On Why I don't Like Pie.

Okay, there, I said it. I don't like pie. Well more specifically, I don't like cooked fruit pies. But that's really what we think of when we think of pie right? Apple pie, cherry pie, blueberry pie? No thank you. I will make an exception every now and again for a fresh strawberry pie, but that's even pushing my pie-tolerating limits. I know it's un-American, un-fathomable even. Really when it comes down to it, I am just not a big fan of cooked fruit in any form, which by default, rules out pie.

I also have an issue with the crust to filling ratio in pies, which is why I prefer tarts, but that category of neurosis is better left to another post.

That being said, I do, however, LOVE pie crust. You know what else I love? Caramel. Chewy, salty caramel is the food of the gods right? I am pretty sure we learned that in Greek Mythology 101 in college. I may be getting my bachelors degree and my pastry degree mixed up, but it has to be correct.

So, long story short, I had an extra disc of my favorite pie crust just hanging out in my freezer, as I am sure most of us do (kidding), and it was just begging to be made into something delicious. Taking inspiration from one of my favorite blogs, Sprinkle Bakes, these bad boys were born.  I must confess that these pictures were from last fall, I just haven't gotten around to posting them until now. That will explain the secret and oh so delicious ingredient, apple cider.

To sum things up, pie crust + apple cider caramel + sea salt = amazingness. I rolled out my pie crust and fit it into the bottom of a square cake pan, and baked it until beautifully golden brown. Topped with a chewy caramel and flaked with crunchy sea salt, these squares are satisfying and decadent, any time of year.

Apple Cider Caramel Squares
Makes 64 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch squares

Pate Brisee Crust

400 grams (14 oz) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
100 grams (3 1/2 oz) granulated sugar
2/3 cup water, chilled
665 grams (1 lb 7 1/2 oz) all purpose flour1 teaspoon salt

Remove butter from fridge 20 minutes before mixing.

In a small bowl, combine sugar, water, and vinegar, stir to aid the dissolving of the sugar. Set aside in refrigerator for 10 minutes. Then, stir again to completely dissolve sugar.

In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt together a few times to combine. Add the butter, and pulse in one second bursts about 3-4 times until butter is cut in and evenly dispersed. You should have visible chunks of butter in your flour mixture, this is where the flakiness comes from.

Pour mixture into a large bowl and make a little well in the middle of the flour. Pour the vinegar water mixture into the well, along with the almond extract, and gently mix liquids into the flour with a fork. When liquid is evenly dispersed, dump dough out onto a clean surface and knead gently a few times, just until dough comes together in one cohesive ball. It may be a bit shaggy or falling apart, but that's okay, while it is resting the moisture will bind everything together.

Cut ball of dough in half and shape each half into a disc about 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick. (use one for this recipe, and you can freeze the other half for later use) Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours, or overnight. Take dough out of fridge about 10 minutes before you roll it out. Place one of your discs of dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out to a 1/8 inch flat disc. Always start in the center of the disc and roll outward, turning the disc 30 degrees after each roll to get an even thickness throughout.

 If you are using a square or rectangular pan, you will want to roll out your dough to fit your pan instead of a round circle. Line your cake pan neatly with parchment paper, so that the paper extends up the sides of the pan, this will aid in removing the bars once the caramel is poured in. Pan spray under the parchment will help keep it in place. Carefully move the dough to your pan and cut off excess. For this recipe I just cover the bottom of the cake pan, and just about 1/4 inch up the sides to catch the caramel.

Dock with a fork (meaning poke a bunch of tiny holes in the bottom of the tart crust with a fork) and freeze for twenty minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 F. Place a piece of tin foil over your tart shell, pressing it down to fit the form of your tart, and fill with beans or rice or pie weights. Blind bake your tart for 20 minutes, flipping the pan front to back halfway through. Remove the pie weights and tin foil and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and cooked completely. Let cool while you make the caramel.

Chewy Apple Cider Caramel

1 - 1/2 gallon apple juice
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 cups heavy cream
8 oz. butter
2 tsp. salt

Over medium-low heat, reduce apple cider to 1/2 cup. Be sure to keep a close eye on it when it gets close to being done, it will basically turn to caramel and can scorch quickly. Let cool.

In a small saucepan heat the cream and butter until butter is melted, then set aside and keep warm over very low heat.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and water, making sure all the sugar is evenly wet and that the sides of your pan are clean and free from sugar.  Cook over high heat until caramelized to a dark amber color. Do not stir. When sugar reaches the color you want (I prefer a dark caramel, but a lighter color is fine also), carefully whisk in the heavy cream/butter mixture one ladle-ful at a time. Insert a candy thermometer and cook caramel, whisking constantly until it reaches soft ball stage (238 degrees F). Quickly whisk in the cider reduction and pour over prepared crust. Let caramel cool at room temp for at least an hour, then transfer to refrigerator to chill completely.

Once chilled, gently remove from pan by pulling up on your parchment and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 1 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inch squares and top with sea salt.

The Ups and Downs of Cake Design

Managing expectations. That is what it all comes down to. Making sure you (the cake designer) and the client are on the same page. Making sure they know that they brought you pictures of an $800.00 cake but only want to spend $200.00, and that they will not be getting what is in the picture. Making sure that when the customer doesn't give you any pictures at all, and say they trust you to make their vision a reality, that you know exactly what their vision is. Making sure that you ask every single question you can possibly think of to make sure the customer will be happy with their cake.

A few weeks ago, I had my first unhappy customer. It has taken me a little while to stop stewing over it, but now I realize that the customer wasn't unhappy because I made an ugly cake. The customer was unhappy because I (and by 'I', I mean the bakery I work at) couldn't read her mind. She had trouble putting into words what she actually wanted, and we failed in response by not laying out an exact plan prior to making her cake. We were not on the same page, and as a result, we lost money and, more importantly, we lost a customer. As a team, we learned a lot from this cake. We learned we need to manage our customers expectations better. We need to ask more questions, provide clear sketches, gather pictures, and there needs to be more communication between the sales team and the design team.

This is all a new adjustment for me. Up until now, I have been making cakes directly for clients as a freelancer. Mostly for people I know, or through people I know. Even at the restaurant, I was dealing directly with the clients for consults and was not only able to hear what they wanted and discuss options, but to read their facial cues and hear the emotion in their voices. Now, I am detached a bit from the process since the cake consults go through our sales team. I realize that it would be impossible for myself or my fellow cake designer to meet with every client that we have at the bakery, that is a full time job, but it adds a whole new aspect to the execution of a cake.

So, when I get a chance to design a cake for someone I know and someone who trusts me, I jump at it. For this cake, I got a color scheme and no expectations. I was free to do whatever I wanted, and that is something I find I will miss working for someone else. I had been wanting to try making dahlias out of gum paste for a while now, so that is what I did. Maybe I need to learn how to manage my own expectations as well. Until I have my own shop, my own business, this is how the game goes. I don't want this to sound like I am complaining, because I am not. I get to make cakes all day, every day. Some of them I get to help design, some of them I don't, but either way it is definitely where I want to be.

Turning 30 & Banana Bundt Cake

30 is my year. This is the year that things get good. They get organized, they get balanced, and they get happy. This is the year I complete a olympic length triathlon. This is the year I finally go through the box that I dumped my college apartment desk contents into and didn't touch for seven years. This is the year I switch my career path back onto the trajectory where it belongs. This is the year I stand up for myself and leave a job that was taking over my life, and not giving much back in return. This is the year I get to say yes to taking a weekend off here and there to just be with friends, or visit a new city. This is the year I am no longer embarrassed about the state of my apartment. This is the year I start running long distances because I (almost) enjoy it. This is the year I start baking again for pleasure, and not just for work.

I am a few months into my 30's and instead of freaking out a little bit when the milestone came, as many people do, I decided a few years ago that 30 wasn't going to be scary to me. I always thought that your 30's were the time you finally had your shit together (excuse my french). It is the decade where you finally get into your groove, really start to know who you are and where you want to be. When I turned 30, I realized that I wasn't really at that place in my life yet, and as it turns out, it isn't your age that puts you in that place, it has to come from somewhere else. So I am doing something about it. It isn't all life-changing, world-altering changes, like quitting a job, or traveling across the globe. Even the little things, like buying one of those 7-day pill containers and actually taking my vitamins and aspirin everyday, can make a big difference in the peace and contentment in every day life. Instead of always thinking about all the things I should be doing better, I am making it my goal this year to simply do them.

This bundt cake was the first time in way too long that I baked something that wasn't for work, or for a personal client. It was for a friend, for his birthday, for a weekend at a lake house that I missed out on last summer. It was simple but delicious, and reminded me why I do what I do. Providing someone with something delicious, nourishing, and specially made just for them, is something I had forgotten I missed.

Banana Walnut Bundt Cake

recipe adapted from the food librarian

makes one large bundt cake

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

8 oz butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

4 ripe bananas

1 cup yogurt

1 cup toasted, chopped walnuts, divided

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl well between each addition. Mix in the vanilla and bananas. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the banana mixture, followed by 1/2 of the yogurt. Scrape the bowl very well between each addition. Mix in another 1/3 of the flour, then the second half of the yogurt, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Fold in 3/4 cups of the walnuts. Butter and flour a bundt pan or spray with baking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 for 65-75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Be sure not to put a baking sheet under the bundt pan, as the hot air needs to circulate through center of the pan. 

Let cake cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and let cool completely. Wrap in plastic and let sit at room temperature overnight, or freeze until ready to use. 

For the glaze: combine 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla and whisk until smooth. Pour glaze over the top of the bundt cake and immediately sprinkle on the remaining walnuts. 

Easy Does It

There are things in life that just work. The perfect cup of coffee, weekly brunch dates, long bike rides on the first warm day in the spring,  pajamas and reruns. Routines, traditions, patterns.

There are also thing in life that you have to work at; friendships from afar, love on opposite schedules, family ties being stretched thin, career in constant adaptation and change. They need effort, they need attention, they just need more of myself than I have been giving them. As my career is taking up so much of my time, sometimes I feel that the other areas of my life suffer. They get neglected, pushed aside. Just until tomorrow, I tell myself.

This concept of 'tomorrow' finally materialized. I was able to fly home for a short 48 hours to try to pack in as much as I could. And pack it in I did, by meeting new babies, spending some girl time with my sister and mom, sharing meals and wine with my dad and soon to be brother-in law. So many sentimental and rather emotional activities in such a short period of time left me kind of a mess, exhausted and a bit emotional myself. But I would do it again in a second, because you know what? It works. I just don't have the time off or the money to travel home that often, so when I get the chance I make it work, no matter how short the visit, or sad the goodbyes.

When I get a bit of time to myself, sometimes I can let my brain overload on all the possibilities of things to do, new recipes to try, and crazy projects in the kitchen. Lately though, I have been focusing on easy, simple, and classic. A disc of leftover pate brisee hanging out in the freezer, some berries on sale at the grocery store, and just enough eggs left in the fridge to make pastry cream, it just came together without much effort. For those few hours alone with my coffee that morning, it was the perfect thing to keep my hands busy and let my mind wander. Its something that doesn't happen as often as it should these days, plus pastry cream with fresh berries is just one of those things that works. Always has, always will.

Pate Brisee Crust

(this is enough for 16-20 3-inch tarts)

400 grams (14 oz) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar

100 grams (3 1/2 oz) granulated sugar

2/3 cup water, chilled

665 grams (1 lb 7 1/2 oz) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

Remove butter from fridge 20 minutes before mixing.

In a small bowl, combine sugar, water, and vinegar, stir to aid the dissolving of the sugar. Set aside in refrigerator for 10 minutes. Then, stir again to completely dissolve sugar.

In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt together a few times to combine. Add the butter, and pulse in one second bursts about 3-4 times until butter is cut in and evenly dispersed. You should have visible chunks of butter in your flour mixture, this is where the flakiness comes from.

Pour mixture into a large bowl and make a little well in the middle of the flour. Pour the vinegar water mixture into the well, along with the almond extract, and gently mix liquids into the flour with a fork. When liquid is evenly dispersed, dump dough out onto a clean surface and knead gently a few times, just until dough comes together in one cohesive ball. It may be a bit shaggy or falling apart, but that's okay, while it is resting the moisture will bind everything together.

Cut ball of dough in half and shape each half into a disc about 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours, or overnight. Take dough out of fridge about 15 minutes before you roll it out. For the 3-inch sized tarts, I cut each disc in half, rolled it out into a square, 1/8 inch thick, then cut the disc into four pieces, placing each one of the four pieces in a tart mold. How you roll the dough out will depend on the size and shape of the tart mold you are using. Always start in the center of the disc and roll outward, turning the disc 30 degrees after each roll to get an even thickness throughout. Carefully move the dough to your tart pan and press evenly into all corners, pinching off the excess.

Dock with a fork (meaning poke a bunch of tiny holes in the bottom of the tart crust with a fork) and freeze for twenty minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 F. Place a piece of tin foil over your tart shell, pressing it down to fit the form of your tart, and fill with beans or rice or pie weights. Blind bake your tart for 15 minutes, flipping the pan front to back halfway through. Remove the pie weights and tin foil and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until the crust is golden brown (the times on this will depend again on the size of your tart pans) . Let cool completely.

Orange Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream
(makes enough for 16 3-inch tarts)

1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 oz butter, chopped into small pieces
1/2 vanilla bean
zest of 1 orange

In a medium sized sauce pan, heat the milk, 1/2 cup of the cream, and the vanilla bean pod, split and scraped. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let steep for about 20 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh seive, then return to burner. Add the sugar and bring to a boil. While mixture is heating, combine the eggs, yolks, cornstarch, and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth.

When the cream/sugar mixture reaches a simmer and the sugar is completely dissolved, temper into the egg mixture,  whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens.

Since it has cornstarch in it, it does technically need to come to a boil for it to thicken properly, so once that first bubble pops, remove from heat and immediately put through a fine sieve to ensure that no scrambled eggs make their way into your pastry cream. Whisk in butter and orange zest and chill about 4 hours or overnight before using.

Tarts - Assembly

Pipe the pastry cream into each of your tart shells, using just enough to cover the bottom. Arrange blackberries on the surface of the pastry cream and top with chopped pistachios, and more orange zest. These are best eaten within a few hours, if you are making them much ahead of time, I would spread a thin layer of apricot jam onto the pastry crust before filling to keep the shell from getting soggy.

The Art of Impermanance

For some reason or another, I have been putting off writing this post. Whether it's sheer laziness on my part, or the thought that I really don't want to write about food after working at the restaurant all week, I just couldn't get it started. Maybe it's the fact that I didn't want to just write another superfluous post about a wedding cake that I made for person a, and it contains a,b, and c, flavors, and it was this (insert difficult sounding adjective here) hard to make. Maybe it was the fact that I am feeling guilty that the person I made this cake for is one of my very best friends, and I haven't talk to her in far too long. Maybe it's because this was the last of the wedding cakes for the year, and I am sad to know there won't be any more for the next few months. So, here I am, holding onto the pictures in hopes that they will tide me over until the next one comes along.

But that's the thing about this industry, they are just pictures. There is no cake left (I sincerely hope not) to eat, or gumpaste flowers to swoon over, they are long gone. In my previous life as a product designer my art was permanent. It was sketched, modeled, and produced in various materials, such as plastic, metal, fabric. The sketches were filed, documents backed up, and finished products were sold to eager consumers. It's all still around in one way or another, but my new art is so much different. My new art is the epitome of impermanence and its been quite the adjustment.

I wonder if I will ever get used to watching my cakes be cut and completely disassembled in five minutes flat. Something that I put hours and hours into is destroyed in less time than it took to mix and bake just one of the many layers it contains. The consolation of course is when the client, be it your best friend or someone you've met only once, takes that first bite and an exstatic smile starts spreading across their face. This is when your nerves calm, and the heartbreak you experience from watching the knife stab through the intricate decorations starts to subside, and you remember this is what it's all about. In that one moment, you get to make someone really happy. They are celebrating something big, whether it be a birthday, wedding, baby or engagement, and they just ate something that will stick in their memory for years to come.

The satisfaction of that moment is enough, and it has to be to keep on going in this industry. Unless I start making styrofoam cakes and decorating my apartment with them...just kidding.

There were some new flavors in this cake that I just have to share with you. The groom is from florida and the bride requested that two of the tiers resemble key lime pie in some way. I went through a few variations and quickly found a winner. The cake is a richly flavored vanilla cake with buttermilk and lime zest, filled with key lime curd, and brought over the top with coconut buttercream. It was like florida on a plate, or so I was told, I haven't been to florida in years so I will reserve judgment.

Key Lime Cake
adapted from Bon Apetit
This recipe makes 2 fairly thin 9 inch rounds, I like to double it and make three thicker layers, I pretty much always go for a taller cake.

1 cup ap flour
3/4 cup cake flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 tbl key lime juice
1 tbl key lime zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line pans with parchment, and lightly butter and flour sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl between each addition. Add the lime juice, zest, and vanilla, and mix to combine. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix just to combine, scrape bowl. Add half the buttermilk, mix to combine, scrape bowl. Add another third of the flour, followed by the remainder of the buttermilk, and the remainder of the flour, scraping well between each addition.

Divide batter between pans, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until top of cake springs back completely when gently pushed with your index finger. Let cool in pans for about 5-10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely.

Key Lime Curd
adapted from Ina Garten
Makes about 3 cups, I add a little gelatin to this recipe when I use to to fill cakes. It makes it much more sturdy and you wont have to worry about it running out the sides of the cake (not that I have had that happen, I swear).

Zest of 4 limes
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound butter, room temperature
4 eggs
1/2 cup key lime juice
pinch of salt
1 tsp gelatin
1 tbl water

Place sugar and zest in a food processor and pulse until zest and sugar are finely ground together. Place the sugar into a large, heavy saucepan, but do not place over heat yet. Whisk together the sugar and butter, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until completely incorporated after each addition. Add the lime juice and salt, then place over medium heat and cook until the temperature reaches 175 degrees F, whisking vigorously constantly. Remove from heat. Bloom gelatin in the water and let stand for about 5 minutes. Heat gelatin in the microwave  for 5 second intervals, just until it melts completely. Whisk the hot gelatin into the still warm lime curd. Transfer curd to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours, before using.

Coconut Buttercream

4 oz egg whites
2 oz water
8 oz sugar
12 oz butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 coconut extract

Place egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin whipping the whites on medium-high speed. Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and using a candy thermometer, heat the sugar to soft ball stage, or 240 F. The eggs at this point should  be voluminous and frothy. Slowly pour the sugar into the egg whites in a steady stream, while the mixer is on high.
Let the mixer run on high (I usually set it to one number below the very highest setting) until the mixture has cooled completely. Switch to the paddle attachment, and add the butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing on a medium-low speed. Once all the butter has been added, turn your mixer to high and whip for 3-5 minutes until frosting is light and smooth. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts.

Special shout-out to my mom for helping me with these cakes, and the over 100 cake pops that were made for this wedding, especially for helping me cut out each and every of the hundreds of fondant flowers that cover the sides of this cake. Thank you to Erica for taking all the lovely pictures, so that I didn't have to! Last but not least, congratulations to my best friend Heather, and her best friend Matt, you two are so incredibly lucky to have each other, and I love you both.

Ruffles!

One more wedding cake under my belt, and just a few days to recover before I start working on the next one. This cake came with a few ups and downs, and many lessons learned. I realized as I was putting the fondant on the bottom tier of this cake, that this was in fact the largest fondant project I had taken on yet. I haven't covered anything larger than a ten inch cake before. A pyramid, yes, but something this huge? Nope, not even close. For some reason it hadn't occurred to me until just that moment.

There is no more hesitation these days when someone hires me to make a cake or dessert table, I say yes of course I can do that. Whether its for better or worse, I rarely consider if I have the necessary time and means to do said project, but deep down, I know that one way or another I will get it done, and I won't stop or finish it until it looks and tastes exactly how I wanted it. If that means ripping two pounds of fondant off of a 15-inch cake tier because it has one too many wrinkles and starting from scratch at 2 am, that's what I will do.

As much as it interferes with my sleep schedule, and the cleanliness of my kitchen at times, it's the attitude I need to have in this industry. Yep, I can do that! Sometimes, the google helps, and sometimes I just jump right in and figure it out for myself. So here's to diving into the deep end, and hoping you make it out alive, and with a beautiful, and even more importantly, delicious, cake in hand.

Duo of Fabric Inspired Cakes

The first wedding cake of the season is complete. It was a great warm up, simple, small, and bold, it got my piping hands geared up for the rest of the summer, that's for sure. I also completed my first ever baby shower cake, which was a total departure for me, tons of color and polka dots, buttons and flowers. While these two cakes are so, so different from each other, they have one thing in common. They are both derived, more or less, from fabric.

The wedding cake was a very specific request. The bride wanted something very simple, no flowers or hearts or any of that mushy stuff, but still wanted the cake to stand out and be bold and modern. She loved a paisley print cake she had seen online and had some fun colors to incorporate. Paisley can be totally overwhelming and busy, (think colorful 70's polyester shirts) but it can also be a striking motif when you restrain it a bit. 

I remember saying that I had been wanting to do a gray and yellow cake for a while, and now it seems like grey is the wedding color of the year. Each wedding cake I have slated for this summer has gray on the palette, and I couldn't be happier. I hadn't piped anything in a while, so it was off to a shaky start, but by the end I was a dot-piping machine. 

The second cake was for a friend of a friend's baby shower. The design for this cake was a cinch after seeing their baby registry. All of the baby blankets, quilts, and pillows have this multicolored pattern of fabrics around the edges and it was something they wanted to incorporate into the cake and cupcakes.

Having already picked out a name, the initials of the baby were placed front and center. This was such a fun project, though I always forget how difficult horizontal fondant bands are to get straight and even. I will never learn.

Between the color palette, and the patterns, not to mention the yummy lemon cake with raspberry buttercream, I hope this cake made the shower day a little extra special. 

Lemon Cupcakes & Raspberry Italian Meringue Buttercream

cake adapted from Bon Apetit Magazine

(This batter would probably be enough for 18-24 cupcakes, I only made 12 and baked the rest of the batter in a cake pan) 

Cake:

1 3/4 cup cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (8 oz) butter, softened

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

juice of 1/2 lemon

zest of 1 lemon

3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. 

In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In your stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition, and mix each one in until completely incorporated. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest, mix well, and scrape bowl. 

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, scrape, then 1/2 of the buttermilk, scrape, and repeat ending with the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated after each addition. Using a ice cream scoop, fill your muffin tins about 2/3 the way full and bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick entered into the middle comes out clean and the cake is just turning a light golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from pan and let them cool completely on a wire rack. 

Raspberry Italian Meringue Buttercream

4 oz egg whites

2 oz water

8 oz sugar

12 oz butter

3 tablespoons raspberry jam

pink food coloring (if desired)

Place egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin whipping the whites on medium-high speed. Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and using a candy thermometer, heat the sugar to soft ball stage, or 240 F. The eggs at this point should  be voluminous and frothy. Slowly pour the sugar into the egg whites in a steady stream, while the mixer is on high. 

Let the mixer run on high (I usually set it to one number below the very highest setting) until the mixture has cooled completely. Switch to the paddle attachment, and add the butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing on a medium-low speed. Once all the butter has been added, turn your mixer to high and whip for 3-5 minutes until frosting is light and smooth. Add the raspberry jam and food coloring and mix to incorporate.

Hummingbirds

My brain has been been consumed lately with thoughts of Minnesota. Until last weekend, I hadn't been home in almost five months. While I have made a great life in Chicago with my wonderful boyfriend and friends, a great job, and a cozy apartment, I still consider 'home' to be the blue house with the ridiculously steep driveway in Prior Lake, Minnesota. I wonder at what stage in life does your home become where you have settled and not where you grew up? Does it ever make the change? I am nearing my third decade in this life, one of which has been spent living in an entirely different state from all of my family and most of my friends, and my brain hasn't flipped that switch yet. After ten years of living away from many of the people most important to me, I find myself more homesick than ever.

Last weekend I jumped on the opportunity to make the drive to MN for the day, and for good reason. My Grandma turned 88 this month, and if that isn't a reason to eat cake (and eat six different kinds of pasta salad) I don't know what is. I knew it would mean a lot to Grandma B to have all her grandchildren (and many of her great-grandchildren) there for the surprise, and it would good for my heart to have a chance to spend a few hours with my family. It was a short visit, but grandma was successfully surprised, and getting to hug and catch up with my parents and sister was worth the eight hour round trip.

When my mom asked me to make a cake for the party, I was mulling over what kind of cake to make, knowing that I should use this to practice my fondant work a bit. All she had to say was 'grandma likes birds' and I knew instantly how I was going to design the cake. My grandparents on my mother's side ran and lived on a dairy farm until I was in middle school. There were cows and cats and dogs, and lots of birds. As long as I can remember, there has always been a multitude of bird feeders hanging outside my Grandmas windows. She could tell you the name of any bird that happened to stop by to graze, but I have a suspicion that hummingbirds were her favorite. I don't think I will ever forget the time one of my cousins drank the hummingbird juice in the refrigerator thinking it was kool-aid. It may very well be one of my earliest memories as a child.

It was such a good refresher driving through the bluffs of southern Minnesota, spending some time with my family, and celebrating with Grandma. She is a pretty kick-ass grandma, I can only hope to be like her when I turn 88.

This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe, which I have posted on here many times before. I wanted to do something simple with the cupcakes, but give them a little 'oomph' so I went with a italian meringue buttercream but added an entire vanilla bean. It's a simple way to give a ton of flavor and pretty little speckles to your frosting.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream

4 oz egg whites

8 oz granulated sugar

2 oz water

12 oz unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed

1 vanilla bean

Place your egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. 

Heat the sugar and water in a small sauce pan over high heat. Using a candy thermometer, bring the sugar to a boil and continue cooking until it reaches 230 degrees F. When it hits that temperature, turn your stand mixer to medium to begin mixing the egg whites until they are foamy. When the temperature hits 240 F, remove from heat and slowly pour into the egg whites on a medium low speed. As soon as all of the sugar is in, turn the mixer to medium high and mix until the meringue is cool to touch.

Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter a few tablespoons at a time. Whip at medium-high speed until thick. Split the vanilla bean in half, and scrape out the seeds using the back of your knife. Add to the buttercream, and mix until evenly dispersed. 

Autumn Cake

At one point this week, I had four fondant cakes of different shapes and sizes sitting in my kitchen. I can't bring myself to throw them away, but I don't know what to do with them. Maybe I will just let them petrify and make a cake shrine in our second bedroom. That probably won't happen, but it's an option. It's hard to dump something in the trash that you spent such a long time on, but nobody wants to eat two-week old cake (not that they will admit anyway). This cake luckily found a home this weekend for a friend's birthday and wasn't sacrificed to the garbage bin.

I am in my last quarter of pastry school, and one of my classes is a cake decorating class that focuses on fondant cakes. Unfortunately, I am not learning as much as I had hoped from this class, so I had to change my way of thinking about it. I now look forward to class as a chance to play and experiment for five hours a week with unlimited materials and lots of fun tools. This week our only restriction was an autumn themed cake, and since I love fall, I was really looking forward to it. I wanted to make a clean and classy fall cake, one that wasn't covered in pumpkins and marzipan fruit, perhaps something that could even be used as a wedding cake. We got to play with the airbrush machine to make more realistic leaves (Santa, if you are listening, Bria has been a very good girl this year and would like an airbrush machine for Christmas).

One great tip I did pick up this week was that I should start hoarding my egg cartons and always be on the lookout for other containers that can be reused to hold gum paste flowers and figures. Drying petals or leaves in a round cup gives them more dimension and movement than if you were to let them dry flat. You can purchase little round cups made specifically for this purpose, but why spend the money when there are things already in your house that work just as well? I happen to shop as Costco, and when honeycrisp apples came out this year, I bought a huge container of them. As I was reaching for the last one this week, I realized that the plastic clam shell they came in was perfect for flower shaping.

A drawback of using bowls that I had around the apartment to hold flower layers was that most of them had a flat bottom, but these apple cups are perfectly spherical. I cannot wait to test them out. Next time you are at the grocery store, check out the produce section, there are all kinds of egg carton-like packaging in different shapes and sizes that may be very useful in your cake creating endeavors.

Hope you enjoyed your extra hour of sleep/play/work this weekend. Happy fall!

Topsy Turvy Mummy Cake

I don't know what it is about Halloween, but it is quickly becoming one of my favorite food holidays. It is not necessarily the meals associated with Halloween that I love, but as an aspiring pastry chef, the treats and sweets that come along with this holiday are just so much fun. Pumpkins, ghosts, witches, mummies, bats, and monsters, with these creatures the possibilities for fun desserts, spooky to silly, are endless.

Since I no longer let myself buy five bags of Halloween candy (I have no trick or treaters and therefore would just eat it all myself) I like to make something from scratch to fill the void left by the lack of bite-sized butterfingers.

After last Halloween's very popular, and delicious, ghost and pumpkin cake pops, I wanted to have a little fun again this October. My cake decoration class's topsy turvy cake assignment was the perfect vehicle for a whimsical Halloween treat.

Topsy turvy cakes aren't as hard as they look, and didn't take very much longer than a regular cake.   There is a great tutorial on how to carve and frost a topsy turvy cake over here at My Sweet and Saucy. I cut, frosted, and then covered the tiers in fondant, and then used a gauze patterned rolling pin on strips of fondant and arranged them randomly all over the cake.

The bats are cut from black gum paste with wires put in before they were dry. We used purchased cake, but I would go for a more appropriate cake flavor such as pumpkin, gingerbread, or even a spooky red or black velvet.

Here are some great cake recipes that would be perfect for this type of cake:

Gingerbread Cake
Black Velvet Cake
Red Velvet Cake
Pumpkin Cake

I hope your Halloween is a little spooky, a little silly, and a lot delicious.

Will Starbucks Kill the Cake Pop?

**This post was originally published on HonestCooking.com, a brand new online food magazine, for which I am a contributor. The website launched in March, and it is a great new resource for recipes, travel, restaurant reviews and foodie opinion pieces. Check it out here!**

I can’t tell you how many people in the past few weeks have asked me “did you know that Starbucks sells cake pops now?”. Some say cake pops are the new cupcake, and they seem to be everywhere you look. They are taking over food blogs, they are replacing cupcakes at weddings, and now they are being sold at the international coffee chain, Starbucks.

A cake pop is essentially cake, crumbled and mixed with frosting, formed into a ball, popped on a stick, and dipped in a super-sweet candy coating. I made cake pops for the first time for a friend’s wedding last spring (about 350 of them to be exact) and since then, virtually everyone I know has become obsessed. Certain friends (who shall remain anonymous) have been known to hoard them in their freezer and ration them out until the next batch of leftovers is delivered. It’s madness I tell you.

Will the appearance of cake pops at Starbucks mark the beginning of the inevitable cake pop backlash? The overexposure and obsession with a new food trend can quickly turn it from hip and current to passé and cheesy. With their new home at a coffee chain that many people already love to hate, will 2011 be the year of the death of the cake pop trend? Only time will tell I guess.

Until then, we can still delight in the near-sickeningly sweet treat that is the cake pop. Here are instructions for some bright colorful pops, perfect for a spring celebration or a fun Easter treat.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cake Pops
Makes about 50 pops

Cake Pops:
1 batch lemon-buttermilk cake, baked and cooled
1 batch cream cheese frosting (recipe below)
1-2 packages white vanilla candy melts (if you cannot find candy melts, you can use white chocolate, or almond bark the same way)
candy melt coloring (optional, but you cannot use frosting coloring, or liquid coloring unfortunately, the candy melts will seize from the water content)
sprinkles (optional)
50 4-inch lollipop sticks

Crumble the cakes into a large bowl with your fingers until broken up into pea-sized bits. Mix in about 2/3 of the frosting to start with, using either a large wooden spoon, or your hands if you want to get messy. Mix until the frosting is evenly dispersed. Take a small amount of some of the cake mixture (approximately 2 tablespoons or so) and try rolling it into a ball with the palms of your hands. If it stays together, continue to roll the rest of your cake mixture into balls and place them on a parchment or a wax paper lined baking sheet. If they fall apart or do not hold together, add a little more frosting until the mix is moist enough to allow you to roll an intact ball. You may not need to use all your frosting. I like to use the least amount of frosting possible, as it helps keep the texture of the cake pops more cake-like, and less mushy.

Once you have rolled all the cake mix into balls, place in refrigerator and chill for about 30 minutes. When the cake balls have been chilled, melt a small amount of the candy melts in a microwave safe bowl according to package directions. Take one of the sticks, dip about 1/2 inch of the end into the melted candy and stick it about half to three-quarters of the way through the cake ball. Don’t go too far into the cake ball, or it will fall apart. The candy melts will help adhere the stick to the cake.

Place the cake pop (we can officially call them pops now since they are now on a stick) back onto the parchment and repeat process with all remaining balls. Place the cake pops in the freezer for 30-60 minutes before coating. This will save you a lot of headache when trying to dip the cake pops into the hot candy melts. If they are mostly nearly frozen, you will have a much easier time getting them to stay on the stick while dipping and tapping the excess coating off, so don’t rush this step!

Once the cake pops have been chilled, melt the rest of the package of candy melts according to package directions, and add your candy coloring, if usingdesired. I kept the majority of the cake pops in the freezer and took them out about five5 at a time. This way, the whole pan of cake pops doesn’t come up to room temperature while you are dipping the first batch.

One at a time, dip the cake pops into the melted candy coating being making sure to get the coating all the way up over where theon to the stick is attached to really seal it into create a good seal. GENTLY tap off the excess coating on the edge of the bowl while rotating the cake pop, to get a nice even layer all the way around. You will want to do this quickly in order to make sure to reduce any excess of the candy coating off before it starts to set.

At this point you can do one of two things. If you want lollipop-like cake pops, you can stick them in a piece of styrofoam, let them dry pop side up, and serve them just like that. If you do it this way, you may want to reshape the tips of the balls a bit with your fingers before dipping them, as they may have a flattened bottom from sitting and chilling.

I tend prefer to to place them pop side down with the sticks up in the air. They are still just as cute, but easier to make in large quantities. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the flattened bottom since you are just putting it back in that same position anyway.

While the candy coating is still wet, feel free to go crazy with sprinkles, edible glitter, or even crushed nuts. If you are piping or dipping another color onto the pops, wait until the base layer is completely dry before doing so. You may need to melt more candy melts depending on how thick your coating ends up. , it’s always good have a few extra bags on hand.

Let your cake pops dry for at least an hour or two before packaging them up. I placed mine in a paper towel-lined ziploc baggies and put them into the refrigerator. You can leave them at room temp for a day or two, or even freeze them for a few weeks.

Lemon Buttermilk Cake:
3 1/2 cups (349 grams) cake flour

2 cups (383 grams) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, 459 grams) room temperature

1 cup buttermilk (3,5 dl) room temperature

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 large egg whites, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

zest of one large or two small lemons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, sift or whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Add the butter and half the buttermilk. Beat with the paddle attachment on a medium-low speed until combined and smooth, about 3-4 minutes.

In a medium sized bowl, with a fork, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, the rest of the buttermilk, and the vanilla and lemon extracts to combine, just until eggs are broken up. Add the egg mixture to the batter in 3 additions, mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes after each addition, being sure to scrap down the sides of the bowl frequently.

Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans until they are cool to the touch, then turn out of pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
16 ounces (454 grams) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter (230 grams) room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups (325 grams) confectioners’ sugar

pinch of salt

In a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese and butter, and beat on medium high speed until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until incorporated. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.