Cordelia's Kitchen

Cordelia Elizabeth Carter, circa 1982

I credit my love of baking to the many summers I spent with Gramma Carter. Any one who ever met my grandmother would know a few things about her:

• she had a tongue that could cut like a knife;
• she loved music more than air; and
• she baked biscuits just about every Sunday

I can remember machine-gunning her with questions about the 'olden days' when she was a kid, as she whipped up her tasty biscuits.  My questions never seemed a distraction and she would never stop moving as the mixed and kneaded and rolled.  Besides getting to hear about her own 'Little House on the Prarie' experiences, I was always the first one to get to taste her treats when they emerged from the oven.  I don't ever think she once told me that I could get salmanella from licking the spoon.

Baking biscuits, like playing the piano, was second nature to her. And like many women of her era, and most children of my age, recipes and measurements never seemed important.  Maybe that is why I never tried to make biscuits on my own.  But having tasted hers,  one thing I have always known is that poppin' fresh--no matter how cool--could never compare.

So with winter finally setting in, my thoughts turn to comfort food and the delicious butter biscuits Gramma Carter used to make.

Classic Baking Powder Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (1/3 oz) fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen butter, or a combination of shortening and butter, crumbled
½ cup (120 ml) cold milk (add as needed)
1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones Directions:
1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F

2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)

3. Rub the frozen grated/crumbled butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.

4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)

6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) biscuit or deep cookie cutter, stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.

7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.

8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.

9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

When the Monkey Takes Over

I've often written about inheriting my love for baking from my Grandmother, Cordelia. I inherited a passion just as strong--some would argue stronger-- from my Grandfather, Reginald. To call it a passion is putting it mildly. If I'm honest, I will say its an obsession, or addiction. Its the monkey on my back that I can't (and don't want to) escape. What is it you ask? Chocolate!

I always knew that Chocolate was a weakness in my family. My theory was later confirmed when my then 2 y.o. niece woke my parents in the middle of the night to declare "Gramma! I NEED a piece of chocolate!"  Not everyone's additiction was as strong as mine; but when we gathered for holidays, someone was bound to share a story about the lengths they had gone to recently to get a fix. 'Bubs,' as my grandfather was affectionately known, never really commented other than to admonish us not to indulge too much, or act too foolishly. But Bubs and I shared a secret, he was as big a fool for chocolate as the rest of the clan.

I came to know his secret when I was about 8. As usual I was visiting for the summer. I was asleep when I heard a clatter from the kitchen below my room. It wasn't unusual for my grandmother to be up early in the morning to start her bread, and ever the eager helper, I crept down the stairs to see what goodness she was whipping up. Imagine my surprise, when I saw my grandfather dusted in flour, searching through the cabinets.

Now, I had never, ever seen my grandfather in the kitchen unless it was to make food for his beloved beagles. But here he was, in the midst of a frenzy trying to bake. When he saw me in the doorway with my mouth agape, he didnt send me back to bed. Instead he seemed relieved and asked where my grandma kept the cocoa powder. I found the cocoa and he invited me to stay and help him make brownies.

Imagine that! A grown man, making brownies in the middle of the night?! I think that was the first time I heard him say "Life is uncertain. Always eat dessert first."

Neither of us really knew what we were doing that night, but we mixed the butter and sugar and flour and cocoa together and put it in a pan and stuck it in the oven. As usual, I got to lick the spoon and we waited for what seemed like hours, but was probably only 15 minutes. Finally, Bubs had had enough waiting and declared that it was taking just too long and he needed some chocolate right away. He took the pan out of the oven and we looked at it. On the outside it had crusted over, but inside it was a warm gelatinous goo. He handed me a spoon and together we dug in.

Hmmmnn!!! Delicious molten chocolate! I think Bubs invented the chocolate vulcano cake that night. We finished it off together and then he swore me to secrecy. Not that my grandmother couldn't figure it out when she woke up the next morning to find chocolate all over the kitchen. "Regge!" she yelled, (no one ever pronounced the "i" in Reggie) "you keep that chocolate monkey out of my kitchen!"

More and more doctors are extolling the virtues of chocolate. Is there any wonder why we all need a little chocolate every once in a while? Our recipe for TRIPLE CHOCOLATE QUICK BREAD is perfect for just such an occasion. The recipe takes about an hour and makes enough to satisfy 20 Chocolate Monkeys.

Triple Chocolate Quick Bread

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Ganache Glaze:
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter
2 to 3 tablespoons half-and-half cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt




Directions:
1.  In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips; set aside to cool.
2.  In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between.  Then add cooled chocolate; mix well.
3.  Add applesauce and vanilla; set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips.  The dough will be thick but fluffy.
4.  Spoon into four greased 5-3/4-in. x 3-in. x 2-in. loaf pans. **Tip: for easy release, line bottoms of loaf pan with parchment.
5.  Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. **Tip: After 40 minutes, I turned the oven off, and left the loafs in for an additional 5 minutes to allow the center to fully cook, without drying out the loaf.

6.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks.  While pan is still warm to the touch, loosen sides of bread with knife, place wire rack on top of pans and invert so that pans are upside down on cooling rack.  Loafs should easily slide out of pan. Turn loafs over and allow to cool while you make the ganache.

7.  For glaze, melt chocolate chips and butter in a small heavy saucepan; stir in cream. Remove from the heat; stir in confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt. Drizzle over warm breads.
8.  Cool completely. Yield: 4 mini-loaves.

Nutritional Facts:
1 serving (1 slice) equals 243 calories, 11 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 36 mg cholesterol, 273 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein.

Bubble Bubble, Toil and Trouble

I love bread! A wedge of hot, crusty, fresh from the oven treat with just a bit of butter, can be better than the meal it accompanies. Yes, I love bread, as long as someone else is baking it.  As a kid,  I watched my grandmother bake bread all the time, however, it has remained a challenge for me.  So much so, that when my cousin the baker told me that bread is the primary profit center in a bakery, it made me rethink my plans to open a neighborhood bakery.  So when my online baking community challenged me make my own French Country Sour Dough Bread from scratch?! you can only imagine my response.

'Ugh!!!' I complained for about two weeks.  I thought about skipping the challenge. But since you are only allow to miss 3 in a year, and my busy season was about to begin, I decided to put on my game face, lace up my apron and stare down my nemesis.

Step one of the Challenge, was to create your own leavening, called a "Starter."  In Sour Dough, you don't use packaged yeast, but instead you grow your own yeast in a brew of flour, water and maybe a little honey.  Some sourdough Starters are decades if not hundreds of years old.  The older the Starter, the stronger the yeasty-sour taste your bread will take on.  If you've tried the bread at the Wharf in San Francisco, then you know what century old Starter tastes like.

"Bubble Bubble", "Toil" and "Trouble" are the names I have affectionately given to my Starter creations. Yes, I have now thrice started my Starter: the first, I'll name him "Toil", was with King Arthur's Whole Wheat Bread Flour--after 4 whole days of tending, it spawned not one bubble. My second attempt,"Trouble" was made with with Red Mills' Whole Grain Bread Flour--it grew for a day or so and then died.  After reading many online baking blogs, I made my last attempt. "Bubble Bubble" was made with Pillsbury's Unbleached, Wheat Bread Flour, seemed to work, because for the first time, it was bubbling, although barely. 

An important thing to note is that once you create your Starter, you can use it for a myriad of baking recipes from pancakes to biscuits to cakes.  You can use pretty much any bread flour, but if you plan to starte a Starter tradition and keep it for 100 years, you may want to just use white flour as it is the most versatile.

I followed the recipe below, which I warn you takes about a week. It actually took me about two-weeks it get the starter right. The end result, was not exactly the tall round loaf I was expecting, but more like a dense, but delicious panini bread that made a great sandwich and was  also delicious dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Best of all though, I overcame my fear of bread!  I believe that greater things than this you will achieve.

Happy Baking!

A few tips before you begin:

• This recipe takes approximately 1 week to make.  If you begin on Monday, you'll be ready to bake on Saturday. 
• The recipe below, from the Daring Baker Challenge uses very precise measurements which I found to be confusing.  Many experience bakers will simply say, use equal weights of flour and water. 
• Make sure your water is warm but not hot, 95-100*F.  Too hot and you will kill yeast, too cold and you'll slow the fermentation process.
• Keep your starter in a warm draft free place.  A gas oven, or electric oven with the light on, is an ideal place for growing your leavening.

Step One: Growing Your Starter

Day 1:

Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 1⁄2 oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
Total volume: about 1⁄2 cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm)

Directions:
1. In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste.
2. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than
expected!
3. Set somewhere warm (around 86 F if possible). I  put mine in my gas oven, the pilot is enough to keep it consistently warm.

Day 2:

Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 1⁄2 oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
1/2 cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm) starter from Day 1
Total volume: about 1 cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.

Day 3:

Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 1⁄2 oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour 4 teaspoons (20 ml) water
1 cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm) starter from Day 2
Total volume: about 1-1⁄3 cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8-1/10 oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place.

Day 4:
Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 11⁄2 tablespoons (205 ml) (120 gm/4 1⁄4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup less 4 teaspoons (100 ml) water
1-1⁄3 cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8 oz) starter from Day 3
Total volume: about 2-2⁄3 cup (625 ml) (440 gm/151⁄2 oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

 

Step Two: French Country Bread

Stage 1: Refreshing the leaven

Ingredients
1 cup less 1 tablespoon (225 ml) (160 gm/5 2⁄3 oz) wheat Leaven Starter
6 tablespoons less 1 teaspoon (85 ml) (50 gm/13⁄4 oz) stoneground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) (150 gm/5 1⁄3 oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
Production Leaven Total volume: 2-3⁄4 cups plus 4 teaspoons (680 ml) (480 gm /1 lb 1 oz)

Directions:
1. Mix everything into a sloppy dough. It may be fairly stiff at this stage. Cover and set aside for 4 hours, until bubbling and expanded slightly.


Stage 2: Making the final dough

Ingredients:
3/4 cup less 1 teaspoon (175 ml) (100 gm/3 1⁄2 oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (510 ml) (300gm/10 1⁄2 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
11⁄4 teaspoons (71⁄2 ml) (7 gm/1⁄4 oz) sea salt or 2⁄3 teaspoon (31⁄3 ml) (3 gm/1⁄8 oz) table salt
1 1⁄4 cups (300 ml) water
1 3⁄4 cups (425 ml) (300 gm/10 1⁄2 oz) production leaven – this should leave some (1 cup) for your next loaf.
Total volume: about 6 cups less 2 tablespoons 1415 ml (1007 gm/35 1⁄2 oz/2 lb 31⁄2 oz)

Directions:

1.  Mix the dough with all the ingredients except the production leaven. It will be a soft dough. Knead on an UNFLOURED surface for about 8-10 minutes, getting the tips of your fingers wet if you need to. You can use dough scrapers to stretch and fold the dough at this stage, or air knead if you prefer. Basically, you want to stretch the dough and fold it over itself repeatedly until you have a smoother, more elastic dough. You can see a demonstration of this step here.

2. Smooth your dough into a circle, then scoop your production leaven into the centre. You want to fold the edges of the dough up to incorporate the leaven, but this might be a messy process. Knead for a couple minutes until the leaven is fully incorporated in the dough. See demonstration of Step 3 here.

3. Spread some water on a clean bit of your work surface and lay the dough on top. Cover with an upturned bowl, lining the rim of the bowl with a bit of water. Leave for an hour, so that the gluten can develop and the yeasts can begin to aerate the dough.

4. Once your dough has rested, you can begin to stretch and fold it. Using wet hands and a dough scraper, stretch the dough away from you as far as you can without breaking it and fold it back in on itself. Repeat this in each direction, to the right, towards you, and to the left. This will help create a more ‘vertical’ dough, ready for proofing. See a demonstration here.

5. Heavily flour a banneton/proofing basket with whole wheat flour and rest your dough, seam side up, in the basket.

**Note: If you're like me, you've never heard of a banneton/proofing basket.  Good news! I looked it up for you.  Here you can use a large collander, line it with a dishcloth/tea-towel and heavily dust the dry towel with flour.**

6. Put the proofing basket in a large plastic bag, inflate it, and seal it. Set aside somewhere warm for 3-5 hours, or until dough has expanded a fair bit. It is ready to bake when the dough responds to a gently poke by slowly pressing back to shape.

 7. Preheat the oven to hot 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment, then carefully invert the dough onto the sheet. I like to put the baking sheet on top of the basket, then gently flip it over so as to disturb the dough as little as possible. Make 2-3 cuts on top of the loaf and bake for 10 minutes.

**Note: if your dough is really thin, you can bake in a deep pot or loaf pan.

8.  Reduce heat to 400°F and bake for another 30-40 minutes.

9.  Remove from oven. Cool on a cooling rack at least 10 minutes to allow moisture to evaporate.

Happy New Year!

What a Year we had in 2011?!  Am I wrong?

Forty-odd year Dictatorships gone in the blink of an eye.  Ordinary people protesting all over the world.  A global realization that all of our fates are tied together.  It seems like the proverbial sleeping giant is waking up.  What must be in store for us in 2012?

The year 2011 presented its own peaks and valleys for me personally.  The year started on in a valley when I unexpectedly parted ways with my demanding but well paying job. Just as suddenly the path turned upward and I found myself working on some of the most forward-thinking, fulfilling issues of my career- issues that would later arise on a national stage with the President's job proposal and Occupy Wall Street.  2011 was also the year that I rediscovered my passion for baking and found a sweet outlet for my creativity.  Although I had my share of both good and bad days, the lesson that I take from 2011 is that life ultimately balances out, and it is our challenge to find a way to maintain that balance.  So going into 2012, when life hands you lemons, make lemon meringue pie!

On to baking...

What's better on a Sunday morning than a warm bagel and a schmere?

As the New Year approached I found myself thinking of some of the more fun New Year's celebrations I've experienced.  Hands down, the best one ever was bringing in the new year with my BFF on the top of the Empire State Building, with people from around the world, watching the Times Square Ball drop from ABOVE.  The night ended like almost every good night out in The City, with a trip to the Upper Westside for the Best Bagels on the Planet!   What better way to honor NYE in NYC than with a fresh batch of Bagels.

Now there is an ongoing debate about Authentic NYC Bagels and why they are the best on the planet. Many people say its because of the NYC water (considered by the EPA to be the best quality in the Country), others say its the process (many bakeries use a "sponge" or "starter yeast" that can be decades old).  We're not going to enter that fray.  The Recipe below (courtesy of Emeril) is a quick, easy way to bake a batch of warm, fresh-from-the-oven, delicious goodness to share with your (hungover) family and friends on a cold winter morning.

Homemade Bagels

Prep Time: 10 min

Inactive Prep Time: 1 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min

Level: Advanced Beginner

Serves: 12 bagels

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm water, about 110 degrees F
• 2 (1/4-ounce) packets active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons coarse yellow cornmeal

Optional Toppings:

• 1/2 cup finely chopped onions (2 teaspoons each)
• 1/4 cup pressed garlic (1 teaspoon each)
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds (about 1/2 teaspoon each)
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (about 1/2 teaspoon each)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt (about 1/4 teaspoon each)

Directions:

Dissolve 3 tablespoons of the sugar in water in the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add yeast, stir and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add 4 cups of the flour and the salt, and mix until the mixture comes together in a sticky dough.

Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups additional flour 1/2 cup at a time to make a stiff dough, either stirring with the wooden spoon or working with your hands. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5 minutes, adding just as much flour as needed. (Dough should be heavier and stiffer than regular yeast bread dough.)

Grease a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover with wet tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled, about 1 hour. I find the gas oven is a perfect place, or an electric oven with the light turned on.

Remove from the bowl and punch down the dough. Divide into 12 equal pieces, about 2 to 3 ounces each, measuring about 4 inches across.

Form each piece of dough into a ball. Roll each ball into a 4 to 6-inch log. Join the ends and place fingers through the hole and roll the ends together. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Place on a lightly greased surface, cover with a clean cloth, and let rest until risen but not doubled in a draft-free spot, 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove rising Bagels first!  In a large, heavy pot, bring 12 cups of water and the remaining tablespoon of sugar to a boil.

Grease a baking sheet with the remaining teaspoon of oil. Sprinkle the cornmeal, and optional toppings on dishes.

In batches, add the bagels to the water and boil, turning, for 1-2 minutes on each side. The longer you boil the rounder and smoother your bagels will be.  I only boiled mine for about 30 seconds on each side, but I wished I'd done it longer.

Adding Sesame Seed Topping. Use untoasted seeds.

Remove each batch from water. Dip the bagel tops in desired toppings. Flip bagels onto the dish of corn meal to coat the bottom.

Place bagels bottom up on greased baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, turn over and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes so that moisture can evaporate, otherwise the bagel will be mushy inside.

Fresh baked Bagels!  Be sure to let them cool for 10-15 minutes to finish rising.

Sans Rival: Challenge Accepted

This month I join with thousand of other bakers from around the world to accept the Daring Baker Challenge, from thedaringkitchen.com.  The challenge this month was to make two traditional Philipino dessert served during the holiday season: Sans Rival (Without Rival) and Bibinka (a sweet rice cake). The goal is to challenge the bakers to demonstrate advanced techniques and get us working outside our comfort zone.  A secondary advantage was the addition of two Gluten-Free and delicious desserts to my repetoire.


Chocolate Cashew Sans Rival

Chocolate Cashew Sans Rival Cake

(Daring Bakers Challenge Recipe)

The traditional version of Sans Rival uses cashew nuts (unsalted) and vanilla flavored French Buttercream between the layers, but you can use any combination of flavors and nuts.

Ingredients

10 large egg whites, room temp
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa (optional and not traditional)
2 cups chopped, toasted cashews

Estimated Preparation time: 165 minutes

Directions

Note: You will need four layers which will mean that you might have to bake in two batches. If you bake in two batches, be sure to use fresh parchment paper and cooled pans for each batch.

1. Preheat oven to moderate 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3.

2. Prep cake pans with oil and flour. Line cake pan bottoms with parchment paper circles. Coat parchment lightly with oil to facilitate removal.

3. In a large bowl, beat egg whites on medium until foamy (2 mins.). Sprinkle with cream of tartar.

Folding in ground Cashews

4. Gradually add sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, continuing to beat now at high speed until stiff shiny peaks form. (about 7-10 mins.)

5. Fold in nuts, reserving enough to use for decoration.

6. Divide meringue into four equal parts. Spread in pans, evenly to edges. Remember, if you must bake in batches, use fresh parchment paper and cooled pans for each batch.

7. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Rotate pans in oven 1/2 way through to make more uniform layers.

8. Remove the meringue from the baking pans while still hot; allow to cool slightly. Peel off the parchment paper while it is still warm, it is difficult to remove sometimes when they have completely cooled.

9. When completely cool, trim edges so that all 4 meringue layers are uniformly shaped. Set aside.

Chocolate French Buttercream Recipe

(Daring Bakers Challenge Recipe)**

Ingredients
5 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted (or 1½ teaspoon of any flavor you like)

Directions
1. Put the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Beat at high speed until the yolks have doubled in volume and are a lemon yellow.

2. Put the sugar and water in a heavy pan and cook over medium heat, stirring the sides down only until all the sugar is dissolved and the syrup reaches 235°F/112°C (or thread stage). I have to admit, I had quite a bit of trouble with this step. Tip: stir the mixture only until sugar dissolves, then let boil until the mixture reaches the desire temperature.  If you don't have a candy thermometer, you will know you are at thread stage when drops of the syrup form threads when dropped into cool water.
3. With the mixer on high, very slowly pour the syrup down the sides of the bowl, until all has been added. Be careful as the very hot syrup could burn you if it splashes from the beaters.

4. Continue beating on high until the mixture is ROOM TEMPERATURE (about 15 mins). Still on high, beat in the soft, room temperature butter a tablespoon at a time. Add melted chocolate or other flavoring after you beat in the butter.

5. The buttercream will be thin and runny.  Refrigerate the buttercream for at least an hour, and whip it smooth just before you use it.

Assembly
1. Set bottom meringue on cake board with a dab of butter cream to hold it in place.

2. Spread a thin layer of buttercream and then place another meringue on top.

3. Repeat with a thin layer of buttercream, meringue, thin layer of buttercream, meringue, and

4. The next step calls for you to ice the sides and top of the cake. Because of the richness of the French Buttercream, I have forgone the sides and instead just did the layers and then the top of the cake.   Decorate with reserved nuts.

5. Refrigerate until ready to serve. It is easier to cut cold. You may freeze the cake, but defrost slowly so as not to change the texture.

** If serving to large numbers of guests, or you have issues with eggs, you may want to skip the French Buttercream and make a traditional buttercream instead.  You can find the recipe and instruction for traditional Buttercream Icing here.

Happy re-Animation Day

Warning of the approaching army of the undead

Is it me, or have Zombies pretty much taken over pop culture? They're in the movies, on television, on the game system, in the mall and even a little closer to home. It's all a bit new to me since the only zombie I'm used to seeing is the one in the bathroom mirror when I'm brushing teeth in the morning. So, I was a bit surprised when my tween asked me to make her a Zombie cake for her upcoming birthday.

I guess I should have seen it coming. A few weeks back she started experimenting with gory makeup and wanted to shop for toy weapons. Then we participated to a ZombieWalk and what an interesting experience that was; thousands of people decorated in corn syrup blood, and gelatin rotting flesh. I have to say people put a lot of thought into their characters. It was great to see entire families, grandparents right down to the unborn, all dressed a Zombies. I guess the family that preys together really does stay together.

Anyway, even with this experience and the dozens of pics, I just couldn't nail down how I was going to tackle this latest cake challenge. I plunged myself into research, starting with the Center for Disease Control's Zombie Apocolypse Preparedness website. The Internet is also filled with images of Zombie Cakes but none were quite what I was looking for. I had been looking for ideas for days when I came across one idea on Instructables.com by tchitwood.  Armed with one of the best a How-To's I've yet to come across, I set out on my Zombie-making adventure.

Completed Zombie Cake. See video below.

Red Velvet Zombie Cake
(est. time to completion: approx. 12 hours)

You can use a boxed Red Velvet cake mix for this cake, but you will have to alter the ingredients to make it a firmer consistency.  To me it just seemed easier to make the cake and icing from scratch.  Any firm cake recipe can be substituted for the Red Velvet, but I wanted the 'innards' to be especially gory.  The recipe I used was adapted from Paula Dean's.

Red Velvet Cake:
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoon salt
5 cup cake flour
1 lb (4 sticks) butter
4 ounces (1/2 container) No Taste Red gel food coloring
3 tablespoons cocoa
4 cups sugar
4   eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoon vinegar
2- 8" cake pans
2- 6" cake pans
Large bread knife
Small paring knife

Instructions (approx 1 hour):
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Oil and flour cake pans .Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy; add eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in food coloring and vanilla.  Sift together flour, cocoa and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk.  In a small bowl, combine soda and vinegar and add to butter mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tests done.  Remove from oven and set aside on wire racks to cool 5-10 minutes.  Loosen edges of cake and invert on wire rack.  Cake should easily slide out of pan.  When cakes have completely cooled, wrap in foil and place in refrigerator while you make fondant.

Cream Cheese Icing:
1-1/2 16-ounce boxes (about 6 cups)  of confectioner’s sugar
1 cup Vegetable Shortening
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
2-3 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
No Taste Red gel food coloring

I love, Love, LOVE cream cheese icing! Most recipe's call for using butter to make it, but I found out the hard way that butter and cream cheese and food coloring do not stay mixed for long.  For a stiffer icing that helped to keep the many layers together, I used a basic buttercream icing recipe and added cream cheese.  You may have to add a little more confectioner's sugar to get a stiffer consistency, but it will require less refrigeration and most importantly it tastes the same as the original recipe.

To make icing (approx 30 min): Cream shortening and milk in mixer.  Add vanilla and food coloring. Sift confectioner's sugar, gradually add 4 cups to shortening.  Cut-in softened cream cheese. Beat well until smooth.  Gradually add remaining sugar until you reach a smooth  but stiff consistency.

Marshmallow Rolled Fondant

(you will need 2 recipes,1 for skin and a second for the cake board)
1 bag mini-marshmallows
4-6 teaspoons water
7-8 cups  of confectioner’s sugar
2 Tablespoons pressed cocoa powder as coloring
Assorted Gel Food Coloring
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
Sheet pan or cookie sheet for rolling

I am not a fan of rolled fondant, but this marshmallow fondant tastes better and is easier to work with than regular rolled fondant.  I WILL NEVER USE STORE BOUGHT FONDANT AGAIN!!  A few tips for working with fondant:

• Use 2 bowls -one for the microwave and a second for mixing in the confectioner's sugar. 
• Lightly coat a spatula, your mixing bowl and your cookie sheet with vegetable shortening.  This will help to keep the fondant mix from sticking to these surfaces.

It will take approx 30 minutes to mix one batch of fondant.  To start, sift confectioner's sugar and set aside.  Add 3 teaspoons of water to marshmallows and microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Remove and stir with coated spatula. Return to microwave and repeat.  You will probably have to heat for a total of 2-2-1/2 minutes stopping to stir every 30 seconds to avoid scorching.  Now you have some decisions to make about the color of your zombie.

I find that adding the color to the marshmallow mix is less work than trying to mix color into the already prepared fondant.  If you want to make a flesh toned zombie, you can add the cocoa powder with the confectioner's sugar.  If you want to make another color, like green or grey, you can add gel food coloring to the warm marshmallows.  You can also just leave the fondant white and "paint" on your color after you've covered the cake. 

Kneading sugar into marshmallows
to make fondant

For flesh tone, transfer 1/2 of marshmallow mix to greased bowl, quickly mix in cocoa powder and 2 cups of confectioner's sugar.  Add the remaining melted marshmallows, and mix well, gradually add another 2 cups of sugar until mixture becomes doughy.  Scrape from bowl onto prepared sheet pan.  Cover clean hands with a coating of  shortening.  If the dough gets too dry and starts to crumble, add remaining water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time until the dough is moist and pliable.Knead in remaining powdered sugar, until fondant dough is smooth and a little dull, but not crumbly.

If you haven't already added your food coloring, you can do so now, while the fondant is still warm.  You will need approximately 4/5 of the recipe for the face and hands.  You can color the remaining fondant for eyebrows, brains or other features.

Ball Fondant and cover with a thin film of vegetable shortening.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in airtight container.  The recipe says that you should refrigerate the fondant overnite, but I found that it takes a long time to warm to room temperature, so you may want to keep it in a cool, but not cold place until you are ready to work with it.

Cake Assembly (approx 8-10 hours):

Unfortunately, due to a camera malfuntion, I did not get images of the cake being assembled, but you can check out the Instructables.com link above to see how tchitwood did it.  One note, do not torte your cake, it becomes really difficult to work with the more layers of icing you have.  For the assembly you will need:
12" cake board
6" cake board, trimmed to 5" (optional)
1/4" clean wooden dowel (optional)
Rolling Pin
Clear Piping Gel, or gum glue
Pastry brush
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon Confectioner's sugar
Fondant shaping tools
Toothpicks
Food safe paintbrushes
Sterile sea sponge (optional)
Gel Food coloring
Small plates to mix food colors
2-3 teaspoons of water
3 cups chocolate wafer, or graham cracker crumbs

Mix cornstarch and confectioner's sugar together and set aside.  Level cakes if necessary and let icing and fondant warm to room temperature.  Next stack the 8" cakes and the 6" cakes using an ample layer of icing in between. Although I didn't do this, I would encourage you to trim down a 6" cake round by an inch and using it to support the top layers. It will make slicing MUCH easier.  Lightly ice, aka crumb-coat, the two tiers and position 6" tier atop the 8" tier. 

Here you can see my 'Oops'

If you opted not to use a cake board for the top tier, insert the wooden dowel down through the center of the cake, all the way to the bottom.  Mark the dowel at the top of the cake and then remove.  Cut dowel 1/4" shorter than where it was marked and reinsert into cake.  Use remaining dowel to push cake dowel below surface.  This dowel will stabilize the cake and help to hold it together when you start to cut it.

Next, using a paring knife and taking off a little at a time, carve out the rough shape of the head that you want, focusing on indentations for the eyes, brow bone, nose bridge, mouth, and any deep wrinkles.  Don't worry if it's not perfect, as I learned, you can cover up any imperfections with fondant. Or, you can do as I did, and turn the cake around and start over on the other side.  My oops, turned into a cut away so that you could see a rotting brain.

Set stacked cake aside and retrieve fondant colored for cake board.  Lightly grease sheet pan and rolling pin with shortening.  Roll out fondant to a circle about 14" in diameter and about 1/8" thick.  If the fondant gets too sticky, dust lightly with the cornstarch mix.  Cover 12" cake board with a thin coating of piping gel or thinned icing.  Gently peel fondant off of rolling surface and position over cake board. Starting at the center and working outward, smooth fondant over cake board with dry hands.  Use piping gel, or icing on underside of cake board to secure fondant in place.  Set board aside to dry.  Once dry, position stacked cake off center on covered cake board (see image below).

Retrieve skin-toned fondant.  Roll fondant out into a large circle 1/8" thick.  Gently peel fondant from rolling surface being careful not to tear it.  Position fondant over the center of the cake sculpture, making note of where the prominent features are. 

Face takes shape

Gathering the extra skin

Drape fondant over top of cake, starting with the face, smooth fondant with hands.  You can use your thumbs to push fondant into eye sockets and mouth and pull the fondant to make deep skin folds.  To make the nose, just pull and drape fondant into your desired shape.

Continue to smooth fondant around face and head, mending any tears by dampening the fondant and pinching together.  As you bring folds of fondant together, use paring knife to trim away excess triangles of fondant and mend seams. Rub a thin coating of shortening on the scraps and return to airtight container.  You will use these later to create the fingers.

This is my Oops turned into a half-eaten brain

As I mentioned earlier, I made a bit of a mess on my first sculpting attempt.  I decided to incorporate my 'Oops' into the design by covering the chopped off portion with white fondant.  After rolling out the fondant into a 8" circle approximately 1/4" thick, I cut the fondant into thin strips.  I then collected the strips into a ball and rolled it out again.  The process left me with a 1/8" thick circle that was pocked with lines and holes where the individual strips had not quite mended. I cut off a piece that was large enough to cover the 'chunk' at the back of my cake.  Then I tore the edges away from the 'skin' and overlapped the 'brain' curling the edges so that they looked recently torn or flapping.  As you can see, it added extra gore to the already creepy cake.

Once the skin is in place, use some of the leftover fondant to fashion ears.  They don't have to be perfect. Remember this is someone who was attacked and very likely their ears will be torn off or injured.

For the eyes, roll out a 4 in strip of fleshtone fondant 1/8" thick.  Using paring knife, cut out 2 sections about 2" x 2".  With fondant ball tool thin edges of strips so that they are slightly curled.  This edge will become the eyelid.  Make folds on eyelid as desired.  To make eyeball, make a 1" ball out of white fondant and flatten slighly.  Using a little piping gel or gum glue, attach eyeballs to head. 

I went for orange eyes, but you could
go with a traditional cloudy look.

Once you have attached your eyeballs, position eyelids you made over the eyeballs.  Use piping gel or gum glue to attach the eyelids.  You can be creative here, I covered one eye and left the other open.  You could have two open eyes, or have one blackened socket, or have gouged eye hanging from the socket.  It is completely up to you and your imagination and now is the time to let your imagination run wild!

On a small plate, mix gel food coloring to make desired colors.  In general, bruises are an overlay of red, yellow and blue, but you can make any colors you want.  My daughter favors green zombies, so I mixed up some radioactive green colors to overlay.  You can thin colors with a drop of water. Using the sea sponge or brushes, dapple the colors over the head.  Use the same colors to make the dark circles under the eyes and brown in the deep folds of the skin.  Also, using a paintbrush, paint on the eyelashes. 

Using a toothpick or fondant tool, scratch in the eyebrows on the brow bone.  Use the same brown and a brush to concentrate color in the scratches.  For the brain area, I used red, burgundy, and yellow colors, using the brushes to concentrate the reds in the crevices and dabbing the yellow on the flat surfaces.  I also painted the deep crevices where the skin overlapped the brain in red, and then painted the edges of the skin in burgundy to look like dried blood.

Using leftover fondant made for the cake board, roll out a rope about 1/2" thick and 18" long.  Using piping gel or gum glue, attach rope to cake board, with the rope beginning on one side of the cake and ending on the other side.  This is to help hold the 'dirt' in place.  Set aside to dry.

Using the leftover skin, sculpt the fingers that are helping the Zombie to dig its way out of the grave.  To make the nail beds, I used a butterknife to imprint the "U" shape and then the edge to scrape tiny ridges on the nails and create fingerprints.  You can use a toothpick to add the knuckle creases and texture to the fingers.  Use your own hands as models to bend and position the fingers.  Attach fingers to cake board using gum glue or piping gel. Position the fingers over the rope and the edge of the cake board. 

Once fingers have dried in place, dab on color bruises.  Using a brush and brown food coloring, paint on dirt around cuticles and in knuckle folds.  Drag a dry brush with color across nail beds to highlight ridges and do the same with the fingertips, to make them look dirty and bring out the 'fingerprints.'

With a pastry brush to cover the cake board and the rope with piping gel.  Be sure to cover the 'knuckles' of the fingers, between the fingers and in the crevices under the cake.  You can also place some strategically on the cake in places where 'dirt' might collect.  Position cake board over a sheet pan and spread the chocolate wafer crumbs all over the cake board, again paying close attention to the areas mentioned above.

Your Zombie is now ready to be the Life of the Party.  I hope you enjoy as much as my daughter and her classmates did.

Life Uncertain

"Man plans and God changes it" advice once given to me by a wise old coworker.  She would say this not just as a caution to appreciate the moment, but remind me to go with the flow.  I'm reminded of her wisdom this week because I planned to make a belated birthday cake, but that was put on hold when I learned that my neighbor's mother unexpectedly passed away and I was asked to make a cake for the repasse.

The leaves are just starting to turn here but already the sugar maples are a fiery red and falling.  I had just come home from a walk in the woods when my neighbor stopped to give me the news.  When she asked if I would make a cake, I knew instantly that I had to find a way to incorporate those beautiful falling leaves that were still on my mind.

Les Feuilles Mortes

The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold
Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall.
---Johnny Mercer

My My's Three-Layer Cake

(from Patty Pinner's 'Sweets' Cookbook)

(to make the cake shown you will need 2 recipes, made 1 at a time. You can mix the second recipe while your first recipe bakes).  Also, you can see a video of the completed cake at the end of this blog.

1 c. unsalted butter
1 T. vegetable oil (optional)
2 c. granulated sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. milk
2 t. flavoring (I used lemon, but you could use vanilla, almond, or any other flavor)
3 baking pans (For this cake I used a 6 in. and 9 in Octogonals and a 9 in Round pans but this recipe will fill 3 8' rounds.)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Prepare cake pans.   I recommend using Wilton's Cake Release oil.  It leaves fewer crumbs than grease and flower and your cake easily slides out the pan. You can also use vegetable oil and lightly flour the surface, or Pam with flour.   Set pans aside.
3. Beat room temperature butter with mixer for about 1 minute.  Add sugar and mix until fluffy.
4. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well in between.
5. Add in baking powder, salt, and 1 c. of the flour and mix well.
6. Add 1/3 c. milk and blend well.  Alternate adding remaining milk and flour, ending with the flour.
7. Add in your choice of flavoring, mix for another 2 minutes and set aside.
8. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until they form peaks that hold their shape, like a meringue. Do not whip the egg whites until you are ready to bake the cakes. Allowing the meringue to sit too long will cause it to lose the air and will change the texture of your cake.
9. Fold the egg whites into the flour using a large spoon or spatula.  Fold just until there are no streaks. (It's important not to beat the mixture or stir it too much, or the egg whites will lose their lift.  This extra step of beating the egg whites adds lift to the cake, making them tall with a light texture.  I actually use this technique even when I'm using a box mix).
10. The cake batter will be smooth and thick, similar to pancake batter.  Fill the prepared pans no more than 1/2 full.
11. Bake 25-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  The smaller pan will require less baking time than the larger pan. 
12. While cakes are baking, prepare your second recipe.  Do not whip the egg whites. Set aside
13. Allow cakes to cool on wire racks for 5-10 minutes or until pan is warm to the touch.  Loosen around cake with knife and invert cake onto wire rack to resume cooling.
14. Clean and prepare pans for second recipe.
15. Whip egg whites until stiff; fold into prepared cake batter.
16. Fill pans and bake as before.

Basic "Buttercream" Icing

(you will need 2 recipes for this cake)

1 c. solid white vegetable shortening (You can also use Butter, but your cake will require refrigeration )
1 t. Lemon Extract, or flavoring of your choice
10 t. Water or milk
1 lb Confectioner's Sugar
Pinch of salt (optional)
Food Coloring of your choice (my cake used Wilton Golden Yellow and Copper Gel colors)

1. Beat room temperature shortening for about 1 minute. 
2. Add 8 teaspoons of water/milk and flavoring, mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
3. Add 1 c. Confectioner's sugar, mix well.  Alternate remaining powdered sugar with remaining water, mixing well in between.
4. Blend for 2-4 minutes after all ingredients have been added.  Texture should be  smooth and spreadable, like peanut butter. If icing is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of water and mix until you have reached desired texture.Divide icing in half.
5.   Add food coloring of your choice.  It is best to use a gel or powdered food coloring so that your icing does not get too watery, however, if you only have liquid, add liquid to reach your desired colors.  If icing gets too watery, add 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar until you get desired consistency.

Cake Assembly:

1. When all cakes have cooled (at least 2 hours, or overnight) brush away excess crumbs.
2. Trim cake board to fit top tier.  Board should be 1/2-inch smaller than cake.  Position 6 in cake on cake board. 
3. Spread a layer of icing  color of your choice approx 1/2-in. thick on top of cake on board.  Position second 6-in cake on top.  Set aside.
4. Position 9-in cake on 10-in or larger cake board.  Adding a dollup of icing on center of board will help keep cake in place.
5. Spread a 1/2-in. layer of coordinating icing color on top of cake on board.  Position  second 9 in. cake on top. Set aside.
6. Returning to top tier cake, Spread a very thin layer of icing on cake, starting with top and then going around sides. To avoid getting crumbs in your icing, be careful to wipe off your spatula before putting it back in the icing.  Set 6-in. cake aside.  Repeat this step on 9-in. tier.
7. Position 6-in tier on top of 9-in tier.  Wrap remaining 2 cakes in foil, place in a plastic bag and freeze for later use.

Cake Decorating:

For the Autumn cake, I made several dozen small leaves using rolled fondant and fondant cutters.  An easier way to achieve the same look is to use Wilton Sugar Sheets (http://www.wilton.com/pcd/sugarsheets_overview.cfm) and leaf-shaped paper punches from the craft store.  Sugar sheets come in a variety of colors, or you can buy white and paint with food coloring or food markers.  Regular paper, or clay punches, will work on Sugar Sheets, but they must be sterilized.

Fondant leaves:
3 oz. White Rolled Fondant
Food Coloring of choice
2 T. Vegetable Shortening
1 T. Corn starch
1 T. Confectioner's Sugar
Leftover icing
Baking sheet, or other smooth non-porous surface
Rolling Pin
Wax Paper, crumbled and then opened
Leaf fondant cutters, or small cookie cutters

1. Mix Corn starch and Confectioners Sugar in small bowl.  Set aside.
2. Spread a thin layer of Vegetable Shortening on baking sheet, rolling pin and on clean hands (be sure to put some on fingernails too).
3. Knead fondant until soft and pliable.  Divide fondant into 2 or 3 pieces. 
4. Add small amount of desired food coloring to fondant and knead to mix. ( I recommend that you start with your lightest color and work your way to your darkest color.  For example, if you want yellow leaves, start with yellow, then mix the red, then you can combine red and yellow fondant to make orange or mottled leaves.  You can then add burgundy to red for a deeper color.) Place each color in a separate ziplock sandwich bag.
5. Place one color on of fondant on greased baking sheet. Place a dusting of the Corn Starch mix on top and spread.  Roll out fondant until it is less than 1/8-in.  Use cutters to cut out 3-4 shapes, then put the fondant into a waiting ziploc bag.
6.  If you don't have fondant tools, you can use a toothpick to etch in the veins and clean up the edges of the leaf.  Gently lift leaf and place on crumbled wax paper.  The crumples in the wax paper will allow each leaf to dry in a different shape.  Let leaves for at least 1 hour, longer if your home is humid.
7. Repeat with rest of fondant.  You will need approx 3 dozen of different shapes and sizes. Once leaves have dried, divide in half, be sure to mix colors.
8. Using leftover icing, or fondant, add a border to the bottom of each tier of your cake. Basically you want to hide the place where the cakes meet and help cement them together. I used an alternative leaf pattern, but you could just use white or another color.  Alternately, you can make extra fondant leaves and attach them to your cake as a border.
9. Scattering leaves: There are 2 ways to do this, you can painstakingly determine where to attach each leaf (placing a small dot of icing on the back--be sure you use the same color icing as is on the cake so that no one will see the "glue"), or you can sprinkle 1/2 of the leaves over the cake to see where they would naturally fall, then very carefully "glue" each one in place using leftover icing.
10. For leaf-pile cake topper, build a circle of larger, or imperfect leaves on their edge.  You can stick them right into the icing.  Add remaining leaves to build up the pile.