Royal Orange Fairy Cakes

I think we've all gone a little royal wedding crazy, both sides of the pond.

thegoldenherald.com

Slightly more dignified than the pez dispensors is the official Royal Wedding website, which showcases the wedding ceremony guest list and seating chart, musicians and choirs performing, the wedding procession route, the charitable gift fund set up by William and Kate and about anything else that might spark your interest.

Luckily, the site includes information on the royal wedding cake.  This enormous task has been placed on the shoulders of Fiona Cairns, British cake designer and cookbook author.  Even though I'm tiring of the constant coverage on trivial matters pertaining to the wedding, I'm still rising early tomorrow morning to view the ceremony live as well as bake some treats to celebrate the day.  And I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for a sneak-peak of Cairns' cake.

I decided to bake fairy cakes, the British version of cupcakes.  The cake is similar to that of American cupcakes, but fairy cakes are iced with royal icing instead of buttercream.  I found inspiration from Fiona Cairns cookbook, Bake and Decorate, although I have a feeling these little cakes aren't anything near as grand as the cakes she's preparing for tomorrow.

Mini Orange Chiffon Cakes and Iced Butter Cookies

Le Petit Lapin has a favorite holiday.  Can you guess what it is?

It's not just because Easter is centered around an infamous bunny and his/her (I'm not sure about the Easter bunny's gender) chocolate eggs.  It has a lot more to do with the  coinciding transformations from brown to bright green and bare to speckled with delicate buds in the world around. Easter heralds the arrival of robins hunting for worms, bright yellow daffodils and cute open toed sandals. 

There's no heavy meal laden with gravy, mashed potatoes and stuffing, nor is there the stress of purchasing gifts for family and friends.  Just stock up on cadbury cream eggs and peeps, and you're all set.

To celebrate Easter, the little rabbit is keeping it simple this year with iced butter cookies and mini orange chiffon cakes.  Nothing rich and heavy,  just some light desserts to welcome the arrival of the robins, daffodils and all things Spring.

When California grows you lemons...

...bake Baby Lemon Angel Food Cakes!  

 

The Little Rabbit is preparing for a visit to the golden state.  

The timing couldn’t be better.

As I lay out my lightweight jacket, short sleeved shirts, flips flops and even a pair of shorts, I look out my window and can’t help but laugh at the three feet of snow Vermont was recently slammed with. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I love the snow.  But when mother earth teases you with sunny days in the high 40s, you start to believe Spring is right around the corner.  As you consider packing away the hats, mittens and scarfs galore you've been cocooning yourself in everyday,  it starts to snow again. 

And it keeps snowing.

And snowing.

Three feet of snow later, Spring is but a distant memory. It's reminiscent of C. S. Lewis' never-ending winter in Narnia.  Would someone defeat the evil White Witch already?

Understandably, nothing delights me more than planning and packing for a trip to sunny California.  Perhaps while I'm gone the snow will melt as Spring nudges the winter away with warm temps and afternoon showers.

In preparation for my upcoming trip, I thought I’d bake with one of California’s leading food products, the lemon.  California is the leading citrus producer for the US, producing 87% of US lemons.  This equates to 745 million tones of lemons annually.

That’s a lot of lemons.  I’d better get baking.

Italian Hazelnut Cake

Last week I ran in the hills behind my house.  It was a 14 mile run, which isn't too long when it's a distance you've worked up to.  But when it's a 14 mile run with constant elevation changes, it gets a whole lot harder.  Add 20 degree weather with snow blowing in your face, and it's downright miserable.

It's moments like that when I really want to give up, grab my cell and call the local taxi service to take me home. But just as I looked up from my plodding feet, I saw something standing alone in the woods, watching me from between the trees.

I saw my first moose in Vermont.

For all the moose crossing signs on the highway, you'd think they're everywhere, but they're not.  I've seen plenty of deer, wild turkeys, great blue herons, beavers, woodchucks, and even a bear.  But never any moose.  And here in the magical silence of the falling snow in the dirt roads of Vermont, was a moose.

I stopped and watched the moose for quite a while, and she just stood in the woods looking back.  Snow was collecting on her head, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.  Alone in the woods on a snowy afternoon with no one else around.  I could have stood there for hours staring back, but I soon felt my sweaty back catch a chill, so I had to move on.

Luckily, the short break motivated me to run a little faster and push a little harder, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the woods for more winter friends.

After I made it home, I tried my hand at this Italian Hazelnut cake.  Along with a hot cup of espresso, it quickly boosted my energy levels back to normal. However, I couldn't help but wonder whether the moose was still standing alone among the trees, snow collecting all around her.

 

Continue reading for more pics and the recipe!

Valentine's Day

LOVE is in the air. I can feel it.

Okay, maybe not.

But there's no denying that Valentine's Day is quickly approaching.  Store fronts are filled with all things pink and frilly, and florists and chocolate shops are armed and ready.  If you've tried everything from bouquets of red roses to three foot chocolate bears filled with cream to heart shaped jewelry, you might be wondering what to do this year.

Perhaps I can help.

There's nothing sweeter on Valentine's Day than home-made treats. It says, even though I'm a 200 pound male who loves football and beer, I love you enough to spend hours in the kitchen cutting dough into tiny hearts and smearing them in sugary pink frosting.  Or, just because we eat out every night doesn't mean I don't love you enough to tie on an apron and jeopardize my manicured nails to the dangers of the kitchen to bake a giant pink cake.

Now that's love.

And if you don't have someone special to bake for on Valentine's Day, bake for yourself!  Everyone deserves a little sugar on the 14th, so don't be ashamed. 

How about Heart Shaped Butter Cookies?

Or goblets of French Macaroons...

... and  Tiny Raspberry Meringues?

Or a Neapolitan Ruffle Cake?

Click below for recipes and more pics!

Daffodil Cake.

Winter eating is heavy. There’s no way around it.

It’s hearty soups and crusty peasant bread. Thick stews and heavy biscuits. Casseroles laden with meats and sauces. Filling pies with buttery crusts. Holiday cookie after holiday cookie. Rich hot chocolate with whipped cream.

Ugh.

Last week I had the misfortune of catching a nasty stomach bug. I was limited to days of drinking coke and eating popsicles and oyster crackers. At first I was devastated that I couldn’t indulge in my afternoon pillage of the cracker jar or nightly rummage through my candy tin. However, as my appetite returned, I didn’t turn to my usual snacking culprits. I even grabbed a piece of fruit one night over a chocolate bar and tin of cashew nuts. A few days away from the over-salted snacks and sugary sweets curbed my cravings and made me feel so much better.

This inspired me to lighten things up a bit.

But not too much, as what’s life without cake?

I bring you Daffodil Cake. This cake is made with no butter and contains mostly whipped egg whites. I like to think of it as a protein shake masquerading as cake (or at least that’s how I justify eating more than one slice). It’s lemony and light, a definite sigh of relief after the pumpkin pies of thanksgiving and fruitcakes of Christmas.



It’s also a much needed reminder that spring is lurking somewhere around the corner. There’s just February and March to get through. So while we’re all waiting for the heaps of snow to melt, let’s just stay inside and eat cake!

Daffodil Cake.
Recipe Adapted from McCalls Cooking School by Mary Eckley (Food Editor) and Mary J. Norton (Associate Food Editor)


White Batter:
1 ¾ cups egg whites (12-14 eggs) at room temp
1 ¼ cups cake flour, sifted before measuring
1 ½ cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Yellow Batter:
5 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cake flour
2 tablespoons sugar
grated zest of two lemons
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

To make the white batter:
1. Sift the cake flour with ½ cup sugar three times.


2. Place the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip on high until soft peaks form. Add one cup of sugar, ¼ cup at a time. Be sure to slow the mixer to a low speed when pouring in the sugar or else the sugar will fly out. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.


3. Fold the vanilla into the egg white mixture with a spatula.


4. Add the flour mixture the egg whites in three parts to. Do this by sifting the flour over the egg whites, then folding with a spatula carefully to avoid deflating the whites. Repeat until all the flour has been added.

5. Place one third of the egg white mixture in a separate bowl, and preheat the oven to 375 F.

To make the yellow batter:
1. Place the egg yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl and whisk until thick and pale yellow. Add the lemon zest and juice and mix until incorporated.

2. Carefully fold the yellow batter into the reserved 1/3 of the egg white mixture.

To assemble and bake the cake:
1. Place the batters alternatively in a 10-inch tube pan, ending with all white batter on the top. Spread the top smooth with an offset spatula.



2. Bake at 375 F for roughly 40 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed down. Remove from the oven and let cool upside down, balanced on top of a bottle.



3. After two hours, run a knife around the inside of the tube pan to loosen the cake, and carefully remove.

4. To garnish, sprinkle with confectioners sugar, spread with a lemon juice and confectioners sugar glaze, or frost with icing. Since this cake is so light I opted for the more decadent choice and frosted the top.

Enjoy!!

Busch de Noel

Christmas Countdown: Five Days!

Still unsure of your Christmas dessert? How about a Busch de Noel?

A Busch de Noel, or Yule Log, is a traditional Christmas cake. It consists of a chocolate cake coated with buttercream, then rolled up and decorated to resemble a log. As I was baking my Busch de Noel last week, I began to wonder how the tradition of a cake resembling a log came into being.

Apparently, the Busch de Noel arose from an ancient celtic tradition for celebrating the winter solstice. On the solstice, the Celts would dearch for a large elm, cherry, beech or oak trunk to burn. The log was both a symbol of the suns rebirth as well as an offering of thanks to the sun for returning to the earth.



As this tradition evolved, the celebration became more elaborate. The logs were decorated in greenery and ribbons and the ashes were collected and saved for later use in curing illnesses and warding off the devil.


As time wore on and stoves came into popularity, the tradition still evolved. The former larger logs were replaced by smaller branches, which were set in the middle of dinner tables and surrounded by Christmas treats. This branch was eventually replaced by a cake resembling a log, and thus the Busch de Noel arose!

Thank goodness, as I'd much rather eat cake than go out hunting for a log!



The cake needs to be baked a day in advance to assembeling (and eating!). It sits overnight underneath a damp towel, which ensures a moist cake for easy rolling.


Ingredients:
7 medium eggs
7 oz semisweet chocolate
7 oz sugar
4 tablespoons raspberry jam
2 tablespoons chocolate liquor

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temp
½ cup sugar
2 egg whites
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 oz semisweet chocolate

Powdered cocoa
Decorations

To prepare the Cake:
1. Grease a 9 x 13 inch brownie pan with butter. Line the greased pan with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Chop and melt the 7 ounces of semisweet chocolate in a double broiler. Allow the melted chocolate to rest for five minutes while you prepare the eggs and sugar.


3. Separate the eggs. In an electric mixer, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and fluffy. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until firm.

4. Fold the melted chocolate into the egg yolks and sugar just until combined. Then fold in roughly 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Add the remaining egg whites and fold until the whites are incorporated.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until firm. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cover the cake with a damp towel and allow to sit overnight.

6. The next day, remove the towel from the cake. Sprinkle the cake with the chocolate liquor, then spread with the raspberry jam. The cake is now ready to be frosted and rolled!





To prepare the Chocolate Buttercream:
1. Chop and melt the 4 oz of chocolate in a double broiler. When melted, set aside and allow to rest for five minutes while you prepare the eggs and sugar.

2. Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, and place this over a pot of simmering water. Place a candy thermometer in the bowl and continue to heat the sugar and eggs, while stirring occasionally, until the thermometer registers 160.

* If you don’t have a candy thermometer, don’t fret! You can heat the mixture until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is no longer grainy when rubbed against the side of the bowl.

3. Remove the bowl from the heat and place in the electric mixer. Whisk the egg whites and sugar on high speed until white in color and thick, roughly 8-10 minutes. It will be similar in consistency to marshmallow fluff.


4. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the soft butter in small chunks with the mixer running on medium-low. When all the butter is added, run the mixer for an additional 2-3 minutes.

5. Slowly pour in the melted chocolate into the buttercream, and fold until all the chocolate has been incorporated.


To assemble the Busch de Noel:
1. Spread roughly 2/3 of the chocolate buttercream on the cake, leaving a border of ½ inch uncovered around the cake.


2. Starting at the 9 inch side of the cake, roll! Don’t try to squeeze the cake too tight, just roll lightly, pulling pack the parchment as you go.

3. Use the remaining buttercream to coat the exterior of the cake. Use a fork to create bark-like lines in the frosting, and dust with powdered cocoa.

4. Decorate to your liking!!


Happy Baking!!!