Craft #10: Bake + Decorate a cake

I've mentioned my brother is getting married. Early last week my mom, Dominika and I were out to lunch talking wedding and they suggested I bake the wedding cake. Having never baked a 9" two-layer cake, let alone decorated one, I was excited to accept the challenge. {By the way, when my brother found out he was a little disappointed; he had was really looking forward to the fun (and boy is it ever!) of cake tastings. Good thing I don't like to see my little-bro upset.}

Eric and Dominika had invited us to dinner on Friday; the perfect opportunity for cake tasting #1. I asked what flavor they would like to try and my sister-in-law candidate suggested raspberry. I googled raspberry and almond layer cakes (Who doesn't like almond right?!) and started perusing. It took some time, but I finally landed on a recipe that worked for me [i.e. - didn't require 12 egg whites or 2 lbs of butter].

Classic White Layer Cake with Butter Frosting and Raspberry Almond Filling
{Source: Cook's Illustrated via this link}

Classic White Cake:
Nonstick cooking spray
2 1/4 cups cake flour (9 ounces), plus more for dusting the pans
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool

Butter Frosting:
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool
4 cups confectioners' sugar (1 pound)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whole milk
Pinch table salt

Raspberry-Almond Filling:
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds (2 1/2 ounces), toasted and chopped coarse
1/3 cup raspberry jam (seedless)

For the Cake: Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.

Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.

Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer. Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.

Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

For the Frosting: Beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed until sugar is moistened. Increase speed to medium-high (high if using handheld mixer); beat, stopping twice to scrape down bowl, until creamy and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Avoid over beating, or frosting will be too soft to pipe.

For the Filling: Before assembling cake, set aside 3/4 cup of the frosting for decoration. Spread small dab of frosting in center of cake plate to anchor cake, and set down one cake layer. Combine 1/2 cup of remaining frosting with almonds in small bowl and spread over first layer. Carefully spread jam on top, then cover with second cake layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of assembled cake. Pipe reserved frosting around perimeter of cake at the base and the top. Cut the cake into slices and serve.

{almond layer topped with seedless raspberry jam}{topped with second cake layer}{crumb coat + second frosting... should have thinned the icing some}{decorative piping on top of cake + raspberries}{the last piece of cake}

For my very first attempt, I was pretty impressed with myself. The cake itself? I liked it. I thought it was moist and flavorful. My mom and Rich, however, both thought it was a bit dry. So I'll try to remedy that next time. I would probably omit the almond layer next time; paired with the raspberry jam it tasted a too much like PB&J. {Oh! And I learned Dominka does not care for almond... so I would omit it for that reason too.} The flavor for their second tasting has already been selected: lemon + poppy seed. Yum!!

About dinner: My brother and Dominika are such wonderful hosts!! We were greeted with drinks and didn't mind (and if they did, they sure didn't let on) that I had invited our parents over for the cake tasting. Once a drink was empty the offered more of the same (+ other fun options like Polish Wodka or tea in addition to beer, wine or water)! Once our parents left they worked together in the kitchen putting the final touches on dinner. Eric chopped the veggies and dressed the salad while Dominika topped the pork with a sour cream sauce and plated the rice. Eric even added a sprinkle of his favorite Polish salt on top of each rice pilaf before we sat down together. In a word: YUM!! Dinner was spectacular! I am not a big fan of pork roasts, chops, etc... but I think I just don't know how to prepare them, because this was outstanding! Thanks you two for such a terrific dinner and lovely time; I can't wait for a repeat performance!

Craft #9: Canning

Yup... another food craft but again, something I've never done "on my own" before, so I'm counting it. [And when I say, "on my own," I really mean that my mom was there to show me the process.]

Each year my mom plants a bunch of tomato plants in her garden and each year she ends up with quite the bounty. Rich and I asked if we could get in on some of that action and my mom did not disappoint. For a large part of August and September we have had a large dish filled with tomatoes on our counter top [see craft #7 photo of finished loaf]. Rich and I couldn't eat them fast enough and didn't want to miss out on their amazing flavor, so I asked my mom if she would help teach me how to can.

My mom has been canning as long as I can remember. When I was super young I only remember her canning pickled beets. Then when I was in high school she started making her own salsa which lead to pickles, green beans and banana peppers. She doesn't can as much any more, but still probably ends up canning something once a year.

September's Cooking Light issue had a blurb about how to make the end-of-summer tomato goodness last into fall. Following their suggestions, we made a tomato sauce that we will be able to use as a base in soups, pair with pasta or eaten on it's own as a soup later this year.

Cooking Light: Blanch tomatoes for 30 seconds in boiling water; peel, seed and chop once cooled. Then simmer slowly with basil and sauteed onions and garlic for a sauce that can be bagged and frozen.

Our version of End-of-summer tomato sauce:
2 yellow onions, diced and sauteed
1.5 heads of garlic, minced (what I had on hand)
1.5 packed cups of basil, chiffonade (approximation, I didn't measure)
5 lbs. garden fresh tomatoes (another approximation)
salt + pepper, to taste

In a large stock pot, bring water to a boil. Place tomatoes in water, after 1-2 minutes remove tomatoes using a slotted spoon and place in an ice bath. Once cool, remove tomatoes from ice bath, peel, slice in half, gently squeeze out seeds and place in a large bowl. [repeat this process until all tomatoes have been peeled, sliced and squeezed]

Dice onion and saute over medium heat with 2 T. olive oil until softened. Mince garlic and add to onions, saute until garlic is softened. Add tomatoes allow mixture to warm, then add basil followed by salt and pepper to taste. Allow sauce to thicken over medium-low heat (if mixture begins to boil, reduce temperature), approximately 10-15 minutes. We tasted again at this point to make sure the sauce was fully seasoned and then started the canning process.

To can: start with sterilized jars. We let them run the jars and rings in the dishwasher first, not the lids. Once ready to start canning, bring a small sauce pot of water to boil and add lids. Ladle sauce into jars. [Be sure to keep the mouth free of sauce. If you get sauce on the mouth, just wipe with a wet rag.] Once jar is filled, use tongs to remove a lid from the boiling water. Place lid directly on top of jar. Using a rag, hold the lid in place while ring is screwed on. Place jars together and place a towel over them to retain warmth. In a few hours you should hear the jars *pop* indicating they have sealed.

In all we ended up with 7 quarts of sauce and... it was really, really easy!!! I wonder what else I can can! :)

{my mom squeezing the seeds out of the tomatoes}

{tomatoes, post-squeeze}

{sauce, pre-thickening}

{ladling sauce into jars And yes, I really am that red; I got sunburned at yesterday's Gopher game.}

{putting on the lid}

{My first canned good!}

{the loot - they all sealed!!}

Craft #8: Bean Bags

Remember Rich's craft from July? I was also involved in one aspect of the craft. And we were working on a deadline; it needed to be completed prior to the first Gopher Home Game at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday, September 12th. This craft involved something I haven't touched in years: a sewing machine and I was super excited!!

My mom has a sewing machine so we partnered together to make these bad boys. I started out slow, really, really slow... I think it took 2 hours to make the first 5 bags. The second set of 5 however took much less time -- maybe even less than 45 minutes. [Note: Rich is a perfectionist, so we naturally wanted to make sure the bags were perfect... in case he checked the measurements. :) We were very careful to make sure the bags were the appropriate dimensions. Now I'm not saying that was the reason it took me ages to sew these, that was due to my rusty sewing skills. I guess I'm just making sure, in case Rich reads this, that he knows we were very meticulous about creating a consistent product that met the outlined specifications.]

{cutting the fabric to make white and maroon bean bags}
{sewing the first bag}
{I was very focused}
{but finally finished the first one}

*My mom will want you to know the pile of stuff in the background is not clutter or garbage, but unwrapped Christmas gifts... so if you think you are getting a gift from my parents, don't look too hard or you'll know what you are getting.

{we ironed the bags before we filled them}

{each bag was filled with 16 oz. dried split peas; my mom sewed most of them shut}
{but I sewed the last bag closed}
{...just about done...}

{ta-da! finished products}
{in front of the picture of me and Goldy, circa 2003} {Our completed craft*}

*I want to point out that Rich made these cornhole/bean bag boards all by himself; he started with plywood and 2X3s, created the design, painted and assembled them. Aren't they gorgeous!?!

Craft #7: My Daily Bread

I know I said that I wasn't going to count making food as my craft of the month, but bread is different; I had never before in my life baked bread with yeast, sans bread maker. BTW - not sure if I've ever mentioned it... but I ♥ bread. Love it!!

Several months ago I heard about the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day written by Jeff Hertzberg, MD and Zoe Francois [both are Minnesotans!]. I've looked at the book several times on Amazon but haven't yet purchased it. The basis behind their process is mix together the ingredients, let the dough rise and then refrigerate the dough for up to 14 days - using dough as needed to bake bread. What a great way to introduce myself to bread baking no need to knead, rest/rise and repeat!

I got really excited about this possibility, so I googled the book and found a site where Jeff had provided the basic master dough recipe along with instructions. I had all four ingredients on hand and instantly mixed together the dough.

{ingredients: flour, kosher salt, yeast + water}
{the dough, immediately after mixing}
{the dough, after 90 minutes of rising}

{the dough, after 120 minutes of rising}

{bread, immediately after going in the oven}

{bread, almost done baking}

{finished product, cooling}
{check out that crumb!}

I baked my first loaf of bread!! I am not good with shaping the loaf, but my first attempt was identifiable as bread {a plus} and tasted really good {huge bonus}. I've made a few other loaves since this one and they have all turned out... minus the misshapen-ness.

In a few months I hope to tackle bread that requires kneading, resting, rising and shaping, but for now I'm pretty happy about this version. I am my own bread-maker - so cool!!

Meet Rich, the crafter

Since I was a craft-slacker in July {I still haven't done anything to change that status...}, Rich has stepped in to fulfill the crafter role in this household.

Based on the picture, I'm sure you will agree that his craft likely has a more "manly" edge than mine usually do.

{I'm not sure if his "craft" is a secret, so I purposely excluded any photos of the project}

Do you like the artwork in the background? They are seriously the only things we have hung so far at our house. Can you guess what room these are in???

Craft # 6 - Pull Piñata

Saturday was Krystle's Bachelorette party and it was *SUCH* a fun time!!

I had a wedding cake piñata I wanted to integrate into the festivities. I knew exactly what I wanted to use to fill it with, I just needed to figure out the execution.

Our plan was to break the piñata during her Shower, which was held in a hotel room. Since we are not aggressive movie/music stars, I couldn't really envision us breaking the piñata, blind-folded with a bat inside the hotel room so I needed to make the piñata indoor friendly.

That's when I found instructions to make a "Pull Piñata." The website is really detailed, so head there if you want a thorough explanation. Below is my brief instructions and then some pictures.

I cut a hole in the bottom of the piñata and then securely attached a ribbon to the trap door. I affixed the ribbon to a small piece of cardboard and thread it through, knotting it. I then stapled that extra cardboard piece to the trap door.
Next I combined the fun treats and prizes before putting them in the pinata. The goodies consisted of Ring Pops, candy watches, Hot Tamales, Barbie chocolate coins, Pop Rocks, little plastic toys (similar to what Perkins used to give out for free when I was a kid) and mini liquor bottles.

Once the piñata was filled, I taped a bunch of other ribbon pieces (to disguise the one leading to the trap door). I had left the ribbons SUPER long, so I could tie some additional prizes to them. I glued white tissue paper squares to the bottom of the cake (again, to hide the trap door).Before we headed out to dinner, I held the piñata up and had the ladies start pulling the ribbons off the piñata. The glued tissue paper came off in one big sheet almost right away, which was kind of distracting and lead people to think the piñata had opened up. But eventually someone got the trap door open. I ended up needing to help the treats fall out on to the floor; I should have cut a larger trap door.

All in all, I thought the piñata was a success!! The girls seemed to like the treats and booze and the ones with children at home graciously scooped up most of the plastic toys. I was pretty excited.

*Plus, I felt really awesome for having an alternative plan to "break" the piñata!! {The presence of a piñata raised a few of questions as the ladies entered the room...}

Craft # 5g: Chipotle Chocolate Ice Cream

This is the last of the May Ice Cream series. I wanted to make one more kind and I wanted it to be chocolate. Here is a little known fact about me: I am not a big chocolate ice cream, cake or brownie fan. Granted, I will eat them when they are in front of me, but I prefer vanilla. That being said, I really wanted to make chocolate variety.

I told Rich this and he again came up with a suggestion: Spicy Chocolate Ice Cream. {I kind of want to call it Hot Chocolate Ice Cream, but am not sold that should be the name}

Chocolate ice cream meant I needed to purchase my very first container of unsweetened cocoa powder, as this would be a key ingredient. Also, you should know I took zero photos during the cooking process and frankly I haven't had a scoop, just an ice cream sandwich.

Chipotle Ice Cream, 'Hot Chocolate Ice Cream'
(Source: Many. I didn't keep track and took bits and pieces to assemble my own version)

Ingredients:
1 ¾ c milk
1 ¾ c half and half
1 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. cocoa
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
4 egg yolks
1 t. cinnamon
1 pinch cloves
1/8 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. ground ancho chili powder
1/4 t. ground chipotle powder
1 t. vanilla extract

Combine milk, half and half, sugar, salt, cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate in sauce pan over heat.

In separate mixing bowl, beat eggs and spices (excluding vanilla).

Temper eggs with cocoa mixture. Pour mixture into reserved saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture coats back of spoon and registers 175°F on thermometer (do not let boil). Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and refrigerate, several hours or overnight.

Prepare ice cream according to ice cream maker instructions.

{ugly picture; delicious hot chocolate ice cream sandwich on gingersnap cookies}

{scrumptious}

*Have you noticed a theme with the last three ice creams? I wanted ice cream sandwiches, baby!! So I made two batches of cookies this weekend to pair with the ice creams. They are tasty!!!

Craft # 5f: Basil Ice Cream

Rich requested this one. He was inspired by a Basil/Sugar grinder we bought a while back; we have yet to use it, but are ready if you need Basil & Sugar added to something.

Basil Ice Cream

(Source: Gourmet Magazine)

Yield: Makes about 3 cups Active Time: 25 min Total Time: 3 1/2 hr

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk [I used skim]

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil [to me this was two packages of herbs from the store]

1/2 cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup well-chilled heavy cream [I used fat free half and half - and probably closer to 3/4 c]

Bring milk, basil, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring, then remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Transfer to a blender (reserve saucepan) and blend until basil is finely ground, about 1 minute. [I again had to do this in batches using the Magic Bullet; the second batch I blended less, because I wanted visible basil pieces in the ice cream]

Beat together yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 1 minute. [I did this by hand] Reheat milk mixture and then add milk to egg mixture in a stream, beating until combined well. Pour mixture into reserved saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture coats back of spoon and registers 175°F on thermometer (do not let boil). Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Refrigerate for several hours, or overnight, until well chilled.

Stir in cream and freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 2 hours.

I haven't taken any finished product photos yet... but I will likely sandwich this one between two cookies...

Craft # 5e: Mango Ginger Yogurt

For a while I've wanted to try Greek yogurt. I've heard a lot about it, but up until now had not used or tasted it. When this recipe called for it as an ingredient, I was pretty excited to have an excuse to buy some. I liked this recipe because it is pure ingredients and does not include a custard base. So in my mind that means no post-mixing refrigeration required.

Mango Ginger Frozen Yogurt
(Source: Sugar Laws)

Ingredients
1 large mango, peeled and pitted
1 tsp fresh grated ginger [I used 1/2 t. ground ginger]
3/4 cup sugar [I think I only used 1/2 c. sugar]
6 ounce carton vanilla yogurt
5 ounce container plain Greek yogurt [I used closer to 8 oz]
1 tbsp vodka
2 T. crystallized ginger

In a food processor {I only have the magic bullet, so I used that} puree the mango, ginger, vodka and sugar until combined. Add the vanilla yogurt and Greek yogurt and process until blended. {At this point the volume outgrew the Magic Bullet, so I had to mix smaller batches.}

Churn in an ice cream machine for about 40 minutes, when almost done add crystallized ginger to yogurt mixture. Freeze for 2 hours or to the consistency you prefer.

{Juicy Mango}
{Mango Ginger Yogurt Sandwich on White Chocolate, Coconut, Almond Cookies: Side View}

{Mango Ginger Yogurt Sandwich on White Chocolate, Coconut, Almond Cookies: Arial View}

Craft # 5d: Coffee Toffee Crunch

The third ice cream I brought for Mother's Day was coffee toffee crunch. In all honesty, this was Salted Caramel gone wrong.

There are a few things that I did incorrectly:
1. I ran out of white sugar while making this batch (I bought more to make the official salted caramel rendition posted yesterday) and used brown sugar instead.
2. I didn't want to use butter in the recipe, so I used Karo syrup. The syrup I had on hand is dark, not light.
3. I don't want to blame the blog, but... I was fumbling for my camera and in turn the caramel burned. (It was either that or I just didn't know what caramel looked like before it was burnt.)

From a recipe standpoint, I pretty much followed the salted caramel recipe. I started using only one cup of sugar (a combination of white and brown sugar) and Karo syrup (2T). Unfortunately I let it cook for too long and the caramel mixture burned. Hoping to salvage the ice cream, I continued the process of making the custard and added more brown sugar (at least another 1/2 c.), hoping to disguise the burnt flavor.

I didn't want to throw it out and Rich, ever the idea man, saved the day. He tasted the custard and said it reminded him of coffee, because of the bitter aftertaste. He suggested "Coffee Toffee Crunch" and I went with it.
So I mixed up the ice cream according to manufacturers directions and added a bunch of crumbled Heath bars to the mixture right at the end.

The end result was pretty good. In fact, if didn't know this was a total mistake, you probably wouldn't think anything of it. I'm not sure it can ever be replicated, but to be honest, the whole caramel-making process was more challenging than I had thought... so it might not be too difficult to burn another batch after all...

{The Mother's Day Trifecta}