Mike's Birthday

January 9, 2011

Mike's birthday was January 1st and we had his family over later in the month for some cake. I made a traditional chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, one of Mike's favorites and a White Chocolate-Fudge Torte from my recipe calendar. The chocolate torte was delicious and rich in chocolate. I think I rushed making the white chocolate topping, but it was still smooth and creamy.

White Chocolate-Fudge Torte

Cake:
16 oz semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
1 c butter
6 eggs

Topping:
1 c white chocolate chunks or white vanilla baking chips, melted
1 c heavy wipping cream
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 c powdered sugar
2 T white creme de cacao, if desired
1/2 c miniature semisweet chocolate chips, if desired

Raspberry Sauce:
1 pkg frozen raspberries in light syrup, thawed
1 T cornstarch
1/3 c red currant jelly

Heat oven to 400°. Grease 9-inch spring form pan with shortening or cooking spray. In sauce pan, melt semisweet chocolate and butter over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Cool completely, about 35 minutes.

In small bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer on high speed 5 minutes or until triple in volume. Fold eggs into cooled chocolate mixture until well blended. Pour batter evenly into pan.

Bake 15-20 minutes (center will jiggle a little). Cool completely about 1 hour 30 minutes; and then refrigerate until firm another hour and 30 minutes.

In sauce pan, heat white chocolate and 3 T of whipping cream over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is melted. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and, if desired creme de cacao with electric mixer on medium speed. While beating slowly add white chocolate mixture, beating until smooth, scraping occasionally.

In small bowl, beat remaining whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. With rubber spatula, fold into white chocolate mixture; if desired, fold in miniature chocolate chips. Spread topping over cake. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

For sauce, drain raspberries, reserving syrup. Add water to syrup to make 3/4 cup. In saucepan, mix syrup mixture and cornstarch. Stir in jelly. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened and clear. Stir in raspberries. Refrigerate until cold.

Argentina Visitors

The Pitarch came to the States for a visit. I was happy that I got to introduce them to Mike. They are family friends of my parents and go way back. Tio Roberto and Tia Cristina will be serving as mission presidents in Columbia. I wish them the best and hope that they will be blessed while on their mission.

Honeymoon

November 7-12, 2010

Mike and I took off to Cancun, Mexico for our honeymoon. Our hotel had a balcony with an amazing view of the beach. We took a couple of tours of the ruins, Ek'Balam, Tulum and Coba. We also spent some time on the beach and at the shopping center.

Wedding Day

November 6, 2010

The wedding day finally arrived and the preparations began. My hair was a gift from Cindy. Her friend is a hair stylist and created my beautiful up-do. I'm so thankful for the gift because if I were left to doing my own hair, it would have ended up in a bun.

My flowers were amazing and couldn't have turned out better. The bouquet was put together with white and lavender roses, green hydrangea and stephanotis flowers. The florist did a beautiful job with the arrangement.

Here are Mike and I exiting the Temple. We had several pictures taken and Mike put together a slide show. I will work on getting those posted. Andy and Dad took several pictures for us from the Open House later in the evening as well. Dad's are not digital, so I'm unable to post those.

Above is the Lewis Family with the newly married couple.

Above is the Stuy Family with the happy couple.

Last Single Night

November 5, 2010

This was my last night of being single. Donna gave me a bachelorette party that I spent with my mom, sister and cousins. We had yummy treats, played games and talked. I learned how fun my mom could be at this party and we had a blast.