Blog Posts

A treasure!

2/10/2015

This is just a short post, but I wanted to share a photo of this beautiful sterling silver angel food cake comb that Smitty gave me for our 30th wedding anniversary (in November 2014). Isn't it a wonderful gift? Most recently used on the Chocolate Cuddle Cake (see the post on Rose's Alpha Bakers, January 2, 2015).

Smitty found it at "The World's Longest Yard Sale," otherwise known as the "127 Sale," which is an enormous string of yard sales and flea markets set up along Highway 127 for 690 miles! We managed to see a little bit of the sale while visiting my father in law in Tennessee last summer. It was amazing!

Imagine this--as far as you can see down the road, on both sides--tables and tents and stands and even full sized flea markets peddling antiques, "man-tiques" books and junk, along with barbecue, kettle corn and Mennonite ladies selling fried pies and homemade bread. Picture a combination of church groups selling homemade preserves, dusty boxes from your dad's garage next to tables laden with your grandmother's fanciest stuff, and caravans of folks in RV's who make the trip every year from points across the country. It goes on for two weeks every summer. We just might have to go back this year, it was so much fun!

For more information on this extraordinary event, here's a link: http://www.127sale.com/

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Always busy in the kitchen!

2/1/2015

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I've been meaning to post photos and comments about my baking over the past two weeks but time has not allowed. Here's part of what's been keeping me busy:

Bread dough for "Basic" White Sandwich Bread from the Bread Bible. What Rose calls "basic," we call wonderful! This recipe makes two loaves. I increased the ingredients by 15% to accommodate my larger loaf pans.

Here is one of the loaves hot from the oven and glazed with butter. The extra loaf is carefully wrapped in foil and then in a plastic bag and frozen.

If you haven't discovered the baking books by Rose Levy Beranbaum, I hope you'll consider them! They are all treasures. Her recipes are foolproof!

I am baking through her newest release, the Baking Bible with an online community of bakers called Rose's Alpha Bakers. Over a two-year period, we will bake all the recipes in this extraordinary book!

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Back "on the air" after a week at the beach!

1/19/2015

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I spent last week at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, at Sewing at the Beach--an annual sewing school hosted by the Stranded Smockers and Stitchers chapter of Smocking Arts Guild of America. I love anything that involves a needle and thread!

A week of hand embroidery, along with a little bit of machine stitching and reconnecting with friends--great fun!

Did I bake, you may ask?

Of course! I took along a Lemon-Almond Cake from Rose's Heavenly Cakes and a batch of chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. What's a vacation without treats?

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My tasting team enjoys the second batch of kouigns amman

1/4/2015

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The tasting team--and dear friends--vying for the pastries! Parents Barbie (far left) and Lee (far right), Gillian, Rossie, Natalie, William, Camille, Bob (he's back there behind Lee!) and Kelly.

I learned to bake these fantastic pastries as the first assignment in the "Alpha Bakers" project. I'm part of an online group of bakers around the world who are baking through the newest cookbook by my favorite author, Rose Levy Beranbaum. It's so much fun, and the book, the Baking Bible, is a treasure!

Yesterday was rainy, a perfect day to devote six hours to making a batch of kouigns amman. The recipe, which originates in Brittany, is worth the price of the book! Pronounce it "ka-WEEN-ah-mahn," and then pronounce it delicious!

The recipe doubled perfectly. Next time, however, I will divide the dough in two "packages" for the rolling and turning steps. The larger, heavier piece of dough was difficult to handle.

This is the fifth hour. The dough has been "turned" three times. My hands are coated with sugar and I have folded in the corners of a square of dough. Ready for the ring on the pan, then the dough will rise before baking.

This recipe is surprisingly easy to make! Time consuming, definitely. Difficult, no. After the mixing, the dough is rolled out flat and then a softened square of butter is enclosed in the dough. The dough is "turned--" rolled and folded, and then chilled, three times. This is exactly the same process used to make puff pastry with one important difference--during the last turn, sugar is rolled into the dough. The result is poetry in pastry!

These are disposable rings made from folded lengths of foil stapled into circles. I only have eight pastry rings and since I made a double batch, I needed to improvise eight more. The pastries have risen at this point and are ready for the oven.

Close attention to timing is important in this recipe. It takes six hours start to finish. Unfortunately, that means that unless I am prepared to get up in the middle of the night, (NEVER going to happen!) these pastries can't be ready for breakfast.

The dough is shaped, tucked into pastry rings and then given a brief rise. Total baking time is about 18 minutes. My team of tasters was standing by!

I told my friends that the price of these delicacies was a few photos for my blog...and they consented before digging in. I think I could exact any price for these pastries, they are so delicious!

Lee and Kelly and I sampling the treats. Kelly asked me if I would make them for her birthday. Of course!!

Barbie smiles from the heart!

Bob samples the kouigns amman. So glad to see him and his beautiful wife Camille for the holidays, in town from Chicago!

William wants to come over and learn to make kouigns amman. He's a fine cook, and a lot of fun! The only thing a cook loves more than an appreciative eater is to pass on a great recipe!

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Denise's potted orchid cake!

12/29/2014

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My former Wilton student, Denise, made this gorgeous cake for her daughter's birthday this week! She made the orchids using sugar paste (aka gum paste) and baked the cake in the shape of a flower pot.

Denise will soon be joining me to teach Wilton Method cake decorating classes, and you can see why! She is a passionate decorator. Best of all, she has become my friend. Great job, Denise!

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Christmas cake!

12/24/2014

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My friend Diane gave me a Nordic Ware "Stump de Noel" cake pan. I used it to bake an adaptation of the Golden Grand Marnier Cake from The Cake Bible. I call this version my "Tipsy Orange-Almond Cake." I made two glazes to suggest "bark--" again from The Cake Bible, the Chocolate Cream Glaze, one batch with bittersweet chocolate and a small batch with milk chocolate. The "dirt" is brown sugar and shaved chocolate. Sugar paste (aka gum paste) leaves and cranberries add color.

How many years have I said, "I want to make some of those meringue mushrooms...." I finally got around to it! They are so cute! So much fun to make, just pipe the caps and stems separately, then attach them with a little bit of extra meringue. When they're dry, a sprinkle of cocoa powder gives them a realistic look. This is a recipe from Rose's Christmas Cookies by Rose Levy Beranbaum.

Two batches of Chocolate Cream glaze (yep--from The Cake Bible again). One batch made with bittersweet, one with milk chocolate to add different shades of "bark" to the tree! The "dirt" is brown sugar, but I did add chocolate shavings at the end. This was so much fun to make!

I sent one of my Tipsy Cakes to my brother Sam and his wife Abby in Louisiana for Christmas, and gave one to my friend Julie also. I love these cakes, they are delicious!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

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Two winners of my giveaway!

12/21/2014

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As promised, I am giving away a new favorite kitchen gadget. I had two "Crack 'Em" egg cracking thing-y's to give away, so I drew names from everyone who commented on my blog last week. The winners are both on the Rose's Alpha Bakers panel, baking through the new Baking Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. (See the tab above for more details!)

Vist Mendy at "Greenstein's Bakery" http://greensteinsbakery.blogspot.com/

Stop by and see Jill at "Fabulous Sweet Fillings." http://fabuloussweetfillings.blogspot.com/

I am so lucky to become acquainted with these new friends as we share this baking adventure! Thanks to everyone who commented!

www.crackemeggs.com

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Christmas cookies with Diane and Grace and pound cake for many friends and family

12/15/2014

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I was invited to decorate Christmas cookies with Diane, Grace and Michelle this week. Diane and Grace have taken my cake decorating classes and Michelle is Grace's mom. Diane describes her beautiful home as "one bedroom with a kitchen!" And what a kitchen it is! She had everything we needed to decorate cookies--sprinkles, colored sugars and icing. We ate pizza and drank spiced cider and had a great time!

Diane and Grace in front of one of Diane's special Christmas trees. This one is adorned with dozens of gorgeous, one-of-a-kind ornaments, many of them in the shape of shoes and handbags.

Grace and her mom Michelle working on cookies. I love it when my students become my friends!

Diane bakes often and she has this habit of showing me a plate of delectable-looking treats or cake and asking, "do you want to try it?" What a silly question!! You would think she would know by now that answer will always be an unqualified "OF COURSE!!"

I don't usually spend so much time decorating! These snowflakes were very time consuming.

Grace's grandma made molasses sugar cookies (background) and Diane baked scads of sugar cookies. This six-foot counter top was eventually covered with decorated cookies!

Michelle arranged my gingerbread teddies in a little wreath! Or are they Michelin (tire) men and and women?!

Isn't this cake stand adorable? I brought pound cake baked in little swirl bundt-let shapes.

I baked one of our family favorite Southern-style pound cakes and took several little cakelets to share with Diane and Grace and Michelle. The pound cake recipe is found here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Elvis-Presleys-Favorite-Pound-Cake-232642 It's a cold oven pound cake--the pan is placed in a cold oven, rather a preheated oven. Not sure why this is important, but it's a good recipe! I made a big batch of this pound cake and gave some to my daughter for her Christmas party, and shared more with other friends.

Thanks, Diane, for hosting such a fun evening in your beautiful home! I love my new bundt-style "Stump de Noel" cake pan! I will be sure to bake a cake and post a photo of it!

GIVEAWAY THIS WEEK!!

Rose’s fans probably remember that she posted about the Crack ‘Em, a little spoon rest with a built in ridge to make cracking eggs quick, clean and completely foolproof. I really like this little gadget, and thought it would be fun to share one with a fellow baking enthusiast! So, everyone who leaves me a comment anywhere on my blog until Saturday, December 20 will be entered to win a Crack ‘Em. Thanks for visiting and good luck!

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Carmelized hazelnuts, odd sized baking pans and a preview of the Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Tart

12/7/2014

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Among my many blessings are five wonderful friends, and over the past 20 years we have become sisters to one another. When we were raising our children, we gathered every year for dinner and a Christmas cookie exchange. Now that the children are grown, the cookies are optional, but the dinner is an annual event not to be missed.

For this year's dinner, I made Rose's Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Tart for dessert. I love hazelnuts, so this recipe in the new Baking Bible immediately caught my eye. However, I will save the details for the day that the Alpha Bakers bake this recipe together.

All went like clockwork baking the crust, making the truffle-like filling, glazing it with the chocolate ganache...until I made the optional carmelized hazelnuts. Matthew Boyer from the Beta Bakers suggested this lovely and delicious enhancement. Now I remember why I hate making candy!!

Blanched hazelnuts on toothpicks ready to be dipped in the bowl of magma-hot caramel and then stuck into the foam block to harden. Sounds like a straightforward process, right?

Until that step, all was calm, all was bright. Then I became as inept as a six-year-old in the kitchen. The sugar syrup continued to boil even after I poured it into a bowl and started dipping the nuts. I was afraid it was burning, so I put the glass bowl--not the saucepan--into a bowl of ice water and promptly cracked the bowl.

The now cracked bowl of solid caramel, the bowl of what had been ice water and my finished candied hazelnuts cooling on the block of foam. See all of those little drops of caramel on the counter top? Several of them landed on my fingers, leaving behind blisters.

Dipping the hazelnuts was pretty simple....until I went to poke the toothpicks into a block of foam. The sugar syrup dripped no matter how much I tapped and twirled. I emerged with a beautiful batch of carmelized nuts, a broken bowl, and three blistered and very painful fingers. However, the tart was delectable!!

Which brings me to the part about odd-sized baking pans. I love anything out of the ordinary, and have several unusual pans in my collection. I baked this tart in my new strip pan ( not exactly an exotic shape, but I have run into this problem before). I also have an extensive collection of dishes, glassware and serving pieces. I pulled out FIVE rectangular plates and not one of them would fit the tart! I ended up serving the tart from a cutting board.

But the tart was so wonderful, it wouldn't have mattered how it came to the table, especially to my dearest friends. Moral to the story---figure out the serving plate before you bake with an odd-sized pan!

Coming next week:
I will give away a new kitchen favorite, so stop by again!!

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My Pony Icing (and a thrill from Rose and Woody!)

11/29/2014

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2006: You probably remember the highlights: Pluto was demoted to a “dwarf planet.” Twitter was launched. Italy won the World Cup.

Our two teenagers were in high school and I was moonlighting as a baker at our favorite fancy Italian restaurant. I was strictly a home cook, but that was why I had been hired—to bring a homemade touch to the dessert menu.

Tosca Ristorante served fine cuisine at one of the most coveted locations in town. The large, historic tobacco warehouses had been converted into a complex of upscale apartments, retail and office spaces. Tosca boasted fantastic ambience, a gorgeous courtyard, authentic Italian specialties….and terrible desserts. They served awful, overbeaten yellow and chocolate cakes made from mixes frosted with super sweet powdered sugar icings. I promptly pulled out my flour encrusted, butter stained copy of the Cake Bible and started cranking out fresh butter cakes iced with Rose’s rich and luscious buttercreams. Dessert sales soared!

Imagine this baker’s dream--a huge kitchen always stocked with fresh ingredients, freedom to create weekly specials, and best of all—someone else to do the dishes!

Mascarpone cheese was always plentiful in the refrigerator. One afternoon on a whim, I made one of the Cake Bible buttercreams with mascarpone instead of butter. It was divine! My “pony (‘pone) icing was born! The chocolate version with a chocolate butter cake became Tosca’s signature Torta alla Nonna—Grandmother’s Cake. I posted the results of this revelation on Rose’s forum. The only comments were congratulations with rueful observations about the prohibitive cost of mascarpone cheese.

Fast forward to spring 2014. I pre-ordered the Baking Bible and wrote a little fan letter on Rose’s blog telling her how much I was looking forward to the new book. I mentioned that I had adapted her icing recipe with mascarpone. To my delight—she replied! Wow! Rose Levy Berenbaum answered me herself, asking about my icing!

What followed was a baker’s joy. Woody Wolston sent me a couple of emails asking questions and then--they actually tested my adaptation of Rose’s recipe! I gave Rose and Woody an idea?! Me?! And they really tested it?! Isn’t that the coolest thing?! For a little home baker in Durham, North Carolina, that was a wonderful gift!

My admiration of Rose’s work borders on hero worship since I purchased the Cake Bible in 1990. I have been chasing excellence in the oven ever since with Rose leading the way.

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