Cherry-Streusel Coffee Cake

 I am finally off of night float and I am now working days again.  It took me over a week to reacquainted with the daylight.  With being used to days again, I have more time to bake and more time to exercise.  Prior to call last weekend, I decided that I wanted to bake for the call team.  I picked this recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  The last coffee cake I made I was not that impressed with.  I have had good coffee cakes, but I have never made a good coffee cake.  Hopefully, Martha's recipe won't let me down.

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cup frozen sour cherries, thawed and drained well
1 cup Streusal(see recipe below)
Milk glaze

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Butter a 9-inch tube pan; set aside.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour.  Beat until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Spoon about half of the batter into the prepared pan.  Arrange the cherries in a single layer on top of the batter; avoid placing any cherries against the pan's edge, as they may stick or burn if  not fully encased.  Top with the remaining batter, making sure it is evenly distributed, and smooth with an offset spatula.  Sprinkle streusel evenly over the top of the batter.
4. Bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched, 40 to 45 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, and let the cake cool 10 to 15 minutes.  Invert the cake onto the rack, then reinvert (so streusel side is up), and let cool completely.  Spoon the glaze over the cake, letting drip down the sides.  Let the cake sit until the glaze is set, about 5 minutes, before serving.  Cake can be kept at room temperature, wrapped well in plastic, for up to 4 days.

Milk Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk until completely smooth.  Immediately drizzle glaze over cake.

Streusel (Makes 4 cups)--> adjust recipe accordingly
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in the butter using a pastry blender until large, moist clumps form.  Streusal can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

The fast fact of this blog is the following: The term streusel is German for something scattered or sprinkled.  (which exactly what happens when you eat it.)  So don't expect a dessert topped with streusel to be clean! 

I give this Cherry-Streusel Coffee Cake from Martha Stewart 3.0 out of 5 stars.  It tasted good but I would say it is a mere average recipe.  Despite the cakes average taste, I received good comments on the recipe from people who ate the cake at work.  So it is not a bad recipe.  However, the cake leaves something to be desired.  The cake itself is a bit dry even for a coffee cake.  It only crumbles and is a bit bland tasting as well.  The struesel is too buttery.  All I taste is the butter.  Normally, you can eat the struesel straight off the cake and really enojy it.  I don't like straight up butter without a sufficient sweet taste.  Maybe more sugar would have helped?  Maybe this is just a personal preference?  My favorite part of the cake was the cherries.  I used regular cherries instead of sour ones because I couldn't find sour cherries at the grocery store.  I added too many cherries (as in the whole bag!) but I do not regret this decision at all looking back on it.  The cherries were quite good and I think they could have been even better if I had soaked them in sugar water prior to adding them to the cake.  I do not plan on making this exact recipe again.  Let me know if you have any great coffee cake recipes.  I am in search of one.

Ultimate Lemon Layer Cake

First off, I want to apologize for the delay in post.  I have been trying to squeeze in as much stuff as possible prior to starting residency.  My baking hasn't seized, but my blogging was put on the back burner so I could take the time to see as much of the sun as humanly possible.  Anyways, I picked this recipe Ultimate Lemon Layer Cake recipe out weeks ago specifically for my roommate from college's bachelorette party.  We went camping at Bastrop State Park for her party.  I know you are thinking that the idea of having a bachelorette party in the woods in Texas in the summer may be a little crazy, but the event went wonderfully actually.  It was a little hot...okay a lot hot...but really fun.  Now, I know you probably have a second burning question as you read this.  You took a cake camping?!  My parents thought the idea of taking a fancy cake camping was absurd, but I thought, why not?  So this is a tale of the cake I took camping...I hope you enjoy the recipe.

From March/April 2007 Cooking Illustrated Magazine

                                              Above:  Here I am with the cake finally completed!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Adventure

Little did I know earlier this week that I was going to make two different pineapple upside down cakes.   However, I was not satisfied with my first attempt and knew that I could do better.  In addition, I had left over pineapple from the first one and making a second cake just seemed fitting.  This week has been a big week for me.  Two pineapple upside down cakes, med school graduation and lots of friends moving.  I still am in a little shock that I actually graduated med school.  (*Not that I was close to not passing.)   I know I worked hard for it, but I don't feel like I have adequate knowledge still.  There is still so much work left to be done.  For a moment though, it is nice to think that I have finished some of the process and I am trying to enjoy my few weeks off before residency starts.  Anyways, back to Pineapple Upside down cake.  I am going to do a side by side comparison of the two cakes I made...plus discuss what I could have done better in each cake.  The cakes will be discussed in the order that I made them.

Cake #1- Pineapple Upside-Down Cake from William Sonoma Cookbook

Ingredients:
For the Topping
-- 1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled
-- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
--3/4 cup firmly pack brown sugar
For the Cake:
-- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
-- 1 tsp baking powder
-- 1/4 tsp salt
-- 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
-- 2 large eggs
-- 2 tsp vanilla extract
-- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
-- 1 cup granulated sugar
-- 1/2 cup whole milk

Directions for Cake #1
1. Preheat the Oven to 350 F.  Lightly coat a 9 inch round cake pan with vegetable oil spray.  (I always coat my pans with butter)
2. Cut the peeled pineapple crosswise into slices 1/2 inch thick.  With a paring knife or small cookie cutter, remove the core from each slice.  Cut the pineapple rounds into half moons and set aside.  (I bought pineapple from HEB that was already peeled for the same price)
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the brown sugar and stir until small bubbles appear, 2-3 minutes.  Remove the mixture from the heat and pour into the prepared pan.  Arrange 7-8 pineapple halves in the pan in a circular pattern.  Set the pan aside.
4. To make the cake, in a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg to distribute the leavening and splice evenly.  Set aside.  In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla.  Set aside.
5. In a stand mixer fitted with the  paddle attachment, beat the butter until pale and fluffy.  Gradually add the granulated sugar and beat for 2 to 3 minutes longer.  Slowly add the egg mixture, beating after each addition.  Spoon half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, stir, add half of the milk, and stir again.  Add the remaining flour, stir, and then add the remaining milk.  Continue stirring, scraping down the bowl as needed until the batter is completely smooth.  Do not overmix.
6. Pour the batter on top of the pineapple slices in the prepared pan, spreading it evenly.  Bake until the top of the cake is lightly golden and the center springs back when touched, 35-45 minutes.  Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto a platter and scrape the remaining juices over the top of the cake.  Let cool slightly and serve warm.

Cake #2- Pineapple Upside-Down Cake from Anna Marie Sims.  Given to me by aunt.

Ingredients
1 Yellow Cake Mix
1 Vanilla Instant Pudding- small (or just buy a yellow cake mix with pudding included)
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup oil (Canola or Vegetable) 
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
6 Tbsp Butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 14.5oz Can Sliced Pineapple, drained

Directions:
Mix cake mix, pudding, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract together until well mixed.  Grease and flour cake pan(s)-- your choice based on cake mix options.  Melt butter in saute pan.  Add brown sugar then slice pineapple.  (Mixture may appear too thick before pineapple is added-- ok).  Pour sugar mixture into bottom of pan(s)-- arrange pineapple.  Add cake batter.

Bake at 350 F for 25 to 30 minutes (or per cake mix instructions).  Test with toothpick to determine readiness.  When ready, remove from oven.  Let cool about 10 minutes.  Loosen edges with butter knife.  Put plate or platter on top of cake pan and flip.  Use fork to remove any topping mix left in pan and put it back on cake.


*Notes on this recipe:
1. I buttered the cake pans with 1 tbsp of butter prior to pouring the sugar mixture into the bottom of the pans.
2. I added the brown sugar to the melted butter i n the saute pan and allowed the mixture to come to a bubble.  This process took 2 to 3 minutes.  Instead of placing the pineapple in the saute pan as the instructions say, I poured the brown sugar mixture into 8 inch pans and then arranged half moon shaped pineapple pieces in the cake pan.
3. I used two 8 inch cake pans and baked each cake close to 40 minutes at 350 F.

Evaluation of the recipes:
Cake #1 aka the William Sonoma Cake: 3.0 out of 5 stars.  I underbaked this cake first off.  So it was too gooey and I was unable to move it to a cake platter.  So I honestly think I need to remake this cake before I give a full evaluation.  The cake in my oven needed probably 45 minutes of solid baking at 350F.  The cake was slightly deceiving in the fact that the top of the cake looked so done and the remainder of the cake, especially the center, was so not done.  So summary...cake was so so.  I even threw out some of the left overs because I wasn't excited about eating it.  This is rare for me.  I almost always finish the cake I make.  :)

Cake #2 aka the cake from my Aunt: 4.5 out of 5 stars.  Despite my aversion to using box cake mixes period, this easy to make cake was significantly better tasting than Cake #1.  It was moister, richer in flavor and the pineapples melted in your mouth.  The cake crumbed in your mouth.  People who ate this cake had extremely positive things to say.  I will definitely make this cake again.  (especially because it was so easy!) It took me less than 15 minutes to prepare prior to putting it in the oven.  This is a rare occurrence. 

Verdict: Cake #2 wins!!!

Tres Leches Cake

Last week, I went to what was possibly the last Houston Dining for Women with the med school gang.  I know I have mentioned Dining for Women in the past, but I don't know if I have been overly specific about what it is exactly.  It is a nonprofit organization that selects other non-profits benefiting women to donate money to.  Essentially, all of the money raised by Dining for Women is done so at small group dinners in which women bring food to the dinner (pot luck style) instead of going out and use the money that they would have spent going out on a non-profit organization.  This month's nonprofit was a group called INMED.  More information can be found: Here at Inmed.org.  Our Houston Dining for Women group has been meeting for about a year and a half and has been a blast thus far.  A great excuse each month to meet up with all of my girlfriends.  This upcoming Thursday, I will find out where I am going to residency, and if I match in a location other than Houston, I plan on starting or joining a Dining for Women chapter in that new city.  Who knows...I may be staying in Houston for residency, but nonetheless, I will continue to carry the Dining for Women torch with whoever is still left here with me.

The theme for this meeting was Mexican Food.  I picked a recipe given to me from my little sister.  She made this Tres Leches Cake for my grandfather's birthday and the whole family is still talking about it.  I figured that if my mom, a non-Tres Leches fan, was raving about it that this recipe had to be good.  So I had the little sis send me the recipe.

From My Sweet Mexico by Fany Gerson as seen in the SA Express News


 For the Cake:
2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided use
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
8 eggs, separated
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

For Tres Leches:
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark rum (optional)

Filling and Topping:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspooon vanilla
1 cup fresh chopped fruit (strawberries and/or canned peaches are commonly used)

For the Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease two (8-inch) cake pans
3. Put a circle of parchment paper on bottom of each pan.
4. Mix flour, half of sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl with a whisk until thoroughly combined.
5. Using a whisk, beat vegetable oil, yolks, water and vanilla.
6. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites to soft peaks, add cream of tartar and second half of sugar and then continue beating until you reach stiff peaks but whites aren't dry.
7. Add 1/4 of the beaten whites to the yolk mixture and fold gently.
8. Add 1/3 of the dry mixture and fold gently.
9. Repeat, alternating finishing with egg whites.
10. Pour into lined pans and bake in middle rack until top springs to touch and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 to 35 minutes.
11. Allow to cool slightly and unmold.  Remove parchment paper and return to pans.

For Tres Leches:
1. Mix evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, cream, vanilla, rum and salt in medium bowl.
2. Pour half of mixture over one of the cakes and remainder over other cake.  Allow to soak in refrigerator.


For Filling and Topping:
1. Using electric mixer on medium speed, beat heavy cream till it slightly thickens.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla and continue beating until it is thick and fluffy.  The whipped cream should be stable and smooth.


To Assemble Cake:
1. Remove cakes from pans and place some of the whipped cream in the center of one.
2. Put the fruit on top, making sure to spread them evenly.  Top with the other cake and cover with rest of whipped cream.
3. Decorate with fruit as desired.

 I am sure many of you did not grow up with Tres Leches Cake like I did.  I don't remember the first time I had Tres Leches cake actually.  Many people though, have never heard of it or tried it.  So a little info on the cake:
--> It is a very popular dessert in Latin America with its name meaning "Three Milks". 
--> In fact in South Texas, it is many people's favorite dessert; it was my grandfather's.
--> There are rumors that Tres Leches cake was originally invented by the makers of the canned condensed milk to help promote the product in the mid 1800s and other rumors stating that its invention was helped with Nestle during WWII. 

I am going to say it.  I am not a big Tres Leches fan.  Hmmph... I said it. Tres Leches cake with all of the milk is just too rich for me.  This does not fault the recipe though.  This was a great Tres Leches cake.  Wow!  For Tres Leches I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars = goodness.  None of the cake making it out of Dining for Women= good.  Before I evaluate this cake more though, I want to tell you a little story about my own experiences with Tres Leches cake.  I made my very first Tres Leches cake two years ago for a Cinco de Mayo type event.  The cake was a semi-disaster.  Let's just say it was more of a soup than cake.  :)  There was the milk and then a thin layer of cake to go with it.  I am pleased to say that in the past two years that my baking has improved and that this Tres Leches cake was a HUGE hit.  The cake was nice and fluffy and was able to absorb ALL of the milk.  I say that the cake was milky because when you pressed on the cake, milk would slowly seep out.  This is exactly what a Tres Leches cake is suppose to do.  I am pleased with this portion of success.  The cake in the above picture looks poorly decorated and messy....this only occurred because the cake was so moist and milky it was hard to keep the icing on it!  The whipped cream icing was light and melted in your mouth.  If you like Tres Leches cake, I think you should give this recipe a whirl!

Perfect Party Cake

One of my good friends had her bridal shower two weekends ago.  As a bridesmaid, I agreed to help contribute to the party food.  I first made Martha Stewart's Mexican Wedding cookies that I made about a year ago.  (See blog history)  Unfortunately during the making of these cookies, almost everything went wrong!    The first batch I dropped on the ground and in the process losing grip of the cookie sheet, the cookie sheet slid down my arm leaving a significant burn.  I will include a picture of this burn at the end of this entry.  In the second batch, somehow the oven was turned on to broil in the middle of the batch and I subsequently created some pretty black cookies.  :(  At this point, I called it quits and decided that I would try again at a later time.  It just wasn't my night.  The next evening, the night before the shower, I went to work on the Perfect Party Cake by Dorie Greenspan.  I found the recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours.    My goal was to do better than the previous evening.  (Not a lofty goal in my opinion.)  Below are some pictures of my finished product: the Perfect Party Cake.   

To see Ms. Greenspan's recipe for this cake, you can access it at the following Blog.  I am not going to post the recipe on my blog.  However, I will make comments on the recipe and discuss what I could do to improve it. 

Overall the give this recipe 4.75 out of 5 stars.  I really enjoyed this cake and everyone at the party really enjoyed eating it.  The entire cake was eaten by the next day.  Decorating it with raspberries really made the cake pop and the raspberry preserves were delish.  The cake itself was moist, light and fluffy.  The lemon was not overpowering and was a slight distinct taste.  Mmmm... I ended up using store bought buttercream icing and adding a little lemon extract to the icing to get it a slight lemony flavor.  I tried my hand at the buttercream icing recommended in this recipe, but failed to say the least.  It tasted like straight up butter.  This is the second time that I have had trouble making one of Dorie's complex icings.  I did some further research into icings after my attempt at this one which I will describe below.  My failure in this particular icing was making the meringue prior to mixing in the butter.

The learning issue in this post is buttercream icing.  Prior to this learning issue, I thought there was only one type of buttercream icing.  Buttercream, duh!  However, there are actually six types of buttercream listed on Wikipedia: Simple, Decorator's, Meringue, French, Pastry cream-type, and Fondant-type.  Simple buttercream is powdered sugar with butter.  It is the main type of buttercream that I had made prior to this recipe.  The most common bakery buttercream though is the meringue-type.  The meringue-type involves heating sugar water into a syrup and mixing it into whipped egg whites creating a meringue.  Butter is then added as the meringue cools.  The buttercream in this recipe is the meringue type.  French buttercream is similar to the meringue type except egg yolks are used instead of egg whites.  Pastry cream is used used in the pastry cream type of buttercream.The fondant-type is self explanatory in my opinion--> fondant and butter, and the decorator's type is simple buttercream that is creamed less to create a stiff paste for cake decorations.

Despite my failures though...this cake was a success.  I can't wait to make it again for another party.  It is really and truly the PERFECT Party Cake. 

Below is a picture of my awesome burn....yeah, I hope it doesn't scar too bad.

 

Surprise Carrot Cake

With one of my friend's sister, we decided to make this Surprise Carrot Cake out of America's Favorite Brand Name Recipes.  The idea of making a carrot cake sounded good.  I haven't made one since August and the idea of making one sounded good.  I was a little skeptical of the recipe...America's Favorite Brand Name Recipes cook book...not necessarily a tested recipe, but I decided to give it a whirl.

Ingredients
1 8-ounce package Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
************************************************
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup oil
3 eggs, beaten
3 cups shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions
1. Combine cream cheese, sugar and egg, mixing until well blended.  Set aside.
2. Combine dry ingredients.  Add combined oil and eggs, mixing until moistened.  Fold in carrots and nuts.  Reserve 2 cups of batter; pour remaining batter into greased and flour 9-inch bundt pan.  Pour cream cheese mixture over batter; carefully spoon reserved batter over cream cheese mixture, spreading to cover.  Bake at 350 F, 55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
3. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pan.
4. Cool thoroughly  Sprinkle with powdered sugar


Overall, the cake was okay.  I actually blame the recipe this time more than the chefs.  (How unusual right?)  I give this recipe 2.3 out of 5 stars.  The cake was moist but was lacking flavor.  More cinnamon and nutmeg could have been used.  The cream cheese layer at the bottom of the cake wasn't enough.  It too tasted bland.  I think the recipe was executed well.   One thing to note though was I was highly concerned with the layering of the carrot cake batter and cream cheese batter.  The main problem we encountered upon execution of this recipe was covering the cream cheese layer with carrot cake batter.  The cream cheese was lighter than the carrot cake batter layer...so the carrot cake kept sinking beneath the cream cheese.  In the end we managed to get some carrot cake batter on top of the cream cheese batter.  However, I was nervous when I placed the cake in the oven. 

Triple Chocolate Layer Cake

The month of March has officially started which means I am now taking a Transition to Residency course at school.  Basically, it is a month of lectures where I don't have to go into the hospital.  My whole medical school class is back in a classroom together.  Reunited after 1.5 years of being on the wards apart.  It is glorious, but it is also a little sad.  It is the end of an era.  With each lecture, I am closer to finishing medical school.  I don't know how to describe the feeling of finishing med school,  I am both scared and excited.  Excited that this stage of my career is done but scared to think that I will be the doctor with all of the responsibility that it entails.  Anyways, on to cakes and parties and good times.  To celebrate a close friend's birthday, I choose to make this cake....

Devil's Food Cake (from William Sonoma's Cake Book)

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 oz unsweetened chocolate chopped and melted (I used bittersweet)
1 cup low fat or nonfat buttermilk at room temperature

Directions
1. Preheat the oven and prepare the pans.  Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F.  Butter two 9 inch round layer cake pans.  Line the pans with parchment (baking) paper.  Butter the paper, sprinkle lightly with flour, then tap out the extra flour.

2.  Suspend a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl and add the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Lightly tap the rim of the sieve to encourage the ingredients to pass into the bowl.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and both sugars.  Fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer with the twin beaters.  Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and airy and lightens in color, about 2 minutes.  If using a handheld mixer, move the beaters around the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition.  Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the sides o the bowl.  After all the eggs have been added, add the vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute longer.  Add the melted chocolate and mix on medium speed until the mixture is a uniform color.  Reduce the mixer speed to low.  Add the dry ingredient in 3 batches alternately with the buttermilk in 2 batches, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing each addition until incorporated before adding the next.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.  Bake for 30 minutes.  If the cakes look set, insert a thin skewer or toothpick in the center.  If it comes out dry, the cakes are done.  If it comes out wet with crumbs clinging to it, continue to bake until they test done.  Using pot holders, transfer cakes to a wire rack.  Let cool for 15 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache
From Rose Levy Berenbaum
Ingredients: 12 ounces chocolate (I used semisweet)
                   1 2/3 cups heavy whipping cream
I watched the below video to learn how to make ganache.
How to Make Chocolate Ganache

Coffee Syrup: In a small saucepan, stir together 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup granulated sugar over low heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot.  Stir in 1/2 tablespoon instant coffee powder and let cool.

To Assemble, brush 3 tablespoons coffe syrip onto the top of each cake layer (you don't need to split them).  Then spread the ganache over 1 cake layer and place the second layer on top.  Use the frosting to frost the rest of the cake and serve.

This is the first time I have ever made a ganache.  Since it is my first time, I thought learning some about ganaches would be appropriate.  Ganache is a cream and chocolate mixture.  Chocolate is chopped finely and then almost boiling heavy cream is poured on top of the chocolate.  The two are then mixed together.  Different ratios of cream and chocolate can make various frostings and fillings.  A one to one ratio of cream and chocolate creates a light filling. A one part cream and two parts chocolate ratio creates a truffle filling.  While a one part cream and three parts chocolate ratio makes a glaze or coating.  A The taste of the ganache is dependent upon the type of chocolate you use to make it.  AKA the better the chocolate...the better your ganache will taste.  Ganache is thought to have been invented in the mid-1800s.  It is up for debate as to which country ganache is from; France and Switzerland both claim it as their own.  Regardless of its origins, ganache has become extremely popular since its invention.  I hope you enjoy making your first ganache too.  My first experience with ganache will be discussed in further detail below.

Overall, this cake was a 4 out of 5 stars.  Enjoyable and tasty!  Almost the entire cake was finished by the 15 people that attended the party.  The cake was slightly denser than I would have liked.  This is most likely my fault for not sifting the flour.  I actually used cake flour for this recipe for the first time ever too and I don't know whether it made a difference.  In addition, I wish the cake was a little moister.  The coffee syrup between the layers was excellent.  No one could tell that there was a coffee taste, but the coffee syrup really brought out the richness of the chocolate.  On to the ganache... hmm... well first off, Rose's ganache wasn't the first one I tried.  I first tried the William Sonoma Cake book's ganache.  It somehow separated into a oily, buttery, disgusting mess.  I was a little frustrated with the fact that I wasted nice chocolate making this particular disaster of a ganache.  (I am not at all bitter! :) )  I then scoured the internet for how to make a ganache.  By golly, I wasn't going to screw it up the second time... chocolate is expensive.  I closely watched the video of Rose Berenbaum online and decided that I would go for it again.  (I am not a quitter :))  Success came the second time.  The ganache almost tasted like pure chocolate to me.  It was excellent and looked appropriate.  I am still not sold on using a ganache as frosting 100%...it is a little like biting into a candy bar, but it looks so sophisticated that I may not be able to resist including it in my future baking adventures.  Enjoy making this cake!  It is a winner!  :)

Classic Crumb Cake

A week ago I went to New Orleans to visit two close friends.  I had a blast!  It was my first visit to the city that is home to Mardi Gras. I was surprised by how much New Orleans reminded me of Houston too.  Maybe it is just the humidity?  My friend was a great host of the city.  We went on a boat tour of the Mississippi river, ate TONS of food and saw live music.  If you ever go to New Orleans, don't miss Cafe Du Monde.(http://www.cafedumonde.com/)  I don't think I have ever had better beignets and the coffee wasn't shabby too.  All and all, the weekend was great.  On Sunday morning, my friend's friends (that makes sense right?) hosts pot luck brunch.  I was excited to contribute to brunch with this Classic Crumb Cake from Martha Stewart's Baking Book.

Makes One 13 by 9 inch cake
Ingredients
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature plus more for the pan
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
Crumb Topping (see recipe below)
Confectioners' sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350F.  Generously butter 13 by 9 inch baking pan; set aside.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
2) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl if need.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition.  Mix in the vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and sour cream; beat until just combined.
3) Spoon the batter into the pan, and smooth with an offset spatula.  Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter.  Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar, if using.

*Crumb Topping
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons course salt
3 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions: In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in the butter using a pastry blender, until large, moist clumps form.  (Alternatively mix together in a food processor)  Topping can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

The learning issue for this entry is a technique "Cutting in Butter".  This is one of the steps of this particular recipe.  I remember the first time I saw this instruction in a scone recipe I was thoroughly confused.  Questions that I had were: "What is cutting in butter?  Do I really need a pastry blender?  What is a pastry blender?"

 

From: Crate and Barrel's Website

Above is a picture of the infamous pastry blender.  They are relatively cheap and can be bought for between $5 and $15 dollars.  Their function is essentially to "cut in butter" by blending a solid fat with flour to create a flaky dough.  In a recipe in which one "cuts in butter", the butter or fat ingredient (lard, etc) first and foremost must be cold.  The pastry blender then acts like a knife in slicing the butter into small pieces.  When baked, the dough then become flaky.  So this technique is ideal for scones, biscuits and other various pastry doughs.  It is also often used for pie crusts.  If you choose to not purchase a pastry blender (like myself), you can use a fork or two knifes to achieve the same effect.  However, be aware that this particular method takes a lot longer! 

This is one of the few recipes that I have made by Martha that was slightly disappointing.  The crumb did not taste right.  It was far inferior to the Crumb I made for the Cinnamon Crumb Surprise Bread that I made a couple of weeks ago.  The crumb adhere well to the cake beneath it either.  There needed to be a cinnamon sugar filling connecting the two or a much moister crumb topping.  The cake itself was moist and tasted good, but was nothing special for the amount of time it took to make this cake.  Without the pastry blender, the prep time was close to 50 minutes for this cake.  Overall, I give this Classic Crumb Cake 3.0 out of 5 stars.  People liked it at the brunch that I brought it to, but it could have been soooo much better!

Devil's Food White-Out Cake

As mentioned in a previous post, I went to Houston's central public library late last month. I had forgotten how wonderful it is to simply borrow books. On this book borrowing trip, I checked out Baking, From my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I have been reading Ms. Greenspan's blog for months now and I have been dying to get my hands on one of her books. You can find her blog at http://www.doriegreenspan.com/. She is quite well known in the baking world. Several years ago she teamed up with Julia Childs to write Baking with Julia. Anyways, the cover recipe to this book is this Devil's Food White-Out Cake. Out of respect to Ms. Greenspan, I will not post the recipe on my blog but you can find it at website I will mention later. I will simply put pictures of my attempt and discuss the recipe some. If you are interested in making this cake, you can find it on page 247 of Baking, From my Home to Yours or visit the following website at NPR.

Because I am not going to include the recipe, I plan on discussing some things I have been thinking about in regards to the science behind baking. As you guys have probably already gathered, I am interested in learning how to make cakes taste better and their presentation. I am going to research the effect of too much chocolate on a cake for this entry...because this is what I did the first time I made the cake. I know I am always mentioning my errors on this blog!  Haha!  You live, you learn and the second, third and fourth times are sometimes the charm.

Okay, cake talk first.


I had the help of some friends from college in making the icing. The icing in this recipe is different from any icing that I have ever made. It is almost marshmallowy and required whipping eggs, a candy thermometer monitoring a sugar water syrup over the stove and more whipping when the two mixtures were mixed together. I wish I had a Kitchen Aid mixer to do the whipping in this recipe instead of enlisting my friends biceps. It took a long time.  When we were done or what I thought was done I tried to ice the cake.  The icing wasn't marshmellowy enough...I think we needed to whip it more after added the caramelized sugar to the soft peak egg whites.  Maybe even 5 minutes more of whipping or some KitchenAid magic.  Nonetheless, the icing wasn't near fluffy enough and as you can see, my cake didn't look too much like Ms. Greenspan's.

The cake itself I made two times. (which I mentioned above) The recipe called for two types of chocolate (a melted bittersweet chocolate and semisweet mini chocolate chips). The first time I made the recipe, when it said to add the melted chocolate...I thought all of the chocolate was suppose to be melted down and added. Here I was wrong... which resulted a REALLY dry cake.  The second cake was incredibly melt in your mouth moist.  The antithesis...interesting.  The second cake overall rates at a 3.7 out of 5.  I have eaten better chocolate cakes but this one was darn good.  My biggest complaint was the icing was too sweet, but this may just as well be my fault in the end. 

After making this cake though, I was left with many questions.  One of the most prevent being why did the excess chocolate dry out the cake?

So I scavenged the internet to learn more about chocolate itself first. It only seems right to learn more about the ingredient near Valentine's day too right? My hopes were ultimately to see if the excess chocolate was really the reason why the cake was so dry. My findings were as follows:

Chocolate comes from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. See picture below:

According to Wikipedia (the source of all good knowledge :) ), people have been cultivating the cacao tree since 1100 BC in Central and South America. Now, I know what your thinking. When can I start growing my own cacao tree in my backyard? Unfortunately, cacao beans directly off the tree do not equate to chocolate. The cacao beans have a really bitter taste directly off the tree and first need to be fermented. (I think of beer immediately here). To do this, the cacao pods are harvested by hand from the cacao trees. In Central America, cacao trees produce buds year round. So this can be done on a continuous basis. The cacao fruits are opened and the pulp and beans are transferred to larger containers. The following website has a good picture of the start of the fermentation process: Cacao Beans Fermeting. Fermentation occurs when the pulp surrounding the bean is converted into alcohol by the yeasts present in the air and the heat generated by the box the beans are in. After fermentation, which takes 2-7 days, is completed, the beans are sun-dried. This takes 1-2 weeks. On larger plantation, the beans can be dried by an electric dryer. Once dry, the beans are ready for domestic consumption and are often shipped to cocoa and chocolate manufacturers. As of now the question mentioned above is unanswered, but the chocolate discussion will be continued on the next post.  Maybe I will find my answer between now and then. This topic will be continued in the next post.

Cookies and Cream Cake

When I had a friend living with me in October, I made photocopies of a couple of recipes from her cook books. I found this Cookies and Cream Cake recipe in the Cake Doctor Book and I have been wanting to make this recipe ever since. The Cake Doctor takes mainly boxed cakes and turns them into something more than a simple box cake. However, the use of the box cake makes this recipe indeed far more simple and faster than most cake recipes.





From the Cake Doctor

Ingredients
18 Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans
Flour for dusting the pans
1 package (18.25 ounces) white cake mix with pudding
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cups heavy (whipping) cream

Directions
1. Place the chocolate sand which cookies in batches in the food processors, until you have crumbs. You should have 2 1/4 cups crumbs. If not, process the cookies until you have the correct amount. Set aside.

2. Place a rack in the center of the rack and preheat the oven to 350F. Generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set pans aside.

3. Place the cake mix, water, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well combined. Fold in 1 cup of cookie crumbs until well distributed. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.

4. Place a clean, large mixing bowl and clean electric mixer beaters in the refrigerator while the cake bakes. You will use these to prepare the whipped cream.

5. Bake the cakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 28 to 32 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow to cool completely, 30 minutes more.

6. Prepare the whipped cream: Remove the chilled bowl and beaters from the refrigerator. Pour the cream into the bowl and beat with the electric mixer on high speed until it forms stiff peaks, 2.5 to 3.5 minutes. Gently fold in 1 cup of the remaining cookie crumbs, distributing them well. Chill the whipped cream until the cake has cooled completely.

7. Carefully slice the cake layers in half horizontally, using a large, sharp serrated bread knife or a long piece of unflavored dental floss. You will have four layers. Place the bottom half of a cake layer on a serving platter, cut side up. Spread with some of the shipped cream. Top with the matching top half of the layer, cut side down. Spread with whipped cream. Next, add the bottom half of the second layer, cut side up, and spread with whipped cream. Top with the matching top half of the layer, cut side down. Spread the top and sides of the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream using clean, smooth strokes.

8. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cookie crumbs on top of the cake. Place the cake in a cake saver or under a glass dome and chill until time to serve.

This easy to make cake is a must have in your recipe box. It is one of the simplest cakes I have made in months and is quite tasty. It really does remind me of Cookies and Cream ice cream or a Dairy Queen blizzard with Oreos. I give this cake 4.5 out of 5 stars. I have been reviewing my reviews and I know it may sound like I am not that harsh on the cakes on my blog. However, it should be noted...that if I really hate a recipe, I am infinitely less likely to actually blog about it. I do cook and bake more than I actually blog. Anyways, if you want an easy to make cake that is sure to impress and is slightly off the beaten track...this is your cake. Happy Baking!

Perfect Chocolate Cake

I picked out this Perfect Chocolate Cake recipe from Southern Living: 40 Years of Our Best Recipes. I made this cake for two friends birthdays. (Their birthdays are literally days apart.... perfect for a joint celebration.) For this very birthday extravagana, we decided to have an awesome scavenger hunt. The list included 50 items of various point values and the time limit was an hour and a half. There was 6 of us other myself playing the hunt and it was glorious fun.




Recipe:

The Cake

1 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups boiling water

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Whipped Cream Filling
Perfect Chocolate Frosting

1. Combine cocoa and water; stir until smooth. Set aside.
2. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer about 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until yellow disappears.
3. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternatively with cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Do not overbeat.
4. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9 inch round cakepans. Bake at 350 F for 22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
5. Spread Whipped Cream Filling between layers; spread Perfect Chocolate Frosting on top and sides of cake. Chill.

Whipped Cream Filling

1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

1. Beat whipping cream and vanilla until fomay; Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Cover and chill.

Perfect Chocolate Frosting

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup half and half
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring until chocolate melts. Remove from heat; add powdered sugar, mixing well.
2. Place saucepan in a large bowl of ice. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer until frosting holds its shape and loses its gloss. Add a few drops of half and half if needed to make a good spreading consistency.

Overall, this recipe gets 4.70 out of 5 stars. This recipe surprised me in a lot of ways. Everyone loved it. I guess this surprised me in some ways. It was unexpected. I make a lot of cakes and this one got more positive response than others. The cake was moist and tender. This was my first cake that I have ever made that is three layers and it was to do this than I originally expected. I served the cake warm. However, I thought it tasted better after being cooled in the refrigerator. The frosting itself was delish. The buttercream frosting was creamy and succulent. Melt in your mouth good. The middle whipped cream filling was excellent as well. People wanted more. I will definitely make this cake again. My next goal though is to work on my cake decorating skills. My cakes presentations are still lacking and the icing jobs are still sloppy. I waited this time to ice the cake which helped lessen the "drippiness" of the icing. However, next time I need to work on smoothing out the icing more and maybe slicing some strawberries on the top to make it look prettier. Enjoy this cake!

Sour Cream Fudge Layer Cake

One of my friend's husband is in Iraq right now. However, he has been in town for the past week for his vacation. This being said, his birthday is later this month and his wife decided to have a gathering and asked me to bring the cake. I love baking cakes as you all know by now...so this wasn't an unreasonable request. I picked a Sour Cream Fudge Layer Cake recipe out of Baking Illustrated because I wanted to make a different kind of chocolate cake. Making this cake was an adventure lest I say. The picture below might say to you what kind of adventure I had. :)


Sour Cream Fudge Cake
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup non-alkalized cocoa
2 teaspoons instant espresso or coffee powder
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Butter Icing
9 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup

1. For the cake: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350. Generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans and cover the plan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper or waxed paper. Grease the parchment rounds and dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. Mix the cocoa and instant expresso powder in a small bowl; add the boiling water and mix until smooth. Cool to room temperature, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla.
3. Beat the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer at medium speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar; beat until the mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.
4. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. With the mixer at the lowest speed, add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter, followed immediately by about a third of the cocoa mixture; mix until the ingredients are almost incorporated into the batter. Repeat the process twice more. When the batter appears blended, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Return the mixer to low speed; beat until the batter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. With a rubber spatula, spread the batter to the pan sides and smooth the tops. Bake the cakes until they feel firm in the center when lightly pressed and a toothpick or thin skewer comes out clean or with just a crumb or two adhering, 23 to 30 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks; cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of each pan, invert the cakes onto the racks, and peel off the paper liners. Reinvert the cakes onto additional racks; cool completely before frosting.
6. For the icing: Melt the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl set over a pan of almost simmering water. Stir in the corn syrup. Set the bowl of chocolate mixture over a larger bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally, until the icing is just thick enough to spread.

So I am not going to lie, I had trouble making this cake. I tried twice. Now the cake seemed to be going great each time. I had no trouble mixing it and placing it in my awesome William Sonoma Cake pans. Everything seemed to be going great. Then as I baked it, it sank some. Then the real problem came when it was time to flip it. What a disaster! However, the cake did taste good. Next time, I think I will make this cake a sheet cake. I give this cake 3.5 out 5 stars....merely because of my inability to flip it.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

This Tunnel of Fudge Cake recipe is from Pilsbury.com. The history of the Tunnel of Fudge cake is as follows: Ella Rita Helfrich of Houston entered Pilsbury's bake off five years in a row. In the fifth year, 1966, she won the Pilsbury bake off with this recipe. My roommate picked this recipe to make this week because she heard it was a difficult and has always wondered how the cake got a tunnel of fudge. I too was intrigued about where the tunnel came from. I read the recipe over and over again to see where you inject the fudge into the cake. We came to the conclusion that the tunnel is actually from the powdered sugar, walnuts and a slightly undercooked cake. Happy baking!

INGREDIENTS
Cake
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups butter
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups chopped walnuts
Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 to 6 teaspoons milk

DIRECTIONS

	1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube cake pan or 10-inch tube pan. In large bowl, combine sugar and margarine; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar; blend well. By hand, stir in flour and remaining cake ingredients until well blended. Spoon batter into greased and floured pan; spread evenly.
	2. Bake at 350°F. for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is set and edges are beginning to pull away from sides of pan.** Cool upright in pan on wire rack 1 1/2 hours. Invert onto serving plate; cool at least 2 hours.
	3. In small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients, adding enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered. Before you run out to make this recipe, I want to emphasize that it is not health food. 1 3/4 cups butter= wow!! The cake is mighty tasty. I give it 3.75 out of 5 stars. The tunnel of fudge turned out...to my own surprise. My favorite part of this cake is the tunnel. It is under-baked goodness. 3.75 stars though for the cake being too rich and too heavy and a little too dry. Overall, I have made better chocolate cakes, but this one is pretty darn good.

Angel Food Cake

My dad's favorite cake is Angel Food Cake. Every year for his birthday, my mom buys Angel Food Cake from the grocery store and we eat it as a family with berries and whipped cream. I have been thinking that home made Angel Food Cake has to be way better than store bought, right? I found this recipe in William Sonoma's Cakes book. I made the cake with my roommate for the month for the Dining For Women meeting. I consider this very first attempt at Angel Food Cake a dry run for making it someday for my dad's birthday. This year I won't be able to go home to celebrate with him, but one day I will. So overall, Angel Food Cake needs to be a part of my cake repertoire.


Ingredients:
12 cold large eggs
1 cup cake flour
1 3/4 granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven and prepare the pan
Position a rack in the lower middle of the oven, so the cake will be evenly surrounded with heat and preheat to 325 F. Have ready a 10 inch tube pan, preferably with a removable bottom and small feet spaced evenly around the rim. If the pan does not have feet, have a narrow necked full wine bottle or similar bottle over which the tube pan can be slipped with it is cooling. You won't need to grease the pan as you do with most other cakes because any fat, such as butter, can deflate the delicate batter. The batter needs to adhere to the pan and climb the sides while it bakes.
2. Separate the eggs
Take the eggs from the refrigerator. Have ready 2 medium bowls and 1 large mixing bowl. The bowls must be perfectly clean, because even a speck of fat can prevent the whites from reaching the necessary loft when whipped. Working over the first medium bowl, crack 1 egg and pass the yolk back and forth between the shell halves, allowing the white to drop into the bowl. Drop the yolk into the second medium bowl. Transfer the white to the large bowl. Repeat with the remaining 11 eggs/ Reserve the yolks for another use.
3. Sift the dry ingredients
Suspend a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl and add the flour and 3/4 cup of sugar. Lightly tap the rim of the sieve to encourage the ingredients to pass into the bowl. This both combines the ingredients and aerates the flour. Set aside.
4. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tarter
Add the cream of tartar and slat to the bowl with the egg whites. Fit a stand mixer or a handheld mixer with the whip attachment. Beat on medium speed until opaque white and foamy and cream of tartar has dissolved, about 1 minute.
5. Beat the egg white mixture to stiff peaks
Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating, moving the whip around the bowl if using the handheld mixer, until the whites look white, shiny and smooth and the movement of the whip forms lines in the mixture 2-3 minutes. Stop the mixture and lift the whip. The peaks of the whites should be slightly bent; these are soft peaks. Turn the mixer on medium speed and beat in the remaining 1 cup sugar, at a rate of about 2 tablespoons every 15 seconds, until all the sugar is incorporated. (Remember to move the whip around in the bowl if using a handheld mixer.) The egg whites will be shiny. Stop the mixer and lift the whip. The peaks of the whites should be firm and straight; these are stiff peaks. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.
6. Mix in the dry ingredients
Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add 1/2 cup of the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated and no streaks are visible. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture in 1/2 cup additions. When all of the flour mixture has been incorporated, the batter will look soft and fluffy
7. Transfer the batter to the pan
Using a large rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan, then use the spatula to smooth the top. You want to eliminate any large bumps and distribute the batter evenly, but the top does not need to be perfectly smooth.
8. Bake the cake
Bake the cake undisturbed for 40 minutes. If the top looks set-that is the batter no longer looks wet and the top is lightly browned, touch it gently. If it feels firm, insert a thin skewer or toothpick near the center of the cake, equidistant from the pan sides and the tube. If it comes out dry the cake is done. If it comes out wet, set the timer for another 5 minutes and continue to bake. Repeat the process until the cake is done---which will probably take a total of 50 minutes.

Overall, I give this cake 4 out of 5 stars. The taste was good. However, in the midst of cooling, the cake deflated somewhat. Therefore the cake was denser tasting than a typical Angel Food Cake that tastes somewhat light and fluffy. I think that next time I should use an Angel Food style pan instead of the silicone bundt cake pan that I used. The change in pan may help during the cooling process from inhibiting the deflation of the cake.

White Chocolate Peach Cake

I have a friend staying with me in my apartment this month for an away rotation. She loves baking like myself. So we plan on baking quite a bit this month. Along with her possessions, my friend brought several baking books. I quickly skimmed the books and they look awesome. I am so excited to try some of their recipes. This White Chocolate Peach Cake recipe comes from the book, Chocolate from the Cake Doctor Mix by Anne Byrn. My friend has made this recipe before and described the cake as "heavenly". I simply can not pass up the opportunity in making a "heavenly cake". Enjoy!

Ingredients for the cake:
Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans
Flour for dusting the pans
8 larges fresh peaches
1/4 cup sugar
6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 large egg whites
Fresh Peach Buttercream Frosting

Directions for the cake:
1) Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F. Generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.

2) Peel, pit, and slice 4 of the peaches. Place the peach slices in a small glass bowl, add the sugar, and toss to coat the slices well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill.

3) Peel, pit and quarter the remaining 4 peaches. Place the peach quarters in a food processor and process until pureed. You should have about 1 1/4 cups. Pour 1/4 cup of the puree into a small glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and reserve in the refrigerator. Pour 1 cup of the puree into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

4) melt the white chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly 3 to 4 minutes. Or microwave the white chocolate in a small glass bowl on high power for 1 minute, then stir with a small rubber spatula until smooth.

5) Place the cake mix, oil, whole eggs, and egg whites in the mixing bowl with the peach puree. Pour in the slightly cooled white chocolate. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well combined. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.

6) Bake the cakes until they are golden brown and spring back lightly pressed with your finger, 30 to 33 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again on another rack so the cakes are right side up. Allow to cool completely, 30 minutes more.

7) Meanwhile, prepare the Fresh Peach Buttercream Frosting.

8) Place on cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer, right side up on top of the first layer and frost.

9) Slice and serve cake, topped with sweetened peaches.

Fresh Peach Buttercream Frosting
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 to 4 tablespoons pureed fresh or thawed frozen peaches
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons peach puree, and vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporate, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Blend in another tablespoon peach puree if the frosting seems to stiff.

2. Use to frost the top and sides of the cake of choice.

Okay...time to evaluate. My first impression is that this cake tastes really good. It is moist and the frosting is melt in your mouth buttery. My second thought is wait.... what's the name of the cake again? ....White Chocolate Peach Where's the peach my friend, where's the peach? I can't really taste it. I recall watching my friend peel the peaches and putting them in the blender to puree. I remember then putting the pureed peaches in the frosting and cake batter, but the peach taste just isn't there. I also don't really taste the white chocolate. The flavors are too subtle in my opinion. The cake still reminds me quite a bit of the original white box cake. Don't get me wrong. The cake still tastes good. Good enough to get 3.5 out of 5 stars in my book in fact. The frosting is to die for and I probably would use this frosting on a non peach cake in the future. The consistency was excellent for spreading. I guess the peach made it easier to spread. However, all of this being said, next time I make this cake I will use more peach and more white chocolate in the cake itself. My overall disappointment and lower rating of this cake is mainly substantiated upon the fact that the cake doesn't live up to its name.

Apple Cake

I love the fall. Here in Houston fall does not mean that the colors of the trees change. Evergreens are abound and it typically rains a lot every fall...so it stays pretty green. However, fall brings relief from the sweltering summer. Fall means longer runs, football practice, barbecues, pumpkins and apples. Cheap apples at the store inspired me to make this Apple Cake from William Sonoma's Cake Book. Now, I have made a couple of Apple Cakes in my short time as a cook. In college, I use to make a simple Apple Cake that involved cooking apples in cinnamon and sugar over the stove for 15 minutes. During this time, I would take a store bought yellow cake mix and bake half of the yellow cake for 10-15 minutes. Then I would pour the apples and the other half of the yellow cake atop the apples and TADA...Apple Cake. This Apple Cake is a little more complex than the yellow cake of college.



1. Preheat the oven and prepare the pan
Position a rack in the lower middle of the oven, so the cake will be evenly surrounded with heat, and preheat to 350 F. Butter a 10 inch fixed-bottom tube pan and sprinkle it lightly with flour, then tap out the extra flour.
2. Make the cinnamon sugar
In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and the cinnamon until no white streaks of sugar are visible. Set aside.

3. Sift the dry ingredients
Suspend a fine-mesh sieve over a small bowl and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Lightly tap the rim of the sieve to encourage the ingredients to pass into the bowl. This both combines the ingredients and aerates the flour. Set the bowl aside.
4. Peel and shred the apples
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from each apple. Using a box grater-shredder held over a sheet of waxed paper, repeatedly draw one side of a peeled apple against the large shredding holes. Stop shredding when you reach a peeled apple against the large shredding holes. Stop shredding when you reach the core and seeds, rotate the apple to another side, and shred again. Continue rotating and shredding until only the core is left. Spoon the shredded apple into a glass measuring cup. Shred the remaining apple in the same way until you have 2 cups. Transfer the shredded apples to a small bowl, and stir in about half of the cinnamon sugar. Set aside for 15 minutes to let the apples absorb the flavor. As the shredded apples stand, their juices will slowly released into the bowl.
5. Drain the apples
Suspend a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the apple mixture into it. Do not press on the apple, but let any juice drain off into the bowl. (Draining the apples prevents excessive moisture from being added to the batter, which could cause the cake to fail to rise properly when baked.) Discard the juice and set the shredded apples aside.

6. Beat the eggs with the sugar
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs and the sugar. Fit the handheld mixer with the twin beater or the stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until it thickens and the color lightens slightly, about 2 minutes. If using a handheld mixer, move the beaters around in the bowl to make sure every bit is well beaten. Stop the mixer occasionally and use a rubber spatula to scrape down any batter from the sides of the bowl into the remaining ingredients.

7. Finish the batter
Reduce the speed to low and beat in the vanilla extract. Slowly pour in the oil, mixing just until it is blended into the batter, about 1 minute. Do not add the oil too quickly, or it might splash out of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients in 2 equals additions, and beat after each addition just until incorporated. Add the sour cream and continue mixing just until no white streaks remain. Finally, add the shredded apples and mix just until evenly distributed throughout the batter. The batter will thin slightly when the apples are added.

8. Bake the cake
Pour about two-thirds of the batter into the prepared pan, turning the pan as your pour so the batter fills it evenly. Sprinkle half of the remaining cinnamon sugar evenly over the batter in the pan (this will form an interesting swirl in the middle of each cake slice). Pour the remaining batter over the cinnamon sugar, using the spatula to scrape out every last bit from the bowl. The batter may not cover the cinnamon sugar completely. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar evenly over the top. Bake undisturbed for 50 minutes. If the cake looks set--that is, the batter no longer looks liquid and the top is lightly browned--touch the top gently. If it feels firm, insert a thin skewer or toothpick in the center. If it comes out dry, the cake is done. If it comes out wet or with crumbs clinging to it, set the timer for another 5 minutes, continue to bake, and check again. Repeat this process until the cake is done. It will probably take no longer than 1 hour.

9. Let the cake cool
Using pot holders, carefully transfer the cake to a wire rack. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a thin knife along the inside edge of the pan and the tube to loosen the cake, keeping the knife pressed against the pan sides. Invert a plate on top of the cake and invert together. The cake will release from the pan. Lift off the pan. Invert another wire rack on the cake and invert the racks together so the cake is top side up. Lift off the top rack. Let the cake cool completely on the rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

10. Serve or store the cake
Carefully slide the cake onto a serving plate. Using a serrated knife and a light sawing motion, cut the cake into 12-16 wedges. Or, tightly wrap the cooled cake with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 4 days.

I give this cake 4.5 out of 5 stars. I think it tastes better than the apple cake I used to make in college. Keep in mind though that they are two different beasts. The apples are not found when eating this cake...they are literally baked in because they are shredded. The shredded apples make the cake quite moist and the cinnamon sugar layer is a delightful surprise. I plan on using the technique of placing cinnamon sugar between the batter to create a pattern in future recipes. It is a neat technique that I have never imagined doing before.

My difficulties with recipe arose when I was trying to decide when the cake was done. I do not have the aforementioned cake pan. Therefore, I had to make do with my silicone bundt cake pan. The cake almost was too much for this pan and I had to cook the cake 15 minutes longer than the recipe called for. I was worried throughout this time that I was overcooking the cake. (Nothing is worse than dry overdone cake) My dilemma may have been enhanced because I baked the cake at 325 instead of 350. However, I don't think this accounts for 15 extra minutes of baking!! I often bake cakes at a lower temperature though because cakes turn out more moist this way. Anyways, my summary to all of this is you should make this cake. It is awesome. : )