Finished with school!

I’m done!  Well not technically, because I have to complete an online course before I get my diploma, but let’s just ignore that fact and pretend I’m done with school!

This last quarter was definitely the most fun.  My favorite class by far was the Display Cakes class.  Here is a collage of all the cakes I made.  Each week we had to make a cake starting with 1-tier, then 2-tier, then 3-tier, and finally we made a 6-tier cake in groups of three.

I can feel that this is the season for baking for me.  I have more free time, and I love autumn produce.  I’m trying to talk John into going apple picking sometime soon.  Have y’all ever done that?  I hear that there are usually donuts involved with apple picking.

I ‘ve already made a couple things I want to share with you and I would love to remake some of my favorite recipes from school (eclairs, chocolate bread, tiramisu, and truffles, to name a few).

Hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying football season!

 

Raspberry Lemon Pound Cake

Happy holiday weekend everyone!  I’m super excited to be in Washington, DC, for the Fourth of July this year because the fireworks display is supposed to be amazing.  Our house is only a couple of blocks from the national mall, and we’re scheming about how to get our upstairs neighbors to let us up on the roof.  Last time we got up there a shower curtain rod was ripped out of the wall.

I gave them half of this pound cake and am planning on baking more bribes for them this weekend.  In my opinion, this cake is tasty enough to make up for a minor house repair.

I have kept my promise of lighter baked goods with this cake.  It is made with fat-free yogurt and lots of berries.  You can tell it’s lighter because it makes a good breakfast and doesn’t weigh you down like a traditional pound cake would.

adapted heavily from Weight Watchers (sorry again, no link to the original)

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
10 Tblsp unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
12 oz fat-free lemon flavored yogurt
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
2 cups frozen raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Coat a 12 cup tube pan with cooking spray and dust with flour.
2. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.  Whisk to combine and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth.  Gradually add the sugar and beat until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Gently beat the eggs and egg whites together in a small bowl and slowly add to the butter mixture.  I do this by pouring a little bit in, mixing until combined and scraping the bowl if needed.  I usually do it in about 4 additions. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
5. In the same bowl the eggs were in, mix the yogurt with the milk.
6. Add the four mixture alternately with the yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mix. Very gently, fold in the raspberries.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until thin knife or wooden toothpick comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes.  Cool cake in pan on wire rack for at least 10 minutes.  To get the cake to come out, you will need to loosen the edges with a knife, especially around the center tube.  Invert cake onto wire rack and cool completely.

Greek Yogurt Snack Cake

This afternoon did not go as planned.  Motu, the dog, had an incident.  She was overcome with “separation anxiety” while we were at work and tore up some stuff in our bedroom.  She also found my stash of Christmas chocolate. A nice big bar of organic dark chocolate that I was really looking forward to eating.

To make a long story short, did you know that hydrogen peroxide induces vomiting in dogs?

In lighter news, things are going great right now.  I started classes this week and already love my nutrition class.  Tomorrow I have my first day of Introduction to Baking and Pastry and can’t wait to see what we make!  Also, I got a promotion at work! Yay!

I made this simple cake twice in one week.  The first time was when we were expecting a friend for dinner and my gluten-free beet cake completely failed and I needed to whip something up real quick.  I made it again with some of my own little changes.  I used greek yogurt and olive oil.  Although I would not call this diet food, it definitely fits in with my lighter meals that I am aiming for this month.

adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours

1 cup flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
scant 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup greek yogurt (low-fat or non-fat is fine)
3 eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp raspberry jam
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Grease one 8×4 inch loaf pan or two mini loaf pans.
2. Whisk together flour, almonds, baking powder and salt.
3. In separate bowl, whisk together sugar and lemon zest until moistened and fragrant.
4. Whisk in yogurt, eggs and vanilla.  Whisk in olive oil.
5. Add dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until combined.
6. Pour into greased pan(s) and bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and a tester (thin knife or toothpick) comes out clean.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes in pan on wire rack.  Cut around edges and remove from pan.  Let cool completely.
7. To make topping, put raspberry preserves and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Microwave for 20 seconds and stir to combine.  Brush on with a pastry brush or pour over the top.  Sprinkle the sliced almonds on the raspberry glaze.

Acorn Squash Cake

10 things on my mind this week:

1. Soup week in culinary school.
2. My interview with Crumbs Bake Shop.
3. Three losses in a row!!! WTF?
4. What to make with my tupperware of Espagnole sauce.
5. Apple, bacon and cheddar pizza.  (Soooo delicious, I will share my recipe soon.)
6. Getting out of the city to see some Fall foliage.
7. Coming up with a Halloween costume and buying lots of candy.
8. Why does Motu hate tape measurers?
9. Beans and Ramen.
10. What to make next out of Country Wisdom and Know How, because this Acorn Squash Cake was incredibly simple and satisfying.

Last week in school we learned about Mother Sauces.  They are Béchamel, Hollandaise, Espagnole, Velouté and Tomato.  They were all delicious and I learned some really great flavor tricks.  My favorite was to  simmer the milk for Bechamel with an onion piquet (onion, bay leaves and cloves).  The layer of flavor this added made the sauce extra special.  Let me know if anyone is interested in other sauce secrets.

Acorn Squash Cake

adapted from Country Wisdom and Know How

Cake:

2 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup grated raw acorn squash (1/2 a squash for me)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 oz canned crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1-2 cups confectioners sugar
1-2 tablespoons honey (to taste)
Pecan pieces for decorating

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and grease and flour an 8×8 square cake pan.
2. Put eggs, oil. honey, and sugar in a blender (make sure sugar is last ingredient added), and blend until smooth.  Add grated squash a little at a time blending until smooth after each addition.  Pour into large mixing bowl.
3. Stir the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and add to the wet ingredients.  Stir gently until just mixed.
4. Fold in the pineapple and pecans.
5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
6. Let cool on wire rack for 15-20 minutes (until warm, not hot).  Turn out onto rack and cool completely.
7. When cake is cooled, put butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment.  Beat until combined and creamy.  Add sugar until desired consistency is reached.  Drizzle in honey and beat until combined and fluffy. Sorry I didn’t measure my sugar but cream cheese frosting is so easy I just add the sugar until it is thick and sweet enough.
8. Spread frosting on top of cake letting it go over the edges a little.  Decorate with pecan pieces if you like.

Note: This cake was originally for a 9 x 13 inch pan and the amounts of ingredients actually work better for this size if you want to double my version.  I just don’t like having that much cake in the house for two people.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

I made it through my first week of culinary school!  It wasn’t as hard as I expected, but I think that’s because we only had to make two recipes over two days.  There are going to be weeks when we make more than a dozen.  We started with the basics: white stock and brown stock.  But now that we have those richly flavored bases in the freezer, we can make our sauces, mashed potatoes and grains taste amazing.

My chef for this class is great.  He has tons of energy, which really helps us get moving and excited about cooking at 7:15 in the morning.  He’s also very enthusiastic about using items from the “use me” cart in the store room.  This meant that even though we were only supposed to make stocks last week (and therefore have nothing to eat at the end of class), we ended up making fried chicken, spinach salad, biscuits and mashed potatoes and gravy!

At the end of the week I have Management class.  It was pretty weird because I was the only student in class that day.  Everyone else was at the freshmen seminar that I was exempt from.  It turned out to be really fun because I got to know the chef instructor, and she had some great job hunting tips for me.

For now though, I’m going to take advantage of my afternoons off and keep baking delicious fall treats like this pumpkin coffee cake.  I went through two versions of this because I had something very specific in mind, and the first version just didn’t deliver.  It was mushy and tasted like pumpkin baby food.

This version that I came up with is just right.  The streusel topping is sweet and crunchy and the pumpkin swirls are moist.  I like a strong spice flavor in my pumpkin dessert, so I made sure to have a heavy hand with the ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.

based on the Cardamom Coffee Cake from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Streusel

1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, cut into 8 pieces at room temperature

Cake

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.  Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, dust with flour, and tap out excess.
2. For the crumbs: Put all ingredients except the butter in a bowl and toss them together with a fork. Add the butter and using your fingers or the fork, mix everything together until you’ve got different-size crumbs. Put crumbs in refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and sugar in a large bowl.
4. Mix the butter, eggs, milk, sour cream and vanilla in another bowl and whisk them to blend.
5. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until just moistened.
6. Transfer half of the batter back to the wet ingredient bowl and gently mix in the pumpkin and pecans.
7. Scrape some of the plain batter into the pan. Plop spoonfuls of pumpkin batter, then spoonfuls of the rest of the plain batter on top. Stir and swirl the batters just a little to even out the surface.
8. Top with a thick, even layer of crumbs. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the cake has risen, the crumbs are golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

Yesterday I spent 9 hours waiting in lines and sitting in an auditorium, but I loved every minute of it.  I was at my orientation for culinary school!  Ok, I was lying when I said I loved it.  It was pretty unorganized and boring.  BUT I’m starting class on Monday, and if I had to wait in lines to get my student ID and supply kit then so be it.

I was also excited about getting my uniform, but they were out of my size when I finally got to the front of that particular line.  During the announcements for culinary students they seemed very strict about having your complete uniform everyday you come to class, so I’m pretty nervous about showing up the first day in just a white shirt and black pants.  I hope there are other students who also didn’t receive their chef coats and checkered pants.

I got my official schedule and on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays I have Foundations and Fundamentals of Classical Techniques.

Here is the description:

“The fundamental concepts, skills, and techniques involved in basic cookery are covered in this course. Special emphasis is given to the study of ingredients and cooking theories. Lectures teach organization skills in the kitchen and work coordination. The concepts and techniques of stocks, soups, sauces, vegetable cookery, starch cookery, meat, seafood, and poultry are covered. Emphasis is given to basic cooking techniques such as sautéing, roasting, poaching, braising, and frying.”

The knife kit I received is way more than just knives.  There are pastry tips, a crazy awesome whisk and a ninja sword.  The ninja sword is actually a sashimi knife, but I’ll continue to think of it as my ninja sword.

There is also this:

It’s a model for different types of knife cuts, and it was definitely the most surprising thing I received.

I’m so happy that I’m finally starting school, but I have a major case of stomach butterflies.  I think another slice of this Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake should cure those.  It feels much lighter than a traditional bundt cake because of the olive oil (there is no butter in it), and tastes perfectly fresh because of the lemon and herb flavors.  I love how the batter is flecked with green and yellow bits.

I decided to make this cake because whenever I was out walking I noticed these huge bushes of rosemary in people’s yards and sometimes the bushes were on the other side of the sidewalk in “public” space.  I figured no one would notice if I took a few sprigs.  This cake seemed like a sweet way to use those pilfered herbs.

I doubled the glaze the recipe calls for because I love glazed cakes.  Also, I would’ve made it a little thicker because too much ended up on the platter instead of on the cake.

The recipe is from a Cooking Light magazine I have and since it is online, I will just link to it for you.

Piña Colada Cake

Garage Sale People are weird.  You know the ones who get up at dawn every Saturday to go out in search of “treasures”?  Or the ones who will root through your stuff on the porch even though the sale is obviously over?  OR the ones who pay you in pennies?! Really.

Well yesterday I got to meet all those people at the sale John and I had to get rid of some things before the big move.  Although I’m grateful that these people came and paid us good money for our crappy stuff, Garage Sale People creep me out.  They always smell funny, and I’m pretty sure most of them are hoarders, which scares me a little and gives John the willies.

Like the garage sale, this cake takes some planning and a few days work, but the rewards are totally worth it.  I made this about a month ago for John’s dad’s birthday, and it was a big hit.  I really enjoy fruity flavors during the summer, and sometimes it can be hard to come up with a birthday cake that doesn’t involve chocolate.  This one is great especially if you have a crowd that likes coconut and boozy desserts.

If you have leftovers I would encourage people to take slices home with them because they get even better after a few days because the pineapple filling and rum will really soak into the cake layers.

adapted from Sky High Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Brown Sugar Cake

• 3 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
• 5 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Butter 3 9-inch cake pans and line each with a round of parchment.  Butter the parchment.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in  a large mixer bowl; whisk gently to combine.  Add the brown sugar, butter, and 1 1/2 cups of the buttermilk.  With the mixer on low, blend to incorporate.  Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
3. Whisk the eggs with the remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk and the vanilla and add to the batter in 3 additions scraping down sides of bowl and beating only enough to incorporate each addition.  Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.  Smooth tops if needed.
4. Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.  Let the layers cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then turn out onto wire racks.  Peel off paper liners and allow to cool completely before assembling the cake.

Notes: I almost always bake the cakes the day before the cake is needed and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap when cooled.  You can also make them farther in advance and freeze them.  Frozen cake layers can be easier to trim and pick up for assembling.  I got most of my layer cake tips from here.

Pineapple Filling

• 1 (20 oz) can of crushed pineapple (no sugar added)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 one-inch piece of vanilla bean, split in half

1. Combine pineapple, sugar and lime juice and a large non-reactive skillet.  Scrape vanilla seeds from bean and add the seeds and beans pieces to the pineapple mixture.  Warm over medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
2. Raise heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until juices have almost completely evaporated and the pineapple has a jam like consistency.  Remove from heat and discard vanilla bean.  Cool completely before using. (This can also be made a day ahead and kept in refrigerator.)

Coconut Buttercream

• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 1/2 (10 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract

1. Put the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with whisk attachment so they are ready to go when needed.
2. Combine the sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan and place over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Bring to a boil and cook, without stirring until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238° F on a candy thermometer.
3. While the sugar is cooking, beat the egg whites at medium speed until soft peaks form.  Slowly add the hot syrup in a thin stream, being careful to avoid the whisk.  Continue to whip until the meringue has cooled to body temperature.
4. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the butter, several tablespoons at a time, and continue to beat until a smooth fluffy frosting forms.
5. Add the coconut milk in several additions, scraping down sides of bowl after each addition.  Add the coconut extract and mix until smooth.

Notes: This was my first attempt and an Italian meringue style buttercream and it was a little stressful.  You basically need the  sugar syrup and egg whites to be ready at the same time.  My method was to get the egg whites going when the sugar boiled and when the whites were ready (and the sugar wasn’t to temperature yet) I reduced the mixer to low to keep the whites moving and prevent them from deflating.  Also for some reason I had pretty big chunks of hardened sugar at the bottom of the bowl and in the buttercream but fortunately they weren’t noticeable when the cake was assembled.

Assembling the Cake

• 2/3 cup black spiced rum
• Coconut flakes (toasted) and pineapple slices for garnish

1. Trim cake layers so they are even.  Place one layer, flat side up on a cake stand lined with strips of parchment paper.  Brush/sprinkle with some rum.
2. Spread half the pineapple filling leaving 1/4 inch margin around edge.  Add second cake layer and repeat rum and pineapple filling steps.  Top with the third layer and sprinkle with remaining rum.  Frost tops and sides of cake with the Coconut Buttercream.  Decorate with coconut flakes and pineapple slices.

Notes:  I trimmed a lot off my cakes mainly because they came out very uneven and I prefer a higher filling to cake ratio (the cakes were pretty thick).  I also had some leftover whipped cream from another dessert so I added some rum to that and put it on top of the pineapple filling in the middle two layers.  I highly recommend doing this.

Phew, that’s a big cake with a lot of steps.

Tres Leches

Lets talk about mouthfeel.  Last Friday I entered my first baking contest.  It was a casual event at the museum (where I work) and there were lots of delicious entries.  It was a good experience even though I didn’t place (not even with one of my friends as a judge!).

I learned a few things too.  1) Don’t show up late and have your dish be the last of 20 desserts tasted and judged.  A sugar-sick judge in a frosting-induced coma  is not on your side.  2) Oreo truffles are delicious. 3) Mouthfeel is a very important (and real) category for desserts.

The mouthfeel of this Tres Leches cake was awesome.  I was surprised that a pastry soaked in milk for hours didn’t feel soggy and gross when you ate it.  It was creamy and moist and I couldn’t stop going back for more.  It has milk and lots of eggs in it so I figured it was fine for breakfast, and even when I took it to work, it wasn’t quite far enough away from my desk to stay out of my thoughts.

When I made this cake I went through a dozen eggs even though the recipe only calls for four.  Don’t make the same mistakes I did.  Separate your eggs with your hands, not the shells.  If you use the shells you will inevitably end up with your last yolk broken in the whites and you will have to start over.  When the recipe says to beat the whites and sugar until stiff peaks form, be patient, this could take 8-10 minutes because of the large amount of sugar.  Don’t give up after 5 minutes thinking your whites have deflated and throw it out to start over.  Other than that (I think I was trying to bake too early in the morning with too much of a hangover) this cake was fun and easy to make.  The best part is pouring all the milks over the cake and watching it magically disappear.

Pastel de Tres Leches

from Fresh Mexico by Marcela Valladolid

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

4 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

One 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

One 12-oz can evaporated milk

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp Grand Marnier

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Butter the bottom of a 10-inch cake pan with 2 inch high sides (I used my 9 inch springform), line bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour the paper and pan.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until frothy. With the mixer running gradually add the sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form (could take up to 10 minutes).  Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, blending well after each addition.
4. Add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the whole milk in two additions.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 min, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let the cake cool slightly in the pan; then invert it (or remove the sides of the springform and invert) into a platter with one inch high sides.  Pierce the top of the warm cake all over with a thick skewer.
6. Mix the sweetened condensed milk, the evaporated milk, heavy cream and Grand Marnier and pour over the cake. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about three hours, or overnight.

Serves 8-10

Triple Lemon Cake with Raspberries

I love when I have a whole weekend with no plans and an excuse to bake a dessert (or four).  Last weekend our friends came over for dinner because they had just returned from a vacation in Europe.  They brought dinner because, no joke, I ended up making four desserts.  This cake was the prettiest and tasted great too.

It’s always good form for a dinner guest to bring a present, and our friends showed up with some great foodie gifts: a sqwisk and some sel gris (gray sea salt) from France.

Ok, back to the cake.  The triple lemon comes from zest in the cake, a lemon syrup that is brushed on the layers and lemon juice in the frosting.  The raspberries I found were huge and very sweet, so the tartness of the lemon was just right.  Although the recipe says the frosting is buttercream, it’s mostly cream cheese, which was fine with me because cream cheese frosting is foolproof and goes well with fruit.

Although this cake had layers and a fancy name (génoise), it was no sweat to put together.

It is a great dessert for summer entertaining because of the simple ingredients and impressive presentation.

Triple Lemon Génoise with Raspberries and Buttercream

adapted slightly from Cooking Light

For the Cake:

• Cooking spray
• 1 Tablespoon cake flour
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup unsifted cake flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

For the Buttercream

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, chilled
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Lemon Syrup

• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Remaining ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray, line bottom with parchment paper and then coat paper with cooking spray. Dust with the 1 tablespoon of cake flour. Set aside.
2. Cook butter in small sauce pan over medium heat until solids have separated and lightly browned (about 4 minutes). Cool.
3. Combine 1 cup flour with salt and sift together once.  Beat sugar, vanilla, and eggs with whisk attachment in a mixer at medium high speed until egg mixture falls in ribbons from beaters and holds its shape (7-15 minutes depending on mixer).  Stir in lemon rind.
4. Lightly spoon one-third of flour mixture onto egg mixture and quickly fold in.  Repeat twice with remaining flour.
5. Stir one cup of batter into cooled brown butter.  Gently fold butter mixture into remaining batter.  Pour batter into prepared pan and gently spread evenly.  Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Loosen sides of pan and turn out onto wire rack.  Carefully peel off parchment and cool completely.
6. To prepare frosting, beat butter and next three ingredients with paddle attachment in a mixer at medium speed until smooth.  Sift powdered sugar and then slowly add to butter mixture. Beat at low speed until blended.  Cover and chill until ready to use.
7. To prepare syrup, combine water and granulated sugar; stir until sugar dissolves.  Stir in lemon juice.
8. To assemble the cake, split the cake in half horizontally using a large serrated knife.  Place bottom layer, cut side up, on a platter lined with strips of parchment (this is to keep any mess off the platter, the strips are removed when the cake is finished).  Brush with half of lemon syrup.  Spread 3/4 cup frosting and arrange 3/4 cup raspberries (I had to split mine in half because they were very large) on bottom layer.  Top with second layer, cut side down, and brush with remaining syrup.  Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake (I always start with a thin layer of frosting to keep the crumbs in place).  Decorate cake with remaining raspberries.

Raising Dough

A few weeks ago, I helped my mom with a fundraiser for Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL).  It was an upscale affair at a home in the Gainesville Country Club, meaning I probably shouldn’t have been there.  It was great to meet the senator, but it was even greater that there was unlimited wine.  I sipped on a Sauvignon Blanc that was crisp and perfect with the cheese plate and sweets.

Mom asked me to be in charge of the sweets for the afternoon so the first things I decided to make were Coconut Macaroons from America’s Best Recipe.

I have made these a few times before and they always turn out beautiful looking and have great flavor.  There are three kinds of coconut in the recipe, unsweetened, sweetened, and creme of coconut. The cookies come together quickly and dipping in chocolate is optional but highly recommended.

I also made the Golden Lemon Almond cake from Rose’s Heavenly Cakes.  I am glad that I am starting to try more recipes from this book.  Her exact weights and temperatures for ingredients – plus her charts and graphs – have intimidated me for a while, but this cake turned out very fresh tasting with an incredible soft texture.

All in all, I think the event was a big success.  A lot of money was raised, and a lot of calories were consumed.  Still, I don’t know what was more sugar-coated, Senator Nelson’s talking points or my macaroons.