Boat Cake

Hello kitty cake

Chocolate strawberry grooms cake

Pumpkin Tiramisu

3 ounces lady fingers
4 Tablespoons rum

1.5 cups whipping cream
3/4 cups sugar
8 ounces mascarpone

 

 

 

 

15 ounces pure pumpkin
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice

2 ounces amaretti cookies

This needs to set up overnight, so start one day ahead. 
8 servings

Beat chilled whipping cream and sugar until peaks form.
Add mascarpone cheese, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice; beat just until filling is smooth. Line bottom of 9 inch springform pan with half of lady fingers, overlapping and crowding to fit.  Sprinkle with 1/2 rum. Spread half of filling over lady fingers.  Repeat with remaining lady fingers, rum and filling.  Smooth, Wrap tightly in plastic, then foil.  Chill overnight.

This is where my photo skills fell threw....I forgot to take a photo of the finished product :(
 but I'm sure you can imagine what crumbled cookies look like :)

To unmold, run knife around inside edge of pan.  Release pan sides, sprinkle with 2 oz crushed amaretti cookies 

Hope You Enjoy, Melle

Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

 

Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350°F; line cupcake pan with liners

Mix the following in a large bowl, beating until smooth:
2 large eggs
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add the following, stirring to combine:
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 2/3 cups flour
Stir in 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini, gently pressed into the cup

Using an ice cream scoop spoon batter into lined cupcake pan fill the cups 2/3 full.  Bake for 20 minutes or until for or toothpick inserted in a cupcake’s center comes out clean.  Let cool in pans on rack for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans cool completely before frosting.
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flours

Vanilla Butter Cream

1/2 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Cream together until light and fully

Chocolate Ganache

4 oz dark chocolate 60%-72% cocoa

¼ cup heavy cream
1/8 cup light corn syrup
2 tsp Kahlua (optional)

Heat cream and corn syrup to light boil, remove from heat, whisk in root beer concentrate and pour over chopped chocolate stir and let sit for 2 mins.  Stir until smooth

 

Chocolate RootBeer Float Cake

I made this again today with a few changes.  This time I did have dark brown sugar so no molasses,  and I decorated it a little different as well. Here is today's photo:

Chocolate Root Beer Float Cake

For the cake:

2 cups root beer

1 tsp root beer concentrate

1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup unsalted butter cut into pieces

1 ¼ cups sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp black strap molasses

2 cups A/P flour

1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 325. Spray and flour a 10” Bundt pan. 

In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted.  Add sugars, molasses, and root beer concentrate whisk until dissolved.  Remove from the heat and cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.

 In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, and then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined.  Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture.  The batter will be slightly lumpy no not overbeat. Pour batter in Bundt pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the ganache

6 oz dark chocolate no more than 72% cacao, coarsely chopped

½ cup heavy cream

1 Tsp root beer concentrate

In a small pan over med heat bring cream to a simmer,  remove from heat and pour over chocolate, allow chocolate to melt, stir in the root beer concentrate.

Pour over the top of cooled cake making sure to cover the entire cake.

For the butter cream

½ cup butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or (vanilla extract)

1 Tbs heavy cream

Mix together butter, sugar, vanilla and cream until light a fluffy (about 8 minutes)

Put part of butter cream in a piping bag and pipe a shell border around bottom of cake.

Use the remaining butter cream mixed with a little milk to thin and drizzle over top of cake.

Homemade Marshmallows

Fluffy Marshmallows

About 2 cup confectioners’ sugar

3 ½ envelopes (2 tbls plus 2 ½ tsp) unflavored gelatin

1 cup cold water, divided

2 cups granulated sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

¼ tsp salt

2 large egg whites

1 tbls vanilla

Oil bottom and sides of 13x9x2 metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some powder sugar.

In bowl of a standing mixer sprinkle gelatin over ½ cup cold water and let stand to soften.

In a heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 of cold water and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved.  Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring until a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees, about 12 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. 

With standing mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick and nearly tripled in volume, about 8 minutes.

In separate medium bowl with clean beaters beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks.  Beat whites and vanilla into sugar mixture until just combined.  Pour mixture into baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out.  Sift ¼ cup powder sugar evenly over top.  Chill marshmallow uncovered until firm at least three hours, better over night.

Run a knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting bard.  Lifting up one corner of pan with fingers loosen marshmallows and ease onto cutting board.  With a large knife trim edges and cut into roughly on inch cubes.  Sift remaining powder sugar back into your pan and roll the marshmallows through it on all sides shaking off excess and store in airtight container for one week.

Lemon pound cake

Lemon Pound Cake

3 cups flour

2 sticks butter room temp

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

½ tsp baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy cream

2 tsp lemon extract

Grease a 10” Bundt pan with cooking spray and dust withflour. Sift together flour baking powder and salt, set aside.  In a mixing bowl beat butter and sugar untillight and fluffy about 5 minutes.  Addeggs one at a time beating well after each egg. Add one third of flour and half of the milk mix until incorporated thenadd second third flour and rest of milk mix until incorporated then mix in restof flour.  Stir in lemon extract.  Pour into pan and place in a cold oven settemperature to 325 and bake without opening the door for 1 hour and 15 minutes,toothpick should come out clean if not cook 15 more minutes.  Let cool in pan for 15 minutes then invertonto a cake plate.  When cool drizzlewith

1 cup powdered sugar 1 tsp lemon juice and 2 tbls heavycream; mix together add more cream or sugar depending on your liking.

Lemon meringue cupcakes

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Cupcake

2 cups cake flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 stick butter room temp

1 ½ cups sugar

4 eggs

¾ cup buttermilk

½ cup lemon juice (half Meyer lemon if available)

2 Tbls zest of lemons

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.  In a separate bowl, cream together butter andsugar for about 5 minutes.  Add eggs oneat a time beating thoroughly between each egg. Beat in flour and buttermilk alternately starting with flour and endingwith flour.  Mix in lemon juice andzest.  Bake at 350 for 15-20minutes.  Let cool completely.  Preferably overnight.  Makes 18 cupcakes

Lemon Curd

½ cup lemon juice (half Meyer lemon if available)

1 Tbls zest of lemons

1 large egg

4 large egg yolks (save the whites for the topping)

½ cup sugar

2 Tbls butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and zest and sit tosoften.  In a metal mixing bowl whiskeggs, egg yolks and sugar together.  Addthe lemon juice and the zest.  Place bowlover simmering water (not touching the water) stirring constantly until mixturehas thickened like pudding 5-6 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and whisk in butter.  Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowland cover with plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent askin from forming.  Refrigerateovernight.

Meringue Topping

4 egg whites

1 cup sugar

¼ tsp cream of tartar

Whisk egg whites and sugar together in a metal bowl.  Place bowl over simmering water (do not letbowl touch the water) whisking constantly until you feel no sugar grains in thesauce or to a temp of 140 about 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and whisk on high after 3-4 minutes add cream oftartar and whisk another 5-6 minutes. 

Cupcake assembly:

Top each cupcake with lemon curd, pipe on meringue using M1tip.  Brown top of meringue using acooking torch or oven broiler (be careful burns fast).

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.