Buttermilk Cinnamon Almond Strawberry Shortcake

I made a cake yesterday.  

I wanted to make a white cake because I had a bunch of egg whites leftover from making ice cream.  But when I was ready to make the batter I didn’t have my computer with me.  

I decided to forge on anyway.  I used the mini whisk I have here and beat the eggs until they were foamy.  Then I added some sugar, cinnamon and almond extract.  Almond extract smells divine.  It only takes a drop to make the whole trailer stop smelling like dirty boys.

Next I melted some butter and added it slowly to the egg mixture.  Then a bit of buttermilk.  When it was nice and foamy I added some flour and baking powder.  After a touch more buttermilk and it had a consistency that I liked.  

So I spread it into 3 pans and let it cook for a while.  

The cakes are more dense than I’d hoped, but it worked well when I put the strawberry filling between the layers.

Lastly I spread a really thin layer of buttercream frosting over the whole thing, because I only had a little bit of powdered sugar.  

And voila!  My “Strawberry Thing”, as George calls it.

Snickerdoodle Sandwiches

My new friend, Beth, and I made ice cream yesterday.  She had just gotten a new ice cream maker she NEEDED to try.  

So we used the basic recipe that came with the machine.  

It turned out rich and creamy and amazing.

We had to share it, so I made some cookies for sandwiches.  Snickerdoodle cookies.  Then we handed out mini ice cream sandwiches to the roughnecks.  

I think they were a hit.  

• I used 3 t Baking Powder instead of Baking Soda and Cream of Tartar

I found the recipe at Food.com

Red Velvet Layered Cake

I made a cake yesterday.  I am still experimenting and searching to find the perfect Red Velvet cake.  

So far the cookies are still better, but they don’t translate well into cake.  It makes me sad.  

The most recent on I tried was from Food Network.  

It turned out pretty well.  I have to try it again.  This attempt ended up slightly dry from overcooking.  It was only 5 minutes, but next time I need a timer.  

The Cream Cheese Frosting was not so sweet as the other recipes I’ve used.  It was very rich, though.  

I was rather proud of myself.  I frosted it with a butter knife.  It was pretty smooth for the utensil used.  

Caramel Brownie Sundae

I had leftover batter from the chocolate cupcakes, so I made a round cake. It ended up looking rather like a brownie.

Also I have 6 jars of caramel leftover from my caramel sauce trials. So I had to make a sundae. A Caramel Brownie Sundae. It was amazing.

Caramel Brownie Sundae

1 piece of Brownie or Cake

2 scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream

Caramel Sauce

Maraschino Cherry juice

Margarita Pizza

Today I made pizza for dinner, Margarita Pizza.

With fresh tomatoes, and fresh basil. And fresh Mozzarella.

It was amazing. I wish I could have eaten 5 more pieces.

Margarita Pizza
Pizza Dough for 1 pizza
4 T Olive Oil
1 t Minced Garlic
2 Tomatoes, sliced
¼- ½ c Basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 c Fresh Mozzarella, sliced

Directions:
Brush 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on a baking pan and sprinkle with cornmeal.

Roll the pizza dough to fit the desired pan. Brush the remaining olive oil over the dough. Spread the garlic over the dough. Layer the tomatoes evenly around the crust. Sprinkle the basil over the tomatoes. Lay the cheese slices over the top, spaced evenly.

Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes, turning once to bake all sides evenly.

Transfer to a cutting board and allow the pizza to cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

Today I made cupcakes. Chocolate ones. Birthday ones. But I don’t know anyone who had a birthday. I made them because it’s the best ever chocolate cake recipe. Hershey’s Hot Water Devil’s Food Cake. It has been THE birthday cake in our family since before I can remember.

I also made THE birthday frosting. Hershey’s One Bowl Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. But today I made it with vanilla, instead of orange.

But the star of today’s show was the caramel. I used the caramel sauce from Annie’s Eats. I filled the cupcakes with the sauce. Then I drizzled it over the top to garnish. They turned out very pretty. And I have lots of left-over caramel for ice cream sundaes.

I ended up with two types of caramel because I didn’t let the first batch cook long enough. But it is still very good. Tastes like English toffee. The second batch was darker and had more of a caramel flavor. It’s what I used for the cupcakes.

Caramel Sauce:
½ c Unsalted Butter
1 c Sugar
1 c Heavy Cream
¼ t Vanilla
A pinch of Salt

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar begins to foam and turn dark. It will look and smell like it’s on the verge of burning. Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream. Stir until the sauce is smooth (you may need to return it to the heat to smooth it out), then mix in the vanilla and salt. Let cool.

Source: Annie's Eats

Éclairs, Take II

I tried to make Éclairs again.

This time they turned out much cuter. I used a pastry bag to pipe them out on to the pan. It worked quite well once I got the hang of finishing the puff. The pastry is extremely sticky. That’s why they have some funky tails and Mohawks.

I also dipped them in chocolate this time. So they really were éclairs. They were fun, itty bitty things. They ended up about three inches long and an inch and a half wide.

Sadly, the cream from MyBakingdom didn’t set properly so I made an emergency batch of pudding from a box. I was rather disappointed at how much everyone loved it.