April Showers Bring Wedding Season

 It may be a day for jokes but April is a serious month. This is the time for those bridal showers that herald in May ,June and even July weddings. Get out the planners and start looking up recipes . A good shower requires a good menu.

The first step is considering the them of the wedding.If it's one that takes place on a farm or in a farm house then consider a farm house themed shower. you don;t have to go all farm to table but you can have dishes that reflect the land. Think of the crops that are grown on a traditional farm. One crop is beans. You can easily make a cannellini hummus  by using white cannellini beans instead of chickpeas It's the same as regular hummus with the addition of tahini and olive oil for a creamy smoothness. Best of all you can make large batches of it if you have a large number of guests. A fun dip is cowboy caviar which is always a crowd pleaser.It's mixing beans with corn. cubed avocados and tomatoes. Celery and parsley are also added for flavor.Onion and black eyed peas are also added for flavor. Veggie loaded quiches  make for a good main course for a farm themed luncheon.Try a variety of different ingredients from ham to broccoli. Another main dish is chicken pot pie galette. This is a savory take on the classic French dessert. Simple roasted Cornish hens are also a good mean meal too. As for dessert. just plain scratch cupcakes work . Think elegant simplicity with basic ingredients.

Many Spring and summer weddings are beach themed. This makes for a perfect reason to have a beach themed bridal shower. Of course seafood is on the menu. You can easily have shrimp in lettuce cups with a splash of shrimp sauce. Another idea, if you want to splurge is a lobster salad or lobster rolls. If you feel this may be too expensive, one you can check your local Lidl .The store is selling them for $14 a piece.Also check out deals at Wal-Mart and Sam's CLub where they range around $16 for one. A better substitute is crab which is versatile for a number of recipes.These are much cheaper being $8.99 for snow crab legs cluster. Salmon and scallops can also be used. Salmon is one of the most versatile fishes. You can easily make  large sheet pan dinners with it. Give it a Spring twist by cooking it with asparagus  and new potatoes. What about dessert at a beach themed shower? Think cupcakes with frosty blue icing decorated with colored shells and edible pearls. An ocean cake can also be made with the layers being tinted in blue and green. Carry the theme over to the frosting. and scatter candy shells on top for decoration.

It may be April Fools's Day but it's time to get serious about shower season. Start planning for yours.Pick a theme that works with the theme of the wedding.It's be a nice preview of what's to come.

Baking Extravaganza Day Two Cookies

Today was the cookie extravaganza. I went the quick route using a mix . To be honest I haven't baked cookies in  a long time so I was a tad rusty. Honestly, there were a lot of mistakes and hair pulling moments.

First of all I microwaved the butter - again the good Irish butter Kerry Gold.Do it for 10 seconds.It lets the butter get soft while still maintaining its' shape.

This is the mix, the Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie one. It requires the butter one egg and a tablespoon o

of cold tap water. It was a hard mix with me adding I Can't Believe It's Not Butter to get

it somewhat malleable.I added mini chocolate chips, the Stop & Shop brand to make it that much special

These are the two sheets I used. One is a mega sheet I just bought at Target.You can't see the details, but the surface is pebbled to create a better heat flow around the dough.The other is my Mom's old cookie sheet that has been through a lot.

Unfortunately I misread the directions and instead of teaspoon sized ball I used the tablespoon size instead. The first batch came out somewhat raw.and chewy.. Subsequent batches were then scaled down to the proper size. They burned It was a headache of a bake, although the cookies came out somewhat O.K.They were baked in a 375 degree Farenheit oven at ten to fifteen minutes a batch.

They look relatively fine, they taste yummy but next time I will make oatmeal cookies from scratch . I don't like the mixes.

So that was my two day , tiring but a learning experience. Next time I will space out the baking. Two days in a row is just too darned much.

The Perfect Birthday Cake

One of the crowning moments of any birthday is the cake. It's usually a perfect two layer affair with a yummy filling , frosted with buttercream. Buttercream roses or marzipan figures decorate it.It's a challenge for many home bakers , yet it doesn't have to be. Any home baker can create the perfect birthday cake.

One of the biggest dilemmas home bakers face is what kind of cake to bake.Scratch or mix? Many purists will tell you scratch is much better for you health wise and taste wise too. However, if you're pressed for time, a mix is a lifesaver. If you want to make a scratch one, keep it simple with a vanilla or a chocolate flavors Make sure you have all the ingredients from the baking powder to the butter and eggs. Remember to have unsweetened  cocoa powder if you're making a chocolate scratch cake. As for mixes, Duncan Hines  brand is really the best. The mix produces the best crumb - moist and flavorful. Pilsbury and Betty Crocker are also very good. All have a variety of different flavors that include such fruit flavors as orange ,lemon,pineapple and strawberry. Betty Crocker has the  fun SuperMoist Rainbow Chip cake , a mix filled with multicolored sprinkles. Once you decide on what kind of cake you're going to bake, check your inventory of pans.  The best kind is nine inch metallic ones. These  produce perfectly baked and even layers , with no burning. Also make sure you have a cake tester which is crucial is determining when the layers are done along with a sturdy wire rack for cooking.

The filling is important too. Many home bakers just use the icing as the filling, which can be OK if it's not too sweet. Cream cheese icing is the filling of choice for classic Red Velvet and carrot cake as well as banana cake. For other cakes, pureed fruit and whipped cream make for a nice  not too sweet filler. Try a layer of fresh cream and raspberry for any chocolate or vanilla cake.Lemon curd is a great filling for a lemon or pineapple cake. It's an easy mix of lemon juice with zest blended with egg yolk, sugar and butter to create a kind of pudding. A strawberry cake would be made decadent with a chocolate mousse one., and then iced with a dark chocolate butter cream. As for the finishing touch, buttercream is the way to go. Fondant, a combination of corn syrup, shortening and powdered sugar, flavored with vanilla is heavy and will make the cake cloyingly sweet. Save it for making figures and objects. Go with buttercream. The frosting can be made in a variety of flavors from vanilla to raspberry to orange to even peanut butter. Again, make sure you have the instruments to make the perfect gateau. An icing spatula is a must  because it gives a smooth glossy finish to the cake. Icing combs will give the sides those perfect even lines that bakery cakes have. Make sure you have a good cake icer that has a variety of nozzles to make buds and leaves. A cake nail is necessary to make those big roses that grace every birthday cake.Also have a nozzle with a small tip for writing.

The perfect birthday cake is the perfect gift. It should have a moist cake, a delicate filling and a creamy , buttery icing. The combination will give you  a memorable creation that's worthy of any birthday wish.

A Special Cake For Mom

One of the best gifts is a homemade one for Mother's Day. Any mom would appreciate a tasty treat that she didn't bake. Think fun cupcakes or a daffodil cake. If she's into fruit than a great pie, or if she's fancy a plate of macarons with a ganache filling. There's a variety of sweets that can be created for mom's special day.

If you're not a pro at baking, then go for the mixes. Between the big three cake mixes, Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker and Pillsbury, you can make any kind of cake.Duncan Hines has introduced serving for one -  mug filled with either cake or bread. This is the easiest bake - just the mix and three tablespoons of water - - it just takes a minute in the microwave and voila - a perfect treat. She can have her choice of flavors from a decadent chocolate lover's cake to  banana bread. There's even one minute muffins, blueberry ,apple cinnamon and corn, in a mug too for a neat breakfast in bed. as for cakes and frosting , all three brands have not only mixes but frostings too. As for decorations Betty Crocker has these various sprinkles including Cupcake Gems that are gold and silver sugar crystals. Sprinkle these on a plain cake  to amp it up to something special.You can also have fun with the mixes too, thanks to the brands offering dozens of recipes on their sites. Try a poke cake with either pudding or Jello for a fun surprise or a skillet cake , layered with whipped cream and fresh berries.Pillsbury has a easy to bake ice cream cake recipe that just requires cake mix , ice cream and whipped cream.It's easy to assemble and decorate.

More experienced bakers can definitely whip up a scratch cake with no problems. One of the prettiest is the daffodil cake,  a marriage of angel food and yellow scratch cakes. The frosting is a mix of pineapple juice and Cool Whip which is a lovely , mild flavor to go to the cake. Of course , nothing beats the taste of a scratch marble cake. This would make a great dessert with a scoop of French vanilla or chocolate ice cream.It's also good just on it's own with an iced coffee and mom's favorite Sunday crossword. A homemade pie is always a nice gift.Supermarkets such as Stop & Shop and Acme are still selling Granny Smith and Fuji apples and these are the best for a homemade apple pie.  If you want something fancier then think a homemade lemon meringue with a slightly browned meringue crown. It's a great end to a Mother's Day barbecue. Another tropical tasting treat is a Key Lime pie, the perfect union of sweet and tart. What mother wouldn't like a plate of fresh from her oven macarons. Yoou can make them like the ones from the famed Ladueree Patisserie, with flavors such as chocolate, salted caramel and even rose water.Fill them with a rich chocolate ganache or almond buttercream for true luxury,

Nothing beats a homemade treat for mom's special day . Surprise her with home baked treat. It's a sweet way to thank her for she's baked for you.

Caked

Cake is one of the best things to come out of a home kitchen. There's something soothing and satisfying as well as fun about freshly baked layers with or without icing. It's fun using a mix but also fun attempting an old fashioned scratch cake. The end result is always delicious.

As soon as my new oven was installed I bought mixes, from brownie to cake ones. I love Duncan Hines and have had nothing but luck with them, knock wood. As everyone knows last week was the Easter Cupcake Extravaganza. I baked twenty-two devil's food cupcakes, topped with that yummy, creamy cream cheese frosting, the recipe coming from the All Recipes site. To be honest it was a bit too much with the topping along with the candy bunny sprinkles I bought at Target. Devil's food is elegant and should not be gaudied up . I realized that as I took the first bite. The next time the cupcakes (or cake) will be just left alone , save for a light dusting of confectioner's sugar. My next foray will be lemon cake with  - what else a lemon infused cream cheese frosting. Will I ever try Pillsbury and Betty Crocker cake mixes? Pillsbury has pineapple and strawberry flavored mixes that look intriguing. As for Betty Crocker, I may try their cherry chip and Red Velvet. Their flavors aren't that much different from Duncan Hines, though. Duncan Hines has a wider variety such as marble cake along with blue and pink velvet cake mixes.They also have an orange supreme cake which looks way too tempting.

Scratch cakes are also on my baking horizon. There's always been a controversy regarding them. Of course scratch cakes don;t have that chemical cocktail of preservatives and flavors. They do
 taste better, Butter and chocolate ones are richer tasting,making the cake eater crave another piece right away. You do need to add baking powder and granulated sugar as well as milk , salt and vanilla.Scratch cakes can also allow home bakers to be a bit more creative, subbing in almond extract for vanilla or adding fruit to the batter. I would love to try a marble scratch cake that was popular in the Eighties.My Mom and I used to bake it a lot and it was wonderful. The marble veins were dense and gooey with chocolate. The recipe itself came from the New York Daily News and unfortunately, despite the vastness of the Internet, the recipe isn't found anywhere.There is a Martha Stewart recipe which also calls for buttermilk. It's more of a pound cake, which is still good and to me, a perfect cake for summer.I may try my hand at it , just for the sake of trying it.

Cake baking is surprisingly a personal matter. Many home bakers, like myself, have definite favorites and will always stick with them. Cake is not just cake. What it is depends on the mix and brand along with how the baker makes it.

The Perfect Ice Cream Cake

A summer birthday or a summer party deserves a good ending namely an ice cream cake. Most people usually head to their local ice cream shop to get this treat. However an ice cream cake is easy to make and assemble. What  is great about a home made one is that it can be customized with favorite fillings.

The first step is deciding is how elaborate you want to make it. There is one recipe that just calls for layering ice cream sandwiches in a nine by thirteen baking pan. Hot fudge and Cool Whip is slathered on between layers. The icing is another layer of Cool Whip with a heavy dusting of shaved chocolate.It is then covered and frozen for an hour before serving.Caramel sauce can be subbed in for the fudge for a different spin. Another idea that takes a little more work but has a lot of flavor is one that takes inspiration from those Dairy Queen and Carvel cakes. It's easy but has a lot of steps. The recipe involves first placing a springform pan in the freezer for fifteen minutes.  Vanilla and chocolate ice cream is used, however you can vary the flavors. Try chocolate and mint chip for mint lovers. Coffee lovers should have layers of coffee ice cream. The filling is crushed Nabisco chocolate wafers mixed with that hard shell topping (although you could use a fudge sauce as a binder too.)  The three layers are frozen for two hours and then iced with whipped cream. Multicolored sprinkles are then scattered on it.You can also pipe whipped cream rosettes  around the bottom and top or even make buttercream roses if you're feeling ambitious.

Another idea is baking a cake and filling it with ice cream. If you don't have time buy the mixes. There are some good ones such as Red Velvet  and German Chocolate. You can also make scratch cakes too, and make them a bit healthier by using whole wheat flour. These can be made in layers or as a sheet cake, depending on the size of your party. The ice cream can also be homemade if you have an ice cream maker. You can try different fruit varieties here too. Think a vanilla sheet cake with a peach, blueberry or strawberry ice cream along with a topping of fresh fruit too. A fun idea is a "naked" ice cream cake , one without icing. Bake three scratch cakes, try a marble or chocolate chip one  and then  as you would with filling, cover the layers with about an inch of softened ice cream. You can even blend in candy, fruit or cereal for some texture and more flavor.Just "ice" the top most layer with a thin layer of ice cream and decorate with sugar gel or with sprinkles. Some home bakers recommend using a "dense" cake like pound cake because it holds better than the lighter , more crumbly cakes. It's up to you with what kind of cake to use..Any ice cream cake can be served with chocolate or salted caramel sauce.

An ice cream cake adds so much to a summer party. Making one and customizing it is a real treat  because it's full of favorite flavors.It's a nice way to welcome a warm summer night.

Fall Baking

This is the perfect time for cake baking. The weather is free of humidity.The air is cool and crisp and many bakers do appreciate a hot oven warming up a cold kitchen.It's time to get out the flour and sugar and start creating good old fashioned cakes.

One of the best cakes to make is a pound. It's the most versatile, going from bake sales to a finishing off a nice Sunday dinner.It's also good in the sense that it is a true scratch cake and doesn't come from a chemical laced mix.Pound cake is one of the earliest recipes having graced tables from Colonial times. You can stick with the basic recipe and make a simple vanilla one or vary it with spices or chocolate chips. Try baking one with a fall theme, by using apple cider. Glaze with caramel sauce to finish it. Sour cream pound cakes may be very dense and rich but they are tasty.

Coffee cakes are another fall treat that can be easily made. They too are wonderful for finishing a fall meal or perfect for a church gathering or bridal shower. Coffee cakes start with an almost yeasty bottom topped with luscious cinnamon laced crumbs. Aptly enough they're also called crumb cake too as well as streusel cakes.A crumb cake is one of the simplest cakes to make and always turns out right. You can also create different varieties as well , adding cocoa powder instead of cinnamon to the spice mix. Another idea is keeping the cinnamon but blending in cooked apples for a fruitier treat. Add sour cream too to the cake batter for again a rich and smoother cake .

It's the perfect time for baking now that the weather is cooler.Try a classic pound cake or delicious crumb to celebrate the season. Either one is perfect for an autumn get together or bake sale.