Cakes, cakes, and more cakes!

 

First was Sam's Birthday Cake, he loves animals!

 

 

 

 

 

Kids, kids, and more kids!

 

 

 

A Baptism Cake...

 

 

 

This one was the most special of all...

 

 

 

Grammy's 90th Birthday!!!

 

 

 

Now there's a story behind this one...

 

 

A friend of ours had spent months and months creating their backyard and had finally finished. This is a replica of the finished product, with him passed out on the lawn ; )

 

My sister is a landscape designer, so I'm thinking instead of giving her clients sketches... I make a cake of the plan... and then they eat it!

 

 

The fun was in the details with this one : )

 

 

 

 

 

Then there was a pirate cake...

 

 

ARRRR MATEY!

 

 

A First Holy Communion Cake...

 

 

And last but not least,

 

 

A sweet and simple birthday cake.

 

'Til next time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Pie and the Payson Rodeo!

Mmmmmmm... I still had some summer fruit left over and have been wanting to make a pie for a while.

 

 For this pie I used nectarines and blackberries. Now that I think about it, the lavender sugar from my sister would have been really good in this.

Next time!

 

 

 

 When making the lattice pattern on the top,

it is helpful to have Batman as your assistant ; )

 

 

 And that's that!

 

 

 

 Time for dessert!

 

 

 

 It was Rodeo time in Payson, Az!

We made a weekend out of it and all went up to the cabin... 9 kids, 7 adults, and 3 dogs!

 

 

 We had fu-u-un!

 

 

 

It was so cool looking at these pictures afterwards. It all happens so fast you can't really tell how intense it actually is.

So awesome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a cowboy on that bull!

These guys are craaaaaaazy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



'Til next time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lattice-Top Nectarine-Blackberry Pie (The Art and Soul of Baking)

 

2 recipes pie dough (I used store-bought this time)

6 med. nectarines

1 half-pint (6 oz.) blackberries

1/3 cup sugar

3 T. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 large egg yolk

2 T. milk or cream

 

Roll out pie dough and transfer to 9" pie pan, chill until ready to use. Then roll out other pie dough into a 14x12" rectangle that is about 1/8" thick. Carefully fold the dough into quarters, transfer it to a baking sheet, unfold, and chill until ready to use.

 

Rinse the nectarines and pat dry. Cut in half, remove pit, and cut each half into 4 or 5 slices. Transfer to a large bowl. Do not wash blackberries but check for bad ones. Add to the bowl. Add the sugar, flour, and lemon juice and gently toss with a spatula until the fruit is evenly coated.

 

Pour into the chilled pie shell. Create lattice top by slicing 1" slices from the pie dough rectangle. Chill pie for 30 min, not longer than an hour.

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and position a rack in the bottom third of the oven. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with the milk and brush it onto the pie crust and lattice top. Sprinkle with 1-2 tsp sugar.

 

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the crust is golden brown, and the fruit is bubbling and tender. Let cool 40-60 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Fruit, Tuiles, and the Dog Days of Summer!

Mmmmm... summer fruits!

I really wanted to take advantage of these before the season is up!

I sliced them all up, and got them ready to put in the oven.

After roasting I poured the juices into a pot with a desert wine, and reduced it.

Then I poured it back over the fruit.

This really makes me want a glass of Sangria!

It's also very good over vanilla yogurt or ice cream with honey drizzled over it!

This particular mix of fruits might be too sophisticated for me, I think I might keep it simple next time... like nectarines, peaches and blackberries!

These are tuiles ("t-wheels", according to my google resources ) , and they go very well with this dessert.

When they come out of the oven they look like this.

After cooling for about 30 seconds you gently lift them off...

and then wrap them around a wooden spoon handle, or drape them over a rolling pin.

They are sweet and light, crisp and buttery... yum!

(For another version of these cookies, go to "On the Third Day of Cookies" post, from December, 2009.)

Oh, so handsome!

It's the "Dog Days of Summer", literally!

This is Duke, and he gets center stage this week : )

 

He and his sister were super fluffy and really cute.

Duke just kept growing and growing... and now weighs as much as a grown person!

 

This is where he was born, in Idaho... a winter wonderland!

 He used to take naps in the snow...

until we dragged him to...



the hot HOT DESERT!!!

Sorry Duke!

We are truly in the dog days of summer now, with temps up to 116 degrees.

Phewf!

He's got a LOT to say on that subject!

Sam and Duke.

Bella and Duke.

What a Good Boy!!!

Tuiles- The Art and Soul Baking

I used about a 1/2 T. for each cookie and just let them spread themselves in the oven. I also rolled them by hand. They don't come out as perfect, but are much faster.

1/2 cup plus 2 T. sugar

1/2 cup sifted cake flour

2 large egg whites

3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1. Place the sugar and cake flour in the medium bowl and whisk to blend. Whisk in the egg whites and vanilla until well blended. Whisk in the melted butter until a smooth, thin batter is formed. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position an oven rack in the center. Line the baking sheet with a silicone mat. Drop about 1 T. of batter onto the mat. With the offset spatula, spread the batter into a thin circle about 4 inches in diameter. Make 3 or more circles, spacing them 3 to 4 inches apart. Bake the tuiles for 7 to 9 minutes, until the edges are golden brown but the center is still pale.

3. Transfer the cookies to a rack and let cool for 1 to 2 minutes, until they can be loosened and lifted from the sheet without tearing. Wrap them around a wooden dowel, for over a rolling pin to shape until cooled.