Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Deviled eggs

One of my favorite Easter picnic snacks... the deviled egg!

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Deviled Eggs

Ingredients
6 hard-boiled eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
Paprika

Directions
1.Slice eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks and set whites aside. In a small bowl, mash yolks with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard and salt; mix well. Stuff or pipe into egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate until serving.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Wedding cake

This weekend I got to make a wedding cake for a girl in my ward. I had a lot of fun doing it and was happy with how it turned out. The picture is bad lighting, but the cake was white with blue ribbon.
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The middle and top layer were Chocolate Fudge cake with white chocolate truffle filling and covered in vanilla buttercream icing. The whole cake was covered in MMF.

Chocolate Fudge Cake
recipe from wilton.com

Ingredients:
•2 cups all-purpose flour unsifted
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•3/4 cup butter or margarine room temperature
•2 cups sugar
•3 eggs
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•1 1/2 cups milk
•3 ounces unsweetened chocolate melted
•Cake Release
Makes: 6 cups of batter.


Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Cream butter and sugar together until light in texture. Add eggs and vanilla to creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Add melted chocolate and beat thoroughly.

Brush two 8 or 9 in. cake pans with Cake Release or generously grease pans with solid vegetable shortening and flour, or use Cake Release (Click here for complete instructions on preparing baking pans.) Pour batter into pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly in center


White Chocolate Truffle filling

Ingredients:
2 cups chilled whipping cream
1/8 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 pound good-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Baker's), finely chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Instructions
Bring 1 cup cream and butter to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat. Add white chocolate and stir until smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Let white chocolate mixture stand at room temperature until lukewarm, about 20 minutes.

Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup cream in large bowl until peaks form. Working in 3 batches, fold in lukewarm white chocolate mixture. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.


Buttercream Icing
recipe from wilton.com

Ingredients:
•1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
•1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
•1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
•4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
•2 tablespoons milk
Makes: About 3 cups of icing

Instructions
(Medium Consistency)
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes


Marshmallow Fondant

15 oz. mini marshmallows
2 Tblsp water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
2 tsp light corn syrup (helps w/ pliability)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract
2 lbs (approx 7 C) confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/2 C Crisco or vegetable shortening


Directions:
Grease microwave proof bowl w/ Crisco. Also grease wooden or heat proof spoon. Pour marshmallows and water into bowl. Microwave for approximately 2 minutes stopping and stirring at 40 second intervals. Mixture should be soupy.

Take out of microwave and immediately add corn syrup, lemon juice, salt and extracts. Stir well. Sift confectioner's sugar into mixture, one cup at a time. After approximately 5 cups, grease your hands well with Crisco and knead the mixture in the bowl. Add the sixth cup and continue to knead. Now grease your work surface well and turn mixture out of bowl onto counter. Sift remaining sugar, regrease hands, and knead well. If mixture seems soft, add one additional cup of powdered sugar.

Shape into a mound and put a coating of crisco on outside. Double wrap in cling wrap and insert into ziplock bag. Press air out of bag and seal. Allow to rest overnight, but, can be used after sitting for a few hours.


To make gumpaste, add Gum-Tex (wilton) or Tylose powder. Knead in and let rest 2 hours or more.