Sweet Treats | Baked in Birmingham

Garnish that “cup of cheer!”

December 28, 2009 at 6:50 pm | Posted in Non-baked in Birmingham, Sweet Treats | Leave a comment

…with homemade marshmallows, of course! So much more delicious than the grossly over-processed stuff you get in a plastic bag. It’s so easy, and you can cut them into virtually any shape! My friend Valerie ordered some from me, and I opted for short little squares so I could tie them up into neat little stacks. I spread the mallows out to cool on a baking sheet and cut away. You can also use the baking sheet and employ some cookie cutters. But, I have to say my favorite is to cool the mallows in a 9×13 baking dish so you end up with big, fat fluffy squares. It makes them perfectly dunkable for hot chocolate sauce!

This marshmallow recipe is adapted from the lovely Jill O’Conner and her wonderful bakebook Sticky Chewy Messy Gooey. The biggest difference in my recipe comes from a great tip I got from my friend and pastry chef Loren Wood: use non-stick baking spray (i.e. Baker’s Joy) allover the baking sheet/dish. The mallows will slide right off. I also found that keeping your offset spatula (a must) well-coated with the spray will keep that freakishly sticky gloop from being more of a pain that it already is. Happy non-baking!

Classic Marshmallows

1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons unflavoured gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar for dusting

Pour 1/2 cup of the cold water into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a mixer. Sprinle the gelatin evenly over the water, half hour or so.

In a large saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of cold water, the granulated sugar, the corn syrup and the salt. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.

Increase the heat to high and let the mixture come to a boil. Cook the syrup, without stirring, until it reaches 240F on a candy thermometer. Do not allow the syrup to go past 244F or the marshmallows will be rubbery rather than tender.

Remove the syrup from the heat and slowly beat it into the dissolved gelatin with an electric mixer set at low speed. Increase the mixer speed to high and continue beating until the mixture is very thick and white but still warm – about 15 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

Generously spray a 9/13 inch baking dish or large baking sheet with baking spray (i.e. Bakers Joy). Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula (that has been liberally sprayed as well).

Let the marshmallow stand, uncovered, for 8 to 12 hours to firm up. Turn the marshmallow from the pan on to a sheet of parchment. Cut into 20 large squares. Dust each square on all sides with more powedered sugar. Store in a tightly covered container until ready to serve.

Say “Joyeux Noël!” with French Macarons

December 22, 2009 at 4:56 pm | Posted in French Macarons, Sweet Treats, that's what Christmas means to me my love, {the atomic cakery} | Leave a comment

Is Christmas really this week? Wow. This year is really the first year I haven’t had much of a chance to enjoy the holidays, sad, huh? It’s just been so busy here at work and with everything else that I haven’t had much of a chance to catch my breath! But! I did get to do some fun macaron baking last week for all my friends and co-workers here at Hoffman. The Salted Caramels turned out a biiiiiiit crunchy but overall still pretty yummy, and I hear the cinnamon with eggnog filling were quite a hit.

I packaged them up in a glassine bag a tied them with packing twine and some cute labels that my husband made for me. The craft punch to make the scalloped circles is from the craft store.

Cinnamon Macarons with Eggnog Filling

3 egg whites that have either sat out for about 12 hours, or zapped in the microwave for 10 seconds, then 5 seconds
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup ground almonds*
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

*I start off with whole or slivered almonds and pulse 1/2 a cup at a time till they are as ground as I can get them, before too much of the moisture is released. Remember, moisture=bad for your macs. Then, I throw in half of the powdered sugar and continue to grind, because this will help soak up the moisture from the almonds and also get them ground up some more. It’s pretty genius, I have to admit.

Combine almonds, powdered sugar, and cinnamon in food processor and pulse till almonds are a powdered.

Whip the egg whites on high till they are foamy, then add in the granulated sugar one tablespoon at a time. Whip till glossy.

With a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe small circles onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Let them sit out for about 20 minutes till they achieve shells, and then pop them into a 375F oven for approximately 14 minutes. Check for doneness after 12. How do you know they’re done? They’ll look cute and the pieds (cute feet characteristic of a macaron) will look slightly underdone.

Allow to cool for a few minutes and transfer them to another baking sheet and fill with Eggnog buttercream.

Eggnog Buttercream:
3/4 cup (more or less to taste) eggnog
2 cups (more or less to desired consistency) of your favorite buttercream (I used Swiss Meringue)

Mix together!

Salted Caramel French Macarons

3 egg whites that have either sat out for about 12 hours, or zapped in the microwave for 10 seconds, then 5 seconds
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup ground almonds*
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Combine almonds and powdered sugar in food processor and pulse till almonds are a powdered.

Whip the egg whites on high till they are foamy, then add in the granulated sugar one tablespoon at a time. Whip till glossy.

Allow to cool for a few minutes and transfer them to another baking sheet and fill with Eggnog buttercream.

Caramel Buttercream:
1/3 cup (more or less to taste) store-bought caramel ice cream topping
2 cups (more or less to desired consistency) of your favorite buttercream (I used Swiss Meringue)
2 tablespoons (more or less to taste) coarse Kosher salt or course sea salt (I prefer sea salt)

Mix caramel and buttercream together and pipe onto half of the macs. Sprinke with salt and then top with the other half of the macs. Remember that a little bit of salt goes a long way, so you’ll have to do some taste-testing

I also sprinkled some salt on top of the macarons and found that it actually stuck pretty good.

French Macarons for the Twinsleys

December 16, 2009 at 4:05 pm | Posted in French Macarons, Friends are friends forever!, Sweet Treats | 1 Comment

I’m so excited!! Our best friends Ruth and David Tinsley are expecting the arrival of their identical twin girls {aka the Twinsleys} Piper Lee and Harper, any day now! Last month we threw a big shindig for them, and I thought it’d be fun to make some mac flavors/colors that coordinated with the invitations {designed by the amazing Brandi Etheredge}. So from top to bottom we’ve got classic vanilla, crème de menthe {sans alcohol of course, this was a baby shower after all}, and chocolate malt. MMMmmm….

Want some? Then email me and place an order!

Cocoa-Pumpkin French Macarons

October 28, 2009 at 2:32 pm | Posted in French Macarons, Merry Halloween, Sweet Treats, {the atomic cakery} | 2 Comments

Clearly, my French mac and pumpkin spice fever is as strong as ever. I firmly believe, and who can argue with me, that pumpkin and chocolate are culinary soulmates. And the color combination is gorgeous too!

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Cocoa Macarons:
3 egg whites
3 tbs granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup almonds
3 tbs unsweetened cocoa

Filling:
1 1/2 cups of your favorite buttercream

3 1/2 tbs pumpkin puree

1 tbs (more or less to taste) pumpkin pie spice

Zap eggwhites in the microwave for about 20 seconds. (This mimics the aging process of the egg whites. You’re supposed to leave them out on your countertop for 48 hours, but personally I don’t have the forthought to do such a thing.) With the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites to a foam, then slowly add the granulated sugar until your meringue is nice and glossy. In the meantime, pulse the almonds in your food processor till they are finely ground. Add in the powdered sugar and cocoa and pulse until combined. Fold the powdered sugar/almond mixture into the meringue until just combined, which shouldn’t be more than 40 or 50 strokes.

Now the (kinda) tricky part: This batter is very thick, so don’t let it sit and stabilize in the mixing bowl. Go ahead and Fill a piping bag fitted with a medium-sized round tip. (I used a Wilton #12.) Pipe 1-inch circles onto parchment paper. Important: let them stand on the baking sheet for at least 30 minutes so they can set up. If you immediately put them in the oven, they won’t get that cute textured side we all love so much. Go ahead and preheat the oven to 280F. Bake for 20 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes; if you have trouble getting them off the parchment, add a little bit of cold water under the parchment and they should pop right off.

Pumpkin Spice Filling:

Mix all ingredients together!

Mocha Spice French Macarons

October 19, 2009 at 1:14 pm | Posted in Bridal Fare, French Macarons, Sweet Treats, {the atomic cakery} | Leave a comment

Made these for my supper club last night. A hit! Erin, Cara, Tris, Ruth, Liza, Tiff, and Brandar….love all you ladies!

mochamacarons

Macarons:
3 egg whites
3 tbs granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup almonds
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling:
1 1/2 cups Swiss meringue buttercream
1/4 cup chocolate ganache (chocolate chips, heavy cream, dash of vanilla extract melted over a double boiler)
3 tbs heavy cream
1/4 tsp instant coffee granules

Zap eggwhites in the microwave for about 20 seconds. (This mimics the aging process of the egg whites. You’re supposed to leave them out on your countertop for 48 hours, but personally I don’t have the forthought to do such a thing.) With the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites to a foam, then slowly add the granulated sugar until your meringue is nice and glossy. In the meantime, pulse the almonds in your food processor till they are finely ground. Add in the powdered sugar and spices and pulse until combined. Fold the powdered sugar/almond mixture into the meringue until just combined, which shouldn’t be more than 40 or 50 strokes.

Now the (kinda) tricky part: Let the “batter” hang out in the mixing bowl for about 15 minutes. This will stabilize it a little bit so it won’t run too much when you pipe your perfect little meringue circles. Fill a piping bag fitted with a medium-sized round tip. (I used a Wilton #12.) Pipe 3/4-inch circles onto parchment paper; they will spread out a little bit more. Important: let them stand on the baking sheet for at least 30 minutes so they can set up. If you immediately put them in the oven, they won’t get that cute textured side we all love so much. Go ahead and preheat the oven to 280F. Pop those suckas in and bake for 20 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes; if you have trouble getting them off the parchment, add a little bit of cold water under the parchment and they should pop right off.

Now just fill ‘em up with that delectable mocha filling and enjoy!

Mocha Filling:

This couldn’t be easier. Take about a cup and a half of the swiss meringue buttercream and combine it with the ganache. Zap the heavy cream in the mic for about 15 seconds and dissolve the instant coffee granules in it. Add that into the buttercream, and you’re in business.

Now wasn’t that fun?

Apple Cider Glazed Donuts

September 24, 2009 at 3:08 pm | Posted in Breakfast Bakes, Sweet Treats | Leave a comment

Happy Fall! This is my absolute, hands-down, favorite time of year. I wanted to make something nice and fall-ish for the first meeting of the new supper club my friends and I just started doing. We had a Dinner-Breakfast theme (what could be better?), so I decided to make these donuts I found in a cookbook I borrowed from my food editor. They really and truly were so much fun to make, and they seemed to really be a hit with the girls in the supper club!

This has gotten me just all kinds of inspired to make more donuts in all kinds of fun flavors. I even bought a donut cutter at Birmingham Bake & Cook yesterday. Pomegranate donut next, perhaps?

Apple Cider Glazed Donuts

1 cup apple cider
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking power
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbs cold, thin-sliced unsalted butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Canola oil for deep-frying
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

donut2

In a small saucepan, bring the cider to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, 8-10 minutes. Let it cool completely. In a bowl, sift together 3 1/4 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add in the butter and beat on low speed until the mixture forms fine crumbs. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, 1/4 cups of the reduced cider, and the vanilla until combined. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and mix until soft dough forms. Turn out onto a very well-floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour if needed (it will be needed!). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment flour and sprinkle some more flour onto it. Pat the dough onto the parchment to about 1/2 inch thickness (thinner if you’re making mini donuts like I did). Freeze for about 15 minutes until they firm up.

donut3

donut4

Pour oil a couple inches of oil in your skillet (I used my Lodge cast iron) and heat on med-hi to 350 F. (You’ll need your deep frying/candy thermometer!). Set a large wire rack over another baking sheet and place it near the stovetop. Using a donut cutter (or juice glass, whatever) cut out donuts and holes (I used the tube that holds my vanilla beans). You can reroll the scraps and use them.

Using your spider strainer, drop 2-3 donut in the oil at a time. Or, if you’re brave like me just drop them in there. The recipe I used says 3 minutes, but mine fried up in about 30 seconds. Turn them once at the halfway point; when they’re a nice, lovely dark golden brown they’re done. Again, your spider strainer will be your best friend. Transfer to the cooling rack and then let them cool completely. Don’t forget to the fry the donut holes too!

donut5

To make the glaze, bring the remaining 1/4 cup cider reduction back to boil, then whisk in the the sifted powdered sugar. Remove it from heat and let it cool just a little. Dunk each donut in the glaze and let the excess drip back into the saucepan. Return to wire rack till the glaze is set.

donut6

Serve ‘em up!

Brown Sugar Cake Ice Cream Sammiches Drizzled with Hot Caramel

September 23, 2009 at 2:56 pm | Posted in Sweet Treats | 4 Comments

Whew. Mouthful, right? But I don’t know what else to call them! Anyway, I made these for my big brother’s 27th birthday this weekend. The recipes for the cake and icing came from Taste of the South, but I had the idea of making them into gooey ice cream sandwiches well, while I was in the shower to be perfectly frank. Those Holiday Inn commercials are right…you really do have the most brill ideas while in the shower. Weird.

Anyway, click here to find the recipes for both the Brown Sugar cake (developed by my beloved Loren) and also for Linda’s Cooked Caramel Icing, along with a really helpful how-to. The icing is fantastic; it’s my editor’s mother’s recipe and has been in her family for years. The combo of this cake, the icing, and the ice cream might be the closest thing to heaven on earth there is! See below the picture for (slightly) detailed info on how to assemble the sammiches….

BrownSugerCake

To make these bad boys, half both the cake AND the icing recipes (I made 7 sammies with the recipes halved). Spread the cake batter evenly in a thin layer into a jelly roll pan. It will probably seems like you’re barely covering the pan, but it rises quite a bit while baking. After it’s baked for about 10-12 minutes, let is cool completely. In the meantime, take a half gallon of ice cream and spoon it out onto a jelly-roll pan. Using a large offset spatula, spread the ice cream out evenly and pop it in the freezer to set. It helped me a lot to run some warm water and heat up the spatula a bit to get it to smooth out just right.

Using the same size round cutter, cut out 14 cakes and 7 ice cream discs. Assemble them sandwich-style, and drizzle the icing.

Must Look!

September 16, 2009 at 1:49 pm | Posted in Sweet Treats | 1 Comment

While I was pulling the cover image for yesterday’s post, I found this book on Amazon. This might be one of the cutest covers I’ve ever seen. It speaks to my retro side and my baking side. Heaven!

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I’m sure it pains you as much as it pains me that All Cakes Considered won’t be out till October 7th. Melissa Gray, you’re killing me girl! But we can pre-order here and have it asap!

And while we’re anticipating pretty baking books, I Love Macarons will be out in November. Don’t know about you, but this charms the pants off of me.

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Baking for the 4th

July 6, 2009 at 2:38 am | Posted in Sweet Treats | 1 Comment

When I posted on Friday, I was in the middle of baking Taste of the South’s blueberry/blackberry cobbler for the various cookouts I went to this weekend. It turned out so beautiful that I of course had to share. It got rave reviews from everyone, from my little cousin to my grandmother to my father-in-law. Even though the 4th is over, I would definitely recommend making this (any shape of the biscuits on top would be cute…even round!) It’s so easy and so full of summer flavor! Thank goodness I have leftovers (albeit not much) in the fridge, because I’m craving some right now. With a big ol’ scoop of vanilla ice cream.

bberrycobblerblog

*note* I brushed the sweet biscuits with some melted butter/cinnamon/sugar and baked them for about 8 minutes on 450. Then I topped the cobbler with them (which is the stage this photo shows) and baked the whole thing, loosely covered with foil, for 20 minutes at 400. It turned out fabulous.

Happy Mother’s Day + Strawberry Shortcake

May 15, 2009 at 1:30 pm | Posted in Sweet Treats | Leave a comment

Last week my big sis had us all over for a Mother’s Day grillout. Ryan made perhaps the best burger I have ever had and I brought along this Strawberry Shortcake that I got out of last spring’s Taste of the South (recipe developed by the ever-amazing Chantel Lambeth). The shortcake biscuit has cinnamon and finely chopped walnuts in it….oh my, it was good!

Happy Mother’s Day to my own sweet mother, Teresa Ann, and to my big sis Melissa! Love you guys!

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