Soundtrack: Knife, Girl Talk
noms
getting ready to spend easter holiday in the sun and on the water with my family and best friends. in the process of making half batches of a variety of confectional delights – since everyone seems to have their own personal favorites i wanted to try and create a few options.
*currently hardening in the fridge awaiting white chocolate coating: pastel speckled pecan cream eggs.
Sountrack: Flogging Molly
finished rainbow cake and cloud fluffs
Supplies: angel food cake pan big bowl ziplock bags whisk spatula Ingredients: (topping) 1 box white cake mix *and eggs/oil that it calls for! food coloring frosting
apparently i’m on a baking kick…with a few tweaks
ingredients
the website linked does a really good job explaining this recipe – honestly it is so so easy to mix up these colored batters. just pull together a basic white cake box mix and divide the batter into ziplock bags. put the most amount of batter in the one that you plan on adding red food dye to and scale down as you progress through the rainbow. leave some plain white to put in the bottom of the pan.
rainbow-ing
make a layer of plain white batter. cut a small!! hole in the corner of red ziplock bag and make a rather large ring. repeat process with all of the colors - making smaller and smaller rings as you layer the colors.
baked
bake according to directions on cake box.
noms
i opted to move away from the green grass theme and leprechaun trap and instead frosted mine with fluffy vanilla clouds.
Lessons Learned:
Review: how can you not love a rainbow holiday theme cake?!
Inspiration: Pi day (3/14)
finished pie
Supplies: pie tin measuring cups/spoons whisk vitamix or food processor Ingredients: (topping) 1/2 c walnut pieces 1/4 c packed golden brown sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon pinch fine sea salt pie crust Ingredients: (filling) 1 c packed golden brown sugar 2 eggs 1/2 tsp fine sea salt 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1 can (15oz) pure pumpkin 1 c heavy whipping cream
so in honor of Pi day and to appease my inner math enthusiast i decided to bake off a pie. perused many options but decided on this one from Bon Appetite:
Pumpkin Pie with Brown Sugar Walnut Topping
ingredients
pre-heat oven to 375degrees. poke holes in bottom of pie shell with fork to allow air to escape. place frozen pie shell (i googled brands and am pretty impressed with how this one from Whole Foods called Whole Wholesome Organic turned out) in oven for about 15min to crisp up a bit.
topping
using Vitamix or food processor grind up walnuts, brown sugar and salt.
topping
pulse until it turns into fine crumbs
filling
whisk brown sugar, eggs and spices in medium bowl. add in heavy whipping cream and pumpkin puree and whisk some more to combine.
cooking
pour filling into pie and bake for about 30 min. be careful when placing pie into oven – where it sloshed over onto the pie crust it wound up burning and turning black by the time the pie was done. eep. sprinkle topping on pie and continue to bake for 15 min at 325degrees (i accidentally left my oven at 375degrees – again, eep.)
noms
Lessons Learned:
Review: honestly i’m not a pie fan but i love pumpkin puree and even eat it just by itself whenever it’s prominently promoted over the fall holidays. this tasted like a creamier version of that, but i really liked that the recipe didn’t call for condensed milk like some recipes do which i think takes away too much from the pumpkin taste. also the crumb topping doesn’t call for butter like most crumbles which i also like since it makes the overall flavor of the pie (deceptively?) healthy tasting. the frozen pie crust i used was also a winner, aside from the burnt parts around the sides…better chilled since it set the filling up, but had i cooked it longer i’m sure it would have been fine warm or at room temperature.
Soundtrack: My Funny Valentine, Frank Sinatra
finished conversation hearts
Supplies: standing mixer measuring cups/spoons spatula silpat lined baking sheet food safe gloves food safe pen (i used Gourmet Writer) small heart shaped cookie cutter Ingredients: 1/4 oz gelatin (one packet) 4 oz sprite 40 oz powdered sugar 1/4 tsp salt extract options corresponding food coloring
ingredients
weigh out all ingredients on scale (if you don’t have a scale i have a feeling the accuracy isn’t too finicky in this recipe so just convert. ie: 40oz is roughly 5 cups)
melting
combine gelatin and sprite in heat safe bowl. mix with fork over simmering water just until gelatin is melted.
mixing
in standard mixer with beater attachment, place gelatin sprite mixture and one cup powdered sugar. mix on low speed.
dough
continue to add in more powdered sugar and mix to combine until a play dough like consistency forms.
kneading
knead dough with more powdered sugar if necessary (for me it was).
dividing
divide into however many flavors you plan on making
flavor coloring
wearing food safe rubber gloves, add in small amount of flavoring (i used a scant 1/4tsp) and coloring. mix in hands to combine
cutting
flatten out (with rolling pin or hand). use cookie cutter to cut out hearts. pace on silpat lined baking sheet to harden out overnight.
noms
decorate using food safe pen <3
Lessons Learned:
frankenheart
super cute, but i forgot to consider flavor mixing. luckily my flavors aren’t that pronounced, but just something to be noted.
Review: these are so so so much fun to make. the flavors i did were: strawberry, champagne, brandy, peppermint, and vanilla. i loved all of the flavors, except brandy, which now reminds me of that eggnog fudge i made, which is sadly a flavor i cannot seem to get on board with. i was supposed to write on them with a friend, but we got sidetracked so the majority of mine still remain unadorned. however they’re so adorable i don’t really mind. apparently Sprite is what gives them that flavor profile reminiscent of actual candy hearts, whatever it is – it works. these turn out a bit softer than the store bought kind, but you can leave them out for more nights if that’s what you want to eventually achieve.
<3
Soundtrack: Sleepyhead, Passion Pit
finished meringues
Supplies: standing mixer measuring cups/spoons spatula piping bag/tip silpat lined baking sheet Ingredients: 3 large egg whites, room temperature 1/8 tsp kosher salt 1/3 c sugar 1/2 c powdered sugar 1/8 tsp peppermint extract 12 drops red food coloring
ingredients
preheat oven to 200degrees
stiff peaks
in standard mixer with whisk attachment beat egg whites and salt on medium high until foamy. with mixture running add in sugar in 3 batches, mixing for about 2 min between each addition. beat until stiff peaks form – about 2 min more.
add in powdered sugar and extract and mix to combine
coloring splatter
dot food coloring onto mixture – do not stir. yes i know this looks disturbingly like a knife wound.
piping
fill piping bag with mixture and pipe onto silpat lined baking sheet in either rounds or heart shapes. or however you like.
bake in oven for 2 1/2hours, then cool for at least an hour
noms
Lessons Learned:
Review: i love meringues. love love. these were a festive flavor and it is an easy enough recipe that lends itself to trying out other flavors – much like marshmallows or macarons… however, i’m still going to stand by keeping them traditional vanilla flavored. also i highly recommend scooping out a small bowl of the mixture before it is piped and baked to enjoy as a marshmallow fluff type confection all on its own.
**disclaimer. in case it wasn’t evident – should you eat this before it is baked off you are, in fact, consuming raw eggs. i’m convinced that dedicating my early years to eating raw cookie dough has insulated me against such concerns.
me, circa 1980's
well it’s december 1st. that means holiday parties are going to be ramping up in full force and people will be desiring confectionary delights in their bellies.
from here on out i will be focusing solely on holiday inspired treats – whether it be in theme, ease of quick preparation, or potential for mass streamlined production.
tomorrow will bring a tale of two fudges…well, more accurately the tale of one fudge, and one fudge turned delectable saucy topping.
happy holidays and bonne chance.
Q: Do you know any good recipes for peppermint bark? Or candy stirrers for hot chocolate that might be festive for the holidays?
A: i will definitely make some peppermint bark in the next week to figure out a good one. also in keeping with the peppermint theme i’ll post my attempts at ‘hint of mint hard candy’ and ‘peppermint divinity’ – two recipes i thought looked yummy for holiday gifts.
themes are my favorite.
