Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
The Secret of the New Fudge Cake's Fame
3/4/11: New Fudge Cake
Haven't seen a post on Sabbath Supper in awhile, huh? Now don't think that I haven't been cooking, for I certainly have! I actually have four future posts lined up. The problem lately, I think, has been the cooking. Once I've finished cooking lunch and dinner for the day, I just don't feel like thinking about food again and writing about it. You know what I mean?
But I've come to realize during the last couple weeks that I need to post more often. Forgetfulness in past meals I've made has created difficulty in preparing them again and I without posting, I sort of lose sight of how cooking can be fun and like an adventure. So that's my two cents on the situation and I hope to begin a posting spree for this month of April. :)
And now let me bring to you a long lost cake of mine. His name is New Fudge Cake and he is a chocolate cake with swiss meringue buttercream filling and a chocolate fudge frosting. Sounds a bit familiar? Same combination of cake and frosting was used for our past Christmas cake. It was such a good cake that there was an apparent need for another!
Here is New Fudge Cake #2:
Jam and Cake. . . Scrumptious!
2/4/11: Blackberry Jam Cake
Doesn't that recipe title sound so scrumptious? For me, putting together jam and cake (two of my favorite things), sounds like perfection. That title is actually what drew me to baking this cake last Friday. I found the recipe in the Nov/Dec 2010 issue of Cook's Country magazine that we subscribe to (check out what America's Test Kitchen changed with this cake, an Appalachian staple, here). I wish I could post the recipe here but copyright issues, ya know.
Anyhow, let me explain this cake to you a little bit. The actual cake is spiced with cinnamon, allspice, and cloves and it also has delicious blackberry jam added. The frosting that the magazine had teamed up with the cake was Caramel Miracle Frosting. And also chopped pecans were added to the side of the cake.
Let me tell you, I like frosting. And I like trying out new ones. So the Miracle Frosting was right up my alley! It is a cooked frosting that starts with a mixture of brown sugar, cornstarch, and flour. Then a load of butter is added and mixed until light & fluffy.
Did I make any modifications to the recipe? I didn't make a Caramel Miracle Frosting, I just made the 'original' version which has white sugar instead of brown. I also omitted the pecans and I used blackberry preserves instead of jam.
Both the cake and the frosting turned out very well and this cake is a great contender for birthdays! (I have two requests already!)
So are there any notes I should leave for myself? Yes.
1. There didn't seem to be enough frosting to cover the entire cake, probably should do 1 1/2 times the recipe next time.
2. I probably need to go a tad bit less on the amount of preserves used for the filling. It sort of leaked to the sides making it harder to frost.
So here it is. . .
Did I Forget Something?
12/25/10: Christmas Cake
In answer to my post's title: Yes. I completely forgot to post about the cake I baked and decorated for Christmas! How on earth did that happen? Anyhoo, here it is now:
So what recipe(s) did I use?
I used the New Fudge Cake recipe from Annemarie's Betty Crocker cookbook. Here is a scan of the page:
For the cake's filling I used Swiss Meringue Buttercream from this source. The chocolate frosting came from the Sour Cream Cake I did before. And finally, the white frosting I used for piping (as well as the roses) is from here. Whew! Lots of different recipes this time!
What decorating techniques did I use?
I used two 13 x 9 cakes, stacked them on top of each other, and cut the top layer to make it resemble a tiered cake. After the carving, I piped a shell border at the base of the cake, piped roses using a specific rose tip, and made decorative "facades" around the sides of the cake using a template that I received for my birthday last year. For Christmas I received some liquid dyes (Wilton brand) that can be mixed with frosting, and that is what I used for the colored roses.
How did it taste?
This might actually be my favorite cake as of yet. The actual cake was very moist, chocolate-ly and held up well to being stacked. And the chocolate frosting was just as good as I remembered. But the real attribute of this cake was the Swiss Meringue Buttercream that I used for the filling. Papa said that it reminded him of an expensive torte he had long ago. It was so delicious!
The Sweet Side of Sour Cream
12/17/10: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Fudge Frosting
Recipe details: Cake recipe is pretty typical, but the addition of sour cream and the fact that you do not need to alternate between dry and wet ingredients (like this one), makes it more special and easier to prepare.
Defining moments: This recipe calls for cocoa powder and I went and used the King Arthur Flour's Double Dutch Dark Cocoa Powder for the first time. My parents gave me a gift card to use on kingarthurflour.com so that's how I got my hands on such a delicious sounding ingredient.
Recipe sources: The recipe comes from Hershey's. Find it here.
What I learned: I've made cake before so I didn't learn any new techniques this time. However, I did find that this cake, along with the fudge frosting, is very easy to do. The frosting isn't your normal buttercream, it is richer and not cloyingly sweet. It almost aways seems like the cooked frostings are so much better. Is it just me?
I should note here that I made two types of frostings. One had grocery store cocoa (I think it is from Gordon's?), and the other had King Arthur Flour's dark cocoa.
Any modifications? No, I made no changes.
How did it taste? I thought it was perfect for a lighter cake and I believe everyone agrees with me. I say, "...for a lighter cake," because I LOVE dense cakes. :) Both kinds of frostings were so yummy. But which one was the favorite? Most everyone thought the dark cocoa type was lacking flavor (or maybe not enough contrast to the dark cocoa cake?), so the grocery store variety won this round.
How about a 2nd time? Yes, definitely.
It is self-explanatory but the pan to the left is grocery store cocoa frosting, and the one to the right has the King Arthur Flour's dark cocoa.
I love shots like the one above.
We're Knee-deep in Deliciousness --- Experiencing Deep Dish Pizza
4/11/10: BBQ Chicken Deep Dish Pizza and Cookies and Cream Cake
Meal details: For the main course I made a deep dish style pizza with a bbq sauce, mozzarella cheese, chicken, bell pepper, and onion topping. And for dessert I made a chocolate cake with a cream cheese frosting, all of which had Oreo crumbs whipped in! I'm an Oreo fiend so you can see why I chose this type of cake!
Defining moments: I finally was able to use a Christmas gift I received last year. They're called Evenbake Cake Strips and they are from Regency.
Another defining moment for me this week was making a deep dish pizza. Never did that before!
Recipe sources: The recipe for the pizza crust came from the King Arthur's Flour blog, Baker's Banter. I didn't follow the instructions for the topping though, I made my own by combining chicken, bell peppers, onions, bbq sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese. The Cookies and Cream Cake is a Pat and Gina Neely recipe and I specifically chose it because I am part of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Thank My Mother blog.
What I learned: You know those cake strips I just mentioned? Well, I learned that they are suppose to help your cakes remain level and moist. To use them, you have to saturate the strip in water, squeeze a little, wrap it around your cake pan, pour the batter in, and bake. Really simple and I discovered that it actually works! My cakes (I made a two layer cake) came out with a level top and they were incredibly moist. So I give this unique kitchen gadget 2 thumbs up! :D
Any modifications? I just modified the pizza toppings, I did everything else according to the recipes.
How it tasted? Can you believe that people are still talking about that pizza days afterwards? In a good way, too! ;) Everyone loved the pizza and the Cookies and Cream cake was exceptional. Annemarie, who is from Chicago, said that the pizza crust is just like the real thing. Wow, huh?!
How about a 2nd time? Are you kidding? Of course!
Meal details: For the main course I made a deep dish style pizza with a bbq sauce, mozzarella cheese, chicken, bell pepper, and onion topping. And for dessert I made a chocolate cake with a cream cheese frosting, all of which had Oreo crumbs whipped in! I'm an Oreo fiend so you can see why I chose this type of cake!
Defining moments: I finally was able to use a Christmas gift I received last year. They're called Evenbake Cake Strips and they are from Regency.
Another defining moment for me this week was making a deep dish pizza. Never did that before!
Recipe sources: The recipe for the pizza crust came from the King Arthur's Flour blog, Baker's Banter. I didn't follow the instructions for the topping though, I made my own by combining chicken, bell peppers, onions, bbq sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese. The Cookies and Cream Cake is a Pat and Gina Neely recipe and I specifically chose it because I am part of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Thank My Mother blog.
What I learned: You know those cake strips I just mentioned? Well, I learned that they are suppose to help your cakes remain level and moist. To use them, you have to saturate the strip in water, squeeze a little, wrap it around your cake pan, pour the batter in, and bake. Really simple and I discovered that it actually works! My cakes (I made a two layer cake) came out with a level top and they were incredibly moist. So I give this unique kitchen gadget 2 thumbs up! :D
Any modifications? I just modified the pizza toppings, I did everything else according to the recipes.
How it tasted? Can you believe that people are still talking about that pizza days afterwards? In a good way, too! ;) Everyone loved the pizza and the Cookies and Cream cake was exceptional. Annemarie, who is from Chicago, said that the pizza crust is just like the real thing. Wow, huh?!
How about a 2nd time? Are you kidding? Of course!
A Cake for Christmas
12/25/09: Happy Birthday Jesus!
On Christmas Day I decorated a cake for Jesus' birthday. Annemarie baked the sheet cake (a chocolate one, by the way), and I decorated it using Traditional Buttercream and sprinkles. There was no red coloring in the house so I mixed maraschino cherry juice with the buttercream to make the poinsettia.
On Christmas Day I decorated a cake for Jesus' birthday. Annemarie baked the sheet cake (a chocolate one, by the way), and I decorated it using Traditional Buttercream and sprinkles. There was no red coloring in the house so I mixed maraschino cherry juice with the buttercream to make the poinsettia.
A Cake for Mary -- Immaculate Heart Cake
12/08/09: Immaculate Heart Cake in honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8)
Dessert Details: I don't often get a chance to bake/cook outside my Sunday time slot, but this week was an exception. December 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and the day just had to have a cake to help celebrate. I made a three layer devils food cake that was frosted with Traditional Chocolate Buttercream, Traditional Buttercream, and a Creamy White Icing was used for the filling.
I also made this cake because Duff Goodman, the host of The Ace of the Cakes on Food Network, was the next chef in line for me. I am a member of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Blame My Mother blog. Learn more about this fun challenge here.
The Creamy White Icing came from the 1950 edition of Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook. Here is the recipe:
Creamy White Icing
Ingredients:
Melt shortening and butter in saucepan. Remove from heat and blend in flour and salt. Stir milk in slowly. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. Beat until right consistency to spread. Yield: 1 1/2 cups.
So bring on the cake. . .
There was a lot of carving involved when making this cake. But the scraps didn't go to waste, I placed them all into a 9" square pan and made a "crumb" cake. :) Everyone liked it!
This was my first attempt at making buttercream roses.
Dessert Details: I don't often get a chance to bake/cook outside my Sunday time slot, but this week was an exception. December 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and the day just had to have a cake to help celebrate. I made a three layer devils food cake that was frosted with Traditional Chocolate Buttercream, Traditional Buttercream, and a Creamy White Icing was used for the filling.
I also made this cake because Duff Goodman, the host of The Ace of the Cakes on Food Network, was the next chef in line for me. I am a member of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Blame My Mother blog. Learn more about this fun challenge here.
The Creamy White Icing came from the 1950 edition of Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook. Here is the recipe:
Creamy White Icing
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp. shortening
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. milk
- 2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- 1/3 tsp. vanilla
Melt shortening and butter in saucepan. Remove from heat and blend in flour and salt. Stir milk in slowly. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. Beat until right consistency to spread. Yield: 1 1/2 cups.
So bring on the cake. . .
There was a lot of carving involved when making this cake. But the scraps didn't go to waste, I placed them all into a 9" square pan and made a "crumb" cake. :) Everyone liked it!
This was my first attempt at making buttercream roses.
For the Sake of Cake : Cake Decorating Fun
This past month and a half I've been looking into cake decorating because I believe it is something I could do for fun and I so do LOVE cake. :) I'm going to write down here what I've learned and discovered so far and maybe someone who is reading this may pick up a few ideas, too.
What Type of Cake Should I Make? : At the beginning I needed to decide on what I should learn first, so I asked my siblings what they thought was the prettiest and most appetizing cake they have seen. They all agreed that simple piping was theirs. I wanted to make sure I added appetizing as an adjective because I didn't want to scare away my eaters! A lot of the cakes I see featured on The Ace of Cakes (Food Network) and The Cake Boss (TLC) are nice to look at, but I have a hard time picturing myself eating one. Sorry Duff and Buddy! I like the look of simple piping and both dainty and elaborate flowers, so I decided to learn these two techniques first.
Decorating Supplies : Before this past November there was really no cake decorating supplies in the house. Not one single pastry bag to be found! So my parents bought me some supplies (isn't that so nice of them?) from BakersNook.com. Here are the supplies I selected and my thoughts on each:
3 pastry bags, Ateco brand - a 10" polyurethane version, a 12" plastic coated canvas one, and a 16" 'Flex.' The 10" bag is kind of slippery when piping but it is the easiest one to clean. The 12" bag is a lot easier to pipe with and it fits in my hand nicely; isn't easy to clean because the canvas is stiff. I haven't tried out the 'Flex' bag but I'm thinking it will be the easiest to use and clean, just by the looks of it. It also has a handy loop for hanging.
7 different piping tips, Wilton brand - Basketweave 47, Drop Flower 1B, Open Star 18, Petal 104, Round 12, Round 3, and Round 6. I tried all of these out except for the Drop Flower. All of them are easy to use and you can place them in the dishwasher. Very nice! I don't think I would change my tip set except to add a larger Open Star. The Petal 104 is my favorite tip because it allows me to make flower petals; can't live without it.
Coupler with Rings, CK brand - A coupler is a plastic object that has threads (like a screw) that you insert in the pastry bag before adding the frosting. You then place your piping tip on top of the coupler from the outside of the bag, and screw it in place using a coupler ring. This allows me to interchange piping tips without emptying the bag's contents.
13" Offset Spatula, Ateco brand - I selected this item to help me spread the frosting on the cake and to load the pastry bag. It is heavy-duty and well made.
Clear Imitation Butter Flavoring, 4 oz, CK brand - This butter flavoring comes in use when I make a buttercream entirely out of shortening. I would use 100% shortening when I make a frosting that is pure white. I just recently used this product in my buttercream and it tastes just like butter!
Liquid Glucose, 16 oz., CK brand - Used in making ready to roll fondant. Haven't used this yet.
Glycerin, Wilton brand - Used in making fondant.
Meringue Powder, 4 oz., Baker's Nook product - Commonly used in royal icing but I also found it to be a great addition to buttercream. It stabilizes the frosting.
Tylose Gum Paste Powder, CK brand - Used in making gum paste. Haven't used this yet.
Flower Nail No. 7, Wilton brand - A handy tool when making buttercream roses and other flowers. Here is a picture of the flower nail sitting next to the tip that makes rose petals:
I really can't just take a look at a cake recipe and know then and there what it will be like. But I am doing a course in kitchen chemistry for school so maybe I will have that skill soon. I am definitely looking forward to that! :)
Finding the Right Frosting Recipe : I knew from the start that I wanted to make all my frosting and other cake 'mediums' (i.e. fondant, gum paste, etc.), from scratch so I began searching for the perfect recipes. Here is what I found:
Traditional Buttercream (TB) from DesignMeACake.com - I came across this recipe by searching on YouTube. The cake decorator, Edna, is very talented and I enjoy her videos a lot. I've made this buttercream two times so far and it has been the silkiest buttercream I've tasted, even after 2 days in the refrigerator. It doesn't crust up as fast as some other buttercreams I've tried; that is always nice when spending a long time piping.
Made any modifications to this recipe? No, I followed it exactly. But I did notice a typo in the ingredient section (merengue should be meringue) and the recipe author forgot to mention the meringue powder in the instructions. You should add the meringue to the powdered sugar.
Storing time: Can be stored up to 2 weeks in fridge.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMB) from DyannBakes.com - This is a cooked buttercream that uses egg whites. It is not as sweet as the TB and my family likes it that way. I also found this recipe on YouTube and it is very easy to make. It uses a lot more butter than the recipe above, but it uses less sugar.
Made any modifications to this recipe? Yes. The creator of this recipe said to cook the egg whites and sugar until they reach 140 F or until the sugar has dissolved. I've learned from different sources that the egg whites are not cooked until the temperature of 160 F. I decided to do 160 degrees to play it safe.
Storing time: It can stored in the fridge for up to one week.
I found other recipes for fondant, gum paste, and royal icing and will post about them as soon as I try them out.
Baking the Cake - What is the Best Way to Grease My Cake Pan? : For a couple years now I've always greased my cake pans using a butter flavored vegetable spray. Why? Because I grease everything else this way (bread bowls, muffin pans. . . You name it, I sprayed it), and it is the easiest way I can think of. The cake comes out easily sometimes but those other times can prove to be very frustrating. Annemarie told me that the traditional butter and flour method works the best. So the last time I made a cake--which required three layers of a devil's food--I tried three different methods. One, butter and flour; two, butter and coco powder; and three, parchment paper on the bottom with butter and flour on the sides. And the conclusion was. . . the parchment paper cake slid right out like it was no one's business! :) Next in the performance line was the butter and flour, it came out cleanly but only after some beating. Unfortunately, the butter and coco died a miserable death. Live and learn.
Baking the Cake - Removing the Cake from the Oven : As soon as the cake is ready (a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake), I take it out of the oven and transfer it to a wire rack. A wire rack allows air underneath the cake pan so the pans cools down faster. I let the cake sit in its pan for ten minutes before I remove it from the pan. I take a knife, run it along the cake's perimeter, place another wire rack on top of the cake, invert the cake while still holding the rack, give the pan's bottom a few taps with the knife handle, and if I played my cards right, the cake usually slips right out. I let the cake sit on the rack for another ten minutes then I invert it to its upright position. This is to help prevent the cake from splitting because the bottom of the cake is sturdier than the top.
Storing the Cake Before it is Decorated : After the cake is cool to the touch, I wrap it up in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. What really works well for me is baking the cake the evening before the day of decorating, this gives me a lot more time and a nice chilled cake.
Getting Ready to Decorate : I like to move my chilled cake to a cake board and then move it to my cake plate, and frost it there. After the cake is frosted I move the cake off the plate, clean the plate from my frosting "oopsy" moments, then transfer the cake back onto the plate by slipping a long spatula under the cake to lift it off the cake board.
So what is a cake board, and what is it made of? It is usually made of cardboard with a wax coating. Instead of purchasing one I made my own using two rounds of medium weight cardboard covered with non-stick aluminum foil. It works very well and best of all: it's free!
Decorating the Cake : The first time I piped with buttercream I noticed that it was getting runny and my piping was getting very sloppy. I learned that the frosting was melting because of the heat of my hands so I placed the bag in the refrigerator for a couple minutes. That is why it is so helpful to alternate between two piping bags, one can be kept in the fridge while the other is in use.
When filling a pastry bag with frosting sometimes the frosting ends up on the outside. You can prevent this by folding over the edge about two inches, picking up a bit of frosting on the end of a spatula, and inserting the frosting as near to the piping tip as possible. And when you are piping, you should always give the bag a quick twist to stop the frosting from coming up to the top of the bag.
There are so many other things to talk about when it comes to cake! I hope to write up another post on the oh-so-yummy topic soon!
What Type of Cake Should I Make? : At the beginning I needed to decide on what I should learn first, so I asked my siblings what they thought was the prettiest and most appetizing cake they have seen. They all agreed that simple piping was theirs. I wanted to make sure I added appetizing as an adjective because I didn't want to scare away my eaters! A lot of the cakes I see featured on The Ace of Cakes (Food Network) and The Cake Boss (TLC) are nice to look at, but I have a hard time picturing myself eating one. Sorry Duff and Buddy! I like the look of simple piping and both dainty and elaborate flowers, so I decided to learn these two techniques first.
Decorating Supplies : Before this past November there was really no cake decorating supplies in the house. Not one single pastry bag to be found! So my parents bought me some supplies (isn't that so nice of them?) from BakersNook.com. Here are the supplies I selected and my thoughts on each:
3 pastry bags, Ateco brand - a 10" polyurethane version, a 12" plastic coated canvas one, and a 16" 'Flex.' The 10" bag is kind of slippery when piping but it is the easiest one to clean. The 12" bag is a lot easier to pipe with and it fits in my hand nicely; isn't easy to clean because the canvas is stiff. I haven't tried out the 'Flex' bag but I'm thinking it will be the easiest to use and clean, just by the looks of it. It also has a handy loop for hanging.
7 different piping tips, Wilton brand - Basketweave 47, Drop Flower 1B, Open Star 18, Petal 104, Round 12, Round 3, and Round 6. I tried all of these out except for the Drop Flower. All of them are easy to use and you can place them in the dishwasher. Very nice! I don't think I would change my tip set except to add a larger Open Star. The Petal 104 is my favorite tip because it allows me to make flower petals; can't live without it.
Coupler with Rings, CK brand - A coupler is a plastic object that has threads (like a screw) that you insert in the pastry bag before adding the frosting. You then place your piping tip on top of the coupler from the outside of the bag, and screw it in place using a coupler ring. This allows me to interchange piping tips without emptying the bag's contents.
13" Offset Spatula, Ateco brand - I selected this item to help me spread the frosting on the cake and to load the pastry bag. It is heavy-duty and well made.
Clear Imitation Butter Flavoring, 4 oz, CK brand - This butter flavoring comes in use when I make a buttercream entirely out of shortening. I would use 100% shortening when I make a frosting that is pure white. I just recently used this product in my buttercream and it tastes just like butter!
Liquid Glucose, 16 oz., CK brand - Used in making ready to roll fondant. Haven't used this yet.
Glycerin, Wilton brand - Used in making fondant.
Meringue Powder, 4 oz., Baker's Nook product - Commonly used in royal icing but I also found it to be a great addition to buttercream. It stabilizes the frosting.
Tylose Gum Paste Powder, CK brand - Used in making gum paste. Haven't used this yet.
Flower Nail No. 7, Wilton brand - A handy tool when making buttercream roses and other flowers. Here is a picture of the flower nail sitting next to the tip that makes rose petals:
Here is my review of Baker's Nook:
- Selection? Baker's Nook has a very large selection of supplies for not just cake decorating but also for candy making, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and lots of other yummy confections.
- Prices? Before deciding on purchasing from Baker's Nook, I wanted to compare their prices with some other cake supply websites. I couldn't find any other website that offered such prices and selection as Baker's Nook does--and believe me, I looked! ;)
- Customer Service? I emailed Baker's Nook once about a product's country of origin and they replied in less than a day and gave me the necessary info. Their website also includes a very handy chat feature which I used a lot before ordering.
- Ordering experience? My parents ordered for me. Had a bit of a hassle checking out (the first attempt failed). Would only give them 2 stars for ordering experience this first time.
I really can't just take a look at a cake recipe and know then and there what it will be like. But I am doing a course in kitchen chemistry for school so maybe I will have that skill soon. I am definitely looking forward to that! :)
Finding the Right Frosting Recipe : I knew from the start that I wanted to make all my frosting and other cake 'mediums' (i.e. fondant, gum paste, etc.), from scratch so I began searching for the perfect recipes. Here is what I found:
Traditional Buttercream (TB) from DesignMeACake.com - I came across this recipe by searching on YouTube. The cake decorator, Edna, is very talented and I enjoy her videos a lot. I've made this buttercream two times so far and it has been the silkiest buttercream I've tasted, even after 2 days in the refrigerator. It doesn't crust up as fast as some other buttercreams I've tried; that is always nice when spending a long time piping.
Made any modifications to this recipe? No, I followed it exactly. But I did notice a typo in the ingredient section (merengue should be meringue) and the recipe author forgot to mention the meringue powder in the instructions. You should add the meringue to the powdered sugar.
Storing time: Can be stored up to 2 weeks in fridge.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMB) from DyannBakes.com - This is a cooked buttercream that uses egg whites. It is not as sweet as the TB and my family likes it that way. I also found this recipe on YouTube and it is very easy to make. It uses a lot more butter than the recipe above, but it uses less sugar.
Made any modifications to this recipe? Yes. The creator of this recipe said to cook the egg whites and sugar until they reach 140 F or until the sugar has dissolved. I've learned from different sources that the egg whites are not cooked until the temperature of 160 F. I decided to do 160 degrees to play it safe.
Storing time: It can stored in the fridge for up to one week.
I found other recipes for fondant, gum paste, and royal icing and will post about them as soon as I try them out.
Baking the Cake - What is the Best Way to Grease My Cake Pan? : For a couple years now I've always greased my cake pans using a butter flavored vegetable spray. Why? Because I grease everything else this way (bread bowls, muffin pans. . . You name it, I sprayed it), and it is the easiest way I can think of. The cake comes out easily sometimes but those other times can prove to be very frustrating. Annemarie told me that the traditional butter and flour method works the best. So the last time I made a cake--which required three layers of a devil's food--I tried three different methods. One, butter and flour; two, butter and coco powder; and three, parchment paper on the bottom with butter and flour on the sides. And the conclusion was. . . the parchment paper cake slid right out like it was no one's business! :) Next in the performance line was the butter and flour, it came out cleanly but only after some beating. Unfortunately, the butter and coco died a miserable death. Live and learn.
Baking the Cake - Removing the Cake from the Oven : As soon as the cake is ready (a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake), I take it out of the oven and transfer it to a wire rack. A wire rack allows air underneath the cake pan so the pans cools down faster. I let the cake sit in its pan for ten minutes before I remove it from the pan. I take a knife, run it along the cake's perimeter, place another wire rack on top of the cake, invert the cake while still holding the rack, give the pan's bottom a few taps with the knife handle, and if I played my cards right, the cake usually slips right out. I let the cake sit on the rack for another ten minutes then I invert it to its upright position. This is to help prevent the cake from splitting because the bottom of the cake is sturdier than the top.
Storing the Cake Before it is Decorated : After the cake is cool to the touch, I wrap it up in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. What really works well for me is baking the cake the evening before the day of decorating, this gives me a lot more time and a nice chilled cake.
Getting Ready to Decorate : I like to move my chilled cake to a cake board and then move it to my cake plate, and frost it there. After the cake is frosted I move the cake off the plate, clean the plate from my frosting "oopsy" moments, then transfer the cake back onto the plate by slipping a long spatula under the cake to lift it off the cake board.
So what is a cake board, and what is it made of? It is usually made of cardboard with a wax coating. Instead of purchasing one I made my own using two rounds of medium weight cardboard covered with non-stick aluminum foil. It works very well and best of all: it's free!
Decorating the Cake : The first time I piped with buttercream I noticed that it was getting runny and my piping was getting very sloppy. I learned that the frosting was melting because of the heat of my hands so I placed the bag in the refrigerator for a couple minutes. That is why it is so helpful to alternate between two piping bags, one can be kept in the fridge while the other is in use.
When filling a pastry bag with frosting sometimes the frosting ends up on the outside. You can prevent this by folding over the edge about two inches, picking up a bit of frosting on the end of a spatula, and inserting the frosting as near to the piping tip as possible. And when you are piping, you should always give the bag a quick twist to stop the frosting from coming up to the top of the bag.
There are so many other things to talk about when it comes to cake! I hope to write up another post on the oh-so-yummy topic soon!
My Discovery of Yorkshire Pudding and My First Ever Advent Cake
11/29/09: Tomato Soup Paired with Mini Yorkshire Pudding and Gold Cake for Dessert
Meal details: For the main course I heated 1 1/2 quarts of homemade tomato soup from the freezer and baked some Yorkshire Pudding to eat alongside. For dessert, I made a Gold Cake, filled it with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and traditional buttercream, and frosted an Advent candle on top in honor of it being the First Sunday of the Advent Season.
Defining moments: First time for making and tasting Yorkshire Pudding. Before this week I never even knew what Yorkshire Pudding was! I've heard the name here and there but I always imagined it to be, well, pudding. As in, Jell-O pudding. ;) This was also a memorable Sunday because I frosted a cake using lots of different techniques, piping tips, and frostings.
Recipe sources: The Mini Yorkshire Pudding recipe was created by Danny Boome, the host of Rescue Chef, and came from the Food Network website. I chose this recipe because I am cooking along with the members of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Blame My Mother blog. Learn more about this fun challenge by clicking here.
The Gold Cake recipe came from Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, copyright 1950. The recipe, which has been rephrased by me, follows:
Gold Cake
Yield: 2 9" layer pans or 13x9" oblong pan
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease and flour cake pans. Cream shortening, butter, and sugar together until fluffy. Blend in egg yolks. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a measuring cup, combine milk, lemon extract, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and milk mixture alternately to shortening mixture until cake batter is smooth. Pour into cake pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes for layers OR 35 to 40 minutes for 13x9 pan. Test doneness of cake by inserting toothpick into center of cake; if it comes out clean the cake is done.
I used two kinds of frosting to make this cake. One is called Swiss Meringue Buttercream and the other is a traditional type of buttercream, made with butter, powdered sugar, and milk.
To me, and a good portion of my family, traditional buttercream is a bit too sweet and that is why I wanted to try out a new kind of frosting. The Swiss Meringue recipe was created by DyannBakes.com and I discovered it on YouTube. Visit this website to print out the recipe and view the embedded video. I made a modification to this recipe so please read on to learn more.
The traditional buttercream recipe was also discovered on YouTube and was created by DesignMeACake.com. Take a look at the recipe and video by clicking here. A quick note about this recipe: I noticed that the author of this recipe forget to mention the meringue powder in the written instructions. She does, however, mention it on the video. So for those who are interested in giving this one a go: add the meringue powder to the powdered sugar before mixing it with the butter and shortening.
What I learned: Let me first begin with the Yorkshire Pudding. When I first read through the recipe and looked at the comments it appeared to me that the recipe did not include all the hints and tips from the T.V. show. Too bad I didn't catch it on T.V.! Oh well. I still wanted to try them out so I decided to look around on some websites and blogs to see what other people are doing. I am so glad I did because I learned a lot of valuable information like using oil to grease the muffin pan instead of butter and using 3" wide muffin pans. I should always research the recipe before I try it out!
Now for dessert. Past couple of weeks I have been doing a lot of research on cake decorating and different types of frosting. Here are a couple tips I've accumulated:
A learned a lot more tips and I hope to type a separate post for this. Be expecting it soon! ;D
Any modifications? Yes. I made some to the Yorkshire Pudding and the Swiss Meringue.
For the Pudding--Instead of using butter to grease the muffin pans, I quickly sprayed the pans with cooking spray and filled each muffin hole with a 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil. And the puddings only took 25 minutes to bake.
For the Swiss Meringue--The recipe says to cook the egg whites and sugar until they reach the temperature of 140F. I learned from various sites that egg whites are not cooked until they reach 160F. Read this site to learn more. I want to play it safe, so 160 is my recommendation!
How it tasted? The "Yorkies" were light and had an almost creamy texture. They went very well with the homemade tomato soup, which by the way, my brother thought tasted better than when I first served it. Aw. The Yorkies had no trouble rising for me and I am still perplexed on how they actually rise when there is no leavening agent to be seen. I just started a Kitchen Chemistry class so maybe I'll be learning that bit of science in the near future.
The cake was liked by all, both in flavor and appearance! Yay! It is nice to have that happen after spending a lot of time studying cake decorating. I think it was a good move to use both the Swiss Meringue Buttercream and the traditional kind, because the latter tends to be overly sweet and can overpower the cake. My Papa says to make a chocolate Swiss Meringue next time--just what I was thinking. ;)
How about a 2nd time? Yes. Annemarie said we need to have the Yorkies with gravy, sounds like a plan to me.
Here are my Yorkshire Puddings and not a Jell-O box in sight!
A purple candle in honor of the First Sunday of Advent.
The frosting is ivory in color because I used colored vanilla extract. To achieve a white, white frosting, use clear extract of your choice.
This cake has a lovely gold color because of the addition of egg yolks.
Watching hours of Ace of Cakes, Food Network Cake Challenges, and Cake Boss has finally paid off.
Meal details: For the main course I heated 1 1/2 quarts of homemade tomato soup from the freezer and baked some Yorkshire Pudding to eat alongside. For dessert, I made a Gold Cake, filled it with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and traditional buttercream, and frosted an Advent candle on top in honor of it being the First Sunday of the Advent Season.
Defining moments: First time for making and tasting Yorkshire Pudding. Before this week I never even knew what Yorkshire Pudding was! I've heard the name here and there but I always imagined it to be, well, pudding. As in, Jell-O pudding. ;) This was also a memorable Sunday because I frosted a cake using lots of different techniques, piping tips, and frostings.
Recipe sources: The Mini Yorkshire Pudding recipe was created by Danny Boome, the host of Rescue Chef, and came from the Food Network website. I chose this recipe because I am cooking along with the members of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Blame My Mother blog. Learn more about this fun challenge by clicking here.
The Gold Cake recipe came from Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, copyright 1950. The recipe, which has been rephrased by me, follows:
Gold Cake
Yield: 2 9" layer pans or 13x9" oblong pan
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup soft shortening
- 1/4 butter
- 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 5 egg yolks (3/8 cup), beaten until thick
- 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour OR 2 1/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp. lemon extract
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease and flour cake pans. Cream shortening, butter, and sugar together until fluffy. Blend in egg yolks. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a measuring cup, combine milk, lemon extract, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and milk mixture alternately to shortening mixture until cake batter is smooth. Pour into cake pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes for layers OR 35 to 40 minutes for 13x9 pan. Test doneness of cake by inserting toothpick into center of cake; if it comes out clean the cake is done.
I used two kinds of frosting to make this cake. One is called Swiss Meringue Buttercream and the other is a traditional type of buttercream, made with butter, powdered sugar, and milk.
To me, and a good portion of my family, traditional buttercream is a bit too sweet and that is why I wanted to try out a new kind of frosting. The Swiss Meringue recipe was created by DyannBakes.com and I discovered it on YouTube. Visit this website to print out the recipe and view the embedded video. I made a modification to this recipe so please read on to learn more.
The traditional buttercream recipe was also discovered on YouTube and was created by DesignMeACake.com. Take a look at the recipe and video by clicking here. A quick note about this recipe: I noticed that the author of this recipe forget to mention the meringue powder in the written instructions. She does, however, mention it on the video. So for those who are interested in giving this one a go: add the meringue powder to the powdered sugar before mixing it with the butter and shortening.
What I learned: Let me first begin with the Yorkshire Pudding. When I first read through the recipe and looked at the comments it appeared to me that the recipe did not include all the hints and tips from the T.V. show. Too bad I didn't catch it on T.V.! Oh well. I still wanted to try them out so I decided to look around on some websites and blogs to see what other people are doing. I am so glad I did because I learned a lot of valuable information like using oil to grease the muffin pan instead of butter and using 3" wide muffin pans. I should always research the recipe before I try it out!
Now for dessert. Past couple of weeks I have been doing a lot of research on cake decorating and different types of frosting. Here are a couple tips I've accumulated:
- When piping with buttercream for a few minutes I noticed that it was getting runny and my piping was getting very sloppy. I learned that the frosting was melting because of the heat of my hands so I should place the bag in the refrigerator for a couple minutes. That is why it is so helpful to alternate between two piping bags, one can be kept in the fridge while the other is in use.
- When I am filling a pastry bag with frosting sometimes I wind up with frosting on the outside. To prevent this I should fold over the edge about two inches, pick up a bit of frosting on the end of my spatula, and insert the frosting as near to the piping tip as possible. And when I am piping, I should always give the bag a quick twist to stop the frosting from coming up to the top of the bag.
A learned a lot more tips and I hope to type a separate post for this. Be expecting it soon! ;D
Any modifications? Yes. I made some to the Yorkshire Pudding and the Swiss Meringue.
For the Pudding--Instead of using butter to grease the muffin pans, I quickly sprayed the pans with cooking spray and filled each muffin hole with a 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil. And the puddings only took 25 minutes to bake.
For the Swiss Meringue--The recipe says to cook the egg whites and sugar until they reach the temperature of 140F. I learned from various sites that egg whites are not cooked until they reach 160F. Read this site to learn more. I want to play it safe, so 160 is my recommendation!
How it tasted? The "Yorkies" were light and had an almost creamy texture. They went very well with the homemade tomato soup, which by the way, my brother thought tasted better than when I first served it. Aw. The Yorkies had no trouble rising for me and I am still perplexed on how they actually rise when there is no leavening agent to be seen. I just started a Kitchen Chemistry class so maybe I'll be learning that bit of science in the near future.
The cake was liked by all, both in flavor and appearance! Yay! It is nice to have that happen after spending a lot of time studying cake decorating. I think it was a good move to use both the Swiss Meringue Buttercream and the traditional kind, because the latter tends to be overly sweet and can overpower the cake. My Papa says to make a chocolate Swiss Meringue next time--just what I was thinking. ;)
How about a 2nd time? Yes. Annemarie said we need to have the Yorkies with gravy, sounds like a plan to me.
Here are my Yorkshire Puddings and not a Jell-O box in sight!
A purple candle in honor of the First Sunday of Advent.
The frosting is ivory in color because I used colored vanilla extract. To achieve a white, white frosting, use clear extract of your choice.
This cake has a lovely gold color because of the addition of egg yolks.
Watching hours of Ace of Cakes, Food Network Cake Challenges, and Cake Boss has finally paid off.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
