Happy Birthday! White chocolate and raspberry cake

Cakes drove me to a love of baking and finding a wonderful life partner in The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I'm no expert on decorating - I'm more concerned with the taste and texture of the cake and frosting.

This was the Golden Luxury Butter Cake (p. 48) made with a bit of white chocolate in the cake batter to help increase that "melt in your mouth" feature. I made the classic buttercream (p. 230) from the cookbook - and followed the chocolate directions using white chocolate again instead of dark. I then followed the recipe for a raspberry puree and sauce (p. 337) for a filling.


The raspberry puree was the most fun - and newest attempt - for me. It started with frozen raspberries sitting in a mesh colander overnight to thaw and drip the juices into a bowl. I set a small shotglass under the colander to ensure that the berries were not sitting in their juices - but that there was room for it to drip. The juice that dripped out makes about 1.25 cups and is cooked down to about .25 cups. Then, the berries are smashed through the mesh colander to extract the berries while leaving the seeds behind. This took some time and elbow grease - but wasn't difficult. I was able to extract the prescribed cup of puree.

The cooked-down juice and puree were combined with a bit of sugar and lemon juice - and was ready to go.

To ensure that the puree didn't leek into the cake - I covered the bottom layer with a crumb coat of buttercream and made a bit of a buttercream dam around the edge to help keep the puree inside. Once that was firmed up (15 minutes in the fridge) - I spooned on half of my raspberry puree and finished frosting the cake.

Breakfast Treats for a Crowd

I felt like I won the lottery when H. asked for home baked goods for a morning meeting with his non-profit board. It's been a few weeks of no work place - meaning no team of office workers ready to eat my baking. I can't eat it all myself!

I decided to make two different items that could then be paired with fruit and coffee as desired.

Blueberry Ginger Bundt Cake
Banana Bread (and muffins) covered with bittersweet chocolate frosting

Ultimate White Pizza: beets, walnuts, mushrooms and goat cheese

This pizza - admittedly - had a lot going on. I love beets - and wanted to find a way to incorporate them into a vegetarian dinner for dear H. and myself.

So - I came up with a pizza idea. After picking up a ready-made whole wheat pizza crust from Trader Joe's and some goat cheese - I had everything else in the cabinet and was ready to go.

Ultimate White Pizza
1 TJ raw pizza dough
1 red onion
1 pkg mushrooms (used shiitake)
3 garlic cloves
2 handfuls of toasted walnuts
1 small package goat cheese
1-2 cups mozzerella (to taste)
olive oil
salt and pepper (i used sea salt)

1. Let dough rest at room temp for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 F with pizza stone in the oven.
2. Scrub and peel beets. Cut into small half-moon slices. Cut onion in small half-moon slices.
3. Drizzle onions, beets, mushrooms and garlic with olive oil. Spread onto baking sheet lined with tin foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 25-35 minutes until soft - stirring about halfway through cooking.
5. Increase oven temp to 500 and move pizza stone to middle of oven.
4. Build Pizza: Stretch dough to desired thickness and size. Drizzle a good amount of olive oil over crust (this is the only sauce). Layer with toppings. Sprinkle with salt - including the edge of the crust.
5. Bake pizza for 12-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the crust and toppings. Pizza is done when the middle of the pie is melted and hot.

Note: I layered the roasted veggies and walnuts under the cheese. Next time, I would put the cheese on the bottom and the veggies on top for a prettier presentation.

That's the beauty of pizza - you can get a little creative and it will probably work out well. This was really tasty and was a fun way to get in a few servings of vegetables and whole grains. This also held up well for a leftover lunch the next day.

First Time Smoker and Hooked for LIFE!

Menu: Sweet and Fruity Pork Tenderloin with Jalapeach Barbecue Suace, Roasted Kale, and french fries

Smoking a pork tenderloin is said to be tough. I only heard that after it was plated and formed the opinion that it was decidely moist, tender, and delicious. I was happy not to have the preconception of this being difficult - because it really just needed time.

Using a smoker instead of a grill is true

BBQ. Smoking the meat lets the fat render and flavor the piece. Meat that has little fat can be more difficult. This was offset by using a great rub and basting liquid called a "Mop." Recipes for the rub and mop can be found on the recipe page. The white basting tool was made from an old t-shirt cut into strips and braided together at the top. This mop tool has lasted 2 summers now - and is washed in the dishwasher.

The tenderloin smoked for a bit over 3 hours at 200 - 220F.

So - I did it! I mastered the scary smoker that has been in my husband's domain since we got married three and a half years ago. This is an achievement that will really take me places - at least to new cookbooks for dinner ideas! You can use a grill like a smoker -but I am not the expert on that. You'll have to look elsewhere.

Go forth - and smoke!

Bakery Find: A Baker's Wife in Minneapolis

A Baker's Wife Pastry Shop
4200 28th Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55406
(612) 729-6898

note: this is not endorsed by the bakery and I was not paid or enticed in any way to post this.

As I was scanning the choices for my breakfast this morning - I saw that there was only one cherry pastry left on the tray. I kept looking - there was a lot to see - then went back to the cherry and it was gone! There were no other customers - so I thought maybe it was pulled for a good reason (it better be a good reason because I LOVE cherry.)

The best reason of all - to refill the tray with fresh from the oven pastries. Wow. This was soft and buttery - not at all dry. The cherries were sour with just a bit of topping and frosting keeping the cherries the centerpiece.

I sat at a little table outside - inside were some chairs and tables, but not much room to hang out. This was a true bakery with an espresso machine - but not the 'coffee shop' environment that would encourage loitering. I loved how the interior was covered with funny signs, mismatched tables and chairs, and had the baked goods front and center. I think this is the sign of an owner with proper priorities - BAKING. I don't think the owner focused much on branding - but maybe that was the point?

Try it - you'll like it.

Carnie for a Day: working a 'Fry Bread' stand

Imagine standing in a 100 sq. ft tent from 11am to 10:30 pm frying, sugaring, and selling bread for $3 each. Sound fun? It sounded fun at 10:30 am that day... Really, this was quite the experience.

The "booth" was made by crafting a camping mesh tent, some 2x4's, some birch trees and a big black board for a sign. We hauled out a few tables, camping stoves, cast iron pots and a few coolers.

How to make Fry Bread
In the bakery - bread dough was made. Each 'loaf' was sectioned into 6 pieces and these discs were greased layered in parchment paper on big bakery trays. The bread discs were stretched and fried in vegetable oil for about 45 seconds each side. Once fried - they were drained (slightly) and covered in cinnamon and sugar. Some makers of Fry Bread will brush the fried dough with butter before sugaring - we didn't miss the butter.
note: This is always called "fry bread" not "fried bread" as most literate non-iron rangers would think. This is just one of many nuances of the northern Minnesotan vernacular.

My brother (on the left above), my husband, and I stood in the booth all day. H. fried the bread ALL day, brother T. sugared and plated, and I took the money - tried to sell cold press coffee - and monster bars. We made real cold press coffee by the way - and sold about 7 cups (compared to about 500 pieces of bread). All of the Monster Bars (big brownies and pnut butter rice krispy bars) sold by the end of the night. We ran out of sugar, paper plates, and napkins - good thing we had some 'runners' that were able to run to the store for us!

Next year - the price will probably go up to $4 each and we'll have bottled water to sell. I think my Mom is already making plans to attend other fairs in the future with the huge success of the inaugural Fry Bread Booth. We had a little training session at the end of the night so that when her free labor went back to the city - she could replicate our awesome process.

Next year - I think I'm staying at home for the 4th of July!!

Small Town USA: burgers and royalty

Aurora, MN has a population of just under 1500 people. This small town in the northern 'Arrowhead' area of the state is in the heart of the "Iron Range" named for the taconite mines that have provided the livelyhood of the area for generations.

 

Aurora is my true hometown. I lived there until I was 8 years old with my three older brothers and parents - both of whom went to high school there. My mother purchased the closed bakery about 2 years ago and is single-handedly running it as the town's only: espresso machine, music stage, coffee shop, and bakery. 

I make the 4 hour trip - not as often as some would like - and love spending time in the bakery helping out. Lots of memories were made on this past trip over the 4th of July...

As you can see above, a highlight was meeting Miss Aurora. This queen was crowned for selling the most buttons. She was hanging out with her friends at the bar/restaurant "Ruby's" when we were grabbing a burger and a beer. Sidenote: author was taking a break from baking - which might explain the funny headband...

This burger below was something akin to a patty melt. The best part - american cheese on both slices of bread, then DEEP FRIED and coated with parmesan cheese. It was a first. Served with onion rings - it was the 'last dinner' of fried food before standing in a Fry Bread station all day (more to come on that!) Suddenly, fried food is out of favor with this household. It will be awhile before we can stomach the grease.

Bakery Day!

Drove up to Mom's bakery - Taconite Brew and Bakery (Aurora, MN pop. 1500) - to help out with the festivities for the 4th of July. The best part - Aurora (along with several other small towns in the area) celebrate on the 3rd to allow families to travel to the big city of Virginia (pop. 40k) for the actual 4th.

These were taken on the evening of the 2nd. Mom made cookies and I got to help with the family recipe Potica (nut roll). The Potica came out beautifully - and will be attempted in the smaller home kitchen sometime soon.