Jem of the south

Beignets

Jem — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:52:30 +0000

I am happy to say I have overcome my fear of baking with yeast! Yes, I am facing my fears and conquering my dessert bucket list, one dessert or ingredient at a time. Earlier this month I finally made sugar cookies (cue applause) and this week I tackled my fear of baking with yeast. Woot, woot! Making homemade beignets was a pretty big project and I’m proud to say the project was successful. Take a peek at my masterpiece.

The one problem with this recipe is that it makes a ton of beignets! The next time I make them I will be sure to have a party in progress.

Tools Needed:

Large Pot

Candy Thermometer (You will need this because the oil has to be at the right temperature for frying)

Pizza Cutter or sharp knife for cutting the dough

Beignets recipe from FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups bread flour
1/4 cup shortening
Nonstick spray
Oil, for deep-frying
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, measure out the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.

Add the confectioners’ sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color. After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners’ sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.

Chocolate Heart Cakes

Jem — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:00:45 +0000

Valentine’s Day is finally here! Can you feel the love in the air?? I know, kinda hokey, but it’s a pretty cheesy holiday. Cute, but cheesy. So in honor of the day that we celebrate love, I decided to make chocolate heart cakes. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am not a cookie decorator, so what shall a baker do with her cookie cutters? Use them to make cute cakes. Genius! I know, I know. To accomplish these cute little cakes, I made a chocolate layer cake and cut out the hearts with my cookie cutter and topped with a delicious chocolate frosting. The final touch was a light dusting of red sugar crystals. Easy and decadent.

Chocolate Cake slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour Blend

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, very soft

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup milk (I used buttermilk)

1/2 cup brewed, cooled coffee, or water (I used 1/2 tsp. of expresso powder dissolved in1/2 cup of hot water in place of the brewed coffee)

4 large eggs

Place a strainer over a large mixing bowl. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and sugar. Sift/shake the dry ingredients through the strainer into a mixing blow, to eliminate any lumps. Add the butter and mix at low speed for 1 mine. With the mixer running, add the oil and continue mixing until the mixture looks like sand. Combine the vanilla with the milk and coffee or water, and add all at once. Mix for 1 minute at low speed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well at medium speed between additions. The batter will be thin.

Pour the batter into a 9 x 13 pan lined with parchment paper with a slight overhang. Bake at 350 for 34 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake for 10-20 minutes. Once the cake is cooled, turn the cake over onto wax paper or a cutting board. With a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out approximately 6 cake hearts. Ice with the chocolate frosting then sprinkle with red, pink or white sugar. Enjoy!

Chocolate Frosting from Hershey’s

1 stick butter or margarine

2/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa (naturally unsweetened)

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt butter and stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk beating on medium speed to spreading consistency. Add more milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

Strawberry Ruffle Cake

Jem — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:27:01 +0000

Ever since I discovered this picture of Sweetapolita’s ruffle cake I’ve been obsessed with this pretty, elegant and easy cake decorating idea. All you need is a plastic bag and a petal decorating tip and you are good to go. The smooth satin texture of the swiss buttercream frosting is what really what makes this cake.

I’ve made this cake in chocolate and vanilla so I thought, why not with a strawberry center? Because the petal tip is too tiny for the strawberry pieces to go through, I did a base coat in strawberry and then piped pink vanilla frosting in the ruffle pattern.

Assemble the cake

Cut each 6” cake layer in half, gently dusting of any crumbs.

Add a generous ¼ cup of strawberry buttercream to each layer, be sure to smooth it so it goes over the edge of the cake.

After each layer is complete go through and smooth over the sides using the excess from the side. It doesn’t have to be neat because the ruffles will cover it.

Take your remaining buttercream and dye it a soft pink until it’s the same shade as the strawberry filling. I used Wilton Rose gel coloring. Cut a hole in plastic bag and slip your Wilton petal tip through. Holding the bag vertically with the tiny side of the tip facing you, gently squeeze and move the bag back and forth to create ruffles. If you make a mistake, just scrap off the ruffle and start over. This is a very forgiving design so any missteps are easy to recover from.

Strawberry Ruffle Cake

White Cake

2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs whites plus 1 whole large egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two 6” cake pans greasing and flouring; or lining with parchment, then greasing the parchment.

2) Mix all of the dry ingredients on slow speed to blend. Add the soft butter and mix until evenly crumbly, like fine damp sand. It may form a paste, depending on the temperature of the butter, how much it’s mixed, and granulation of the sugar used.

3) Add the egg whites one at a time, then the whole egg, beating well after each addition to begin building the structure of the cake. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition.

4) In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk and vanilla extract Add this mixture, 1/3 at a time, to the batter. Beat 1 to 2 minutes after each addition, until fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

5) Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes

Swiss Meringue Buttercream (adapted from Annie’s Eats)

Ingredients:
5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
Pinch of salt
1 lb. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup fresh strawberry puree

Directions:

1) Combine the egg whites, sugar and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved (it should be smooth to the touch)

2)Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.

3.) Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated. If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (don’t worry, it will come together!) Stir in the vanilla extract and mix just until incorporated.

4.) Add strawberry puree to half of the buttercream

5.) Frost the cake with strawberry butter cream, then cover cake in vanilla buttercream ruffles.

Jessica

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Jem — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:47:40 +0000

It’s been a chocolate kind of week over here at Jem of the South. If you are a fan of chocolate covered cherries you will love this recipe. It’s perfect for Valentine’s day and it’s super easy to make. I used these cherry chips for the “cherry effect” or you can order these from King Arthur Flour. If you aren’t able to find cherry chips you can substitute dried cherries. I’m sure your cookies will turn out just as fabulous as the ones I made.

Double Chocolate Cookies adapted from Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Cookie Recipe

Yields 12-18 cookies

2 bars (8 0z.) Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bars broken into 1″ pieces

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp. baking poweder

1 cup cherry chips or dried cherries

Directions:

1-Preheat oven to 350˚F.

2-Melt semi-sweet chocolate according to melting instructions on the chocolate bar packaging.

3- Stir in sugar, butter, egss and vanilla.

4-In a separate bowl, stir flour with baking powder.

5- Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, mixing well.

6-Fold in cherries or cherry chips.

7-Drop by 1/4 cup onto ungreased baking sheet (I used an ice cream scooper).

8-Bake for 12-14 minutes.

9- Cool 1 minute on baking sheet; remove to wire cooling racks.

Valentine’s Day Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Jem — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:00:45 +0000

It’s almost February 14th, a day filled with two things; Love and chocolate. Or Chocolate and love depending on your priorities. I love a good chocolate cake so, I made these dark chocolate cupcakes with a simple fondant heart inspired by the Red Velvet Cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake in Washington,D.C.

I started with this dark chocolate cake recipe. It is one of the tastiest and easiest cakes I’ve ever made. I substituted milk with buttermilk to make the cake super moist. My cupcake uses a chocolate frosting, but feel free to use any frosting you want.

Dark Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa (dutch process or dark cocoa preferably)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk (use buttermilk if you have it!)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup boiling waterDirections

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F. In large mixer bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water by hand (batter will be thin). Fill cupcake liners half way with batter. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Chocolate Frosting via Food.com
1/2 cup butter , softened (you can use margarine but the flavor will not be the same)
2 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar , sifted
1/3 cup whipping cream or half and half
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder , siftedDirections:

Cream the butter in a small bowl. Blend in the cocoa powder ,vanilla and confectioners sugar, alternately with the cream. Beat with an electric mixer, until the desired texture is achieved.To decorate :

Put your frosting in a plastic ziplock bag fitted with a 1A tip. Frost the circumference of the cake clockwise-going around twice.

The hearts are very simple and inexpensive to make. You can either make a super easy marshmallow fondant or buy fondant and dye it pink. Use a heart cut out ( I got mine from the craft store ) to cut the fondant. Simply place the mini hearts on the center of the cake and you’re done!

Katherine

Superbowl Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Jem — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:49:06 +0000

If you are like me you are enamored by all of these super cool cookies decorators, but you don’t have near the skill level as they do. Have no fear, I have an easy chocolate sugar cookie recipe for you and to make it even cooler, we are going to make them in the shape of footballs. Yes! This cookie project is great for your Superbowl party and the cool thing is, you don’t have to worry about it being perfect. In an effort to rid myself of my perfectionist ways, I threw caution to the wind and decided that these didn’t have to look like a perfect football, they just needed to taste good. Mission accomplished! You may be asking, why chocolate sugar cookies? It’s simple, I didn’t want to flood a regular sugar cookie with brown icing. I’m telling you this project is awesomely easy! Use a cool icing pin to add the laces and we’re golden! Touchdown, extra point, you get the picture!

Tools:

Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe via The Joy of Baking( I used regular unsweetened cocoa instead of Dutch-Processed and skipped the icing recipe)

Wilton Football Cookie Cutters

Wilton Icing Pen

Giants or Patriots? I’m cheering for the Giants. Team Manning!

3 Haute Valentine’s Day Dessert Ideas

Jem — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:00:24 +0000

Looking for something a little different for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day? Not a baker? No worries. Check out these 3 surefire recipes that will make you look like a dessert rockstar. Let’s get ready to wow your sweetheart!

1) Bling~Edible Gold Leaf

Um, yes. Edible gold leaf will definitely gain you points this Valentine’s Day. Trust me, I’m a dessert love doctor. Okay, I’m kidding, but I would totally like gold leaf on my desserts. Ediblegold.com has a fab offer for this Valentine’s Day with their edible gold gift set for $39.95. The gift set includes gold or silver flakes. Order by 2 pm and the shipment goes out the same day!

Here are a few ways to use edible gold or silver:

Sprinkle in champagne or sparkling cider

Add it to milk, dark or white covered strawberries before the chocolate sets

2) White chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries ( you can even sprinkle the gold leaf over the white chocolate mousse. )

Raspberry White Chocolate Mousse via Allrecipes

3) Vanilla or Chocolate Ice Cream topped with warm cherry compote (cue more gold leaf)

Nectarine Cherry Compote via Taste of Home

Welcome Jessica and Katherine to Team Jem!

Jem — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:00:07 +0000

I’m thrilled to welcome two new contributors to Jem of the South *cue happy dance*. Join me in welcoming Katherine and Jessica to the team! Click here to read more about these two dynamic ladies. Look for them to add some new and exciting recipes to Jem of the South. They are as adventurous as I am and they love to decorate their baked treats all fancy and what not. Fancy decorating is a skill that I do not have. Maybe I’ll add decorating to my bucket list? Nah!

So show some love and leave a warm welcome to them in the comments below. Appreciate it y’all!

Jessica

Katherine

5 Sweet Valentine’s Ideas

Jem — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:41:53 +0000

I was pursuing Fancy Flours Winter online catalogue and fell in love with these five items that I believe are a must for Valentine’s day. Don’t delay, order now so that you can have them for your sweetheart before Valentine’s Day arrives!

Glass Bling

Candy Bling, Shortbread Cork Cookies and Baking Cups

What’s your favorite from my list?

*All photos courtesy of Fancy Flours

Sprinkles, Crumbs, DC Cupcakes~ Oh My!

Jem — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:10:02 +0000

While visiting DC last year for Be Blogalicious I had the best time visiting 3 of the most well know bakeries in the United States, Crumbs, Sprinkles and Georgetown Cupcakes. Visiting all of these bakeries have been a dream of mine for a while and it was a major victory for me to have the opportunity to visit each of them in one day. Talk about a major sugar overload, but trust that I was the woman for the job!

Take a look at some of the photos of my Sweet Discoveries from last Fall.

What bakeries are on your list to visit in the coming year?