FIRETRUCK CAKE!!!

My nephew, James (Fernando), spent his second birthday requesting "MORE FIRE!!!" on his cake as we lit the candles and the entire next year falling in love with firetrucks, ambleeances, and popo cars. He proved his love and devotion for firetrucks by watching the "How to Make a Firetruck Birthday Cake" on "YouTuve" updwards of 263 times.  Not counting the 52 additional times we watched it together to make this cake.  The result, one pretty fancy edible firetruck and one very happy birthday boy.  it was the big THREE, so we wanted to make sure his cake was the coolest on the block. Instructions and ingredients are all found in the video. also worth noting: the highly-saturated red paint job required no less than three full bottles of red food coloring.

jamesy sneaking some frosting tastes before we cut the cake.

todd is the most excited.

the YouTuve masterpiece in all of its shining glory

i guess todd thinks the photographer is pretty hilarious.

bunting flag birthday cake

lily and I made these fancy little flags to spruce up this birthday cake.  all you need are some bamboo skewers, a couple different colors of craft paper and a hot glue gun.  Cut out different sizes of paper flags and glue them to the tops of skewers, and your cake is all dressed and ready to party.

taste the rainbow

this rainbow layer cake is the coolest thing ever. whoever has a birthday next, you're getting this. you can find the recipe and assembly instructions here.

a sauce for all seasons

i am in love with rhubarb. i could eat it every day. year round. for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert. in oatmeal, in a cake, baked into a pie, atop ice cream.  on a boat or in a train. with a fox. in a box. you get the idea.


Now that you understand my love, please also understand that i am always looking for new recipes that kindly feature my favorite ingredient and maximize it's special flavor.  


here is a winner. this is a rhubarb sauce that you bake in the oven with a little white wine and a little sugar, and then serve with any and all items that your heart desires. this sauce would pair well with items such as toast, oatmeal, ice cream, cake, by itself, yogurt and others. endless possibilities.


I paired it with a sweet (but not too sweet) cornmeal cake, topped with a dollop of whipped cream. so good. so special. please make it and enjoy.  

sauce.

cake.

cake. sauce. whip cream. good. 

mariners bobble head. weird.

CORNMEAL CAKE WITH ROASTED RHUBARB SAUCE
(both recipes courtesy of Orangette)


ROASTED RHUBARB SAUCE
(4 to 6 servings)
2 lb. rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
½ cup sugar
½ cup crisp white wine (I used a pinot grigio)
1 tsp vanilla

Set a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°F. Put the rhubarb in a Dutch oven or other deep oven-safe pot. Add the sugar, wine, and vanilla, and stir to mix. Bake (uncovered) for about 30 minutes, or until very tender, giving the pot a gentle stir about midway through to ensure that the rhubarb cooks evenly.

CORNMEAL CAKE
1 ¼ cups cake flour
6 Tbs fine yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup milk, preferably whole
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbs powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9” round cake pan with butter or cooking spray, and then dust the pan lightly with flour, shaking out any excess.

In a bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a measuring cup, combine the milk and vanilla extract. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar gradually, scraping down the bowl once or twice, until smooth and fully incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest, and beat to incorporate. Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk mixture, beating on low speed until just combined. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan; then invert it onto a plate, and turn it topside up onto a rack. Cool the cake to room temperature.

Whip the cream. Pour the cream into a mixing bowl, and beat it on medium speed until it begins to thicken. With the beaters running, slowly sprinkle in the sugar, and continue to beat until the cream holds soft peaks.


Serve cake with a spoonful of the sauce and a plop of whipped cream.

banana & chocolate chip bundt

BANANA & CHOCOLATE CHIP BUNDT
2 1/4 c. flour
1 2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves or nutmeg
2/3 c. skim milk
1/2 c. vanilla or plain nonfat yogurt
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 4 bananas, depending on size)
2/3 c. chopped nuts or chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bundt pan. Measure all ingredients into large mixer bowl and blend 1/2 minutes on low speed, scraping bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes on high and pour into pan. Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

plum kuchen

This plum cake is something my mom makes towards the end of summer or early in the fall, when plums are in full bloom. Before she made it, my Grandma Marce made it for us on her summer visits. This recipe is sweeter and more cake like than I remember their's ever being. If that's what you're into, it's perfect.

Consider this version more of a dessert item, like a cakey-cobbler, than a grab-n-go breakfast item. I had some leftover blueberries that I threw into the mix as well, but plums are all you need. Oh yes, and kuchen is the German word for cake. Much better than kaka, which is what they call it in Sweden.

PLUM KUCHEN
From Gourmet

2 1/4 teaspoons or 1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (105–110°F)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

1 cup sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plain yogurt at room temperature

1 large egg, warmed in shell in warm water five minutes

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and softened, divided

3/4 pound firm-ripe plums (about 4 small), halved and pitted

Stir together yeast and warm water in mixer bowl and let stand until foamy, about five minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

Add two cups flour, 2/3 cup sugar, salt, yogurt, egg, zest, and vanilla to yeast mixture and mix at medium-low speed 1 minute. Beat in one stick of the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Beat at medium speed until dough is smooth and shiny, about five minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.) Scrape down side of bowl and sprinkle dough with remaining two tablespoons flour. Cover bowl loosely with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Spread remaining two tablespoons butter in bottom of an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Cut each plum half into five or six slices and arrange in one layer in pan.

Stir dough until flour is incorporated, then spread evenly over plums. Loosely cover with buttered plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until almost doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Bake until kuchen is golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan five minutes, then invert and unmold onto a rack to cool completely.

Serve with additional yogurt, lightly sweetened, or sweetened crème fraîche.

babycakes

Sweet little mini vanilla cakes with whipped cream cheese frosting. Perfect for any celebration. Even if the celebration is just you...at home...eatin cake by yourself...on a Thursday. Celebrate it, people.

Mixing the cake batter.

Mixed to its full fluffiness.

the final cakes.

GOLDEN LAYER CAKE

(courtesy of How to Cook Everything)

1 and 1/4 sticks butter, softened

2 cups cake or all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 eggs or 8 yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR 1 tablespoon grated or minced orange zest

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (if you are shy about almond extract, leave it out. tasty both ways.)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

For cupcakes, preheat oven to 350. Place your cupcake papers in the muffin tin.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth, then gradually add the sugar. Beat until light, 3 or 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs or the yolks (I used eggs) one at a time, then the vanilla or orange zest, and the almond extract.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the egg mixture a bit at a time, stirring in milk as needed. Stir until just smooth.

Fill the cupcake papers, each with about 2 large spoonfuls of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack. Frost and serve without the paper.

FLUFFY WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon food coloring (optional)

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Add food coloring, if desired. Whip in a stand mixer at high speed, about 4 minutes until airy and fluffy.

quite possibly the moistest cake ever

I LOVE yellow cake coupled with bittersweet sour cream frosting. The combination makes for one tasty dessert treat.

I tried a new frosting recipe for the latest cake bake. They say “everything’s better with butter”, this frosting is the exception to the rule. For one, there’s no softening or waiting for ingredients to reach room temperature, there’s no weird texture issues with the butter, and incorporating warm chocolate with the other frosting ingredients was no problem. The mixture stayed very fluffy and smooth, all the way from mixing and chilling to the actual frosting of the layers. One other word to the wise, using corn syrup also means that you can easily sweeten the frosting to your liking, without changing the consistency.

Now for the cake layers, Mr. Bittman knows how to cook everything. (can you imagine what that would be like???) Well, since I do not know how to cook everything, I look to him for wise words of cooking advice and his broad recipe knowledge.

His recipe for golden layer cake looks slammin (and not just because it includes almond extract), but because it's pretty much just sugar, flour, eggs and butter. I own all of those things. Every baker should be able to knock this one out, no problem.

GOLDEN LAYER CAKE

(courtesy of How to Cook Everything)

1 and 1/4 sticks butter, softened
2 cups cake or all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs or 8 yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR 1 tablespoon grated or minced orange zest
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

For cakes, preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9-inch cakes pans.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth, then gradually add the sugar. Beat until light, 3 or 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs or the yolks (I used eggs) one at a time, then the vanilla or orange zest, and the almond extract.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the egg mixture a bit at a time, stirring in milk as needed. Stir until just smooth.

Fill the cupcake papers, each with about 2 large spoonfuls of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack. Frost and serve without the paper.


CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM FROSTING
This recipe is adapted from The Dessert Bible

Makes 5 cups of frosting, or enough to frost and fill a three layer 8 or 9-inch cake

15 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 to 1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the chocolate in the top of a double-boiler. Stir until the chocolate is melted. You can also melt it in the microwave, just check every 30 seconds to prevent burning. Remove from heat and let chocolate cool until tepid.

Whisk together the sour cream (room temperature!), 1/4 cup of the corn syrup and vanilla extract until combined. Add the tepid chocolate slowly and stir quickly until the mixture is uniform. Taste for sweetness, and add 1 tablespoon at a time, until it’s sweetened to your liking.

Let cool in the refrigerator until the frosting is a spreadable consistency. This should not take more than 30 minutes. Should the frosting become too thick or stiff, just leave it out until it softens again.

Cake transport FAIL

It was the bell of the ball. But then a few really bad things happened very quickly. First lily dropped it on the ground. And then I dropped it in the car. And then I dropped it in the car, a second time. It was fun while it lasted, but let's face it cake, you cannot be salvaged. may you rest in peace on our front porch.

Also, it has come to my attention that someone stuck their finger in the frosting and dragged it down the cake, as evidenced by the first picture. Not naming any names, but I have a pretty good idea who it was. I'm after you. Better watch your back.

smiling all of my days

thanks to all of the lovely people that make me smile all of my days, especially on this birthday day. today I got some extra special goodies starting with passing my emissions test with flying colors (uh-huh, that's right), beautiful looking and smelling flowers from Natalie and the coolest EVER, Robin's egg blue KitchenAid mixer from Dan! Now I can bake cakes everyday, and life will be even more awesome. Also, I got a very hilarious Jehovah card from Alonna and my little sister Molly called to sing me a happy birthday song this morning. you peeps rock. also, if anyone wants to get me a blue-eyed kitty, i will accept it with open arms. you know where to find me.