I am a four-season child.
By that I mean I have to live somewhere that has four distinct seasons. I can appreciate the allure of a place that is sunny and warm all year long, perhaps I might even visit said place for some rest or relaxation, but to live there permanently?
Don’t think so.
Spring is pretty. [...]
On the second day of the 12 Days of Cookbooks, I give you Baking for All Occasions.
December 27, 2008.
That’s the day that I purchased Flo Braker’s brilliant baking book.
I pretty much worship at the altar of Flo Braker, who is a stunningly accomplished baker, teacher and food author.
This book was published in [...]
I believe birthday cake is most important.
I would go so far as to say that choosing a birthday cake is one of the most important decisions you can make. For me, the choice of a birthday cake is the establishment of a theme, a mood, a rhythm for your birthday.
I start auditioning cakes [...]
Today is the day that I count birthday candles. Although I must say counting the candles isn’t quite what it used to be…
I prefer to count my blessings. I have a beautiful family, some truly amazing friends, my blog and all of you!
While every year presents both its challenges and its opportunities, I’m always [...]
I know I could have sent a muffin with sprinkles and it would have worked out fine. But “fine” is not the way we roll around here. Sometimes the pressure of an orchard field trip with cider and doughnuts as the class treat is what I need to move from “fine” to “Mom, you’re the best!” I’ve made ‘doughnuts’ before, frying up some Meijer brand buttermilk biscuits (no butter or milk in those…really scary, eh?) and dusting them in powdered sugar. Those are tolerable when fresh, but inedible the next day, and I’ve always felt a bit sheepish about frying up a can of dough.
I think I read through 13 doughnut recipes, tried one that failed terribly (hint: never, ever, deep-fry in lard…no matter what Fanny Farmer or King Arthur say), and then I came upon this winner. These are an egg-free and dairy-free adaptation of a Paula Deen recipe. They’re soft, cakey, slightly sweet…perfect for a fall day with a glass of cider. Enjoy!
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg replacers ( I use Ener-G)
1 cup Tofutti Sour Supreme (Dairy-Free Sour Cream)
1 cup mashed sweet potato ( I bet canned pumpkin would work, but our store had a pumpkin shortage!)
1.) Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
2.) Blend the egg replacers, tofutti and sweet potato until smooth. I used an immersion blender, but a food processor or blender would be fine too.
3.) Add the sweet potato mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and blend carefully with a spoon. Don’t go crazy mixing, or they’ll be tough. The dough is really sticky.
4.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes while you set up the oil and make the icing.
5.) While the oil is heating up to 360 degrees F, roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness, adding flour to your surface and rolling pin to keep things from sticking. Cut into donut shapes. I have a cool set of plastic nesting rounds and the biggest and smallest sizes work perfectly.
6.) Fry in vegetable oil for 2 minutes on the first side, and 1-2 minutes on the second side. Soybean oil is great, canola smells fishy, and lard smells like bovine carcass. Don’t use lard, ever, ever.
7.) Let the donuts cool on paper towel before icing and sprinkling.
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3-4T apple cider
Sounds like a standard September at our house. Honestly, when we have projects…we go big. The girls had 5 and 7 year birthdays this past week, which also coincided with torrential downpours and breaking ground on our addition. We have a serious clay situation in our front yard and the backyard…words fail me. When an engineer designs an addition, prepare for overbuilding. This addition is made of concrete and enough rebar to withstand ‘The Big One’, which might make more sense if we weren’t living in the Midwest.
Kit and Molly find their home.Chocolate Sheet Cake2 cups soy milk1 T. cider vinegar1 1/2 cups sugar2/3 cups oil ( I used canola)1 T. vanilla (optional)2 cups flour2/3 cups cocoa powder ( I used Nestle)1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt1.) Preheat oven to 350. Prepare your cake pan. I used the birthday as an excuse to buy a new metal cake pan, but a Pyrex casserole pan should work fine. Fold a sheet of parchment so it lays crosswise into a 9 x 13 pan and hangs up over the edges (this way you can ‘lift’ the cake out of the pan by the paper to the cooling rack) . Spray well with cooking spray.2.) Whisk soy and vinegar together in a medium bowl and let thicken. Then add the sugar, oil and vanilla. Mix well.3.) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, soda, baking powder and salt. My cocoa and baking soda are always lumpy, so I sift mine into the bowl through a mesh strainer to get out the lumps.4.) Carefully dump and mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Just blend until most of the lumps are out. Don’t beat the heck out of it.5.) Pour batter into your prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the center is set and you can poke a knife into the center and it comes out clean. Let the cake rest for a few minutes before lifting out and cooling on a rack. Cool completely before frosting.Chocolate FrostingYou’ll have extra, so don’t hesitate to take a few spoonfuls while baking.1 stick margarine, softened ( I use Fleischmann’s Unsalted Margarine)1/2 cup shortening1/8 teaspoon of salt, or a couple pinches.1 cup cocoa powder (I use Nestle)5 cups powdered sugar1/4 cup soymilk ( more if needed)1.) Cream the margarine and shortening until fluffy.2.) Add the salt and cocoa powder.3.) Add the powdered sugar slowly. You can add a little of the soymilk as you are trying to mix in all the powdered sugar if things get too thick.4.) Once all the powdered sugar is mixed in, you can start adding soymilk until you get the frosting thickness you want. Sometimes I like it dense, sometimes I like it fluffy and mousse-like.Lemon Sheet CakeThis is a great cake to try some coconut oil. The coconut flavor is very subtle and tastes rather buttery. I bought a big jar on Amazon for half the price of our local health food store, and only $1 shipping. Canola works fine, but you’ll need to crank up the lemon or vanilla flavors, otherwise the cake tastes like bland cornbread. Lemon oil is amazing stuff, I found mine at Williams-Sonoma but King Arthur has it by mail order. It lasts forever in the fridge.2 cups soy milk1 T. cider vinegar2/3 cup oil (I used melted coconut oil)1 1/2 cups sugar1 T. vanilla1/4 teaspoon lemon oil (or 1 teaspoon fine lemon zest, don’t use lemon extract or the cake will taste like floor polish)2 1/2 cups flour1/4 cup cornstarch1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt1.) Preheat oven to 350. Prepare your cake pan. I used the birthday as an excuse to buy a new metal cake pan, but a Pyrex casserole pan should work fine. Fold a sheet of parchment so it lays crosswise into a 9 x 13 pan and hangs up over the edges (this way you can ‘lift’ the cake out of the pan by the paper to the cooling rack) . Spray well with cooking spray.2.) Whisk soy and vinegar together in a medium bowl and let thicken. Then add the sugar, oil and flavorings. Mix well.3.) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, soda, baking powder and salt. My cornstarch and baking soda are always lumpy, so I sift mine into the bowl through a mesh strainer to get out the lumps.4.) Carefully dump and mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Just blend until most of the lumps are out. Don’t beat the heck out of it.5.) Pour batter into your prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the center is set and you can poke a knife into the center and it comes out clean. Let the cake rest for a few minutes before lifting out and cooling on a rack. Cool completely before frosting.Lightly Lemony Frosting1 stick margarine, softened ( I use Fleischmann’s Unsalted Margarine)1/2 cup shortening1/8 teaspoon of salt, or a couple pinches.4 cups powdered sugar1/4 cup soymilk ( more if needed)1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/8 teaspoon lemon oil or 1/4 teaspoon fine lemon zest (not lemon extract)1.) Cream the margarine and shortening until fluffy.2.) Add the salt and cocoa powder.3.) Add the powdered sugar slowly. You can add a little of the soymilk as you are trying to mix in all the powdered sugar if things get too thick.4.) Once all the powdered sugar is mixed in, you can start adding soymilk until you get the frosting thickness you want. Sometimes I like it dense, sometimes I like it fluffy and mousse-like.
Continue reading about Fairy Cakes, American Girl Place and Rebar!
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah they were all yellow …
- Coldplay
While I was in Italy, the incredible Barbara of winosandfoodies.com announced the details of the 2009 LiveSTRONG With a Taste of Yellow event. This is an event that Barbara created as a way of supporting Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG [...]
Hello, blog! Hello, food world! I’ve missed you ever so much!
I had a spectacular vacation in Italy but now I am ready to get back to baking, blogging and all my cookbooks (it seems someone has come into my house and brought more cookbooks for me to look at … I hate it when that [...]
A few months ago, I shared with you the fact that when I want to order a special a cake (and don’t feel like baking it myself), I turn to Rahier Pâtisserie, Toronto’s premiere pastry shop (in my opinion).
Well I had to share another example of the shop’s brilliance with the Gâteau St. Honoré you [...]
Independence Day is a big event around here, with lots of nostalgia. I met my husband 27 years ago on the 4th of July, and he proposed 14 years later… on the 4th of July. Moral of the story…choose carefully who your kids spend their time with…even when they are 8! This dairy-free and egg-free flag cake is a revision on my mother-in-law’s traditional cake, and I think it may rival the original!
Flag Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
2 1/2 sticks dairy-free margarine ( I used Fleischman’s Unsalted Margarine)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Caramel Syrup (recipe below)
4 Ener-G egg replacers whipped until thick (I use an immersion blender)
Splash of vanilla extract
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cup plain soymilk thickened with 2 T. cider vinegarPreheat oven to 350F
Line two small jelly roll pans with parchment, and spray well with cooking spray.1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream margarine until smooth.
2. Add sugar and salt, cream until light and fluffy. This takes forever, I’m not kidding.
3. Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl.
4. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add egg replacers and vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.
5. Sift flour and baking powder together.
6. Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the flour mixture.
7. When Incorporated, add half of the soymilk, a little at a time.
8. Add another third of the flour, then the other half of the soymilk and finish with the flour. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}
9. Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform.Divide batter among the two pans. Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from pan to a cooling rack as soon as you can, if it sits in the pan for too long, it gets really soggy. Cool cake completely before frosting.
Caramel SyrupSugar and water…this stuff is simply magical
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water 1 cup water for “stopping”1. In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand.
2. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush.
3. Turn on heat to highest flame.
4. Cook until rich amber. You can test the color by dabbing a bit on a white plate.
5. When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and prepared to step back.
6. Whisk over medium heat until it the sugar is dissolved and the syrup has reduced slightly. It should be the sticky thickness of maple syrup or warm honey. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Frosting1 tub Tofutti cream cheese (4 ounces, or 1/4 cup), softened
1 stick dairy-free margarine, softened( I use Fleischmann’s Unsalted Margarine)
1 t. vanilla extract
5 cups powdered sugar1.) Cream the Tofutti and margarine together with a hand mixer.
2.) Add the vanilla and enough powdered sugar to make the frosting as thick as you want.
