{"id":151925,"date":"2013-07-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gracious-khorana.45-76-20-142.plesk.page\/brown-butter-waffle-cake-with-sorghum-meringue-buttercream\/"},"modified":"2023-06-26T17:13:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T17:13:41","slug":"brown-butter-waffle-cake-with-sorghum-meringue-buttercream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/localmilkblog.com\/2013\/07\/brown-butter-waffle-cake-with-sorghum-meringue-buttercream.html","title":{"rendered":"Brown Butter Waffle Cake with Sorghum Meringue Buttercream"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Brown<\/a><\/p>\n

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This is my belated birthday cake, shot both light and dark, apropos of my 30 years. My birthday was this past Tuesday, and I always imagined it would be an event<\/i>. It wasn\u2019t, and I didn\u2019t want it to be. I worked all day, cried hysterically at one point (birthday\u2019s are weird like that, I think), and had a wonderful supper with my family at St. John\u2019s (which is where I always go & is still the only place I know of in Chattanooga to get a proper piece of foie gras or something like panna cotta with borage in it\u2026).<\/div>\n
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I didn\u2019t cry because I was freaked out to be turning 30, it should be noted. I cried because I\u2019m sensitive and in the habit of crying a lot (which if you\u2019ve watched me on Masterchef you may have noticed). I\u2019m cool with that. Quite the contrary, I\u2019m elated to be in my 30\u2019s and have been looking forward to it for two years now. My twenties were a horror show save these past two sweet years.<\/div>\n
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I associate the past decade with wild self-obsession and a frivolous pursuit of identity through a pair of unbecoming glasses & owning The Wipers on vinyl. I was like that, I admit. While I still love my records & a fine pair of slacks, I <\/i>am neither a constellation of dusty records nor my accoutrements nor the sum total of men in slim cut pants that want to make out with me in some dive bar besotted on PBR.<\/div>\n

So, you can imagine how terribly\u00a0excited I am for the next decade of my life, far removed from all that nonsense. Though not without it\u2019s bouts (frequent bouts?) of hysterical tears, I have a life I love. Purpose. A career I\u2019m passionate about. A cozy home (that I hope to share corners of with you soon\u2026as I\u2019ve been doing much nesting lately!). And above all, a partner. A real partner<\/i> that I love through thick & thin and probably the only man equipped to love the likes of me. I\u2019m not all waffle cakes, people. But I do make, apparently, one mean ol\u2019 waffle cake.<\/p>\n

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\"Brown<\/span><\/a>\"Brown<\/a><\/p>\n

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I was thinking about these brown butter, buttermilk, and maple waffles I came up with a while back. And then I was wondering Why aren\u2019t there more waffle cakes?! <\/i>I couldn\u2019t really understand it. In this Pinterest age of crafty mom\u2019s & food bloggers such as myself galore\u2026 you\u2019d think there\u2019d be waaaay more waffle cakes. So. I\u2019m hoping to help y\u2019all out with that. & get a waffle cake fever going. Because this cake. It is rad<\/i>. And aren\u2019t brunch themed weddings a thing now? Well, they should be a thing. And this should be the cake for that thing. Waffle wedding cake? Or just breakfast of champions? Do what you want!<\/div>\n
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I was going to make maple syrup swiss buttercream, but I didn\u2019t have enough maple syrup to go \u2019round the waffles & icing. So. I was all Sorghum! My best friend! Thank the lord I\u2019m out of syrup!\u00a0<\/i>And then I felt proud and puffy, even if the idea was of necessity. Mother of invention, y\u2019all. My fetish for Southern ingredients is no secret. I\u2019m not in the closet about it. And besides Sequatchie Cove sorghum is unreal. It comes in a mason jar with a handwritten\u00a0label, and it\u2019s thicker and tangier than anything I\u2019ve ever found at a store. It\u2019s like candy straight out of the jar. Dip some figs in it sometime if you have the chance. Or your finger. That\u2019s good too. Just don\u2019t eat the finger. Sometimes I bite my fingers, like really bite them hard when I\u2019m eating & really hungry. Then I feel shame faced. Like a little ravenous animal.<\/div>\n
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I digress.<\/p>\n

\"Brown<\/a>\"Brown<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I\u2019ve always found American buttercream to be, eh, underwhelming. But I foresee\u00a0a whole, whole lot of meringue buttercream in my future. The reason it appeals to me so very much is a) superior texture and b) because I can pour a boiling 2\/3 cup of whatever flavored syrup I want into it, and I\u2019m obsessed with what I like to call \u201cblank slate\u201d recipes. Recipes that are basically canvases on which you can paint with whatever flavors you come up with. This meringue buttercream is one of those. It\u2019s actually kind of similar to making marshmallows, in my experience.<\/div>\n
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One more brief thing before I give you the goods. I said I was going to talk about Masterchef, that little thing I was up to all winter during my conspicuous absence from this space. So I\u2019ll say this: yep, I did that thing, and I\u2019m quite proud of myself for somehow managing to get that far! It was exceptionally hard, and when the time came for me to go home I was standing up there praying. Not praying that they let me stay. Praying that they send me home. I couldn\u2019t have stood being there another day. My inspiration for cooking comes from family, a land, a place, a time. A table. Real life. I don\u2019t rush, and I\u2019ve never wanted to be a chef on the line. I like to take my time, enjoy company, slow cook, experiment. I\u2019m a recipe developer, not a restaurant chef. And thank God for the latter, because I don\u2019t want to do what they do. But I like eating what they do! I plan to write books full of beautiful recipes to share with you all, not open a restaurant.<\/div>\n
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\"Brown<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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But the competition wasn\u2019t the hard part, the competition wasn\u2019t why I was praying to go home. Everything that you go through off camera, that\u2019s the hard part. The competition part is a little farcical, a theatrical joke (albeit a very, very<\/i> stressful joke). But isolation and exhaustion are very real. I\u2019m a better cook for having been on Masterchef, that\u2019s certain. But most of my experience there seemed to have little to do with cooking even when we were cooking. I remember kind of thinking it was silly when Stacey (a contestant from the season before me) said that she woke up everyday and told herself she was a warrior. I was all\u00a0It\u2019s a cooking show! Warrior\u2026hahahah! <\/i>But now I understand. Boy, do I ever understand. It\u2019s a psychological wringer, guys. You have no idea.<\/div>\n
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I\u2019m grateful for having done the show, my personal opinions of it notwithstanding. Every opportunity is what you make it, and it was a huge opportunity. But I\u2019m also so glad it\u2019s all over. Because when people say \u201cWell, it\u2019s TV\u201d you know what they mean, and it isn\u2019t really good. \u201cIt\u2019s TV\u201d is a euphemism for being sensational to generate ratings. And I\u2019m glad my part with all of that is over. I\u2019m not against television at large, and as a matter of fact I have secret (ok, not so secret) aspiration to be the female Anthony Bourdain. But turns out I like being on network reality television about as much as I like watching it. Which is not very much at all. Also, the \u201cfresh over\u201d thing? Please. Just, please.<\/div>\n
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Lastly for those of you watching the show that keep<\/i> googling things like \u201cbeth kirby drugs\u201d due to the editing non-sequitur in my final episode where I mention \u201cgetting clean\u201d\u2026 yeah. Yep. Yes. Did \u2019em. Lots. It was a problem. Big one. Quit two years ago! Life good now. Much better, kthx\u2026.Now I have a life filled with things like waffle cake! So kids, remember: Don\u2019t do drugs. Bake cakes instead. Trust me on this one. Trust me.<\/div>\n
For more on that, this post<\/a> might be illuminating.<\/div>\n
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\"Brown<\/a><\/div>\n

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