No Bake Birthday Cake!

 My little Bella is allergic to wheat flour so I made her cake out of Rice Krispy Treats. I just made them and pressed them firmly into the buttered clown pan, what a time saver!

Poppie and Bella are birthday buddies :)

Another great party, they sure had fun!

It's All About the Lemon!

 I never quite understood why people liked lemon sweets, but something happened in the past couple of years and my taste buds have been awoken! I love lemon desserts! These are lemon bars from Baking Illustrated. I like the crust very much; I let it brown a few extra minutes so that it resembles a cookie crust and does not get soggy. Delicious!

Here is the recipe... Enjoy!

Lemon Bars-

Crust-

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more to decorate the finished bars

1/2 tsp. salt

8 T. ( 1 stick ) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 1-inch pieces

Lemon Filling-

7 large egg yolks, plus 2 large eggs

1 cup plus 2 T. granulated sugar

2/3 cup juice from 4 or 5 medium lemons, plus 1/4 cup finely grated zest

Pinch of salt

4 T. ( 1/2 ) stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

3 T. heavy cream

1. For the Crust: Spray a 9-inch square baking pan ( I used an 8-inch square baking pan ) with nonstick cooking spray. Fold two 16-inch pieces of foil or parchment paper lengthwise to measure 9 inches wide. Push the paper into the corners and up the sides of the pan (overhang will help in removal of baked bars). Fit the second sheet in the pan in the same manner, perpendicular to the first sheet. Spray the sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in a food processor and process briefly. Add the butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then process until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1-second pulses. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly with your fingers into an even layer over the entire pan bottom. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. ( I forgot this part and it seemed to turn out fine. )

3. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the crust until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

4. For the Filling: In a medium nonreactive bowl, whisk together the yolks and whole eggs until combined, about 5 seconds. Add the granulated sugar and whisk until just combined, about 5 seconds. Add the lemon juice, zest, and salt; whisk until combined, about 5 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a medium nonreactive saucepan, add the butter pieces, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the curd thickens to a thick sauce-like consistency and registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes ( took longer for me ). Immediately pour the curd through a single-mesh stainless steel strainer set over a clean nonreactive bowl. Stir in the heavy cream; pour the curd into the warm crust immediately.

5. Bake until the filling is shiny and opaque and the center 3 inches jiggle slightly when shaken, 10-15 minutes ( longer for me ). Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil or parchment handles and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into the shape you would like, wiping the knife clean between cuts as necessary. Sieve confectioners' sugar over the bars, if desired.

Blueberry Crumb Cake!

This is a classic tasting coffee cake from Barefoot Contessa, perfect for a nice Sunday brunch. I think it would taste really good with raspberries too!

Ingredients-

For the Streusel:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the Cake:

6 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

2/3 cup sour cream

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup fresh blueberries (I used frozen)

Confectioners sugar for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the Streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the Cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 or 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, unitl a tooth pick comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. ( I forgot to do this part. )

Zeppole!

Zeppole are like little Italian donuts, but a little lighter and fluffier. This recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis. To say they all didn't turn out beautiful...

is...

an UNDERSTATEMENT! These were the first ones to make it out of the pot, and aren't they beauties?! :)

This recipe just didn't seem to work out the way it was written, so I lowered the temperature of the oil and added flour... let's just forget this ever happened and go back to the pretty ones...

 much better! The zeppole are fried in a pot of very hot oil...

which makes me a little nervous! But I was prepared and luckily the fire extinguisher was not necessary.

There they are getting nice and toasty. Once I removed the zeppole from the oil I tossed them in orange sugar which goes very well with dark chocolate.

All you need to do is put orange zest and sugar in a food processor and blend. You can do this with lemon, lime, or you could get really fancy with vanilla bean and lavender. You can add these mixes to cookies or a cup of tea too.

And there you have 'em!

Ingredients-
Orange Zeppole
1 stick of butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 T. orange zest
vegetable oil for frying

Orange Sugar
1 T. orange zest
1/2 cup sugar

Chocolate Sauce
3/4 cup cream
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions- ( I had better success by adding a little more flour. The less flour you add the lighter they will be. I also kept the temperature at 300 degrees so that they did not burn too quickly. )

In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt, sugar, and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return the pan to low heat and stir continuously until the mixture forms a ball, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Add the orange zest and beat until smooth. Set aside.

For the organge sugar- place the orange zest and sugar in a food processor. Pulse the machine until the mixture is blended. Put the sugar in a small bowl.

Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees. (Too hot from my experience.)

Using a small ice-cream scoop or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a tablespoon of the dough into the hot oil. Turn the zeppole once or twice, cooking until golden and puffed up, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cooked zeppole to the dish with the Orange Sugar. Roll to coat in the sugar. Continue frying the remaining dough.

For the Chocolate Sauce- Heat the cream in a small saucepan until hot but not boiling. Pour cream over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the Chocolate Sauce into a dipping dish. Serve alongside the zeppole.

Ricky's B-Day Cake!

This was Ricky's Birthday cake last year. It had layers of both devil's food and white cake with raspberry buttercream. It was covered with white chocolate curls and raspberries. To make the curls, melt the white chocolate and spread on a pan. Put pan in the refrigerator until it is cooled. Use a biscuit cutter and scrape, almost horizontally, over the chocolate. The white chocolate curls as you pull the cutter towards yourself. Put the chocolate back in refrigerator to cool when needed. A marble slab is a better surface for the chocolate if you have one.

I was pretty worried about this cake. Phoenix is still well over 100 degrees in September and we had a 40 minute drive to my mom and dad's house. We cooled the car as well as we could, but I think it still melted a little in the 20 seconds it took to carry it into the car!

A Perfect Little Breakfast.

Ooooh... this hits the spot for me! A warm scone, some sweet and tangy lemon curd, and a hot cup of coffee.


I doubled the recipe so that they last us a little longer. They're great for Dom to take to work and Sam's a fan too :)

This recipe is from Cooking Light. The scones are lighter in calories, but also lighter in texture which I actually prefer. One difference is the substitution of 2 % milk for heavy cream. I usually don't shape them as traditional scones. I just drop them on the baking sheet and bake as is. I like the rustic look it gives them and it also saves a lot of time and effort!

Blueberry Scones- Cooking Light

1/2 cup 2 % milk

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 lg egg

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 oz.)

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 T. chilled butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted (optional)

1 lg egg white, lightly beaten

2 T. sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gently fold in blueberries and pecans. Add milk mixture, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky.)

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface; pat dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut dough into 10 wedges, and place the dough wedges on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Brush egg white over dough wedges; sprinkle with 2 T. sugar. Bake scones at 375 degrees for 18 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Will you please sign the cake?

My sister Teresa is moving to San Diego so we had a farewell party for her. I love these pictures of her. One with her dog "Bob" whom she adores, one with our little sister Sarah, and one on the beaches of San Diego.

The first picture of the cake was before we left for the party. I used simple white fondant so that family and friends could write their farewell messages on the cake with edible ink pens.