Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Funfetti Cake



Funfetti cake (white cake with sprinkles) for my sister's birthday. 

Funfetti Cake
adapted from King Arthur Flour
Makes 1 2 layer 8 inch cake

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs whites plus 1 whole large egg
1 cup full-fat vanilla yogurt or 1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of rainbow jimmies (sprinkles)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare 2 8-inch round cake pans by lining them with parchment paper and greasing the paper.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add the softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Once butter is all incorporated, add the eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl after the addition of each egg.

In a 2 cup measuring cup, stir together all the wet ingredients. Add the mixture in, 1/3 at a time, to the batter; scraping down the bowl after each addition.

Stir in the sprinkles by hand until fully incorporated. Do not over stir as this will cause excessive color bleeding into the batter.

Poor batter into the prepared pans. Scatter a few more sprinkles on the surface. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove cake from pans and let cool completely on the racks. Frost as desired.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Caramel Topped Flan


This caramel topped flan is only my second recipe out of  Dorie Greenspan's popular bake book.  The first recipe I tried was the rightfully named Perfect Party Cake.  After all the rave reviews,  I'm definitely moving this book up my repertoire.

Quick tip, do not despair upon seeing how much (err, how little) caramel there is to cover the bottom of the pan.  As you can see in my picture, there was a nice amount of the sauce after it was cooled and flipped over.  If you're wondering, to make it even more delicious, I added vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract in the recipe.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Holiday Sweet Treats

Who else has been baking nonstop in preparation for the holidays?  Here's what I've been up to the last few weeks.

One of my favorite chocolate chip cookies with both milk chocolate chips and dark chocolate M&Ms were definitely a winner at work.

Peanut butter cup cookies are a never fail crowd pleaser.  I have been making these cookies for as long as I can remember to gift friends, families, and coworkers.

Toffee is a favorite gift to give around here because one batch sure makes a lot!  I tried a new recipe this year from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery cookbook.


Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
from Hershey's Kitchens
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

About 36 mini peanut butter cups, unwrapped, chilled
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 white sugar
1/2 brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F.  

Whisk together flour baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Beat together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, peanut butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  Add egg; mix until blended.  Add vanilla; mix until incorporated.  Add in the dry mixture, mixing until there are no longer any white streaks.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place into each ungreased mini muffin cup.  Do not flatten.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes until puffy and lightly browned; remove form oven.  Immediately press peanut butter cups into the center of each cookie.  Cool completely in muffin pan.

Keeps for 3-5 days in an air tight container at room temperature.


Wishing you and yours the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of holidays!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Cheesecake Desserts

Looking for something to bring to your next holiday party?  Cheesecakes tend to be my go to crowd pleaser dessert.  It adapts really well, whether you are looking to mix in fruit, chocolate, or even cookie dough and brownies.  Below are a few of my tried and true favorites:










Related Posts with Thumbnails