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family Archives - Page 8 of 9 - Carolyn CAREs

Category: family

Now What?

The 2012 harvest season has ended for us. The guys are wrapping up the tillage, and should be done some time this afternoon. Many of our friends and family ask us, “Now what?” Some may assume that we kick back and take it easy until spring work starts again. While the most physical part of the work is finished for this crop year, we are not done with our work.

Jonathan and our youngest daughter, Laura, will be headed for a 16 day missions trip to Tanzania next week. They will be working at the Kikatiti school – a place that our church has sponsored for many years. They will be bringing many used eyeglasses with them, and some of the team will be matching vision needs with the glasses we bring. Others on the team will be doing some maintenance work. Laura and a few other women will be teaching girls how to use the sewing machine the was purchased for the school. They will work on the basics of sewing, with the hopes of teaching them how to make things to sell. After they finish their work at the school, they will be going on a safari. How cool! I am very excited for them, yet a tad nervous about keeping things going here by myself.

In the winter, we still have pig chores to attend to, and a lot of paperwork. It is also the time of year when we take a serious look at what varieties of seeds we want to grow next year. We have a yield monitor in the combine, and we’ll print out the yield maps to see what varieties we want to plant again and what varieties we will drop.  We store all of our crops in grain bins, and will be selling throughout the fall and into next year. We work with our buyers to arrange hauling dates that work well with both of our schedules – although sometimes it would be nice if the weather would cooperate on the cold winter days!

Both Jonathan and I will be attending meetings this winter. They are sort of like our continuing education classes. So far, we have the Minnesota Farm Bureau Annual meeting, and three organic conferences on the schedule. I will also have a few meetings for various other committees I am on. I love winter meetings, and networking with other farmers. The education components can really help set the tone for the coming crop season as well. It doesn’t matter what kind of farming you do, it is always helpful to see what is the latest and greatest thing.

Winter is also when I get to have fun in the kitchen. I have been collecting recipes from blogs over the past year, and am excited to have the time to try ones I haven’t gotten to yet.  When the kids all went to college, I warned Jonathan that I may be trying out all kinds of new recipes. He is pretty game to try what I come up with, fortunately!

One of the first recipes sent to me by my good friend is one I have posted above my stove. I see it every day, and have been patiently waiting until I have the time to whip up a batch. This is one that will require an event to bring them to, otherwise I will want to eat them all!

This blog is written in a combination of Swedish and English. The writers culinary passions are rivaled by her photography. This blog is a treat for both the eyes and the taste buds! The first recipe I want to try is her Perfect Expresso Chocolate Cupcakes.  Call Me Cupcake

Another blog that I thought was fun, and had a yummy looking recipe for Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting, is the Brown Eyed Baker. (Notice a theme here?) Her blogging style is one I enjoy reading.  Brown Eyed Baker

On the savory side of things, since we cannot live on cupcakes alone, is a Gratin recipe from Dairy Carrie. This is another blog that has a writing style that I really like, along with some great recipes and awesome information about her dairy farm.

I love, love, love reading cookbooks. I read them like some people read novels. I picked this one up on a shopping trip with my girls, and can’t wait to try out many yummy looking recipes.  This should keep me busy for the winter!

Okay, I’ve given you three blogs and one book to find. I would love to hear about your favorite blogs and cookbooks!

Be Careful When You Tease the Dog…

This last week has been interesting, to say the least. Some good, some not so much…

We finished harvesting our crops exactly one week ago. It was an overcast, windy day like today. I was anticipating the finish, and getting back to a more normal schedule. I received a phone call with just a few hundred yards to the end. I mentioned in that call that I was watching three raccoons running in and out of the rows, going slower than I wanted to make sure they wouldn’t get run over.  Cue the foreshadowing music…  Apparently my combine is not only good for rock picking, but it is also handy for coon hunting. I’ll leave the details for those who want to hear the story in person. Let me just say… “Ewww.”

My huge rock I picked up on the bean head…it was so dusty I couldn’t see it until I picked it up. The biggest one I’ve picked up so far!

 

Now that harvest is done, we are hitting the tillage pretty hard. We have had so many offers from friends to help, which is such a blessing. Jonathan has taught my niece, Katie, how to drive tractors and use air tools. She has been loving the lifestyle so far.

Katie and her tractor

 

With so many people helping, I was able to concentrate on getting our guestroom ready for Jonathan’s sister, Anita and her husband, Charles. They will be staying with us for a couple of months while they visit churches in the United States that sponsor their mission work. They are splitting their home assignment time between Charles’ family in Canada, and Anita’s family here.  Anita and Charles arrived last Thursday evening, which gave me Wednesday and Thursday morning to have their rooms ready.

Thursday morning arrived, and I had just a few things left to do in the basement. I played with the dog every now and then when he was inside, occasionally teasing him by hiding his favorite toy in my pocket, and squeezing it to make it squeak every now and then. It drives him crazy when he can’t find it, which we find really funny. Cue the foreshadowing music…

Thursday afternoon was so beautiful, and I hadn’t had a chance to run in so long. I thought a quick sprint to the mailbox and back would be just what I needed to keep the cleaning motivation going.  The dog was out in the yard with Jonathan, who was working on the plow before heading back out to the field. I hopped down the two steps outside the door, and accelerated as I started to round the corner of the house. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the dog in a dead run towards me. He usually runs beside me when I am walking/running laps around the yard, but this time he went right in between my legs. Not good.

Do you remember when you were little, and when you fell while playing, it sometimes seemed like it was in slow motion? That was me. I remember thinking, as I see the gravel driveway rising up to smack me, “this is going to hurt!”  It did.  I rolled onto my back on the driveway, sobbing and bleeding. Limbs were in the air…kinda like a dead bug. Jonathan came over, assessed the situation, and offered a hand to help me up. I hobbled into the house, still crying, and started to clean the gravel out of my hands, right knee, and right elbow. This is the same knee that I bruised super bad 17 months ago. I was determined not to be on crutches again, so I haven’t gone in to the dr. Sorry mom.
I have spent the last few days feeling super lazy as I elevate and ice.  Things are not so swollen today, but the colors are very pretty. I always did like purple.

So, the moral of my story…I am very thankful for the people who have asked to come and help out by driving a tractor for a few hours, and I am thankful that Anita loves to do dishes. Oh, and don’t tease the dog.

15 pounds of energy and destruction…but yet so cute

Farm Safety – Your Life Depends On It

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Many parts of the midwest are in Red Flag warnings this week. Field and combine fires are becoming more frequent. Please use caution when out in dry grass or in tractors We have a fire extinguisher inside the cab of the combine “just in case”. This tip became a little more relevant this week, after learning of an aunt’s relative who sustained burns over 17% of his body in a combine fire. Be careful out there…your family needs you!

Nutrition – Only a Part of the Whole Picture

While I no longer have kids in high school, the school lunch issue has my attention. I can’t help but think that the new directives that have come down from the USDA is missing the mark.

We all need to pay attention to the calories we take in on any given day. The quality of those calories must also be taken into account. If I were to eat a 500 calorie meal of Twinkies and soda, I don’t think I would feel as good as if I ate a 500 calorie meal of meat, potatoes, vegetables, and milk.  Our bodies were designed to require nutrients found in the foods we eat. Our bodies were also designed to move.

I have been wearing an electronic pedometer for the past few weeks. I thought that I was being fairly active, but I have had many days where I cannot seem to reach the 10,000 step goal for the day. I don’t work in an office where I have to walk from a parking lot, into the building, and up a couple flights of stairs to my desk.  My computer is 14 steps from my bed, three steps from the kitchen table, and five steps to the meal prep area. Not a lot of calorie burning going on in my mornings. I have to be very deliberate to get exercise in, or I will gain weight.

So, what about just controlling the amount of calories in? I tried that. I was thinner, but I wasn’t healthier. My triglyceride levels were still higher than my doctor wanted them, and I was borderline anemic. I was also a wimp. I couldn’t run as much as I wanted to because I didn’t have the stamina or muscle tone to endure a good workout. When I started exercising with the calorie control, I felt so much better.

This is where I feel the nutrition guidelines are missing the mark. We need to encourage healthy eating, but we also need to be encouraging physical movement.  There is a great program, called Fuel Up to Play 60, which is sponsored by the National Dairy Council and the NFL.  Click here to see what they are about. This program encourages healthy eating, and 60 minutes of exercise a day.  They teach nutrition – the why of eating healthy – and make exercise fun. To see what makes them different, click here.  This is a program model that I think would be a better way to address the childhood obesity issue than the nutrition standards that the schools are dealing with now.

There is one more area where I think we should focus on. Our school district has 175 student contact days.  That leaves 190 days when the students are at home. For the students that eat both breakfast and lunch at school, they will eat 350 meals with calorie restrictions. Those same students will be eating 745 meals outside of school. We are sorely mistaken if we think that calorie restrictions at school are going to solve the obesity issue.

I loved running around my neighborhood when I was a kid. I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis in the ’70’s and ’80’s. We played outside all summer, riding our banana seat bikes, playing H-O-R-S-E, and playing various forms of tag….along with tormenting the siblings then running like crazy to escape the wrath.  We didn’t have home video games then. Is it any wonder that obesity rates have increased after the home video games and computers became household objects? We need to move. We need to make exercise a lifelong habit, starting at a young age…and as parents, we need to be setting a good example.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite workout songs on my iPod….

Fun Food Friday

I was craving some ice cream today, but ice cream doesn’t really like me. I figured out I was lactose intolerant while eating ice cream at my niece’s graduation reception. Not a fun day. I have tried taking Lactaid with the ice cream, but it still doesn’t like me. So, when a craving hits, I like to see what kind of substitutes I can find.

A few posts back, I shared a photo of my new favorite State Fair treat – a frozen banana on a stick, covered in chocolate and rolled in peanuts. It made a good ice cream substitute at the fair, so why not make them at home?

I started by cutting up a couple of bananas into more manageable sizes than the one offered at the fair. This way, if I only wanted half a banana, I wouldn’t have to try cutting it in two after it was on the stick.

We had some some bamboo skewers left over from Laura’s graduation reception, so I used those as my stick. You could probably get by just fine with bigger round toothpicks, depending on the size of banana slices.

I dipped the cut banana pieces in a bath of water and FruitFresh. You could also use lemon or lime juice in water. I dabbed them dry with a paper towel, and placed them back on the plate. I covered the plate with plastic wrap, and placed it in the freezer.

When the bananas were frozen, I assembled the rest of the ingredients.

I coarsely chopped some salted peanuts in my food processor, and put them in a shallow bowl. I had some Magic Shell ice cream topping in the pantry, so I used that for the hardening chocolate. I have a narrow measuring cup that holds about 1/2 cup of liquid. You could use a small juice glass as well.

I poured a little bit of the Magic Shell into the bottom of the measuring glass, since I was planning on having three chunks of banana. Once it is poured into the glass, you cannot put it back into the bottle.


Tipping the glass slightly, I rolled the banana in the chocolate, making sure it was coated well.

I held it above the glass until the chocolate began to harden.  Then, I rolled the banana in the coarsely chopped peanuts.

I repeat the process for the other banana pieces that I wanted to prepare. Then placed the rest of the bananas back into the freezer for the next time I had an ice cream craving.

The bananas satisfied the craving. They tasted just like a banana split…okay, almost like a banana split!

My next challenge is to try different combinations – splitting the bananas down the center, and spreading creamy peanut butter on one half making a pb banana sandwich to freeze. After they are frozen, dipping them in a homemade chocolate shell mixture, and letting them freeze again.  Mmmm. I think I need to go buy more bananas!

Have fun with your food today!

Continuing The Tradition

Next summer we will be celebrating our farm’s centennial. In 1913, Daniel Olson moved his wife and four children from Monona County, Iowa to Lyon County, Minnesota. I cannot imagine packing up everything in a wagon and venturing 230 miles from everything you’ve known. If I were to drive it today, it would be about a 4 1/2 hour drive. The dreams of making a better life for your family are powerful. It is what drove men and women from one coast to the other then, as it does now.

The oldest of the four children, Nuel, eventually took over the farm from his father. Nuel also had dreams of making a better life for his family. He jumped at the opportunity to start raising certified seed for the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association in the 1940’s, when his two boys were young.

Left to right: Nuel, Robert, and Kenny (my father in law). This photo appeared in a magazine at some point in time.

My father in law, Kenny, did not attend high school in our town. He attended “Aggie School” at what is now the University of Minnesota, Morris. When his brother was fighting in the Korean Conflict, Kenny took a year off from school to help his dad on the farm.  The purpose of “Aggie School” was to teach the boys the newer farming methods. It was like a boarding school for boys who wanted to farm.

When Kenny took over the farm after his brother passed away, he continued to raise certified seed for MCIA. He was very good at raising seed, and was a well respected business man. He was also known for his integrity. He built the farm, little by little, to make a better life for his family.

Jonathan enjoyed working with pigs when he was in high school, and dreamed of building a pig barn after he was out of college. He graduated from college in 1988, and we married later that summer.  A little over a year after we were married, he remodeled a shed on our little farm, and was able to start raising pigs. He went on to build a few more barns that were better for the animals, and would allow him to fully capture the manure.

When first approached with the idea to raise crops organically, Jonathan was a little hesitant. He researched the requirements, and decided to give it a try.  He knew we needed to do something a little different to keep the farm successful, and this seemed like a good opportunity. Round Up Ready soybeans were becoming the hot ticket, which meant there was less demand for the public seed we were raising.  Raising our crops organically turned out to be a good fit for us.  We know it isn’t for everyone, and that is okay. Everyone has their own dream, their own thing that they do well.  This is ours.

When I look back at the history of our farm, I see that we are just continuing the tradition of our forefathers to grasp onto opportunities. To reach for our dreams, and to make a better life for our family.

Our farm around the early to mid 1940’s

Our farm today:

Another Fun Filled Summer in Photos

The house is pretty quiet this week. The laundry piles are smaller, and the milk lasts a little longer. It is official. Jonathan and I are empty nesters!

This summer was pretty busy, which is how we prefer our summers to be. I’d like to share some of the fun with you in the photos below.

Most of the family was able to surprise my brother and his family at a Twins game in the beginning of July. Bruce had the honor of raising the Twins Territory flag. It was pretty cool.

The family – 14 out of a possible 19 made it!

The game: Twins won, with the help of a couple home runs at the hands of Trevor Plouffe.

A week later, Christina left for a five week stay in Costa Rica as a part of her Spanish studies. She missed out on our intense 48 hours of fun at Lake Ethel.

Jonathan likes to work hard, and play hard.

After we returned from the lake, Jonathan and Laura attended a national youth gathering for a week. They had a great trip, but were very happy to be back home again. Pretty much as soon as they returned, it was time to harvest wheat.

I took my turn in the combine for a little while.

Jonathan harvested most of the wheat, while I helped Laura get her projects ready for the county fair. Laura did the work, but I was her adviser.

The vanity Laura refinished, which is now displayed in my entry.

Laura competed in her final horse show at this years fair. She enjoys participating in the trail class the most. I think she’s pretty good at it.

Laura also brought three Boer goats to the county fair. This year’s fair was filled with a little drama. During the goat show, a severe thunderstorm rolled through and we all needed to take shelter. A few days later, another storm rolled through and we were once again waiting it out in the horse barn. 

Laura in the show ring.

For the first time in my life, I was in the ring during the State Fair line up. Can you spot my shoes?  I won’t quit my day job…


In between the county fair and the state fair, I worked at Farm Fest. Farm Fest is a three day agricultural event where vendors bring their equipment, software, expertise, or whatever they have that serves the agriculture community to southwest Minnesota. I help to sell pork chops on a stick in the Farm Bureau tent. I totally forgot to take photos this year, so you’ll have to close your eyes and imagine a delicious pork chop being handed to you by a local FFA member or Farm Bureau volunteer.  After a good day of recovery, I always look forward to the next year!

During the county fair and Farm Fest weeks, we had a visitor! Our former exchange student, who we now refer to as our German daughter, spent two weeks with us. It was great to catch up in person!

Viktoria at Alexander Ramsey Park in Redwood Falls. A beautiful park that we went to a few times while she stayed with us for a year.

While I was running around like a crazy woman, Jonathan was home being a great husband and dad. When he gets hungry for cookies, he just whips up a batch. They typically don’t last very long.


This brings us to the Minnesota State Fair. I love the fair! Laura went up with other 4-H members from our county for the 4 days of the Livestock encampment. Christina and I went up to watch the goat show, and then we walked around a tiny bit. We saved most of our fun for when we planned to go back the following week. 
Laura earned a purple ribbon in showmanship! She was pretty amazed, since this goat had been super jumpy at our county fair. He calmed down quite a bit once he entered the show ring.

We always check out the Agriculture/Horticulture building to see if Jonathan won any ribbons for his seed samples. He did! This year he received blue ribbons on both of his wheat varieties that were submitted.

Before we left, Christina and I had to find my new favorite treat. I am lactose intolerant, and ice cream really affects me, even when taking Lactaid. It was super hot, so this frozen banana on a stick was just the thing.

After our second visit to the fair, it was time to finish packing. All three girls moved to college last weekend.

Part of what we moved. I am so blessed that all three girls are in the same town. Two at one college, the youngest four blocks away at another.

We are now in the patiently waiting for soybean and corn harvest mode. There is still plenty that needs to get done before we are ready. Jonathan is loading up wheat that was sold, and will be sweeping out the grain bins when they are empty.  He will be making sure that the combine and trucks are clean so we do not have any wheat in our soybeans. I will be working on getting our house ready for family to stay. Once the soybeans are ready, I’ll be running the combine while Jonathan hauls the loads in the semi.  We plan on fitting in a few dates here and there as well.  So far this empty nest thing is looking pretty good!

United We Stand…Resisting the Attempts to Divide Agriculture

To be upfront with any new readers, my husband and I are organic crop farmers. We walk the line of organic and conventional agriculture every day – we raise 2400 hogs in climate controlled curtain sided barns, meaning our animals are raised conventionally. We do this for a few reasons, but the main one is so that we are able to capture the manure to use as our fertilizer on our fields. In our opinion, it is the ultimate recycling program.

Much has been said about a newly published report by two doctors at Stanford University about nutritional differences in organic and conventional foods.  I am a little sad that friends who choose to farm differently than I do are touting this report as a “see I told you so” kind of deal.  I have avoided my Facebook account for most of the day because of some comments. So, here is my take on this.

Ever since advertising and marketing started – and all I know about that timeline is it started before I was ever thought about – people have been touting their products in such a way as to sway people into buying what they are selling. Who can forget the slogans “Tastes Great, Less Filling”, “Finger Lickin’ Good”, Good To The Last Drop”, or “Breakfast of Champions”?

Land O’ Lakes will tell you that their milk will stay fresher, longer because of their opaque packaging. Chevy Trucks will tell you that their trucks have a better payload than their competitors. Are they being deceptive, or are they trying to appeal to their target audience? How are the advertising practices of milk brands or truck brands any different than how conventional or organic produce are advertised?

The Stanford study looked at nutrition – mostly vitamins A, C, and E. It also looked at detectable pesticide residue. My first response to the study of the vitamins was “duh”.  I don’t buy organic produce because I think it has better nutrients.  I buy according to taste, and what my family will eat. Many times we can find different varieties of vegetables in the organic section that have a taste we prefer. Look at the surge in heirloom tomatoes being grown in back yard gardens, the the varieties of small tomatoes available at your local supermarket. People are enjoying the food experience, and are demanding foods that fit in with their developing tastes.

I have talked with people at different events that appreciate the way we grow our crops. They believe that a minimal three crop rotation is the best for the soil and the environment. They will buy organic as a way of supporting those who farm in ways they believe in. Nothing was said about nutritional value. There is more to the organic equation than just nutrients, I think.

We should all be celebrating that fact that there was only 38% of conventional produce that had detectable pesticide residue. That means our pesticide residue monitoring systems are working. I understand that there are those who have very little tolerance for pesticide residues due to allergies and illness, which is why you buy organic. I am happy you have that choice, and that it is becoming more readily available for you.

I will never make anyone feel bad for the food choices they make. We all have different taste in clothes, shoes, cars, TV’s, computers, orange juice, cereal, etc. We don’t tear each other apart for those differences, why do so many feel it is okay to condemn food choices? I see no need to have an us vs them attitude in agriculture. What benefit is that to anyone? I would encourage everyone to have a mixed, balanced diet filled with color…and the occasional deep fried Milky Way on a stick.

I am just thankful I live in a time where I do have the choice to buy what I like.  I am thankful for those who gave their lives so that we are able to express our opinions in a public forum, and not be jailed for it. I am thankful for those who are still serving who are sacrificing time with their families, and for those who are eating mess hall meals so we are able to walk into a grocery store and buy whatever I feel like buying that day. I am thankful for all of the families that are farming, doing the best they can to raise crops and livestock for those who are unable to.  As you can tell, I think there are many other issues that are a little more important than this study.

My younger brother, saluting the American Flag at a Twins game in July…a few weeks before being deployed for 12 months. I thank him for defending my freedom, and pray for his safe return.

Pictorial Tour of Our Barley & Field Pea Season

It has been way too long since my last post! It has been an unusually busy spring here, but even in all the busyness, I stopped to take photos of the fields as the crops grow. This year, I am focusing on our barley and field pea crop.

There is no restriction on early planting dates for either barley or peas, and the fields were ready so they went in first.  We started by preparing the soil with the field cultivator. It does not dig very deep, but it smooths out the seed bed while taking out the first flush of weeds. Below you can see the field cultivator behind me.

 

We planted the peas first, on March 17.  After they were planted, Jonathan set the GPS guidance system to move over 3 inches so we could plant the barley next to the peas. The barley comes in bags, making it easier to fill the grain drill if two people throw bags.  Each bag weighs 48 pounds. In this photo, you can see how we line the bags up along the walking platform to make it easy to keep track of how many we put in. It also makes it easier to pull the strings off the tops and dump them into the drill.  Jonathan was sweet enough to pose for a photo.

 

Once the seed is in the ground, all we can do is pray for rain and good growing conditions.  When the seeds germinate, and a little green tint appears in the field, we all get excited.  Spring is such an exciting time with all the new growth appearing. It makes everything look and feel so fresh!

 

Here is a little pea plant next to some barley. At this stage, the barley looks like grass.

 

As the season progresses, we check the fields for weeds and other things that may hurt the quality of the seed.  We continue to pray for timely rains, while praying that hail does not damage the crops. I hold my breath every time a thunderstorm rolls through!

The next two photos were taken on the same day.  The first one shows how the barley and peas grow next to each other. The second one shows how the color is changing in the field.

 

When the barley starts to turn from green to gold, Jonathan starts scouting the fields to see if he can get an estimation on a harvest date. He breaks open a pea pod or two, and chews on the peas. When they are green, they taste a lot like sweet peas. After they mature, they get too starchy to be tasty to me.  Jonathan does the same with the barley. He shells out the barley to see how easily it breaks away from the stem, and chews on a few shelled pieces to see how chewy they are. Both were pretty green at this point, but Jonathan was very excited to see a pea pod with six peas in it.

 

Saturday, June 30th, the barley and peas were ready for harvest. This would be the earliest that Jonathan has ever harvested a crop. He started by harvesting the perimeter of the field, which is what we call a buffer strip. This buffer cannot be sold as organic, since it is too close to a non-organic field.  It is handled separately from the time it gets harvested until it is sold.  After Jonathan harvested the buffer, I took over the combine for awhile.  We were able to finish harvest on July 3rd.

Two views from the combine – looking at the barley and peas at the point of entry and at the discharge.

 

This year had an interesting little twist. We were able to plant our barley and peas early, then harvest them early.  For the first time ever, we are double-cropping. That means we can grow another crop in the same field after the first crop has been harvested.  Our cousin, Charlie, noticed that we were still cultivating our soybeans during harvest.  He offered the use of his tractor, and his son, to disc the field before we brought out the field cultivator. Sid did an awesome job, and saved us a lot of time. This morning, Jonathan was up early to start digging the field to get it ready for planting soybeans. I took over after breakfast so Jonathan could get the planter going.

Jonathan finished planting soybeans a little after 9:00 this evening. He never imagined that he would be planting a second crop on Independence Day!  Now, we are back to the point of praying for rain, and watching carefully for the seeds to emerge.

Hope you enjoyed the Pictorial Tour!

 

 

New Recipe Time – Chocoflan Cake (With Photos!)

We’ll start this story way back in March of 1993. Jonathan went to Ecuador on a short term missions project, and to see his sister who was a missionary there at the time.  While there, he experienced an excellent dessert called Flan. Thanks to the Food Network and the internet, we all probably have heard of it now. At the time, however, it seemed way too hard to attempt to make.

Fast forward 19 years. We are now in a newly formed Dinner Club where the hosts choose a menu and divvy up the courses of the meal to the attendees. Jonathan and I were asked to bring the dessert, which I thought was awesome. The whole evening was based on Rick Bayless and his Frontera recipes.  We had the choice of making….wait for it….Flan de Cafe or Chocoflan!  Jonathan was pretty excited that at last I would learn how to make this dessert.

I read through both recipes, and settled on the Chocoflan. I had more of the ingredients on hand, and a pan that it would fit in. I cheated a little bit, and made a test cake the day before our dinner party. Good thing. More about that later.

Here is the process, with the recipe…and in true Bredlow fashion, a few modifications.

The recipe calls for a 10 inch round cake pan with three inch sides. I couldn’t find one in Williams Sonoma when I was at the Mall of America the last time, so I started looking online for ideas.  I came across a video from Chef Marcela Valladolid from Food Network, where she made basically the same cake in a Bundt pan.  Excellent idea!

For the mold (Bundt pan) you will need

  • a little softened butter and some flour
  • 1 cup store-bought or homemade cajeta (goat milk caramel)

I found an 8 ounce jar of goat milk caramel at Williams Sonoma, which was the only “exotic” ingredient.

The goat milk caramel along with some of the wet ingredients.

Butter and flour the pan as you would for making any cake (or used a spray like Baker’s Joy or Pillsbury Baking Spray with Flour).

Pour the caramel into the bottom of the pan, and swirl it around a bit to spread it up the sides about a 1/2 inch.

For the cake:

  • 5 ounces (10 tablespoons) butter, slightly softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons espresso or 2 tablespoons espresso powder dissolved in 1 1/2 tablespoons hot water
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
  • 9 ounces buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Heat water for a water bath. Use a pan with high sides to put the cake pan in for the water bath. Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder together. Set aside. With an electric mixer (use the flat beater if you can), beat the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light in color and texture. Scrape the bowl. Beat in the egg and espresso.  Add half of the flour mixture, at medium-low speed, followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat. Scrape the bowl, then raise the speed to medium-high and beat for one minute.

Sifting the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda

For the Flan:

  • 1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
  • 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla made with Madagascar vanilla beans and Prairie Grains Organic Vodka, and the rest of the flan ingredients.

Blend until smooth.

Flan ingredients in the blender.

Put cake batter in Bundt pan over the caramel

Cake batter in pan – layered over caramel

Gently pour flan mixture over cake batter.  It works well to pour the flan mixture into a small ladle and let it over flow.  (I couldn’t do that for the photo…my hands were full!)

Gently pour mixture over cake batter.

Place roasting pan and Bundt pan into the oven. Pour hot water up to an inch deep in cake pan surrounding the Bundt pan. Do not put water into the Bundt pan…just around it. While you are doing this step, you will notice the cake batter floating to the top of the pan. This is a good thing!

Batter is floating to the top. I used a Wilton 1/2 sheet pan for the water bath. You want the custard to cook gently, thus the water bath.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the surface of the cake is firm to the touch, except the very center. (Using the Bundt, the center will be done, however, the cake may jiggle a little bit. That’s okay.)

Remove from the water bath and cool to room temperature. This will take longer than one hour.  Remember earlier when I mentioned that it was a good thing that I tested this recipe? If you turn the cake out too soon, the flan layer will slide right off of the cake layer. Still delicious, just not very pretty. At all.

I put my cake in the refrigerator for a few hours to make sure it was chilled, and firm enough, to unmold.  Carefully run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the cake/flan to free the edges. Invert a rimmed serving platter over the cake pan, grasp the two firmly together, then flip the two of them over. Gently jiggle the pan back and forth several times to ensure that the cake/flan has dropped, then remove the pan. Scrape any remaining cajeta from the mold onto the cake.

This is how ours looked right before serving to our Dinner Club:

It was absolutely delicioso!  It is very rich, so we served coffee with it, which brought out the cocoa really well. I will most definitely be making this one again!

Now that I have this cake figured out, I’m thinking a caramel flan can’t be that hard!