I am a cookie kind of girl. I like that you can make tons of dough ahead of time and just pull it out whenever you want and bake. I made these cookies to take to my friend's house for our usual after Christmas walk down memory lane. I basically took my staple chocolate chip recipe and took out the chips and added dried cranberries and pistachios. Yum.
Red and Green Cookies Makes aprx 3 dozen cookies
3 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temp 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries 1 cup coarsely chopped pistachios
Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add both sugars and beat until blended. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat until just blended.
Using a spatula, fold in the cranberries and pistachios.
Drop dough onto your prepared cookie sheets. I wouldn't recommend using non stick spray b/c that will cause the cookies to spread too much. Place the cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies until just golden, about 18 minutes for larger cookies, or about 15 minutes for smaller cookies.
You can definitely make these ahead of time as well. Just make sure after they've cooled completely to store them in an airtight container, like the one I used in my top picture.
You can also add chocolate chunks to them. White chocolate would work well with these for the whole xmas theme of the red cranberries and green pistachios, but in all honesty, I am not a fan... I would probably just coarsely chop a bar of chocolate, whichever you prefer, but I would definitely go with milk chocolate, and fold that in with the berries and nuts. And any variation of dried berries and nuts would work with this, like macadamia and blueberry or cherry and almond.
So I have been craving cherries and pistachios lately. So I bought a few bags of dried cherries and a huge bag of pistachios. Yum... Well, then I realized there was a heck of a lot of them and I remembered some double chocolate cherry cookies I saw on an Ultimate recipe showdown on Food Network. So I went searching... And found them! I made the recipe the way it was online, except I added a half cup of crushed pistachios and used a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate chunks. I checked out the reviews, and while there weren't many and they weren't all that great, I thought I'd try them anyways. I would definitely use a bit more flour next time.... And probably use a nice tart juice instead of red wine, if I use any other liquid at all. I had to bake them longer than the 10 minutes max. I took them out after 10 minutes, they flattened and after they cooled off, I tried to take them off and they fell apart... So I put them in longer.... They flattened out again but they came off the pan easily and they tasted great.
After they were completely cooled off, I kept them in an airtight container. The reason why I would probably not use red wine again was b/c even though they tasted great, every time I opened the container, red wine scent wafted from the container. I wasn't keen on that smell, which is why I didn't eat any after the first time I opened the container. So, yeah I'll probably sub that for some Pom or cherry juice or something.
The pistachios were a nice addition. Pistachios are my fav and they added a great crunch.
This was how they looked the first time I took them out of the oven, after about 5 or so minutes. I should have know they weren't done b/c they were still shiny. The next picture was how they looked a few minutes after I took them out the second time. It looks like it might be pretty dry, but it def wasn't. Very moist for sure.
I took this next picture the next morning to see if they were still soft. They were. That was when I got hit w/ the strong wine odor.... I probably should have waited a bit longer to put them into the container. The ones on the bottom stuck together a bit. But then having to eat two cookies stuck together is so much better than just having one!
So when you get an invite to a small get-together, you think that it is just that. The girls you always hang out with, maybe a couple of extras you haven't seen in a while... But you're Greek and the person's house you are going to is Greek, what are you thinking? Of course there are going to be 500 people there. Of course you shouldn't eat anything all day long b/c there is going to be 5 tons worth of food there. And of course it's going to be good. Of course you shouldn't actually bake anything b/c who is going to eat it when there are 15 other desserts, but duh, you're Greek and you don't go anywhere without something edible. Right? Yep, so I brought an apple pie. Yeah, look at all this food. Catered by Pops.
This was a really yummy bloody Mary dip (above). Athena's friend, Laura makes and sells these mixes. I'll have to find out the name...tSome spinach artichoke dip and tzatziki sauce from Costco's. Olive Bruschetta
Dolmades
Georgia made an eclair cake, same recipe you can find here. It doesn't look as pretty, but it was still good. The only difference b/w hers and Kraft's is that she lets it sit longer than 3 hours. She usually makes it two days ahead of time so that the graham crackers get really soft. Tastes so much better that way.
My apple pie... mmm.... It was good, but it was wet... Apparently I should have let the apples drain some more before I put them in the pie to bake....
The crust recipe I used is the same one we used on school. I liked the crust so much, I have used it since then for other pies and it is still great. Here is the recipe:
Ruth Wacker's Never Fail Pie Crust (From the Congo Cook Book, 1961)
4 1/2 cups sifted flour 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used only 1 teaspoon b/c I used salted butter) 1 1/2 cup of shortening (or lard or butter, I used butter, very cold butter) 2 eggs 1/2 cup cold water (or more if needed) 1 1/2 tablespoon vinegar
Combine flour and salt. Cut in the shortening.
Beat the eggs, water and vinegar in a separate bowl. Add to the flour mixture.
Form the dough. If it is a bit dry, add some more water. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it slightly before rolling out. I made the dough the night before and kept it in the fridge overnight. I let it sit out a bit before rolling it out, but I don't think I'll do that again. It was kinda hard to roll out....
For the inside, everyone has a different way of making their filling. I used 3 lbs of Granny Smith apples, sliced in half and then in thin slices. I tossed them with 1/2 cup flour, a few teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/4 cup brown sugar and a few squirts of lemon juice. I tossed it all together, put it in the crust, dolloped some butter on top and covered it w/ the remaining crust.
I think that it was runny b/c I had the cut apples soaking in cold water and lemon juice so they wouldn't brown. I think that I should have drained them better. Or cut them after I rolled out the dough so they wouldn't have absorbed so much water... The excess liquid I drained out tasted just like apple juice though, so at least it didn't taste bad. :) And as you can see, there wasn't that much liquid. You live, you learn!
So this is what it looked like out my windshield driving home today.... Notice the time at the bottom right of the pic... No? Well, it says 5:53PM. Do you know what that means? That means that after leaving my office at 3:30PM, I was still on I-294 going home 2 1/2 hours later. This was about 1/2 mi before my exit, which is about a mile away from my house. Wanna know how long that 1 1/2 miles took me? 30 more minutes. Which is 5 minutes less than the TOTAL time it normally takes me to get to and from work. Yeah, so I probably wasn't being safe driving and taking pictures at the same time, but it's a digital camera and I was only going 5mph at the time. See, a picture to prove it: No joke though, it seriously sucked. I mean it was horrible. Driving in this made me feel like a fist was tightening my stomach, squeezing it tighter and tighter, especially every time I fishtailed. Ugh. AND!!!! My wiper blades accumulated ice chunks on them, so I only had a 4 inch streak to see through as the blades went back and forth. Thankfully, that four inch streak was right at near eye level. You can see it if you look closely in these pics: But here I am, home at last. Granted I've been home for about 1 1/2 hours, I had to make something for dinner b/c I was starving. I made some plain buttered noodles b/c I think that was all my stomach could take. But I'm annoyed b/c I was going to make cookies tonight and now I am too tired. Boo!!!
Mommy Rita w/ baby Georgie and Big Sister Gabby. Me with little Georgie after dinnerHe is the sweetest little baby ever. He looks more like mommy than daddy, so that's a good thing! He has lightened up a bit; he's now only 7 lbs. He is close to being jaundice, so the docs have a very specific feeding schedule and has to have formula after being breast fed, so we're all keeping our fingers crossed he gets better. Gabby was jaundice when she was born and that was scary enough!
He has the quietest cry too. Gabby was a loud one (still is!!!) but Georgie has a lower toned scream, which I am sure is more pleasant for his mom and dad. And Gabby happily ignores him, staying in her own little world most of the time. Rita did say that at one time, Georgie was crying and she tried to put the pacifier in his mouth, ever so gently and carefully.
I am so excited!!! My new nephew/soon-to-be-godson was born on Friday, Dec 12, 2008 at 7:01PM CST. Little Yiorgios Athanasios (Georgie) was born 7 1/2 lbs and 22 inches long. I don't have any pictures of him yet, but I will tomorrow and will update for everyone to see how beautiful he is!!!
I had a good time making this cheesecake. NOT! It was such a pain and I had to do it twice! Meaning I had to run out to the store in the icy icky snow and pick up more cream cheese and sour cream. The first time around, I just dumped the eggs in one at a time and then the flour. The batter had clumps of egg covered flour in it, even though I sifted the flour first. I didn't do that the second time.
The cheesecake recipe I used is the base I use for all of my cheesecakes. I have had this recipe forever, I don't even remember where it came from.
Crust: 1 pkg (12-16 oz) of cookies (in this recipe I used Nilla wafers, but you can use Oreo cookies, minus the cream or shortbread cookies. I am anti-graham cracker) 1/4 cup butter, melted
Cheesecake: 3- 8oz pkgs of cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3 eggs, beaten 16 ounces of sour cream 2 tbsp flour, sifted 2 tsp vanilla
For the crust: Put the cookies in a food processor w/ the melted butter and process until finely crushed. Press firmly onto the bottom of the pan and on the sides, if you wish to. Bake at 325 degrees for 4 minutes to set it.
For the cheesecake: In a large bowl with electric mixer, at medium speed, beat the cream cheese a little. Add sugar and beat until creamy, but don't over beat. Blend in beaten eggs, sour cream, vanilla and then the flour, slowly and until just blended. Pour batter into the pan.
For the blackberry/raspberry swirl, I took two pints of blackberries and one pint of raspberries and pulsed them in a food processor. I put the blended mix into the a fine sieve (or you can use cheesecloth and squeeze the juice out) and I used a ladle to push the juice through it. I add 2 tablespoons of red raspberry syrup (you can buy it in the syrup section of your local grocery store) and a tablespoon of sugar and simmered it over the stove top. I did this before I started the cheesecake so that it would thicken enough by the time I was ready to pour it all in the pan. I simmered until it was nape, which means that when you dip a spoon in it and wipe your finger along the back, it leaves a clean and doesn't run. I poured half the cheesecake batter into the pan, then poured some of the berry syrup around the top and took a thin knife and swirled it around. I pour in the rest of the cheesecake batter on top of that and did the same. I then took foil and wrapped it around the bottom and put it in a roasting pan. I placed that on the oven rack and then poured in boiling hot water into the roasting pan to make a bain marie, or water bath. It looked like this: Kinda looks bloody huh?
Normally, it takes 50-60 mins w/out a water bath. Yeah, about that. Apparently, a water bath makes it take twice as long!!!! After I was done baking for an hour, it was still jiggly. So I left it in for 15 min longer (yes it was that jiggly). Still jiggly. Now, I know what you are all thinking. The middle should still be jiggly when you take it out. This wasn't just jiggly in the middle. The whole thing was still jiggly!!! So I left it in for a total of 2 hours. And it was not over baked....
When I took it out, I immediately took a butter knife and loosen the cake from the edges so the top didn't split when it cooled. When it is cooled enough, you can take it out of the pan, but make sure it is completely cooled before you put it in a container and put it in the fridge. You want it to refridgerate this at least four hours, so it is better to make it the night before.
This cheesecake is super creamy and sweet (but not gross sweet). It definitely sticks to the roof of your mouth.... Plan on having a glass of water or milk next to you....
I was a bit disappointed about the swirl in the middle. If you lookclose, you can see it looks like a shadowed lilac color is in the middle part, it's not completely creamy white. Yeah, I was hoping to actually have swirls, but it work. I think if I do a swirl again, I am going to use some seedless jam/preserves and blend that w/ the reduced juice. Maybe that'll make it thicker so it'll show up more....
Either way, this is a great recipe for cheesecake, no matter what you use to flavor it. I just don't think I would use a water bath again, unless I had 4 hours to actually make this. That was a pain.
I'm so excited about this cake. It was soooooo good. Everyone, including my picky mother, who loves store bought box mixes and Sam's Club blueberry muffins, LOVED it!!!
I was torn on which recipe I wanted to use. I saw this one on another blog and I was totally going to use this one but then I saw that she had tons of cake batter and in all honesty, I didn't think I could handle that much cake!!!!
So I went on a recipe search. As I have mentioned before, if I am going to use a recipe on a website, it better have reviews! And it better have lots and lots of reviews! Well this one definitely did! (See reviews). Well, I weeded thru most of the pages of reviews and I decided this was definitely the one to use. The only change I made was to cut out some butter. I cut out only a 1/2 stick, but I think next time I might cut out a whole stick. I saw that a lot of people were having trouble getting it out of the pans and even more trouble putting the layers together b/c they were falling apart. I thought that all the butter might have done that, so I cut a little. Also, I used raw pecans, so what I did before folding them in was get out the frying pan, put a little butter in it to melt and coat the bottom, then toassed the pecans in there w/ some cinnamon sugar. I know there is cinnamon in the batter, but I really like cinnamon. :) The recipe also says to use 3- 9 inch cake pans, but I only used two. I think that if I had used 3 pans, these layers would have been super thin and I would have needed more frosting. Which isn't a bad thing, but I didn't want to risk having leftover frosting and eating it.... So I put the batter together and popped the two pans in the oven..... Looks like chicken tortilla soup to me....
While those were baking, I started on the cream cheese frosting! This time I went and bought cream cheese from the store and bought extra for the cheesecake I was making in a few days....
I found a recipe that I had printed of a long time ago in my pile o' recipes and used that, but the technique I learned from one of my fav blogs to read, How to Eat a Cupcake. I have always softened my cream cheese first, but tried it this way and I honestly think it helped a lot! The recipe I used was:
2 8ox pkgs of cream cheese 1 stick of butter 2 tsp vanilla 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
I used an electric mixer and when I put the cream cheese and butter in the bowl, I cut them in cubes. I thought it would make it easier to mix, but honestly, I'm not sure it made a difference at all. But I mixed the cream cheese, butter and vanilla (cream cheese cold, butter room temp) until it was just blended. I slowly added the powdered sugar and mixed until just smooth. Since it was still pretty cold, I figured that was why it was a bit stiff, so I waited until it warmed a bit before I decided whether to mix it a bit more. After it reached a temp closer to room temp, it softened up enough to make it spreadable. Doesn't there look like there is so little in there? But I think I have found my recipe. I might use less butter next time b/c I like the cream cheesy taste so much and I think the butter muted it a bit, but it is definitely smooth and yummy.
So I took the cakes out at the 25 min mark. When I pulled out the toothpick there were still some crumbles stuck to it, so it was definitely time. Unfortunately, the edges were a bit crunchy, but I cut those off. I let them sit a while before taking them out of the pans.... I was scared they would fall apart like some of the reviews said they did, but they held up amazingly. And I got one yummy cake.
This picture was what it looked like when I cut into it still somewhat warm. The cake firmed up ALOT when it was in the refrigerator overnight (see picture below). Not as moist looking, but it was still very very soft and tender. Yummmm...
So I was super excited about making this cake..... I love red velvet (as you can tell from previous posts). So I actually found a recipe for red velvet that Gale Gand posted on Foodnetwork.com and I figured I would try this recipe b/c I liked the one from More (she was the consulting chef for Patty Rothman when she opened More). So I took the recipe I found here and played with it a bit. First off, I put a bit more cocoa powder (3 tsp) in it than the 1 tsp the recipe called for. The reason being, I like the taste of cocoa in the cake and I didn't think I would get that from only using 1 tsp. I was worried that the color would be darker, but there were no worries, as you can see from the tops that I cut off. Also, I used butter (1 cup, same as the shortening) instead of veg shortening. I don't really like or use shortening, so I didn't feel like going out and buying it just for this.
When I find a recipe with reviews, I always read the reviews. These reviews were SO mixed!! Some said it was the best and perfect, some said it was tasteless and some said it was dry! I have to say, I wasn't disappointed at all. Now, yes I did play with the recipe... but in all honesty, everyone's baking comes out different every time. I realize that this recipe had cake flour in it and it is pretty hard to over beat w/ cake flour, but if anyone is like my mother and leaves her cakes beating in the mixer for ever, wanting to have it be completely smooth, that affects the outcome. I used 9 inch pans, which caused the very edges to be dry, but it probably wouldn't have happened in the 8 inch pans. Also, the eighth step of the baking process is carryover baking. Chef always told us that you want to have little crumbly pieces sticking to the toothpick when you take it out. You never want it to come out completely clean! By the time you let to cool down, of course it's going to dry out!!! I took mine out about three minutes before it was done (per the recipe). It was very moist, with the exception of about a 1/8 inch along the edges that was dry, which I cut off when I cut off the top part that domed.
I did not use the frosing recipe, obviously, since it wasn't cream cheese frosting. I faked it. Honestly, I used a basic cream cheese recipe of Alton Brown's. But the problem was.... I kinda thought my cream cheese was still good, so when I opened the package and saw mold, I had to improvise. I used half a thing of cream cheese that was being used to bagels, not baking and I substituted marshmallow fluff for the rest. Haha, that was funny.... My deal w/ it was that it wasn't cream cheesy enough and it got very sticky. I also realized there wasn't enough so I folded in some cool whip, which also made it easier to smooth onto the cake. (I put a layer of the frosting w/out cool whip in b/w the two layers, but it was so thick and sticky, it was pulling off chunks of the cake).
The result: Everyone LOVED it!! I was shocked. The cake was fantastic! The frosting was not my thing, but no one else really complained about it. My friend Amanda, who doesn't do lots of sweets, loved it so much she came over and said she wanted to just take the cake and run. Which wouldn't have been a good thing since she was the first one to cut into it!!!
So I'm still on my quest to find the BEST cream cheese recipe. Has anyone ever tried using granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar? What happened? I was thinking that it would help cut the chalkiness and the too sweetness, but then would it be grainy from the granulated crystals? I guess if no one else knows, I'll try that next!
I picked up some FRESH cream cheese from the store last night, so I am off to make a carrot cake w/ cream cheese frosting next!
So this is a little late, but.... Kris and I went around Chicago for our own little cupcake tour. I made it my mission to find the best Red Velvet cupcake in the city. We went to Molly's Cupcakes, Sweet Mandy B's, Twisted Sister and More. We got more than red velvet, of course. Who am I to pass up sweets?
Our first stop was actually Chicago Cupcakes on Briar, but they were closed. I was pretty disappointed since their website was the most visual... But I should have looked at the hours. It is pretty clear they weren't open on Sundays. :(
We went to Molly's next. Kris and I each had a cupcake to eat there and then we each took home 4 more. The shop is very cute and there was actually a few tables to sit at. We managed to get a table once we were done ordering, which was perfect timing. I had the Carrie's Campfire, which was a chocolate cupcake topped with marshmallow fluff, hot fudge and graham cracker crumbs. It was good. Although I could have done without the graham cracker crumbs, but that is totally my personal opinion. :) The chocolate cake was great. It was very rich and moist. And I heart marshmallow fluff. I took home a banana caramel cashew cupcake, turtle cupcake, tiramisu cupcake and a red velvet. I had the banana caramel cashew later that day, it was okay. The banana cake was again very moist and had great flavor. It tasted more like real bananas than that fake candy banana flavoring that some have. I'm not sure what the frosting was supposed to taste like, but it was bland and really greasy feeling. I ended up taking it off. The caramel filling was really rich and I couldn't finish all of it, so I saved the other half for later. My mom had the turtle and my dad had the tiramisu. They liked theirs, but offered no help whatsoever for me to give to you. Kris had the tiramisu for home too and she said that it really did taste like tiramisu cake, so that's got to be good right? More on the red velvet later...
So next was Sweet Mandy B's. It was a really tiny space. We had a hard time actually being able to see the display case to see what we wanted. I gave up and ordered a strawberry muffin and a red velvet cupcake. Honestly, I really wasn't too impressed. It was cramped and unorganized. The strawberry muffin was not good at all. It was actually undercooked. I took a couple bites out of it and it tasted floury and doughy. When I pinched a piece together, it stretched instead of stuck to my fingers. Not good.
We went to Twisted Sister next. Even though Kris insisted there was always parking available, we went up and down the streets until we finally found parking about 6 blocks away. Being that it was so cold and we were walking against the wind, it sucked. But it was worth it when we got there. Kris did her internship there so we got to chat with everyone and it was nice. The place itself is really cozy and there was alot of sitting room for a smaller place. I got a red velvet cupcake, a mini fruit tart and warm caramel apple cider. Yummm.... The apple cider was so good. Tart and not too sweet. The fruit tart was phenomenal. They had a thin sweet dough shell that was a little less than an inch thick. The shell was filled with pastry cream. Real, fresh, vanilla beany pastry cream. A great difference from the tarts that just have a thin layer of the fake stuff. On top there were fresh strawberries, kiwi, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. When I bit into it, the pastry cream didn't all fall out, thankfully, but by the time I got halfway through it, it was all over my fingers. Which of course I didn't mind b/c then I got to suck it all off. Yum. Later, Kris brought me one of their banana tarts. The shell was hard to fork into, but it was decent. The caramel was a bit different tasting and I'm not sure I liked with with the tart, but to each their own. Kris made some of her own a bit differently this past weekend and we shared one. It was much better than the stores. Sorry!!
Lastly we went to More. I got a red velvet, bacon maple and salted caramel. First, the salted caramel. The frosting was bland and waxy, so I took it off. The cake waas dry and tasteless. The caramel tasted like the caramel from taffy apples more so than real salted caramel. Kris liked it, but I was def not impressed. The bacon maple. Hmmm..... bacon maple..... I really liked this one. The frosting was again, bland and tasteless, so it came off, but the cake. They folded in real pieces of bacon into the batter. The texture was more like a scone than a cake or muffin, but it literally tasted like pancakes and bacon w/ a hint of maple syrup. It was delicious. I savoured it for a good 20 mintues before work the next morning. Which made me near late to work, but oh well. I didn't want it to end. The prices were too much for me to want to go back, but I am now determined to find/make my own recipe for them. Determined.
On to the red velvet cupcakes. I had a hard time picking my favorite. So I'll start with the ones I didn't like. Twisted Sister. I'm sorry Kris, I know you love them, but the cake was too buttery and really heavy. The frosting, which is the most important part to me, was too sweet and very grainy, like you can feel the powdered sugar grinding against your teeth. It didn't even really taste anything like cream cheese. I was really disappointed. Sweet Mandy B's. The frosting, just like Twisted Sister, was grainy and too sweet and didn't taste like cream cheese. The cake wasn't bad. It was the only one that actually tasted like chocolate, rather than just buttery. B/c of the chocolate, the red part wasn't as bright red, but it was still yummy, and honestly, I think that it is okay not to be bright red. It was a burgundy color and that's good enough, right? :) More. Hmmm... More. Well, honestly their red velvet was the only one that I ate all of it, as opposed to just the cake or half of it. The cake was moist and buttery. There was def no cocoa flavor in the cake. The frosting was smooth and creamy and tasted just like cheesecake. Molly's. Probably my favorite. The cake was buttery and moist like More, but a bright, almost pinkish red color. No real flavor, just very rich and buttery. The frosting was smooth and creamy again, but had even more of a cheesecake taste to it.
In all honesty, I would rather make my own cupcakes than pay $4 a piece somewhere else. But it was a fun trip.
If anyone has a good bacon maple cupcake recipe, let me know!
So my last day at Pierre's. I think the coolest thing about this day was the cake that Chuey was making for his nephew's (Richard's son) birthday party. He started sometime before 2 and finished after we got back around 8ish? He was making a Backyardigan cake. And not just having a picture of the backyardigan on the cake, he made the cake in the shape of the Backyardigan. Seriously, this was Ace of Cakes stuff. This was the picture he was going off of....He'd never made one before so it was pretty interesting watching all of the try to figure out how to put it all together. I missed most of it since I was making them lunch and then I had my site visit with Jori and then Manny and I went on some deliveries. But we can back and I had to take pictures to document this forever. It's too bad I missed most of the work done on it. It would have been cool to see how he did it. And of course take pictures of each step to show everyone!!! My contribution was the little spinner thingie on the top of the hat. Manny did the actual hat after Chuey and I couldn't figure it out.
Well everyone, I am done with school!!! I promised Chef Mark that I wasn't going to get rid of my blog so he can use it as a reference for his future classes. So you all get to keep me. :)
Wed was def an ordeal. My mom, Kris and I went to go see Twilight, then mom was going to drop me off to go to class. Well, dad kept calling me and when I left the movie to go see what he needed, he was in an extreme amount of pain and couldn't walk. I freaked out and ran back, got my mom and left to pick him up and go to the hospital. Well, I had my car at school, but it would have taken too long to get it and then go home with the traffic, so mom and I just went straight home. She took dad to the hospital so I could go do some stuff he needed to get done for the shop. She basically told me not to come to the hospital, to go to class instead. Let me tell you how hard it is to sit in class and bake when all you want to do is go see your dad at the hospital. But she kept me updated with texts. He turned out to be okay. It's just been hard b/c dad smokes and drinks way too much coffee and he just doesn't eat healthy or sleep well, so it is always something with him. It's hard watching him get sick over and over and over again.
But I finished baking at the same time they were leaving the hospital. I ended up with an A in the class, so I will be graduating with a 4.0 GPA! Yeah!!!
Our official graduation date is January 22. I don't get why it's on a Thursday night, but hey, whatever. :)
And just as an FYI, I made the Lemon Chiffon cake for Thanksgiving yesterday. I used a silicon tube pan, instead of the non-stick one I used in class making it the first time. I hated it. I will never ever ever use that for a chiffon or angel food cake again. It was horrible. Since you don't grease it, it is supposed to slide out after it cools. Nope, it stuck like mad and tore up the cake. And then after I brought it to dinner, even as ugly as it looked since it was torn in places, I swear it tasted like rubber!!! Everyone insists it didn't (even when I wasn't standing right there, so I know they weren't lying), I swear the cake tasted like the pan. I am going to buy a nonstick tube pan today! With prongs so I don't have to use a wine bottle to hold it upside down on. Maybe I'll find one nice and cheap with the sales going on for Black Friday!
I plan on keeping up with my blog, especially with Xmas coming and me having WAY more time on my hands, so I'll see you guys soon!
In lecture this week, we talked about frosting. There are 7 different frostings:
Buttercream
Foam
Fudge
Fondant
Glaze
Royal Icing
Ganache
There are three different types of buttercream: Simple, Italian (with Italian meringue) and French (like Italian but with egg yolks).
Buttercream is a mixture of fat (preferably butter) and sugar. I don't particularly like buttercream frosting, but have only had the simple buttercream (as far as I know), so it'll be interesting to make.
Foam is just Italian meringue. This frosting cannot be stored in a cooler, and should be used right away. Fudge is a warmed mixture of sugar, butter and water or milk. This is applied warm b/c when it cools, it forms a "crust" This can either be vanilla of chocolate flavored, which is something I never knew; I thought it was just chocolate. Fondant is a thick sugar paste. It can be in the form of a poured-on paste or rolled-out paste. It's hard to make, so it's better to be bought. Glaze is a think coating that is usually poured onto a cake. It's used for more delicate cakes like last week's chiffon. Royal Icing is what we used on the cookies in week 6. It's a bit thicker than glaze because it used egg whites, not milk or water. Ganache is a blend of pure chocolate and cream. This is a common base for truffles. We also studied for our final next week. I am a bit nervous b/c there is a lot to memorize, like the 9 steps for the baking process and the 12 stages of the bread baking process. I' d didn't do so well on the mid-term, so that's why I nervous about next week. We'll see.....
For lab this week, we used the butter cakes and lemon curd from week 8 to put together our cake. The only thing we really made was the Italian buttercream frosting.
Italian Buttercream 14 ounces Egg whites 27 ounces Granulated sugar (1 lb. 11 oz.) Water, as needed 2 3/4 pounds Lightly salted butter, softened but not melted
1. All ingredients should be at room temperature before beginning. 2. Place the egg whites in a mixer bowl. Have 9 ounces (270 grams) of the sugar nearby. 3. Place 1 pound 2 ounces (540 grams) of the sugar in a heavy saucepan with enough water to moisten. Bring to a boil over high heat. 4. As the sugar syrup's temperature approaches soft ball stage (240°F (116°C), begin whipping the egg whites. Watch the sugar closely so that the temperature does not exceed 240°F (116°C). 5. When soft peaks form in the egg whites, gradually add the 9 ounces (270 grams) of sugar to them. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and continue whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks. 6. When the sugar syrup reaches soft ball stage, immediately pour it into the whites while the mixer is running. Pour the syrup in a steady stream between the side of the bowl and the beater. If the syrup hits the beater, it will splatter and cause lumps. Continue beating at medium speed until the egg whites are completely cool. At this point, the product is known as Italian meringue. 7. Gradually add the softened butter to the Italian meringue. When all the butter is incorporated, add flavoring ingredients as desired. 8. Yield: 5 lb. 5 oz.
We halved the recipe and it was more than enough to cover and decorate this cake. I have a lot leftover....
We had to cut the tops off the cakes and then make three layers. We used a turntable to do it. The key is to mark off all around the cake w/ the bread knife so you know where your layers are doing to be. And you use both hands. Use the hand that doesn't have the knife to keep the cake sturdy on the turner and also to help turn. You do not want to oush the bread knife thru to make the layers, you really want to "saw" through it so that it doesn't get all crumbly and makes an even layer, not angled.
We poured the lemon curd on top of two layers and then frosted it. We used food coloring, pipping bags and tips to make designs. End result:
This week in lecture, we discussed cakes. In order to achieve a light and delicate cake, you have to use high-quality ingredients, know how to combine the ingredients and know how each ingredient affects the outcome of the cake. There are 6 types in ingredients in each cake.
The toughener is the protein which is found in flours, milk and eggs. This provides structure and strength to the cake.
The tenderizer is what inhibits the gluten. This is found in the fats, sugar or egg yolks. This shortens the gluten strands which will make the cake soft and tender.
The moisteners are the liquids in the cake, i.e. water, milk, juice, eggs.
The driers provide body and structure. The driers would be the flour, starches and milk solids. These absorb the moisture.
The leaveners provide steam and air to help the cake rise. This would be found in baking powder, baking soda or juts plain air and steam.
The last type is the flavorings. This would come from the sugar, extracts, spices, salt, and butter.
You can mix cake batter using the creaming method (butter cakes) or whipped egg method (angel food cake).
This week during lab we each made a lemon chiffon cake and the butter cake and lemon curd we are going to use next week to decorate our cakes.
The lemon chiffon cake was fabulous. So much so that my mom and dad loved it so much that it is a requirement for Thanksgiving this year. It was made using the whipped egg method and is similar to angel food cake, except it has egg yolks.
1. Sift together the flour, 6 ounces (180 grams) of sugar and the baking powder and salt.
2. In a separate bowl mix the oil, yolks, water, juice, zest and vanilla. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients.
3. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly beat in the remaining 6 ounces (180 grams) of sugar. Continue beating until the egg whites are stiff but not dry.
4. Stir one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites.
5. Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch (25-centimeter) tube pan. Bake at 325°F (160°C) until a toothpick comes out clean, approximately 1 hour.
6. Immediately invert the pan over the neck of a wine bottle. Allow the cake to hang upside down until completely cool, and then remove from the pan.
7. Stir the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl and drizzle over the top of the cooled cake.
8. Yield: 1 Tube Cake
***You can use any citrus flavor for this cake. The book recipe was for an Orange Chiffon cake, but chef ordered more lemons since we were making the lemon curd. Honestly, I am happier with the lemon since I prefer lemon over orange.
Also, I didn't use the zest in the glaze. I personally don't like the feeling of zest in my mouth, so I nixed it. The end result was still fabulous, probably even more so for me!
Next I made the butter cakes. Again, a simple recipe. Chef was worried about this recipe because it only calls for egg yolks, not the whole egg and he thought it was a misprint. But I checked my copy of The Cake Bible and it does in fact call for only egg yolks. Someone people used the full egg and their rose a bit more, but honestly, mine was prefect the way it was so I would stick with the recipe. Rose Levy Beranbaum knows what she is doing.
Finally the lemon curd. I never thought I would like something with curd in it's name, but this was very good. Very smooth after we strained it and a nice bright lemony taste. I will probably use this for something in the future.
Lemon Curd Filling
1
cup fresh lemon juice from about 6 lemons
1
teaspoon gelatin (powdered)
1 1/2
cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces)
1/8
teaspoon table salt
4
large eggs
6
large egg yolks (reserve egg whites for cake)
8
tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into 1/2-inch cubes and frozen
1. FOR THE FILLING: Measure 1 tablespoon lemon juice into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over top. Heat remaining lemon juice, sugar, and salt in medium nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot but not boiling. Whisk eggs and yolks in large nonreactive bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot lemon-sugar mixture into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with heatproof spatula, until mixture registers 170 degrees on instant-read thermometer and is thick enough to leave trail when spatula is scraped along pan bottom, 4 to 6 minutes. Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved. Stir in frozen butter until incorporated. Pour filling through fine-mesh strainer into nonreactive bowl (you should have 3 cups). Cover surface directly with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm enough to spread, at least 4 hours.
I am a cookie kind of girl. I like that you can make tons of dough ahead of time and just pull it out whenever you want and bake.
t
