Blueberry Tangerine Tea

 
My globetrotting and fellow tea-loving friend just returned from Germany, but before that, she had gone to Australia and brought me some fabulous new tea to try. I mixed up a batch of the Koala brand blueberry tea and added the juice of a tangerine. The recipe is very simple, but it is a refreshing beverage and will be especially nice for the warmer days that are ahead now that it is Spring!


The recipe is quick and easy:
Brew 4 blueberry tea bags (any blueberry flavored tea will work) in 2 cups of hot water.
Add the juice of 1 tangerine.
Sweeten to taste.
Pour over ice and enjoy!

Trio of cakes and baking secrets discovered

I have been doing a lot of baking and cake testing over the last couple of months. Let's just say my waist is not getting any smaller. Thank goodness for neighbors and coworkers who love baked goods! Over the course of these practice sessions, I've learned a few things, although, I still have so much to learn! Luckily, there is a wealth of information out there to help novice bakers like myself, so I thought I would share a few source links for the things that I have discovered.

In the past, I've always had problems with uneven layer cakes. The sides of the layers would not match up when stacked or there would be an uneven dome on the top of each layer, so the whole thing would look off-kilter when frosted. I would try and compensate by sawing off the dome on top and losing a lot of precious cake just trying to level it off. In some cases, it looked worse than if I'd just left things alone!

I recently discovered these Bake Even strips that helped a ton. You can find them here. You basically soak the fabric strips in water to moisten them and then velcro them around your cake pan. They help the cakes bake evenly. I've also heard that lowering the heat in the oven helps. Putting the cake pans in a water bath while baking (as you would do for a cheesecake) also yields similar results.

In my quest for a perfectly smooth cake, I searched online to see if I could find some frosting tutorials out there. I stumbled upon this one from Cup a Dee Cakes that was a huge help to me. I was mesmerized by her tutorial and how easy she made it look. She starts with a large batch of buttercream frosting and adds thin coats, chilling in between each coat of frosting. She uses a bench scraper to help get smooth edges. I put her method to the test and it worked great for me. Head on over to her blog for more great tips.

If you're looking for a fun cake with a more rustic/organic feel, head over to Sweetapolita blog for her "Swirl" method. I used the technique on this cake and I love how it turned out:
 

Sweetapolita's cakes are always unique and beautiful. You're sure to be inspired by her blog if you love baking as much as I do.

Happy baking!

Feeling Crafty

I had a full weekend of crafting, so it's been a fun weekend. It started yesterday with a card-making class hosted by my friend Lindy and her Mom. We enjoyed a delicious brunch of yogurt parfaits and two yummy breakfast casseroles. Lindy and her Mom are great hostesses!

The class was taught by the awesome and amazing Karah. She had put together materials to make six cute spring-themed cards from the Close to my Heart line of paper crafting products. Here are a couple of my favorites from the class:



A cute one from the "Buzz and Bumble" paper packet:


 Love the sentiment inside:


I love these classes because the cards come together quickly. Karah does the hard part of cutting out all of the items and putting together some of the more complicated pieces. I can't imagine how long it takes her to prepare everything, because I know it takes me a while to make just one card on my own. I keep all of my craft items hidden away in a closet in the spare bedroom, so by the time I dig everything out, any crafting inspiration I may have had has left my brain! Here's a photo my hubby snapped of me at my solo crafting endeavor this afternoon. Just keeping it real, folks!



I walked away from the party yesterday with six beautiful cards and a prize! I had won the raffle for the Chantilly Birthday card kit, which I knew I would have to put to use for any future birthday cakes I make. I have seen the festive cake flag buntings and banners all over Pinterest and this kit would be great for those.

Feeling inspired, I set to work making a cake. These days, it doesn't take much of an excuse to bake a cake. What good is a cake bunting without a cake to put it on? I baked the cake and opted to keep the frosting simple - plain white cream cheese frosting and a few little stars piped on top.

After the cake was done, I headed to the craft cabinet to dig out some goodies for the banners and card I would make. I cut out some of the paper from the Close to my Heart "Chantilly" and "Dotty for You" paper kits. Instead of a bunting strung across the cake, I decided to make some little flags using bamboo skewers. Here's the finished product, along with the card I made to match.


 


It's someone's birthday somewhere, so can't wait to celebrate with some cake. The best part of this craft project is yet to come!

Strawberry Chocolate Tea

Lately, I've been on the quest for the perfect little black dress of chocolate cake recipes. You know the kind I'm talking about -- the perfectly moist, rich and decadent cake that you have to wash down with a tall glass of ice-cold milk. Why the sudden interest in chocolate cake? I was recently asked by a coworker if I could make a wedding cake for her upcoming October wedding. I was honored that she asked and I take this type of thing very seriously, so I told her I would make a few sample cakes for her to try. I ended up making 3 different chocolate cake recipes for her to sample and they were all very tasty; I will make another test cake for her to try when her family comes into town in a couple of months. Since I'm still in chocolate research mode, I will post the recipe at a later date.

For now, I will leave you with a new tea to try.
It's not nearly as good as a slice of chocolate cake, but if you're wanting to avoid the calories of said cake, this would be a great alternative. Last weekend, in my search for all things chocolate, I stumbled upon this Strawberry Chocolate tea made by the Republic of Tea. Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so this would make a great gift for the tea-loving Valentine. To score bonus points with your Valentine, pair the tea with some chocolate-covered strawberries!
 

This tea has a lovely chocolate aroma and delicate strawberry flavor. It is great on its own, but I enjoy mine hot with a bit of cream and sugar. This tea is available locally in Central Market and World Market.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

We had some friends over for dinner a few months back and they brought an amazing Chocolate Mousse cake. It was one of the most moist cakes I had ever tasted. They shared the recipes with me, along with the secret for keeping it moist. The recipe for the cake comes from the Cake Doctor, with recipe listed here. The frosting recipe is from Pillsbury's Chocolate Mousse cake recipe. Last week, my nephew celebrated his 3rd birthday, so I wanted to be a good aunt and make this cake for him. I ended up doubling the recipe to make a 4-layer cake and I panicked when it was time to take it to the party and I realized that it would not fit my usual cake carrier. I improvised by using a large hat box I had gotten from my Mom for Christmas. I sent this photo to my Mom to show her how well the hat box was working out for me:


The cake was a huge hit with the family, so I'm making this my go-to cake for future birthday celebrations for the chocolate lovers in my family.

Chocolate Mousse Cake
(This recipe makes two 9-inch round layers)

Cake Ingredients:
1 box Devil's Food cake mix
1 8 oz. container sour cream
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans; it helps to line the pans with parchment paper for easier removal after baking. Mix the cake mix with other wet ingredients until well-blended. Pour the batter into the baking pans and bake for approximately 30 minutes (although baking time may vary depending on the oven). Test with a toothpick -- if it comes out clean, the cakes are done. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Here's the secret to the moist cake: Remove the still-warm cakes from the pans. Wrap them well with plastic wrap and put them into the freezer. I had always thought that freezing a cake would dry it out, but if a cake is well-wrapped it can be kept in the freezer for months without a problem. I find that the frozen cake is easier to handle when frosting it. Frozen layers are also much easier to trim down or level out if you find that the layers are uneven, which mine usually are. :-) I made the cakes the night before the party and put them into the freezer. The morning of the party, I removed the cakes from the freezer and frosted them with the delicious chocolate mousse.

Chocolate Mousse Frosting Ingredients:
1 14 oz. can of Sweetened Condensed milk
2 1 oz. squares of melted unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup cold water
1 small package (3.4 oz.) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix the Sweetened Condensed milk and melted chocolate until well blended. Mix in water and pudding mix until smooth. Chill this mixture for 30 minutes.

Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture. Chill mixture for 1 hour.

Frost cake and keep chilled until ready to serve.

A tea to warm the soul: Yorkshire Gold Tea with Ginger

The rush of Christmas is over and I'm finally able to settle in to get a few things done around the house. I've been puttering around at a slower pace, thanks to a long, 4-day weekend. I love these little stretches of vacation time between work days, first for Christmas and now for New Years. It allows time to rest and rejuvenate and get my creative juices flowing. I've been stationed at my laptop for a couple of days now, finishing up my December Daily photo book. My Mom and I did one last year and carried on the tradition for this year. We each documented our daily activities from December 1 through December 25 and exchanged the books when we were done (we made a copy to keep and a copy to share). I had gotten the idea from a couple of bloggers, Ali Edwards and Cathy Zielske, who fall into the category of "extreme scrapbookers". Check out their blogs if you're into scrapbooking or memory keeping. They are guaranteed to inspire. This year, I've created mine using Shutterfly. I find that it's a quick and convenient way of putting photos together into an attractive book. Last year, I went the old-fashioned, cut-and-paste route with scrapbook paper, rubber stamps and printed photos. It was very time-consuming and I knew that if I wanted to do it again this year in a timely manner, I would need to find a faster way for my sanity's sake. Behold, I bring you Christmas 2012:




Thanks to a rare Christmas Day snow, I was able to capture the perfect photos for the cover:


These photos make me shiver just looking at them. Since it's been colder, I've been making more hot tea, which brings me to the point of this post -- Yorkshire Gold tea:

A friend introduced me to this tea a couple of years ago and it's really great on its own. It is a nice and bold black tea. However, I had some candied ginger, so I chopped some and added it to the tea to provide a little more warmth and some little bits to nibble on after the tea is gone. I love the candied ginger, with its sweet and spicy bite.


This tea really warms the soul.

Festive Fudge Sampler

 I've spent the past few weekends in the kitchen doing some serious holiday baking. Two weekends ago, I was making batch after batch of cookie dough. It's easy to make ahead and freeze to allow for baking later when time allows. This past weekend, I switched gears and went into fudge production. I made 4 different varieties of fudge using just one base recipe. I love it when a recipe is versatile and allows for consistent results; therefore, I usually use the tried and true Fantasy Fudge recipe on the back of Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Cream jar. I just switch out a few of the ingredients to get the fudge flavor I'm looking for. For Christmas, I wanted to incorporate the flavors of the season, so I made Ginger Snap, Eggnog (my favorite), Cinnamon and Créme de Menthe fudge. I was pleased with the results, so I'm sharing my adaptations here:

Ginger Snap Fudge

Ginger Snap Fudge
3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter
One 5 oz. can of evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk)
1/2 cup Biscoff spread or Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter
One 12 oz. bag of white chocolate chips
One 7 oz. jar of Marshmallow Creme
1 tsp. butterscotch flavoring
10-15 Ginger Snaps cookies (crushed)

Prepare a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper or foil. I usually spray it with a little cooking spray to help prevent fudge from sticking to the paper when I'm removing it. Set the dish aside.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly (very important, otherwise your ingredients will scorch quickly --speaking from experience, here!) Stir in the Biscoff spread, the bag of white chocolate chips, the marshmallow creme and butterscotch flavoring. Stir until thoroughly mixed.

Pour this in to the baking dish and add crushed ginger snaps cookies on top (You can also mix some into the fudge before pouring if desired). I wanted to be able to see the ginger snaps on top, so I just added them after pouring into the pan.

Allow to set in the fridge for a few hours. After the fudge is firm, remove from pan and cut into squares as desired.

Eggnog Fudge


Eggnog Fudge
3 cups granulated sugar
 3/4 cup unsalted butter
5 oz Eggnog
One 12 oz. bag of white chocolate chips
One 7 oz. jar of Marshmallow Creme
1 tsp. rum flavoring
1 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Prepare as listed for Ginger Snap fudge, omitting the biscoff and substituting the evaporated milk with eggnog and rum flavoring for butterscotch. Sprinkle nutmeg into the mix and stir well.

Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle a bit more nutmeg on top.

Allow to set and cut into squares.

Cinnamon Fudge


Cinnamon Fudge
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter
5 oz evaporated milk
One 10 oz. bag of cinnamon chips
One 7 oz. jar of Marshmallow Creme
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Chopped Pecans (optional)

Prepare as listed for Ginger Snap fudge, omitting the biscoff. You'll also substitute 1 cup of white sugar with brown sugar. Substitute white chocolate chips with cinnamon chips. Substitute butterscotch with vanilla. Sprinkle cinnamon into the mix and stir well. Add chopped pecans into the mix if desired.

Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle a few chopped pecans on top.

Allow to set and cut into squares.

Créme de Menthe Fudge

Créme de Menthe Fudge
3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter
5 oz evaporated milk
One 10 oz. bag of Andes Créme de Menthe baking chips
One 7 oz. jar of Marshmallow Creme
1 tsp. peppermint flavoring
8 crushed Andes Créme de Menthe cookies

Prepare as listed for Ginger Snap fudge, omitting the biscoff. Substitute white chocolate chips with Créme de Menthe chips. Substitute butterscotch flavoring with peppermint flavoring. Mix a few of the crushed cookies into the fudge mixture.

Pour into the prepared pan and add a few more crushed cookies on top.

Allow to set and cut into squares.