Cake Supplies

I spent a lot at Michaels before the Princess Cake.  I'm considering it an investment, with all the cakes I'm going to be making this year.  I also picked up other stuff for planned projects.  Michaels isn't super far, but I rarely go in that direction, so it feels like an expedition.

Most of the items were on my list, like cake pan bands.  I'd never heard of them before, but the science behind them is sound.  You put a cold, damp piece of cloth around the outside of the cake pan so the outside edges of the cake don't bake faster than the inside.  It produces a flatter cake, and you don't have to trim off the outside "crust".  It's the same concept as placing a baked custard in a pan of water before placing it in the oven.  I don't know if it made the Princess Cake any flatter, but it made a difference around the rims.

Not on the list was gel food colors, but when I saw them I realized that my box is about two decades old. Yep, don't make cakes much.  I bought them and tossed the old ones.  I do need to buy drops for a different project, but these will take me through most cakes.

I really didn't want to buy a fondant roller.  Unitasker.  However, fondant will pick up the pattern of a wood rolling pin.  I already have to scrub my counter and use that for rolling because all of my boards have some kind of texture.  I got the smallest and cheapest they had.  There were tons of cool fondant shaping and patterning gadgets.  Most were food-safe versions of what you use on modeling clay.  I'm only buying those if something requires it.  I'm not buying a "fondant cutter".  Seriously?  Knife or pizza cutter.  Flower pattern cutouts...I'm going to avoid fondant flowers if at all possible.

I did find out that some of the pans I might need to get for my cousin's cake are cheaper there than at the cake supply store I went to the day before.  That's good, so I can order them online and get them shipped to Virginia.  There may even be coupons.

Swedish Princess Cake

YouTube popped this into my recommendations.  I watched about four videos of how to make one of these gorgeous cakes and decided I was up to it.  You can watch this one to see the procedure I followed, and where I deviated from the video.

I'm not using any of the recipes the videos provided, just the method.  This is what the last two posts were building up to.  I'm not using raspberry jam because I don't like it, and because I have a pantry full of other jams I haven't finished from last year's canning.  I'm also using fondant instead of marzipan because I don't like almond extract flavor.  The marzipan is probably easier to use, and has a better taste if you happen to be a fan.

The common theme I found in the videos was that the smaller the cake, the prettier the dome effect.  Single-serve ones, about 3" in diameter, were too cute.  It's also a lot of work, and produces a lot of cake scraps, but so worth it for the applause.  I made a 6", about eight servings if no one is greedy.  It's a 3-layer cake!  When you get into 8" cakes, the height to diameter ratio starts to work against the effect.  It would still serve a party of 12-16.  I wouldn't go bigger than that, or you're making triple batches of buttercream.

3 8" layers of Vanilla Chiffon Cake
Double batch of Buttercream icing
*1 C smooth jam of choice (as opposed to whole preserves, which I used)
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C water
1 Tb sherry (optional)
approx 24 oz (small box) white fondant
food coloring
corn starch for dusting work surface

1.  Stir together the sugar and water in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and continue to cook until sugar is completely dissolved.  If desired, stir in a bit of sherry.  Allow to cool completely.  This is your simple syrup.

2.  Trim the the cake layers even.  Place a small dollop of buttercream on a cake circle and center the bottom cake.  Drizzle with a bit of simple syrup, then spread the jam on the cake.  I should have piped a dam of buttercream around the edges first.  Fondant hides a lot of bad choices.

3.  Place the next cake layer on top of the first.  Drizzle with some more syrup, then spread a thin layer of buttercream on the cake, about the same thickness as the jam layer.

4.  Center the last cake layer on top.  Sprinkle with a bit of syrup (you may not have used all of it.)  Top with about half of the remaining icing.  Use this to frost the cake as you would any other, up the sides and over the top to make a smooth look.

5.  Spoon the remaining icing on top of the cake and mound into a dome.  This is why the fillings are so thin.  Get the dome and sides as smooth as you can, and much smoother than the photo below.  At this point, the cake is going to get very heavy.  Put the whole cake in the freezer until firm, at least 2 hours or up to a week in advance.

6.  The day you serve the cake, decorate it.  The box says not to freeze fondant.  You can do it a day or two ahead, but more than that and the cake will fall under its own weight.  Start by pulling aside about an ounce of white fondant for later, then kneading food coloring into the main fondant until there are no streaks remaining.  I chose lavender, but you can do any color you want.

7.  Dust a large work surface with cornstarch.  Roll out the fondant into a large "circle", about twice the diameter of the cake.  Get the cake out of the freezer.  If desired, heat an offset spatula over the stove and use it to smooth out any dings.  One thing I learned with this cake is that fondant hides a not-great icing job, but not a terrible one.

8.  Drape the fondant over the cake.  Let gravity do as much of the work as possible.  Press the fondant lightly into shape and stretch it as necessary.  Think of it as cling wrap that can reshape itself.  Once the fondant is smooth over the whole cake, trim off the frilly skirt it has formed at the bottom.  If there's no buttercream or cake crumbs stuck to it, you can save the fondant in an airtight bag for another project.

9.  For the rose decoration, color a small pinch of fondant pink.  Roll into a sausage, then flatten into a strip that is thinner on one long side than the other.  Roll in a spiral, with the thicker part as the base and the thin as the petals.  Pinch the bottom shut and flare out the petals a little.  Knead another pinch of fondant with green food coloring and press into the leaves.  Attach decorations to top of cake with a touch of water.

10.  Refrigerate cake until half an hour before serving.  That will give the buttercream time to soften without melting everywhere the instant you cut the cake.

Makes one 8" triple-layer cake

Difficulty rating (including sub-recipes) $@%!

Buttercream Frosting

I've never posted a buttercream icing as a stand-alone post.  See, that's what this cake project is teaching me.

It's not like this icing is anything secret.  You can get it on the Wilton website.  Plus, it's pretty much the same everywhere you go.

The secret to a stable buttercream icing is not to use only butter.  Butter tastes good, but it melts.  Shortening doesn't taste good, but it holds its shape at room temperature.  Like with a good pie crust, a mix of the two provides the product you want.

"Wait, icing is pure fat and sugar?"  Um, yep.

1/2 C unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 C shortening (butter flavored if you prefer)
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla (vanilla powder for a whiter icing)
milk as needed

1.  Cream together butter and shortening.

2.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar, then finish with vanilla.

3.  If icing is too stiff for your needs, add milk a teaspoon at a time.

4.  Use immediately.  If not, seal air-tight in a plastic bag.  You can refrigerate it for a week, or freeze it for up to a month.  Let it come up close to room temperature, beat it again to loosen it, and it will be usable.

Variations:

For chocolate buttercream, beat in 1/4 C cocoa powder.  You will need to add a bit more milk to keep the same consistency.

For an extra creamy buttercream, beat in leftover filling from the cake.  Not a lot, maybe 1/4 cup.

Makes 2 cups, enough for an 8" layer cake if you don't use it as filling.

Difficulty rating  π

Vanilla Chiffon Cake

Ok, now we're doing cake.  I'm building up to a project that will be the last of this series of posts.  While researching various cakes online, I found it annoying that component recipes were all clumped together in a single post.  If I didn't like the filling, say, I had to go through cake recipes to find one I liked.  In the end, I had three or four sites bookmarked anyway.  Doing this separate here, it makes it easier to mix and match for different finished projects.

This is the "Party Cake" recipe from the Bible.  I used it for my brother's wedding cake because a full recipe makes enough batter for a 6", 10", and 14" pan.  That's what I had.  I'm cutting it down to 1/4 here for 8" or 9" pans, so there will be a few measurements that come out weird.  I'm also changing the method, baking temperature, and times.  The only thing I remember from the 2002 cake (other than the mixer being too small) is that the tops of the larger cakes burned, and the core of the largest was under-baked.  Fortunately, the tier supports were in that part.

Everyone at the wedding in 2002 said they loved the cake.  I assumed they were just being nice because the groom's sister made it.  I tasted the trimmings from this one, and it is absolutely fantastic!  Moist, crumbly instead of tough, and just the right amount of sweetness that it doesn't need to depend on the filling and icing.  Good, if I end up putting fondant on Cousin Smurf's.  I've already decided that this will be the Vanilla cake.  (I'm making multiple cakes on a theme instead of a single, tiered monstrosity.)

As a reminder, you're only getting the cake recipe here.  After that, you're on your own.  I'm going to be doing this for all of this summer's cakes.  The consecutive posts will work to build that particular cake, but I'm separating recipes to make them easier to find when I'm in Virginia.  I'm not taking photocopies from four cookbooks and links to multiple sites.  This blog is my personal recipe box.

3 eggs, separated and at room temperature
1 C plus 1/4 C sugar
6 Tb margarine, cut into small cubes
1/2 C plus 1 Tb milk
1-1/2 C cake flour
1/2 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

1.  Grease three 8" baking pans, line with wax paper, and grease again.  I was using a 1/6 recipe on deep 6" pans, so one is a springform.  It worked, and one cake was just twice as high as as the other.

2.  In a medium bowl with an electric beater, beat egg whites on high until soft peaks form.  Sprinkle in 1/4 C sugar, 1 Tb at a time.  Beat until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.

3.  This is why I'm saving the stand mixer.  I did the whites in it without reading how long the batter needs to beat.  In the stand mixer, beat egg yolks and salt until smooth.  Add in remaining cup of sugar and the margarine in stages, beating until you get a light emulsion.

4.  Start preheating the oven to 350º.  Stir together baking powder and flour.  Add milk and flour mixture in alternating additions.  After the last one, add the vanilla and beat everything until very smooth and frothy, about 5 minutes.


5.  Fold in egg whites until no lumps remain.  Divide cake batter between the pans.  I recommend weighing the pans to ensure each cake is the same height.

6.  Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.  Check with a toothpick in the center.  The top will brown before the inside is done, and these are thin layers.  They can go from raw to dry quickly.  Check every 5 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean.

7.  Remove pans to a cooling rack.  Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out and remove the wax paper.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.  Cakes can be wrapped and frozen once cooled and frosted another day.

Difficulty rating  :)

Roasted Balsamic Carrots

How have I not made something like this before?  Two years of carrots in the Pond, and I never thought of it.

When I went online to get opinions for the oven temperature and whether or not to enclose the carrots in foil, it turned out there are a lot of recipes out there for these.  Most of them were exactly what I had already scribbled down.  Great minds think alike. ;). Then I decided to barbecue, so both questions became irrelevant.  If you're using the oven, it's 375º for 20-30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

*1 lb carrots
2 Tb olive oil
1 Tb balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

1.  Peel carrots and cut in two at the halfway point to make the next slices easier.  Then cut into quarters the long way.  If you have a fat carrot, cut the top half into more sticks.  They should all be about the same size so they cook evenly.

2.  Whisk the remaining ingredients into a dressing in a large bowl.  Place the carrot sticks in the bowl and toss to coat.

3.  Lay out a piece of foil large enough to hold all the carrots.  Arrange slices in the middle, then pour remaining dressing over them.  Seal foil into a pouch and place on baking sheet (if using oven).

4.  Grill (or bake) packet for 15 minutes (at 375º).  Open packet, stir slices around, and cook another 10-15 with it open to get the more burnt flavor that comes through in roasted veggies.  If you only cook it closed, you're getting balsamic steamed carrots.

5.  Serve hot as a side, or chill for later to put on a salad.

Difficulty rating  π

Beet and Asparagus Salad

I'll get to the cakes in a bit.  First, I need to use some beets in the Pond.  The butternut is coming up any day now, and it's going to need space.  Like, a lot of space.  Pumpkin space.  I've seen photos.

While I splurged on some good bleu cheese, I went cheap on the lettuce and got red leaf.  After months of picking it out of the front yard, I could not justify $3.50 for a small package.  The seeds didn't cost that much.  We're letting the asparagus be the "fancy" here.

*1 bunch (3) red beets
1/2 lb asparagus
4 oz salad greens of choice
*1/2 C walnuts
4 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
*1 Tb orange juice
1 Tb champagne or white wine vinegar
3 Tb olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
*1 Tb fresh chives, minced

1.  An hour before, start soaking the walnuts in water.  You don't have to, but I love this trick to make them softer and draw out some of the bitterness.

2.  Cut off the root and stem ends of the beets and place in a pot with water to cover.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until soft, about 15-20 minutes.  The skins will slide right off, and you can slice them into strips.  Chill until ready to use.

3.  Cut 2" pieces of asparagus and discard the tough ends.  Place in water to cover, bring to a boil, and blanch for 2 minutes.  I admit to liking asparagus on the mushy side.  It probably comes from eating it canned often when we were growing up.  I let mine go a bit longer before draining and refrigerating.

4.  To make the dressing, whisk together orange juice, vinegar, oil, chives, salt, and pepper.  It's ok to go a little heavy on the pepper; the bleu cheese can take it.  Refrigerate if not using within the hour.  It will settle out and get hard, so you'll have to bring it back up to room temp and whisk it again.

5.  To assemble the salad, place the greens on each plate (tear if whole-leaf).  Drain the walnuts.  Distribute beet strips, asparagus, cheese, and walnuts to all four salads.  Sprinkle with a generous tablespoon of dressing and serve.

Difficulty rating  :)

Part XI: Self-taught Pastry Chef

I'm making my cousin's wedding cake in October, only the second time I've done one.  The last was Techie and Writer Smurfs' in 2002.  I went to find all the math I'd done for the cake batter, and realized I don't bake that many cakes.  Time to brush up.

In French, there is a sharp distinction between a Patissière and a Boulangère.  The first is a (female) pastry chef, while the latter is a bread baker.  I'm a Boulangère.  I made a distinct effort to become good at breads, to the point that I sometimes make bread instead of going to the store as the path of least resistance.  Icing cakes, not so much.  I know the techniques, but I'm not all that interested in it.  I prefer pies, which kind of fall into the bread baking category.

This summer, I'm going to make close to a cake a week.  Yes, I could practice my icing skills on cardboard, but that feels like a waste of butter.  Besides, I need to find cake recipes I like.  I don't even know what kind of cake my cousin wants, other than one she gets as a wedding present and doesn't have to buy.  I'm going to have to UPS and Amazon stuff to Virginia and bake it at her apartment.  Part of this practice is going to be how to streamline the process so I can go only two days in advance.

Some of the tips I'll be sharing are pretty basic, and are often included in a recipe or on the box of cake mix or tub of icing.  Others, I learned in my one pastry class.  Mainly, I'll be showing how to make a pretty dessert with limited artistic skills.  I'm terrible at pastry bag artistry, have made maybe three passable icing roses in my life, and forget writing.  If you go with the less is more approach, the look is far more elegant and hides the fact that you suck at icing cakes.

So enjoy a few months of the occasional cake!

Spaghetti with Parmesan Meatballs

I wasn't going to post this, as it was mostly a way to use half the fennel in the garden before it bolted, but the meatballs looked and smelled so nice in the pan that I got out the camera.

This was going to be entirely store-bought except the veggies.  I didn't like the frozen meatball options and came up with some of my own that would go well with the free Alfredo sauce I had a coupon for.  They would work just as well with a marinara, but that's what I had.

Because we're in canned-sauce land, I didn't add any salt or pepper to the dish.  Depending on the sodium in your jar, adding any is up to you.  I like to taste my food, not just the salt.

1 lb 80/20 ground beef
1/2 C fresh breadcrumbs
*1/4 C grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
*1/2 C slivered red onion
2 lbs pasta-friendly vegetables.  I used *carrots, *artichokes, and *fennel
8 oz dry spaghetti
*16 oz canned Alfredo sauce
*1/2 C diced fresh tomato for garnish
*2 Tb fresh basil for garnish

1.  Cut vegetables (excluding onions) into bite-sized pieces.  Place in water to cover in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a simmer and cover while you make the meatballs.

2.  In a bowl, combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, cheese, oregano, and basil.  Knead until uniform.  Heat a wide, deep skillet with a lid over medium.  Mold meat into 1-1/2" balls and place in pan.  Sear until bottoms are done, about 5 minutes.  Turn and add onions to the pan, which should now have a small layer of fat in it.  Cook another 5-8 minutes, to brown the other side and cook the onions.

3.  When meatballs are browned, dump that entire pot of veggies and water into the meatball skillet.  Cover and lower heat to a simmer.

4.  Rinse out that large pot the vegetables were in and refill it with water for your pasta.  Bring water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

5.  When the pasta is about halfway done, the meatballs should be cooked through.  Drain off the water (I used the sieve I was going to use anyway for the pasta) and return anything that fell out into the skillet.  Stir in the sauce.  Drain the pasta and add it into the skillet, tossing to coat.

6.  Plate the spaghetti, veggies, and meatballs.  Garnish with fresh diced tomato, fresh basil, and more  Parmesan if you have it.

Difficulty rating  :)

Planning the Summer Garden

I'm rapidly eating my way through the spring's bounty.  There are a couple of carrots left from the winter planting, with new sprouts ready to take their place.  The last of the beets and fennel are maturing.  One fennel is bolting, so I'll keep it for this year's fennel seed.  I'm eating the rest of the radishes in the next post.  Basically, it's time for summer gourds and melons to sprout.

I planted the last of last year's pickling cucumber and watermelon seeds, just to see what would happen.  As expected, the germination rate was low.  I'll have some, but not a lot.  That left room for one more variety of something viney.  There weren't any pie pumpkin left, so I picked up butternut squash.

Butternut is considered a "winter" squash, part of the gourd family.  You grow it in the summer.  The Winter part is because it keeps.  Melons, you have to eat or they spoil.  Gourds, especially the hard-skinned ones, can be kept in a cool and dark place for several months.  That's how markets can supply them into the early summer, when the earliest of the new crops come.

Gourds are also dependent on warm soil to germinate, which is why I planted the melon family first.  It was cool all May, then warmed up last weekend.  It will cool down again, maybe next week, for June Gloom, but the soil is warm enough for something to come up.

The minimal research I did on butternut shows vines as elaborate as pumpkin.  The cucumber and watermelon produced surprisingly small leaves and flowers, so there should be room.  And I haven't forgotten that I'm allergic to gourd pollen.  Things are going to get sniffly in about a month.  However, I now have a deep fryer for stuffed blossoms.

I'm also taking advantage of the nice weather to transplant the strongest celery sprouts.  One survived out of the first two I took out a couple of months ago and is taking root.  Someone found the catnip I tried to hide in the tomato pot, so I'm going to wait a bit longer before putting those somewhere.

What I'm really hoping for with this diversity is not ending up with too much of any one thing.  Also, you don't have to worry about kids smashing a butternut on Halloween.  Nutritious vegetables would be the scariest part of any Halloween decoration.

Pancake Sausage Dogs

Yes, I got out the deep fryer at 4:30 in the morning.  Sorry about the poor lighting in these photos.  These actually took far less time than I was expecting, maybe 45 minutes, mainly because I used frozen microwavable sausages.  You can also cook the sausage the day before, and even mix the pancake batter the day before, so all you have to do in the morning is dip and fry.

This is a Thrillist recipe that I picked because it makes a very thick batter.  If you use a boxed pancake mix, reduce the milk or water you add to it.  By how much will depend on the brand.  I do recommend making this from scratch.  It's a good pancake recipe.

You'll notice that this makes two dozen.  That's just how much batter you get with one egg.  You can freeze the leftovers.  Instead of breaking out a second package of sausages, I chopped up an apple and made fritters with the other half of the batter. They were at least as good as the sausage dogs.

1-1/2 C flour, plus 2 Tb for coating sausages
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C buttermilk
1 egg
2 Tb vegetable oil
24 link breakfast sausages
2 qt canola or peanut oil for frying
syrup for serving
12 wooden kabob skewers, broken in half

1.  In a bowl, stir together dry ingredients.  I tossed in a shake each of cinnamon and nutmeg, but you can make these plain.  Separately, combine egg, milk, and 2 Tb oil.  I know, you're thinking why should I put oil in something I'm going to fry?  It will give the batter the proper consistency.  Pour the wet into the dry and stir into a batter.  Let sit for at least 10 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.

2.  Start heating 2 quarts of oil in a heavy pan or deep fryer to 375º.  It's going to take about 15 minutes, which should be plenty of time to cook the sausages to package directions.

3.  Pat the sausages dry, then roll in remaining 2 Tb of flour.  This will help the batter to stick.  Impale each sausage with a half-skewer about 2/3 of the way through.  Dip in the batter.  I used the spoon to encourage the thick goo to stick, then left them sitting in the bowl of batter until it was their turn.

4.  When oil is ready, gently lay the dog, stick and all, in the pot.  Fry until golden, turning if they don't submerge in the oil, about 4 minutes.  Remove from the pot with tongs and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Continue until all sausages are done.  If there's more batter left than you feel comfortable throwing away, drop it in the oil in soup spoon sized dollops and fry as fritters.

5.  Serve hot, with syrup for dipping.  Freeze leftovers as soon as they cool.  To reheat, warm in the microwave until at least room temperature, then finish in a 300º oven.

Makes 2 dozen, 8 to 12 servings

Difficulty rating  :)