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Pumpkin Oat Snack Cake with Broiled Coconut Icing

I was floored to see that Willow Bird Baking is a finalist for SAVEUR Magazine’s Best Baking & Desserts Blog. Thank you so much for making this happen. If you’d like to vote for Willow Bird Baking, you can do so here. You all are truly wonderful.

I could feel his eyes on me from the table to my right. He obviously wanted to strike up a conversation. Being an introvert by nature, I nursed a healthy flurry of paperwork all around me and kept my eyes on my computer screen. My work was a comforting wall between me and his social overtures.

However, I quickly realized as he walked over that he was unfazed by walls. He sat down on the couch next to me in the bustling coffee shop. I slurped my soda noisily as a last-ditch effort to appear busy. He set down his carton of milk and walked over to stand next to my seat. He peered at my computer screen.

“Um, hi,” I said, obviously unable to avoid a conversation any longer.

“Hi. What’s your name?” He replied.

“Julie. What’s yours?”

“Brian.”

“How old are you, Brian?”

He danced a little and held up 4 pudgy fingers. “Almost 4. My birfday’s in a coupla weeks.” I smiled. His cute delivery and guileless demeanor warmed me up to the idea of a conversation. I was starting to feel glad that he’d walked over after all.

I pointed to my computer screen. “See this cake? It’s a pumpkin cake. Do you like pumpkin?” (He does not.) “Are you going to have a pretty cake like this at your birthday?” (He is.) “What else are you going to do for your birthday?”

My own birthday, incidentally, is coming up in just a week, but trust me: compared to the monologue Brian launched into about his upcoming birthday party, my birthday will be tame. Just to give you an idea, he mentioned something about a castle and a road trip with his Me-Me and Paw-Paw for his birthday. I asked Mike for a car wash (with wax, please) for mine.

But really, Brian wasn’t just enthusiastic about a party. Indeed, he went on to tell me about his mom, his dad and Paw-Paw who were both “at deir jobs,” and his own job, by which I finally figured out he meant preschool. He noticed my marker and excitedly related that he loved markers, too! He drained his milk as we talked, and inched over repeatedly to eye this pumpkin cake with great interest. He was enthusiastic about life.

Looking around with my Brian lens on, I realized how wonderful it was to have spent the morning eating a bowl of fresh greens with a big scoop of tuna salad on top. How privileged I was to be sipping a soda and working on my new laptop (I named it Esmerelda — Zelda for short — and I’m ecstatic about it.) How blessed I am that my parents are taking me out for brisket next week (when they ask if I want fatty or lean, I’m saying fatty.) How amazing it is that I am dating the man of my dreams after having been separated from him for way too long. How delicious buttered toast is!

I’m with Brian, man. Life is pretty great!

This Pumpkin Oat Snack Cake is just another great thing in an otherwise great life. It’s quick and simple to whip up, just as a snack cake should be, but it’s also birthday-bouncy-house delicious: moist, tender, and sporting a crispy toasted topping. And since we’re calling it a snack cake, you can slice yourself off a piece any old time. Right?

What are some little things in life you’ve been appreciating lately?

Pumpkin Oat Snack Cake with Broiled Coconut Icing

Recipe by: Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s Oatmeal Snack Cake with Broiled Icing
Yield: 9 servings

This little snack cake whips up in a jiffy and boasts so much bang for its buck! It’s a delicious pumpkin-oat spice cake with a toasty coconut and pecan broiled topping.

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup (3 ounces) quick-cooking oats*
3/4 cup water, room temperature
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup pumpkin
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed (3 1/2 ounces) dark brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Broiled Icing Ingredients:
1/4 cup packed (1 3/4 ounces) dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) pecans, chopped

Directions:
Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Create a foil sling for an 8-inch square pan: cut two 16-inch lengths of foil and fold them to widths of 5 inches each. Fit foil pieces into baking dish, one overlapping the other, pushing them into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut two more pieces of the same size and arrange them in the same way, except perpendicular to the first two. This creates a sling that will help you remove the cake after baking and cooling. Spray foil lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the oats, pumpkin puree, and water in medium bowl and let sit until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. In another medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together.

In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars for a few minutes until the mixture resembles damp sand (scraping down the bowl as needed). Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just incorporated after each addition. Add the oat mixture and mix until just combined. Stir the mixture by hand to make sure everything is combined.

Glop the batter into the prepared pan and tap it against the counter a few times to ditch any air bubbles. Smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake the cake, rotating halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, about 28 to 32 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes while you mix the icing.

Make the icing: Move the oven rack to around 9 inches away from the broiler heating element and preheat the broiler. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, and milk. Stir in the coconut and pecans before spreading mixture evenly over the top of the cake. Broil the cake, keeping a close eye on it and rotating as needed, until topping is bubbling and golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Let the cake cool in pan for 1 hour. Use the sling to pull the cake gently out of the pan. Cut it into squares and transfer to a platter or serving plates; discard the foil.

*ATK’s notes: Do not use old-fashioned or instant oats for this recipe. Be sure to use a metal baking dish; glass pans are not recommended when broiling. A vertical sawing motion with a serrated knife works best for cutting through the crunchy icing and tender crumb.

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April 14, 2012 by Julie Ruble | 32 Comments

cakes

Tres Leches Coconut Cake Trifle

This recipe might be more aptly called a Milk Soaked Coconut Love Bomb. Eating this was like diving into billowy, dewy clouds of coconut deliciousness. But I’ll go ahead and tell you that this isn’t a 30-minute dessert. It wasn’t overwhelming or even all that difficult, but it did take some time and effort to put together.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately — this phenomenon of Cooking Hard Stuff. After wrestling with how to present certain dishes and wringing my hands about whether anyone will even try the ones that are a little more fiddly, I have something to say. In fact, I have an essay for you. It’s called:

IN DEFENSE OF COOKING HARD STUFF.

Maybe this is counterintuitive, but I want to start by telling you that I understand choosing not to Cook Hard Stuff. I do it all the time. During the week, I make oatmeal breakfasts and simple soup dinners that I can squeeze into my schedule. I make gigantic batches so that I can avoid cooking at all most weeknights. I stock up on fast recipes to make when I’m too exhausted to stand at the stove. And I take plenty of shortcuts in the kitchen (evidence: 1, 2) when I feel like it.

But I also carve out time on Friday nights and Saturday mornings (and sometimes a few other times during the week) to Cook Hard Stuff. Hard stuff like recipes that take a couple of hours to make, recipes that require techniques I’ve never tried before, recipes that require precision or focus, or even just recipes that are new to me and therefore a little intimidating. It’s not because I enjoy slaving away, either. It’s because the work I put into every new “hard” recipe I try is repaid tenfold in what I reap from the experience.

You should cook hard stuff because it can bring joy and a feeling of accomplishment to your everyday life.

First, you should know that cooking is not just about feeding ourselves any more than playing the piano is just about having some music to listen to or rock climbing is just about finding transportation to the top of that pesky cliff. We don’t throw ourselves into new endeavors to produce results, but to benefit from experiences. If all you want is a result, toss the knitting needles and buy yourself a sweater. Dump the rest of your paints and go buy a few prints to put on the wall. Hang up your running shoes and get in the car.

But it turns out the point is the rhythm of the knitting, the mixing of the paints on your canvas with each new brushstroke, and the few seconds shaved off of your time each run. The point is what happens to you during the process. And a lot can happen to you during the process of Cooking Hard Stuff.

One thing that can happen to you is that you might gain confidence. Cooking Hard Stuff forces you to be resourceful. Your cake comes out sloped, so you have to pick up that serrated knife and level a cake layer for the first time. Your recipe calls for cutting fat into flour, so you have to find a good video demonstration online for how to do it. Dipping cake balls with a spoon turns out to be a royal disaster, so you have to try dipping them with a fork, a skewer, and a toothpick until you find a way to save your hard work. Each finished recipe isn’t just something to eat: it’s a tiny triumph that rewards all of the struggling behind the scenes.

The first time I made the coconut pastry cream in this trifle, it was 2009 and I’d just started this blog to chronicle my kitchen experiments. My heart kept time with my furious whisking while my eyes flitted back and forth from recipe to saucepan, recipe to saucepan. It felt like a gigantic undertaking. When I made it again this weekend, I was surprised to find that it was quick and easy. I’ve been making pastry creams now for years. The recipe hasn’t changed, but my skill level and confidence have.

Another thing you might gain in the process of Cooking Hard Stuff is grace. It’s not always going to be a tidy story of overcoming challenges to create towering French desserts. Plenty of times, your recipe’s going to flop. Just a few days ago, I dumped an entire stockpot of soup right down the drain (trust me, there was no salvaging it). And according to your Facebook comments, you’ve all had similar experiences.

A recipe flop may feel like a waste of time, but actually, facing obstacles that thwart your plans is one of the most valuable aspects of Cooking Hard Stuff. Personally, nothing has changed my ability to weather frustration with grace as much as regularly exposing myself to manageable failures. I’m not going to pretend like I spouted inspirational platitudes when my cake toppled and had to be turned into a trifle (I threw an outright fit), but I can see myself becoming a better person over time. I love that.

Finally, you might find that Cooking Hard Stuff creates a new culture in your home and a new mood in your family celebrations. It’s fun to rally around a special accomplishment — particularly when said accomplishment is a big ol’ cake.

I don’t play the piano or knit. I’m willing to give anything an earnest try, but not every hobby is going to be right for me. In the same way, I don’t expect that every one of you should Cook Hard Stuff on a regular basis. (In fact, I haven’t even mentioned that Cooking Hard Stuff is a luxury that plenty of people don’t have due to location, income, transportation, supplies, and background knowledge.) I’ll keep on writing about the simple recipes, too. But if you haven’t tried Cooking Hard Stuff and you’re able to — and especially if you’ve just been thinking of cooking as a quick means of getting dinner on the table — I hope you’ll accept a little challenge from me.

THE COOKING HARD STUFF CHALLENGE: Pick a recipe that you normally wouldn’t try. Maybe it takes a little longer than you usually spend, or has a few more steps than you usually do. Pick a weekend in the month of March and set aside time to tackle that recipe. When you finish, even if it’s not perfect (remember that the goal is the process, not the product!), snap a photo and send it to me at julie ‘at’ willowbirdbaking ‘dot’ com with a little summary of how your experience went. In the coming weeks, I’ll share tips for Cooking Hard Stuff, and at the end of the month, I’ll post a roundup of the Hard Stuff everyone cooked.

Need some ideas? Try baking your own homemade croissants (there’s even a phototutorial), making breakfast cereal from scratch, making those awesome coconut pie bars, or baking a fancy layered cheesecake.

Make me proud, y’all.

Tres Leches Coconut Cake Trifle

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking, adapted from All Recipes (cake) and Zoe Bakes (coconut pastry cream)
Yield: serves about 10 people

This is a coconut lover’s dream. Dive into billowy, moist clouds of Tres Leches Coconut Cake, coconut pastry cream, fresh whipped cream, and toasted coconut. This dessert is best made at least a day in advance so the flavors can meld and the cake can soak up all its coconut love. Even though there are several steps to making this trifle, the end product (and the process!) is totally worth the effort.

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
5 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Three Milks Sauce Ingredients:
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk, minus 1/2 cup
3/4 cup coconut milk

Coconut Pastry Cream Ingredients:
1 can (14 fluid ounces) coconut milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch kosher salt
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Whipped Cream Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons icing sugar
toasted coconut for assembly and topping

Directions:
Note: This trifle actually tastes better if it can sit in the fridge for a day, so feel free to make it in advance. To toast coconut, spread it on a baking sheet and bake it at 350 degrees F for a few minutes, stirring every now and then, until it’s toasted and browning. Transfer it to a plate to cool before using it.

Make the coconut pastry cream: Mix the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat it over medium heat. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and corn starch. When the coconut milk mixture gets hot, temper the egg yolks by scooping up 1/2 cup of milk and slowly drizzling it into the yolks while whisking. This prepares them to be added to the hot mixture without becoming scrambled eggs! Now add the tempered yolks back into the coconut milk mixture that’s still on the stove and whisk for 3 minutes on medium-high, or until the mixture turns thick and bubbles. Make sure to whisk constantly for the full 3 minutes so your pastry cream doesn’t separate later. After the 3 minutes, whisk in the butter and then the coconut. Pour the cream into a shallow dish to let it cool.

Cover the cooled cream with plastic wrap pressed right against the pastry cream, which will prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate the pastry cream for an hour as you do the following steps. Once it is cold, stir the pastry cream to loosen it up. Whisk the 1/2 cup of heavy cream to medium peaks in a chilled bowl. Stir in a third of the whipped cream into the pastry cream to lighten before folding in the rest.

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 9-inch cake pans (I use Wilton’s Cake Release and put a circle of parchment paper, also greased, in each pan). In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the 3/4 cup sugar until they are light and doubled in volume. Mix in the coconut milk, vanilla and coconut extracts, flour, and baking powder.

In a separate bowl (don’t use the same bowl as the yolks, because with any fat in the bowl, the whites won’t beat up), beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form (but not until the whites become are dry). Fold the whites gently into the yolk mixture until no streaks remain and pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake them at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before running a knife around the edge of the cake layers and inverting them onto a cooling rack. Cool them completely.

Make whipped cream: Whip the 2 cups of cream and icing sugar together in a chilled bowl to stiff peaks.

Assemble the trifle: Whisk together the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and the coconut milk for the Three Milks Sauce. Place one cake layer in the bottom of your trifle dish and poke holes in it with a fork. Pour about 1/3 cup of the milks mixture over it and let it sit for around 30 minutes. Top it with all of the coconut pastry cream, a generous layer of toasted coconut (saving some for sprinkling on top), and half of the whipped cream.

Poke the other cake layer with a fork (you do this before you put it in the dish because it’s kind of hard to poke it once it’s on top of the splushy cream). Place it on top of the whipped cream layer in your trifle dish and pour another 1/3 cup of the milks mixture over it (you’ll have quite a bit of the milks mixture leftover, since your trifle would be too mushy if you used all of it. One resourceful person on All Recipes said she whisked an egg and some spices in, dipped bread in it, and used it to make French toast.) Cover the trifle and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. After chilling, frost the trifle with the remaining whipped cream and top with the remaining toasted coconut. Let the whole thing sit overnight in the fridge before eating — it gets better with time! Give it a whole day in there if you have the time.

See all the Cooking Hard Stuff Tips:
The Cooking Hard Stuff Challenge
Tip #1: Read and visualize the recipe.
Tip #2: Mise en place.
Tip #3: Make a schedule.
Tip #4: Try, try, try again — or share your success

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March 6, 2012 by Julie Ruble | 79 Comments

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Thick Chocolate Cake with a Big Red (Velvet!) Heart

Okay, confession: I’m actually starting this post on Thursday, February 8. At this moment, I haven’t taken any photos of this cake yet, because I haven’t even baked this cake yet. I’ve only just drafted the recipe. It could be a total cake flop (or another trifle?) But hopefully, by the time I’m finished with this post in a few days’ time, there’ll be a great big gorgeous cake staring at you from the photographs.

hi.

I also haven’t driven up to Raleigh for my Valentine’s weekend yet, so I may be totally off-base with the following mushiness (I’m a city girl, so I’m unfazed by your aphoristic “counting-unhatched-chickens” nonsense.)

I’m gonna take a stab at predicting the future and tell you (and hopefully confirm for you later): Mike is the best boyfriend ever.

See, Mike is planning (or, by the time you see this, planned — is this getting confusing?) our Valentine’s celebration this year.

I got him a few presents (this novel, and some astronaut ice cream, because who doesn’t want to eat weird space food?)

I also attempted to paint my toenails for the weekend, but if you follow Willow Bird Baking on Facebook, you know that I actually only managed to make my toes look like they’d been gnawed off by a possum. Romantic?

But other than those little details (and, okay, this gigantic cake), it’s all Mike.

Update, Friday, February 9: Mike just emailed me to tell me to bring something nice to wear to dinner, but that’s my only clue so far. I bought him Reese’s hearts to tuck into his present. And Scooby Doo valentines to hide around his apartment, because I am apparently 5 years old.

I finally baked the cake and filled it with red velvet goodness (spiking the cream cheese frosting with amaretto on the fly was a fantastic choice). Hopefully tomorrow morning will find me frosting, photographing, and hitting the road with Byrd (my smaller, fuzzier valentine).

Update, Saturday, February 10: My suspicions were correct — Mike wins at romantic Valentine’s dinners! He took me to fancy schmancy Coquette in Raleigh, where I had gnocci that tasted just like Thanksgiving (how’d they do that?) and he had a mind-blowing cassoulet. The wind chill might’ve been hovering around negative eleventy billion, but the cockles of my heart were as warm as a . . . well, as a cassoulet. Because I ate a bunch of it.

Update, Sunday, February 11: My suspicions were even more correct — Mike wins at awesome Valentine’s surprises! I’ve been wanting to see Hugo since it came out but haven’t gotten a chance. After Mike and I tried but failed to go see it last time he was in Charlotte, I figured I was going to miss it in theaters entirely. But after church today (and some fantastic pizza), Mike drove me to the movies! Hugo was amazing.

Actually, though, the best thing Mike gave me was a card. He knew it was good when I cried for five solid minutes after reading it (and I’ve read it 3 or 4 times since and cried every time.) The best part: “I love you with all my heart. I’m so glad we’re together this Valentine’s.”

If he thinks he’s glad . . . !

I can now happily report that the cake, also, was a smashing success. It turns out if you combine the best chocolate cake you’ve ever tasted, the best red velvet cake you’ve ever tasted, the best (amaretto!) cream cheese frosting you’ve ever tasted, and the best chocolate frosting you’ve ever tasted, the result will be pretty flippin’ awesome.

What are your Valentine’s plans?

Thick Chocolate Cake with a Big Red (Velvet!) Heart

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking, using chocolate cake and chocolate frosting recipes adapted from Martha Stewart
Yield: 10-12 slices

This is a capital-D Delicious show-stopper of a fancy schmancy special occasion cake. It’s a labor of love; however, even though it’s a lot of steps, they’re all pretty easy to accomplish! To make this cake (and so many others — it’s been a great investment for me), I used a Wilton Heart Tasti-Fill Pan. You can find this pan online or at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, and probably AC Moore, if you’re looking for one. Or you can also use this tutorial by Amanda at i am baker to create a heart inside your cake without the pan!

Chocolate Cake Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/8 cups unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/8 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/8 teaspoons coarse salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/8 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup plus 3 1/2 tablespoons safflower oil
1 1/8 cups warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Red Velvet Cake Filling Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 egg
1 tablespoon cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 ounce (about 2 tablespoons) red food coloring

Amaretto Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon amaretto or almond liqueur (optional)

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
Coarse salt
1 pound semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
sprinkles

Directions:
NOTE: This cake has a lot of steps, but it’s easy to split up over several days. The cake layers can all be made days in advance (freeze the chocolate ones to make them easier to work with — no need to thaw before you assemble your cake — and stick the red velvet one in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to use it). You can also assemble the cake and refrigerate it the night before you want to frost it (just cover it in the fridge).

Bake red velvet cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Cream together shortening, sugar, and eggs. Mix the cocoa and food coloring to form a paste and add this to the shortening mixture. Add the salt and vanilla extract. Add the buttermilk alternately with the flour, beginning and ending with flour. Mix the vinegar and soda together in a small bowl and immediately fold it into the cake batter. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool completely. Keep the oven preheated for your chocolate cake.

Make the chocolate cake: Grease the Wilton Heart Tasti-Fill Pan well (You can find this pan at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s, if you’re looking for one, or you can also use this tutorial by Amanda at i am baker to create a heart inside your cake without the pan!). I use Wilton’s Cake Release to grease my pans, but you could also use butter and flour.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and coarse salt together in a mixing bowl. Beat the dry ingredients on low until combined before increasing the speed to medium and adding eggs, buttermilk, warm water, oil, and vanilla. Beat about 3 minutes until the mixture is smooth. Divide it among your prepared pans.

Place the pans in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 30-35 minutes. Rotate the pans about halfway through so they’ll bake evenly. Let them cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto sheets of wax paper and leaving them to cool completely. Stick them in the freezer so they’ll be easier to work with.

Make the cream cheese frosting: Whip cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Mix in all other frosting ingredients and mix on medium-high speed until combined. When cake is cooled and crumbled, mix the cream cheese frosting in until the mixture has a dough-like consistency.

Make your chocolate frosting: In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa and warm water. In a separate bowl, beat together butter, confectioners’ sugar, and a generous pinch of coarse salt until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the melted chocolate and the cocoa mixture. Let this sit for about 30 minutes before you use it to frost the outside of your cake. (You can assemble the cake while you wait.)

Assemble the cake: Take out your firm-from-the-freezer cake layers and stack them to see if you need to trim the sides with a serrated knife at all. Level them if they need it. Then place them cavity-side up on the counter. Knead your red velvet mixture a bit to make it soft and pliable and pack the cavities of both layers with it, making sure it gets down into the shape of the heart. I smoothed the red velvet mixture level with the back of a spoon.

Spread a touch of chocolate frosting on the middle and outside of the cake layer (not on the red velvet heart) as “glue” and then place the cake layers together (filled sides together, of course). Carefully align your heart. Smooth a very skimpy layer of chocolate frosting (the crumb coat) all over the outside of the cake, brushing away any crumbs, and place the cake in the fridge to harden the frosting and secure the crumbs. After chilling for about 20 minutes, remove the cake and frost completely. Decorate with fantastic sprinkles and lots of love. Serve immediately with ice cream or store, covered, in the fridge. If you store it, zap each slice for 20-30 seconds or let it sit out for 20 minutes or so to let the chocolate frosting soften.

February 13, 2012 by Julie Ruble | 38 Comments

cakes

Red Velvet Cheesecake-Stuffed Cake Balls

What’s your favorite color?

Alex‘s answer is pink. He’s the son of fellow Charlotte food blogger Julie of Mommie Cooks, and he just celebrated his 6th birthday in style with a gorgeous rainbow cake. Things haven’t all been rainbows lately, though, because Alex was recently informed by some kids at school that boys aren’t supposed to wear pink.

Julie’s post beautifully captures the struggle of a mom trying to empower her kid to hold tight to his unique personality when the world is trying to tuck him into a bright blue mold. It’s hard to explain to a 6-year-old that pink wasn’t always considered “girly.” Or that part of the reason pink is a “girl color” now is so businesses can make more money. Maybe Riley can help explain?

I shared Julie’s post with my 7th grade students, who wrote a reflection on it before we discussed their thoughts. Middle school is a particularly difficult time for finding your own way, so we talk a lot about bullying and how to be ourselves and love others. Given this (and the fact that they’re sweethearts), I wasn’t surprised at all that they were touched by Alex’s story.

Their indignant and protective voices cried, “He can like whatever color he wants to like!” and “He’s just a little boy! Why does it matter what color he wears?” Then someone — I think it was Matt — raised their hand with an idea. “We should all wear pink tomorrow to support him!”

And just like that, a plan was born: the 7th grade “color swap.”

That’s how it came to pass that the 7th grade boys filed into my room this morning in every shade of pink and red. The 7th grade girls donned blues, grays, greens, and browns, complete with sneakers and baseball caps. One boy snazzed his outfit up with a pink tie. Another topped off his ensemble with a pink fedora. Yet another wore cute socks. Their message was clear: colors don’t belong to a certain gender, and you should always be able to be yourself.

The 7th grade. Be yourself, love others!

This Valentine’s Day, don’t limit yourself to celebrating romantic love. Why not celebrate pink for Alex? Find a way this week to be your unique self, or to show support for someone else’s individual choices. Maybe you can find a day to wear pink for all the Alexes of the world, who shouldn’t ever have to conform to an arbitrary idea of normal.

In the spirit of loving yourself and others, here are some Valentine’s Day Red Velvet Cheesecake-Stuffed Cake Balls. Nothing says I love you like cheesecake, red velvet, and chocolate, am I right? And I definitely got some I love yous from the folks who devoured these.

How can you be yourself and love others?

Red Velvet Cheesecake-Stuffed Cake Balls

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 30+ cake balls

People will seriously swoon when you show up with these cake balls. SWOON, I tell you. Red velvet cake and cheesecake and chocolate?! They’re also, despite looking really fancy, surprisingly straightforward to make. That being said, cake balls and pops are always fiddly the first time you make them and they require a little trial and error (should I dip with a toothpick or a spoon? Should I dry them at room temperature or in the fridge?), but the great thing about them is that they always taste amazing. The “recipe” below is more of a technique than a recipe. I’ve included lots of hints and even have a video tutorial to help you make these cuties! Also be sure to check out Candiquik’s great post on Common Cake Pop Problems.

Cake Ball Ingredients:
Your favorite red velvet cake recipe*, prepared and cooled
Chocolate candy coating (I love Candiquik or candy melts)
sprinkles

Cheesecake Filling Ingredients:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
*Note: I used a half recipe for these red velvet whoopie pies for my cake balls. They’re delicious as whoopie pies but were too oily for the cake balls, so mine cracked if I didn’t keep them in the fridge. I’d recommend using the red velvet cake recipe I used for these cake balls, which has always worked well for me. It might be more red velvet than you need, so you could try halving it and baking it in a loaf pan, but I haven’t attempted this. What the heck is too much red velvet, anyway?

Make the cheesecake middles: While the cake you chose is baking and cooling, mix all the cheesecake filling ingredients for 3-4 minutes or until fluffy. Fill a plastic zip bag with the mixture and cut off the corner. Pipe the cheesecake mixture into small swirls on a silicone mat or wax paper. Freeze these until firm (mine only took about 45 minutes).

Make frosting: Whip cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in all other frosting ingredients and mix on medium-high speed until combined. When cake is cooled and crumbled, start mixing frosting in. Start with about 1/2 cup of frosting and mash/stir with your fingers, pressing together to feel the texture. You’re looking to reach a playdough-like consistency. I think I used about 3/4 cup of frosting total, but the amount you use will depend on how much cake you have crumbled in your bowl.

Make cake balls: Once your cake mixture is ready and your cheesecake middles are frozen firm, you’re ready to assemble your cake balls! Take a frozen cheesecake middle and pack some cake around it. Roll it into a ball and place it on a silicone mat or wax paper. Continue until all cake balls are rolled. Chill these in the refrigerator overnight. I don’t freeze mine like some sites suggest, because I find chilling them in the fridge instead reduces cracking after I dip them.

Dip cake balls: After cake balls have chilled overnight, melt your candy melts or candy coating according to the package directions. I keep my bowl of candy melts situated in a bigger bowl of hot water to keep them warm and fluid, but be careful no water gets into the melts or they’ll seize!

To dip cake balls, I insert a toothpick into the center and dip them in the candy coating, using a spoon to help coat them. I then hold my cake ball over the bowl, gently bouncing and turning it to drain the excess coating off (letting them drain a good long while — but not long enough to fall off the toothpick — is how I avoid having a huge chocolate “foot”). When well-drained, I gently wiggle the cake ball off my toothpick onto a sheet of wax paper and add any sprinkles. I noticed my cake balls cracking (because I used an oilier cake), so I stuck them in the fridge as soon as they were dry to prevent this (it always helps for some reason). Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

VARIATIONS:
-You can leave the cheesecake middles out of this recipe and roll the cake into a solid ball if you want traditional cake pops.
-You can use any flavor of cake (or even a cake mix) for your cake.
-You can add chopped berries to your no-bake cheesecake mixture or even add in chocolate or other flavoring to produce different flavors of cheesecake in the center.
-You can use lollipop sticks or pretzel sticks to make these into cake pops.
-You can decorate with chocolate drizzle instead of (or in addition to) sprinkles.

Alex, this is for you. Be yourself! We think you’re awesome just the way you are.

Rainbows for Alex

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February 9, 2012 by Julie Ruble | 95 Comments

cakes

Clementine Mousse Cheesecake

When I was still in high school, Mike moved into an apartment with one of his friends. Until then, we hadn’t had a place to hang out together alone (there was no metro in Charlotte, alas).

We had loafed about at our parents’ houses, sat in my driveway, and driven a billion miles all around Charlotte, but this was different. This was a living room, a television, a kitchen — an entire domestic space that could be (okay, with the exception of that roommate thing) ours.

High school was a hard time for me. I was both a feisty perfectionist and a social oddball. I didn’t fit in to anyone’s circle (now I realize this might’ve had more to do with my own choices than with anyone actually excluding me). I wrote poetry in my notebook, read novels no one else cared about, and walked the halls alone or with one close friend at lunch. I wore pajamas to school because I couldn’t be bothered getting dressed for that mess. I rebelled in tiny ways — writing the school board indignant letters, painting red x’s on my nails, scrawling lots of angsty notes — because in all of the ways that mattered, I had to be picture perfect.

Every day I’d walk around for 7 hours, surrounded by people but completely alone. I didn’t play an instrument so I didn’t hang out with the marching band. I was in a couple of plays but didn’t totally mesh with the drama crowd. I went to a couple of debate tournaments but never really made a connection. I excelled in everything I tried, but formed real relationships with no one. This is heavy stuff, I guess, but the reason I mention it is just to say that Mike’s apartment became a refuge.

(And also, as a side note, now would be a good time to ask why in the world I’m involved in planning my upcoming 10-year high school reunion.)

I’d spend all day long pushing myself, participating in class and working with classmates. Then the last bell would ring and I’d finally lug my 50 gajillion pound bookbag out to my blue Pontiac Sunbird. I’d drive way too fast (the speeding ticket I got the other day suggests that my driving habits haven’t changed) to Mike’s apartment. I’d knock on his window and a few seconds later, the door would open and I would fall into a hug, finally “home.”

And we did play house. I helped him with laundry. I went grocery shopping with him. I carefully prepared boxes of Hamburger Helper and proudly presented him with heaping plates of it. We’d snuggle on the couch and watch Star Trek: The Next Generation.

When I had to climb back into my car each evening (my limited provisional license imposed a curfew of 9 p.m.), I felt like I was leaving home instead of driving towards it.

Ah. Well. Time alone together isn’t a novel thing anymore. Mike and I often hang out at my apartment or at his place in Raleigh. We also still watch Star Trek, but we’ve moved on to Deep Space Nine. And I still cook him meals, though they usually don’t begin with a box.

Some things have changed; some things have stayed the same. But we talk about those Star-Trek-and-Hamburger-Helper days like my parents talk about their Sliding-Down-the-Hall-in-Socks days. They’re part of our mythology now, something we’ll give our children someday, a story they might not understand until they make a home in someone else. Maybe someday they’ll find themselves preparing a box meal in a sweet little kitchen, or sliding down the hallway in the middle of the night. Or maybe their story will be a different one altogether.

. . .

This cheesecake is certainly not a box meal, but it is something special I made for Mike recently. He loves clementines (or ‘tines, as we call them), and I was going to take him a bushel last time I went to Raleigh, but I opted to make a big cheesecake with them instead. The top layer is a sweet clementine mousse made with clementine curd, and the bottom layer is a traditional creamy cheesecake. I candied some clementine slices to decorate the top and served each piece of cake with a heap of freshly whipped cream. I can’t be sure, but I don’t think Mike missed the Hamburger Helper.

Tell me a story from your love mythology. What memories do you have from early on in your relationship (or from relationships past)?

Clementine Mousse Cheesecake

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 10 pieces

Clementine Mousse Cheesecake is a creamsicle lover’s dream. Bright, airy clementine mousse sits atop a smooth, creamy traditional cheesecake in a cookie crust. I decorated mine with pretty candied clementines and served it with freshly whipped cream. In addition to being delicious, this recipe is also easy to break down over multiple days so there’s never too much to do at once.

Cheesecake Ingredients:
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
34 Golden Oreos, processed to fine crumbs*
6 tablespoons butter
*Golden Oreos give off some grease while cooking, so you may want to place a baking sheet under your springform to catch this — you can also substitute graham cracker crumbs if you’d rather, but the oreos are delicious!

Clementine Mousse Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups clementine curd
2 1/2 tablespoons cold water
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

Candied Clementine Ingredients:
3 clementines with firm (not loose) skin, well washed and dried
4 cups water
2 cup sugar

Directions:
Notes: Cheesecakes are simple and super customizable. New to cheesecake making? Watch my 6 minute Cheesecake Video Tutorial for visual assistance! This recipe can be divided up over several days — you can make the clementine curd and candied clementines in advance. Make the cheesecake the day before you want to assemble the dessert. Then make the mousse and assemble the cake with enough time to chill before serving.

Make candied clementine slices: (If you make these in advance, keep them in their syrup and store in the fridge. When ready, gently heat them again, remove the slices, and proceed with the drying procedure.) Cut each clementine into 6 horizontal slices. Remove any seeds carefully. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and place a cooling rack over a baking sheet on the center rack. Prepare a plate of sugar and set it aside.

Heat the sugar and water in a saucepan (wide enough for the slices to sit in a single layer) over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Place the slices in in a single layer and gently simmer them for 40-50 minutes, turning them once. The white bits should begin to get transparent. Pull them out of the syrup with tongs and place them on the cooling rack to dry for around 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until they’re no longer sticky to the touch. Gently dredge them through the plate of sugar, shaking off excess, to coat any sticky portions. Cool completely.

Make the cheesecake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a springform cheesecake pan. Combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl. Toss with a fork to moisten all of the crumbs. Using a flat-sided glass, press into an even layer covering the bottom and sides of your cheesecake pan (you want it to be tall — try to get to about 2.5-3 inches high — and a little thicker than for your usual cheesecake; maybe 1/4 inch thick so it won’t crumble). Bake the crust for about 6 minutes and let it cool as you make your cheesecake filling.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until well blended. Beat in the flour. Add in the vanilla and beat until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Pour the filling into your crust.

Bake until the top is lightly browned, puffed and cracked at the edges, and the center moves only very slightly when the pan is lightly shaken (about 40 minutes). Check while baking periodically and put a pie shield (or strips of foil) around the top of your pan to protect the crust edges if they’re getting too dark. Just don’t let the shield/foil touch the crust — it’s delicate and might crumble. When you pull the cheesecake out, you can use a sharp knife to score a circle around the top of the cheesecake about an inch inside the crust so that as it cools and chills/sinks, it won’t pull the crust in too much. Don’t worry if it’s pretty, because you won’t be able to see it in the finished product! Let cheesecake cool completely on a wire rack before chilling it in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

To make the mousse: Pour 2 1/2 tablespoons water into small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the water and let it stand to soften for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place 7/8 cups of the clementine curd in large bowl. Stir the remaining 3/8 cup curd in another small saucepan over medium-low heat until very warm.

Stir the gelatin mixture over medium-low heat until the gelatin is dissolved and the liquid is clear (do not boil, or the gelatin may not set up your mousse anymore). Whisk the warm gelatin mixture into the 3/8 cup of warm curd. Then gradually whisk this gelatin-curd mixture into the curd in the large bowl. Let this cool slightly while you make your whipped cream.

Using an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream to stiff peaks (it helps to use a chilled bowl and whisk). Fold around 1/3 of this cream into the curd to lighten it, and then fold the rest in gently. Pour the mousse over the cheesecake and chill it to set. Top the cake with candied clementines and serve with fresh whipped cream (I whip up about a cup of cream with about 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar to make mine — it’s a good use for leftover cake and is lovely with the cheesecake!)

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January 25, 2012 by Julie Ruble | 44 Comments

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