Another Dulce de Leche Cake

So, it looks like this is one of favorite cakes. I LOVE caramel and combined with the smooth, buttery taste of Swiss Meringue, what's not to love?!?! I made this for my friend's coworker's birthday. The caramel was so easy to make. I used 1 cup of sugar, 6 tablespoons butter and about 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream. But, I had a nasty reminder of how hot and dangerous caramel can be. I stupidly swiped my finger across the back of the wooden spoon I used! It was so HOT, the burn actually turned into a blister within a few minutes. Guess I got a little too eager trying to taste it.  Other than that, making this cake was such a pleasure and I look forward to making it again soon:)

Rosie Pound Cake

I always make this cake for my favorite aunt, Rosie. She likes simple desserts without too much fluff and fuss.  This is a recipe I clipped from a can of Carnation milk over 15 years ago and saved in a journal. I found it last year and remembered how much I had liked the cake and decided to make it my staple pound cake recipe. It's a simple pound cake recipe using a small amount of evaporated milk in place of regular milk. The batter comes out thicker than a regular yellow cake but once baked it has a rich but not heavy taste. I like to bake it in a tube pan and just top it with confectioner's sugar. It's a great after dinner treat or even a breakfast companion to a great cup of coffee.

Chocolate Chip Vanilla Birthday Cake

One of my dearest friends and biggest supporters celebrated her birthday yesterday. She has always encouraged me in the 20 years that we've known each other so I wanted to gift her a cake.  I couldn't remember if she liked chocolate or not so I went with my standard yellow cake recipe. For the frosting,this time I went with Italian Meringue because I'd had a Swiss Meringue disaster. It came out soupy. I continued whipping it, beating it, refrigerating it, rewhipping it....But, nothing worked, so I had to dump it and start all over again:(

Last year when I first started experimenting with frosting, Italian Meringue was the first one I tried. I watched this Warren Brown video and it came out great. Later on I saw a Martha Stewart recipe of Swiss Meringue and decided to try it. The ingredients and results are virtually the same, it's just a slightly different process. I personally prefer the Italian Meringue because I don't have to stand over a double boiler whisking the sugar and egg whites. It's easier to me to make the sugar syrup and pour it into the egg whites while being whisked by my KitchenAid. Today, I used a modified version of Martha Stewart's Italian Meringue recipe. I just reduced the amount of butter from 4 sticks to 2. It comes out tasting just as great with a lot less fat and calories. I decided to dust it with cocoa powder, dot it with chocolate chips and do a chocolate chip monogram of her first initial.

I'm blessed to have an abundance of great friends so I was extra excited to make this cake as a symbol of gratitude for her friendship to me. Happy Birthday Mariama! Luv u girl:)

Caramel Birthday Cake

I lost my baking mojo for a little bit but I finally got it back! My mom asked me to make a birthday cake for her friend so I went with something simple that I thought most people would like- a yellow cake which I made using buttermilk and 4 eggs. Then I made a caramel sauce for the center layer.
Lastly, I made Swiss Meringue Buttercream to frost it and piped on shells in green. Unfortunately my camera was M.I.A for a while so I had to be creative and use my web cam. I didn't realize the writing would show up backwards :-( but the cake said "Joyeux Anniversaire."  My mom's friends and guests loved the cake and the next day I went over for my piece and was very pleased. I love Meringue frosting! It's so much lighter, fluffier than regular buttercream. it reminds me of whipped cream. Thank God for the MOJO:)

Dulce de Leche "Love" Cake

Being that I have such a sweet tooth, I like most desserts. My top favorite flavors are definitely chocolate, vanilla, caramel, coconut and strawberry.  I think most people like caramel and I love the versatility of it.  I actually saved some of the leftover to add to my hot cocoa and and lattes:)  I made this Dulce de Leche cake using a combination and modification of Williams-Sonoma and Toba Garrett's yellow cake.  After much experimenting I find that yellow/vanilla just doesn't taste as good and moist if you don't use at least 4 eggs and buttermilk. Toba's recipe actually calls for 5.  For the caramel, I boiled 1 cup of sugar and a 1/4 cup of water until it turned amber (no stirring).  Then, I added a cup of heavy cream and stirred constantly with a wooden spoon.  Once the cakes were completely cooled, I spread a thick layer in between the layers.

For the frosting, I made my favorite- Swiss Meringue Buttercream.  I reduced the amount of granulated sugar by almost 1/4 cup and instead beat in 2 tablespoons of the caramel.  I LOVE Swiss Meringue because it's so light and fluffy and not too sweet. I frosted the cake and drizzled lukewarm caramel over it. Piped on a heart in honor of Valentine's Day.  I got amazing feedback about this cake and look forward to making it again.  

Happy Valentine's Day:)

Birthday Cakes

I celebrated my birthday this weekend and as strange as it may seem to some, I made my own birthday cake.  I wanted my cake EXACTLY the way I wanted it!  Plus, it was nice to share another homemade treat with my friends.  A bunch of my girlfriends and I got manicures and martinis then went to have dinner at an Indian restaurant.  We had a great time and I felt extra special from all the love shown to me:)  Here are some more pics of the cake I made (Chocolate with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream):

It was so moist!

While I was planning my own birthday celebration, I got a request to make 2 red velvet cakes for a sweet sixteen.  I stayed up all night making these and they came out great!

Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Buttercream

I love birthdays:)

Marzipan and Modeling Chocolate

It's been a while since my last posting.  In that time I took a class with Master Cake Designer Toba Garrett at Institute of Culinary Education.  We worked with different types of buttercream, marzipan and modeling chocolate.  I had a tough time with the modeling chocolate but it was my very favorite part of the class.  I'm definitely planning on practicing more so I can master it.

Before adding the finishing touches.

After

My first chocolate modeling experience. Not too shabby;)

Making the ribbon wasn't nearly as tough but I just positioned my rose in such a way that I could hide the imperfections.

Kahlua Chocolate Cake

Recently I've been trying to come up with a new flavor to add to my 'roster.'  Being that I LOVE chocolate I thought about doing something extra to a great recipe I already use from Glorious Treats.  So, I decided to punch up the flavor a bit with Kahlua.  Coffee intensifies chocolate so I thought this would be a good addition.  I reduced the boiling water to 3/4 cup and replaced with 1/4 cup of Kahlua.  In the end the Kahlua flavor was subtle and the cake was deliciously moist. Overall, this cake was a HUGE hit and I would definitely make it again.

Added dry ingredients  (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt) to wet ingredients (eggs, oil, milk and vanilla)

Mix in Kahlua and boiling water

Batter will be runny

Drizzled Kahlua on top and in between layers

3 layers of frosting

Covered the cake in rosesusing small star tip (Wilton). Couldn't find my large star tip 21

Voila!