Season-Ending Sweets for my 2 big girls!

Spring Soccer season and a full year of Ballet came to a close on the same weekend for me last May (and I'm just now getting around to pulling the pictures and videos off of the cameras - YIKES!)  Along with counting time to routines, delicately packing leotards and tu-tu's, curling hair, perfecting stage make-up, repeatedly reciting steps to memory, de-mudding cleats, mending shorts, memorizing field maps, NIGHTMARE PARKING, doctoring scrapes, scrubbing jerseys, coordinating practices, pictures, rehearsals and review, don't forget the water bottles, 1-2-spin-plie, home/away, who's bringing snack today? WHERE ARE THE SHIN GUARDS, and driving ALL OVER THE COUNTRYSIDE.... (whew) I just HAD to make these two girls something special for their big days.  After all, I was about BURSTING with pride over my beautiful little athletes.

So.  Even though they're not my finest work (prepared rather frantically at 1:00 a.m.)

Congratulations Abby and the Yellow Bumblebees on a great season!

And your Parakeet Polka was BEAUTIFUL Lily!

You both make mommy so proud!

"Death by Chocolate" cupcakes

I made these for my sister-in-law's birthday, per her "chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate" request.  They filled the bill.  :)  My daughters really wanted to help with this (they wanted to make something special for Aunt Becky) so keep in mind that these could come out looking a lot "cleaner" with less kid-"help" :) then I had.  Here's how we did it:

I started with drawing out my cupcake toppers with a sharpie on plain white paper.  Then I placed the paper on a cookie sheet and covered it with a sheet of parchment paper.

Next you need a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 3 squares of white chocolate.  I prepared a pair of decorating bags with couplers, and a small piece of cellophane on the end of each (to keep the melted chocolate from drizzling out before I was ready).

Divide the semi-sweet chocolate into 2 equal 6 oz. portions and melt half of them in the microwave, in 30 second bursts, until it was smooth.  Pour the melted chocolate into one of the prepared bags, and use a small round tip (Wilton tip 3 or 4) to pipe the toppers by tracing the ones you've drawn.

(This is so easy that my girls used up the rest of the melted chocolate making their own decorations).

Once you've finished piping them, toss them in the freezer while you whip up a batch of:

Moist Chocolate Cake (Amanda's modified recipe)
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 2/3 cups granulated white sugar
12 Tbsp (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 and 2 cupcake pans (total 24) with liners.  It's not a bad idea to lightly spray the top of the pans so that over-flow doesn't stick.  Beat all ingredients together until well mixed, about 2 minutes in a stand mixer.  Pour/scoop (this will be thick) batter into the liners to 2/3 full.  You should get 24 cupcakes from this.  Bake them approximately 16-20 minutes (depending on your oven) or until JUST set (cupcakes are VERY easy to over-bake, and they will be dry if you do.  A toothpick should come out mostly clean and dry.

While your cupcakes are baking, melt the 3 squares of white chocolate and transfer it to the bag, following the same procedure as with the semi-sweet.  Take your toppers out of the freezer and embellish them further with white chocolate (a very attractive affect, though optional) using a slightly smaller tip (Wilton 2).

Pop them back into the freezer.

While your cupcakes are cooling, whip up a batch of 100% chocolate butter-cream frosting (this doesn't need to hold like crusting butter-cream, so you can omit the shortening, use straight butter, and they's taste simply divine:

Chocolate Butter-cream Frosting
6 oz. melted chocolate (cooled)
11 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk (use a bit more or less to find the right consistency)
6 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth, using additional sugar and milk to create the right texture.

Prepare a decorating bag with a very large round tip (Wilton 12 or 2A) and spoon in your frosting.  Once the cupcakes are fully cooled, you can gently push the decorating tip down into the center of the cupcake about 3/4" and squeeze carefully JUST until the cupcake starts to "puff" slightly.

Now you've filled your cupcake.  Once you've done this with all 24 of them, change the tip out for a cupcake swirl tip (such as a Wilton 2D or similar) and swirl on the remaining frosting.

Now you're ready to take your toppers out of the freezer and top your cupcakes.

NOTE:  The high butter-concentration and the delicacy of the melted/re-solidified chocolate will make these cupcakes high-risk in warmer weather!  I made these for an outdoor party in nearly 80 degree weather, and they did fine because I kept them in the fridge until about 2 1/2 hours before they were eaten.  Just take care around heat with these!  And keep a glass of milk nearby, because they're RICH and wonderful.  :)

Berry Bounty Cake

This cake recipe was originally called a "Blueberry Bounty Cake" in a Country Woman magazine that I found laying around.  I used mixed berries in mine, so I adjusted the title of it here.  :)  I also used the Berry Best Cheesecake recipe (previous post) as the base-layer for this cake.  The lower tier was 1/2 cheesecake (baked without the crust) and 1/2 bounty cake.  The top tier was a 2-layer bounty cake.  I frosted it with plain-and-simple whipped cream (with a touch of vanilla and lightly sweetened with sugar).

Berry Bounty Cake

1-1/2 cups butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel (I used the zest of one lemon)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup lemonade (I simply juiced my lemon and added about 2 tsp. of sugar to the juice, then watered it down to one cup total liquid)
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries

Pre-heat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each.  Beat in the lemon peel and vanilla.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the flour mixture and the lemonade alternately to the sugar mixture and beat until well blended.  Fold in the berries.  Baking time will vary depending on the pan of choice.  For 2 10" rounds start checking your cakes at about 22 minutes.  You don't want to dry them out, but a toothpick inserted near-center should come out clean.  If you do choose to use the cheesecake along-with, and/or the whipped cream frosting, you WILL need to refrigerate this cake.

Berry Best Cheesecake

This is an adaptation/alteration of a blueberry cheesecake recipe that I found in a magazine (I believe it was Taste of Home?).  I decided to make it for Easter this year, and it turned out fabulous.  I used a crust-less version of it as the base layer for a cake that I did last month.  That also turned out well.  This cheesecake does not require a hot water bath or gradual cooling, making it one of the simpler recipes.  It has a thick texture (though seedy if you don't strain your berries a bit) and a very rich flavor; a perfect use for ripe spring and summer berries.

Berry Best Cheesecake

12 graham cracker boards
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp. + 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
3 packages (total of 24 oz) Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
6 oz plain low-fat greek yogurt (recipe calls for 2%)
3 Tbsp. lemon juice (I used the juice of 1 lemon, it worked well)
2 tsp. lemon zest (one lemon should be plenty for this)
3 eggs
1 cup mixed berries
1/4 cup sugar

(I used frozen berries for this and had a good result, but I'm sure that fresh would be even better).

Pre-heat your oven to 350F.  Crush the crackers as finely as possible, mix them with the melted butter and 2 Tbsp of sugar, and press them firmly into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9-inch round spring-form pan.  In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese and yogurt.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar, the lemon juice and the zest.  Add the eggs and beat until smooth, scraping the bowl at least once.  Rinse the berries and toss them with the flour before folding them into the filling.  Pour the filling into the prepared crust and smooth the top.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edge.  Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the cheesecake, then allow it to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about an hour.  This cake should be refrigerated for at least 3 hours before serving, in order to set.  Just before serving you may want to add additional berries and/or glaze to the top of your cheesecake.

Fondant uses and ideas

Marshmallow Fondant

A much easier and cheaper alternative to the "real" stuff, this is what I make and use on my cakes.

Marshmallow Fondant:

1 bag of marshmallows

1/2 tsp Vanilla (clear if you want it to be really white)

Vegetable shortening

1 tsp water

2-4 cups of sifted powdered sugar

Grease the inside of a microwave safe bowl (and your spatula or spoon) with vegetable shortening.  Dump in your marshmallows, vanilla and water.  Microwave in 30 second bursts until the marshmallows are fully melted (depending on your microwave this should take 2-3 minutes).  Stir in your powdered sugar until it gets to firm to stir, and then knead it until smooth.  At this point you can divide it and add coloring.  Remember, food coloring can "ripen" or "mature" as it sits, meaning that it often will get darker.  When using colors, less is more in most cases.  Make sure your fondant stays sealed so that it doesn't lose moisture.  It can be stored for a few days at room temperature, weeks in a fridge or months in a freezer.  Allow it to come to room temperature before working with it.  You'll want your surfaces greased or dusted with powdered sugar or corn starch when using fondant, and keep it covered with plastic or a plate to prevent it from drying out and cracking as you're working with it.