The Queen Of Cakes

Pumpkin Gingerbread Sandwiches

2009-11-10T18:53:00.000-08:00

My love for pumpkin and spices overtook my senses, and I just had to make these little sandwiches. And boy am I glad I did! My waistline may have suffered, but my taste buds delighted! I adapted the ice cream from one I found on Williams Sonoma, and the cookie dough was the same from my previous entry.

Pumpkin Ginger Icecream
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
walnut sized piece of ginger
3/4 cup brown sugar
5 yolks
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
pinch nutmeg

In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 1/2 cups of the cream and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, and thinly sliced ginger. Cook until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the egg yolks, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar. Whisk until smooth and the sugar begins to dissolve.

Remove the cream mixture from the heat. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and keeping the custard at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 4 to 6 minutes. Do not allow the custard to boil. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.

Place the bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice water, stirring occasionally until cool. Whisk the pumpkin mixture into the custard. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 1 quart.

Pie Chart

2009-11-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

There are a great many things I love about this time of year; such as the gray skies, crisp breezes, the smell of wood smoke (we don't get much of that here, but every now and then...), the crunch of leaves, and fat cinnamon-y apple pie! Tart, spicy, and buttery, with a flaky crust and a ton of fruit, apple pie is a delight to all of the senses.

I'm a big fan of apples in most forms and enjoy either granny smiths with salt, or sweeter apples with sharp cheese. I recently bought some Honeycrips from Trader Joes, and they were well worth the slightly higher price. Few fruits have been as perfect as those tasty little orbs.
The good folks at Pilsbury have put together this super handy chart to help you decide which apples are right for your needs. And with as many options as the stores have right now, I know this will help me out!
Click for a larger (and therefor legible) image.

Gingerbread Owls

2009-10-26T11:33:00.001-07:00

It's amazing how as soon as the weather cools off my taste buds start crying out for spicy holiday foods. I thought I'd make use of some of my many many cookie cutters and so I baked up some ginger owls. I made some dachshunds as well, but didn't get around to photographing them before they were all eaten.
I used Martha's recipe, and they were delicious. The day they were baked they were very crispy, but they softened up overnight (which I greatly prefer).

Cowgirl

2009-10-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

So if you've never seen Bakerella's site, you my friend are missing out. She did a lovely little post about cowgirl cookie mixes, and they sounded so tasty I had to make some. You can get the recipe on her site, along with some lovely little templates for packaging. I switched the nuts out for some cocoa nibs, and added a little peanut butter. And the results were fabulous!
Oh, I also didn't add m&ms (I didn't really feel like walking to the store) so I added some white chocolate chunks I had lying about. Really, you can throw all manner of things in this cookie. I worked at a place that added bran cereal to a similar cookie, and it was amazing!

The Scoop

2009-10-06T07:46:00.000-07:00

I wonder how many ice cream scoops (or portioners) have fallen apart in my hands over the years. The inner scrapping arm is the most common place for things to go wrong. They bend or break free and refuse to return to their former location. The second most frequent place for things to get squiffy is in the lever area. Modern scoops generally have a spring, and those springs are often held in place by little tiny bits of plastic that easily fail, and getting a spring back in place is generally a lost cause. I have even once had the entire head of a scooper pop off while portioning out cookie dough.
Why can't we still make things as well as we use to? I wonder how much less waste this country would have if we didn't constantly have to throw away poorly made objects that break constantly?
I don't think I will have to worry about it at home now. I found these two beauties the other day, and I think I'd need a sledgehammer to mar them.

Irish Car Bomb

2008-08-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

Car bombs are one of my favorite drinks. Many months ago I found a guinness cupcake recipe on the food network site and knew I had to try it. I've seem many variations on this theme, but I've been so happy with this recipe I haven't tried any others. I made them a few times and added amarena cherries and topped them with cherry buttercream. Heavenly! They got rave reviews from all. But then I decided to add some baileys for a little variety. It was an A+ as well. Ah, the joys of boozy deserts....

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

3/4 c cocoa powder
2 c sugar
1 Tbs baking soda
pinch salt
2 c all purpose flour

1 bottle stout
1/2 c melted butter
1 Tbs vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 c sour cream

Have stout, eggs, and sour cream at room temperature.
Sift together dry ingredients.
In separate bowl combine stout, melted butter, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Whisk in sour cream. Gradually add the wet mix to the dry. Mix just until smooth and lump free.
Makes enough for two dozen cupcakes. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, rotate pans at halfway mark.

I used the swiss meringue buttercream recipe from How To Eat A Cupcake. It's by far the tastiest around, and she has a wonderful little how to video for those new to this initially daunting form of frosting.
I can't really say how much balieys I used, I just kept adding it until it tasted yummy.

Enjoy!

Wedding

2009-09-24T15:03:00.001-07:00

Almost exactly a year after my wedding, I got to make cupcakes our friend who officiated our own wedding ceremony. Isn't that a nice little circle of giving? I thought so. Anyways... they asked me to make one cupcake tower for the groom (as I have known him longer) and they had another friend who is closer to the bride make her tower. As the other baker and I didn't know each other and only met the week of the wedding, there was potential for disaster. But through many an email we worked out a nice complimentary plan of attack and the results were highly praised by all.
I was a fool and forgot my camera, so I snagged these from another attendee's facebook account. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures by the photographer, he went crazy snapping pictures of the cupcakes.

The bride and groom with toppers made by the groom himself.

My contribution. The flavors were jalapeño (requested by both as they had them at my wedding), mocha, and Irish Car Bomb. The tower was made with cake boards lines with unbleached canvas (as the groom and I were classmates at art school), trimmed in ribbon and supported by glass jars filled with flowers and leaves from the property. The jars looked nice and I was proud of the idea, but it was a bad one! The table wasn't level and the tower was highly unstable. Thankfully there were no terrible disasters, but a few cupcakes were lost at one point.

End of Summer Icecream

2009-09-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

My latest culinary obsession is ice cream, and man is it a tasty obsession to have! Since there are only two of us I often have to throw away stale baked goods that we just can't (or shouldn't) eat fast enough. So it's nice to make a sweet that will patiently wait in the freezer while we slowly nibble away at it.
I don't have an ice cream maker, and while I would like to get one some day I've found that mixing by hand works quite well. I pour the custard into a wide bowl with a flat bottom (I used a jelly roll pan a few times but I would always mix too vigorously and make a mess), place the bowl in the freezer, and whisk it about every hour or two until it gets nearly frozen all the way through. Then I scoop it out into an old yogurt container and let it finish freezing. Yeah, it's not perfectly smooth, but I don't care! It's amazingly delicious and still better than most store bought ice creams. So there!

Berry Ice Cream

1 1/2c half and half
1c sugar
4 large yolks
1 1 /2c heavy cream
1 2/3c fruit puree (I just mashed equal parts blackberries and raspberries, I like them to be chunky)
1T lemon juice

Warm half and half and sugar in a heavy bottomed pan over a low heat, stirring often until sugar is all dissolved and mixture nearly boils. Remove from heat and slowly temper into the yolks. Return this to the pan and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly with either a whisk or a rubber spatula. Remove from heat when the mixture coats the back of a spoon (I cooked mine a touch too long and it started to curdle, but the end product wasn't affected). Strain into a larger bowl and add the cream, fruit, and juice. Freeze either in an ice cream maker or using my method mentioned above.

Hiatus

2009-08-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

I've lost steam. I'm still baking at home(less than usual as I am trying to loose a little around the middle), but I just haven't had the time and energy to photograph and post about it, or even really to read other people's blogs. I hope in a few months the fall weather will revive me and I'll return with a vengeance, but for now I just don't have this zest for blogging that I use to.

Cake Decorating 101

2009-07-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

I say really best. If the image was larger you would see me grimace and momentarily consider starting over before quickly realizing I can't as I only have one cake to decorate. Please forgive me.
You can also see my dog going crazy behind me. He pulled a pair of my underwear out of the laundry basket that is under the table. It was really hard to focus on talking and not to stare in horror at the possible mutilation of my white lacy unmentionables, but I soldiered through. Just for you guys.

Oh, and I should have checked my video settings better. Sorry it's tiny, I'm much better at frosting cakes than I am at using technology. I swear :)

The King

2009-07-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

So my husband is an artist. He did the drawing of my that is on the card in my profile picture, and he did this digital painting of me. So I thought I'd just put up a little link to his blog (which I just redesigned for him, it was hard to switch gears and make a masculine template), and a link to his website which is about to be remodeled.
Just because I'm proud of him. :)

Mmmmm pie

2009-07-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

I love pie. It's awesome. A friend declared this possibly the best pie they had ever tasted. Need I say more?

Berry Pie
(adapted from Taste of Home)
Fills one deep nine inch pie

1 double pie crust
1/4 c cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 c plums
2 c blackberries
2 c blueberries
2 c raspberries
1 1/2-2 c sugar, depending on how sweet the fruit is

Combine sugar, corn starch, and cinnamon. Add to the fruit with the vanilla. Pour into unbaked pie crust, and cover with second crust. Seal and flute edges, and brush with egg wash. Bake in the center of the oven with a baking sheet below to catch and drips. Bake 400° 50-70 minutes or until nicely browned.

I made the mistake of transporting the pie while it was still warm, so a fair amount of the filling sloshed out of the steam vents, hence the pie looking somewhat skinny in the middle here.

A Year

2009-07-03T13:31:00.001-07:00

Well I had wanted to post something fun to commemorate having been blogging for a year, but I've not been in the kitchen much lately. I did film a new video for you all (some easy cake decorating instructions), but I am currently struggling to figure out editing software so that won't be up for a little while yet.
I don't know if it's just the heat, but I've felt pretty uninspired to bake lately. Well... really I've been uninspired to clean the kitchen so that I have space to bake. But it's clean now, and with some luck I may not have to work tomorrow so I can fulfill my fantasy about making red white and blue pinwheel cookies.
For now I will leave you with some red white and blue cheer from last year.

Sprinkled Pink

2009-06-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Oh, the sprinkled doughnut. If ever I am asked what kind of doughnut I want (and if they don't have maple old fashioned, cause no body ever seems to!) I just ask for whatever kind has sprinkles. Flavor is not nearly as important as sprinkles, really.
This recipe was described as a yeast doughnut, but after I started to mix the ingredients I realized there were no instructions for letting them rise. So I unexpectedly made a batch of cake doughnuts. You'd think I would have noticed that initially, but I was born a blond. Anyways, these were plenty tasty even if they were not what I was expecting. Maybe I'll get around to making some fluffy raised doughnuts soon.
I made these for my friends to munch on while selling off their extra stuff before moving out of state. I had hoped making tasty enough doughnuts would encourage them to reconsider leaving the Bay, but I guess they just weren't that tasty.

Sugar Doughnuts
another from the Brass Sisters

1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) dry yeast
1/2 c warm water
1/2 c sugar
1 T sugar
1 c butter
2 eggs
3 1/2 c flour (I used half whole wheat. Gave them a nice flavor but made them a little dry)
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon
1 t salt
vegetable oil for frying

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1 T sugar. Allow to proof 10 minutes.
Cream butter, eggs, and remaining sugar. Add yeast. Add spices. Add three cups of the flour, kneeding as the dough gets thicker. If the dough is still very loose, add the remaining 1/2 c flour. Place in an oiled bowl, turing once to cover with oil. Cover and refigerate four hours or overnight.
Remove from fridge and divide in half. Allow to rest 10 minutes. Roll or pat out dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch on a very well floured surface. Cut with a doughnut cutter, or a glass dipped in flour. Transfer to a paper or flour covered baking sheet and allow to rest 15 minutes. Fry in oil heated to 375 ° that is at least 3 inches deep. Fry for approximately 1 1/2 minutes per side. Remove and place on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Roll in sugar or dip in a glaze.

Bacon n' Waffles

2009-06-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

Better even than chicken n' waffles.

The King and his coworker requested bacon waffles, and I hate to disappoint. To say these were delicious is like saying water is wet. It's just a given. I used my favorite waffle recipe from Better Homes and Garden. I highly recommend using some nice rich maple syrup on these.

Bacon Waffles

1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 1/4 c milk
1/2 c bacon fat (or melted butter. But I recommend the bacon fat)
2 stiffly beaten egg whites
4 strips of bacon chopped, and cooked until crispy

Sift together dry ingredients. Combine egg yolks and milk; stir into dry ingredients. Stir in fat. Fold in egg whites, leaving slightly under-mixed. Sprinkle bacon on top, then bake in a waffle maker.

Shiny

2009-06-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

Well here she is, my new blog. It's going to take some getting use to, the brown little cave that has been my blog was so warm and inviting. But I think it's starting to grown on me. I may tweak it a bit over the next few days, but all in all I think it's not too bad since it's the first blog I've designed.

Jammin'

2009-06-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

It started as a happy tale. After living in this house for over two years I discovered (thanks to my landlord) that the tree across the street had lovely plums on it. The fact that I hadn't noticed is just proof that I was blond at birth. I checked the small purple fruits regularly, and when they started to get deep in colour and soft to the touch I dragged a stool downstairs to harvest the little crop. Most of the lower branches had been picked bare by the local bums (good to know they are getting some fruit in their diets), but I still managed to pick enough to make a little over two pints of jam.

Look at those colours! They were so sweet and juicy.

Happy successful jam.
And then... My husband and I wake up a few days ago to hear tires squealing and a tremendous crash. We still aren't sure how what happened happened, but it seems a man lost control, spun his car around and crashed into the truck that is generally parked across the street. The driver fled the scene (which is common around here due to many people driving without licenses). It wasn't until they towed the truck away I noticed that the front of the truck had been pushed into that sweet little plum tree. I think it might survive, at least I hope so.

Plum Jam
from Better Homes and Gardens

Wash and pit plums. Put through food processor fitted with a course blade. Use 3 1/2 cups of sugar for 4 cups of fruit. Let stand one hour. Cook until thick, pour into hot sterilized jars; seal immediately.

Not Dead Yet

2009-06-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

(Just so you get something to look at, here is my wall-o-cookie cutters. I have more, but some don't hang well. Bet you can't name them all!)

Well folks, this evening is the start of my weekend. I know it seems the crickets have started chirping, but I've been a busy little bee and the next few days will be jam packed with fun.
Coming up...

Plum Jam
Car Crashes
Bacon Waffles
Screamingly Pink Doughnuts
Dummies Guide to Frosting a Cake
And (hopefully) a Sparkley New Blog Design!

So stay tuned ya'll

Lemon Meringue Pie

2009-06-06T02:19:00.000-07:00

(I've been messing around a lot with photoshop lately and looking at books and tutorials. Why haven't I been doing that all along? I've been doing so many things the hard way!)

Few things in this world seems as delightfully perfect as a good lemon meringue pie. Unfortunately, they seem to be a rare find. Women don't often have the time at home, and most bakery versions are seem like cheap knock offs. A glance at this recipe may make you see why though. Timing is very crucial to the success of this dessert, and I can't imagine the nightmare it would be to make this in mass. So while you can approximate a lemon meringue pie that is easy(er) to produce in large quantities, the real deal is still hard to beat.
This is another From the Dessert Bible by Christoper Kimball. I recommend getting everything you will need prepared before beginning so that you aren't fishing around for a whisk with one hand while trying to stir the curd with the other. If you have a stand mixer you can make the meringue and the filling at the same time, which negates the need to reheat the filling.

Lemon Meringue Pie

1 Prebaked pie shell (make sure to weigh it down while baking)

1 c 3 T sugar
5 T cornstarch
1/4 t salt
5 yolks
2/3 c lemon juice
1 T lemon zest (I think I zested all the lemon I had handy. Maybe three? I like my pie zesty!)
2 T butter

2 t cornstarch
1/4 c water
4 whites (I used all five, which worked fine)
1/4 t cream of tartar
6 T sugar (1/4 c +2T)
1/2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 325°. Pie shell should be baked until it is browned but not too dark. Combine the first four ingredients (after the pie shell that is silly) in a medium/small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over a medium low heat, stiring frequently. When it turns translucent slowly add the yolks (I tempered in a little of the hot mixture first. Adding the eggs straight in to the hot liquid just seemed dodgy). Continue whisking while adding the lemon juice and zest. Continue cooking, while stiring to prevent scorching and lumping, until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat and add butter. You will want this mixture to be warm when the pie is assembled, but it can be reheated if it has cooled.
For the meringue, combine the cornstarch and 2 T water in a small sauce pan. Heat on low while stiring constantly. The directions claimed this would turn translucent, but mine didn't. Remove from heat. Beat egg whites and cream of tarter until soft peaks form. While they are mixing combine the sugar and the remaining 2 T of water. Bring to a boil and cook to 238° (or until the bubbles at the edge of the pan hesitate before bursting). Once the egg whites are at the soft peak stage, slowely pour the hot sugar mixture in while the beaters are running (careful, you don't wan't them on too high. Getting splashed with hot sugar is no fun)Add the cornstarch paste and the vanilla, turn mixer to high and beat until the meringue just begins to form stiff peaks.
Pour hot lemon filling into the pie shell. Quickly cover with the meringue, swirling or creating peaks. Make sure the meringue covers across to the crust or it will shrink during baking. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature then chill before serving.

Bread Puddin'

2009-06-04T02:35:00.000-07:00

Bread pudding may seem like a perfect warm treat for a cold rainy day, but it transitions quite nicely to summertime fruits and sunny afternoons. My favorite bread pudding recipe comes from the Williams-Sonoma's book titled Entertaining (I highly, highly recommend it). They have a recipe for the worlds most decadent, most divine, peach bread pudding. This however, is not that recipe. The Williams-Sonoma recipe is incredibly rich, and I didn't really think I needed a dessert that full of heavy cream. So I tried another recipe from the good ol' Brass Sisters. While not quite as blissfully sinful, this recipe was still a delight.
I baked one medium sized pudding with peaches, one small one with plums from our yard, and one with some strawberries and rhubarb. All three were delicious, so I encourage you to try different fruits as they come into season.

Bread Pudding
adapted from Heirloom Baking

14-16 slices of brioche, cut into cubes
(I used day old brioche buns and croissants. I also leave the crust on, removing it always seems like a waste)
1/2 c butter

2 c milk
2 c heavy cream
(I forgot to buy cream, so I used 3 c milk and 1 c Greek yogurt, turned out great)
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups fruit, or raisins soaked in brandy

1 c brown sugar

Melt half the butter in a heavy skillet. Add half of the bread cubes and cook until brown, stirring occasionally. Repeat with the remaining butter and bread. (you can skip this step, but it does make the pudding that much more yummy). Place the bread and fruit in a 9x13 pan..
Combine the remaining ingredients excluding the brown sugar. Pour half of the custard mixture over top of bread and allow to soak for about ten minutes. Pour remaining custard over the bread, making sure all of the pieces are soaked. Sprinkle with the brown sugar.
Bake at 350° in a water bath for 1 hour 15 minutes. Make sure to check to water bath frequently so that it doesn't all evaporate. If the pudding seems to be getting to dried out before it is finished baking, cover the top loosely with foil.
Remove from oven when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 30-60 minutes. The pudding is best when slightly warm.

Cupcake Decorating Demo

2009-05-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

Well I filmed this little video a few weeks ago, but I hadn't quite got up the nerve to put it up. I've only seen myself on film a few times, so it kind of feels bizarre watching myself frost some cupcakes. But perhaps it'll give people a pointer or two on decorating. Happy frosting folks.

Make sure to keep the tip close to the surface of the cupcake, it will start to look messy if the frosting is allowed to fall to the surface.

Rolling the "blob" in sanding sugar.

Apples to Apples

2009-05-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.
I can't say I was terribly excited about this recipe. I love apples and such, but it just didn't sound very exciting. And honestly, it wasn't. Now things might have been better if I'd paid more attention to the instructions and rolled the thing down the length of the dough, but even then I think I'd prefer puff pastry.
I divided the dough in half and made a savory one as well with some vegetables. Meh. Maybe I'm just not in the right mood.
Everything went well and I found the dough easy to work with. I used bread flour and made sure to give the gluten plenty of time to develop.

Study Break

2009-05-21T13:17:00.001-07:00

And then I stumbled on this awesomeness.

Mint Chip Cookies

2009-05-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

I decided I better start tackling my to do list! Since Arlene over at The Food of Love requested I make these, I figured that was motivation enough to get in the kitchen. Unfortunately when I went to the store, I couldn't find any Andes Mints! I bought some ghirardelli mints, but it wasn't a perfect idea. The flavor wasn't very strong, and the gooey interior caused splotches on the cookies. I also seemed to have over baked them. So while they look lovely, they are just a little too hard for me to love them (not that I haven't eaten far too many, I mean a cookie has to be terrible not to be eaten.)
I think I might give them another shot, but I'll make sure to get the right candies.
Original Recipe

Rhubarb Jello

2009-05-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

I've been holding back on posting all of my jello concoctions, as there have been many. But these looked and tasted pretty, so I thought I'd share a quick and easy treat.

Rhubarb Jello

2 cups chopped rhubarb
juice of one lemon
2 cups water
1/3 to 1/2 c honey (depending on preference)
2 packages gelatine
1/2 cup water

Combine rhubarb, honey, lemon, and the two cups of water. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and mash rhubarb.
Sprinkle gelatine over the half cup of water and allow to sit for five minutes.
Strain rhubarb juice, add gelatine mixture.
Pour into molds. I find when using small molds, its easier to fill them in the fridge rather than to try to carry them without spilling.

Chill until set.