Welcome to Century Farmhouse®!

A Holiday Cake, Just in Time!

Since it is not yet 2012 where I live (it's presently 9:53 PM), I can still say that we're celebrating the Holidays, and not a moment too soon!  We had a memorable Christmas celebration this year, no thanks to our oven, which exploded - yes, it really did - just a week before December 25.  The fireworks which accompanied that debacle were not exactly what we were thinking of when we spoke of celebrating with family and friends.

In true make-do farm-girl style, we had a fabulous picnic supper on Christmas Eve, complete with English crackers and fine china!  No one complained; in fact, it was rather fun and we might do it again next year.  Just without the oven disaster, thank you very much.

So, no baking this Christmas: no cookies, no Christmas stollen, no roasted turkey, and no homemade dinner rolls.  While some folks might be glad of the break, baking withdrawal was setting in at our house.  I dreamed of roasted maple-glazed butternut squash with sage, and pumpkin cake with whiskey vanilla cream, old-fashioned gingerbread men, and eggnog stollen with brandied fruit.  So I did the only thing I could think of and called my mother. 

I am very lucky that Mom lives right next door.  I am also lucky that she has an oven that works, and that she is very willing to let me use it - especially if the goodies are shared.  Several days ago I gave in to the urge to bake and tonight we celebrated the new year with old friends - and cake.  The oven?  We'll be getting a new one next week.  Finally.




Pumpkin Spice Cake with Brandied Fruit

This deceptively decadent cake gets its moistness and delicious sweetness from roasted pumpkin and brandied dried fruit.  It is an adaptation of a Pumpkin Spice Cake recipe that first appeared in Country Home Magazine several years ago. 

Prep: 45 minutes   Bake: 1 hour    Oven: 350°F

2 cups dried fruit - any combination of dried cherries, raisins, golden raisins, currants, figs, cranberries, etc.
Brandy - enough to just cover the fruit in a small saucepan - about 1 1/2 cups
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract (homemade whiskey vanilla is best - see recipe below)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. apple pie spice (or 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 3/4 tsp. ground ginger, 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp. ground cloves)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups pureed, roasted pumpkin or 1 15-oz. can pumpkin

1 recipe Whiskey-Vanilla Cream (below)

1 recipe dark chocolate sauce (below)

1. In a small saucepan, place dried fruit and cover with brandy.  Warm the mixture over low heat until hot but not boiling.  Remove from heat and allow to cool; let sit for several hours or overnight to plump the fruit.  Drain, reserving brandy and fruit separately; set aside.



2. Grease and flour a 10-inch fluted-tube pan; set aside.  In a large mixing bowl beat butter until softened. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and 1/4 cup reserved brandy and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add flour mixture and pumpkin alternately to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until combined. Stir in dried fruit.

3. Turn batter into prepared pan. Bake about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on rack. Wrap and store overnight to blend flavors. Slice and serve with Whiskey-Vanilla Cream and Dark Chocolate Sauce. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg or grated, high-quality dark chocolate, if you wish.  Makes 12 - 16 servings.

 

Whiskey-Vanilla Cream

1 pint whipping cream - pasteurized, but not ultra-pasteurized (it tastes fresher!)

2 T. bourbon vanilla

Chill medium bowl and whisk for about 20 minutes in refrigerator or freezer.  Pour cream into the bowl and whisk until frothy.  Add the vanilla and whisk until loosely stiffened.  Do not over-beat.  Chill until used.

 

Dark Chocolate Sauce

In a medium-sized saucepan, whisk together 1 cup good-quality dark unsweetened cocoa powder, 3/4c. turbinado sugar, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.  Add just enough water to moisten, then add about 1 1/2 cups cream or half & half.  Over medium heat, cook (whisking continuously) until the mixture becomes a slightly thick, fudgy sauce.  The sauce will thicken as it cools.  This sauce can be made several days in advance and refrigerated; bring to room temperature to serve.  Drizzle over cream and cake. 

Bourbon Vanilla Extract

1 good-quality vanilla bean

1 pint bourbon

Split the bean lengthwise, scrape out seeds, add the bean and seeds to the bourbon in a glass jar or in the bottle if it is glass.  Shake vigorously.  Shake once per day to mix for about three weeks.  Use as you would regular vanilla.  This vanilla can be stored in any glass container.  The bourbon can be refreshed several times without changing the bean.  When the bean is exchanged for a fresh one, the old one can be used to flavor liquid for vanilla ice cream, pudding, etc., before discarding.   Also, any alcohol such as vodka, whiskey, brandy, etc. can be used, which produces varying flavors of vanilla extract.  The alcohol content of this extract is the same as the vanilla extract available in stores.

Soap Deluxe - A business waiting to be created

Welcome to our first Guest Author, Philip Woolley of Manchester, England!  Philip writes about starting his soap business, Soap Deluxe, after loss of employment more than a year ago.  I hope you enjoy his story and take the time to visit his website to see his very inventive soap creations!

 

What do you do when you are 55 years old, been made redundant and the prospect of finding work getting slimmer and slimmer by the week?  Simple, you make soap of course.

Let me explain how it all came about.

Being made redundant from one of the many jobs I have had over my 40 odd years of working didn't seem too bad at first. I had free time on my hands, didn't have to rush off to meetings or answer the phone from staff who just couldn't think for themselves, life seemed great. But after many months of what started out as bliss, it very soon became clear that I had to find a job. There was little prospect of me getting something that I really wanted even at just the tender age of 55, but was I too old for the job market and what did I really want to do with the rest of my working life?

A chance watching of a television program changed everything.

It brought that spark back into my life, a reason to get up in the morning, something I would have to think about and use my artistic skills and business management experience to create. To make a product, a thing of beauty, a thing of luxury.

The idea of Soap Deluxe was born.

I spent months watching videos and buying every book that I could get my hands on to learn how to make soap. What was I going to make? What style would this soap be? Where would I get all my supplies from? Was there anyone else doing it other than the few I saw on the internet?  It soon became apparent that this was going to need an awful lot of research and development and was not going to be easy and make me rich quick.

As a professional event organisor and planner and being very methodical, it shouldn't be that difficult, surely! With a portfolio of events that include all sorts of occasions from small 30th birthday murder mystery events, dance events for 1500 people running over a whole weekend, to working on one of the most successful Commonwealth Games events in Manchester, I knew what had to be done so I set to work on my new project.  A recent event was to create soap favours for a friends' wedding (250 people) but I ended up organising the whole wedding breakfast room for the couple, gaining praise from the venue's operations director and tears of joy from the bride.

 

 

I would make handmade luxury soap using the traditional cold process method and create soap that was as natural as it could be, not tested on animals, not containing chemicals, but a thing of simplicity and luxury.

For about six weeks I worked at my new job, reading, watching, and researching through many midnight hours looking for answers. How much oil, what sort of oil, what ratio do I use, where can I find lavender flowers?  Lavender flowers?  There was no one to ask how to do it and  if I approached someone making and selling soap they would see me as competition and tell me nothing. My background in business had taught me that you never tell the competition your secrets.

After about a week I found a supplier who was prepared to help me and supply my raw materials. They had helped the Body Shop and Lush to get going so that was good enough for me. Perhaps in a few years I would become the next Lush or body shop? Little did I know that it was going to be a long road to even get anyone to buy my soap, never mind take over the soap world overnight!

The research was over; if I was going to do this I had to get on with making some soap. I had been putting it off for days just in case I failed and everything would come crashing down on top of me.

The morning of Monday the 8th February 2010 arrived and I set about making my very first batch of cold process soap.

I had the raw materials, I had my essential oils, I even had the lavender flowers and I also had so many layers of old clothes on and gloves and googles so that I wouldn't get burnt with the lye that I could hardly move around the kitchen. I can laugh now and wish I had taken a photograph of how I had prepared for this moment. I must have looked very comical but I made a start and produced my first batch of soap (three bars)!

I was very excited but also very nervous, and everything (and I do mean everything that you read in the troubleshooting section of books) went wrong.

Was my new fledgling business going to fall at the first batch? I used a mould that wasn't lined, I waited too long for trace as I had no idea what I was looking for and ended up scooping it into the plastic box used for my mould. It was so set the following day that I had to cut my soap out of my makeshift mould.

You see I was so nervous so as not to spill the mix and burn a hole in the counter top or worse still in me, that it's a wonder I managed to get it in the mould and make soap at all.

The finished soap (and I still have one bar of that first batch left as a constant reminder) was lovely. Didn't look that great but it smelt like I wanted it to and so it sat in the airing cupboard on a rack for 4 weeks. Every day I would have a peek in to see what it was doing.

When I used it I just fell in love with it, this wonderful business that had rescued me from doing nothing to doing something, was where I wanted to be. I had found what I was looking for.

Shortly after my first batch I met Ann Marie from Century Farmhouse Handcrafted Soaps and we started chatting. As I continued making and learning, I asked her everything, well she did offer, from moulds to ash on soaps and should I do this or should I do that, it was like having a partner in my business (I call it a business as that is what it is) who I could turn to for help when things went wrong. To say she was a life saver is not even coming near to the help Ann Marie gave me when I first started.

Since that first batch and gaining more and more confidence I went on to use colours and got all "arty" and then got into blending my own essential oils and so it continued. Others have helped along the way like Karen from Eden Secrets in the UK and Sharon from Platypus Dreams in Australia and we have become good friends.

Have I started making lots of money?  No! I am however creating my own style and brand and slowly after almost 2 years, making a difference. The "look"of the business has gone through about three changes from that very first idea and the making of "batch one" on 8th February 2010.

Am I happy?  Absolutely, because I can now have an idea with a colour or a shape in mind and suddenly want to transform that idea into soap. It may not always turn out like I had hoped, but I know what's gone into it and how good it will be on the skin when used.

With no chemicals, just high quality butters and oils that have been carefully blended and mixed together by me, I know that my soap will give the user a beautiful, luxurious experience. It also puts a smile on my face when others comment on how good it is.

Do I have a favorite creation? My latest Christmas soaps are beautiful blends and I think stunning looking but if I had to pick one design that is my most creative achievement it has to be my Vampires and Virgins soap. A creation that when it was made I couldn't stop looking at and that filled me with pride that it had been an idea that I transformed into such an object of beauty.

A pure white soap with red and black colours "hidden" inside which only show themselves when the bar is used. The same colours were repeated on the top of the bar with delicate and almost romantic swirls intertwinging both the red and black against the white background. Tiny dark red rose buds finish the design off. This one certainly brought some wonderful comments about its' artistry. Sadly all gone and not being repeated, as I only make small batches and when they are gone, they are gone.

 

And the future for Soap Deluxe… Well, lots and lots of ideas are being worked on and Soap Deluxe as a brand is growing from strength to strength. When will we hit the big bucks, I can't answer but there is one thing I do know and can be absolutely sure of.  I am perhaps the happiest at work now making my soaps than I have ever been in the last 40 years of working. I had some great jobs in the past that paid big money but none gave me the satisfaction that making soap does.

A word of caution however to those who think they can get rich quick and can ride off the back of the business. You can't! If you are serious about doing this as I and many others are, then do the research yourself and "play" a while to get the feel. Speak to people like Ann Marie and others if you need help.

This was and is the best career choice I have ever made and I can't thank enough those who have helped and supported me and who continue to do so. It means a lot. Thank you.

All my soaps can be seen and purchased on the website at:- www.soap-deluxe.co.uk

 

One of a Kind: Unique and Fun

Whew! 

That was quite a weekend!  The One of a Kind Show - Chicago was amazing - so amazingly busy that we didn't get to see it.  What could be better?  Every once in a while I schedule too many events on a weekend, and I wonder, "Can there ever be too many events?"  I also wonder "What was I thinking???!?"  This past weekend involved keeping our studio open for Christmas shoppers in West Bend, selling soap in the atmospheric Cedar Creek Winery in Cedarburg, WI at the Christmas in the Country boutique, and selling soap at One of a Kind Show - Chicago at the Merchandise Mart downtown.  Needless to say, the soap sold out in Cedarburg and had to be replenished with inventory from the studio, and we sold out of 6 different kinds in Chicago.  Our new booth space had beautiful natural light under the atrium skylights, and was right in the center of the action at booth 7040, which of course meant that we had lots of traffic and sold lots of soap.  A nap sounds nice...or maybe two...  

  Welcome to Century Farmhouse - Chicago

Until now, we've set up our booths with fussy table coverings and buckets, boxes, frames, and gewgaws.  In Chicago we debuted our new look...although there are a few changes we'll make to upgrade it in the future.  Remember that lovely green cupboard we dragged home in April?  It received a lot of rave comments in Chicago.   The shelves have a story to tell, too.  My grandmother's store was home to the shelves at one time; did you know that if you scrub them with hot water you can still smell fruit?  We love the look of the grey shelving along the white wall.  The cleaner, sleeker design still looks "old farmhouse," but has the sophistication of a farmhouse in the city. 

Do you like the new store counter?  It has a story to tell too!

The highlights of the event were the many customers who stopped in to say "hello."  It was so good to see all of you and to get reacquainted!  

It was also not the first time that we've been at Christmas in the Country in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.  Mary Quisno and Luella Doss put together a beautiful show featuring over 50 emerging and established artists; and this show has had the same ticket price of $3.00 for more than 35 years!  In times like these, how exciting is that??  The soaps flew quickly in Cedarburg too, so now it is back to soap making for the rest of December!  If a soap you'd like to give as a gift is backordered, we'll have a certificate available for you  so that the recipient has something to open up; and then the anticipation begins!

I'd like to thank the team of wonderful women who helped get us out the door to two venues, and who worked tirelessly to display and sell our soaps last week.  Thanks to Vicky, Judy, & Jo who worked to get everything packed.  Thank you Vicky, for cleaning and organizing and running the studio while we were away.  Thanks to Judy for setting everything up in Cedarburg, and for being on call as backup for questions.  Thanks to Catherine for setting up and working in Cedarburg, and to Becky and Susan for their help in Cedarburg as well.  And thanks to Jo for her enthusiastic spirit and selling ability in Chicago.  You'll get to see their smiles at future events and in the studio from time to time!