Friday, June 29, 2012

Lemon-Lime Cake and Cupcakes





Babies... everyone loves babies.


One of my dear friends is about to pop. I mean that in the nicest way.


We have a very special bond, her and I, we seem to only be able to produce boys.
I find that a blessing, I mean, have you seen the drama girls bring.
I should know, I am one and I have caused my share of drama.


She is having boy #3, which evens us up. We will both have 3 boys.
Days filled with bugs, boogers and boo boos. Pretty much my life right now.


When I was asked to make her a baby shower cake, because yes, even though it is her third boy a mom still needs diapers and essentials. We needed to have a baby shower. I knew her life would be filled with boy cakes so I decided to be a little girly for her.




I made some pretty flowers, blue is because it's a boy, green and yellow because it's a lemon-lime cake. Makes sense right? Amuse me.


I had made the Key-Lime curd earlier and decided it would be amazing in this cake. I was right! It was so yummy!


So start with that. 


Make the Key Lime goodness.


Key Lime Goodness a.k.a. curd
From Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

8 tbsp (1 US. stick) unsalted butter
softened at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/3 cup plus 4 tbsp. Key Lime Juice



Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer.
Slowly add the eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Pour in lime juice and mix again.
Expect the mixture to look curdled, this is normal.

Cook the mixture over medium heat in a medium-size saucepan until it looks smooth (no longer curdled.) Increase the heat slightly and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens.
Clip a thermometer to the side of the pan and cook until the mixture reaches 170 degrees.

Remove the curd from the heat. Transfer the curd to a bowl and press plastic wrap on the surface of the lime curd to keep a skin from forming. Chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools.

Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

Next up the Cake.

I found it in one of my favorite cookbooks, Better Homes and Gardens. You know the one, red and white checked book your mom had growing up. Well at least my mom did.

Triple-Layer Lemon Cake

1 cup buter, softened
4 eggs
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
2 tsps finely shredded lemon peel (zest)
2 Tbls lemon juice
1 cup buttermilk

Line your pans with parchment paper. I used three 6" pans for this cake.

It made 18 cupcakes as well.




This is how I zest "finely". I fine cheese grater works better than a fancy zester for me.

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electrice mixer on medium to hight speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice, beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.




Now you have all the players, time to put them together.


Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour. 
Beat on low speed after each addition just until combined.
Pour into prepared pans.


Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.


Cool thoroughly before icing.


I layered the cake with the Key Lime curd and it was a winning combination. 
I covered the cake with Lemon Frosting.

Lemon Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 Tbls lemon juice
4 Tbls lemon curd
6 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbls lemon zest

Cream butter, zest and lemon juice together for about 1 minute, scraping the bowl often,
Sift powdered sugar in bowl and beat 2 minutes more, still scraping often.
Add the lemon curd 1 Tbls at a time until you get desired taste.

Beat for about 2 minutes more until light and fluffy.



For the cupcake, make a well in the center.
I know they have gadgets and what not for making wells in cupcakes, but I just use a melon baller. Seems to work ok for me. 
Put the key lime in the middle and frost with the lemon frosting.

My hubby thought it was a bit tart, but I love it and so did everyone else. I think it is the perfect tart to sweet balance. If you like key lime, you will really enjoy that tasty middle.

Enjoy!

Baking from my heart to your kitchen,






Linking up over at...
Foodie Friends Fridayhttp://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com/
 

It's a Keeper
Cast Party Wednesday

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Key Lime Cheesecake Bars



For some reason I am all about some lemon-lime this week. So get ready!



I was asked to make a dessert last weekend and my immediate thought was "Key Lime".


I started hunting or rather Pinteresting (which is now a word everyone understands) Pinterest is right up there with Google for me these days. Instead of "googling" I go "pinning". What will they think of next.


Ok ... rabbit trail has ended, back to the dessert.


I have to be honest, I didn't want to spend all day on this dessert, so that illiminated quite a few I have been wanting to try.


Then I came across this recipe over at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. Another blog I love to read.

I decided to give it a whirl or uh... swirl in this case.


Just take a look... Yum.


I followed her recipe so head on over to her blog and check it out, her pictures are stunning.
I am just going to include some step by step instructions and made minor tweaks.


You will need:

Crust:
2 cups graham crackers
 1/2 cup( 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line a 10×10pan with parchment that overhangs the edges.
Mix the butter and graham crackers together and press into the bottom of the pan evenly. Bake crust for 5 minutes and allow to cool completely.

Filling:
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus one large egg white
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup prepared lime curd, divided (recipe
below)

Liquid green food coloring
Liquid yellow food coloring

Lime Curd
8 tbsp (1 US. stick) unsalted butter,
softened at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/3 cup plus 4 tbsp. Key Lime juice
Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl using anelectric mixer. Slowly add the eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour in lime juice and mix again.
Expect the mixture to look curdled, this is normal.

Cook the mixture over medium heat in amedium-size saucepan until it looks smooth (no longer curdled.) Increase the heat slightly and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens.

Clip a thermometer to the side of the pan and cook until the mixture reaches 170 degrees.
Remove the curd from the heat. Transfer the curd to a bowl and press plastic wrap on the surface of the lime curd to keep a skin from forming. Chill the curd in the refrigerator.
The curd will thicken further as it cools.
Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

Next up the filling....

Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with mixer on medium high speed until smooth. Beat in eggs on low speed, 1 at a time.
Beat in sour cream and vanilla, then flour just until blended.
Remove 1 cup of batter and reserve. Pour the rest of the batter over the crust.


Tint the lime curd green.
I used two drops green and three drops yellow to get a key lime rind color

Mix 1/2 cup of tinted lime curd with the 1 cup of reserved batter.



Place spoonfuls or dollops of this mixture in no particular fashion on top of the plain cheesecake batter. Dollop the remaining 1/4 cup of lime curd across the previous mixture. Use skewer to swirl the mixtures together to create a marbleized effect.
Bake for 35 minutes at 325 degrees F.



Let cool completely in pan then refrigerate.
Lift cheesecake out of the pan with parchment overhang.  

Cut into squares and watch them disappear


I tried to save you a piece, but I ate it for breakfast.

They were so good you should run out, but some Key Lime juice (I found mine at the local store) and make these. If you are feeling really adventurous you could squeeze all those little limes yourself. Knock yourself out and come back and let me know what you think.

Thanks again Cookbook Queen and Sprinkle Bakes for this fabulous recipe



Baking from my heart to your kitchen,





Linking up over at

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Cotton Candy Royal Icing



It's funny how no matter what age my boys turn, I find myself saying, "I can't believe he is turning 1... 3... 5.." They test my patience and make me want to pull my hair out, but it only takes one cute little grin for me to realize it is all worth it. I love my little guys.

My youngest is turning 1 next week and he is my ray of sunshine. He is so happy most of the time. All the "you are my sunshine" parties seem to be geared toward little girls. Well, I am breaking out of the mold and doing a boy sunshine party.

I wanted to try a few techniques and there is no better way than with a sugar cookie. Everyone benefits. 

My husband's favorite sugar cookie is LilaLoa's chocolate cookie. When I put royal icing on them he says they taste like chocolate pop tarts (which are his fav)
She recently posted a vanilla variation as well. They are both yummy, so I decided to do a marble version of her two recipes.


I just made two cookie doughs and then grabbed a bit from each and rolled them together. Her recipes don't require refrigerating so just get busy.

I am not a huge fan of royal icing. I make it with meringue powder and, to me, it leaves a weird aftertaste. I have heard buying a better powder would make it taste better. It is pricey and I have to order it, so I haven't got around to trying that yet. I have tried using powdered egg whites. It does taste better, but still not on my top 10 things I want to put in my mouth.
The cookies yes, the icing not so much.

As I was walking through the store the other day, I came across this display for plain icing with these flavors packs. What?! That is awesome. 
Are you thinking what I'm thinking? The possibilities are endless with all those little flavor packets. My mind started racing. I just grabbed a flavor and ran. If I sat there trying to decide which one, I would have been there forever and then bought them all.

I ended up with Cotton Candy, no idea why, it's just what I grabbed.
It sat in my cupboard for awhile, until I made these cookies.
I was mixing up the royal icing when, BAM, it hit me. Put that flavor in the icing. 
It paid off, I actually really liked the icing. 
Then when I tasted it on the cookie, yum!


Just mix up your favorite royal icing recipe. Bake at 350 has a great one with a fabulous tutorial.


Once you have the icing to the right consistency, tap in some of the flavor. The only setback is that the powder was blue, so my icing turned blue. Good thing blue is a primary color. You can add other colors to get the one you want. I just used blue. I added powder until I had the color I wanted.


I am not sure about the other flavors, but I imagine they are colored too. Keep that in mind when you use one.


I can't wait to try the other flavors.
What other ways would you use one?


Come check out these link parties!


It's a Keeper



Baking from my heart to your kitchen,




Sunday, June 17, 2012

Strawberry and Cream Frosting



Do you ever have one of "those" days?



You know the days when your husband accidentally turns on the wrong burner on the stove melting the fondant flowers you were up late making. Yeah... I guess I shouldn't have placed them there overnight, but I had run out of space on the table. Sigh.



Then you run out of cake boards and have to run to the store. While at said store, that you had to drag your three kiddos to, you put the baby in the front of the cart, 3 year old in the back. Let's face it, I didn't have the time to chase him around the store so in the cart he goes. The 5 year old is left to walk or try to hang on to the end of the cart because all of the sudden his legs hurt.



While there you should take back that thing you have been meaning to take back for weeks. 



Standing in line, kids in cart, older son decides to hand on the front of the cart causing all a chain reaction of misplaced weight. Down he goes, cart and all, with baby and 3 year old crashing to the ground. 



Store management comes out of nowhere making sure all is ok and that they are not liable for the fall.
No worries, it was my boys being boys.



I get my cake board and three very quiet boys, they were not hurt but a bit shaken, and head home.



Nap time, great! I finish the cake and realize I don't have a box. grr. It's ok we are invited to the party, I will just carry the cake.
Cue the rain... fabulous. I stop at a store on the way to the party and get the wrong size box.... of course. In this whole process I dent the side of the cake. I may have let out a little cleansing scream outside the car. 



Notice how I moved from saying "you" to "I", yeah, it was all me, one day, one cake. Gotta love it.



Cake was delivered safe and sound with a minor dent I managed to patch up there. The cute little 1 year old and parents were happy, that's really all that matters. 





See, cake turned out super cute. I was inspired by the invite.



The really good news after all that is I made a super duper yummy Strawberry Frosting. I have made it before, but I did a much better job this time now that I have the hang of it.



Because you are so sweet to read this ridiculously long post I will share it with you.



You will need:

Strawberry and Cream Frosting

1 1/2 c  sugar
 1/3 c  all-purpose flour
 1 1/2 c  milk
 1/3 c heavy cream
 1 1/2 c butter, room temp and cubed
1 tsp vanilla
 Strawberry Jam (Use your own or recipe to follow)

First, if you are going to make the jam, do that first.

Combine the sugar and flour in a cool saucepan. Stir in the milk and cream, then set the pan over medium heat. Stirring frequently, cook the mixture until quite thick, 10-15 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat and pour the mixture into the bowl of your mixer. Fit with the paddle attachment and whip on high speed until the outside of the bowl is cool to the touch, about fifteen minutes.

 When the bowl is cool, add the butter all at once and whip on high speed until very light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and whip to combine, then begin adding the jam, spoonful by spoonful, being careful not to add so much that the buttercream becomes soupy. 


For the Strawberry Jam (it's easy, don't be scared)
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp cornstarch
 1 c  chopped strawberries
2 Tbsp sugar

Combine the water and cornstarch in a cool saucepan. Whisk until no lumps remain, then add the remaining ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until very thick and no water remains. Immediately press through a fine mesh sieve and allow to cool.


I used a strainer and pushed the strawberries through with a spatula. Worked just fine.

In the end everything turned out just fine. Everyone loved the strawberry frosting and I know I will be making it often. 


Baking from my heart to your kitchen,





Monday, June 4, 2012

Graduation Sheet Cakes 2012

Just wanted to share the sheet cakes I made for Graduations this year.


This was for my church youth group.
I loved this idea in my head. The cake was pretty, I put the graduates names on the sunbeams. I wanted it to look more sparkly and sunny, but I guess I needed to put more disco dust. It sparkled alot more in person.




You can see the names a little better here.




You can see a little more of the sparkle here.
I would like to do this idea again, now that I know what I would do differently.




This was for a high school graduation. I wanted to do something a little different than just a typical cake. I was happy with it. I did have a friend come over and do the border for me. I am a bit challenged with buttercream borders. Practice makes me better.




A little better picture. 


The cakes were covered in buttercream and decorated with fondant decorations.


Thanks for looking.


Baking from my heart to your kitchen,