Dad's Birthday Cake

In September, my sister and I decided that we wanted to put my newly found passion for baking to practice by making a cake for our father's birthday.  We decided to try a cake mix that we hadn't tried before and were able to get at our local Michael's.  It was the red velvet cake by the Ace of Cakes and we really liked the flavor of that cake.  Anyhow, this cake was made by stacking two different sized square cakes on top of each other and tinting a cream cheese icing blue.  We then made shapes out of fondant using my new Cricut cake machine.  I have to admit, that was not an easy process and one that I need to know a lot more about fondant about before I ever try to do it again.  Anyhow... you can see our end product below.

Back to School Themed Cookies

I have posted about my sugar cookies before but this is a quick update to show a school themed cookie that I made for a small gathering at my house recently.  I'm just sharing b/c I kinda think they are cute (although really really really basic).

I used the Alton Brown sugar cookie recipe as usual.  For the icing, I just bought black icing in a tube this time and used red and blue fondant to make the books.  For the books, I took a pasta roller thingy (whatever those are called) and crimped the edges to look like binding.  For the lettering, I used a basic royal icing recipe.  Nothing too fancy.


Cookie baking info:

Posted from a previous blog post... here is how I made the cookies:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sugar-cookies-recipe/index.html  If you follow these directions, the dough is a little dry so I add in one extra tablespoon of milk.  For the icing recipe, I use this website: http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe288.powdered-sugar-icing-i.html    For this recipe, I put just a little more water and a little more vanilla extract (I actually use the french vanilla flavor). I do that just so I can spread it easier.

Updated Cakeball Instructions

Below are the instructions that I typed out for friends in an email with my own little tips thrown in :-)

Bake a cake according to instructions (I just buy the boxed variety).  After baking the cake, put on a cooling rack.  I usually cut the cake into four to help it cool down a little faster.  Let cool for 10 minutes or so.

Place a can of frosting in a stand mixer along with the cake and mix until the frosting is evenly distributed.

Spoon out the mixture and roll into balls (I use a small cookie scoop to keep them even... this also allows me to make about 50 cakeballs per cake). 

Freeze the balls for at least 12 hours.  Anything less and they'll come apart when you dip them.


To coat the cake balls...
Melt chocolate (I use a Wilton Chocolate Pro... keeps the chocolate melted so I don't have to keep remelting).  If the chocolate seems thick, use vegetable oil to thin (try a teaspoon at a time until you get the right consistency).  Here is the tricky part... some people use sticks to dip the balls into the chocolate.  I use a cheap plastic dipping fork and spoon to coat the balls.  Lay the balls on wax paper or foil to harden. 

When finished, I like to put them in small baking cups to serve.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 



Variations....
When I make them I coat them in either white chocolate or semisweet chocolate.  I use the Ghiradelli chocolate chips.  Some people use the baking chips that you can get places but I think it has a richer flavor if it is actual chocolate or white chocolate.

Flavors I've tried that are a hit... red velvet, strawberry, and orange cake (white cake with orange food flavoring)

Velvety Mocha Tart... Mmmmm

So a little while back, my husband and I were shopping at our local Borders (which is no longer open) and we found this cookbook in the bargain area.  The cookbook is called 1001 Recipes by Martha Day.  We've made a few things out of the book and have definitely gotten our money's worth so far.  This last week though I was inspired by something I saw on either Martha Stewart or Paula Dean... I know so hard to keep those two apart.  Anyhow, I decided I wanted to make a tart.  Of course, I didn't know what kind of tart I wanted to make but I know that my husband likes any dessert with chocolate in it.  The recipe I chose is called Velvety Mocha Tart and it was insanely easy to make.

Here is the recipe with the measurements that I understood :-

For the filling:
2 tsp instant espresso coffee
2 tbsp hot water
6 oz semisweet chocolate
1 oz bitter chocolate
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, slightly warmed
1/2 cup whipped cream, to decorate
chocolate-coated coffee beans, to decorate

For the base:
2 1/2 cups crushed chocolate wafers
2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
5 tbsp butter, melted


1.  To make the base, combine the crushed chocolate wafers with the sugar and butter in a bowl.

2.  Press the mixture over the base and sides of a 9in pie dish.  Chill.

3.  Dissolve the coffee in the water.  Set aside to cool.

4.  Melt the plain and bitter chocolates in the top of a double boiler and set the base of the pan in cold water to cool.

5.  Once the chocolate has melted, remove from the double boiler and set the base of the pan in cold water to cool.

6.  Whip the cream until light and fluflly.  Add the coffee and whip until the cream just holds its shape.

7.  When the chocolate is at room temperature, fold it gently into the cream.

8.  Pour into the cookie base and chill until firm.  Decorate with piped whipped cream and chocolate-coated coffee beans just before serving.

I can bake with yeast!!!

So I heard about this website from my sister in law and I absolutely love it!  It is called Our Best Bites and it is a pretty good little website.  While perusing the different stuff on their website I found a recipe for  World's Best Dinner Rolls.  I'm not gonna lie.  This is a great recipe!  The only problem that I had with the recipe was that I ended up needing more flour than the recipe called for.  Otherwise, it was perfect.  My only other suggestion would be to make sure that you have guests coming over for dinner before you make these otherwise you'll end up eating them all!  Below is the picture of the ones that I made.

Fun with Baking

Over the last couple of months, I have tried my hand at baking various things.  I will admit that absolutely no recipe is my own and I have borrowed quite heavily from those websites that I am listing here.  When I have added, improvised , etc. I have listed the source.

The very first thing that I toyed with over this past summer were cakeballs.  I learned a lot by going to this website:  http://www.bakerella.com/red-velvet-cake-balls/

Above is a picture of a cakeball that I made recently for Thanksgiving.  Some recommendations that I have in addition to the ones that you will find on the bakerella website: 1. If you are going to use white chocolate, make sure it is good white chocolate.  I like to use the Ghiradelli white chocolate chips and it makes things rich and creamy.  I have tried using the colored baking chips that you can get at places like Joanns, but they just do not taste as well.  2.  If you are going to make chocolate, make sure that you use a blend of semisweet and milk chocolate chips.  This will give you a nice, rich chocolately color.  3. Make sure that you put vegetable oil in the chocolate.  If you skip this step, the chocolate can be very hard to roll the cakeballs in.

Above is a picture of some Christmas cookies I made recently.  I follow Alton Brown's sugar cookie recipe and a Better Homes and Gardens icing recipe.  They are pasted here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sugar-cookies-recipe/index.html  If you follow these directions, the dough is a little dry so I add in one extra tablespoon of milk.  For the icing recipe, I use this website: http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe288.powdered-sugar-icing-i.html    For this recipe, I put just a little more water and a little more vanilla extract (I actually use the french vanilla flavor). I do that just so I can spread it easier.