A Little Cuteness for Halloween

So, I love Halloween. Not the ghoulish and gross and part, but the cutesy, yes cutesy side of it. The pumpkin carving, the vibrant shades of orange, yellow and gold, the adding of pumpkin to every recipe you can think of, kids coming to the door and asking for treats and keeping Jack O' Lanterns lit on the porch. The list could go on forever, but I will stop there. You get the idea. In honor of Halloween I made cupcakes. I never buy cake mixes. I just prefer not to use them. Occasionally, it is necessary and usually quite enjoyable. Still, I have always preferred starting from scratch. So, I made a basic chocolate cake recipe that amazingly enough made exactly 24 cupcakes and lovely and very even 2 dozen. The icing was the hard part for me. I love icing, especially cupcake icing. There is nothing like the simple perfection of perfect cupcake icing. Too often, however, the cupcake icing that you end up with tastes too much like shortening, has that "greasy" texture, coats your mouth with that film that is so hard to wash out, or it is just far to sweet! Typically I opt for a icing recipe that requires no shortening. I prefer butter in that instance. Though, butter can sometimes overwhelm too. I researched icing recipes for a good bit and came up with the following:

Vanilla Buttercream 
Makes enough frosting for 2 dozen cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature
9 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
In an electric mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment or if you don't have an electric mixing bowl use a large bowl and an electric mixer, mix the butter until smooth and creamy (a few minutes).
Add 4 cups of the sugar, the milk and vanilla and on low speed mix until combined.
Add two more cups of sugar and on low speed mix until light and fluffy. Gradually add remaining sugar.
The icing came out to the perfect texture and sweetness. You may feel that the icing is not quite thick enough at first, but just give it a few precious minutes, and it will stiffen just enough to be considered perfect. However, don't wait for the icing to stiffen before piping it or spreading it onto the cupcakes that have been screaming "ice me, ice me and make me moist!" since they came out of the oven.
I bought 2 packages of the Wilton candy pumpkins and some black sugar sprinkles for the final effect.

Happy Halloween!

Thoughts of Cheesecake and all Things Creamy and Good.

So, I have not blogged in quite a while. Over six months actually. In that time I have gotten engaged, married and been to Jamaica. I made my own wedding cake and I hope to get some pictures posted soon. I did a three tier cake: 6 inch red velvet, 9 inch golden butter with pineapple cream filling and a 12 inch chocolate with a ganache filling. The entire cake was covered in a white buttercream. I used fresh flowers for the decorations. The only disappointing part was that it got very hot and my patch up and decoration icing got very soft and so the cake is not as fancy as I hoped to make it. However, it tasted incredible and still looked nice. Things are finally settled down again and I am hoping I can pick back up on my baking/cooking and blogging.
Currently, I am thinking about a Banana Cream Cheesecake and I want to combine it with the Baked Alaska recipe. I am not entirely sure yet how I am going to do this, but I will keep everyone updated about it. Along with trial and error pictures.
I am going to my parent's this weekend, so I can get my baking equipment. I have so much that I need to get, in order to get back into my baking.
Hopefully by the Fall I can get a good routine in. I really want to discover some new baking ideas and recipes, in preparation for the holiday season (as everyone knows, it's my FAVORITE time of the year).
So, until next week, when I can actually bake something and talk about it. OH! I did forget that I am doing a cake for a baby shower for my sister in law this weekend. It is just a three layer 9 inch cake, but the decorating it and making it cute part is the main thing. I used my basic chocolate cake recipe and white buttercream and I will add pink trim to it. I bought some adorable white baby shoes with flowers on them to put in the center of the cake. I will let you know how it turns out.
Until next time.......

Pumpkin Maple Ricotta Cake

Ok, so my latest infatuation is Ricotta. It is such a flexible cheese, used for main dishes, appetizers, desserts and more. Almost everybody knows what a Ricotta Cake is, even if you haven't ever tried it. It is a very dense cake, very similar to a pound cake and is usually served with seasonal fruit on the side or on top. The main difference, is the level of moisture. The Ricotta gives the the cake almost a "spongy" texture. In fact its so moist, that I always get this mental image ringing it out, just like sponge. The most common twist on the Ricotta Cake would be the Lemon Ricotta Cake, which brings me to my point. I was researching Ricotta recipes the last week, and decided to search for Pumpkin Ricotta Cake recipes. Surprisingly I found nothing. I found lots of pumpkin recipes and lots of ricotta recipes, but nothing that combined the two. This being the Fall season and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I decided to make up my own Pumpkin Ricotta Cake. I compared several ideas and recipes and then proceeded......with caution. As usual, in my enthusiasm I made a few changes as I went along. The result was nothing less than fabulous. It baked evenly, came out of the pan smoothly and tasted like everything that you imagine Fall tasting like. So, what did I do to make this cake. First, let me explain I am not going to give out my recipe. Because as everyone knows, once that happens it is no longer unique and anybody can make it. However, I am going to tell you the key to making your own. Find a recipe for a good Ricotta Cake and make the following changes: 1. Whatever amount of Ricotta the recipe calls for, use half the amount and replace the other half with pureed pumpkin; 2. Replace whatever flavoring they use in cake (either a mix of vanilla and lemon or almond) with half vanilla and half maple; 3. Replace a third of the amount of white sugar with brown sugar; 4. Add 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice and 1/8 tsp of nutmeg; 5. Add 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice and 1/2 tsp maple flavoring to your powdered sugar glaze.
Ok, As you will notice in the picture, the icing is thicker than the usual powdered sugar glaze. I had three tablespoons of butter left and didn't want to wrap it up or waste it, so I blended it in to my glaze. I also used half and half instead of regular milk, so it made a thicker/fluffier glaze. I would prefer in the future to use a regular powdered sugar glaze. This cake is very rich and would do just fine without the glaze, period. But, if you must have a glaze, I would recommend a plain powdered sugar glaze without the butter.
Not many people are going to have this on their table for Thanksgiving Day, but it would put a fun twist in the usual variety of desserts.
For any of you that try this idea, feel free to post the results on here.


Pumpkin Maple Ricotta Cake



Getting Back on Schedule

Hello Readers,
  I apologize for not having any new posts. I have been sick since last week. Hopefully by Thursday I will have something new for ya'll to read. I did get a chance to make my Tomato Soup and Fried Cheese Balls idea. It turned out quite yummy. I have plenty of pictures to share, but am without my camera card at the moment. I hope to have the updated story and recipe on here soon.

Eggs Easy Over........Pizza, Please.

Ok, let me start by explaining that I am a fanatic about leftover pizza for breakfast. In fact I get excited about having pizza for dinner, simply because I know there will be leftovers for breakfast. Normally I want it cold, straight from the "ice box" (as my Nana Rosie always called it), but there is the rare occasion that it sounds good reheated. This, morning I was in an odd mood. I wanted something different for breakfast, but also wanted something traditional, not to mention last night was pizza night, so I knew that there were tasty leftovers..............what to do? I KNOW! Combine all three!
1. Leftovers: I placed a slice of the cold pizza straight on the rack of the oven (preheated to 350 degrees)...............oh and while it is heating, I will go ahead and tell you what kind of pizza it is. Instead of the red sauce, I used basil pesto, with a layer fresh spinach leaves, followed by thick fresh slices of mushrooms, crumbled feta cheese, and a thin layer of mozzarella. Ok, now that the pizza is done heating, I will tell you the rest.
2. Traditional: One egg, easy over and seasoned with a little pepper.
3. Something Different: I placed the egg on top of the now devinely crusty pizza. I heated about 2 tablespoons of the red sauce (also leftover) and poured it straight over the egg, and for the final touch sprinkled the top with 1 tablespoon of freshly grated parmesan cheese. The result: Quite possibly a new favorite breakfast oddity. When the yoke of the egg burst and spread with the sauce over the pizza, my taste buds began to dance!
Now, I realize that this is going to sound completely unappealing to some people, my own mother looked at me like I was crazy (and I had my doubts as well), but you will never know until you try something. This breakfast dish fit quite well in between, crazy thrown together Italian breakfast and unique modernized Food Network material.
I would love it, if some of you would try this sometime and post some feedback about your experience. In the meantime here is a picture of the experiment.


Egg Easy Over......Pizza.



Pumpkin Whip and Gingersnaps

I had this craving for Pumpkin Whip. Most people know what it is, but it's not commonly served. I had noticed that almost all recipes for it, use a package of butterscotch pudding mix as the base of the recipe. Personally, I think that it has a strong aftertaste. So, I decided to create my own version of Pumpkin Whip, using cream cheese as the base.

Recipe:

Pumpkin Whip
1 (8oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1 cup of fresh pumpkin, pureed
1 cup powdered sugar

3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

3 - 4 tsp of brandy



In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until creamy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the pumpkin and beat until the mixture develops a custard like texture with a golden yellow coloring, for about 3-4 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream until stiff enough to fold into pumpkin mixture. Beat the brandy in last.

Fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture, until fully incorporated. There should be no streaks of white left.
For best taste and texture, I would recommend making this a day ahead of time.


Serve with gingersnaps. :)





Cream Cheese and Pumpkin Mixture,
(this is the desired look)





Whipping the cream, just before adding the brandy



Pumpkin Whip!



Gingersnaps :)



The Grand Finale!



A Twist on Tomato Soup

Ok, so last Wednesday (10-27-10) the office ordered lunch, I had brought leftover tomato soup for lunch, but didn’t have anything to go with it. So, I ordered some cheese sticks. I never intended to dip them in my soup, and I certainly never planned on cutting them up and dropping them in my soup. Nevertheless, it happened…….and it was AMAZING! I cannot express how well the flavors mixed together. Tomato soup, the mild flavors of roasted peppers, ooey gooey mozzarella cheese in a parmesan bread crumb coating…WOW!
So, I had a thought about making this into an actual meal. Instead of buying cheese sticks however, what about mozzarella balls? Then you would have perfectly shaped cheesiness! Not to mention the cheese would stay contained in its “bread crumb cocoon” without disturbing the flavors of the actual soup itself. Sometimes an outrageous idea can sound really good, but at times it’s just too outrageous and it ends up making the meal less rather than more.
Obviously I am still pondering this idea, a week later and hopefully before this time next week, I will have tried it and posted pictures with and updated recipe. Hope is the keyword.
I said I was going to try and post something everyday, and I have already missed four days of posting and have only had the blog for a week. I am trying to do better!
In the meantime, if anyone has any helpful ideas or thoughts about this, feel free to post them here on the blog.