December 6, 2014March 31, 2016 by Rachel Sally

Fizz!

File this one under: Anything But Vegetables.

A certain blonde with whom I live is going to be very happy to see this post be published—

that’s right, friends, this is Alexa’s birthday cake.

Remember last year? Of course you do, I link back to that post ALL the time. Lauren Conrad pinned it, for God’s sake.

It’s been a bit more than a year, now, that Alexa and I have been friends. Miraculously, we are both still alive and have, for the most part, all of our limbs (Grandma, I’m kidding).

Who knew that the gals I met on the first day of O-week would be my roomies, my #1 wingwomen, my comfort blankets and tissue fetchers and popcorn sharers and best friends?

Spoiler: Alexa definitely didn’t. She was fairly certain I hated her…
(She still hasn’t gotten the hint, guys. I think she’s following me.)

Anyways, it’s been quite an eventful year+ and I couldn’t be more grateful to have spent it with such good people.

I couldn’t have asked for a better house-mate, better roommate, and better friend. Alexa is such a giver and can ALWAYS put a smile on my face or at least a blanket round my shoulders.
She knows what to say, ~~who to hate,~~ how to make popcorn the best, and how to be the most loyal, loving friend out there.
Ugh. So much love.

To celebrate her birthday, I made an over-the-top cake, obviously.

Alexa loves diet coke, as a sorority girl should.
Alexa loves chocolate and vanilla bean, like normal people do.
Alexa thinks that salted caramel is the stuff of gods (she is right).

Alexa is looking over my shoulder and ~~drooling~~ wishing for another cake right now—
“Please? I ate this for all three meals.”

Alexa is going to kill me for putting that up on the internetz but it’s ok friends I will survive because I am holding birthday cake oreo cupcakes hostage right now.
(Look for those here in the coming weeks!!!)

I knew I had to make a chocolate coca cola cake, and I wanted to incorporate a fat vanilla bean and some gold and sparkly caramel in there somewhere as well.

The end result is a rich, moist chocolate cola cake with vanilla bean buttercream swirled with heaps of salted caramel glammed up with gold luster dust and chocolate sprinkles.

It’s sparkly and gooey and sweet and salty and I think it was just about a perfect way to celebrate my BFF’s birthday.

Some notes on the cake:
you can make the cake portion and the caramel ahead, but make the frosting right before you are going to decorate the cake; the finished cake can be stored in a cool place at room temperature overnight.
The luster dust is optional, but a very nice glam touch to the caramel on top of the cake.
This caramel recipe is good for pouring, so if you don’t want to smudge it on the sides, just pour it over the top and let it drip down!

Happy belated birthday, darling girl.
You’re wonderful.

Alexa’s Birthday Cake
Coca cola + chocolate + caramel + vanilla bean
makes 1 3-layer 6-inch cake
cake portion adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

ingredients:
for the cake:
1 cup (240 mL) Coca cola
1/2 cup (120 mL) vegetable oil
1/2 cup (113 grams) butter
1/4 cup (30 grams) dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup (120 mL) buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (240 grams) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

for the salted caramel:
100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
30 grams (2 tablespoons) water
1 tablespoon corn syrup
90 grams (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon gold luster dust, if desired

for the vanilla bean frosting:
1 1/2 cups (350 grams) butter, soft
1 whole vanilla bean, scraped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup (30 mL to 60mL) half-and-half

directions:
Make the cake: grease and flour 3 6-inch round pans and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place butter, oil, coca cola, cocoa powder, and salt in a large pot.
Heat over medium heat, whisking, until it comes to a boil.
Pour the hot mixture over the sugar and whisk to combine.
Whisk in the eggs vigorously.
Stir in the buttermilk and vanilla extract.
Whisk flour and baking soda together, then stir into the batter.
Portion batter out into the prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, until springy to the touch and a tester comes out clean.

Make the caramel: heat the sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt together, whisking at the beginning until they dissolve.
Stop stirring and allow to caramelize into an amber color, then remove from heat and quickly whisk in butter and cream, being careful of the splattering.
Whisk until completely smooth, adding luster dust if desired, then allow to cool before using.

Make the frosting: place butter and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high for 6 full minutes.
Scrape the bowl and add the vanilla bean and powdered sugar; stir on low speed until powdered sugar is incorporated, then beat on high while slowly drizzling in 2 tablespoons of half and half.
If the frosting is too thick, add more half and half until the proper consistency is reached.
Beat on high speed for 2 minutes, then use immediately to frost the cake as desired.

February 11, 2014 by Rachel Sally

Sakura-iro

Oh, I know how it is in the spring
when Japonica’s in bloom
and rivers of many waters bring
life to the unplucked fruit.
Then the vineyards of the Maidens flower
on every shaded vine;
all flourish in that restful hour—
but, oh, this can’t be mine!
All seasons are the same to Love,
it’s always time to storm;
thunder is always flashing over
my head, and there’s a swarm
of desiccating furies in my mind.
Love chews away my heart
from the roots, in the dark.

Ibycus, Fragment 286

It makes me sad when people say they hate Valentine’s day.

I love Valentine’s day! Not because I spend it with anyone special (womp womp) but because I love the idea.

I love love.

I guess I can see the strikes against Valentine’s day (too mushy, too commercialized, too silly, too much effort) BUT my gosh just how wonderful of a concept is it, honest and truly?

A day to celebrate love: a day to show your appreciation to those who make your life a little bit better every day.
A day to share tokens, sweets, and affection with your sweetheart, with your friends, with your family.
A day to honor a man who accepted illicit love, who just wanted people to be happy and content.

Appropriate, with all that’s going on in Sochi at the Winter Olympics.

People are people. Love is love.
Everyone deserves to be loved; everyone deserves to give love.

Regardless of whether you like Valentine’s day or not, I know y’all like cake.

And so that is what I’m bringing you.
I’m sharing love and cake. Doesn’t that just sound like the best combination ever?

Cake, love, and pocky. Sign me up.

Isn’t this little cake the cutest! Oh! It makes me so happy. Happy cake love. Happy, pinky, red velvet cake love.
It abounds.

Pink for all! All the pink. This cake doesn’t have to be only for Valentine’s day. Pink is a year-round color
(Although perhaps especially appropriate for Wednesdays.)

Speaking of pink…
Have you ever had Japanese Pocky?
They’re little biscuit sticks, dipped in chocolate. They’re crunchy, creamy, and utterly addictive.

In fact, true story: I have been planning on making this cake for ages, not even necessarily for Valentine’s day.
I purchased a bunch of Pocky from Amazon, but kept stalling making the cake (and munching on Pocky).
Eventually, I had eaten all the Pocky!!!!!
So, another bulk order later, I decided to make the cake ASAP.
Since we’re in the depths of Valentine’s day themed posts on this blog, I knew the pink would be perfect.

And what a pink it is! Pale and not too orangey, it’s the color of cherry blossoms (sakura-iro).
A lovely contrast to the vivid cake within.

Red velvet brownies, rich and a touch chocolaty, are dense and moist, somewhere between a cake and a true brownie. They make a perfect base for our cake.
They get a generous swirl of cream cheese frosting, fluffy, tangy, and sweet, and a heap of fresh sliced strawberries, which are a nice foil to all the richness going on in the cake and frosting.

The whole deal is ringed with strawberry/white chocolate pocky sticks and tied with some baker’s twine.

A bite with a little of everything is a myriad of flavors and textures:
toothsome and rich brownies
tangy and soft cream cheese frosting
fresh, bright strawberries
crunchy sprinkles
crisp, creamy pocky!

Cuteness (and deliciousness) to the max!

All the red and pink going on in this cake make it quite fun; the pocky sticks are visually exciting and make this cake a real statement piece.
This is a bold cake.
Cutting into it is a surprise; the bright red velvet is a stark contrast to the pastel exterior.
It would make a great birthday cake, especially for a little girl who loves pink. Omg.

If you can’t tell, I’m mildly obsessed with this cake. I can’t stop using exclamation points.
IT’S JUST SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!

I want to stick Pocky on the outsides of all my cakes, from now on.
(Another perk: no need to worry about the neatness of your frosting job. Score.)

IMG_7853_01

Anyways, be mine?

Parce que je te kiffe!

Red Velvet Brownie Cake
ingredients:
for the red velvet brownie layers:
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons red food coloring
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

for the cream cheese frosting:
8 tablespoons (1 stick, 1/2 cup) butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, or as needed
1/4 cup powdered milk
drop of pink or red food coloring
to assemble:
7 or 8 packages of strawberry pocky, inspected for broken sticks
10 strawberries, sliced thickly
sprinkles, for the top (I used sugar pearls)
directions:
Make the cake layers:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease and flour 2 6-inch pans.
Beat butter with sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Add in the eggs and yolk and beat for 4 more minutes; mixture should be very glossy and not grainy.
Whisk the buttermilk, food coloring, and vanilla together.
Whisk all the dry ingredients together.
Scrape the bowl with the butter and add in the wet and dry ingredients while mixing on low.
Beat on high to fully homogenize the batter, then spread into prepared pans.
Bake for 20 minutes, until a tester comes out with only a few crumbs.

Make the frosting: beat butter and salt on high speed for 5 minutes, until fully softened and fluffy.
Add in cream cheese and beat for 4 more minutes; the mixture should be very fluffy, light colored, and homogeneous.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat for 2 more minutes; add the powdered sugar and powdered milk and slowly beat to combine.
Add more powdered sugar if the consistency is too runny still (up to another 1/2 cup).
Tint frosting to desired shade with food coloring.

Assemble the cake:
Place a dollop of frosting on cake plate, then place first cake layer on top.
Spread a thick layer of frosting onto the top of the first cake layer, then arrange strawberry slices over.
Spread a thick layer of frosting on the bottom of the second layer, then gently place it over the strawberry slices.
Frost the rest of the cake generously, making sure the sides have plenty of frosting to stick the pocky to.
One at a time, press the pocky sticks into the side of the cake, biscuit side up.
Add sprinkles to the top, if desired, and tie with a ribbon (remove to cut).
Serve with cold milk and extra strawberries!

January 11, 2014 by Rachel Sally

Keep Calm

“Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk of happy things.”

-Chaim Potok

“Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world.”

-Tien Yiheng

“Strange, how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company.”

-Author Unknown

IMG_7347_01

“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone, “so I can’t take more.”
“You mean you can’t take less,” said the Hatter: “it’s very easy to take more than nothing.”

-Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

There is always time for tea and room for cake.
Or, in this case, both.

Chocolate cakes infused with Earl Grey tea in two manners: dry tea leaves, and hot brewed tea.
The sweet, floral undertones, which have orange and verbena notes, as well as the astringent black tea leaves, contrast well with the deep and rich chocolate cake.
The Italian meringue buttercream is made with honey and golden syrup, resulting in a salty-sweet, silky delight that tastes like the top of a good piece of toast, minus the bread, which is the worst part anyway.

I might actually like cupcakes again.
This recipe only makes 6, which is perfect (I don’t need 24 cupcakes floating around my house, people…), and is a marriage of unexpected flavors which ended up working inexplicably well.

The best recipe for health and happiness:
good books, better tea, and, of course, delicious cupcakes.

Teatime Cupcakes
makes 6
cake portion adapted from Sweetapolita
ingredients:
for the chocolate Earl Grey cakes:
48 grams (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) flour
75 grams (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) sugar
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon cornstarch
big pinch kosher salt
15 grams (2 tablespoons) cocoa powder
1 tablespoon loose Earl Grey leaves
40 mL (2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons) buttermilk
1 medium egg (if using a large egg, beat it well before adding it, and remove 2 teaspoons of beaten egg)
30 mL (2 tablespoons) hot Earl Grey tea
25 mL (1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons) vegetable oil
splash vanilla extract

for the honey golden syrup IMBC:
111 grams (1/3 cup) honey
111 grams (1/3 cup) golden syrup
scant 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 egg whites
230 grams (1 cup) butter, cut into small pieces and soft but cool

directions:
For the cakes, line 6 muffin tins with cupcake papers.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and powder, cornstarch salt, tea leaves, and cocoa powder together.
Into the dry ingredients, add the buttermilk, egg, hot tea, oil, and vanilla.
Whisk very well to combine. (It will be a very thin batter.)
Fill each cupcake well with 1/4 cup of batter.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until domed and springy to the touch, and a tester comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the honey golden syrup IMBC:
Place the egg whites, along with a pinch of cream of tartar, in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Place the honey, golden syrup, and salt in a small sauce pot over medium heat.
Begin to whisk the eggs.
When the syrup reaches 230 degrees, the eggs should almost be at soft peaks.
When the syrup reaches 240 degrees, the egg whites should have soft peaks that are almost stiff.
Pour the syrup carefully, down into the bowl while the mixer is running.
Beat the meringue until it has cooled to body temperature, then beat in the butter one tablespoon at a time.
Beat until the buttercream has become very fluffy and light.
Frost cupcakes as desired.

P.S.

October 7, 2013October 7, 2013 by Rachel Sally

My Kind of Town

Warning: cliché tourist-y Chicago pictures ahead.

It’s weird to think that I live in a city now.
I’m a small town girl, born and raised in ~~heaven~~ Ithaca.
Living in a city is different. I’ll grow used to it (I already have) but there is a lot more hustle and bustle and many fewer friendly faces. (It’s true!)

I miss Ithaca. I love my hometown. It’s, well… my home!
This weekend, I missed the apple festival, which is my favorite fest in Ithaca.
I miss fall/nature. Cities are kinda weird for me in terms of the absence of animals.
I’ve seen, like, 3 squirrels since I’ve been here.
I miss my fam.
I really, really, really miss my dog.
And I kinda sorta miss my cats.

So I’m still getting used to being away from home, and also being in a city.
Pretty standard college stuff… I ain’t stressed.
I must say, though, the architecture in Chicago (and uChic, but that’s for another post… Coming attractions!) is amazing.
I love walking around this city. It’s inspiring and so, so beautiful.
So, photos. Tourist-y photos. Sorry not sorry.

The cake you see here was the first thing I made upon arriving at college.
It was for someone in my house; their birthday was in the middle of o-week.
It was a disaster.
The first batch I made didn’t seem to be setting up, and was overflowing like crazy out of the pans.
Aside from new kitchen jitters, I knew something else was going on.
Upon further inspection, I realized I had used whole milk in the batter, which had added enough fat that the gluten never properly formed, resulting in overflow and explains the never-setting-up part.
Oh well. My friends and I ate the molten cake and I made up another batch the next day; only one of the first cakes was salvageable.
The frosting is a simple Italian meringue buttercream with a few ounces of chocolate mixed in.

P.S. You can see some more Chicago/tourist photos on my flickr, in the Chi-Town set.

Click here.

The recipe for the cake is here.
I spread raspberry jam in between the layers.
For chocolate Italian meringue buttercream, halve this recipe and, right after whipping in the butter, add in 4 ounces of melted and cooled chocolate.

June 25, 2013September 13, 2013 by Rachel Sally

Mac Attack

Because it’s impossible not to smile while eating a pink cookie with sprinkles.

Because why not trash up a classic French pastry with America’s favorite flavor? (Birthday cake, duh.)

AKA funfetti.

AKA sprinkles.

Just look at these cute little macs.

They’re pink. And sprinkled. And yes, they taste like birthday cake.

I think I’m finally getting the hang of making macarons!

I thought I would share a few of my personal tips and tricks for macaron success, although I won’t lie and say that making these cookies isn’t still stressful or difficult or volatile… I have shells that crack too, it’s just that now I better understand/can better explain these fatalities.

1. I no longer make macarons the French way, which involves heating egg whites with sugar over a double boiler and then making a meringue.

This process is identical to making a Swiss meringue, which I no longer do either. (more on this in an upcoming post!)
Rather, I use the Italian (sucre cuit, cooked sugar) method to make my macarons (and buttercream, but like I said… hold your horses for an in-depth tutorial).

This involves mixing half of your egg whites with almond meal and confectioner’s sugar, and making a cooked meringue with a hot sugar syrup and the other half of the egg whites.

You then marry the two mixtures by performing macaronage, or folding and gently mixing, and finally, you pipe out your shells.

2. I don’t worry about the age or temperature of my egg whites (thanks, Stella!). To be honest, however, I almost always have aged egg whites stored in my fridge from recipes needing only or mostly yolks, and these are the whites I use most often for making meringue buttercreams or macarons.

However, if I don’t have the full weight of whites needed, I’ll simply crack open a fresh egg.

It theoretically shouldn’t matter, and I don’t find that it does.

P.S. If you haven’t been saving your unused, unloved egg whites, shame on you!

That’s money down the drain!

Save them and use them in buttercream or macarons or angel food cake, or feed your dog a nice egg white omelet to make their coat super shiny and soft.

Waste not want not!

3. I mix my (gel) food coloring in with my almond flour- not my meringue.

I find that this better distributes the color and ensures that there are no pockets of food coloring that can lead to streaks and holes in your macarons.
When I am partially mixing my almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, and half of the egg whites, I also add in a dab of food coloring (Wilton Rose, for these shells) and gently mix until the mixture is dusty and dry but streaked and there are no globs of food coloring.

4. I let my shells dry before baking.

This is something a lot of people don’t buy into, but I’ve found that the extra 30 minute drying period really helps ensure that my shells have feet and don’t crack.

Regardless of others’ experiences, this is what has consistently worked for me.

Different strokes for different folks.

5. I never use silpats.

Seriously, people, parchment is best for macarons.

I find that silpats stick and tend to pull the bottom right off my macs. They’re impossible to pry off, and I end up gouging giant holes in the bottom or cracking the shells right in half when I try to wrench them off of a silpat with a paring knife.

Not a pretty scene, take it from me.

6. I use heavy-duty sheet pans, or double up on flimsier ones.

This is a big help with cracking, which generally occurs when the inside/bottom of the shell is cooking too fast, causing the interior to expand and the top to rupture.

Using thick (or double) sheet pans also prevents the bottoms of the macs from browning, which is not quite so pretty but still tasty.

If you have trouble with cracking, try using two sheet pans for your macarons.

It just might help.

These aren’t the easiest baking project in the world, and are somewhat fussy little cookies.

But once you find a set of guidelines that work for you, you may just be swept away by the macaron mania.

There are endless possibilities for these little French cuties, and you can mix and match shells and fillings to your hearts delight.

The filling recipe that I’ve created for these is scary in that it tastes exactly like the frosting out of a can- in a good way.

I will admit that it is slightly less sweet and a bit more creamy, but it is nearly an exact copy-cat.

How did I make this up? I threw a bunch of stuff in a bowl, tasted, adjusted, tasted, adjusted, and, once satisfied, licked the rest of the bowl (after all those tastings, there wasn’t much left anyways!).

Who needs fillings for macarons anyways?!

Pulling a successful batch of macarons out of your oven is reason for celebration unto itself, so why not celebrate with cake?

Birthday Cake Macarons
for the shells:
adapted from DessertFirst Girl
ingredients:
100 grams almond flour
100 grams confectioner’s sugar
200 grams sugar
50 grams water
pinch of cream of tartar
150 grams egg whites, divided into 2 75-gram portions
approximately 1/4 teaspoon pink gel food coloring
directions:
Line 2 or 3 heavy duty baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a food processor, process the almond flour and confectioner’s sugar.
Dump into a bowl with 75 grams of the egg whites and the pink food coloring.
Mix partially with a spatula until mostly combined but still streaked with dry ingredients.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar and the water in a saucepan.
Cook the syrup to 245 degrees F.
While the syrup is cooking, whip the second 75 gram portion of egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar.
The egg whites should be just a tiny bit shy of stiff peaks when the syrup comes to temperature.
The peaks should be stiff, just not dry.
Once the whites have whipped and the syrup is up to temp, slowly and carefully drizzle the syrup over the meringue with the mixer on low, until all of the syrup is used up.
Beat on high until cooled slightly.
The meringue should be smooth, thick, and glossy, and hold a “beak” on the end of your whisk.
Scoop all of the meringue on top of the almond meal mixture and begin to fold and turn your batter.
Continue to turn and scrape the bowl while folding the mixture until it falls in a ribbon and flows like magma.
The ribbon that cascades off of your spatula should disappear into the mixture after 10 seconds. (Please see Anita or Heather’s picture tutorials for a clearer idea.)
Place batter into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe 1 inch circles onto your baking sheets.
Preheat oven to 320-325 degrees F while shells dry.
Bake for 15 minutes, changing the top rack to the bottom and vice versa halfway through the baking.
Shells are done when one can be lifted cleanly and easily off of the parchment, with no browning on the bottom.
Allow to cool on a wire rack.
for the faux canned frosting:
ingredients:
115 grams (1 stick, 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1+ cup confectioner’s sugar (this is to taste; I always add less confectioner’s sugar and build my way up, tasting as I go. I prefer things much less sweet, so I advise you to taste as you go with any recipe, as they often call for a lot of sugar. What I have listed here is my preference and is not too sweet.)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk powder
pinch salt
splash vanilla extract
splash butter extract (trust me!)
directions:
Beat butter and cream cheese on high until very creamy and smooth.
Scrape sides and beat in confectioner’s sugar.
Mixture should be fluffy and light.
Add in the heavy cream and beat to combine- mixture may look curdled.
Add in the milk powder and beat on low to combine.
Add in the salt and extracts and beat on high.
If mixture is too runny, add a bit more confectioner’s sugar and/or milk powder.
If it is too thick, add in heavy cream or half and half a teaspoon at a time- it can go from too thick to runny very quickly, so beat well between additions.
to assemble the macarons:
ingredients:
shells
frosting
sprinkles
directions:
Spread half of the shells with about a teaspoon and a half of the filling, then sandwich with another shell.
Fill a small bowl with sprinkles, then roll the edges of each macaron in the sprinkles.
There should be enough filling exposed on the edges to pick up sprinkles around the middle of the mac.
Allow to “mature” overnight if possible, but definitely allow the flavors and textures at least 2 hours to mingle and get comfortable before eating.
Enjoy!

March 5, 2013September 13, 2013 by Rachel Sally

Knockoff

Not all knockoffs are like that fake Juicy Couture bag I bought at the Silk Market in Beijing.

The one which turned out, once inspected in a brighter lighting and clearer mindset, to be a brown-and-pink diaper bag with a malfunctioning zipper.

Take these cookies, for example. They’re a take on those lovely, pillowy “Lofthouse” style sugar cookies that you can buy in every single supermarket in America.

You know the ones… They come in packages of six or ten or so, generally with pink or blue Crisco-based “butter”cream icing adorned with heaps of sprinkles, which, during appropriate holiday rushes, change into seasonally themed icing and sprinkles.

They’re so bad…. But so very, very soft. And hard to resist.

Editor’s note:

[While perusing their website, which took an inordinately long time to load, discovered that they now come in red velvet [?!] and frosted with nerds [?!!]. Suspicious whether this is good idea or very, very bad one. Must say, nerds are great.

Therefore still on fence about nerd-frosted sugar cookies.

Also noted: holidays featured are Easter, Halloween, 4th of July, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Thanksgiving.

Wonderful!!! All imaginable holiday cookie needs covered!

Perusing further, discovered watermelon and sugar plum flavored sugar cookies (and, of course, ubiquitous and gratuitous pumpkin).

Must ask what a sugar cookie designed to mimic sugar plum even tastes like?

Best guess: saccharine.

Watermelon? Can only think of sticking Hubba Bubba into a cookie and dyeing the whole thing bright green. Mmmmm refreshing.

Nearly done with snottiness.

Blue-, pink-, yellow- and white-frosted cookies considered disparate flavors/groups?!

Found one difference: which number dye goes in at end of mixing time.

Last and most important point: how does “purple-boo” icing taste? And why not kosher?]

Oh, and actually… Props to Lofthouse for trying to be more eco-friendly. It’s hard for me to love the cookies anymore, but I sure as heck appreciate that.

Here. Now that you’ve endured an entire post of whining and carrying on, why don’t you enjoy a big, fat, soft cookie with a sweet, buttery swirl of icing on top?

These cookies are wonderful. So soft and fluffy, perfectly offset by a mound of buttercream. I also made free-form rose flavored sprinkles/shards to top the whole thing off.

Subtle, and not overly perfume-y. Just what I was going for.
I don’t want people thinking I poured a bottle of my nicest Chanel into my cookies. Feel me?

I loved this recipe… Easy and produced great results. I highly recommend it!

Faux Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

from Two Peas and Their Pod

ingredients:

6 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces( 16 tablespoons) butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon (I added much more… I like vanilla) vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sour cream

directions:

Stir together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Scrape the sides.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Scrape the sides.

Beat in the vanilla and sour cream just until combined.

Mix in the dry ingredients just until the dough comes together and is fully mixed.

Divide into 2 disks and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line sheet pans with parchment or silpats.

Lightly dust a clean surface with flour, and turn one of the refrigerated disks out.

Roll out to a thickness of 1/4 inch, then cut out desired shapes.

Bake for 7 minutes, then let cool on wire racks.

Gather scraps, refrigerate for a little (10 minutes) if they are becoming warm and elastic, then re-roll.

Repeat with other dough.

American Buttercream Frosting

ingredients:

1 stick butter

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar, sifted

big pinch of salt

splash of vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of cream, as needed

directions:

Beat the butter until smooth and fluffy.

Sift in the sugar, add the salt and vanilla extract, and beat on low speed until incorporated.

Beat on high speed for about 20 seconds, until everything is homogeneous. If the frosting is thick, add some cream or milk in small increments until it is spreadable.

Spread a thick layer onto each cookie, leaving a slight mound in the center of the cookie. Spin the cookie while lightly pressing down in the center to create a small well for your sprinkles!

Rose Shards:

Use this recipe (brilliant!), but add in a drop of rosewater and spread it very thinly and evenly over a sheet of parchment instead of piping lines out. Let dry completely, then break apart into little shattered pieces. Use it to garnish the frosted cookies.

February 5, 2013September 13, 2013 by Rachel Sally

Chewy Gooey Louie

Anyone need any more proof of American absurdity? (probably not, but here goes)

English: confetti

French: confetis

Finnish: konfetit

Portugese: confete

Spanish: confeti

German: Konfeti

Greek: komfetí

Swedish: konfetti

…

American: funfetti

I never keep box mixes around the house.

I find it faster, easier, and more delicious to weigh out the few ingredients needed for a cake: flour, sugar, baking powder and/or soda, etc.

This is not to condemn box mixes! This is a no judgement zone, people.

I get it.

Chaqu’un a son goût.

I started out with mixes (Heck, who didn’t?!).

My parents bought me an Easybake when I was a wee little one. And I loved that thing.

Let me tell you.

I distinctly remember hanging onto my dad’s arm at heaven Target, begging him to buy me some more dry mix packets. Oh Lawd were those delicious.

I moved on to boxed cake and brownies when I was eight-ish, and by the time I was eleven, I was baking from scratch, and I never looked back.

Last Friday night, my lovely, darling teammates gifted me a funfetti cake mix for “Senior Night”.

So obviously, I walked into practice on Saturday with a big box full of these gooey butter cake bars. My team went nuts over them; there’s a distinct possibility that people were eating them on the court during warm-ups… But hey, totally not my fault.

These bars are based off of the infamous St. Louis dessert, the gooey butter cake.

Sounds super healthy, right?

These bars taste like a combination of a cheesecake and a shortbread cookie.
Buttery, sweet, chewy, and very, very gooey.
Wonderfully so.
Leave it up to Christina Tosi to transform the gooey butter cake into easy, sliceable bars made with a cake mix.
These just might convince you yet to keep a box mix in your pantry.

P.S. Have you noticed that chewy, gooey, and Louie all rhyme, but are spelled in distinct ways? Mind blown.

Gooey Butter Cake Bars
exceedingly lightly adapted from Momofuku Butter Bars
ingredients:
for the crust:
1 box cake mix- I used funfetti; choose a vanilla-flavored mix
4 ounces butter, melted (browned if you’re feeling frisky)
1 egg
for the filling:
8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
16 ounces powdered sugar
big pinch sea salt
splash of vanilla extract
directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper.
Stir together your cake mix, butter, and 1 egg, until a stiff and slightly crumbly mixture comes together. Press into pan.
Beat the cream cheese and eggs until fluffy, then beat in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and sea salt. Spread the mixture over the crust.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the center is cooked but still jiggles slightly when shaken.
The edges should be golden brown and puffed.
Allow to cool completely (seriously! I put mine out on my porch in below freezing weather to let them completely freeze before even attempting to cut them). Cut into desired squares. They will not be neat, nor will be the consumption of them. There is absolutely no way around it; they’re meant to be messy!

January 13, 2013September 13, 2013 by Rachel Sally

Did Someone Say…

…donuts?!? (er… doughnuts?)

Why, yes, I done did.

Three types of donuts, in fact: brown-butter maple bacon, Vietnamese coffee (cinnamon+coffee), and cherry-chocolate.

Now, I’ve always been leery of frying. It’s a lot of hot, burbling oil, which makes me nervous.

I’ve sustained many burns in the kitchen over the years, and ones from oil splatters are the second worse, trumped only by sugar burns.

But… and this is an important but… I’ve wanted to make real donuts for ages.

I finally decided to man up and get down with deep frying, with my dearest stomach readers in mind.

These donuts are miraculously puffy and soft little pillows of dough wrapped in just-barely crispy edges and sweet, sticky glaze.

I decided to make a decidedly clichéd maple-bacon donut, using my absolute favorite glaze of all-time… brown-butter/maple/cider. Ohmagah. Once all the donuts were glazed, I couldn’t help myself. Sneak a dip, lick, repeat. Until the bowl was almost gone and my teeth were beginning to ache. So worth it, people. So worth it.

The second type I made was a chocolate-crémeux filled, cherry-glazed and pink heart adorned donut. I wanted it to be pink and include chocolate because, well, firstly, who doesn’t love cherry-chocolate, and secondly, for a Valentine’s baking article for my school newspaper.

I couldn’t just leave the poor little donut holes wallow in their teeny-tininess, could I? So I fried those lil guys up and chucked them into a bowl of coffee glaze and from there, a bowl of crunchy cinnamon sugar.

A successful morning, I’d say. I made the dough the night before and stuck it in my fridge, and the alluring smell of donuts filled my entire house by 11:00 the next morning, rousing any and all late sleepers. They were all gone by the next morning.

Mmmmm…. Donuts.

Yeast-Raised Doughnuts

recipe from the wonderfully decadent Pioneer Woman, Ree

ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk, warmed to 110 degrees F

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/8 teaspoon (1/2 a regular package) yeast

1 egg

5 tablespoons butter, melted

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

vegetable oil or shortening, for frying

directions:

Add sugar and yeast to warm milk and allow to proof for 5 minutes. Whisk the egg and butter together quickly to ensure that the egg doesn’t scramble. Add the egg/butter mixture and the yeast/milk mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer (with a dough hook) and mix together. Once mixed, add the flour in in 1/4 cup increments until all the flour is gone; add the salt sometime in the middle of adding the flour (not at the very beginning or the very end). Knead the dough on medium-low speed for 5 minutes, then turn the mixer off, scrape the bowl, and turn the mixer on medium-high for 30 seconds. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then place it in a lightly oiled bowl, toss to coat, and press plastic wrap directly onto its surface. Place in the fridge overnight (or 8 hours).

The next morning, take the dough out and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness, and working quickly, cut out as many rounds as you can. If the dough gets too warm and begins to shrink back, stick it back in the fridge for 10 minutes. Cut holes out of the rounds, unless you want to fill the donuts. Place all your rounds and holes onto a parchment lined baking sheet, cover lightly with a dish towel, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until the doughnuts are visibly puffy and look fluffy.

Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy, large pot (I used my dutch oven) until it reaches 375 degrees F.

Gently place the donuts in the oil and cook for 1 minute on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels, and dab/blot/roll the donut around to remove as much oil as possible. Let cool slightly before glazing.

Remember to keep checking your oil’s temperature; do not let it get over 380 or below 365. 375 is the ideal temperature.

I used this glaze for the maple-bacon donuts, and topped them off with freshly cooked bacon.

For the Vietnamese Coffee donuts:

ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar

pinch salt

splash of vanilla extract

1 heaping tablespoon instant espresso

3 tablespoons milk, or as needed to thin

3/4 cup sugar plus 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, for rolling

directions:

Dissolve the espresso into the milk. Stir in the vanilla and salt, then whisk in the powdered sugar. If the glaze is too thick, thin it with more milk. As your donuts (or donut holes) cool, dunk them in the glaze, then quickly roll them in the cinnamon sugar. You may want to wait for a few minutes after glazing to roll in the sugar, if your glaze is thin and drippy.

June 27, 2012September 13, 2013 by Rachel Sally

She’s A Rainbow

Last week, the class of 2012 graduated from my high school.

This included my best friend, Mikala.

Mikala, I’m so proud of you. You’re moving up and out onto bigger and better things. You have been an amazing friend for these four years (I still remember seeing you at CBC on that first, fateful day, and slowly inching closer and closer; how can I forget being “poked” by you? I was so scared excited.)

I’m going to miss you like mad when you’re in California, but I’m sure that we’ll visit each other often. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like without you, but I know that you are going to enjoy yourself and have a great experience. You’re an integral part of the fam- and my life- and you will be sorely missed. (Side note to others: is it just me who finds it so hard to contemplate life without a loved one, even when you know they’re moving on to be more successful and happy? Maybe I’m just a wee bit bitter. Hm.)

Leaning tower of cake. Ugh.

Mikala’s graduation party was last Friday and her family asked me to make her cake. I was also asked to make the “Elvis 2.0” for a baby shower for a couple who loves Elvis so much, they’re naming their baby girl after him (her name is Presley… Not Elvis). This time, I made an eight layer banana cake, filled with peanut butter buttercream and frosted with nutella buttercream rather than cream cheese frosting. To add to the over-the-top-ness, I made caramelized bacon and a banner in the shower’s theme colors (peacock). Thus was the huge cake topped off.

As for Mikala’s cake, I made four (count ’em… four) sheet cakes, which I then carved into the shape of an M and layered twice. As it turned out, I really only needed three sheet cakes. Darn it all. Anyways, Mikala loves dark chocolate and raspberry, so I made a raspberry German buttercream for icing the chocolate cake. The rest of the cake scraps became cake truffles, dipped in chocolate and rolled in toasted coconut.

D’aww

In addition, I used my homemade sprinkles to decorate the cake. Love these lil guys. Not only was I extremely proud of having accomplished making my own sprinkles, they also tasted much better than traditional machine-made ones. I’m sure it’s because of my blood, sweat, and piping tears that went into them, plus the fact that I’m 99% sure I now have piping-induced carpel tunnel. Kidding. I’m a hypochondriac. Also, now I can customize colors that I want for certain cakes! Another insane fun way to induce my O.C.D.
Congratulations Mikala, and the class of 2012, wherever you may be, I’m so so proud of you.

Chocolate Sheet Cake (x4 for a very large cake)
from the lovely Sweetapolita
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups flour
2 2/3 cups sugar
2 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
150 mL canola oil
280 mL buttermilk
4 eggs
260 mL hot coffee
2 tablespoons vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan (with a lip) with parchment paper, then spray with cooking spray to coat. Whisk dry ingredients together. Measure out all wet ingredients in a large measuring cup. Whisk wet into dry ingredients, until fully combined. Pour into sheet pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until only a few crumbs stick to a skewer and the cake is springy to touch. Allow to cool on wire racks before cutting. (You can slide the parchment right off of the sheet pan onto a rack)

Raspberry German Buttercream
Adapted from Bravetart
(Makes a ton- about 10 cups. Feel free to downsize by 1.5)
Ingredients:
16 ounces milk (I used 1%)
8 ounces half-and-half (you could use full-fat cream, too)
15 ounces sugar
1 vanilla bean
2.25 ounces cornstarch
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
7 sticks butter
big pinch sea salt
14 ounces raspberry jam, or to taste (I used seedless and fruit-juice sweetened- no sugar)
pink or red food coloring, if desired
Directions:
Heat milks up to a simmer. If you’re not lazy, like me, or have extra time, simmer with the vanilla bean (not the scrapings! Save those for later), and then let steep for an hour or more. If doing so, after the hour is up, scrape the insides of the beans clean of any milk goop, and discard. Return milk to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, eggs, vanilla bean scrapings, cornstarch, and sugar together. Ladle in a bit of the hot milk, whisking all the while. Continue to add up to a cup and a half of the hot milk. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk, and cook on medium heat until thick and “bubbl[ing] sluggishly.” Remove from heat and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Chill until cool, approximately an hour and a half to two hours. Once cool, beat with the whisk attachment until somewhat fluffy. Add your butter, one tablespoon at a time, until all is incorporated and the buttercream is thick, fluffy, and light. Now, add in the raspberry jam and red food coloring and beat until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. Before use, fluff it up a bit.

As for the sprinkles, I can do no better job than Bravetart. Check her out to see her tutorial; she’s seriously awesome.

Only a minimal waste of baggies. And time.

La Pêche Fraîche

Category: sprinkles

Fizz!

Sakura-iro

Keep Calm

My Kind of Town

Mac Attack

Knockoff

Chewy Gooey Louie

Did Someone Say…

She’s A Rainbow