Chocolate Valentine's Day Heart ~ Redux 2012

Nordic Ware Decorative Heart Cake ~

I used the recipe from the label. The picture has been lightened so that you can see the design on the cake.  It was soaked with a warm Coffee Liqueur Syrup after removing from the pan to cool. This cake tastes like a Chocolate Valentine's Cake should taste, heavenly! This tall, one layer, 10 inch cake feeds 10 to 12 people.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Tea with Bea

Vanilla Italian Butter Cream  ~  Tea with Bea
My Niece sent me the book ~ Tea with Bea ~ for Christmas.
I finally got around to trying the Italian Butter Cream. Which was so airy everyone said that it was the best vanilla butter cream that they ever had eaten. The cupcakes were vanilla flavored too, a double hit of vanilla bean paste.
I can't wait to try more of these fine recipes.
You will need a scale for weighing grams, new baking cookbooks are using grams or ounces to weigh the ingredients. A more accurate way to bake.
Thanks for reading

Gingerbread Cookies with Chopped Candied Ginger

Gingerbread Cookies with Chopped Candied Ginger ~ Betty Crocker Gingerbread Mix
These cookies are so easy to make. Make the Betty Crocker Gingerbread Mix according to the cookie directions. Roll round balls of dough in turbinado sugar and place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Flatten the dough and add small diced pieces of Candied Ginger to the tops of the cookies and press lightly to adhere to the cookie. Bake as recommended.  I have added candied ginger to the dough but the flavor gets lost.  Hope that you will give these a try.

Hershey's Chocolate Cherry Kisses with Chocolate Dipped Cherries ~ The Christmas Mice ~ 2011

The Christmas Hershey's Chocolate Cherry Mice  ~  2011
Tradition dictates that the Christmas Mice are done early in December. These photos show the steps to  making the mice. This year the eyes were done with white frosting and black gel, along with black gel on the nose.  They always evoke delight from the recipients.  Thanks for looking and Happy Holidays!

Rose's Heavenly Cakes ~ The Fruit Cake Wreath ~ 2011

Rose's Heavenly Cakes ~ Fruit Cake Wreath Holidays 2011
Well, it is that time again to bake your Fruit Cake in anticipation of the Holidays.
I made this today and will wrap it in rum drenched cheese cloth, plastic wrap and then foil, to bring out when the Fruit Cake mood strikes. Truly one of the best ones that I have eaten. I did make the ribbon with the candied pineapple again this year, my signature look for the Wreath Fruit Cake.
 Happy Holidays to all,
 Darlene

Libby Pumpkin Cake Mix ~ Pumpkin Patch for Thanksgiving

Make your own pumpkin patch with pumpkin molds and Libby Pumpkin cake mix. Or follow the recipe on the pumpkin cake molds. Decorate with colored buttercream to make up your tray of edible pumpkins.

Rose's Heavenly Cakes ~ Sicilian Pistachio Cake with Golden Neoclassic Buttercream

Rose's Heavenly Cakes ~ Sicilian Pistachio Cake ~ Ann's Birthday Cake ~ 11/11/11
My friend Ann celebrated her Birthday yesterday. This was the cake that I made for her. I doubled the recipe and used four seven inch cake pans, for the batter. Then I tripled the Golden Neoclassic Buttercream and had very little left after filling and decorating. The topping was made from cake crumbs, chopped pistachio nuts, and superfine sugar in the food processor.  This cake was dense from the amount of pistachio nuts used and weighed in at six pounds.  She was delighted.

RUM RAISIN TRUFFLES ~ REDUX~ RECIPE OF BRIGITTE BROWNEY ~ 2010

Brigitte Browney's Rum Raisin Truffles

These are the coated Rum Raisin Truffles done in milk chocolate and are the recipe of Brigitte Browney. (Google Barefoot Contessa Recipes Rum Raisin Truffles.)
Everyone loves these decadent truffles and they are the easiest recipe that I have found to make. You can coat them or not, up to you.  Give them a try, double the recipe and give as gifts.
Adults only, real rum addition. Enjoy!

Nordic Ware Acorn Cakelet Pan ~ Acorn Cakelets, Bourbon Glaze, and Turbinado Sugar

Acorn Cakelets with a Bourbon Glaze and topped with Turbinado Sugar.
The recipe is on the Nordic Ware Cover to the Acorn Cakelet Pan.  The glaze is Bourbon and Maple Syrup warmed together then applied over the baked cakelet. The Turbinado Sugar is applied while the glaze is still warm so that it will adhere to the tops. These are delicious and fun to make. They can be made as singles or doubled to look like a real acorn.  Enjoy!

Pignoli Cookies ~ Italian Almond Paste Cookies

Wonderful Italian Almond Paste Cookies. This recipe is from the December 2002 Gourmet Magazine.
You can Google the information under Pignoli Cookies. Easy to make, most of it is done in the food processor. Don't forget to use  parchment paper or your cookies will stick to the cookie sheet. I used a small ice cream scoop, not a pastry bag to form the cookies onto the baking sheet.
They are pricey to make but, so worth buying the 2 cans of almond paste for such a special cookie.

Cannele de Bordeaux ~ French Pastry with a crusty exterior and creme brulee like interior

A Speciality de Bordeaux, France ~ Cannele
Recipe courtesy Pascal Rigo, The American Boulangerie: French Pastries and Breads for the Home Kitchen , Bay/SOMA Publishing, 2003   ~   Food Network Recipe

Copper molds covered with a mixture of melted beeswax and butter give the Cannele their distintive crunchy crusts.  I didn't have enough copper molds so I buttered a Nordic Ware Fleur de Lis pan and poured in the remaining batter and baked that at 375 for 1 hour. The copper molds baked at 425 for 1 hour. Crunchy crusts and custard like interiors are magnificent. The batter did sit for 24 hours in the refrigerator instead of 12, my option, without any problems. I also added an additional 2 oz. of rum for taste. These are lovely rum flavored bites.
A very special French dessert indeed,  I can't wait to make them again.

BIRTHDAY ~ RED VELVET CAKE ~ BOBBY FLAY'S RECIPE

The Birthday Boy requested Red Cake. This is Bobby Flay's Red Velvet  Cake Recipe with Butter Cream Icing and it is delicious!

Very much like the original recipe that calls for buttermilk, I also used the buttermilk in the butter cream icing.  This cake is so tall you might want to make 1 and 1/2 times the icing recipe, especially if using the buttermilk. You can download this recipe from the Food Network Channel.    Enjoy!

Nordic Ware Cathedral Cake

Duncan Hines Spice Cake











I added an eight ounce can of crushed pineapple with a quarter cup of water instead of 1 and 1/4 cups of water. Walnuts were the only other addition not called for in the instructions. It baked up like a breeze and the crumb is delightful. Such a pretty cake pan.
No sticking and has sharp details, a great pan. This cake tastes better on the second day, so bake a day ahead. So Yummy!

Kentucky Derby Run for the Roses ~ Red Cake with Fondant Roses

Kentucky Derby Red Cake was made for the Neighbor's Kentucky Derby Party. Fondant red Roses were made by hand and the white fondant basket make with a mold. A fun project to make.

Kentucky Derby Sugar Cookie Horses ~ 2011

Alan rolls out the fondant for the sugar cookie horses, cuts out the fondant with the cookie cutter then decorates the horses with the fondant silks and numbers. Gel icing is used for the eyes and hoofs.

Kentucky Derby Party 2011 ~ Rose's Whipped Cream Cake ~ Filled Sugar Cookie Sandwiches ~ Brownies

Kentucky Derby Party desserts Rose's Whipped Cream Cake.
Filled Sugar Cookies with Nutella or Apricot Preserves.
Ghirardelli Brownies with instant espresso and walnuts.

Chocolate Icebox Cake ~ Nabisco Chocolate Wafers

This is a wonderful No Bake Chocolate Cake and is made with Heavy Cream, Sugar, Coffee Liqueur, Mascarpone Cheese, Cocoa Power, Instant Espresso Powder, Vanilla, and Nabisco Chocolate Wafers. It sits overnight in the refrigerator so you will want to plan ahead. This is the Barefoot Contessa Recipe for Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake but, I used Nabisco Chocolate Wafers and did seven layers instead of five. Everyone loved this cake.

I used a Magic Line Cake Pan 8 by 3 inch with the removable bottom. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to release, then lift out the cake. I used one and a half boxes of wafers to form 7 layers including the bottom layer.

A great cake for any holiday or special occasion with its crunchy chocolate wafers and a mocha mousse  texture. You can buy the Nabisco Chocolate Wafers at The Fresh Market.

Give this a try, we loved it.

Nordic Ware Beehive Cake Pan ~ Beehive Cake

Darlene's Beehive Cake

The cake batter was made from the recipe on the label attached to the Nordic Ware Beehive Cake Pan.

Included are the recipes for the Honey Syrup, the Butter Cream, and the Icing.

1) The Honey Syrup was applied to the surface of the cake after baking.

2) The Butter Cream was inserted in between the two pieces to hold them together.

3) The Icing topped the hive and ran down the sides so that the swarming bees could enjoy the sweet white nectar.

4) The Bees were purchased from fancyflours (online) and are edible.

Honey and Lemon are a delicious paring for this cake.

Pavlova with Creme Chantilly

What to do with 6 egg whites? Make a Pavlova, of course.

This is the Crisp French Meringue from the Cake Bible p. 296.

The only change to the recipe was that I used 6 egg whites instead of 4 (left over from making the Golden Luxury Butter Cake p.48). I drew a 9 inch circle on a piece of parchment paper and placed the meringue inside the lines then baked it on a sheet pan according to the directions.

The Pavlova was kept in the cooled oven overnight.

The Creme Chantilly is so easy just add a small amount of powdered sugar to heavy cream and whip. Usually I serve this with fruit but this time we just wanted something light.

This makes a delightful light meringue, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Perfect for Spring!

Rose's Heavenly Cakes ~ Lemon Poppy Seed - Sour Cream Cake

Lemon Poppy Seed - Sour Cream Cake ~ Rose's Heavenly Cakes. This makes a 10 cup Nordic Ware Elegant Heart Cake. As per the instructions, for best results, complete one day ahead. I have made so many chocolate goodies lately, I was ready for something light and for something with lemon.