Bzzz Bee Cake

The bzzzz bees on spot!

Hi guys, how are you? Yesterday was the final class for the flower course from Wilton. Again we had to make a cake iced with buttercream and use the techniques that we learned during the course.

I made a carrot cake with raisins frosted and filled with "real" white chocolate buttercream that my dear friend Layla taught me.  To decorate I made fondant flowers in three shades, some leaves and three little cute Bees (that I did using the tutorial on the blog: http://chiccookiekits.blogspot.com/). I also used the classic Wilton technique: the "basketweave". I twas pleased with the result..., what do you think?

One important detail: I used this amazing real buttercream (no crisco on it) and it is real light and fluffy but the fondant flowers got a little heavy for the buttercream so they weighed too much and pushed down all the buttercream ... Luckily, I managed to take pictures of the entire cake before going all down! …lol… live and learn right people?

The cake... I guess you guys can see that is starting to collapse here... :( 

The flowers..

Next week begins the Fondant Course! Woohoo! Finally! :)

Happy Baking!!

Le Cordon Bleu Cookie Recipes

Hi guys! You asked and I will post three recipes that you requested me!

Palmier

Ingredients

- 2 commercial puff pastry sheets 

-1 cup sugar 

How to make

1. Thaw the puff pastry dough in the refrigerator for 1/2 an hour.

2. Sprinkle sugar on your workbench and the in the dough.

3. Place on sheet on top of another and sprinkle a little bit of sugar between them.

4. Fold 1 inch of the edge of the dough on both sides of the sheet.Add more sugar on top. Continue to fold 1 inch up each time until the center is reached.

5. Freeze dough for 5 minutes

6. Remove from freezer and cut the cookies with a knife (about 1/2 inch).

7. Dip cookies in sugar and place on a baking sheet. Leave enough space between the cookies because they will grow.

8. Bake at 375F for about 15 minutes. When cookies brown on bottom, turn them over to brown on the other side. Cookies should be very crispy and dry.

Christmas Tree Bark (especially for my dear friend Layla)

Ingredients

- 1 pound white chocolate, chopped 

- 1 pound dark chocolate, chopped

- 8 red and white peppermint sticks, crushed

How to make

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper (or plastic wrap).

2. Crush the peppermint sticks with a rolling pin (or a hammer) or even with the food processor.

3. Melt chocolates separately in a water bath (yes you can use the microwave)

4. Spread the dark chocolate on one half of baking sheet and place the white chocolate in the other half. Throw crushed candy on top and place in freezer.

5. When the chocolate is hard just break it the way that you want.

NOTE: In my class I did not do half and half. I just mixed the two of them to give the effect of mixed chocolate :D

Rugelach (Especially for Paula Cinini of The Cookie Shop)

Ingredients

-1 1/2 stick butter

- 6 oz cream cheese

-1/4 teaspoon salt

- 2 Tablespoons sugar

- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- 1/2 cup jam (I used raspberry)

- 1/2 cup pecan, chopped 

- Egg Wash (egg mixture with water for brushing the dough)

How to make

1. Make a cream with butter and cream cheese in mixer.

2. Add sugar and salt.

3. Add flour.

4. Rest the dough in the fridge for half an hour.

5. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll each piece out individually to a circle about 10 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Cut each circle into 8 equal wedges (like a pizza). Spread the jam in a thin layer over the cut circle. Sprinkle nuts over the jam. Roll each of the triangles up like a croissant and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Chill for 15 minutes.

6. Egg wash cookies before baking at 325F for about 10 minutes. Be sure not to have a puddle of eggs around base of rugelach.

NOTE: Always chill the dough in the fridge to cool for about 15 minutes if you feel that the dough is softening or sticking in your hand.

If you have any question, just ask!!

Happy Baking!

Go Bananas!!

I need to start this post telling you a secret: I hate bananas! I even hate the banana smell. But I learned to make a banana cupcake that I really liked it! So now I decided to share this recipe with you and this post goes especially for a dear friend of mine which I don't know personally but who has won a piece in my heart, Michele Pazo from Michele Pazo Cake. You guys should visited her blog! She's very talented and she a sweetheart! To visit her blog just click here.

Banana Peanut Cupcake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream (The Chopping Block)

Ingredients

3 large bananas 

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup milk 

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup natural peanut butter 

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar 

2 large eggs

1 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

How to make

1. Pre-heat the oven temperature at 350F and prepare cupcake liners in a muffin pan.

2. Mash the bananas well. Add the lemon juice, milk and vanilla. Set aside.

3. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda with a spatula or a whisk.

4. In mixer, beat butter and peanut butter with the sugars until mixture is smooth and light. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Add alternately dry ingredients and liquids to the butter and peanuts cream. Start by placing the dry ingredients and finish with the dry as well.

6. Fold in 1/2 cup of the chopped peanuts. Reserve left over to decorate cupcakes - if you want, of course ... :)

7. Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes. let cool completely to decorate.

Milk Chocolate Buttercream  (The Chopping Block)

Ingredients

4 1/2 ounces milk chocolate 

3/4 cup sugar 

2 tablespoons water

5 egg whites

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

How to make

1. Melt chocolate in double boiler. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. In a small saucepan combine sugar and water. Boil without stirring (!!!) until temperature reaches 240F (yes, you will need a candy thermometer) on a candy thermometer.

3. Meanwhile, in an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until very foamy.

4. Once the sugar is ready, reduce speed and add the hot syrup into the egg whites. Increase speed and beat until it reaches room temperature. This process should take 10-15 minutes.

5. Add the butter one tablespoon at a time and then add the melted chocolate, vanilla and salt. Beat until all ingredients are well incorporated and fluffy.

I hope you enjoy!!

Happy Baking!!

To my gradma, with love

My beloved grandmother left so many wonderful memories to me but unfortunately she passed away almost 3 years ago. She was and still is very present and important in my life. She was very talented in everything she did. My gradma used to make some caramelized candies that are very elegant and chic, for her grandchildren she used to bake  and decorate 3D cakes also she would bake tarts, pies, cookies… a lot of yummy treats!  And she always would give spatula for me to taste what she was doing.. hmmm ... and I loved! And today I'm here, trying to follow her steps (I still lack many ....) and trying to honor someone so special in my life.

I said all this to tell you that I finished the first module of my Wilton Method course. Next week I'll start the flowers course and in November the fondant one. For our final cake we had to to use the techniques we learned during this module (which was the basic one).

We had to decorate with buttercream and do any kind of cake but my cake came out as a disaster ... hahahaha ... I tried to make the cake type "checkerboard". This cake my grandmother used to make for my grandpa and I thought it was a good way to honor her but unfortunately I failed. The vanilla batter disappeared completely and got very hard, the chocolate batter was great but when mixed with vanilla got terrible ... hahaha ... anyway, at least I tried but I'm not a quitter and I'm going to do once more!! I kinda like my final cake and I hope you like it too...

Happy Baking!!

Red Velvet

Red Velvet Cupcakes that I made in The Cupcake BootCamp @ The Chopping Block

The Red Velvet Cupcake get everybody's attention just because of its color red and its velvety texture. The history of Red Velvet Cake, which was later transformed into cupcake, is marked by myths and legends. A red velvet cake was a signature dessert at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City during the 1920s. According to a common legend a woman once asked for the recipe for the cake, and was billed a large amount. Indignant, she spread the recipe but the hotel denies this story .... 

Red Velvet Cupcakes (The Chopping Block)

Yields: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 stick butter, softened

3 4 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon cocoa powder 

Red Food Coloring (dosing the amount you want)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/4 cup cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to make

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare cupcake liners in a muffin pan.

2. Mix the vinegar and baking soda and set aside.

3. Beat butter and sugar until the cream is light and fluffy, that's about 5 minutes.

4. Add egg and beat until well incorporated.

5. Make a paste with cocoa powder and food coloring and add to cream butter and sugar (here I did different, I did not make this paste, I put the food coloring directly to the batter until the I see the color I wanted).

6. Add the flour and buttermilk to cream butter and sugar in 3 additions always start and finish with the solid. Add salt.

7. Add the vinegar mixture and the vanilla.

8. Fill cupcake tins until 2/3 of its capacity.

9. Bake for 20-25 minutes and let cool to be able to unmold and cool completely wait to decorate.

Cream cheese Frosting

Yields: 3 cups

Ingredients

1 cup (8oz) cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar (1 lbs)

How to make

1. Beat the cream cheese, vanilla and butter in a large bowl of electric mixer

2. Add the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.

3. Decorate your cupcakes!

That's it folks!

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

Yummy!! .... as promised I'm posting the recipe for Chocolate Cherry Cupcake with Chocolate Caramel Ganache.... oh yeah!!.... Guys, this cupcake is so good...

Chocolate Cherry Cupcake (The Chopping Block Chicago)

Yields 12-15 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1 / 2 cup pitted fresh cherries (you can use the frozen ones too ... just remember to bring them to room temperature)

1 1 / 3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 / 2 teaspoon baking powder

1 / 2 teaspoon sea salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1 / 2 cup light brown sugar

1 / 2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 / 2 teaspoon almond extract

2 eggs at room temperature

2 / 3 cup Water

1 / 3 cup milk

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven at a temperature of 350F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

2. Roast the cherries on a parchment paper lined tray for 20. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then chop the cherries and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4. In the mixer cream butter and sugar in medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy (4-5 minutes).

5. Add the chocolate, extracts and continue beating until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add eggs one at a time.

6. Combine water and milk in a saucepan. Bring to boil and immediately remove from heat.

7. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture a ¼ cup at a time and then add the hot liquids very carefully. Mix until smooth.

8. With a spatula add the chopped cherries and gently mix the batter.

9. Pour the batter into cupcake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.

10. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.

Caramelized Chocolate Ganache (The Chopping Block Chicago)

Yields approximately 4 cups of ganache.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 / 4 cup of "light corn syrup"

2 tablespoons water

1 1 / 2 cups heavy cream

Pinch of sea salt

3 ounces of dark chocolate or semi bitter chocolate, chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)

Preparation

1. In a small saucepan combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Gently stir until dissolve and place over medium heat. DO NOT STIR! :) Cook until the sugar is caramelized.... (it will take a while, but keep an eye on the sugar! We don't want to burn it...)

2. Remove from heat and carefully whisk in the heavy cream. Return to heat and continue to whisk until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate, butter and salt.

3. Pour the ganache in a bowl and let cool for at least 30 minutes (tip: you can speed this process leaving the ganache covered with plastic wrap in the fridge)

4.When ready to use, transfer the ganache to a bowl and whip with a mixer lightened in color and a creamy texture.

5. Then just decorate your cupcakes!

You may notice that on my cupcakes I dipped then on the ganache because when I was on class the ganache was still warm and didn't have the consistency to decorate using the piping bag. Hope you liked it!! :D

Happy Baking!

Cupcake Boot Camp

Hi guys!! Yesterday I had a very nice cupcake class. It was focused on baking gourmet cupcakes which was awesome!! The class was held at "Chicago Chopping Block". We made five cupcake recipes:


- Mini Raspberry Cheesecake with cream cheese frosting;- Chocolate cherry covered with caramel chocolate ganache (hmmmmm. ....: D) Look at them, going to the oven .... oh yeah!!!

- Peaches and Mascarpone Cream Cupcake;
- Red Velvet Cupcake with cream cheese frosting;
- Banana Peanut Cupcake with milk chocolate buttercream (hmmmmmmmm)


I've learned two new types of frosting : cream cheese and milk chocolate buttercream...

Here they are ... 21 cupcakes .... oh my gosh ..... hmmmmm ...

I need to say anything else? hahahahahahahhahaha ... I came home full of cupcakes, which made my husband very happy ... : D
In the box, ready to be eaten ....

Later on I'll post my favorite recipe: the cherry chocolate cupcake!!

Happy Baking!

Le Cordon Bleu

WOWW!! I need to start my post with WOWWWW!!! Oh my gosh, the class was wonderful! The Chef McNabb who teach us is a lovely person and very funny too. The 3 hour class seamed to be like a 3 minute class. It was so good!! I have to say that everything that they use there are from scratch. And it's delicious!


In the beginning of class the Chef taught us to make a chocolate chiffon cake (which by the way is GREAT!!), buttercream, ganache and marzipan. Then she began teaching us how to make the buttercream rose.


I got so happy because I had this fear about making flowers. But it's not that complicated, we just need to practice. 

I was trying to film when she was making the roses but I don't know what happened to my camera and the image is not so good but I guess we can take something out of it....

And I really think that I did well (please people, give me a break here, ok?! hahahaha... it was the first time that I did the roses... :D). And then we lear how to make flowers, fruits and people out of marzipan. here's a picture of my cake (please don't judge me too much... hahahaha).

I loved the class and Kinda make me want to take their "Baking and Patisserie" Course but now it's impossible (besides being very expensive... ). But in October I'll take the cookie class and in February the chocolate class...hmmmm....


Oh, I almost forgot to tell you... when we were learning to make the flowers they brought us some snack... handmade focaccia and at the end of class they baked us fresh pizza (all done by the culinary students)!!! Wasn't nice?? I loved it!!! Well... it's Cordon Bleu we are talking about, right?! :D


So, did you already vote in my pool this week?? Vote!! I'm dying to know what I'll bake next week!!! :)


Happy Baking!!!