March Daring Bakers' Challenge - Perfect Party Cake

Now cakes are my forte! I love making them and I also like experimenting with new techniques and ingredients. That is why I loved it when this challenge was chosen. I was disappointed though that some mistakes were found by other daring bakers as by then I already tried the cake and failed miserably.

It did not matter. I had my niece over and decided to make it with her. We followed the recipe exactly for the cake batter. I did feel that the amounts were not in proportion but carried on. Once the mixing was complete, I could not believe that the mix had to be divided over two 9" sandwich tins. Surely there was not enough. Still following the recipe, we put the mix in the oven and once cooked, it hardly rose but just enough to feel the texture. We did not make the frosting as we were quite eager to taste the cake and see whether it was worth carrying with a new batch. The cake was delicious and off course it was demolished by my family on the same day.

Well I tried the recipe again this time taking into consideration the alterations in the recipe. After I finished making the batter, I still consider that there is not enough for 2 sandwich tins. I wondered whether I should have double the recipe but that could be detrimental to the rising of the cake. The cake did rise but very little. I still torted the cake and filled it with home-made strawberry jam (jelly). I did think about doubling the recipe but wondered whether it would be too heavy and would not rise.

I can see flaws in the recipe. The proportion of butter to the sugar does not feel right. I thought it was most unusual to add and whisk the milk with the egg whites. Normally, I whisk the eggwhites to full peak and add this to the batter last minute. This gives the batter some air but adding the milk (or buttermilk in my case) to the eggwhites in the beginning would spoil any chance of putting air into the batter.

The frosting though was out of this world. A bit of a chore, but still very much worth making. It spread beautifully and also piped really really well. It is one recipe that I shall keep and use again despite using 12 oz of butter is a bit too expensive in my country.

I did like the finished product with the strawberries decoration and scrolls. All said, I did enjoy making the cake just because I love making cakes.

I tested it on my relatives who came round to dinner and their verdict was that it is too heavy for a sponge. They enjoyed the taste though.















Recipe for Perfect Party Cake:
For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (updated 25 March)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

This month's challenge was hosted by Marven

French Bread - February Challenge.

It has been a really tough month to find enough time to fit in the February challenge especially knowing that it took many of the DBs a whole day to put together. I did not want to give it a miss so yesterday, I decided to give it a go. Of course it did not help with my husband deciding to make gallons on marmalade and wanted help with the chopping squeezing and pithing the oranges (and he tells everybody it is his marmalade). But he did allow me in the kitchen.

I started at 6.00 am and followed the recipe exactly. The first rising was great even though it took 4 hours. Not a problem. The second rising took another 4 hours and by then I started to lose it. Not a problem, I plodded on thinking that I would be able to put the batards in the oven by 7.00 pm as we were going out to celebrate my husband's birthday. Well at 6.30 the dough was still not risen enough so we decided to go out and bake the bread when we come back.

We returned home at 11.30 and the poor dough was still a very poor sight, not plump as it should be. But I decided to bake the loaves irrespective. Thirty minutes later, the batards came out looking very sorry for themselves.

I did not enjoy making the bread at all. Perhaps because it was a very long long process from beginning to end. I cannot image making the bread again. Thank goodness for the bread machine which gives me a very good loaf of bread in 4 hours.

The length of the recipe instructions(13 pages) did put me off but I followed the instructions and read it about 3 times throughout the month. I was so looking forward to making the bread considering the success of other DBs.

I'm not going to post the recipe here, but if you want to view it you can visit Breadchick's blog (who was also one of the hosts for this month's challenge).

Well at least I have tried despite not suceeding.

Cake for the Prime Minister continued

Well at last I finished the cake which was I was told today that I had to present to Dr Lawrence Gonzi, the Maltese Prime Minister.
It was certainly a lobour of love as the replica of the annexe in sugar took me a whole week to do. It was made out of pastillage and I had to cut out sections and leave to dry before I could continue. Mind you I was pleased with the outcome. I also had to do 3 coats of arms in runout sugar. The pictures show the cake and the cutting of the cake by the Prime Minister.

Cake to be cut by the Prime Minister

I had a phone call yesterday from the Gozo School of Arts and Crafts' headmaster. The new annexe to the building is being inaugurated on 27th February The prime minister Dr Lawrence Gonzi will be cutting the ribbon and they would like a cake to celebrate the occasion.

The problem is, they want the cake to have the frontage of the new annexe. I already said I will make the cake so I am dreading the next 3 weeks with so many things to think about. I hope I am up to the challenge.

Upon delivering a cake

I had a lousy cake to make last week. The young boy aged 7 collects trucks and I asked him to pick his favourite truck so that I can replicate it as a cake. He brought his best but my worst nightmare. It was a truck which could not be made into a cake as there was only the driver's cab and a skip dangling from the back. In a mad moment, I agreed to make a plain cake with a road in the middle of it and then make the truck as a model.

It was so intricate and fragile, it took me 3 days on and off, skip, hydraulic lifters, cab etc. I was so worried that it would collapse any minute so I was really keen to get rid of it. I agreed to deliver it early. Well I had 2 of my sisters staying for the carnival, so off we went to deliver the cake with one of my sisters in the front holding the cake box in her hand so she can use her hands as suspension on these bumpy roads. We met the lady near the chemist, passed over the cake in one piece, she gave me the money which I DID NOT CHECK and put this in the car ashtray (that is where all my spare change end up)

Off we went. My sister decided to check the money and found €5 missing. She went mad and I had to stop the car to search for the missing money. "Not only you undercharge" she said "you do not even check that they give you the right money and people take advantage of you". I tried to tell her that it must have been a genuine mistake and in the end we just laughed so much about it. She threatened to phone the lady about it and I got so fed up listening to my sister that I decided to pretend that I found my the money and took €5 out of my own pocket and told her that I found it under the seat.

Off we went again. The lady had my sister's mobile number and within a few minutes, my sister gets a phone call from this lady. She was very apologetic because she found €5 on the seat of the car and she was sure that it must be part of the cake money. My other sister and I almost wet ourselves with laughter when I heard her say to the lady "No we have the right money here and the €5 must be something else"

I was driving when she got the phonecall but was in tears laughing and had to stop on the side of the road to avoid an accident. I think it was the best laugh we had for months and still think about it.

The Daring Bakers' January Challenge - Lemon Meringue Pie

I read quite a lot about the Daring Bakers and finally plucked enough courage to join them. January was my first challenge and was pleased to find out that it was going to be Lemon Meringue Pie.

I have made this quite often as lemons are very abundant in my part of the country and at this time of year, I get boxfuls of them from farmers. Most of the time I grate the lemons and freeze the zest and also squeeze out the lemon juice and freeze in ice cube trays. Then I empty into a freezer container and I always have lemon zest and lemon juice handy.

Making a different version to my of the LMG was a challenge and was reluctant to divert from my usual recipe. But I was happy to try and compare to my own.

I found the recipe quite easy to follow despite the cup measurements. I do have american cup measures but find them a pain to use. I did use them though and out of curiosity, I decided to weigh the ingredients afterwards. It was perhaps a coincidence that the weight in grams was almost the same as the amounts given by the Canadian Baker in mls. I wonder whether she meant grams in the recipe instead of mls.

I approached making the filling with trepidation as quite a few DBs posted that they had problems with the filling being runny. I did not have such problems. I did not like the idea of adding vanilla extract with the lemon but decided to add it so as to follow the recipe exactly. It changed the beautiful lemony colour of the filling to a dingy colour and I know not to use it the next time.

The LMP set very nicely, did not weep at all and the meringue was nice and soft on the inside. I hardly had time to photograph it as it was waffled down in a couple of hours. (There is only 2 of us in the household)

I thought I would give a pictorial step by step account of my challenge. This will remind what I had to do for the next time. The recipe for this month was hosted by The Canadian Baker

Lemon Meringue Pie
Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie
For the Crust:
¾ cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
⅓ cup (80 mL) ice water
For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
¼ cup (60 mL) butter
¾ cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
For the Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
½ tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
½ tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
¾ cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

For the Crust: Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.
Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

For the Filling: Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated.
Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

For the Meringue: Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Pie recipe courtesy of Wanda’s Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver, 2002Tartlet recipe courtesy of Ripe for Dessert by David Lebovitz, 2003

Valentine hearts

Valentine's day will soon be upon us and I am already getting exited about the new treats I shall be creating for the event. Every year, there is always something new. Last year, I made these lovely pastries that are usually made over here for easter. But I adapted them for Valentines. They are made out of sweet pastry which we usually add lemon zest and juice and then fill with almond and lemon filling. I decided to decorate them using sugarpaste and royal icing for the top decoration. I really enjoyed decorating them as once you start, you think of new patterns. I gave a heart to each of my sisters, sister in law and my nieces. They loved them.

Princess castle cake.

I had a pretty hectic week a while ago with 4 cakes to make. Since I have given up cake decorating business, I had less and less worries about deadlines. I thrived on deadlines a couple of years ago but now I find it ever so tense.

Well this cake was for little Rachel who loves the Disney princesses. She opted for the castle rather than Belle, her favourite princess. The castle came out ever so cute and despite not being as elaborate as my past ones, Rachel just loved it and was amazed as she thought that she was getting a flat cake with a castle painted on it.

Paula's eighteenth birthday cake

I made this lovely cake for my niece's eighteenth birthday. I made similar ones when I lived in England but these cakes have never been seen in Malta. I just wanted something different to show and perhaps get Paula's friends to see different variation of styles of cakes.

Everybody loved it and they also loved the colours.

How cool can this be.

I have been thinking for a long time to start a blog but as always you always have other better things to do and blogging is left and left.

I had a five minutes chance and here I am writing my own posting. I hope I will remember how to get back to it.