Champagne Cake for Mardi Gras

I am SO proud of this one!  I think it's the best decorated one yet.  I still have lots of practicing to do, especially making the corners of a square fondant-covered cake smooth.  But from where I was over a year ago, I'm doing pretty good.

I'm not one for hearts and such, so I chose a Mardi Gras theme for this February birthday cake.  I used tumeric for the gold fondant, and TruColor Natural Food colors for the purple, green, and gold decorations.  And I was also able to play around with rice paper for the feathers on top.  What fun!

I learned a lot on this cake.  I can't wait to do another like it.  Maybe on the Day of the Dead, or Talk Like a Pirate Day!  Oooooh, how much fun would those be?!

 Champagne Cake
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup champagne
6 egg whites

Preheat oven to 325° & prepare a 10" round cake pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then blend into creamed mixture alternately with champagne.

In another large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into batter to lighten it, then fold in remaining egg whites. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes or longer, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

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More Pictures with the New Camera

When I looked out my front window this morning,

I saw this...

The sunrise was shining off the sycamore trees.

I had to grab my camera and go play.

I walked out to the porch and looked through the viewfinder, but the scene wasn't quite right.  I walked down the front path, out to the driveway, and partway up it.

I had such a wonderful time, seeing my home through the eyes of someone else.  Instead of seeing it all at once, warts and all, I saw little places that could be framed, that would stand alone as beautiful. Everywhere I looked, there were sweet little scenes within the whole.  The sycamores led me to the barns that led me to Daddy's shop that led me to the creek that led me to the cabin that led me back to the barns.

An hour later I came back inside to download the photos. 

I did something wrong and lost all but the two above.

Sigh.  

I had an excuse to go back out again!

Who lives here I wonder.

Maybe this guy?

Nah.  He's too small.

Pecans.  Lots and lots of pecans.

I have fat squirrels.

The Open Hay Shed.

Daddy built that forty-odd years ago.

The last Longhorn.

I shall call her T-Bone.

My neighbor, Cosmo.

Sugar Pie.

Tiny little Sugar Pie.

The horses, Shirley Anne and Christmas.

They're so shiny.

He has such a kind eye.

The Big Old Barn.

We used to store hay in here.  We'd back a trailer full right up to those

double doors and pile it all up inside.  It's seventeen feet high at the 

apex.  It was always such a good feeling every year when it was full.

The End.

Pictures with the New Camera

I got a new camera, so I took it out to play with it today.

I love winter gardening.  Everything grows so much slower, 

so it's easier to keep up with.  The bugs move slower, too.  Love that.
You don't have to kill yourself watering so much, and it's hard to
get heat stroke working in a winter garden.
Everything is just much more forgiving.

Got the onions planted.  Last year the Texas Early Whites kicked butt in the
keeper category.  They lasted 'til November before they started sprouting.
All the rest long since had.  So I definitely planted more of them.  

And since there's no such thing as a bad onion, I had to plant some of all
the others, too.  There are few things better than a red onion
pulled fresh from the ground.  I love to eat them with mayo and bacon.
My own version of a BLT - a BOM.

Pretty purple Brussels sprouts with Swiss chard, kale, kohlrabi,
and little ol' leeks in the front corner.

Sprouts are hard to grow in Texas.  They're really new "branches" or "heads"
of the plant growing on the sides of the stalk, so need a long, stable cold
period to grow without wanting to open up their little leaves.  Mine are already
starting to open, probably because it was 82 degrees the other day.
But since the entire plant is edible (and I love them the most),
I think they're worth a spot in the garden.  

Purple, red and blue colors in fruits and vegetables are from anthocyanins.
While they are antioxidants, it hasn't been proven that they actually do us
any good.  I disagree.  Since seeing so much purple in my garden
and then on my plate makes me deliriously happy
- because PURPLE! -
I claim it DOES do me a lot of good.

Collards in the front.  Time to make a mess of them.  Mama was from Jackson, Mississippi, so I come by my love of them honestly.

Cauliflower and Romanesco, just starting to head up.
See how the leaves in the center are all pursed together like they're
puckering up for a kiss?  There's your sign.

More kale.  The one on the right is one of my favorites - Red Russian.

Dino Kale, aka Lacinato or Nero Tuscano.  

Makes some badass kale chips.

Hon Tsai Tai sprouting broccoli.  I want to harvest some, 

but the bees are loving it so much I'd feel guilty.

But maybe there's enough for me, too.

And the artichokes.  I need to fertilize them and give them some compost.

I've really neglected them, but they keep giving me 'chokes every year anyway.

Not bad for a glorified weed.  A thistle.

Pretty, giant, yummy thistles.

It's so interesting how the same type and cultivar of plants can have such
different leaves.  Georgia collards do that, too.

Mmmmmm, dinner.  I ate it up with some butter and chicken

fried up in my cast iron skillet.

Nomnomnomnomnom.

Pretty in Purple

Purple.

Purplepurplepurplepurplepurple.

I love purple.

It's pretty with green.

It's pretty alongside green.

And it's pretty instead of green.

The Perfect White Cake

The Perfect White Cake, from Cooks Illustrated by way of I Am Baker.

This is the best, most useful white cake I've ever baked or tasted. I haven't tried a LOT of white cake recipes because once I tried this one, it was so far and away better than any other I've ever baked or tasted that I quit searching for "The One."  Because it IS "The One."

The latest Perfect White Cake I just baked this afternoon using
gluten free flour (garbonzo bean based), fresh out of the oven
and still hot. Baked at 325F for one hour and fifteen minutes.
This one was even lighter than the one baked yesterday at a
lower temp for longer time.

I've made this in all kinds of ways: regular wheat, gluten free, all purpose flour instead of cake flour (*without* added corn starch), even forgot the vanilla once (accidentally putting in extra almond flavor instead), and it has always been fab.

It's springy-soft, but dense enough for fondant and stacking. (Full disclosure - I have yet to stack anything bigger than a three-tier, 8"-6"-4", so not sure how it'd hold up if you try stacking a 14" one or so, but I'd think it'd do well with good support.)

It isn't bright, clear white, but if you need that level of whiteness for a wedding or such, I'd try bleached white cake flour, clear vanilla, and substitute solid-at-room-temp coconut oil for the butter. I've used coconut oil instead of butter or shortening in other baked recipes, and it's always great. Make sure your almond flavor's clear, too. I've not tried this level of changing up the recipe so you would want to do a test run of course, but can't imagine that it wouldn't work quite well.

Just a note: bleached white flour is just that - bleached.  So in no way is it organic or even halfway healthy.  Would I ever use it?  I'm not sure.  Maybe.  Only if it was a very special circumstance when regular yellowish flour wouldn't work.  But I surely wouldn't do it often.  Everything in moderation.

Also, it may need baking for longer than the 25-30 minutes given in the recipe. Test at that time and see how you come out with it. I can't remember for sure how long at 350F, but experimenting today with baking lower and longer to get it lighter on the outside, it took an hour and fifteen minutes at 325. Came out beautifully.

Even the bottom was beautiful. I lined the pan with parchment
paper only - no grease or flour or anything else.

It freezes well, too. I did an experiment with one once: wrapped it in three layers of plastic wrap, then in a ziploc freezer bag, froze it and kept taking it out periodically to taste test it, sometimes letting the whole thing defrost and sometimes just cutting a piece off and putting it back. Six months later and it was still *really* good, as good or better than when first baked.

And, if all that's not enough, since the flavor is so neutral (yet still OH-SO-TASTY!!), you can use just about any filling or frosting or icing or ganache you can think of.  ... Well, maybe not avocado.  Yeah, probably not that.  But I bet it would even be good with cheese.  Mmmmm cheddar.  And bacon.  Ooooooh!  Bacon cake with chocolate ganache!  Nomnomnom.  I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow...

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The Perfect White Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (or all-purpose - just substitute 2 Tbsps per cup with same amount of cornstarch - if you don't have cornstarch, it'll still be very tasty, just a bit more dense, like pound cake)
1 cup milk at room temperature
6 large egg whites at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract (or leave out, subbing ONE extra tsp vanilla)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool (if all you have is salted butter, just leave out the salt above)

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans.
• Make sure milk and eggs are room temperature. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into medium bowl and whisk until blended.
• Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter, cut into cubes and continue beating on low for about 1-2 minutes.
• Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to flour mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat for about 1 minute.
• Pour batter evenly between two prepared cake pans.
• Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 27 to 30 minutes, though could be much longer depending on your oven.
• Alternately, for a lighter crust: Bake at 325 for one hour, test, and bake for an additional 15 minutes if not quite done.

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Three-tier, gluten-free Perfect White Cake with cream cheese frosting. Made July, 2014.

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Snow Cake ~ January, 2015

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Kentucky Christmas Cake ~ Fruitcake

Since it's Christmastime, I thought I'd try a sort of fruitcake.  The one I chose is called Kentucky Christmas Cake.  I made it the same week I decorated and took it to work and it was kind of dry.  I think next time I'll do the traditional "feeding" - cooking it a month or more ahead of time and pouring whiskey or bourbon over it every week.

I also made homemade marshmallows to top it with.  I was aiming for a "naked cake" look; stacked, un-iced cakes.  Then have the marshmallows running down the "mountain" like snow.  In order to do that, I had to work quickly, putting a bit in between each layer, stacking it, then pouring it down the cake from the top down.  It didn't quite turn out like I'd hoped, partly I think because I didn't work quickly enough and they cooled off too much to run down the cake really well, but I still liked it a lot.

Kentucky Christmas Cake

2 tsp nutmeg
¼ cup whiskey
1 lb. pecans, coarsely chopped
½ lb. raisins or sultanas
1½ cups flour, divided
1 cup butter
1½ cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp baking soda
⅛ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325°.  Grease and flour a 10" tube pan, or two 8" cake pans.
Soak the nutmeg in the whiskey for ten minutes.  Stir together pecans, raisins, and ¼ cup flour.  Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.  Fold in remaining flour, along with cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, soaked nutmeg, pecans, and raisins/sultanas, until well combined.

Spoon into prepared pans and bake for one hour and fifteen minutes, or until cake pulls away slightly from the edge of the pan.  Let stand in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn out onto cooling rack for complete cooling.


Homemade Marshmallows
from The Barefoot Contessa

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

With a sieve, generously dust an 8 by 12-inch nonmetal baking dish with confectioners' sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top, and dust with more confectioners' sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out.

Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. Dust them with more confectioners' sugar.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake - September's Cakes

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

with Chocolate Ganache and Fresh Strawberries

2¼ cups cake flour
¼ tsp salt
2½ tsp baking powder
½ cup butter
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup crushed, fresh strawberries
1 cup cream
½ cup milk


Cream Cheese Icing

Chocolate Ganache


Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.  In separate bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Beat for 3 minutes.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternating with strawberries.  Beat for 2 minutes.
Pour into two 8" baking pans and bake for 350° for 25 minutes (or 325° for longer).

Ice with cream cheese icing, stacking as you go, and cover with a thick chocolate ganache.  Decorate with a few fresh strawberries.