Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Birthday Austin!














So this cake was a collaboration between my friend Maggey and I. She came up with the board, dowels and PVC piping so we could anchor his head and the smash cake...As well as sculpting the extremities and eyes and nose, and I....well, I piped....LOL!

Thomas The Tank v 2.o














the second tank cake I've done. This one is a little bit bigger.







Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Cake Slice Bakers Present...Cold Oven Pound Cake.











Well, I haven't participated in The Cake Slice Bakers in quite a few months....This month's tho, I couldn't refuse....Cream Cheese Pound cake that's starts off in a cold oven. I've been wanting to try this method for a while...so perfect opportunity to try it out.


The original recipe calls for fresh grated ginger, which I didn't have....so I used grated orange peel instead. Then I drizzled the top of the cake with a lemon/orange glaze. I brought the cake to work (actually, the cake was still warm when I brought it to work) and it was devoured within an hour.....Would love to know how this cake sits, and what kind of texture it has when it's thoroughly cool.


Anyways, verdict....The cake was delightful. Full of taste, moist....yummy. I will definitely make this one again.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Snickerdoodle cupcake...







Snickerdoodle Cupcake Recipe.

This was an experiment that turned out well. Mind you, I've only made it once...The batter is VERY runny, and I thought for sure I was doomed....but I was suprised how well they turned out. The first batch I put in didn't rise as well (maybe I'll need to add more baking powder), but the second pan that had sat out for 20 minutes rose beautifully (leavening had time to activate)...so here it is...tender, moist and slightly cinnamony...

Snickerdoodle cupcakes
2 1/2 cups sifted AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 roasted saigon cinnamon (or whatever you have...this is my fave)
2 large eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
7 0z sour cream (why 7 oz? cuz that's all I had)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or plain vanilla extract

-Get cupcake pan ready, I got 27 out of this recipe...preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Mix top five dry ingredients together in a bowl and whisk to blend.
-whisk sugars together, so lumps are out of brown sugar.
-In kitchen Aid, beat eggs on med high for 5 minutes, add sugar and beat until egg and sugar mixture is thick and ribbon like (another couple of minutes). Fold in sour cream and vanilla.
-while beating eggs, heat milk and butter until butter is melted (don't boil it)
-slowly add hot milk mixture to egg mixture and blend well.
-slowly add flour mixture until blended (I then usually beat on med for 10 seconds, a trick I learned from Warren Brown's recipes).
-fill cupcake pan 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes. Also up to you, but next time I make these, I might let them sit out for 15 minutes before I bake them.

Good luck, if you make these, let me know how they turned out for you!