Supporting Your Cake From the Bottom Up

Happy snowy Tuesday everyone! Yesterday's post is coming today as I've recently finished a baby shower cake. The latest of the Lizzy Bee's creations was a two layer rich white cake filled with milk chocolate fudge frosting, hugged in Madagascar vanilla buttercream, and enrobed in buttercream-flavored fondant dyed the mom-to-be's colors of choice! Since this mommy is having both a boy and a girl, she celebrated with pink and blue accents and little teddy bear decorations. Here's the finished product:

People often wonder about layering a cake without it sinking. Though I always always use a lot of support, I am always nervous while taking a cake to a location - and the fear was doubled when this cake was picked up a day early! In order to secure any kind of stacked cake, you will want to use dowels of some kind. Often this can just be popsicle sticks, cut down to the proper size. Make sure you measure - if you don't, your top cake will sit too high and you will see between the two layers, making it look unfinished! I used a lot of popsicle sticks for this cake. Take a look: 

Look in the middle of my layer - do you see the sticks? I stuck them in the cake so they would be hidden from view, but would fit perfectly under the top layer! You can eyeball this measurement, but if you're not sure, just measure your location on the bottom cake to make sure it fits within the top cake's diameter. This particular cake was interesting because it had two very heavy bears (made of rice krispies) sitting on top in front of the layer! Though my cakes are very dense, they are still just cake, and sinking can occur. I used thick plastic dowels under the bears to ensure their safety overnight. These are also great under the top cake layer as well, or you can use wooden dowels if that's more preferable. Consider your own home kitchen - what would be easiest to cut to the proper size? Wooden dowels would probably require a tool kit, while plastic ones can be cut with an x-acto knife and work just as well! It's your hard work and your choice, so do what works best for you! In the end you'll have a beautiful cake at which everyone will marvel at your culinary expertise! 

Happy baking!

Baking a Cake...

In the process of a major cake order for this weekend. Smells of rich and dense white cake are wafting from my oven...

Warm Your Soul on a Rainy Day

Happy Tuesday on this rainy glum day here in the tri state. What better time than when it's cold and dreary out to stay warm and cozy inside? If you're looking to stay full and satisfied with less calories (after all, most of us are still recovering from the holidays), this one is for you! Sprinkle on the parm and enjoy!

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

• 1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced, (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Directions

1. In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
4. Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.

Opa! Greek Eats at Home!

Happy Monday all! My husband and I got take out from a delicious Greek restaurant near our home, and I've had a craving for baklava ever since! I love the way that crisp yet delicate phylo dough crumbles on your lips when you take that first bite; the explosion of sweet honey taste coated in gooey honey and wrapped inside that crispy shell. Can you tell I haven't gotten my fill? So in honor of my stomach's rumble and people's confusion over my background (I am not Greek, though I guess I look it), I present you 3 different recipes for baklava. Opa!

The Food Network way...
Baklava 
Michael Symon

Ingredients
For the Baklava

• 1 pound pistachios and/or walnuts, coarsely ground, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
• 1 cup ground zwieback crackers or breadcrumbs
• 4 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 16 sheets phyllo dough (thawed, if frozen), cut in half

For the Syrup

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 6-to-8-ounce jar honey
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Combine the nuts, cinnamon and ground crackers in a bowl.
2. Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with some of the butter. Layer 10 pieces of phyllo in the dish, brushing each piece with butter before adding the next (keep the remaining dough covered with a damp towel). Sprinkle a quarter of the nut mixture over the dough. Layer 4 pieces of phyllo on top, brushing each with butter before adding the next; sprinkle with another quarter of the nut mixture. Add 4 more phyllo pieces on top, brushing each with butter, then add another quarter of the nut mixture, 4 more pieces of phyllo with butter, and the remaining nuts.
3. Layer the remaining 10 pieces of phyllo on top of the nuts, brushing each with butter; brush the top piece with extra butter. Cut into the baklava to make strips, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Then make diagonal slices, about 1 1/2 inches apart, to create a diamond pattern. Bake until golden, about 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, make the syrup: Bring the sugar, honey and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and boil 2 more minutes, then let cool slightly.
5. Pour the syrup over the warm baklava; let soak, uncovered, at least 6 hours or overnight. Garnish with nuts.

The over-achiever's way...

Rosie's Baklava Ice Cream Cake

Rosie Rosenbloom

Ingredients

• 1 cup slivered almonds (about 4 ounces)
• 1 cup walnuts (about 4 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• sixteen 17- x 12-inch phyllo sheets (#4 size)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

For the Syrup

• 1/2 lemon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1/2 gallon superpremium vanilla ice cream

Directions

1. With a sharp knife finely chop almonds and walnuts separately. (Resist the temptation to use a food processor; chopping by hand is the key to the texture of baklava.) In a bowl stir together nuts, sugar, and spices. Put stack of phyllo sheets on a work surface and cover with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a damp kitchen towel. Melt butter and keep warm. (If butter cools, it will be too thick to brush.)
2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
3. With a pastry brush brush a 17 1/2- x 12 1/2- x 1-inch baking pan with some butter. Cover bottom of pan with a phyllo sheet, keeping remaining sheets covered with plastic wrap and towel, and lightly brush with butter. Layer 7 more phyllo sheets, brushing each sheet with butter, in same manner. Sprinkle nut mixture over buttered phyllo and with your fingers gently spread evenly.
4. On a work surface (not on top of nut layer) lightly butter and stack remaining 8 phyllo sheets, making sure top sheet is well-buttered. Transfer phyllo stack to baking pan, putting it on nut layer and pressing to help it adhere to nuts. With a fork prick top phyllo stack all over at 1/4-inch intervals going through to nut layer, to keep it from puffing unevenly. With sharp knife halve baklava crosswise and bake in middle of oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Make syrup while baklava is baking:

1. Halve lemon half. In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan boil water, sugar, and lemon over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and liquid is reduced to about 1 1/3 cups, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in honey. Discard lemon and cool syrup to warm.
2. Pour warm syrup over hot baklava and cool in pan on a rack 15 to 30 minutes. (Baklava will absorb syrup.) Do not let baklava cool more than 30 minutes before assembling cake or phyllo layers will become too soft to transfer.
3. While baklava is cooling, soften ice cream. (We softened ours in a microwave set on defrost, 30% power, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Alternatively, you can leave it in the refrigerator — not on the counter —30 minutes).

Assemble cake:

1. Using two 30-inch-long sheets of foil, line a 13- x 9- x 2-inch baking pan, arranging 1 sheet lengthwise and 1 sheet crosswise. With a large metal spatula carefully slide 1 baklava half into pan and top with ice cream, spreading evenly. Slide remaining baklava half over ice cream and wrap cake snugly in foil. Freeze cake at least 6 hours and up to 1 week.
2. Just before serving, cut cake into pieces.

The hazelnut way...

Chocolate-Hazelnut Baklava

Ana Sortun

Ingredients

• 1 pound hazelnuts
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 pound phyllo dough
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups honey

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, until the skins are blistered; let cool. Leave the oven on. Transfer the nuts to a kitchen towel and rub off the skins, then transfer to a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.
2. Add the chocolate, 2/3 cup of the sugar and the cinnamon to the food processor and pulse until the chocolate and nuts are finely chopped and the same size.
3. Unwrap the phyllo and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan. Butter and stack 8 sheets of phyllo. Trim the edges. Ease the stack into the pan. Sprinkle about 2 cups of the filling over the phyllo. Butter and stack 2 more phyllo sheets; fold them in half crosswise and place over the filling. Sprinkle on another 2 cups of the filling. Top with 2 more buttered, folded sheets and 2 cups of filling. Butter and stack 3 more phyllo sheets, fold them in half and place over the filling. Fold in the overhanging phyllo on top and brush generously with butter. Using a ruler and a sharp knife, cut the baklava (through the top and bottom) into 3-inch squares (there will be a bit left on one long side). Cut each square in half to make triangles.
4. Bake the baklava for 25 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 300° and bake for 50 minutes longer, until golden.
5. In a saucepan, bring the water, honey and the remaining 2 cups of sugar to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat for 10 minutes. Immediately ladle the hot syrup over the hot baklava and let stand until completely cool, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

Happy baking! 

Winter Fruits Make Sweet Desserts

Happy hump day during the longest week ever! Maybe it's because January 6th is known as the most depressing day of the year or maybe it's because it's my last week in my current job. Who knows? Either way it doesn't stop me from dreaming about delicious desserts (I can't help myself) and today's thoughts have drifted to baking with winter fruit. Usually we top delicate pastries with berries and kiwis and we forget the "harsh" fruits of the bitter cold and dreary months. However, these recipes might just remind you that an apple a day doesn't just keep the doctor away - it also tastes delicious in a cake.

Nadia's Morning Coffee Cake with Winter Fruits
Marcella Hazan

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• grated peel of 2 oranges
• large pear, about 1/2 to 3/4 pound, or 2 smaller ones
• 1 crisp, juicy apple
• 1 banana
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 tablespoon butter for greasing the pan

• 10-inch springform pan

Directions

1. Turn on the oven to 375°.
2. Choose a mixing bowl that can subsequently contain all the ingredients. Put in the eggs and sugar and beat them until they are foamy and form yellow ribbons.
3. Add the salt, olive oil, and grated orange peel — making sure you haven't grated any of the bitter white pith beneath the orange skin — and mix thoroughly.
4. Peel all the fruit. Core the pear and apple and cut them into thin 1/2-inch pieces. Slice the banana very thin. Put the fruit into a separate bowl and toss with the lemon juice.
5. Combine the flour and baking powder and mix them into the beaten eggs, incorporating them thoroughly.
6. Add the fruit to the bowl with the eggs and flour, mixing well to distribute it evenly.
7. Smear the bottom and sides of the springform pan with butter, then pour into it the fruit batter. Level off by shaking the pan from side to side; do not press down on the batter.
8. Bake on the middle level of the preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top of the cake becomes colored a light gold.

The finished cake will keep fresh for about 5 days, wrapped with foil and refrigerated.

Cranberry and Orange Pavlovas

Wendy Boys

Ingredients

Meringue

• 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

Topping

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 2 large navel oranges
• 1 1/2 pounds cranberries (6 cups)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• Mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250°. Arrange racks in the lower and middle thirds of the oven. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt at medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat in the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the meringue is stiff and glossy, about 6 minutes.
3. Using a large spoon, dollop 6 mounds of meringue onto each baking sheet; spread the mounds into 5-inch squares and make an impression in the center of each. Bake the meringues for 1 hour and 45 minutes, until the outsides are firm but the insides are still slightly soft; shift the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the meringues cool completely.
4. In a large saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Scrape the vanilla seeds onto a small plate and add the pod to the saucepan. Using a vegetable peeler, remove 2 long strips of zest from one of the oranges and add them to the pan. Halve the orange and squeeze the juice into the saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cranberries and cook over low heat just until the berries are softened but still intact, about 8 minutes. Let cool completely. Discard the vanilla bean and orange zest and refrigerate until chilled.
5. Finely grate the zest of the remaining orange and transfer it to a food processor. Using a sharp knife, peel the orange, removing all of the bitter white pith. Working over the food processor, cut in between the membranes to release the orange sections into the food processor. Pulse until chopped.
6. In a clean bowl, using clean beaters, whip the cream, confectioners' sugar and vanilla seeds until firm. Add the chopped orange and its juice and beat just until combined.
7. Arrange the meringues on plates and spoon the orange whipped cream into each one. Using a slotted spoon, top with the cranberries. Drizzle with some of the juices, garnish with mint and serve right away.

MAKE AHEAD The cooked cranberries can be refrigerated overnight. The meringues can be made up to 8 hours ahead (on a dry day) and kept at room temperature.

Flour's Famous Banana Bread

Joanne Chang

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed
• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions 

1. Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Happy baking!

Peanut Butter in Mysterious Ways

Hello everyone. It's bitter cold in the NYC area, but it's nice and toasty in the kitchen! The other night I made a delicious pasta, which is fabulous hot or cold, that combines peanut butter, soy sauce, and health! What a combo! It kicks up my usual peanut butter pasta about 5 notches. So with that, enjoy (and stay warm, please!).

Aromatic Noodles with Lime Peanut Sauce

Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound spinach linguine or whole-wheat spaghetti
• 2 cups (about 9 ounces) broccoli florets
• 2 cups (about 6 ounces) snow peas, trimmed
• 2 cups (about 6 ounces) sugar snap peas, trimmed
• 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 scallion, cut into pieces
• 3/4 inch fresh ginger, finely grated
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup shelled unsalted peanuts

Directions

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of water according to the directions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water. While the pasta is cooking put the broccoli in a steamer basket over a large pot of boiling water and steam it for 3 minutes. Add the snow peas and sugar snap peas and steam for 2 minutes more.
2. Toast the peanuts in a dry pan over a medium heat until they become fragrant, about 3 minutes. Set them aside to cool. Make the sauce by pureeing the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar, lime juice, scallion, ginger, sugar and red pepper flakes in a food processor or blender until smooth.
3. Right before serving, toss the pasta with 3/4 cup of the peanut sauce. Divide into 6 serving bowls and top each serving with the vegetables. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the vegetables. Coarsely chop the peanuts, sprinkle them on top and serve.

Lizzy Bee's Note: I roasted my broccoli with garlic slices in the oven, to the delight of my take-or-leave-greens lovin' husband. 

Post Holiday Pounds

Happy Monday everyone and Happy New Year! After a very hectic holiday season, I am back with more posts! We've had lots of fun baking and cooking and enjoying the holidays in our house and I've got the pictures to show for it (finally!). While you continue to exercise and detox, let's just sit back and enjoy the picture display!

Christmas cookie plate! Rainbows, meringues, Italian ricotta,
pecan shortbread, and madeleines!

Nutella buns for Christmas brunch! YUM.

Ricotta frittata - fun to say and fun to eat with spicy tomato sauce.

Rosemary roasted potatoes

New Year's Eve dinner! Appetizers are octopus salad and calamari.

For the main course: Sweet potato ricotta gnocchi and beef bolognese.

Before midnight - vanilla bean creme brulee and burnt sugar ice cream.

And after the new year, I got to play with my delightful new present - a mandoline. Check out these homemade and healthy apple chips!

Hope your baking was as fun as mine!