Monday, November 30, 2015

Fiery Wedding Cake



I had the great honor to make my first wedding cake this weekend! My friend Millie wanted to surprise her best friend, who married a firefighter in a small ceremony. Since a big part of their new life together has to do with a move and a new fire station, Millie wanted the cake to have a fire theme.




I have to be honest, I was just as much terrified as excited to make this cake. As a self-taught baker, making a wedding cake feels like the ultimate challenge, because you want it to be perfect. I can't say it was, but I'm happy overall with how it turned out.

This was my first time making ruffles, and even though it's time consuming, it's not that hard. You start by covering your crumb-coated cake with a base of white fondant. To create the ombre effect ruffles, take some additional fondant and color it the colors you want to use. I made red, orange and yellow. Then, take some of the colored fondant and add plain white to create the lighter hues. Roll out the lightest color you are using and cut long strips. Using a ball tool, roll it along one side of the edges to thin out the fondant, and create the ruffle effect. Brush some water on the cake where you would like the ruffles to start (you will want to go top to bottom of the cake) and add the fondant strip. This will work as glue. Continue with the darker hues until you have covered the cake, but make sure you let the last row of fondant ruffle downwards to cover the cake base. 







Making cakes is a humbling experience, and I learn something new every time I make one. This cake was a lot of fun to decorate, and I'm looking forward to making more wedding themed cakes in the future!


Thursday, November 26, 2015

Pumpkin Tiramisu Cake



Happy Thanksgiving, friends and fellow bakers!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite American holidays. We don't celebrate this day in Sweden (we should!), but I think we can all agree that we have so many things to be grateful for. And what better way to celebrate than to eat delicious food with your loved ones!




One thing I love about Thanksgiving is the use of pumpkin. And, as you might know, I also love coffee. Now, how about combining both into a cake, filling it with mascarpone buttercream, and topping it all with chocolate shavings? I nearly fell off my chair when Teresa Huff posted the Pumpkin Tiramisu Cake on the Cake Blog. I just had to make it!




Whatever you're making today, enjoy your dinner and hug your loved ones a little extra. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!



Pumpkin Tiramisu Cake
by Teresa Huff of Style Sweet CA

For the Pumpkin Spice Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup grapeseed or vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans and set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice.  Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy.  Add in the oil, sugar, brown sugar and mix until combined.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.
In two batches, stir in the dry ingredients.
Fold in the pumpkin puree.
Divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake for about 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans.


For the Coffee Soak:

1/4 cup coffee liqueur
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 cup sugar


Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and place over medium-high heat.  Bring the minute to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the syrup thickens slightly.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly before using.


Mascarpone Buttercream
by Evesfika

1 stick butter, softened
6 oz mascarpone
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon


Directions:

Beat the butter and mascarpone with a stand mixer. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until combined. Add the vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Mix until fully incorporated.


For the Assembly:

Once the cake has cooled, generously brush on the coffee syrup.  Fill a pastry bag fitted with an open star tip with the frosting and pipe stars on one of the layers of cake.  Place the second layer of cake on top and repeat.  Dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder or a generous handful of chocolate shavings.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Salomon's Birthday Cake!




Our boys' little buddy Salomon turned 3 years old last weekend. Like every other kid on the planet, he loves Mickey Mouse, and I got to make his cake. I mean, who doesn't like Mickey? Especially when he's made of vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream and a raspberry mousse.

I found the inspiration for this cake on Pinterest, and I also came across a great tutorial on how to make the ears from Rose Bakes.

Something tells me you will soon see another Mickey inspired cake on the blog, since my youngest has requested a Mickey Mouse themed cake for his upcoming birthday. Stay tuned!



Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Golden Chocolate Rose Cake



One of my guilty pleasures is to stroll down the baking isle in grocery stores (I know, shocker!), even when there's nothing I need. Usually there isn't much of interest besides baking ingredients, but sometimes they'll carry something a little more fun, like, say, edible gold spray.

I made a chocolate birthday cake for a friend this past weekend, and decided to give the gold spray a try. I love how easy it was to use. You just shake, spray, and voilá! You have yourself a fancy dessert. The brand I used is called Duff Cake Graffiti and was bought at Giant.

Just a tip for when you want to turn things up a notch!






And if you're looking for a great chocolate cake recipe, check out this one I posted a couple of weeks back. I have used the same for this rose cake, and it never disappoints!

Happy baking!


Friday, November 13, 2015

Carrot Cake



It's really not fair for a cake this delicious to bear the name of a vegetable. But then again, as my four year old pointed out, we all know eating carrots help you see better in the dark. So, it's good for us right?!

This three layer carrot cake is, if nothing else, good for the soul. I love the touch of crushed pineapple and shredded coconut in the batter, which gives it a wonderful flavor. Every layer is then drenched with a buttermilk glaze that tastes like caramel, and it's all topped with a perfect cream cheese buttercream. 

Need I say more?




It might seem like a lot of steps for a carrot cake, but you'll know it's worth it once you've taken that first bite. 

Happy baking, friends!



Best Carrot Cake
From Southern Living

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrot
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (3 1/2-ounce) can flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts


Preparation:
  1. Line 3 (9-inch) round cakepans with wax paper; lightly grease and flour wax paper. Set pans aside.
  2. Stir together first 4 ingredients.
  3. Beat eggs and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrot and next 3 ingredients. Pour batter into prepared cake pans.
  4. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Drizzle Buttermilk Glaze evenly over layers; cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.


Buttermilk Glaze

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.



Best Ever Cream Cheese Buttercream
Altered, from Wicked Good Kitchen

1 cup (2 sticks or 226 grams) butter, slightly softened
1 (8-ounce or 226 grams) package chilled cream cheese
2½ teaspoons (12.5 ml) pure vanilla extract
4 to 4½ cups (480 to 540 grams) confectioners’ sugar


Preparation:

Using an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or handheld mixer and large bowl, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add cream cheese and vanilla; beat until fully incorporated. Gradually increase mixer speed to high and continue beating until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of bowl as necessary with rubber spatula.

Gradually add 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, beating on low speed (stir), until well combined. Add additional confectioners’ sugar until desired consistency for spreading and level of sweetness is reached. Beat on high speed until well combined and smooth while scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Friday, November 06, 2015

Swedish Kladdkaka



Tomorrow is National Kladdkaka Day in Sweden. Okay, so it's not like every Swede stops whatever they're doing to celebrate, but they should! Apart from IKEA, ABBA and kanelbullar, this chocolate cake is as Swedish as it gets. And it's delicious.




I have posted two recipes for kladdkaka on the blog earlier, one is a cardamom version with Baileys Cream Truffle and one is made with mint chocolate. This time I used my favorite recipe for traditional kladdkaka and topped it with Baileys Cream Truffle.




To decorate, I made some chocolate swirls by melting chocolate and piping onto parchment paper. Let the swirls cool in the freezer for a few minutes to harden, then put them upright in a little piped whipped cream.





Since it was just hubby and I eating it, I made sure I cut the rest of the cake in portion pieces and put in an airtight container in the freezer. I can't keep it in the fridge, because I know I would talk myself into having it for breakfast the next morning! It's great when you have guests coming over, just remove from the freezer and let sit in room temperature for ten minutes, and it's ready to be enjoyed.




If you haven't tried kladdkaka before, you're definitely missing out. Good thing there's an easy recipe for you to try here below!


Kladdkaka
from the magazine Hembakat

150 g butter
100 g chocolate
270 g sugar
3 eggs
3 tbsp. cacao
105 g flour
1 pinch salt
2 tsp vanilla sugar*


*If you can't get your hands on vanilla sugar, just substitute with confectioners sugar and add a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.

Instructions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from stove, and add the chocolate to the butter and stir.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. 
  3. Line the bottom of a 9" spring form pan with parchment paper, then butter and flour it. (I used a 6 inch pan and let it be in the oven for a little longer) Pour the batter into the pan.
  4. Bake in on the center rack for about 25-30 minutes. Make sure it's not too wobbly when you take it out. Let cool in the pan.
You will find the recipe for the Baileys Cream Truffle here.



Kladdkaka
från Hembakat

150 g smör
100 g choklad
3 dl strösocker
3 ägg

3 msk kakao
1 ¾ dl vetemjöl
1 nypa salt
2 tsk vaniljsocker

Gör så här:

1. Sätt ugnen på 180 grader. Smält smöret i en kastrull. Tillsätt chokladen och när den smält, tillsätt resten av ingredienserna och blanda snabbt ihop allt till en slät smet.
2. Häll smeten i en smord och mjölad springform, 23–24 cm i diameter. Jag lägger alltid smörpapper i botten för att lättare kunna ta bort kakan från formen.
3. Grädda kakan mitt i ugnen i 25–30 min beroende på hur kladdig du vill ha den. Låt den svalna i formen.