Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Pudding Filling....
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Chocolate Pudding Filling
Ingredients
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces finely chopped semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Preparation
Whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. Bring milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in a little egg mixture. Once bottom of bowl is warm, slowly whisk in remaining hot milk.
Pour mixture back into a clean medium saucepan, add the vanilla, and whisk over medium-low heat until it thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Cook while constantly whisking until pudding is glossy and quite thick, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer pudding to a clean bowl.
Add chopped chocolate and butter and gently whisk until chocolate is completely incorporated. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto surface of pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces finely chopped semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Preparation
Whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. Bring milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in a little egg mixture. Once bottom of bowl is warm, slowly whisk in remaining hot milk.
Pour mixture back into a clean medium saucepan, add the vanilla, and whisk over medium-low heat until it thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Cook while constantly whisking until pudding is glossy and quite thick, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer pudding to a clean bowl.
Add chopped chocolate and butter and gently whisk until chocolate is completely incorporated. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto surface of pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Neapolitan Cake
I made a birthday cake for my husband...
Rich & Dark Chocolate Cake
One 9″ round
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup Cacao Barry Extra Brute Cocoa Powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup strong black coffee
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1.tablespooon pure vanilla extract
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare cake pans with butter and flour or parchment paper. In bowl of electric mixer, sift all dry ingredients. Add all remaning ingredients to bowl with the dry ingredients and with paddle attachment on mixer, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed (you may need the plastic splashguard that comes with mixer) and pour into prepared pans. Batter will be liquidy.
Bake for 20 minutes and rotate pans in oven. Cakes are done when toothpick or skewer comes clean--approximately 35 minutes. Try not to overbake. Cool on wire racks for 20 minutes then gently invert onto racks until completely cool.
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Strawberry Cake
One 9″ round
Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1 (3oz) package of strawberry gelatin (JELL-O)
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs, room temperature
2 3/4 all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberry puree made from frozen sweetened strawberries (or you can use unsweetened and add a tablespoon of white sugar)
Method:
1. Prepare two 9" round pans (butter and flour, or parchment lined).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Mix vanilla and milk together. Combine and whisk dry ingredients, adding to creamed mixture and alternating with milk/vanilla until just combined. Blend in strawberry puree. Pour into prepared pans.
3. Bake in 350 F for about 25 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in pans on wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from pans, gently, to finish cooling on wire racks.
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Snow White Vanilla Cake
One 9″ round
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups ice water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 egg whites beaten stiff
Method:
Add sugar to the butter and beat until light. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with ice water and flavorings, beating thoroughly after each addition. Fold in the beaten egg whites. Pour into greased layer pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Cover with Angel Feather Icing and be tactful about the number of candles.
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Strawberry Party Frosting
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 cups icing sugar (confectioners')
120 ml whipping cream
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
few drops of LorAnn Strawberry Flavor Oil (to taste)
few drops of AmeriColor Electric Pink Gel Color
Method:
Beat the butter and icing sugar in an electric mixer on low with the paddle attachment for about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, water, whipping cream, salt, and strawberry oil, and whip on high speed until fluffy and smooth--about 4 minutes. Add colour and mix until well blended. If consistency is too thick, add more water 1 teaspoon at a time, then whip again for 30 seconds or so.
Makes enough to fill and frost a 3-layer (or 5-6 thin layers) 9" cake.
One 9″ round
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup Cacao Barry Extra Brute Cocoa Powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup strong black coffee
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1.tablespooon pure vanilla extract
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare cake pans with butter and flour or parchment paper. In bowl of electric mixer, sift all dry ingredients. Add all remaning ingredients to bowl with the dry ingredients and with paddle attachment on mixer, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed (you may need the plastic splashguard that comes with mixer) and pour into prepared pans. Batter will be liquidy.
Bake for 20 minutes and rotate pans in oven. Cakes are done when toothpick or skewer comes clean--approximately 35 minutes. Try not to overbake. Cool on wire racks for 20 minutes then gently invert onto racks until completely cool.
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Strawberry Cake
One 9″ round
Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1 (3oz) package of strawberry gelatin (JELL-O)
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs, room temperature
2 3/4 all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberry puree made from frozen sweetened strawberries (or you can use unsweetened and add a tablespoon of white sugar)
Method:
1. Prepare two 9" round pans (butter and flour, or parchment lined).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Mix vanilla and milk together. Combine and whisk dry ingredients, adding to creamed mixture and alternating with milk/vanilla until just combined. Blend in strawberry puree. Pour into prepared pans.
3. Bake in 350 F for about 25 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in pans on wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from pans, gently, to finish cooling on wire racks.
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Snow White Vanilla Cake
One 9″ round
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups ice water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 egg whites beaten stiff
Method:
Add sugar to the butter and beat until light. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with ice water and flavorings, beating thoroughly after each addition. Fold in the beaten egg whites. Pour into greased layer pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Cover with Angel Feather Icing and be tactful about the number of candles.
...................
Strawberry Party Frosting
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 cups icing sugar (confectioners')
120 ml whipping cream
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
few drops of LorAnn Strawberry Flavor Oil (to taste)
few drops of AmeriColor Electric Pink Gel Color
Method:
Beat the butter and icing sugar in an electric mixer on low with the paddle attachment for about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, water, whipping cream, salt, and strawberry oil, and whip on high speed until fluffy and smooth--about 4 minutes. Add colour and mix until well blended. If consistency is too thick, add more water 1 teaspoon at a time, then whip again for 30 seconds or so.
Makes enough to fill and frost a 3-layer (or 5-6 thin layers) 9" cake.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Rainbow Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream
Cake recipe from Cooks Illustrated. Frosting recipe from Martha Stewart.
Ingredients
I used 8" pans..
For Cake:
2 1/4 cups cake flour (9 ounces)
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring
For Frosting/Filling:
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
5 large egg whites
1 pounds (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, softened
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 pound best-quality white chocolate, melted and cooled
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your cake pans by first liberally buttering the pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Butter the rounds and set aside.
Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
Divide batter evenly between six medium bowls. Add enough of each color of food coloring to each bowl, whisking, until desired shade is reached. Transfer each color to an individual cake pan. Transfer to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 15-25 minutes (working in batches if necessary).
Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire rack. Allow to cool completely. At this point, the layers can also be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen.
To make frosting, put sugar and egg whites in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer, and set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture registers 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and cooled, about 10 minutes. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Reduce speed to medium-low; add butter by the tablespoon, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and white chocolate. (Any leftover frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days or frozen up to 1 month.)
To assemble, using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment or waxed paper around perimeter of a cake stand or lazy Susan. Place the purple layer on the cake plate. Scoop a 1/2 cup (or more for a larger cake) buttercream filling over the first layer and spread with a small offset spatula so it extends just beyond edges. Repeat process with blue, green, yellow, and orange layers.
Place the remaining red layer on top, bottom-side up. Gently sweep away any loose crumbs with a pastry brush. Using an offset spatula, cover the top and sides with a thin layer of frosting (also use any of the excess frosting visible between the layers). Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
For Cake:
2 1/4 cups cake flour (9 ounces)
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring
For Frosting/Filling:
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
5 large egg whites
1 pounds (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, softened
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 pound best-quality white chocolate, melted and cooled
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your cake pans by first liberally buttering the pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Butter the rounds and set aside.
Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
Divide batter evenly between six medium bowls. Add enough of each color of food coloring to each bowl, whisking, until desired shade is reached. Transfer each color to an individual cake pan. Transfer to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 15-25 minutes (working in batches if necessary).
Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire rack. Allow to cool completely. At this point, the layers can also be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen.
To make frosting, put sugar and egg whites in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer, and set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture registers 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and cooled, about 10 minutes. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Reduce speed to medium-low; add butter by the tablespoon, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and white chocolate. (Any leftover frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days or frozen up to 1 month.)
To assemble, using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment or waxed paper around perimeter of a cake stand or lazy Susan. Place the purple layer on the cake plate. Scoop a 1/2 cup (or more for a larger cake) buttercream filling over the first layer and spread with a small offset spatula so it extends just beyond edges. Repeat process with blue, green, yellow, and orange layers.
Place the remaining red layer on top, bottom-side up. Gently sweep away any loose crumbs with a pastry brush. Using an offset spatula, cover the top and sides with a thin layer of frosting (also use any of the excess frosting visible between the layers). Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
Hot Chocolate Whipped Cream
Ingredients
1 C heavy whipping cream
1/2 C hot chocolate mix
Instructions
Place metal bowl and whisk in freezer for about 15 minutes so they are good and cold. Pour heavy whipping cream into mixing bowl and beat on high for 2 minutes. Add hot cocoa mix and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Keep Refrigerated.
Notes
The type of hot chocolate you use will affect the taste. For a richer, dark chocolate taste, I recommend Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa mix. I also tried this with Swiss Mix hot chocolate packets. I used 3 packets, which equaled ½ C. The Swiss Mix version was equally as good, especially if you prefer the taste of Swiss Mix hot chocolate
You can also mix it up with some peppermint extract or a different flavor of you choice, which I will be sharing next week! It makes a great filling or alternative frosting for cupcakes and other desserts!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
French Chocolate Macarons with Nutella
Recipe adapted from www.chow.com
For the macarons
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup almond flour or almond meal
3 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch cream of tartar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the Nutella filling
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick), at room temperature and cut into cubes
2-3 tbs Nutella
INSTRUCTIONS
For the macarons:
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a large pastry bag with a 1/2-inch plain tip; set aside.
Place the powdered sugar, almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and pulse several times to aerate. Process until fine and combined, about 30 seconds. Sift through a flour sifter into a large bowl; set aside.
Make a meringue by placing the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until opaque and foamy, about 30 seconds. Add the cream of tartar, increase the speed to medium high, and beat until the egg whites are white in color and hold the line of the whisk, about 1 minute. Continue to beat, slowly adding the granulated sugar, until the sugar is combined, the peaks are stiff, and the whites are shiny, about 1 minute more. (Do not overwhip.) Transfer the meringue to a large bowl.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry mixture into the egg whites in four batches until the dry ingredients are just combined. (The meringue will deflate.)
With the final addition, stop folding when there are no traces of egg whites, the mixture runs like slow-moving lava, and it looks like cake batter. (Do not overmix.)
Transfer the batter to the pastry bag. Pipe out 1-1/4-inch rounds about 1 inch apart onto the baking sheets, about 25 per sheet. Pick up the baking sheets and bang them against the work surface to help create the macaron base, or foot. Let the rounds sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to dry the tops and ensure even cooking.
Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Bake the macarons one sheet at a time for 7 minutes. Rotate the sheet and cook for 7 minutes more. Transfer the sheet to a rack to cool completely.
For the Nutella filling
Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl.
Warm the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just starts to boil. Stir it into the chocolate without creating bubbles. Let sit for 1 minute. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator until thickened but still spreadable, about 30 minutes.
For the macarons
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup almond flour or almond meal
3 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch cream of tartar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the Nutella filling
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick), at room temperature and cut into cubes
2-3 tbs Nutella
INSTRUCTIONS
For the macarons:
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a large pastry bag with a 1/2-inch plain tip; set aside.
Place the powdered sugar, almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and pulse several times to aerate. Process until fine and combined, about 30 seconds. Sift through a flour sifter into a large bowl; set aside.
Make a meringue by placing the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until opaque and foamy, about 30 seconds. Add the cream of tartar, increase the speed to medium high, and beat until the egg whites are white in color and hold the line of the whisk, about 1 minute. Continue to beat, slowly adding the granulated sugar, until the sugar is combined, the peaks are stiff, and the whites are shiny, about 1 minute more. (Do not overwhip.) Transfer the meringue to a large bowl.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry mixture into the egg whites in four batches until the dry ingredients are just combined. (The meringue will deflate.)
With the final addition, stop folding when there are no traces of egg whites, the mixture runs like slow-moving lava, and it looks like cake batter. (Do not overmix.)
Transfer the batter to the pastry bag. Pipe out 1-1/4-inch rounds about 1 inch apart onto the baking sheets, about 25 per sheet. Pick up the baking sheets and bang them against the work surface to help create the macaron base, or foot. Let the rounds sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to dry the tops and ensure even cooking.
Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Bake the macarons one sheet at a time for 7 minutes. Rotate the sheet and cook for 7 minutes more. Transfer the sheet to a rack to cool completely.
For the Nutella filling
Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl.
Warm the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just starts to boil. Stir it into the chocolate without creating bubbles. Let sit for 1 minute. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator until thickened but still spreadable, about 30 minutes.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Easy French Macaron (Macaroons)
4 large egg whites (or 5 small)
1/3 cup or 70 g (2.47 ounces) caster sugar [*US cups 1/3 cup plus 1 tsp]
1 1/2 cups or 230 g (8.11 ounces) pure icing sugar [US cups 1 1/2 cups plus 4 tsp]
OR 1 3/4 cups 230 g (8.11 ounces) icing mixture [US cups 1 3/4 cups plus 4 tsp]
1 cup or 120 g (4.23 ounces) almond meal [US cups 1 cup plus 3 teaspoons]
2 g (0.07 ounces) salt (tiny pinch)
gel food coloring (optional)
(*cup measurements are metric cups where 1 cup=250 ml in the USA cups use customary units so 1 cup = 236 ml so you need to add a little bit extra as detailed in the recipe.).
Macaron Recipe Directions
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C
Place egg whites and cater sugar in a bowl and mix with electric mixer until stiff enough to turn the bowl upside down without it falling out, continue to whip for 1-2 more minutes. How long this takes will depend on you mixer. Add gel or powdered food colouring and continue to mix for a further 20seconds.
Sift the almond meal and icing sugar and salt twice, discarding any almond lumps that are too big to pass through the sieve. Fold into the egg white mixture. It should take roughly 30-50 folds using a rubber spatula. The mixture should be smooth and a very viscous, not runny. Over-mix and your macarons will be flat and have no foot, under mix and they will not be smooth on top – see the macaron troubleshooting post for examples.
Pipe onto trays lined with baking paper, rap trays on the bench firmly (this prevents cracking) and then bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Check if one comes off the tray fairly cleanly, if not bake for a little longer (make sure you are using NON-stick baking paper or they will stick).
Filling your macaroons
Ganache Recipe
100 g (3.53 ounces) chocolate
30 ml cream
Bring the cream to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute and then stir. If it is not adequately melted then microwave for 20 seconds and stir – repeat until smooth. Allow to cool and thicken before piping onto macarons.
The best French Macarons
French Macarons are a small bite sized cookie. They 1st have a crunch in your mouth then leading into a light soft texture as you bite into the filling. This cookie can be filled with jam, ganache, or buttercream.
Recipe adapted from Lovely Lady Cakes
French Macaron
SIFT: 3/4 c. Almond powder
SIFT: 1 c. powder sugar
with a whisk attachment on your kitchen aid or hand held mixer
whisk 2 eggs whites for 2 min till frothy
then add 4 Tbs. sugar, but one tbs at a time very slowly
fold in whites to flour mixture
you can dye the batter different colors or keep white
pipe on parchment paper dime sized dollops
tap tray to get air out
let rest for 15 minutes to form a coat
pre-heat oven to 325
after 15 min is up turn oven down to 300 and bake for 8-10 min on top rack or bottom not middle
then turn cookie sheet and bake another 8 min
let cool
sandwich together
Recipe adapted from Lovely Lady Cakes
French Macaron
SIFT: 3/4 c. Almond powder
SIFT: 1 c. powder sugar
with a whisk attachment on your kitchen aid or hand held mixer
whisk 2 eggs whites for 2 min till frothy
then add 4 Tbs. sugar, but one tbs at a time very slowly
fold in whites to flour mixture
you can dye the batter different colors or keep white
pipe on parchment paper dime sized dollops
tap tray to get air out
let rest for 15 minutes to form a coat
pre-heat oven to 325
after 15 min is up turn oven down to 300 and bake for 8-10 min on top rack or bottom not middle
then turn cookie sheet and bake another 8 min
let cool
sandwich together
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
How to ganache a cake
This tutorial is the technique that I came up with that made it easier for me to make sure that I got straight even sides and a completely flat top every time I ganached a cake. The technique I came up with is kind of a mix of the upside down method that everyone knows about and the technique used by Faye Cahill where she uses two boards (one on top and one on bottom) to help ganache her cakes. My technique as I say is a mix of both and hopefully you find it helpful. There are many ways to ganache a cake, this is just my method.
Now as a preface I want to mention that depending on where you live your cake boards will differ. Here in the UK the silver boards are not the size they say they are. A 6” double thick cake card is smaller than 6” which makes it a nightmare for ganaching because it means you need to trim your cakes, which I hate doing. Because of this I have started cutting my own acrylic Perspex circles that are exactly a half inch larger than whatever cake size I am working with i.e. a 6” has a 6.5” circle underneath it. This allows for a good quarter inch of ganache all the way round the cake. You do not need to do this, if you are happy trimming your cakes then keep doing so, or if you are lucky enough to have a supplier who makes accurately sized cake boards then just use them. The rule of thumb is that you want a quarter inch gap between your cake and the edge of your board, so do whatever you need to, to get that gap.
What you will need
2 x identically sized cake boards
A crank handled palette knife
Chocolate ganache
Cake layers
Buttercream (I use SMBC)
A large round cake drum (bigger than your cake boards – preferably a good 6” bigger)
A large turntable
A bench scraper
A spirit Level
Take your cake drum and smear a little bit of ganache in the centre and place one of your cake boards on top of it making sure to keep the cake board in the centre of the drum. Push down on the cake board to make a good adhesion and allow the ganache to set so that the cake board won’t slide around on you.
Once your board is sufficiently stuck to the cake drum, smear some ganache on top of the cake board (just a little) and place your first layer of cake on top and make sure it is centred on the cake board.
Next apply some buttercream and smooth it out using your palette knife and your turntable to get it completely smooth. The more level you can make each and every layer (cake and buttercream) the easier it is going to be to get a flat top. Once you have completely filled your cake and you have your top layer of cake on, apply a crumb coat of buttercream all over the cake. Put the cake in the fridge for the buttercream to firm up before you move on to the next stage.
Take your cake out of the fridge and apply a layer of ganache on top – not too thick and not too thin, but make sure that you leave an overhang of ganache over each edge.
Take your other cake board and sprinkle one side liberally with water. Place the cake board on top of your cake (water side touching the ganache) and push down gently to adhere to the ganache.
Using a bench scraper butt the scraper up against the cake boards (using the bottom board as your guide) and make sure the top and the bottom board are perfectly aligned all around the cake. You will have to do this at several points round the cake to make sure it is completely aligned.
Once the boards are aligned take your spirit level and check to see if your cake is level – if it is not apply pressure to the top of the cake to make it level – don’t push too hard, but apply enough pressure to get a level cake.
Once your cake is level, remove the cake (including both boards) from the cake drum that it was adhered to with ganache and flip the cake over so that the top of the cake is now at the bottom. Apply some fresh ganache to the centre of the cake drum and place the cake (upside down) onto the centre of the cake drum. Scrape the ganache off the top of the cake board that used to be glued to the cake drum and then take the time to make sure the two cake boards are still aligned and level (in case there was any movement when you flipped it upside down.
Use your palette knife to apply ganache to the sides of the cake in whatever way you feel most comfortable. I tend to apply a layer round the top of the cake to secure it to the cake board and then around the base of the cake and then the middle.
What you need to do constantly, is use your bench scraper to regularly scrape around the cake so that any ganache that is too thick can be removed whilst it’s still soft – if you wait too long you run the risk of the ganache being too firm to easily scrape away and you will then have to cut the ganache away – it’s best just to regularly do a routine scrape down to get rid of any excess while it’s soft. The bonus is that because your cake boards are completely aligned at the top and bottom you can just butt your bench scraper up against both of them and you don’t need to worry that your bench scraper is straight as the two boards do the work for you.
Once you have applied your ganache and you are happy with how smooth it is leave the cake long enough for the ganache to set. Once its set remove the cake from the cake drum and flip it back up the right way and put it in the fridge.
How long you leave your cake in the fridge will come down to the size of your cake and how cold your fridge is. You need to leave it in for as long as it takes for the ganache at the centre of your top cake board to be completely and utterly firm. If you take it out too early and try to remove the top board you run the risk of the top board ripping off the ganache on top. I sometimes have to leave mines in the fridge for a good 2 hours, other times not so long.
As soon as you are sure that your ganache is completely firm all over the cake, take your cake out of the fridge and slide either a palette knife or something fairly slim underneath the top board (be careful, you don’t want to damage your ganache) and pop the top board off.
Because you applied water to the board before applying it to the top of the cake, the ganache will have seized on the top making the top board just pop right off. If you find it’s not coming off easily, put it back in the fridge until it does.
I usually find that when I take the top board off there are little gaps where there were air pockets, so take very small amounts of ganache, just enough to fill in any gaps. The less ganache you use the less likely it is you will mess up your perfectly level top. You might end up with some overhang where you’ve taken some ganache round the top edge and if so, just use your bench scraper to remove this.
Now dip your bench scraper in boiling water and use it to lightly skim the sides and top of the cake – you are not looking to really remove anything but to simply smooth down any fine lines and it also helps to seal the ganache.
You should now have a perfectly ganached cake with straight sides, a level flat top and a sharp edge to die for!! You should now leave the ganached cake at room temperature over night before covering with fondant.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Fluffy Chiffon Roll
Ingredients
(30 x 30 cm baking sheet)
4 egg whites
2 tbsp Sugar (for the egg whites)
...................
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp Sugar (for the egg yolks)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp Water
9 tbsp Cake flour
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Add sugar to the egg whites in 3 batches. Beat until stiff peaks form and you have meringue.
Put egg yolks and sugar in another bowl and beat until light-colored. Add vegetable oil and water and mix again.
Add sifted cake flour to the mixture from Step 2 and mix. (You can use the same hand mixer from Steps 1-3 without washing the blades).
Add half of the meringue to the mixture to Step 3 and mix until combined. Add the mixture to the meringue bowl and mix lightly with a rubber spatula.
Pour into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and rap it against the counter to remove air bubbles. Bake in a 320ºF/160ºC oven for 15 minutes.
When the cake is done baking, drop from a height of 20-30 cm to prevent shrinkage. After it cools slightly, wrap in plastic wrap and let cool completely.
After the cake has completely cooled, remove the plastic wrap (the browned color on the cake will come off nicely with the wrap). Spread any cream filling you like, roll, and it's done.
To make the cream filling, use approximately 150 ml of heavy cream and 2 teaspoons of sugar. If you want a larger amount of cream, use 200 ml of heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
The Best Red Velvet Cupcakes
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup butter, firm but not cold
1 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp red food coloring
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
Icing
1/2 cup salted butter, firm but not cold (if using unsalted add 1/8 tsp salt)
6 oz cream cheese, cold
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
How to
For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, set aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Add in eggs one at a time stirring after each addition.
Add red food coloring and vanilla extract and mix. Add more food coloring if you wish- you wanna get that intense red color!
In a small mixing bowl, combine milk and 1 tsp vinegar. Add milk mixture and flour mixture to cupcake mixture, mixing until combined after each addition.
Divide batter evenly among 15 paper lined muffin cups,
Bake in preheated oven 18-21 minutes until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and once cooled completely, spread generously with Cream Cheese Icing (see below)
For the icing:
In a large mixing bowl whip together butter and cream cheese until pale and fluffy (about 1 minute on high speed, then 3-4 minutes on medium high speed).
Mix in vanilla extract. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
Smother those bad boys with loads of icing and top with cute red sprinkles. If you want to be fancy you can pipe the icing on, makes the little cakes look mad professional :)
Saturday, March 1, 2014
New York Cheesecake with Red velvet crust
Recipe adapted from iambaker.net
Ingredients
2 cups Red Velvet Graham Crackers crumbs finely ground
1 stick butter melted
Instructions
Grind up red velvet graham crackers into food processor. You want a fine crumb. Melt 1 stick of butter and add to red velvet graham cracker. Prepare your spring form pan with cooking spray or butter and then add red velvet graham cracker mixture to pan. Press down and make sure to press up the edges. You can use a glass to press crumbs in tighter and get a more uniform crust.
I used an 8in spring form as well as a 9in and much preferred the thickness of the crust in the 8in.
A few things:
When making the red velvet graham crackers, I much preferred the texture of them on the second day, or when they were more dry. However, for the cheesecake crust, using them the same day I made them worked great.
I found that my food processor did not get a fine enough crumb and ground them even finer.
If you want you can add a couple tablespoons of sugar to the crumbs after you have added the butter.
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