Showing posts with label frosting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frosting. Show all posts
Aug 31, 2010
Sweet Potato Whoopie Pies with Maple Marshmallow Creme
The first weekend after the start of school is always a nice breather. Saturday, my sister came for a visit. We took my new camera, went to a gorgeous local park and took some head shots for an audition she has coming up. [Since I've gotten my camera, I've only photographed food, but want to diversify my areas of photography.] My sister is incredibly photogenic and I got some good shots, but I'm definitely seeing areas that I must get better at. Speaking of auditions, I just had one myself. I auditioned for the Waco Civic Theatre's production of Noises Off!. As of this posting, no casting decisions have been made but, I've been invited to attend callbacks tonight. I'll update in a later post...hopefully with good news.
As August concludes, I can't contain my excitement for the Fall. I know I've mentioned my love for the Fall in probably 50% of my posts, but it's my favorite Texas season. [I'm sure if my part of Texas actually had Winters like the ones you see in Norman Rockwell paintings Winter would win, but they're usually just slushy.] The changing weather, the rustic colors and flavors, the approaching holidays, life just becomes more pleasant when Fall's arrives. I'm a Fall fanatic. Sweet potatoes are a comfort food for me and trump the other potato varieties. They're so versatile, but are completely underused. It saddens me that the best they're known for is being mashed and topped with melted marshmallows. Well, my friends, that might just stand to change. I found Sprinkle Bakes while blog surfing and was instantly sucked in by the latest recipe featured: Sweet Potato Whoopie Pies with Maple Marshmallow Creme. It may still be reaching high 90s outside, but I didn't care, the stunning pictures had me salivating - these creme-filled cakes headed straight to the front line.
I saw a special years back on a food channel that profiled a shop in the northeast that made and sold tons of whoopie pie varieties, but I hadn't tried one. Well, I suppose I could come close with those little chocolate rounds Little Debbie makes. [That makes mention three for Little Debbie on my blog.] They're way smaller, but essentially the same idea - a fluffy creme sandwiched between two equally fluffy cake rounds. In short, this is one serious dessert mama jama. The sweet potato and maple combo is truly divine, and I usually only reserve that descriptor for the Almighty. If you enjoy fall flavors even in the slightest, this is one dessert you must make. Be sure to see the original author's suggestions and a few of my own. Unsure of how the batter would rise in the oven, I made each cake too large. The hefty size of my whoopie pies made them nearly a meal in itself. FYI, the batter really only puffs up and doesn't really spread. So, pipe the width that you prefer and expect them to rise a little.
All us Fall lovers, let's band together and give the sweet potato a recipe it can be proud of.
For some time, I have been looking for an embeddable tool I could use to present the recipes for several reasons. One, the bulleted and numbered lists on Blogger are boring and I can't ever seem to get them to look how I want. Two, they are not conducive to printing - and what good is an online recipe if you can't print it. Heather @ Sprinkle Bakes also had a solution. This tool can be found at Key Ingredient.
Aug 23, 2010
Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
I'll start off by saying that I can't take credit for this chocolaty masterpiece. My mom made this for my birthday, which was last Friday (Aug. 20). For some time now, it has been a running joke in my family that I was always worried my birthday would be forgotten. Several circumstances gave rise to this.
The particular day I was born occurs during one of the biggest transitional periods of the year, especially for kids. School begins and my birthday always occurred right at the start or right before, and no teacher was ever prepared for it. While all the other kids in the class got birthday treats from the teacher and some special attention on their day, I never did. This may sound totally narcissistic, but to a seven-year-old, watching every other kid get acknowledged year after year and never getting your turn, is, well..."not fair."
My family also consistently reminds me of action I took in high school to correct another birthday injustice, which looking back I have to laugh at too. During my high school days, the church youth group I belonged to celebrated birthdays each month by giving kids a personal-sized cake. It was just a nice thing a lady in our church did at the beginning of each month, but for several years in a row, she took the months of August and July off. Sick and tired of having my birthday ignored [and because I wanted my cake] I wrote a letter to our youth pastor asking why August (and July birthdays) never got cakes. Well, to shorten this story, I got my cake (as did all the other August birthdays), but not before having to do a series of embarrassing things [think lame restaurant birthday antics].
In all seriousness, while I think it's important to acknowledge people on their birthdays - no matter what age - this was a point of sensitivity for me, which I can now say was a little ridiculous. I've always been a very balanced and good-natured person...just so long as you don't forget my birthday. In truth, while teachers and youth groups may not have given me many birthday wishes, I always had friends who did and parents who made sure I knew they were glad to have me around. [After 26 years, this is still the case.]
When I announced last Friday that I would be coming to visit the following day, my mom asked if I wanted to have cake. I said, if you got the time, a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting would be great. When I showed up, this was waiting for me.
I knew she was making a Chocolate Sour Cream Cake [which I hadn't had in years], but I was not expecting something that seemed lifted right off the front cover of a premiere food magazine. I was glad I brought my new camera, and had a little photo session with the cake before digging into it.
If you haven't had a Chocolate Sour Cream Cake, the addition of sour cream to the cake makes it dense and moist, while complimenting the chocolate. Adding it to the frosting gives it a lighter feel than a typical buttercream and does wonders for the flavor as well. The cake is indeed rich, decadent, chocolaty, and satisfying.
I realized today turning 26 now puts me in a new bracket for many of those drop-down tabs you come across when filling out profiles and information on the internet. Still, this birthday was one to remember. A host of friends joined me for dinner and a movie Friday night. Saturday I traveled to Dallas with J. and S. to see the Bodies Exhibition, which was such a fascinating experience. [I marvel at how intricately our body is crafted, but the exhibit gives new meaning to the phrase "beauty is only skin deep." No one is attractive on the inside.] The three of us then made our way to my parent's house where we enjoyed great company and this delicious cake.
Consider this cake for your next special occasion...or maybe just for that week when Friday can't come soon enough.
Sour Cream Chocolate Cake:
- 2 c. all-purpose flour, unsifted
- 2 c. sugar
- 1 c. water
- 3/4 c. sour cream
- 1/4 c. butter
- 1 1/4 t. baking soda
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1/2 t. baking
- 2 eggs
- 4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Measure all ingredients into a large bowl and beat for 1/2 minute at low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. Then beat for 3 minutes at highest speed.
- Pour into greased and floured cake pans: 2 9-inch pans or 3 8-inch pans.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.
Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water (or microwave or very low heat over burner) melt butter and chocolate Remove from heat and cool.
- Pour melted chocolate in mixing bowl and mix sour cream and vanilla. Add powdered sugar a small amount at a time mixing well each time to avoid lumps in the frosting.
Before assembling the cake, be sure to let both cake layers cool completely. [Nothing is more annoying than pulling up cake crumbs when frosting, it throws the whole look.] To assemble the cake, frost the top of one cake layer and place the second layer on top of the first. Then frost the top and edges as desired. As always, how you decorate cake is up to you. Here, my mom topped the cake with chocolate shavings and lined the bottom edge with walnut pieces. To make the chocolate shavings: Pour melted chocolate chips in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Chill in the freezer and remove chocolate slab from pan when solid. Let the slab soften a bit to room temperature, then run it across a cheese grater. [I have a feeling that using a chocolate bar is also acceptable, if you feel like cutting a few corners.] If you really want to get creative, top with both white chocolate and chocolate shavings.
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