Movin' On Up

I've had some formatting issues with this blog, so I've decided to move it to a different address.  You can find future entries (and these entries already posted) at: http://alongbakesknight.andyandcorey.com

Corey :)

Let's Go Traditional

The Buche de Noel is a traditional cake made in France at Christmas.  It is usually a thin sponge cake wrapped with a filling and frosted in chocolate, then decorated to look like a log.  That part I can handle.  In its über-traditional form, it also includes little meringue mushrooms.  I stay completely away from the mushrooms.  I’m not that great at plain meringue…I can’t imagine trying to make it look like any sort of object.

If you don’t mind working a little harder to impress, this cake is definitely worth the effort.  The cake is a great chocolate, and the filling is very creamy.  The chocolate frosting hardens while you’re refrigerating the cake - so don’t put it on too thick, or you won’t be able to cut it!

The next time I make it I think I’m going to cut the vanilla down by half because the vanilla flavor becomes almost too overpowering.  Also, since I made two of these this year, I’m making something easy next year.  Holly cookies, double chocolate mint chip cookies…I’m not sure what, but something easy.  This cake is not easy, even if it is totally worth it.

One more thing - make sure you start this cake a day before you need it because it has to be frozen overnight.  Also, finish it a few hours early the next day because it should be refrigerated up until the time you plan to slice it.  If it’s melted, it won’t slice worth a darn, and you’ll miss the great spiral shape of the cake.

Merry Christmas!

No posts this week, but here's a preview of what I'll be posting next week:

It'll be good, I promise.

Merry Christmas everyone!

---------------------------------------------

If you have an extra dollar, please give to the Food Bank of New York this season: http://bit.ly/8iVtcz

Do the (Mini) Twist

First things first: Do this recipe with a spoon and a mixing bowl.  Don't use your mixer.  I love my mixer, but really...it just makes things more difficult and gives you a lot more to wash at the end of the day.  And really, even though my husband does most of my dishwashing (I love him), I really do think it would be easier to do with a spoon and a bowl.

Yes, I said "I think"...because I, of course, mixed it with my beloved KitchenAid, which was a mistake.  Seriously.  I think the mixing took about twice as long as it would have if I had done it by hand.  Secondly, give yourself enough time to make these.  They're super easy, but they take awhile.  They're fantastic pretzels (I mean it, really fantastic), but they took me a few hours.  

I can never decide if I want salty or sweet when I make these pretzels, so I usually make half of them salty, and sprinkle half with a cinnamon sugar mixture. The sweet pretzels always finish first and have a slightly charred look on top, but they taste great.  They're especially good if a little bit of frosting finds its way to the top...

One more note before you get started.  A kitchen scale is really necessary for this recipe.  When we registered for a scale for our wedding, I honestly didn't think I'd get much use out of it, but I'm using it a lot more than I thought I would.  It's great for measuring out chocolate, and in this case, bread.  I use this one by Oxo.  It's not too expensive, but it's accurate and the display pulls out so you can read it even if you have a big bowl on the scale.  It looks like they've come out with a less expensive model with a smaller capacity as well, but I haven't used that one myself.

Smooth...Like Velvet. Red Velvet.

Red Velvet cakes are interesting to me.  They're technically a chocolate cake, but most of the cakes I've tasted don't have a strong chocolate flavor.  Also...they're bright red.  A lot of red velvet cakes take an entire bottle of red liquid food color, which can't be good for you.

This recipe is a good one.  It doesn't require a whole bottle of red liquid food color...just a lot of the red paste food color.  I'm not sure if that's much better for you, but it's at least a little less expensive.  You can pick the paste color up at any JoAnn's, Michael's, or A.C. Moore.  Heck, WalMart even stocks the stuff - just head to their craft/wedding aisle and look for the cake decorating stuff.

Most of what I bake is relatively easy, and this cake is no exception.  Sure, I enjoy the complicated, showy stuff too, but I'm certainly not going to spend 8 hours on dessert when I have 10 people coming to our one bedroom apartment for dinner and eek! our couch isn't here yet, so where exactly is everyone going to sit?  See, easy will win out almost every time.

For some reason this cake came out with big holes throughout.  I think it has something to do with the final step, where you combine the vinegar and baking soda and then add it to the cake batter.  I think mine may not have gotten mixed in all the way.  It still tasted good, just looked a little weird.

If you need a cake that's a little bit different, not too complicated, and needs to impress, this is a good one.  Although the cinnamon frosting isn't my absolute favorite, it's still good and people will love it.  I think next time I might make a more traditional French or Italian buttercream, but flavor it with the cinnamon to see if that works a little better.  Go forth, and bake!

Brownies & Blondies, Part 2

So as inexperienced as I am in making brownies, I'm even more inexperienced when it comes to blondies.  The funny part is, I'm not a huge chocolate fan and I like a well-made blondie more than pretty much any brownie I've ever had.  There's also something great about making blondies for other people - they're very unexpected because people don't bake them as much as brownies.

I went back to the Better Homes & Gardens New Baking Book for this recipe.  It's another one bowl (saucepan) recipe, just like the brownies.  The smell of the brown sugar and butter melting together is heavenly...it smells (and tastes!) just like the caramel on the outside of my dad's caramel covered marshmallows.  Once you get those melted together, it takes maybe 10 minutes to finish the recipe, pour it into the 9"x13" pan and put it in the oven.  Super easy, but so good.  They end up having a very strong caramel/butterscotch flavor, which I love.

I didn't make any changes to the recipe at all this time, since it was my first attempt.  I'm thinking about breaking up some toffee bit and sprinkling them on top or mixing them in.  Thoughts?

Brownies & Blondies, Part 1

I am a fan of the blondie and brownie, but I haven't spent much time making them. Most of my time and efforts have been focused on the humble cookie...or the more spectacular cake (although my cakes don't quite reach "spectacular"...yet). Whenever I want to learn a recipe, or just need a quick recipe that I know people will like, I reach for the Better Homes & Gardens New Baking Book. Unfortunately for those who don't already own it, this book was taken out of print recently - which I discovered when I tried to buy a copy for a friend for Christmas. Boo. Find a used copy if you can, because it's great!

Anyway....so when I decided it was time to make brownies, I reached for the "Easy Fudge Brownies" recipe. This is a great recipe because it's one bowl - not even a bowl, but a saucepan. I love one bowl recipes...so much less to clean up! These are great, if basic, brownies. They're also easy to change up - I mixed in some mint chocolate chips at the very end, and they baked up perfectly.