Birthday Cake

I made a pretty! And I’m very excited about it!

I made a cake for my sister’s birthday, and it turned out pretty well.  

I used a recipe from here, and added pink and green food coloring instead of red.

I also used cream cheese frosting, but as little as possible while still covering the colors. My sister is very strange and doesn’t much like frosting.  

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes, Two Ways

I am a bit addicted to all things chocolate and cherry right now. As long as the cherry part is not actual cherries. I don’t like the mushyness of maraschino cherries or the way pie filling has whole cherries. I spend most of my time with cherry pie eating the goo around the cherries. 

But I love chocolate and cherry shakes, and malts and Blizzards. 

Yum.

I’m adding cupcakes to the list, also.

I used the recipe and instructions from Annie’s Eats for the first set of cupcakes, pie filling.

 I cheated for the frosting. I used store bought because I don’t have a hand mixer at the rig. 

The second batch I swirled some blended pie filling into the cupcake before baking. 

Then I mixed some into the frosting, too.

Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I am getting better at making up recipes. They are closer and closer to what I want them to be on the first try. Which is good because then I forget what I used in them and have to start all over.

However, occasionally I remember to take my notebook into the kitchen and write things down as I add them. Sometimes I even measure as I add ingredients. 

Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe:

1 c Flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 c Cocoa Powder

1 sticks Salted Butter, softened

1 c Sugar

1 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 c Milk

1/2 c Peanut Butter

1 1/2 c Old Fashioned Oats

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Prepare cookie pan with cooking spray or parchment paper.

Combine the flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and mix well. Add vanilla and milk. 

Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture.

Add the peanut butter and mix well.

Add oats and combine.

Drop by large tablespoon onto the prepared cookie pans. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are starting to turn golden. Remove from oven and let cool for 1 minute on the pan before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

These are quite crumbly, but delicious. 

Strawberry Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

I spent several days coming up with anything I could to use my flat of strawberries before they went bad.  

I did two versions of the Strawberry Preserves in hopes that the second batch wouldn’t be soupy, and had to leave before I found out.  

However I also made some ice cubes, drank a lot of strawberry and lemon water, made some cupcakes and a smoothie or two.

The cupcakes turned out quite well, almost muffin-like. They were not overly sweet like many cakes and cupcakes. 

The recipe is based on the Vanilla Bean Cupcake recipe in The Sweet Little Book of Cupcakes. I just added about half a cup of mashed strawberries. They turned the batter a pretty pink color with little bits of red. Although, it definitely could have taken more. 

I will update this with a recipe the next time I get a chance. 

Promise.

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

Éclairs

Recently, when I was home for a week and dancing as usual, Shawn asked me what I was going to bring the next day. I didn’t have anything planned so I asked what he’d suggest. Immediately he said éclairs. He was joking and quite obviously didn’t expect me to actually make them. They are quite intimidating. They seem so fancy and elegant that they have to be hard to make, right?


Turns out they’re not so bad. Probably I’ll make these quite often. Also I learned a new trick today to pipe them through a pastry bag rather than shape them by hand. This is a very good idea, and probably will reduce the time shaping them by 5/6. They also take a very long time to cook, but that leaves time to make the filling at the glaze (I cheated and didn’t make the glaze because, as usual, they took slightly more time than I expected, and I procrastinated a bit too much).

But they were still pretty amazing. And Shawn immediately hid half of them to take home. I should have told him I slaved over them for 23 hours, but I wasn’t quite that quick.

Choux Pastry

½ c Butter
1 c Water
¼ t Salt
1 c Flour
4 Eggs

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter in the water. Add salt and flour, and stir until a sticky batter is formed, it should glom together in a ball in the pan. Remove the pastry from heat, and place it in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat it until it begins to be glossy about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the batter is smooth.

Using a spatula, scoop the dough into a pastry bag with a large round tip. Pipe into strips about 4 inches long, 1 inch wide and ½ and inch tall. Bake the éclairs for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back. Bake for another 20 minutes. Finally, reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 10 minutes more, until the éclairs are golden brown. Transfer the éclairs to a wire cooling rack and allow them to cool.

Here is a good tutorial for the whole process. I haven’t tried her filling yet, but I’ll experiment on a few before posting my favorite.

Creme Brulee

Today I made Crème Brulee and Chocolate Mousse. But I’ll post the mousse later, when I remember to take pictures. It was light and creamy and nothing like I imagined. PS it was an experiment. Cupcake has been harassing me for ages to make it for her. And then she didn’t even come to dinner to try it.

My parents say they’re having it for breakfast tomorrow.

I even didn’t think it was too bad and I’m not a custard fan. It was probably the vanilla bean that I used. It was a first for me. They smell pretty amazing.

I did cheat and not add the crack. If you want to do that, after the cups have chilled, sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the top and melt it with a hand torch, or very carefully in the oven, set to broil.

Crème Brulee


4 c Whipping Cream
1 whole Vanilla Bean, split lengthwise (or 1 T Vanilla Extract)
10 Egg Yolks
¾ c Sugar
6 T Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pour cream into a saucepan. Add vanilla and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. While cream is simmering whip egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow and thick.

Strain cream using a fine mesh strainer.

Whip yolks while very slowly drizzling in warm cream. Go slow so the eggs don't cook!

Place ramekins onto a rimmed baking sheet. Pour custard mixture into ramekins (I had 11 small custard cups). Pour water in bottom of baking sheet until it comes halfway up the ramekins. Bake for 24 minutes, or until just set. Do not allow to get brown.

Cool ramekins on countertop, and chill for at least 2-3 hours. Cover in plastic wrap to prevent a layer to form on top.

Recipe from Pioneer Woman

Yummy! Peach Cobbler

I just read another book by Joanne Fluke.  She writes some funny murder mysteries, but the best part is the recipes.  And the majority of them are baked goods!  This one was called Peach Cobbler Murder, so naturally I had to try the peach cobbler. 

It turned out pretty amazing.

Peach Cobbler

Peaches

10 c Frozen Sliced Peaches (about 2 1/2 lbs)

2 T Lemon Juice

1 1/2 c Sugar

1/4 t Salt

3/4 c Flour

1/2 t Cinnamon

1/2 c Butter, melted

Let peaches thaw for about 10 minutes.  Mix flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon and toss with peaches.  Spread into greased 9x13 cake pan.  Sprinkle any extra flour mixture over the top. 

Melt the butter and drizzle it over the peaches, then cover with foil.

Bake for 40 minutes at 350 deg.

Topping

1 c Flour

1 c Sugar

1 1/2 t Baking Powder

1/4 t Cinnamon

1/2 t Salt

1/4 c Butter, softened

2 Eggs, beaten

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Cut in the butter.  Add eggs and mix.

Drop spoonfuls over the peaches. (It doesn't have to be smooth or completely cover the fruit.  It will grow as it bakes)

Bake for 50 minutes at 350 deg.*

*I started checking mine at about 30 minutes, and at 40 it was perfect.

Serve hot with ice cream, cold with whipped cream, or however YOU like it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CUPCAKE! Crepes

Today is my lil' sister's birthday!  Happy Birthday, Cupcake.  (She's getting old!)  Hahahahahahaha...

Last night I made some Crepes.  Sadly I did not think to take any pictures.  They were quite lovely, too.  Although: the fruit had seen better days, and I didn't add enough sugar to the whipped cream.  I had some strawberries, that were rather sad.  And some blackberries, that were not too bad.  When I ran out of fresh fruit I used canned pie filling. 

I figured the crepes probably would not last, so after I ate 3, I put the rest together for the rig crew.  They asked me for the recipe! Hahahaha. 

Here you go, rig crew...

Crepes
1 c Flour
1 1/2 c Milk
2 Eggs
1 T Oil
1/4 t salt
Optional: 2 T Sugar or Honey

Whisk together the oil and eggs.  Add the milk, and whisk in. Sift in the flour. 

Heat a frying pan or griddle.  Pour 1/4-1/3 c batter on a hot pan.  (Water should sizzle when you sprinkle it on the pan)  Tilt the pan so the batter runs to the edges, as thin as possible.  Cook until firm, and golden on the bottom.  Flip onto a plate and fill with desired yummies. 

I added a little honey to my mix, since I was making sweet crepes.  This is probably not necessary, but it was tasty.

Ideas for filling:
Fresh fruit
Whipped cream
Pie filling
Nutella
Eggs and bacon/sausage
Broccoli and Cheese
Chicken and veggies

The possibilities are endless...

Baked Apples!

I finally cooked something! Living in hotels for the past...1,2...4, 5 1/2 months has been pure torture. Of course I still don't have a place, but I used Claire's. She as a gas stove, and I'm a little bit jealous. I really want to be able to use one for a while to see how they work. But for now I'll have t make due with Baked Apples.

I got some LOVELY Fuji apples at the store for my little sister. Then I remembered she only eats Granny Smiths. Shoot. But it just so happened that I got some Old Fashioned Oats and some brown sugar. Mmmm....



Baked Apples

Approximately (I just dumped stuff into the bowl)
1 c Brown Sugar, loose
1 c Oats
1 t Cinnamon
1/2 t Cloves

Butter

Turn the oven on to 400*. Mix the sugar, oats, cinnamon and cloves. Halve and core an apple, and place on a cookie sheet, or a bread pan ;) (I left the rest for Claire to use whenever she wants, but you could probably get 3 or 4 apples out of this batch) Spon the mixture over the apples until the cut surface is covered. Top with about 1 teaspoon of butter. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until you can smell them cooking.

ENJOY!

Strawberry Ice Cream

I made some brownies today, with orange in them, yum. Then I made some Strawberry Ice Cream, except I didn't have enough Strawberries, so I had to add some Raspberries. Then I ate them together. They were amazing! The only problem is: I forgot to take a picture. Drat. I have a pic of the ice cream, and one of the brownies, but no Sundae :(

I only used half of this recipe, so the notes correspond with a half batch.

Strawberry Ice Cream

2 lb. Strawberries, hulled (I used frozen berries but only had about 1/2 lb, so I used about 1/2 lb Raspberries)
2 T Lemon Juice
6 Large Eggs
1 c Sugar
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
4 c Half and Half (I used about 1/3-1/2 c Heavy Cream and filled the rest of the 2 c with 2%)
3 T Vanilla

Blend the berries in a food processor, leaving some chunks.Cream the eggs and sugar for no less than 10 minutes. Add the Sweetened Condensed Milk, half and half, and vanilla, and mix. Add the berries and mix well. Freez according to mixer instructions. (I misread the instructions, and ended up beating everything except the berries for about 10 minutes, then I added them and beat it for about 2 more. Not all of it fit in my little mixer, I had about 1/2 c left over.)

Sundae Brownies

I got this brownie recipe from the Farm Journal's Best-Ever Cookies book, that I borrowed from my aunt.


Best-Ever Brownies

3/4 c All-purpose Flour, sifted
1/2 t Baking Powder
1/4 t Salt
1/2 c Butter, softened
1 c Sugar
2 Eggs
1 t Vanilla
2 oz Unsweetened Chocolate, melted and cooled

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the chocolate and vanilla and mix. Add the dry ingredients, blending well. Pour into greased 9 in. square baking pan (I used a 9x13 in. and let my brownies be pretty thin). Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes (I did 20 minutes so mine were very soft and chewy).

Truffles

I'm a big fan of Recipezaar.com. I find so many good recipes there. Here's one for the most amazing truffles:

Raspberry Truffles

8 oz semisweet chocolate

1/4 c butter 2 T cream (I use 3 T cream + 2 T Creme de Cocao)

1/2 c raspberry jam (preferably seedless)

2 T lemon juice

1/2 c cornstarch or cocao powder

Melt the chocolate and put in medium sized bowl. Bring the cream and butter to a boil. When boiling remove from heat and add to the chocolate. Mix well. Add jam, lemon, and Creme de Cacao and whisk in. Cover the mixture and place in the freezer for 60-90 minutes. Remove from the freezer, and line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Scoop the mixuture out and place in 2 T balls on the waxed paper. Chill for 15 minutes. Roll balls in the cornstarch or cocao powder, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and chill overnight. The coating I use for these comes from the book "Double Shot" by Diane Mott Davidson:

Chocolate Coating

6 oz dark chocolate

2 T clarified butter (regular unsalted works, too)

Melt chocolate and butter together on low heat. Using 2 forks (this method worked best for me) drop each ball into the melted chocolate and coat, allow excess chocolate to drip off. Then place back on the waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Stir the melted chocolate often. These can be sprinkled with nuts or crushed candies, but this must be done immediately, the chocolate sets very quickly. When the chocolate coating has fully set, serve or wrap in foil.