A sweet affaire, come bake with Chefany!

James Durbin's wedding cake and other cake matters...

2012-01-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

Since it has been almost one year since I have written a word... I thought I might begin by sharing some of my lastest greatest creations! I will also add some tips and tricks I used to make the cakes beautiful in case any of you are interested in cake decorating and like the designs that I fashioned.
First of all my big thrill of the year! James and Heidi Durbin's wedding cake!
If you are not familiar with them, James was on Season 10 of American Idol and really should have won if you ask me but all is fair since he came in forth, got a record deal, sold 40,000 records the first two weeks it came out and was recently married to the love of his life and the mother of his beautiful little boy!
I had the extraordinary opportunity to make their wedding cake!
First of all, I would like to share with you the inspiration for the design:

Heidi, his wife has Faithfully on hers and James has Forever Yours on his. Both are lyrics from the Journey song "Faithfully. Kinda romantic... even if you don't like tattoos, right?
So here is the cake:

She wanted something more romantic and feminine and he a bit more rock and roll, so I came up with this idea! it embodies both and is very personal as well. I was thrilled to be part of their special day!

So here is how I did it:
First you should know that this is a buttercream cake NOT fondant icing!
Second the ribbon around the bottom is real satin ribbon this way if you client doesn't really like fondant, the ribbon can be easily removed.
Lastly the lettering I made with black fondant that I bought already colored, way easier than trying to make black!
I made each letter by hand by rolling out each little piece and forming the letters on a marked "cutting mat" that has graphic measurements on it so I can make sure the letters are all the same size.
I followed the picture of the tattoos for the main words and found a website with fancy lettering for tattoos to design the initials on the bottom layer.
I then used a white luster dust to highlight each letter making them pop even more.
After letting them dry for a couple of days, I assembled them piece by piece. By that I mean that each line was separate from the others in the letter. For instance, the F has a top line, a middle line and smaller curly lines for accent. Each one was placed on the cake separately. I did not glue them together until they went on the cake. This way I could prevent cracking as I tried to place flat letters around a round surface. It worked beautifully!

They were so happy with the cake that the bride emailed me at 2:30 AM on her wedding night to tell me so! And if that were not enough, on Monday January 9th 2012 People magazine did an article on the wedding with a video showing them cutting the cake and then they mentioned The Cake Shoppe by Chefany as the creator of the cake!! Wooooo HOOOO!!!

Swiss meringue buttercream...It's about time I wrote something!!!

2011-02-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

I know, I know it's been a couple of months since I have written a word... I have multitudes of excuses... Wanna hear them? Now? No? oh... ok then I will just apologize and get on with it!
How about if I answer the tons of questions that I get about how I get such smooth and shiny icing on my cupcakes and how I make my wedding cakes so straight and smooth?
Ah, you like that idea... great! I will also share some of the beautiful cakes I have been making lately!

This one has fondant icing but the next one is Swiss Meringue buttercream.

This is the Buttercream cake with real ribbon on it and fresh flowers.

I prefer to use European style buttercreams such as the Swiss meringue and the Italian meringue but I also like a french style butterceam which uses a pastry cream and butter combo. This one is highly perishable however so I hesitate to use it on any cake that has to sit out at room temp for more than 4 hours.
I will give you some tips I have learned about how to be successful with these types of real buttercreams.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
Makes about 4 cups
4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened, cut into tablespoons

2 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).
Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add flavoring and continue beating 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles.

This recipe can be doubled or tripled with no problem!

Sounds easy enough, eh? Well, it is when you understand the method and what it takes to not get either "cottage cheese" or "butter soup"... my pet names for the common problems.

Both problems are fixable but you need to know what happened in order to fix it right?

The first problem, "cottage cheese", is when your meringue and butter are to cold to emulsify or incorporate properly. The important thing to remember when putting the butter into the meringue is they need to be about the same temperature. If the butter is too cold and the meringue cooled to room temperature then you will get very stiff or even broken buttercream. This can be remedied by adding a bit of heat to your bowl and whisking. You can either put the bowl over low heat while whisking by hand or leaving it on the mixer get out your little brulee torch and torch the bottom of the bowl moving the flame around not leaving it one place to actually melt the butter but to warm it so they smooth out and mix together properly.

This comes to the "soup" problem... too much heat and the butter melts into the meringue giving you a buttercream that never seems to thicken up. This can be remedied by putting the bowl of buttercream in the refrigerator and letting it stiffen up in there, usually overnight so give yourself plenty of time the first time you make this ...just in case... Pull the bowl out and put it back on the mixer with a whisk. Put it on low speed and let it go until it smooths out and comes together. This may take 5-10 minutes so be patient! If it looks like it is not coming together after that amount of time then you can add a bit of heat to the bowl, being careful not to over heat it again!

NEVER throw your buttercream away if it isn't right!! That's a lot of butter!! Try to fix it and if you are feeling desperate that nothing is working then you can add a bit more butter to it! Use it as a filling by adding some melted unsweetened chocolate to it... it will taste great but it will be hidden in the center rather on the outside. To reassure you though, you CAN fix most any problems with buttercream by being patient and understanding how this all works!

In search of the perfect vanilla butter cake

2010-11-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

I love butter cake! The problem I have now is that I want to make vanilla butter cupcakes and it seems they dry out on me too quickly. Yes, I can put a sugar soak on them but I don't want to add more sweetness only moisture.
I have tried several recipes and this one seems to work out the best for texture, taste and shelf life. But I still would like it a bit more moist. What I do to fix this is pipe a filling into each and every cupcake. This mimics what we do with layer cakes anyway so I find it to be the best solution for my issue with dryness.
This mixing method I use to produce the moist, light and buttery cake is the two stage.
It is a bit different than most recipes in that you mix together the dry ingredients with the fat/butter before adding any of the liquid/milk and eggs. What this does is coat the flour particles with fat creating tenderness. Then you whip it up to add air cells and viola! You have a light and tender cake.
Starting with your ingredients:

For the best mixing have all your ingredients at room temperature especially the butter! Butter creams the best at 70 degrees F. I have added the vanilla to the milk since it is distributed better in fat.

Then add your butter and dry ingredients with just a tiny bit of the milk. This creates a kind of thick paste for batter. Be sure and scrape the bowl with each addition of liquid or you will have a very lumpy and uneven batter and hence a lousy cake.

Add the rest of the liquid ingredient in two parts, scraping in between each. The batter should look very smooth and creamy and slightly loose... not runny just a bit loose.

This cake will rise well so don't over fill the pans. I usually fill about 2/3 of the way.

You can see the nice the airy texture.

Nice large crumbs produce a tender cake. Now all you need is a fabulous buttercream!! And here is the final product... aren't you hungry now :)

This is a rich chocolate buttercream on top of the butter cake and I piped a dark chocolate ganache in the center...mmmmmm....c h o o o c o l a t e....

And here is the recipe for Vanilla Butter Cake!

3/4 cup sugar

1 2/3 cup AP flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter (room temp.)

2 whole eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add the soft butter and half the milk.

Mix on medium speed until thick and smooth.

In a small bowl mix together the eggs, the rest of the milk, and the vanilla.

Wisk until blended.

With the mixer on low speed add half the egg/milk mixture and when it is blended in turn up on medium high for 30 seconds. Scrape the side of the bowl well and add the rest of the egg mix. Again mix slowly until just blended and this time turn the mixer on high for 10 seconds.

Scrape the sides and if there are lumps mix briefly until the batter is smooth and silky.

Bake in cupcake pans for 15 - 18 minutes at 350F. It makes about 18 cupcakes.

Top with your favorite icing.

Enjoy!

Speaking of Inspirations...

2010-10-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

Last week was the most inspiring week I have had in ages...First I went to Las Vegas for the IBIE Bakery Showcase and with that was the US chocolate competition where 6 chocolatiers/pastry chefs competed for the US title to go to France for the World competition. Also, a bread competition for the title to go to the Coupe de Monde in France next year. AND a Pillsbury cake decoration competition that was not so inspiring but still interesting... all piped buttercream type decorating.
The most fun I had in Vegas was the tour we got (because someone knows someone) of the Wynn Hotel's pastry kitchens...and when I say plural kitchens I mean they have a kitchen for each department. They have the pastry kitchen, the chocolate kitchen, the dessert kitchen, the cake room, the dough room within each state of the art equipment and so clean you could eat off the floor during production!! Amazing! I wish I had had the opportunity to work at a place like that when I was just up and coming!
Here is a pic I took in the cake room...and the story gets better after this!

The following weekend I went to Tulsa Oklahoma for Kerry Vincent's Sugar Art show! All the cakes were both beautiful and intimidating...the work, the talent!! But with all the categories that are available to enter in there is hope for any cake decorator at any level to enter. They even have kids categories!
The most weird and amazing thing that happened though is that when they announced the Grand Master Wedding Cake winner they told her story first and mentioned she was the cake decorator at the Wynn Hotel in Vegas!! I had just met her!! So I ran up to her to tell her this and congratulated her and of course this was far more exciting to me than to her but none the less I found it a fab coincidence!
I then remembered the picture I took at the Wynn in the cake room and because I forgot my camera...errrr... I had to buy those throw away cameras to get some shots of the trip. I ran to the store to have them developed and when I got the pics... well...here is the winning cake... weird, huh?

Completely unaware I had taken a picture of the winning cake the week before she was to drive it out to Oklahoma for the competition! She surely deserved the win!! The girl is an artist!
BTW, the theme this year was Mansions and Monasteries.

Ok, I know it has been way too long since I last blogged and I apologize... with the cake shop and teaching and my regular life I have been a bit busy.
One of my followers asked me to video blog my croissants and I think that is brilliant. I plan on working on that soon! It may take awhile but I will find the time!

With that suggestion I got the idea of asking all of you what else I might do that you would like to see being made? A student asked for the cake decorating page, did that....being an instructor I like to teach what others want to learn...

So please!! Write to me... let me know what it is you want to learn and I will do what I can to comply!

Inspirations...

2010-08-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

This is where I live. Eight blocks inland in an old neighborhood in Santa Cruz. I have lived here for 40 years now and am still inspired by the beauty, ocean smell, the fresh produce and generally healthy lifestyles of the folks who live here. People make fun of Santa Cruz saying it is a "Hippie" town and that we are all "Veggies" and "Tree huggers"... well, who cares! Let them laugh....I live in paradise! I am not a vegetarian, no longer a hippie, and well as far as a tree hugger...ok, I own that one :)

Living in an inspirational location I get ideas from nature and the surrounding areas for cake concepts. The ocean is an amazing inspiration. It has not only the colors of the sky, water and earth but it creatures and shells, the rolling sands and waves, and then the myths that go with it's glory. So here is a cake where I took the ocean as my inspiration and since so many folks want to perform their nuptials in this area I thought it would be a great window display for the shoppe!

The photograph was taken by Royce at BlurredLine photography. He is amazing with lighting and just capturing little moments that really make a photo something special. THANKS Royce! You should check out the website if you like photographs. He did some amazing shots at the World Pastry Cup last month!

As far as the Ocean Themed cake goes....there is a mermaid at the top I am carefully placing... I used fondant and gum paste as my mediums. Some things like the waves that stand out from the sides of the cake and the dolphins are all gum paste but other things like the shells are a mixture of gum paste and fondant. This buys me time for making details since gum paste drys out so quickly.

Another inspiration I have here is the fabulous farmers markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I can always check out what is in season and perfectly fresh and ripe around here. Summer time is the time for fruit and berries are going all around me so I adore making strawberry desserts and here is a classic with a more modern decoration. I made the little wild strawberries on top out of marzipan. I colored some green and some red and then took a tiny bit and made it a darker green for the foliage. The cake is a vanilla chiffon filled with a classic bavarian and whole cut strawberries. I placed half cut ones on the edges of the cake so you can see them when it is out of the mould. I then spead a thin coat of buttercream on top and rolled out the light green marzipan, cutting it to size I placed it on top of the cake. I then made a nice arrangement of the little strawberries and free hand cut leaves. I rolled a bit of the dark green into thin ropes for the vines and viola! you have a lovely strawberry bagatelle or frasier. Whatever you want to call it ... it is a fabulous summer dessert! Sometimes I like to scent the bavarian cream with a tiny amount of rose water for just that little something something!

So now I go out into the world to look for more inspirations. They are all around us, we only need to keep our eyes open!

I am very excited to go to Las Vegas and Oklahoma at the end of September for a bakery showcase and then the Oklahoma Sugar art show! Talking about inspiration!! It just gets my juices flowing to see what amazing art folks are doing with food and sugar. Although my home is a good source, the world at large is soooo much more inspiring and fascinating for ideas. I can't wait! And just think of the blogs I will come up with and photos too! YOU should be excited too.. and even better come on down to one of these shows! The Oklahoma Sugarart show has been going for many many years and is now HUGE due to the overwhelming popularity of cake decorating...and thanks to all the cake shows on TV.

Here is Mercedes Strachwsky's winning entry from last year...guess what the theme was! :)

Look at the incredible detail of the underwater scene between the bottom layers!! And the delicate and beautiful mermaid... kinda makes mine look like a bag lady... LOL.

Can't wait to see this years entries!! The theme is mansions and monasteries.

So you want to make croissants??!

2010-08-07T23:33:00.000-07:00

MMMMmmmmmm...making me hungry!

Consistent buttery layers with a crispy flakey outer layer and moist rich goodness inside. First thing in the morning with raspberry jam and a pot of hot dark coffee served with cream.... ahhhh yes... this reminds me of Paris! But you can make the a croissant as good as they make in Paris with just a bit of knowledge, patience and the right technique.
A good formula will have 30%-50% butter to flour ratio. This will help to determine how many layers are needed to create the flakiness in a croissant. The more butter, the more flavor but also the more delicate the structure of the layers as you do the turns needed to give you the right results. Am I getting to technical?
I hope that you are enjoying the info and can be a better baker by understanding the entire process of making the perfect croissant. You can do it at home even if I use professional equipment, I can help you to recreate what you need using what you have on hand.
The recipe is not that complicated and has relatively few ingredients. It is all technique in rolling, turning and forming these babies! Of course the rising, glazing and baking are crucial as well. There are tons of recipes using various amounts of butter. The one ingredient that I rarely see but have worked with is a croissant dough containing eggs. It is extremely important to not over mix the dough before adding the larger quantity of butter. Since you are rolling and folding the dough four times (the "turns"), you don't want to develop too much gluten at the beginning of the process or in the end your dough will be tough.

There are so many recipes for croissants and they all if given enough butter and the dough's right consistency, you ought to have success if following the proper steps. I am going to share what I know about making the little delights.

Here are the ingredients for a classic style croissant: All purpose or bread flour, yeast, milk, sugar, salt, yeast and of course lots and lots of unsalted butter.

You may find some with more or less sugar and the butter can vary in quantity but NEVER EVER substitute margarine for butter unless you are vegan and eat such unholiness... so very sorry to my vegan friends, but I just find it a very bad substitute for butter... I don't know how I would live in a world without butter!! I could give up meat (if I really had to for health reasons) and wheat flour too but butter...oh I hate to even imagine...

Anyway, I digress. I put the ingredients into the mixing bowl in this order for easy mixing.

First the milk and yeast, on top of that in this order I add: the flour, sugar, salt and the small measurement of butter on top. Turn on the mixer with a hook attachment already in place and mix first slow speed and then medium speed for a total time of 3 minutes. If you are doing this by hand, then put the ingredients in a very large mixing bowl in the same order and begin mixing with a wooden spoon, in small circles in the middle of the mixture. This will begin to get impossible to do by hand so you will want to pour it out onto a wooden or granite work surface and knead it until all the ingredients are mixed in but stop at that point. Do not overmix with either the mixer or by hand!

Flatten the dough out into a rectangular piece even in thickness throughout. Now wrap it up with a sheet of plastic and put it in the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes. In the meantime, prepare you butter block.

All that butter you saw in the second photo is what we use to make the block. Sprinkle about one ounce of flour on your work surface. Lay the cold butter out on the flour and using a rolling pin, preferably a french pin that has no handles, and begin to beat the butter into submission. This way you can guarantee that you will not have lumps in the butter and it has a smooth pliable consistency.

Ideally you will have a dough and butter block that are the exact same consistency. This way the butter will roll out into smooth and even layers between the dough.

Once your butter is soft and pliable roll it out into a sheet will fit over

half your dough, leaving 1/2" on three sides to seal it in the dough. The sheet of butter should be about 1/2" thick and you can use either two pieces of parchment or more flour to keep it from sticking while rolling it out. The paper works the best since you can just peel one layer off the butter and then pick up the butter on the paper putting it down on the dough in the perfect place. Easy to handle and less messy too!

Fold the other half of the dough over the butter layer and seal up the edges by pinching them together. Don't leave too much around the edges or you will have a strip of dough that gets much less butter than the rest. This can cause tough, shiny and not flaky layers on the top of the croissants when finished. Not desirable at all! The idea is to get as many perfect layers of butter and dough as possible. Another way you can cause uneven layers is to be sloppy with the turns. Be sure and stretch the corners out to the edges of the dough. Do not force them but if you have been rolling nice even rectangles and a corner or two are a bit rounded at the corners, take the time to straighten them out to ensure that butter is spread evenly. These little details will make a lot of difference in the end. I promise!

Never count the butter lock-in as a turn on the dough it is merely placing the butter into the dough. Usually three letter folds are given with a 20 minute rest in between each one. A letter fold can be called a three fold or a single fold. Do not get confused these are all names for the same fold. It has three layers and is folded like you fold a letter into three parts. Once the dough is turned three times it can be wrapped and ideally it should be frozen and then thawed in the refrigerator the day before you form them and bake them. This will keep the dough very cold while you roll it out and then form them into pastries.

I cut a strip that is 9" in width and the base of each croissant if 4". You want to then cut a one inch slit in the wide bottom of each piece. Fold the inside edge of the cut slit out to the outside corner of the piece. Then begin to roll it up and at the same time stretching the pointed end out a bit to get a nice tight roll up.

To rise them correctly it is best to egg wash them now and then again before they go into the oven to achieve that nice shine. They will not form a skin on the top if you are ambient proofing.

You need a warm place to rise the dough but not too warm or you will melt the butter out of the layers and literally fry the croissants in the oven. You can create this in your oven by turning it on low (170F) and then turing it off. Leave the door of the oven ajar so the heat is not locked in and if you have an oven thermometer make sure it is not above 100F. If you have a spray bottle mist the inside of the oven before you put the croissants in it. You can hand a wet towel over the opening of the oven keeping the oven door open. If you house is heavily air conditioned, this is not a great thing for making any type of breads. They need warmth and humidity to rise properly so this is what we are trying to create.

You can see how nicely these have risen. Puffy but not doubled in size only half again the size. Overproofing makes the dough bready and uninteresting.

One place that is not a good proofing location is on top of the stove while the oven is heating below. Why? Because it will get way to hot on the bottom of your pan causing butter to melt....noooooooo

Bake your croissants until they are a nice Maui brown color. No pale, white streaked croissants please. The brown color is the caramelization of the sugars and starches in the product and that hold so much of the flavor. Be brave don't pull them out the minute you see some golden brown color! Go for it! Brown them up nicely and taste the difference! Geeze...I sound like a friggin' commercial...sorry...

These are ham and cheese. You make these by cutting 4-5" square pieces and rolling up chunks of ham and swiss cheese inside before baking.... oh yea! Breakfast!

I sure hope I could demystify some information for you! If you have questions don't hesitate to ask!

Cake decorating 102

2010-07-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

Moving on... next I will show you the reverse shell. Hold your bag at a 30 degree angle but slant it back toward you instead of to the side. There are two ways of doing this one. One shell at a time or a continuous motion. Try both and do what suits you best.

Squeeze out the icing and then curl around to the left then pull straight out to the side making a curl with a tail. Then beginning right on the end of the last one pipe a curl going to the right. One is curled up and the other curled down. Now try doing this in one continuous motion, curl around left, pull out then right pull out...keep going...

Let's try the emotion next. This is easier just make a small curl and pull out a little and the curl and pull out. In one continuous line.

Here you can see I did it with both the large tip and then with a small #21 tip.

Now we will do the rosette. Keep this one tight for a more consistent appearance.

Holding your bag vertical to the cake (or table) squeeze out, wrap around, release but keep the motion going around so the tail wraps around.

And the last one is the fluer de lis. Doing this one on the table is much different than on a cake. If you are making it on top of the cake the movement is similar but if you want it on the side of the cake you need to make it so it hangs down. This looks better and you can cover the end at the edge of the cake this way.

First pipe out a long tailed shell. Then like on the reverse shell pipe one curl on one side of the shell overlapping the end with the end of the shell and then on the other side curl the other way and overlapping the end on top of the last two...

Ok, so now you have several boarders you can pipe onto your cake. Here is what it looks like piping directly onto the edge of a cake. Remember to stay just on the edge. Don't go to far over or your boarder will drop off and don't go inside or you will use up all your space for flowers and writing!

Happy decorating! And check out Aprils page she took all these great photos for me.

http://aprilshomecooking.blogspot.com

Cake decorating 101

2010-07-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to have a very good photographer in my last cake decorating class at Cabrillo! She took blow by blow shots of what I was demonstrating so I can post this and you can use it as a guide for practicing. One of my current students at the PCI said to me the other day that she is a very visual learner and wished I had a video of the demo she could refer to. I then remembered these great photos! So YEAH, why not write a blog for all you who want to improve their piping skills!
Here we go, but keep in mind two things... one I am icing a styrofoam dummy cake, and two I am using a huge tip for demonstration purposes. You should be using a #21 or any small star tip in the 20-30 number range.

Icing the cake is probably the most difficult part of cake decorating. You must learn to properly use the icing tools. Whether you prefer the icing spatula or the icing blade. It takes the proper amount of pressure to get a smooth and even icing. When applying the icing you want to use a firm pressure but when smoothing you lighten up on the spatula. Use the tip of the spatula to apply and then the edge to smooth. Even if you switch to the icing blade the slanted edge will give you the smooth surface you want.

Once you have a smooth and even icing you need to be able to pipe consistent boarders. This takes practice using the piping bag and tips. Here I will show you how to use the star tip in several ways.

Holding the bag properly will help you get consistent piping.

Never fill your bag more than half full! Twist the top of the bag tightly and hold the twisted top between your thumb and first finger then wrap the other three fingers around the ball of icing at the top of the bag. Squeeze from the tips of your fingers to the palm of your hand. With the opposite hand guide but do NOT squeeze as you pipe out your design. Keep the bag twisted tightly as you use up the icing.

This is the simple shell. Holding your bag at a 25 degree angle squeeze out, push forward very slightly pull back and then release. Pipe several lines of this to practice until you can make them all the same size and shape. Whether you want short little shells or long large ones it doesn't matter what matters is that they are all the same!

I have twenty some photos so I am going to write this blog is sections so you can choose which one is best for your level. Next I will post reverse shell, rosette, and e-motion. Then the last one will be putting these to use on the edge of your cake! Stay tuned!

We're open!!

2010-06-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Hey all. we opened today with mini cakes to sell! I am calling them Petits Gâteaux...what do you think?

Little cakes is the translation, if you don't speak French. Do you think it is too foreign? I kinda like it, really. It seems cultured and refined. I want my cakes to reflect quality and refinement. Does this work for you? Please let me know... comment on this subject. It means the world to me!

So when you walk inside you will be subjected to fabulous cupcakes or just chatting with one of us. We are three fabulous women who have been in the wedding business for many years. Myself, who has been making wedding cakes in the Central Coast area for over 35 years. My partner Marty who has been a photographer for many years this area and Andrea who not only caters but also co-ordinates weddings. We have tons of local referals for music, flowers, invitations, and much much more.

If you want a one stop shop for weddings or major events we are the place to go!

Come see us: Thursday - Sunday Noon - 7 pm or so... :) still figuring it out :))

The cupcakes, Petits Gateaux, will be available during our open hours and the flavors will change weekly.

One for $3 or 2 for $5 or 6 for $15.... give them a try we have flavors like salted caramel, carrot ginger, lemon meringue, I want s'more (guess what that is!), and the chocolate "mostess" cupcake.

Win chocolate for one year!

2010-06-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

Guess the Origin Contest for more info on Armano chocoates and the contest click on this link!

This contest is from Armano chocolates a small artisan chocolate maker. They came to the school a couple of years ago and I was privileged to try several of their single origin chocolates.
This contest is for the chocolate savvy! You must be able to identify the origin of the chocolate by looking at this photo!

But if you do they will send you 10 bars of chocolate for a month for one year!

My new web page!

2010-06-10T00:30:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know that my dear Kathy re-created my web page for me!
It's now about my cake shoppe and my new business. Please go check it out and tell me what you think. It is much different than the old one. I like it because it is cleaner and easier to navigate.
www.chefany.com is the address if you haven't already been there.
We are closer to opening the doors for business... perhaps this weekend! Here you see one of my partners painting the walls. She did all the painting... bless her!

I am excited and only hope I can keep my energy up for both my jobs because teaching is a passion I am not able to walk away from at this point in my life. But creating incredible cakes is great fun and I get lots of creative juices flowing by decorating.
The kitchen is just too fun as well. I am baking in Russo's kitchen on Fern St. and it turns out that three of the old time bakers that have been around here as long as I have are working out of this kitchen too. So I feel like I am home. I guess I will have to photograph the kitchen as well.

For now though I have this shot of my table at the event I did last weekend with my other partner who sold her chocolate sauces. Unfortunately, there were several huge events going on at the same time and it was so very hot outside my cupcakes began to melt and there just were not enough folks to make it worth hanging out so I took the cupcakes back to the bakery and froze them. I then decided to use them as a marketing tool and I walked around downtown to my new neighbors and gave away goodies! I made a lot of people's day, I'll tell you!

Cake decorating with Chef Walter Howald

2010-05-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

I have the great pleasure to work with Chef Walter Howald who has been in this industry for .... well... for longer than I have been on this earth and he is still passionate and excited to share his knowledge and expertise with myself and my students. He is great fun to watch since he constantly reminds the students that, "decorating is like a dance, stay loose!" and, "you won't get better without practice, I wasn't born with this, you know!" Even though he does it like he had a pastry bag in his hand at birth!

My students are always riveted to his hands as he works. They say I make it look easy but he makes it look effortless and always so much fun! I only hope to keep my passion alive as long as he has...it seems to be staying strong but I can only hope to be as lively and enthusiastic as he is as I go even older...

He showed us this great technique using coating chocolate and ice that he had made in a half sphere mold.

Piping the chocolate over the ice back and forth to form long strands and then when it has set up in just a few seconds he lifts it off the ice and forms a flower.

And then he makes a second one and places it in the first one to strengthen and enhance the flower. Finally he places a fondant pansy he had made and dried in the center for color.

The butterflies he makes are all out of chocolate. He uses a template that he has made and on a sheet of acetate he pipes first the chocolate lines and then when they have set the white chocolate with color added. After the wings have set up then he attaches the wings together with dark chocolate to form the body. The butterflies add a lot of dimension and color to a cake.

His piped buttercream designs are not only fun and colorful but they add a theme to a cake for whatever occasion that might be happening.

Here we have a poodle and a bear, great for kids cakes.

I love the way he enhances his writing with flourishes and curls.

My class loved him so much they had to have a group shot with Walter.

Thank you so much Walter for sharing your passion with all of us!!!

The CAKE SHOPPE! Coming soon!

2010-05-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

It is really happening! I am opening a business downtown Santa Cruz called the Wedding Stop and Cake Shoppe! It will be a full service business for couples needing resources and services for their special day! I am going into this venture with two dear friends and colleagues. Marty Ryhanych of New View Photography and Andrea Mollenauer of Lifestyle Culinary Arts catering and wedding co-ordinating. I will have Chefany's cakes at the Cake Shoppe and we will have many other referrals to offer the happy couple. We are promoting local businesses and offering discounts to couples who choose more than three of our services. I am also going to start something kind of new, around here anyway...
CAKE RENTALS! Funny, I know... this is how it works; A couple doesn't have a budget for a large custom decorated wedding cake but wants to have one to show on display... I have pre-made "fake" cakes that I rent to the couple and then I add one real layer to it and have the rest in the kitchen for service. This should cut the cost of a fancy cake by half and allow the couple a beautiful cake to display. The guests will never know because after the first slice is cut by the couple the caterers come and whisk it away to the kitchen for cutting and service. Out comes the cut up cake and no one is the wiser!
OF COURSE, I will provide the best tasting cake made with organic flour and the freshest ingredients and will make the cake of the couples dreams if they can afford the cost of a real cake. But I thought so many today are on a strict budget and I want to offer services that can help them make their day beautiful and affordable too!

I am also taking orders for special occasion cakes and custom themed cakes too! I will not have cakes for sale only special orders but am hoping to get into making more of the sculpted and custom style cakes like my Ratatouille cake! I will have a minimum because with all this, I am not quitting my day job! I love teaching too much to give it up so I am doing this with help and mostly weekend orders. So I will not be making small birthday cakes, for that we have several fabulous bakeries in the area that have them offered fresh daily.
So tell me please... have I lost my ever loving mind or what??? I think this will fulfill my creative urges not met in the classroom. I think watching all those cake competition shows got to me too! Not that I want to compete but I just love putting together unique cakes that people love to eat!

Successfully making vanilla genoise

2010-05-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

This cake is the most delicate and difficult cake to make successfully. Well, in my ever so humble opinion anyway! I believe that if you are armed with the tricks and tips to making it correctly you can and will be successful!! It may take a couple of times making it, but do not get discouraged. Part of what makes this cake difficult is that you need to know what to look for and if you haven't made it... So I will provide some photographs to help you understand what it is you need to know about this fine and delicate batter.
I don't want to scare you, only give you the info you need to make it work but somehow in imparting these directions I tend to freak folks out so I am putting out a disclaimer right now...this is NOT my intention :)
Here is the formula and following will be the detailed but not scary instructions:
I am using Rose's formula since it comes out so beautifully light and airy, not the typical dry and grainy of the classic genoise. But I have added some of my tips on making a perfect genoise.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or browned for that extra nutty flavor)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large eggs
1/2 cup fine sugar
1/2 cup sifted cake flour (sift before measuring)
1/2 cup minus one Tablespoon sifted cornstarch (again sift before measuring)
Now sift the two together.

For this cake you will need two 9" x 2" round cake pans coated with baking spray and the bottom lined with parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 350F
Melt the butter, add the vanilla and keep warm.

Place the eggs and sugar in a metal bowl and combine with a whisk. Place the bowl with the eggs and sugar over a pan of simmering water. With the whisk, stir the eggs constantly until they reach about 100F which is just above body temperature. Make sure the sugar has broken down and you can tell this by rubbing a bit of the batter between your thumb and first finger to see if you can feel any sugar granules. If you do then continue stirring just a minute or so more making sure you don't curdle the eggs by over heating them.

Attach the whip to your standing mixer and whip the mixture on high speed for about 5 minutes or until quadrupled in volume, it should look very thick and airy and make a ribbon when the whip is pulled out of the batter.

Remove almost one cup of the egg mixture and whisk it into the melted butter.
Sift about half the flour mixture over the eggs and with a balloon whisk or spatula gently but rapidly fold in the flour. Repeat until all the flour has been folded in. Be very careful to not overmix at this point. You do not want to deflate the eggs mixture. Now gently fold in the butter mixture just until incorporated. When you are folding make sure you reach all the way to the bottom of the bowl to ensure you have mixed all the flour in. Make sure all the traces of flour have been mixed in... but again, do not over do it! When you stop seeing flour, stop folding! Gently pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Do not move the batter about in the pan. It will fall out and it should fill the pan about 3/4 of an inch to the top if you haven't deflated the eggs.

Bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Avoid opening the oven door for the first 20 minutes. Test toward the end of the baking time and just crack the oven door a bit to peak in and see if it is done. Touch the center of the cake with one finger if it leaves a finger print it is not done. Leave it in for 5 more minutes.
When the cake comes out of the oven, run a small paring knife between the sides of the pan and the cake to release the cake from the pan. Invert the cake onto a wire cooling rack. Cool completely. It should be 2" high with a nice flat top.
This is a most versatile cake. It loves cake syrups with flavorings such as Grand Marnier or lemon juice. It goes well with soft icings like whipped cream. curds or mousse fillings. Have fun and make a cake today!

The first day of cake decorating class, chiffon cake and swiss buttercream

2010-04-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

I have been an instructor at Cabrillo College since 1989. When I accepted the position at the school that I teach at in Campbell in 2005, I gave up all my classes to a wonderful instructor that has enhanced the program with her enthusiasm and knowledge. I have missed the community feeling that I had when teaching at a local community college. I love the small classes that I teach now but the larger and more local classes are fun with folks who know each other and share experiences as well as their projects and kitchens.

I am back for one eight week course, teaching cake decorating and just loving the excitement of the students to learn from me! On the first day, I brought in a cake, some icing and filling. I cut filled and decorated the cake you see here. For those decorating enthusiasts, I will go over what I demonstrated on the first day of class, with a few pictures to enhance the story.

I began with cutting a 10" chiffon cake in three layers, showing the students how to correctly use the serrated knife and turntable. The next step which is optional depending on what filling you are using for your cake, is to paint a simple syrup onto each layer. Simple syrup is just that, one part sugar to one part water brought to a boil and then shut off and cooled. Flavors such as liqueur or fruit juices can be added for flavor but the plain syrup will add sweetness and moisture to your cake, preventing it from drying out.

I then flavored my buttercream with a fortified caramel that I had made by just mixing the two together with a whisk. I always flavor my icings according to taste since each cake will have it's own characteristics and this one I wanted to have a good caramel flavor to the icing to compliment the raspberry jam filling that I add.

I know, I know, you want the recipes, right??? I will post them at the end just for YOU!

When the icing is all whipped up then I ice the cake with a smooth and even icing. As I do this I always hear moans and groans from the class since I "make it look so easy". WELL, it's my job!! Icing a cake is probably the most difficult part of cake decorating. It takes practice and messing up before it comes easy. So practice, practice, practice! This means you get to make many cakes, so what's wrong with that???

Using a hot knife when you get it to an even place will remove all those last little spatula marks to make a very smooth coating.

Then you begin to decorate what you wish. I demonstrated several different techniques to get the class pumped up to practice. So we have here, the reverse shell, the classic shell, roses, buds, leaves and writing all in the caramel buttercream. Roses can be made with a real butter icing but you have to be quick! Butter melts at a very low temperature so hot hands are your enemy. If I am hot or the room is warm I may use a bowl of ice water to dip my hands into periodically to help. If you put your bag of butter icing in the refrigerator it will get cold and hard on the outside and stay soft in the center and then you have lumpy bumpy icing. Not a nice thing to work with so that is not recommended.

I asked the class if anyone just had or will have their birthday very soon and Olaya said she had just had hers so I made her a cake and we all enjoyed eating it!

Here are the recipes for the chiffon and buttercream:

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Ingredients
Makes about 4 cups
4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened, cut into tablespoons

2 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).
Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add very soft butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add flavoring and continue beating 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles.
Be sure to wait until the meringue has cooled a bit before adding the butter. If the meringue is too hot you will have butter soup and if it is cold and the butter is too cold it will look like cottage cheese. The soup is difficult to remedy but the cottage cheese can be fixed by adding a bit of heat to the bowl and whisking until smooth and creamy.

Vanilla Chiffon

1/2 cup Granulated sugar
7 each Egg whites
1 cups Granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups All purpose flour
1 Tbls. Baking powder
4 each Egg yolks
1/2 cup safflower oil
3 oz. Water
2 Tbls. Vanilla extract

Making the chiffon cake
Place the egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer and whip until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup of sugar and whip to medium-soft peak.

Combine the remaining cup of sugar with the flour and baking powder and sift together twice. Combine the egg yolks, oil, water and vanilla extract and stir into the dry ingredients one cup at a time.

Fold 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the batter mixture then fold the result into the remaining whipped egg whites.

Butter and flour two 10" spring form pans and divide the batter evenly between the two. Bake at 400 F. for 15 to 20 minutes then check to see if the cake will pull away from the sides of the pans. Cool and remove from the cake pans.

Rose's Passion cake completed!

2010-04-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

Ok so NOW for the syrup...
Oh BTW, I met Rose and Woody her fab assistant yesterday at the Baker's Dozen meeting in San Francisco and what a great event!

Rose offered for us to make one of 10 different recipes from her book and I made this one!
And others made pound cakes, cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, angel cakes... and we feasted! What I loved was comparing two other people's passion cakes to mine. All three had their merits but one of the members, David said, "I think I like this cake, your filling and my soak..this would have been the perfect cake!" Funny how all three were so different... I know what I did differently than the recipe, I used all cake flour instead of cornstarch and cake flour mixed. Next time I will do that since the cake made with the mix was noticeably lighter in texture.
The other two also made more cake and stacked it up with three and four layers, I used the one specified in the recipe which I thought worked out fine.
Also, at the event they passed out literature on the Perfect Puree that is now sold at specialty stores (all over California, anyway)... The Whole Foods carries it in the frozen food section and they seem to be in almost every state so if you have one of those try there for the passion fruit and other fruit purees.
They are great to work with and you get a fresh fruit flavor as opposed to artificial flavorings.

OK, BACK TO THE RECIPE!!
Passion Fruit syrup

1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup passion fruit puree plus 2 Tablespoons measured separately

In a small saucepan with a tight fitting lid, place the sugar, and rub the vanilla bean seeds into the sugar with your fingers. Add the pod, the 1/2 cup of puree and stir until the sugar is moistened. Bring to a roiling boil and then turn off the heat, cover with the lid and let cool completely. Transfer the syrup to a cup with a spout, like a glass measuring cup, and add the 2 Tbl. of extra puree.

WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

This buttercream is made in two stages, first the white chocolate custard and then the completed buttercream.

Custard Base
3.5 ounces white chocolate with cocoa butter
3 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk (eggs at room temperature)

In a double boiler over barely simmering water melt together the butter and the white chocolate.
Stir until smooth and creamy, don't let this get too hot or it will break...
Whisk the egg and yolk together and then add it to the white chocolate mix. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens slightly. An instant read thermometer should read 140F
Remove it from the heat, transfer to a bowl, and allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
You can cover the bowl and refrigerate to speed up the cooling process. The mixture should be 65F - 70F on the thermometer when it is ready to add to the following:

Completed white chocolate buttercream
6 ounces cream cheese
3 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature(
1/2 tablespoon sour cream (or creme fraiche)
white chocolate custard base
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitting with the whisk, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed. Beat in the sour cream or creme fraiche until very smooth. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides if needed.
Gradually beat in the cooled custard base and vanilla. Raise the speed to medium high and beat until smooth, light and creamy.

Compose the cake:

Using a long serrated knife and your fingertips to remove the top crust.
Remove the parchment and scrape off the bottom crust.
Clean the knife and cut the genoise in half horizontally.

Brush or pour the syrup onto each layer of the cake. The cake will be very tender now and must be supported by a removable pan bottom or a cake cardboard when moving them.
Spread 3/4 cup of the curd over the bottom layer. Then top with the other layer.
Ice the cake with the buttercream and swirl the top with a small icing spatula. Refrigerate for about one hour and then apply small dabs of any remaining passion curd, and with the metal spatula, swirl them into the buttercream.

Serve at room temp or cold from the fridge... it will knock your socks off!!

The passionfruit curd and syrup for Rose's cake

2010-04-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Passion fruit puree or fresh passion fruit is not easy to find around here... I purchase it through a wholesaler that will sell to the public with an advance order... check on line too. There are specialty food markets online that carry fruit purees. They are kind of expensive but stay in your freezer for just about ever...

Rose's classic Passion Curd
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
4 ounces (1/2 cup) passion fruit puree (you would need 6 very ripe fresh fruits to make this)
pinch salt

In a heavy saucepan, mix together the yolks, butter, and sugar. Whisk 5 Tablespoons of the passionfruit puree and the salt into the mixture. Cook on medium-low heat stirring constantly with a silicone spatula being careful to scrape the sides of the pan, until it has thickened and resembles hollandaise sauce, which thickly coats the spatula but is still liquid.
Do not allow the mixture to come to a boil or it will curdle. When the curd has thickened and will pool thickly when a little is dropped on it surface, pour it all at once into a strainer and press it through with the spatula. Gently stir in the remaining 3 Tablespoons of puree and allow the curd to cool for 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until cool completely. The curd keeps in a airtight container or jar for 3 weeks refrigerated...

White Gold Passionfruit cake from Roses' Heavenly Cakes

2010-04-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here it is...so succulent and tasty! When I talk about the YUM factor, I mean this! A perfect example of YUM! I truly adore passionfruit and this cake has everything I love about it, tart, tangy, sweet, fragrant and tropical. What makes this cake extra amazing is the passionfruit yumminess is suspended in an ultra light genoise and iced in a sweet creamy white chocolate cream cheese icing! Oh my, just writing this makes me want to grab a slice! BUT NOOOO I can not! This will be presented at the Bakers Dozen meeting where the dear Rose Levy Beranbaum will be our guest of honor. So I must wait...must wait...
The recipe has several steps but the good news is many can be made ahead so you can get ready to assemble when all is done.
First you have the cake: Vanilla Genoise
Then you will make the filling: Passionfruit curd
Now you can make the syrup for soaking: passion syrup
And then of course, the icing: White chocolate cream cheese buttercream

I made of video of me cutting, filling and icing the cake so you can see that in action! But it may take me a couple of days to edit it and put it up on my you tube channel...it is the ichefany channel if you are interested.. but the ones I have done so far are on this blog for your viewing pleasure.

The cake:
3 Tbl. clarified butter, or Beurre noisette (browned butter)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1/2 cup fine sugar
3/4 cup wondra or *cake flour (I used 3.5 oz cake flour) lightly spooned into the cup and leveled off.

The recipe says to use a 9" x 2" round cake pan, sprayed with pan spray and lined with parchment. All I had was an 8" x 3" so I used that and it worked out fine.
Preheat your oven to 350F.
Prepare your butter, add the vanilla and keep warm.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, using a wire whisk, mix together the eggs and the sugar.
Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and heat just until lukewarm to the touch, stirring constantly to prevent curdling the eggs.
Attach the whisk beater. Beat the mixture on high speed for a minimum of 5 minutes. The mixture will more that quadruple in volume and be very thick and airy. (A hand held mixer may take as long as 10 minutes)
Remove almost one cup of the egg mixture and whisk it into the melted butter.
Sift about half the flour over the remaining egg mixture and I used a silicone spatula, fold it in gently but rapidly until almost all the flour has disappeared. Repeat with the rest of the flour until all traces of flour have disappeared.
Fold the butter mixture just until incorporated. With the spatula, reach into the bottom of the bowl to be sure to moisten all the flour. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 - 30 minutes or utnil the cake is golden brown and start to shrink slightly from the sides of the pan. This is a delicate cake so avoid opening the oven until just before it is done. It should spring back when lightly touched and will not leave fingerprints in the crust.
Rose states: To prevent the collapse of it's delicate foam structure, while still hot, the genoise must be unmolded as soon as it is baked. Have ready a small metal spatula and a wire rack lightly coated with cooking spray.
Ok, this is ultra careful... I always take my cakes out of the pan 10 minutes after they come out of the oven and I did with this one as well... with no ill effects... however, I did use cake flour and no cornstarch so this could have given my cake a bit more structure.
Run the small metal spatula around the edge of the cake being careful not to cut into the cake. Invert the cake onto the cooling rack.
Leave the paper on and immediately reinvert the cake onto the rack so that the firm upper crust keeps it from sinking. (I didn't have this problem but again...cake flour)
The cake should be 2" high. (Mine was a little taller because of the smaller pan, not much though)

Oh dear gotta go to work now... I will finish this tomorrow, I promise!! Anticipaaaaaaaaaa....tion!

Bloggers block... broken!

2010-04-11T23:26:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am pretty new to this blogger thing... and at first was excited to share all my knowledge and information about baking. I still am really... but for some reason have a big old block as to what to write about... I don't know how this happened to me really since baking is my life and that is about all I do that is interesting to talk about... but at this point in my blog I am at a loss...
But WAIT! As I sit here complaining that I am stuck I am realizing, tomorrow I am making a fabulous cake for Rose Levy Beranbaum (of the Cake Bible and now Rose's Heavenly Cakes...fame) who will be the guest at the Bakers Dozen meeting on Tuesday! WOOOO HOOOO material :) Oh joy!
And to top it all off it is a passionfruit cake with a white chocolate cream cheese icing! I just posted two fabulous desserts on my facebook page that featured passionfruit (lilikoi in Hawaiian) and many asked for recipes... so I guess I can share Rose's recipe for this incredible cake. I made it last week in class to try it out and couldn't stop putting it in my mouth! That is a very good sign, you want a dessert to be so good you can't stop eating it! That is my measure for a great dessert.. or any great food actually.
So stay tuned... I will photograph, bake and assemble tomorrow! I will then write about the deliciousenss of this passionate cake!
EXCITED NOW!!! I will post one of the desserts we made in class that has passionfruit curd and a greek yogurt mousse with a passion soaked sponge cake and glaze. Just to get you into the mood!

Making Better Tasting Fondant at home!

2010-03-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well, Spring has sprung or is springing... at least here on the Central Coast of California it is...sorry for those who are still under a snow blanket!
Anyway, it is the time to start making all kinds of special occasion cakes and fondant is very expensive to buy but rather inexpensive to make your self. I thought I would give you good recipe for fondant and some explanation as to what you might look for while making it.
You see above you all the necessary items for this recipe. I know many are making this "marshmallow" fondant which they say tastes better than the real thing. However, being the purest that I am I will not use premade marshmallows for my fondant and from what I can tell the marshmallow style is not only plastic tasting from the bagged puffs but rather sticky and difficult to use as well. I am sure there is a trick to it and if you prefer that I am not one to tell you "no" but I prefer this recipe. It isn't going to be anything but SWEET no matter which recipe you use... it is primarily sugar, so there you go!
Here is the recipe and following will be photos and explanations...hope it all helps you fab cake decorators out there!

Better Tasting FONDANT

Makes 2 ½ Lbs. Good for an 8" or 9" cake

3 Tbl. milk

1 Tbl. gelatin

sprinkle gelatin over the water in a shallow stainless pan. Let sit five minutes and then place it over low heat in a shallow pan with simmering water stir until melted.

When it is melted add:

½ cup corn syrup... or glucose which is a thicker substance and gives more structure

1 Tbl. glycerin... you can find in cake decorating stores or online

1/4 cup unsalted butter... this will add to the off white as well use shortening for a whiter fondant

1 teaspoon pure vanilla... which will give the fondant a slightly off white color

2# powdered sugar sifted well (8 cups)

Pour the powdered sugar into a large bowl.

Make a well in the center of the sugar and pour in melted gelatin/cornsyrup mixture. Stir mixture with a large spoon until mostly combined then start mixing with greased hands. If dry add water if wet add more powdered sugar. Knead with greased hands until smooth like bread dough.

Fondant can be worked with at once, but works best after it rests for several hours or over night. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and keep in an airtight container for one month. Can be frozen indefinitely.

A mixer can be used for mixing. Kneading must be done by hand or the texture suffers.

12” layer uses 5# fondant rolled to ¼ “ thick

9 “ layer uses 3 # fondant rolled to ¼ “ thick

6” layer uses 2 # fondant rolled to ¼ “ thick

St. Patrick's day and comforting scones...

2010-03-16T14:15:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's day and it got me thinking about those warm and cozy quick breads that are made by the Scots and Irish. Scones and Irish soda breads are great comfort foods on cold days... or heck, warm days too!

I am thinking that tonight as my class finishes their chocolate, caramel bombe, I will wander off in a totally different direction and make my fab Irish soda bread with oats, whole wheat flour and raisins... they called that the spotted dog!

But in the meantime I thought I would give to you my favorite scone recipe that I developed back in the 80's for my little bakery. They are rich and creamy and the flavor bits in them can be changed to suit your tastes! The photo has them with crispy bacon and chives. But the original recipe was a sweet lemon currant scone. A bit more traditional, however I have made them with cheese or blueberries, or dried fruits such as apricot or cherries. Have fun with them and have sit down relax, have a cuppacoffee or a nice tea and let your memory float back to simpler times when we didn't have to constantly run off to somewhere to do something... so important that we forget to smell the roses or in this case taste the scones!

Chef Stephany’s scone recipe

3 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ Tbl. Baking powder

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 oz. (one stick) unsalted butter cold

4 oz. (1/2 package) thick style cream cheese

3 eggs

2 Tablespoons buttermilk or heavy cream

1 cup dried currants

zest from one lemon

Place the first four ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Cut the butter and cream cheese into pieces and place in the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.

Rub the butter/cream cheese into the dry ingredients using either the paddle on a stand mixer or a pastry cutter by hand. If you are using a food processor then pulse 5 or 6 times until you see chunks of butter and cream cheese remaining.

Do not over mix at this point leave larger chunks of the butter/cream cheese in the mix. You should have pieces the size of grapes left in the flour mix.

Then mix together the eggs and buttermilk or cream in a separate container.

Pour it into the dry butter mix and lightly toss by hand until the dough begins to come together but is still dry. Add the zest and currants (or whatever you like!) and continue to toss together.

At this point you should have a dry mix that needs a bit more kneading. So dump your mix onto a lightly dusted table and pull it together by hand giving folds as you are kneading. This should take only three or four folds and now you have a dough that can be formed into a round and cut into triangles or use a biscuit cutter to cut out your scones.

Brush with cream and bake in a hot over 425°F for about 15-18 minutes depending on the sizes you have cut.

You should get about 16 -18 scones…unless you like small ones…then more.

2010-03-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

The best carrot cake ever! Well, at least I think so... :)

2010-03-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

I consider myself a bit of a snob when it comes to food. I adore food with what I call the "yum factor"...who doesn't really? Of course food should look as good as it tastes but looks are only a fraction of what I need to be totally satisfied by yummy stuff. Lately I have noticed the come back of a cake that I have always considered very very low on the yum factor scale and I find this rather curious. So I ask folks who want me to make the bright scarlet cake called red velvet, what they actually like about it...since I just don't get the attraction. Those of you who have made this cake know it has huge amounts of red food color in it to give it that devilish hue and for flavor it has a very small amount of cocoa powder. So small in fact you can't even taste it! So what then??? is the attraction? When I enquire those who seem to love this strange and unusual concoction, the overwhelming answer is "The frosting!" For the most part it is always cream cheese icing! Ok this I understand! Who doesn't love cream cheese icing but I say, let's put it on a tasty cake instead of ingesting 3 ounces of red food coloring!

Enter... the carrot cake...

Ok some folks say to me they don't like carrot cake because it has the dreaded raisins in it or they are allergic to nuts... HEY there is a fine solution to all of these complaints and it gives the traditional carrot cake a whole new look and taste too! BUT never....never....change that wonderful icing!

Here is a carrot cake that is simple to make and very nice on the tongue!

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing

This will make two 8" or 9" layers

I adapted this recipe from Bo Friberg's Professional Pastry Chef

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

14 oz. granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

9 oz. all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 LB. grated carrots

4 oz. crushed canned pineapple

2 oz. shredded sweetened coconut

(or if you prefer the more traditional style use

4 oz. chopped walnuts

2 oz. raisins instead of the pineapple and coconut)

Using a stand mixer with the whip attachment, whip the eggs at high speed until light and frothy.

Turn the mixer down to medium speed and add the oil in slowly. Turn the mixer down to low and add the sugar and salt.

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, soda and baking powder.

Using the paddle attachment, add the dry ingredients into the wet and then by hand fold in the carrots and your choice of the other fruits.

Pour into the prepared pans and bake at 375F for about 40 minutes or until the cake springs back and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on rack and after about 15 minutes turn it out of the pan to cool completely.

Cream Cheese icing

8 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. unsalted butter softened to room temperature

8 oz. powdered sugar sifted

1 teaspoon excellent vanilla extract

In your mixing bowl with the paddle attachment cream together the cheese and the butter until smooth and no lumps appear. Add the vanilla and the powdered sugar. Mix on slow speed until the sugar has mixed in completely and then turn up the mixer to medium speed and whip until smooth and creamy.

Keep cold and re whip if necessary.

Fill and ice your cake with this and if you need more cake or icing these recipes can be double easily.

You can coat the outside edges with either chopped walnuts or toasted coconut and I made marzipan carrots for each slice... this is fun but tedious... enjoy!

Random sweet things...like, cakes and students

2010-02-28T23:07:00.000-08:00

Meet Kristi! She is just one of my fabulous students in my night class and she is posing with the mocha hazelnut triangle cake she made in class. The reason I am introducing you to her is I need to give her credit for all the nice pictures she has been taking of me in action. Most of the latest cake/pastry pictures that I have been posting with me in them is her talented hands taking them for me with her little point and shoot... not bad, huh? This one included but of course I had to take this of her so I could properly thank her :) THANKS KRISTI!! You rock!

Next up random pictures of cakes I have made lately. These were taken by Royce (thanks Royce!) from Blurred line photography...(you can find them on facebook!)... and soon I will have the one I am making for our wedding cake section as demo... they want to see a topsy turvy cake so I am obliging. But that will be next week for now I have a nice picture of the one I did for the mid day class.
I call it the "drapery cake" for obvious reasons...

And this bit of chocolate artistry that I ended up taking to my local fire station right around dinner time...knocking on the door with my uniform on, they open and I blurt out. "Am I late for dinner??" with the cake in hand... I got a few strange looks and of course I then broke up and told them I was just bringing a few local heros some yummy sweets and they told me I was their hero! Awwwww gosh....

BTW it is a double chocolate mousse entremet (french cake) with a dark chocolate glaze and marbled chocolate bark around the outside... they were very happy!

And this little number (sorry about the poor photo I took it with my phone) is the very first doll cake I have ever made! I have been making cakes for over 30 years and never made one of these before! Amazing.... but it was fun to dress her up. I used buttercream under the fondant and then made the flowers with gum paste and hand painted little hearts on the under skirt in front. The crown is also gum paste. I made a little four year old girl very very happy!

Tiramisu and a funny story to go with....

2010-02-17T12:39:00.000-08:00

Tiramisu is one of the most popular desserts on just about any menu today... but in 1988 when I was a pastry chef at the wonderful local Italian restaurant, Ristorante Avanti, www.ristoranteavanti.com
I had never heard of such a thing... It sounded rather Asian to me rather than Italian...but I was soon to be enlightened.
We had hired this very cute young NY Italian guy for the summer as a buser. He as not only cute with his thick dark curls and dark eyes but had the most charming NY Italian accent. The young waitresses were completely taken with him. He had told us he just finished high school and was here for the summer before entering college back in NY.
Everyday I worked with him he would come into my tiny workspace and beg me to make tiramisu. "What???" I would respond. He then told me his Mother had an Italian restaurant in NYC and made this dessert and he could get me the recipe. So one day he calls his Mom in NYC and gives me the phone to ask for this legendary dessert. She first says to me,"So write this down! You know how to make a pastry cream, right?" "Sure" I respond wondering what exactly I need to write. Then she tells me to make it "very rich with 1/2 and 1/2 instead of milk." Ok, so far I don't need to write this down but I am sure there is more. Suddenly she tells me to hold on and puts the phone down a bit and begins to yell at the top of her lungs in Italian! She is screaming at her cooks since I can hear all the sounds of a busy kitchen in the background! I try to keep from busting up laughing and when she gets back on the phone she doesn't miss a beat and says, "Marscapone is too expensive and hard to find so get an equal amount of cream cheese, the Philly type not that soft stuff and on a mixer mix it with the pastry cream and a bit of Marsala." "ok..." I hesitantly answer wondering where this is going... Again she puts the phone down and begins yelling at her employees... and again picks up right where she left off. "You know how to make lady fingers don't you? Well, make a lot of them and then mix together 8 or so shots of espresso and 2 ounces of dark rum, like Meyers. Then in a shallow pan pour the coffee mixture over the cookies and make sure they soak up every drop. They should be very soggy. Now in a small hotel pan start with the soaked cookies and then layer with the cream mix, on top of that put some finely chopped semi sweet chocolate bits, and then repeat with the cookies and then cream and then chocolate. Top the entire thing with whipped cream and cocoa powder and you have the tiramisu!" "Got it!" I blurt out. She then explains that it is much better the next day after the flavors begin to marry. I couldn't wait to try this and when I did I couldn't make enough of it! We sold out day after day...
But now marscapone is more common and less expensive so I no longer make it with cream cheese. But if you made it for your most discerning customer I would bet they couldn't tell it was not marscapone... it is very rich and wonderfully tasty!

So the end of the story goes like this... Mom then says to me, "take care of my boy please and make sure he comes home to finish school!" I then say, " but I thought he was going to college?" And she replies," I know he told you all that he is 18 but really he is 16 and don't tell him I told you. I don't want him to loose the job, but I worry..." I assured her that the secret was safe with me and I would encourage him to go home. But I had to laugh every time I saw that cute young 21 year old waitress going out with him after work thinking he was 18 and couldn't wait for the day when he went back to school and I was able to fill her in on her summer fling!

Valentine's sweets for your sweet!

2010-02-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

Last night while lecturing to my class about how to present a nice plated dessert, I mentioned that a memorable dessert must have creamy, crunchy and pulpy or cakey textures. I then asked the class if they know what the most popular dessert in the US is and one gal immediately popped out with, "chocolate lava cake"! Close but no cigar! Actually it is apple pie a la mode, it has all we need for the perfect flavors and textures.

HOWEVER, for this special sweet day we have the first call... chocolate lava cake. I think that this would be the close second to apple pie right about now. Trends change with time but apple pie seems to remain on top. Chocolate lava is the top winner in restaurants now and with raspberry sauce, crunchy cookie decoration and a scoop of ice cream you have not only all the three main characteristics but two important aspects to the mouthfeel of the dessert, hot and cold. Personally, aside from the flavor, one of my favorite traits of good dessert is hot and cold on the same plate.

This ought to seduce your sweetie into just about anything you desire!

CHOCOLATE
LAVA CAKES

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

4 ounces unsalted butter
2 eggs

5 ounces sugar

GANACHE

4 ounces semi sweet chocolate

4 ounces heavy cream

MAKE GANACHE:
Do this first so it has time to set up and then roll it into small balls and refrigerate. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heat proof bowl. In a small saucepan scald the cream and pour it immediately over the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate no longer has any lumps appear when you let it run over the back of your spoon. Refrigerate until set and then roll into balls.

DIRECTIONS:
Coat each container with butter and sugar.
Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat proof bowl with the butter
and melt it over a water bath.
Whip the eggs and sugar on hight until light and foamy.
Fold the egg foam into the chocolate mix.
Now fold in the flour.
Fill large muffin tins or souffle dishes 3/4 full of batter.
Drop one of the ganache balls into the center of each one and cover
with the remaining batter.

Bake at 350F for 12- 15 minutes depending on the size of your pans...

I always do a tester to see the actual time to ensure they come out

gooey and runny in the centers.

The cakes will look risen in the center but will still have a wet look to

the very center of the cake.

Turn it out immediately onto the plate you will serve it on.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and a small crunchy cookie and a kiss for

your sweet one!

If your sweet is not fond of dark chocolate...hard to imagine but... if...

Valentine’s White chocolate Raspberry Crème Brulee

A perfect sweet for your sweet on this romantic day! Creamy, fruity and luxurious, crème brulee is a favorite dessert at restaurants all over the world. It is easy enough to make at home if you have 6 ounce ramekins. These can be the traditional flat ones that are made for crème brulee or the more common soufflé ramekins that you just might have laying around.

In any case you will seduce your love with this dessert so have fun making and eating this creamy creation!

This recipe makes four 6 ounce ramekins

1/3 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

1 ½ cups heavy cream

¼ teaspoon salt

4 ounces chopped and melted white chocolate

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 Tablespoon Framboise liqueur

more sugar for the top

You will also need a deep roasting pan big enough to fit your four ramekins.

This is baked in a water bath in a low oven.

Set your oven to 300°F

Place the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and either by hand with a whisk or on the mixer whip until light, meanwhile heat the cream on the stove until scaled, do not boil.

Temper the egg mixture with some of the hot cream by adding it to the eggs and mixing. Then put all the hot cream into the eggs and stir using a spoon. Now mix in the vanilla, salt and melted white chocolate. Mix gently so as not to make bubbles.

Gently toss together the raspberries and liqueur and sprinkle them in the bottoms of each ramekin.

Now place the ramekins in the roasting pan and carefully ladle the custard mix over the berries. Move the pan to the open oven door and pour hot water into the roasting pan until it reaches half way up the sides of the ramekins. Very carefully place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until completely set. If the custard has a sloshing motion they are not done yet. It should wiggle like jello and not slosh back and forth.

Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.

Immediately before serving, sprinkle the extra granulated sugar over the custard in an even layer. Using a torch or broiler heat the sugar until it caramelizes. You are looking for a brown caramel color for the sugar to harden and have that wonderful crack when you cut into it…

Decorate with fresh berries and savor!

Childhood memories in cookie form!

2010-02-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

Do you remember??? They have a very soft, rich, cakey chocolate cookie filled with marshmallow creme. YUM!
Well, one of my students asked us if we would make some cookies for his niece and nephew to sell at a bake sale to help Haitian children and well... of course I'm going to help out! I wanted to make something I loved as a kid. I then remembered this recipe that I had made last year with peanut butter cream filling. My brain then sent me to Moon Pie land and with that others had memories of them with different names. So here they are in all their glory; Moon, Whoopie, or Scooter Pies! Whatever you call them they are a kids delight.
Oh, and I did include the original idea I had with the peanut butter filling so you can choose the old fashioned pie or the updated version with peanut butter. Why they are called "pie" I don't know but both are very tasty and ought to send you to a very happy place.

Eat with glee!

CHOCOLATE Whoopie, Moon, Scooter pie

Makes about 24, 2” cookies

Cookie batter

FLOUR 1 ¾ CUPS

COCOA POWDER ¾ CUPS

BAKING SODA 1 ½ TSP

SALT ½ SALT

BUTTER 3 OZ.

SUGAR ½ CUP

BROWN SUGAR ½ CUP

EGG 1

MILK 1 CUP

VANILLA 1 TSP

Marshmallow filling

1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated gelatin

1/3 cup cold water

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1/3 cup water

2 egg whites

½ teaspoon vanilla

<<< OR>>>

Peanut butter filling

PEANUT BUTTER 1 CUP

UNSALTED BUTTER (SOFT ) 4 OZ.

POWDERED SUGAR 1 CUP

SALT (OPTIONAL ) PINCH

CHOCOLATE COOKIES

SIFT TOGETHER THE FLOUR, COCOA, BAKING SODA, AND SALT.

CREAM THE SOFTENED BUTTER WITH BOTH SUGARS UNTIL LIGHT AND FLUFFY ADD THE EGG AND CONTINUE MIXING UNTIL LIGHT.

MIX TOGETHER THE VANILLA AND MILK.

ADD HALF THE FLOUR AND ALL THE MILK TO THE BUTTER MIXTURE AND MIX UNTIL JUST INCORPORATED. THEN ADD THE OTHER HALF OF THE FLOUR AND MIX ON SLOW UNTIL SMOOTH.

PIPE OUT ROUND DISKS ONTO PARCHMENT PAPER APROXIMATELY

1 ½” IN DIAMETER. BAKE AT 375˚ FOR ABOUT 10-12 MINUTES. LET COOL.

THEN SANDWICH WITH THE FILLING BELOW.

Marshmallow filling

Bloom the gelatin in the first measurement of water, when it has soaked up all the water then gently melt it until liquid and keep warm.

Place the sugar, cornsyrup and water in a small saucepan.

Wash the sides down with a pastry brush and water to eliminate any sugar crystals on the side of the pan.

Place a candy thermometer in the stirred sugar mixture and cook on medium heat until soft ball stage 240F.

When the sugar reaches 230F then put the whites on a stand mixer with the whip and begin whipping on high speed.

Take the syrup off the stove when it reaches soft ball and very slowly pour it into the egg whites. Now do the same with the warm gelatin. Then add the vanilla.

Whip until very light, has strong peaks and sticky.

Immediately pipe onto one side of the cooled chocolate cookies and place a matching side on top. If you wait too long the marshmallow will set up and the top won’t stick as well so top them right away.

If you have left over marshmallow then pipe it into a small square pan that you have lined with a good amount of powdersugar. Refrigerate to set and then cut into squares with a hot knife. Pull them apart and roll in powdered sugar.

They will last for days but enjoy them on your hot chocolate or just eat and enjoy!

P-NUT BUTTER FILLING

CREAM TOGETHER THE BUTTER, PEANUT BUTTER AND SALT. ADD THE POWDERED SUGAR AND BEAT UNTIL CREAMY AND SMOOTH.

Lightly SIFT POWDERED SUGAR OVER IF DESIRED.

When friends come to town...foodie friends :)

2010-01-27T14:58:00.000-08:00

My dear sweet friend whom I have known for...well...many years lives in Santorini, Greece. She is a wonderful chef, a fabulous masseuse, and an all round great gal...please meet Phenix!

This year she is launching her SaFooWi tours...Santorini Food and Wine tours. You can pay one price and stay 10 days...dine in all the best restaurants, tour the local wineries, take Greek cooking classes by Phenix and ME :) Stay in traditional cave houses that have been renovated from an old monastery, lay on the black sand beaches, sail in the Aegean Sea and generally have the time of your life in one of the most picturesque places in the world! The price is reasonable the the maiden voyage is in May of this year so if you are interested please write to me and I will give you more info...

Dontcha just love it when your foodie friends come around and you have an excuse to cook things you have been thinking about but never get around to doing cuz your life gets in the way???
So Marty has a new house and wants us all to come see and visit with Phenix so she says, "bring some finger food, it's an afternoon affair". Well, can I just buy some chips and dip and leave it at that??? NOOOOO.... I get some fresh crab and make these insane crab cakes with homemade chili-lime aioli and savory biscotti (which I wasn't a fan of...) Kenny made very tasty and fun lettuce wraps with wild shrimp, fresh ginger and jalpeno that surprisingly went perfect with the aioli that I had made...
and then I made the killer... dulce de leche cookies that I saw while surfing around on this blogspot... I got the original from "form my home to yours via joythebaker.com" but right in character...I couldn't just do her recipe I had to expand on something that was already delicious...
The original recipe looked fine but I thought what if I put chocolate chips in there...or maybe some toasted pecan pieces... or or or... ok...you get where my head goes!
I go to the store to purchase what I thought was chocolate chips and the dulce de leche and while on the bakers isle I see next to the chocolate chips... HEATH TOFFEE CHIPS!!! Yah baby!!! Toffee chips in an already caramelly, buttery, gooey filled cookie... oh yeah!
So as I am making the wonderfulness... I taste the batter and it needs just a little something... vanilla I see is missing in the recipe so I look in my cabinet and see my coveted Tahitian vanilla... this I save for very special desserts and sweets... it was not only perfect in these cookies but it added an extra dimension of flavor that I didn't expect...folks asked me if there was coconut in them and some asked if there was peanut butter in them and another asked if there was cinnamon in them...nope! Just that incredible vanilla. Amazing what a good vanilla can do to brighten up flavors!
So here is the recipe with my changes... have fun and try not to eat too many of these... they are caloric indeed!! I ate 6!! ;)

Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies

recipe from Baking: from my home to yours and Joythebaker.com

modified by chefany :)

makes 30 sandwich cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup store-bought dulce de leche, plus more for filling

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp Tahitian vanilla or pure vanilla

2 large eggs

½ bag Heath toffee pieces available in the baking isle

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until just softened and broken up a bit. Add the 3/4 cup dulce de leche, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate. Then add the vanilla.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients all at once. Mix only until the flour is just incorporated. By hand stir in the toffee pieces being careful not to overmix.

Spoon the dough onto the lined baking sheets using a heaping teaspoon of dough for each cookie. The dough will be soft and this might be a bit messy. Leave 2 inches of space between each cookie for the baking spread.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies will be honey brown with a light crust, but still very soft when they come out of the oven. Let them rest on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before removing to cool.

Once the cookies are cooled completely, spread them with dulce de leche and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt if you like. I used fluer de sel from France… Keep well wrapped for up to four days. If they keep that long…these things are very addictive!!

Icing and decorating cakes...too much fun!

2010-01-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

Teaching cake decorating can be tedious since it really takes lots of practice from the students and this I can not do...however, there are so many ways to decorate a cake and so many different types of cake that with a program like ours we get to cover lots of colorful and tasty decorated cakes. Some of which are better served as desserts and others make wonderful special occasion cakes.
This cake for instance is the best in the height of strawberry season. We are so lucky to live in California that I can get strawberries all year round but this time of the year they are not optimum in taste or quality. BUT for teaching purposes we must use what we have so remember to buy in season and buy as local as you can....I am all for stretching those boundaries when needed, after all we should have variety in our diet and not all of us live in the produce wonderland that I do...but I try to avoid buying produce from other countries since we have no idea what chemicals are used in those countries on the food they produce. But that's just me...
Anyway, here I have a couple of examples of the fabulous cake styles that I teach.

First, is the strawberry cream cake made from a vanilla chiffon cake, soaked with a grand marnier cake syrup and filled with fresh strawberries and whipped cream and also iced in vanilla whipped cream. Since we did this right after Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday I decided to dedicate the cake to him...all in the name of demonstration :)

Again I used several ways to coat and ice the sides of a square cake so it looks a bit odd but you get the idea...I have one cake to demo several different techniques... I do what I can.
Next we have the Diplomat cake from Chef Bo Friberg's book The Professional Pastry Chef.
It is also a chiffon filled with pastry cream (custard), raspberry jam and iced with pastry cream and sliced almonds. Then lines are piped on the top of each marked out slice with an almond macaroon paste that is made of almond paste, sugar, and just enough egg whites to pipe it out in a strand. Then the entire cake is put into the oven and baked until the almond paste is toasted and so are the almonds on the sides.
Then you fill in the sections with sliced fruit and glaze the entire top of the cake...both beautiful and yummy too!!

Isn't it PURRRRDYYY????

Three ways to finish a German Chocolate cake

2010-01-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

The first was was suggested by our illustrious French baking instructor... the 4.5cm ring mold.
It must be 4.5 cm no more no less...!! This is the French method remember... in reality if you have a spring form mold it will do just fine...
We made 6" cakes and cut each one into two layers. The mold was measured in centimeters so was just a bit bigger than the cake which was just what I needed to pull this French thingy off well.
I started by using the cardboard cake circle, placing one of the cake layers in side the ring. I then piped some of the chocolate buttercream (Italian meringue style) around the outside of the cake but inside of the mold! I piped rings of buttercream up the side of the metal mold. I then spread some of the yummy caramel, coconut, pecan filling on the cake layer and then placed the next cake on top of that. Pressing it down slightly so the buttercream filled the sides of this cake too. Then I piped a bit more buttercream around the edge of the cake to make sure it was all filled in. Then came the topping and this is what you see here... I then put the cake in the freezer for about an hour to let the buttercream set up a bit.

When you heat the ring slightly and then slide it up off the cake, the sides have a perfect smooth edge...better than you can do by hand...but you need the rings and the time!

The next way was the traditional iced cake. I just hand iced this one using an icing spatula on the sides of the cake and then piped boarders around the bottom and the top.

and finally I cut the cake into three layers putting filling in twice and then iced the cake completely with the chocolate buttercream. My class needed to practice their piping so I did several different boarders and a rose too! Not my usual type of decorating but the class liked the demo!

All righty then! NOW...ta da... for the side by side comparison of the three different techniques! Please vote for your favorite :)

Super smooth Frenchy style, rustic hand iced or the elegant way too much piping, thus too much icing technique!

Nostalgia...Mom's best Cheesecake recipe and story

2010-01-16T13:12:00.001-08:00

Being raised in the suburbs of San Francisco in the 1950's just after the war was something right out of
"Father knows best". Mom in a dress and heels every night to cook dinner. Dad in a suit for work each day and coming home with a martini waiting for him to relax with in front of the new television. Their little girl with a long blond pony tail and saddle shoes wearing a little apron in the kitchen with Mom making dinner or dessert. After years of memory lapse, I realized that most of my time in the kitchen with Mom was baking things...DUH! When you think about it... I have been baking most of my life. The best things I remember my mother making were her "famous" cheesecake, and her pies although she made cakes, cookies, brownies and the like. The reason I didn't think about it for a long time is kind of a sad story but please understand it has been many many years since this occurred and I have done my grieving. I now just marvel at the unintended influence that my mother had on me when I was young. This is what took me years to figure out!
The story goes like this; life was good for me until the early sixties when I was around 11 years old. My Dad went into rehab for alcoholism and my mother drank to cover up her disappointment that our life was really NOT like the TV sitcoms. So by the time I was a teen both my mother and my father had drank themselves to death. I was 17 and left an orphan. I put the past behind me and began to live my life on my terms. I was very independent and thus found a family in the Hippie movement of the 60's. I moved to Santa Cruz in 1970, lived on a commune of sorts...and whenever we had our feasts or parties I made (surprise) the desserts, usually pies made from fruit grown on neighboring farms. I used whole wheat flour and honey and ate vegetarian. When some of the other habitants got a job at the local health food bakery, I became intrigued and ended up working there as well. Here I found my passion and my talent. Still I hadn't realized how I was influenced by both my mother and my grandmother. Although, I did remember my Mom's cheesecake and spent many years looking for one that reminded me of it but to no avail.
Jump to 1982. I have now begun learning the art of French and European baking. While working at this local shop with several other women we decided to have a gourmet potluck dinner. We each drew a course out of a hat, all hoping we would be the one who got the dessert... but alas I did not. I did, however, offer to have it at my newly purchased house in Santa Cruz. At this point, I thought it wise to go to my half brother's house where I had stored my mother's belongings. I picked up her china, crystal and silverware. When I got home I unpacked the boxes and found my Mom's recipe box! As I was thumbing through the recipes I suddenly remembered the cheesecake and quickly jumped to the dessert section. These recipes were mostly magazine and newspaper clippings taped to 3"x5" cards with only a few handwritten or typed. When I got to the cheesecake recipe, it was not only typed but my mom had written on it. She wrote in pencil pointing to the word "Mom's" "SJ (she called me that, my middle name being Jane) that's me!" I got chills and then I cried, it was like she had been waiting all these 12 years for me to find this recipe. The memories came flooding back. The time we spent in the kitchen and how she taught me to make the proper pie crust and gave me the mixer attachments to lick when she made a cake.
Whenever I make this cake just the smell sends me back to the kitchen with her.
Please enjoy the recipe and as she wrote on the card by hand, "make for large parties, very rich!" and "it is the one I used to make for Christmas dinner every year". Enjoy and think of your Mom when making and savoring this creamy cheesecake.

Mom's Best Cheesecake

Ingredients
3 well beaten eggs
2 - 8 ounce packages of cream cheese (Philly style), softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract and ¼ tsp. almond extract (the secret ingredient)
3 cups sour cream
Graham Cracker crust (recipe follows)

Graham Cracker Nut Crust

Combine 1-3/4 cups fine graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and
1/2 cup melted butter

Reserve 3 tablespoons of the crust mixture for the top and press the remainder onto the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring-form pan. Bring crust only about 1 1/2 inches up the sides.
Cake base:
Cream the cheese with the sugar and then add the eggs one at a time, the vanilla and salt. Beat until smooth. Do not incorporate air by over mixing on a high speed.

Blend in the sour cream just until incorporated.

Pour mixture into the prepared crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top.

Bake in moderate oven at 325 degrees for 35 minutes or until just set. Cool slowly at room temperature. Chill for several hours or overnight is best. The filling will be soft. It’s a very creamy cheesecake. This cakes flavor and texture improve with time. Making it a few days before you need it is a desirable thing to do. It is very rich, serve small servings.

cakes, cakes and more cakes!

2010-01-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

OOOO weeee isn't that a pretty one! Everyone just loves the princess cake class...but not everyone loves the marzipan that covers it... I find that rather odd but American tastes are just not used to the strong pungent flavor of bitter almond. I, personally, love it! But whether or not they like to eat it they really enjoy working with it, creating these pretty roses, ropes and covering the cake in a thin sheet of marzipan.
The best marzipan is imported from Europe since they are the ones that cherish this confection and use it in many of their sweets. In Switzerland and I am sure other countries in that general area, they have whole stores devoted to nothing but marzipan candies. Anything can be made out of marzipan as I saw while traveling there marzipan made to look like fish, cheese, fruit, bread and characters of all sorts! It is quite an art.

Here we are happy to make nice roses to garnish our beautiful cake. They are made by hand petal by petal. Then after the cake is iced with huge amounts of whipped cream you cover it with a thin layer of rolled out marzipan.

Then you smooth down the marzipan and garnish it with a two tones rope and pink roses...gotta love it!

AND then you eat it!! Soft tender vanilla chiffon filled with creamy vanilla bean custard and seedless raspberry jam and piled high with fresh lightly sweeted whipped cream... and then there is the coating that if you, like it or not... have to admit it is awfully darned pretty! Fit for a princess :) or a prince... they like roses too...

And now for something completely different!

2010-01-09T18:15:00.000-08:00

Since I have set this blog up for basically educational purposes...mostly about baking... I thought I might add this interesting festival I attended today...not only educational but tasty too!
Of course only a very small portion will be about baked goods... one cookie to be exact...but! I got wonderful photos and ate great tasting food at the... get this... FUNGUS FAIR! Yes, Fungus!

Every year our town has this event and it keeps getting bigger and bigger... I am posting pictures of the ones I could get with the name tags because I could never in my wildest dreams remember most of these names. The really cool thing is the labels tell you whether they are edible, toxic or poisonous...

We ate mushroom lasagna, Matsutake mushroom soup, cheese infused with White Truffle oil from Oregon, shortbread cookies ( Hey here is the mention of a baked good!) with candy cap mushrooms and salmon cakes with Shitake mushroom duxelle and white truffle aoli....

and I bought some dried porchini mushroom and a box of porchini mushroom bullion cubes from Italy.

They had these very neat boxes where you grow your own mushrooms right in the box... they said you can get 4-5 crops in the one box and they had three varieties too... but I couldn't think where I could leave this box without critters getting into it and also I would have to cook a lot at home which to be honest... I teach night classes and I don't do a bunch of cooking at home during the week... so I didn't get it but I really wanted to!

Some of these mushrooms were very much like things you might see growing under the ocean waters...

And some looked like they came from outer space...

My friend said to me as we were watching a cooking demo with mushrooms that she thought "these fungus people are kinda like a cult with the mushroom clothing, mushroom arts and crafts, mushroom hunters and chefs" I laughed and then looked around the room to see people in mushroom pants and a guy with a mushroom cap on his head passing out samples of food with mushrooms and started getting scared... is she right? We were surrounded by fungus! Is that weird or what??? But ya know... they are very interesting things...fungus...not plant, not animal... grow from spores... very sci-fi when you think about it... look around your area and see if you have something like this and don't miss it! We know so little about the world around us and this is a great opportunity to learn about this strange ... thing... that grows all around us. Hey, have I been brained washed?

And sitting on your other shoulder! Devils food :)

2010-01-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

Ok for those who find the Angel's food just a bit to light, airy and benevolent, today we have Devils Food Cake with raspberry jam filling and ganache icing! Which is heavy, dark, rich and just a tad naughty!
This is the cake section that I teach at the Professional Culinary Institute in Campbell, CA.
We are on day two and learning both about cakes and mixing methods but also about the many uses of ganache. On day one we made a batch of ganache to let set up for icing our cakes. While the cake then rests in the refrigerator, we make a fresh batch of warm ganache to pour over the cold cake. It sets up quickly so while you must encourage it over the sides of the cake, you must not spatula it too much or it will get streaky and have drip marks. I use a one to one formula for the ganache, chocolate to heavy cream and have the best success with a chocolate that is less than a 60% cocoa content.
We then learned how to pipe out filigrees using coating chocolate and placed them on piping we made with the drippings of the ganache.

We also made a traditional carrot cake but the thing they liked the best about that was making the little marzipan carrots by hand. They got such a kick out of it...

And if you would like more info on the school, you can go to their web page at www.pcichef.com or become a fan of their facebook fan page where you can see a lot more going on in both baking and cooking classes.

Blessing the new year...with angel food

2010-01-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

Back in class last night and teaching the section on cakes, I found that my brain had taken a vacation too and had not returned to work as I had... but we managed to make three cakes of which most turned out very good. We made angel food cake, devils food cake (yes on purpose!) and the traditional carrot cake.
The cake to present the most problems was the angel food...
Several years ago, I attended a meeting of the Bakers Dozen in San Francisco and the invitation stated we all must make this recipe (on the invite) of angels food cake and bring it to the meeting where we would taste and discuss the differences and what made them different. 45 people made the same recipe and we had 45 completely different cakes on the table! I think that most recipes will come out differently when different chefs put their flair to them but baking is more of an exact science and I would expect at least a bit of commonality...but NO!
What I learned here was that angel food cake can be one of the finickiest cakes there is to make. It may be the simplest in ingredients (flour, sugar, egg whites basically) but the most complicated when it comes to how you incorporate those ingredients.
First, be sure your egg whites, bowl and whip are clean, clean, clean to get the maximum volume.
Second, they are best whipped at room temperature so I crack my mine the night before and leave them out overnight, don't worry the dangerous part is in the yolk with all the fat that can spoil.
Third, you must have a good deep angel pan or loaf pan with straight sides not a bread pan and NEVER grease the pan or use non stick pans... disaster awaits if you do!
Fourth, usually recipes have more sugar than the egg whites can hold into the meringue so divide the sugar in half and sift half with the sugar.
Finally, whip the egg whites to a perfect SUPER SOFT peak... in other words no peak at all but enough whip to have a bit of structure. I look for the peak to fall onto itself without leaving a whole...it just lays over and holds but doesn't actually peak. Then fold your dry ingredients and any flavorings you will use into the soft meringue. Bake it at a lower temperature 325F for about 50 minutes to one hour. Turn the cake upside down immediately after taking out of the oven.
Then for the difficult part... let it cool completely before carefully running a small sharp knife around the edge to loosen the nicely caramelized crust from the edge of the pan and it should fall out like a light soft brown pillow... mmmmm.....serve with cream and fresh fruit or cooked fruit compote.

Happy New Year!!

2009-12-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

So I am not even thinking about baking at this point which for me is a nice break but I am missing school and my students... they are so fun to teach and to inspire.
But anyway here I am at home thinking perhaps you might (not sure why...) wonder what a serial baker does when she doesn't have to bake! Well, I took some shots of what I did today and it doesn't have much to do with food but it was such a wonderful day here on the coast of California in the middle of winter... I thought I would share the amazing area in which I live....

These pictures were taken on my typical dog walk... sigh... I know... I am very lucky....

OH and to all of you who are braving REAL winter weather... I am NOT rubbing anything in...really! Just appreciating what I have... Happy New Year all!!

Taking a bit of a break from baking...

2009-12-29T08:06:00.000-08:00

Since I have this wonderful rest period after Christmas...I am taking advantage and going out to eat a few times this week...one of my favorite foodie locations is the Ferry Building in San Francisco and I am going to meet a dear friend up there for dinner. Our plan is to restaurant hop through the Ferry Building, OH JOY!
But first I am meeting another dear friend that I have known since I was a wee foodie. Our favorite haunts are around North Beach so we will probably have for lunch a little chinese and then some Italian food but I must go light since I am then heading down to meet Beth for the restaurant crawl...I will take some pictures of the food and drinks I promise!
I am hoping all you readers out there have had an inspired Holiday season and will have a wonderful New Year! Here's hoping you bring in the New Year with fabulous food and even more fabulous friends and family!
Have a good one and remember we can always diet NEXT YEAR!!

Yule Logs for Christmas dinner

2009-12-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

Although, I realize this is a bit late for your Christmas dinner... I am hoping it might inspire for next years dinner. It is early Christmas morning and we have already opened most of the presents...I wanted to give to you this gift of a lesson in making the yule log... while doing it I missed a couple of key shots but I think there is enough here to get you excited about making one, even if it is next year...

First of all I use a chocolate souffle roll rather than a traditional sponge cake to give a lighter but still very rich twist to this wonderful end to another big holiday meal. Second, I don't care for buttercream so much with a dessert it is more of a birthday cake or wedding cake topping in my mind so I use a one to one ganache that I have allowed to set up until it is thick and speadable like skippy peanut butter. Then I fill it with coffee flavored whipped cream to just give it that little kick and as I call it the "YUM FACTOR".

Here is the recipe for the roll...

Chocolate Souffle Roll

8 oz. semi sweet chocolate melted

2 oz. unsalted butter

2 Tbl. hot coffee

6 eggs separated

4 oz. sugar

Melt chocolate and butter with coffee in a bain marie.

Whip the yolks with half the sugar until ribbons form.

Fold half the yolks into the chocolate mixture and then the rest.

Whip the whites until foamy and then slowly add the rest of the sugar whipping until stiff peaks form. It is important that the whites are whipped stiff but not over whipped since they are the structure of this cake.

Spread gently into a half sheet pan lined with parchment and bake for 18 -20 minutes at 350˚.

Turn the cake out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder over it.

Whip 1 ½ cups of whipped cream flavored as you like (vanilla, coffee, hazelnut, raspberry, rum or whatever) and add 2 Tbl. of sugar whip until stiff. Spread out over the cake and roll it up. Freeze overnight and then ice with thickened ganache or chocolate buttercream.

Then after it is baked it will be puffy and have a gently spring back quality but when it cools a bit if falls back since... it is a souffle... no flour at all!

Now you must turn it out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap that has been dusted with powdered sugar so it doesn't stick to the plastic when it is unrolled. Then spread the coffee cream over the cake. I will use one cup instead of 1 1/2 cups sometimes just to make it a bit smaller...works fine.

Now begin rolling it up by first folding the end in a bit to give it a start then pull the plastic up and over the cake to help it roll up into the plastic. Then cover the roll up with the remaining wrap and freeze overnight to make it easier to handle while decorating.

Have your ganache ready...make it the day ahead as well and let it sit at room temperature for the perfect consistency the next day!

Ice the cake by piping the ganache on first and then spreading it over. Cut the ends off at an angle to use as the knots on the log.

Use a fork to give the rough bark look and then decorate with the meringue mushroom, marzipan holly leaves and berries and a bit of powdered sugar for snow!

This is half a roll to feed 6-8 people

This is the full roll to feed 12-16 people

Have fun and have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Patricia Rain the Vanilla Queen

2009-12-20T18:57:00.001-08:00

MY Goodness, I have the sweetest friend in the world...and not only sweet but brilliant and a warrior for the world at large...ok not the entire world but for sure the tropical one... she began by selling vanilla from Mexico and with the connections she amassed in her travels she realized there was a need to support these people who work in the jungles to give us one of our most prized flavors. Now she has found a new passion... helping all those farmers in the tropical areas growing all of our favorite foods and flavors from those areas such as chocolate, spices, nuts, and many more. Her website is an exciting blend of culinary information and information about these foods and the farmers who produce them. Please check out her website at:

www.vanilla.com

And support her by buying her fabulous vanilla products which in turn supports the farmers and of course our QUEEN!!!

Here is the link to the embarrassingly glowing article she wrote about me

http://www.vanilla.com/index.php/CULINARY-NEWS-AND-TIPS/Culinary-Pros-We-Love/chefany.html

How to make meringue mushrooms

2009-12-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

This may make your holidays a bit more fun!!

Meringue mushrooms are great fun at holiday time. Not only are they a sweet treat but they garnish desserts and pastries with a sense of humor since, if done correctly, most people can not tell they are a candy and not the real thing!

Here is a pictorial lesson on how to make them, I did it for my class last night and now you get the pleasure of trying it on your own.

Meringue

This will make approximately 60 mushrooms

1 cup egg whites

1 cup sugar

Whip the egg whites until a foam starts and then slowly sprinkle the sugar into the whites. Whip until firm peaks form.

Then fold into the meringue:

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

This will strengthen the meringue.

Once the meringues is ready you will need:

1 pastry piping bag

1 large round piping tube

1 or 2 sheet pans with parchment lining

1 Tbl. cocoa powder

a small sifter

Begin piping out the caps onto the sheet pan.

Then take the cocoa powder, put it in the small strainer and holding the strainer bout 18" above the tray gently tap the edge to lightly sprinkle the cocoa over the tops making it look like the spots on a real mushroom.

Then begin to pipe the stems by holding the bags vertically to the pan piping out enough to build a base and then slowly bring the bag up to form a point.

Then sift the cocoa over as you did for the caps. Bake at 200 degrees for about 2 1/2 hours. I then turn the oven off and let them sit over night so they are completely dried out. This way even if it is raining they won't get soft and wet.

To assemble them take a small paring knife and drill a hole in the bottom of the cap, stick the pointed end of the stem in the hole and TA-DA there is your mushroom. Now for a bit more realism you can take some melted coating chocolate and with a small palate knife and after making the hole in the bottom, spead a little chocolate over the bottom of the cap and then put the stem in. The chocolate will not only set and hold the stem in better, make it taste awsome, it will look more like a real button mushroom with the dark underside.

Have fun and don't each too much sugar this holiday..hahahahahahahahahahahah....

2009-12-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

My class has been in the pie section for the last few weeks and I had no idea how fun this section would be. They get so excited by making a traditional pie such as a double crusted apple pie or the lemon custard tart... and last week we made the peach sourcream pie, cherry clafoutis and a lattice topped cherry pie...all adored!

This week we make key lime pie but I added a twist. We made a lime chiffon topping, piled high and topped with whipped cream and lime slices. Then, very seasonally, we made a pumpkin chiffon pie in a graham cracker crust...with a auditing student by my side, she tells me her husband suggested to her to pipe treble cleft notes on her desserts and I thought that was a brilliant idea so I piped the cream in the notes and it looks so cute! Thanks, Celine!

Here are the photos and I will post the recipe for the pumpkin chiffon pie since that would be the most useful this time of the year... please email me if you'd like the key lime...

Only blah blah blah shopping days till the giving day... so you had better start baking now!!

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

1 T. or 3 sheets gelatin (bloom in 3x the water or soak sheets until soft)

½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. ginger

1 ¼ cup canned pumpkin

2 egg yolks

1 ¼ cup evaporated milk

Place all of the above ingredients into the top of a bain marie or double boiler and cook about 10 minutes until it mounds on a spoon or holds a ribbon.
Take off heat and add softened gelatin stirring until dissolved.
Cool pumpkin mixture.

2 egg whites

¼ cup sugar

On an electric mixer whip the egg whites until foam begins to form and then slowly pour in the sugar.
Whip until stiff peaks form being careful not to over whip to dry peaks.
Fold whites into the cooled pumpkin mixture and pour into prepared and pre-baked pie crust.
Let set up in refrigerator for at least an hour and then ice with sweetened whipped cream.

2009-12-12T22:56:00.000-08:00

Chef Mial Parker

2009-12-12T22:33:00.000-08:00

Chef Mial wasn't a good friend to me but a colleague. He lived his life fast and large. He paid the price for it but left a legacy of students who loved him, colleagues who admired him and chefs who envied him. He was a great chef and a passionate teacher. He gave it all to his students hoping they would find the satisfaction that he did in this industry. I am positive many did and will carry on his life's work with the same fun and enthusiasm that Chef Mial gave to the world.

I will miss his wry wit and sexist jokes... the crazy way he made a point when he either loved or hated something... like the time he was giving the nutritional final for his class... he loathed the idea of healthy cooking...so to make this point after the students finished cooking what was required in the curriculum he had them all prepare a banquet for the entire school consisting of fried baloney, cheese whiz and potato chip sandwiches on squishy white bread with tater tots on the side and for dessert... fried twinkies! I laughed until I cried and I ate that food that I personally detest, since after all the point was made and he cooked for us all... He made me laugh, he made me mad, I loved the guy and I will miss him... sorry you had to leave so soon Mial...

Peach Sourcream pie as a thanks for reading!

2009-12-10T19:09:00.001-08:00

Well thank you all for pitching in and getting this baby rolling! I am so new to this and if feels funny writing to cyberspace when I am used to writing emails and such... so thanks!

As far as food and baking goes...I really love this section... a great variety of pies and tarts.

Here is a photo of a sourcream peach pie where being winter and all, we used canned peaches and it turned out so yummy! Not too sweet but the peachy flavor came shining through.

For those of you students who sprung for the Professional Baker by Wayne Gisslen the recipe is in there and if either you are too lazy to pull out the book or don't own it I will publish it here:

Peach sourcream pie

For one 9" pie

Filling:

8 oz. sour cream

4 oz. sugar

1/2 oz. cornstarch

2 beaten eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 pound fresh or canned peaches

Mix the sugar and cornstarch together first.

Add the sourcream and mix, then add the eggs, vanilla and nutmeg.

Gently fold in the peaches and pour into and unbaked prepared crust.

Top with:

6 oz. streusel (recipe below)

(good to have in your freezer for topping on all types of baked goods)

4oz. butter

2 oz. white sugar

2 oz. brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 oz. All purpose flour

Mix all ingredients together until a crumbly mixture if formed.

Bake in a preheated 425 F oven for about 30 - 35 minutes or until firm and set.

Store in refrigerator but serve at room temp for best flavor.

Eat it up!!

readers please!

2009-12-08T10:15:00.001-08:00

As I learn my way through this blogging world, I have to wonder... does anyone even read this stuff??? I know about posting on my facebook page and I do but the comments are few and far between... how long does it take before folks actually WANT to read your blog? And how do I get my blog out to folks to see if they are even interested? I constantly get requests for recipes and ideas for desserts and sweet goods and this, I think, is a great way to put all my recipes and ideas out to the world...but is anyone listening?

So I ask you, dear reader, to please let me know you are there by just saying a word...that's all one little word.... like, "hello", for instance....or "yum"....something...that is all I ask of you. Then I will know I am not wasting my time rambling on about yummy sweet things without anyone caring at all....

Thanks and sweet regards

Chocolate Almond Roca cookie recipe

2009-12-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

I adapted this recipe from one I tasted at a party at my sister in laws. I loved the crunchy cracker, the brown sugar/butter caramel with toasted almonds and chocolate but I wanted more caramely (is that a word?) flavor so I made them with graham crackers and that seemed to do the trick! Enjoy!

Also, I quadrupled the recipe for gift making but below is the formula for making one half sheet pan which is a large cookie sheet...

Chocolate Almond Roca Cookie

You will love the simplicity and result of these very addictive sweets.

Each cookie sheet will make about 2 dozen depending on the size of square
27 minutes ( 15 mins prep time, 12 mins cook time )

To make four times this recipe you will need:

one box of plain graham crackers

6 cups of slivered almonds (sliced will do if you can not find slivered)

2 pounds butter (salted or unsalted both work well)

2 pounds light brown sugar

For each half sheet (12" x 17") pan measure out:

16 graham crackers

1 ½ cups almonds

2 cubes butter (8 ounces)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Make the cookies

Layer an 11 x 17 cookie sheet, with sides, with the graham crackers cut to fit snuggly.
Sprinkle with the almonds and set aside.
Put the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to incorporate the butter
Pour the sugar mix in a thin stream over the almond/cracker base
Place in a 350° F oven for 8 minutes or until bubbly all over.
Remove from oven and while still very hot sprinkle with the chocolate chips.
Run the tines of a fork through the chips to spread over the entire pan.
Set on counter to cools and cut into squares or break into random pieces.
Package in cellophane bags to stay crisp and look good for gifting.

Some notes:

I always toast nuts before using in any baked product this gives a more nutty flavor to your sweets.

Use a semisweet chocolate of good quality. The better the chocolate you use the better the cookies taste! However, with that being said, you must use a chocolate chip so the chocolate doesn’t bloom on your cookies (bloom is the grayish white streaks you sometimes see on chocolate, unsightly but not dangerous only cocoa butter and sugar that has risen to the surface). I prefer Guittard Real Chocolate chips. They come in the baking section of most large grocery stores now and I think are the best quality for this cookie.

2009-12-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

This is a wonderfully soft and tender gingerbread cake. It is rather simple, brown sugar and no molasses but has crystalized ginger which I love. I have another recipe that has black pepper and Guiness Stout in it and it is fabulous! That one is at work and have to type it as well so let me know and I will get to work!

2009-12-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

Here are the pumpkin breads with chocolate chips added... the students came up with that little creative flair. I am not such a big fan of chocolate and pumpkin but HEY whatever floats your boat! I am not one to squelch creativity! I do have a nice pumpkin bread recipe if you are interested. I like the one at the top with the decorations... so veerrry Frennnnchhh

2009-12-03T14:32:00.000-08:00

This is one of the many quick bread/cakes that I graded this morning. It called a Basque cake and is traditional in the Basque region of France. However, we make a version from Chef Bo Fridberg's book "Professional Pastry Chef" that is a little bit different than the traditional. Mostly in the making and panning of the cake but this one is absolutely dreamy! Whenever the students take it home, friends, family, neighbors all want to pay them to make it for them. It has a layer of pastry cream (custard) in the center with a rich buttery cake all around. The cream is baked into the cake so it stays well at room temperature. I know, I know, you want the recipe! Well, you can find it in Chef Bo's book or you can wait for me to type it up and post it... your choice. It may take awhile for me to find the time to type it since I have committed myself to making a go of this blog thingy... but I will get around to it eventually... I promise.

Recipe for Pumpkin souffle roulade

2009-12-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Soufflé Roulade

Prepare a ½ sheet pan measuring 12”x 18” with parchment paper on the bottom… no need to grease the pan.
Preheat your oven to 375°

In a large mixing bowl, measure out :

1 cup pumpkin puree
8 egg yolks
1 Tbl. dark rum
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ginger

Mix together until smooth.

Then have ready:
8 egg whites
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Whip the egg whites with the salt until a foam begins.
Add the sugar very slowly so it absorbs into the whites.
Whip the whites until a stiff but still soft peak forms.
Fold the whites into the pumpkin mixture and carefully lay out the batter
into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. It will rise a bit and then fall when it cools. Don’t be alarmed. This is a soufflé and it will fall. The goal here is to create enough structure in the egg whites that it doesn’t fall completely but leaves a nice ½” thick cake to roll up with whipped cream.

The cream filling:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
2 T. dark rum

Whip the cream with the sugar and rum until stiff peaks form.
Lay the soufflé out on plastic wrap with powdered sugar sifted on it so it doesn’t stick.
Spread the cream over in an even layer.
On the long side of the cake nearest to you, begin to roll the cake up using the plastic wrap. Start by folding the end up in a tiny roll so it makes it easier to roll the cake up. Wrap it in the plastic, refrigerate for several hours and serve with powdered sugar sifted over top.

Pumpkin souffle roulade

2009-12-02T15:07:00.000-08:00

This is one of my fav desserts for the holidays since it is light and not too rich. A perfect end to a heavy filling meal. It is a souffle meaning there is no flour in the cake and the cream is scented with rum... "scented" don't cha love that distracting term??? It has REAL rum in the cream I did not wave the bottle over the mixing bowl for the scent to be imparted! :) I post the recipe if I know people actually read this thing...

Chocolate party!

2009-08-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

In the midst of the cloud of smoke covering my town and seemingly my life... I set out to give a chocolate party for two generous women who paid lots of money to a great cause and won my donated party.

There were 10 women of all ages. One of which has a 94 year old mother who swears she has lived as long as she has because of two things. A screwdriver a day and as much chocolate as she can get a hold of daily. I like this woman and strive live as long as she.

The party was fun and the women attentive as I told the story of chocolate. After which we went into the dining room to dip and decorate the truffles I provided. Three flavors, double dark, orange flower and milk chocolate with peanut butter. This is where grown women turn into kids playing with mud pies! After dipping all the truffles, with chocolate still in their bowls, they began sticking their fingers in to it to eat the remains. Then someone said they needed some dipping material... "HEY, how about the veggies?" So the veggies meant to be dipped in this delicious cheesy dip came to the chocolate table and the results were amazing! The most popular veggie dipped in chocolate was the sweet yellow and red bell peppers, then the cucumber, the celery and last which was pointed out to ruin perfectly good chocolate was the broccoli. This was a first for me! I have had lots of fun things happen at these parties and almost without exception fingers go into the bowls no matter who the clients but the veggies?? Never...so a new chapter is born to my chocolate parties... one with great chocolate and fresh veggies... hmmmm

Try and try again

2009-08-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

I am trying to get this posted on my web site www.chefany.com but it seems that we are having technical difficulties but we will keep on trucking as a famous singer once said...
Tonight we made nougat, marshmallows, graham crackers and ultimately S'mores... all homemade... ok well, class made but you know what I mean!
We made three different recipes for marshmallows and held a marshmallow throwdown... the recipe without the egg whites and without the honey won the test. Then came the fun part.
I took some imported milk chocolate placed it on the fresh out of the oven graham cracker, put a fresh gooey marshmallow on top and then put the whole thing in the oven for a few minutes. When the chocolate was sufficiantly soft then I pulled it out and torched the marshmallow for that dark crispy caramelized layer on top! YUM and YUM again... what fun and what a treat!
I am sugared out though and it is 11 pm and I still have to drive over the hill to my waiting bed... But I don't regret a single calorie :)

2009-08-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have not kept up with this at all... I want to share all the years of knowledge that I have but I haven't been inspired to sit and write...until now... I saw Julie and Julia last night and it wasn't Julie's blog that inspired me but Julia Child's excitement about food and teaching people about food gave me the jump start I needed to get this thing rolling... I will make a promise to myself to write here about what I am teaching and what my students get out of my classes each day I teach them.. which is four days a week at this point... I hope that someone reads and learns something from this and am hoping to link it to my personal web page www.chefany.com

Baking full circle

2009-04-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

I am always saying that life is just a series of circles... you know, you meet people and connect and then life continues and then years later they are for some unknown reason brought back into your life...or you connect with someone is has a close relationship with that person... circles.

Well, for me this time it is my passion for baking that has come full circle. I began in a "natural foods" bakery. Using all whole wheat flour and honey for sweetener. After 8 years of this I longed for white sugar and white flour so I went on that journey. Now here it is almost 40 years later and I am heading back in the natural foods direction.

Of course things have changed tremendously. Instead of just whole wheat flour I will be using spelt, oat and rye flours and instead of honey, agave syrup is my chosen sweetener. Many people are now on special diets and must eliminate dairy, salt, sugar and gluten from their diet so I feel the need to teach those poor folks how to bake delicious goodies using alternative ingredients. The good news is there is massive amounts of research and information on this subject now, unlike when I was trying to convert white flour and white sugar formulas to whole wheat and honey. So at this beautiful new facility on the Westside of Santa Cruz at the brand spanking new New Leaf market I will be teaching natural foods baking classes. This has become so foreign to me of late that I am really excited to research, learn and share with you all. Please check out the schedule at the New Leaf web site or watch the local papers for a printed one and come see me!

decorating class

2008-09-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

I had three gals from the school I teach at come over to my house for some extra instruction on wedding cakes. It was mostly a dishing session but I was able to get their attention and show them many techniques they could use on their wedding cakes... We covered the cake in fondant, made fondant drapes, fondant bows and ribbons and fondant roses both realistic and whimsy style. Then we moved to royal icing and I taught them how to make the three dimensional decorations as well as the flow method of making designs. Next we worked with gum paste and made roses, and small filler flowers as well as leaves. They were very interested in how to use the wire with the gum paste but no one ever realizes how much time it takes to make these little buggers! So we all made rose buds with about 9 petals.

All in all it was a fun day and they walked away feeling far more educated and ready to make their cakes successfully...

2008-08-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so it is a lazy day for me...watching the very end of the olympics and thinking I should be doing something! Like setting up my new camera and beginning the series of shorts I want to post on youtube... I will begin at the beginning...HAHA of course!

Mise en place is the most important part of baking or cooking efficiently and successfully. And what in the heck does that mean, you ask?? or perhaps you are savy or French speaking and you know that means "everything in it's place". So we get all the ingredients we need out and ready. That is JUST the beginning... and then we move into the measuring or in the industry we call it "scaling" since weighing is far more accurate than cup measurements. But for this audience I will begin with measuring and not weighing... but you bet I will insist you all have scales for proper baking! But I am patient and I will give you all time to get what you need to succeed. I will also post my recipes in both american and metric measurements... well, if I can... I will surely try since all the world uses metric but us... ah well...

My first blog!

2008-08-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I have to start somewhere so here I go!

I have been teaching baking for a very long time and I feel I need to reach a larger audience. So I set up a web page, posted a video on youtube and now this! I plan on making all three work together so you can gain as much knowledge as you need to on baking subjects.

I will have recipes, ideas, rants and general information that you may need. I will encourage anyone to write to me for such things as well. I want to post lots of pictures of the food I make and I will post pictures of the baked goods you create with my help!

So stay tuned! And happy baking!