lessons

As the fall approaches and all the kiddies (to include this big kid herself) enjoy the last few days of freedom before school begins again, I seem to be learning lessons at every turn. First, a lesson in patience, of which, I have none. Not even after 15 months of being a mother have I acquired a never-ending supply of paitience. My daughter was on par with everything regarding her development with one exception: her teeth. Until about three weeks ago, she was the biggest, toothless baby for miles. All of a sudden her four front teeth are emerging and she is just not having it. She's cranky, she's whiny, she's crying--I'm cranky, I'm whining, I'm crying. Lesson #1: get over it. Sometimes things just suck. It will pass. Lesson #2: things don't always work out the way you plan them. What's the saying? 'If you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans.' Well let me just tell you, I've got the good Lord rolling! I'm a planner to a fault sometimes and when things don't quite work out I throw an inner (and sometimes outer) hissy fit. This week I worked on a cake for the staff at my husband's school. He is a technology something or other at a high school and I attempted a two-layer cake (bottom layer- 10" square and top an 8" round) for the staff retreat. Well, something about the bottom layer just didn't sit right and it sunk in the middle which proved disastrous when I put the top layer on. Fortunately, the top layer worked out fine and I sent the cake along, a day late, but still happy with the results. The cooperating layer was the fabulous vanilla cake recipe from Confetti Cakes (see book to the right) with a strawberry filling and vanilla buttercream by Wilton. This weekend's venture is cupcakes and cookies--I have a new martini glass cookie cutter I've been dying to try. This time, I'll try not to plan so much, but, until then, here's the recipe for strawberry filling:

Strawberry filling

-1 pound of clean strawberries; quartered

-3/4 cup of sugar

-2 tablespoons of cornstarch

-The juice of half a lemon

1. Place the strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the strawberries burst and start to look like jam. Remove from heat and squeeze half a lemon. Cool completely to room temperature.2. Put the strawberries in a food processor and pulse until small pieces of strawberry remain. 3. Move strawberry filling to a bowl and cover. Refrigerate a couple of hours.

beachy keen

I honestly can't think of anything better than lying around poolside (or seaside if you like), beneath an umbrella with a cold beverage in one hand and a frivolous magazine in the other--can you? That is how the dear husband and I spent a few days last week in Daytona beach at the fabulous Shores Resort and Spa to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. Seems like only yesterday I was a (skinny) girl of 23 in a big white dress holding a lovely bouquet of roses to marry a man who would later confess that, due to an eye condition, I was nothing but a big white blur coming down the aisle--he could barely see anything. But, one house, dog, and daughter, two lost wedding rings (his, not mine), and five years later, here we are, just kicking along and making this married thing look easy. All jokes aside, my husband is one of the most caring, selfless, and kind people I have ever met and I love him dearly for it. He is wonderful when it is least deserved...and most of all, he just loves me.
But now, to the cake! The cake was for my father's 54th birthday and was supposed to be reminiscent of his youth as a twenty-something living in California. First, let me say this--Florida and fondant are NOT very fond of each other. The humidity was ridiculous and the fondant let me know with every crack and disobedient fold it made. Not to mention I covered and decorated this cake in record time (for me, anyway) with four children--yes, four!--2 years old and under running around at a family get together. I finished the cake literally one minute before my dad walked in the door. Happily, he seemed pleased--and happily, I left him the next day with my daughter as my husband and I drove, sans responsibilities, to the beach.

Spice Cake recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, New Cookbook

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Add buttermilk or sour milk, butter, shortening, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until combined. Beat 2 minutes on high speed. Add eggs and beat 2 minutes more.

Pour batter into a greased 13x9x2 in pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 12 servings.

how sweet it is...

...to be loved by cake. And yes, as a comfort eater, I do honestly believe that food (desserts in particular) have a very special love for the person partaking of them. Am I a bit looney? For sure, but you can't tell me that a piece of cake has never made you feel good...or perhaps I am the only one. My husband and I have a dessert just about every weekend. At his request, this weekend we had a dessert that did not include chocolate. I was rather stumped because just about everything I bake involves chocolate in some way--icing, filling, etc.--but he did not want even a cousin or uncle to chocolate hovering around his dessert. Okay, okay. I get it--no chocolate! I began sifting through my favorite blogs and found a recipe for Sweet Almond Cake with Lemon Curd and Lemon Mascarpone Icing on mysweetandsaucy.com. The recipe was taken from Sweet Melissa's Baking Book and let me just tell you-- it. was. delicious. I don't think I have ever loved a non-chocolate dessert so much. Chocolate should really be jealous--and worried! I might just have another lover on the side...

hats off

So, I have to thank Elisa Strauss for publishing the book Confetti Cakes (see link in previous post or 'books to love' to your right) because without this book, I could not have made my latest fondant creation, an open hatbox cake. My mother-in-law was in town this weekend to attend a friends fashion party. Since I hope to start a business and need the practice, I asked if she would like a cake. After much drawing and planning I came up with the idea of a hatbox and got busy purchasing everything I would need. I made the tissue paper and bow three days in advance while on conference call with my girlfriends who very politely asked that I stop crumpling parchment paper--nobody could hear anything I was saying. Thursday morning my daughter and I ran to the grocery store for last minute ingredients and then I proceeded to bake (using the vanilla cake recipe in Confetti Cakes). I will not bore you with the details, but the first cake was a total disaster! I don't know the science of it all, but the baking pan I used was 3 inches deep and while the outside was cooked, the inside was pure mush. By the time the inside was cooked the outside was burnt. Fabulous. Trip to the grocery store for more ingredients. Vanilla cake: take two. Much better. Friday morning my mother and brother-in-law were on board for watching my darling one-year old while I faught with, I mean, decorated, the cake. I am not the greatest slicer of cakes and so some troubles ensued. Luckily, I was able to cover some of my slicing mistakes and all was well. Covering with fondant was also not the best--I rolled it too thin and you could see through a bit to the cake. Lesson learned--when directions read 'roll to 1/4 in. thick' it means 'roll to 1/4in. thick', not 'roll until fondant is transparent!' At the end of the day, however, the cake turned out fantastic and everyone was more than pleased with it. Sure, it has it's little flaws, but the big picture, well I was pretty darn proud of myself. It was certainly the hit of the party until, of course, my one-year old and all of her cuteness stole the show. But that's okay, I guess--I made her too!

the cure-all: chocolate chip cookies

Sometimes, there is no other cure for an ailment but a chocolate chip cookie. Something about it just heals my whole heart when I take bite after bite, and I just can't get enough of that chewy texture and warm chocolate. Last week was a little rough--I was incredibly frustrated and feeling a bit down. I wanted a cookie so bad (so bad!) but said 'no, we're trying to lose some weight. No cookies.' Then day two of frustration came around and all I could think about were chocolate chip cookies. It was a morning, noon, and night obsession. And finally, on day three when I just couldn't take it anymore, I made my favorite chocolate chip cookies that are more than worth the few extra pounds I'm carrying and by the end of the evening, life was definitely a whole lot sweeter. These cookies are adapted from Giada De Laurentis of Everyday Italian on Food Network. It is her recipe for Amaretto Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches , however I just bake the cookie portion and it is, by far, my all time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. They are so moist and chewy in the middle with just a little crunch on the perimeter. For me, it's all about the almond extract that adds that *umph* of flavor and sets this cookie above the rest. I haven't tried the complete sandwich (which, take a look at the recipe, it sounds delicious), but I'm sure I have a frustrating day or two ahead of me and chocolate chip cookies with an ice cream chaser sounds pretty good.

not so vanilla...

My style of dress is quite simple, classic even, generally with a pop of color or something ultra modern in the form of a shoe, handbag, or maybe even jewelry. My closet is full of clothes I could wear today, or even ten years from now and still look fresh and 'in style'. Fussy--no room for it in my wardrobe. Over the top--no thank you; it's just not my style. However, when it comes to food and sweet goodies, bring on the fuss! I like a brownie full of nuts, with ice cream and caramel syrup. A cake? Chocoloate with chocolate chips and chocolate icing- I want more, more, more. So it was a bit odd to me when I was drawn to a vanilla cake recipe. I really just don't do vanilla, but something in my giddy little taste buds kept saying 'bake it, eat it, love it!' The approach was much like the classic style of dress with a pop at the shoe, giving birth to vanilla cupcakes filled with almond flavored ganache, and topped with buttercream icing and fondant accent. Check out Confetti Cakes for the vanilla cake recipe (I made it with four whole, large eggs vs. 7 egg whites). For the ganache: one part heavy cream to one part chocolate (I used plain old nestle chocolate chips), with two teaspoons almond extract--or however much your tastebuds desire. I love the way the cake turned out, extremely soft and light considering I included the egg yolks. I especially had fun with the stamps to make imprints on the fondant accents. The stamps can probably be found pretty much anywhere, but I bought mine at Target--and while your there, why not swing by the jewelry section and buy a lovely pop of color for summer?

got milk?

...because you'll most definitely need it with these cookies--and I don't even like milk! Last night I whipped up these rocky road cookies. And, oh, honey! They are fantasticly delicious. One of the moistest cookies I've ever had. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I scored the recipe, but here it is:

Rocky Road Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 ¼ tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp instant espresso powder

1 ½ cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup marshmallows (leave them in big chunks, that will prevent them from melting too much)

Preheat oven to 375F.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, or in a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla and espresso powder. With a wooden spoon, mix in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, marshmallows, and walnuts.
On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, drop tablespoonfuls of the dough about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool 1 to 2 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Note: To make the Chocolate Rocky Road Cookies, replace 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder.

I realized at the last minute that I had overlooked the espresso powder and made it without. Really, these cookies made my evening...and part of my breakfast, snack, and dessert... Enjoy!