Fallen Souffle

So I thought I would post my final Wilton cake. I wasn’t as pleased with the final outcome as my previous cakes. For one thing, I used twice as much butter as was called for in the cake recipe, but Evan didn’t seem to mind that. In addition, it was about 110 degrees outside that day so the fondant was not cooperating. I now have so much more respect for cake decorators that churn out 15 cakes each weekend during the height of the summer wedding season. I am quite happy with the flowers on top though. They took about 2 hours in total to make about 8 but I think they are worth the work.

So in all, I am quite happy with my progress in the 3 month cake class. I am kinda glad it is over just because I am sick of making icing each week, but I do miss the people I met during the class. Though I have a feeling we will meet again

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Lemon Cake with Rolled Fondant

White Cake with Key Lime Curd filling and Tequila-Lime Frosting

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Happy Fourth of July everyone!

I will keep this short as we have people coming over soon, our get together for 4 turned into a party of about 9…but I think no one should be alone on a day like today!

I made this cake last night and then frosted it with a lemon cream cheese icing today and topped with some berries. Nothing too fancy, I tried to keep it casual. This cake is definitely not low fat, that’s why I make it when people come over so I don’t eat it all. But it is really lovely and I think it pairs well with fruit. The original recipe calls for it to be made in a bundt or tube pan but I found a 9×13 to work very well. I checked it after one hour, and it only needed about 5-7 minutes more after that so adjust accordingly.

Have a Safe and Happy 4th!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
3 sticks of softened butter, unsalted
8 oz. package of softened cream cheese
3 cups white sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups cake flour, sifted
1/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla (lemon would be lovely too)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour tube pan.

2. Cream together butter, cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until fluffy.

3. Add salt and vanilla. Beat well. Add one egg and a time and blend well. Gently fold in the flour by hand. Mix until just incorporated. Spoon into greased pan.

4. Bake for 90 minutes, check to be sure toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes then invert cake onto serving dish.

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So I had to show off my final cake for Wilton 2 Course, I am so proud of it- and I doesn’t hurt that Evan takes great pictures!

It has been almost a week since I made it and I don’t want to eat it!

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No I didn’t get eaten by a Longhorn, I have just been playing catch up for the last week; on housework and sleep and work…yuck. I don’t think I cooked once last week, I felt so sorry for Evan he either had to cook or eat leftovers for most of the week. But I am slowly coming back around, though I have another crazy couple weeks ahead of me!

So I went to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday and picked up quite a load of fresh fruits and veggies. I love this time of year because everything is in season, strawberries are winding down, blueberries are at their peak and peaches and making there way in…I could not be happier. And Evan is even trying new things! Tonight I made a shrimp scampi, and though he preferred regular spaghetti sauce on his pasta he did eat some shrimp! Victory!

So as a reward I made a chocolate cake…ok I really just had a craving for one but I figured we deserved it since I have been making all of these cakes and then giving them away! So I am at my utmost level of laziness because the layers are uneven and I didn’t even spread the frosting out well but you know what it is one of the best darn cakes I have ever tasted. Moist and rich and lots of sweetness, now lets hope I can get to sleep tonight!

So I will leave you with the recipe for the frosting since it is on the top of my head right now. I will try and post some of the quick dinners I have been coming up with…hopefully they will turn out!

Easy Cream Cheese Frosting
2- 8 ounces bricks of softened cream cheese
6 T. softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons of vanilla

1. Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla and mix. Slowly add sugar until well combined. Add more if you want it a bit stiffer. Slather on a chocolate or carrot cake and enjoy!

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So I have finished the first round of Wilton classes and thought I would share my progress.

I have come a long way since the first class…I can’t wait until the second round of classes start!

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

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Sorry for the lack of posts this week, it has been a bit nuts around here. I started the Wilton 1 class on Monday night, I am super excited to get my hands in there now, so much so that I could hardly sleep Monday night! Which turned out to not be too good as I had to make sweets at 3:45 the next morning. I also got an afternoon job at one of those meal assembly places, I like it alot…the owner rocks and it never hurts to have a bit more spending (or travel) money. Add that to an increase in hours at the bakery (not that I am complaining) and I have been a bit tired and stressed.

To top it off, I was asked to make a cake for a baby shower and this one actually came through! I made the cake last night and then got up this morning to make the icing and put the whole thing together. I ended up making a simple white cake but the “wow” factor was in the icing. I made some freezer strawberry jam this weekend so I added that to a bit of buttercream and used that as the filling. For the outer layer of icing I mixed in some homemade lemon curd. I thought making this would be daunting but really the most time consuming thing is squeezing the lemons, and that goes by super fast with an electric juicer.

I kept the design simple on the cake because I have not mastered writing on cakes and I was not about to start practicing at 6am on this cake. Still I think I like the simple uncluttered look of the cake. I had some batter left over so I made some mini cupcakes (I didn’t want the hubby to feel unloved) so I was able to taste test all of the layers. I am quite happy with the outcome of the whole thing and I hope the cake was a hit!

Microwave Lemon Curd
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 cup fresh lemon juice (I strained this to keep it smooth and not pulpy)
3 lemons, zested (left this out)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

In a microwave safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Cook in the microwave for one minute intervals, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. (Takes about 5-6 minutes) Remove from the microwave, and pour into small sterile jars. Store for up to three weeks in the refrigerator.

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Oh Darling! Stephanie has been gracious enough to host another Blog Party but this time the theme is Desserts!
So I decided to bring something crisp and refreshing instead of a rich, decadent, sinful pleasure. I am on a citrus kick and I also had to experiment with cupcake recipes for an upcoming job so I put the two together to create these yummy little mouthfuls. To compliment these sweet delights is a refreshing limoncello spritzer, made with my homemade limoncello.

Enjoy!

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes
makes 24 mini cupcakes

3/4 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Liberally grease mini muffin pan. These little guys got kinda stuck in my pan so make sure you use a liner or butter them well.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating them between egg. Add vanilla to mixture. In a small bowl, sift together the two flours.

3. Beginning and ending with the flour, alternate with the flour and milk mixing it into the butter mixture until just combined. Don’t overmix, finish my hand if you are concerned.

4. Scoop mixture into muffin tin to the top. Baking 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean. Cool a few minutes in the pan then turn out onto a wire rack.

Lemon Icing

1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or more for more pucker!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Combine the butter, lemon juice, vanilla, and confectioners sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add more confectioners sugar, or lemon juice to adjust the consistency as needed.

Limoncello Spritzer

Pour equal parts limoncello and lemon-lime flavored club soda in a glass. Add a splash of cranberry juice.

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OK I have been asked to make these cupcakes for a lady’s baby shower. I have never made a dessert that I got paid for so I need some advice from you all.

1. What should I charge for them? I am only making 12, but will probably throw in an extra for the Mom-to-be to take home. These are pretty intricate but I think this job could turn into other jobs.

2. Anyone have any suggestions for the white chocolate glaze that goes on the chocolate cupcakes? (I have to make 6 chocolate and 6 vanilla cupcakes) I have made white chocolate ganache before but it turned out rather translucent and I need these to be opaque. I guess I cold always used fondant but I wanted it to look more like a glaze.

I am a bit overwhelmed with this job, but luckily I have a couple weeks to experiment before they have to be done. But I am sure I will be making lots of friends with all of my “trials”!

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I have been dreaming about cupcakes for about a week now…literally. I woke up one morning with a huge craving for cupcakes…no particular flavor, just a petite bit of cake and a scrumptious icing. I didn’t want the usual chocolate or vanilla, oh and I wanted to make it all from scratch. I decided to experiment with lemon cake, so I whipped up a batch and added raspberry jam to half and frozen blueberries to the other. They were both heavenly by themselves but they could be even better with a nice frosting. I didn’t want to have to pull out the butter and powdered sugar for this one, I liked the clean taste of the lemon and didn’t want it overshadowed by a mound of sugary frosting. After a bit of research I found this recipes for what seems to be pretty much a meringue. It was so easy to make, only took about 10 minutes and is fat free!

This icing was perfect for the lemon cupcakes…adds the perfect amount of sweetness and a nice creamy texture. This would be a great addition to an angel food cake (which I plan to try later on this week!)

Easy Fluffy White Frosting

1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used lemon for my lemon cupcakes)

1. In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes. Frost the cake of your choice.

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