Sunday Catch Up

Yesterday I renewed my love of cake design and decorating with a Jack Skellington birthday cake for Remy. I baked the chocolate devils food cake earlier in the week in the convection oven. It was slightly over because the convection oven cooks so much more quickly than the house oven, so Jay thought it was slightly dry. Anyway, I filled it with whipped ganache and covered it with chocolate fondant. I colored the leftover fondant black and made the eyes, nose, and mouth with it, then rolled the leftovers to make the swirly design on the sides. I filled the face with white royal icing. I thought it came out pretty nice!

Food Memory

Having just filled my tart shells with a layer of caramel, I took the bowl to the sink and couldn't help myself- I licked the spatula. The warm smooth caramel was rich with buttery burnt-ness. Flash back to Kraft caramels, individually wrapped, always in a bowl on my grandmother's side table. I could not stop at one, or two, or even three. I would sit with her and watch the Red Sox, savoring the flavor while it melted in my mouth.

S'Mores tarts

Today's tart is a rendition of a S'Mores bar I made over the winter. The bar had a buttery crust made with graham cracker crumbs, a brownie layer that was baked, and a marshmallow topping, torched or burnt under the broiler. They were quite spectacular- Jay ate almost all of them himself. I decided to adapt the filling and topping for a tart, eliminating the graham cracker crust until I can figure out how to make it without so much time ( making the graham crackers, then crumbing them, then making the tart shell) or money ( buying store bought graham crackers and crumbing them). I actually think the almond flour shell I always make is a nice alternative to the graham cracker crust, just slightly sweet and still crumbly and crisp. I love torching the marshmallow meringue, but it happens too quickly, not nearly satisfying enough. What do you think?

marcia muffins

I've been making english muffins for years. But recently I switched to mixing the dough in Jay's big bread dough mixer, and what a difference a mixer makes. They are the english muffins of my dreams, brown and crisp on the top and bottom, and light and fluffy on the inside, fork split of course. The texture is quite amazing with the new method, never gooey inside, but smooth and soft. Today I made a few extra large ones to try out as burger buns. Ah, I can't wait to try them out.