Kit Kat Kake: Happy Birthday to Heather!

This is the Kit Kat Kake that me and my friend Sarah made, for Heather.

Inside it's filled with chocolate buttercream and crushed Kit Kats:


Me and Sarah had a blast making this cake. Things really do come out better when from the heart. The cake is chocolate cake, filled with chocolate buttercream and crushed Kit Kats, topped with chocolate fudge icing and with Kit Kats "glued" to edges with more buttercream.

The cake was one of the best cakes I've ever had. My only regret is I only got a small piece because there were a lot of kids. (brought it to a youth get-together at my church) but the most important thing is Heather absolutely loved it.


She's so adorable! <3

The buttercream was SOO yummy in the middle!! And the cake was so fudgy! I always thought I didn't like chocolate cake but I've changed my mind. It's only the boxed cake mix that I don't like.(I love yellow and white box mixes)

Edit:
What do you do with leftover buttercream? Spread it on an Oreo, of course!


Yumm....perfect afternoon snack :)

The Perfece Cake, period.

Boy was I shocked to start visiting peoples blogs, only to realize today was the day to post the daring baker's challenge!

Well, I'm sure you know by now this months recipe Is the Perfect Party Cake, hosted by Morven.

The original recipe is a 4 layer white cake, with raspberry jam filling and white buttercream frosting, with a hint of lemon. Our hostess, Morven, let us take are creativity and do what we wanted with the cake. I was really excited since it didn't sound quite like my sort of cake.

I decided to keep the white cake, eliminating the lemon and using just vanilla extract, I then brushed each layer with a simple syrup spiked with a little rum. On each layer I used pastry cream and cover that with chocolate ganache. I added cocoa powder and melted semi-sweet and milk chocolate to the buttercream to make it chocolate, since cake isn't the same without chocolate frosting. (unless it's cream cheese, which was my second idea I never got to try)




Thanks SO MUCH Morven!!

Original recipe:
Perfect Party Cake:
For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (updated 25 March)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Easter Brunch & Dessert at Auntie Regina's

Yesterday was the brunch and I had so much fun! Me and my mom got up at 5:45 in the morning to prepare everything and get ready for Easter Mass. I pulled my dinner rolls from the fridge and shaped them, mom boiled the ham so she could bake it later. We straightened the house a bit and got ready for mass, which was at 7:30. By the time we got home it was already 8:30 and we had work to do!

First, we got all the meats cooked:
Ham-


Roast Beef- I didn't get a close up, since I'm not a roast beef fan...

And mine, Roast Pork-



All the meat on the table:



Then we had to set the cinnamon rolls out:


Bake the French toast casserole(bad picture alert! Mom kept yelling at me because the guests were hungry...and it was SOOOO good, definitely one of my favorite!!):


The rolls didn't come out looking as good as I'd hope, but they tasted delicious. We had a lot of other thing in the oven, the doors were being opened and closed a lot to check on the other things, so I blame that, partially. You can see the tops didn't brown very well:


Even after we were totally stuffed from our own food, (which we had at 11:00 AM) We went to my amazing aunt's for dessert!
She served a torte cover with whipped cream and layered with coffee icing:


A delicious Babka, which I'm pretty sure is from my new favorite book by Carole Walter ^_-



A Banana bundt cake with chocolate chips, whic I didn't have the pleasure of trying because I was to stuffed:


And strawberry cupcakes, cute and delicious!


Overall I think the guests had a great time. The really, really loved the food and everyone went back for seconds, some thirds. I enjoyed everything and it's sad it has to end. We have a tone of leftovers though, so it'll last for a few days! Haha....I think I'm going to skip cereal for breakfast today and eat a cinnamon bun, since it's still sort of a holiday...<3

But wait! I can't leave without giving the recipe for the Blueberry Cream cheese Coffee cake, since I was asked. It was YUMMY by the way. Everyone loved it, especially my brother and sister, and cousin Maria...lol

Taken from Sunset magazine, 2005:

1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed, or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup apple juice
___________________
1 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. water
___________________
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick cold butter, cut into chunks
_______________________
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
_______________________
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
__________________________
1/4 cup sugar
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 egg
__________________________
1/2 cup sliced almonds

In a small saucepan, bring the blueberries and apple juice to a boil. Lower heat, and cook until blueberries pop, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tsp. of water. Add to the popped blueberries, and stir until blueberries are thick.

In another bowl, whisk together flour and sugar. Add the butter chunks and cut in butter, with either a pastry blender or 2 knives, until the mixture looks crumbly. Save half a cup of this mixture and set aside for later use.
To the larger half of the mixture, add baking powder, baking soda, salt and grated lemon peel.

In a seperate bowl, mix together yogurt, 1 egg and vanilla until well blended. Stir into flour/baking powder mixture just until incorperated, and the flour is all moisterized. Spread batter in the buttered 9-inch springform pan evenly.

Nows the time to take that 1/2 cup of the flour mixture. To the mixture, add cream cheese, 1 egg, sugar and lemon juice. Mix well with a fork. Spread cream cheese mixture over batter. Spread blueberry mixture over cream cheese mixture, leaving some of the cream cheese visible. Bake for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees. About 30 minutes through, or when the cake only has 10 minutes left, open the oven on spread streusel around the edges of the pan, with only a thin layer in the middle. Bake the rest of the way.

Streusel topping (from Carole Walter, because the part in the magazine made NO sense!! Tjis way it came out great)

3-4 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2cup sliced almonds, if desired

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a bowl using a whisk. Add almond, floding well until incorperated. Melt buter in a saucepan of med-low heat, keeping an eye that the butter doesn't burn. Let butter cool slightly. Add flour mixture to the butter and use a fork to stir until crumbly.

Prepping for Easter Brunch

So, it starts today! 3 days of cooking and baking, all to get ready for Easter. We're and Easter brunch. There will be 14 people in total. My mother and father, 2 brothers and 1 sister, then my 3 cousin and 2 of their husbands and the one's fiance, then my aunt and uncle and myself.

So far, the cinnamon roll dough is sitting in the fridge. The dinner roll dough is sitting in the fridge. My mommy put the pineapples and cherries on tooth picks, getting them ready for the ham she's making. We've bought our favorite French bread for the French Toast Casserole. Tomorrow I'll bake the cinnamon rolls, a coffee cake, and I'm going to see if I can fit in some cinnamon-sugar swirl raisin bread in the evening, so it'll be fresh for Sunday morning.

I'll update later today or tomorrow when I have more.





And here's an update on the menu. We've made a few changes since I last posted it.

I'm making:
Cinnamon Rolls
Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Apple-Cranberry roasted Pork
Dinner Rolls
Cinnamon-sugar Swirl Raisin Bread

Mom's making:
Sausage
French Toast Casserole
Roast Beef With Roasted Potatoes
Ham with Pineapples and Cherries
Green Bean Casserole
Canned Fruit cocktail
Canned Celery Gravy

Drinks: Coffee, Tea, Soda, Milk and Orange Juice

YUM! I can't wait!

Easy & Yummy Chocolate Bread Pudding

I feel awful having not updated my blog in over a week! I kept thinking about my poor blog, being neglected. I decided I needed to give it some love today, so I had to make some something chocolaty...ya'know, for the blog. -cough-

This bread pudding is yummy and chocolaty. It's slightly crisp on top, and pudding-like on the bottom, with melted chocolate all over and cinnamon-sugar goodness.







The recipe follows:

Easy & Yummy Chocolate Bread Pudding
Serves 2 (or one, if you're hungry!)
Calls for 6-inch round baking pan

3-4 slices white bread, such as Wonder Bread
2 1/2 - 3 tbs. butter, melted
____________
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp. cocoa powder (add 1/4 tsp. more for extra chocolate-ness)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Cookies, finely crumbled (Or a similar crunchy CC cookie)
___________
2/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten with a fork
1 tsp. sugar
___________
Semi-sweet choclate chips, as desired. (About a handful)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 6-inch baking pan with butter or margarine.

In a bowl whisk together sugars, cocoa, cinnamon and cookie crumbs, until well distributed. Set aside.

Melt the butter. Using a toaster, toast the bread slices, then cut each piece of bread into fours.
One at a time, dip the first four mini-slices into the butter, then place in the bottom of pan. Sprinkle with sugar mixture, and about a tablespoon of the chocolate chips. Continue this until you've used all your bread.

In another bowl, beat the egg, then add the 1 tsp sugar and 2/3 cup milk.

Pour milk mixture into pan, letting it fall over each piece of bread. Place the pan on a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 23 minutes.

(You may have leftover sugar mixture, but it tastes very good on toast!)

And just because I haven't posted in a week it doesn't mean I didn't bake anything! Last saturday I made a delicious coffee cake from my new book. Unfortunately the camera wouldn't cooperate with me and I couldn't get a good, clear picture. Here's an idea of what it looked like though. You can tell it sunk in the middle a bit. It certainly didn't take away from the taste!



Happy ST. Patrick's day everyone!

New favorite recipe of an old time classic.

As I've previously stated, Chocolate Chip Cookies are my favorite cookie. Ever. I could probably eat 2 dozen and still want more. Whenever I made chocolate chip cookies, I always use the Toll House recipe on the chocolate chip bag. I've never, ever tried a different recipe. But since I've starting to really love baking I decided I had to try at least one other recipe. I don't think I need to try another! The "Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe is my new default. It's all summed up into those words, with the addition of "Gooey" My favorite part. Yum. Yum!





In this case, bigger really is better. The texture really makes it, with just the perfect amount of crispness, but so chewy and gooey, and so big and fat. The cookies looked big even in my Dad's hands!

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Taken from Allrecipes.com, RECIPE HERE)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

(Following directions from other reviewers on AllRecipes, I chilled my dough in the refrigerator before baking. They came out perfect! And Don't be afraid to make them big!)

Something Savory...For Dinner!

Tonight's dinner was Lavash Cracker "pizza". I made Peter Reinhart's Lavash Crackers, then half way through the baking time I put toppings on them.

This dough was super stiff. I had the hardest time kneading it by hand! Being pretty small, with any sort of muscle I have existing in my legs, you can imagine how long it took! I was very tempted to call my big brother down and have him do it. I had to start using my elbows at some points, and puting one hand on the dough, the other on the counter and lifting myself up...I'm not even sure I kneaded it enough! But it tasted fine, so it's all good!





This one I made one layer of cracker, deli sliced ham and swiss cheese, then another lay of cracker, topped with sesame seeds and kosher salt, then baked.


Before ( My sister made my arms look hairy! O__o Grr...)

Half way through baking:



Peter Reinhart's "Lavash Crackers" Recipe:
(Taken from Bread Baker's Apprentice")

1 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup water, at room temperature

(Directions, in my own words, because from what I heard, I'm aloud to post recipe, but not directions?)

Using a spoon, mix everything together in a bowl. You might not need all of the water, but have it ready just in case. You'll need just enough to make a ball.

Lightly flour the counter, empty the dough onto the counter and knead for around ten minutes, when all the ingredients are well distributed.
Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough in the bowl rolling it to coat it lightly in the oil. Cover with plastic, then a towel, T shirt, apron, whatever is around, and ferment at room temperature until it's doubled in size. About 1 and a half hours.

Once doubled, light mist the counter with some spray oil and pat the dough into a rectangle. Lightly pat some flour on top of the dough and roll it out paper thin with a rolling pin. Place on baking parchment on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Now, I placed mine in, baked it half way, quickly pulled it out and threw on a few toppings. Then baked the rest of the way. It may need more then 20 minutes.

My toppings were: Pepperoni, Mozzerella, and diced tomatoes. The other was
Turkey, swiss, and diced tomatoes.
My favorite was the pepperoni. The crushed tomatoes tasted SO good! I'll have to make this again. It was very easy even though my arms felt like they were going to fall off.

I hope you try and make this!

Blondies and Easter candy~

So today I made Blondies for the first time in my life. I've never made them, never tasted them. Let me say, I was certainly missing out. They were good. Really good.I used Mark Bittman's recipe, which I tripled, and put in semi-sweet chocolate chunks and walnuts. Just like a thick, chewy, moist chocolate chip cookie! (my absolute favorite cookie)

Smitten Kitchen's Blondies look better than mine, but you can find the recipe on her blog.


Me and my mom were out today, and we had a chance to run into the Candy Barn before picking up my brother from college. As soon as you walk in you get this intense chocolatey smell. It was so tempting me and Mom had to get a few pieces of chocolate to sample, as well as a few things to start our Easter baskets.



Next time I'll get pictures of the actual Candy Store! If I'd known we were going I would've brought the camera.

We also got these adorable candles from Target for our Easter Brunch.



Aren't they cute?