Luck 'o the Irish!

May the blessings of each day
Be the blessings you need most.

-Irish Proverb

Remember this shamrock, from just last night?

Well, I'm sure you didn't have a hard time imagining what was underneath that green four-leaf clover...

Which made for a lovely mid-afternoon snack, but was rich enough that now we're all craving something NOT sweet!

 

Inspired, of course, by this cake at iambaker, there is no real recipe to share, other than: be prepared to part with a good portion of a bottle of green food coloring. And my other tip: be delicate in the adding of this food coloring. You can always go darker, but it's pretty impossible (without another cake mix) to lighten up.

Side note: I learned just yesterday that there are moms who make little Leprechan footprints around the house on St. Patrick's Day, and that little green treats are left by these Leprechauns... I had no idea I had fallen down so resoundingly in this world of "mythical characters are real." I had never even heard of doing that. It's well documented that I've never been big on Santa as a real guy, and I thought everyone knew the Easter Bunny is made up (I've since learned otherwise). I think the one little lie I went along with was the Tooth Fairy, for a while, but even that got me the sideways wary eye from Seth...  

Anyway, this cake is my nod to the Leprechaun dude and his compatriots! Anything for a little green, I say! (Although I've been told that I should be making an orange cake, what with being Protestant and all. But MY green cake is not affiliated with any religious or political ideologies, so there.)

I complained that I had no shoes 

Until I met a man who had no feet. 

-Irish saying

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!

Coconut snowballs

o,  crazy cake ball trend has been going strong for a couple of years, doesn't it seem? Giving credit where credit is due for the invention itself seems a bit hard to do, and there is even some internet sniping about who did what when, first, etc. I first stumbled on cake balls via Bakerella at least two or three years ago, and they have certainly done a lot to popularize the trend. But hello, Starbucks makes them now, so you know it's time for a new fad when THAT happens...

I've never been big on the whole "balls" aspect, so any time I'm able to think of another name, I do it. Hence, the coconut snowballs. See, so much more acceptable! And since I have yet to stick a stick in my cake balls, I obviously haven't truly embraced the "pop" angle... but maybe that day will come. It honestly just seems like an unnecessary step...

I've made these coconut babies at least the past two holiday seasons and had to roll them out again. They are just so good and easy and a wee bit addictive. Of course, you kinda have to like coconut, and as luck would have it, I live with two non-coconut guys. So... more for me? Maybe... and probably more for you too, because of it.

There's something definitely Sandra-Lee-Semi-Homemade about cake balls, and while it may be easy to turn one's nose up at when looking for some chi-chi homemade dessert, I would say get over yourself and enjoy this truly easy-to-make sweet nibble. These are beyond yummy and I would bet that even homemade cake and frosting would not stack up against the boxed. So there.

I sent this picture via phone last week to my sister-in-law Kim. I'm nothing if not a big tease.

Coconut cake snowballs

Makes about 50 snowballs

1 box of cake mix--white, vanilla, your choice

Frosting--white, vanilla, your choice

White chocolate or almond bark candy coating--your choice

Flaked coconut

Coconut extract

Make up the cake recipe according to directions on the box. Bake.

When the cake is done, take it out of the oven and let it rest about 5-10 minutes, so that it's still warm but not hot. Then crumble it into a big bowl. If you have a stand mixer, this is a great use for it (especially when you double the recipe, which I highly recommend). Using the paddle attachment, stir the cake until it's crumbly, and then add about half the container of frosting (1/2 - 3/4 cup). Now is a good time to add your coconut extract, as well. Add about 2 tsp. Taste and if you want it a stronger coconut flavor, add a bit more. Remember that you'll also be dipping it in coconut, so don't go overboard!

Continue mixing until the cake and frosting have combined into a glorious mass. Best to start on the low end with the amount of frosting and keep adding, as you can't undo a too-soft mixture (unless you have another cake lying about). When you get it to a cookie-dough-like consistency, that will be perfect for rolling. (I read one blogger who said she never added frosting, just beat up her cake and made balls. If I didn't love frosting so much, I might just try that some time... Without having tried her concoction, I think the overall consistency would be more "truffle-like" with the frosting... Just wanting you to have all the information, though. If you find yourself frosting-less, all is not lost!)

I usually chill the dough for a bit. That way it will roll up into balls quickly.

Roll the dough into 1- to 1.5-inch balls, and then freeze them (1 hour or all the way to overnight). Frozen always dips better.

Meanwhile, be melting your white chocolate. There are a few methods for that, but once you've burnt it a few times in the microwave, I'll bet you'll come back to the lovely double-boiler method. Not that I'd know anything about that...

Prepare a bowl of grated coconut for rolling the just-chocolate-dipped balls. This is where they will take on their snowball-ish appearance.

It's time to dip. A bit of technique helps here. I usually take a couple of forks and plop one into the chocolate, kind of toss it between the forks, then lift and gently let the chocolate fall, scraping any excess before gently lowering into the flaked coconut and rolling around with my hands. A gentle roll in the coconut, and out they can come to a wax paper lined cookie tray, where they can go into the fridge to firm up for a few minutes.

The snowballs keep best in the fridge in an airtight container, for a week or two. Longer than that and you should freeze them, which also works well. Just bring them out to your fridge overnight to thaw and enjoy!

Crepe cake, or gateau de crepes

et's not talk about how long it's been since I've posted a recipe, OK? (Crazy long, that's how long.) I'm calling "bygones" on the recent past, and have made some new year (post-birthday, anyway) resolutions about doing better in that regard. Remember that old tag line to Sweet Tea&Sunshine? "A little food, a little gratitude." Well, it's been plenty of gratitude, and most food happening offline... time to get back to posting recipes! I've got plenty in my drafts folder, for sure; just need to get my act together and turn pictures and recipes into actual posts. Wish me luck!

What better way to get back into the groove than to post my birthday dessert? Given the fact that it was crowd-sourced and all, right?! It's hard not to be pleased with what gets picked when you're the one putting all the options out in the first place, but I was super-excited to get to make a crepe cake again. Sometimes you just need the excuse to pull out the sugar and flour and eggs, am I right?

I turned to a food blogging professional (Smitten Kitchen) for the recipe, and found it rather different than ones I've used in the past. The crepe batter was quite a bit thinner, which took me a little to get used to but worked out just fine. And the custard was folded into whipped cream, which I don't remember doing in the past... again, turned out wonderfully. It's no surprise that this is definitely a make-again!

Gâteau de Crêpes
New York Times, 5/15/05, who adapted the batter from Joy of Cooking and the pastry cream from Desserts, by Pierre Herme and Dorie Greenspan.

Serves 10. (Smitten Kitchen thinks it serves way more than 10, which I would mostly concur with. I think we ended up with 16 slices, at least...)

For the crepe batter:
6 tablespoons butter
3 cups milk
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
7 tablespoons sugar
Pinch salt

For the vanilla pastry cream:
2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean, halved and scraped
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
3 1/2 tablespoons butter

For assembly:
Corn oil
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar or more
3 Tbsp Kirsch (didn't use, not fond of the flavor)
Confectioners’ sugar

The day before, make the crepe batter and the pastry cream.

Batter: In a small pan, cook the butter until brown like hazelnuts. Set aside. In another small pan, heat the milk until steaming; allow to cool for 10 minutes. In a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the eggs, flour, sugar and salt. Slowly add the hot milk and browned butter. Pour into a container with a spout, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Pastry cream: Bring the milk with the vanilla bean (and scrapings) to a boil, then set aside for 10 minutes; remove bean. Fill a large bowl with ice and set aside a small bowl that can hold the finished pastry cream and be placed in this ice bath.

In a medium heavy-bottomed pan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, then place pan over high heat and bring to a boil, whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes. Press the pastry cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the small bowl. Set the bowl in the ice bath and stir until the temperature reaches 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Stir in the butter. When completely cool, cover and refrigerate.

Assemble the cake the next day: Bring the batter to room temperature. Place a nonstick or seasoned 9-inch crepe pan over medium heat. Swab the surface with the oil, then add about 3 tablespoons batter and swirl to cover the surface. Cook until the bottom just begins to brown, about 1 minute, then carefully lift an edge and flip the crepe with your fingers. Cook on the other side for no longer than 5 seconds. Flip the crepe onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Repeat until you have 20 perfect crepes.

Pass the pastry cream through a sieve once more (didn't do, worked out fine. I mean, how strained does a custard need to be?). Whip the heavy cream with the tablespoon sugar. It won’t hold peaks. Fold it into the pastry cream.

Lay 1 crepe on a cake plate. Using an icing spatula, completely cover with a thin layer of pastry cream (about 1/4 cup). Cover with a crepe and repeat to make a stack of 20, with the best-looking crepe on top. Chill for at least 2 hours. Set out for 30 minutes before serving. If you have a blowtorch for creme brulee, sprinkle the top crepe with 2 tablespoons sugar and caramelize with the torch; otherwise, dust with confectioners’ sugar (I used creme brulee sugar, see below). Slice like a cake.

I love a good excuse to get out the blowtorch! Husband walked into the kitchen and said, "Have you been taking tools out of the shop?" No, honey, that torch is ALL MINE!

Since so many of my dear friends and readers know of my hazelnut/Nutella love (there was even a jar on our front porch the night of my birthday, thank you sweet Sara), there had been much encouragement toward a Nutella crepe cake... I could have gone there, easily, with some Nutella folded into the custard while it was still warm--I've done that many times and it works wonderfully. But, as strange luck would have it, when I was making the custard, there was no Nutella to be found in my pantry. The horrors!

But I did have a lovely bar of hazelnut chocolate from Laura's recent Europe trip up in my office (where I keep my secret stash, of course!) and I whizzed that up in the food processor with a little hot cream and voila! Hazelnut chocolate sauce... perfect for pouring over and enjoying. The crepe cake itself is not overly sweet. The sauce was WAY sweet, so just a touch went a long way, and it was heaven.

It was indeed the perfect ending to a wonderful birthday day with my guys!





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Get out the vote: Crowd-sourcing birthday treats!

t's a big week ahead around here!

First off, my birthday's coming up. I know, commence with the streamers and balloons (not) and general princess-like behavior (double not)... 

Second, and of almost equal hoopla-do, it's Sweet Tea & Sunshine's birthday--three years old! It's been three quick years since friend Jen encouraged me to pick up my blogging "pen" and put it to "paper," and it's been quite a fun ride since then.

But for the birthday, I always spend a little time pondering what dessert I would like. (Please tell me other people do this? Or am I a freak of nature?) I know, cake is most traditional, and for a few years husband quite sweetly bought me the most beautiful cakes from Dean&DeLuca. But the past few years I've said, oh skip that hassle and expense (I think I said it more gently than that), I'll make something yummy, since I kinda like doing that sort of thing anyway. He objects, thinking somehow I'm not supposed to make my own treat, but I call silly on that idea. And, he lets me have my way, in this matter. What's the saying? Happy wife, happy life? He's a wise man.

So the first year of the blog (2008) I made galaktoboureko. That heavenly Greek custard dessert has been a big favorite of mine for many years, from first bite.

For 2009, it was a pile of cream puffs (choux pastry with custard), which have been high on my list since childhood. (Amazing how much Seth has grown in two years, eh? A-maze-ing.)

Last year is oddly fuzzy in my brain, but I think I made some spice cupcakes and mini-cakes in a new cake form I'd been given, but can't find a post or pictures of it, and apparently I was in a quandary about what to make last year too! (I do remember that my parents were here to celebrate with us, so it was obviously a lovely weekend!)

This year, the dessert question continues. I don't make cakes and sweet stuff a lot (despite what some folks think with my number of dessert posts) and so I do want to "make it count" for my birthday. It will be a lovely celebration with my men, so I suppose I should take some of their tastes into account, but honestly I probably won't (much)... when their birthdays roll around it's all about their tastebuds, right? (And I'll make sure there's something around that floats their respective boats, of course.) But the actual dessert? That can be all about me!

That's where you come in, pretty please.

I was browsing through my Pinterest-saved sweet recipes and thinking about what I would like to make, and really couldn't make up my mind. I was thinking to myself that Pinterest should have some sort of voting mechanism so people could weigh in and give opinions, and then I realized (doh!) that I have my own little voting place--between here and a targeted Facebook post or two, I should get a pretty decent crowd-sourced birthday dessert, don't you think?

1. Macarons. I have been wanting to make macarons for a very long time and have been procrastinating. There's a piece of me that's intimidated, and another than pooh-poohs that notion, but for some reason it just hasn't happened yet. My main concern with making macarons is that, like cream puffs, they don't really resemble a dessert or birthday cake, so you just pile them in a bowl and sing Happy Birthday? I guess...

2. Galaktoboureko. I loved it in 2008, and haven't made it since, seriously. So I'd be happy to recycle that concept.

3. Or, for something new, there's this cake: Nutella Icebox Cake. How amazing does that sound? Some of my favorite flavors--hazelnut, chocolate, graham crackers--and it even slightly resembles a cake! Bonus. Double bonus for the fact that it looks way heck easier than macarons.

4. Also in the cake realm is the Peanut Butter Sheet Cake. Hoo-hah. Or however Al Pacino said it in Scent of a Woman. It's a Pioneer Woman recipe, so you know it is filled with all things buttery and good.

5. It's also been awhile since I've made a crepe cake. I LOVE crepe cakes... and if I made a hazelnut one, that could be heavenly too... though even just regular vanilla custard is lovely enough. Hmmm. (The one on the upper right is tiramisu--that sounds pretty good too, doesn't it?!)

6. And then, there are the velvets: Red and Blue. (Why isn't there a Green Velvet cake? Surely that should exist, don't you think?). A true layered cake almost seems truly birthday-like...

7. I've enjoyed leche cake ever since I first tried it a few years ago... I usually think of it as a summer cake with fresh berries and fruit, but I could wrap my mind around a fall version...

8. It's been so long since I've made a cheesecake. My very favorite cheesecake recipe is the Three Cities of Spain Cheesecake from Epicurious--I've made this recipe more times than I can count, but not recently... Does a cheesecake count for a birthday? I think it could. If I wanted to step it up a notch in the cheesecake department, take a look at this creature: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cake. Huh? You've got your layer cake (chocolate), you've got your cheesecake (plain), you've got your frosting (peanut butter). Wow.

OK, so, too many options? One that stands out, head and shoulders, and screams "Sher!" to you?

Please tell me. If you've never commented before, or you've gotten forgetful about commenting or (more likely) you've been too busy to comment for a while... vote, please!

I usually have pretty strong opinions on stuff and the idea of crowd-sourcing anything kind of makes me smile to myself, but in writing this down and sifting through my sweet-tooth desires, I've really gotten into the idea that which ever one gets the most votes, that's it. Period. So pick well. But pick soon. Polls will close Wednesday, Oct. 26. (A girl might need to practice her dessert a bit before the big day, right?!)

Chocolate cake in a mug

ot really a "chocolate person," per se, I have learned to pay attention when the chocolate craving strikes. I like chocolate well enough, but given the choice most days, I'll pick a custard dessert over just about anything else. Sometimes fruity wins, sometimes nutty... but usually, it's custardy.

However, when a chocolate craving strikes, only chocolate will do. Yesterday was one of those days, and as I pondered what form my chocolate would take, I remembered a recipe I've seen floating around online and thought I'd give it a try.

Having (most) all the ingredients on hand, it was then just a matter of whipping it up. Five minutes later, my mug was spinning around in the microwave and 1.5 minutes later it was warm and in my hand. Ta-da.

If you have a chocolate craving, I highly recommend taking this out for a spin.

(Microwave) Chocolate cake in a mug
Serves one
4 tablespoons flour (cake flour; I didn't have, so I just sifted regular flour and it worked fine)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking powder (a pinch!)
1/8 teaspoon salt (a pinch!!)
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
2 -3 drops vanilla (optional)

In a small bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, tiny pinch baking powder and tiny pinch salt. (This can also be mixed directly into a large mug). Add egg and mix into dry mixture. Add oil and milk and mix well. Spray with non-stick cooking spray a tall, large mug, and pour in this mixture, scraping out with a spatula.

Place in microwave on high for 2.5 to 3 minutes. (Best slightly undercooked, so be careful).

I know our microwave to run fast, so I thought I'd start with 1.5 minutes, and next time around, I think I'll even start with just one minute and add seconds along as they seem needed. Remember that microwaved food continues to cook after you pull it out, and this cake could end up quite spongy/rubbery if you overdo it.

I doubled the recipe and divided between two mugs and husband gave his seal of approval as well!But, a bit part of the appeal of this method is that it's single serving. No big cake to think about leftovers to eat up... Leftovers are nice in theory, but if you're not aiming to eat dessert every night of the week, just seeing that cake sitting there, begging you to have another slice... you get my drift.

Oh, and I added a scoop of ice cream to the warm cake. And a few strawberry slices. It was quite divine.

Duo of chocolate cakes, in time for Valentine's Day

hese cakes were requested by the birthday girl a few weeks back when my good friend Megan turned 40. In planning her party, the two must-haves that rose to the top of the list were chocolate cheesecake and chocolate cake (well, and karaoke, but that's a whole 'nother story...).

I have made a birthday chocolate cheesecake for Megan a number of times over the years; her husband has picked up that tradition in recent years--what a great guy, eh?! The chocolate cake I chose (with Megan's approval) to make is an old favorite from Gale Gand, dessert queen extraordinaire. I first made it for a friend's birthday maybe almost a decade ago... but I have made it many times in the intervening years, always to "Yum!'s" and "Tasty!'s."

Either one (or both) would make a fabulous Valentine's Day treat for a dear one (or for yourself!).

Chocolate cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/3 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups hot coffee

Frosting
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
16 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2 cup cooled coffee
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans. Cut 3 circles of waxed paper or parchment paper to fit the bottoms of the pans, then press them in.

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and eggs and mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla, cocoa, baking soda and salt and mix. Add 1/2 of the flour, then 1/2 of the sour cream and mix. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream. Drizzle in the hot coffee and mix until smooth. The batter will be thin. Pour into the prepared pans and bake until the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay), about 35 minutes. Halfway through the baking, quickly rotate the pans in the oven to ensure even baking, but otherwise try not to open the oven. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks and let cool completely before frosting.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Drizzle in the melted chocolate and mix. Add the coffee and vanilla and mix. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix until well blended and fluffy. To frost the cake, use a spatula to cover 2 of the cake layers with frosting. Stack them together. Flip the third cake layer over and rest it on the top to create a very flat top for the cake. Frost on the sides and top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chocolate cheesecake
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter an 8-inch round springform pan that is at least 2 inches deep.

In a heavy pot, melt the chocolate with the water and liqueur. When melted, remove from the heat and let stand until cool.

In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld elecric mixer at medium speed, beat the eggs with the sugar until well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the cream cheese, 1/4 pound at a time, until the mixture is very smooth, 5 minutes. Beat in the cooled chocolate and the vanilla. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until the top edges of the cheesecake are puffed and golden brown, about 1 hour. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan to release the cheesecake from the sides (if they haven't already pulled away during the cooling process). Remove the sides of the springform, cover the cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Bring to room temperature before serving, unless it is a very hot day, in which case, take it out of the fridge at the last minute and enjoy it cold.

For some reason, the cheesecake recipe above doesn't include a crust. That didn't make much sense to me, so I added one. I don't really think it's cheesecake without the crust!

Crust
2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until finely crushed. Mix in a bowl with the sugar and melted butter until well combined. Pour into the sprayed or buttered springform pan and bake for 10 minutes at 350. Bring out, cool and proceed with the cheesecake.

Another change I made was adding a chocolate topping. I saw another cheesecake recipe that featured a topping, and it seemed like a way to "fancy it up" a bit.

Topping
3/4 cup whipping cream
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar

Stir cream, chocolate and sugar in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool slightly. Pour over center of cheesecake, spreading to within 1/2 inch of edge and filling any cracks. Chill until topping is set, about 1 hour.

I liked the effect of the topping, though it made cutting the cheesecake a tad more messy... but it's messing cutting a cheesecake anyway, so I say go for it and just keep your knife blade hot under running water and that makes all the difference!

If you are a chocolate fan, I say why wait for Valentine's or any other day? Make a cake today!

(And did you like how I used that oh-so-cheffy word "duo?" I learned that from Top Chef. Don't say watching TV isn't educational.)

Birthdays! (Or, catching up on late posts...)

ctober is always a busy birthday month around here. Seth kicks it off on the 1st, and there's a bit of a lull until my mom (24th) and myself (29th). I have a number of girlfriend birthdays before and after my birthday as well, so the cake and cards and prezzies abound.

Happily, Ma and Pa were here for my birthday weekend, and so we celebrated three days in a row (my father's birthday is just a couple of weeks into November, so of course we had to party for him, too). For my birthday, friends had given me cupcakes and a pumpkin pie, so I felt no need to bake something else. For my dad I made a pecan pie (his favorite), and for my mom I landed finally on Smitten Kitchen's spiced applesauce cake from a friendly recommendation (thanks, Ginger!), and it was better than I could have hoped. Yummy and moist and not too sweet.

These beauties were so good they disappeared over the course of the weekend, at all times of day and night. If we ate them before noon, they were "muffins," if we ate them after noon, they were appropriately called "cupcakes." Somehow, they were healthier in the morning... go figure.

Applesauce spice cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup walnuts (optional), toasted, cooled, and chopped

For frosting
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter an 8- or 9-inch square cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined, then stir in walnuts (if using; I did not). The batter will look a little curdly and uneven but don’t worry, it will all bake up perfectly in the end.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Reinvert cake onto a rack to cool completely.

For the frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Sift confectioners sugar and cinnamon over cream cheese mixture, then beat at medium speed until incorporated. Spread frosting over top of cooled cake.

I also received a cute new cake pan for my birthday, one that looks like a little three-tiered cake, all in one. Very fun. I frosted one for Ma and stuck a little candle on top, all special like. We even sang, lucky lady. Ha. 

A little mini-cake  for Ma!

Vanilla bean cupcakes + ice cream = birthday goodness!

hat to make for a young man's 14th birthday? Last year it was rainbow delights, the year before that I broke out the giant cupcake mold for a big blue Smurf cake (picture of style, not actual)... this year...

Seth's request for an ice cream cake was met with some bad memories on my part of a botched attempt about 20 years ago. I rushed the process, back then, and ended up with a rather soft mess that, while tasty, didn't really live up to expectations.

So I did a little research. One thing I didn't have 20 years ago was the vast wisdom of the interwebs to assist in the effort. A little this and a little that, and I felt ready to roll.

But I couldn't really make just an all-ice cream cake, could I? It seemed unthinkable--all ice cream, no cake? Seth was all for that, but I wasn't convinced... So I busted out a cupcake recipe I'd been meaning to try, doubled it and made a few little cakes, and a couple of thin regular rounds to put with the ice cream layers.

So here's what I learned:
Recipe = yummy cupcakes
Recipe = not so yummy frozen cake
Whipped cream = excellent frosting for an ice cream cake
A couple of tablespoons of pudding mix added to the whipped cream = even better (smoother, spreadable) frosting for said ice cream cake

So next year, I will be ready to roll with just ice cream as a cake for the young man, if that's what he wants. And still make some cupcakes on the side... for me!

Vanilla bean cupcakes
from Chow

2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, seeds reserved (or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line 2 (12-well) muffin pans with paper liners. Alternatively, coat the wells with butter; set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.

Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until very light in color, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla seeds (if you’re using vanilla extract instead, you’ll add it later), and continue beating until the mixture is airy, about 3 minutes.

Scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer to medium speed, and add the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the milk (and vanilla extract, if you’re using it in place of seeds) and mix until combined (the mixture will look curdled, but it’s not). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the speed to low, add the reserved flour mixture, and mix until just combined, about 15 seconds.

Fill the muffin wells about halfway and bake until the cupcakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Set the pans on a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and let cool completely before frosting.

Layers ready for frosting: cake on the bottom, mint chip, cookies 'n cream and more cake!

Completely frosted and ready to stick back in the freezer.

Boy and his cake!

Boy and his buds: Reilly, Andrew and Lucas, taking a cake break from Wii.

The inner workings of the cake...

Another birthday down... they seem to be coming up faster and faster as the years roll by!

Signs of spring: Rhubarb coffee cake

ere comes spring, and with it, fun baking with the fresh fruit of the season. And as challenging as ever (for me), finding the right mix of fruit to cake. I feel like I've been chasing that ratio for some time now. But I'm up for the challenge, of course. And as I was browsing tastespotting.com with my fresh rhubarb in hand, I couldn't help but be impressed with the following recipe from Smitten Kitchen. And, given that we've eaten generous slices for the last three meals (yes, breakfast too, it IS fruit after all!) and the whole family has pronounced it yummers, I think I chose just fine. This cake is more "cake" than fruit, so the search for the Sher-perfect ratio does continue. But for a coffee cake, it's superb. And take the "big crumb" part of it seriously--this crumb is indeed rich and thick.

‘Big Crumb’ Coffeecake with Rhubarb
Adapted from The New York Times 6/6/07
Serves 6 to 8

Butter for greasing pan
For the rhubarb filling:
1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumbs:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, melted
1 3/4 cups cake flour

For the cake:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

To make crumbs in a large bowl, whisk sugars, spices and salt into melted butter until smooth. Then, add flour with a spatula or wooden spoon. It will look and feel like a solid dough. Leave it pressed together in the bottom of the bowl and set aside.

To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.

Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

As Smitten Kitchen observes, and I heartily agree, most any fruit would work wonderfully. Next up, I'm pretty sure I'll take blueberries out for a spin. Mmm, where's the next piece?

Pumpkin spice cake the eeeaaasy way

So I wanted an alternative to pumpkin or pecan pie this Thanksgiving. Really, only for myself. I'm picky like that--everyone else at our table would be just fine with the pies. But I've never been into pumpkin pie, and pecan pie is so rich I can only do a sliver of a slice maybe every other year or so... (Side note: I feel like my sweet tooth has seriously diminished the past year or so. Is this a sign of old age? I mean, I can still polish off a bag of carmel corn or a box of Junior Mints with popcorn at the movies every once in awhile, but when faced with a number of dessert options, I don't get nearly as excited as, say, I did in my 20s. So what's up with that? I'd say it would be a good thing for my jeans, but alas my fat tooth and my salty tooth have not diminished at all, so things are what they always are...)

OK, back to regularly scheduled programming... dessert. Usually by the time I'm done with my fixation on the Perfect Bite, and have sufficiently carved a dent in the Thanksgiving feast, dessert is something I think about an hour or two later... but still, when I get there, I want something I really want. So what was it going to be? I got quite a few suggestions from various peanut galleries, but when push came to shove, I still wanted a bit of a pumpkin fix, and seeing as how this Thanksgiving happened out of a less-outfitted kitchen than home, I wanted something I could throw together pretty easily. Yeah, that's my excuse for fiddling with a cake mix, right? Well, truth be told I'm not really a cake snob that way anyway. I get the concept of homemade cakes and all, but really? Betty figured out how to make a cake years ago, and I don't mind using her expertise to guide me along the way, not one bit.

So here's how it fell out: These little babies smelled so good, right out of the oven in the morning. They were of immediate interest to the whole household, and other than one little sliver of pumpkin and pecan pies that Pa had during the evening round of Mexican train dominoes, they were the dessert of choice for our turkey-coma crowd. The little acorn ones were especially popable.


Pumpkin spice cake
1 package spice cake
1 can pumpkin (28 oz.)
1/2 cup oil
1 package vanilla instant pudding
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients at medium speed for 5 minutes. Pour into greased and floured pan (recipe calls for bundt pan, but I used one of Williams-Sonoma's mini pumpkin pans, and one of the acorn cakelet pans as well). Bake 45 minutes (check after 35 minutes): this instruction is for the bundt pan--my mini pans took 15 minutes, tops. Let cool 10 minutes in pan. Cool completely. Frost as you will!

OK, not the best frosting job I've done, but quite yummy. Very. I will haul out this cake recipe again soon.

Future files: Peach cakes

My dear friend Margie sent me this link to a wonderful foodie blog, Big Red Kitchen, a couple of weeks ago and I have been salivating ever since! Seriously. If you knew me as a toddler, you wouldn't doubt that to be possible.

Take a look at these sweet cakes... don't they look like the real deal, sorta crusted in sugar? Yum.



I will be making these lovely wonders... one of these days!

So let's see... so far the future files contain chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes (not yet made), lemon meringue cupcakes (check, pretty good), sweetened condensed milk as coffee sweetener (check, no need to pursue further), and that scrum-deli-icious rainbow cake (not yet made). Is there anything I want to make that's NOT sweet? Ponder.

Actually, tomorrow I'm off to experiment with two things: that zucchini "pasta" concept with peanut sauce and a homemade V8 (husband's request). I'll let you know how it goes.
But it's a toss up between the rainbow cake and the peach cupcakes, which one gets made first... until I see some new, drool-worthy sweet thang tomorrow....

Future files: Happiest cake on earth

Imagine my delight when I found this cake:



It was featured on a blog I check in on somewhat infrequently: whatever. A very stylin' photographer gal with a crafty bent. Semi-celebrity in the blogosphere too, I do believe.

Actual. Intake. Of. Breath. (The happy kind. Not the kind I got from watching Hangover today, which was the somewhat horrified/frightened kind, at times. In between unabashed shrieks of laughter.)

Can't wait for a fun occasion to get dye all over my kitchen and make a mess. And eat it up. Whoo-hoo. Cake. And anyone who knows me knows my whacko penchant for colors, in a spectrum. Somehow haven't outgrown it. Yeah for that.

Strawberry shortcake

Somethings just aren't ever the same after they've been commercialized... for some reason when I tweeted earlier today that I was going to go pile the whipped cream on strawberry shortcake (yes, apparently I did think that information needed to be shared...), I couldn't help but think of this...



When what I really meant was this:



Angles make all the difference, don't they? The photo above makes it look like I just might have been ladylike and delicate in regards to the whipped cream... below you can see most assuredly that I was not! But oh how yummy.



Here's the best shortcake recipe I've found. It's divine. It's from epicurious.

Orange and sour cream shortcakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425°F. and lightly butter 2 baking sheets. In a large bowl whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl whisk together zest, sour cream, and milk and add to flour mixture. Stir mixture until it just forms a soft and sticky dough and drop into 12 mounds at 1-inch intervals onto prepared baking sheets. Pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until pale golden. Transfer shortcakes to a rack and cool. Shortcakes may be made 4 hours ahead and kept in airtight containers.

Top with your favorite berry combination and whipped cream. Or ice cream. Or both.

Brunchiness

Anticipating a busy Sunday (yard! house! work!), we moved our Easter brunchiness one day earlier this year. I made the family favorite baked eggs, with hash browns and a fruit salad. There were the assorted breakfast "meats" as well, and french toast. I also wanted to bring in some rhubarb--it's such a lovely seasonal fruit, and a big favorite of the husband. So I went browsing for some sort of cake/bread recipe and ended up on a buckle coffeecake... I adapted it to suit my whims of the day, and it was quite yummy. Still is. Might need to dish some of that up with my morning coffee...


When I was in catering mode, this baked eggs dish was one that I could pull out very easily for a crowd--a hotel pan of this goodness would feed between 25-30 people. The pharma reps would send me in to a number of different local medical establishments, and when they'd see me pull up with the eggs, the nurses would come running. I never really had the heart to tell them what is in it... this is one of those special occasion dishes! Your jeans will thank me if you don't make this every weekend.

Baked eggs to die for
Feeds 8
Mix together:
10 eggs
1 16 oz. container cottage cheese
2 cups grated cheddar cheese, mild

Mix together:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder

Now mix them all together. Pour into a 9-inch glass pie pan, or equivalent baking dish. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, until puffed and golden, and try not to eat it all in one sitting. This will be difficult.
Rhubarb buckle coffeecake

Adapted from Whole Grain Baking by King Arthur Flour Co.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and non-stick spray a 9-inch baking dish

Streusel:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup oats
1 tsp cinnamon
3 T unsalted butter, softened

Mix together all ingredients except butter. Cut butter in and mix to make medium-size crumbs.
Set aside.

Buckle:
2.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 T. unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
5 cups rhubarb, tossed with 3/4 cup sugar (This is the main deviation, as the original recipe called for 2 cups of fruit. That seemed to paltry to me, and I wanted to proportion of fruit to batter to be MORE in the fruit department.)

Cream together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy, then add the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions. Stir in half the dry ingredients, then the milk and vanilla, scraping down the sides. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients, then gently fold in the rhubarb. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top.

Bake the buckle until a cake tested inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool, in the pan, on a rack.

I was a bit worried when I had ALL the fruit folded in, that it would spill over the sides of the pan I used (an old quiche dish from Mom, about 12 inces across but only an inch deep), so I baked it over a cookie sheet to save my oven from yet another layer of baked who-knows-what. The good news is that it rose nicely but didn't spill over. You can't see the pretty pink rhubarb in this picture, but it was quite yummy and the whole grains didn't ruin the sweet-baked-goods aspect of it, either!