b lurves h

2010 is the year and wedding bells are chiming all over my news feed on facebook. created for a bridal shower, i combined several recipes i found online to get the yum-o pictured below. happy tasting!

modified from: mary todd, yum sugar, and wilton's
makes and frosts: 2 9" round cakes.

vanilla almond cake:
- 1-1/2c granulated sugar
- 1 c butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3/4 c sifted cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1-1/3 c milk
- 1 c almonds, finely chopped
- 6 egg whites, stiffly beaten

1. preheat oven to 375. generously grease 2 9" round pans. in a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, and vanilla. in a separate bowl, sift together flour and baking powder.

2. combine flour mixture to the sugar mixture, alternating with milk.

3. stir in almonds.

4. fold in egg whites.

5. bake for 28 - 30 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. let cool for 10 min before removing from pan. allow cake to cool completely before filling and frosting.


dulce de leche filling:
- 1 quart whole milk
- 1 c sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped [reserve seeds]
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 T water

1. in a large heavy saucepan, combine milk, sugar, vanilla beans, and seeds. bring to a simmer over med heat.

2. in a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in water and add to pot. warning: pot will froth!

3. reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. remove bean. continue cooking, skimming top occasionally, until reduced to 1 cup; tan, thick, and creamy. depending on how hot your stove is, this will take 1-1/2 to 3 hours.

4. strain into a clean bowl and allow to cool. dulce de leche will thicken as it cools. cover and refrigerate until ready to use or store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.


icing:
- 2c crisco
- 1c butter
- 2 tsp clear vanilla extract
- 2 tsp butter flavoring
- 1/2c milk
- pinch of salt
- 2tsp meringue powder
- 4lbs powdered sugar

1. in a bowl, combine crisco, butter, vanilla, flavoring, and milk. turn mixer off and add salt, merginue powder, and powdered sugar.

2. on the lowest speed, combine. once ingredients are thoroughly mixed, raise speed to medium and blend until smooth.

tip: i found that the measurements made the perfect crusting buttercream icing. however, if yours is too stiff, add milk 1tbsp at a time until desired consistency; if yours is too runny, add more powdered sugar 1 tbsp at a time until desired consistency.

croquembouche

pressed for time, but with my heart set on a croquembouche for my 30th birthday, i decided to pull a sandra lee and make it semi-homemade. with a little creativity and 45 minutes to spare, you too, can have a fancy croquembouche. happy tasting!

my birthday croquembouche

courtesy of: missi

serves: 8-10

puff pastry:
- 75 glazed munchkins from dunkin donuts


cream filling:
- 2 pkgs instant vanilla pudding
- 2 c milk

1. combine pudding and milk in an air-tight container with a tight fitting lid. shake vigorously to combine and let sit 5 min.

2. fill a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and inject approximately 1tsp into one donut hole. repeat step until all donut holes are filled.

*since the donut holes are glazed, i didn't see it necessary to coat them in the traditional hardened caramel. instead, i left them "naked" and used other means to stack them into a cone shape...

assembly:
- 1 styrofoam cone
- 75 toothpicks

1. once the donut holes are filled, use toothpicks to attach them to a styrofoam cone. 75 donut holes will cover a medium sized cone.

ta da!

sugarwebs:
- 1 c sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. prepare an ice-water bath. bring all ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, washing down sides of pan often with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. cook, without stirring, until sugar dissolves; 5-6 min. raise heat to high and cook, swirling pan to color evenly, until syrup is amber, about 3-5 min. remove caramel from heat and set bottom of pan in the ice bath to stop the cooking process. slightly cool.

this was once a wire whisk

sugar web application tools:
- wire whisk
- wire cutters
- turn table

1. while caramel is cooling enough to distribute, set the assembled croquembouche on a turn table for even distribution of the caramel sugar web and use wire cutters to snip apart a wire whisk {see above photo}. this will allow wispy strands of caramel to be added easily {see photo below}.

with a turn table, i spin the croquembouce instead of my whisk.

because moister will cause your caramel to become tacky, please serve within 2 hours unless you live in arizona, then serve within 6.

eat your heart out, sandra lee!

yippity yo

let's get serious. rachael ray, eat your heart out. happy watching!

missi's famous salsa

this recipe will be up for the next 24 hours ONLY. it's my super secret salsa recipe that has won numerous awards and competitions. happy tasting! shhhhh....

courtesy of: missi