Chocolate Whipped Buttercream Frosting

A very simple and quick buttercream frosting with chocolate.  This recipe goes very well with this kid friendly white cake.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coca powder
• 1 cup butter; softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

• On low speed beat the sugar, coca and butter together until well blended and then increase the speed to high and continue to beat for 3 min.
• Add the vanilla extract and cream and beat on high for an additional 3-5 min.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

This is a sweet, airy and easy buttercream frosting that is great on almost any cake!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 3 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter; softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream; very cold

Directions:

• On low speed beat the confectioner's sugar and butter in a medium mixing bowl.
• Increase speed to high and beat for about 3 min.
• Add the vanilla and the cream and beat for an additional 3-5 min.  

Fun(doesn't have to come in a box)fetti cake

This is a cake I created using a traditional white cake recipe and the only thing I added were colored sprinkles to give it the fun colors kids love without the box.  I used this for my boyfriend's niece's 6th birthday cake, and I'm sure this cake will see repeat performances in future cake required gatherings.

  Funtime Sprinkle Cake:
This recipe fills 2 (9-inch) X 1.5 inch cake pans*






Ingredients: 

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter; softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour**
• 1tbsp + 1tsp baking powder
• 6 large egg whites (room temperature)
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 small jars of favorite sprinkles

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large mixing bowl (this will be the batter bowl), beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy
• Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
• In a separate mixing bowl combine the egg whites, milk and vanilla extract.
• Beat in about 1/3 of the flour mixture into the batter bowl and then add 1/2 the milk mixture and beat until blended.
• Beat in another 1/3 of the flour mixture until blended then add the remaining milk mixture.
• Once blended add the remaining flour mixture and beat for 2 min scraping the bowl and beater often.
• Pour the batter into prepared  pans and smooth the tops.  
• Bake 25-30 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool pan in rack for 5 min, then turn out onto a rack.

The cake pictured is filled with a chocolate buttercream frosting and frosted with a vanilla buttercream frosting.  Frost and fill the cake with your preferred frosting of choice.  Since the cake itself is so versatile you can play with many different frosting flavors.

*If you are looking to fill different cake pans I use this chart as a guide to the amount of batter different pans need to fill out. allrecipes

**You can use all-purpose flour in place of cake flour and I personally use this link Joy of Baking to help me with conversions.  The leavening agents in this recipe are calculated with cake flour in mind; if you decide to use all-purpose flour I would recommend only using 2 tsp baking powder.

Princess Cake: Part 1

My boyfriend's mother asked me to make a cake for the birthday of the one and only grandchild who turned 6 this week. She purchased the Wilton Castle Cake set and asked if I would attempt to recreate the image on the box. This is the biggest baking challenge I've taken on and my fingers are crossed that it looks good.

The cake it self will be 2 tiered, the bottom cake will be a coconut cake and the top cake a traditional white cake filled with sprinkles. (a homemade take on certain box brand) The kit comes with some towers, windows and doors to make the cake look like a castle.

Tonight after work I spent several hours after work making 300 forget-me-nots out of fondant icing, they came out very much like snowflakes as in no one is the same. (this was not intentional)

The recipe I used to make my fondant is bits and pieces of recipes I've read online through various recipe hosting sites. I prefer the texture to this recipe the best so far but I'm so new to this I'm sure I'll adjust it even further.

Fondant

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp unflavored gelatin (or one envelope pre-packaged)
• ¼ cup cold water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or extract of choice for flavor)
• ½ cup of light (clear) corn syrup
• 1 tbsp glycerin
• 2 lbs confectioners’ sugar
• cornstarch for dusting and rolling

Directions:

• Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water in a small bowl and let it rest for 2 min to soften.

• Place the bowl in a microwave for 30 seconds on high to dissolve the gelatin.

• Add the extract, corn syrup and glycerin and stir until the mixture is smooth and clear. If the mixture is not turning smooth and clear, microwave it for an additional 15-20 seconds and stir again.

• Sift 1 ½ lbs of the sugar into a large bowl and make a hole in the center. Pour the liquid mixture into the hole and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes sticky. (or do the entire process in a mixer with a dough hook and mix until mixture is sticky)

• Knead in as much of the remaining sugar as the mass will take. Knead the fondant to until it is a smooth and easy to work with.

• To store wrap fondant tightly in plastic wrap and store in an air tight container of some kind. It will store for a week safely (and probably longer). If it dries out, microwave for 15-20 seconds and it will be workable once again.

• I use cornstarch to cover my work surface to prevent the fondant from sticking. I find this easier than just using extra sugar, it keeps the fondant much easier to work.

To color:

Use a toothpick and add dots of color to the fondant and knead the color until it is smooth and even. Add color until it is the desired shade.

Pepper Jack Mac

The base of this recipe is from a traditional macaroni and cheese. To add some heat and contemporary flavor profiles I used a combination of pepper jack cheese and sharp white cheddar, replacing the standard cheddar the recipe called for. Play with your own cheese profiles to see what tasty, gooey goodness you can create!

Enjoy!

Pepper Jack Mac

Ingredients:

• 1 lb rotini pasta
• 1/3 cup of butter
• 1/3 cup of flour
• 5 cups of whole milk
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• pinch of nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¾ lb pepper jack cheese; shredded
• ¼ lb of sharp white cheddar cheese; shredded
• crushed Fritos

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cook pasta in a large pot with salted boiling water. Cook for 3-4 min max and drain and set aside. (you want the pasta super al dente so it doesn't over cook while its being baked)
• In a Dutch oven melt the butter over medium low heat then whisk in the flour stirring constantly for 1min making a paste, a.k.a. Roux.
• Pour in 1 cup of milk and mix until completely combined. Continue adding the milk ½-1 cup at a time until all 5 cups are blended.
• Season the milk mixture with garlic gloves (minced), nutmeg, salt and pepper and drop the bay leaves in. Increase heat slightly and bring to a simmer for about 20 min.
• Once the milk mixture is slightly thickened, remove bay leaves and melt in the cheese one handful at a time.
• Mix in all the pasta and stir until fully combined.
• Pour mixture into 9x13x2in casserole dish and cover with crushed Frito topping.
• Bake for 35-45 min until golden brown and bubbling.