Kayt's Blog

Cake-tastrophe ... part duex

2008-10-16T08:21:00.004-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there are two possible defenses for the following piece of evidence .... 1) I was simultaneously ill and under the influence of massive amounts of Benadryl, or 2) I have NO - and I do repeat, NO skills (none whatsoever) as a cake decorator and it is obviously due to some sort of mutant gene, or lack thereof:

By way of an explanation ... I was supposed to make a cake (you know I made a chocolate one!) and frost it with thin consistency light blue icing. I was also supposed to bring a small amount of thin consistency un-tinted icing mixed with piping gel for writing practice and then several small amounts of medium consistency frosting in various bright colors (I was supposed to be learning how to transfer a rainbow pattern onto the cake surface). In my malaise, I never got around to making any of the medium.

But I did manage to get as far as icing the cake light blue (having already stolen a portion of the un-tinted icing to mix with the piping gel) - though I could not for the life of me get the damn thing as smooth as it was supposed to be (it is claimed - by both the book and the instructor - that one CAN get the buttercream as smoothly finished in appearance as if it were fondant .... I wholeheartedly accuse them of lying!). But then I had to abandon my 'masterpiece' for a few days while I lay in my bed wracked with fever (are you hearing violins playing yet?).

Last night, I finally got up enough 'oomph' to try to make some roses for the top of it, which was a whole other disaster .... whereas I had made the other icing I used, I was going to 'cheat' and use the store-bought Wilton brand stiff icing in the tub for my in-class rose practice. Let me say now that I'm very glad I didn't try it out in class first. I'm not sure yet on whom I'm pinning the blame for this one - Wilton, or Wal-Mart, or possibly God .. but at any rate I almost broke my hand trying to squeeze the stupid stuff out. Needless to say I did not make any roses for the cake - I will try again later (maybe after I add some water to the stiff icing, or put it in the micro for 30 seconds or something!). Instead, I just used up the little container I had of the reserved icing with piping gel.

My goal at this point was not to make a 'perfect' cake - or even a pretty cake - but to simply be done with the cake so it could be cut before one of two things happened ... 1) it went stale, or 2) my dad's head exploded (it is universally understood to be cruel and unusual punishment to bake a chocolate cake and not let anyone have a piece .. in fact I'm pretty sure it's on the list of tortures at Gitmo .. if not, it should be because I suspect it's one form of torture that might actually work!).

Cake-tastrophe ;)

2008-10-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I attempted to make the recipe recommended in a previous comment by TaroPhoenix. First off, let me just say I'm sure my problems had nothing to do with the recipe itself.

Normally, I let a bundt cool completely in the pan before flipping it over - and it never gives me any trouble in popping out whole - but in a desire to pour the icing onto a still warm cake, I obviously didn't wait long enough this time. It came out in two huge jagged chunks - as though it'd been cut through, by a drunk person, diagonally from the upper lefthand side to the lower righthand side. But having watched enough epsidoes of Ace of Cakes and Amazing Wedding Cakes I now know that (so long as it's going to frosted) you really can just slam the thing back together again and it will hold (even if it looks a teensy bit wonky).

Anyway, it's the ugliest cake I've ever made ... but it tastes good - and after all, that's what counts! :)

PS - I omitted the pecans because my dad HATES nuts ...

Recipe (courtesy of TaroPhoenix):

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix following ingredients as each is added:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup vegetable oil
2-1/4 cups flour
1-3/4 teaspoons baking soda
dash of salt
½ cup cocoa
1-1/4 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pour into bundt pan that is sprayed with no-stick spray.
Cook for about 30 minutes or until toothpick says it’s done.

Icing
Mix following ingredients in pan on oven, stirring thoroughly as added:

1 stick of melted butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound of powdered sugar
1 cup of chopped pecans

I poke holes in the cake and put the icing on warm cake to let it drizzle all through the cake.
Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Brownie Bundt

2008-09-28T08:24:00.004-07:00

2 cups Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

3/4 tsp. Salt

1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 cups Sugar

4 eggs

1 c. sour cream

1 sm. pkg. instant chocolate pudding

1/2 c. oil

1/2 of a 24oz. pkg. chocolate chips (aprox.)

1/2 c. warm water

Mix well, pour into greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 75
minutes.

Note: I cobbled this recipe together from two separate online sources (one for a choc chip bundt cake, and one for a dry Devil's Food Cake mix (a mix in a jar recipe)) therefore you can easily substitute any pre-packaged Devil's Food cake mix for the first 5 ingredients (the sugar on up).

Thought: I think next time I make this I will drizzle on some confectionary sugar frosting (didn't have any of the right sugar on hand this time).

yesterday in the kitchen at my house ...

2008-09-28T08:01:00.003-07:00

I made some cookies:

I cheated though (they're from a box) ... you just add butter to the mix and plonk on the chocolates at the end (yes, I am this lazy):

But I did make this from scratch (recipe to follow for anyone interested in suicide by chocolate):

and all is right with the world :)

2008-09-20T19:31:00.001-07:00

So, I had a really good week.

1) I discovered the other day that the world is not in fact flat - and that if you go to what you think is the edge you won't fall off into an abyss ;)

2) I got 100% on my first French Quiz (which is nothing to brag about since it consists of regurgitating what I'd just read).

3) I determined this morning that endorphins are my new BFF. Seriously! I made time this morning (and gave myself a little pep talk) to do 20 minutes of ballet, and somehow the whole rest of the day went really smoothly - wasn't dragging or grumpy in the least.

4) I finally baked!! Ok, so it was ready-made cookie dough that I pulled apart, but it was a step in the right direction (have been meaning to bake something - anything - for weeks now). Normally I drift into a very Zen space when concentrating on mixing things - but even when the prep involves nothing more than slitting open a package and plopping something onto a cookie sheet there is still some sort of invaluable aromatherapy at work. I don't know if it's some connection to happy childhood memories of baking with my Grandma Ludi, or it's it's just that warm sugar smells like happiness to all human beings everywhere - either way, baking makes my day. And I got a gorgeous new green and cream colored bundt pan at Wal-Mart yesterday that I'm hoping to put to good use next week (preferably something chocolatey)!

eating a pineapple in a coconut grove

2007-08-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the slight disappearing act - when it comes to excuses, you may pick whichever poison you find most palatable: illness, lack of free time for babbling on an on about nothing, sheer laziness, leading such a boring life that there is nothing worth blogging about - all are applicable (and true).

Yesterday, for my self induced weekly baking exercise, I took the tiny, yet ripe, pineapple from the garden (we bought two pineapple plants awhile back at Mal-Wort, and one ripened faster than the other) and turned it into my first ever pineapple upside down cake. It's delicious (if I do say so myself, lol) but there was a slight accident in trying to make it right side up. Needless to say, pineapples, cherries, and bits of cake stuck to the pan may taste just the same as the part that flopped out on cue, but they result in something that is not particularly photogenic. I'll try again with the next pineapple :)

I also read up on pineapples - they're fascinating! Apparently you just cut off the top, cut it down a bit, let it dry, then plant it and it will grow a whole new pineapple! I'm trying it with the top from the pineapple I made into the cake yesterday, I'll let you know if it actually grows anything or not.

Also, the good folks from Firefox who are responsible for my beloved FoxyTunes program, have apparently created an update that will now post info about what song I'm listening to while blogging.

So, here's the test drive:

----------------
While I wrote this, I was listening to:
Greatful Dead - Whiskey In the Jar
Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good
ATB - Ecstasy
via FoxyTunes

Honey Spice Snaps

2007-08-04T23:29:00.000-07:00

RECIPE:

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cups shortening
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour

Cream the sugar and shortening. Add the egg and honey. Mix the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients until well blended. Shape small amounts of the dough (depending on how big you want the cookies) into something that resembles a ball (they do not need to be perfectly round) sprinkle the top with some granulated sugar. Bake @ 350F for about 15 minutes. The recipe claims to make 2 dozen cookies (but i usually double it and get 3 dozen of the size shown in the photo below.

Lemon Pound/Bundt Cake

2007-08-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't already know - I am not Martha Stewart. I confess that I do not actually know what the difference is between a pound cake and a bundt cake - except for the pan. And because I cook for my own pleasure, and not for one of those Nazi judges on Top Chef, I do not feel compelled to stick to any potentially applicable pound vs. bundt separation regulations (if there are any).

When last I went to the local thrift store to hunt for containers to pot orchids in, and used books - I found a lovely copper gelatin mold/bundt pan I have been dying to use ever since. So today I used it. I made a lemon pound cake recipe in my new bundt pan - if that tore a hole in the fabric of space/time - I would deeply apologize to anyone who got caught up in it, except, of course, for the fact that they no longer exist.

Ingredients:

This was my first time using this pan - and it came out much too dark and crusty for my liking (the excess batter that I put in a regular cake pan did not come out that way), so I doubt I'll ever use this pan for such a light colored cake again - but hey, you look, you see, you try - such is life .. and it's not like it was inedible ;)

Proof that I got it out in one piece ;)

Proof that it is, in fact, yellow on the inside ;P

RECIPE:

2 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups butter
1 tsp. lemon extract
5 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk

Cream the sugar and the butter, add the eggs and lemon extract. Beat on low until well mixed (about 1 minute) then beat on high about 5 minutes. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt - add to wet ingredients, alternately with the milk, on low. Bake @ 350F for 70-80 minutes. Cool completely in the pan.

snippets, the sequel

2007-07-31T10:12:00.001-07:00

On Saturday I took the apples from our tree and made a pie. With the caveat that I was halfway into making the dough for the crust when I realized that what I thought was a stockpile of those disposable foil pie pans in the cupboard, was actually a supply of disposable foil CAKE pans (which I bought last Christmas long before I had found my real cake pans). There wasn't a single pie pan in the bunch - so I made the pie in one of my non-disposable cake pans, which is why the crust isn't particularly fancy on the edges (the sides were too high to get cute with it).

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Also my father changed out the garbage disposal and and kitchen faucet, here are the before and after pics for the faucet (strangely enough, IMHO, the disposal wasn't worthy of a pic - not even the after *wink*).

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And here is the newest orchid in my brood, the one we got at last week's farmers market - huge white flowers, so pretty :)

Bachelor Button Cookies

2007-07-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

~It Begins~

~the end result~

The Close-up ;)

Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup oatmeal (quick kind) 1 cup Rice Krispies cereal

Directions:

Combine brown sugar and butter in mixer bowl. Beat until creamy. Add egg and beat well. Stir in vanilla

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed ingredients and mix to combine. Stir in oatmeal and Rice Krispies.

Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees F. for 10 -12 minutes.

YIELD: 2 DOZ