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.

One of today's tarts is the apple nougatine tart, recipe from Tartine Bakery cookbook. The apples are sauteed in a butter and sugar mixture that has been carmelized, then heaped into the almond flour shell and topped with a nougatine of sliced almonds, sugar, and egg whites. Baked to be slightly brown, the nougatine forms a satisfyingly crunchy top.

My sister bought some English muffins by Stone and SKillet at Whole Foods in Boston, hoping they would be a good substitute when she ran out of mine. But alas, the review was not positive, so I must get on a schedule of sending her some fresh ones.

Have you tried mine? You'll never go back to Thomason's.

Molasses Cookies

This winter I started a project of family remembrances. One of our common memories is the molasses cookies my grandmother made. They were dark, cakey cookies that had a sticky outside once they were a few days old. There was always a batch of them in the glass cookie jar with the peanut handle on top. My mother also made them, and they came out almost exactly the same. She told me the trick was to use half bacon grease and half Crisco. When I tried to make them, I had forgotten to save my bacon grease, so I used all Crisco. Note the less than dark color- could it really make that big a difference? Jay never even liked the originals, so was less than thrilled with my trial batch. I threw them away, but I really enjoyed the smell when they were baking. It brought me back to the kitchen in Orange, and my grandma in her fancy apron.

cranberry caramel almond tart

I do love making caramel, especially when it doesn't clump up into hard pieces after adding the cream. My favorite recipe is from Tartine- it has a vanilla bean and a little lemon juice in it.
I put a layer of frangipane in the bottom of this large tart. I thought it was better with the moist cakiness, but Jay prefered the one without the frangipane.

Birthday Wishes

So many birthdays these past couple of weeks, my own included. I did not make a cake for myself, but I did make a special cake for a friend's son ( soccer player), and for my own son ( Regular Show lover). That is a bluejay, in case you are not a Regular Show lover yourself.

Birthday cake for Carlie

A trial to make it look knitted.
Well, it tasted good and looked fabulous with the long beeswax candles.

Finn Cake for Remy

I think Remy looks a little like Finn, don't you? For those of you who do not know of this Finn, check out Adventure Time, a cartoon with heart. This is a very tall chocolate cake with hazelnut, chocolate and vanilla buttercream filling, fondant cover, hand painted Finn.

Happy Birthday Jay

IMG_0345
Originally uploaded by pizza on earth.

yellow butter cake with hazelnut crunch buttercream. Yum.
The buttercream is made by infusing milk with hazelnuts, and making a pastry cream from that. Really smooth.

Hmm, that's a good cupcake

Yes, there was frosting on it!

Hot

Very hot this week, too hot to bake in fact. I did not make english muffins yesterday or today because they are baked inside, first on the griddle and then finished in the oven. Too much heat in an already steamy kitchen!
The pizza hut was over 100 degrees last night, and we were sweating it out, trying to keep things straight. The heat really messes with concentration and even rudimentary thinking. Today is much better, and hopefully we will see everyone for a breezy lovely evening outside. We'll see if the storms hold off till later.

jordan's cake

jordan's cake
Originally uploaded by pizza on earth.

More Birthdays

Birthdays Abound

tony's cake
Originally uploaded by pizza on earth.

So many birthdays in the last few weeks, my own included. This mocha buttercream is extra delicious.

pavlova birthday cake

put together
Originally uploaded by pizza on earth.

Spring deserves the best birthday cake: 3 meringue rounds layered with whipped cream and sour cream, and poached fruit on top. A marshmallowy pile of sweetness.

A Sign of Spring

P3100013
Originally uploaded by pizza on earth.

Big Girlie loves the warm sun.

hoarfrost 2

hoarfrost 2
Originally uploaded by pizza on earth.

A beautiful day!

picnic outside

picnic outside
Originally uploaded by pizza on earth.

For the hearty souls, we have outdoor seating. Bring a shovel.