Purple Class Tuxedo Cake with Raspberry Buttercream
May 23, 2010 Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts
Finally, a chocolate cake recipe!
STOP for a second. I want to explain why I thought I wasn’t that great at cake decorating. These pictures are cute and everything, but if you actually saw the cakes up close you would see the imperfections that there were. This shot of the Purple Class cake shows just how hard it was to get the icing evenly spread. Look at this cake’s side. There is a crack in the icing on the bottom in the middle, and you can see chocolate cake showing through the right edge. My polka dots all have pointy tips (not on purpose), and the dots on the edge are not at all in a straight line. Pictures can be deceiving. This one shows a little of the truth. Overall, they were cute, but I want to compliment all of the talented cake decorators out there and say that this is hard work, and I am nowhere near even close to being good at it. Hats off to people who can do this well.
I actually used the same chocolate cake recipe for both the Purple Class cake and the Blue Class cake and used different icings. Since this is the last cake recipe you won’t be hearing about these cakes anymore, I promise. The cake recipe was called Tuxedo Cake from The Pastry Queen cookbook. For the purple class cake I used the same Classic Buttercream recipe that I talked about with the Green Class cake, but I added Raspberry puree to the icing that went between the layers. The Classic Buttercream recipe is fun because you are allowed to add up to a 1/2 cup of liquid fresh fruit puree or a little bit of flavored liquor to the mix to make it a different flavor. I went with fresh raspberries, and I think it worked out pretty well. I didn’t want an overwhelming raspberry flavor though, so I used regular Classic Buttercream on the outside of the cake.
The Tuxedo Cake is paired with a whipped cream frosting and chocolate glaze in The Pastry Queen and I’m sure that tastes marvelous. I’m sure several different icings would go great with this chocolate cake recipe. I’ll just give you the one I used.
Tuxedo Cake from The Pastry Queen
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups water
1 cup canola oil
4 cups sugar
1 cup high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups all purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbs baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs vanilla extract
Directions
For a 3-layer cake, place one baking rack one-third from the bottom of the oven and the second two-thirds from the bottom. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cake pans with parchment paper rounds, grease with butter, and dust with flour.
Combine the butter, water, and canola oil in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, cocoa, and flour. Pour the butter mixture into the sugar mixture and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the buttermilk. Whisk in the baking soda, salt, and vanilla all at once. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans. For a 3-layer cake, stagger the cake layers on the oven racks so that no layer is directly over another. Set 2 layers on one rack and the third on the other. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Monitor the layers carefully for doneness; each one may be done at at a different time.
Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on racks for about 15 minutes (**Molly Note: I’d give it at least 25 to 30) before inverting onto baking racks. Cool the cakes completely, at least 2 hours, before frosting.
Classic Buttercream (with a Raspberry Flare) from The Cake Bible
Makes 4 cups
Ingredients
6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups unsalted butter (must be softened)
Fresh raspberries, pureed (1/4 cup if only mixing into layers, 1/2 cup if using on entire cake)
Have ready a greased 1-cup heatproof glass measure near the range.
In a bowl beat the yolks with an electric mixer until light in color. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan (preferably with a nonstick lining) and heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is boiling. Stop stirring and boil to the soft-ball stage (238 degrees Farenheit). **Molly Note: this took about 8 minutes. Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measure to stop the cooking.
If using an electric hand-held mixer, beat the syrup into the yolks in a steady stream. Don’t allow syrup to fall on the beaters or they will spin it onto the sides of the bowl. If using a stand mixer, pour a small amount of the syrup over the yolks with the mixer turned off. Immediately beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Stop the mixer and add a larger amount of syrup. Beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Continue with the remaining syrup. For the last addition, use a rubber scraper to remove the syrup clinging to the glass measure. Continue beating until completely cool. Add pureed raspberries and beat until combined. **Molly note: I took out half of the buttercream before I added the raspberries so that I could ice the outside of the cake with Classic Buttercream. If you want the whole thing to taste like raspberries, add the raspberries to the entire mixture. This is also the point when you can add it food coloring if you want.
Gradually beat in the butter. Place in an airtight bowl. Bring to room temperature before using. Rebeat if necessary to restore texture.
Aqua and Red Class White on White Buttermilk Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream
This isn’t getting old for me yet. What about you?
We’re only 2 in, but it will be over soon.
I don’t really know which cake won second place. It may have been the Strawberry Cake for the Pink Class, but I already posted that recipe so I’ll just give you the link here along with a picture of the cake. I think it was the prettiest one.
Green Class White Chocolate Whisper Cake
May 21, 2010 Cakes, Desserts, White Chocolate
The graduation went really well and everyone seemed to love the cakes. Seeing Sullivan and his dad enjoy his Purple Class cake made it everything worth it.
I love Sullivan.
I have to say that my favorite part of the night though didn’t have anything to do with the kids. It was a very special moment that made me so happy, but no one knew about it except me. Immediately after the ceremony everyone started filing into the reception area to get their cake and I started to get a little antsy. This was the big moment where I would see if people actually liked the cakes, and I was a little nervous. Brian ran off to do something (I honestly didn’t know where he went but I assumed it was the bathroom) and I started talking to some of the staff members in the gym. About 2 minutes later, Brian was standing next to me holding a piece of cake. I don’t know how he got through the massive crowd and got a piece so fast, but the fact that he left the gym immediately and was so determined to get a piece made me so happy. I hadn’t seen another person with cake yet (it had honestly been so fast) and there he was, the love of my life, standing next to me with a piece of Green Class Cake. What a guy.
After that I felt a lot better. He gave me a bite of his cake, I thought it was good, and I started to feel confident that this just might work out. I was really happy I made several different flavors because it was fun for the guests to try different ones, and each one was so different and really did taste great. I was so glad I went all out on the recipes and actually made some great tasting cakes instead of just focusing on the decorating.
The staff set the cakes out beautifully on a table with the descriptions next to each one so the guests knew what they were picking. There was enough cake left over at the end of the night to make me feel like everyone got some who wanted some. When I left almost everyone was gone except for staff members and there were some pieces left on the table, so I was glad I made enough.
There were only a few people who tried all of the cakes to give me a fair evaluation of which one was best. Jean, the Executive Director of the preschool told me that she liked the Green and the Aqua/Red cakes the best and she couldn’t decide between them. Since most people only tried one type, I had to go off of compliments to see which one was the best. I think I got the most compliments on the Green Class Cake. The Green Class got a White Chocolate Whisper cake from The Cake Bible with Classic Buttercream. I liked this one the best too after trying them because it had such a delicious white chocolate taste and was still very moist and awesome. I had several people comment on how much they liked it. If you want a pretty easy and really delicious white cake, this one is perfect. It is sweet and has a subtle white chocolate flavor, and it went really well with the classic buttercream but would probably be great with several different types of icing.
White Chocolate Whisper Cake from The Cake Bible
Really quick before I give you the recipe, I want to take a minute to say that if you ever want to make a cake and understand what you’re doing, The Cake Bible is the best. I felt completely prepared and like I knew what the outcome might be before I even started baking because it explained each cake in detail as far as taste, texture, and what icings would go well with different recipes. It has every kind of cake and icing you can imagine with instructions on adding flavors for variations. I highly recommend it if you like to bake cakes. Especially if you decide to bake 5 at once.
The recipe I’m going to give you is enough to fill two 9 inch pans. I doubled this recipe and used all of it to fill three 10-inch pans. If you want to make a normal size cake instead of a giant monster cake, then this recipe is for you.
Serves 12
Ingredients:
6 oz fine quality white chocolate
4.5 large egg whites (4 full liquid ounces)
1 cup milk
1.5 tsp vanilla
3 cups sifted cake flour **Molly Note: I used all purpose flour and turned it into cake flour. How you do it is for every cup of all purpose flour, take out two tablespoons of the flour and replace it with corn starch. Sift it all together and you’re ready to go.
1 cup + 3 Tbs sugar
1 tbs + 1.5 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
9 tablespoons unsalted butter (must be softened)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate over hot (not simmering) water, stirring frequently. Remove from the water.
In a medium bowl lightly combine the egg whites, 1/4 cup milk, and vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and remaining 3/4 cup milk. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed (high speed if using a hand mixer) and beat for 1.5 minutes to aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Scrape down the sides. Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides. Add the melted chocolate and beat to incorporate.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pans **see note below** and smooth the surface with a spatula. The pans will be about 1/2 full. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cakes should start to shrink from the sides of the pans only after removal from the oven.
Let the cakes cool in the pans on the racks for 10 minutes (**Molly Note: I would wait at least 20 minutes, but I’m chicken and am afraid of breaking the cake by dropping it out too soon and having some of it stick to the sides). Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and invert onto greased wire racks. To prevent splitting, reinvert so that the tops are up and cool completely before wrapping airtight.
**Prepared pans means that you grease your pans with butter, line them with parchment paper, then grease with butter again and sprinkle with flour before putting any cake batter into them. I explained how to do it here a while back.
Classic Buttercream from The Cake Bible
Makes 4 cups
Ingredients
6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups unsalted butter (must be softened)
Have ready a greased 1-cup heatproof glass measure near the range.
In a bowl beat the yolks with an electric mixer until light in color. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan (preferably with a nonstick lining) and heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is boiling. Stop stirring and boil to the soft-ball stage (238 degrees Farenheit). **Molly Note: this took about 8 minutes. Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measure to stop the cooking.
If using an electric hand-held mixer, beat the syrup into the yolks in a steady stream. Don’t allow syrup to fall on the beaters or they will spin it onto the sides of the bowl. If using a stand mixer, pour a small amount of the syrup over the yolks with the mixer turned off. Immediately beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Stop the mixer and add a larger amount of syrup. Beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Continue with the remaining syrup. For the last addition, use a rubber scraper to remove the syrup clinging to the glass measure. Continue beating until completely cool. **Molly note: this is the point when you can add it food coloring if you want.
Gradually beat in the butter. Place in an airtight bowl. Bring to room temperature before using. Rebeat if necessary to restore texture.
Cakes Everywhere!
May 20, 2010 Uncategorized
This past week I think I started to come to terms with my place in the cooking world. I am a person who loves to cook and I can make things (both savory and sweet) that taste great. Taste-wise, I’m pretty good. I did learn however that I am not by any means, nor will I ever be, nor do I ever want to be, a cake decorator.
About two weeks ago a teacher at the preschool I used to work at asked me if I would be interested in making the graduation cake for their 19 graduates. She asked if I was any good at cake decorating because she had seen my blog and she knew I knew a lot of the kids and that it might be special for me to make the cake. I told her I was by no means professional but I was confident that I could come up with something cute, and that most importantly I was willing if she really needed someone. It was decided that I was the lucky baker who would make the cakes, so I started planning.
Turtle Ice Cream Pie
May 10, 2010 Cakes, Chocolate, Crusts, Desserts
Somehow this past weekend got really busy. It was the kind of busy that made Brian and I find ourselves at Wal Mart after midnight one night, and back again the next night at 10:30 for cooking and plumbing emergencies. I don’t even like Wal-Mart, but for some reason our grocery shopping for Mother’s Day ended up happening at midnight on Saturday night, and on Sunday night water started coming out of a hole in our garage every time we turned water on, so another late night trip to Wal-Mart happened last night. It is convenient that Wal-Mart is open 24 hours for emergencies, but I’m not going to give up my Sunday afternoon Reasor’s ritual.
One of the fruits of our Saturday night trip was this Turtle Ice Cream Pie that I made for my mom for Mother’s Day. My mom and my sister are both moms, and they both love ice cream, so this seemed like a good thing to try out. I got the recipe from Bon Appetit and made it easier by buying caramel topping instead of making my own caramel, but the rest of the recipe was the same. I have to say, this graham cracker pecan crust is one of the best graham cracker crusts I’ve ever had. I love pecans, and I think using them with the graham crackers added a really great flavor. Even if I don’t make the whole pie again, I will definitely use this crust. It made my house smell like sweet pecans when I baked it in the middle of the night. I loved it.
Turtle Ice Cream Pie
Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit. If you want to make your own caramel sauce the recipe is here. Serves at least 10
Ingredients:
Crust
- 1 cup toasted pecans
- 5 graham crackers
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 stick butter, melted
Filling:
- 2 pints vanilla ice cream like Edy’s Vanilla Bean or something else awesome like that, divided
- 1/2 cup caramel topping, divided
Topping:
- 5.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. For the crust, blend graham crackers and pecans in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the sugar and pulse a few times until combined. Add the butter and blend until coated. Press crust into a 9 inch pie dish, covering the sides and bottom of the dish. Bake crust for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and pop all air bubbles that have formed (if any) by pressing the crust down into the dish. Freeze for at least 1 hour.
Soften 1 pint of ice cream and spread onto the frozen pie crust. Top with 1/4 cup of caramel topping and spread evenly. Freeze for at least 1 hour. Repeat with the second pint of ice cream and the remaining caramel sauce. Freeze pie overnight.
To make the chocolate topping, combine cream and chocolate in a metal bowl and set over a pot of boiling water. Stir frequently until chocolate is melted completely. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt. Cool completely. Pour chocolate on pie and spread evenly. If you want, you can add pecans to the top of your pie at this point. Freeze for about an hour and up to overnight. Before serving, add a little extra caramel sauce to the topping if you wish.
Beware, this pie is really good and really gooey, so don’t be alarmed if the caramel spills out a little. The longer you freeze the pie the less the caramel will spill out. I only froze mine for a few hours because I was impatient, and you can see how mine turned out. It was delicious though.
Tags: Bon appetit, Dessert, ice cream dessert, ice cream pie, turtle ice cream pie
