Lemon Bars

I forgot to post this recipe back when I made it, but here it is now. These are lemon bars from the joyofbaking.com website. They are absolutely delicious. Both Steven and Ashley tried them and can testify to their goodness.

Shortbread Crust:

1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup (25 grams) confectioner's (powdered or icing) sugar

1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

Lemon Filling:

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (approximately two large lemons)

1 tablespoons (5 grams) grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons (25 grams) all purpose flour

Garnish:

Confectioner's (powdered or icing) sugar

Lemon Zest - The yellow outer rind of the lemon that contains the fruit's flavor and perfume.

TIP: Always remove the zest first before halving and squeezing the lemon. Use a fine strainer to remove the seeds and pulp from the juice

Lemon Bars: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, an 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) pan.

Shortbread Crust: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour and salt and beat until the dough just comes together. Press onto the bottom of your prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

Lemon Filling: In your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and eggs until nice and smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest and stir to combine. Fold in the flour. Pour the filling over the shortbread crust and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling has set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

To serve: Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar. These are best eaten the day they are made but can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Yield: 16 - 2 inch (5 cm) bars

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/LemonBars.html#ixzz0wc6EJuKP

Red Velvet Cake from scratch

I was just visiting Betheny and we made red velvet cake cupcakes. They turned out really smooth and moist. Betheny will have to give you the tweaks that she did to the recipe. I can say that we tried cupcakes instead of cake and Betheny made her own frosting so we didn't try theirs. Here is the recipe that we got off of the website http://www.joyofbaking.com/

Red Velvet Cake:

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (15 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 1/2 (360 ml) cups heavy whipping cream

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

Red Velvet Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the freezer for at least an hour. (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Cream Cheese Frosting: In your food processor, or with a hand mixer, process the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and process until smooth. Transfer this mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Then, in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. With a large spatula, gently but quickly fold a little of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream, in two stages. If the frosting is not thick enough to spread, cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour, or until it is firm enough to spread.

Assemble: With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish the cake with sweetened or unsweetened coconut

Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) four layer cake.

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCake.html#ixzz0wc2uwBjW

PS If you go to webpage there is some background about Red Velvet Cake that they have posted as well.

For Heather: The only thing I made from scratch was the ganache (so easy) The chocolate mousse I get from the cake store. I comes in a frozen liquid form and all you have to do is defrost it and whip it to the consistency that you like. Then I flavor it with my oils (I like the chocolate hazelnut) The ganache is just 2 parts chocolate to 1 part heavy cream. Or if you want a thinner consistency you can do 1 part chocolate to 1 part heavy cream. All you do is cut up the chocolate and put it in a bowl. Then you heat up the cream in a saucepan until is simmers. Then pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted. From there you can either use it to pour over a cake or chill it, then whip it a little to use for a filling. If you would like to use it as a frosting you would whip it a lot more. The cake mix I bought, I always use Betty Crocker. I also bought the chocolate fondant at the cake store. It was the satin ice brand in dark chocolate. I hope that helps.

White Almond Sour Cream Cake

I got this recipie from Edna's http://www.designmeacake.com/ website. It is the perfect white cake. It is stable enough for a teired cake but is still moist and is soooo yummy. Ive gotten lots of compliments everytime Ive made it for an event. Just thought I would share.

Ingredients
2 boxes white cake mix
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teas. salt
8 egg whites
2 2/3 cups water
4 Tbls. vegetable oil
2 cups (16oz carton) sour cream
2 teaspoon clear vanilla flavor
2 teaspoons almond extract

Directions
Mix all dry ingredients by hand using a whisk in a very large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees

***One recipe makes: one 14" round + one 6" round or one 16" round or one 12" round + one 10" round or one 12x18" sheet cake or one 12" round + one 8" round + one 6" Half a recipe makes: two 8" rounds or two 6" rounds + 6 cupcakes

If you havnt gotten this book from the library, then you are really missing out. It is fantastic. It is by Kerry Vincent. She needs no introduction Her work is flawless. She has some things in there that I would have never thought possible. So cool. For one of her cakes she makes her own silicone mold to make the jewels that you see on the cover (above). Genius! Gabby and I tried out her fondant recipie. Loved it! (Dont make it when its raining. Doesnt work as well) It takes the same amount of work as the MMF but has a much better texture. We are definatly not going back to MMF after this. The plus about this one is that the fondant will stiffen if left to dry. The MMF wont. Plus you can use it right away but its better if you leave it overnight. Heres the recipie for anyone who wants to try it.

1 oz powdered geletine (you can get it at walmart)
1/2 C water
2 lbs powdered sugar (plus more for kneeding)
1 oz glycerine
1/2 C karo or light white corn syrup

Let the geletine bloom in the water and heat but not to boiling. Add the syrup and glycerineto the geletine. Add sugar and mix in the electric mixer with the dough hook. Scrape the bowl as needed. When it is a ball then turn out onto a work surface to kneed, but grease your hands with crisco first. Add sugar as needed kneed till its pliable and not sticky.

Mango Frosting

I felt like experimenting after having a Mango Raspberry smoothie and wanted to try and translate it into a cupcake. So I made white cupcakes with raspberries and made this frosting. It turned out good.

Mango Frosting:

1/4 c butter

1/2 c shortning

2/3 c mango puree

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 lb powdered sugar

1 T meringe powder

Puree frozen mango pieces in a blender. Cream together butter, shortning, mango puree and lemon juice. Add meringe poweder and sugar and mix till smooth.

Cake Love Italian Buttercream

http://

Beth, I thought you might like this.

Edna's Buttercream Video

http://


This is for Shelley. She talks a lot about the ingredients in the begining, the actual making of the buttercream starts at 3 min and 28 seconds.

1/2 cup solid high ratio shortening
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tablespoon of merengue powder
1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract (or extract of choice)
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approx. 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla and milk. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating on a slow speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. Keep bowl or covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Don't overwhip or it will bring air to the icing and is impossible to smooth. If you have a kitchen Aid use white attachment, not whip attachment. You can use coffee creamers for flavorings or combine extracts.
YIELD: Makes about 3 cups.
For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.
For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

If you are using a vegetable shortening withouth the transfats, the consistency
of the icing might change. Use whole milk to bring some fat to the mix. Or try to use a vegetable shortening that has all the transfat. For best results, use high ratio shortening.

Buttercream Recipie

Here you go Michelle :-)

Basic Buttercream:
4 cups powdered sugar (1 lb or half bag)
1 T Meringe powder
2 T water
1 cup shortning (or all butter or half butter and half crisco)
1 tsp flavoring (vanilla or butter)

Cream shortning, flavoring and water with mixer till creamy. Add meringe powder and powdered sugar and mix till creamy. If it is too stiff add 1 tsp liquid at a time till the desired consistancy. The longer you mix the more whipped it gets.

Lime Cream Chese Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar (1 lb)
1 T meringe powder
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
2 T lime juice (fresh squeezed or Real Lime brand is best)
1 tsp vanilla

Cream cream cheese, lime juice and vanilla till smooth. Mix in powder sugar and meringe powder till creamy.

Coco Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T meringe powder
1 cup butter
2 T milk
1 tsp vanilla

Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa together with meringe powder. Cream butter, milk and vanilla together and add cocoa and sugar and mix till creamy. I bet if you wanted to substitute 1/4 c peanut butter and 3/4 c butter for the butter that would be yummy too.


** You dont have to use meringe powder for non decorating purposes.

Edna's MM Fondant Recipe

She uses lemon juice and corn syrup

Ingredients:
15 oz. mini marshmallows
2 Tblsp water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
2 tsp light corn syrup (helps w/ pliability)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract 2
lbs (approx 7 C) confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/2 C Crisco or vegetable shortening

Directions:
Grease microwave proof bowl w/ Crisco. Also grease wooden or heat proof spoon. Pour marshmallows and water into bowl. Microwave for approximately 2 minutes stopping and stirring at 40 second intervals. Mixture should be soupy. Take out of microwave and immediately add corn syrup, lemon juice, salt and extracts. Stir well. Sift confectioner's sugar into mixture, one cup at a time. After approximately 5 cups, grease your hands well with Crisco and knead the mixture in the bowl. Add the sixth cup and continue to knead. Now grease your work surface well and turn mixture out of bowl onto counter. Sift remaining sugar, regrease hands, and knead well. If mixture seems soft, add one additional cup of powdered sugar. Shape into a mound and put a coating of crisco on outside. Double wrap in cling wrap and insert into ziplock bag. Press air out of bag and seal. Allow to rest overnight, but, can be used after sitting for a few hours.

MM Fondant Recipe

http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm

Sorry about the spaces.. it wont let me take them out.

Here is a MM Fondant Recipe I found.

MM (Marshmallow) Fondant Recipe

16 ounces white mini-marshmallows (use a good quality brand)
2 to 4 tablespoons water (too much water will make it unstable and crumbly)
2 pounds icing sugar (please use C&H Cane Powdered Sugar for the best results)
1/2 cup Crisco shortening (you will be digging into it so place in a very easily accessed bowl)

Optional:

2 tbsp of Gum Paste Powder (if you want Gumpaste/Fondant mixture)

1 tbsp vanilla extract or flavoring (you can use clear if you need a really white fondant)(make sure to use less water)

NOTE: Please be careful, this first stage can get hot.
Melt marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave or double boiler: Put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, open microwave and stir, back in microwave for 30 seconds more, open microwave and stir again, and continue doing this until melted. It usually takes about 2 1/2 minutes total. Add flavoring. Place 3/4 of the powdered sugar on the top of the melted marshmallow mix.

Now grease your hands GENEROUSLY (palms, backs, and in between fingers), then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle. (By the way, this recipe is also good for your hands. When I’m done, they are baby soft.)
Start kneading like you would bread dough. You will immediately see why you have greased your hands. If you have children in the room they will either laugh at you or look at you with a questioning expression. You might even hear a muttered, “What are you doing?”
Keep kneading, this stuff is sticky at this stage! Add the rest of the powdered sugar and knead some more. Re-grease your hands and counter when the fondant starts sticking. If the mix is tearing easily, it is to dry, so add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time and then knead it in). It usually takes me about 8 minutes to get a firm smooth elastic ball so that it will stretch without tearing when you apply it to the cake.
It is best if you can let it sit, double wrapped, overnight (but you can use it right away if there are no tiny bits of dry powdered sugar). If you do see them, you will need to knead and maybe add a few more drops of water.
Prepare the fondant for storing by coating it with a good layer of Crisco shortening, wrap in a plastic-type wrap product and then put it in a re-sealable or Ziploc bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible.
MM Fondant will hold very well in the refrigerator for weeks. If I know that I have a cake to decorate, I usually make two (2) batches on a free night during the week so it is ready when I need it. Take advantage of the fact that this fondant can be prepared well in advance.

Bakerella

These are so stinken cute! A cute idea for visiting teaching treat if you have the time. She makes new ones every holiday and whenever the mood strikes. The website also has a link to the right.

Check out: http://www.bakerella.blogspot.com/

How to make cake pops:

http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2008/08/hope-these-put-smile-on-your-face.html

Blueberry and Blackberry Muffins

makes: 15 muffins
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 20 min

3/4 c butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c applesauce
1/3 c milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c flour
2 1/2 c baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c blueberries
1/2 c blackberries chopped
1 T flour

Preheat oven to 400*. Cream butter and sugar together. Add applesauce, milk, vanilla and egg and beat until smooth. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture. (only mix till blended or youll get coned and tough muffins). Toss blueberries and blackberries in T flour and fold into batter. Spoon into well greased muffin pan 2/3 full or use muffin cups. Bake at 400* for 20 min.

SWISS MERINGUE!!!

You guys have GOT to try this recipe for Swiss Meringue Buttercream!!! It is SOOOO silky and super, SUPER light. It is so awesome to work with. It spreads beautifully and gives your buttercream cakes a beautiful finish. It's almost like a moose but a lot silkier. A ton of pros like Collette Peters and Elisa Strauss (top NY cake decorators) use the SM Buttercream. I flavored mine with a creme Broquet(sp?) (pronounced: broke-A) flavoring which is a combination of lemon, orange, almond (go easy on the almond) & vanilla. I don't know the ratio of each flavor, your gonna have to guess or look on Google. It's not a complicated recipe, it's just different. I don't think I'll ever go back to the old way.

http://dyannbakes.com/?search_string=swiss+meringe+buttercream&search=1

Here is a website you might want to check out her videos for some neat tips:

http://www.carriescakes.com/

Also, take a look at this page. It's a chat with THE Collette Peters and gives some great tips:

http://www.pastryscoop.com/conferencesAndEvents_chat22.html

Here is Duff Golman's SM B/C recipie:

http://www.bakespace.com/index.php?mode=listing&act=show&lst_id=9874

Here's a recipie for marshmellow fondant:

http://www.bakespace.com/index.php?mode=listing&act=show&lst_id=16635

Happy Baking Everyone!

Retraction...

I'd like to make a retraction to the recipie for Chocolate cake. I've decided that I don't like the chocolate chips in it because as soon as it cools, the chocolate chips get hard. It's really good if you eat it warm with just powdered sugar dusted on it but I don't like icing cakes with it. I'd rather use the "Triple Chocolate Fudge" cake mix with the tiny, mini chocolate pieces in it and omit the chocolate chips.

Baby Shower treats

These are the cupcakes I made for Emily's baby shower May 24. You think they're just normal cupcakes, but really... they're Costco's chocolate muffins (X-large) with cream cheese frosting. I liked that they were bigger than normal cupcakes AND just as yummy as making them myself.

For the baby shower we also had crepes. It was nice because everyone could fill the crepes with whatever they wanted. We used strawberries, blackberries, bananas, Nutella, whipped creme, yogurt, honey, chocolate syrup, and maple syrup. Here is the recipe we used:

Basic Crepes:
Serves: 2-3

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

** To reheat, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Wrap crepes in foil. Heat for 15-20 minutes.

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the best recipie for Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER! I have tried so many recipies and I finally got it right by altering some recipies. You've gotta try it.



The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER:

1/2 C. shortening
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter or margarine - softened. (This is VERY important!: Do not soften butter or margarine too much, your cookies will totally flatten if butter is too soft)
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1C. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla extract
2 C. flour - sifted
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together shortning, butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Don't overmix. Add eggs and vanilla and mix just until incorporated. Mix in sifted flour, baking soda and salt a little at a time just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees until the center is no longer glossy. About 8-10 min. Don't over bake! When it hits 8 min, sit at the oven and watch because they go fast after that. Take them out if you even THINK the edges are getting brown. Enjoy!

Memorial Day Cuppies

I made these for a Memorial Day BBQ that we went to on Saturday. Does anyone need to know how to do the fondant bows? Let me know if you need me to post instructions. These were chocolate sour cream, chocolate chip with rasberry filling (my favorite) and an Amaretto buttercream. Here is the recipie for the sour cream chocolate chip cake:

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix (any kind. To make it extra chocolaty and rich, use triple chocolate fudge cake mix)

1 sm. pkg. chocolate pudding mix

4 eggs

1/2 C. veg. oil

1/2 C. water

1 C. Sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 16 0z. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together in mixer and then fold in chocolate chips. Bake at 325 for 10 min.intervals (turning as you check it) until cake springs back when touched. You can make this in a bunt pan and just dust with powdered sugar or make into cakes or cupcakes. Cupcakes take approx. 25 min.

Buttercream

Here is a buttercream recipe that I found. I'm pretty sure this is how the pros make it. I haven't used it or made it yet, so let me know if anyone else has? It looks much better than the crisco vat that I dip into everytime I make a cake.

There are two technical methods of creating buttercream. The Swiss method and the Italian method:

Swiss Buttercream
1 cup egg whites
1 pound sugar
1 pound soft unsalted butter

Swiss Buttercream is made by warming the egg whites and sugar in a bain marie until the sugar is dissolved and then transferred into the mixer and whipped until cool. Once cool, add softened butter to the bowl, little at a time and whip until a fluffy consistency is reached.

Italian Buttercream
14 ounces sugar
1 Tablespoon glucose
7 egg whites
1 ounce sugar
1 pound soft unsalted butter
Italian Buttercream is made with softball (240°F) sugar syrup poured into whipping egg whites. Once whipped, add softened butter to the bowl, little at a time and whip until a fluffy consistency is reached.

Buttercream often takes quite a bit of whipping in order to reach the right consistency. Never throw out buttercream due to lumps or when the cream is to soft. Applying heat will help it come together, chill the mixture and re-whip it.

Heavy flavors such as fruit, chocolate, or nut paste should be added to the buttercream after is has been made. Lighter flavors such as vanilla, lemon peel, or lemon juice can be added during the whipping process.

Corn Pops Treats

This past Christmas, one of my friends gave us these so-very-yummy treats. We made these and handed them out as Christmas gifts. They were a huge hit at Scott's work. His co-workers were instructed to take the treats home to share with their families. Unfortunately, only one of his co-workers was able to save a small handful to share with his family(and he was having withdrawals). The rest couldn't resist the temptation and finished it right away. Anyway, it's a simple recipe that Tiani and I make with no problems. I love problem-free recipes, don't you? Well, my entire family fell in love with this simple treat. It's great for a movie night, FHE, or whatever.

Melt in sauce pan:
1 cube butter
2 T. light corn syrup
¼ c. water
1 c. sugar

Stir constantly until it reaches 240 degrees Fahrenheit. Apply to ½ bag of 16 oz. Corn Pops (from Barrel O' Fun), and mix well. That's it! My friend recommended that we use a large metal bowl, not plastic. I didn't have a large metal bowl, so I used my friend Tessa's turkey roaster. It did the job and the treats turned out great! :) If you double the recipe and use the entire bag, it makes 2 large bowls of treats.