The castle cake



I really enjoy making interesting cakes. Last summer I made a cake for my grand daughters birthday party. The theme was medieval and I was to make a castle cake.  I had never done one before and I had so many good ideas. I made four square cakes and planned to create the towers out of several small round cakes, all staked up on each other. The covering was to be mostly fondant. Well my little round cakes would not stand, up and the fondant was melting and it just kinda fell apart. My daughter and grand daughter were fine with the finished product however so we served it.

This year my niece, Elaina, was having her first birthday party and the theme was; you guessed it, medieval. So of course I had to try again. I decided to throw in an additional challenge by adding a dragon (that had been slain presumably by princess Elaina) climbing up the side of the castle.

I spent a couple of weeks looking things up online and looking at several pictures of castles, dragons, castle cakes and dragon cakes. I then decided what my plan would be.

I made two dragons, the first was entirely out of fondant and the second was out of rice krispy treats.
I liked the second one better so decided to go with that one.

The castle was made out of three kinds of cake. First I made a chocolate cake in two square layers then a strawberry cake also in two square layers. I made a yellow cake batter and baked part in four ice cream cones, the rest I baked in a bread pan. I froze the cakes over night, this makes them easier to cut and frost. I made the cakes from scratch recipes however you could use a mix.

I took the four square cakes and cut half circles out of each corner to make room for the ice cream cone towers. I layered the four cakes, using chocolate butter cream icing in between the layers as well as for the crumb coating. The plan at this point was to use the same icing to attach the towers to the sides. This is when I realized two things, first, I really needed to bake cake into eight cones not just four because I had to put two in each corner, one upside down at the bottom and the other right side up on top of the first one, second, I didn't have enough chocolate icing. The remedy for the cone issue, I just used empty cones on the bottom. To remedy the issue with lack of chocolate icing I used the gray butter cream icing that I had made to do the bricks of the cake too attach and cover the cones. Note that for this icing I used a basic butter cream recipe only I used half butter and half shortening as well as two tablespoons of cornstarch to keep it from melting and it worked very well. The chocolate icing was a basic chocolate butter cream.

I then took the cake that I had baked in the bread pan and cut it length ways into fourths and used these pieces for the wall around the top.

I put this in the freezer to chill overnight.

I then began work on the dragon. I attempted to color fondant purple however it turned out more of  a mauve.





I rolled it out and covered the dragon body and tail, then covered the legs separately. Then I colored some fondant red and made spikes for the dragons back and nose, and a tongue. I made a small amount of black fondant for an eyebrow. I used a wooden skewer and dipped it in the black food color and made little exes for the eyes. He turned out great so I took him to the freezer and as I was placing him in he broke. AAAAAAAAA. I choose to let him chill until morning and figure it out then.

The next morning I pulled out the castle and using a #150 decorating tip I piped on the bricks. For the bricks around the top I used Dots. Then covered these with icing.

For the drawbridge I used a large chocolate bar. I broke it in half. I heated a small wooden skewer and slowly poked holes in two corners of each half. This required reheating the skewer several times. I used Pull and Peel Twizzlers. Stuck one end through a hole in one bar and the other end through a hole in the other bar, I repeated this on the other side.

I then had to face the broken dragon. I didn't have time to completely remake it so using icing, skewers, and water and patched it back together while attaching it to the side of the cake.

The next step was to take some Dots and cut them in half to make windows. Then finally I used pink decorator icing to write on the top.

The finished cake.

From the top



 The birthday girl sitting with the cake.





Comedy of errors cupcakes

This challenge was not a timed challenge but rather an 'I have never really made homemade cupcakes before nor have I ever tried filling cupcakes or piping the frosting challenge'. The latter was not so much of a challenge as I have piped frosting on cakes before but not to cover the whole thing like this.

The cupcakes are a combination of recipes and ideas from "Cupcake Wars" http://www.foodnetwork.com/search/delegate.do?fnSearchString=cupcake+wars&fnSearchType=site, the food network web site http://www.foodnetwork.com/ as well as ideas born out of my own mind.

I was excited to try this idea for a cupcake filled with a peanut butter cup and frosted with PB frosting. I decided a good test would be to take them to work and try them out on my co-workers. I had been planning all week to make them on Fri. night and take them to work on Sat. (smaller group). Well Fri. didn't really go as I had planned and to make a really long story short I was completely exhausted by the time I got to start working on them. However I was not to be derailed I really wanted to do this. I got out all my supplies and ingredients together only to find I had no half/half. I did have some heavy cream that I had gotten to make the frosting so I just mixed that with milk, first crises avoided.
The recipe makes 24 cupcakes; perfect, enough to take to work and still leave a few home for the fam. But wait where is my other 12 cup pan? hum ok so I guess this will take a bit longer because I will have to do 2 batches. That's ok. mini crises overcome.
I got my batter all mixed and filled the first 12 cups, turned around and saw the stick of butter sitting on the microwave...oops. Ok no big deal just scrape out all the cups back into the bowl (10 min or so) crises 2 fixed.
Check the recipe to see exactly how much butter I need, oh the butter was for the frosting not the cupcakes. Refill the 12 cups (new liners) first idiot move overcome.
Put the cupcakes in the oven. Uh Oh forgot to preheat the oven. REALLY!!! have I ever baked before? Ok no problem just find a few things to do while I wait................. ok now put them in. Idiot move 2 overcome.
Finally the frosting is done and the cupcakes are out of the oven. Time to start putting the PB cups in the center. Well what do you know the second batch is not quit done back in the oven for a few more minutes.

Now they are done, last hurdle cleared. That was fun. The finished product.

Chocolate Peanut Butter-Cup Cupcakes:

Approximately 24 of the small PB cups
Chocolate Cupcake
Peanut Butter Frosting

Chocolate Cupcake  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-cupcakes-with-ganache-and-marshmallow-frosting-recipe/index.html
I used the cupcake portion of this recipe only.

Ingredients:

2cps granulated sugar
1 3/4 cp flour
3/4 cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half or half a cup heavy cream and half a cup milk
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 TBL vanilla
1 cp boiling water

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 12 cup cupcake pans with cupcake liners. 
In a large bowl using an electric mixer on low speed, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs, half-and-half, oil and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the boiling water until fully combined.
Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full with batter and bake until the cupcakes spring back when touched with your finger, 10 - 15 min. Let cool in the pans for a few minutes.

While cupcakes are still slightly warm begin pressing small PB cups into the centers. Then pipe on PB frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting: I was unable to find a recipe that was not part of another recipe. So from this site I used only the frosting recipe. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chocolate-cupcakes-and-peanut-butter-icing-recipe/index.html

1 cp confectioners sugar
1cp creamy peanut butter
5 TBL unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place all the above ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
Mix on medium speed until creamy, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

I took my creations to work and received high praise. Everyone loved them and one guy said he thought they may be the best thing he ever ate. YAY.
I kind of thought they were a bit rich and maybe I should only have used half of the little PB cups. But hey everyond loved them and I had a great time making them inspite of all the errors.

A meal in time.

The time has come for another cooking challenge. I have decided to go with a challenge inspired by the show 'Chopped' on The Food Network. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/chopped/index.html?vty=/chopped). The girls (Laell and Andria) have decided what I will be making, an appetizer and main dish or main dish and dessert. They are also in charge of selecting some ingredients that I must use. At this time I have no idea what they have chosen.

I have to do this in an hour and forty five minutes. I know this is a bit longer then the allotted time given on the show but then again I am an amateur chief.
I will be ready to start soon and will post as I go.

They decided on an appetizer and main dish.

For the appetizer round I had 45 minutes and the following ingredients:
A jar of BBQ sauce
A jar of pickle spears
A bag of mini marshmallows
A box of Jiffy corn muffin mix

(can't you just hear Ted announcing those ingredients?)

Oh no what have I gotten myself into

I chose to make deep fried BBQ pickles and marshmallow apple salad

Recipes:

Deep Fried BBQ Pickles

• Four pickle spears cut in half
• Half a bottle of BBQ sauce
• Box of JIFFY corn muffin mix

 Marshmallow Apple Salad

• 2 1/2 cups of mini marshmallows
• 1 diced Granny Smith apple
• Approx. 1TBL each dried cherries and slivered almonds

I started by putting 2 cups of marshmallows in a medium sauce pan with a little water.

I chopped up a Granny Smith apple and began to caramelize them with the marshmallows. While these were cooking I began work on the pickles. I dipped the sliced pickle spears in the BBQ sauce, dredged them in the muffin mix, then deep fried them.

I had a problem with the muffin mix sticking to the pickles during the frying process and my grease was too hot and my first couple of pickles burned. While attempting to work this out I over cooked the apple mixture a bit. I took the mixture off the fire and cooled it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. After it cooled I scooped a serving onto each of two plates and then sprinkled it with more marshmallow's, dried cherries, and slivered almonds. I placed one pickle on each plate then served them to the judges (the girls).

I finished with 4 minutes to spare.

The finished plates

My daughters and their husbands, my grandson and my husband all ate some. Everyone said that both dishes were really good and they ate all that I prepared. The critiques for the pickles were, "Can't really taste the BBQ sauce", "They taste really good" "Use a batter for the pickles to make it stick better". The critiques for the salad were "Peal the apples". "Too much marshmallow in the salad", "Maybe don't cook the apples so they can maintain there crunch and tartness", The caramelized marshmallow was really good" "The almonds added a nice crunch". Hmm they didn't even mention the over cooked items; nice.

Now for the main dish, be back soon.

A little over an hour later......

For the main dish, I had an hour and the following ingredients

Steak

Granny Smith Applesauce
Pumpkin Bread Mix
Diced Tomatoes

I went with a steak and diced tomato stir-fry adding sliced carrots and cabbage. 

I also made pumpkin, applesauce biscuits. 

Recipes:

Steak and Diced Tomato Stir-Fry

• 2 1/2 pounds of round steak
• 1 TB. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TB. soy sauce
• 15oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped cabbage
• 2 cups frozen slice carrots
• 1 TB red curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Pumpkin Applesauce Biscuits

• 1 box Pillsbury pumpkin quick bread mix
• 2 individual containers (the kind you use for lunch boxes, not in the jar) Mott's granny smith applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk (I used rice milk for allergy reasons)

I didn't get pictures of these completed dishes unfortunately.

I made a marinade out of the Worcestershire and soy sauce and began marinating the meat. While that was marinating I began prepping the food for the stir-fry by chopping the cabbage, measuring out the carrots, draining the tomatoes, and heating olive oil in the skillet. 

While the meat was marinating and the oil was heating I combined all the ingredients for the pumpkin biscuit recipe into a biscuit like dough consistency.

I then used the dough as a drop biscuit dough and placed the batter on a cookie sheet.  I put them in the oven on 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

I then placed the cabbage and the carrots in the skillet.

 I took the meat out of the marinade and began cutting it into 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices.

 I put the meat in with the vegetables, and started boiling water for rice.  I continued to stir the stir-fry until the meat was almost done, then I added the diced tomatos. I put the rice into the water, and took the biscuits out of the oven.  As soon as the rice was done, I plated three plates one for each of the girls and one for my son-in-law. 

I finished with 9 minutes to spare.

 Everybody who tried the appetizer also tried the main dish.  Everyone liked it and said it was good. The critiques for the stir-fry were, "Was not seasoned enough", "Was good but would have been better if had a little sweetness", "Vegetables prepared nicely", "Meat cooked nicely".  Critiques for Pumpkin Applesauce Biscuits, "Yummy Yummy Yummy", "I really like the biscuits."  "REALLY good but cannot taste the applesauce", "Could vaguely taste the applesauce as an aftertaste".

That was a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed doing this challenge.  I liked it better than the appetizer challenge because I had to be more creative, and come up with recipes on my own.  I made some mistakes but learned from them.  Everybody had a nice meal and I really look forward to my next Challenge.

 If you have any Challenge ideas for me, leave a comment about a Challenge you would like to see.

Challenge Me

God created all of us to be challenged, my first post is about a fun cooking challenge I took on. However life is full all kinds of challenges and I would like this blog to be an opportunity to share some of these challenges as I go through them. Right now thankfully God has given me a break from life's more serious challenges allowing me to take on some fun challenges.

So in the meantime I would like to offer to let you, my blog followers (however small a group you may be) challenge me.  The guide lines for these challenges are that it be or cooking or baking challenge, and something on a budget. You come up with the rest of the rules.  Leave a comment with my challenge and I will attempt to take it on!

I look forward to the challenges that you send my way.

Appetizer Challenge

Last week my daughter, Laell and I were watching an episode of "Worst Cooks in America". (http://www.foodnetwork.com/worst-cooks-in-america/teamwork/index.html). In this episode the contestants were challenged to create 35 stuffed baked potatoes, with a topping of their choice, and 35 of another appetizer chosen by their chefs (either Anne Burrell or Bobby Flay). They had 90 minutes to complete this task.

I immediately felt challenged, I said to my daughter "I want to do that". After a bit of discussion it was decided that I would attempt this in my own kitchen with my family watching. I would choose the toppings for the potato and Laell would choose the other appetizer. I am not allowed to know what the other appetizer is until 10 minutes before my time starts.

I was so excited about doing this I shared it with my other daughter Andria. She then suggested I could blog about it. So here I am. In a few short minutes, with my kitchen being stocked with all the necessary ingredients, I will begin my challenge.

*Four Hours Later*

And...I'm done.

The appetizer chosen for me was deep fried ravioli (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/fried-ravioli-recipe/index.html), thanks for the recipe Giada from Food Network!

I began by putting my potato's in the oven. While those were baking I began to prepare the ravioli.

I started deep frying the ravioli in batches. While they cooked I began to prepare the filling for the potato's.

The recipe for the potatoes was as follows:
                    
                      17 red potatoes (bake first)
                      Half large onion diced
                      1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
                      1 lb of sliced deli roast beef chopped
                      .5 lb provolone cheese chopped
                      Milk and butter
                      Salt and Pepper to taste (unfortunately I forgot these in my challenge)

Saute mushrooms and onions.  Hollow potatoes, place shells on baking sheet.  Mix inside of potato with rest of ingredients (milk and butter to sight) fill shells with mixture, re-bake for about 5 minutes at 350 (although I didn't bake them quite long enough.)

I had an added challenge, Andria can not eat mushrooms or cheese so I first mixed meat and onions together in one bowl and in another bowl, all ingredients.

Now the timer is going off and the potatoes have to come out of the oven. I get a bit concerned, I still have a lot to do and time is a ticking away.

I pulled out the potatoes and stabbed them with a fork and they appeared to be done. While the potato's cool I return to the stove and finish up the ravioli.

 Look at those beauties, Mmmm. OK stop admiring your handy work you still have to finish the potatoes and you only have "What 20 minutes left?!" better get at it.

I mixed the potato filling and filled the shell's, and placed it all in the oven. I was feeling like I was running out of time so I only let them heat for 2 minutes. Removed them from the oven and I was done.

                       

I did complete the challenge with 6 minutes to spare.

However in my haste to finish (and not listening when I was told I had 8 minutes left) I took my potato's out of the oven a bit soon. The ones with the larger amount of potato left in the shell were slightly under-done. An offense that would have gotten me sent home if I were not already home. 

My family watched me, timed me and encouraged me on, for which they were rewarded with eating the yummy appetizers. Everyone enjoyed them and even had seconds and the only negative comment was that they were not seasoned quite enough. I guess if I were ever on a challenge show these would be the judges to have.
All in all it was a fun experience and turned out great.