Strawberry Nutella Stuffed Pastry

        

It’s strawberry season!  I love strawberry shortcake just as much as the next person, but sometimes I need chocolate.  These flaky, buttery pastries are filled with rich nutella, and juicy sweet red strawberries.  They are amazing!

If you don’t want to go to all the trouble to make puff pastry yourself (and who could blame you!), purchase some in the freezer section of your local grocer.

So go ahead and swap that shortcake for a buttery pastry, it’s the perfect hand-held, make-ahead, summer-time, Memorial day/4th of July-celebrating treat.  Be sure to make extra, because these go fast!

Puff Pastry Adapted from Volume Two Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cake flour

3/4 stick of cold unsalted butter, cut into Tablespoons

1 1/8 cup ice water*

2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

Whisk the flours together in a medium bowl.  Scoop out 1/2 cup of the flour mixture to use later – set aside.**

Add the butter to the remaining flour mixture and cut it in until you have pea-sized crumbles of butter and flour.

Add salt to the ice water* and stir until completely dissolved.

Pour the salt water into the flour mixture and mix together until combined.  The dough may be slightly tacky.

*I usually measure 1 cup of water and add ice to make 1 1/8 cup stirring vigorously until melted.  Once the ice is melted, I pour off any extra liquid.

**You will use this to combine with the butter that goes in between the dough layers.

On a large piece of parchment (lightly floured) shape the dough into a square and flatten it slightly.  Wrap up the dough in the parchment and place it in a plastic bag.  Refrigerate for about 45 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

In the meantime, prepare your butter layer.

Butter Layer

3 sticks of cold, unsalted butter

1/2 cup of reserved flour mixture

On a piece of parchment, place the three sticks of butter and pound them with a rolling pin until they appear pliable.  Add the flour to the butter and work them together with bottom of your hand.  Do this until all the flour has been incorporated into the butter.  Shape the butter mixture into a square (more or less) and wrap it up in the parchment and put it in the refrigerate to chill.

Before you continue, make sure the butter layer has hardened.  If not, allow it to do so before moving to the next step.

When the butter has hardened, take out the square of dough and place it on lightly floured parchment.  Roll the dough into a large square (using more flour as needed to prevent sticking).  Place the chilled butter in the center, and wrap it up – first pulling the top of the dough over, then the right side, then the bottom, then the left side.  Now it should resemble a package.

Turn the package over and pound the dough evenly with the rolling pin, flattening out the butter layer.  Once the dough has flattened out a bit, begin to roll the dough out - about 16 inches in length and 8 inches in width.  Sprinkle with flour as needed to prevent sticking.

When it is completely rolled out, fold the dough like a letter, folding the bottom section halfway up the middle, then folding the top down.  Place the dough in front of you with the fold on your left side.

Roll out the dough again and repeat the folding.  Wrap the dough up in parchment and place in a plastic bag.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Next. .

Roll and fold

Roll and fold, wrap up and refrigerate for 1 hour

Roll and fold

Roll and fold, wrap up and refrigerate for 1 hour

Now the dough is ready for baking. . .whew, that was a lot of work!

Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, trim off edges so it’s somewhat uniform.  I use a pizza cutter to do this.  Then cut into rectangles.

For the plain pastry, fold the dough over itself and crimp using a fork.  Place pastries on parchment, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before baking.  Brush with eggwash and sprinkle with sugar just before baking.

Bake in a preheated oven set at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.  Gently lift the pastry (with a spatula) to check to see if the bottoms are browned before removing from the oven, otherwise they will deflate as they cool.

Strawberry Nutella Pastry

Nutella

Strawberries, washed and dried

Cut a pastry if half, slather nutella on the bottom half, and top with sliced fresh strawberries, fold over the top.  Eat immediately.  Enjoy!

Egg wash

1 egg

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

Whisk together the egg and the heavy cream until combined.

To make the chocolate stuffed bird pastries, buy these cutters.  Then use the cutter to cut the shape on the bottom section of the pastry.  Flip the pastry over and place chocolate chips on the bottom section, then fold the cut-out section over, and crimp the sides with a fork.  Place the bird cut-out on top.  Place the pastry on parchment, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, checking the bottom to make sure it’s brown before removing from the oven.

Linking to Tidy Mom

Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake

This is one of those cakes that looks really impressive, but doesn’t take any time at all.  I have a super narrow bundt pan, so that’s why it has a bit of an odd shape!

This particular cake was on the cover of Cooking with Paula Deen May/June 2013, on sale now, and it caught the eye of my discerning young son.  He was impressed, and figured he could make it to.  So we bought the magazine, a package of raspberries and off we went.

As far as pound cakes go, this one is incredibly moist and has a soft crumb – the kids all gave it rave reviews!

I should note that the raspberries have to cook into a sauce at least 6 hours before baking the cake, so be sure to plan for that.

Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake Adapted from Cooking with Paula Deen Magazine May/June 2013

Raspberry Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1 cups fresh raspberries

6 Tablespoons water

In a small pan, combine all of the ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring often crushing the berries.  Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.  Pour the berries into a sieve – gently pressing and stirring to get all of the sauce out.  Discard the pulp and seeds.  Let the sauce cool for about 20 minutes, then store covered in the refrigerator for 6 hours, or overnight.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

3 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and the sour cream together until combined.*  Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the lemon zest and the vanilla and beat until combined.  Add the eggs and the egg yolk, beating after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and beat just until combined.  Your batter will be lumpy, do not continue to beat until smooth!

Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray, then add about 1 1/2 – 2 cups of batter to the pan (depending on the size of your bundt pan).  Using a wooden spoon handle, make a trench in the center of the cake batter, all the way around the cake pan.

Next, carefully pour half of the raspberry sauce into the trench – about 3 Tablespoons.  Then spoon more cake batter over the raspberry sauce – using just enough batter to cover it.  The bundt pan should be no more than 2/3 full, to prevent cake overflow.

Next, take a dinner knife and make circles with it in the batter two times, then move on to another section (just pulling your knife through the batter), circling again 2 times, and continue to move until all of the batter has been swirled.

Pour the remaining cake batter into a loaf pan, I used this one.

Place the cakes in the oven for about 1 hour.  Check the cakes by inserting a toothpick in the centers.  After the cakes are done, let them cool for about 10 minutes in their pans, then carefully turn each out onto a wire rack to continue cooling.

Once the cakes are almost completely cool, top with the glaze and serve.

*The cold sour cream will make some of the butter harden, making the batter lumpy, but this is okay!

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon corn syrup

3 Tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, corn syrup, and water together until smooth.  Add the almond extract and whisk until combined.  For a thicker glaze add more powdered sugar, for a thinner glaze add more water.  For easy clean up, place a piece of wax paper under the cooling rack the cake is on, then pour the glaze on top.

Rustic Mini Chocolate Cream Pies

I love “rustic” because it implies imperfection (which suits me, since I’m completely imperfect).  However, I love it when my baking turns out well. . .perfect.  Confused?  Me too.

These chocolate cream pies came to be when my daughter found a picture of some pudding pies that I didn’t have the ingredients for – instant pudding, premade pie crust, and the like.  This homemade version was a big hit, and is sure to be a repeat.

In other exciting news, today is my niece’s 7th birthday. . .Happy Birthday Girlie!

Rustic Mini Chocolate Cream Pie

Pie Crust Adapted from An Adobe Oven to a Microwave Range

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 cups shortening

1 egg

5 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon vinegar

In the food processor, combine the flour, salt,  and baking powder.  Pulse 2 to 3 times.  Add the shortening and pulse until coarse-looking crumbs appear.  Add the egg, water, and vinegar and pulse just until combined, and the dough starts to pull away from the sides.

Open the lid of the food processor, and pat the dough.  It should be soft, but not sticky.  Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until it all comes together.  Grab a golf ball sized piece of dough and roll it out on the floured surface.  Place the rolled-out dough inside a muffin pan, or individual pie pan, cut to size, and prick the bottom of each pie with a fork about 5 times.

When all of the wells have been filled with pie dough, bake them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.  The bottoms will puff up just a little.  Let them cool in the pan.

*As an added touch, we melted 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and spooned the melted chocolate onto the bottom of our cooled pie crusts to prevent the crust from turning soggy, before pouring in the hot filling.

Chocolate Cream

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

3 squares of semisweet chocolate (I used Baker’s)

3 egg yolks, beaten (in a small mixing bowl, set aside for tempering)

Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan (this will help prevent lumps).  Add the milk, heavy cream, and chocolate.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens.

Boil for 1 minute, and remove from heat.

Gradually stir at least half of the hot mixture into the 3 beaten egg yolks whisking constantly to temper (slowly bringing the yolks and hot milk to the same temperature to prevent the egg yolks from scrambling).

Then add the tempered egg mixture back into the rest of the hot milk, whisking constantly to combine.  Return the custard mixture to the stove (over medium heat) and bring to a boil – for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter.  Whisk until fully incorporated.  Then pour through a sieve into a large (4 cup) glass measuring cup.

Don’t omit this step!  Even when I think I’ve fully incorporated the egg yolks, there are always a few chewy bits that end up in the sieve.

Pour the chocolate cream into the cooled pie shells, and let set at room temperature (about 30 minutes) before refrigerating (to prevent sweating).

Store in the refrigerator, and serve cold.

Makes about a dozen pies using this individual pie pan.

Dark Chocolate 3 Musketeer Brownies

So can we all agree, it ain’t pretty?  But it’s totally worth making, because it tastes really good.  And this isn’t just your average brownie either, it’s actually 3 layers – dark fudge brownie with bits of candy bar on bottom, creamy mousse in the center, and a chocolate shell topping.  Your kids will nominate you for mother of the year if you make them. . .well, at least while they’re eating them.

Dark Chocolate 3 Musketeer Brownies Adapted from here and here

Brownie Layer:

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder)

3 eggs

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

fun size 3 Musketeer Candy bars, coarsely chopped (I used about 10)

Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with foil and coat with nonstick spray.  Set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium heatproof bowl, place the butter in the microwave for thirty second intervals until almost completely melted.  Add the sugar and the cocoa powder to the melted butter.  Whisk until combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each.  Whisk in the flour, and then stir in the chopped candy, then pour the batter into your prepared pan.  Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, take the brownies out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes.  During this time, make your mousse layer.

Mousse Layer:

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup of chocolate chips (I used semisweet)

3 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

Heat the cream in a microwave-safe bowl for about 1 minute.  When the cream is hot, add the chocolate chips and let stand for about 2 minutes.  Whisk the heavy cream and chocolate until it’s incorporated, whisk in the sugar.  Set aside for about 10 minutes to cool before adding to the eggs.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until foamy, then add the chocolate mixture.  Next pour the mixture through a sieve to catch all the chewy bits of egg that do not belong in a creamy mousse.  Then pour the mixture on top of the brownie base and put it in the oven for about 35 – 40 minutes to bake.

The top should jiggle just a little – like set Jello.  It will continue to cook a bit after it comes out of the oven – you don’t want to overbake it because the mousse will take on an odd chewy crust.  After the brownie has cooled for about 30 minutes, pour on the melted chocolate and spread it thinly to form the shell.

Chocolate Shell:

2 cups of chocolate chips (I used semisweet)

Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 1 minute intervals until almost completely melted.  Stir until it’s melted the rest of the way, and pour on top of the brownie.

Store the brownies in the refrigerator.

As you can see from the picture, the chocolate shell cracks when you cut into the brownie.  Which leaves one with a few options: cut the brownies first and add the melted chocolate to each individual piece or make a ganache instead to spread on top of the brownie.  Either way, refrigerate overnight before cutting and serving for best results!

A Special Engagement. . .

My oldest buddy ol’pal, Gina, is getting married!  And boy do I love a good wedding.  They’re such a great excuse for good food, music, and friends to get together and celebrate.

Gina and I grew up together – as in we knew each other when we were babies (our parents were college friends), so we saw each other through the ups and downs of life, and spent many holidays celebrating together.

And while weddings bring out my happy, fun-loving side, the idea of marriage decidedly does not.  Not to be Debbie Downer, but it’s hard.  Am I right?

There’s this little thing I’ve been obsessed with lately.  I call it “celebrating mediocrity.”  You know, like when my husband cooks dinner once a year and then congratulates himself during the entire meal as if he’s never been served amazing food before.

Apparently (unlike me) his hands have been miraculously blessed and anything he touches is awe-inspiring.  To be fair, those are my words, not his (even if they’re spot on, ahem).

Yep, it’s hard to tolerate.  And when he has taken all of the kids with him to the grocery store because it was the weekend (and I was incredibly sick), old ladies and a few men have stopped to congratulate him on his bravery venturing out alone into the unknown with all of the kids without his dutiful wife.

Are you kidding me?  I sent him with a detailed list.  He’ll be fine.  That right there is “celebrating mediocrity” at its finest.  You will never see an old woman, or a man, stop to awe at me for shopping with my kids.

Nope, I get dirty looks for toddler meltdown in aisle 5.  So, the next time your husband does something mediocre, do what I do and raise an imaginary glass to him to celebrate – facetiously, of course.

Oh, sorry I’ll get down off my soapbox.  Where was I?  I mean before my whole tirade. . .ah, my dear friend Gina.

Yes, I’m so excited for her because she gets to have a wedding all about her, with flowers, and pretty dresses, and presents. . .and at the end of the day, a husband (to wait on, and clean up after, and take to the emergency room after he runs over his foot accidentally with the lawnmower blade – good times).

Let’s try this another way, Bob (that’s not his real name) is so lucky because Gina is one of the most sincere, honest, kind people that I know.  She is funny, and if you’re her friend, she’ll take anyone down who tries to talk bad about you.  She’s just as beautiful inside as she is outside.

I know that she’s going to put everything she has into this marriage, so he better bring it because she deserves nothing but the best.

So what are we waiting for?  Let’s celebrate!  Wouldn’t these be cute as individual servings of wedding cake?

Mini Angel Food Cake Adapted from Norpro Professional Essentials

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

12 egg whites (room temperature)

1/3 cup warm water

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Process the sugar in a food processor until fine.  Put half the sugar in a bowl, along with the salt and flour and whisk – set aside.

In a large bowl whisk the egg whites, water, vanilla, and cream of tartar for two minutes.

Using the hand mixer to continue to beat the egg whites, slowly add the remaining sugar while continuing to beat.  Once the egg whites start forming peaks, spoon the flour mixture lightly over the top and using a rubber scraper fold into the batter carefully.  Continue to add the rest of the flour and fold into the batter.

Spoon the cake batter into ungreased cake cups until 3/4 full.  Bake for about 35 minutes, or until there are no crumbs on your toothpick or cake tester.

Immediately turn them over onto a wire cooling rack for at least 20 minutes.  After that time, you may have to loosen them gently from the pan with a nylon scraper (to not scratch the pan).

Store covered when completely cool, or serve.

I ended up with leftover batter and was able to make a pan of mini cakes using this pan.

Sources:
4 inch Silver Cupcake Pick

Mini Angel Food Pan

Individual Pie and Burger Bun Pan

Mr. & Mrs. Stamp

Flourish Frame Rubber Stamp

Mini Wedding Dress Copper Cookie Cutter

Lemon Curd Stuffed Pastry

I just couldn’t let today go by without wishing my sweet nephew a happy birthday!  In honor of him, I made some lemon curd pastries.  While sugar cookies would have been more fitting, it’s citrus season and I wanted to show you just how versatile lemon curd can be!

If you’ve never made it before, it really is simple – click here for my favorite recipe.  I used this recipe for the pie crust, because I wanted it to be just like puff pastry without all of the work.  I just rolled out the pie dough and used a round scalloped cutter, and baked them in the oven at 425 degrees for 18 minutes.

When they’re cool, slice them in half and spread with lemon curd and top with sweetened freshly whipped cream.  You can then top them with the other half of pastry if desired.

Strawberry Thumbprint Scones

These aren’t your typical dry biscuits – nope, these are so much better.  They’re soft, cake-like, moist bits of yumminess, or as my son calls them ”awesome good.”

They come together fast in the food processor and go right into the oven.  My favorite part is the strawberry jam in the middle – I mean, who doesn’t like a little glimpse of summer in the winter?!  That’s why people can summer produce, right?

I almost didn’t make these, being that it’s still Christmas break here and it’s crazy with the kids still at home (happily riding their scooters around the house while dad is at work, because that’s why we have a wood floor, right?).

You see, Christmas Break = verge of a nervous breakdown for me.  I knew if I made these and they failed, then I would have pushed myself over the edge, because nothing puts a wrinkle in my panties like wasting precious resources (I’m talking my time and energy) making a recipe that doesn’t turn out.

And trying said recipe in the midst of wiping crayon off of a laptop, while explaining that “life isn’t fair, which kind of makes it fair” to feuding siblings, and chasing down the offender who keeps throwing candy wrappers on the floor – well, it was a gamble.

But all’s well that ends well, because this one is a keeper.

This recipe came from this cookbook - which is also a keeper.  And I have to add a big thanks to my in-laws for the wonderful homegrown (frozen) strawberries I used to prepare these!

Strawberry Thumbprint Scones Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

2 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup heavy cream

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup jam (I used strawberry topping – recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and pulse.  Add the pieces of butter and pulse until coarse crumbs appear.  Pour the flour mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla - stir just until combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times.  Roll the dough into a large ball and cut into quarters.  Roll each of those into balls and press (or roll) the dough into 1/2 to 3/4 inch circle and, using a pizza cutter, cut each flattened disk into quarters.

Place each scone onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Gently press your thumb in the middle of each scone – I did it a couple of times to make room for more filling - the best part!  Spoon a heaping spoonful into the indentation.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Prepare glaze while the scones are cooling, and drizzle the scones with the glaze.

Almond Glaze Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

1/4 cup milk

1 – 2 cups powdered sugar (add as needed to get a thick consistency)

1 teaspoon almond extract

Combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, almond extract, and the milk in a small bowl.  Whisk until thick, but pourable.  If it’s still too thin (mine was) add more powdered sugar.

Strawberry Topping Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

dash of salt

1/3 cup water

4 cups fresh or frozen strawberries

Place the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and whisk together to break up any lumps.  Then add the water and stir well.  Add in the strawberries.

Over medium heat, cook and stir until the sauce is thick and just starting to boil.  Stir for 1 to 2 minutes more, then take off the heat and let cool.  Store in the refrigerator.

Delicious served over ice cream, cheesecake, on top of fresh baked scones, or to coat fresh strawberries for pie!  Yum!

Gingerbread House Cookies

Nothing says Christmas to me more than the taste, and smell, of freshly baked gingerbread.  I always get excited about the kids’ class parties, especially when there’s “gingerbread house” decorating.

I’m using that term loosely because I’ve seen ice cream cones, graham crackers, and (my least favorite) milk cartons decorated like gingerbread houses.  In fact, last year I was asked to donate candy to decorate “gingerbread houses,” and I thought it sounded like fun.  Until, I walked into the classroom and saw a mom hard at work hot glue gunning graham crackers to the sides of milk cartons for the kids to decorate with frosting and candy.  Not such fun – because it’s not edible!

What a complete and total waste. . .and nothing chops my hide like wasted time and candy.  The good news is that out of that, came this cookie.  My kids had a blast decorating their own cookies and consuming their creations, and this would be a great activity for the kids to do at their school parties.  I just filled disposable frosting bags with royal icing (tying the tops off with rubber bands), and snipped of the tips (instead of dirtying frosting tips) and let them loose with the candy.

Click here for a soft and chewy gingerbread recipe.

Now for the fun. . .the decorated cookies:

I bought my bird house cookie cutter from King Arthur Flour last year, and they don’t carry it anymore.  But no worries, you can find a great selection of house cookie cutters at Copper Gifts, Copper House Cookie Cutter.

Gingerbread Reindeer + Rudolph

This gingerbread is so good, buy new spices (they make such a huge difference), and play around with the amounts until you get the flavor you like - I personally prefer more cinnamon.

My kids got a kick out of handing these beauties out to their teachers, and I was relieved that it was a consumable gift – no worries about giving them clutter or duplicates.  Trust me, these are big concerns when one is married to a minimalist.

Gingerbread Adapted from Martha Stewart

3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup unsulfured molasses (I used Grandma’s Brand)

In a large bowl whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a food processor, pulse the butter and brown sugar together until creamed. Add the egg and molasses and pulse until well combined.

Add in the flour/spice mixture all at once and pulse until everything is completely incorporated. The dough will be very sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour.

Set a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter, and spoon the dough onto it. Wrap the dough up in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the next day.

When you’re ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then roll the dough 1/4 an inch thick on a lightly floured surface, and cut with cookie cutters. Place cut outs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Transfer the cookies (left on the parchment) to a wire rack to cool immediately out of the oven.

Once cool, frost with royal icing* and decorations of your choosing. Enjoy!

For the simple decoration seen above, I just followed the directions on the back of my meringue powder, and added white food coloring (as an extra precaution, but certainly not necessary) to keep the frosting from turning yellow due to the butter content in the cookies.

King Arthur Square Bake and Give Pans with Lids

Mini Reindeer Cookie Cutter

Red and White Baker’s Twine

EK Success Real Estate Sign Paper Punch

Rose Cake

I received a comment from Lisa (Hi!) and she requested some information on this cake - which previously was nothing more than a  photo in a birthday collage I’d thrown together earlier this year.  See, I do read comments!

Anywho, this is the rose cake. . . and I love it.  Like me, you’ve probably seen these rose cakes everywhere, and they are so much fun.  I wanted to do something a little different with mine – I wanted a strawberry cake (something about strawberry just screams summer to me) covered in colored roses.  And I wanted them layered so some actually stand taller than the others, for visual interest.  For the recipes, see below.  For a great tutorial, click here.

To layer the roses (on the top of the cake only), simply pipe a rose over the bare space between roses.

Although this particular cake was a soft Strawberry Cake, I think a lovely white cake (just omit the sprinkles unless you want a “funfetti” cake) would also make for a stunning interior.

Super Soft Strawberry Cake Adapted from Family Circle Magazine

3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons strawberry liqueur
1 cup buttermilk
Red food coloring
2/3 cup diced strawberries
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray three 9 inch (round) cake pans with PAM spray and line with parchment.  Set aside.

Whisk the cake flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.  In a large bowl, cream the shortening and 1 ½ cups of sugar together.  Beat in the vanilla and the liqueur until combined.

Next, in three additions beat in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk – beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

When the flour and buttermilk are completely incorporated, add the diced strawberries and a few drops of red food coloring.*

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy and add the cream of tartar, and gradually add the remaining ½ cup sugar.  Continue beating until stiff peaks have formed.

Gently stir some of the stiff egg whites into the batter.  Then fold in the remaining egg whites until completely incorporated.

Divide the batter between the three prepared cake pans and bake in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until done.  Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan (placed on top of a cooling rack).  After 10 minutes, turn the cakes out onto the wire rack to continue cooling.**

*The cake lightens up after baking, so I like to add enough color for the batter to be a shade or two darker than my desired color.

**My sister-in-law (Hi Lisa!) shared this tip with me – it not only keeps your cake really moist, but it also helps when assembling layer cakes.  Instead of cooling on the wire rack after the 10 minute cooling period in the pan, turn the cakes out onto plastic wrap and carefully (they’re hot!) wrap them up.  Then wrap each layer in foil and stack them on a cutting board (or cookie sheet) and place them in the freezer for at least an hour.

Click here to get the recipe for my favorite Italian Meringue Buttercream.  It’s delicious and the perfect consistency for piping frosting.