Category Archives: Sweets

Somewhere, Under the Rainbow

Posted on by
Reply

Frances sent me a picture of these cupcakes thinking I might like the design and might make them. She was right, I did and I did. Sadly, she is not eating any added sugar at the moment… sigh. I also had a new white cake recipe I wanted to try and the confluence of these two irresistible forces resulted in an almost perfect cupcake. However, my unpaid, full time, in-house taste tester felt the cupcake was sweet and adding the buttercream frosting just put her over the edge. You know, the typical shakes, cold sweats and hyperactivity of a pure sugar high. The white cake recipe is a keeper though. Maybe a cream cheese frosting…

Land o’Lakes published the rainbow piping concept. I read it but then I did it my way

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew (get it?)
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out (never!)
I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it my way

Buttercream Frosting

Previously if I wanted multi-colored piping I will fill small piping bags with different colored frosting, snip the ends off and cram them into a large bag. This worked fair at best. This technique is far superior, and maybe even easier. I use Wiltons Icing Colors. They are concentrated and you don’t need much for very vibrant colors.

Once the colored frosting is piped into rows on a piece of food wrap, roll the wrap up and snip off the end. Put the rolled frosting into a large piping bag with a large star end.

Run a little of the frosting out until the mixture comes out evenly distributed, then pipe the rainbows, surrounding the marshmallow clouds.

Thank you Land o’Lakes, this was a great technique.

THE BEST BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 cups of powdered sugar (or 1 box)
  • 1 Cup (2 sticks) of softened butter
  • 2-3 teaspoons of vanilla
  • 1-2 tablespoons of milk
  • Violet food coloring

METHOD

  1. Add powdered sugar to mixing bowl.
  2. Add softened sticks of butter
  3. Add vanilla. If you want white buttercream use clear imitation vanilla. Also, adding a little violet food coloring (like the end of a toothpicks worth) will help lighten the yellowish color due to the butter.
  4. Add 1 tbsp of milk.
  5. Beat on low until powdered sugar is incorporated. Then move mixer up to medium-high speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When completely mixed the frosting may appear dry.
  6. Add more milk, a little bit at a time until frosting is the proper consistency.

White Cup Cakes –

I don’t remember where I saw this recipe but it is a basic white cake with whipped egg whites (meringue) gently folded into the batter. I made a half recipe just to try it. This made 15 medium sized cupcakes. Either follow the instructions and make cakes, or do what I did, or both, and make a lot of cupcakes!

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 5 egg whites

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 3 (8-inch) round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper, and grease and flour paper.
  2. Stir together milk and vanilla.
  3. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Sift together flour and baking powder; add to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.
  4. Beat egg whites at medium speed until stiff peaks form; gently fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  5. Bake at 350° for 20 to 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks; discard parchment paper. Cool completely (about 40 minutes).
  6. Spread Vanilla Buttercream Frosting between layers (about 1 cup per layer) and on top and sides of cake.

In His Cap And Called it Macarons

Posted on by
1

I am sure I once posted making Macarons before, but if I did, I cannot find it. If anyone happens across it, please let me know. I hate to think of it wandering around the ethereal web, homeless, begging for a cup of sugar (confectioners of course.)

I am talking macarons, not macaroons. These are the almond flour confection with the “feet” not the shredded coconut cookie type. I made macarons-2these with two different fillings, buttercream for Amy and blackberry jam because I had some extra blackberries in the fridge and I like blackberries. Plus, we thought they would travel better than other pastries.

I use a modified version of the Food Network’s macaron recipe and technique.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1¾ cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¼ cup caster sugar
  • 2 to 3 drops gel food coloring (see below)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla, almond or mint extract

METHOD

Cookie

  1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F using the convection setting. Line a large double-thick baking sheet with parchment paper that you drew 1¾” circles about ¾” apart and flipped clean side up. Measure the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour by spooning them into measuring cups and leveling with a knife. Transfer to a bowl; whisk to combine.
  2. Sift the sugar-almond flour mixture, a little at a time, through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. It will take a while, and up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; just toss it. Sift a second time.
  3. Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high; gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, about 5 more minutes.
  4. Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold using a figure 8 pattern until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold. Be sure the spatula goes all the way to the bottom in incorporate all the dry mixture.
  5. Add any food coloring and/or extract. Continue folding and turning, scraping down the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon, 2 to 3 minutes.
  6. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a ¼ -inch round tip. Holding the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe 1¾ -inch circles (24 per sheet). Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.
  7. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity. Slip another baking sheet under the first batch (a double baking sheet protects the cookies from the heat).
  8. Bake until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to form a “foot,” about 20 minutes. Bake time is everything, too long and they will discolor, too short and they will be soft inside.
  9. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
  10. Peel the cookies off the mats and sandwich with a thin layer of filling.

Berry Filling

  1. Puree berries in a food processor
  2. Sieve puree to remove seeds and solids
  3. Equal amounts (weight) of sieved berry puree and granulated sugar.
  4. Boil in a small saucepan until mixture reaches 225 F, stirring frequently to keep from burning.
  5. Cool jam until it is thick enough to pipe, or spread but not flow.

Sugar Cookies with Sugar Icing, I can’t stop shaking!!!

Posted on by
1

As if plain sugar cookies aren’t enough to start heart palpitations and have you bouncingsugar-cookies-chanukah_0005 off the walls with a sugar high, let’s coat them with sugar icing! There is no thought of balancing flavors or textures here, just sweet and crunch. I saw a hint somewhere of using squeeze bottles with medium fine tips rather than traditional piping bags to decorate cookies. At about $1 each, what go wrong? As it turned out, they worked great and provided squeexe-bottlemore fine motor control than piping.

I “piped” the edges of the cookies with a fairly thick batch of colored, or not, icing to make a damn dam. Be careful not to try to sugar-cookies-christmas_0005pipe thick icing. #1, it plugs the tip and “b” it takes a lot force (read: tired and cramping fingers and hands here). Once the damn dam is dried flood the inside with thinner frosting. Poke any holes with a toothpick. Let dry, probably overnight.

INGREDIENTS

COOKIES

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

ICING

  • 1 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 3-4 tablespoons water
  • 1-2 tsp lemon juice

Method

  1. In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator overnight).
  2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting dough with flour as needed. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets. (If dough gets soft, chill 10 minutes.) Reroll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.
  3. Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 10 to 18 minutes (depending on size). Cool completely on wire racks. To ice cookies, spread with the back of a spoon. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes. Decorate as desired.
  4. For the icing, sift confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl. Mix water and lemon juice. Whisk in water/lemon juice mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thin, whisk in more sugar; if too thick, add more liquid. Spread over cookies with back of a spoon. Add other decorations, if desired. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes.

NOTES

Use flour on utensils to keep dough from sticking: Dip the cookie cutters, and dust the spatula before transferring uncooked dough to a sheet. You can store cookies in airtight containers at room temperature, up to 1 week.

mmmm… Do’h-nuts – D’oh!

Posted on by
Reply

I saw this recipe on Chefsteps even before I subscribed to them and instantly knew it was mine.  I made the recipe as published and they turned out fantastic. Apparently, I missed the part of the directions that said it would make 20 donuts and 20 donut holes, or didn’t fully realize exactly how many 20 actually is.  Let’s see, two of us live her, that would be 10 donuts and 10 donut holes each, mmmm… do’h-nuts! That is enough to keep our stomachs upset and blood sugar soaring for several days. I could give some away (I did) and still be sick for 2 or 3 days. I think next time I will make a half a recipe and still give half away.

 

As Chefsteps says, this are not the un-bodied Krispy Kreme donut, these are more a brioche like texture with a little chewy give. Outstanding!

Click the link above for the recipe and instructions.

Small Batch Berry Jam

Posted on by
Reply

Confession here: I like seeds in my berry jam. I don’t know why, either some trauma forced on me by my older brother, or perhaps faded memories of my mother making jams or even some totally unrelated reason. The point is my berry jam must have seeds. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find blackberry jam with seeds? Raspberry? No Blackberry Jamproblem, but find a jar of blackberry without that insidious word “seedless” on the label? Good luck. Either you spend an inordinate amount of time searching your supermarket, or go to a farm or specialty market and shell out twice the cash. I look for BOGO’s on berries. It’s like getting jam free, almost.
Or….
Google (the worlds 42) “small batch jam” and find 461,000 results in 0.44 seconds.
I read a lot of them and boiled it down (bad pun) to this:

  • Measure equal weights (not volumes) washed berries and granulated sugar. Obviously for sweeter jam add more sugar, tarter, less. Duh.
  • Mash berries in a saucepan, heat then add sugar in small aliquots. Use a large enough saucepan or you will end up washing two of them. Been there, done that, no t-shirt.
  • Cook at a moderate boil until the temperature reaches 220 deg. and it begins to thicken. Cook less for thinner (think dessert topping) or more for thicker.
  • Skim the light colored foam off the top as it boils.
  • While it is cooking put a canning jar (about a pint size for a pint of berries, go figure) filled to about an inch from of the top with water into the microwave and cook until boiling vigorously.
  • Pour the boiling water out into a small bowl containing your canning lid and funnel.
  • Wait a minute. You aren’t really sterilizing because you will just keep this in the fridge for quick use.
  • Pour the still very hot jam into the jar using the funnel, put on the lids, screw on the top and you are done, except for the clean up. One pan, one spoon and a funnel.
  • Total time, less than 30 min.

Summertime, And The Livin’ is Easy

Posted on by
Reply

It’s summertime again. Actually, it is the end of May and summer is still 3 weeks away but if you live in South Florida summer began months ago. I needed a cake for a dinner party this weekend and said to myself, “Self, what springs to mind when you think about summer?” After a moment, I replied, “Well, after a long hot winter I want to fall into a cool, refreshing cake that shrieks summer.” I decided on a Watermelon Cake. It doesn’t taste like watermelon (it is actually a white cake dyed reddy/pink) but sure looks like one. IMG_1421[1]

Bake the cake in a greased and flowered Wilton Egg Pan (because I own one.) Fill the pan to within an inch of the top and be sure to put a cookie sheet under it while baking as it will overflow the pan. My oven is slow so I baked it for an hour at 350 F. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Trying to remove the cake while warm will destroy it.

After the cake is completely cool, (I know, the cake is very cool, but in this case I mean the temperature) cut the excess cake along the edge of the Egg Pan to make a perfectly flat side then turn it out onto a wire rack. If necessary loosen the edges of the cake from the pan with a flexible spatula.

Frost the cake with a heavy IMG_1422[1]layer of white crusting butter cream frosting (I made a double recipe of the below) and place in the freezer. When the frosting is set, about an hour, coat with another layer of white frosting making it as smooth as possible, returning to the freezer. This makes the thicker white watermelon rind. While the twice white frosted cake is again setting add some green food coloring to the remaining frosting. This green should be the background green of the watermelon, not the dark green lines. Add a little additional milk to reduce the viscosity, or to the non-scientists among us, reduce the “thickness.” After the frosting on the cake is set, smooth a layer of the light, thinner green frosting over the entire cake and return to the freezer. After the now light green cake is set, remove from the freezer and smooth the surface. I like to use a latex gloved hand wetted by holding it under the faucet. A bowl of water would also work but then you have to clean another bowl. You will have to clean and re-wet your hand a few times to smooth the entire cake. Once the light green frosted cake is smooth, guess what? Return it to the freezer to set.
IMG_1427[1]Remove the smooth light green frosted cake from the freezer and paint the dark green stripes. I used Duff green airbrush dye and a 3/8″ brush (because I own them.) If you are the artistic type with a good eye and imagination this is no biggie. If you are the more analytical, fallen chemist type, set your iPad with a picture of a watermelon next to your cake and copy to the best of your limited artistic ability.

BTW, here is a tip I found online: to disperse the chocolate chips and not have them settle to the bottom of the cake batter mix them into the flour mixture being sure the are well coated with flour. This seems to help them “float” in the cake batter as it bakes.

Here is another tip: don’t let the cake with the thick frosting warm up in the car ride to your party. Soften or melted rind signficantly affects the overall impression of the cake.

Recipe: Heavenly White (Watermelon Colored) Cake

Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 egg whites ( or substitute)
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
  • Red dye

Directions

  1. Measure sifted flour, baking powder, and salt; sift together three times.
  2. Add chocolate chips and mix being sure the chips are well coated with the flour mixture
  3. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add 1/2 cup sugar gradually, and continue beating only until meringue will hold up in soft peaks. Add red dye to approximate a watermelon color.
  4. Cream butter or margarine. Gradually add remaining 1 cup sugar, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add sifted ingredients alternately with milk a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Add red food dye until the same watermelon pinky/red is achieved. Mix in flavorings. Add colored meringue, and beat thoroughly into batter.  Pour into well greased and floured Egg Pan.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 60 minutes. Check the springiness of the cake after about 45 min. Guess when it is done (when the depression caused by your finger is anti-depressed, or springs back up.) Leave the cake in pans until completely cool, then trim the bumpy puffed up cake above the rim of the Egg Pan and remove and transfer to a wire rack.

Basic Crusting Butter Cream

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup solid high ratio shortening
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 tablespoon of meringue powder
  • 1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract (or extract of choice)
  • 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (approx. 1 lb.)
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • Green food color (add after cake is frosted with the white frosting)

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla and milk. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating on a slow speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. Keep bowl or covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Don’t overwhip or it will bring air to the icing and is impossible to smooth. If you have a kitchen Aid use white attachment, not whip attachment.

 

Meringue Cups, Not Hwy 66 – Revisited

Posted on by
Reply

I had the occasion to make a batch of meringue cups today and thought I would try a variation to the ganache filling I typically use. While researching another recipe on Allrecipies I saw that if, after the unsweetened, grated chocolate (4 oz) is melted in the just barely boiling heavy cream (1/2 cup) the mixture is allowed to cool to room temperature, then whipped soundly (about the head and shoulders), it will become a lighter whipped ganache which is easy to pipe into designs, or as in my case bitter kisses. The sweetness of the meringue cup paired with the bitter chocolate results in a well balanced treat.image image

(After taking the picture i decided to add some blue sugar crystals to sweeten the meringue cups up a bit. Obviously, it’s up to you)