vrolijk kerst.

This is the result of Dylan getting overheated while wrestling Cole and then half-taking off his pants and trying to run away from his grandmother and taking a bit of a spill. Pantlessly. Jesus would be proud.

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I'm so overloaded with pictures and information right now that I won't be able to do any of these subjects any justice, I'm sure. So, choosing my battles wisely, I'll just highlight the most successful bit of cooking that we've done over the past few days: the Imitation Entenmann's Orange Donut Cake.

When I was little, my dad and I used to love these Orange Donuts made by the then-ubiquitous Entenmann's company. They weren't remotely orange in color, only in flavor: a cakey donut with a sweet drizzle of orange-flavored glaze.

Like so many foods of yesteryear, these donuts are long gone, ditched in favor of sexier product line additions like Glazed Chocolate Pop'ems. So Pitts and I set out to recreate the orange donut of my youth, albeit in a non-donut form factor. This is really good, and very close to what we were looking for, the cake itself is based on a recipe from a very old issue of Southern Living, the icing is a modified donut glaze.

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glazed orange pound cake.

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1 1/2 cups butter, softened

3 cups sugar

5 eggs

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp milk

1/4 cup orange juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

2 tbsp minced orange zest

1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp orange juice

Cream butter. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk and orange juice, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until blended after each addition. Stir in flavorings and orange rind.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 325F for 1 hour 25 min or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Icing instructions to follow.

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