Recently I was browsing thru Sur la Table and came across Rose extract. Intriguing. On our honeymoon we frequented a nice champagne bar that served Rose Champagne. Not rosé champagne… but rose. Pretty much just a nice champagne poured over a pink rose petal… and a bit of rose syrup added in. The rose was delicate but distinct and to this day, DH remembers it well. So when I came across the small bottle of rose extract, I figured I had to buy it and see what I could come up with. Hmmm… could I find the right balance? Just the right item to showcase this wonderful extract. I mean, too much of it and it’s like eating grandma’s hand-soap… blecccch! But just the right amount? Ohhhh so lovely. DH’s daughter absent-mindedly grabbed one of these chiffon tea-cakes w/rose buttercream icing and asked “what kind of frosting is this – I think it’s the best ever”. Coming from a mood-swingy 15 year old, that’s quite a statement! LOL
The chiffon cake part is simply my boyfriend’s recipe for Chiffon Cupcakes which I baked in a square shape using this pan here
which I used for these lovelies, too. The method for making chiffon cake calls for separated eggs… the yolks blended in the batter and the whites whipped to stiff peaks then gently folded in. This makes for a very light cake with a distinct crumb.
In his recipe, my boyfriend (uhm… that’s Alton Brown, btw) mentions baking these cakes in ovenproof coffee mugs. Cute idea… but our coffee mugs are functional (read: unattractive). Instead I reached into the china cabinet and pulled out these cute little tea-cups from a china set I’ve had since I stashed it away in my closet as a googly-eyed teenager dreaming of marrying prince charming (which I did btw… I married the nerdy-boy who lived across the street growing up… he’s my prince charming… a total hack just like my boyfriend Alton Brown… yup… I have a thing for the nerdy-boys! LOL).
Were my tea-cups “ovenproof”? Heck I had no idea I just threw caution to the wind, loaded them with batter and baked ‘em in the oven. Came out pretty good too :)
For the rose buttercream icing, I wanted something silky smooth… something creamy… something unforgettably dreamy. While the base recipe is not available online this fantastic gem of a frosting recipe came from my boyfriend’s episode “Honey I Shrunk The Cake” which can be viewed here on YouTube (I tried imbedding a launchable link to it… didn’t work so the clickable link is the best I can do… hey… come on… no hating… cut a girl some slack… I tried… I did! I did!). Quite arguably it’s among the top two buttercream icing recipes I’ve ever tried. Fantastically good. And with the addition of the rose extract, it beautifully complements the chiffon tea-cakes. (btw, click here for my #1 hands-down favorite buttercream icing)
Rose Buttercream Icing
Adapted from Alton Brown’s Buttercream
Ingredients
6 oz butter (at room temperature)
2 oz shortening (at room temperature)
1 egg (room temperature)
16oz confectioner’s sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp rose extract
Directions
Using a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) on high speed, combine butter & shortening until well blended.
Mix in the egg until well combined – about 2 minutes.
With the mixer on low begin to add the sugar in small amounts ensuring each addition is well blended before adding the next.
After the sugar is fully incorporated, add the vanilla and rose extracts.
Blend well on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Have a delicious day :)
Posted in alton brown, buttercream icing, cake, recipes | 11 Comments »
Tonight, I couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen. It’s been uber-stressful at work and I’ve been coming home exhausted… falling asleep on the sofa by 7pm most nights. Although I’ve been wanting to bake, I just haven’t had the energy to bake. But today at work I vowed to change that tonight. I pulled out one of my most trusted cookbooks, found a lovely-sounding recipe for Shortbread cookies… then added a touch of culinary lavender. Delish!
One of my favorite cookbooks is Joy of Cooking. It’s not full of beautiful, high-impact, gorgeous, glossy color photos… it’s over 1,100 pages of recipes, techniques, conversions, equivalences and instruction. I have the 75th anniversary version and I’m going to start baking at least one recipe each week from it. If you don’t have this book, it’s one I highly recommend (along with the other cook/bake books on the right sidebar of this page).
Lavender Shortbread Cookies
(adapted from Joy of Cooking)
Ingredients
3/4c butter – softened
1/4c powdered sugar
1/4c granulated sugar
1 1/2c all-purpose flour
1/4t culinary lavender
Directions
Preheat oven to 300F
Using a mortar -&- pestle, crush the lavender almost to powder – set aside
In a large bowl, combine the butter and both sugars.
Add in the flour and combine until well blended.
Add the crushed lavender and combine well.
Press the dough, evenly into an ungreased 8″ square baking pan.
Using a fork, deeply pierce the dough all over
Bake until lightly browned, darker at the edges… approximately 50-55 minutes.
Remove from oven and cut into squares immediately.
Cool in pan or remove to wire rack.
If you prefer, the lavender can be omitted. Either way, this is a simple and delicious cookie.
Enjoy!
Posted in cookies, recipes | 6 Comments »
If you love cake… especially chocolate cake and truly think there’s no such thing as too much chocolate well keep reading cuz I have a cake for you…
It all started with DS having a birthday this past week. Being a serious chocolate lover he requested a chocolate cake. That’s all he cared about… that it was chocolate. But not just a regular chocolate cake. Oh no. He asked if I’d please make his cake and only use chocolate because that is his favorite.
I came up with an idea: a chocolate cake with chocolate pudding between the layers, chocolate buttercream frosting on the top layer, then bathed in chocolate ganache and decorated in more chocolate buttercream. Wow – that’s mega-chocolate-overload in my book… but he LOVED IT and everyone else raved about it too. My mother raved. My mother-in-law raved. Friends, neighbors, my hair dresser and both presidential candidates all raved about this cake. Okay, so I’m fibbing about the presidential candidates but I betcha if they tasted it they would! I even got one comment that this cake would be a sure-fired cure for PMS ;-)
Honestly – the concept just came to me and it was a snap to carry out.
The chocolate cake? I used the recipe on the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa Powder box.
The chocolate pudding? I used a milk chocolate version of Dorie’s chocolate pudding which has been posted here
The chocolate buttercream? I used a milk chocolate version of the chocolate buttercream I posted about here
The chocolate ganache? I used the recipe posted here
Bake it. Slice it. Fill it. Frost it. Bathe it. Decorate it. See there… not very hard at all :) You can do it – I know you can. I’ve given you the recipes… and the techniques are straight forward and found throughout my blog. Go for it. Who knows, the presidential candidates might rave about your cake too =)
Have a delicious day!
Posted in Chocolate, Dorie Greenspan, buttercream icing, cake, recipes | 25 Comments »
Some things are worth the time it takes to make them… artisan bread… Alton Brown’s Overnight Cinnamon Rolls, the perfect party cake… and The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart. Hey, I’m not kidding – that’s what Dorie calls it and with that kind of name well ya just know I had to make it!
I’ve only had Dorie’s book, Baking From My Home To Yours, for a couple of months now and two recipes just lured me in… time and time again. The first was The Perfect Party Cake which I’ve made several times and several ways – an absolute winner in my book! The second was The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while (like longer than today! LOL) you already know I love lemon desserts. They are my #1 absolute favorite. Have all the chocolate desserts you want… just save the lemon for me and we’ll both be happy :)
As I’m writing this post, I’m savoring a slice of this marvelous tart. It’s smooth… it’s silky… it has a fabulous shortbread crust… and I’ve topped it with some freshly whipped rose-flavored cream. Yeah… pretty darn fantastic to me.
Making the crust takes a little bit of time… and making the lemon cream takes a little bit of time… and then you have to chill the cream for 4hrs or overnight {insert sound of screetching tires here}… WHAT? WAIT FOUR HOURS? Beyond a shadow of a doubt that is THEE hardest part of this whole recipe. But after you survive that wait (and yeah, you will survive it! LOL) you assemble this beauty… and then wait again while it sets up in the chiller. And finally… finally… you get to taste that first bit. Wowza… this is soooooooo good! If you love lemon, you gotta make this. Really, you gotta. I won’t lie to ya… there’s enough butter in this dessert that eating a single slice I think you can actually feel your arteries clogging up. Well, not really, I guess that wouldn’t be the case if you ate a normal-sized slice. Me? Being the lemon-dessert-afficianado that I am, I had a gigantaur-sized slice. I can’t help it… it’s sooooooo good! All that butter in the filling is what transforms it from lemon-curd into lemon cream and makes this The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart (as opposed to A Really Good Lemon Tart).
In assembling the tart, I noticed that my filling wasn’t as tall as Dorie’s picture in the book so I thought next time I’d make 50% more of the filling. Then I checked the recipe again and it calls for a 9″ tart pan… d’oh! Mine is 11″ so no wonder the filling wasn’t as tall. But never fear… the filling was just as good. Is it really The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart? Hmmm… considering it’s the only french lemon cream tart I’ve ever had, I have nothing to compare it to. But I trust Dorie and if she says it’s The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart, then I believe it :)
Buy her book… and make this tart. You’ll be glad you did :)
Have a delicious day!
Posted in Dorie Greenspan, lemon | 16 Comments »
