Autumn Awakenings

Well, it's now without a doubt, autumn. Cool weather and hot lattes. Leaves are falling and scarves are back in swing. Starbucks now even has the red cups. Major clue. Like most, fall is my favorite time of year for a myriad of reasons. Most obvious would be the uncontrollable urge to stay cozied up at home and start baking fall favorites. I initiated this upcoming fall of 2010 a few days ago with the baking of my first lattice crust apple pie. My word. It was all kinds of right. Tart, green apples, buttery caramel sauce, and a generous helping of cinnamon is key. Presentation doesn't hurt either. Take a look.



I adapted the recipe from a very popular apple pie recipe online, Grandma Ople's Apple Pie. I added some vanilla and cinnamon to up the spice and aroma. Let me tell you...when it comes to many classics like apple pie, I do a ton of research because I'm worried that I'll end up wasting my ingredients (and time!) if I end up trying a recipe that is a total flop. This one, my friends is a winner. Save yourself some time and give this one a shot. I mean, just LOOK at the pie. It screams deliciously of warm, apple-y, goodness.

Apple Pie to try before you Die (adapted from Grandma Ople)

1 recipe for a 9-inch double pie crust
7 Granny Smith Apples, Peeled, cored and cut into thin slices
1 TB cinnamon
1/2 cup of butter
3 TB flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract ( I used vanilla paste)

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water and vanilla; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust.* Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

3. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.

I let the pie cool a bit to set. It makes it easier for cutting. Then you pile on some cold vanilla bean ice cream and enjoy...twice :)


* Simply Recipes has a great tutorial on making a lattice crust here.


Happy Fall!

Whisk Earrings

Whisk Earrings, Sterling Silver

Yay! My earrings are featured in Etsy::Gift Guides ! They are under the section for your "Home Chef". Go check out the other yummy offerings in this category too! Here are a few recent Etsy Items I've got my eye on:

Beautiful Earrings by Jillianiizdesign. Love the colors and the craftsmanship on these:

Super, Super cute Laptop cover by Brokeasy:

Fun with Buttons! A cute necklace by Homako:

Philly Cake Pops

The Phillies are playing in the World Series! I decided to show my support by making Red Velvet Cake Pops. The recipe and more detailed how to can be found here on Bakerella's Blog. I totally heart her and her creative ideas. She usually makes the cutest creatures using the circular shaped pops. I tried to make baseballs too, cause that seemed the most obvious shape to make, but I'll have to admit, its a lot easier to draw baseballs than try to replicate one in 3-D-with melted candy coating. The stitches are curved almost in an infiniti like shape on both sides. It was tough to get them to line up. Total FAIL. So I stuck with P's and Numbers.

The basic premise for the cake pops involved mixing in a can of frosting into a cooled, prebaked cake, then shaping into balls. Lollipop sticks are then inserted to corvert the cake balls into cake pops! Afterwards, you can use a melted candy-coating to cover the balls and decorate with anything you can imagine. Check out Bakerella's blog for awesome ideas and inspiration.

I am excited to make these again for the holidays. I've got a bunch of ideas in mind. Quick Tip: I had some leftover frosting from cupcakes I had made earlier last week. Delicious, vanilla buttercream! It was just enough to mix into the cake. However, I wouldn't recommend using a frosting with too much butter or any butter at all for that matter. I found that when I dipped the chilled cake balls into the melted candy coating, the butter particles would melt and seep out through the candy coating. I tried to remedy the "drooling" :P by double coating, but it changed the ratio of cake to coating. For the future, I think I'll opt for the frosting in a can.

Here are some pics of my project:








Go Phillies!

Ingenious

image via Hostess With the Mostess

I love this idea from Hostess With the Mostess. I have to save it so I don't forget :P
Using transfers to personalize glasses is such a great idea. I'm already thinking Valentines day... : )
These transfers are made by MiniMarks.

Food Goal: Twelve Layer Cake

Wow..this cake looks amazing. Just waiting for that special occasion

Twelve-Layer Mocha Cake

From Gourmet

Recipe by Ruth Cousineau

Serves8

• Active time:2 hr
• Start to finish:4 1/2 hr (includes making buttercreams)

December 2008

What better way to celebrate the holidays than with something fabulous? In this elegant European-style cake, thin layers of different flavors come together in each bite. Fine-textured spongecake, soaked in espresso syrup, plays off of crisp hazelnut meringue, while the coffee and mocha buttercreams intensify the richness of a collapsed chocolate soufflé. The faint, bitter edge of dark coffee essentially saves this dessert from itself.

Learn the story behind this dish in our series The Recipe.

For cake layers

• 4 large egg yolks at room temperature 30 minutes
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg whites at room temperature 30 minutes

For soufflé layers

• 6 oz fine-quality 60%-cacao bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature 30 minutes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

For meringue layers

• 2/3 cup hazelnuts (3 1/2 oz)
• 3 large egg whites at room temperature 30 minutes
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup sugar

For syrup

• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant-espresso powder

For filling

• Coffee and mocha and buttercreams

• Equipment:

  3 (15-by 10-inch) 4-sided sheet pans (1/2 inch deep)

Make cake layers:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter 1 sheet pan and line bottom with parchment paper, then butter parchment. Dust with flour, knocking out excess.
• Whisk together yolks, milk, vanilla, and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until combined well, then whisk in flour and salt until smooth. (Batter will be thick.)
• Beat whites with an electric mixer until they just hold soft peaks. Beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, and beat until whites just hold stiff peaks.
• Fold one third of whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remainder gently but thoroughly.
• Spread batter evenly in pan and rap against counter to release any air bubbles. Bake until cake is dry to the touch and pale golden, 10 to 11 minutes. (Leave oven on.) Cool completely in pan on a rack.
• Halve cake crosswise, cutting through parchment, to form 2 (10-by 7 1/2-inch) layers.

Prepare soufflé layers while cake bakes:

• Line second sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Melt chocolate with water (See Tips), then cool to lukewarm.
• Beat yolks, salt, and 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes with a stand mixer or 8 minutes with a handheld. Fold in melted chocolate.
• Beat whites with cleaned beaters until they hold soft peaks. Beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, and beat until whites just hold stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.
• Fold one third of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten, then fold in remainder gently but thoroughly. Spread batter evenly in lined sheet pan.

Bake soufflé layers:

• Bake until puffed and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack, then cover top of soufflé with 2 layers of damp paper towels. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove towels and cool soufflé completely in pan (soufflé will deflate as it cools). Sift cocoa over soufflé, then loosen edges with a sharp knife.
• Halve soufflé crosswise, cutting through parchment, to form 2 (10-by 7 1/2-inch) layers.

Make meringue layers:

• Toast hazelnuts (See Tips), then cool, wrapped in a kitchen towel, and rub off any loose skins.
• Reduce oven to 250°F.
• Finely chop nuts.
• Beat whites with salt and cream of tartar using electric mixer until they just hold soft peaks. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until meringue is stiff but still glossy.
• Line bottom of third sheet pan with parchment. Put small dabs of meringue under corners of parchment to secure to baking sheets.
• Fold nuts into meringue and spread evenly in pan. Bake until set and pale golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Halve meringue crosswise, cutting through parchment, to form 2 (10-by 7 1/2-inch) layers. Return to oven and bake until crisp, 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Cool in pan, then peel off parchment.

Make syrup and assemble cake:

• Bring water, sugar, and espresso powder to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Cool.
• Loosen edges of 1 cake layer with a knife and invert onto a flat platter. Carefully peel parchment from cake and brush with some of syrup. Spread with 1 1/4 cups mocha buttercream.
• Top with 1 meringue layer and spread with 1 1/4 cups coffee buttercream.
• Carefully invert 1 soufflé layer onto buttercream and peel off parchment, then gently spread with 1 1/4 cups coffee buttercream.
• Repeat layering, ending with coffee buttercream (there will be some left over). Chill at least 1 hour (after that, wrap in plastic wrap). Trim all around cake with a long sharp knife to neaten edges. Bring to room temperature (about 1 hour) before serving.

Cooks’ notes:

• Cake, soufflé, and meringue layers can be baked 1 day ahead of assembly and kept, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
• Assembled cake can be chilled up to 2 days.

Food Goal: Tea Cookies

A "food goal" is what I'll be calling the foods I hope to make and for now will just be storing here on this lil ol blog. These tea cookies sound oh so lovely.

Tea Cookies (from Habeas Brulee)
(adapted with very minor variations from Lovescool/Amai Tea & Bake House)
3/4 C (2.25 oz) confectioners sugar
5 oz unsalted butter (5/8 C, or 1 and 1/4 stick), straight from the fridge, cut into 1 tbsp slices
1 3/4 C (8.5 oz) all-purpose flour
3 large egg yolks (save the whites to make tuiles or macarons)
1 1/2 tbsp ground tea of your choosing
1 C granulated sugar (for coating)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, mix the sugar and ground tea together. Add the butter and continue mixing until smooth and pale.

Add the flour and mix until well combined.

Add the egg yolks and mix just until the eggs are fully incorporated and a mass forms.

Form the dough into a disk and chill in the refrigerator until firm - the original recipe calls for at least 30 minutes, but with my fridge I prefer to let dough chill for at least a couple of hours before rolling it out.

Which is what you’re doing next, of course - rolling it out. To about 1/2″ thick, which will feel surprisingly thick to those of us more used to rolling out pie crusts.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cut the dough with small cookie cutters of whatever shape you like. Mine were about 1″ diameter.

Toss each cut cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat.

Place the sugar-coated cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheets, about 1″ apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating from top to bottom and back to front halfway through the baking time. When they are done, they will be slightly golden around the edges.

Baby Slice for me

Sorry I've been so terrible about posting on this blog. But I'm back and hopefully will be able to be a bit more consistent. I'm working on this blogging lifestyle. I think I get so absorbed in reading other blogs. And to be honest, sometimes it overwhelms me when it comes to my blog but at the same time its motivational.

Aaaanyways, today I want to share with y'all this inventive silicone cake pan you can get at design3000.de. Design3000 is an online shop of really wonderful products from gadgets to larger furniture pieces. I thought the cake pan was such a great idea especially in my family where each member has their own slice size preference (i'm guilty of it too, 'fraid) 15 slices of varying width and height. loves it. It has a nice architectural feel to the shape too. I can totally picture having little figurines on the "steps" or legs dangling from the ledges. : )

Check out the site's many goodies here. Oh, and make sure you click on the Britain flag, unless you're fluent in german. : )

Have a great day foodies.