Parties of a Cakely Proportion

Clearly, I am a lover of all things sweet and baked. So I decided, why not have a party where that's all you eat?! I mean, other than the obvious and eventual sugar crash and stomach sick from too much sweet food, it sounded like a wonderful idea. This weekend, it happened!

For it, I made a genoise cake, which is a bit like a really fluffy American yellow cake. Europe and Japan loves this type of cake--light, airy, and dry. To help it keep its moisture, I slathered the layers in a glaze of 1c water, 1c sugar, and 2tbs triple sec. The actual recipe comes from my new favorite cookbook! You can see this cake which was decorated with strawberries and whipped cream in the bottom right corner of the picture. The picture was taken early in the evening before everyone had arrived; the pickings here are sparse compared to the end result!


---
Be sure to have all ingredients at room temperature for this recipe! The key is to have a light hand and to not rush the folding process or you will end up with a dense, unpleasant cake.

Genoise Cake (from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion)
6 eggs and 1 egg yolk
3/4c superfine sugar
1/8tsp salt (1 pinch)
3/4c flour
1tbs cornstarch
4tbs unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place the eggs, 1/2c of the sugar, and salt in a baine marie, whisking until sugar dissolves and the mixture is just warm to the touch. Do not let the eggs scramble! If the eggs reach a temperature higher than 110F, your eggs will become a very sweet dish of scrambled eggs. Begin beating the eggs at medium-high. You will do this until the eggs triple in volume, and when lifting the beaters/whisk, the eggs fall in a thick, luscious ribbon and are slowly reabsorbed into the mixture. If you are using a stand mixer, this can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes. A hand mixer will take considerably longer. If you choose to mix by hand, I pity you, but you will have some nice guns to show for it!

While the eggs are beating, whisk the flour, cornstarch, and 1/4c of sugar together, creating a bit of a dust storm in your kitchen. (You want this mixture to be light and airy because you will be folding it into the eggs, which are prone to falling.) Once egg mixture has increased significantly in volume and has become a light yellow color, using a large whisk, beging folding the flour mixture in. Add the flour in thirds. Pour 1/3 of your batter into a medium-sized bowl containing the butter and vanilla mixed together. Stir until uniform to lighten the butter-and-vanilla mixture. Fold in the rest of the batter.

You can pour/spoon this batter into a springform pan (30 to 35 mins baking time), 8" or 9" baking pans (20-25 mins; you must bake these all at once or the batter will be no good), or a jelly roll pan (14-18 mins). Do not open the oven while baking or the cake is prone to falling! The cake is done when the sides have pulled away from the pan. A cake tester is not needed.

It's not summer, but it's mighty warm

Despite the fact that it snowed two days ago (in April?!), it had been getting pretty hot. One day it had already hit 80, and tomorrow it should be in the mid-70s. So, while I think of key lime pie being something to eat to cool off in summertime, I think spring in Atlanta is often warm enough to go ahead and gobble one down. This recipe is based on my mother's; I know what she uses, but I don't know how much exactly, so I made this one. I don't like meringue on my key lime pie seeing as I'm allergic to it, so if you'd like to use the whites from the three eggs, 1/4tsp cream of tartar, and 1/4c sugar, go for it. Just put the meringue on when you bake the pie, and it will come out with beautiful brown and tan streaks. Key lime pie is simple, delicious, and refreshing. It is one of my favorite desserts. If you cannot find key limes, you may juice regular limes and a little bit of lemon to mimic the sourness of key limes, but it will not taste quite the same. Just don't use bottled lime juice.
---

Key Lime Pie
8oz shortbread cookies, ground
1/2c macadamia nuts, ground
1 tsp sugar
2tbs butter, melted
3 egg yolks
1 14oz can condensed milk
1/2c + large splash key lime juice (if you like it extra sour, which I do!)
1c heavy whipping cream
2tsp powdered sugar

If you wish to buy your own pie crust, bake it for 10 mins before baking the pie if not pre-baked. Otherwise, this shortbread macadamia nut crust is delicious.

Mix together the shortbread cookies, macadamia nuts, and sugar. Add the melted butter, and stir with a fork. Distribute into a pie pan, and bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Remove the crust and allow it to cool completely.

To prepare the filling, beat the egg yolks until light yellow and thick; this may take some time if done by hand, and it is very worth your while. Stir in the condensed milk until fully incorporated. Add the lime juice and mix well. Pour the mixture into the crust. Bake for 15 minutes.

While baking, whip up the whipping cream to either soft or hard peaks (whichever you prefer) and add sugar. Let cool, and spread over the top, making swirls and peaks. Place in refrigerator to chill at least 3 hours.

Tarte, part deux

So, my sister is pregnant, and apparently kiwi is good for women that are soon to give birth. So being myself, I decided that just eating straight fruit is meh. Thus another tart was born (and no, I really didn't intend on the pun.) I love blackberries, so I had to put some on there; I saw some juicy-looking strawberries and added those too. I used Gran Marnier rather than kirsch, and it actually was a bit flat. I need to try yet another liqueur to see if it's a good middle of the two. Perhaps I can just add a little less kirsch, and it won't overpower the flavor of the custard quite so much. At least it's easy to make...

sukiyaki ga suki

(So, I know this is a baking blog, but Japanese food is too good to pass up.)

Mm, sukiyaki is so very tasty and simple. Chop up some vegetables, get yourself some thinly-sliced meat, and you've got a substantial, filling dinner! After Alexandra showed me this wonderful youtube channel, I started craving some Japanese food. Instead of going out for it, I decided to make my own. After all, isn't that what Francis is encouraging me to do?

Sukiyaki sauce:
2 parts sake
1 part mirin
1 part soy sauce
sugar to taste

Suggested vegetables/fillers: Beef, tofu (seared, fried, etc), napa cabbage, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, green onions, konnyaku, udon, komatsuna, mustard greens, shungiku, soba noodles. Basically anything that doesn't take too long to cook can be thrown in.

Clearly there's lots of variety to be had. Get yourself a pan, add some meat, pour some of the sauce over it. Cook the meat a little. Add veggies. Add more sauce. Simmer! Cover! Eat when ready. Quick. Yummy. So tasty. Delectable. Wonderful. Did I mention yummy? And easy?

That picture above isn't the most glorious. It was last minute, forced upon me by Lauren and Micah. I had picked up the pan and the food had all moved so it wasn't as regal. OH NOES. I'm sure you'll forgive me.

I also made some strawberry daifuku. I've always wanted to try it, and now I have it. Yummers.
I love Japanese food. mmmm daifuku.

Mmmm. Food.

The Merchant of Venice

I dunno. If I were the merchant of Venice, I wouldn't have demanded a pound of flesh. Why insist upon that when you can have yummy pound cake instead? At least pound cake has some sort of use! What was he going to do with his pound of flesh anyway? Not like he was gonna eat it... What's the point in that?

This is my favorite pound cake. I've been working on the recipe a while, and I think I finally got it how I like. The outside is crusty and slightly crisp, and the inside is crumbly but moist. If you want extra flavor, up the amount of vanilla extract. As listed in this recipe, it makes a good base for something like strawberries+cake. (I mean, you can use blueberries if you want, but why ruin a perfectly good cake?!) But if you plan on just eating the cake alone, I would add a little extra something.
---


Pound Cake
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c milk
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs
1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the sour cream and milk. Mix together. Sift the baking soda and flour together. Add the flour to the liquid mixture alternating with eggs, beating in each egg one at a time. Add vanilla.

Pour into a prepared loaf pan. Bake 50 mins to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

raspberries are too pricey

But they're oh so yummy! I had been taken to this Swiss bakery somewhere in Norcross I think, and I bought a most exquisite pastry from this French lady. I decided to see if I could imitate it! That's a long way to drive. So yesterday, I made a most tasty raspberry tart. If I just cook the custard a little longer next time, I daresay mine is better than hers. However, I didn't have my actual camera with me before it was promptly devoured. Enjoy the wonderful camera phone picture that is so blurry you have no idea what's up!


A good quality picture would have looked like this one that I blantantly stole from the intarwebs.
On to the recipe!
---

Tarte aux Framboises
1lb raspberries
1 pastry dough
3 egg yolks
2 c milk
½ c + 2 tbs sugar
1/3 c + 1 tbs flour
2 tbs butter
1 vanilla bean, split (or vanilla extract if not available)
1 tsp kirsch or other cherry/raspberry liqueur
1 c whipping cream
Powdered sugar

Place pasty dough in a tart pan and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Sprinkle some sugar on the dough so that it caramelizes and does not absorb the pastry cream added later. Bake another 5 minutes.

Beat the yolks with the sugar. Add the flour slowly, mixing well. Carefully heat the cream and vanilla together until the flavor is transferred. Temper the egg mixture, and then add the rest of the milk to the egg while continuing to stir. Be careful not to overheat the egg and let it scramble.

Place the mixture in a saucepan, add the kirsch, and cook over low heat for a few moments. Remove from heat at first signs of boiling, add in the butter and stir. Reserve the mixture. Allow to cool.

Fill a sink with water and ice cubes. Place a chilled bowl into the water. Fill with the cream and whisk until whipped. Sweeten to liking. Alternatively, you may use a stand mixer, but be sure that the whipped cream remains cold.

Gently fold the pastry cream in with the whipped cream.

Pour the cream over the dough and arrange the raspberries to your liking. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

talk of the town

The brioche turned out loverly. I ended up with three pieces I had shaped that were too small for the mold. I took the three of them and placed them in the larger pan; I was very pleased with the result. I like it especially because you can bake it all at once, but it splits evenly among multiple people and becomes a nice time saver if you don't have enough brioche pans.

On to the recipe! This one came from my favorite bakery in Boston, Flour. Admittedly, I haven't been to a ton of bakeries there, but I know from their food that I would be hard-pressed to find one I liked more. Plus, the atmosphere was a nice retreat from the chilly winter. They are publishing a cookbook eventually, and I can't wait to get it. If anyone wants to buy me a present... ;)
---


2 1/2 cups high-gluten flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-ounce yeast
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup ice water
5 eggs
11 ounces butter, softened

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the ingredients except for the butter, and beat on low with dough hook for 10 minutes. Add the softened butter and knead for another 20 minutes until dough slaps on the side of the bowl.

Place in a container and cover well.　Proof in refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

Shape, cover, proof for several hours at warm room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Egg wash and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. (Brioche is done when interior temperature reaches 200 degrees F.)