To Pie or not to Pie, that is the Question

As part of my top 100 list I have included a few pies.  Pies are not something that I bake a lot, well not real pies with flaky, homemade crust and fruit filling.  Nevertheless, part of having a top 100 list is to challenge myself, right? Right.

So, on this one particulate Saturday, I was ready to tackle two items on my top 100 list—Strawberry Rhubarb Pie and a double crust pie.  When I went to the wholesale super store that morning, I bought a large tub of strawberries.  Yet, when I went to my favorite local grocery store, they had no rhubarbs in stock.  (Mind you, ever since this day I have seen them in stock.   Just not on the day when I needed them…)  Without rhubarb I could not make a Strawberry rhubarb pie.  Considering I had more strawberries than my household could eat before perishing, I had to think of a plan B.  Peaches were just starting to come into season, and looked great.  So, the idea become a Double Crusted Strawberry Peach Pie.

I used this original recipe I had for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, with a few tweaks to account for the peaches instead.  I first made the dough, taking caution to keep the ingredients cold and freezing butter and shortening, etc…  I wanted a flaky double crust.  I hulled, peeled, cut-up, sliced, and mutilated all the fruit.  Now came the time for rolling out of the crust.  I rolled the dough between parchment papers, but I just could not get it to work for the bottom of my piecrust.  The dough started to get warm and I freaked out, thinking about the butter and shortening speckles I carefully ensured were cold during the mixing process melting into the dough.  So, in the freezer the dough went.

I did this 2 more times before feeling like I wanted to give up.  Why could I not get this dough rolled out properly AND into my pie dish?  I was ready to quit and actually was in the process of wrapping the sough in plastic wrap and taking it to the trash.  However, when I considered the amount of butter in the crust I would be wasting and having no clue what to do with the fruit that was now ready for the pie, I put on my problem solving hat.  The dough was not getting big enough without being too thin to cover the pie pan. I decided to turn the pie into a single crust pie, quickly working the two separate dough rounds into one and putting it back in the freezer ONE more time.

This worked like a charm and the one layer of crust was perfect.  Just to point out, the recipe was not the problem, it was me!  I used a pie pan larger than the recipe recommended 9-inches.  There was not enough dough to cover the bottom and top of my-too-big pie pan.  Now, what would I do on the top of the pie to cover it?  Two, and only two, words came to mind, crumb topping.  I googled and quickly found a well-rated crumb topping recipe and whipped it up and placed it on the pie.

The pie baked up pretty well and looked okay.  Taste wise, the bottom crust was flaky, and the fruit filling was divine.  It was not too sweet and paired nicely with a scope of vanilla ice cream.  The crumb topping was nice and crunch on top (no nuts were in it), but did not bake evenly.  I may have piled it on far too much, squishing it in the process.  The center was slightly underdone.  Overall, the pie was okay, but not worth sharing my recipes as I am not thrilled with my initial results.  I will continue to play around with it.  After all, I went from trying to accomplish two items off my top one hundred list, to accomplishing none!  So, there will definitely be more pie in my future… unfortunately…

46. Eat to live. Bake to love. (Pecan Shortbread)

Shhhhh!  Lean in really close and be prepared to learn a secret from the Baker at Law kitchen.

Whispering--On average, I usually only take two bites of the desserts I prepare.  One bite to taste the flavor and test the texture of the edges and a second bite to test the texture of the center.

That’s it.  Then I take pictures of the desserts, package them up, take a few more pictures, and then distribute the desserts to happy partakers.    Out of the cookie, for example, that I had two bites, I put the leftovers in a Ziploc bag and leave it on the counter.  Usually, in about a week or so, the tester gets thrown away.

I really do not eat much of what I bake.  I had a friend try to explain this concept to her niece and she seemed completely perplexed by it.  I am sure in the mind of a kid, if food tastes good you eat it.  But, that is not how my mind works, generally.  I eat to live, and although I do enjoy food, I bake to love.

I enjoy baking immensely, but let’s face it, if I ate everything I baked I would be unhealthy, unfit, and two TBS of butter away from a heart attack.  That is not a life I want to lead.  I bake purely because I like to do it.  I love to share it with people who enjoy it.  And I try and spread the wealthy around—no giving too many sticks of butter to one person.

With all that being said, these cookies are one of the few things I baked that I literally had to get out of the house as I ate three cookies the night I made them.  They ARE that good.  These cookies are simple in theory: pecans, butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and vanilla.  Yet, sometimes a magical mix of minimal ingredients allows each to shine and yields perfect results.

These cookies are subtly sweet, rich, and buttery.  Toasting the pecans is a must!  With so few ingredients, each one has to be used to its highest potential.  I made these cookies in two ways.  I divided the batter in half.  With one-half, I formed a log and refrigerated it for 24 hours.  I then sliced the cookies from the log and baked.  The other half of the batter I used immediately, using a 1 TBS capacity cookie scope.  Both cookies came out just as well.  I baked the log-sliced cookies a little longer than the scope cookies.

So bake these and share the love!

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Adapted from Dessert Magazine

Ingredients:

3 sticks Butter, room temperature

1 cup White Sugar

1 large Egg, room temperature

1 TBS (yes TBS) Vanilla Extract

1 TBS Water, room temperature

4 cups All-purpose Flour

1 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

2 1/2 cup Pecans, chopped and toasted

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325F.

2. Cream together butter and sugar.

3. Add egg, vanilla, and water, one at a time.

4. Mix baking soda, flour, and salt in a separate bowl before mixing into butter mixture.

5. Add pecans and mix in completely.

6. Use 1 TBS cookie scope to portion evenly sized cookies.  Slightly flatten.  Cookies will spread very little.

7. Or form dough into a cookie log.  Wrap in plastic and place in the fridge.  Once cookies are cold all the way through, slice them to your desired thickness.

8. Bake cookies 15-17 minutes if using the cookie scope method, or 17-20 minutes if using the sliced log method.  Cookies are done with the edges are just beginning to brown.

9. Cool completely and enjoy!

45. Cherry Almond Biscotti

The reason behind my top 100 list was to challenge myself to try new things.  I wanted to learn new techniques, try different recipes, and expand my baking expertise.  I will not like everything on the list, but it will not stop me from making it and trying it.

That is the case with biscotti.  I like crisp cookies, but I am not a huge fan of biscotti.  Biscotti can be so rock-hard that you must dip it in a beverage to actually be able to eat it.  That is where the problem lies.

Imagine it—you can have a nice, creamy, warm cup of coffee and a flavorful, not-to-sweet, crisp, nutty cookie.  Then you take that cookie, dip it into the coffee, hold it there for a few seconds, then pull the cookie out and eat it.  After savoring the now bitable cookie, you look back down at your cup of coffee and what do you see?  Floating crumbs, cookie residue, textures that are unbecoming of a drink.

THAT is why I do not care for biscotti, because the vehicle to make the cookie palatable creates unwanted consequences.  I want my coffee cookie-crumb free!  So, when making my own biscotti, I wanted it crisp but not jaw-breaking hard.  I wanted the cookie to be enjoyed with or without dipping.

These cookies have a crisp exterior and a softer, chewy interior.  I love that they are not super sweet, and the cherries provide an extra tartness.  Lastly, to bump up the decadence, I half dipped them in semi-sweet chocolate and showered some with almonds.

If you choose to dip them or not, they are perfectly enjoyable.  These cookies can stand on their own or be nicely paired with a warm beverage of choice.

Cherry Almond Biscotti

Adapted from Joy of Baking

 Ingredients:

1 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
2 cups All-purpose Flour
3/4 cup White Sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
approx. 1 cup Dried Cherries
3/4 cup Slivered Almonds

 Method:

1. Preheat oven temperature to 330F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

2. In a small bowl lightly beat eggs and extracts together. 

3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the egg mixture and mix until a dough forms.  Adding almonds and cherries about halfway through.

4. On a lightly floured surface shape dough into a log about 14 inches long and 3 - 4 inches wide. Transfer log to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, or until firm to the touch (log will spread during baking). Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

5. Transfer log to a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, cut log into slices 1 inch thick slices on the diagonal. 

6. Arrange pieces evenly on baking sheet with bottom of log down, so that each piece is standing up with the cut side out.  Bake for 30 minutes or more, until firm to the touch.

7. Remove from oven and let cool.

8. If dipping, melt 8-oz of semi-sweet chocolate with a little vegetable oil.  Once cookies are completely cool, dip each cookie.  Sprinkle with additional sliced almonds if desired. Place on parchment paper, and in the fridge, until chocolate is completely set.

44. Rum Cake

Let me preface this post by saying it is not intended to be offensive.  So, just chalk it up to my off beat personality :-)

My church has driven me to drink, to over indulge in the devil’s brew!  Before you form an opinion and want to douse me in holy water, let me explain my weekend.  Saturday, the day before the Holy day, I was at home cleaning up my kitchen area in preparation for making some Easter bread.  It was a little before 5 PM and I get a call regarding Sunday’s service.  I immediately start going through the house trying to find the tablecloth and hand towel needed for service the very NEXT day.  The lady who usual has the towel and tablecloth was on vacation.

I leave my house and head to the church, thinking that maybe the towel and tablecloth are there.  Nope, they are not there.  I could not show up to church on Sunday empty handed.  So, I must go and seek a replacement for Sunday.  I head to Target.  I find a hand towel, but no tablecloth.  I know from previous experience, a white tablecloth can be hard to find.  I decide to head back to the one place I was able to find one before.

The mall… on the Saturday night… prior to Easter Sunday… was a mad house of people trying to find their last minute Easter outfits.  After parking so far from the door that I could have walked from home, cutting around loiterers standing in the way on the sidewalk, and making it through the racks of pastel printed puffy dresses, I get to the table cloth isle.  There are no white tablecloths to be found.  Not only did I have to come to a store in the mall, I now had to go out of that store, and brave the actual mall.

The mall was an overcrowded nightmare.  Not Christmas over crowded, but bad nonetheless.  I should mention that my attitude might not have been the best as all I could focus on was how much time this was taking me.  I get to another home goods type store and begin searching for a tablecloth.  Then with the lovely lightening, I could not tell what was white and what was silver, grey, or off white.  I begin taking tablecloths to other sections to compare them with things that I knew were white.

After all that, nothing was quite right.  As I am rounding the corner, thinking what store I could try next, I finally see a plain white tablecloth.  After contemplating which side I needed for no less than 20minutes, I got in line and waited there another 30 minutes.  Did I mention it was the Saturday before Easter Sunday?

I have to blaze back through the mall.  Getting to my car, I realize that is now night and I have not had dinner.  I went to the store near my house and grabbed a slice of pizza and went home.  It was now nearly 9PM and nearly 4 hours of trying to prepare for a last minute addition to Sunday’s service. 

My plans to make Easter bread were shot.  I could not get started on a bread recipe at 10 at night and still have it ready to share with some special folks on Sunday.  I still had the urge to bake something.  So, instead of making Easter bread, I stepped into the bad side and made RUM CAKE!  If it had not been for the stress of the evening, I would not have felt the need to pull out the Rum and use a bottle and a half in the cake.  Actually, my plan earlier in the day was to make bread and cake, but due to the circumstances “cut the bread” and
bring on the rum!”  So, now that I have explained myself, and you have (hopefully) put your holy water away, let’s talk about this yummy boozy cake.

This recipe came out wonderfully.  The cake was very moist and flavorful.  It tasted heavily of rum (the best part).  I liked the addition of the roasted pecans as an added crunch factor.  I baked six mini-bundt cakes and four pint sized jars.  The bundt cakes were cute, but the jars were by far my favorite.  I have never actually baked a cake in a jar until now.  Because the cake only gets a hot syrup, not a frosting, it is a perfect candidate to be baked into a jar.

The best part of baking the rum cake into the jar, is that it can be sealed in a way in which it will keep fresh for a good while and you can mail it to loved ones.  To accomplish this I took one jar out of the oven.  Whipped the rim if necessary.  I then took a knife and poked the cake several times.  I next poured a good amount of syrup (out of a measuring cup) over the cake.  It will bubble up, which is awesome to watch.  Then I placed the lid over the bubbling hot jar, and turned the ring.  As the jar/cake cools, the lid’s bubbled center will sink in sealing the jar.  I thought this was so awesome.

And just to round out the story--Sunday morning, literally less than one hour before I have to leave to be at church, I get a call from the lady who usually has the tablecloth and hand towel… Wait for it… They had been in my house all along, hanging on the closet door.  Really?!?!  I could not believe that I had wasted an entire Saturday evening, when they were literally in my own house mere inches from places I looked the day before.   At that point, I took another bit of cake and a swig directly from the rum bottle… And then headed to church.  Just kidding, but the cake I ate Sunday evening was extremely good (and well deserved)!

This also marks another item off my top 100 list!

Rum Cake

Adapted from Always Order Dessert

Ingredients:

 for the cake

1/2 cups (or more to taste) pecans, toasted and chopped

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

3 tablespoons + 1/2 cup vegetable oil, separated

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 package Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding

3/4 cup whole milk (I used a scant 1/2 cup heavy cream and heaping 1/4 cup water)

4 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup dark rum

1 TBS vanilla extract

for the rum syrup

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup dark rum

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325F.  Prepare pan and/or jars with flour/shortening spray, and drop chopped pecans into the bottom of the pan/jar.  (For the jars, I reserved some of the pecans to sprinkle in the middle). Set aside.

2. With a stand mixer, cream together sugar and butter.

3. Add the 3 TBS oil, flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt, combining until evenly distributed. (The mixture will look like fine crumbs.) Add in the pudding mix.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk (or cream mixture), rum, vanilla extract, and remaining vegetable oil.

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the mixer and mix well until combined. The batter will be smooth (possibly with a few lump; don’t worry they will bake out), thin, and pour easily.

6. If making minis or jars, pour batter in large measuring cup with a spout for eats distribution into pans/jars. Pour batter into pans or jars (for jars, I poured in half then sprinkled in more nuts, then pour in the rest).  Do not fill the pan and jars beyond 1/2 to 2/3 full, as the cake will rise.  Bake for 20-25 (mini bundt) to 35-40 (jars) minutes, or until a tester inserted in the cake comes up clean.

7. While cakes are in the oven, prepare the syrup for the jars, or while the cake is cooling for the minis.  In a large saucepan with high sides, combine the butter, water, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat until the butter completely melts and the sugar dissolves. Let the syrup reduce slightly, but keep an eye on it so it does not boil over. Remove from the heat(!!!) before stirring in the rum (it will bubble).

8. If you made jars, look at the explanation above regarding how to apply the syrup and seal them.  If you made bundt cakes, let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before inverting them onto a rack to cool completely (approximately another 10 to 20 minutes).

9.  Clean out the bundt pan, then place the cakes back into the pan.  With a sharp knife, poke a few holes in each cake.  Pour the syrup all over the cakes.  Let it sit for at least 8 hours, but overnight would be best.  Invert and enjoy.

My Top 100: Update #4

Time for another My Top 100 list update. (Update #3) (Update #2) (Update#1) (Initial List)

I cannot believe I developed this concept 20 months ago.  Time definitely flies.  Though I have conquered only about half of the list, I have been doing substantially more baking in the recent year(s).  I have been trying variations on different recipes and new recipes just alike.  I even bake so much (sometimes) that I am unable to post about it all here!  I keep thinking one day my officemates will tell me to stop bringing in treats; but that day has not occurred (yet).

This list was about challenging me to do new things.  As I begin to conquer the remaining items, I feel ready and up to the challenge.  Some of the things left are (obviously) the most challenging items to complete.  I guess that is why there may have been some mild procrastination in attempting to make them (yes, I am talking about the bread items made with yeast).  Nevertheless, I will procrastinate hesitate no longer… I will accomplish everything on this list.  I still do not have deadline in mind, but I am constantly working towards the finish line.  I am definitely the tortious, not the hare.  Slow and steady may not win the race, but it will definitely finish it.

Updated List:

Cakes, Cupcakes, and Mini-cakes

Moist Yellow Cake

Red Velvet Cake (New Recipe)

Carrot Cake (New Recipe)

Rum Cake

Petit Fours

Confetti Cake

Crumb Cake

German Chocolate Cake

Jelly Roll

Multi-Tired and Decorated Cake

Boston Cream Pie

Marble Cake

Yule Log

A Birthday cake for Mommy

Cake in a Jar (I still want to send it by mail in the future)

Almond Cake

Fruit Flavored Cake

Zebra Cake

Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

Honey Spice Cake

Tres Leches Cake

Coconut Cake (from “Good Eats”)

Checker Board Cake

Icing, Frostings, Cake Coverings, and Fillings

Whipped Cream Frosting

Pour Fondant

Italian Style Buttercream

French Style Buttercream

Swiss Meringue Buttercream (New Recipe)

Chocolate Buttercream

Chocolate Icing made with Melted Chocolate

Coconut Pecan Frosting (Icing for German Chocolate Cake)

7 minute or Fluffy Boiled Frosting

Fresh Strawberry Frosting

Fruit Puree Filling

Lemon Curd Filling

Fondant on a Cake

Pies, Pastries, and All Things Flaky or Fluffy

Peach Hand/Fry Pies

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Doughnuts (Baked)

Doughnuts (Fried)

Sticky Buns

Cinnamon Rolls

Croquembouche-Cream Puffs

Éclairs

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Danish

Turnovers

Double Crust Pie

Latticed Top Pie

Pecan Pie

Cream Pie (36. Accomplished Sept. 3, 2011, for my mommy’s birthday)

Funnel Cake

Crack Pie

Ol’ Fashion Apple Dumpling

Cookies, Bars, and Brownies

White Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookie (New Recipe)

Traditional French Macrons

Lemon Bars

Graham Crackers

Short Bread

Whoopie Pies

Fudge

Checker Board Cookies

Stained-Glass Cookies

Gingersnaps

Yeast Breads, Quick Breads, and Muffins

Brioche

Croissants

Orange and Cranberry Muffins

Biscotti

Cornbread

Bagels

Rosemary Bread

Hot Cross Buns

Potato Bread

Pumpernickel Bread

Monkey Bread

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Blueberry Muffins (34. Completed July 29, 2011.  Sorry, no pictures=no blog post)

Streusel Topped Muffin (35. Ditto)

Lemon Poppy Muffins

Bran Muffins

Cheese Bread

Desserts That Are Creamy and Ate With a Spoon

Banana Pudding (from scratch)

Chocolate Soufflé

Crème Brule

Bread Pudding

Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

Chocolate Lava Cake

Fried Ice Cream

Savory

Butternut Squash Ravioli with a Browned Butter and Sage Sauce

Vegetarian Pot Pie

Spring Rolls

All Other Wonderful Things

Caramel Popcorn

Corn Dogs

Cereal

Granola

Crepes

Gingerbread House

Fruit Leather

Peanut Brittle

41., 42., & 43. Baby Shower Cake

One of my co-workers and his wife will be adding a new addition to their family any day now.  As an office, we always like to commemorate big life events with food and presents.  So, this shower was given as reason for us to have cake to honor the soon to be born Baby Boy Smith.

It has been a while since I have made a cake for work.  We have gone an unprecedented 4 months without a birthday (mine does not count, as I was not making my own cake), and on the last birthday a last minute replacement cake was necessary due to a 1 AM kitchen accident…  So, I really felt the need to go over and above with this cake.

The first concept I came up with was the checkerboard interior.  I thought it would be awesome to make the inside of the cake visually interesting.  Plus, the concept did not seem too difficult to accomplish.  The checkerboard interior really just required planning and preparation.  I made the cake, cut the pattern, and reassembled the layers Wednesday night.  That left icing and decorating for Thursday.

Earlier in the week, a friend of mine asked for my Buttercream Frosting recipe, as he was trying to recreate a beloved cake from a local gourmet grocery store.  He said that the grocery store baker said that they use an Italian Meringue Buttercream.  I directed him to a blog and told him it was something I wanted to try, but had not done so yet.  I mean the Swiss method has worked out so well… If it ain’t broke, why try and fix it?

Pattern transfer technique with piping gel

Really, I just had a fear of timing the egg whites and sugar syrup perfectly.  Not to mention not wanting to deal with a thermometer to measure the temperature of the sugar syrup.  Nonetheless, I decided to take on the Italian method so I could provide technical support to my friend.  He actually made the frosting before I could make it, so I was no help at all… But, the situation did get me to try the new technique.  And I am proud that I did not fail at it.  It seems very similar (actually almost exactly the same) to Swiss Meringue Buttercream, but maybe a bit more buttery.

And if two new techniques were not enough for one cake, I decided to finally tackle putting fondant on a cake.  For some reason, I thought the design I had in mind would be easier to execute on fondant.  Kneading and rolling out the fondant was not that bad actually.  I probably used too much powdered sugar, as the fondant looked a little elephant skin like over the side edge.  But for a first attempt, it came out awesome.

Now, let’s talk about the taste of fondant.  I have never tasted it before.  Go figure, right!  I mean I have worked with it in a weekend baking class, and cut letters out of it for a pumpkin cake a few years ago… But, I have never tasted the stuff.  O… M… Goodness!  If this stuff did not make cakes look gorgeous, I would question more why it exist.  It taste like sugar and play dough.  Yes, the salty, colorful dough we played with as children.  And beside the awful taste (the little nibble I tasted I could not even swallow), it has a play dough smell.  The whole night while working on the cake, all I could smell was play dough.  Really, I may have to try the marshmallow “fondant” one more time, just to see if it is possible to achieve beauty, with a better taste and smell.

Regardless, the cake came out very well.  I am happy with the design, but as the perfectionist that I am, I can only also see the flaws, but for the sake of brevity, I will not point them all out here.  Lets just say that as I work with fondant more, I will get better at using it and covering cakes.

The taste of the cake was wonderful!  I used the same White Butter Cake recipe that I have used in the past.  When I find a good recipe, I stick with it.  I kept the cake flavor pretty neutral with vanilla extract.  I did flavor the Buttercream with almond flavor.  It was a nice balance and though the almond was only in the frosting, it scented the entire cake.  If I would have put almond in the cake and frosting, it would have been too much.

I sent two pieces of cake home with my co-work—one for his daughter and one for his wife who will ultimately share some of the cake with Baby Boy Smith, after all the shower was in his honor.

Vanilla (& Blue) Checker Board Cake with Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting covered in Fondant.  (This marks three more items off my top 100 list!)

Checkerboard Cake Technique

I will not even try to begin to explain this one to you when there are so many great blog posts already out there.  This was my main go to post for this technique.

A few notes.  I used an 8-inch pan.  This makes all of the measurements a little harder, but a 6-inch cake would have been too small for my office (as used in the tutorial).  When using an 8-inch pan, I figured the inner circle would have a diameter of 2.5 inches, and the middle circle would be 5 inches.  This would mean that the 8-inch cake, final measurement for the outer ring is actually 7.5 inches.  Which makes sense because cakes condense as they cool and the sides have to be leveled out.

I have one cookie cutter that worked from the inner ring.  I used the bottom of my sifter (it has a 5 inch diameter) as a pattern for the middle ring.  I lightly pressed it into the cake, and then cut out along the line with a sharp, thin bladed knife.  So, be inventive and measure circular object around your kitchen until you find one the right size, if you do not have an appropriate cookie cutter and did not want to try to free hand it.

Italian Meringue Buttercream

Technique and tutorial from ButterYum

Just the egg whites and sugar syrup whipping together.

I used my traditional Swiss Meringue Buttercream ingredient ratios (1:2:3) however.

The infamous curdle stage.  My butter may have been too cold.  Just keep whipping...

For this specific cake I used the following:

5 oz Egg Whites (by weight)

10 oz Sugar

4 TBS Water

15 oz Butter

1 tsp Almond Emulsion

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

...it will finally come together and be ready to use.

This produced just enough buttercream to crumb coat and frost the 4.5-inch tall, 8-inch diameter cake.  If you would like to put buttercream in between the layers, you will need to make a larger batch.

White Butter Cake Recipe

Adapted from Joy of Baking

(I made two separate batches, obviously dying one blue)

Ingredients:

2 large eggs, separated

1 3/4 cups (175 grams) cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar, divided (3/4 & 1/4 cup)

1 scant TBS pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.

2. Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another bowl.  This is easiest to do while cold, then let the eggs come to room temperature prior to use.

3.  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

4. In bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft.  Add 3/4 cup of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

5. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. 

6. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

7. With a rubber spatula stir in 1/3 of the whites into the batter to lighten it, and then gently fold in the remaining whites until combined. Do not over mix the batter or it will deflate.

8. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for approximately 20 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

9. Cool the cakes completely before use.