The Cake

It is 11:30pm and I am awake because I am too full to fall asleep.

Tonight, we ate the birthday cake. Yes, the one and only-- the best birthday cake.

Making it was quite the adventure. Not too difficult- but probably would have been easier if I had:

1) a sifter

2) more counter space, and

3) larger mixing bowls

But, alas, I survived! The cake got rave reviews from all consumers and even the people walking by me on the street as I carried the cake to the car commented how pretty it was :)

I will not repost the entire recipe here, because I actually followed it to the letter! This strict adherence, required a trip upstairs to my neighbors apartment, because I ran out of vanilla extract. I obtained said extract, a glass of wine, and returned to my baking (in my new apron, courtesy of my wonderful little sister!).

If this were any other recipe, I probably would have substituted the 1tsp of vanilla that I was short, for something I did have; coconut or almond extract. I am sure the result would have been quite different so I am glad I stuck to the recipe.

I was considering making a different icing. I made everything last night, so I "tested" the scraps of cake left after leveling with the icing Deb recommends, and I was not sure. It had a wonderful, rich chocolate flavor- but with the sour cream... it was a bit sour. I was worried it would be off-putting to my friends. But my mom gave me some good advice to "be a purist and stick to the recipe."

I did Mom, and thank you-- everyone loved it. (I also did not have time tonight to make a new icing...) :)

So without further delay: the pictures!

The finished product:

The cupcakes I made--- OK, I did not follow the recipe to the letter... I made 2 8in round cakes, and 6 cupcakes... you caught me :) But I needed to bring my upstairs neighbors a treat for saving me on the vanilla front!

The cake in action! Lovely!

A happy birthday girl!

The inside of the cake: Next time I will also level the top layer and the sides... it does make a difference!

And that is it! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!! :)

Guava Cheesecake

This cheesecake was very, very popular: It got the most votes in our summer lab cook-off.

Again- the New World Kitchen never steers us wrong :) There are only 15 dessert recipes in this book- so you know the ones that made it in here are good. I can not wait to try more.

As it is with any cheesecake- this was so not CR (I only tried a spoonful) so I am not going to calculate the nutritional information- no one needs to know. We all know how bad cheesecake is for you :) But if you ever have a need for cheesecake- bake this one. It is so worth it!
Here is the recipe (as I made it of course)

Guava Cheesecake with Gingersnap Cookie Crust

Crust
1 sleeve of gingersnap cookies (2 cups of crushed cookies)
6T Butter

Filling
1lb Cream Cheese (I used 1 regular and one 1/3 reduced fat)
3/4c granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks
1c Sour cream (I used low fat- but why bother at this point?!)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
12oz guava jelly (my normal supermarket actually had this!)

Instructions
For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir cookie crumbs and butter in medium bowl until evenly moistened. Press mixture onto bottom of 9-inch-diameter removable-bottom cheesecake pan with 3-inch-high sides. Bake crust until deep golden, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
For Filling
Preheat oven to 275°F
*Place a Pyrex dish filled with water into oven (*my addition) for humidity

Beat cream cheese with electric mixer for 4min, until soft and no lumps remain
Beat in the sugar and process until smooth
Beat in egg yolks one at a time, then beat in the sour cream, scraping down bowl as necessary
Using dull side of knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add to mixer bowl
Beat to combine
Add half of the guava jelly and beat until smooth
Pour batter into prepared pan (with cooled crust) and bake at 275°F for 15min
Turn oven down to 250°F and bake for another 45min
Turn off oven and leave cake in warm stove for another 45min-1hr*
(I needed a bit more baking time for whatever reason... my oven is not good at low temps apparently)

Let cheesecake cool completely at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled and firm

Spread cheesecake with remaining guava jelly and refrigerate until ready to serve (I added a bit of water to my jelly so that it was easier to spread. Maybe guava marmalade is a little better to use for that purpose)

Enjoy!!

New Year Feast Part 2

Well it is about time I got around to this :)

This was quite the feast to behold. TE made a traditional holiday standing rib-roast which we served with mushroom au jus, mashed potatoes and parsnips, Yorkshire pudding, sweet carrots, and brussel sprouts. Yum. Thinking about it again is making me very hungry!

No calorie info is stated. Bad night for counting calories...





Standing Rib Roast with Rosemary-Thyme Crust
Made as stated from epicurious.com

• 1 9- to 9 1/2-pound standing beef rib roast (about 4 ribs), all but thin layer of fat trimmed
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

• 16 large shallots, peeled

Instructions

Place beef, fat side up, in large shallow roasting pan or on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle beef all over with salt and pepper. Spread mustard all over beef. Mix rosemary and thyme in small bowl; sprinkle over beef and press lightly to adhere. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Position rack just below center of oven and preheat to 450°F. Roast beef uncovered 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Roast beef 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Spoon off all but 2 tablespoons drippings. Add carrots and shallots to pan. Turn vegetables to coat with drippings; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast beef and vegetables until thermometer inserted into center of beef registers 125°F for medium-rare, stirring vegetables occasionally, about 55 minutes longer. Transfer beef and vegetables to platter; tent loosely with foil to keep warm.

Mushroom Gravy
*I am not sure this is how we made this...

5oz dried mixed mushrooms, soaked in hot water and sliced
3T Butter
3T Flour
3c Beef stock
0.5c Red wine

Instructions
Melt butter in sauce pot. Add mushrooms and cook for 5min. Add flour and mix well. Add broth and wine and cook down. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Yorkshire Puddings
Adapted from Cooking Light Entertaining Guide Cookbook (a gift from Mom!)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup 2% low-fat milk (I used skim milk and it was fine)
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon pan drippings (reserved from roast) (per muffin)
  
• Vegetable cooking spray

Instructions

Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until smooth. Beat at high speed 15 seconds; set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon reserved pan drippings into each cup. Place popover pan/muffin pan in a 400° oven for 3 minutes. Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, and bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°, and bake an additional 25 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately.

Sherry Vinegar and Molasses Glazed Carrots

from epicurious.com

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• 3 pounds small carrots (5 to 6 inches long), peeled, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon (or more) coarse kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar, divided
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided

Instructions

Melt butter in heavy extra-large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, 1 tablespoon molasses, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt; sauté until carrots are coated with butter mixture, about 1 minute. Add 4 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar and enough water to almost cover carrots (about 4 cups) and bring to boil. Cover and boil 2 minutes. Uncover and boil until liquid is reduced to syrup and carrots are tender, stirring often, about 20 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon molasses and 2 tablespoons vinegar to carrots and toss over medium-high heat until carrots are heated through and thickly coated with glaze, about 3 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon parsley. Season carrots to taste with more coarse salt and generous amount of ground black pepper. Transfer carrots to large bowl; sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and serve.

Lighter Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Light Recipes (a gift from Mel!)

Ingredients

1 pounds peeled parsnips, diced into approx 1in cubes

1 head of garlic, top cut off and drizzled/sprayed with olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2	pounds russet potatoes (about 4 medium), scrubbed, peeled, and cut into chunks
3/4	cup 2% milk , warmed
2	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
1/4	cup low-fat sour cream

Instructions

1. Place the potatoes and 1 tablespoon salt in a large saucepan and add enough water to cover the potatoes by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until a fork can be slipped easily into the center of the potatoes, about 18 minutes. Drain the potatoes.

2. While potatoes are boiling, roast the parsnips and the head of garlic on a sprayed cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 10min, toss parsnips only, respray the pan and continue roasting for 5-10 more minutes
   

3. Combine potatoes, garlic (removed from skin) and parsnips in bowl for mashing (I did this by hand, you can use a food processor I am sure) and mash!
   

4. Stir in the milk and melted butter with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Gently fold in the sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Wow! Who Knew!?

So in all my efforts to be good at my CR, I mindlessly ate 4 doughnut holes that one of my co-workers brought in today. That is not the good part :)
Afterward I checked online for the calorie information (that is the good CR part), and get this: 4 chocolate cake doughnut holes have.... 300 (!!!) calories! Four! 300!
I am having a hard time getting over this. :)
That totally blew my day out of the water. Luckily this splurge was before I ate lunch and I still have vegetable soup on hand...
Well- lesson learned.
That will not happen again.
It is amazing now I that I know how many calories are in one of those buggers, they seem so much less appetizing...

Birthday Cupcakes

We are celebrating my lab-mate's birthday today and I made cupcakes!

*I must get some additional use out of my new cupcake carrier*

She is a big fan of margaritas so we are having drinks and margarita cupcakes at work. These are not good CR foods but they are so cute, I had to boast. Here is the recipe:

original

Margarita Cupcakes

190cal/cupcake

Ingredients
1 package (18.25 oz. white cake mix - no pudding in the mix)
1 can (10 oz.) frozen Margarita mix, thawed (undiluted)
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated lime zest

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line standard muffin pan with baking cups.
In large bowl, combine cake mix, Margarita mix, egg whites and vegetable oil using electric mixer.
Stir in lime zest; mix completely.
Fill prepared pans 2/3 full.
Bake 22-24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean.
Cool in pan on cooling rack 5-8 minutes.
Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely.
Frost cooled cupcakes with icing and garnish, if desired, with a strawberry and/or lime twist,

Yield: Makes 24* cupcakes.
*I only got 18 out of the batter.

Key Lime Cream Cheese Icing
Makes 3c of Icing- I used about 2/3c to ice all 18 cupcakes

I did not want to calculate the calories in this... It can't be good...

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons key lime juice
1 teaspoon key lime zest or lemon zest
4-5 cups confectioners' sugar
Yield: Makes about 3 cups icing.
Directions
In large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, juice and zest with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add 4 cups confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time; continue beating until light and fluffy.
If icing is too thin add additional confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.

"Rim" the cupcakes with green sugar, and top off with a candy fruit slice (TE's idea inspired from all of our Ace of Cakes watching!)