. I liked this and, although I am not terribly good about filling out pithy forms, I actually used this to help me weed out words that immediately jumped to the surface of my mind like create!, loseweight!, domore! None of those words, however appropriate they may be for me in the short term, felt quite right.

I have been considering this 'word of the year concept' for several days now. Rolling words around in my head to see what felt right, to feel which resonated as real for me this year. My problem is that I cannot limit myself to just one word. I've tried to - really I have. The issue that I continually struggle with is whether or not I need to constrain my hobbies in order to focus more on only one or two things. I go around and around with this. In this sense my "word" would be simplify, but I must look at that in a second light in order to decide if this is "the" word. Simplify might certainly mean condensing my hobbies - or it might not. I suppose that might depend on what being able to follow all of my paths means to me and what goals, if any, I might have, for the things that I make. There was a time when my goal in making quilts was to be an acknowledged quilter - not well know necessarily - (a psychologist would no doubt have a field day with that last comment!) but decently acknowledged in the field. Over time I realized that wanting recognition was my ego talking pure and simple and I had to ask myself if I wanted recognition because of my ego or for the benefit of my inner artist. I think that there can be a difference.

When sought acknowledgment I did, pretty much, only quilt. I did not know how to knit at that time, nor did I know how to paint, do calligraphy or make soaps an lotions. I made some things that I knew were not my best - but they were deadline pieces... you see where I 'm headed with this perhaps? Deadline work and work that is made specifically for a show entry are not necessarily my best work.  My best, most authentic, work comes for being able to make art just to please myself, being able to go slowly when I want or need to and not having to work on a timetable. My best work comes from my heart - from a place deep inside that has no road maps and follows no rules. I have pretty much given up on the idea of acknowledgment in the quilt or quilt art world. If it comes it will thrill me but if it doesn't it won't upset me any longer the way it once would have. There are just so many things that bring me joy. Knitting is the evening, as I already mentioned, practicing making a perfectly rounded unical letter, getting gesso and paint in my hair -or feeling the rich pieces of roving flow under my hands when I felt. I think I am ordained to be a "jill-of-all-trades, master a none". I just like to have fun and follow the muse where she wills me to go.

My short list of words  are:

1.   Strength

2.   Simplify

3.   Stressless

4.   Uncomplicated

5.   Faith

The questionnaire goes on to ask "why is this the perfect word for you this year?"

Strength:   I would like to have the strength to be able to deal with whatever the year's challenges may be. I want to try to stand up for myself more and develop more confidence both in my work and in myself.

Simplify:   I had been noticing that when friends called me I would multi task. and I felt that I was not honoring them with my full attention. I don't want to do that. I want to be fully present when I am speaking with my friends - after all I am blessed to have the ones I have and I don't want to lose them through neglect. I want to take time to smell the roses, take decent photographs, listen to the birds, sing, ponder on a piece of art before I begin it, enjoy the simple pleasures of life that tend to slip by on a daily basis because other things compel me more loudly and more stridently. I want to knit in the evenings without having a pang of guilt that I should be doing my 'artful' things at my desk or sewing machine. I want to fully connect with life in a less hurried, more calm way.

Stressless:   I guess this sort of has parts of 'simplify' in it. There are times when I can sit in my chair at work and listen to the cacophony of sounds swirling around me - everyone's energy levels at peak performance and I can almost feel the the world slip-sliding away. I get an image of the Tower - for those of you who know Tarot cards. The world crumbling around us all and yet we don;t take the time to notice. It seems like yesterday that my friend's beautiful and talented daughter was leaving for college in New York - now she is beginning her last semester! How'd that happen?! I don't believe that our lives can be entirely stress-less and, indeed, some stress is a good thing. I just don't want to have to look back on my life and remember only a blur because I was multi-tasking and too stressed to be able to stop and appreciate the moments of my life.

Uncomplicated: Again, bits and pieces of the words above are also pertinent to this one. Life these days is just too darn complicated to begin - I shouldn't add more complications to an already full stew pot!

Faith: In myself, in my work, in my life's worth. Faith too that there is, somehow, order in the chaos of the world and that the will rise tomorrow

There is more to this questionnaire and, although I am usually not at all good at filling these pithy self-examinations out, I found this one to actually be a useful tool. Part 2 calls for awareness and elimination and to learning to know your 'triggers'. Awww heck do I have to go back to the whining little child waiting within me again?! I haven't done that part yet .. and I may not !

My friend, Maria, called me yesterday and during our conversation we discussed the time warp pace as we get older. She reminded me of one of our favorite books written by Baba Ram Das in 1971 and  called "Remember, Be Here Now" (I wish I had my original copy of it and , in fact, I best go order one!). I got off the phone and realized that I had found not only my word, but the concept for my year ahead. It had been staring me right in the face all along! Remember, Be Here, Now. 

 

Nothing else matters and nothing else really is. Namaste.

 

I do have one resolution! 

It's to take the slow road. It seems that nothing I make falls into the fast,fabulous and fun category - so I'm going to go for gold - slow!

These little gems are made from cashmere and merino - I forget which one .

Either Cashmerino from Debbie Bliss or Cashsoft from Rowan. Either way they are soft, colorful and useful!