[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

My cosplayer friend always asks for some kind of Thor related cake. He didn’t mention it this year, but I told his roommate I was going to make him a small cake, not sure what though. The kitchen is a mess with remodeling, so I knew it wouldn’t be too crazy. 
Took a little experimenting,  but I made a small Stormbreaker for the cake, with airbrushed lightning. Dark chocolate cake, sour cream raspberry ganache and fresh raspberries. He loved it 😊. 

 

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

I always have delusions of grandeur for Halloween (like the Corpse Bride cake I wanna make) then fizzle out 😑. Just made some spice cookie cut outs into character sticks.

 

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

So, it took us till yesterday to get together with my step-sister for her birthday (August). 

Made her a small carrot cake.

 

[chocolate cake using chocolate?]

This is one I use that has both. It's like most mud cakes in that it tastes better a day after baking. Very sturdy and moist. I was looking for a cake that was very chocolatey, and I usually use a dark Valrhona in it, 65-70%.

 

American Mud Cake

[Brazil nuts]

10 hours ago, jmacnaughtan said:

 

This looks pretty good - I shall give it a go.  From the ratios, it looks like it'll be a bit similar to a brownie in texture.  Am I right in this?

 

It's been awhile since I made it, it's probably similar. I remember it's slightly dense, chunky from all the nuts and coconut. 

[Brazil nuts]

I've always loved them too.  Used to crack them at my aunt's house around the holidays. Now I just buy them shelled. 

Here is a cake recipe that's pretty good. I never layered it with the dulce, just used it as a single layer. The creme de cocao and coconut were added to the original recipe, or kind of a combination of two recipes. It's been awhile since I made it. 

 

 

BRAZIL NUT TURRON
INGREDIENTS	X1	X2	X3
WHOLE EGGS	4 EA
UNSALTED BUTTER, MELTED	3/4 CUP
SUGAR	2 CUPS
CAKE FLOUR	1 CUP
BAKING POWDER	1 TSP
BRAZIL NUTS, FINELY CHOPPED	2 CUPS
CREME DE COCAO	1 TSP
VANILLA	1/2 TSP
SHREDDED COCONUT	1/2 CUP
DULCE DE LECHE, FOR SERVING
OVEN 350F.  BEAT EGGS AND SUGAR ON MEDIUM SPEED UNTIL LIGHT AND FLUFFY.  ADD MELTED BUTTER.  ADD FLOUR AND BAKING POWDER AND BEAT ON LOW SPEED.  ADD BRAZIL NUTS, FOLDING IN BY HAND.  POUR INTO TWO GREASED AND LINE 8-INCH PANS.  BAKE 25 MINS.  COOL.  LAYER TOGETHER WITH DULCE DE LECHE.

 

 

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

So, my mom buys about 4lbs of strawberries, then says, "we gotta do something with these" 🙄. We means me 🤨.  So, I remembered seeing a quick recipe on Smitten Kitchen for a summer strawberry cake.  Came out pretty good. Warm with vanilla ice cream. Just cake batter with a bunch of strawberries thrown on top. Be good for a picnic. 

 

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

3 hours ago, kayb said:

How very cool!

 

What's the going rate for macarons? A cupcake shop here makes them. Decent sized -- between 1.5 and 2 inches in diameter. Charges $4.50 apiece for them. I was mildly astounded.

Probably depends on the area. For regular ones, I charge $2.50. More elaborate decoration like these, probably $3.50. I buy them in Seattle when I visit, and I pay $2.50 at LePanier in the market. 

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

Since it's Spiderman weekend for the movie, I decided to make some Spidey Macs, with a few Deadpool.

Also Birthday cake Macs with the leftover blue.

 

 

[Venezuela's El Rey chocolate stopped production?]

I just received this email:

 

Now Available - 73.5% Apamate, 70% Gran Saman, and 61% Mijao Discos!

We are excited to announce that our Apamate, Gran Saman, and Mijao discos are now available again!

 

Due to ongoing socio-political problems in Venezuela, there were delays in production of these popular products, and we apologize for the unavailability and appreciate all of our customers' support. 

 

But if you've been waiting for more of these delicious dark chocolates, just head to www.chocolates-elrey.comor call us today at 1-800-357-3999!

[Felchlin Sugar free]

Good to know, thanks.  I completely understand about the not buying.  The one friend I'm making it for, I told her I would try it if I could. The other, he always comments about sugar free when I have made normal chocolates. If he wants some, he can pay for them. I don't see him too often anyway, so he doesn't warrant free 🤑.

11 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

I have also found that most sugar free chocolate tempers well, acts as chocolate should. The issue I've found - folks ask if you have sugar free, you go out of your way to obtain it, pay for it, make things with it - then they don't buy it! But doing it for a friend wouldn't be so much of an issue. 

 

[Felchlin Sugar free]

8 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

I haven't worked with it, but i tasted the Supremo 62% at a demo recently and thought it was good enough that I'd use it if demand was there.  The brochure says 40.3% cacao fat, which ought to be plenty fluid for molding but I wouldn't be surprised if the lack of sugar affected ganache texture.  Please let us know how it works for you, I do always feel a little bad having nothing sugar-free to offer.

 

Thanks for the info.  I'll probably get a couple of pounds of it to try.  I have used a maltitol sweetener for a chocolate pie for my friend, and the taste wasn't terrible.  She also uses it in her coffee. I figured that the sugar substitute taste was my biggest issue. 

I'll let ya know!

[Felchlin Sugar free]

Anyone tried this? I don't have any experience with sugar free chocolate, and I have a couple of friends that are diabetic. They keep asking me to make sugar free bonbons. Does it mold ok? Ganache the same? I'm willing to give it a shot, and was gonna order some from AUI when I order regular chocolate. Thanks!

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

Finally, after a few years of trying to get to it, the Death Star cake for my friend Sandie is finally done! 

She didn't need a lot of cake, so I made the bottom with a half sphere of styrofoam, and the top is chocolate Stout cake with ganache and white chocolate buttercream.

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

I'm not a bread maker, but I decided to make focaccia. It's been years since I even thought about bread. I've had to make it in previous jobs, but it's never been something I really liked, compared to cakes and chocolate. 

This is an Italian potato focaccia that has always been a favorite, with rosemary and Fleur de sel. 

 

[Birthday Cake bonbon]

I'm not sure how it would work in bon bon, but I was looking into ice cream that flavor for some one (didn't end up making it), and most of what I found was people would use the dry cake mix. Would that work too add it to a ganache? Seems kinda weird, but 🤷‍♀️.

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

4 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

I'm interested in this.  I've been on a decades-long hunt for a good white cake.  Can you direct me to the actual recipe you used and what adjustments it called for?  Thanks so much!

 

There are several versions of the WASC, check cakecentral.com and search for the original one by kakeladi.  I ended up using the one by Liz Marek on sugargeekshow.com. That one is different in that it has butter added, along with milk instead of water. If I were to use it again, personally, I would back off the additional sugar a little, and cut the almond extract in half. Kakeladi's seems to be loved by tons of people that have tried it. I might try it one day to see what all the fuss is about.  

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

Made a cake for my mom's cousin. She loves basic white birthday cake, so I tried the WASC recipe for the first time. I only make scratch cakes, so using a mix is a no no for me. But, this actually tasted better then just a plain mix. The additions helped improve the texture greatly, didn't seem like a mix as much. She loved it though. 

I used the Ruby chocolate for the ganache drip since I was going for a pink color anyway.  

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

Birthday cakes for myself and a friend. Abstract buttercream for me (one white, one chocolate raspberry) and a mini sorting hat for my friend. Coconut cake with coconut buttercream. 

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

Decorated Valentine cookies. Raspberry and chocolate doughs. Airbrushed with stencils.

 

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

43 minutes ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

Wow! I can understand it being too much of a burden along with cooking a big Thanksgiving feast, but your sure pulled it off! That is one beautiful cake.

 

Thanks! 😎

[Corn Pone]

Even though I'm from Georgia, I only remember my grandfather ever saying "there's a pone of cornbread in the kitchen." We always just called it cornbread, and it was usually made with White Lily cornmeal mix. The way we like it is to bake it in a large 12" cast iron skillet so it's very thin. The skillet is heated until hot, with the fat melted in it, then that was poured in the batter right before it went in the oven. So, the batter would sizzle and help form the crispy crust we all like. Don't ever mention putting sugar in cornbread to my mother, she has a fit 😋. Living in California, all you find is puffy, sweet corncake.

And frying spoonfuls in a skillet was just fried cornbread, made with regular batter. My aunt was visiting from Georgia, and she made it a couple of times, I had forgotten how much I liked it. 

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

Today was my mom's cousin's husband's 🙃 birthday. He is 85. He's gone through some health issues lately, but is doing OK.

I wanted to make a cake for him that represented some of the things in his life. So, while I had more things I could have done, I only had time for two things on the cake. 

He is retired from the Air Force, and has black belts in several martial arts. 

He was in the interment camps as a child, worked as an interpreter for the embassy, trained gymnasts for the Olympics, taught flying, sailing and got a PhD in kinesiology and taught body conditioning and judo until he retired. So, he's been through and done a lot. 

And of course he told me no, the knot on the Gi was not right 😋, as I knew. Thanks Jimmy 😊. 

 

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

35 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

Amazing! As one who can't draw a straight line with a pencil, I am in awe.

Thanks! I can't really draw either, but seem to be ok other ways. I had delusions of grandeur and wanted to do a full carved helmet, but lack of time and bring exhausted canned that idea 😋

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

This was a very fast stormtrooper cake. My friend asked me to make it for her nephew last minute. I went to Vegas this past week and she asked for it for today. So, the night before I left, I baked and froze the layers and ganache and said here's hoping I can. Got back Thursday night, got it mostly done Friday morning then drove to Sacramento to see Metallica. Got up, finished the lettering, and she left this morning headed home to Santa Cruz for his sleepover party. Whew!

 

And a shot with the birthday boy!