Homemade Fondant - Builder's Cake

Friday evening, our waitress at a local wine bar, Betty, asked if I might be willing to make a cake for her friend and how much notice I need.  I said usually 3 or 4 days to gather ingredients, bake and decorate, just in case I have other things going on.  Monday was the friend's birthday, so we talked about doing something at a later date. 

Saturday morning, I realized that I had nothing planned for Sunday and I could fit in a cake for Betty's friend.  We contacted a mutual friend to get Betty's phone number; it took all day to connect and work out the details. 

That brings us to Sunday in Poland, where resources for the home baker are limited at best.  What to do when you need fondant to decorate a cake for a builder in training?  Make your own!

I read several recipes online.  They reminded me of making taffy with my grandmother.  A hot syrup is worked until it's stiff and white.  It was so similar that I had to check a taffy recipe.  The key thing seems to be that the syrup for fondant isn't cooked as long.  Many of the recipes used melted marshmallows to keep the fondant from getting too dry and cracking.  Not having marshmallows, I added a spoon full of the closest thing I could get to gelatin, powdered pectin. 

The fondant stayed soft and flexible.  I'm doing a test now to see if it will dry out.  I'll definitely try this again, probably without the pectin next time; it certainly tastes better than the purchased fondant.  

Hard to believe, but 10 minutes earlier, this was a clear syrup, 1/4 inch deep in this pan

Source: About.com

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons corn syrup

Directions

• Combine all ingredients over medium-high heat
• Stir until sugar is dissolved, cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes
• Uncover and cook to softball stage, 240 F
• Pour into a baking sheet lightly sprinkled with water
• Allow to cool for a few minutes
• When warm, but not hot, use a scrapper, spatula, or wooden spoon to lift and push the syrup to the center of the pan
• The syrup will become white and firm as you continue to fold it
• Kneed to soften the fondant for rolling, working in gel colors if desired
• Lightly dust work surface and rolling pin with cornstarch, proceed as usual
• Store unused fondant tightly wrapped in plastic

Breakfast Smoothie (Fruit & Vegetable)

A year or so ago, I saw Dr. Oz's green smoothie in a magazine and thought I'd give it a try.

I found the veggie elements overwhelming and it was too thick to drink; you needed a spoon.  Even my vegetarian daughter wasn't keen on it, but she's modified it a bit and is making herself a smoothie like this for breakfast.  I've followed her example, and I'm having this most mornings.  Are we all trying to add more veg to our diets?

Processing with a blender or food processor, what goes into the drink varies from day to day, but I find adding a bit of tofu means that it sticks with me a little longer.  A typical smoothie includes:

apple or banana
1/2 cup berries
1 cup spinach (or kale)
1 stalk celery
1/3 cup fruit juice
1/3 cup carrot juice
2 - 4 tablespoons tofu (firm is all I can find in Poland)
1 - 2 tablespoons freshly ground flax seeds
1/4 cup strawberry kefir (optional)

If the combination seems weird to you,  consider a spinach salad with strawberries.  Fruit and veg flavors can go together.  Try to remember the flax seeds; they're really good for you.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Mousse

Topped with a dollop of whipped cream before serving

Inspired by the salted caramel hot chocolate Marybeth made for me at Sweet Surrender - the one that was gone in no time at all.  :) 

I used Alton Brown's chocolate mouse recipe with 70 % dark chocolate, as recommended.  Next time, I'll mix in some milk chocolate.  The chocolate was just too dark and intense for me.  The recipe said 6 - 8 serving.  I made 6, and the portions should have been smaller because of the intensity, 8 - 10 would have been better, just a few bites.  To end on a more positive note for a milk chocolate lover, I had a cup of caramel left over, Elise's caramel sauce from Simply Recipes.   I heated it, poured it into a buttered bread plate and sprinkled with flaked salt.  The salted caramel was so good that it kept calling to us from the fridge. 

Paprika & Cheddar Diamonds

The Cheesemonger's Kitchen was a Christmas gift from our daughter, Rachel.  It's full of color photos - my favorite part of any recipe, so I've been reading and planning.  So far, I've made their Red Chili and Cheddar Diamonds, twice.  Both times, I substituted La Chinata Hot Smoked Paprika for the Red Chili.  The paprika adds the perfect complement to the cheese in color, flavor, and just a bit of heat.

These cheesy crackers have a wonderful addictive crunch.   There easy to make, give yourself time to let the dough rest for an hour

Ingredients

1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
8 ounces (225 g) best-quality aged Cheddar cheese,grated
3 - 6 tablespoons water

Directions

• Combine flour with salt and paprika
• Cut in the butter until it resembles a coarse meal
• Mix in cheese
• Add enough water to get the dough to form a ball
• Wrap the dough in plastic warp and chill for one hour
• Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C)
• Roll dough to 1/8 inch (3 mm) thickness,  the exact thickness is important to get a light puffy cracker
• Cut the dough with a knife, fluted pastry cutter, or cookie cutter
• Place on a parchment covered baking sheet, giving them just enough room so they're not touching
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown and are crunchy
• Cool completely, they can be stored in an airtight container for a week, but they're better the first couple of days

Disclaimer:  La Chinata provided me with a free sample of their product to use in my recipes.

Hot Tea with Jam, Fruit tea (Herbata z Dżemem)

Today is Fat Thursday in Poland, Tlusty Czwartek.  The tradition is to eat pączki, a pastry that resembles a glazed jelly doughnut.  My friend Klaudia told me that the most authentic filling is a rose jam.  The ones I bought have a strawberry preserve.  (I will have to keep sampling!)  

This conversation led to Klaudia telling me that Poles also put the rose jam in hot tea.  I checked two supermarkets on the way home looking for rose jam but came back empty handed.  Never mind; I'll try hot tea with one of the jams we have in the fridge.  


I chose a mixed fruit jam - apple, plum, and cinnamon.  I put a heaping teaspoon full in a cup of black tea and it was delicious, a much more fruity flavor than fruit flavored teas.  I'm going to have to try this with iced tea this summer too. 

Paprika Vegetable Cream Cheese

I've found myself using a lot of paprika since I moved to Poland - to think I used to only sprinkle it on top of deviled eggs!  When La Chinata asked if I would like to sample their smoked paprika powder, I was interested.  (The CPA in me feels a need to disclose that I was provided two tins, sweet and hot, of their paprika at no charge and with no obligation on my part.  If it wasn't too my liking, I would have simply conveyed this to the company and not mentioned them here, but that was not the case.)

I've only had smoked paprika once before.  It was from a top, American purveyor of spices, and I found the smoke flavor overpowering.  I was delighted that the smoke is a note in the La Chinata smoked paprika, but the peppers are still the main flavor. 

The first recipe I tried with this paprika was a veggie cream cheese spread.  I mixed up a big batch; we've been eating it on rye crisps, celery; I think it would be great on bagels or crackers too.  I love the flavors and the color.  Paprika is right up there with garlic in the must have seasonings category. 

This is the sort of recipe that you can use as a starting point, adapting to suit your own tastes and what you have on hand - maybe finely diced celery or radish, other herbs.  I'd love to hear what you add to it. 

Ingredients


1/2 red bell pepper
1 - 2 cloves roasted garlic
1 green onion (white and green parts), finely minced
1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika powder
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
dash pepper
pinch of dried thyme (or the leaves stripped from 2 or 3 small stalks of fresh thyme)
8 ounces (250 g) cream cheese, softened

Directions

• Wanting the mellow, sweetness of a roasted red pepper, I finely diced the pepper and sauteed it in a little olive oil.  You could also wrap the 1/2 pepper in foil and toss it in the oven when you roast the garlic, and then dice after it's cooked.  I still had the green onion to add a little bit of crunch to the texture. 
• Add the pepper, roasted garlic, green onion, paprika, salt, pepper, and thyme the cream cheese. 
• You can stir until thoroughly combined, or if you want a smoother texture, use a food processor. 

Roasted Garlic

raw garlic

I love garlic, and I especially like the mellowness of cooked garlic.  If you''re adding garlic to a recipe that won't be cooked, you can get that soft, garlic flavor by roasting a head of garlic.

Just slice the top off of a head of garlic (the pointy end) and wrap it in foil.  Bake at 375 F (190 C) for about an hour.  The garlic cloves will be brown and soft.  Give the head of garlic a squeeze and they'll pop right out, or you can easily dig them out with the tip of a knife.

The roasted garlic is a great addition to mashed potatoes, or as a spread of bread.  I've used it in this appetizer, Chutney Brie Bruschetta and in a Paprika Veggie Cream Cheese spread. 

roasted garlic

Apple Art

I first noticed designs "grown" on apple peel in the produce section of our Polish supermarket.    It seems like a clingy sticker (or maybe a wax stamp) is placed on the side of the apple getting the most sun, the side that will get the reddest.  The lack of sunlight, keeps the area under the sticker green.  I wonder if children are more likely to want smiley apples.   Are they popping up in your markets too?

Chocolate Devil's Food Cake with Espresso Swiss Meringue

A new cooking challenge, please vote for me by clicking on the thumbnail of my recipe (#36) at the bottom of this post.  Thanks!

I've been following ButterYum's food blog for years.  When she posted a Bailey's Irish Cream and Pistachio Fudge recipe, I had to take a look.  The white fudge with green bits of pistachio looked so good (and sounds so easy) that I know I will make it one day.  So many wonderful recipes out there but too few calories in a day!

ButterYum's post is also where I first learned about the once a month Crazy Cooking Challenge.  After participating in a weekly baking group (which I loved, please don't misunderstand), a monthly activity sounded like just the thing. (So now I'm in two monthly group, stay tuned to see if it grows to four!)



Every month the Crazy Cooks will prepare the same item, whether it's fudge or a chocolate cake, from a recipe found on a food blog other than their own.  We're all selecting different recipes, so the entries are the same, but different if you see what I mean. What a great way to visually sample the best of what's out there!

My challenge this month was to find a yummy chocolate cake, other than my own go-to chocolate cake, which I have bake for two recent birthdays.  (You can catch the second one at the end of this post.)

I found what I knew would be a delicious  chocolate cake with striking appearance on lululu at home.  Thanks so much for sharing this, Fanny!  Fanny's blog captures some wonderful recipes along with posts about her life as a mom.  I hope you'll pay her a visit. 

the original recipe calls for a 5 layer8 inch cake - I have 9 inch cake pans, so I only got 3 layers

I also had the perfect reason to make a cake; our friend Remi had invited us to stop by the Cocktails of Dreams club to have a birthday drink with him.  The cake was a big hit with Remi and his friends.

Ingredients

for the cake:

3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup boiling water
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

 

for the frosting:

5 large egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
4 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

pinch of salt
1/4 cup strong espresso, cooled
1 cup sliced almond

 

 

Directions

for cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 
• Grease five 8-inch round or three 9-inch round cake pans, lining the bottoms with parchment paper
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
• In a small bowl, whisk the boiling water and cocoa powder until smooth
• Beat butter and sugar together on medium speed in a bowl of a standing mixer until light and fluffy Beat in eggs, one at a time
• Beat in buttermilk and vanilla extract
• Reduce the speed to low and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by half of the chocolate mixture
• Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour mixture and the remaining chocolate mixture
• Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with a spatula 
• Bake 13 to 15 minutes (for 8 inch), 20 to 25 minutes (for 9 inch), or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean
• Cool the cakes (in the pans) on a wire rack
• Then invert the cakes onto a greased rack, making certain they are completely cool before frosting  

for the frosting:

• Put egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl over a pot of  simmering water
• Use an electric hand mixer to beat constantly until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot 
• Remove from heat
• With whisk attachment, continue whipping the mixture in a stand  mixer (I only have portable) until thick, glossy, and cool
• Switch over to paddle attachment and mix on medium speed, continuously adding softened butter in chunks until incorporated, and it has a silky smooth texture
• If curdles, keep mixing and it will come back together
• Add vanilla and salt, mix well
• Add the espresso and  beat  for  another  10  seconds
• Reserve 1 cup of buttercream for piping on top
• To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on your serving plate and spread the buttercream
• Repeat this process until all cake layers are placed
• Spread buttercream on top and sides of the cake
• Garnish with the sliced almonds
• Using a large star tip to pipe a decorative border on the top edge of the cake
• Cover and refrigerate the cake
• Leave out in room temperature for at least an hour prior to serving

Please vote for me below (#36), thanks!

Can't visit Cocktails of Dreams without one of their beautiful creations

My favorite artist

Lisa Britton

Hi friends, click above to check out some of my daughter's artwork - ever so grateful for your vote!