I know I know… I’m actually going to tell you how to make one of my original recipes. This one is actually pretty easy because it only has three ingredients: raspberries, raspberry preserves and brandy. Raspberry is a great go-to filling because it’s tartness goes well with so many sweet cake flavors.
First, you will need to gather your ingredients. You really don’t need brand name or any organic ingredients for this filling – but if you insist, by all means! On this particular day, I stopped into my local Harris Teeter. And you’ll have to bear with me because I usually don’t measure my ingredients for this one. So into a sauce pan, put about a cup of frozen raspberries, two heaping spoonfuls of raspberry seedless preserves and then I pour about 1/3 of an airplane bottle of brandy. You can certainly pour in more if you’d like – it really depends on your flavor preference.
Turn it on medium heat and stir until the preserves melt. Then simmer until it reduces by about one half.
It will get all bubbly and yummy smelling.
You’ll know it’s ready when the raspberries have broken down and it has a much thicker consistency. If you aren’t sure if it is ready or not, dip the back of a spoon and let the filling run off. If it forms a thick skin on the spoon, it’s ready. If it runs right off, keep bubbling! Place it on a back burner and allow it to cool completely. It will thicken as it cools so that it will be much easier to spread between cake layers. If you need to speed up the process, you can toss it in the fridge. But be careful, because it can thicken too much and you’ll have one thick jelly mess!
Enjoy!
Exciting news!! If you ever frequent the Rochester, Michigan area, stop into Bark Place Avenue and buy some of my handcrafted doggie stationary!!
If you are looking for something more challenging and original than dying eggs this Easter – here is a great alternative. Peep Sushi!
Find the instructions at Serious Eats.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The one thing that I remember most about ordering my birthday cakes at Farm Fresh when I was little was the emphasis my mom put on “buttercream frosting.” What she really meant was “don’t use that whipped crap!” (Pardon my french). If you’ve ever ordered a cake from your local grocery store bakery, you know what I mean. It’s their standard frosting – it is light, sweet, and leaves a funny taste in your mouth – almost that of fake sugar. And when confetti sprinkles are added to it, they turn wet and melty and leave their respective color stains in the frosting. My most educated guess is that the main ingredient is whipped cream of some sort – but I’ve tried adding whipped cream to my buttercream and it doesn’t work. The weight of the buttercream causes the air in the whipped cream to escape and you have a soupy looking mess.
Well wonder no more – according to All Experts.com, Bakery Whipped Icing is whipped cream with a powdered stablizer. So that’s where the funky aftertaste comes from! The leading brand for this whipped stuff is Rich’s – here is a list of their products. What do they have in common? They are all NON-DAIRY.
My frosting/icing ingredients are as follows: butter, egg whites, milk, sugar, etc. In other words – they contain dairy. I can’t imagine a frosting without butter or egg whites or milk. Why would you want a dessert with fake frosting that’s made of chemical non-pronounable ingredients? Beats me. Make your own icing! Or do as my mom did, request buttercream. It may not be made from scratch, but I can guarantee it has at least one dairy ingredient!
photo from farmfresh.com
Last Tuesday was Ben and Jerry’s free ice cream cone day so I went over to Pitango and got some gelato (since they probably weren’t getting any customers…). I always get chocolate hazelnut and bourbon vanilla. While I was waiting for the nice gelato lady to do some fancy swirl thing on the top of my ice cream, I began to wonder what the meaning of “Bourbon” was and how it was associated with vanilla. Did the gelato have some bourbon in it? I always buy Madagascar-Bourbon Vanilla beans and extract as opposed to the Mexican variety.
Well after some research, I discovered that the majority of vanilla exported into the US is from Madagascar. Some varieties are from Réunion – a small French island east of Madagascar. At some point in history, the island was a part of the Bourbon Islands and it was even called Bourbon. Then, after the fall of the House of Bourbon, it became Réunion. What I’m getting at is that they produced and exported vanilla, therefore making it “Bourbon Vanilla.” And I suppose they decided to keep calling it that instead of “Réunion Vanilla.” Sometimes even referred to as Madagascar-Bourbon Vanilla because it comes from that general area. So there you have it – Bourbon Vanilla doesn’t have anything to do with the liquor. And technically, it can only be Bourbon Vanilla if it comes from the little island of Réunion. And here’s another interesting tid-bit if you happen to frequent Pitango for some afternoon/after dinner gelato. The vanilla beans they use are from Papua New Guinea – the last time I checked, that’s no where near Réunion.
Where’s your tip? Use quality vanilla. You’d be surprised at how much better your cookies and cakes will taste!
photo from the Penzey’s catalog
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Kara’s Cakery website should be updated very VERY soon. It’s taking a little longer than I hoped, but there will be lots of new info and much better pictures!
My mom always hated making sugar cookies because they stuck to the table when you rolled them out and the ends always turned brown. Well – here are a few tips for making the perfect sugar cookies!
1) First of all – be patient. If the dough needs to be refrigerated, do it. This will allow the butter to solidify. If you bake them right away, they will not hold their shape! Follow the ingredient list EXACTLY. No exceptions.
2) Roll out small portions of the dough on a Silpat. If you don’t have one of these, you need one. They are amazing. Buy one here.
3) Use powdered sugar instead of flour – flour makes them taste drier and the sugar makes them sweeter!
4) Rotate the pans in the oven half-way through the baking cycle. Rotate them so the right side is now on the left and vice versa, and switch shelves. This ensures even baking and no brown edges.
5) Leave them on the cookie sheet to cool for 5 – 10 minutes after you pull them out of the oven. This prevents breaking and bending.
6) If you are giving them as gifts, let them sit over night without wrapping them. This will allow them to harden, therefore reducing the chance of breakage.
Voila! Perfect sugar cookies!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
What would St. Patrick’s Day be without something green? Good thing I made cookies!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
What I appreciate most about this wedding is the simplicity. The cake is obviously what I look for first. A simple 3-tired cake with navy ribbons circling the bottom of each tier. There may even be a small piping design around the top perimeter of the tiers. I am a true believer that a simple cake can make an elegant statement. These cakes are also more budget friendly than those with intricate designs and sugar decorations.
This beautiful cake was made by a small bakeshop in Chicago called Take the Cake.
I think I’ll take one of their gorgeous cocktails as well!
See more pictures of this wedding over at Project Wedding.
My mom can crack an egg with one hand and it goes into the bowl perfectly – like the shell cracks neatly along the middle, right in half. And Brandon can too – right into the cast iron skillet on Sunday mornings. Well I can’t – I ALWAYS manage to get a bit of shell into whatever calls for eggs. (Don’t worry, this was before I started my business and created this useful shortcut!!) So here’s my first useful tip – crack your eggs into a separate bowl. Once you’ve cracked all of them, make sure there isn’t any shell! Easy enough huh? And your 100% sure that no shell will find it’s way into your batter!
And I usually mix up the yolks a little so that they will mix in easier to whatever I’m making too. Happy Tuesday!
photo from my new snazzy camera
