11..., Baked Goods, In The Kitchen, Lifestyle

11… Kitchen To Dos in 2021 and Chocolate Mousse Crêpe Cake Recipe

It’s a little wobbly, but look at this awesome and delicious crêpe cake!

I’m a big lover of food. Like a BIG lover of food. I’m the epitome of a foodie. I love everything about it. From grocery shopping to cooking to eating to talking about food to watching cooking shows. I’m an adventurous cook and an even more adventurous eater. There’s really nothing I won’t try once. By once I mean, I’ll keep on trying to make sure I wasn’t wrong the fourth or seventh times. Sure, there are a few things that I’m not a huge fan of, but there’s really nothing I won’t eat if it’s put before me. The only real things I don’t love and avoid are ketchup and mustard. I don’t love them, but again, I will eat them if they’re placed in front of me.

Cooking and baking are things I do for fun, to show my love, to get creative, to destress, to have something to eat. Food is one of my love languages. If you enter my house and stay for long, I will try and feed you… By try, I mean, I almost always succeed. 

I’ve never been one for setting goals or resolutions. I am creating an In The Kitchen To Do List for 2021. There are things I’ve never made but have always wanted to or things I just haven’t gotten around to or things I’ve been scared to take on. I’m going to try my hand and some of these things… Finally.

  1. Full English Breakfast
  2. Bûche de Noël
  3. Jägerschnitzel
  4. Kringla
  5. Beef Wellington
  6. Croissants
  7. Black Bean Burgers
  8. Pelmeni or пельмени
  9. Black Forest Cake
  10. Gluten free bread (gluten free baking scares me)
  11. Italian Beef ala Portillos

January is pretty much a wash for me baking and cooking for a variety of reasons. That being said, if I tackle one of these every month, I can have the list done by next year. One a month… That’s not too daunting. I can do it. Probably.

Alright, I’m using a picture of a Chocolate Mousse Crêpe Cake with Candied Pecans I’ve made more than a few times over the years. I won’t be mean and not include the recipe. It’s delicious. All the parts individually are really easy. A crêpe cake seems far more daunting than it actually is. The hardest part is making the crêpes, and I promise you can do it… Just make a double batch and throw the first five out.

A delicious Chocolate Mousse Crêpe Cake!

Ingredients
Crêpes

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1¼ cup milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tbs. melted butter
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 2 tbs. sugar
  • 1 tbs. vanilla extract

Chocolate Mousse

  • 8 oz. cream cheese
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar
  •  ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tbs. vanilla extract

Candied Pecans

  • 1 cup halved pecans
  • ¼ heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tbs. butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp. cloves 

Directions
Crêpes

  • Sift flour into a large bowl, and mix in dry ingredients.
  • Whisk in milk, eggs, and vanilla.
  • Fold in the melted butter.
  • Let rest for an hour. This really is an important step. (You can make the mousse!)
  • In a hot pan, (you don’t have to have a crêpe pan, just as flat as possible, nonstick is easiest) melt butter. Pour in enough batter to thinly coat the pan. Swirl the pan to evenly spread the batter.
  • Once little bubbles start to form, flip the crêpe. 
  • When the crêpe is done, put on a plate to cool. (I put a sheet of wax paper on top so I can stack the crêpes without them sticking together.) 
  • Repeat the cooking of the crêpes until all the batter is gone. Try and keep them equally sized and shaped… to the best of your ability. 
  • Set aside to cool completely.

Chocolate Mousse

  • Make sure cream cheese is room temperature.
  • In a glass bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream until it becomes whipped cream. Set aside.
  • Whisk (either by hand or in an electric mixer) together the remaining ingredients until they are well blended. You can always add more or less cocoa powder to whatever your tastes are.
  • With a spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
  • Place in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.

Candied Pecans

  • If you prefer walnuts (weirdo), you can do this with walnuts. 
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a skillet, melt butter, brown sugar and spices. 
  • Once the sugar mixture is bubbling and sugar is no longer grainy, pour in heavy whipping cream. Whisk until combined and bubbling.
  • Pour in the nuts and stir until they are completely coated in the sugar mixture.
  • Spread the nuts onto the baking sheet to cool completely.
  • Once cooled, crumble and separate the nuts so they’re not one giant glob.

Assembly

  • On whatever serving platter you’re going to use, lay the first crêpe down in the center.
  • Spread a thin layer of chocolate mousse on the crêpe. 
  • Place the second crêpe as centered as you can on the first, then spread a thin layer of chocolate mousse.
  • Continue this process until you have used all the crêpes or it’s as tall as you want.
  • Cover the top of the cake with a thick layer of chocolate mousse. If you want, you can also cover the sides… I like a rustic looking cake, so I leave the sides bare.
  • Sprinkle the candied pecans over the top of the cake in whatever quantity makes you happy.
  • Place in the refrigerator to set for at least one hour.
  • CUT AND DIG ON IN!

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

11..., Lifestyle

11… Things I’m Going to Do in 2020 for the Blog

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Doing what I have to in order to get the picture in Des Moines. | Camera | Flannel | Sweater | Jeans | Scarf | Boots | Purse | Hat

I’m not much for resolutions or goals, but these aren’t resolutions. These are small things I’m going to do this year because I’m going to need a reminder of the things I thought about doing at one point when I’m bored and can’t remember what I want to do. These are all blog focused because I have loads of ideas, and then I forget about those ideas the moment I sit down to write anything at all. 

  1. Make a point to see more murals in Houston.
  2. Try new restaurants.
  3. Take better and more unique pictures.
  4. Be better about sticking to the schedule I set for myself.
  5. Create a list of my favorite coffee shops in Houston.
  6. Write about the things that are important to me.
  7. Go on more Blips for Trips (short, drivable day trips) in my spare time.
  8. Learn how to create a mailing list.
  9. Write about the Iowa Law Library. (finally) 
  10. See more of Texas. 
  11. Support as many wonderful women as I can. 

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Lifestyle

Eight Years

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Alex and I rarely take cute pictures, they are usually goofy. | My Sweater (backless!) | My Jeans | My Socks | My Boots | My Watch | Alex’s Sweater (I picked it out) | Alex’s Jeans (these too) 

To the rest of the world, today is New Year’s Eve. Up until eight years ago, it was just New Year’s for me too.

My most influential person came into my life eight years and a few hours ago. His name is Alex. He’s made appearances here and there on my blog. He’s been a big part of my travels this year. He helped make 2018 brilliant.

I can’t really describe Alex to you in any way other than he is an amazing person. People love him or hate him. There is no in between. I don’t know why people hate him except he is an intense kind of man in all the best ways. So there is probably something wrong with the haters.

There are people who come into our lives and change everything. Alex is that person to me. I am who I am because of him. He has become such a part of my story it is impossible to tell it without him. He is written on my soul.

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We are always laughing together. Seriously. It’s obnoxious… To other people, I imagine.

On New Year’s Eve of 2010, Alex came into my life, and he never left. We were in college together. He was a senior; I was a freshman. We had almost no reason to meet. Due to fate and a heart condition, he’s stuck with me. We were in choir together. When our director rearranged the seating arrangement, he ended up sitting in front of me. Very few people know this about him anymore: he has a beautiful singing voice. Long story short. Out of sheer optimism or naiveté or stupidity, I invited this dude, who I’d never had an in-person conversation with, to my house for New Year’s. He hugged my dad before we’d ever touched. It was ballsy. It worked out.

In the last eight years, Alex and I have been through more than I could ever write about. We walked to hell and back holding hands a few times over. It wasn’t easy. Actually, it’s been the hardest eight years of my life. Because of him, they have been the best eight years of my life. He is just shy of sainthood. Flawed as he is, he has always put me first. I have severe PTSD. I’ve been through sexual assaults and domestic violence. I have been in abusive relationships. I have been insecure. I have been broken. I have been bruised literally and in a non-physical sense of things. I have seen some pretty horrific things. Through my darkest days, Alex has always been there. He has never left. He has never made me feel less than. He has made me laugh through my tears. He has held my hand when there were no words to be said. When I have been unable or unwilling to pick up the pieces of my soul, he has put them back together. He helped make me whole, when I had never known what that felt like.

Alex went into the Marines over five years ago. We spent three years living together before he enlisted. In five years, we have spent one Christmas and one birthday together. He deployed twice. Two weeks ago, he left on his third deployment. He’s on a boat somewhere in the world. I don’t know where. Late on Christmas Day, I was lucky enough to get a phone call from him. We exchange emails whenever he has internet. I don’t know when he’ll be home. It will be eight months or more. It’s hard. I miss him. I miss hearing his voice. I miss getting to visit him. This isn’t new. We’ve gone over a year without seeing or talking to each other by phone in the past. It’s part of life in the military and loving someone in the military. Many other women, men, and families go through the same thing. Worry is part of our lives.

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Just doing normal people stuff in a field in 12 degree weather. Like normal people.

Alex and I have been a part of each other’s lives for eight years. They have been beautiful and stressful and all the feelings in between. Life has been hard on us. A lot of things were out of our control, some that weren’t, and some that seemed like they were. I wish many things had gone differently in our combined lives and our lives before each other. Then again, I don’t. I wouldn’t change him or I or what we have for anything in the world.

I can’t tell you who I am without talking about Alex. He has been an integral part of my life. Some people don’t just influence who we are, they form who we are. He has pushed me to be better. He has questioned my opinions and thoughts. He has held me when I’ve cried. He always challenges me to be the best version of myself. I don’t think I’m as good for him as he is for me, but I’m not going to tell him that any time soon.

It’s been eight years. I hope to have about a gazillion more, but I’ll settle for another seventy. I think I can make it to 97. Any day after that will be a blessing I think.

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“Can we just take a normal picture???” I ask. He responds “No.”