Coconut Cake

My co-workers are getting spoiled. Not that I mind, but almost daily I get asked “any goodies today?” and if the answer is no, “how about tomorrow?” It’s actually a great feeling knowing that people enjoy what I bake. The latest request was for a coconut cake. I was even presented this recipe by my friend and cubicle neighbor, Gina.

Surprisingly, I had all the ingredients in my kitchen. That is a good sign that I am building a stock of baking necessities, really – who has buttermilk in their fridge, just in case? 

It’s a good rule of thumb to bring all ingredients to room temperature when making a cake, even the milk and eggs. The cake will have a better rise if the ingredients are warm during mixing. I greased the pans, and sifted the flour, baking powder, soda and salt into a medium bowl. 

I beat the butter for 2 minutes, and then added the sugar until light and fluffy. Then the egg yolks were added, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. 

The batter looks great! A beautiful shade of yellow, with a creamy and fluffy texture. The recipe calls for the buttermilk to be added in 3 additions, alternating with the flour mixture. This recipe is called “Coconut Cake” although the only coconut in this cake is the flaked coconut garnish. So I added ¼ cup of dried coconut milk to the buttermilk before mixing it into the batter. The powder dissolved right into the milk, so it should give the cake a light coconut flavor and add a bit more moisture to the cake, since the power contains some coconut oil. 

I beat the egg whites onto a meringue, and gently folded them into the batter. I used my new kitchen scale to weigh both pans of batter to get even cakes. The cakes baked for 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. 

After the cakes were completely cooled, I cut them both in half to get 4 even layers. The recipe calls for a home-made lemon curd filling. Instead of using this, I just popped open a jar or pre-made lemon curd. I did not want the strong lemon flavor to drown out the coconut flavor, so I beat ¾ cup of lemon curd with 1 cup of whipped cream. It was a creamy, but not-as-tart version of lemon curd – perfect for this cake. I spread it evenly between the 3 layers along with a sprinkling of coconut.

The recipe called for a ‘7-Minute Frosting’. The ingredients are simple, the process not-so-simple. I had such a hard time with this frosting that I am writing a separate post about it – yes, it was that bad! But, on the 4^th try, it came out wonderful, better than I had imagined. 

I spread on a nice thick layer and topped with a layer of coconut. We carved it up for breakfast the next day at work. The cake was moist, a little dense with a hint of coconut flavor. The alternating lemon curd and coconut in the layers was not only attractive, it gave you all the flavors in every bite. The frosting was heavenly – thick, sweet and almost marshmallowy. All together, the cake was delicious. My co-workers would agree, especially one of my biggest supporters, who had 3 pieces! 

Cupcake Experiments

Lately, all I want to bake is cupcakes. So why not get a little creative? I made a batch of Devil's Food Chocolate and a batch of Golden Yellow cupcakes for a total of 48. I divided each batch in half, for greater variety with my experimentation. For half of the chocolate batch, I wanted to make a chocolate mint version, so I added 1/2 tsp Peppermint Extract to the batter. For an extra kick, I melted 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 2 tbs heavy cream and 1 tbs corn syrup to make a dark chocolate ganache filling. I cored out the middles and filled them with the ganache. I mixed up a batch of vanilla butter cream, and separated out enough to frost the dozen mint cupcakes. I added green gel food color and 1/2 tsp of Peppermint Extract before filling the decorating bag. I simple piping and an Andes mint topped this cupcake. 

The other half of the batch was intended for a "Chocolate Malt" flavor. However, when I went to the grocery store, they did not carry malt powder. This seems to be an epidemic. They no longer carry baker's superfine sugar, and now malt powder! I am going to end up special ordering all of my best ingredients. So, these cupcakes are really just "Chocolate Milkshake", but still fabulous. I cored the centers, filled with white vanilla butter cream, topped with made-from-scratch chocolate frosting and a dollop of the white butter cream. I used 2 different tips for a different effect, the butter cream resembles whipped cream. For a cute garnish, a Pepperidge Farm Pirouette cookie takes the place of a straw. I made sure to inset the cookie at an angle, allowing the cookie to sit in the core for stability. 

The Golden Vanilla batch did not turn out as expected. For half the batch, I wanted to make a "Banana Split" cupcake. I added 1 mashed banana to the batter. It was a disaster - they hardly rose in the oven, and they were severely rubbery and undercooked. All 12 went right in the trash. The second dozen was going to be a simple cake with no filling and butter cream frosting specially piped on top. I was dying to try to make chrysanthemums on top with some new decorator's tips. The pictures made it look so easy!! I did one, and it was not pretty, so I stuck with what I am good at. Simple piping and for a garnish - the cherry that was intended for the banana split cupcake. They looked pretty to me, and they tasted great too.

Banana Cupcakes

What a great idea - turn banana bread into a cupcake and add frosting. This is the beginning of a new revolution - cupcakes for breakfast! I found this recipe for Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting in my Martha Stewart Cookbook, however the online version is very different, so I opted not to link it to this entry. It might be close in flavor, but the process is different.

Before mixing anything, the bananas need to be roasted. Place on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Let the bananas cool before peeling them. They will be quite wet because the peels release moisture during the roasting. My kitchen smelled WONDERFUL during the roasting.

This cupcake recipe is a bit different from my standard cake recipes; The butter is creamed with the sugar, and then egg yolks are added to create a yellow, fluffy batter. Then the peeled bananas are added.

This does not look pretty, and I actually became a bit worried because it looked to moist and there were so many lumps. But I added the flour and sour cream just as instructed, and it looked better after the addition.

I poured the batter into a seperate bowl so I could use my mixer to beat the egg whites, which were gently folded into the batter in 3 additions. Ok, much better - now the batter looks normal.

The cupcakes baked up just fine, and while they cooled, I made the Honey Cinnamon Frosting. This was the easiest frosting that I have ever made - powdered sugar, butter, honey and cinnamon, and it looked and tasted great.

Decorating cupcakes is my favorite part! The banana cupcakes were simple - piped frosting and 2 thin banana slices. Unfortuantely, bananas age quickly, so I recommend slicing the banana immediately before serving.

These were a hit at my office, although I thought the cake was a bit too much like banana bread. I plan to work on getting a better cake texture.

Baguette Class

Bread is amazing. Just think about it…its only flour, water, salt, and yeast, and yet together with time, some kneading and baking, it turns into a light, flavorful, crusty creation. I am very fortunate to have learned to bake my first bread - baguettes - from the experts at King Arthur Flour. If you don’t already know, the KAF brand flours and products are the absolute best. After years of using their products, recipes, and tips, I thought it was time to make the trip to the Baker’s Store and Education Center in Norwich, Vermont. We used this Baguette Recipe.

Baguettes use a pre-fermentation or “poolish”, which is a mix of equal parts water and flour, with a pinch of yeast, that ferments at room temperature for 15 hours. The poolish we used in class was made the day before. The poolish is then mixed with more flour, water, salt, and yeast.

We used plastic scrapers to do the mixing, which worked well to cut into the dough and combine thoroughly. The written instructions said to mix into “a shaggy mess” - I think it looks pretty shaggy and messy. The baguette dough needs to be relatively wet, so I poured in a bit more water.

This is my dough after pulling and stretching it. Working the dough develops the gluten and enhances the flavor. That was the most fun, although it requires some patience to get the technique right, but then I developed a rhythm and it was quite enjoyable. 

After the mixing, the dough needs to rise for an hour and a half. Then it’s time for the shaping. This was also a technique process, and it is difficult to explain without diagrams, so my apologies if this is not clear. The dough is shaped into a rectangle and patted down. Then, the top 1/3 is folded onto itself, then the bottom 1/3. Now the process is repeated, except this time the dough is pulled and sealed onto itself using the heal of your hand. 

I am finishing this baguette. Rolling it back and forth to smooth out the shape. 

The baguettes are placed on a clouche, which is a special non-stick towel used in bread making. The bread needs to rest for an additional 30-40 minutes. 

There almost ready to bake, but first is another technique - scoring the loaves to allow the bread to expand and to enhance the appearance. This was not too easy for me, we used a lame, which is essentially a razor on a stick. The technique involved slicing the loaf quickly and evenly, making the cuts just deep enough, and spaced just right. I will need lots of practice to get this right.

The baguettes were baked in the huge oven behind the rack in the picture. We learned how to create a sufficient substitution using our home ovens - preheat at 500 degrees for 30 minutes, place the baking stone on the upper shelf and a cast iron skillet on the lower shelf. At 30 minutes, pour 1 cup of boiling water in the skillet, it will create instant steam, and place the loaves on the stone. Turn the oven to 450 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

We sampled a loaf - it was warm, perfectly crusty on the outside, and soft and flavorful in the inside. Fortunately, we were able to bring 5 loaves home with us, unfortunately for my wallet, I was compelled to make my 3rd stop in the Baker’s Store and purchase everything I would need to make bread at home.

Strawberry Cupcakes

Nothing makes me happier than baking something pretty, and you can’t get much prettier than pink cupcakes with pink frosting! I went to Costco a few days ago to stock up on some baking supplies. While there, I picked up a huge container of strawberries, perfect for making these Strawberry Cupcakes. The recipe is Martha Stewart’s Strawberry Cupcakes  

First step: cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until pale and fluffy. 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate each. Next, add half of the pre-sifted flours, baking powder, and salt. Pour in one cup of milk, then the remaining flour mixture. 

Fold in 2 cups of chopped Strawberries by hand. My advice is to chop all the strawberries before mixing any of the ingredients, it took forever!

Ready for the oven! This recipe yields 34 cupcakes (I ended up with 39 and I did accidentally overfill a couple) so be prepared to line 3 trays with cups. 

Time to whip up the frosting. I am making a simple butter cream frosting. To make the frosting, dissolve 3/4 cup sugar in 1/2 cup boiling water. Using an electric mixer, whip the sugar syrup and 1/4 cup meringue powder until soft peaks form. Next, add flavoring of choice (I used vanilla extract), 4 cups powdered sugar, followed by 1 1/2 cups butter. 

I added 1/3 cup of pureed strawberries for flavor and color. 

I piped tall peaks to accommodate the strawberry slice topper, since it each will get smooshed down a bit. 

Perfect! 

I sampled a cupcake (the ugliest one, of course) and it was delicious. The cake was moist and the strawberry chunks added a burst of flavor. The frosting was light and fluffy, not too sweet, with a fresh strawberry flavor. My office mates are in for a treat tomorrow morning!

Lemon Creme Cake

It’s finally feeling like spring here in the D.C. area! The warm and sunny weather turns my desires from heavy desserts to light and fruity treats. I have a thing for lemon desserts; I can’t get enough lemon in my cakes, puddings, pies, ice cream, cookies, and bars - so bright, crisp, and delicious! I went to my favorite recipe resource: King Arthur Flour for their Lemon Custard Cake recipe.
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This is me and my new “Maryann” style cake pan, which is perfect for a light and fruity custard cake. The pan is 8” and has an indented center that will hold fillings and fruit. 

The cake looks like it turned out great. Although there is no intended recipient, I would feel guilty cutting into it all by myself. Any takers?