into the woods cake

Somehow this Black Forest cake just screams 'wedding' to me. It's so basic, so easy, so... like little gothic scribbles.

Mmm.

The kind of cake is less important than the white icing and the decorative chocolate trees. The trees are just scribbly little things -- you should read this article (the section on "chocolate shapes") for ideas on how to make such a thing. Just make sure some of your trees will stand taller than your cake layer.

Oh yeah. And HI. :)

Tiramisu Cake

There is nothing very Halloweeny about this post at all, but I made Tiramisu Cake for a dinner last night and -- well, if you love creamy deliciousness and coffee flavor you really should try it!

It's light; like, so-fluffy-it-might-float-away light. The flavor is almost all in the liqueur -- I could definitely have doubled the amount I spread over everything.

We were out of Kahlua and the coffee-infused rum I got last Christmas somehow ended up at my parents' house, so I substituted brandy mixed with a little bit of instant coffee and some sugar water/simple syrup. When I mixed up the filling and took a taste I thought I might die from happy -- next time I make this I'm doubling the marscapone/sugar/liqueur in the filling mixture and adding half as much of the whipped topping to it. The flavor was so good and I think the whipped cream deadened the flavor a bit too much.

Mmm. Tiramisu Cake.

Ingredients

• CAKE:
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package moist white cake mix
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder (I used 1.5-2 tsp -- but I like coffee. A lot.)
  
• 1/4 cup coffee (I used a little over a shot of espresso)
  
• 1 tablespoon coffee flavored liqueur (substituted brandy + a smidgen of instant coffee powder + a touch of simple syrup to knock out the bitterness of the instant coffee)
  
• 
  
• FILLING (haven't tried this, but I recommend doubling the filling ingredients):
• 1 (8 ounce) container mascarpone cheese
  
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur
• 
  
• FROSTING:
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur
• 
  
• GARNISH:
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 3 (9 inch) pans.
2. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions. Divide two thirds of batter between 2 pans. Stir instant coffee into remaining batter; pour into remaining pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (my number one rule for making moist, yummy cake? The toothpick should come out with CRUMBS... not doughy, not clean, but fully baked crumbs clinging to the little wooden thing). Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. In a measuring cup, combine brewed coffee and 1 tablespoon coffee liqueur; set aside.
4. To make the filling: In a small bowl, using an electric mixer set on low speed, combine mascarpone, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur; beat just until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
5. To make the frosting: In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat the cream, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur until stiff (don't do what I did -- I just walked off from the Kitchenaid mixer, and came back to overly-whipped cream -- it will still taste good, but the texture is too thick). Fold 1/2 cup of cream mixture into filling mixture (recommended that you ad about 1/4 c. to the mixture, just enough to make it spreadable, after doubling the ingredients in the filling).
6. To assemble the cake: Place one plain cake layer on a serving plate. Using a thin skewer, poke holes in cake, about 1 inch apart. Pour one third of reserved coffee mixture over cake, then spread with half of the filling mixture. (I stuck all my cakes, gently but all over, with a fork before trying to assemble anything. Found it to be much easier -- also, I brushed my cake with the liquid mixture. That combined with having the holes all over the cake allowed it to really permeate without making the cake soggy). Top with coffee-flavored cake layer; poke holes in cake. Pour another third of the coffee mixture over the second layer and spread with the remaining filling. Top with remaining cake layer; poke holes in cake. Pour remaining coffee mixture on top. Spread sides and top of cake with frosting. Place cocoa in a sieve and lightly dust top of cake. Garnish with chocolate curls. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.
7. To make the chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of the chocolate bar.

One Cupcake is Poisoned

It's cupcake making day!! All day long, I'm making cupcakes.

It's fairly traditional in the south to have a groom's cake. But my groom isn't getting one cake, he's getting about 100 cup-sized cakes. Very, very, very chocolaty cupcakes!! And I made an adorable sign to go on the table:


Sliced my finger making it, but I'm happy with the results.

Now for that icing recipe -- makes an insane amount of icing. Probably twice as much as you need, but I think the original recipe claims 32 servings:

• 2 cups SOFTENED unsalted butter

WHIP IT. WHIP IT GOOD. (on a high setting, with a paddle attachment, until light and fluffy).

• 9 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 ^1/2 cups cocoa powder, unsweetened, sifted (I used about 3/4 cup dark cocoa powder from Hershey's -- yummy)
• 1 tsp (I used a tablespoon) vanilla extract

Beat this in with the butter. A little at a time, if you don't like cleaning cocoa powder off the ceiling.

• 1/2 cup to 1 cup whole milk (as needed for consistency)

The last step is to add the milk in, a little at time, still beating on high until it's the consistency you like. It will harden some in the fridge if you cool it for awhile.

This is an AMAZING recipe, both for taste and for getting good shapes with a piping bag (after cooling in the fridge).

Enjoy!! Happy (almost) Halloween.

Berries-n-Scream Cake

Check it out: that is not my cake; the cake you see to your right belongs to CookingLight. My cake hasn't been assembled yet and I doubt I'll get a picture before they slice it's gooey little heart open at my cousin's baby shower.

That's right, you friend Carrie Mae was commissioned for a baby shower cake! Wait, no, that's wrong... commission would imply I am getting paid. Which I'm not, except it the fulfillment of doing something nice for my family and hopefully coming out of the experience with a recipe I can use again.

Anyway, when I saw this recipe in the most recent CookingLight magazine (thank you future-mother-in-law for the subscription) I cut it out and said "Ooo! A strawberry cake is perfect for that shower!" and promptly misplaced the torn-out page. Which turns out to be fortuitous, because looking it up on the internet I saw all the horrible things people had to say about the recipe and was able to make adjustments.

Problems with the original recipe, according to angry internet bakers:

• Ewww, it's too dense
• Yuck, it tastes more like flour than strawberry!
• The icing is the best part - the cake is dense and flavorless
• It's barbie-pink

Well, we can't be having that. I have a newly acquired reputation for being one of the top bakers in the family -- and until recently I was branded the most hopeless. Dammit, I can make cakes and I'm not going to have the family thinking otherwise! But I want a strawberry cake, so we'll just have to mess with it some to add a bit of flavor...

Here's my adjusted recipe, complete with suggestions:


Ingredients

Cake:
* 1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
* juice of half a lemon
* 1 tsp triple sec
* 1 tsp sugar
* 10 ounce cake flour - weigh it. seriously.
* 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* 3/4 cup butter, softened
* tsp. vanilla extract
* 1/4 tsp. brandy flavoring
* 2 large eggs - ROOM TEMPERATURE
* 2 large egg whites
* 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
* 1/4 cup whole milk

* extra butter and all-purpose flour for greasing and lightly dusting your pans (it helps the cake come off easier, believe me)


Frosting:
* 1/3- 1/2 cup cream cheese
* 1/3 cup butter, softened
* 1 tablespoon Triple Sec/Grand Marnier
* 1 tablespoon orange juice
* 3 cups powdered sugar

Berry Mixture (completely my addition) - or the berry flavored jam of your choosing
* 1 cup strawberries
* 1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (to taste)
* handfull of blueberries
* juice of 1/2 a lemon
* tablespoon of orange juice
* splash triple sec


Making It

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Pour tsp sugar, lemon juice, tsp triple sec over sliced strawberries for half an hour. Place strawberry mixture in a food processor; process until smooth.

3. Sift flour onto the scale. Sift again into a bowl with baking powder and salt. Sift again, if you're feeling feisty.

4. Place granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and brandy flavoring. Beat in egg whites. Add flour mixture and buttermilk+milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Add pureed strawberries; beat just until blended.

5. Divide batter between 2 (8-inch... or did I use 9-inch?) round cake pans coated with butter and completely, but lightly, dusted with all-purpose flour. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with just little crumbs on it (the toothpick should not have wet batter on it). Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

6. Puree all berry mixture ingredients, then boil them over medium heat until reduce be half. Let cool, completely if you have the patience but at least until close to room temperature.

7. To prepare frosting, place cream cheese, 1/3 cup butter, and liqueur in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended. Gradually add powdered sugar, and beat just until blended.

8. Place 1 cake layer on a plate; pipe a ring of frosting around the edge. Fill with berry mixture, but don't overfill. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake.


The cake that comes out of all of this has a good flavor - a berry good yet light flavor. The cake itself is moist and dense, but not floury. If anything it is buttery - with a sweet hint of strawberry taste that is not overwhelming but definitely present - and a texture something like if apple cake, pound cake, and good wedding cake could have a baby together.

The icing is pretty good, but the goo in the middle (the berry mixture) is to die for. It ties all the flavors together nicely, and has a jam consistency. Honestly, though, the ingredients I list above might not be quite right -- I actually started with a grossly sweet strawberry puree that the husband-to-be made for ice cream awhile back. One of the few things he's ever made I found inedible; I added lemon juice, orange juice, and blueberries to make it palatable and the result was kind of like a berry jam. You could substitute such a thing if you wanted. ;)

p.s. that super-moist cake is hard to work with, but not unmanageable - overcooking it slightly (i.e. letting the toothpick come out clean) might be a good thing with this cake.

[edit: just finished decorating! Sappy picture after all ... though not of the inside. This is going to be one gooey cake; hope my family doesn't mind.

When I pulled out the parchment paper after decorating it, it was coated with some sticky bits of cake and icing - it's like eating a strawberry short cake that's been blended and baked - I liked it lots]

Spider Web Cake Stand Wrapper

I'm finally getting around to posting a lot of cool finds sent to me ages ago by a wonderful reader.

This is particularly fantastic! I still haven't figured out what to do about a cake stand, but if it involves a pedestal, then I think this spider web wrapper is up for serious consideration.

There is so much cool to be found on the internet!

Cake Central (suggestion from a reader)

You've probably seen these before, but here are some fun Halloween cakes from Cake Central.

Three-tier Halloween Cake

Witchy Hat

Spider Web Cake

Corpse Bride Cake

Thanks to the awesome reader who sent me all kinds of amazing links eons ago! I'm slow to do anything cool with all that valuable information, but I'm getting there. I promise.

So neat.

This Takes The Cake!

So - take a pretty, average wedding cake (see picture below):And replace those pink flowers with this adorable little creature:

And I think we might have a winning plan for a wedding cake.

Also, I think this is the first blog I've posted that my Mom has read. She's standing over me right now reading this. Weird.

Mom, don't take this too literally. No final decisions have been made tonight. ;-) Love you!

(additionally, she didn't realize my smiley face was winking -- so much to learn about the internets)

Creepy Culinary Confection

Now on eBay! Click here for link.