No Empty Chairs

September 28, 2011 · 12:47 pm

Soccer Ball Cookies

We are in the thick of soccer season around here. What could be more fun than soccer ball cookies to celebrate a hard-fought victory!

I used my favorite Sugar Cookie recipe for the cookies and Royal Icing to make the soccer ball faces. Start with thick royal icing in a pastry bag with a writing tip. Pipe a circle of white icing around the edge of the cookie.

Using a thinned royal icing, flood the cookie with white icing. A plastic squeeze bottle is the easiest way to flood the cookie, then use a toothpick to spread the icing to the edges of the cookie. Let the icing dry for several hours, or until dry.

I am very artistically challenged, and had a hard time freehanding a symmetrical pentagon. So I printed one off of the computer, then cut out the pentagon. Using a toothpick, I traced the pentagon in the center of the cookie.

Using thick black royal icing, pipe lines to form the pentagon and then from each corner of the pentagon to the edge of the cookie.

Draw a small triangle at the edge of each line. I am obviously no professional here (notice the lopsided geometric shapes), but nine-year-olds are pretty forgiving when they have a soccer ball cookie in hand!

Use thinned black royal icing to fill in the pentagon and triangles. Let dry completely.

For a more professional look (completely flat, without raised black lines), pipe the black lines on the naked cookie (and fill with black icing), then complete the edge of the circle with stiff white lines and flood each individual section with thinned white icing. I made them all completely white first because I was planning on doing some with baseball/softball lines and was hoping to save some time.

For mouth-dropping professional work-of-art cookies,
visit Bridget at Bake at 350. She is truly an artist!

RECIPE:

Royal Icing

4 Tbs meringue powder
scant ½ cup water
1 lb powdered sugar
½ – 1 tsp light corn syrup
few drops clear extract (optional)
gel paste food colorings

Combine the meringue powder and water. With the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat until combined and foamy. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. (Do NOT skip the sifting!)

Add in the corn syrup and extract if desired. Increase speed to med-high/high and beat for about 5 minutes, just until the icing is glossy and stiff peaks form. (You should be able to remove the beater from the mixer and hold up and jiggle without the peak falling.) Do not overbeat.

To store for later use: cover with plastic wrap touching the icing and refrigerate.

To use immediately: divide icing into bowls for different colors. Tint using gel paste food colorings.

This “stiff” icing is perfect for outlining, building gingerbread houses and monogramming. To fill in your cookies, first tint with food coloring and then add water to your icing a teaspoon at a time, stirring with a rubber spatula, until it is the consistency of syrup. This technique of filling a cookie with thinned icing is called “flooding.”

YIELD: This recipe will cover 2-3 dozen 3.5” cookies in 2 colors

Recipe from Bake at 350

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Filed under Cookies, Desserts

Tagged as decorating, frosting, icing, Royal Icing, soccer, soccer ball, sugar cookies

September 21, 2011 · 3:10 pm

Nutella (or Cinnamon) Swirled Buttermilk Coffee Cake

Nutella Swirled Coffee Cake

Last week we were swimming in coffee cake around here. Unfortunately, it was not the kind of swimming that helps trim inches off of my waistline. Good thing there were lots of hungry skinny children lurking around!

I was bringing breakfast to our seminary class on Friday, and wanted to try a new recipe, so I had to give it a test run at home earlier in the week. I ended up making quite a few changes to the original recipe, including swapping out the traditional cinnamon topping on one batch with one made from ooey, gooey chocolaty Nutella.

The first batches I made for home (shown in the pictures) used pecans, but I used walnuts the second time around for our class. I preferred the walnuts, but I almost always prefer walnuts over pecans, so choose whichever nut you prefer. Both the cinnamon and Nutella topped varieties were really good. The cake part was moist and light, and just slightly tangy from using buttermilk.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

To distribute the chocolaty/cinnamony goodness throughout the cake, I layered half of the batter in the pan, added half of the topping, then repeated the layers. The Nutella topping was very sticky; it was easiest to just use my fingers to drop small amounts onto the batter. It melts nicely into the cake while cooking.For an extra dose of chocolate, sprinkle some chocolate chips (not shown in this picture) on top of the Nutella layers.

The cinnamon topping is crumbly and can be sprinkled easily.

I split the batter and made one of each variety in two 8×8” square pans, instead of one large 9×13” pan. Just an FYI: the full batch that I made later in a standard 9×13” pan rose right to the top edge of the pan when baked, so be sure to use a pan that doesn’t have low sides!

The only down-side of this recipe is that it uses a lot of mixing bowls (four!), but the end result is definitely worth an extra run of the dishwasher.

Recipe:

Buttermilk Coffee Cake

Servings: 12-15
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3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

3 egg whites, beaten until stiff

1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

¾ cup butter (1-½ sticks), softened
1 ½ cups sugar

Nutella Swirl or Cinnamon Streusel Topping

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare topping in a small bowl; set aside.(Choose your topping below for a 9×13” cake, or make one of each in two 8×8” pans, halving topping amounts)

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Beat egg whites until stiff; set aside. Stir vanilla into buttermilk. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with a mixer. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately until barely combined. Beat just until flour is incorporated; do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in beaten egg whites.

Spread half of the batter in a well-greased 9 x 13” baking pan (I used baking spray with flour). Sprinkle with half of the topping. Spread remaining batter into pan; sprinkle with remaining topping.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until center is set.
_____

NUTELLA SWIRL TOPPING:

¾ cup butter (1-½ sticks), softened
¾ cup Nutella
½ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 scant tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
½ cup chocolate chips

Mix together all ingredients, except chocolate chips. Mixture will be sticky. Using your fingers, drop small amounts of Nutella filling onto first layer of batter. Sprinkle with half of the chocolate chips. Repeat layers.

CINNAMON STREUSEL TOPPING:

½ cup cold butter (1 stick)
½ cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 ½ Tbs cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Mix together all ingredients, except nuts, using a pastry cutter or two knifes until crumbly. Stir in nuts. Sprinkle half of topping onto first layer of batter. Repeat layers.

Recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Filed under Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts

Tagged as breakfast, buttermilk, cinnamon, coffee cake, Nutella, recipe

September 6, 2011 · 10:26 am

Grilled Chicken with Mint Chutney and Indian Spiced Cauliflower

Most of my garden is finished now: just a few lingering tomatoes and herbs. And mint. Lots and lots of mint. Mint is an indestructible herb; plant it once, and it will be with you for life. Like it or not. Thanks to this mint chutney recipe, I really like the mint in my garden.

There are actually both mint and cilantro in this chutney, but the mint is definitely the star player here. Chutneys are an Indian condiment that are usually a combination of both sweet and spicy elements, and often preserved with vinegar. This chutney does not have a strong sweet component, as it uses mint and cilantro as the base instead of fruit, but it does have a slightly sour tang from lemon juice. The heat comes from onion and hot peppers. I make it pretty spicy, but you can tone it down by using less hot pepper.

Mint chutney is a great accompaniment to grilled chicken, or more traditional Indian foods, like Samosa, tandoori chicken, or Naan.

I used THIS RECIPE for the grilled chicken, which is called “Spicy Grilled Chicken”, but really isn’t all that spicy. It has a little bit of mint in the marinade, so it pairs really well with the chutney. The Roasted Indian Spiced Cauliflower was also great eaten with the mint chutney.

RECIPES:

Mint Cilantro Chutney

1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
½ of a small onion
½ – 1 fresh hot chili pepper (remove seeds if desired)
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp fresh ground ginger
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp ground cumin (or 1 tsp whole cumin seeds)

Using a blender, food processor, or mortar & pestle, blend all ingredients until finely chopped. Add water 1 Tbs at a time (usually about 2-3 Tbs total) until chutney is desired consistency.

Serve with Grilled Chicken or roasted vegetables, or more traditional Indian foods, like Samosa, tandoori chicken, or Naan.

Makes about 1 cup chutney

NoEmptyChairs.me

Roasted Indian Spiced Cauliflower with Yogurt Dip

Servings: 6
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1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a Ziploc bag, mix spices with the olive oil and lemon juice. Add cauliflower to bag. Mix well and allow the dressing to coat cauliflower evenly. Spread the cauliflower in a roasting dish (line with foil for easy cleanup) and bake for 20-30 minutes.

While cauliflower is cooking, prepare mint chutney or yogurt dip, and chill until serving time.

When cauliflower is crisp-tender, remove it from the oven, and serve immediately with chutney or yogurt dip on the side.

Recipe adapted from Sassy Radish

Yogurt Dip

1 cup plain yogurt (for a thicker dip, use Greek yogurt or strain yogurt in cheesecloth lined colander)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill, or 1 tsp dried dill
1 Tbsp minced fresh mint (or use cilantro without the dill and mint)
½ tsp cumin (optional)
½ tsp salt

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 1 cup dip

NoEmptyChairs.me

Raspberry Cheesecake

RaspberryCheesecake (8)-3

One of the treats that we made to go with our berry-picking haul was this raspberry topped cheesecake. A simple creamy vanilla cheesecake topped with fresh raspberries and a raspberry sauce. For me, dessert doesn’t get much better than this.

For a more in-depth look at cooking a cheesecake in a water bath, click HERE.

The leftover raspberry sauce (I made a double batch) has been great on ice cream and homemade waffles.

RECIPES:

Creamy Vanilla Cheesecake

Servings: 10-12
Print

Almond Shortbread Crust (or try this recipe for a graham cracker crust):
1 cup crushed shortbread cookies or Vanilla Wafer cookies
1 cup whole raw almonds
1/8 tsp salt
¼ cup melted unsalted butter (omit salt if using salted butter)

Filling:
3 (8 oz each) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar or Stevia equivalent (about ¼ tsp powdered or ¾ tsp liquid)
2 Tbs flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract (optional)
¼ tsp salt
3 eggs

Topping (optional):
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbs sugar or pinch Stevia
½ Tbs lemon juice (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract

For crust:
Combine cookies and almonds in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely ground. Add melted butter and pulse just until mixed. Press onto the bottom of a 9″ springform pan. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Cool. Wrap springform pan in a double layer of foil, or one layer of foil and then place in an oven bag (like the kind used for turkeys) or a crock-pot liner. Place springform pan in a larger roasting pan.

For filling:
In a large mixing bowl, combine all filling ingredients except the eggs; beat with a mixer until smooth. Add eggs and beat again, just until smooth (do not overbeat). Pour filling over crust. Fill roasting pan (not springform pan!) with very hot (almost boiling) water to about 2-inches deep.

Bake cheesecake in the water bath for about 60 minutes at 350°F. The cheesecake will have puffed significantly, and the middle will still be slightly jiggly. Remove pan from water bath and run a sharp knife around the sides, but do not remove ring.

For topping (sour cream topping is optional):
While cheesecake is baking, combine sour cream, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a small bowl. Pour over hot (cooked) cheesecake and let stand at room temperature for 45 minutes. Cover cheesecake pan (do not remove sides) with plastic wrap, taking care not to touch the surface of the cheesecake. Chill for at least four hours or overnight.

To serve:
Remove plastic wrap and remove the outer edge of the spring form pan. If desired, slide a sharp knife under the crust and slide the cheesecake off the spring form base and onto a cake stand or serving platter. Serve cheesecake alone, or topped with fresh berries or Raspberry Sauce.

NoEmptyChairs.me

Raspberry Sauce

12 oz raspberries, fresh or frozen (about 2 ½ cups of not crushed fresh berries)
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
½ Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs ClearJel or cornstarch
2 Tbs cold water

In a heavy saucepan, combine raspberries, ½ cup water, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, crushing berries slightly with the back of a spoon. For a seedless sauce: strain the berries through a fine sieve, pushing the pulp through the sieve with the back of a spoon. Return seedless puree to the saucepan (rinse saucepan first if there are seeds clinging to the sides). Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl; stir into puree in the saucepan. Return mixture to a boil; lower heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until slightly thickened and no longer cloudy. Serve warm or cold. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.

Yield: 2 cups sauce (with seeds) or 1 ¾ cup sauce (without seeds)

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To make a Raspberry Filling (for filling cakes/cupcakes/pastries): use 2-3 Tbs cornstarch and ¼ cup cold water to thicken puree. Chill filling until cold before using.

NoEmptyChairs.me

13 Comments

Filed under Condiments/Sauces, Desserts

Tagged as almond, cheesecake, creamy. shortbread crust, dessert, raspberries, raspberry sauce, recipe, vanilla, water bath

July 29, 2011 · 7:54 am

Soccer Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing

We had a slightly different cake planned for Little A’s birthday party, but with the unexpected hospital stay, we went with something much simpler: a rectangular cake make into a soccer field. The frosting is a Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It has a few steps, and does require a double boiler (or metal bowl over a pot of water) and a stand mixer. But the result is a wonderfully light, not too sweet frosting. You start with a cooked meringue (one whole cup of egg whites for a regular sized round cake; two cups for the cake we made). This is a fairly large cake (two layer 11×15” rectangle).

I had about a cup of egg whites left from making the Vanilla Custard for the Trifle, so I used that plus some reconstituted dried egg whites (Just Whites brand-available in the baking aisle of most grocery stores). Once the meringue has cooked, it is beaten until cool and glossy, then butter is beaten in to make a stable, spreadable frosting. I think this is my new favorite frosting. It was very easy to work with once it was beaten, and it is not too sweet. Now, almost a week later, the frosting is still soft (no crust) and delicious.

I love that this frosting gets most of it’s bulk from egg whites, and not sugar (that makes it almost healthy, right?). Just ignore the 4 sticks of butter when you answer that question.

I made a raspberry filling for the cake by beating ½ cup Raspberry Jam into about 3 or 4 cups of the meringue frosting. It held up great, and did not ooze out at all when the top layer was added. This would make a great all-around frosting as well, if you are looking for a pink cake. I would just use either a seedless raspberry jam, or a lightly sweetened raspberry puree if I was going to put it on the outside of the cake. The little bits of pulp and seeds were fine for a filling, but I would prefer a uniform color for an outside-of-the-cake frosting.

Bday cake 013-2

RECIPES:

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing

1 cup egg whites (about 8 large egg whites, or use “Just Whites” egg white powder, reconstituted, or refrigerated egg whites)
1 ½ cups sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks), at room temperature**
2 tsp vanilla extract (or use small amounts of other flavored extracts)
Gel food coloring (for colored frosting)

In the top of a double boiler, stir together egg whites, sugar and salt. Bring water in bottom of double boiler to a low simmer; cook until the temperature of the egg whites reaches 160°F and sugar is completely dissolved (rub mixture between fingertips-it should not feel gritty). Mixture will be foamy and not a uniform consistency.

Transfer the egg white mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. With the whisk attachment, whip until meringue is completely cooled and glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. DO NOT ADD BUTTER UNTIL BOTH THE BOWL AND FROSTING ARE COMPLETELY COOL. Switch mixer attachment from the whisk to paddles. Add butter 1-2 Tablespoons at a time until incorporated. Mixture may appear curdled at times. Continue beating until butter is fully incorporated and frosting is fluffy and smooth. This will take about 10 minutes. Add vanilla and beat smooth. Add gel food coloring and beat until color is uniform.

**BUTTER NOTE: butter should be room temperature soft, but not at the point of melting. If the butter is too cold, it will not incorporate well into the meringue, and you will have butter chunks. If the butter is over-soft, it will cause the frosting to curdle while beating-this is okay, it isn’t ruined: it will just take longer (more beating) for the frosting to become smooth.

Storage: Store frosted cake at room temperature. To store leftover icing: store in a covered container in the refrigerator. When ready to use, bring to room temperature and beat until light and fluffy.

Yield: frosting for a two-layer round cake. For the cake above which is a double layer 11×15” rectangle, double the recipe.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream Filling

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2 cups prepared Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing
¼ cup raspberry jam or lightly sweetened raspberry puree

Beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread between cake layers.

To frost the entire cake with raspberry buttercream, use about 1 cup lightly sweetened raspberry puree or seedless jam (for a uniform pink color with no seeds or pulp pieces) with entire batch of icing above.

Makes enough filling for a 2-layer round cake.

NoEmptyChairs.me

2 Comments

Filed under Desserts, Kids' Cakes

Tagged as buttercream, cake, dessert, egg whites, icing, meringue, raspberry filling, recipe, soccer cake, soccer field, swiss

July 26, 2011 · 10:12 am

Birthday Trifle, Lyme Disease and Baseball

Pirates Game 006-1

Last week was a week of highs and lows for our Little A. After contracting Lyme disease last month (and a long month before a definitive diagnosis), he had some unexpected complications on Monday which landed us in Children’s Hospital for the next few days. He was released just in time to celebrate his 9th birthday on Friday: a day full of Pirates baseball (GO BUCS! Who are not only over 500 for the first time in almost 20 years, but are leading their division!) and a family celebration with one of Little A’s favorite desserts: English Trifle. A birthday party with friends on Saturday helped to erase the not-so-fun start to the week.

Happy Birthday to an amazing little boy, who was a great example of courage and patience this week.

Trifle 030.3

Late night photos do not do justice to this dessert. Layers of pound cake, fresh raspberries, strawberries and blueberries, and a homemade vanilla custard were the dessert of choice for my little guy that never eats anything made with chocolate.

Leftover Vanilla Custard
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RECIPES:

English Trifle

½ – l loaf pound cake, cut into thin cubes (or ladyfingers or angel food cake)
1 quart strawberries, sliced
1 pint blueberries
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
½ cup raspberry jam
1-2 Tbs sugar or small pinch of Stevia extract
Vanilla Custard (see recipe below-or use boxed vanilla pudding)
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbs powdered sugar or small pinch of Stevia extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
Toasted almonds, for garnish

Prepare Vanilla Custard or pudding. Cool completely. In a separate bowl, mix fruits, jam and sugar/Stevia.

Layer half of the cake slices, fruit and custard in a large glass serving bowl. Repeat layers. Whip cream with powdered sugar/Stevia and almond extract. Spread on top of the trifle layers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time. Just before serving, sprinkle with toasted almonds.

**NOTE: The exact amounts of cake, fruit and custard that you use will depend on the size of your bowl. Leftovers make great individual parfaits!

NoEmptyChairs.me

[–

Vanilla Custard

Servings: 4-6
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¾ cup sugar
3 Tbs cornstarch
1 vanilla bean, optional
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 Tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla extract (if not using vanilla bean)

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and vanilla bean (Split bean in half and scrape seeds into the saucepan. Place bean pod in the saucepan as well). Stir in milk and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat. While boiling, cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks. Return egg yolk mixture to the saucepan, stirring well. Return custard to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 2 additional minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla extract (if using) and remove vanilla bean pod. Pour into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard (to keep from developing a skin). Chill until cool. Do not stir while custard is cooling.

NoEmptyChairs.me

2 Comments

Filed under Desserts, Uncategorized

Tagged as english trifle, fresh fruit, raspberries, trifle, vanilla custard