Birthday Traditions

Birthday Traditions.....................

In my family we have a birthday tradition. When it is your birthday you get to pick out your favorite dinner ( homemade of course with the exception of pizza), the flavors of your cake, and the theme for your cake. My son Johnny ( 15 yrs old) picked Chinese food, chocolate cake with chocolate filling shaped like a guitar. My daughter Caitlyn( 14 yrs old) picked lasagna, chocolate cake with chocolate filling shaped like a gift. My nephew Mark wanted sausage manicotti with chocolate cake and chocolate filling, shaped like an over easy egg and waffles. With Tristan's birthday coming up I asked him," What kind of cake you want for your birthday?" He replied," Strawberry shortcake shaped like a hamburger or army tank." I tried to explain to him that you can't shape strawberry shortcakes like a hamburger or tank. He did not understand. I even replied back," Grandma could do it." So, this weeks cake was a Old fashioned berry cake from the Martha Stewart baking hand book. I only used strawberries. In hopes of getting Tristan to change his mind about the flavor of the cake he wants. And for those of you that think strawberry filling with white or yellow cake will do for his birthday cake, you are wrong. He wants the strawberries over flowing with whip cream, too. This weeks cake inspired by my son in hopes of changing his mind about his birthday cake. I made the cake last night. It was not a hard cake to make. It was very light and not too sweet. I did have some strawberries left over so, I dipped them in chocolate served them with a slice of cake.

For your Old Fashioned Berry Cake you will need:

unsalted butter, for pans 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup all purpose flour 1 vanilla bean ( optional)
1/4 cup cornstarch 3 pints small strawberries, hulled
6 large whole eggs, plus 4 large egg yolks 1 cup granulated sugar
room temperature 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 quart (4 cups) heavy cream


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans: set aside. Into a large bowl, sift together flour and cornstarch; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the whole eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat on high speed until thick and pale(it should hold a ribbon like trail on the surface when the whisk is raised), about 5 minutes; scrape down the sides of the bow as needed.

Add flour mixture to egg mixture. With mixer on low speed, beat until just combined. Add oil in a steady stream, mixing until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer. Using the whisk, fold mixture several times.

Divide batter between pans and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the cakes are springy to the touch and a cake tester inserted in he center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Immediately invert cakes onto a wire rack. Then re-invert the cakes, and let them cool completely, top side up.

In theo bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine cream, confetioners' sugar, and remaining teaspoon vanilla extract. Scrape in vanilla bean, if used. Starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high, ship until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, trim the tops of the cakes to make level. Slice each cake in half horizontally in two layers. Place on of the bottom layers on a serving plate. Spread a quarter of the whipped cram over the layer; arrange a quarter of the mixed berries on top. Repeat with remaining cake layers, cream, and berries; garnish top with mint leaves, if using. Serve immediately; slice with serrated knife.

I liked this cake because it was not a really sweet cake. As for the rest of the family they all loved it. Good luck to you if you try it out.

Beating the Heat with Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

It is officially summer and here in Monterey County we rarely see high temperatures, much less in the triple digits. It was about 106 degrees here and we don't have air conditioning in our house. With this said it was way too hot to turn the oven on.

My mission this weekend was to figure out a way to cook some cupcakes without heating up my house. While talking to my mother she had mentioned baking in my Nesco. So, I decided to give it a try. My cupcakes turned out great. The house stayed cool. My kids( The Judges) were happy to see cupcakes in the home again.

My cupcakes for this week are Lemon Meringue Cupcakes. The cake has a hint of lemon with Lemon filling and topped with a meringue frosting.

Here is what you need:

• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp of Lemon Zest
• 3 1/3 cups of Baking Mix ( see recipe on first blog)
  
• 3/4 cup of Milk

Preheat oven or Nesco at 350 F. Mix together for 2 minutes. Fill cupcake cups half ways. Bake for 18 min. If using a Nesco you will need to bake for 22 minutes.

For Lemon Filling:

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/4 cup Corn Starch
• 1 1/2 cups Cold Water
• 3 Egg Yolks, Slightly Beaten
• 1 Grated Lemon Peel
• 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp Butter or Margarine

Combine sugar and corn starch in saucepan. Add water stir until smooth. Stir in egg yolks. Stirring constantly, bring to boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat add lemon peel, juice and butter. Let cool down for about 15 min.

I add filling to my cupcakes using a disposable decorating bag with a number 12 tip. Assemble tip and bag and fill bag halfway with filling. Insert tip 1/4 way into the top of the cupcake and squeeze. Add as much as your cupcake will hold. I stop when I see my cupcake starting to crack on top. The top will be covered with frosting.

Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar Or 1 Tbsp White Corn Syrup
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 1/3 cups Water
• 2 egg Whites
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1 tsp Lemon Zest
• Yellow Gel Food Coloring

Place sugar, cream of tarter or corn syrup, salt and water in metal or glass bowl. Mix with hand mixer for 1 minute. Place on top of double boiler. Make sure water does not touch the bottom of your bowl. Whisk mixture until hot to touch about 2 minutes. Transfer to mixer with whisk attachment beat on medium-high until cool with soft peaks about 5 minutes. When done add in gel food coloring and lemon zest. Mix again for 1 minute. Frost your cupcakes and enjoy.

Good luck to anyone who tries this recipe.

Lisa

My first post.

Today I thought that I would start a blog. Here I am trying to figure out how to do it.

I tend to bake often, so I started this blog with the intention of sharing my baking or ideas of decorating. I took some cake decorating classes at the local Michael's store about 10 months ago. I fell in love with the idea of baking ( which I already loved) on top of that decorating something that tasted great.

Today I will be making cupcakes from a basic cake recipe from scratch. I am trying out a new recipe. I found this recipe on www.cooks.com. This is a great place to find recipes. First it must pass the thumbs up test of my judges. The judges for today will be my nephew ( Mark), my son ( Tristan) and my baby ( Ethan). Believe it or not the one judge to impress is my son Tristan. He looks for flavor and moisture while the others really don't care.


Here's the thing I love the way cakes or cupcakes taste when made from scratch. However, I don't like the big mess that comes with it. Not to mention it seems to take longer. With kids at home that means a lot of unwanted breaks in between baking, so this recipe is perfect because it is half way done. This is the one thing that caught my attention about this recipe. You can make the mix ahead of time and store it. When the time comes to use it you just take out 3 1/3 cups of the mix add the eggs, milk, and vanilla.

8 c. all-purpose flour
5 c. sugar
1/4 c. baking powder
1 tbsp. salt
2 c. shortening

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix in the shortening until it looks like crumbs. Place in airtight containers. Store in a dry cool place for up to six weeks.
Remember to only use 3 1/3 cups of the mix. This recipe yields 15 cupcakes or a two 9 inch layered cake.

For Yellow Cake you will need:
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 1/3 cups of mix

For Chocolate Cake you will need:
1 cup milk
1/3 cup cocoa
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/3 cups mix

For White Cake you will need:
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg whites
3 1/3 cups mix


Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook for about 18 min if making cupcakes. If making a cake cook for 25 min- 30 min.

Good news.........
This recipe has received a two thumbs up review. I liked it because it wasn't really sweet. It was perfect.

I remember when I was young( many moons ago) my mother used to make a Jello Poke Cake. So, I decided to try Jello Poke Cupcakes. I used the yellow cake recipe above. Then I decided to use Passion Fruit Jello ( that's what I had).

Jello Mix
1 Six oz. box of Jello
1 cup of boiling water
1/2 cup cold water

Boil 1 cup of water and add the Jello. When it is dissolved add 1/2 cup cold water. Poke holes in the cupcakes or cake. I used a dowel to do this you can also use a fork. Pour Jello in the holes. Put them in the refrigerator for about 3 hours to set and chill.

I used a simple Butter Cream frosting. I love this one because you don't have to do any cooking.

Butter Cream Frosting

1/2 cup butter
1/2 shortening
16 oz of powdered sugar ( 1 box of confectioner sugar or 2 cups)
3 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

Blend the butter, water, vanilla and shortening until creamy (about 3 minutes). Add half of the sugar, blend for about 3 minutes. Add the other half of the sugar, blend for another 5 minutes. Butter Cream will become fluffy after being blended for a while. This will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for six weeks.


Good luck to anyone who tries this recipe. I hope you like it.