Is it going to be a boy or a girl?! I was so excited when a friend asked me to make their surprise cupcakes for their very fashionable "Gender Revealment Party". I was one of only a couple of people that knew - the couple decided to find out along with their attending guests. Strawberries n' Cream Cupcakes (fondant cupcake toppers were bought by the expecting mama off Etsy), and the filling? Surprise! Tinted pink cream cheese butter cream filling. Congratulations!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Trés Leches Wedding Cake
It's almost summer.. no more snow for sure. The skies were perfectly blue yesterday, not a cloud in sight, a perfect day for a small intimate wedding, with a perfectly light and flavorful cake.
Trés leches means 'three milks': condensed, evaporated and whole milk. The buttery sponge was soaked in the milks overnight a little rum was added, a little, and 4 layers were put together with sweetened whipped cream, so technically quattro leches!
The wedding couple wanted the cake decorated with berries, a nice edible touch, sprinkled with granulated sugar for effect, goes to show, you don't always need flowers.
We posted the recipe last year on the blog, check it out:
http://verbenapastries.blogspot.com/2012/03/tres-leches-cake-with-macerated.html
Trés leches means 'three milks': condensed, evaporated and whole milk. The buttery sponge was soaked in the milks overnight a little rum was added, a little, and 4 layers were put together with sweetened whipped cream, so technically quattro leches!
The wedding couple wanted the cake decorated with berries, a nice edible touch, sprinkled with granulated sugar for effect, goes to show, you don't always need flowers.
We posted the recipe last year on the blog, check it out:
http://verbenapastries.blogspot.com/2012/03/tres-leches-cake-with-macerated.html
Monday, February 18, 2013
Baby Shower Cakes for Twins: A Blue Piped Ribbon Cake and a Pink Piped Rosette Cake
A blue piped ribbon cake and a pink piped rosette cake for the Daou twins, Skyler and Jordyn. These are 2 tiered cakes, the bottom is a 7" cake and the top is a 5". Blue velvet and red velvet, both with a citrus cream cheese frosting and 2 hand-made name toppers.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Trail Mix Cookies
This is the perfect cookie to take with you on a hike or include in your kids lunches. The inspiration for this cookie came from looking at different trail mix recipes and wanting something different. This is a sweet treat thats good for you too! You can see the yummy trail mix chunks in every bite. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 c honey
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 c sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup old fashion oatmeal (not quick cooking)
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup banana chips, coarsely chopped
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 cup raisins
1 cup white chocolate chips
Zest from 1/2 orange
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar and honey until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. Slowly add in the flour mixture. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix until just combined.
Using an ice cream scoop to get universal sized scoops, scoop onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Savory Treats: Potato Samosas!
A delicious flaky pastry crust, stuffed full of a decadent savory potato mixture and fried to golden perfection. A yummy vegetarian finger food that everyone will love! We used a pate brisee crust and deep fried it. The ending result was both buttery and flakey. So tasty!
Pate Brisee:
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup ice water (plus more if needed)
In the bowl of stand mixer using the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt and mix to combine. Add cold, cubed butter, and mix on low until mixture resembles coarse
crumbs with some larger pieces remaining. If mixing by
hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter
with a pastry blender until you get the same result.
Slowly add the ice water in a
slow, steady stream, just until dough holds together without being wet
or sticky. Do not over mix.
Turn out dough onto a clean work surface that is dusted with flour. Divide dough in half, shape into disks and wrap each in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or freeze to use later).
Potato Filling:
Ingredients
1 1/3 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs. canola oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. garam masala
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
Eggwash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Combine and mix well
Directions:
Remove the dough disks from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.
To make the filling, put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are just tender. Let the potatoes cool, then mash.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the garam masala, cayenne, coriander, cumin, salt and mashed potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is fairly dry and the spices are toasted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add the peas, cilantro and lemon juice. Let cool completely.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough until 1/4 inch thick, dusting often with flour. Using a round cutter, cut dough into rounds and set aside.
For each samosa, spoon about 1 tablespoon of the potato filling into the middle of the dough. Brush the edges with the eggwash mixture, then pinch together to enclose the filling.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the garam masala, cayenne, coriander, cumin, salt and mashed potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is fairly dry and the spices are toasted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add the peas, cilantro and lemon juice. Let cool completely.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough until 1/4 inch thick, dusting often with flour. Using a round cutter, cut dough into rounds and set aside.
For each samosa, spoon about 1 tablespoon of the potato filling into the middle of the dough. Brush the edges with the eggwash mixture, then pinch together to enclose the filling.
Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
In
a deep fryer, heat oil to 350°F according to the manufacturer's
instructions. Fry the samosas a few at a time, turning often, until
golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the samosas to
the prepared baking sheet. Serve immediately.
Pizzelles
This is the crunchy, versatile Pizzelle, as included on our tiered cookie display at Desserts in Wonderland. The Pizzelle is an Italian cookie that is made using a Pizzelle iron, which is similar to a waffle iron. Great as thin and crispy cookies, but they can also be molded when they are still hot to be like a cannoli shell and filled or shaped into an edible bowl for a scoop of ice cream. If you have a Pizzelle iron or Brazeli press, give these a try!
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 large eggs (at room temp)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
zest from 2 lemons
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (may also use lemon extract for more lemony cookies)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking powder.
In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a handheld mixer), beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Slowly drizzle in the cooled, melted butter and vanilla extract. Add the zest. Slowly add the flour mixture until fully incorporated. Do not overmix. This dough will be sticky.
Preheat your pizzelle iron. Once heated, using a small ice cream scoop, scoop about a tablespoon of the batter onto the iron. Gently press down for a couple seconds to spread the dough. Let cook about 90 seconds until golden brown. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Carefully remove and let cool flat for flat cookies or place on a rolling pin while hot to cool and mold into a curved shape.
Store airtight at room temperature.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Recent cake photos
We're constantly baking and getting projects to do, here are a few photos to show you our further work.
This was a devil's food cake, filled with chocolate mousse. We recently got the wedding photographer's version.
A chocolate cake, filled with brandied cherries and chocolate buttercream, heavy with piping.
Made for a coffee chain in Arizona, we piped their vintage logo with chocolate buttercream.
Chocolate cakes, soaked with dark rum, filled with chocolate mousse, wrapped with chocolate on transfer sheets and topped with dark chocolate ganache. These were made for a rehearsal dinner.
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