Please, Bees…Bring Spring! Honey Lemon Cheesecake

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Lorinda

Sweet little jelly bean bees usher in Spring with this honey and lemon cheesecake. Honey adds a mellow sweetness, and sour cream gives it a light tang – a perfect combination!

The cheesecake is easy; making the bees takes a bit of patience and fine motor skills. If you’re not up for that, they sell cute little pre-made bees and flowers too, and no one will judge you!

Bee factory!

I’ve made gum paste bees before, and the wings stuck on them easily. With jelly beans? Not so much. I tried royal icing and candy melts, and those pesky wings just kept sliding off. Finally I found that the slices of jelly beans I used for wings would stick to the bean body as long as there was a sticky surface exposed. (So, cut a thin slice of jelly bean and then trim a little bit off one end so it STICKS!)

I made small bees using a yellow jelly bean, two slices for wings, and a small piece cut off one end of a jelly bean for the head. A black food color pen works really well for the stripes and eyes. I tried making a stinger out of dark chocolate, but frankly…it looked like the bee was pooping. Had a good laugh over that one. Tiny slices of black jelly beans kind of worked, but I wasn’t very happy with them. Next time I’ll buy some black licorice.

Just for grins, I also made some larger bees, using yellow peanut M&Ms. They looked more like big fat bumblebees…very cute. Those are around the base of the cake.

I found that toothpicks really helped hold the bees in place while I fussed with them and while they dried. (This obviously doesn’t work for the M&M bees – they just have to chill on the plate.) A piece of styrofoam is nice to stick the toothpicks into, but use your imagination. A small box or even a potato would work well, too!

I made the little violet flowers and the bee hive out of royal icing. (Make sure the icing is very stiff when you pipe the bee hive. or maybe you could make one out of half of a lemon?) I forgot to add leaves. Grrrr. The green icing was sitting on the counter in a pastry bag with a leaf tip, and I forgot to use it! I think it would have looked a lot prettier with that touch of green.

The honey comb was made from melted white chocolate, with a little milk chocolate and a tiny bit of yellow candy coloring (a yellow candy melt would work too) to achieve a honey color. Spread it over bubble wrap and place in the freezer until hard, then just peel off and break into pieces.

And….here’s the recipe for the cheesecake!

Honey Lemon Cheesecake

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Ingredients

CRUST:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs, finely crushed
2 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
CHEESECAKE:
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
½ cup honey
Juice and zest from one large lemon
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
drop of yellow food coloring (optional)
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Instructions

Heat oven to 325 F.
Prepare 9-inch springform pan by lightly buttering sides of ring. Place a 10-inch round of parchment over the bottom of the pan and set the ring over it. Hold the ring down firmly and close the clasp, trapping the parchment. You should be able to see a small "ruffle" from the outside. This gives your crust a smooth appearance all the way to the plate. It will ooze butter in the oven, so make sure you have a baking sheet or foil under it.
Combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter.
Using a straight sided measuring cup, press crust firmly and evenly in pan. Using one hand to support the side of the pan, press firmly all the way around. Mixture doesn't have to go all the way to the top.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and white sugar until smooth. Add the honey, lemon juice and zest, flour, vanilla, and food coloring. Beat on medium until combined.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low just until incorporated. Do not over beat!
Fold in sour cream and pour over crust, smoothing with a knife.
Place pan on baking sheet and bake for 70 minutes. Without opening oven door, turn oven off and let the cheesecake remain in the oven for 30 minutes.
Test by shaking pan gently. The inside should jiggle a bit. This is exactly what you want. If the whole thing wobbles, close the door and leave it in there for another 30 minutes before removing.
If your cheesecake extends over the top of the crust, run a knife gently around the edge, right down to the crust, to avoid cracks as it cools.
Once completely cool, refrigerate until ready to decorate and serve.

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Honey gives this cheesecake a lovely, mellow sweetness.

Trap the parchment with the ring.

There should be a cute little ruffle sticking out.

I like the clean look I get when I do this with parchment. But…it will ooze butter, so make sure the cheesecake is setting on a baking pan – preferably lined with foil!

Really press to make sure the crust stays in place since it isn’t pre-baked.

Pour batter into crust and smooth with a knife.

Cooling on the counter

Once your cheesecake is chilled, pipe whipped cream around the edge and decorate to suit your tastes. You might even want to drizzle a little honey on the top.

Dig in!

And here’s another version, using colored whipped topping for the pastel flowers.

As much as I love winter, I’m so happy Spring is officially here! More Easter recipes to come.

Lorinda

Ice Cream Cupcake Surprise

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Lorinda

If this dessert doesn’t make your Valentine worship you, nothing will! Inside the chocolate coating is a serving of rich chocolate cake, cherry vanilla ice cream, and…(surprise) a chocolate covered cherry.

To make this extra-easy, by all means, use a cake mix and store bought chocolate shell! You could even (*gasp!*) buy a dozen cupcakes and scrape the icing off. But you know me; I have to play with my food…so I’ll give you my recipe for rich chocolate cake and homemade chocolate shell, just in case you choose to go all out and create these desserts from scratch.

You’ll need:

One 1.5 quart container of ice cream. (Don’t get me started on the shrinking ice-cream container conspiracy.) I used Cherry Vanilla. Yum!
12 chocolate covered cherries
12 chocolate cupcakes
2 bottles (7.25 ounces each) of chocolate shell (or Magic Shell), usually found in the ice cream aisle. OR you can make your own – I’ll give you the recipe below.
sprinkles, if desired

It’s important not to overfill the cupcake liners, because a high dome won’t hold the ice cream well. Fill them just a tiny bit over half full. But if they dome too much, you can always level them later…and eat the scraps, of course.

Start with chocolate cupcakes. (And yes…the cake on the right has too much of a dome.) I shall have to operate!

This chocolate cake recipe makes 12 cupcakes. You may have a tiny bit of batter left, but not much.

Rich Chocolate Cupcakes

Author: The Rowdy Baker

This is a small recipe, making approximately 12 cupcakes. You can easily double it. If you do, use 3 eggs.

Ingredients

1¼ cups cake flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup oil (I use avocado or peanut oil)
½ cup strong coffee
½ cup buttermilk (I prefer a thick, Bulgarian buttermilk for this)
1 egg

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 F. Place liners in cupcake pan.
In a large bowl, combine the cake flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
In a small bowl, combine the oil, coffee, and buttermilk.
Gradually beat the liquids into the dry ingredients. Beat for 1 minute.
Add the egg and beat just until it is completely incorporated.
Fill cupcake liners just a little more than half full.
Bake for approximately 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of one cupcake.
Allow cupcakes to cool on a rack for 10 minutes, and then lift them out onto the rack to finish cooling.

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Cake ingredients

Fill liners just a little more than half full.

Remember, we’re going for a subtle dome!

Now – to assemble the cupcakes:

Slice a thin piece off the top of each cupcake, to level it.

Let your ice cream soften a bit, and then press a chocolate covered cherry round side down into a scoop of softened ice cream. If the ice cream is too firm, you can use a spoon to make a hole for the candy.

Sink a cherry into softened ice cream, round side down.

Drop scoops of ice cream (and embedded cherry) onto frozen cupcakes and smooth with a table knife.

Drop ice cream onto cupcake and smooth with a knife.

Place cupcakes in the freezer for at least 3 hours.

You saw that, right? Don’t skip that step, or your ice cream will fall off into the coating!

Shake one bottle of chocolate shell thoroughly and pour contents into a small bowl. One by one, dip the cupcakes into the chocolate, all the way to the wrapper. Allow excess to drip off, place on a tray or baking sheet, and decorate with sprinkles.

You’ll need one whole bottle and part of the second. Or…if you want to make your own shell:

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SHELL:
10 ounces of good quality dark chocolate
2 level tablespoons coconut oil (I use expeller pressed so it doesn’t taste like coconut.)

Break chocolate into small pieces. In a cup or small bowl in the microwave (or in small pan on the stove) slowly melt chocolate and coconut oil together. It’s important to melt it very slowly at low heat. Stir well.

Dip frozen cupcakes and ice cream into chocolate shell mixture.

Once the coating has hardened, pop the cupcakes back into the freezer until ready to serve. If you will be keeping them in the freezer for more than a few hours, cover them with foil.

This would be such an easy recipe to adapt for other holidays. Exchange the cherry for a mint truffle and mint ice cream for St. Patrick’s Day, or a peppermint truffle and peppermint ice cream for Christmas. I’d suggest a small Cadbury Cream Egg for Easter, but….euwwww. Anyhow, you get the idea.

Everyone loves ice cream cakes, but they’re awfully messy to cut and serve. Individual cakes are the way to go!

Lorinda

Apple Butter & Rum Cheesecake

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Lorinda

Imagine a creamy cheesecake swirled with apple butter and adorned with a brown sugar rum topping, and you’ll understand how self-indulgent I felt when I dipped my fork in for that first bite…especially since it was only 9:00 in the morning. Hey – you have to get photos when the lighting is good, and I couldn’t let that slice of heaven go to waste, right?

This is true company fare, guaranteed to get some “oohs” and “ahhs”. I’ll admit right now that I’m not much of a cheesecake lover (this is my first cheesecake blog in 3 years) but I absolutely went crazy over this. The subtle sweetness of the apple butter counteracts the tangy cheese flavor, and the topping? Well, I could just eat it with a spoon.

Scooping leftover topping out of the pan and into my mouth.

If you don’t have any apple butter on hand, you can do what I did and use a jar of applesauce to make your own. Just add sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice to taste, and then cook it down slowly on medium low heat, stirring often. I usually get impatient and crank up the heat after a while; this works well, as long as you have a tall pan and a long spoon (because the mixture will spit) and you’re willing to stir constantly for 5 minutes or so. Cook it until you can run a spatula on the bottom of the pan and the apple mixture doesn’t fill in the space you created.

Fuzzy picture – sorry! But you can see it needs to be pasty, not juicy.

Try some on one of the leftover graham crackers.

The goal of making a cheesecake is to have it chilled and plated without a single crack. I’m not a perfectionist; that’s what toppings are for! This didn’t crack, but the spots where I brought the swirled apple butter to the surface sank just a bit. This isn’t a problem though, because the whole thing is covered with a thick layer of topping. See? No pressure.

Apple Butter & Rum Cheesecake

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Ideally you will want to use a springform pan that is 8-1/2". If you like a thinner cheesecake, use one that is 9-1/2" (as pictured in this post).

Ingredients

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:
2 cups crushed graham crackers
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter
CHEESECAKE:
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
¾ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate (thaw, but don't add water!)
2 teaspoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup apple butter
TOPPING:
1½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup milk
6 tablespoons butter
½ cup rum (I used dark, spiced rum)
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 F. Place one rack near the bottom and one in the middle or just above middle.
Grease an 8-1/2" springform pan. (You may use a 9-1/2" pan - cheesecake will not be as tall.) Place a strip of parchment around inside ring, trapping it with the bottom of the pan if possible before latching.
Combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter until thoroughly combined. With the help of a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup, press the mixture firmly and evenly into pan.
Place in upper rack of oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove carefully and place on a rack.
Fill a large cake pan with 1 inch of hot water and place on bottom rack to heat while you are mixing the cheesecake.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese well - for at least 2 minutes.
Add the sugar and beat for an additional 2 minutes, scraping the bowl often.
Add the apple juice concentrate, flour, salt, and the sour cream, beating until combined.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until each is incorporated. Don't over-mix!
Pour mixture over crust in pan.
Put the apple butter in a pastry bag (or plastic zipper bag with tip cut off) and swirl throughout the cheesecake mixture, bringing the tip from the bottom to the top of the batter several times.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, WITHOUT OPENING THE OVEN DOOR, lower the heat to 325. Bake for 1 hour. don't remove the cheesecake, but wiggle it gently. It should be just slightly jiggly in the center.
Turn oven off and prop door slightly open (I use a wooden spoon handle) for 1 hour.
Move cheesecake to a rack and cool completely.
Move to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours. (Overnight is better!)
Remove the ring of the pan. Use a long flat spatula to loosen the crust from the bottom pan and slide it onto a serving plate.
Generously pour warm topping over the top. You can serve the cheesecake as soon as the topping is firm, or refrigerate it for later.
TOPPING:
In a tall pan, combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter. Stir over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Cook at a low boil for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and wait a minute for the bubbles to calm down. Stir in the rum.
Add the powdered sugar and cinnamon and whisk briskly until mixture thickens and a spoonful drizzled over the top keeps its shape for 10 seconds. (About 5 minutes.) It should be thick but pourable.

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Line the sides of the greased pan with parchment.

Press the crust firmly and evenly into the pan.

Use a pastry bag to swirl in the apple butter.

Baked and chilled, ready to add topping.

Boiling the topping.

Add booze and powdered sugar, then briskly whisk (I love saying that!) until a drizzle holds its shape for 10 seconds.

Pour topping over chilled cheesecake. Dump it on generously!

Spread gently to the edges, adding more if needed. Let it drip!

It’s okay if it drips over the sides!

Let the icing firm up and cut yourself a big slice. Add a dollop of whipped cream if you’d like…or even a spoonful of vanilla ice cream. It will remind you a lot of apple pie.

Mmmmmm.

And just so you know, the recipe for the topping is very generous. If you have some left over you can:

Eat it with a spoon, directly out of the pan
Reheat it (add a little rum if it’s too thick) and pour it over ice cream.
Stir it into boiling water for an improvised hot buttered rum. (Leave a little space for more rum!)
Stir it into sauteed apples and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Eat it with a spoon (oh, did I say that already?)

Cheers! Lorinda

Spicy Lemon Slice Cake

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Lorinda

Who doesn’t remember those wonderful slices of jelly-like citrus candies coated in sparkling sugar? I loved them then, and I love them now!

My daughter and her family was here visiting last week, and it was my son-in-law’s birthday. He fondly remembers a spice cake his grandma used to make, covered with lemon icing. We happily obliged, and created this cake:

I neglected to take photos during the creation of the cake, and there was a thing or two I wanted to do differently, so today I baked another version…and am thrilled with this recipe. Lemon added to the cake batter gave a subtle but pleasing flavor, and doubling the cinnamon was the right thing to do.

I like to toast and grate/grind my own spices for more intense flavor. You’ll find simple instructions in my post for Extra Spicy Gingersnaps, though you won’t need the cloves. About five whole allspice, a nutmeg (you won’t use it all…just grate 1/4 teaspoon and save the rest for another time), and two 3-inch cinnamon sticks should be just about right for this recipe. If this doesn’t appeal to you, by all means use store-bought spices!

I didn’t have yellow sugar for the first cake, but regular sugar colored with yellow food coloring worked well. This time I bought the real stuff. It’s a little challenging to apply to the cake (hahahahaha….just wait), but jump in there and use your hand to pat it on the icing…and figure on a lot of spillage! If the cake is on a large piece of parchment or foil you will be able to easily collect the extra sugar and re-use it.

The nice thing is, the sugar coating makes the frosting kind of…well…touchable. You can pat and even up edges and corners if necessary.

Spicy Lemon Slice Cake

Author: The Rowdy Baker

You will need a 12-inch round cake pan for this recipe. Or...you COULD use two standard round pans and make a full lemon slice.

Ingredients

CAKE:
½ cup vegetable oil (I used peanut oil)
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 small lemon, juice and zest
1½ cup cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
½ cup greek yogurt
¾ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
FROSTING:
1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 small lemon (juice and zest)
½ teaspoon lemon flavoring (optional)
2 pounds powdered sugar
¼ cup heavy cream
Yellow sugar for decorating
Lemon slice candies for decorating, if desired

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 F.
CAKE:
Prepare a 12-inch cake pan (approximately 2 inches high) by lining bottom with a circle of parchment and spraying the sides with a flour and oil spray (like Baker's Joy). Alternatively, you can generously grease and flour pan.
In a large bowl, preferably using a stand mixer, mix together the butter, oil, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat for at least 2 minutes, until the mixture lightens in color.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well and scraping the sides of the bowl between each addition.
Add lemon juice and zest and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
In a small bowl combine the Greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla.
Beginning with the dry ingredients and ending with the wet ingredients, add alternately - one third of each at a time, scraping down the side of the bowl between each addition.
In a small bowl, whip the egg whites until fairly stiff peaks form, but don't let the egg whites get too dry. Fold gently into the cake batter.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cake comes away from the side of the pan and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out on a large cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting the cake.
FROSTING:
In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft and creamy. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, zest, and flavoring (if using) and mix until combined.
Mix in the powdered sugar and beat well.
Add heavy cream and beat for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
ASSEMBLY:
Cut the cool cake in half. Generously cover one half with frosting and set the other half on top to create a half-slice appearance. Place on a cake board or flat plate.
Cover the cake with a thin coat of icing and place the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Remove cake from freezer and cover completely with icing, reserving ½ cup of icing for piping/decorating.
Place cake on large pan or piece of parchment and, using your hand, pat yellow sugar over entire cake.
Place reserved frosting in a plastic zipper-type bag and snip off the tip. Pipe around bottom edge of cake and approximately one inch inside the top curve of the cake. (If frosting won't stick because of the sugar, use a small spoon or knife...or your finger....to scoop away a little of the sugar and icing, and then pipe.)
Decorate with lemon slices if desired.

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Adding yolks one by one. Batter should be light colored.

Beaten egg whites. See those soft, straight peaks?

GENTLY fold egg whites into batter.

Cooling. Then cut right down the middle and stack with icing between layers.

Adding a thin crumb coat of icing.

…and into the freezer for 30 minutes.

Frost cake and then patiently (!) add sugar.

Use your hand to press against frosting.

Use a pastry brush to “sweep” sugar onto paper and re-use.

Use your finger or a wooden spoon handle to mark a white line. Pipe icing if you wish.

I never would have thought to combine lemon with a spice cake, so I’m grateful to Chris’s grandma for giving him this wonderful memory. It’s now a favorite of mine…and I hope you will enjoy it too!

Lorinda

Baked Alaska-licious!

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Lorinda

A trip to Alaska is sounding awfully good right now! It is only June 1st, but it feels like July here in Eastern Washington. Whooeeee.

As the temperature rises, I get a craving for cold, bright desserts…and popsicles don’t count! When my favorite group of bloggers decided to put together a group of ice cream desserts, Baked Alaska was the first thing I thought of. You can make it with any flavor of ice cream or cake you desire, and you can make it a couple of days ahead, pop it back in the freezer, and then appear to produce it effortlessly after just a few minutes in the oven, impressing friends and family with your mad skills.

Here are the other delicious goodies you’ll find in the links at the end of the post!

If you’ve read my blogs before, you’ll be familiar with this disclaimer: You’ll find my recipes for cake and ice cream below, but feel free to simplify things by using (gasp!) store bought ice cream and a cake mix. I understand – I do!

I made small, individual desserts the first time, to great enthusiasm here on the home front. Next I made a large dessert using a half gallon (though we all know – even if the ~~bastards at the~~ ice cream companies think they’ve pulled one over on us – that they aren’t actually half gallons anymore) of store bought ice cream and it was perfect for the large dessert. My ice cream recipe yields a little less (I have a small, wimpy ice cream maker) so if you’re making the large dessert using my ice cream recipe, it will change the ice cream to cake ratio a bit, but it will still be beautiful.

For best results, start your Baked Alaska-licious a couple of days before you plan to serve it. It takes a while to freeze the ice cream into a bowl shape, and will be much easier to “frost” with meringue if the ice cream is rock hard.

I made a lemon-blueberry ice cream that was killer good, and used my Luscious Yellow Cake recipe for the base of the dessert. (It makes two large 9-inch round cakes, so you’ll want to cut the recipe in half or eat/freeze the other half.)

Baked Alaska-licious!

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Makes 6 small desserts or 1 large dessert.

Ingredients

1 9-inch round yellow cake
ICE CREAM:
3 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries
1½ cup sugar
Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
1½ cups heavy cream
1½ cups whole milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
MERINGUE:
8 egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups superfine sugar (Baker's sugar)

Instructions

In a large saucepan on medium heat, stir together the berries, sugar, and lemon. Bring to a low boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool until lukewarm.
Add the cream, milk, and vanilla, stirring well. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.
Make ice cream according to your machine's instructions. (If you have a small ice cream maker, you may need to make this in 2 batches.) While the ice cream is churning, prepare molds:
To make single serving desserts, use a jumbo cupcake pan, lining 6 cavities with plastic wrap.
To make a large dessert (using a double batch of ice cream (or a 1-3/4 quart container of store bought ice cream) line a medium bowl (about 8 inches across) with foil or plastic wrap, smoothing the liner as much as possible.
Scoop churned ice cream into mold(s) and freeze until solid - at least 3 hours.
MAKE MERINGUE:
Using a squeaky clean bowl and beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the egg whites and beat until soft peaks form. With mixer on medium, slowly drizzle the sugar into the egg whites, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides. Don't rush this! When all of the sugar has been added, turn up speed to medium high and beat until firm peaks form. The meringue needs to be firm; sloppy meringue will just slide off the ice cream. But don't go past firm peak stage or the egg whites might collapse.
For single serving desserts, cut 3 circles of cake the same size as the jumbo cupcake cavities. Slice each horizontally to make four thinner rounds. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Turn 1 molded ice cream onto each cake round and peel off the plastic.
For a large dessert, place the 9 inch cake onto a round of parchment on a baking sheet. Flip the ice cream out onto the cake and remove the plastic or foil. Cut away any excess cake around the bottom with a sharp knife.
Spread meringue over dessert(s), covering completely, and swirl with a knife.
Return to freezer until ready to serve, up to 2 days.
Heat oven to 450 F.
Place baked Alaska(s) in the oven and bake for approximately 5 minutes, turning once for even browning. Watch them closely - oven temperatures vary. You want the meringue to turn golden with dark brown peaks.
Serve! Slide a large dessert (on its parchment round) onto a serving platter. Lift small desserts with a spatula and serve on dessert plates. The large dessert may need to sit for a few minutes to soften before serving, but the individual size desserts will be ready to go. Expect the meringue to be crusty on the outside and a little creamy on the inside.

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Make a 9-inch yellow cake.

Combine berries, sugar, and lemon to make ice cream.

Add cream and milk to cooled berry mixture.

Glop on the meringue!

Ready for the oven.

Individual serving Baked Alaska-licious.

Large size Baked Alaska-licious.

Go ahead, have a bite!

I’ve given you a generous amount of meringue. Nothing is worse than trying to make pretty swirls in thinly spread meringue.

When baked, the meringue will be crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. If you are concerned about eating or serving egg whites that aren’t thoroughly cooked, I recommend making a cooked Italian Meringue; there are lots of recipes for it on the Internet. It’s a little more work, but it will remove any worries about egg safety that you might have. I know where my eggs come from (my front yard…thank you, girls!) so I’m comfortable with regular meringue.

That’s it – a fancy dessert that is impressive but not that hard to make. Go wow ’em!

And don’t forget to check out the links below for some drool-worthy cold treats.
Lorinda

From Crumbs in My Mustachio: Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches
From Tampa Cake Girl: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Avalanche
From Moore or Less Cooking Blog: Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
From Cooking From a Stay at Home Mom: Easy Chocolate Ice Cream
From Hun, What’s for Dinner: Brown Sugar Cinnamon Ice Cream Sandwiches

Banana Split Cupcakes

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Lorinda

This idea has been simmering in my brain for a couple of weeks, refusing to be ignored, so I finally pulled out all the stops and made my dream cupcakes. Surprisingly, they turned out exactly as I had imagined! That almost never happens; usually I just adjust my expectations to meet the reality I’ve created.

You could probably see the big smile on my face right now if it wasn’t covered with melted chocolate.

I started with a Neapolitan cupcake, topped it with a cherry surrounded by fresh banana whipped icing, and dipped the top in a simple chocolate shell. Of course I had to sample one. And then there were the ones that I cut in half for photos…couldn’t let those go to waste! I put the uneaten cupcakes in the freezer ~~because I found that they’re even better frozen~~ to remove further temptation.

Doing the happy dance, and sharing these Banana Split Cupcakes (aka: HolyCrapWhatHaveIDoneI’mGonnaGain15PoundsThisWeekForSure Cupcakes) with you.

I made two batches, one from scratch and one using a boxed mix. Although my recipe is a little more generous, I have to admit the boxed cake worked perfectly, so I’ll leave that decision up to you. If you want to try it from scratch, I used half of a batch of my homemade white cake mix. Otherwise, just use your favorite white cake mix – the kind that uses only egg whites.

Banana Split Cupcakes

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Makes approximately 20 cupcakes if you're using a boxed mix (I know the box says 24, but those are pretty wimpy)...more if you use my scratch mix.

Ingredients

One batch prepared white cake mix
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
red food coloring (if desired)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon strong coffee (or substitute water)
ICING:
½ cup (1 stick) softened butter
4 ounces softened cream cheese
2 medium bananas, ripe but not spotty. Cut out any dark spots and mash well.
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 pounds powdered sugar
⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
CHOCOLATE SHELL:
10 ounces good quality dark chocolate (I use 70% cocoa)
2 level tablespoons coconut oil
Maraschino cherries.
Sprinkles, if desired

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 F.
Line two cupcake pans with paper or foil liners
Separate cake mix evenly into 3 small bowls
In the first bowl, add the strawberry jam and a couple of drops of food coloring and stir until mixed.
In the second bowl, add the cocoa and coffee (or water) and stir until mixed.
Add nothing to the third bowl.
Using a separate teaspoon for each color, work with one cupcake at a time, dropping a spoonful of each color in the bottom of the cup, and then repeating for a second layer, varying the color (so vanilla goes on top of strawberry or chocolate). Fill each about ⅔ full. (Don't try to put all of one color in the cups at a time or the batter will level before the next color is added.)
Bake 20 minutes. If toothpick comes out clean when inserted into a cupcake, remove from oven and cool completely on rack.
ICING:
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese, mashed banana, and vanilla until well mixed - at least 1 minute.
Slowly beat in 2 pounds of powdered sugar. When combined, turn speed to medium and beat for 1 minute.
Add whipping cream and remaining powdered sugar and beat on medium for 2 minutes, or until thick and fluffy.
Pipe a spiral of icing, beginning a little inside the edge of each cupcake top, and ending in the middle. Place cherry in the center of each cupcake. Working from the top, looking straight down at the cupcake, repeat the spiral, this time generously working around the cherry and ending in a peak, completely enclosing the cherry in icing. As each cupcake is done, place it on a baking sheet.
Immediately place cupcakes in freezer for 1 hour.
CHOCOLATE COATING:
Break chocolate into small pieces. In a cup or small bowl in the microwave (or in small pan on the stove) slowly melt chocolate and coconut oil together. It's important to melt it very slowly at low heat.
Stir very well.
Remove cupcakes from the freezer and dip each into chocolate, bringing the chocolate all the way to the paper liner. Hold upside down until it quits dripping. Set on serving platter. (If you are using sprinkles, add them quickly before the chocolate hardens.)
Serve immediately or keep chilled for best results.

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Hints:

If you get overly generous with the batter and your cupcakes have a “pillow top”, just use a sharp knife to trim the excess. It will get covered with chocolate and no one will know.
If the icing is too soft to work with, add a little extra powdered sugar or chill briefly. If it’s too thick, add a little more cream.
There is a generous amount of icing, so if you want to you can poke the piping tip into the cupcake before you begin icing, and add a little bit of filling. Don’t add too much or your cupcake will blow up – not a pretty look 😉
Dry the cherries in a couple of layers of paper towel before using.

First layer. Do it again, varying the color combination.

Baked and cooled

Trim if necessary.

Beginning the second spiral.

Pipe up and over cherry. Freeze for 1 hour.

Melting the chocolate. Go slow!

Dip. More than this…all the way to the liner!

Drying on the rack. Now’s the time to add sprinkles if you’d like.

So. How am I going to top these babies? I honestly don’t think I can. Oh oh – I think I just challenged myself! We’ll see….after gardening season!

Lorinda

Brownies for a Crowd

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Lorinda

The other day I needed to make lots and lots of brownies…enough for 60 women. And because “good enough” just doesn’t cut it for our Homemakers’ Club annual spring tea, I also felt the urge to gussy them up and make them pretty.

I usually use a mixture of oil and butter in my brownies, but I wanted these to be rich and decadent, so I skipped the oil and used lots of butter. They turned out even better than I’d hoped, with enough height to look impressive, and a density somewhere between fudge brownies and cake brownies.

If you don’t have a crowd to cook for, you could cut the recipe in half of course. But I’d go for the full recipe and freeze some if I were you; they’re that good!

Brownies for a Crowd

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Makes approximately 72 brownies, 1½-inch by 2-inches each.

Ingredients

6 cups sugar
2¼ cups (4½ sticks) butter, melted
9 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup "Special Dark" cocoa powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (more if desired)

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 F.
Lightly grease two 9-inch by 13-inch baking pans, line with parchment, (the grease will hold the parchment in place) and spray lightly with an oil/flour combination spray like Baker's Joy.
In a very large bowl, combine the sugar and melted butter. Stir well.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla until frothy. Add slowly to the sugar mixture, stirring well.,
Add the cocoa powders, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir just until combined.
Gently stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
Divide evenly between baking pans, spreading with a dough scraper or offset spatula.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center of the brownies comes out clean. If it has batter on it, bake in 3 minute increments until done. Don't overbake.
Cool COMPLETELY in pans on cooling racks. Remove the brownies by lifting the edges of the parchment. Mark and cut as desired. Since they are thick and rich, I found that 1½-inch by 2-inch pieces were perfect.

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Spreading batter. (I used one huge pan, 13″ x 18″)

I was so busy slam-dunking this project, I failed to take pictures as I went. But the decorations were pretty simple for the most part. A swirl of chocolate buttercream icing (ganache would be great, too!) a few buttercream roses and leaves, and nifty little edible flowers and butterflies I got from Sugar Robot. There is no sugar in them, so they were perfect as decorations for the batch of sugar-free brownies I also made.

The little bees were simple and fun to make. To make a bee I used two jelly beans – a yellow one for the body and a “ginger ale” jelly bean for the head and wings. (White would do nicely, too.) I melted a little white chocolate in a small dish to use as glue, then cut the end off of one of the lighter beans for a head and glued it to the end of a yellow bean, using the white chocolate. Then two more thin slices of the light bean were attached to the sides for wings. You will need to hold them in place for a few seconds to let the white chocolate dry.

Melt a small amount of dark chocolate in a plastic zipper-type bag and snip a teeny tiny bit of one corner off. Dot eyes onto the head and then stripes on the back of the yellow bean. (The reason my stripes look a little wimpy is because I thought I’d try painting them with black paste food coloring. Not recommended!) That’s it. Let them dry for a few minutes before moving them onto the brownies.

Here’s how I know these brownies are the best I’ve made: usually, I prefer them with lots of chocolate icing, but I had some leftovers that didn’t get decorated, and I actually preferred them plain. Irresistible!

Happy spring…

Lorinda

Pot o’ Gold Cupcakes

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Lorinda

If you’re looking for a last minute idea for St. Patrick’s Day, here are some delightful cupcakes. They are filled with ganache made with Irish Cream, but if you’re making these for the kidlings, you can use regular heavy cream instead.

Here’s the recipe, but if you’re in a hurry and need to use a cake mix, I won’t hold it against you. The important part is the filling (whooeee, it’s potent!) and the decorations.

Pot o' Gold Cupcakes

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Milk chocolate cupcakes are filled with Irish Cream ganache and decorated with buttercream icing and sour strip rainbows. Makes 24

Ingredients

GANACHE:
4 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped
½ cup Irish Cream liqueur (like Bailey's)
CAKE:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs, room temperature - divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup whole milk
2 cups cake flour
¼ cup cocoa
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoons baking soda
Green buttercream icing, sufficient to frost 24 cupcakes
Junior mints (optional to use in place of ganache for pots of gold)

Instructions

MAKE GANACHE:
In a small pan on low heat, combine the chocolate and Irish Cream. Heat and stir gently until chocolate is melted and mixture looks well blended. Set aside, stirring occasionally while the cakes are made.
MAKE CAKES:
Heat oven to 350 F.
Line 2 cupcake pans with paper liners.
In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy.
Slowly add sugar, beating continuously, and scraping bowl often. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy.
Add egg YOLKS, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the vanilla, buttermilk and whole milk.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda.
Beginning with the dry ingredients and ending with the wet, add alternately, approximately ⅓ of each mixture at a time, scraping the side of the bowl often.
Whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into the batter.
Fill cupcake cavities ⅔ full and bake for approximately 20 minutes. A toothpick should come out cleanly when inserted into the middle of a cupcake.
Cool in pans on racks for 5 minutes, and then turn out the cupcakes to cool thoroughly.
Place ganache in a piping bag with a large round tip. Press tip into the center of each cupcake, almost to the bottom, and squeeze gently while pulling the tip back out. Don't try to put too much ganache in each one; they'll crack if you do. The remaining ganache will be used to make the pots of gold.
Cover each cupcake with green buttercream icing. (I used a large closed star tip).
Pipe a round "pot" on each cupcake. With a paintbrush, add gold powder. If you don't have any, yellow frosting or candy will do. OR you can use junior mints, cut the top off so a little white shows, and "paint" it with yellow food coloring.
Place a small strip (about 3" of sour striped candy on each cupcake with one end next to the pot of gold.

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Filling the cupcakes with Irish Cream Ganache

Frost ’em purdy!

Add a little magic gold dust (or see other options in the recipe).

If you’d like more ganache in each cake, make two holes in each cake, or try unwrapping the cupcakes and squeezing the tip in the sides of the cakes.

This is the last St. Paddy’s recipe for this year. Onward….Easter is only a few weeks away!

Lorinda

Petits Fours

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Lorinda

Hooo boy. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and I am just now getting this post up. Of course you can run to the store right now, cussing me out under your breath, or you can just adapt the recipe for St. Patrick’s Day or Easter. Or…you can take a shortcut or two, using a store-bought pound cake and even (I can’t believe I’m saying this) canned frosting for the filling. In a pinch you can skip the filling entirely; just cut the cake into cubes or hearts, dip in fondant icing, and decorate!

Yep…Sara Lee works just fine, but there are more crumbs and more waste.

Note: if you cut shapes for your petits fours, they will be a little harder to coat smoothly; baking the cakes in heart shaped pans keeps them from getting crumbly around the sides. Either way, the freezer is your friend! Freeze the little cakes before you slice and fill them, and then freeze them again before dipping.

I tried three icings for the coating: white ganache, melted white chocolate, and a poured fondant enhanced with white chocolate. Each had pros and cons, and what you choose will depend on your expectations. I wanted a thin, white icing with a little “snap” to it. I like it when the coating pops a little when I bite into a petits four. Here’s how the three options rated:

The white ganache looked lovely, but it didn’t have the “snap” I was looking for. I used Wilton’s bright white candy melts for this, and wasn’t too crazy about the taste, but the pastries looked very pretty. If you aren’t after a firm shell-like coating, this would be a good option.

Pretty and white, with fairly good coverage, but not firm enough for me.

For the melted white chocolate, I used Ghiradelli melts. They taste so much better than candy melts, and I really wanted this to work for me. I added a little coconut oil to thin the chocolate for dipping, and it went beautifully. There definitely was a satisfying “snap” when I tried one (or two). But…the color is more ivory than white, and it just didn’t look as pretty.

Nice and smooth, but ivory colored.

The third time’s the charm, right? The poured fondant was just what I wanted. It wasn’t quite as firm as the melted chocolate, but it was very pretty, tasted good, and covered well. ***DING DING DING*** – we have a winner!

Mmmmm. Just right!

The hardest part of this post is determining how much coating you might need. There are so many factors! The size of your pans determines how many pastries you will have to fill and coat. If you choose to buy a pound cake and cut it into shapes rather than baking your own, you will probably have a lot fewer petits fours to work with. I did my best, but you may have to adjust a bit, so it might be prudent to buy enough ingredients for a second batch if necessary. If you don’t need it, well…you can never have too much powdered sugar or white chocolate in your pantry, right?

I used small silicone heart-shaped pans with 24 cavities in each. Filled approximately 2/3 full, my cake recipe made about 72 hearts. Traditional petits fours are approximately 1-inch cubes, so if you want the finished hearts as tall as they are wide, you may choose to a) use more filling, b) use two hearts for thicker layers, cutting off the domed top of each, or c) cut thin slices and make three layers.

WHATEVER YOU DO, FREEZE THE CAKES BEFORE SLICING. It will make things go much more smoothly.

Here’s the recipe I used, but any pound cake or sturdy, dense cake will work well.

Strawberry Cake Mini-Hearts

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon strawberry flavoring and a few drops of red food coloring.

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 F.
Lightly spray silicone mini-heart pans with a non-stick spray. (I prefer a flour/oil mix like Baker's Joy.)
In a large bowl, beat the butter well until light and creamy - at least 2 minutes.
Add sugar gradually and continue beating for 2 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, beating very well and scraping the sides of the bowl between each egg.
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately, one-third of each at a time, beginning with the dry ingredients and ending with the buttermilk. Scrape the bowl well with a rubber spatula as you go.
Stir in the flavoring and food coloring until combined.
Fill the cavities of your pans ⅔ full. Lift and drop the pans a few times to settle the batter, or smooth lightly with a knife.
Place the silicone pans on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. If a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of a cake, and the top has begun to brown slightly, the cakes are done. Place pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out.

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For the filling, I used a couple of cups of fairly stiff buttercream icing, with a heaping tablespoon of strawberry preserves stirred in.

Slice the frozen hearts (cutting off the domed tops so they are level), generously add filling, and press the two layers together firmly. Use a knife to clean off any filling that’s pressed out, spreading it in a thin layer around the heart if you like; it will act as a crumb coat. For a clean line, it’s important not to have filling bulging out the sides, or gaps where there wasn’t enough filling.

Spread with a generous amount of filling.

Smooth for a clean edge.

After filling the hearts, place them back in the freezer while you make the coating.

For the GANACHE COATING: melt 1 package (12 ounces) of Wilton Bright White candy melts in the microwave. Begin with 30 seconds, stir, and then heat at 15 second intervals, stirring each time, just until melted. A few small lumps are fine – they’ll continue to melt in the bowl. In a small pan over medium heat, bring 1/2 cup of heavy cream almost to a boil, stopping when you see bubbles around the edge of the pan. Pour slowly over the chocolate, a little at a time, stirring constantly. Stop when the texture seems right for dipping. (You may not need the whole 1/2 cup.)

For the MELTED CHOCOLATE COATING: melt 1 package (12 ounces) of Ghiradelli White Melting Wafers in the microwave. Begin with 30 seconds, stir, and then heat at 15 second intervals until most of the wafers are melted and just small lumps remain. Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or shortening) and stir slowly until the chocolate is completely smooth. If necessary, put the bowl back in the microwave for a few seconds.

For the POURED CHOCOLATE FONDANT: place 1 pound powdered sugar, 1/4 cup light corn syrup, and 1/3 cup water in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Stir well until mixture is very warm but not bubbling. Remove from heat. (You could use it at this stage, as a poured fondant icing…but I wanted it whiter.) Add 1 package (12 ounces) of Wilton Bright White candy melts and stir until melted. This should be just right for dipping, but if it is too thick, add a little hot water and stir well.

I had better luck dipping my hearts than pouring the icing over them. Still, you’ll want to use a baking sheet with a cooling rack (sprayed lightly with non-stick spray) over it to keep the coating from puddling up around each pastry.

Dip, shake, turn over and slide onto rack. Repeat.

Poke a toothpick in one frozen heart and dunk it in the coating. Don’t try to completely cover the area around the toothpick; this will be the bottom of the petits four! Gently shake off excess, turn the heart over so you’re holding the toothpick like a flower stem, and use a fork to lift the heart off the toothpick and deposit it on the cooling rack to dry. Repeat many, many times.

If you have trouble removing the petits fours from the cooling rack, slide a thin metal spatula under each one. No one will look at the bottom! Also, if you set the finished petits fours on a little bed of sprinkles before you plate them or put them in paper cups, the sprinkles will stick to the bottom for a pretty effect and fun texture.

Decorate with conversation hearts, sprinkles, buttercream flowers, or chocolate designs. Store the petits fours in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Valentine Treat Collection

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Lorinda

I thought that while you were waiting anxiously for me to produce my promised Valentine’s Day Petits Fours, I’d pacify you with a collection of past V-Day treats. While you’re making all of these, I promise I’ll be working on a new post for you.

Try these delicious deep chocolate cookies! Chocolate Oatmeal Raisin Cookies have a little kick of espresso and are filled with chocolate covered raisins.

For a delicious homemade version of Mallomars, put your apron on and make a batch of Vallomar Cookies. They’re a little time-consuming, but soooooo good.

Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday this month, so you’ll have time to surprise your sweetie with these filled doughnuts. Sugared, glazed, plain…there’s nothing like a fresh doughnut! Jelly Doughnut Hearts

Cinnamon Spiral Bread is great when toasted, used for special sandwiches, or made into french toast. Bake it in a heart shaped canape pan and slice into thin hearts.

Light and fluffy, these dainty angel food cakes will just disappear in your mouth! Chocolate Cherry Angel Cakes

As if shortbread cookies aren’t rich enough, I added a chocolate ganache filling and topped them with raspberry jam. You’ve got to try these! Chocolate Raspberry Shortbread

The Rowdy Baker

Irreverent offerings from a compulsive baker.

Category Archives: Cakes

Please, Bees…Bring Spring! Honey Lemon Cheesecake

Ice Cream Cupcake Surprise

Apple Butter & Rum Cheesecake

Spicy Lemon Slice Cake

Baked Alaska-licious!

Banana Split Cupcakes

Brownies for a Crowd

Pot o’ Gold Cupcakes

Petits Fours

Valentine Treat Collection