Party food

DIY Sprinkle Success & Birthday Cake…Attempt

If you have any interest in cakes (making, eating or both) and you haven’t picked up a copy of Layered by Tessa Huff yet go order it right now!  It’s a truly lovely book with great cake baking and decorating tips complete with some helpful step-by-step photos.  While I’ve only tried a couple cakes so far, I love it and can’t wait to try more of her recipes.  Go now and order a copy.  Go.

To me a birthday is not complete without a cake.  Another dessert can serve as a substitute if need be, but cake!  Birthdays were made for cake!  I decided to make a cake for my birthday this year, and the strawberry and confetti cake from Layered was the obvious choice.

I encountered some problems when I made this, and originally I was calling this cake a “fail” but it wasn’t.  After all was said and I done we stuck candles in it, sweet friends sang “Happy Birthday” and we all ate it and enjoyed it.  What it was was imperfect and a good learning lesson.  I am so glad I tried this cake, even though it wasn’t as amazing as I thought it would be!

The first step for this cake was making your own sprinkles.  By hand.  Yes.  Did you even know this was possible?!  I didn’t.  It was time consuming, but not hard.  I would do it again for sure.

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There are few things that make the sprinkle process easier:

  • Make sure your frosting tip isn’t too small.  My hand was worn out after using a Wilton #3 tip.  #4 was way easier.  And if you used an even bigger one that should be fine, the size of the spinkle has more to do with how much you pipe.  A bigger tip means you pipe less, a smaller tip means you pipe more.  I don’t know if that makes sense now, but if you’ll know what I mean if you try it.

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  • If you can stand it, use up all of the sprinkle batter!  I was so tired and ran out of cookie sheets, so I stopped.  When I went to make the cake I didn’t have quite enough.  So, make it all, even if it means you’ll have a semi-permanent claw hand.
  • If you want bold colors, go a bit darker than you think you should.  I felt that mine dried slightly less bright than the original color.

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  • Have a small bowl of water handy to dip your finger in to press down any peaks that form on the sprinkles.  There is a sweet spot for the amount of water.  If you get too much water they’ll ooze and take a much longer time to dry.  Too little and they’ll stick to your finger.  You’ll learn pretty quickly what works best.
  • If you get tired of piping dots, pipe long strips, let them dry, and break them up to make jimmies!  I like the look of both the circles and jimmies together, anyway.

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DIY Sprinkles and Jimmies

From Layered

Ingredients

  • 2 large egg whites
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • gel food coloring

Directions

  1. Fit a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and pour the egg whites in to the bowl.
  2. Mix on medium low until foamy.
  3. Gradually add the powdered sugar and gradually increase the speed until you’ve added all the sugar and the speed it at medium high.
  4. Whisk until the mixture has smooth, stiff and glossy peaks.  Add in the vanilla and beat just to incorporate.
  5. Divide the sprinkle batter in to as many bowls as colors you plan to make.  Color with gel color, being sure to mix completely (a small spatula is good for this).
  6. Place each color of icing into a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
  7. Line cookie sheets or your counter top (as long as no one in your household likes to climb on to the counter or pull stuff off the counter) with parchment paper or non-stick silicon mats.  Pipe small circles onto the paper and use a damp fingertip to flatten down any pointy peaks that form.
  8. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat…
  9. Let dry for AT LEAST 2 hours (the longer the better) before using.

Now the rest of the cake had a lot of components, but I wasn’t worried about my competence in the kitchen to get it done and have it look beautiful.  I read through all of the recipes, and had a good plan on how to carry it all out flawlessly.  I had an entire blog post in mind to show off this cake!  Hello, humility.  We’ve met before…

I made everything the day before, 2 kinds of cake, strawberry puree, strawberry cream filling and an Italian meringue buttercream.  Once my kids were in bed for naps on the following day, I set up my tripod in the light filled corner of my kitchen and got to work.  I tinkered with the settings on my camera and had everything ready to hopefully create a lovely step-by-step assembly animated GIF.  Everyone would be so impressed.  Ugh.  Overconfidence can kill, guys.

As I started layering the cakes with the strawberry cream I realized my dreams of perfection were dashed.  The cream was oozing out the sides and on to the cake plate and the cake was beginning to tip over.  5 layers!  Of course it was falling over!  I am not a cake decorator.  I did not think through this whole process as well as I should have.  I also didn’t think to have my AC running to counteract the July heat and humidity we have here in Houston.  Taking pictures in the light filled corner didn’t help, either.  The cake was melting.  I had a, “Well, now what?!” moment, probably cursed a little bit, and then grabbed some skewers from a drawer in the kitchen and tried to straighten everything out.  From there I stuck it in the fridge and hoped for the best.

Please notice the second to the last image in this GIF.  I’ve already said this, but it reminds me of the cake in Sleeping Beauty.  Just about ready to topple over and be supported by a broomstick.

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I’d already whipped up the frosting and folded in the sprinkles (bad call), so I had to put that all back in the fridge.  I was not at all sure what back and forth from the fridge would do to an Italian meringue buttercream…but I didn’t really have another option.

Here it was it all of it’s glory, nice and white with pops of sprinkles.  This is when it should have gone on to the cake but instead was sent back to the fridge.

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Since we had dinner plans I had to wait until the next day to finish.  I pulled the cake out of the fridge.  The skewers had done the trick to straighten the cake out, and everything still held tight when I removed them.  I do wish I’d done that to start, although it wouldn’t  have helped the oozing strawberry cream…

Now the buttercream.  I let it sit for a while, then whipped it up again, no doubt damaging many of those sprinkles and creating a nice grey hue to the icing that should’ve been white.  The texture was also off.  Awesome.  I had an ok time getting the cake iced, even with the uneven layers.  Thankfully I’d saved some icing without sprinkles for decorating the edges, and some of those precious sprinkles for the final touch.


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Now, what really matters is how it tasted.  And it was delicious!  Especially the confetti layers.  My daughter turns 4 next month and I am seriously considering the confetti cake recipe for either a cake or cupcakes.

Thank you, Tessa, for getting me to try new things!  Can’t wait to attempt to conquer more of your lovely cakes ; )

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Sparkling Princess Castle Cake

My daughter turned 3 last week.  She requested a princess birthday party, and I was happy to oblige.  We didn’t have a full blown birthday party this year, but we did have grandparents over for lunch, cake and presents.  It was a great low-key party and she loved it.

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When I started looking at cakes for this princess party I found so many beautiful and some truly over the top cakes that I knew I did not have the time nor the skill for.  Like this and this.  But then I found some castle cakes that looked great and actually do-able for the amateur cake maker.  Here are the links to the cakes that inspired the cake I wound up making for Betsy.  This and this for the cake itself and then this for the towers.  As you can see I pretty must combined a bunch of great ideas others had to put this together.  Thank you, internet, pinterest and all of those creative types who share your great ideas with the rest of us!

To make the towers I brushed melted almond bark on to cake cones, I made more than 10 but 10 is all I used.  After it dried I used a little more of it to stick them together.  For shorter towers simply use one cone.

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I also used the almond bark to coat 5 sugar cones (again, I made more than 5 just in case which was good since I did knock one on to the floor and it shattered) that I then covered in pink sugar.

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With the left over almond bark I dipped the ends of both large and small marshmallows and then dipped them in pink and white sugar.  I did a bunch of these and did not use them all.

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I also piped what I thought might be windows or doors out of some of the almond bark and sprinkled them with pink sugar.  I did not have a set decorating plan, as you can tell.  I only ended up using one of them.

Using 2 boxes of cake mix I baked up a 9×13 cake, an 8-inch square cake and 2 round 4-inch cakes.  Cake mix for the win!

I whipped up a batch of this frosting.  It was just enough to frost everything.

I bought a cake board at a local cake shop in Sugar Land that I just found out existed thanks to my friend Katie, Cake Craft Shoppe.  I see many more trips there in my future.  They have decoarting classes, too…

After leveling all of the layers using this handy tool, I started layering the cakes and put on a crumb coat.  First the 9×13.

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Then the 8×8.

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Then the two rounds.

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After chilling it all I put on another coat of frosting.  Then I started decorating.  I used plain mini marshmallows, white sugared minis and white sugared large marshmallows.  When we were shopping one day Betsy saw these pink sprinkles and had to have them.  They’re bubble gum flavored and taste terrible (unless you’re 3) but I loved the way they looked on the cake.

I pressed the bottoms of the towers into the very top and corners of the 9×13 cake.  I left off the top sugar cones since I had to store this overnight and my fridge would not accommodate the height.

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When it was time to have cake I simply placed the sugar cones on top and walked very carefully to bring the cake to Betsy.  She loved it, as you can probably tell.

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At some point after the candles were blown out someone (I think it might have been me?) knocked one of the cones off.  So, if you want a more sturdy ice cream cone tower then I suggest sticking them together with some icing.

Here’s a list of what you need to make the cake.

  • 2 boxes of cake mix and ingredients called for
  • 1 recipe vanilla buttercream (this is my favorite)
  • 10 cake cones (plus a few more just in case)
  • 5 sugar cones (plus a few back ups)
  • almond bark (1 package was more than enough)
  • mini and large marshmallows
  • pink and white decorating sugar
  • piping bag and tip (for door or windows)
  • pink decorating candy (I got these at Target)

And just in case you cared, here are some more photos of the birthday girl and the fam.

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Happy birthday, Betsy!  We love you.

 

 

Kitty Cat Cake

For my daughter’s 2nd birthday I wanted to make a cake that she’d appreciate not only for its sugar content but for its appearance.  This kitty cat cake was perfect for my animal loving girl!

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All you need for this cake are 2 8-inch round cakes, no need for a uni-tasking cat shaped pan.  And you don’t have to do much cake shaping, either.  Leave one cake whole and cut the other in to a head, ears and tail.

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This next step is the hardest.  Using your favorite frosting recipe, this is mine, stick the pieces together and then frost the cake, being careful around the cut edges.  This first coating of frosting is your crumb coat, so a few crumbs are ok and it doesn’t need to be totally covered.  You’ll do that next.

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Put the cake in the fridge for an hour or two, then frost another time to get a pretty, smooth and crumb-free layer.

Now you can decorate!  I colored some of my vanilla frosting pink and then I just bought a tube of black icing (this one from Wilton) because making your own black icing can be tough.

She was so excited when we put this cake in front of her.  Thankfully at 2 she didn’t care that it wasn’t perfectly frosted or that it kinda looked like a rabbit 🙂  Happy Birthday, sweet Betsy!

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Daring Bakers: Surprise Inside Checkerboard Cake

This challenge couldn’t have come at a better time!  July is my birthday month.  Having to bake a special cake for the Daring Bakers was the perfect excuse to bake myself a birthday cake. cake29 cake30 For the July Daring Baker’s Challenge, Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to bake a cake. But not just any cake; she asked us to add in a special surprise for our eyes as well as our taste buds! cake19 When I saw this challenge I immediately got on Amazon and bought the Surprise Inside Cakes cookbook, which is amazing.  But after looking through it I decided I couldn’t commit to one of her cakes right now.  I figured I’d fail at the first attempt and have to try again (or a dozen times) to get it right.  And I just couldn’t justify taking the time and energy to make multiple cakes when most of my time and energy has to go toward my kids.  So I opted to make something a little simpler, and something I’d seen before and been anxious to try. cake22 cake23   cake26 This checkerboard cake is impressive without being quite as involved as something like this.  Amazing, right?!  And something I’d like to try someday, just not today.  A lot of these kinds of cakes involve baking cake, crumbling it up and mixing it with icing, carving into other baked cake layers and then filling to space with the cake-frosting mixture.  I wasn’t even going to pretend I was brave enough to try that.  This cake just involves some cutting and layering.  I could handle that. I used cake mix for this challenge because if it didn’t turn out I did not want to throw a scratch cake away, and, let’s face it, scratch cake is easier and always reliable.  Start by baking two boxes of cake mix into 8-inch rounds.  I used a dark chocolate and funfetti cause it’s my birthday!  Wrap them in plastic and chill them in the fridge for at least a couple hours or overnight. cake1Now you want to level them to all the same height.  I used one of these.  It’s a favorite cake tool of mine.  You can also use a serrated knife. cake2 Now cut each layer using a 5-inch circle and a 3-inch circle.  I tried to center them perfectly but they weren’t quite perfect.  It turned out fine.  Also, as you can see below, I had my knife at a slight angle when I cut the first circle.  Try to keep it straight, but know that if you have the same problem as I did, it will still work out.cake3 cake4 cake5 cake6 Then do the same with the chocolate layers.  Be very careful when moving the rings!  They become very fragile. cake7 Now would be a good time to chill or freeze the layers.  I didn’t and wish I had.  They would’ve been easier to move if they were cold.  Whip up a batch of frosting, I used this one.  Place one large vanilla ring on a cake plate.  Spread some frosting around the inside of the ring. cake8 Place a chocolate ring inside of this one. cake9 Frost the inside of this ring and then place a small vanilla circle in the center.  NOTE: Your icing is going to get full of chocolate crumbs.  Try to keep the big bowl of frosting relatively crumb free.  I scooped frosting into a smaller bowl as I needed it. cake10 Top this layer with frosting.  Then repeat with the rest of the cake layers, alternating chocolate, vanilla, chocolate.  Frost the entire cake with a crumb coat and put in the fridge to set, at least a couple hours. cake11 cake12 cake15 Now you may need to make another batch of frosting, depending on how much you made the first time around.  Finish off the cake with the final coat of frosting. cake16 Place the cake in the fridge until you’re ready to cut in to it.  These kinds of cakes cut more cleanly when cold. Stick some candles in and celebrate! cake18 cake25

Easter Cookie Placecards & A Thick Cut-Out Sugar Cookie Recipe

What could be better than a lovely place card to designate your place at the table this Easter Sunday?  Why, a cute and sweet one that you can eat, of course!

Don’t worry, I’m not going to give Betsy her own china place setting.

I’ve made my fair share of sugar cookies but haven’t ever stuck with one recipe.  I almost always find myself trying a new one.  Not because the others have been bad, but I have an idea in my head of what I want a decorated sugar cookie to look and taste like, and I haven’t yet found it.  This one is much closer to what I’ve been looking for.  It’s sturdy and thick, it holds up well to rolling, transferring and baking and also has good flavor.  Part of that is due to cutting them thicker than I normally do, and part to a new method I tried this time around for cutting the shapes.  It’s genius and greatly decreases the floury mess my kitchen becomes when I make cut outs.

Whenever I decide to make these decorated cookies I have the tendency to make too many shapes which means lots more coloring of icing and piping different designs which translates into late nights, a messy kitchen, color dyed fingernails and sore hands.  It’s more work than you think on those muscles!  Making just a couple different shapes makes life easier and allows you to get really good at decorating that particular shape and design.

I chose eggs (no fancy edges) carrots and bunnies.  I kept everything simple since I’d be writing names on the cookies.  And I kept the colors muted to not distract from the table or stick out like a sore thumb.

The icing recipe here is the best I’ve tried for these cookies.  It takes a while to dry completely, but dries with a nice gloss and isn’t rock hard like royal icing.  You can add more powdered sugar to small amount of this icing to make it good for piping.

For rolling these out I used a new method.  Instead of chilling the dough and then rolling it out (which can often be difficult when the dough is cold from the fridge) I rolled it out right after mixing  in between two pieces of parchment.  Then I placed the sheets of dough in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.  Then I cut out the shapes, moved them to a parchment lined cookie sheet and baked them.  The dough never once touched the counter and I didn’t have to use any flour or get frustrated with a cookie falling apart or sticking to the counter top.  This is definitely the method I will be using from now on.  Thanks to The Kitchn for introducing me to it!

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I used the recipe from The Kitchn for these cookies, just left out the lemon zest and added an extra egg yolk for a sturdier cookie.  Since they’re made with all butter, the flavor is still there, but without the super crunchy texture some sugar cookies often have.  And to be honest, I prefer that texture if I’m eating the cookies plain or with just a sprinkling of sugar.  But when I’m going to be decorating them and giving them as favors or gifts, I want them thicker and therefore not as crunchy.  Since the cookies are so thick, I reduced the baking temp to 325 to prevent the bottoms of the cookies from getting too dark before the centers are set.  Then I increased the baking time.  The baking time with depend on what size and just how thick your cookies are.  Mine, which were just about 1/4 inch thick, cooked for almost 15 minutes.  They should be just beginning to brown on the edges  when you remove them from the oven.

You can find lots of good tips on decorating sugar cookies on the web.  But here are some of the cookies I’ve decorated, some with step by step instructions and some without.

And here are the tools I find to be very helpful when making these types of cookies.

  • Frosting tips (Wilton plain tips 2 and 3 are the ones I use most, I have a few of each)
  • Piping bags
  • White-white, it makes white icing solid white instead of semi-translucent and can tone down a color that is too dark
  • Gel colors for coloring the icing, it produces the best color
  • Toothpicks for coloring icing, pushing icing into small spaces and for popping bubbles that form in the icing as it settles and dries
  • Small bowls for coloring small amount of icing
  • Small spoons for filling the cookies
  • Space to work and a place for cookies to dry away from little hands

Thick Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Adapted very slightly from TheKitchn

Makes 18-24 thick cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Beat butter, cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy.
  2. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and extracts and beat until well combined.
  3. Add in the flour, salt and baking powder and mix just until combined.
  4. Prepare 4 sheets of parchment, each about the size you’d use to line a cookie sheet.
  5. Lay a towel down on the counter, then place one piece of parchment on top.  Spoon half of the cookie dough onto the parchment and then lay another piece of parchment on top.  Use a rolling pin to roll the dough evenly to the thickness you desire.
  6. Set the sheet of dough onto a cookie sheet.
  7. Repeat with the rest of the dough, stacking them on top of each other.
  8. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer and let them chill for 20-30 minutes.  You want the dough to be firm but still be able to cut it with the cookies cutters.  If you leave it too long in the freezer, just let it sit for a few minutes before cutting your shapes.
  9. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  10. Using your desired cookie cutters, cut your shapes from the dough and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving space between the cookies, 8-12 per sheet depending on the size
  11. Bake for 10-15 minutes, checking after 10 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown.  Let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
  12. Repeat with the remaining dough.  Any dough scraps can be combined and re-rolled, chilled, cut and baked.
  13. Let cool completely before decorating.

Fruit Loop Marshmallow Treats

Having kids has somehow made it ok to for me to purchase certain kinds of cereal.  Lucky Charms is usually the one I fall for, and Carson loves it, of course.  But a while back I just had to buy a box of Fruit Loops.  I loved them as a kid.  It made the milk turn a lovely pastel color and made the milk taste super delicious, like most sugary cereals do.  I thought the kids would LOVE it.  Both of them refused to eat it.  I guess that’s good, but it did mean I had a huge family sized box that was just begging to be made into something delicious.

With a couple of bags of marshmallows in my pantry it was an easy decision to make Rice Krispy Treats, only with Fruit Loops.

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I think these are beautiful!  The colors are just a lot of fun.  When Ben saw these on the counter he said, “Ewww.”  He isn’t a big fan of super sweet treats, so the combination of sugar cereal and marshmallow doesn’t appeal to him in the least.  They are a little over the top, I’ll admit.  And they are sweet, a small square is just enough.  I think they’d be a great little treat at a kid’s birthday party.  But they’re also a nice little treat for adults as well.

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Fruit Loop Marshmallow Treats

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces mini marshmallows
  • 1 stick of butter (plus more for the pan and your hands)
  • 8 cups of Fruit Loops

Directions

  1. Butter a 9×13 inch pan and set aside.
  2. Melt butter and marshmallows over low heat in a large pot until marshmallows are melted and the mixture is smooth.
  3. Add in the Fruit Loops and mix well to coat all the cereal.
  4. Pour the mixture out into the pan, then butter your hands and press mixture out evenly.  Let cool, then cut into squares.

The Best Dip Ever: Goat Cheese Dip with Piloncillo Chipotle Sauce

This recipe came from a restaurant in San Antonio called Liberty Bar.  I’ve never actually been, but my sister lived in San Antonio for a while and has been there.  When she saw this recipe in a magazine, something like 10 years ago, she decided we should make it.  And we did.  And it was incredible.  I usually refer to it as “the piloncillo dip” to my family, and they immediately know what I’m talking about.  And then we all start drooling.

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For some reason I had kind of forgotten about it until recently.  I’ve now made it twice in the last month for parties and am so glad to have rediscovered it.

The dip is a great combination of flavors; spicy, sweet and tangy.  I love goat cheese, so I’m a big fan of this dip, but the goat cheese isn’t so strong that someone who isn’t crazy about it won’t like it.  The sauce is rich and creamy and sweet and amazing.  It is a little spicy because of the chipotle.  If you’re worried about it you can cut back on the chipotle, or just use the adobo sauce and not so much of the peppers themselves.

Piloncillo, also called panela, is a Mexican unrefined whole cane sugar that is available at most large grocery stores.  I always find it with the other Mexican foods and have seen it in a cone form and also in a round disc.  It is similar in flavor to dark brown sugar, but has a different texture.  You might be able to substitute brown sugar in this recipe, but I’ve never tried it.  Let me know if you do and if it’s successful.  Chipotles in adobo are in the same spot as the piloncillo at my grocery store.  But my sister in New York has said it’s hard to find.  You don’t end up using the whole can in this recipe, but I’ve frozen the extra in a small tupperware or freezer bag, thawed it out and used it in other recipes with great success.  Don’t let it go to waste, especially if it’s a rarity where you live!

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Serve this with pita chips or slices of grilled bread.  I serve the sauce on top of the dip, but you can also serve the cheese dip and sauce in separate bowls, allowing people to get just the amount of sauce and cheese they want.  To serve altogether I usually lay a piece of plastic wrap in the botttom of a pie plate, spread the cheese in an even layer, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Then I uncover the cheese spread and flip it out onto a large platter, peel off the plastic wrap, and then cover with some of the sauce.  There is almost always extra sauce and I hate throwing it away since it’s so stinking good.  Any ideas on how to use the extra?

Goat Cheese Dip with Piloncillo Chipotle Sauce

Serves at 10-12 as an appetizer

From Liberty Bar

Ingredients

For the cheese spread

  • 6 ounces soft mild goat cheese, at room temperature
  • 12 ounces cream cheese (full fat or 1/3 fat), at room temperature
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon salt (use the side of a large chef’s knife to do this)
  • 1 teaspoon minced canned chiles chipoltes in adobo sauce

For the sauce

  • 1 tablespoon minced canned chiles chipoltes in adobo sauce
  • 8 ounces piloncillo (Mexican unrefined sugar), roughly chopped
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Pita chips, crackers, toasted baguette slices or grilled bread slices

Directions

  1. Make the cheese spread: Beat together cheeses, garlic paste, and chipolte chiles. Transfer mixture to a small serving bowl (or pie plate lined with plastic wrap) and chill, covered, at least 4 hours or overnight.
  2. Make the sauce: In a small saucepan combine chipoltes, piloncillo, and cream and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up sugar, until piloncillo is melted and sauce is smooth, about 10 minutes.
  3. Transfer sauce to a small serving bowl and chill, covered, for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
  4. Serve cheese and sauce in separate bowls, or pour some of the sauce over the cheese spread to serve.

 

Vanilla Birthday Cake with Vanilla Frosting

This vanilla cake was one of the many sweet treats we had at Betsy’s 1st birthday party, but the only one I made from scratch.  I am a sucker for cake mixes a lot of the time. They’re easy, reliable, and pretty tasty.  But there’s something about a scratch cake that is just special.  And if there’s a time to have a special cake, it’s at a birthday party!

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This vanilla cake is from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.  I picked the cookbook up after a trip to visit my sister in New York where I went on a cupcake tasting tour (guided by yours truly with only one participant…myself).  I tried Magnolia Bakery, Cupcake Cafe and Billy’s Bakery.  I think there was one other?  I don’t remember.  I’ve had 2 kids since then.  But Magnolia is one of the best and the shop is darling and wonderful.  It’s definitely a fun place to visit…unless you end up fighting someone for a cupcake after waiting in line for hours.  The first time I went there was hardly a soul in the place and so it was a very pleasant experience for me.  Another time I was going to go with my sister and as we approached the store and saw the line we turned around and returned empty handed.  Workdays are probably a good bet, but I’m not making any promises since I don’t have enough experience.  I do think it’s safe to say that weekends will always be crazy.

To make this cake a little special I dyed the layers in shades of purple.  It didn’t turn out as “ombre” as I would’ve liked.  The colors are too close to the same shade, so if you decide to try the ombre cake make sure that the batters are very different from each other.

The vanilla buttercream is from the same cookbook and is tremendously delicious.  I love frosting.  This one comes out beautifully white, especially if you use this vanilla.  This clear vanilla has a nostalgic flavor for me and is different than pure natural vanilla.  In most cases I prefer natural vanilla, and often I use this vanilla paste because I love the vanilla bean flecks.  But with a classic vanilla birthday cake I think the clear vanilla is the way to go.  Use what you have, but do give the clear vanilla a try if you see it somewhere!

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This is definitely a cake I’ll come back to and recommend others try when they want to bake a cake from scratch.  It’s really not terribly difficult or time consuming and it’s a nice change from a box cake.  Eat up and enjoy!

Vanilla Birthday Cake

From Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 4 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with a parchment circle, grease parchment and flour the pans.  Set aside.
  3. Combine the flours in a small bowl and set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, cream the butter until light, then gradually pour in the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
  5. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each.  Scrape the bottom of the bowl and beat again to combine.
  6. Alternate adding the flour and milk in 5 parts, beginning and ending with the flour, beating until just combined in between additions.  Fold the batter a few times with a large spatula to make sure it is mixed well.
  7. Now you can either dye your layers or divide the batter between the pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  8. Remove from the oven and let cool on racks for 15 minutes.  Run a butter knife around the edges and remove the cakes from the pans.  Peel off the parchment and let cool completely.

To Dye the Cake Layers

Supplies:

  • 4 small bowls
  • 4 small spatulas or spoons
  • purple (or any color) gel color
  • toothpicks
  1. Take about 1/2 cup of batter and put it into a small bowl.
  2. Dye the cup of batter by scooping some gel color out of the pot and mixing it in very well.  You want this to be dark, a little darker shade than you want your darkest layer.  Adjust by adding more batter or more color.
  3. Divide the rest of the batter evenly into three small bowls.
  4. Take your dyed batter and add one spoonful to the first bowl, 3 spoonfuls to the second bowl and 5 spoonfuls to the third bowl.  Divide any remaining colored batter among the bowls to achieve shades that are very distinct.  Fold gently until the color is evenly distributed.  Be careful to not overmix.
  5. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans and bake as above.

*If you’re analyzing these instructions you’ll realize that after adding the colored batter your bowls of batter won’t be divided equally anymore.  You’ll have more batter in the darkest layer.  So just go with it and accept that they won’t be exactly the same OR you can divide the batter a little unevenly to begin with and then even it out with the colored batter.  That method would involve too much brain power for me.  The reason I did not add the color directly to the batter is that you have to do more mixing to get a solid and even color, and overmixed cake batter can lead to a heavier cake texture.  This less precise method led to better overall color in my cakes and the cake was still light.

Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 8 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons clear vanilla
  • pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Beat the butter until creamy.
  2. Beat in 4 cups of the powdered sugar, the milk, salt and vanilla until very smooth and creamy.
  3. Add the remaining sugar, one cup at a time, beating well, until it reaches the desired consistency.

Baby Shower: Strawberry Cupcakes, Lemon Coconut Cupcakes and Flower Sugar Cookies

This past weekend I got to help host a baby shower for a good friend.  Everything turned out wonderfully.  I think the mommy-to-be felt showered with love and lots of pink and ruffles!

One of the ladies suggested a onesie making table.  I ordered some adorable iron-on appliques and bought onesies in various sizes.  When people were done they could pin them up on a clothesline.  Here is the Etsy shop I ordered them from, NanaBleu.

The space we used for the shower didn’t need much decoration, but I made these Martha Stewart tissue paper pom poms.  We hung a few and scattered the rest around the room.  Here is the link to the craft.  The instructions say to use 8 sheets of tissue, but I discovered that 10 made for a much fuller pom pom.  Use different widths of paper to create different sized pom poms.  Now that I know how to make them, I think I am going to use some in baby girls nursery!

For dessert I made strawberry cupcakes using the Sprinkles cupcake recipe that I also used to make this strawberry cake.  One batch of batter and frosting is the perfect amount for a dozen cupcakes.  If you’re not a generous froster, you will have some frosting left over.

These lemon coconut cupcakes were a bigger hit than I expected them to be.  I breathed a sigh of relief when someone said she loved them since it was the first time I’d tried the recipe.  I tinkered with the recipe a bit, which isn’t always a smart move the first time you make something.  Thankfully it was a good decision and they were delicious.

These flower cookies were party favors and turned out well.  I used a new sugar cookie recipe.  Big mistake.  The dough softened too much during the rolling and cutting which made getting them from board to cookie sheet a very frustrating task.  I think I might have muttered some not so nice language under my breath more than once.  On the bright side, the cookies tasted better than my usual sugar cookie.  I’m just not sure if the frustration is worth it.

Lemon Coconut Cupcakes

Adapted very little from Taste of Home

Makes 15 cupcakes

Ingredients

Lemon Coconut Cupcakes

  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs, room temp
  • 3 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sour cream, room temp
  • 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 1/2 to 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

Directions

Cupcakes

  1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon peel and vanilla.
  2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Beat just until combined. Fold in coconut.
  3. Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
  2. Beat in grated lemon peel, vanilla and lemon juice until combined.
  3. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until smooth; stir in 1/4 cup coconut if desired.
  4. Frost cooled cupcakes; sprinkle with remaining coconut.

Sailboat Cookies and Life Preserver Cupcakes

My sister Lindsey came down to Houston to help throw a baby shower for a friend of hers, and she asked me to make cookie favors.  I made these sailboat cookies to go along with the sailboat (but not all out nautical) theme.

Here are the invites, made by my sister Lisa.

And here are the finished cookies in their cellophane bags complete with Merci! tags, also by Lisa.

I had to share these cute and kitschy cupcakes.  These were kind of a pain to make.  The life preservers are mini donuts, cored (very carefully) with an apple corer, covered in white candy coating to make for a smooth surface and then piped with red icing.  We put a blob of frosting in the middle of the cupcake, placed the donut on top, and then frosted using a star tip around the donut.

And a start-to-finish on the cookies, Day 1 to Day 3.

If I could make a living doing this, I would.