Sometimes you just get too busy...

So I kind of fail at this whole regular blog update thing, I apologize. Believe it or not I do have a life outside the kitchen! Well, sometimes. No, with the end of summer and the beginning of school, my baking productivity did not decrease but my picture taking/uploading and then snarky comments of said pictures took a spin on the back burner.

While I made a plethora of goodies at the end of this summer including a strawberry tiramisu, apple-cinnamon turnovers, and yummy angel food cake the one thing I remembered to document was an orange-ricotta cheesecake.

Start off with a simple pastry dough recipe:

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• pinch of salt (usually a pinch means between an 1/8 and 1/4 tsp.)
• 1/2 c. chilled butter (1 stick), diced
• 1 egg yolk

To bang out the pastry:

Sift the flour, sugar and salt together on a cold, clean work surface. Make a well in the center. (In this case, the well is not the thing that Lassie needs to save Timmy from, it's simply making an indent in the center of the flour mixture. Kind of like the mashed potato volcano your mom told you not to make because you weren't supposed to play with your food.) In said well, add the butter and egg yolk and gradually work the flour into the diced butter and egg yolk using your fingertips.

See, the mashed potato volcano metaphor wasn't too off-base

Once the dough is formed, gather it together and press it into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and chill the pastry shell for roughly half and hour.

Now it's time for the yummy filling!

Mmm...cheese product

• 2 c. whole milk ricotta cheese
• 2 8-oz. packages of cream cheese (I used Neufchâtel cream cheese instead, makes the cheesecake a little less guilt ridden)
• 3/4 c. of sugar
• 1/4 c. orange blossom or clover honey
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest
• 4 eggs

Blend the ricotta in a food processor (I just used an immersion blender, it seemed to do the trick) until it is very smooth. If you don't blend the ricotta enough, the cheesecake will not have that smooth, yummy-delicious texture. Add the cream cheese and sugar, blend well. Don't forget to occasionally pause and scrape down the sides! Add honey and orange zest, blend. Then add the eggs and blend.

This recipe calls for a lot of blending, by the way.

After you've chilled the pastry shell, prick the bottom with a fork (this allows for even baking and so your shell doesn't puff up leaving less room for the yummy filling). Line the shell with aluminum foil and fill with baking beans (any dried beans will do). Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Remove the foil and beans. Let tart cool.

Stick a fork in it!

Caution! These beans are now no longer for human consumption, unless you like really, really dry beans...

Kinda looks like the surface of the moon?

After the shell has cooled, pour the filling to the tart shell. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden and set. (Set means that when you nudge the tart pan, the middle doesn't look liquidy). Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool. Then carefully remove the side of the pan, leaving the cheesecake on the bottom of the pan. (Unless you've got serious kitchen ninja skills, it's best to leave the bottom on the pan). Eat and enjoy! Note: If you want to be super fancy, you can add candied peel on top to decorate or even add it to the filling before baking.

Delicious.

Coconut and Butterflies

It has been over 2 years since I stared working at the WWU Foundation. And in those 2 years, only a handful of people actually know my name, most people know me as the cake girl (it's better than 'Hey you'). I have even over heard people who I see regularly from other 4th floor offices refer to me as the girl from Old Main 430 who always brings in cake (doesn't roll off the tongue quite as smoothly as 'the cake girl' but I guess it works?) All I know is that when people see me walk up with my white cake carrier, their faces instantly light up and I feel kind of like a cross between Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

And now that I've become famous (hopefully not infamous) on the 4th floor of Old Main for my cake creations, I was asked by a coworker to donate a cake to the dessert dash for the Whatcom Museum Fundraiser in July. Of course I agreed, not only did it give me an opportunity to help out a good cause but it also might (fingers crossed) get my name out there. I'm not sure who is familiar with the concept of a "dessert dash" but the basic concept is the table that donates the most money gets to choose their dessert first and then so on and so forth.

With task in hand and no real limitations other than my own imagination (cheesy, I know), I set out to make a fanciful cake that encompased what I believed to be along the lines of the theme: "Downtown Aglow."

For the base of this masterful creation, I made a dark chocolate cake with a dark chocolate ganache and a Kahlua buttercream frosting. (Delicious, I know.) Now for the fun part, fondant butterflies.

I started out with yellow, red, and orange rolled fondant (you can easily purchase some from your local crafts store) and a butterfly cookie cutter.

Sprinkle some cornstarch on a cleaned work surface and roll fondant out to a 1/8 inch thickness. Using your cookie cutter, cut out as many butterflies as you need/want. Transfer cut outs to a sheet of wax paper.

In order to form the shape of the butterflies, take a piece of cardboard and bend it to a 70-80 degree angle and place the butterflies on the cardboard and allow to dry. This should take at least 24 hours.

Once the butterflies have dried, use royal icing to pipe the bodies and wing decorations. Allow those to dry for a few hours and then adorn your cake with beautiful butterflies.

Following the fundraisier, the coworker who asked me to donate the cake said that by the time her table got up to go collect their dessert, my cake had already been taken. Her table put in $300. My cake went for more than $300 dollars. Holy cow :)

Baking Extravaganza Part Trois

And now to wrap up the baking spree, scones! (Cinnamon raisin scones in fact)

• 3/4 c. raisins
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 5 Tbsp. cold butter
• 1 c. sour cream
• 2 egg yolks

First, place the raisins in a bowl, cover with hot water and let sit for about 5 minutes, then drain.

Raisin water... yum :/

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter using a pastry fork until mixture is crumbly.

Chunky.

In another small bowl (again, have like 80 million mixing bowls on hand when you bake), combine sour cream and egg yolks until smooth.

I would avoid dipping Tostitos into this.

Add to crumb mixture and then stir in raisins.

Mmm :)

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead gently 10 times. Pat into a 9-inch circle, place on an ungreased baking sheet. Cut into 8 wedges. Beat an egg white, brush over dough and then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 425 F for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and enjoy!

Before

After (by the way, it smells ah-mazing!)

Baking Extravaganza Part Deux

To continue the baking saga what else would be better than muffins?

First, let's whip out a Dorie Greenspan favorite and make orange berry muffins.

Ingredients:

• grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• about 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1 stick (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. fresh blueberries (if you don't have fresh you can use frozen but don't thaw them!)

Mmm...blueberries

Now for some fun artistic shots...

Pour the orange juice into a large glass measure and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

Be careful not to curdle the buttermilk!

In the bowl of a stand mixer, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant.

Smells soooo gooooood.

Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then pour in the liquid ingredients and gently stir to blend. The batter will be lumpy and bubbly, just as it should be. Then gently fold in the blueberries.

You know the batter is delicious when your roommate licks the spatula and says "Oh my God! It tastes just like frosting!"

Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups with paper muffin cups. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes at 400 F. Let cool and enjoy!

Before...

After!

Everyone loves banana nut bread, so everyone should also love banana nut muffins, especially if there's chocolate involved.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/3 c. veggie oil
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 3 medium bananas, mashed (if using frozen bananas, thaw)
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. mini semisweet chocolate chips

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg, oil and sugar together until smooth.

This would be something that a bunch of preteen girls would make someone else to drink during true or dare.

Mash the bananas with a fork in a small bowl. Then add to the egg-oil-sugar mixture.

This shit is bananas!

Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt then stir into banana mixture. Measure out chocolate chips and gentle stir into the batter.

A little for the muffins and a little to snack on while you wait!

Banana goodness!

Fill greased paper muffin cups 3/4 of the way full and bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 375 F. Cool and enjoy!

Before

After

Baking Extravaganza Part Un

It's been stressful around here so I saved satisfying my baking needs for one fell swoop. And what a swoop. I think I went through an entire 5-pound bag of flour. For starters, I made bagels. Now this is only my second foray into the land of bagels but I think they turned out pretty well.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1-1/4 c. warm milk (110 to 115 degrees)
• 1/4 c. butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 3-3/4 to 4-1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 quarts water
• Sesame seeds

(I doubled the recipe this time)

Ingredients!

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk.

The yeast is going "om nom nom nom nom!"

Then add the butter, sugar, salt, egg yolk, and 1 cup of flour, beating until smooth. Then using a dough hook with an electric stand mixer, knead in remaining flour until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.

Delicious Dough

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. This lets the yeast go "oh! time to grow!"

My front porch seemed like a perfect place considering it was 80 degrees here (and yeah, we don't have AC in the Pacific Northwest.)

After the dough has doubled, punch down the dough (use your fist to deflate the risen dough).

It's allliiiiiiivvvveeeee!!!

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, divide into 12 pieces (24 if you doubled the recipe). Shape each piece into a ball.

Push your thumb through the center of the ball to form a 1-inch hole. Stretch and shape the dough to form a ring. Place on a floured surface, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Like doughnuts, only healthier...well, somewhat.

No bring a large saucepan (or stock pot in this case) to boil.

Double, double, boil and trouble.

Drop the bagels in, one at a time, into the boiling water. Cook for roughly 45 seconds, then turn the bagels over and cook for 45 seconds on the opposite side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Again, like doughnut, but sans the vat of frying oil.

Sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown at 400 F. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Enjoy with some lox!

Before...

After. Delish.

Summer Sun

The other day I was sitting out in the quad and I was inspired by the grass and warm weather, it finally felt like summer. So I decided to make a summery cake (like you do).

First, taking a note from Rose Levy Beranbaum, I used a base of an all-occasion downy yellow butter cake:

Ingredients:

• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 c. milk
• 2 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 3 c. cake flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 12 Tbsp. butter (1 1/2 sticks)

Mixins

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease and flour two 9-inch cake rounds. In a small bowl, separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, then add 1/4 c. milk and the vanilla, stir to combine.

Sadly one broke or else this would have been a cool shot.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the dry ingredients, stirring a few times until well combined. Add the butter and remaining milk, mix on a medium speed for about a minute and a half to develop the cake's structure.

Mixy mix.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Now add the egg mixture in three additions, mixing well after each addition.

Mmm....cake batter!

Now divide the cake batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Before...

After!

Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Who needs air fresheners when your house can smell like fresh cake?

Now what would a cake be without delicious frosting?

For your frosting fixins:

• 2 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 6 c. sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• pinch of salt
• green food coloring

So much sugar but so good.

Beat the butter until it is nice and creamy, about 2 minutes, then slowly add the sugar, 1/2 c. at a time, scraping down the sides when needed. Beat in the vanilla, salt, and food coloring.

Hulk frosting!

What would a summer cake be without flowers? (Just a warning, this is my first attempt at fondant flowers, so if they look crappy, blame it on my inexperience.)

You can make you're own fondant if you're super talented (I made it once and it was too much of a hassle to do again so I just bought pre-rolled ready to use fondant, no shame in that). I bought a package of plain white fondant and then a colored package. You can always use food coloring to dye the white fondant any color you want, but just remember to wear gloves! (Unless you're into the tie-dyed hand look.) You'll also want a flower shaped cookie cutter or have some serious skills with an exacto knife. You'll also need some cornstarch and a rolling pin.

Mmm...sugar and corn syrup!

Sprinkle a light dusting of cornstarch on a clean work surface. Kneading the fondant with your hands, bring the fondant to room temperature. Then roll out to a 1/8 inch thickness with a rolling pin.

Flat as a pancake.

Using a cookie cutter (or exacto knife) cut out the flowers, re-rolling the fondant if necessary.

Cute!

Now to assemble the cake!

Place one of the cakes on a cardboard cake round and level the cake top with a serrated knife. Dollop some frosting on top, spreading to the edges and then top with the second cake:

It's like a delicious construction project.

Now frost the entire outside of the cake with the green frosting. Then using an icing bag with a #12 icing tip, pipe the grass stems on the top of the cake.

Super tedious, but super cute.

Now adorn the cake with the fondant flowers! Admire and enjoy!

Precious.