The Red Velvet Rainbow Cake

For week #1 of my Wilton class I decided on Red Velvet cake with Vanilla Buttercream. (I just couldnt frost this with the Wilton frosting...*GAG*) This was my first "go" at red velvet. I have had a few recipes just sitting in my recipe binder for probably a few years but just never got around to it.

My vow for my wilton class was to try recipes I have never used because after all...thats what this class was about, trying new things, and practice.

The Verdict: The red velvet cake was quite nice. It had a soft crumb and a light chocolate flavor. Caveat: Not chocolate enough for me, and mine didn't turn out with enough 'red'. (Although I can't say I am a huge fan of food dye in the first place).


The decorating process for this cake was a sinch! All you do is outline the rainbow with piping gell on a sheet of parchment and then rub it on the cake. And voila! you have an outline of a rainbow and all you have to do is pipe the little stars in between the lines. So easy....but clever!

Red Velvet Cake
Recipe derived from: Joy of Baking

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (15 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pan. Cut up 24 pieces of aluminum foil and roll them into little balls about the size of a marble. Set aside.

Sift together, flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.

Mix buttermilk and food coloring together. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer), beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat on low speed for about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, allowing each to incorporate into the mixuture before adding the other. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated.

On low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture starting and ending with the flour mixture.

Combine vinegar and baking soda. Let it fizz and then immediately fold it into the cake batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake pans with an ice cream scoop or 2/3 full. To create a heart shaped cupcake, put the aluminum foil balls or marble between the cupcake liner and the pan. You should see the shape of a heart. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. The cake is done when a cake tester is inserted into the middle and comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream
Recipe courtesy of Mirepoix Cooking School

Ingredients:
2 lb pure cane confectioners’ sugar 10x
1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
1 lb. Sweetex shortening (found at cake supply stores)
1 lb. unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and evaporated milk. Mix on low to incorporate. Continue mixing for 15-20 minutes until fully incorporated. Then add butter and shortening 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Beat until fully incorporated.

Wilton Classes: The prospect of learning to decorate a cake

I have cake coming out of my ears this month! I have 7 cakes on my roster.

I think it’s no secret that I love cake/cupcakes. My problem is, while I was able to master flavor purely by trial and error, I had yet to master aesthetics.

For cupcakes, it was fairly easy. I could put my frosting in a piping bag and make them look fancy by making swirls. But when it came to my cakes, my decorating skills were much to be desired.

I decided the best way to pass time this winter was to sign up for the Wilton Cake Decorating classes. After only 3 classes, I am improving and in the meantime having a blast! Now if I could master keeping a steady hand…I may be in business…literally. *Fingers Crossed*

Here are some of my latest creations from class along with the recipes I’ve been trying. I will post them separately because otherwise…It’s too hard to categorize and navigate through the post.

Week #1: Rainbow Cake:
Cake: Red Velvet (My first go at Red Velvet!)
Frosting: Vanilla Buttercream

Week #2: Purple Pansy Cake
Cake: Vanilla Bean White Cake
Filling: Strawberry Italian Meringue Buttercream
Frosting: Vanilla Buttercream

Week #2: Pink Bear Cupcakes (Purple Pansy, and Clowns too)
Cake: Chocolate
Frosting: Vanilla Buttercream

TWD: Devil's Food White-Out Cake

It’s happened.

It’s happened!

It’s TWD and someone, specifically Stephanie of Confessions of a city eater, has finally chosen the cover cake. (Ok, I have only been baking with TWD for about 4 months but believe me….it’s been a long time coming for all the bakers). If you would like to take a look at the recipe, please visit Stephanie’s page.

One of the things that drew me into Dorie’s book the most was her celebration cake section. I am drawn to cake naturally so it’s really no surprise! But my goal is to try them all. So this week, I have one down…

I make chocolate cake frequently and one of the things I am leery on is using melted chocolate in a cake. For brownies, absolutely. For cake…I am on the fence. This one had both Dutch processed cocoa AND melted chocolate. For this cake, I think the combo worked. This cake seemed much more like a torte. It didn’t rise much and was difficult to slice the layers because they were already fairly thin.

The frosting was a billow-y marshmallow frosting. I love marshmallow fluff so I couldn’t wait to give this a try. I did alter it a bit and added a vanilla bean for an extra kick. I didn’t care for the bite of the cream of tarter so I added a few tablespoons of butter at the end of the mixing---word from the wise, Don’t. The frosting seized and became a watery mess. Oops! So the second trial, I just kept according to plan.

Assembling the cake was pretty easy and looked stunning. I thought the flavor of this cake improved the second day. The cake was more fudgy and dense, and the frosting and cake flavors had more time to get together and mesh. Over all, the cake was great, and rather impressive!

If you want to see how the other bakers fared this week, click on TWD’s blogroll.

TWD: Floating Islands

I hate tempering. No matter what, my eggs always scramble.

So when I saw this week’s TWD involved some kind of tempering and dealing with my ‘oh so not favorite thing’ (making meringues), I told another baker that floating islands ‘scared me’ and I wasn’t sure I was going to make them.

Then, I reminded myself of why I joined a baking club in the first place. To try new things, or at the very least conquer things I don’t normally set out to do in the kitchen. So, I put my big girl panties on and got out my eggs and started tempering. Otherwise, what’s the point?

For someone who aspires to be a pastry chef, I ought to be a bit more tough…and not let things I’m not so sure of “scare me”. I suppose I could use that advice for life in general.

Anyway….

This week’s TWD was hosted by Shari of Whisk a Food Blog. If you would like to see the recipe, be sure to visit her page. You can also check out what the other TWD bakers were up to this week by clicking here.

How did I fare this week?

Well, I think the saying is “It’s better to try and fail than to never try at all”???

That was me this week. Failure.

My eggs certainly did scramble because I couldn’t get the temp up to 180, and pressed on to try to reach it. It never happened. Instead, I got scrambled anglaise. I strained it and prayed it would be better in the morning. Nope. Still scrambled bits left and very thick. *shivers*

But I was determined to see what the fuss was about with poaching meringues. I had to try it. So I separated more eggs, whipped them, and poached them. It was cool to watch but honestly, either I’m not getting the nostalgia of a foamy egg white in my mouth or I did it all wrong. (I’m hoping it’s the latter because together my dessert was utterly repulsive). Between the slimy foamy consistency of the egg and the scramble in my anglaise….it just wasn’t a home run for me. So I am looking forward to today just to see what the other bakers’ came up with.

Back to the drawing board….

Saturday night "IN" with Lamb Burgers

I love a ‘good’ burger.

Good, juicy, need two napkins kind of burgers.

Yes, I am a total burger snob which means you will not see me pulling out of a McDonalds drive through anytime soon. I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it.

There are so many great burger joints by my house so I rarely make my own burgers at home. But when I saw Giada make these great lamb burgers on her show, I decided it was the perfect meal for my Saturday night ‘in’. I served them with homemade sweet potato fries and fresh buns from the market.

Lamb Burgers
Recipe derived from Giada Di Laurentiis

Ingredients:
1 pound ground lamb
¼ cup plain bread crumbs
1 egg beaten lightly
¼ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano
2 tablespoons whole milk
Top with: fontina cheese and basil leaf.

Optional: Wrap the burgers in prosciutto.

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Form burger patties (this will probably make between 3-4, depending on the size). Brush buns with olive oil.

Heat heavy bottomed skillet, add olive oil. On the stove top, cook on each side for about 4 minutes a side. Meanwhile, toast buns in the oven. Top with cheese, then let the burgers sit for 5-10 minutes. Top with basil and buns and serve!

Busy Weekend Spicy Tomato Soup

Every weekend when it’s cold, I make soup. I’m not exactly sure why but I think it’s just because I love the smell of garlic and onion sautéing in the house! Plus, a soup’s flavor typically improves with time, meaning I can re-heat it later in the weekend to eat for a quick lunch or even dinner without that dreaded ‘left over’s’ taste.

This weekend got rather busy in my house because I signed up for a cake decorating class and I have about 5 cakes I have to make this month between TWD and my class (not to mention all the other goodies on my ‘to try’ list. And every time I turned around it seemed I need to start another meal which led to its clean up. So by Sunday afternoon, I decided its time for a short cut. Yes, even though I am no fan of pre-prepped goods, even I take ‘short cuts’.

I got this recipe of course from my idol in cooking, Giada, from the Food Network. Let me tell you, this spicy tomato soup is amazing, hearty, and deliciously spicy. I changed it up a bit and cut the recipe in half since it was just my husband and me.


Spicy Tomato Soup
Recipe derived from Giada Di Laurentiis

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Parsnip, peeled and chopped
½ cup Spanish onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce (San Marzano brand, if you can’t find it just use a GOOD quality marinara)
2 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth, homemade preferred
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup ditalini pasta (or any small pasta)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Garnish: Basil, plain yogurt, homemade croutons


Directions:

Heat a large heavy bottomed (non reactive) pot, add the olive oil. Add onion, carrots and parsnips. Sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add the marinara, chicken broth, cannellini beans, red pepper flakes, pasta, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes until pasta is soft. Serve with plain yogurt, basil and homemade croutons on top.

To make homemade croutons: Slice up day old bread into cubes, drizzle with olive oil, and put in a 350 degree oven until toasty. About 5-10 minutes.

TWD: World Peace Cookies

This week’s TWD is hosted by Jessica of Cookbook habit. If you would like to see the recipe for these great World Peace Cookies, be sure to wander over to her page to check it out! OR of course you can always purchase Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking From My Home to Yours.

I have only been cooking with TWD since November but I have to say, this is without a doubt, my favorite recipe thus far. In fact, these are THE best cookies I have ever eaten (ditto for my hubs who tells me this as he stuffs 2 cookies in his mouth ). To think I even considered cutting the recipe in half.....I swear it was only a split second of insanity until I came to my senses. I'm much better now, I swear.

What I love best about these cookies is the sweet/salty taste. I used sea salt instead of the fleur de sel because it was $12.99 at my local gourmet grocery store and I just couldn’t stomach spending that on a small container of ‘salt’. I don’t think it affected the taste since I thought these were SO wonderful.

I can’t put my finger on what these cookies remind me of, but I’m thinking they are very much like a very chocolate-y brownie in flavor, but not really the cakey texture. These just melt in your mouth like a butter cookie….only these are LOADED with chocolate.

What is NOT to love about this cookie!?

I didn’t have any problems with the cookies crumbling while slicing like I saw on the Q&A but I did take one of the other bakers advice and froze mine first. I will say….these were an absolute BEAR to slice when frozen.... and I had a sharp knife!

Had I not been part of this group, I may have never considered making these. (I think I told you I am a total visual person, meaning I make things based on the pictures that accompany a recipe). Good thing the directions from the book are absolutely perfect, and I wouldn’t change a thing about these cookies. These will TOTALLY be part of my cookie repertoire for years to come. Thanks so much Dorie for sharing!