Friday, June 26, 2009

Stephanie’s Whimsical Wedding Cake


This cake had whimsical written all over it when Stephanie brought me a drawing of how she wanted it to look. She is such an artist. Swirls, stripes, and daisies adorned this beautiful Tiffany blue and coral pink cake. The bottom tier was a white cake with raspberry filling, and the middle and top tiers were both chocolate cake with a chocolate butter cream filling. The cake got it’s shine from an edible white luster dust, which I painted on each layer. I made the daisies out of fondant a few days prior to the wedding. Be sure to click on the picture below to see all the great details.

I am really pleased with how this cake turned out. Thanks Stephanie, for letting me create your vision!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Apple Tart.....Another Paula Deen Favorite


Hey ya'all! I am really starting to enjoy making Paula Deen recipes, because they always turn out so yummy. My family quite enjoys me making them as well. And if you're lucky, maybe you can stop by when I happen to make one. DELICIOUS! I've also learned that a good Paula Deen dessert in my kitchen is great bribery to get my kids to eat their dinner (yes, even broccoli). The sour cream adds a unique, yet delicious flavor. I also changed it up a little by sprinkling a little cinnamon on top. So give this one a try....I'm sure you'll love it. Let me know how it turns out!

Paula Deen's Apple Tart
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream

Filling:
About 6 medium apples, peeled, pitted, and sliced
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Glaze:
1/2 cup apricot preserves or jelly
1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
Mint, for garnish
Whipped topping, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To make the crust:
Place the flour, butter, and sour cream in a food processor and pulse to combine. When the dough has formed a ball, pat with lightly floured hands into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and 1/2-inch sides, or a round au gratin dish. Bake for about 18 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Let cool while preparing the filling.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

To make the filling:
Peel and thickly slice the apples. Arrange the apple slices in overlapping circles on top of the crust, until it's completely covered. Overfill the crust, as apples will shrink during cooking.

Combine the egg yolks, sour cream, sugar, and flour and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture over the apples. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, until the custard sets and is pale golden in color. Cover with an aluminum foil tent if the crust gets too dark. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack to cool. When cool, remove the side wall of the pan.

To make the glaze:
Combine the preserves or jelly and orange juice. Spread with a pastry brush over the top of the warm tart. Serve the tart warm, at room temperature or chilled. Garnish with fresh mint.


We ate our tart with ice cream on top. It made it extra good! I bet it would also be great with whipping cream. Now I'm off to start a wedding cake. I'll be posting that next, so stay tuned!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Strawberry Rhubarb Pastry

My dear husband came in from the farm the other day with this......

and these.....
which inspired a strawberry rhubarb pastry. His favorite dessert.

I cannot take credit for this, because the only thing that I did to help with it was eat it. But I will share the recipe so that you, too, can make this super yummy dessert.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pastry
First of all, take 1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
and 1/2 cup butter or margarine.

Cut in the butter and mix it all together. Press in the bottom of a 9X13 pan.

Next, prepare the rhubarb and strawberries by rinsing and cutting them.

Stir together the rhubarb, strawberries, (about 1 quart)
and 1 (3 ounce) box of strawberry or raspberry Jello, and put on top of the crust.
Then you will make a crumb topping by mixing 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar and cutting in 1/4 cup of butter. Sprinkle on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until it starts to get bubbly in the middle.

Then serve it up warm! It is especially good with vanilla ice cream on top. Yum!