What a Character!! (or two)

After a month long dry spell I finally had reason and opportunity to make some new creations.  Last week a friend's daughter celebrated her Eighth grade graduation by seeing the new Shrek movie with a few friends. In honor of the occasion I created a standing 3D version of Gingy in his gladiator costume.  This was quite a feat and I learned a lot of new skills from the construction of this cake. Gingy was a Vanilla Cake with a Vanilla Italian Meringue Buttercream, covered in fondant.

The second cake was made for my son's 18th birthday.  He has always been a Tigger fan, and since his first birthday cake had a Tigger theme, I wanted to use Tigger for this cake as well. I didn't want the cake to be too juvenile, though. I mean let's face it, this cake wasn't meant for my sweet little baby who was just learning to walk.  Now my son is a grown man, taller than I, and quick with a sarcastic comment!  Since he happens to like sushi I tried to find a way to combine the two themes.  With the help of some friends on a cake decorating board I decided to pattern my cake after a movie promo idea for Finding Nemo 2, and thus Tigger Sushi was born.  Jeremy loved both the idea and his chosen flavor.  The sushi rolls were made of Fudge Kahlua Cake and a Kahlua Italian Meringue Buttercream, wrapped and decorated in fondant.

Have a Tiggerific day!!

Cheesecake, Dobos Tortes and Sugar Ribbons

Well, the holiday of Shavuos has come and gone.  For those who aren't Jewish, Shavuos is the celebration of the giving of the Torah (Ten Commandments + the rest of the Jewish law).  We celebrate by eating dairy foods, so I made a Chocolate Cheesecake for a friend and I tried an experiment on my family and another family in town.  I chose to top the cheesecake with a swirl of dark chocolate and white ganache.

The Chocolate Cheesecake recipe came from Nigella Lawson's site.  If you aren't familiar with Nigella Lawson do yourself a favor and borrow one of her baking books from the library.  Much to my family's chagrin, we did not get to taste this cheesecake, but I was told it was sublime.  I have since promised to make another for my family to enjoy in the next couple of weeks.

My experiment came from a blog entry at Tartlette.  It was for a Raspberry and Vanilla Bean Dobos Torte complete with pulled sugar ribbon decorations.  This project was far more time consuming than I expected, and to be honest turned out to taste only so-so.  The flavor of the mousse interior was overwhelmed with the honey used to sweeten it, and as my brave taster family commented, it seemed more suited to Rosh Hashanah than Shavuos.  They did get back to me a few days later to tell me the flavor had mellowed over time, making the tortes far more delicious than immediately after assembly.  For myself, it isn't worth the work to repeat it!
The best part of the experiment was learning to make pulled sugar ribbons, which I used to decorate the tortes.  Since I had extra sugar, I also molded the Ten Commandments on the chocolate cheesecake above.

Well, that's it for now!  I hope to start posting more often.  I do have two fun cakes planned for June, and I hope to start posting more of my older work, as well.  Have a great week all!

Kosher for Passover Fondant Cakes!

Good morning, everyone!  Well, now that Passover is finished and our kitchens and homes are back to normal, I wanted to share some of our Passover goodies.  As usual we experimented this year.  We tossed one recipe, cookies and all into the trash, but we found one definite keeper: Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies from Everyday Food Magazine.  I adapted it slightly for Passover and taste (see recipe below).

My biggest experiment for this year was to make Kosher for Passover Fondant.  I admit, throughout the rest of the year I purchase premade fondant.  It takes a lot of work to make homemade fondant and with so many delicious kosher options I just don't see the point.  However, Passover is different, and it is impossible to find many items that have been certified Kosher for Passover, especially cake and cookie decorating products.  But, for some reason, I always seem to make friends with people who have birthdays over Passover, and I always want to make a person's birthday special.  This year a family we knew was celebrating two birthdays over Passover.  The mother, and her baby's first birthday. Determined to provide beautiful birthday cakes, I set out on a mission: to make a homemade, tasty, kosher for Passover fondant.  It was a challenge and the recipe needs a little work to make it less finicky, but as you can see, I succeeded!

The Cherry Blossom cake shown above was for the mother, and the adults shared this cake.  And, since every baby needs a special cake to feed themselves, the cupcake below, was for the baby.

As promised, here is the wonderful cookie recipe we tried this year.

Flourless Double-Chocolate Pecan Cookies

Makes 12 large cookies.

• 3 cups kosher for Passover confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (spooned and leveled)
• Pinch of salt
• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (or other type of nut)
• 4 large egg whites, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa, and salt. Stir in chocolate and pecans. Add egg whites and stir just until incorporated (do not overmix).
2. Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls, 3 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets. Bake until cookie tops are dry and crackled, about 25 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely. (To store, keep in an airtight container, up to 3 days.) 

Ideas for Passover

Around the world Jews are focusing on Passover. The grocery stores are filling with huge packages of matzo, potato starch and other specialty foods for the holiday. At our house the annual discussions have begun. Which recipe did we like last year? Or, hate, for that matter? Did we find a new product we liked? (We still can't find a salad dressing we like). But, in our house of course, the most important discussion is what desserts we will serve.

Maybe you are wondering just how many options there can be for Passover desserts, but let me assure you, Passover desserts are NOT limited to coconut macaroons, meringues, or flourless chocolate tortes. We enjoy a can or two of macaroons over the course of Passover, and I have a candied ginger meringue cookie that will knock your socks off! It's just that there are more options out there! But please, do NOT include the pre-packaged mass marketed cakes that were made who knows when on your dessert list!! Take the same amount of money and apply it to some basic ingredients to make a great homemade dessert.

Here is a recipe for a Walnut Torte with Coffee Cream. This is my favorite Passover dessert! The original recipe came from the Epicurious Website. I have modified it to be non-dairy since most people serve meat for the Seder meal, but if you prefer to serve dairy, the original recipe is here.

Kosher for Passover Walnut Torte with Coffee Cream

(use only Kosher for Passover ingredients)

* 5 ounces ground walnuts or 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons walnuts, ground as recipe instructs
* 4 large eggs, separated
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
* 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
* 1 teaspoon instant coffee crystals dissolved in 2 teaspoons parve whipping cream
* 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
* Walnut halves, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. If using ground walnuts skip step 2.

2. Using coarse grating disc (with large holes), grate walnuts in processor. Remove grating disc, leaving walnuts in processor bowl. Fit processor with metal blade. Using on/off turns, grind walnuts until finely ground but not pasty.

3. Spray with non-stick spray, bottom (not sides) of 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until well blended. Stir ground walnuts into yolk mixture. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into nut mixture in 2 additions. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

4. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Run knife between cake and pan sides to loosen; remove pan sides. Cool cake completely on rack (cake will fall in center). (Cake can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.)

5. Using electric mixer, beat cream, powdered sugar, coffee mixture, and vanilla in large bowl until peaks form. Spread coffee whipped cream onto top of cake. Arrange walnut halves in pattern, if desired. Cut cake into wedges.

Purim Treats!

Well, Purim is over and I have time again to post. Each year, to my family's delight, I try new variations on hamantaschen. This year was no exception and we definitely discovered some new favorites! I can see that Pecan Pie and Dark Chocolate Mint will be yearly additions to our repertoire. To inspire you, here are the flavors we made this year:



If you have never experimented with hamantaschen I would encourage you to do so. They are tasty and the only limit to the filling type is your imagination or preference. Martha Stewart's recipe happens to be pretty good. Or you can try Arthur Schwartz's recipe from his cookbook, Jewish Home Cooking, which comes with directions for a chocolate filling. Just one note, you will have much more success with preserves or thick jam, rather than jelly. The jelly gets too hot in the oven causing it to boil over the sides leaving a sticky mess.

Have fun!

Mount Sinai Bar Mitzvah Cake

Last weekend some dear friends celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their only son. My daughter and I flew back to North Carolina to make a special cake in honor of the event. The cake represents part of the boy's Torah portion, where it describes God descending on Mt. Sinai to give the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people. The Torah says "there were thunder claps and lightning flashes, and a thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very powerful blast of a shofar.....Mount Sinai smoked because the Lord had descended upon it in fire." Finally, Jewish tradition says that even though the mountain was in the desert, it bloomed when God spoke.

For those interested in the specifics, this cake measured 22" high by 18" wide. Half the cake was Yellow cake with a Lemon Swiss Meringue "Butter"cream, and the other half was Dark Chocolate cake with a Vanilla Swiss Meringue "Butter"cream. The "Butter"creams were actually nondairy so it could be served after a meat meal. The cake was covered with ganache and then fondant. We used dry ice to create the smoke after verifying that this was acceptable to do on Shabbos. This is definitely one of my best cakes. Thanks for the help Naomi and Kathryn!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog on one of my passions: making edible art. I am truly a beginner, learning as I go, but I have such a good time that I wanted to share. Mostly I make cakes and cookies, but I hope to branch out into sugar art sometime soon.