Bake #6 | Prinsesstarta (Princess Cake)
In case you're not up to speed, this is the sixth bake in The Great Blogger Bake Along series. Read about it here.
Oh good gravy. This flipping cake.
First let me say, it's delicious. Like, REALLY good. This was the first bake that my husband legitimately LOVED. He practically licked his plate clean! It was complex, and now having done it once, I would be better prepared to do it again, but holy moly. This was HARD. I'll expand in a moment.
The Challenge
A Prinsesstarta (Princess Cake). This cake has layers of sponge, custard cream, raspberry jam, whipped cream, and marzipan. It needs to have nice layers and a dome top.
The Outcome
Okay. I'm gonna talk about the process, so hang tight while I go bananas up in here. This was a HOT MESS and it took me SIX straight hours.
First you have to make this fussy sponge. Mine was raw when the timer went off, so I had to keep it in there longer, and it didn't get a good rise either. Then you have to slice the dang thing in three even layers. Well, it was whilst slicing this cake I found chunks of flour that didn't get "folded" in properly. Whatever, I got it sliced just fine so I moved on.
Then you make a custard. Guys. I've never made lumpy custard IN MY LIFE until this day. It tasted fine, though, so I let it be. But it was sooo lumpy.
After that, you make a jam. It turned out delicious and I want to put it on everything, but mine didn't set quite right which was annoying. I let it cool completely, so I don't know what the heck I did wrong, but it was a smidge soupier than I would have liked.
Then, you make marzipan. Oh for the love of all that is holy, who thought of making marzipan?! You grind up almonds and add raw eggs and a butt-load of sugar and some almond extract. It was sticky and kind of slimy, and it just seemed off, so I figured I must not have ground my almonds enough. So I tried to run the mixture through a food processor... which did nothing. I moved on. I rolled my marzipan and cried as it got stuck to the counter. I put parchment paper over it and under it and everywhere, but that didn't make it any easier when it came time to pick the thing up and place it atop the cake... but somehow I did it! I'm actually pretty happy with the outcome of the marzipan.
Finally, you whip up a tiny leftover amount of whipping cream and do a little piping along the bottom of the cake. However, my whipping cream DIDN'T WHIP and it was all I had left, so I made a butter-cream frosting real fast. You also have to make a little flower out of pre-made fondant, and do a small chocolate decoration. All of these little bits and pieces just added up to a ton of steps and clean-up, making it incredibly time-consuming. Again, it was very tasty, though! If you're looking for a big challenge with a tasty result, this is your bake.
Would either of us bake this again?
Oh gosh. I don't know! It was definitely a test of patience, knowledge, and experience, but not exactly something I think I'd jump at the opportunity to make again. Maybe for the right occasion, but definitely not on a whim! My mom would probably agree. We laughed wondering if we'd have even got it done much faster had we baked it together! Ha!
Here's the glamour shots...
Here's my mom's report
Are you looking for a good laugh? You'll want to read this. Here goes...
I was looking forward to another challenge, but discovered that lack of knowledge can lead to disaster. I began making this cake at 9:00 A.M. There were multiple steps and one that I added because crushed almonds were unavailable to me. It seemed so simple to run some almonds in the food processor until they became the fine sand like texture required. However, any longer in the processor and I would have had almond paste. But close enough and all would be well. Next, the pudding. First milk and a $5.00 vanilla bean. Then the egg mixture, blending them both and cooking till thick. Fine, done. Oh, and after research I discovered that UK corn flour is US corn starch, not a fine version of corn meal. Thank goodness or this would have been a complete flop! Making the jam filling was easy, I just added corn starch to the sugar and let it cook a bit longer reducing it and it thickened nicely. The cake (sponge) went together fine. The assembly for me wasn't a problem. The next time I would whip ALL the cream called for at once reserving what is needed for decorating. The directions had sooooo many steps which I would streamline.
The marzipan was next. It actually went together pretty well, but the rolling out and getting it onto the cake was a mess. I was flinging powdered sugar all over even though it said a thin layer, each time I tried to pick it up it ripped. By now I was sweating and getting panicky. My husband suggested using a pizza peel, which we did. Oh, and the green food coloring was not a pretty shade of soft green. The "Grinch" came to mind. At this point, who cared! I laid that green blob over the cake and it was done. Drizzled some chocolate on, put on that fondant rose, and sat down in a chair. It was 5:00P.M. when I finished. How this was made in 2 hours I will never know. Joy and I have had some serious laughter over this one. The final blow came when it was shared with family. My son-in-law and the rest of us did like it. The marzipan was tasty but later on too rich and we didn't eat it, just peeled it off. He did describe the texture this way. "You know, the dry skin you get on your knees or elbows? It reminds me of that." Zoom in on my pictures and you'll agree!
Phew! What a challenge! I'm proud to have done it, but glad it's behind me! Don't forget to use the hashtag #JoyLynnBakeAlong and join along on this super fun challenge. Coming up next...
Wednesday, May 24th
Bake #7: Kouign Amann
Bake #5 | Mini Pear Pies
In case you're not up to speed, this is the fifth bake in The Great Blogger Bake Along series. Read about it here.
Finally. The one I was most excited for! They looked so delectable and flavorful and fun to make, that I was just counting down the days until I got to make these. It did not disappoint in terms of 'fun to make,' but it did disappoint in other ways... hmmm read on...
The Challenge
Make mini pear pies with a homemade rough puff pastry, and poached pears. Make sure the puff pastry doesn't slide down the pears and the pears aren't over-poached making them too soft to hold the pastry.
The Outcome
Guys... this was such a disappointment!!! So the puff pastry called for lard and butter and flour. Has to be good, right?! It was AWFUL! All I could taste was the lard and without any salt, it was just bland. The pears were poached in a water, white wine, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and orange zest mixture on the stove. After that, it's wrapped in the pastry and baked, so it has to turned out all caramelized and pie-like, right? Nope again! For such a yummy poaching mixture, they still came out almost flavorless and completely disappointing.
Would either of us make this again?
I would make it again, only with some serious adjustments. It was a genuinely beautiful dessert and I loved the process of making it, but the overall taste wasn't what I had hoped for. I let my mom do her puff pastry differently, and I think hers turned out better, so again, with those adjustments, it would be well worth it to make this again. It needs a little more sugar and salt to bring out the flavor, and I know they'd be amazing with those additions.
Here's the glamour shots...
Here's my mom's report
This challenge turned out pretty well. Mostly because Joy made hers well in advance of mine and I learned from her and was given permission to change it up a bit. Having returned on Tuesday from a trip it was a late night finishing up in time for posting.
Here is my review:
The recipe called for butter and lard. Joy made hers according to those directions and was very unhappy with the flavor of the puff pastry. We both felt a proper puff pastry would NOT include lard. Therefore when I made mine I used only butter. I think it turned out very well. It's time consuming, but worth the effort. The rest of the preparation went very well. The end result was pretty good. It called for firm pears and apparently mine were too firm because I was unable to eat them with a spoon, I needed to slice the pears. In my opinion a poached fruit should be very soft, but I suppose they need to be somewhat firm in order to wrap them easily with the puff pastry. Somewhere in the middle is where they need to be. My picture shows how I think they should be served. The thickened sugar mixture made a tasty, and pretty glaze over the pear. All of these challenges look impressive, but not all of them taste that amazing. This one was one I would serve if I could be sure the fruit would be soft.
Again, if you're looking for a genuinely fun little challenge, give the pies a try. They are so pretty, and with the adjustments are genuinely yummy, and unique way to have pie. Don't forget to use the hashtag #JoyLynnBakeAlong and join along on this super fun challenge. Coming up next...
Wednesday, May 17th
Bake #6: Prinsesstarta (Princess Cake)
Pear + Gorgonzola Flatbread
Do you ever go out to eat and have something so amazing, yet so simple that you feel you MUST recreate it at home? This happens to us every couple of months, and I think I have more fun trying to recreate the meal, I forget to notice whether or not it actually ends up tasting the same. However, this particular flatbread is one I'm quite sure is a near replica.
We first had this mixture of flatbread flavors at our favorite area wine bar, and for the weeks following, it kept cropping back up in my mind, reminding me of how good it was. Finally, I decided to just give it a go. The last time I tried to recreate a flatbread it turned out amazing... might as well try it again! Let me dive right in with ingredients and directions and, of course, photos.
Ingredients
Flatbread (I always buy this for my flatbreads - you can find it at almost any grocery store)
Crumbled gorgonzola cheese
Shredded parmesan
A ripe pear
Fresh basil (about 6 leaves)
Caramelized onion (about 2/3 of a large onion)
Honey
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400F
Start by caramelizing the onion. Slice it thin. Preheat a pan with some butter and olive oil on a high heat. Add the onions and keep the heat high-to-medium high. Stir occasionally but let the onions get browned. It's okay if they look a little burned, but stir to evenly brown them. Remove from heat when a majority have been browned and set aside.
Chop the basil. Slice the pear thinly, but be sure and remove the core parts.
Place the flatbread on a baking sheet. Layer from bottom to top: onions, basil, parmesan, gorgonzola, pear.
Drizzle with honey and bake for 15 minutes.
Oh man, you guys. This is just soooo flavorful and delicious. It's like all the foods you'd gather separately for a wine tasting but instead baked into perfect harmony. Though, you should probably grab a nice white wine and settle in with this because it would be perfection. I promise you'll start to crave this tasty little beast. Feel free to add some walnuts or pistachios for crunch, or whatever else would pair well with it and then TELL ME ABOUT IT because foodies gotta stick together, amiright?
Mini Lemon Cakes | Showstopper Bake by Cameron
The day has finally arrived! I get to share my friend Cameron with the blogging world! I've known Cameron for almost a decade through my college friends, but we've probably only spent a handful of times together in person. We've bonded over weird Facebook posts and memes, and more recently, over our shared love of The Great British Bake Off. Just looking through Cameron's Instagram will show you that she challenges herself to master not only taste, but technique and creativity. She is a true Star Baker and I'm so happy to have her here today. Also, keep an eye out - I think Cameron may be catching the blogging bug and she's going to hopefully have a blog up in the future for you to follow! :) Okay, and read everything below because I swear Cameron is like a super interesting person. AND she got noticed by one of the bakers on the show on Instagram and I'm SO jealous!
I was always the kid in school who had cucumber sandwiches for lunch instead of peanut butter and jelly. I had fairy cakes at my birthday parties instead of store bought ice cream cake. I left shortbread for Santa instead of iced sugar cookies. None of these statements are complaints by any means, I was always lucky to be in a household that embraced food from all over the world. My mom is Canadian, by way of California, and the daughter of a Scottish Australian mother and a Canadian father. These influences have always left me with a strong attachment to my British heritage and its culture. This obsession with all things British has been a strong undertone in all my cooking. I began taking baking seriously about five years ago. It started off with mastering the family shortbread and then moved along to pavlovas and then down the rabbit hole of pastry and a stack of cookbooks and baking textbooks as tall as I am.
I first discovered The Great British Bake Off in a deep dive of English TV shows. I grew up watching Keeping Up Appearances, Monty Python, Absolutely Fabulous, and Fawlty Towers. As I got older I started finding all sorts of new shows I loved, both scripted and reality, on BBC and Channel 4. I found an extension to run on my laptop that allowed me to access to the BBC iPlayer, that was it.... I was obsessed with Bake Off. I thought about it all day, I couldn't wait until the next Wednesday when a new episode would air. Besides the interesting recipes and challenges, what I loved most was how genuinely kind the contestants were to one another all while remaining fiercely competitive. I have my own opinion on the Diana vs. Ian bin-gate drama. Many of my bakes are inspired by the contestants. I once recreated Chetna’s white chocolate and pistachio cake. She liked it and commented on it on Instagram.....you better believe I screenshot it!
When Joy approached me about contributing showstoppers for her blog I was instantly on board. I loved her idea of including her mom's feedback as well and challenging herself to creatively bake outside her comfort zone. I wracked my brain deciding what to feature for this first showstopper bake. I bounced back and forth between mini British bakes and bread. In the end it became clear….an homage to my British heritage... a classic lemon drizzle cake with my own twist... homemade lemon curd (a family favorite) and a honey goat cheese mascarpone filling.
"My friends poke fun at me for being pretentious... “honey goat cheese mascarpone filling”....I can see the eye rolls! I promise it's totally worth it."
Now let the baking begin! For this recipe start by making the lemon curd. Give the filling enough time to cool and set before filling the cakes. Once it comes together put it in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the cakes. There are several different methods for making lemon curd. I prefer using a bain-marie, placing a sauce pan on the stove top with water on low heat. I then float a bowl in the water filled pan and begin adding the ingredients. Sugar, eggs, zest, and lemon juice are added to the floating bowl and whisked until the mixture begins to thicken. Ideally, the objective is to reach a temperature of 165F without boiling the mixture. Once it has reached the desired temperature, begin adding the butter in small amounts at a time. If you are not getting the thickness you need, you can add more butter. Once it has come together you can sieve the curd to get eliminate the zest, however I like to leave it in.
Now the “pretentious” as well as rich and delicious goat cheese mascarpone filling. Best to prepare this before the cake batter so that the rich flavors have more time to fully set. Begin with heavy whipping cream in a tall narrow glass bowl and a hand mixer. I've always found that the cream whips better if it has less space to escape the beaters. Once I get a nice amount of volume I add in the sugar and continue beating until the cream is smooth and the sugar granules are no longer detected. Once the cream looks set I add the mascarpone by gently folding it in to keep as much air in the cream as possible. Finally add the honey goat cheese. I recommend allowing the goat cheese to reach room temperature. Once it's all combined allow it to set in the fridge.
Now we get down to the star of the show. This cake utilizes the creaming method. This means that you start by creaming your butter and sugar together first, doing this produces a fine crumb with a dense and rich texture perfect for slicing. By fitting your mixer with a paddle attachment and continually scraping down the sides will produce an evenly creamed mix. You are looking for a smooth texture, and then begin slowly adding your eggs. Allow your eggs to come up to almost room temperature. You will notice that if the batter or eggs are too cold the mix will begin to look like it’s curdled. Don't panic... just keep mixing until the batter becomes smooth again and add another egg. Once that is done fold in your dry ingredients as well as the zest. I used an ice cream scoop to measure out my batter into the square molds, but traditions round cupcake tins or other shaped tins work as well.
Once the cakes are done in the oven, you are looking for the cake to spring back when you touch it and the sides of the cake have come away from the tin. Let them cool a bit in the tin and then place them on a cooling rack. Once they are cool, slice the cakes in half and using a wooden skewer poke holes on the inside of both sides. This will allow the syrup to be absorbed into the cakes. Make sure the cake is cool before doing this step. Once the syrup has set you can start to assemble. Using a piping bag, pipe five dollops to lemon curd on the bottom half. Then follow up with four dollops of the goat cheese mascarpone mix.
Typically, a lemon drizzle cake has a sugary crispy top, however mine did not achieve the desired level of crispiness. Shifting into problem solving mode, I diverted from the traditional and created a mixture of leftover lemon syrup and lemon curd and brushed in on the top and finished it with Swedish pearl sugar for a sweet, delicious, and eye pleasing finishing touch.
Overall these little cakes are begging to be center stage of any tea party. In my opinion they are the perfect marriage of sweet with a juxtaposition of savory tartness from the goat cheese and lemon. The end result is balanced perfection. These little bakes make me yearn for a cup of tea, some sunshine in an English garden, and good friends to share with!
Mini Lemon Cakes
Ingredients:
Lemon Curd
- 285g sugar
- 4 range-free eggs
- 2 large lemons, zest and juice
- 140g of butter
Honey Goat Cheese and Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 237mL heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese
- 4 oz honey goat cheese
Cake
- 175g butter (room temperature)
- 175g sugar
- 3 range-free eggs
- 175g all purpose flour
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 lemon zested
Lemon Syrup
- 100g sugar
- 1 1/2 lemon, zest and juice
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cook for
Lemon Curd
- Make lemon curd by whisking together sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and zest in a bowl over boiling water. Allow the mixture to thicken, ideally reaching 165F; do not allow it to boil. Then add butter in small pieces until the mixture is thick enough.
Honey Goat Cheese and Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- Whip cream in a bowl until cream begins to form.
- Add sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, and beat until sugar is fully incorporated and you are unable to feel granules of sugar in the cream.
- Add the mascarpone cheese by folding it into the cream, being sure not to over mix and loose the air in the cream. Once incorporated add the room temperature goat cheese in the same manner.
Cake
- Set your oven for 350F, use convection mode if available on your oven.
- Using a paddle attachment combine room temperature butter and sugar. Blend together until the sugar is incorporated completely and the mixture is pale in color and fluffy in texture. Again, you should not feel any granules of sugar left.
- Gradually add room temperature eggs.
- Once the eggs are incorporated, sift in the dry ingredients of flour, salt, and baking powder. Then fold in lemon zest.
- Coat baking tin with butter or cooking spray and fill according to how you would like to enjoy your cakes. In this case I used an ice cream scoop per square muffin cup.
- Bake for 15-20 mins, remember your looking for the cake to begin coming away from the sides of the tin and a spring back texture.
Lemon Syrup
- Combine sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a saucepan on medium heat until the sugar dissolves and a syrup forms.
Don't forget to follow Cameron on Instagram for more mouth-watering bake photos!
April | 2017
What a full month we've had! Not only terms of our schedules, but full in joys and accomplishments and celebrations. See below for the photos and summary!
This month's happenings:
Favorite Links
Now that we've announced our trip to Iceland and Europe this fall, I can show you guys the fun tips, videos, and articles I've found on travel to these places. I love this video by Gal Meets Glam on their visit to Iceland this past winter.
In preparation for our big trip, we're also working on making some lifestyle changes. We've joined a gym and I've been working at keeping my portions under wraps. Recipes like this make it seem like a totally enjoyable change to make!
We've been on the hunt for water resistant jackets for Iceland that can roll up really small as we'll also be going to France, and we found them at Target! I'm so excited to wear this blue jacket!
As today is May 1st, check out this post on my Facebook page where I explain my FAVORITE song about the month of May. Hint: it's from a 1960's favorite movie of mine!
P.S. Don't forget to check back this Wednesday for a special guest bake by my Star Baker, Cameron!
Iceland + Europe | Vacation Announcement
A couple weeks ago, I spilled the beans on our vacation via my Instagram story. If you didn't catch it in the 24 hour window, you wouldn't have heard the news... sooo here's the official announcement:
We're going to Iceland and Europe this fall!
As a little background:
For the last year, Tom and I have been discussing the need for an honest-to-goodness vacation. Of course, it kept getting put on the back-burner over and over (as these things often do) while we dealt with other life circumstances, prioritized family visits, hosted lots of visitors, worked on our renovation, and then moved forward with adding our dog. We kept saying "we'll talk about it in a couple more months" until that couple more months turned into a year or so. Now, it's been over FOUR years since our last vacation... which was our honeymoon. So to say we're excited about fulfilling our dream to visit Europe, would be an understatement.
We've taken a few trips in the last four years, mostly to visit family, or with me as a tag along to Tom on a business trip, or for a super fast overnight to celebrate a birthday or something, and they've been so wonderful... but we've not had what I would call a vacation in all these years.
About two months ago, I started putting my foot down and being really adamant about prioritizing a vacation for this fall. We've had a rough year and I think life's curves have put enough weight on us to merit an actual need more than a desire for a vacation. We need the respite, the escape, and the adventure without work or reality tapping us on the brain to remind us to pay attention to them. We'll take plenty of photos, but it'll be mostly a time that we can be disconnected from pressures, and just enjoy the time together - uninterrupted.
Here's how it happened
After a few months of daydreaming together about potential places, we decided to just start casually looking. We followed a few places around the world for low flight prices, and every now and then something would come up and we'd consider it for the day, only to see the price spike the next. Italy was of particular interest, but when prices went from $400 to $700 in a matter of 12 hours, we thought it was off the table. So we hunted around the Caribbean, and Cabo, and various other locations.
About a week after the realization that we needed to be prepared for spontaneity in purchasing flights, Tom saw something we couldn't pass up...
For less than $900 (total - this price includes BOTH our roundtrip tickets), we could fly into Reykjavik, Iceland - stay for up to a week - and then continue on to Paris.
Tom read me the deal and we stared at each other.
For a long time.
We started to smirk.
Then I asked a few more questions and we decided we'd keep our stay in Iceland brief so we could explore the surrounding areas and countries by France for longer.
"Joy, are we doing this?" he asked.
".... what's our reason not to? The flight price certainly isn't a reason. Tom. Let's do it. I don't see how we could possibly regret doing this. We've dreamed of going to Europe... and ICELAND?! Who goes to Iceland?! Actually, I think we'd kick ourselves for NOT going and passing up such a great deal and experience. Seriously. I'm ALL in. Let's do it!"
Two minutes later, we confirmed our tickets.
For three full days, we'll bop around Iceland. For another twelve days, we'll land in Paris, and then perhaps mosey into Switzerland and Italy - but we're open to suggestions! We are so insanely excited for this trip! We're really hoping to get to the small Italian winery that makes our favorite wine in the Barolo region.
We've been scouring Airbnb for places to stay, but it's so hard to know where we'll want to spend the most time! Now that we have the flights booked, we'll have a lot of planning to do, but I love planning and organizing, so I'm enjoying it. Plus, it feels SO good just to have something amazing to look forward to, and it's started to motivate us to get in better shape so we can enjoy walking and hiking around as much as possible and not feel like we need to rest a lot.
Here's where you come in
Have you ever been to Iceland?
How about France, Italy, or other surrounding areas?
LET'S HEAR YOUR TIPS! This will be our first time overseas and if you've got anything that might help some European or Iceland first-timers, leave me a comment or contact me.
What should we pack for Iceland AND Europe? Do you have some favorite luggage or backpacks? Would it be easier to take trains or rent a car? We're not too interested in the tourist attractions - what would you suggest to the back-country travelers? How do you leave room for souvenirs? Do you know some amazing places to stay? Any certain kinds of clothes or shoes you know are great for lengthy travel? What kind of adapters would we need for phone and camera charging? Anything you can think of please share it - I'd love to hear about your experiences!
Now, if you need me for the next five months, I'll just be listening to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty soundtrack a million times.
Bake #4 | Tiramisu
In case you're not up to speed, this is the fourth post in The Great Blogger Bake Along series. Read about it here.
This was the one. The one I was MOST nervous for. It didn't end up being as terrifyingly difficult as I thought it was going to be, but it certainly wasn't easy. And it was a little terrifying here and there. Of course I'm talking about the kind of terrifying that bakers go through... like when something breaks in half or a cake sinks in or part of something is baked well, and another part is burnt, or when a bake goes so bad you wonder how you call yourself a good baker at all. You know. Things like that.
The Challenge
Create Mary Berry's version of an evenly layered tiramisu cake. This is a well-known Italian dessert that features cakey layers soaked in a coffee/brandy mixture, chocolate, and a creamy mascarpone cream.
The Outcome
Well, it wasn't the worst bake I've done. Mistake number one, was that I forgot to put down some parchment paper for my sponge to bake on, and I nearly didn't get it out of the pan in one piece. But I saved myself from this by having greased the pan with an excessive amount of butter - haha! Once cooled, I had to slice the cake in half - like across the middle (see photos) but I measured one of my 7x7 inch squares of sponge wrong and was off by an inch! So I have a random one inch slice of cake on two layers. I also struggled with the mascarpone cream layer. I may have over whipped the mixture and turned it to butter. It called for the tiniest bit of sugar, so it wasn't very sweet, and this made it pretty bland in my opinion. Overall it turned out better than I would have expected, considering it was my first time!
Would either of us bake this one again?
My mom has made tiramisu before (using a different recipe) so I know she would make tiramisu again. For me? Yes, but I would make some adjustments. I felt the cream layer was too bland and I think mine needed more time to soak. It was a little fussy, but I don't mind fussy if it comes out beautifully. This was a great challenge, and I feel more confident to try it again!
Here's the glamour shots...
Here's my mom's report
"This isn't the first time I have made Tiramisu so it was fun to try another recipe.
It was great making the sponge. In the past I have used ready made ladyfingers, but the home made sponge cake was delicious. It was easy enough and beating the eggs and sugar for the full 5 minutes is a must.
The mascarpone cheese mixture was my challenge. Previously I have made this frosting using one method (the correct method for me, I might add). This recipe directed me another way, which I followed to a tee, knowing all the while that it would not turn out. Nonetheless following directions is often important when baking. This challenge clarified something for me. The bakers on “The Great British Baking” show must be experienced bakers, because they are NOT always given specific directions, requiring them to draw on their expertise for the proper outcome. This was one of those times for me. It asked me to beat the mascarpone chess then add 3 T. powdered sugar and the heavy cream. It was a curdled blob, never really becoming a smooth frosting. I whipped some more cream with 3 T. powdered sugar separately and folded that into the cheese mixture and was able to use it after all. My recommendation is to whip the cheese while cold. Whip cream and powdered sugar separately then fold into the cheese.
I put the coffee/brandy mixture into a bottle and squirted it over the sponge. Much less messy. I also used a bottle to make the chocolate decorations.
With the exception of the frosting I had no trouble making this cake and would recommend it. It looks impressive and is flavorful. It is a rich cake, so it’s best to make this when a group can help you eat it."
My mom's chocolate work looks so pretty, doesn't it?! Much more professional than mine.
Don't forget to use the hashtag #JoyLynnBakeAlong and join along on this super fun challenge - even just one week if you're feeling up to it! Bake #5 is the one I've been looking forward to the most. It looks really pretty and unique, but also super delicious. Coming up next...
Wednesday, May 3rd
A special Showstopper Bake by our guest Star Baker, Cameron!
(Guys, I'm so excited about this, you don't even know. I fan-girl over Cameron's bakes on the regular. I haven't even been privy to her creation yet, so I'm dying over here!)
Wednesday, May 10th
Bake #5: Mini Pear Pies
Easy Garden Box
Happy Monday, friends! It is almost May, and with that, I thought I'd share our garden with you today. We've been in our house for nearly...
Happy Monday, friends! It is almost May, and with that, I thought I'd share our garden with you today. We've been in our house for nearly two years now, but the great majority of that time has been spent working on the interior of our home - working room by room. The kitchen was our last big project and it was finished almost a year ago, but we've spent the last several months just enjoying the state of things before perhaps updating some bathrooms or flooring. Not to mention having added a puppy to the mix, we've been adjusting to having him in our space as well.
Now, however, we feel like it's about time we start showing our outdoor areas some love. We have been good about clean-up in the fall (we live in a forest... just imagine the sheer volume of leaves we have to clean up), and we try our best to keep shrubs and things well groomed, but it has gotten to a point where most of our backyard has gotten away from us. So much has become overgrown and as two people who wouldn't exactly call themselves 'green thumbs,' it's been a bit of a struggle. Right now, about 2/3 of our backyard is a muddy, tilled mess. We are hoping to get it all fertilized and seeded for grass, but because of all the rain we've been getting, it's mostly just a sloppy, goopy, mud pit. Good thing I've got my Hunters!
While we try to get our yard ready for grass, though, we thought we should also take this opportunity to add in a garden box. Why not, right? Everything else is a mess, might as well do it while we're already dirty!
Thankfully, it was incredibly simple thanks to some sand, cement blocks, planks of wood, and some dirt. Here's how we did it:
- We dug out the perimeter and made spaces for the blocks and planks.
- We placed some planks in the slots to be sure they'd come up even with the tops of the blocks. Then we evened things out with sand at the base and made sure our blocks were level with one another. Tom also used some metal poles to put down the center of the blocks and into the ground to keep them in place.
- Tom cut the planks to size and we made sure everything fit just right before filling the sides in with dirt.
- We layered topsoil into the box and planted our little seedlings in orderly rows.
Here are a few photos! We are so happy with the results and it only took us a Saturday afternoon to finish. Isn't it pretty?
Here is a link to the cement blocks we used - these were such a help!
So far, everything has been growing beautifully. Here's a list of what we have growing:
- Large tomatoes
- Cherry tomatoes
- Strawberries
- Rosemary (not doing so hot, though)
- Dill
- Thyme
- Basil
- Bell Peppers
- Cucumber
- Green onions
- Yellow Squash
- Snap peas
I also thought I'd also include some affiliate links of products that might come in handy:
So what do you think? Pretty simple, but cute, right? We're excited to start reaping the rewards of this little patch of land, and we're hoping our grass comes in just as nicely! Let me know if this garden post was helpful or inspiring for you! Do you have a garden at your place? What're you growing?