happy sunday...

monday {menu}

Peach Ricotta Layer Cake

With...

Browned Butter Buttercream

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3 large eggs 
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

BOURBON PEACH JAM

• 6 cups fresh or frozen peaches
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1/3 cup raspberry jam

BROWN BUTTER BUTTERCREAM

• 3 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.

   2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer) beat together the canola oil, ricotta, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and buttermilk. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix until just combined.

   3. Pour the batter among the cake pans and bake 30-35 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before assembling.

   4. To make the jam. Add the peaches and brown sugar to a medium size pot set over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, once boiling use a potato masher or fork to break down and mash the peaches. Continue to cook for 5-8 minutes or until the jam has reduced and thickened by 1/3. Stir in the bourbon during the last minute of cooking. Remove from the heat and let cool. Should thicken as it cools.

   5. To make the buttercream. Add 2 sticks butter to a skillet set over medium heat. Allow the butterlkix to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Stir often. Remove from the heat and transfer the butter to the mixing bowl, let cool until it's room temp. 

   6. Add the remaining stick of butter, mascapone, and powdered sugar and beat the butter and powdered sugar together until the butter is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.

   7. To assemble. Using a large serrated knife, carefully cut each cake in half horizontally. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread 1/4 of the buttercream over the cake and layer with about 1/4 cup of peach jam and 2 tablespoons raspberry jam. Repeat with the remaining 3 cake layers. Be careful not to overfill your layers or the cake will be hard to slice. Frost the outside of the cake. Chill 30 minutes. Serve, or store in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. 
2. 

    

happy sunday...

shop {tuesday}

s e c o n d item up... 

DECORATIVE RECTANGULAR BOX

Aprox. 1" H x 7" L x 4" W

$ 29.00 {+tax & ship}


:: e-mail me at, info@rusticrooster.com if interest to purchase ::

AN IMPORTANT SHIPPING FYI 

Please be mindful that you may experience slight shipping delays. Thank you for your understanding.

shop {monday} - sold

An item a day {to sell} keeps everyone sane and H A P P Y! 

Its a win win in my books!  

F I R S T  ITEM UP... {sold}

 *S O L D*

BURLWOOD BOX

 Approx. : 1 1/2" H x 4" W x 4" L

$26.00 {+ tax & ship}

:: e-mail me at, info@rusticrooster.com if interest to purchase... ::

happy sunday...

happy thoughts {shop}

Wrap it all up...

I'll take the clothes {J.Crew Factory}... The saying {happy happy happy}... And the pretty peonies {so refreshing}! Ah man I'm a sucker for a little pretty in pink right now. All my thoughts are going to be positive thoughts from this day forward! Who's with me?

baking goodness

I know we're all trying to do our best in these trying times. As I sit & write this semi boring blog post {wink}... I'm in my PJ's looking at my hands. WOW they look so bad... Red and rashy and they hurt! Ughhh I know I'm not alone. But we will all survive...   

Enough about my hands... I wanted to just let you all know I've yelled at my kids a few times, I've done a million loads of laundry, had mini panic attacks that this is the new norm... Then I've come to my senses and realized I just need to bake good things and calm down! Thank Goodness for pinterest, because I found the most amazing chocolate chip pumpkin blondies to make. Best of all, I have had 2 big cans of pumpkin puree in my pantry... Hmmmm maybe 2+ years now. Its all good... A little expiration won't hurt anyone. They're amazing! So if you have some old pumpkin puree laying around go do it... Make this baking goodness. They won't disappoint! My hips on the other hand aren't too happy with me... HAHA But life is definitely about a happy balance.

directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a piece of parchment paper. Place parchment paper in a 9×13″ baking dish and set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer and then add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Then mix in the egg, pumpkin puree and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and then pour into the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake pumpkin blondies for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean. Allow pumpkin chocolate chip bars to cool for 20 minutes in pan and then remove from pan. Cut into bars and enjoy!

INGREDIENT: 

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 Tablespoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

happy st. patrick's day

I'm so envious for this little girls room. She wants something new & all grown up... But, she wants nothing to do with the color pink! Absolutely Nothing!  Stripes, checks, textures and prints are only on the radar. Well, I think I achieved just that and I'm so G R E E N with envy! 

Happy 

Saint Patrick's Day 

everyone!

shop... rustic rooster

VINTAGE

Whale Cutting Board

$36.00

{+ tax and ship or local pick up for FREE}

e-mail me {alexandra@rusticrooster.com} 

if interested in this product. 

shop... rustic rooster

 SOLID BRASS

Scallop Door Knocker

$ 62.00

 A024.20

{+ tax & ship or local pick up for free} 

Approx... 5" Wide x 5"High

e-mail me {alexandra@rusticrooster.com} 

if interested in this product. 

introducing {h e l l o}

h e l l o...   Miss Molly Malone

 

For those of you who don't know... I was blessed with lovely allergies to cats, dogs, horses, guinea pigs and bunnies... Actually I'm pretty much blessed with every outdoor allergy known to man kind. Yup... Dust too! You think it, I just might sneeze it. I think I've pretty much made Claritin and Sudafed rich with my little problem. lol If someone told me to drink a milkshake and stand on your head I would have done just that to get rid of my allergies. So when I tell you this... You might definitely think I've lost  my marbles. I grew up with 3 dogs, 2 cats, bunnies... and yes mice.  They were all outdoor animals and I loved them all!

It was hard growing up with them because all I wanted to do was play with each and every one of them. Unfortunately, my kind of playing was a little more touch and go and lets run outside in the grass... Just don't get too close. But we did play and have fun! My dogs knew they couldn't roam the house at all and my cats just chilled outside. No one made it a big deal that they were outside animals. Truth they really loved it!  Every morning my cats left us presents on the back porch... Dead birds, tailless lizards to even yummy fur ball throw up. So sweet! I'm sorry but, who doesn't want that every day!  So when I had kids I had this dream that we would get a dog and it would be outside and do all the same things my dogs did... Play and be dogs! Well, I never got them a dog... Until now! I saw this lady walking a golden doodle and fell in love! I asked her a million questions, got her number and then scheduled a play date. Had to see if I was going to react to this breed. Nope so far so good, I was in the clear!

After discussing all this heavily with my mom I new we needed to go forward with getting a dog from this breeder. Not going to lie I was still very hesitant because I like a clean house, I don't like dogs in bedrooms or on furniture at all {still don't}... Plus, I get up and go all the time. So this was a huge decision to make. Bottom line I was scared. I knew I needed to just do it and not look back. My kids will love it and in the later years my mom will have a companion as well. So everyone was winning. We did it!

For all of you on the fence, go look at   Sunnyside Goldens {here} Oh My Gosh! The most adorable family, breeder, dogs... Everything! I could sit and tell you a million horror stories of breeders that I went to and No Joke called my brother to let him know where we were and if we die he knows where to get us. So bad and beyond gross! Not knowing the dog world I thought all breeders must be just weird and super dirty... Then I saw Larisa's website. Her  style, taste, family and presentation of these puppies are absolutely fabulous! Maybe its the interior designer in me, but she's nailed this part of the business. Then to add to her cute business her instagram is i n s a n e l y amazing. Go  follow here at @sunnysidegoldens {here} Everyday you follow her to pick out your dog and then you watch them grow. We were in love. So if you want a Golden Doodle or a Burmese Doodle or a Golden Retrever go get one from her. 

Our little Molly is so socialized, fun, sweet, semi potty trained and even semi crate trained. In a packet Larisa gives you when you get the dog she has everything explained {to a T}... To even introduce the dog to 50+ people a week. Well, Miss Molly is getting so much attention and loves it. The only thing she wants to do that she can't do just yet is go in bushes, dirt and play with other dogs. Soon she will! I'll Keep you posted on our new little family member, Miss Molly Malone!

happy sunday...

write this down

 

happy sunday...

monday {menu}

{cookie recipe from... here}

L O V E Cookies

Ingredient... 

- 1 box of cake mix {Duncan Hines Devil's Food}

- 1/2 cup {1 stick} unsalted butter

- 2 eggs

- 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp. of flour

- 1-2 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring {optional}

Instructions...

Add all ingredients to a bowl & mix well. Use a cookie scoop to drop evenly sized portions of dough onto un-greased cookie sheets & bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the sheet for at least ten minutes. Makes 2.5 dozen