MINI-CAKES, TWO WAYS

Posted in Cake by sallybr

This is a wonderful, simple recipe that works well even in very small silicone molds, as you can see further down in my article. For the mini cakes below, I used the pan featured in this post from my past.

MINI-RASPBERRY CAKES WITH RUBY RED GANACHE FILLING
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

250g butter, soft, at room temperature
200 grams of sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
pinch of salt
5 large eggs, at room temperature
250g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 tablespoons milk at room temperature
25g freeze-dried raspberries – finely crushed

for ruby red ganache:
100 g ruby red chocolate (from Godiva)
110 g whipping cream

Make the ganache. Heat the whipping cream in the microwave until very hot, and pour over the pellets of ruby chocolate. Allow to sit 5 minutes at room temperature, then stir gently until fully dissolved. Reserve at room temperature.

Heat the oven to 350F.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until the sugar is fully dissolved and the butter turns lighter and fluffy, about five minutes in a Kitchen Aid type mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one by one, mixing for about 30 seconds before you add each egg. Gently fold the flour mixture and then the milk. Once that is incorporated, add the freeze-dried raspberry powder.

Fill the mold of choice to 3/4 of their capacity. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of your mold. Let the cakes cool completely before removing them, at least 45 minutes. Fill the center with ruby red ganache. Wait until it sets before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

MINI-HEARTS RASPBERRY CAKES

Use the same recipe for the cake, distribute the batter into the cavities of this mold. Use store-bought or home-made raspberry jam to fill the center of the cakes.

These are soft, moist and delicious little cakes. The hear-shaped ones are tiny, as you can see in this close-up picture.

Two bites, and you are done! They were a huge success with colleagues from our department. The cakes filled with ganache are richer (and considerably bigger, although still small). I do love ganache so maybe my heart moves more in the direction of those, but if you prefer the sharp taste of raspberry jam to pair with the sweet cake, consider making a batch of the tiny hearts.

ONE YEAR AGO: Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies

TWO YEARS AGO: Summertime Macaron Duet

THREE YEARS AGO: Pain de Mie Dressed up for Party

FOUR YEARS AGO: Five-Stranded Bread

FIVE YEARS AGO: Green Olive Salad

SIX YEARS AGO: Coffee Macarons Dressed up to Party

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Blogging Hiatus

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Tomato Tatin

NINE YEARS AGO: Headed to Colorado!

TEN YEARS AGO: Farofa Brasileira

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Thai-Inspired Pork Tenderloin

TWELVE YEARS AGO: A yummy Brazilian cake: Bolo de Fuba’

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Summer’s Tomatoes

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Leaving on a jet plane…

25Jul2023

ROLLED BUTTERCREAM

Posted in Cake by sallybr

I am super excited to share this recipe, something I had never tried before and it is great not just for cupcakes, but also for cookie decorating. In fact, I have a post right now in my cookie blog using this exact recipe in several different ways. I would love a visit, so if interested, click here.

ROLLED BUTTERCREAM
(slightly modified from recipe and detailed video tutorial available here)

2 sticks (1 cup), soft butter
3 TBS. cornsyrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp. white gel color
2 lbs. powdered sugar

Beat all ingredients together in a KitchenAid type mixer with a paddle attachment until it comes away clean from the sides of the bowl. It should feel like soft play dough. Turn out and wrap with plastic wrap. Let rest or use right away. Store unused dough wrapped in the fridge(up to 3weeks). Freeze for 3 months. It warms immediately in your hands as you work with it.

Roll out in the thickness you need, and place a mat with any kind of design over it, rolling gently with a rolling pin to get the impression on the buttercream. You can dust it lightly with cornstarch if needed. Cut to fit the top of your cupcakes. Place o the cupcake with a little bit of buttercream or a light brushing with simple syrup as glue.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This rolled buttercream feels a lot like fondant as you work with it, but it tastes much better, and in some ways I believe it handles better too. Fondant can crack easily if it gets too dry, I felt rolled buttercream to be more forgiving. You can roll it thin and simply cover the cupcake, bringing the edges all the way to the sides, but I liked the look of the layer sitting on top with the edges cut flush with the cake. See which way you prefer.

For these cupcakes, I sprayed the surface of the buttercream with PME luster. You can also paint it or color it as you would a normal buttercream or fondant. In my cookie post, you will be able to see several ways to work with it, and they can all be adapted to cupcakes.

If you visit Pam Kennedy’s youtube channel, you’ll see that she has many video tutorials and recipes for cookies, icings, and cookie decoration techniques. Fantastic source of information, I recommend you start following her. All her videos can be found here at Pam Kennedy Bakes.

ONE YEAR AGO: Miso-Ginger Turkey Meatballs with Cabbage “Noodles”

TWO YEARS AGO: Smoked Shrimp Tacos with Roasted Jalapeño Salsa

THREE YEARS AGO: Corn Fritters

FOUR YEARS AGO: Minnie Macarons

FIVE YEARS AGO: Air-Fried Mexican Meatloaf

SIX YEARS AGO: Mimi’s Sticky Chicken, a Call from my Past

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Perfect Soy-Grilled Steak

EIGHT YEARS AGO: The Devil’s Bread

NINE YEARS AGO: Heart of Palm Salad Skewers

TEN YEARS AGO: Potluck Frittata and Lavoisier

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Home-made Corn Tortillas

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Peanut Sauce

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Brigadeiros: A Brazilian Party!

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Lemony Asparagus

24Jun2023

HELLO THERE, CUPCAKE!

Posted in Cake by sallybr

For several months now I’ve been including cupcakes in my weekly box of donations. I try to vary the buttercream component and come up with different styles and colors each Friday. Because variety is the spice of life, right?

You can find my buttercream recipe with a click here. I used it for all cupcakes, except the Chocolate Cardamon with Espresso Icing.

RUSSIAN ICING TIPS

A long, long time ago I tried my hands at these funky looking icing tips, and promised that I would never touch them again. But trust Marlyn from @montrealconfections to make me change my mind. She had a nice video from years ago showing exactly how to use them, and I could not resist giving it a second chance (check it out here). She demonstrated two ways to using them, and I tried them both. First, the usual piping of flowers by dropping little blobs of two-color icing. If the consistency is just right, it works like a charm…

For these I used two color buttercream icing, half dyed pink, half left with no added color. The Russian tip was used to drop 6 tiny roses to the cupcake. A little buttercream dyed green added the final touch, which is of course optional.

This fun ruffled look is also given by a Russian ball-tip, piping and twisting the cake from one side to the other. Check Marlyn’s video to see exactly how it is done. The central portion is then filled with a drop flower as in the previous cake.

SIMPLE ROSES

Probably one of the simplest designs to pipe but with a nice visual effect, the 1M tip never disappoints. It looks nice when used with two tones of icing, but as you cam see below, it will work as a single color also.

The cupcakes above used a wonderful recipe from my friend Caroline, which you can find in her blog with a click here. Chocolate Cardamon Cupcake with Espresso Icing (OMG!). I added a little chocolate flower, made by painting tempered chocolate over a real leaf and then dusting with golden powder.

OPEN STAR TIP

For this look I used the Ateco 865 tip, but any open star should work. Just make a swirl starting from the center. It will give a more flat top that is nice coupled with any decorations you’d like. Above I used tempered chocolate painted on transfer sheets to add a design, and cut into small circles.

The same type of frosting will also go well with meringue sticks, in this case leftover from a cake of my recent past.

These cupcakes are Pink Lemonade flavor, and I used this recipe from Food Network (I made only half which was more than enough for 12 cupcakes).

SPRINGTIME FLOWERS

For the cupcakes above, I used either a petal tip or a Wilton tip #81, as shown in this video (around 19 minutes).

Petal tips such as 102, 103 or 104 can also make beautiful flowers by laying them more flat on the surface. I like the simple elegance of a fully white flower.

I hope you’ve found some inspiration in case you need to bake a batch of cupcakes to share with friends, family, or co-workers.

ONE YEAR AGO: Two Deliciously Refreshing Cucumber Salads

TWO YEARS AGO: Grilled Shrimp with Parsley Oil over Black Rice Noodles

THREE YEARS AGO: Chicken Shawarma, the Easiest Way

FOUR YEARS AGO: Marshmallow Macarons

FIVE YEARS AGO: Mango-Lime Macarons

SIX YEARS AGO: Honey-Glazed Sriracha Meatballs

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Slow-cooker Braised Lamb Shanks

EIGHT YEARS AGO: How about some coffee with your steak?

NINE YEARS AGO: Celebrate Wednesday with a Spiral Kick

TEN YEARS AGO: Carrot Flan with Greens and Lemon Vinaigrette

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Granola Bars

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Awesome Broccolini

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: A Twist on Pesto

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Ciabatta: Judging a bread by its holes

16Jun2023

THE BEWITCHING KITCHEN TURNS 14!

Posted in Cake by sallybr

Fourteen years. One thousand, six hundred and thirty eight posts published. I confess this is the first anniversary that finds me with a little less gas in the tank. Am I going to stop? No, not yet. I still love sharing recipes and little bits about our life, the kitchen, the pups. So I am committed to one more year to make it to fifteen, and will re-evaluate at that point. To celebrate this day, I offer you a cake: Red Velvet with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. Made a little more special by decorating it with meringue sticks, not too complicated to make, and so striking to look at! Recipe from Kirsten Tibballs at Savour Cooking School.

RED VELVET CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
(from Kirsten Tibballs)

Recipe is copyrighted and I did not get permission to publish it, so you need to be a member of Savour School to obtain it. Click here for details.

Comments: The cake is actually quite simple to put together. You can definitely use any red velvet cake recipe you are fond of, they are pretty similar with all the usual suspects. Make three cakes, 8 inch in diameter. When you trim the top of the cakes, use that part to make cake crumbs (I dried mine in a very low oven for 3 hours).

I loved making the meringue sticks, with a simple Swiss meringue method. A piping bag with a 4mm round tip is used to pipe lines that get coated with cake crumbs and baked for 2 and a half hours at low temperature, like required for meringues. Once the cake is iced, just glue the sticks of varying size all around.

Without further ado, let’s start the journey into my 15th year of food blogging!

ONE YEAR AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen turns 13!

TWO YEARS AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen Turns 12!

THREE YEARS AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen turns 11!

FOUR YEARS AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen Turns 10, and a Giveaway…

FIVE YEARS AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen turns 9!

SIX YEAR AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen turns eight!

SEVEN YEARS AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen Turns Seven!

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Bewitching Kitchen Turns Six!

NINE YEARS AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen turns Five!

TEN YEARS AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen turns Four!

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen Turns Three!

TWELVE YEARS AGO: The Bewitching Kitchen turns Two!

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Bewitching Birthday!

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Welcome to my blog!

11May2023

BAKING THROUGH THE BLOGOSPHERE

Posted in Breads, Cake, Cookies by sallybr

Once again I share with you bakes that I’ve made over the past couple of months, following recipes from blogs I love…
(links to recipes below each individual picture)

TROPICAL SHORTBREAD COOKIES
from Pastries Like a Pro

(recipe available here)

These are shortbread type cookies with macadamia nuts and coconut, absolutely delicious! I made the chocolate glaze in two different ways, one simply dipping like Helen suggests, and the second way adding some texture. To do so, I laid a piece of textured paper on the chocolate while still wet as shown below. It is hard to get it smooth to the very edge of the chocolate, but I still liked the effect.

RAMASAN PIDESI
from Caroline’s Easy Baking Lessons

(recipe available here)

This is a great soft bread, ready in 2 hours! Uses instant yeast, and depending on the size of your pizza pan, you can have enough for 2 full round breads or go with a large round and the leftover used for a different shape of your liking. I opted for a 4-stranded braided loaf.

The crumb is spectacular, Phil now wants this bread on a regular basis… His favorite is the flat shape.

BOUCHONS AU CHOCOLAT
from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

(recipe available here)

These were made famous by Thomas Keller, and they use a specific mold to make the right shape, like a cork. I’ve had the mold for years, unfortunately it does not seem to be available any longer, but you can use a muffin tin. I used the exact recipe blogged by Karen, which is a variation from the original. Absolutely delicious, but you must adore a strong chocolate taste, this is not a sweet, kid-friendly concoction. It will be showing up again in our kitchen, for sure!

HOSTESS MINI-CAKES
(from Baker’s Anonymous)

(recipe available here)

Helen was a tent-baker with me during the Great American Baking Show and she is now a professional baker, with a super busy life! She keeps her blog with great recipes, and this one got the most enthusiastic reviews from our departmental colleagues. A must-make! It was a great opportunity to put to use my little cupcake corer thingie…

RED TART CHERRY PIE BARS
from Bakes by Brown Sugar

Another tent-baker friend, Cheryl, from a season before mine, these are absolutely spectacular! She uses canned tart cherries, which I had never even bought before, not knowing if they would be good. Well, they work wonders in this preparation, and you will not be disappointed at all. Easy, sharp, sweet and tart at the same time. Make them!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WITH PEANUT BRITTLE
(from David Leibovitz)

(recipe available here)

Have you ever made peanut brittle? If not, you absolutely need to correct this handicap. The only problem is stop sampling the brittle so you have enough for the cookies. You’ve been warned. The cookies are amazing, with the regular flavor of a chocolate chip, but the added intensity of the caramelized peanuts.