It's that time of year again... Birthday time! As much as a hem and haw when my daughter's birthday comes around I love the challenge of coming up with the details after she comes up with the theme. This year it was a luau. Aside from the standard pizza
Showing posts with label
Baking
Cool summer nights scream fire pits and campfires. You really can't have a fire without marshmallows...it's like having cookies without milk or a movie without popcorn...or....I could go on and on. I won't fault you for whipping out the bag of Jet Puff, I've done it many times, but trust me when I tell you this; nothing compares to marshmallows made from scratch. You need to try making them at least one time this summer. It can be a little messy but it's definitely not difficult or scary. This recipe makes fluffy, chewy, melt in your mouth marshmallows...and best of all they taste incredible toasted over a fire. (Recipe below)
In in a large heat safe bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.
I used a cookie sheet because I couldn't find my small metal pan, so these came out a little flatter then usual and obviously I wasn't able to fill the large cookie sheet with the amount in this recipe so I ended up with a little island of marshmallow in the middle of the pan. Worked out fine though. Just had to trim it to get squares after it set up.
My marshmallow island below sprinkled with confectioner sugar and ready to be refrigerated to set up.
Finished!
Eat your heart out Jet Puff! You can see the airy texture of these in the photo below.
Enjoyed by the fire.
Recipe:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided into 1/2 cups
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup cold water, divided into 1/2 cups
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla
Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.
In in a large heat safe bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.
In a heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until dissolved.
Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until dissolved.
Beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about 10-15 minute.
In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring and any coloring if you want colored marshmallows) into sugar mixture until just combined.
Pour mixture into baking pan. Don't wrestle and fuss to get it all out of the bowl into pan...it's sticky and this is how you could end up with a mess. Pour out what pours out and leave what sticks in the bowl in the bowl (let the dirty bowl soak in soapy water).
Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow uncovered until firm (at least 3 hours, and up to one day)
Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring and any coloring if you want colored marshmallows) into sugar mixture until just combined.
Pour mixture into baking pan. Don't wrestle and fuss to get it all out of the bowl into pan...it's sticky and this is how you could end up with a mess. Pour out what pours out and leave what sticks in the bowl in the bowl (let the dirty bowl soak in soapy water).
Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow uncovered until firm (at least 3 hours, and up to one day)
To remove, run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife dipped in confectioners sugar, trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. Toss marshmallows in remaining confectioners sugar.
Recipe:
2 8oz packages cream cheese
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 stick butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
8 graham crackers
3/4 cups chopped nuts
Butter a 9 inch square pan and dust with graham cracker crumbs. Mix crushed graham crackers with melted butter and nuts. Beat cream cheese with eggs. gradually add sugar and lemon juice. pour into pan and sprinkle with graham cracker topping.
Bake in 325 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Cherry Cupcakes
Cupcakes:
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup cherry puree
4 egg whites
1/3 cup milk
red food coloring (optional)
For the frosting:
1 8oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3-4 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3-4 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend for 30 seconds with an electric mixer.
- Add the butter and cherry puree. Mix until blended. Once blended, increase the speed of the mixer and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. The batter will be thick and creamy.
- Add a few drops of red food coloring, if using.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites and the milk. The mixture will be slightly frothy.
- Add the egg mixture in two additions. Scrape the bowl after each addition. Only mix to fully incorporate. Do not over mix.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
- Bake 14-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack.
To make the frosting:
-Mix together the softened cream cheese and the butter until smooth.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time. Scrape down bowl after each addition.
- Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Frost cupcakes when they are completely cooled.
- In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend for 30 seconds with an electric mixer.
- Add the butter and cherry puree. Mix until blended. Once blended, increase the speed of the mixer and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. The batter will be thick and creamy.
- Add a few drops of red food coloring, if using.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites and the milk. The mixture will be slightly frothy.
- Add the egg mixture in two additions. Scrape the bowl after each addition. Only mix to fully incorporate. Do not over mix.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
- Bake 14-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack.
To make the frosting:
-Mix together the softened cream cheese and the butter until smooth.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time. Scrape down bowl after each addition.
- Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Frost cupcakes when they are completely cooled.
Makes approximately 50 mini-cupcakes.
I finally got the chance to make another cake. It was for my niece's birthday party and she wanted an "under the sea" theme. I had a really hard time with the fondant on this..it was creasing and tearing. Thankfully the decoration covered all the flaws!
Since I'm working on a cookbook for my family, I've been baking allot! Here's another recipe. Plus, it was a good way to break in my new mixer.
This frosting is so yummy. Don't use it with cake mix cake though, use the butter cake recipe below. Mix cake is too sweet to carry this frosting.
Recipe:
Butter Cake
3/4 cup butter (softened)
3 eggs
2 1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with milk. Pour in greased and floured cake pan. Bake 350 Fahrenheit for 50 minutes.
Penuche icing
This icing is poured on the cake warm. Its a crusting icing, so don't fuss with it, just pour it on and let it drip down the sides, it crusts quickly and stops dripping.
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup confectioner's sugar (sifted)
Melt butter in saucepan. Add brown sugar and boil over low heat for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Stir in milk and allow to bubble. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Working quickly, stir in confectioner's sugar and vanilla and immediately pour on cake and spread to edges. Allow icing to drip down the sides of the cake.
This frosting is so yummy. Don't use it with cake mix cake though, use the butter cake recipe below. Mix cake is too sweet to carry this frosting.
Recipe:
Butter Cake
3/4 cup butter (softened)
3 eggs
2 1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with milk. Pour in greased and floured cake pan. Bake 350 Fahrenheit for 50 minutes.
Penuche icing
This icing is poured on the cake warm. Its a crusting icing, so don't fuss with it, just pour it on and let it drip down the sides, it crusts quickly and stops dripping.
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup confectioner's sugar (sifted)
Melt butter in saucepan. Add brown sugar and boil over low heat for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Stir in milk and allow to bubble. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Working quickly, stir in confectioner's sugar and vanilla and immediately pour on cake and spread to edges. Allow icing to drip down the sides of the cake.
I have a new mixer! My old one burnt out on me a month ago. I got pink this time...so girly : )
These cookies have a delicate flavor, not too sweet and are encrusted in sesame seeds.
Sesame Cookies:
2 well beaten eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup melted shortening
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Bowl with 1/2 cup sesame seeds and a bowl of 1 cup milk set aside.
Combine eggs, sugar, shortening. Add flour and baking powder, then the 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla until it forms into a dough. Knead dough. Roll into elongated walnut size pieces. Dip balls into the bowl of milk and then roll in sesame seeds.
Bake: 375 Fahrenheit. 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Combine eggs, sugar, shortening. Add flour and baking powder, then the 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla until it forms into a dough. Knead dough. Roll into elongated walnut size pieces. Dip balls into the bowl of milk and then roll in sesame seeds.
Bake: 375 Fahrenheit. 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
These are little, crumbly, melt in your mouth, balls that taste like butter, rum and cinnamon...YUMMY!
Italian Rum Butter Balls:
1 cup butter (softened)
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons rum
2 ½ cup cake flour
¼ cup melted butter and ¼ cup cinnamon sugar mixture
Cream softened butter & light brown sugar until fluffy. Add rum and blend well. Sift cake flour and add gradually to butter mixture until a soft ball is formed. Chill dough 1 hour. Roll small balls. Dip balls in melted butter then drop into mixture of cinnamon/sugar. Shake off excess.
Bake: 350 Fahrenheit 15-20 minutes (until golden brown).
Italian Rum Butter Balls:
1 cup butter (softened)
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons rum
2 ½ cup cake flour
¼ cup melted butter and ¼ cup cinnamon sugar mixture
Cream softened butter & light brown sugar until fluffy. Add rum and blend well. Sift cake flour and add gradually to butter mixture until a soft ball is formed. Chill dough 1 hour. Roll small balls. Dip balls in melted butter then drop into mixture of cinnamon/sugar. Shake off excess.
Bake: 350 Fahrenheit 15-20 minutes (until golden brown).
Kids and baking go hand and hand...don't you agree?! This time we tried a recipe with yeast. Kids love watching the yeast foam and come to life and they hate waiting for the dough to rise!
1 cup milk
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 (.25 ounce) packet active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Mix in the eggs, oil and the yeast mixture. Mix until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Grease a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of oil. Place the dough into the bowl and turn once to coat. Cover and let stand in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.
Use remaining oil to grease a cookie sheet. Punch down dough and form into a braided loaf or individual rolls. Let dough rise for 20 to 25 minutes, or until almost double. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
Sweet Bread
1 cup milk
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 (.25 ounce) packet active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Combine the milk, sugar and butter. Heat in microwave or stove top until slightly warm to the touch (be careful not to make the milk hot in the microwave, it just needs to be warm) then remove from heat and stir in the yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Mix in the eggs, oil and the yeast mixture. Mix until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Grease a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of oil. Place the dough into the bowl and turn once to coat. Cover and let stand in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.
Use remaining oil to grease a cookie sheet. Punch down dough and form into a braided loaf or individual rolls. Let dough rise for 20 to 25 minutes, or until almost double. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
I'm always amazed at simple things that teach us lessons about who and how we are... and help us to bend away from it. In this case, it was sugar cookies. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to cookie size, shape and placement on the cookie sheet, but my 6 year old daughter Kenna and her friend Erica wanted to make the cookies whatever size they happened to grab out of the bowl and plop them wherever on the sheet. I tried to reason with them and tell them they should be the same size...and then the question "why?". Hmmm...I was stumped. I tried to think of a good reason and all I came up with is "they look better that way". But look at the picture below... I'm wrong, they look adorable all different sizes. So my lesson: To let go of things that don't really matter. Oh and I also learned that it really doesn't matter what size my cookies are!!
Perfectly Imperfect Sugar Cookies:
INGREDIENTS
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll dough into ANY SIZE balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
Perfectly Imperfect Sugar Cookies:INGREDIENTS
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll dough into ANY SIZE balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
I have been trying my hand at cake making/decorating lately. Below are two cakes I made recently, one for a bridal shower and the other for a black and pink theme sweet 16. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared with my camera when I delivered these cakes and used my phone to take these snapshots, so excuse the poor quality. I was more concerned with getting them to the event in one piece! 
I'm such a novice at this and have so much to learn. I'm sure an avid cake maker would cringe at my techniques. But there is so much to like about making cakes that I think I'll keep at it. I get to work with my hands, I get to make a mess, I get to make people happy and I get to taste yummy cake batter, frosting and cake! The best part of all though, is I get to be creative with design and taste. Hopefully I'll get to make more soon and share them with you. I need an event though!
Both cakes were covered in rolled fondant and I finally found an easy recipe that actually tastes really good. It's a marshmallow fondant recipe that I found here: http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm
