Threenager

So I've been a bit lax about posting. What can I say? Life is busy. So busy, in fact, that I blinked and my baby turned 3. THREE! He's sweet, sassy, curious, funny and full of attitude some days. We call him our "threenager."



One of my favorite parts of celebrating Eli's birthday is making him a special birthday cake. This year, I wanted to incorporate his favorite things (Thomas and train tracks) into it, and I just about died when I saw the perfect cake idea on Pinterest.

It came together really well, and it was surprisingly easy! I used Hershey's chocolate cake recipe for 4 9-inch cakes (1 batch makes 2 cakes), and my favorite buttercream recipe. I am really picky about my frosting because most buttercream recipes are too cloyingly sweet for me. This one uses a dose of salt and lemon juice, and I think it makes for a perfect frosting. I also don't like to fill my cake layers with frosting because I think it's too much. I prefer jam because it helps to balance out the sweet cake and frosting, and lends a nice bit of tartness.

The carving can be a bit of a challenge, but freezing the cakes made them easy to shape. I followed the advice on this website, which lays out all the numbers for you. I also fill my cake layers using this bit of advice I learned from my Wilton decorating classes. Instead of just slopping the jam/custard/etc in between the layers, pipe a barrier of icing around the cake and use it as a "wall" for your filling. This way, when you lay the top cake down, it won't squish out all the filling and make a mess. It also prevents the filling from leaking out the sides and ruining your final frosting coat. Works perfectly!

Eli's Train Cake -  Kit Kats for train tracks and M&Ms to help it look more finished. I'm really glad I used them because I ran out of frosting along the bottom edge of the cake!

The final product was really cool and incredibly delicious. Unfortunately, a few of his friends weren't able to make the party due to a snowstorm, so we have some leftover cake. I might have to go grab another slice...just to make sure it's still good. You know, for research's sake and all.

Cake Recipe found here

Buttercream Recipe
Adapted from Demolition Desserts, Elizabeth Falkner
Ingredients:

Makes about 2 cups (I tripled this for my cake. I think that doubled would be good for 1 9-inch layer cake)

4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted softened butter

2 1/2 c. or 10 oz. powdered sugar

1/2 t. kosher salt

1 T. plus 1 t. whole milk

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1 t. fresh lemon juice (I put 1/2 t.)

Instructions:

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and salt for about 30 seconds and then add half of the powdered sugar and the milk to the butter and beat again until combined. Scrape down the bowl.  

Add the rest of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, and the lemon juice and beat until combined.  Scrape down the bowl again.  Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy.

Set a small amount aside for piping the train tracks, if you so desire. Gel food coloring is the best choice here, as it won't alter the consistency of your buttercream.

Creating the Cake Shape
Once the cake is cooled, stick the layers in the freezer for at least a few hours (overnight is best, so they can be made a few days in advance).

For the number "3", take each layer of the cake and remove an 8cm circle from the middle. I made a paper circle template, put it on top of the cake, and cut around it. Remove about a 1/4 of one cake for the base of the three and about 1/3 of the remaining cake for the top. Position to make the number, trimming as required. It's best to put everything together on a cake board, as the final product is heavy. I cover my cake boards with foil because I like the way it looks.

Pipe your frosting in a wall around the bottom layer and fill with jam. Top with cake. Repeat for the other part of the 3. Using a light hand, go over the entire cake with frosting for your crumb coat. This doesn't have to be perfect; in fact, the point of this is to lock in the crumbs so it doesn't ruin your final layer of frosting. Just get everything thinly covered and pop it all in the fridge for at least an hour.



Note: the inside of the 3 was more difficult to frost than I expected. It's the inside of the cake, therefore it was crumbier and took more frosting to cover. I was glad I made a triple batch of buttercream.

Cover the cake with your final layer of buttercream and while it's still wet, stick on the Kit Kats for train tracks. If you're using M&M's, do those around the base now as well. Pipe the train rails carefully, and then set it all in the fridge to chill. I stored it there overnight because I didn't want to keep buttercream out that long.

The Cherpumple

I can't resist a baking challenge. That's why I loved my time in The Daring Bakers a few years ago. Now, I don't have time for TDB, but I still love to challenge myself in the kitchen on occasion. A few years ago, someone introduced me to this monstrosity of a cake, the Turducken of desserts - the Cherpumple. So named for its CHerry-PUMPkin-apPLE pies baked inside of various cakes, all layered together, it's a huge and obscene dessert. 

Of course, I had to bake it.

A few months ago, we got together with a group of friends for dinner, and I volunteered (as always) to make dessert. Alex teased me about having promised a Cherpumple on various occasions, so I figured this was as good a time as any! I did modify it a little bit, though, as there were only 6 of us at the dinner. I eliminated the pumpkin layer and just made a Cherple. It was MORE than enough! 

There is a lot of information online about baking a Cherpumple, but after doing my research, I decided that this post was the most well-written and informative. It also helped me understand that this was a 2-day undertaking (at least!) and I needed to make sure that there was enough time to do everything. 

I saved myself some stress by doing premade pies and box mix cake, which isn't my favorite, but is cheap and easy. I did make my own cream cheese icing, though. The canned stuff is just too icky. 

Overall, it was tasty...but very rich and a little too much. The flavor of the pie filling blended nicely with the cake, and it was fun to taste everything together. 

If you decide to make a Cherpumple for your next gathering, please take note: 

• This will easily feed at least 12+ people
• The finished product is HEAVY
• You'll need 2 days for baking and assembly
• Cream cheese icing works best. Anything else is too sweet
• Tiny slices are more than enough 

I recommend following VittleMonster's guide for easy instructions! Have fun :-)

Baked, cooled and crumb-coated

 Decorated, and ready for transport! 

Sliced!  

I just can't wait to be king!

If you've never had King Cake...welcome to the dark side. This yeasty sweet treat is the traditional cake of Mardi Gras, usually stuffed with a sweetened cream cheese or cinnamon raising filling. Alex asked me to make him one for Mardi Gras, and I planned on it....but then our oven died. 

I've had a love/hate relationship with this oven since we moved into the house in 2009. I love that it's gas and I love the delicious foods it helps me make. I hate that the temperature is screwed up and you have to set it for 20-25 degrees higher than what you want. I hate that it never gets fully cleaned, even after scrubbing. And I hate that the clock never works correctly. 

But, after we had some parts replaced, it was back in working order and I could make Alex his King Cake. It took about 4 hours, start to finish, including 1st and 2nd rise, but it's well worth the effort and the wait! It also is a total diet killer, so let's just say I didn't start my health kick until this was done. 

As written, this recipe makes 2 cakes. I halved it by using the adjustment tool on allrecipes. 

King Cake

adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions: 

 Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. 

When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. 

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. 

To Make Filling: Combine the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. 

Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10x16 inches or so). Spread the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. 

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with confectioners' sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

French Fridays with Dorie: Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

Lessons Learned From My First Recipe with My New Dorie Group:

1) Dorie still rocks...and so does this new cookbook

2) Brown butter makes everything taste amazing

3) It's possible to make a delicious apple cake at 8PM

4) When Dorie tells you to use a springform pan...use a springform pan

5) No matter how much you want a slice, let a cake fully cool before trying to remove it

6) Alex and his pregnant wife will eat it anyways, even when it looks terrible

7) One slice of Marie-Helene's Apple Cake is not enough

French Fridays with Dorie. Because there is NEVER enough Dorie in my life!

TWD: Cherry Pecan Upside-Downer

This was supposed to be a Cranberry Upside-Downer cake, but there wasn't a single bag of frozen cranberries to be found in all of Pikesville! Okay, okay, they didn't have them at the Giant and I was tired (lazy). But they did have frozen cherries, which sounded perfect for this cake.

This week's fall inspired recipe was chosen by Sabrina of Superfluous. She's got the easy-peasy recipe on her blog and I encourage you to try this one! Use cranberries, if you can find them, cherries, or even late summer peaches. The cinnamon cake makes a great foundation for any fruit, and it's simple enough that you can play around with different types. One word of caution though...if you're using a wet fruit (like canned pineapple, for example) this cake will not last very long! It can become mushy by the next day.

I really liked the flavor of this cake, and I think that I'll try it again for Thanksgiving, but with cranberries!

TWD: Swedish Visiting Cake

C'mon. I can not be the *only* TWD baker that made lots of Swedish chef noises while baking this cake. I know someone else did.

And yes, I've been a blog-slacker. I'm sorry. Passover just kicked my butt and I didn't really want to bake or cook anything for a while. Now, I'm slowly getting back into it. Nancy, of The Dog Eats the Crumbs, picked this cake and it's winner! So simple to make, yet elegant enough to use at anytime. I loved the lemon and almond flavor, and the crisp edges from the melted butter. Alex took the cake to work, otherwise it was too tempting to keep around the house.

I wonder if they actually make this in Sweden? I hope they do. It's delicious!

Pink Celery BIG Crumb Cake

Got your attention, didn't I? Pink celery indeed! It's actually rhubarb, which looks exactly like pink celery. I think that's why a lot of people avoid it in baking, because it looks like a vegetable. And really, who wants a cake or a pie filled with celery? I'd never had rhubarb in anything until a few years ago, but after that first tangy bite, I was hooked. If you've been afraid of rhubard, I'm here to tell you: It's okay! Embrace the pink celery! You'll thank me for it.

This cake popped up on a baking blag that I follow, and it linked me back to the New York Times recipe, originally posted in 2007. As soon as I saw the name, I knew I had to make it. Why? Well, because the crumbs on top of a coffee or crumb cake are my favorite part. Hands down, most favoritest part. I even like the odd little cylindrical-shaped crumbs on an Entenmann's crumb donut.

This cake; however, takes those all other crumbs and crushes them to um...crumbs. These are BIG CRUMBS. I'm talking about big, buttery, sweet clumps of sugary crumby goodness, people. The cake is moist and light, while the rhubarb is tangy and surprising. Put it all together and you have one helluva cake. Let's get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Adapted from the New York Times, 2007

FOR THE RHUBARB FILLING:
1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

FOR THE CRUMBS:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 3/4 cups cake flour

FOR THE CAKE:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

To make crumbs, in a large bowl, whisk together sugars, spices, salt and melted butter until smooth. Stir in flour with a spatula. It will look like a solid dough. Keep pressed into bowl and set aside.

To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even. During the baking process, it will smooth out and settle over the rhubarb.

Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Just look at these huge crumbs! So good. Someone, who shall remain nameless, may have stolen multiple crumbs off the top of the cake while it was cooling. I'll never tell, though.

Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake

No, I'm not kidding.

The existence of this cake has been a long-running joke in Alex's family. No one remembers the exact details (some people think it was a chocolate cookie instead), but the general memory is that his grandmother, Omi, once tried to recreate this recipe for a family gathering. Apparently the cake is a very popular dessert at Gertrudes in Baltimore; however, the version that Omi made was far from edible. Whenever someone tells the story of Omi's Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake, they shudder just a little bit, as if remembering the awful taste of sauerkraut and chocolate.

Then we lost Omi in early November, which just broke our hearts. Almost as if by fate, the Washington Post printed the cake recipe a few days later, and we knew it had to be a part of our Thanksgiving. Alex's cousin, Megan is a fabulously talented baker and she took on the task of baking the cake for everyone.

Of course, we all had to try some. And it's good...really good! The cake is rich, dense and moist, with a slight tang from the sauerkraut. It's chopped very finely, so you don't have big chunks of it in the cake, but you know it's there. If you like chocolate, and are a little bit adventerous in your eating, you have to make this cake.

Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake

adapted from Gertrudes in Baltimore, printed by The Washington Post

Ingredients:
10 2/3 TBS (1 stick plus 2 2/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 1/4 cups flour, plus more for the pans
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup water
2/3 cup homemade or store-bought sauerkraut, rinsed, drained and finely chopped

Instructions:

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Use a little butter to grease two 8-inch cake pans; then flour them, shaking out any excess flour. If desired, place 8-inch circles of parchment paper or wax paper in the bottom of each pan.

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer; beat on medium speed for 5 minutes, until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition, and the vanilla extract.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper.

Reduce the speed to low; add the flour mixture alternately with the water, beating until smooth.
Use a spatula to fold in the drained, chopped sauerkraut until well incorporated. Divide the thick batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans, leveling the surfaces.

Place both pans on the middle rack and bake for about 30 minutes or until the cakes spring back lightly when touched. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TWD a day late - All in One Holiday Bundt Cake

Sometimes it's hard for me to decide which fall flavor I want to use. Pumpkin? Maple? Cinnamon? Apple? Ginger? Cranberry? Ah, the choices!!! Lucky for me, this cake had them all! Dorie's All in One Holiday Bundt Cake is a great mix of all the fall flavors I love. It was also a great excuse to finally buy a bundt cake pan.

Everytime I hear the words "bundt cake", I laugh because of this scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding (skip ahead to 1:55 for cake scene...I promise, it's worth it!).

Bonkah? Bunnnkah? BunnnT?

Anyways, I realized I was late for my Dorie fix, so I whipped up this cake after I got home last night. Other reviewers had said that it tasted best the day after, giving the spices time to mix, so I made Alex take it to work with him today. I tried one small piece after it cooled and I really liked it! Not too sweet, just a good blend of pumpkin, apple, ginger, cinnamon and pecans. I will make this again, possibly for Thanksgiving, since it's a classic fall treat.

The recipe can be found here, on Britin's blog - The Nitty Britty.

How do you like THEM apples?

**No TWD for me this week. Just like with the Daring Bakers, it's just too hard to leave time open for recipe challenges during the High Holidays. The following recipes are from last week. But, I'm back and ready to bake now!**

So there we were, with over 4 lbs of lovely Macintosh and Honey Crisp apples, straight from a New England orchard. Alex immediately requested apple pie, but I was looking to get a little more creative. Besides, we had plenty of apples to spare in case one of my experiments didn't work!

The first order of business was homemade applesauce. This is so ridiculously easy that I don't think I'll ever buy applesauce again. Chop, boil, mash, eat. I think you can handle that! I looked over a few recipes online, but they all had the same basic components. I cut way back on the sugar, since these Honey Crisp apples were sweet enough, and I left it chunky by using the potato masher instead of our immersion blender. I doubled the recipe and froze half. I think I'll wait until Hannukah to serve it with some potato latkes!

Applesauce



Ingredients: (I doubled everything)
4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar (I only used a few tablespoons. I think 1/4 cup would be way too sweet)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Optional: other spices - nutmeg, cloves, allspice

Instructions:
In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

My other apple kitchen creation comes from one of my favorite blogs, Ezra Pound Cake. Rebecca is a talented writer and kitchen goddess and her photographs always make me drool. I've had an intense craving for chai ever since the leaves started to change, so I knew this recipe was The One as soon as I saw it. She got the recipe from the Oregon Chai website.


Chai Apple Coffee Cake


Ingredients:
Cake:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup chai tea latte concentrate (recommended: Oregon Chai™ Tea Latte, Original)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Streusel:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter

Apple Topping:
2 cups of apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chai tea latte concentrate
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch baking dish, 9-inch cake pan or a small bundt pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add butter and mix until crumbly, with your fingers or a pastry blender. In a separate bowl, mix together chai concentrate, egg and vanilla. Blend into flour mixture, spoon the mixture into the pan, and spread it with a spatula or knife.

For the streusel, place 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 3 tablespoons butter in a small bowl. Pinch together with your fingers until crumbly. Set aside.

To make the apple topping, sauté apples in 2 tablespoons butter for approximately 2 minutes in a small saucepan. Add chai concentrate, cover and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Spread the streusel on the batter. Spoon apples over the top, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons brown sugar.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Cool cake on wire rack for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Honey Cake and Apple Picking

Shana Tova Umetukah! A Happy and Sweet New Year!

Alex and I went up to Boston to celebrate Rosh Hashana with my family. Some of the traditional foods for the Jewish New Year include apples and honey, as well as other sweet and round foods. This symbolizes the cycle of life and the cycle of the year (round apples or challah) and sweetness for your upcoming year (honey/raisins.)

My mother tried a new recipe for honey cake, which I immediately fell in love with. She used a dark honey and the deep spicy flavor really came through. It's a dense and moist cake, perfect with tea or a glass of milk!

Honey Cake

Beyond Milk and Honey, Israeli Embassy Cookbook
Ingredients:

1.5 cups sifted flour
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 cup nuts
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
4 tsp oil
2 cups DARK honey
1/2 cup brewed coffee
Optional
1/2 tsp cinn
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger

Instructions:

Preheat to 325. Line 2 loaf pans with foil/parchment paper (or simply grease a bundt/tube pan), butter (or spray to keep it parve).

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

Beat the eggs, gradually adding sugar, until it's thick and light yellow in color. Beat in the oil, honey, and coffee. Stir in the dry ingredients and nuts.

Turn the batter into the pan, bake for 50 min, until browned and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool before removing from your pan.

The weather was so perfect that we decided to go apple picking on Sunday with my sister and my 2-year old nephew. It was so much fun! He loved picking the apples off the trees and putting them into the bags. He also loved taking big bites of an apple, putting it down, picking another one, and taking another bite.

Can you see that he's double-fisting two huge apples?

Alex and I flew home with a whole carry-on bag stuffed with freshly picked Macintosh and Honey Crisp apples. There is nothing that says "fall" more that a crisp Mac apple, eaten straight from the tree. So good.

I can't wait to bake something! Any suggestions?

The Daring Bakers: Dobos Torta

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

So, what is the Dobos Torta (or Torte)?

The Dobos Torta is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.

I made this cake last weekend, and it certainly was a challenge! I spent about 5 hours, start to finish, making sure that every component was right and I still ended up burning the caramel! Lesson learned: take it off the heat before it looks done! It will still come up to the perfect color on its own.

I halved the recipe and made 3 mini-Dobos. The sponge cake reminded me a little bit of Passover cake as it was slightly dry. I brushed one mini-Dobos with rum and another with espresso, which helped the cake moisture and added a great kick of flavor. The buttercream was really hard to work with in the August heat, although the flavor was nice and rich. Overall, the torta was delicious, but I don't think I'll make it again. It was a fun challenge and I only cursed a few times. Can't wait for next month's Daring Bakers challenge!

Ingredients:

Sponge cake layers
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
pinch of salt

Chocolate Buttercream
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) caster sugar
4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Caramel topping
1 cup (200g) caster sugar
12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)

Finishing touches
a 7” cardboard round
12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Instructions:

Sponge Cake:
NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.

1. Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).

2. Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)

3. Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)

4. In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.

5. Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Buttercream:
1. Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.

2. Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.

3. Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.

4. When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

Caramel Topping:
1. Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.

2. Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.

3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

Assembling the Dobos
Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.

Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.

Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.

Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavor

Final Wilton Cake

Is that "Pomp and Circumstance" I hear? That's right - I graduated! Last night was our final Wilton 1 class, where we learned the famed Wilton Rose. And let me tell you, that thing is HARD! Not impossible, but hard. After making multiple cabbages instead of roses, the instructor finally told me I was turning the nail in the wrong direction. ::facepalm::

Next week I'll start Course 2 and learn how to do lots of different flowers. Can't wait! This cake is another Chinese 5-Spice cake, but it's filled with Cinnamon Roll pudding. Should be good, right? I'm sure Alex's coworkers will enjoy the sugar rush.

They still look slightly cabbage-esque, but I'm learning. This 7-rose bunch took me about 35 minutes.

I really underestimated the creepiness...

So this week in Wilton 1 Cake Decorating was the infamous Clown Cake. Now, don't get me wrong...I don't really mind clowns. However, when I was told to purchase a bag of plastic smiling clown heads, well, that just struck me as really creepy. I had a bag of 6, but the only thing worse than a cake with one creepy smiling clown is a cake covered in 6 creepy smiling clowns.

My cake confession is that I'm using good ol' Betty Crocker for all these cakes. I just can't take the time to bake a whole cake from scratch every week. I did notice that my palate has changed, though. I found Betty's basic yellow cake to be kind of one-note, in terms of flavor. It's good, sweet, and moist...but only really has a basic taste. So this week, I experimented and dumped in a few tablespoons of Chinese Five Spice Powder. This is a mix of cinnamon, clove, ginger, anise, and fennel. Then I topped it with Wilton "Butter"cream, spiked with cinnamon and ginger. Overall, it was a pretty good spice cake, if I do say so myself.

I forgot to bring my camera to class, but you can see my new skills on the cake below. I like making flowers! I'm going to try making them on wax paper and freezing them for my final cake. This way, I can get them just right and then place them where I want on the cake.

I know the clown looks all cute and smiley, but he's really plotting evil frosting craziness. Trust me. If you listen closely, you can hear him cackle.

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SUPERCAKE!

I give you my very first attempt at cake decorating! I beg of you, dear reader, please forgive the crappy photos. I blame bad lighting and a shaky post-decorating-cramped hand.

I had Wilton Level 1 class 2 last night and it was a blast. We learned how to pipe stars, lines, some wavy borders and writing. I need to practice my writing more, but I really liked it. Of course, the writing was very easy when you're tracing a print, so we'll see how it goes free-handed. I didn't get to finish everything in class, so I rushed home to finish the cake before Alex got home. He loved it and I'm pretty dang proud of it. However, I did learn a few things:

1) Red icing SUCKS to make. It took me about 3 days to finally get the shade I wanted

2) Must. Wear. Glasses.

3) Red icing stains. Everything.

Here are some photos from class. If you've been thinking about taking the class, you totally should! I use my coupons for everything, so I don't pay full price on any of the supplies. My plan is to go through all 4 levels, all the way up to Gumpaste and Fondant...we'll see how that goes!

Writing Practice


Stars, lines and wavy borders

Supercake takes shape...


The woman across from me did this great palm tree. Isn't it cute?

PS - For anyone who is wondering, the Wilton "Buttercream" recipe contains no actual butter. It's totally parve, so you could technically serve it with a parve cake.

Dorie's Perfectly Patriotic Party Cake

So it's a few days late, but I did it! Dorie's Perfect Party Cake, all dressed up for the 4th of July. I was intimidated by this recipe when I first bought the Baking book, but after spending some time with TWD and learning lots of new techniques, I thought I could make this work. I followed the recipe exactly (with the exception of the coconut topping) knowing that if I was successful with my first attempt, I would play around with future editions of the Perfect Party Cake. And perfect it was! The cake was chosen by Carol from Mix Mix, Stir Stir. She's got a great blog and I love looking at her creative kitchen inventions!

My cake didn't rise exactly as promised, so instead of trying to level 4 miniscule layers, I just left the two original intact and went from there. Other bakers had trouble with their cake rising, too, so I was expecting it to happen. However, the buttercream (Swiss Meringue Buttercream, to be exact) scared me. I had tried to make SMBC before and it ended up as a gross, buttery, lumpy mess. I now know that I didn't beat it enough, and from now on, I need to use the stand-mixer instead of my hand mixer. This time, it came together beautifully - all white, fluffy and smooth. The SMBC is light and silky, with just a hint of tartness from the lemon juice. Some TWD'er thought it was too buttery, but I didn't think so. The only time I noticed the butter was the day after, when the cake had been sitting out all night. It really is best served the day it's made. All light and lemony, with raspberry filling and slightly tart buttercream. So good!

I will definitely make this cake again for special occasions. It's not as complicated as I first thought, but it does take some time to make it really nice. And pretty soon, my cake decorating skills will be up to the challenge! Tonight it my first night of my Wilton Cake Decorating Class!! I'm so excited, and so is Alex because he knows that July will be full of cake. Lucky guy.

TWD: Lemon Rosemary French Yogurt Cake

This delicious Dorie recipe was chosen by the lovely Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction. The French Yogurt Cake (with marmalade glaze) is a common staple in French households, according to Dorie. And after the first bite, I could see why! It's lemony, moist (I still hate that word), refreshing and sweet without being too heavy, and with a great texture. It's very similar to a pound cake but without a hint of butter. Dorie lists the Rivera version in her "playing around" section and I was drawn to the idea of trying fresh rosemary, Greek yogurt and olive oil in the cake.

I loved the way the rosemary complimented the lemon flavor with a slight background taste of herby-freshness. I think next time, and there will be a next time, I will use a stronger olive oil to get more of the fruity savoryness of good olive oil. The longer the cake sat, the stronger the lemon and rosemary flavors became; however, we both insisted on trying a few bites immediately after it came out of the oven. I whipped up a blackberry marmalade glaze and drizzled it over the hot cake. And then I snuck another little slice on my way up to bed. And another slice for breakfast. Oh, and another for dessert last night.

This cake, my friends, is not only ridiculously easy, but ridiculously delicious. Great pick this week!

TWD: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread

Alex has been asking for gingerbread for weeks now and I kept putting him off. I didn't really want to make gingerbread cookies after going through a whole holiday season of gingerbread, but then...I saw the TWD assignment: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread. It was a sign! I was destined to bake this!
And bake it I did.

This bread/cake is delicious. It's moist and spicy, studded with chunks of candied ginger and chocolate chips, and all covered in a rich chocolate glaze with just a hint of coffee. I had so much fun baking it because it made the whole apartment smell amazing. I knew that people were walking by our door, sniffing jealously.

According to Dorie herself, the recipe is enough for a 9x9 baking pan, but honestly - who owns one? I had an 8x8 so she said to just fill it 2/3 of the way and use the rest for mini-cakes. I had enough batter left over to eat a little...um...I mean to fill 2 ramekins. I would totally make this again. Great recipe choice, Heather!

I apologize for the cruddy picture. My camera battery was about to die, and since we had packed all the batteries, I rushed to get any picture I could. The cake really is very pretty!