Tuesday's with Dorie July Catch-up!

Well, all I can say is that my free time seemed to disappear over the summer...  I did a lot of baking, but never managed to set aside the time to edit photos and post to the blog.  Summer is a busy time with two kids!  Better late than never, though! 

The first recipe in July is the White Chocolate Patty Cake from Baking with Julia.  What appears to be a simple white cake, above, is actually a rich, velvety cake made of white chocolate and lots of eggs.  It was fluffy and velvety and scrumptious.  I am not generally someone who jumps for joy for white chocolate, but it really made this cake something special!  The cakes themselves collapse a bit when taken out of the oven, but that's totally fine.  You sort of smoosh the cakes together anyway!  There is a layer of "raspberry crush" in between the layers, and also some on top of the cake (that's the red sauce you see).  It was supposed to be made with frozen raspberries in a light syrup, but my raspberries were simply frozen - no syrup involved.  That worked fine with me though, as it was not too tart by any means.  Plus, the cake itself is sweet (all that white chocolate!) so the contrast between the sweet cake and the tart sauce was perfect!  Once the sauce is spread over the bottom layer, the top layer is placed and then the edges are smooshed together.  Then more sauce is put on top, with fresh raspberries.  This is a delicious summer treat!  It looks and tastes like you worked really hard, and it is actually quite simple!  Try it!  You can find the recipe here! 

Ready for some more raspberries?  I am!  Truly, when raspberries start showing up in the grocery store, I am thrilled.  My kids love them (call them "finger berries") and I could easily eat an entire tray (no matter the size!) in a sitting.  If you are a Costco member, go there for your summer raspberry fix.  They are AWESOME and like everything at Costco, comes in a bigger container than in the grocery store, for about the same price!  Win! 

This particular recipe is from Baking Chez Moi, and is the Apricot Raspberry Tart.  You can find the recipe on page 145.  This recipe was supposed to have a layer of stale cake crumbs or brioche between the sweet tart and the fruit layer, to absorb the juices.  OR, Dorie suggests that you create an Apricot-Almond Cream Tart and spread a layer of almond cream over the bottom of the tart.  Yeah, HELLO?  I'll take that option, thank you very much!  But I didn't see the purpose of losing the raspberries in the process (Dorie leaves them out in this version) so I used them anyway.  Are you with me here?  Sweet tart dough, almond cream, apricots, raspberries, and pistachios on top.  NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS!  Delicious.  This is totally my kind of dessert.  I tend to lean towards the fruity pie-ish type desserts and this baby is right up my alley! 

Finally, in July we made Vanilla-Mango Panna Cotta.  This recipe is also from Baking Chez Moi and can be found on pages 370-372.  This I made at my parents house, where the kids and I went to help my mom after a minor surgery.  Surely delicious food and love from grandkids helped her heal well!  I like to think so, anyway!  This is another recipe that looks like a million bucks but is actually fairly simple to make!  If you've never made a panna cotta, you really need to give it a try.  It takes minimal time to prep and can (in fact has to) be made in advance, so at the right time you just have to get it out of the refrigerator and BAM an amazing dessert is served! 

The panna cotta sits on a puree of mango and lime.  You could also add honey to the mix, but my mangoes were sweet so I didn't add any.  The puree goes on the bottom and into the refrigerator.  Then you make the panna cotta, which is made by infusing vanilla bean into heavy cream and milk, then adding bloomed gelatin.  Pour this on top of the cold puree, refrigerate at least 2 hours, and there you have a beautiful dessert!  If you don't care for mango, you could use a different fruit puree or use NO fruit puree, set the panna cotta in a lightly oiled mold, and then pop them gently out to serve on a plate with berries or some sort of syrup.  Panna cotta is super versatile!

Oh, and I can't believe I took this picture.  I probably couldn't do it again if I tried but I love how it turned out!  I'll take my successes where I can!

There you go for a July catch up...  There is still one recipe that I haven't gotten around to making yet, but I'll get there.....  eventually.....

TWD: Baking Chez Moi May Catch-up!

Yes, I know, this blog has been woefully silent lately.  Quite frankly, the end of the school year and start of summer has kept me hopping and I have neglected my blog.  Sorry!  I did not neglect the baking, however, and did manage to bake MOST of the assigned recipes.  Blogging about them has been my hangup.  So, I thought I'd do a little catching up with the May recipes from Baking Chez Moi. 

The first recipe for May was Nutella Buttons, which can be found on pages 188-190 of Baking Chez Moi. And though I did make them, they were devoured before I managed to take a photo.  So close your eyes a moment and picture this:  a mini yellow cupcake that has a tiny blob of Nutella baked into the center.  No, you can't actually SEE the Nutella in the center, but it is there.  And the Nutella makes the cupcake "button" wonderful.  My only problem with this recipe is that it is for an UN-ICED cupcake, something that is simply NOT RIGHT in my book.  Glazing the top with melted chocolate is considered a "good idea" but not necessary to the recipe.  I disagree.  A cupcake simply needs it's icing cap on top, otherwise it will get cold, or maybe sunburned or otherwise feel naked and sad.  Put a hat on your sweet little cupcake!  All will be well with the world.

The second recipe for May was Rhubarb Upside-Down Brown Sugar Cake, on pages 24-27.  Mmmm.  Easy and delicious!  I had a hard time finding rhubarb for some reason, so I ended up getting frozen rhubarb and letting it defrost first.  It worked perfectly and saved me the step of chopping ad peeling the rhubarb!  Gotta love a time saver!  We originally ate this cake for dessert, but had leftovers for breakfast the next day!  The tartness of the rhubarb is a pleasant match for the sweet brown sugar cake.  Yes, rhubarb is tart, but the cake was not so tart that the clever girl wouldn't eat it. The cake and rhubarb make a good marriage.  And putting a dollop of whipped cream on top makes everything good!

The recipe suggested making a glaze for the top with melted apple, quince or red currant jelly, but I skipped that step.  It would have made it prettier on top, but it was great without.  I will definitely make this recipe again.  Easy and delicious! If you don't have Dorie's new cookbook, Baking Chez Moi, I'd recommend it. Thus far the recipe's I've tried have been a hit!

The Clever Boy is 2!

The clever boy is 2!  Hard to believe.  Babies grow so fast!  A year ago he sat wherever you put him and now he is running all over the place and talking up a storm!  This boy is my grand finale of children, so I am trying to savor every minute of little-ness before he turns big.  It seems to happen overnight!

Are you a member of Tasting Table?  It is website that sends me recipes and dining advice and such periodically, and in February they sent a recipe for Chocolate Layer Cake.  Quite frankly, I already have a chocolate cake recipe that I love, but the write-up on this one was interesting enough for me to decide to give it a try! 

The results?  I will definitely make this cake again!  The frosting, however, was a bit gushy for me.  Maybe it needed to sit a little longer and firm up a bit.  When I served leftover cake the next day (that had been refrigerated and the let sit out to room temperature) the icing was much better.  The recipe says to allow the icing to sit for 20-30 minutes, and I probably should have given it more time.  However birthday time was near and I needed to get it done!  So, it was as it was.  Regardless of the consistency though, the icing was DIVINE.  Very delicious.  The cake itself isn't really sweet,  but it is VERY chocolatey, as it uses both cocoa powder AND melted unsweetened chocolate.  It is super moist and almost velvety in texture.  Mmm.  Mmmm. 

To create the decorations on top, I drew a big number 2 on a piece of paper, traced it on to waxed paper, and cut it out.  I gently placed it on top of the iced cake and then sprinkled sprinkles (!!!) all over the top of the cake, carefully avoiding getting any on the sides.  When I reached maximum sprinkles, I gently peeled off the waxed paper 2!  Voila! 
 

A hit.  The clever boy kept saying "Momma, cake, yum!" and making "mmmm" sounds as he ate.  The rest of the family cleaned their plates and sat with blissful smiles for a while.  Birthday success!

Chocolate Layer Cake
adapted from Tasting Table
Ingredients:
Cake
3/4 cup cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
3/4 cup water
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into 1-inch pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1 cup whole milk

Frosting
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions:
Cake:  Place oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F.  Butter the bottoms and sides of 2 9-inch cake pans and dust evenly with cocoa powder.

Stir the cocoa powder and water together in a small bowl to  make a paste.  Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl holding the chocolate.  Stir the chocolate with a rubber spatula until it is evenly melted and smooth, 2-3 minutes.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

Sift the flour and baking soda through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl.  Add the salt.  Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gently stir in the eggs, one at a time.  Once combined, add the reserved cocoa paste and melted chocolate and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined.

On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, then half of the milk.  Repeat with remaining flour and milk and mix just until combined.  Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.  Even out the tops of each pan with an offset spatula.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.  Use a sharp paring knife to run around the edge of each cake to loosen them from the pans.  Place a plate or sheet pan on top of each cake and invert the cake onto a cooling rack.  Remove the plate/pan and allow the cakes to cool completely.

Frosting:  Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.  Warm the cream and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar completely dissolves, 2-3 minutes.  Pour the warm cream over the chopped chocolate and allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes while the chocolate softens.  Whisk until smooth and allow to sit for another 5-7 minutes to cool a bit more.  Whisk the butter into the chocolate, 1 or 2 pieces at a time.  Make sure the pieces are all blended before adding additional butter.  Allow the frosting to sit at room temperature until it is set and spreadable, 20-30 minutes.

Assemble:  Place a small blob of frosting in the center of the platter/cake plate you intend to use.  Place one cake layer with the bottom-side up in the center of the cake plate, on the top of the frosting,  The frosting acts like glue, holding the cake in place on the plate.  Spread about 1 cup of the frosting on the top of this layer, smoothing with an offset spatula.  Place the second layer on top of the first.  If your cake domed a little when it baked, place this layer top-side up.  Otherwise, set it bottom-side up (this ensures that the top of your cake is perfectly flat.)  Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake.  Enjoy!
Printable Recipe

Happy Birthday, sweet clever boy!!

TWD: Baking with Julia - Creme Bruleed Chocolate Bundt

Our recipe for Tuesday's with Dorie this week is Creme Bruleed Chocolate Bundt cake.  Since it was chosen at a time that corresponds with Valentine's Day, I think many of us probably served it then.  I did, anyway!  We had some neighbor friends over for dinner, which is a good plan as this cake serves a lot and I certainly don't need to eat the entire thing!!

So let's think about this - it is a chocolate bundt cake that is filled with liqueur soaked raspberries and then topped with a light creme brulee custard and then caramelized.  Um, okay, sign me up!  Let's go over the individual elements:

The cake itself is a recipe I would make again even just on its own.  It is delicious.  Super moist and chocolatey.  And guess what, it involved lots of folding and I did a good job!  Maybe I am getting better at this folding business...  Hoping that is true, anyway!  So, chocolate bundt?  Yum.

The next element is the berries...  This is simply raspberries that are tossed with liqueur.  I used a raspberry brandy that we happened to have.  I think I would use less liqueur next time, as it was a bit strong for me.  Plus it ran out under the cake and then mixed a bit strangely with the custard that came next.  So, liqueur soaked raspberries?  Okay but needs a slight revision.

Finally, we get the creme brulee.  To be honest, I am not sure what makes this a creme brulee and not a creme anglaise.  Is there a difference, really?  This is a creme brulee that you can pour, which is unlike any creme brulee that I have ever had.  Which is not to say that this was bad in any way, but I had a different idea in my head as to what it was going to be like.  Unless maybe I screwed up somewhere and it really was supposed to be thicker?  But then you couldn't pour it over the top of the cake, so surely not.  Anyway, the "creme brulee" was delicious (as it always is, thick or thin!)

Overall?  Yum.  The adults all really liked the cake.  The kids did not, but I think that was because of the brandy in the raspberries.  This was not a difficult dessert to make,  it just took a little planning ahead to allow the creme brulee to refrigerate for a while.  It certainly has great visual appeal and looks like you did something tremendous, especially when you pull out a brulee torch! 
 

You can find the recipe on pages 280-281 of Baking with Julia, or you can find it here.  To see what some of the other bakers thought of this dessert, head to the Baking with Dorie blog and check out the LYL posts (leave your link). 

TWJ: Baking Chez Moi - Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake

You may have noticed that I haven't done many Baking with Julia recipes lately.  I promise that I haven't given it up.  The thing is, the recipes for this month I was super ambivalent about, so I chose not to make them.  In case you are interested, the first was an upside down inside out Tiramisu, and the second was a European Rye.  The thing is, I have troubles with both of these recipes.  First, I LOVE Tiramisu.  But I want my tiramisu to be the real deal.  And I have a recipe for the real deal that is DIVINE (completely swoon-worthy), so creating a deconstructed version of this treat just does not interest me.  I want the bonafide amazing dessert. 

As far as the European Rye bread, the thing is, I don't actually care for rye bread.  Sad, to some of you, but true.  So why make this loaf?  For the experience, yes, but....  Just to be clear, I do intend to do more Baking with Julia recipes.  Just not these two....

Here we are then, with a Baking Chez Moi recipe.  Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake.  I personally haven't ever heard of something referred to as a weekend cake before.  Here is Dorie's explanation, "a simple, sturdy cake that will last the weekend, that can be put out to be nibbled by family and houseguests, that will be as good for a dessert as it will be for an end-of-the-afternoon snack or an end-of-the-morning tide-me-over."  Ah-ha!  Now I get it.  And personally, I love this idea!

This cake is super simple to make.  No mixer necessary, just some bowls and a whisk and spatula.  Now I have to admit, any time that a recipe says to "fold" I get a quiver of trepidation.  Folding is not my forte.  I have no confidence in this arena and tend to hold my breath and pray for the best each time.  Is there anyone out there that has any sage folding advice for me?  It always makes me nervous.  Luckily, the amount of folding in this recipe is minimal and I had success (I think). 

The flavors in this cake are simple and delicious.  Browned butter and vanilla bean.  Oh and rum or amaretto if you like.  (IF??)  If you have never used brown butter, you need to.  It adds a lovely nuttiness to the flavor of your dish.  You do have to be super careful when making browned butter.  Do not multi-task at this time.  This is very hard for me, as I often multi-task in the kitchen, but trust me.  You can't multi-task and brown butter.  The difference between lovely browned butter and yucky burned butter is a second.  And then you have to start all over!  Grrr.  So just stand there at the stove and focus on that lovely butter.  It is worth it and your dessert will thank you.  And quite honestly it doesn't take long at all to brown butter, it isn't like cooking risotto or something!   Oh, I used dark rum in my cake, but I think I'll try amaretto next....  YUM.

I would describe this as a pound cake, if someone didn't get the "weekend" cake concept.  They look similar and have a similar texture.  And like a good pound cake, you can heat this up in the toaster the next morning and have a special breakfast! 

You can find this recipe on pages 6-7 of Baking Chez Moi.

For insight as to what our other bakers thought of this recipe, go here and click on "LYL: Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake".  All of my fellow bakers list their blog addresses there for you to visit!  Who knows?  You might get inspired to join this group or to follow another of the great bakers!  I have!

Groovy Tie-Dye Cake

On New Years Eve, we attended a 60's-70's party to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday!  I made the cake, obviously!  *wink*  We were on a rooftop bar, so some of my pictures are not great, but hopefully they are good enough to give you the idea of this fabulously groovy cake!

I started out with my new favorite white cake recipe, which is from Cooks Illustrated.  I used it back in June to make the clever girl's rainbow birthday cake and it worked out well so I figured it would serve me well as a tie die cake, too.  If you recall that cake, it was a rainbow in layers, so I split the batter into 6 thin layers of cake and stacked them up.  For this cake, I wanted all of the colors to be within the same two layers, so I had to use a different method. 

I still split the batter into 6 relatively equal amounts.  This was fairly easy because the batter (I made 1 1/2 recipes of batter, for a 10-inch cake) ended up weighing around 60 ounces, so I measured 10 ounces into each bowl.  Then I added food coloring gel to each until they got to be the color I liked.  Don't use liquid food coloring for this - it will add too much liquid to the cake and change the texture.  The gels work nicely, and with Ateco brand you really don't need much to get a nice vibrant color.    I then layered the colors into the pans, using the most of the bottom color, and then a bit less of each color on top of that.  The reverse was done to the second pan.  This is easier to understand with the photo below:

I started with red in the right bowl and gently smoothed it across the bottom of the pan, then used a bit less orange, then yellow and so on.  Gently smooth each color on the top of the one below, being careful not to actually mix them up.  When you get to the top color, the batter sort of looks like a dome, so I just jiggled it and tapped it on the counter a few times to sort of even it out, and hoped for the best.  I forgot to take a photo of the cakes when I got the out of the oven, but they miraculously ended up nicely cake-shaped!  

I made up a double batch of buttercream frosting (recipe below) and  pulled out a bit to use for between the layers.  I colored that icing red, as I thought white would look too glaring and divide the layers visually too much.  In order to get a good RED color in the icing, I made it as red as I could with the red coloring gel, then added a couple drops of brown.  The brown seems to take the pinkish hint out of the frosting and deepen the red color!  Yes!  The rest of the cake was frosted in white.

As you can see, when I stacked my cake, I stacked the top layer upside-down, so the BOTTOM of the cake is now the top.  This is the layer that started with red batter.  You could stack them however you want, I just thought this way would look cool. 

After frosting the entire cake white, I had to make the tie-die effect for the top!  I got my idea from the blog Bird on a Cake.  However, she had better luck finding decorating gel in rainbow colors than I did.  I found red, green and blue, but not the rest.  So I made some myself!!  I found a couple of different recipes online and went with the one for which I had the ingredients on hand, hoping for the best.  It turned out great!  This recipe uses lemon juice which I think is probably for spoiling  purposes but since I didn't actually store it maybe you don't need the lemon?  To me it was fine and added a nice little zip to the cake but if you don't want lemon flavor you could try it without!  I actually found that the homemade decorating gel worked and spread easier than the store bought one, so I will definitely be using this in the future.  I used to have some Wilton Piping Gel in a big tub but I find it kinda nasty and even though it doesn't have an expiration date it sort of scares me at this point.  Oh, and I just put the gel in ziplock bags and snipped a tiny bit of the corner away for piping.  This is not an exact method and a bit messy but worked fine for this application!  I digress.  You will find the decorating gel recipe below as well!

Anyway, put the piping gel on the cake in concentric circles.  Then, using a NEW natural fiber paintbrush (not the kind with plastic bristles from your kid's water-color set... Not that I know this from personal experience or anything...) gently spread the gel from the center to the edge.  You will have to clean off your brush a lot, so set a paper towel next to you.  I tended to clean off my brush after blue and green and then after getting to the edge.  So it went:

orange

red

purple

blue

*wipe brush*

green

*wipe brush*

yellow

orange

red

*wipe brush*

If you look at the Bird on a Cake blog, I think her tie-dye effect turned out better than mine, and besides her being more skilled at this than I, I think she also used a wider paintbrush than I did.  Mine was pretty narrow so if I did this again I'd probably use a brush that is closer to 1/2 inch.  And maybe I should put the color lines closer together or thicker in general.  However, I still think it turned out pretty cool!  Our friends really enjoyed the cake and it was an overall hit!

Here are the recipes:

White Layer Cake
adapted from Cooks Illustrated
alterations for tie-die in italics
makes 1 double-layer 9-inch cake (I made 1 1/2 recipes for a 10-inch double layer cake)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting pans
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple GEL food color.  (Liquid color will not be vibrant enough and could change the structure of the batter - too much added liquid)

Instructions:
Set oven rack in the center, and heat to 350F.  Butter two 9-inch round cake pans (10-inch round cake pans), line bottoms with parchment, butter parchment, and dust with flour.  (Weigh your empty mixing bowl).

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into a 2-cup glass measure and whisk until blended.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt at low speed.  Add the butter and continue to beat until the mixture resembles moist crumbs.  There should be no powdery streaks.

Add all but 1/2 cup of the milk mixture to the crumbs and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of the milk mixture and beat for 30 seconds more.  Stop mixer and scrape the bowl.  Return the mixer to medium speed and mix for 20 seconds.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.  (Weigh the full mixing bowl and subtract the weight of the empty bowl.  This is the weight of the batter.  Divide that number by 6 and this is the amount of batter you will put into 6 separate bowls.  Gently whisk several drops of gel color into each bowl.  The color of the cake will be the same as the color of the unbaked batter, so mix in enough color to get the vibrancy that you want.  Pour about 3/4 of your red into the first pan, and then pour in a tad less of each color on top, gently smoothing each color but NOT stirring.  Do the second pan in the opposite order.)  Use a rubber spatula to spread the batter to the pan walls and smooth the top.  (Jiggle the pans a little and tap on the counter a few times.)  Place the pans into the oven, at least 3 inches apart and 3 inches from the oven walls.    Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 23-25 minutes (35-40 minutes). 

Let the cakes rest in the pans for 3 minutes.  Invert onto wire racks, remove the parchment, and then re-invert onto a different wire rack.  Allow to cool completely.   

Printable Recipe 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

adapted from SavorySweetLife

makes about 2 1/2 cups frosting

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted

3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 TB+ vanilla extract

3-4 TB milk or heavy cream

Instructions

Beat the butter on medium speed in the bowl of a heavy mixer, using the paddle attachment.  Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn the mixer to your lowest setting until the sugar and butter have incorporated.  When the sugar and butter are incorporated enough that you can safely turn up the mixer speed without coating your kitchen in sugar, increase the speed to medium and add the salt, vanilla and 2 TB of milk/cream.  Beat for 3 minutes.  Add additional milk/cream if you need the frosting to be softer, or add additional if you need the frosting to be stiffer.    

Printable Recipe

Homemade Cake Piping/Decorating Gel

Ingredients

1/2 cup white sugar

1 TB cornstarch

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup water

Instructions

Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan.  Gradually stir in the lemon juice.  Add in the water and stir to combine.

Stir over high heat until the mixture boils and thickens, then color as desired (or divide into smaller bowls and color as desired).  Store the mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.  

If the mixture becomes too thick, add a tiny amount of water at a time until the gel reaches a better consistency.

Printable Recipe

 

In case you are wondering, yes, Mr. Clever Mom and I got our groovy duds on for the party.  

One of my girlfriends who is a true born-in-Texas girl came over to give me a nice bouffant hair-do!  I had no idea how to make my hair big so I had to call in an expert!  Sorry, no tutorials on that one!  Just use lots of hairspray and a teasing brush! 

Let's disco, baby!

 

TWD: Baking Chez Moi - Gingerbread Buche de Noel

Our last Baking Chez Moi recipe for December is Gingerbread Buche de Noel!  It was actually scheduled for before Christmas, but I made it for Christmas and figured I would post it later.  Later ended up being today!  

The huge ginormous benefit to baking and posting after the post-date is you can see what other bakers thought of the recipe and what advice they might have!  Yeah!  So, thanks to that information, I made a few pieces of this recipe in advance, and halved the frosting amount.  Thanks, everyone!

There are four components to this cake:  The cake itself, which is a chiffon-style very thin cake that is rolled up' the filling, the frosting, and some pecan praline.  I  made the praline and the filling in advance!  This was fantastic since I made the somewhat crazy decision to serve this on Christmas.  The thing is, this is theoretically a perfect cake for Christmas, BUT there are lots of components so if you are making a big Christmas dinner (which we did) it makes getting the cake done a bit of a squeeze.  I got it done, but boy was I ready to be OUT of the kitchen that night! 

To further explain the cake, the actual cake part is a gingerbread flavor.  It is a very thin cake that is baked in a half-sheet pan and then rolled up.  In fact, it is rolled in a powdered sugar coated tea towel  as it cools so that it cools with the ability to roll up when the time comes.  Smart.  Before it is rolled for good (as in after it is cool and you are ready to actually put this cake together) you spread a filling of butter, cream cheese, cinnamon, vanilla, and a little of the pecan praline over the cake.  Then roll it up tightly, using a piece of parchment and a ruler and this fun pull-tug technique to make the cake roll nice and tight.  Again, smart.  That sits in the refrigerator a bit while you make a marshmallow frosting that is puffy and lovely.  Put a thick layer of the marshmallow frosting around the top and sides of the cake and then sprinkle on the praline pecans and you are ready!  

The magic occurs when you slice it.  Before hand, it just looks like this:

This is nice and everything, but once you slice it and you see all the rings, SUCCESS!!

This was really quite tasty.  I liked that the filling did not actually contain any sugar, as the cake, frosting and praline evened everything out.  And, (this is weird for a cake) but when i had another piece a day later, I thought that the flavors were actually more pronounced!  

So, overall a success!  I am not sure whether I would make this again, as there are lots of great desserts for Christmas-time.  But this was very tasty!  Dorie is right... This would be good if you just made it on some random day and then invited people over for cake and champagne. 

Oh, and there was an article in the Food section of the NY Times before Christmas that mentioned that this is the most complicated recipe in the book.  I did it!  Surely I will have continued success!!

Happy holidays, everyone!  I look forward to baking and crafting with you in the new year!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

A while back, we attended a dinner party with a "fall" theme.  I signed up for the dessert (as usual) and the hostess selected a pumpkin cheesecake.  I used to say that I am not really a "cheesecake person" but now that I keep making them for I  might not like ALL cheesecakes, but I like the ones that I make!  The key is keeping it light.  I am not a fan of the cheesecake wherein you eat a few bites and feel like you just ate a bowling ball.  Those are just too much for me.  But these light ones that are nice and creamy just make me want to keep eating and lick the plate! 

I combined a few ideas for this particular cheesecake, so here is my recipe, which is based on "Gina's Pumpkin Cheesecake" by Patrick and Gina Neely of Food Network. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake
adapted from Food Network
Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
Crust
1 1/2 cups crushed gingerbread cookies
1/3 cup crushed pecans
1-2 TB chopped crystallized ginger
4 TB unsalted butter, melted

Filling
4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
4 extra large eggs (or 5 large eggs)
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (use more if you use ground nutmeg, not freshly grated)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 TB all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream, very cold
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Salted Caramel Sauce 
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1 TB corn syrup
1/2 c. whipping cream
2 TB unsalted butter
1 1/2 ts. sea salt

Directions:
Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350F.   Place the gingerbread cookies in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until crumbly.  Add pecans and crystallized ginger and pulse a few times until well mixed.  Pour into a large bowl and stir in the melted butter.  Press the mixture into the bottom (not the sides) of a 9-inch springform pan.  Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Allow to cool completely while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
Heat water in a teakettle and bring to a boil.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Add the pumpkin and beat until incorporated.  Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the spices through vanilla.  Mix until blended.  Add the flour and mix until the flour is incorporated.

Wrap the bottom and sides of your cooled springform pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Pour the filling into the pan and place the springform pan into a small roasting pan.  Place the roasting pan on the oven rack and then pour the hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan, around the pan.  The water needs to go at least 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the pan, so you may need to boil more water.  If this is the case, VERY VERY CAREFULLY take the pan out of the oven while the water boils.  Place the pan back on the oven rack before pouring the additional water in the pan.  The more water in the pan, the easier it is to spill out while moving, so save your arms and place the pan on the rack first! 

Bake the cheesecake until the center moves slightly when the pan is gently wiggled, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Remove the cake from the water bath and allow to cool on a wire rack. 

Chill the cheesecake for at least 4 hours before serving.  Serve with salted caramel sauce and cinnamon whipped cream.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream:
Pour the heavy cream into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until thick and frothy.  Add the remaining ingredients and beat until medium peaks form.

Salted Caramel Sauce:
Place the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a small saucepan, and stir to combine.  Place the saucepan on high heat and bring to a boil without stirring.  Swirl the ingredients in the pan occasionally.  Continue boiling until the mixture reaches a light amber color.  Remove from heat and very carefully add the cream in a slow steady stream, while stirring constantly.  Once combined, add the butter and salt and continue stirring until both are melted and combined.  Cool to room temperature before using.
Printable Recipe

Mmmm...  This combination of flavors is perfection! 

Happy Birthday, Sister!

My sister came to visit for her birthday!  Yippee!  She lives in Kansas City which is WAY too far from Houston for us to see each other as much as we would prefer.  Which would probably be about once a week at least, if we had our druthers!  Phooey.  So when I found a great sale on flights, I jumped at them!  An opportunity for us to spend her birthday together?  SOLD! 

One of my sister's favorite flavors is almond, so we picked a couple of recipes to put together for her birthday dinner celebration...  Almond Cake with Toasted Almond and Candied Cherry Ice Cream!  YUM.  The cake recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis.  While it was super tasty, it was a bit dry... maybe I could have cooked it a tad less.  The top was golden and the cake was pulling away from the sides of the pan, as the recipe suggests, but I thought it needed a little something.  If you were to make JUST the cake recipe, I would poke some holes in the top of the cake and drizzle over some sort of glaze when the cake came out of the oven.  A powdered sugar/milk/amaretto glaze would be quite tasty... 

However, the day after actually celebrating my sister's birthday, I had another slice of cake and drizzled the candied cherry sauce from the ice cream recipe over the top.  PERFECTION!  Why didn't I think of that for the birthday night?  Ugh.  Yum, yum, yum.

The ice cream recipe comes from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.  Zowie.  That book has yet to steer me wrong!  This ice cream was SO good.  It was so creamy and the flavors were spot on.  Mmmmm. 

Are you ready for the recipes?  Here you go:

Almond Cake
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
 Ingredients:
1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal (I whizzed my stone ground cornmeal in the food processor to get it "fine", which seemed to work!)
1/2 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup almond paste, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, plus more to dust cake if desired
4 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:
Place a rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 350F.  Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan.

Whisk the cornmeal, flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl.  Beat the butter and almond paste together on high speed with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until smooth.  This will take approximately 3 minutes.  Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla extract. Slowly add the powdered sugar.  If the sugar is puffing up in clouds around your mixer, add the sugar slower and drape a tea-towel over the top of your mixer to help keep the sugar in the bowl and your kitchen safe from pesky white sugar dust.  Mix until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Increase the mixer speed to high and add the egg yolks and eggs, one at a time.  Reduce the speed to medium and add the sour cream and flour/cornmeal mixture.  Mix only until just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until cake is golden on top and pulls away from the sides of the pan.  Transfer (in pan) to a rack to cool.  Remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar if desired.  Drizzle with some sort of glaze or candied cherry sauce before serving.
Printable Recipe

Toasted Almond and Candied Cherry Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup Candied Cherries, coarsely chopped (recipe follows) (I used about 1/2 cup)

Directions:
Warm the milk, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan.  Finely chop 1 cup of the almonds and add them to the warm milk.  Cover the pan, remove from heat, and let steep at room temperature for at least one hour.

Strain the almond-infused milk into a different medium saucepan.  Press the almonds with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to extract as much flavor as possible.  Discard the soaked almonds.

Reheat the almond-infused milk.  Whisk the egg yolks together in a medium bowl.  Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, and then pour this mixture back into the saucepan.  Stir this mixture over medium heat with a rubber heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom of the saucepan as you stir, until the mixture thickens and  heats to 170-175F.  The mixture should coat the back of the spatula.

Pour the remaining cup of heavy cream into a large bowl sitting in an ice bath,and set a mesh strainer on top.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream.  Add the almond extract and stir until cool.  Refrigerate the mixture until completely cool, overnight if possible.  Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's  instructions.  Once the ice cream is finished churning, fold in the remaining 1 cup of chopped almonds and the chopped cherries.  Freeze to desired consistency.

Candied Cherries
makes 2 cups

Ingredients:
1 pound cherries, fresh or frozen, stemmed and pitted
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 drop almond extract

Directions:
Heat the cherries, water, sugar and lemon juice in a large saucepan until the liquid starts to boil.  Reduce the heat to a low boil and cook the cherries for at least 25 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure the cherries cook evenly and do not stick.  The liquid will reduce to a light syrup consistency.  The syrup will become thicker after refrigeration.  Remove from the heat, add the almond extract, and allow to cool completely.  Drain the cherries for about an hour before chopping for use, reserving the syrup for other uses (like drizzling over almond cake!).  NOTE: I did not drain the cherries for an hour before chopping, I just took them out of the syrup, squeezing out as much syrup as I could before chopping and adding to the Toasted Almond ice cream. 
Printable Recipe

My sister loved her birthday cake and ice cream!  It was a delicious treat!  If you enjoy almond flavor too, give these recipes a try!  They are worth it!  Mmmm.....

Texas Lovin'

A good friend of ours is moving away.  BOO!  And in the midst of dealing with the fact that her husband already had to move to start his new job while she is parenting their three kids and having their house on the market, her youngest love had his first birthday.  The girl has enough on her plate! So when she asked if I would mind making a cake for his birthday party/going away party, of course I told her to just leave it to me.  She wanted a "Texas" theme, since they are moving away from here (WAH!) to New Jersey.  Then she emailed me photos of cakes she had seen online that she particularly liked and I got very scared.  VERY.  We were talking multi-tiered cakes with all sorts of fancy Texas decorations!  Yikes.  Oh, and did I mention that this little baby-love is highly allergic to eggs?  As is his brother?  Yeah.  So this needed to be a super fancy EGGLESS tiered cake.  Ummmm.  Yes, of course I can do that!

TWD: Baking with Julia - Oven-Roasted Plum Cakes

Our recipe this week for Tuesday's with Dorie is Oven-Roasted Plum Cakes.  It is really perfect timing, as the plums I have been purchasing lately have been delicious!  I love when things work out that way!

These little baby cakes are amazingly easy.  And what I  mean by that is they truly take no time to put together!  Before you know it, you are cleaned up and waiting for the little cutie pies to get out of the oven!  The full recipe makes 12 cakes, but I don't actually need to have 12 yummy little cakes in my house.  That is a BAD idea.  So I thought I'd be smart about this one and halve the recipe.  Yeah, me!  These cakes are baked in individual custard cups.  I halved the recipe, so I only made 6 little cakes, instead of 12.  I only  had 3 of the right size so I also used 3 smaller ramekins, which seemed to work!  Phew.  I had worries about the batter overflowing all over the place (hence the parchment lining the sheet pan) but it didn't happen!  In fact, I sort of like how the cakes turned out in the little ramekins better than the ones in the cups.  I think they are prettier, with the straight sides.  Plus, getting the cake out of the cups was a bugger!  It did not look pretty, I must admit!

So, to make these little cakes, you essentially make a small amount of cake batter.  You place a couple tablespoons of the batter in buttered ramekins/cups, place a halved plum on top (face up) and then sprinkle the top with brown sugar.  Done.  Into the oven they go, and the cake puffs up around the sides of the plum and gets nice and golden on top.

A few thoughts about this recipe:
I think some of the components really depend on the sweetness of the plum.  My plums were pretty sweet on their own, so I would definitely cut back on the amount of brown sugar I sprinkled on top with plums this sweet.  They just don't need it!  Plus, I would cut down on the amount of orange zest a little, too.  It sort of shocks me that the previous statement came out of my brain, as I love orange zest, but it almost overpowered the sweet plum.  I think if the plum had been a little more tart, the zest would have complemented it more, instead of competed a bit.  My plums had a very mild, sweet taste, so I did not want any flavors to compete.

That said, I would definitely make this again.  It was easy and I think it would look beautiful at a dinner party with a dab of whipped cream.  And it would also be delicious with a fresh nectarine!  And I'd like to try this as one big cake instead of mini cakes.  I am sure with the right sized pan, it would work!  I'll have to see if any of my TWD pals made one cake... I am sure someone probably did!

Oven-Roasted Plum Cakes
adapted from Baking with Julia
serves 12

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus melted butter for greasing cups
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar, divided use
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon minced orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
6 large ripe plums, halved and pitted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.  Butter the insides of 12 8- to 9-ounce custard cups or ramekins, and set them inside a rimmed sheet pan.

Cream the butter, 2 TB of the brown sugar, and the granulated in the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment.  Cream for 3 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then beat again for another 3 minutes, until the mixture is very light in color and the sugar is mostly dissolved.  Add one of the eggs and beat on high speed for about a minute.  Scrape down the bowl and paddle and then add the second egg and beat for 30 seconds.  Add the orange zest and vanilla, and beat on high for about 30 seconds, until both are incorporated.  Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour and baking soda.  Beat for 15 seconds.  Add the buttermilk and mix for 30 seconds.  All of these times are so that the batter is not over-mixed.  Finish any mixing with a rubber spatula.

Drop approximately 2 TB of batter into the bottom of each cup/ramekin.  Place one halved plum, cut side up, on top of the batter, pressing down just a little so it is set.  Sprinkle some of the remaining brown sugar over the tops of each plum.  Place the sheet pan holding the cups/ramekins into the oven and bake for around 25 minutes, until they are golden on top and a cake tester placed in the cake part of the cups comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let cool in their cups for 8-10 minutes.

Unmold the cakes by running a short knife or icing spatula around the sides and a little under each cake.  Lift the cake out of the cup with the spatula, plum side up, and place on individual dessert plates.  Serve warm, with whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate sauce, or nothing!

Wrap remaining cakes airtight and store at room temperature for one day.
Printable Recipe

Lemon Buttermillk Rhubarb Bundt Cake

The town where I grew up has been all over the news lately.  And not for a good reason at all.  I grew up in Ferguson, MO.  Until recently, you might not have ever heard of the place.  It's a northern suburb of St. Louis, sort of near the airport.  And if you still haven't heard of Ferguson, well, that is awesome.  Do no further research and just know that town produced the baker/sewer/knitter/crafter/clever person whose blog you are reading right this minute.  That is all you need to know.  Because the news is just awful.

As an aside, I find that most news in general is just awful.  Something isn't "news" anymore, it seems, unless it is just outrageous in some way, usually in a not so pleasant way.  Why is that?  Why can't super-awesome things be newsworthy?  Or just regularly-occurring good things?  *sigh*  Probably for the same reason that there is all sorts of trash "reality" television out there.  Outrageous sells. 

Anyway, here is the deal:  A young man was shot and killed by a police officer in my home town.  The race of the individuals in question really should not matter.  Someone was killed.  That is horrible.  A human life ended.  His family and friends will grieve him for the rest of their lives.  Another human being shot and killed that young man.  Yes, police officers are trained for this type of thing but regardless, it awful for anyone to live with.  That police officer will carry this with him forever.  And people around the location where this happened saw someone get shot and killed.  To actually see something like that would be horrifying, and not something you would ever forget.  It is a tragedy all of the way around.  The circumstances surrounding the incident do not change the fact that this is an awful tragedy.

But then random people seemed to go crazy.  There was all sorts of rioting/fires/looting/insanity going on.  Why?  What is the purpose of this?  I just don't understand the mentality of why people think this might be an appropriate response to a tragedy.

Here is what I think...  I think those angry rioters need to stay home and eat a piece of cake.  Cake makes you happy!  And while they eat that cake, maybe their brains would get in a better place and they could re-evaluate their decisions!  Don't we all need moments like this?  When we are fed up and wound up and about to blow up?  We need someone to say, "here, sit down and have a piece of cake" so we can decompress a little bit.

And if you are going to do that, you might as well eat this beautiful Lemon Buttermilk Rhubarb Bundt Cake.  I am certain it will put a smile on your face!

I mean, look at it.  First of all, I (of course) used my super-favorite new bundt cake pan, which is so beautiful it always makes me smile!  And do you see the white glaze dripping down the sides?  That's a lemon glaze.  Mmmm-hmmm.  Now, do you see the red dots and spots inside the cake?  That would be the rhubarb.  Rhubarb is a vegetable, so now you can proudly tell your momma that you ate your vegetables today.  She'll be proud.  Now you might think that rhubarb is tart enough already, why would you add lemon to that?  I'll tell you why - because it is delicious, that's why!  This cake is a delightful mixture of sweet and tart at the same time.  It is super moist, and almost custard-y in those places where the pieces of rhubarb are hanging out.  Add this soft texture to the zip of the lemon glaze and it is just blissful.  This cake makes your taste buds sing. 

And how can you go out and do angry things when your taste buds are singing?  You can't!  See?  Problem solved.

Lemon Buttermilk Rhubarb Bundt Cake
adapted from Rustic Fruit Desserts

Ingredients
Cake:
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (for rhubarb pieces) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 3/4 cups sugar
zest of one lemon
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon oil (I used lemon extract)
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 lb rhubarb, trimmed and thinly sliced, making 3 cups

Glaze:
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
juice of 1-2 lemons (to taste)

1 TB softened unsalted butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F and thoroughly butter a 10-cup Bundt pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.  Cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together in the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, until the mixture is light and fluffy.  This will take about 4 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl between each.  Stir in the lemon oil/extract.  Mix in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk.  Start and end with the flour.  This batter will be thick!  Toss the rhubarb slices with 2 TB flour until all pieces are well coated.  This helps prevent them from all falling to the bottom (or top since this is a Bundt pan) of the cake.

Bake for 30 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake for 30 more minutes, until it is golden brown on the edges and the top springs back when gently pressed.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then remove from the pan and continue cooling on the wire rack.

Glaze:
Whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice and butter together in a medium bowl.  Place a piece of waxed paper under the cooling rack that holds your Bundt.  Drizzle the glaze over the cake.  
Printable Recipe

Relax and eat some cake.  Place your anger aside for a bit and decompress with some yummy-goodness.  Now, isn't this a much better alternative??

Note:  My parents are fine.  Yes, they still live there, but they are in a different area and are staying away from the drama.  They are really saddened by the situation and the dreadful news reports that are linked to their town.  It is hard for any town to recover from this type of bad news.

TWD: Baking with Julia - Vanilla Pound Cake

I made Vanilla Pound Cake for this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe.  Yum.  This pound cake is made in a bundt or tube pan instead of a loaf pan, so it served as a great excuse to use my new beautiful bundt pan.  I do have other bundt pans, but now that I have this one, maybe I should give the others away?  I mean, why use a different pan when I have THIS one?  It's so pretty!  AND the cakes come out perfectly!  This pan is a wonder, I tell you.

Not only is this Vanilla Pound Cake beautiful, it is also delicious.  I made it to bring to a friend's house for Independence Day here in the States, and dressed it for the occasion with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream, to give it the appropriate red, white, and blue accessories. 

Covering it with berries and whipped cream does take away from the beauty of the cake a bit, but such garnishes are never a bad idea for the palate!  Oh, and I macerated the strawberries in sugar and balsamic vinegar, so they were extra scrumptious! 

But to be honest, I did like the cake best when it was solo.  That is when the vanilla flavor really came out and I could savor the flavor and the texture in my mouth a bit longer (instead of shoveling it in my mouth on July 4, while sharing dallops of my whipped cream with the clever boy.)  This cake is not only tasty when it is made, but it is also delicious the next day, and actually for several days thereafter if wrapped well in plastic wrap.  In fact, I'd almost say it was even better a day later, as it seemed like the vanilla was even more prominent at that point.

This recipe is a definite keeper.  It is easy and delicious.  What more do you need?

Vanilla Pound Cake
adapted from Baking with Julia
serves 16-20

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature, whisked to blend
1 cup milk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions:
Position an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 350F.  Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together onto some waxed paper or parchment paper.  Set this aside.

Beat the butter in an electric mixer using the paddle attachment at medium speed until smooth.  Add the sugar in a steady stream while the mixer continues to run.  Stop and scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.  Beat at medium until the butter and sugar mixture is very light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes.

With the mixer still on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 tablespoon at a time.  If the mixture becomes watery or shiny stop adding eggs and turn the mixer to a higher speed until the mixture smooths out again.  Then decrease the speed ad continue adding the eggs, scraping down the bowl and paddle as necessary.  This process will take 3-4 minutes.   The mixture is properly combined when it looks white, fluffy, and increased in volume.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour alternately with milk.  There will be 4 additions of flour and 3 of milk.  Scrape the bowl frequently and mix until the batter is smooth after each addition.  Add the vanilla and mix just to blend.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake for 55-65 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Invert the cake onto the rack, remove the pan, an cool to room temperature.  Serve the cake in very thin slices.

Keep the cake covered at room temperature or wrap airtight and freeze for a month.
Printable Recipe

Very soon after making this pound cake, a friend told me that he was craving a chocolate pound cake.  Anyone have a favorite recipe to share?   I'd love to see it!

Check out the TWD blog to see what other bakers thought of this pound cake!

Rainbow Birthday Cake!

The clever girl is 6 years old!  It is hard to believe.  I made her a Rainbow Cake for her birthday, as a total surprise.   She had asked for a chocolate cake, and since I couldn't do a chocolate rainbow cake, I used chocolate buttercream frosting for the outside of the cake.  I also made some homemade chocolate ice cream, which you will see on a separate post.  (It was DELICIOUS, so make sure to check back for that recipe!!)
 

As I said, the rainbow part was a surprise for the clever girl, so she was introduced to the cake as it looked like this.  Her comment was, "Momma, this cake is GIANT!"  Uh-huh, just you wait!  Mr. Clever Mom and Auntie took her to another room while I cut the cake. We told her there was a surprise in the cake and had fun guessing what the surprise might be...  A giraffe inside?  Molten chocolate?  A rattlesnake?  A big rock? 

It's a rainbow!  She was thrilled.  And very fast to point out that there are 6 colors in my rainbow and she turned 6!  Uh, yeah, that was intentional.... NOT!  But isn't it great that it worked out that way?? 

Then she looked at the rest of the cake.....

"How'd you DO that???"

Indeed.  It actually isn't hard, it is just more time consuming than making a solid colored cake, as every layer cooks separately.  And since I only have two 8-inch cake pans, it took a while to get all of the layers baked.  The key is to start out with a great "white" cake recipe.  I used a recipe from Cooks Illustrated, which I had never used before, and will now probably become my go-to white cake recipe.  I think finding a good white cake recipe can be hard, but this one really hit it right.  It is delicious! 

White Layer Cake
adapted from Cooks Illustrated
alterations for Rainbow Cake in italics
makes 1 double-layer 9-inch cake (6-layer 8-inch rainbow cake)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting pans
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple GEL food color.  (Liquid color will not be vibrant enough and could change the structure of the batter - too much added liquid)

Instructions:
Set oven rack in the center, and heat to 350F.  Butter two 9-inch round cake pans (8-inch round cake pans), line bottoms with parchment, butter parchment, and dust with flour.  (Weigh your empty mixing bowl).

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into a 2-cup glass measure and whisk until blended.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt at low speed.  Add the butter and continue to beat until the mixture resembles moist crumbs.  There should be no powdery streaks.

Add all but 1/2 cup of the milk mixture to the crumbs and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of the milk mixture and beat for 30 seconds more.  Stop mixer and scrape the bowl.  Return the mixer to medium speed and mix for 20 seconds.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.  (Weigh the full mixing bowl and subtract the weight of the empty bowl.  This is the weight of the batter.  Divide that number by 6 and this is the amount of batter you will put into 6 separate bowls.  Gently whisk several drops of gel color into each bowl.  The color of the cake will be the same as the color of the unbaked batter, so mix in enough color to get the vibrancy that you want.  Pour two of the colors into the prepared 8-inch pans.  If you have more than two 8-inch pans, lucky you!  Do more!  However for baking purposes, you should still bake only two at a time.  If you need to re-use the pans, make sure you wipe them out each time, and run cool water over the outside bottom of the pan so that the pan is no longer hot before you re-butter, re-parchment, re-butter, and re-flour the pans.)  Use a rubber spatula to spread the batter to the pan walls and smooth the top.  Place the pans into the oven, at least 3 inches apart and 3 inches from the oven walls.    Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 23-25 minutes (12-13 minutes). 

Let the cakes rest in the pans for 3 minutes.  Invert onto wire racks, remove the parchment, and then re-invert onto a different wire rack.  Allow to cool completely.  (Do not worry if your rainbow layers are really thin, almost like pancakes.  Once you stack them up with layers of cream or frosting in-between, you will have a very tall cake.) 
Printable Recipe

For the layers in my cake, I used a stabilized whipped cream.  You can use whatever you want.  I thought that white in-between the rainbow layers would accent the colors nicely, and would be a tasty filling!  If you choose to use frosting, you'll probably need to double your frosting recipe to have enough.  There are several methods to stabilize whipped cream.  I found one using non-fat dry milk and decided to try that.  You can also use unflavored gelatin or cream cheese.  For this cake, I used 2 1/2 cups of whipped cream, less powdered sugar, and a mix of vanilla and almond extracts, as I like that flavor combination!

Stabilized Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 TB non-fat dry milk
~1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~2 TB to 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar, to taste
Whip the heavy whipping cream and nonfat dry milk to a soft peak stage, then add the vanilla and powdered sugar (to taste).  Whip to desired consistency.  Whipped cream can be dolloped, piped, layered, and will keep its consistency for at least 24 hours, probably more!
Printable Recipe

This cake is moist and delicious.  It really is the best white cake I have had!  The yummy cake layered with the whipped cream s divine, really. i If I made this again, I might just use the stabilized whipped cream all around the outside as well, because it tastes so good!  The chocolate buttercream is good, but nothing compares to whipped cream, I say!

Days later, the clever girl is still talking about her rainbow cake!  Success!