Classic Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe was a great way to start a Saturday morning on a holiday weekend!
As I've mentioned before, I love to make a good, homemade breakfast on the weekends when we're all home together. My husband absolutely loved these cinnamon rolls and I'm glad because I will admit that they take a bit of preparation time. The end result- they're worth it!

A family member passed this recipe on to me after they had pulled it from "Family Circle" magazine.

Recipe:

rolls:
1 cup milk
1 envelope of active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)
3 tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

glaze:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1-3 tbsp milk


Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 tbsp of the sugar and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.



The yeast/water mixture


Beat in the remaining 2 tbsp sugar, eggs and butter. Beat in the cooled milk. (At this point on my mixer, I swap out my beater for a dough hook)
Gradually add 4 cups of the flour and salt, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until a soft dough forms.
(Dough will be sticky)

Turn the dough onto a floured work surface. Knead into the dough as much of the remaining flour as necessary, adding more if too sticky. Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is nice and smooth and no longer sticky. (The dough will be soft.)

Place dough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area until it has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.



Kneaded dough in plastic wrap





Dough has doubled in size



Coat a 12 inch skillet or round cake pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and coat paper for easier clean-up.

Prepare filling. Mix butter, both kinds of sugar and cinnamon together in a medium sized bowl.

Punch down the dough. Roll out onto a lightly floured work surface using a rolling pin to approx. an 18 x 12 inch rectangle.

Spread the butter/sugar mixture over the dough. Sprinkle with nuts if desired.
Starting on one long side, roll the dough up jelly-roll style and pinch the seam closed.

Cut crosswise into even portions (approx. 1 1/2 inch pieces). Arrange rolls cut side down, in the prepared pan. (NOTE: more than likely, you will not be able to fit all the rolls in one pan. For me it took two pans.)
Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the pans and bake until the rolls are golden brown and bubbly, approx. 25-35 minutes. Let rolls cool 10 minutes before spreading the glaze.

GLAZE

Mix confectioner's sugar and 1 tbsp milk, adding more milk if necessary, to make a smooth glaze (not too thick but not too runny).

Drizzle the glaze on top of the rolls (approx. 1/3 cup per roll) and serve warm.

This recipe was a huge hit with my family of men this morning. I hope you enjoy it too!

Have a great, safe Memorial Day weekend with your family.

Happy Baking!

A Look Back



Toy Story Alien Cake

This was my final project from my
"Decorating Basics Course" that
I took through Wilton. It was given to
my middle son for graduating kindergarten.
The Alien image was transferred using piping
gel and then tinted icing was piped using a
Wilton Star tip.



While going through some photos this weekend I came across a few pictures of cakes that I've made this past year. It was fun to look back and see some of the first cakes I decorated and to see how much I've learned since then. I've always loved baking but I didn't start "cake design" until this past year. I don't have a recipe to share with you today, but I wanted to share some of my photos with you. Each cake was made using a different cake design element and I thought it might give you some ideas for your own cake creations.



Rose Bud Cake
This was my final project from my "Flowers and Cake
Design Course" that I took through Wilton. It was given
to my mother for her birthday. It was a red velvet cake with
buttercream icing. The roses and rose buds were made from
royal icing and placed on the cake after they had hardened. The
vines are made from green tinted buttercream frosting.



     



Rose Bud Cake
arial view





USPS Priority Package Cake
This cake was made for one of my fellow employees at the
post office. This was his retirement party cake. It was a full
sheet cake- half chocolate, half vanilla with tinted buttercream icing.
The design was etched by hand using a sculpting tool as a guide line before the icing was applied. The design was piped using a Wilton Star tip.



                  

      

  

Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin Cake
This cake was made to enter into a magazine's Halloween cake contest. I spend a lot of time on this cake.

Unfortunately I did not win, but I'm proud of it all the same. This was the first time I had ever sculpted anything on a cake before. It was a vanilla cake with tinted buttercream icing. The fence was made with pretzel sticks that I dipped in melted chocolate. The grass was made using a Wilton grass tip. Charlie Brown and the pumpkins were sculpted from a fondant/gum paste mixture and then hand painted.



side view



pumpkin patch close up







Give Thanks Cake
This was the cake I made for Thanksgiving.
It was a vanilla and cinnamon cake
with buttercream icing.
Iused tinted marshmallow fondant to cover the
cake. More fondant (rolled as thin as possible)
was draped around the sides to create a fabric
effect and painted with edible shimmer dust.
"Give Thanks" was piped with piping gel and
the pinecones were added using a rubber stamp
and brown food coloring gel.





side view

Cowboy Hat Cake
This cake was made for my brother for his birthday.
It was a chocolate cake, double layer, with buttercream icing in the
middle and chocolate chips. The ridges of the hat were sculpted using
the scraps of the cake that were left after leveling mixed with icing.
The cake was covered in tinted fondant and the trim of the hat and
the brim of the hat were placed on last and molded to give it a more
realistic look. It was roughed up in spots to give it a worn look and
lastly, handpainted to give it brushed leather look.



Rose Cupcake Bouquet
This was made for my mother-in-law for her birthday. They're "Hummingbird Cupcakes" (see previous blog for the recipe) and "Cream Cheese Icing" (see previous blog for the recipe).  I used a terre cotta flower pot and placed a round styrofoam ball inside. Then using bamboo skewers, I arranged each cupcake to look like a real bouquet of roses. Then, one by one, I took them off the skewers to ice them using a Wilton tip and then placed them back on. Unfortunately, I could not find solid green cupcake liners anywhere (to make it look like the base of the rose and stems). Then I placed butterflies (these were not edible but bought at a craft store) and a big yellow ribbon on the flower pot.

These are just some of my cake creations over the past year. I hope they inspired you with ideas for your own creations.

More recipes will follow later in the week so keep checking back. Become a follower of this blog by email and never miss a recipe! As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or comments on the recipes. If you have tried any of the recipes, please vote on my opinion poll to the right of this post. You're feedback is greatly appreciated and all answers are anonymous (I don't know who votes, I just get the answer).

Thanks again to all my supporters of my blog and as always,

Happy Baking!

The Cookie Monster

If you're having one of those days where you're craving something big and sweet, ooey and gooey and you want it now- this is the dessert for you!

When I was a child, we would go out to eat after church on Sundays and there was a great restaurant that we all loved that served this very dessert. This restaurant was not one we would visit often because for 6 people it would get very expensive but we would go occasionally, especially if it was a special occasion. They would bring this dessert out in a hot skillet with toppings galore- every child's dream (I actually remember my eyes sparkling when they would bring this out to the table). It was large enough to feed the entire family. But the great thing about making this at home is you can individualize the size to fit your needs- a single serving or big enough to feed the entire family. This dessert is great to make when you have company over. It's simple, delicious and always a favorite.

For this dessert, you will need the following ingredients:
Your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe (see my favorite below)
Your favorite flavor of ice cream (you can mix it up with two different flavors if you like)
Hot Fudge or Chocolate Syrup (any flavor that compliments the ice cream will work)
Whipped Cream or Cool Whip (whichever you prefer)
Nuts (I use chopped pecans- use your favorite!)
Maraschino Cherries
(Optional: Slice Fruit- whatever compliments the ice cream)


This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl using a whisk. Cream the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips using a spatula or wooden spoon.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Now decide what type of dish you will use to bake in. For a large crowd you can use a skillet or a large round baking dish. For individual servings you could use small ceramic dishes or even ceramic pottery coffee cups (Longaberger mugs are great for this because they're safe to bake in and makes the perfect individual portion). Whatever dish you decide to use, spray with non-stick cooking spray or brush with butter. Spread cookie dough a 1/2 inch thick in the bottom of the dish using the back of a spoon to smooth it out.

Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes or longer depending on what size of dish you used. Keep an eye on it, checking every few minutes after the initial 10 if it needs to bake longer. The cookie should be a light golden brown when done.

While the baked cookie is still hot, add the ice cream (amount of scoops will vary depending on the size of the dish). Next add your hot fudge or syrup. Then add the whipped cream and nuts. And last but not least, the cherry! And now you have a "Cookie Monster"!
Serve immediately.

Cookie Monster variations:
Peanut Butter Cookie base, vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and marshmallow syrup, whipped cream and peanuts.

Double chocolate cookie base, mint ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream and crushed up Andes Mints.

Chocolate chip cookie base, 1 scoop each of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, strawberry and chocolate syrup, whipped cream, nuts and sliced bananas.


The possibilities with this dessert are endless. Put all of your favorites together- make it your own.
Hope you enjoy,
Happy Baking!

Martha's Blueberry Struesel Muffins

Breakfast is, by far, my favorite meal of the day. I could eat a huge breakfast and not care if I eat anything the rest of the day. Throughout the week, breakfast at our home is quick and simple but on the weekends (especially if my husband is not working) I love to make a big breakfast for the family. This is our chance to talk, laugh and start the day together. I found this recipe watching "Martha Bakes" a great baking program on the Hallmark Channel where Martha Stewart shares her greatest baking recipes. These muffins are great for breakfast alone with a cup of coffee or a great addition to your main course. Once in a while, I will make what my children call "night breakfast" for dinner. These muffins are great for that too. Hope you enjoy!

Recipe:

Struesel:  1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

              1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

              1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

              1/2 tsp salt
              3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together.  Add melted butter and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon. Mixture will turn into a moist, crumbly texture.



The finished struesel





Dry Ingredients



Muffins:  1 tbsp baking powder

              1 tsp salt

              3 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

              6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp

              1 1/4 cup sugar

              1 egg + 2 egg yolks

              1 tsp pure vanilla

              1 cup whole milk

              2 cups fresh blueberries (Maine or Jersey are the best)



Sifted, dry ingredients



Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar together. 

Add 1 egg and mix well.

Add each egg yolk separately, mixing well after each addition.

Add vanilla.

Alternately add dry ingredients with the milk.

Fold in the blueberries using a spatula or wooden spoon.  



Prepared blueberry muffin batter



                      

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. 

Fill cupcake liners with the blueberry batter 3/4 of the way full.



Filled cupcake liners



          

Using a spoon, sprinkle (heavily) the struesel on top of each muffin (unbaked).

                                                                       



The finished muffin batter



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Adding the struesel



Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Yields 1 1/2 dozen muffins.







                                                        This batter makes great mini-muffins too!



A delicious farmhouse breakfast!



The finished Blueberry Struesel Muffin


















These muffins have become a favorite of ours and perfect for summer when you can find fresh blueberries everywhere. I hope you enjoy and as always,

Happy Baking!



How Vinegar Can Help Your Kitchen Run Smoothly

I personally am not a huge fan of vinegar when it comes to my food. But over the years, I've learned how vinegar is very beneficial in all areas of the home- especially the kitchen.

First, let me explain vinegar itself. Vinegar can be many things: a healer, a disinfectant, a preservative, an acid and a condiment. Hard to believe since vinegar is the by-product of something gone bad. All vinegar starts as alcohol. Alcohol is created through the conversion of carbohydrates to sugar. When alcohol ferments, it becomes acetic acid- better known as vinegar.
(For example, grapes deteriorate to become wine and then wine ferments to become wine vinegar.)

Throughout history, vinegar was thought to help ward off the Black Plague and prevent scurvy. Recent medical studies have found that vinegar can draw venom from a jellyfish sting and help soothe a sore throat. In some cases, it is also being used to help detect cervical cancer.

Now, how can vinegar help you?

Coffee Pots
I use distilled white vinegar to clean our coffee pot once a month. Vinegar rids any hard water buildup. My husband and I are big coffee drinkers and by the months end it needs cleaned. Using vinegar is a safe, all natural way to clean, remove buildup and disinfect. To do this, just brew one cycle of cold water and 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar. I also use a clean coffee filter to catch any buildup coming from the water spout in the coffee pot.
(My coffee pot has a "clean cycle" but if yours does not just run it through a regular brew cycle.)
Follow with a cycle of clean water. After this, if you still smell vinegar, run another cycle using fresh cold water.


Dishwashers
Unfortunately, I am the dishwasher in our home : )
But I used to have one before we moved and I used vinegar to help keep the lines clean of any hard water buildup. Just add 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar to any empty dishwasher (just pour on the bottom) and run a rinse cycle. This will remove hard water buildup, deodorize the dishwasher and help open up water and drain lines.

Microwaves
To clean my microwave, I place a glass measuring cup with 1 cup water and 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar and boil for three minutes. After removing the measuring cup (be careful it will be hot!) I wipe the inside of the microwave clean with a damp sponge or paper towel. Everything just wipes right out- it's as easy as that!

Ovens
I absolutely hate the strong fumes from chemical oven cleaners. To prevent this, I use distilled white vinegar to clean my oven regularly. I place a glass baking dish filled with 1 cup vinegar and 2 cups of water on the bottom rack and heat at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes. This helps to soften any "crust" or "spills" in the oven. Then I turn the oven off and let it cool down just enough that I can stand to wipe the oven down. For really stubborn spots, I spray undiluted vinegar on the problem area and let it sit for a couple of minutes and using a plastic scraper, I remove the spot and wipe clean.
Note: if your oven has not been cleaned in a while and there is a lot of buildup, you may have to use a chemical oven cleaner the first time and then clean on a regular basis with vinegar.
Also, if your oven has a "self cleaning cycle" (mine does not), run this cycle first, then spray with undiluted vinegar and then wipe clean when oven is cool enough to touch.


Refrigerators
To prevent mildew buildup on your refrigerators rubber seals, wipe occasionally with a sponge or towel dampened with undiluted vinegar. No need to rinse.

Pots and Pans
Take care of a really greasy frying pan by simmering 1/4 inch of water and 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar for 10 minutes. The oily smell and residue will disappear. Wash as usual.

Clean the burned-on mess off a broiler pan by adding 2 cups vinegar and 1/4 cup sugar to the pan while it is still warm. Soak the pan for one hour, then clean as usual.

Sinks
Deodorize your kitchen drains by pouring 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain, followed by 1 cup undiluted distilled white vinegar and watch how the two react to deodorize and help open up drains.
(Kids love to watch this!)

Counter tops
Wipe your kitchen counter tops with undiluted distilled white vinegar to keep them looking shiny. This also disinfects which is great when preparing food- safe for children and pets (chemical free!)


Baking
When baking red velvet cake, the recipe calls for a small amount of white vinegar. I use apple cider vinegar in my red velvet cake. Any vinegar will keep the red food coloring from fading while baking, but I feel the apple cider vinegar gives it a deeper color and a better flavor.

If I have a recipe that calls for buttermilk and I don't have any on hand, I make my own! In a glass measuring cup, I add 1 cup of whole milk and 1 tablespoon of vinegar (white or apple can be used). Let stand for a few minutes and see how the vinegar curdles the milk. Now you have homemade buttermilk.
(Even Martha Stewart herself does this!)

Use vinegar to determine if old baking soda is still good enough to use for baking. Pour 2 tablespoons vinegar in a small dish and add 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Good baking soda should make the vinegar froth significantly.

To make a fluffier (and more stable) meringue, add 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar for every 3 egg whites before beating.



I hope you find these tips as useful as I have. I try to clean as chemical-free as I can and vinegar is a great way to do just that. If you have a helpful vinegar tip, I would love to hear from you.

As always,
Happy Baking!

"Ford At The Beach" Cake

My "Ford at the beach" cake

This cake was made for my husbands 30th birthday. Since you only turn 30 once, I wanted to make it big and bold. He's the average "country boy" (above average to me) -  in love with his family, his land, and classic tractors, cars and trucks. He has an old 1959 Ford Truck that he's been slowly working on restoring the last few years, but doesn't get much time to work on it between working and family time. I also would love to see it restored so I wanted to make a Ford Truck to put on his cake to make it "him". We've also taken some great family vacations over the years and our favorites have always been at the beach. So I wanted to incorporate that as well. I worked on this cake for 4 days straight (long 8 hour days). Most aspects of this cake I had never done before which is why it took me so long. As I mentioned in my last blog, I still have "kitchen disasters" myself even though I bake all of the time. With every challenge I learn new things and it makes me a stronger baker. So, step by step, let me show you how I made my "Ford at the beach" cake for my husband who absolutely loved it! (He better right? After 4 long days. LOL!)

I apologize ahead of time for not being the best sketch artist.
Here is the design sketch for my "Ford at the beach" cake.



My husband's birthday bash was scheduled for a Sunday so I started working on aspects of this cake on the Wednesday before. Aspects that would not spoil in between time. The first aspect I worked on was the shells that would go on the cake. I couldn't find a mold with shells small enough to use on the actual "beach" part of the cake so I bought the only shell mold I could find and slightly changed my design from there.



These "Candy Melts" are made by Wilton
and are great for molding designs out of
chocolate. They're tasty too!



These squeeze bottles are very inexpensive and are
crucial to molding designs out of chocolate.







This is the mold I bought, also made by Wilton.





Add caption



I melted the "Candy Melts" in the microwave being very careful not to burn the chocolate. Then I poured the melted mixture into the squeeze bottles. Very carefully, I squeezed the chocolate into each mold making sure to fill in the entire design. After all the shells were filled in with chocolate, I gently picked up the mold and tapped it on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles in the chocolate and to also smooth it evenly across the top of the mold. (If you want to make a marbleized effect you can mix colors of candy melts in the bowl before melting and then using a spoon or bamboo skewer, gently stir colors together a few times- not too much- marbleizing the chocolate. Then gently pour into squeeze bottles and fill molds.)  I made several different colors of shells since at the real beach they are all different. After the mold was filled, I put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to let the chocolate set up and then gently released the shells from the mold. This took me an entire day to do since I only had one mold. I made around 100 shells.

This is a picture of the shells before and after the
shimmer dust.

To give the shells a special touch, I painted each one with
edible shimmer dust. It comes in a power form and using a
paint brush, you just paint it on. Super easy and it gives
your design a great eye-popping effect.



This is the final result. See how they sparkle?
I layered them in an airtight container using wax paper
between each layer for protection.

On Thursday, I started working on the "Ford Truck" which I molded out of rice crispy treats. First, I drew out each truck panel (exactly to the scale I needed it) onto wax paper. Then I cut out each panel and layered it onto the rice crispies and cut around the design.



Here are the panels traced onto was paper.
(Sorry it's so hard to see)



Here are my wax paper panel cutouts.

          

I laid the wax paper panels onto the rice crispy
treats and cut around each panel.

                                            

Here are the panels put together.
This is the truck bed.

Here are the cutout panels.

After placing the panels together, I inserted toothpicks to hold them together (I did this only because the "truck" aspect of the cake is for looks not eating, otherwise I would not have used toothpicks). Then I filled in the middle of the truck bed with more rice crispy treats so the sides would not cave in.

(This was my "kitchen disaster". I learned the hard way that the sides would not hold up on their own and had to make another batch of rice crispy treats to use for "fill in" purposes). Molding the shape of the truck took me the entire day. There was also a lot of cutting and shaping involved.

By the way, I have NEVER molded anything out of rice crispies before so this was a new experience for me. By the end of it, I learned what to do and what not to do next time.  :)

On Friday, I worked on covering the truck with fondant and molding other details of the cake from gum paste. I love working with gum paste and fondant. I find them easy to work with and I love what you can create.

Gum paste is edible but has no flavor. It dries rock hard and dries out quickly so you have to move fast and keep all unused gum paste in an airtight spot at all times.

Fondant is an edible icing that is rolled out smooth and gives a great finished look to your cake or other project. You can buy fondant ready made (which doesn't have a very appealing flavor) or you can make your own. I make my fondant homemade using marshmallows. It not only tastes great, but I think it rolls out nicer than ready made fondant. You can also flavor your marshmallow fondant with extracts and color your fondant with gel food colorings.

Using white fondant, I covered the front half of the truck and the bed of the truck separately. Then using Wilton's "Teal" gel food coloring, I tinted more fondant and placed each panel over the white fondant. After a while and alot of patience, it finally started looking like a truck. I also molded the trucks trim out of gum paste and painted it with a mixture of Wilton's "black" food coloring gel and white shimmer dust and a couple drops of vodka. These mixed together make a "chrome" colored paint. The vodka makes the paint smooth and then evaporates leaving a shiny finish.


On Saturday, I made the actual "cake" part of the cake. I made an "Italian Cream Wedding Cake" with "White Chocolate Frosting". (I will post these recipes at a later date) This is my husbands favorite cake and frosting combination. I made a sheet cake so it would be big enough to feed everyone at the party and to also be big enough to fit the scale of the truck.

Then I made the "sand." To make the sand edible, I ground up honey graham crackers (extremely fine) and placed them in a bowl. Then I added 1/2 cup of brown sugar (light or dark brown sugar can be used) to give it a different texture. Then I spread the "sand" over the area of the cake that was to be the shore.
(By the way, this part of the cake was delicious! Great for guests that prefer a little less icing on their cake. The flavor of the "sand" blended well with the cake and icing flavors)

After all of the hard work the last few days it was finally time to put everything together, MY FAVORITE PART!

Here is the finished "Ford Truck." Notice all the details: The tires, truck trim, the door handles, the rear view mirrors, the pop can on the rail of the truck bed, the beach towel and the surfboard. There is also a license plate on the back of the truck (that I forgot to take a picture of) that says "30 TH" on it and also a tailgate handle. This truck was a lot of work, but well worth it. My husband loved it!



Here is another element I made to help tie the theme together- a picnic blanket and basket with bananas and peaches all made from gum paste. There is also a pop can and everything was hand painted with a mixture of gel food coloring and vodka.



Here is the "ocean." Using three bowls I tinted the frosting "Sky Blue", "Teal", and "Royal Blue" using Wilton food coloring gels. I used a small spatula to sloppily spread one color on the cake in spots, then filled in spots with another color and finally used the last color. Then I took the spatula and blended them together. Lastly, I used the last of the white frosting and spread in spots to give it a "rippling wave" effect.

 Last but not least, I placed the edible shells around the bottom border of the cake and also placed them around the cake board that the cake sat on. This helped give it a finished "beachy" look.

 I enjoyed making this cake for my husband very much even though it was alot of hard work. Like I said before, I learned a lot of things with this cake and also practiced different techniques. That's what I love about baking: the possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoyed watching how I made this cake and I encourage you to make your own cake creations.

Happy Baking!

The final result!