The Non-Vegan Cow Cake

Allen turns 53 tomorrow. We got together to celebrate his birthday today. I (Rose) was in charge of bringing the cake.


I knew a while back that I wanted to bake some sort of cow cake. I mean, he's a dairy farmer, he loves cows. I started Googling "cow cakes" to find inspiration. I wanted to find a picture of something someone else had created and pattern my own cake after it. Alas, I found the perfect image! I followed the link to a website with more directions. And then, I gasped. The image was on a Vegan blog. 


I was at a crossroads. On one hand, I really liked how the cake looked. On the other, I couldn't help but wonder if using a Vegan blog as inspiration was like making a deal with the devil. After days of deliberation, I decided I would use the vegan cake as a model, but I would be sure to use extra butter in my own recipe.


So, here's what I did. I whipped up a marble cake mix and baked it in two 9 inch round pans. (Did you know that you can substitute milk for the water in a cake mix to make an extra moist cake?!)

Next, I plopped the first cake down on the cardboard circle that I planned to serve the cake on. I freehanded a cow head and two legs on wax paper, and cut through the wax paper with a knife. 

Then, using my trusty Wilton cake lifter, I lifted up the cow head and set it aside. I took the second 9 inch cake and placed it on the cardboard circle. I put the legs aside on a small plate. 

I placed the head on the "body," put the legs in place, and crumb coated it with frosting. (If you've never decorated a cake, this is a layer of frosting that you put down to hold the crumbs in place.) I also traced the mouth and some spots onto the body with a toothpick.

I used regular buttercream frosting and chocolate buttercream frosting. The chocolate frosting is easier to turn black, since it's already a brown color. I used star tips and a regular round tip. I used the Wilton buttercream recipe:


Ingredients:

• 1 cup solid vegetable shortening (I use butter! It has great flavor!)
• 1 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar
• 7 tbs milk (You can use water, but the milk has a rich flavor. Plus, it supports the dairy industry!)

Directions:

Combine shortening and vanilla. Add sugar and milk. Beat at a medium speed until light and fluffy. 

Ready to see the finished product? 

Non-vegan approved ingredients used in the cake and frosting:

• 3 eggs in the cake
• Milk instead of water in the cake
• Butter in the frosting
• Milk in the frosting

So, there you have it, my alternative to the cow cake found on the vegan blog. I've never had vegan cake, but I can tell you this conventional one was pretty tasty!

Some dairy goodness

Tonight I whipped up some cookies. You're probably wondering what these have to do with the blog title. Well, it's as simple as two things: butter and milk, both wonderful products that come to us courtesy of hardworking dairy cows. 

These cookies are probably the easiest, fool-proof cookies out there. My secret to success is taking them out of the oven before they're completely baked, and letting them set up on the cookie sheet. It helps keep them soft. I also highly recommend butter over any other kind of shortening. Of course, I also suggest enjoying them with a cold glass of milk. Try them for yourself!


Chocolate Chip and M & M Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• Chocolate chips (as many as you like)
• M & Ms (as many as you like)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until mixed thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Slowly add flour mixture. Beat until mixed through. Add chocolate chips and M & Ms as desired. Place onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool.

As you enjoy the cookies, be sure to say a quick thanks for dairy farmers who care for their animals each day to make yummy dairy products possible for your family!

Visitors

Rose's niece and nephew recently spent some time visiting. Their favorite activity at Aunt Rose and Uncle Greg's house was visiting the cows, of course!

You'll have to excuse the mud. We've had so much rain this fall/winter, and it doesn't appear to be freezing up any time soon. 


To share in our visitors' experience on the farm, visit our Facebook page. 

What's in a name?

Every baby needs a good name. The young heifers on our farm are no different. I just finished naming a bunch of calves. All of our cows are registered Holsteins. Soon after the young females are born, we submit their registration papers our breed association. As part of this process, we select names for each of them. 


Tonight, I picked out names for three: ear tag numbers 1113, 1117, and 1121. To make sure I selected the perfect name, I started by looking at their dams' names. (A dam is the mother cow.) 1113 was born to 927, Paula. Paula hasn't had any other heifer calves. In other words, 1113 doesn't have any sisters. Paula's dam is Panda, so it seemed like we should stick with a P name. After browsing some websites with baby girl names, I selected Paisley. Mostly, because it's a cute name, but I personally wouldn't select it for a child.


Next up was 1117, the daughter of 199, Ronnie. Ronnie already has a daughter, Robyn. Obviously, 1117 was going to be a "R" girl. As a kid, I loved reading the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. 1117 is now officially Ramona. 


Finally, 1121 was born to Robyn, Ronnie's daughter. I guess if you want to get technical, that makes Ramona her aunt? I needed another R name, so I selected Roxy. I bet she'll be spunky. 


If you've followed along, congratulations. If not, don't worry; it can get tricky keeping track of all of these ladies. I'm glad Diane keeps good records!


Moral of the story, every baby needs a good name. 

Looking Back at 2011, Looking Forward to 2012

I have a confession to make: I need to blog more. I know, I know, shocking. Some times it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of what's going on here and there, and I forget about our dear old blog. As 2012 begins, I vow to blog more often. Looking back on last year, however, I'm borrowing an idea from Will at The Dairyman's Blog. I know the suspense is killing you, so here are our top three blog posts of 2011.


Number 3- So God Made a Farmer (February 6, 2011)
Paul Harvey aired this poem on his radio show. Although it wasn't included in the original blog post, here's a YouTube video:

Number 2- Century Farm (December 24, 2011)
For Christmas, Allen and Diane learned about the dairy farm's heritage and how their own family has been impacted by the legacy they're leaving.


Number 1- Let's Talk About Sex (April 17, 2011)
What can we say? Sex sells. This post talked all about artificial insemination and it's role on a dairy farm.


Thanks for reading our blog. We hope that you can learn something and maybe even share a laugh. From our family to yours, here's hoping for a prosperous 2012.