Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake

My little girl just turned 4.  For her 4th birthday she insisted on having a Strawberry Shortcake cake.  Over all it was a fun cake that went pretty smoothly to make.  It was really humid here the week I made it and the fondant was alot harder to work with than usual, but I was able to get past that and work through it.  At least there were no cake disasters.

We went with a WSCA cake with a strawberry cream cheese filling and frosted in vanilla buttercream, then covered in marshmellow fondant.

For your taste bud enjoyment I a sharing the Filling recipe.  I found the recipe over on cake central.  I love that site for new recipes for cakes and cupcakes.

Creamy & Firm Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients:

1 cup water

2 small pkgs strawberry gelatin

4 8oz pks cream cheese at room temperature

1 16oz frozen sweetened strawberries (thawed)

Instructions:

Put one cup of water into a clear glass bowl--don't substitute.  Microwave on high until it boils.  Add the two boxes of gelatin and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until you can smear the mixture against the side of the bowl without seeing any granules.  It should be clear and red.  this step will take a few minutes.  Add the strawberries and mix well.  Let this come to room temperature.  DO NOT refrigerate.  Cream the cream cheese in a stand mixer until fluffy.  Add the strawberry mixture a half cup at a time until it is well blended (it will be a little thin).  Refrigerate for an hour or more or until ready to use.  This filling is very yummy with WSCA as it is not too sweet. 

Left overs are yummy when put into a graham cracker pie crust and topped with whipped cream.

Marshmellow Fondant {tutorial}

Here is my favorite Marshmellow Fondant recipe.  I will let you know in advance that fondant is super messy to make.  You will have Powdered Sugar all over your kitchen.  If you have never used fondant before, you may want to buy a little just so you can see what the consistency should look and feel like.

What you will need:

8 cups Mini Marshmellows

3TBS of Water

1 TB of Flavor

 (I use Wilton's Clear Vanilla...I have also made pink using strawberry extract mmm)

9 Cups (ish) Powdered Sugar Sifted

2 Heaping TBS of Shortening

1.  Grease Bowl and Dough Hook of Kitchen Aid. 

2.  Sift 9 Cups of Powdered Sugar in a separate Mixing Bowl.  Sifting the Powdered Sugar is very important.  You don't want to have any lumps in your sugar or you will have lumps in your fondant.   

3.  Put marshmellows, water, flavoring, and shortening in a microwave safe bowl.  I like to use my pampered chef measuring bowl.

4.  Heat up marshmellow mixture in 30 sceond increments.  Pull out and stir in between each increments.  Keep heating until the marshmellows are almost melted, it will look soupy with some lumps.

5.  Scoop 6 cups of Powdered Sugar in Kitchen Aid.  During this time your marshmellow should be cooling down, but don't let them cool completely. Make a well in the powdered sugar with the measuring cup.

5.  Pour Marshmellow Mixture into Powdered Sugar well.  It's going to spread out. 

7. Put 1 more Cup of Powdered Sugar on top of Marshmellow Mixture. 

8. Put the kitchenaid on the first setting. (mine was on Stir) Once the Powdered Sugar is mostly incorporated put on the next setting (I used 2), let it run for a while.  You'll notice there is Powedered Sugar on the sides of the bowl, this is fine, leave it there.  Refrain from scraping it down.

9.  Do an eye and finger test. Watch for the powdered sugar to creep up on the dough hook.  Test with your finger by touching the mixture.  If it goo and sticking to yoiur finger add 1/4 cup more of powdered sugar. 

  

10.  Prepare your counter with shortening.  Bring your sifted sugar that is left and place near where you are working.  Dump the dough on the counter.  Grease your hands.

11.  Add more powdered sugar about 1/8 cup at a time until it can hold it's own weight.  Hand knead and add more powdered sugar in the bowl if you need to.  It will hold its own shape but will still fall (almost like the 10 second peak you lood for when doing cookie icing).

12.  Grease it up, wrap in saran wrap and then put in a plastic gallon or quart sized bag.  Let it rest for several hours (atleast 8 or more).  You will notice that it will stiffen up more as the hours go by. 

Try Freezing Your Cake

It is birthday time again at our house.  Razy will be turning 4 on Saturday!  I can't believe my youngest is going to be 4.  Well with birthdays come CAKE!  This year Razy has picked yet another girly cake.  It took me a bit to get into the cake making mood, but I am now totally on board.  I thought I would share with you some tips along the way as I make Razy's cake.  Sorry no picture for today, but it is pretty easy to see what I am talking about. 

TIP NUMBER 1

Try Freezing Your Cake!

Not only does this allow you to start baking early,

but it also makes the cake moist,

alot easier to frost, and it will hold up better.

I try to bake my cakes the week before I want to decorate them.  If I don't get around to it I will usually make them Monday or Tuesday of that week.  For Example: If we are serving the birthday cake on Saturday, I will make the cake on Monday or Tuesday.  I will take it out Thursday and begin the decorating process.  If you don't have the time, try to at least freeze it for 24 hours.  Trust me you won't be disappointed.  

To Freeze:

Bake your cake and let cool completely

Wrap in 2-3 layers of saran wrap

Wrap in 2-3 layers of aluminum foil

Place in freezer

I stack like sizes on top of eachother.  If you place smaller sizes onto larger ones you will get a dip in the middle of your larger cake.

Happy Baking!

Raspberry Cheesecake

The other day the kids and I went raspberry picking.  I didn't want to turn all the raspberries into jam because we just got done doing 18 pints of strawberry jam.  Instead I decided to make a cheesecake.  This was scary for me because I have never made cheesecake before.  I am so glad I did because it turned out beautiful.

I found the recipe from a whisk a spoon.  Can I just say that her cheesecake is gorgeous.  All credit for this recipe goes to her. 

Raspberry Cheesecake- makes a 6-inch cake

(I did make mine in a 7 inch pan because that is the closest I could find.  It turned out just fine.)

for the base:
2-3 T unsalted butter, melted
2 T sugar
1/8 t cinnamon (optional)
pinch of salt
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

for the raspberry swirl:
110 g fresh or frozen raspberries
2 T sugar
small splash of water

for the filling:
300g cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup plus 2 T sour cream
1 egg
1/2 cup superfine sugar
seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean

-for the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Combine melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, salt and crumbs in a bowl. Press into the botton of a 6-inch springform pan and bake for about 10-15 minutes. Cool crust slightly.

-for the raspberry swirl: In a small pan over medium low heat, gently cook the raspberries with the sugar and water until the berries begin to break down, the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened a bit. Squish up the berries a little and push the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds. Set aside to cool.

-for the filling: Process the cream cheese in a food processor until smooth (don’t forget to scrape!). Add the sour cream, egg, sugar and vanilla bean seeds and process until smooth and fully combined.

-to assemble: Brush sides of the springform with a little softened butter. Wrap the outside of the pan with a double layer of foil. (The cake bakes in a water bath, and doing this will help keep water from seeping into the cake as it cooks.) Pour the filling over the graham cracker base. Drizzle the raspberry sauce over and swirl gently with a butter or pairing knife. Create a water bath by placing the cake tin in a slightly larger roasting pan or baking dish. Carefully pour hot water halfway up the sides of the springform. Bake at 280°F/140°C for a little over an hour, until the edges look set but the center jiggles slightly. Let cool on a rack, then cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Homemade Samoas Cookies {MMM Girl Scout Cookie Goodness}

Homemade Samoas Cookies

shared from the kitchen of

Once Upon a Plate

Read Before Making: These cookies do take some time and there are many steps to it. However, you will not be dissappointed. They are well worth the work.

Cookies ~ Homemade Samoas
(also known as Caramel de-Lites)
Makes about 4 to 4 1/2 dozen

Let the 4 step process begin:

1. Make the cookie Base
2. Top with Caramel-Coconut mixture
3. Dip bottom of cookies in melted chocolate
4. Drizzle tops with melted chocolate

The Cookie (base):
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
up to 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, next, the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk only as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (you may not need any at all). The dough should come together into a soft, pliable ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough seems sticky.

It's easiest to roll the dough out in 2 or 3 batches (between pieces of wax (or parchment) paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or a little thinner) using a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined (or on silicone mat) baking sheet and make a hole in the center. I used one of those big plastic straws. You know the ones that your kids blow into and they drive you crazy with that whistling sound. However, this part is really not necessary. Next time I don't think I will do it. They will give you the Girl Scout look, but the flavor is still the same. Repeat until the dough is used up (it's okay to re-roll, this dough is shortbread-like and very forgiving.)

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are very lightly golden brown around the edges. All ovens are different so I actually did mine for 9 mins. and they came out perfect.

Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, to allow them to firm up slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-ounces good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
8 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips will do, however, I found that when I made them with the chocolate chips they melt in your hands even after setting up.)

(If you prefer milk chocolate use it. I used semi-sweet and JBody wishes I would have gone with Milk. He is a huge milk chocolate guy though.)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (F)

Spread coconut evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Watch carefully, especially near the end of toasting time; the coconut toasts very quickly once it begins to become golden.

My Notes: 20 minutes was too long. The coconut was already golden at 10 and I had to take it out.

Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 teaspoons per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it begins to firm up, to make it soft and spreadable once again.

While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper (I dipped them and then had them set up upside down before drizzling). Transfer all remaining chocolate into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.

Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Let me just tell you that you have to try these. And once you make them hide them from yourself. Trust me they are addicting. I have plans to make them again. I have a cute cookie container idea I found on pinterest. We are going to give them away as Christmas Presents. Let me know if you make them and what you think of them.

Recipe credit: Nicole @ Baking Bites.com

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love pinterest. I have become addicted to it. In the evening while we are watching tv I find myself looking through pins. I have found many things that I will slowly be doing myself and sharing here on the blog. Here is a recipe that I knew I wanted to try out. I had to share it with you.  I shared it on my Positively Peaches blog, but I wanted to share it with my Peach of Cake followers as well.

They were pinned and posted by i am baker.

The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

*I only used all purpose flour for my recipe.

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds chocolate chips

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.

Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Add eggs. Stir in vanilla. Reduce to low speed and add dry ingredients slowly, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for 24-36 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350.Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

I don't know why these turned out perfect. Whenever I make chocolate chip cookies they spread out thin. It could be because the dough is refrigerated. I don't know, but these were so yummy. Try them out and let me know what you think.

Corn on the Cob Cupcakes

A while ago I bought a book called "Hello, Cupcake". It is full cute cupcake ideas that are fun and pretty easy to do.  I hadn't made cupcakes out of it for a while so I decided to make these corn on the cob cupcakes for our family 4th of July get together.  They are cute, easy, and fun.  But I will warn you, atleast for me they were a bit pricey.  I went to wour local candy store for the jelly bellys.  My goodness jelly bellys are over priced.  However, the end result was worth it. 

I know lots of pictures.  For all the work I put into my cakes and cupcakes, I have to take lots of pictures. 

What you will need:

24 cupcakes baked in white liners. I used my favorite WASC recipe. 

Vanilla frosting tinted yellow.  I have yet to put my favorite frosting recipe up.  I will eventually.

Lots of jelly belly's in yellows, cream, and white colors (the book says 3 1/2 cups, but they don't take into consideration that some are going to be eaten.  I don't know how many pounds it was, but at the candy store I filled the whole bag to the tip top.  I was able to cover 30 cupcakes. 

Yellow laffy taffy or starbursts.  The laffy taffy looks most like butter and is easier to work with.

Black and white sugar.

Let's get Baking:

1.  Bake your cupcakes

2. Prepare your frosting and tint yellow. 

3.  Frost your cupcakes and arrange jelly bellys into five rows on each cupcake.

4. Place 3 cupcakes touching in a row. 

5. Cut laffy taffy in half and mold the edges to shape into melted butter pats. 

6. Put a small amount of frosting on the bottom of your laffy taffy and place on your cupcake.

7. Sprinkle with sugars.

8. If using insert your corn holders to each end of your cupcakes.