Different than the day before

Costco had raspberries for about $4 for 12 ounces the last time I was there.  I bought 3 packages, with the intent of making Jeni's raspberry sauce with a lot of them.  I made a double batch of the sauce, and ended up with about 2 pints.  Some will almost certainly end up inside or on top of ice cream, and I'll probably eat some with yogurt, but I've been looking for other things to make as well.  I was in a brownie mood today, and decided to try swirling some sauce on top of the batter before it went into the oven. The brownies are the Classic Brownies from Cook's Illustrated--I made half the recipe (in an 8" pan), throwing in some chocolate chips instead of adding nuts.  I dolloped about 50 grams of raspberry sauce on top of the batter and swirled it in with a chopstick.  I baked the brownies for 30 minutes.  

The verdict?  Quite tasty!  Raspberry and chocolate is one of my very favorite flavor combinations.  The girls thought they were good but weren't totally thrilled.  That's okay, since that means more for me! =)

Wordless Wednesday - Let them eat cake

The most important meal of the day

Amazingly enough, here it is.  My second post in three days.  Thanks again to Phyl for getting me motivated.  Part of my blogging slump has been due to lack of time.  Work has been kicking my butt.  I get up a bit before 5:00 and spend the next 60 to 70 minutes getting myself ready for work, packing my lunch, getting breakfast/snacks together for the girls.  Then I attempt to pry my daughters out of bed (so they can start getting dressed, etc.) before I run out the door with my travel mug of tea in hand.  This morning was no exception.  I got to work just before 6:30 and spent the next half an hour getting things ready for the work day.  At about 7:15, it occurred to me that I was hungry and that I should get my breakfast out of my bag.  There was only one problem--my bagel was still sitting at home in the toaster, waiting to be toasted.  D'oh!

Maybe I should have had a whole serving of this sorbet at 5:30 this morning, instead of the single spoonful that I snuck as I was checking on it to see if it had firmed up overnight.  I made the base last night as I was feeding the girls dinner, and churned it as I was making mine & Jamie's.  Then it went into the freezer for the night.  I was intrigued by this recipe when I first got my July/August issue of Cook's Illustrated.  I've made sorbet recipes before, but this one promised to tackle a number of problems that you can encounter with sorbet--grainy or crumbly texture, being too hard to scoop, and melting too fast.  The ingredient list is pretty straightforward--raspberries (I used frozen ones that I thawed), sugar, corn syrup, salt, water and one slightly unusual ingredient, pectin.  I definitely encourage you to read the article that explains how they came up with the final method (here online, or better yet, in the magazine (check your local library)).  

The verdict?  Very, very tasty.  The tartness of the raspberries is one of my favorite things about them, and there's just enough sugar to sweeten without making the sorbet taste very sweet.  I'm not sure the texture is quite right, but it just occurred to me that I think I goofed.  The recipe calls for 20 ounces of raspberries.  I had two bags of frozen raspberries, and I was thinking that they were 10 ounces each.  However, I'm pretty sure that they were actually 12 ounces, so I had about 20 percent more puree than I should have.  I'm sure that would be enough to throw the texture off a bit.  I definitely want to make this one again, so I'll see if there's a difference once I correct that.  Just from my limited experience with the sorbet so far, it does seem like it doesn't melt as quickly as some I've tried, so the pectin is doing its job.  I have a whole bunch of the pectin left, so I'd like to try it in other sorbet recipes, like this chocolate one.  

If you'd like to try the sorbet for yourself, you can find the recipe here.  Phyl has a perfect-for-summer frozen wine slushy on his blog today, and will have links to other non-dairy frozen treats.  Check them out! =)

Wordless Wednesday - Tastes like summer

(Freeform Summer Fruit Tart)

Some assembly required

I've decided that I like this whole wrap-around vacation thing that I did this time.  I was off starting on the 4th, and went back to work yesterday.  It was long enough for a good rest, and I got to have two short work weeks!  I can definitely see myself doing this again, especially since we don't usually go anywhere when I'm off--I'm just making sure that I use my vacation time so I don't lose it.  

It's amazing how getting somewhat caught up on sleep can improve your whole outlook on life.  As I mentioned in my last post, I was totally stressed out by everything that was going on in my life.  I was having a great Twitter conversation with my friends Rebecca & Abby on Tuesday (before I went back to work) about the fact that I was mostly in need of an attitude adjustment.  Work is what it is, and I need to pay the bills.  Heck, I actually mostly like what I do, and I'm darn good at it.  But I need to learn to leave work at work.  I don't mean that I actually bring stuff home, since my job isn't the sort where I can really do that.  I mean that I need to do a better job of shifting gears mentally so that I don't bring the stress home with me.  Easier said than done, I'm sure, but I have to start somewhere.  

One of the things that I've been doing this summer is participating in an online course that focuses on bringing more play, rest and kindness into our lives on a daily basis.  I realized that my worrying about work so much was interfering with my rest for sure, and meant that I was seldom in the mood for any play.  And I need to be kinder to myself.  One of the messages from earlier this week was, "You are enough. (it's true)"  Too often, I feel like I'm not at all close to being enough.  But if I keep telling myself that I am, maybe I'll start to believe it.

So what does the dessert pictured here have to do with all this?  Well, it was part of my attempt to "play" more.  I bake for a couple of reasons.  For one, I really enjoy making things for others--I like seeing them happy, and enjoy the compliments I receive, too. =)  But I also bake because I like to "play around," as Dorie Greenspan says.  I like to see what will happen if I change things up a bit with a recipe, or take components from different places and put them together in new ways.  

I have to admit, the mini parfait idea was inspired by a show on (I think) Cooking Channel.  They profiled a bakery called Vanilla Bakeshop that does these in a variety of flavors.  My first thought was that it was a cool idea.  My second was, "I can do that!"  I treated myself to a visit to Crate & Barrel while I was on vacation, and among other things, I came home with several 3-oz shot glasses.  So then I just had to figure out what to put in them.  I could have used crumbled cookies or bits of cake, but then I remembered these Cocoa Crumbs that Dorie posted about recently.  Naturally, I had to experiment--I did two half-batches, one with Valrhona dutch-processed cocoa, and one with Scharffen Berger natural cocoa.  For the pudding-y part, I turned to Dorie again, this time pulling out my copy of Baking, which has a recipe for creamy chocolate pastry cream in the back of the book.  I whipped up some cream, and started layering.  (A pastry bag & piping tip make it much easier to get the pastry cream and whipped cream neatly into the tall, skinny containers.)  At the last minute, I also drizzled in some raspberry sauce, since I love the combination of raspberry with chocolate.  

The verdict?  Mmm, we really enjoyed these delightful desserts.  The small size is just enough to get a good taste of everything without feeling like you're overindulging.  The crumbs made with the Dutch-processed cocoa are very reminiscent of Oreos, which isn't a bad thing, but I really enjoyed the ones with natural cocoa, too.  They had a more interesting character.  I hope you'll experiment for yourself to see which you like better.  I'll be making more of these soon--I can't wait to try different flavor combinations.  

Grin and slurp it

I think we've hit a new milestone.  I got to sleep until 7:45am on a Sunday morning.  When I got up, both girls had been up for a little while, but it seems they didn't feel the need to get me out of bed as well.  Gillian has done this a few times lately, so I think she may have finally given up on insisting that I be awake anytime she is. =)  Oh, and we did have one other milestone this weekend:

really not sure how it's possible for her to be old enough to be losing teeth

Once I'm up, though, the questions begin.  "Is breakfast ready yet?"  "What are we having for breakfast?"  "Why haven't you started making our breakfast yet?!"  I like to bake muffins or scones on the weekend so we'll have stuff to eat for a few days during the week, but B & G aren't very patient about waiting while I do that.  Today, though, we tried something new.  Brianna asked me the other night if I knew how to make fruit smoothies.  I've been trying to find ways to get a greater variety of fruits into our diet, and this was a perfect opportunity.  When we went grocery shopping, I picked up some frozen raspberries and mango chunks as well as some fresh raspberries.  (I already had frozen peaches in the freezer, though I should probably make sure they haven't turned into a solid block of ice, since I'm not sure how long they've been in there.)  

So to hold off the ravenous horde while I did some baking, I pulled out my blender.  I can tell it's been a while since I've done that, since G commented that "I didn't know we had one of those!" =)  I started with a cup of plain yogurt.  (I usually keep Brown Cow full-fat yogurt on hand to eat with my granola.)  I added a bit of honey, since I know the girls aren't big fans of the plain yogurt as it is.  I tossed in some chunks of frozen mango and some of the fresh raspberries and about a quarter cup of milk to keep things from being too thick.  I blended it all until it was fairly smooth.

The verdict?  Definitely a hit!  Both girls finished their smoothies pretty quickly.  It doesn't hurt that they love drinking through straws.  I tasted a bit of what was left in the blender and thought it was pretty tasty.  We'll have to try some different fruit combinations to see what else they like.  And I've got a way to shut down the constant nagging. =)

Raspberry Mango Smoothies

225 grams (8 ounces) plain yogurt

22 grams (1 tablespoon) honey

85 grams (3 ounces) frozen mango chunks

60 grams (2 ounces) raspberries (fresh or frozen)

60 grams (2 ounces) milk (we used 1%)

Add all of the ingredients to a blender.  (I find it easiest to put my blender container on my scale and add everything to it, taring between ingredients.)  Blend until the mixture is smooth, which may take a minute or two if you use all frozen fruit.  Divide the mixture between two glasses and serve with straws. =)

Flavor of the month

So here we are at the end of January.  For the most part, my new FOCUS plan is off to a good start!  I did get derailed slightly during the past week--my dad & his girlfriend Judy (who is really great) got here in time for Brianna's birthday last Wednesday and went home Sunday afternoon.  That was okay, though, because I only had one item left to fill in on my list when they got here--the Ingredient focus.  When I came up with the list, I figured that one would be an opportunity to highlight a new ingredient each month.  But I wasn't feeling it.  I considered--and discarded--several possibilities, but nothing was really grabbing my attention.  Since part of my goal this year is to focus on things that have value for me instead of just doing things because I think I should, I didn't want to force myself to make something that might or might not get eaten.  I was also running out of time, so that was a factor. =)  

Some of my best ideas come as I'm lying in bed at night before I fall asleep.  I've taken to keeping one of my notebooks handy so I can jot stuff down more easily so I don't lose it.  Sunday night, what was going around in my head was the fact that my ingredient and pantry categories were already sort of overlapping.  I also wanted to blog about Brianna's birthday cake.  I was also thinking about the new cookbook I bought last Friday.  Something in my brain put all of those things together and got them to gel.  I didn't want to write about ingredients (I'll combine that with pantry going forward), I wanted to write about flavors.  

I've mentioned before that around here, the preferred cake flavor for everyone but me is chocolate.  When I asked B what kind of cake she wanted, I fully expected her answer of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  But she surprised me with the filling--she started to ask for vanilla, like last year's cake, but then changed it to raspberry.  Chocolate and raspberry is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations.  Sold!  I'm not sure exactly what it is about those two flavors that works so well together.  I also like cranberry with chocolate, so I think it has to do with the fruity tartness in contrast to the rich chocolate.  Whatever it is, I'm not complaining. =)  Our favorite filling is Swiss meringue buttercream, for its smooth, creamy texture.  I've tried different ways to flavor it, with varying success.  This time, I turned to the raspberry sauce from my copy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home.  It was fabulous in ice cream, and I thought it would work well in the frosting, too.  

B decided she wanted a rectangular cake rather than a round one.  I learned a long time ago that it's a total pain to try to slice a regular 13" x 9" cake horizontally to form two layers.  Instead, I have a couple of quarter sheet pans.  My go-to chocolate cake recipe is the Chocolate Fudge Cake from The Cake Bible.  I love that it gives the option to use natural cocoa powder, which I prefer, and it's made with brown sugar, which contributes to the moist fudgy texture.  The recipe calls for two 9" round pans, but I find that it works great for two thinner 13" x 9" layers.  The baking time is shorter--about 20 minutes. I line the pans with parchment, and let the cakes cool in the pans.  

When I was ready to assemble the cake, I flipped one of the layers onto my serving tray and peeled off the parchment.  I spread the cake with a thin layer of straight raspberry sauce (which is more like jam than sauce in texture), then topped that with a nice layer of the raspberry buttercream.  I then flipped the second cake layer on top (and removed the parchment from that as well).  I put the cake in the fridge so the filling would have a chance to firm up while I made the chocolate frosting.  My favorite recipe for that is a great recipe from Fine Cooking.  It uses sour cream, and I love how the tang cuts through the sweetness of the powdered sugar in the frosting.  It's also really easy to mix up with a bowl and a whisk.  Once the cake had chilled a bit, I covered it with the chocolate frosting.  I used more of the raspberry buttercream to decorate the cake with a shell border around the bottom and stars around the top, as well as a festive message.

The verdict?  Using the raspberry sauce to flavor the Swiss meringue buttercream works very well--you still have a smooth texture.  I've tried using fruit puree in the past, and it tends to be too watery and make the buttercream break.  The raspberry sauce is also tart enough to balance the sweetness of the frosting, plus it makes it such a lovely pink color.  As for the flavor combination, this was a winner, no surprise there.  You can really taste the fruit, and it works so well with the rich chocolate.  I also love the contrasting textures of the silky buttercream and denser chocolate frosting.  

Part of the fun is figuring out what flavors appeal to you, and I love pulling together components from different sources to see how they work together.  I encourage you to do the same, but figured I'd share the ones I used here in case you're looking for inspiration.  The Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe can be round in The Cake Bible.  If you aren't fortunate enough to have a copy, your local library might.  The Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting recipe can be found in this post (adapted from Fine Cooking).  There are lots of places to find Swiss meringue buttercream; my go-to is Dorie's recipe, which can be found in this post.  The raspberry sauce is pretty straightforward to make, and can be found in the middle of this article in the Post-Gazette (I used regular raspberries, not black).

I like big bundts, again

Happy National Bundt Day!  I'm excited once again to be celebrating the day with Mary the Food Librarian.  This is her third year of I Like Big Bundts, where she's baked 30 Bundts in 30 days, leading up to National Bundt Day on November 15th.  I missed the first year, but last year I joined in with an Espresso Gingerbread Bundt.  I've been on the lookout for a good recipe for this year, and finally settled on one.

I went shopping on my day off last week, heading down to the outlet malls in San Marcos.  We have outlets closer to home, but not the specific stores that I was looking for--Crate and Barrel and Williams-Sonoma.  WS in particular ended up being quite dangerous.  I've been wanting a cake stand for a while, and finally bought myself one.  It seemed perfect for showing off my bundt.  You can also see my makeshift cake dome, which is the bowl from my salad spinner.  It's the perfect size! =)  The cake recipe that I used comes from one of the other acquisitions from my shopping trip--a copy of Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours.  At 50% off, I just couldn't pass it up.  There are several yummy looking bundts, so it was just a matter of picking one.

I decided to make the Ruby Cake, so called because it has a raspberry filling hidden inside, along with some bittersweet chocolate.  I love those flavors together, so this was definitely my first choice to make.  The batter itself is a rich one, loaded with butter and sour cream, though lighter on the eggs (only 3) than some I've made.  The batter is made by the creaming method, and came together with minimal effort in my stand mixer.  The recipe calls for using two piping bags to put the batter and filling in the pan, but I didn't follow the instructions for that.  I just spooned half the batter into the pan, made a trough for the filling, added the jam and chocolate very carefully so they weren't near the edges of the pan, and topped them with the remaining batter.  It worked fine.  I really wanted to use my Heritage Bundt pan for this cake.  The recipe calls for a 10-12 cup pan, so I thought I'd be okay.  I baked my cake for just under an hour.

The verdict?  Well, I wish I'd left the cake in the oven a bit longer. Or used a different pan. Or just put less batter in the pan I used.  The cake rose about an inch about the top of the pan, but didn't overflow at all.  It seemed to test done, but the middle (near the raspberry part) was definitely a little under-done.  While it might not have been exactly to my taste, the texture didn't stop my coworkers from devouring it. =)  My friend Nancy pointed out that lots of people like under-done cake.  Better that than too dry, I guess.  And as I'm writing this on Monday night, I'm now laughing, since Brianna's opinion of the cake is that it could be a little more moist. =)  She also thinks that it needs more chocolate.  G pronounced it pretty good.  My only critique of the flavor is that it needs a bit more salt to balance out the sweetness.  (I'll probably use a full teaspoon next time, instead of half.)

I did like the cake enough that I'm sure there will be another attempt at it.  If you'd like to try it for yourself, you can find the recipe here.  You can also find it in Sarabeth's book, of course.   Don't forget to head over to Mary's blog for her post today, which includes the list of all the bundts she's baked this year.  She'll also have a round-up with lots of fabulous bundts from other bakers later this month.

All dressed up and nowhere to go

I love vacation time--especially the kind where I get to stay home.  Sure, it's fun to go places and visit people, but traveling can also be stressful.  I'm ready for a break from stress.  It's nice to be able to hang out and relax, and maybe catch up on a few things.  Jamie's vacation time can roll over, but mine is the use-it-or-lose-it variety.  So you can bet I'm going to use it, even if it means staying home by myself.  To be honest, being on my own isn't bad. =)  Brianna is in school, and Jamie is at work.  Gillian stayed home with me yesterday and will probably do that again later in the week, but that's okay.  One child at home with me is peaceful--both would be another story.

Knowing that I had a whole week ahead of me with plenty of time to spend in the kitchen, I was completely lazy this past weekend.  I cooked dinner on Sunday, but that was about it.  But that was okay, since I'd actually made this week's TWD recipe over a week ahead of time.  Anne of Anne Strawberry picked Classic Brownies as this week's selection.  That was perfect, since I needed something to pack in lunches last week.  Only one problem--we managed to polish off the brownies without me taking any pictures of them.  Oops.

So yesterday morning, I set out to make them again.  I actually started off my day by turning a whole bunch of raspberries (I love Costco) into raspberry sauce.  Then I made the brownies.  It's an easy recipe--one bowl, and whisk and a spoon are all you need.  I skipped the nuts and put in chocolate chips instead, since I don't care for nuts in my brownies (and B's school has requested no peanuts or tree nuts if possible, due to a student with a severe allergy).  I baked the brownies for 30 minutes, and was quite happy with the fudgy texture.  Next up was ice cream, since there wasn't any at all in the freezer.  I made vanilla bean (with a splash of rum), figuring it would go nicely with another TWD recipe that I plan to make this week.  Once I was done with that, I realized that I had all the makings of a fabulous brownie sundae.  I also figured a sundae would be a way to make the brownies more photogenic.  And my children now think I'm the best mom ever. =)

The verdict?  We really enjoyed these brownies, both plain and dressed up.  While they don't quite displace my all-time favorite, they are very high on my list.  It certainly wasn't a hardship to make them twice, and I'm sure we'll be making them again.  I'd like to try the recipe with other mix-ins, like peanut butter chips (just for eating at home).  

If you'd like to try these for yourself, head over to Anne's blog for the recipe.  To see how everyone else played around with these brownies, check out this week's Links.  

Sourpuss

I had a conversation the other day with a friend who is thinking of starting a family.  He asked me, "Kids--they're worth it, right?"  My response?  "Most of the time."  I love my girls, and I can't imagine life without them.  But sometimes, like tonight, they just push all my buttons.  Awhile back I decided that Thursday is invariably the worst day of the week--prime time for some sort of meltdown.  Everyone is tired.  We're tired on Friday, too, but by that point, the end of the week is definitely in sight.  On Thursday, we're almost as cranky, and still have to find a way to get through another day.  

Fortunately there wasn't a homework meltdown from B this evening.  (That was last night.)  And at least G didn't wait until right before bed to have her every-other-day marathon bathroom session.  (Sorry, I know it's mostly a food blog, but anyone have any great solutions for 4yo constipation?)  But by now, I really just wish they'd finish up with the fooling around in the bathroom (they're supposed to be brushing their teeth) and go to bed already...  Though on the plus side, I did manage to feed them something for dinner that they both ate without complaint.  And it wasn't macaroni and cheese--there were actual vegetables involved. =)

Oddly enough, although I'm feeling tired and decidedly cranky, I have no interest in one of my usual stress remedies, chocolate.  (I know, crazy, right?)  I do, however, wish I had some of this frozen yogurt left.  It would really hit the spot right now.  It's lemon frozen yogurt with raspberry sauce, from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home.  

I've made about a dozen recipes from the book so far--some that I've posted, and some that I haven't.  (There's some Milkiest Chocolate with Marshmallows and Fudge Swirl in the freezer right now, for instance.)  But it really hadn't occurred to me to try any of the frozen yogurt recipes.  Then I went to a class that Jeni did here at Central Market last month.  She mentioned that the lemon frozen yogurt was her favorite, and we got to sample it at the class.  So I put it at the top of my list to try next.  

More than with Jeni's ice cream recipes, you have to plan ahead a little for the frozen yogurt.  The recipe calls for draining the yogurt for at least 6-8 hours to remove excess liquid.  I didn't have cheesecloth, so I improvised.  I lined my medium strainer with coffee filters, put it over a bowl, and added my quart of lowfat yogurt.  I covered the top with plastic wrap, and stuck the whole contraption in the fridge overnight.  By the way, can I just say that it's harder than I expected to find lowfat plain yogurt?  I saw plenty of nonfat, and several brands of whole milk, but not a lot of choices for lowfat.  I used Wallaby for the lemon.  I think I'm going to try Stonyfield for the next batch, and see which I prefer.  Another thing to note--you won't need all of the yogurt for this recipe, but the extra can be used for other things, like in place of sour cream in dips.

Besides draining the yogurt, you make a lemon syrup with lemon juice and sugar.  The zest from the lemons gets added to the milk/cream mixture, which is similar to the ice cream, but with smaller amounts to account for the volume that will be added by the yogurt.  Once the milk mixture is boiled and thickened with cornstarch and whisked into the cream cheese, the strained yogurt and lemon syrup are whisked in.  I did add a pinch of salt that wasn't called for in the recipe.  I also chilled my finished mixture in a regular ice bath rather than in a ziploc bag.  Once the mixture was thoroughly chilled, I churned it and then layered it with Jeni's raspberry sauce as I packed it into a freezer container.

The verdict? I think I have a new favorite flavor.  Much as I love chocolate, and the salty caramel (when I don't overcaramelize it), the lemon frozen yogurt is to die for.  I do want to try the Lemon Cream ice cream as well, for comparison.  What's actually up next is lime frozen yogurt with blackberry sauce.  I'll keep you all posted on how that goes.  Molly of Orangette says that she likes to eat this frozen yogurt from a teacup.  I'd have to say my favorite way to eat this flavor is in a cone.  You have the tart, refreshing tastes of lemon and raspberry with the crisp texture and browned butter-vanilla flavor of the cone.  Mmm.  I admit, I polished off most of the quart all by myself.

If you'd like to try this one for yourself, you can find the recipe here at The Splendid Table.  But I strongly encourage you to get your hands on a copy of the book, so you can try lots of other fantastic recipes as well.

That's the way I like it

I've been trying to write this post for the past week, and just haven't been able to figure out what to write.  Then last night I opened up my Google Reader, clicked on the latest Baking Banter post, and started laughing.  Why?  Because I'm a proud DBCB, and have been for a long, long time.  What's a DBCB, you ask? A Designated Birthday Cake Baker, of course.  Meaning that I bake birthday goodies for all the people I work with.  I've been doing it for about 15 years, and it's always appreciated.  Sometimes it's cake, sometimes cupcakes.  I've made strawberry shortcake a couple times, and several cheesecakes.  I'll come up with something on my own if necessary, but I certainly take requests.  The one that sticks out most in my mind is the German Chocolate Cake I made a few years ago for one of my employees.  I absolutely detest coconut, so I didn't actually sample the topping or the finished cake.  Fortunately, it was  a hit.  And everyone was amused by the fact that along with the cake, I also brought the rest of the bag of coconut to work.  I wasn't about to let it stay in my house!

For this latest cake, I didn't have to do anything traumatic like buying coconut.  =)  I asked M, the birthday girl, if she had any special requests.  She commented on how much she liked the texture of the frosting on the cupcakes I'd brought in a while back.  They were topped with Swiss meringue buttercream, which I've made many times.  Her only other request was something non-chocolate.  As Brianna would say, she likes chocolate, but it's not her favorite.  So I decided to go with a classic vanilla cake topped with vanilla buttercream.  I thought M would be happy with it, and I suspected that no one else would complain.  It's kind of like my favorite plain cheese pizza.  Most people might not request it, but no one will turn it down if it's around!  

For the cake, I used my favorite white cake recipe from The Cake Bible, the White Velvet Butter Cake.  I added a tablespoon of rainbow non-pareils to the batter to make the layers more festive.  You just have to work quickly to fold them in, so you don't end up with streaks of color in the batter instead of just polka dots.  I wanted a taller cake, so I baked the batter in 8" round pans, rather than the 9" ones called for in the recipe.  The layers took about 40 minutes to bake.  

As I mentioned, for the frosting, I knew I wanted to make a Swiss meringue buttercream.   I decided to try out a new recipe, from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread.  The main difference is that it uses about 20% shortening instead of all butter, which is supposed to help keep the frosting a bit more stable at room temperature.  As hot as it's been here lately, I wanted all the help I could get to keep the frosting from melting.  

When I was assembling the cake, I topped the bottom layer with vanilla buttercream, then had the idea to add something else.  I still had some of the raspberry "sauce" that I used for this ice cream, so I spread it on top of the frosting, before adding the second cake layer.  The whole cake got covered in buttercream, then I piped rosettes around the top (thanks to another Baking Banter post for the inspiration) and a shell border around the bottom.  The finishing touch was some rainbow sparkling sugar.

The verdict?  This cake was a huge hit with the birthday girl and everyone else who tried it.  The frosting was still rather soft, but I think it did hold up a bit better than my usual all-butter SWBC would have.  The raspberry filling in the middle was just what the cake needed--a tart contrast to all the sweetness.  I'll definitely be using that again.  

I had a lot of fun making this cake.  I love the way it turned out.  One of my favorite parts of baking is pulling together a bunch of components from different sources to make something new.  I might not make this exact cake again, but that's okay, since I'll enjoy making the next one just as much.  I encourage you to pull some books off your shelves (or find recipes online, if you prefer) and do the same thing.  Have fun!

It's a virtue

People seem to think that I have a lot of patience.  When they learn how long I've worked in customer service, they think I must be a patient person.  When they see something that I've created, be it a fancy cake or a piece of needlework, they say how making those things must take a lot of patience.  Honestly, though, I think most of the time it's more stubbornness than patience--because I don't feel very patient a lot of the time, especially when I'm dealing with my children.  And when I get an idea in my head, I don't want to wait.  I want to make it happen now!

You've all seen that in action with all my recent posts about frozen treats.  Sure, it's summer, and a great time for ice cream.  But I want to make all the different flavors right now.  I actually didn't make any new ones last weekend because I knew there wouldn't be room until we finished eating some of the ones I'd already made.  I can hardly wait to make some more, though.  It's not just flavors that I've been experimenting with, either.  After buying some cones and waffle bowls at the grocery store that weren't very tasty (and arrived broken as well), I decided that I needed to make my own.  Jeni's book has a recipe, but I was lacking one important thing--a waffle cone iron.  

It wasn't always the case, but these days Austin has quite a few different places to shop for housewares. The place I end up at most often is Sur la Table.  When SLT came to town a few years ago, the local Williams-Sonoma store expanded quite a bit as well.  But despite the fact that they have a lot more to offer these days, I still don't shop there all that often.  For some of the basics, I like to go to Ace Mart, a local restaurant supply store.  And for some items, like cake boxes and decorating tools, I shop at All in One Bake Shop.   I may not like shopping for clothes or shoes, but I can shop for kitchen gear all day long. =)  Where do you all like to shop for bakeware and related stuff?  I can always use some new places to check out.  =)

How Brianna deals with the fact that I need more practice making cones without holes at the bottom...

When I started looking for a waffle cone maker, I started with Sur la Table and Williams-Sonoma.  SLT didn't even have one on its website.  W-S had one, but it was listed as online only.  Sometimes that information isn't accurate so I still checked the store, but no luck.  I even tried Bed, Bath & Beyond, but same thing--online only.  If I wanted to buy one online, I could just order one from another favorite of mine, King Arthur Flour.  I was about to give up and resign myself to having to wait a week or so, when I thought of something else.  I'm not sure why I don't usually think of them, but we also have a Crate & Barrel store in Austin.  I checked their website first.  Success!  They have this one.  And it was on sale!  Even better, I was able to check store availability from the website, and it looked like my local store had some in stock.  I was doing this on a day off, so I headed right down to look.  They had one!  As it turned out, a lot of other ice cream related stuff was on sale, which is how I ended up with the cute dishes pictured here, as well as a couple of these glasses.  

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to eat ice cream...

The verdict?  Well, I think you can see that the cones were a big hit with Brianna and Gillian.  My only problem is that now they want ice cream for dessert every night.  Unfortunately, I just don't have the patience for it--I swear they can take an amazingly long time to finish eating an ice cream cone. =)  They had plain dark chocolate ice cream in their cones, but the others pictured are filled with a flavor that I made just for me.  (Though I just discovered that J did sample some.)  I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry, so I made a batch of the Milkiest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World, and layered it with some fabulous raspberry sauce and some of the Chocolate Bombe Shell.  

As for the cones, I've made them a couple times.  I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, though a couple of this last batch still had holes in the bottoms.  I've learned that the cones taste better if you let them get more browned, too.  We've made some waffle bowls, too, by sandwiching the hot waffles between a couple of small ramekins with rounded bottoms.  

If you'd like to try these and lots of other great ice cream recipes, I definitely encourage you to get a copy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home.  (No, this is not a sponsored post; I just really love this book.)  You can find the recipes for the chocolate ice creams and the raspberry sauce in the book.  Here's my version of her waffle cone recipe.  

Waffle Cone Batter

(adapted from Jeni's Splendid Homemade Ice Creams)

2 egg whites (60 grams)

60 grams (1/4 cup) heavy cream

100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

70 grams (5 tablespoons) melted unsalted butter

85 grams (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour

Whisk the egg whites and cream together in a medium bowl.  Whisk in the sugar, salt and vanilla.  Whisk in the melted butter, making sure that everything is thoroughly blended.  Finally, gently whisk in the flour, just until the batter is smooth.  

I let my batter rest (at room temperature) while my waffle iron was heating.  For my waffle iron, my #40 disher is just the right size to scoop the batter.  It took some trial and error to figure out exactly how long to cook the waffles.  And be prepared to burn your fingers a few times while you learn to roll them into cones.  

Tickled pink

I run into people all the time who tell me that they hate grocery shopping.  That's such a strange idea to me.  I don't like clothes shopping (don't even get me started on shoe shopping), but I love grocery shopping.  Even the online shopping I do is mostly for food and related stuff (cookbooks, bakeware).  I'm lucky to have such great local places to shop.  Occasionally, though, I'll need to order something that I just can't get here.  (Like the chestnut flour for next week's recipe--no sign of it anywhere around here.  And not enough time to order it.)  My go-to place for baking ingredients is definitely King Arthur Flour.  

I don't order from them all that often--I try to wait until they're offering free shipping or a discount on purchases over a certain amount.  I'll usually restock on some hard to find flours (like Durum) and buy some things in bulk (like yeast).  I usually get side-tracked by something pretty (like cupcake papers).  And sometimes things just jump into my little electronic shopping cart...like when I saw these raspberry jammy bits and bought them several months ago.

Then, as sometimes happens, the jammy bits disappeared into my pantry and kind of got lost in there.  If you saw my pantry (even after I organized it) you would understand. =)  I'm still not exactly sure what reminded me they were in there.  I was trying to think of something other than currants to add to this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, and they popped into my head.  Lynne of Café Lynnylu picked Cream Scones for us to make this week.  My girls--especially Gillian--love scones for breakfast.  But Brianna complains any time I put dried fruit in them.  So I decided that I'd split the dough and put the jammy bits in one half and chocolate chips in the other half, just in case.   

Another change I made was to use half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat pastry flour.  (That was a case of something jumping into my grocery cart when I was in the bulk department at Central Market last week.)  And of course, we had to have glaze.  For the chocolate chip scones, I just drizzled them with a simple glaze made with powdered sugar and milk.  I got a bit more fancy with my raspberry scones, though.  I whisked some raspberry sauce into the basic glaze, which made it a lovely pink.  I made the raspberry scones a bit smaller than the recipe indicated, and dunked them in the glaze to completely coat them.  

The verdict?  Well, I thought these were quite yummy.  Gillian ate one and said she liked it, while Brianna was content to eat only the chocolate chips ones.  (G had one of those, too.)  I'll probably stick with drizzling the glaze most of the time, but the raspberry scones were good with the full coating, since the scones themselves weren't all that sweet.  

If you'd like the basic recipe for the Cream Scones, head over to Lynne's blog.  And to see what everyone else did with this week's recipe, check out the Links!

The big one (well, one of them, anyway)

About a week ago, I was having a conversation with (my 4yo daughter) Gillian as we were in the car on the way to the daycare.  I asked her if she knew that she was going to get to stay home with me on Monday (Presidents Day, the 21st).  "Yes! That's my day off!"  "Do you know what else it is?"  "Is it your birthday?"  "Yes, it is.  How old do you think I'm going to be?"  "100?"  Thanks, kid.  =)  

So yes, this past Monday was my birthday.  While I'm not quite 100, it was one of those birthdays with a zero at the end.  When I told Gillian which one, she insisted that we count from 1 to 40, just because she could.  Again, thanks. =)  I didn't really have any special plans for the day, in part because I knew Gillian would be home with me all day.  We went to Costco (and G was very disappointed in the lack of samples on weekdays), and did some baking.  

I was thrilled to get lots of wonderful birthday wishes from family and friends.  My family knows me well--my in-laws sent a baking-themed card, my sister Kate & her husband Jeff sent a gift card to King Arthur Flour, and my Dad and Judy sent a gift card to Sur la Table.  Time for some shopping! =)  (I already have my eye on this pullman pan. Though I still don't understand why they don't just sell the lid with it...)  The big question everyone kept asking, though, was who was making my birthday cake?  

There are two answers to that. The Friday before my birthday, one of my bankers made a cake for me and brought it to work.  It was one of my all-time favorites, yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  She was a little worried that I wouldn't like cake from a box mix.  My thoughts on that?  Any cake that someone else makes for me is awesome!  Plus, who doesn't like box yellow cake?  =)  It was fantastic.  

I also made cake for myself on Monday.  Gillian helped a bit with stirring and licking beaters. =)  Unlike the rest of my immediate family, I prefer vanilla cake with my chocolate frosting.  Since I was in the mood for raspberry filling, I decided to make white cake, since I think it works better than yellow for that.  My go-to recipe for white cake is in one of the first baking books I ever got, The Cake Bible.  It's the White Velvet Butter Cake.  One of the great things about making white cake instead of yellow is that I got to get some of the egg whites out of my freezer. =)  For the filling, I got to use more egg whites, since I made my favorite Swiss meringue buttercream, flavored with raspberry.  And I went the easy route for the frosting--I can probably make the sour cream-chocolate frosting in my sleep, I've made it so many times now.  I like lots of layers, so I sliced each of the 9" layers in half so I had four layers of cake with filling between them.  I didn't want to mess with decorating, so I just swirled the chocolate frosting on the top.  Brianna and Gillian insisted it needed something more, so we added some multicolored non-pareil sprinkles.

The verdict?  Well, that's kind of a silly question, since I made it with flavors that are my favorites.  Honestly, though, I might change the frosting next time.  The raspberry buttercream was fantastic with the texture of the cake.  The chocolate frosting was a bit heavy for the whole thing.  I might have to try it with chocolate buttercream for the outside next time, or maybe a milk chocolate ganache glaze.  It was still very tasty, though, and was eagerly eaten by everyone here.  

If you'd like to try making the White Velvet Butter Cake, you can find the recipe here.  The Sour Cream-Chocolate Frosting is in this post of mine.  And the Swiss Meringue Buttercream is in my post on Dorie's Perfect Party Cake.  (I added about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of raspberry fruit butter to the buttercream to flavor it. Raspberry jam should work as well.)