Baking FAIL

This weekend some friends and i went camping, to celebrate Aimee's birthday.  Birthdays require cake.  But she is not eating much animal product (vegan as practical?), and seeing if removing gluten from her diet helps with some health stuff, which means not just any store-bought cake would do!  OK, and it's Miss Aimee the Cookie Mistress and no store-bought cake would do anyway, she's one of the best bakers i know!

Aimee loves salt.  She's taught me to be a little less fearful of it, and even taught me to add it to things i might not otherwise, like frosting, to add a little pop.  Also, we recently went to Tanglewood, and passed on some local salted caramel ice cream that all made us go "oooh".  I've never made caramel before (and it will show during this saga), but thought it sounded like a fun challenge.

It's a good thing sugar isn't expensive this was a complete fail, even after several tries.  And so the trash can had a feast.  These were my first attempts at a gooey filling (the sugar never melted enough) and harder decorative caramel (burnt).

Try #1 for filling came out grainy and gritty.  The sugar never melted enough, I think because i left out the 'optional' water, there was never enough moisture for it to get really soft.  

Try #1 for a harder caramel that i could break and use for decorating the cupcakes.  I let it get too dark and it burned.

I feel like maybe next time i should do some research about caramel before hand, as i ended up scrambling and not sure what i was looking for (hence so many failures!).  

This just wouldn't get hard, it kept melting at room temperature!

And here is Try #2 for a filling.  It's was way too thin.

The second time i adapted a non-vegan recipe, and substituted almond milk for the heavy cream.  This obviously cut the fat content way down.  Again, i maybe should of let this boil longer, as it was thin when i transferred it to the jar, but i was afraid of repeating my previous over-cooking error.  After a night in the fridge it was much more sticky and caramel like, but when i tried to use it, it was clear, it was way too thin.

I decided that the cupcakes should have a little more depth, rather than a single flavor note, so I made chocolate cupcakes, using a similar process to my lemon cupcakes.  These, however, were gritty, somethign didn't properly incorporate, either the flour or the cocoa.  But they looked ok, right?

Sadly, Aimee did not get cupcakes.  My time ran out before i could make a new batch of anything.  I would totally fail a reality TV cooking show audition.  We did, however, put candles in a cooked banana with chocolate chips and marshmallows for her on Saturday.  

Still, i will make these darned cupcakes for her!  Ian says that this is a sign i'm becoming a better baker, that i can tell things are not right and pitching them rather than making my friends suffer through my mistakes or something.  

Gluten Free Peach & Blueberry Cobbler

yum!

It was a very, very busy weekend.  And despite my best efforts, my food didn't cook itself, nor did the yummy fresh peaches get eaten.  They were on the verge of getting too soft, so i thought hard for a moment.  Then another.  Then another, until cobbler happened.

This cobbler has blueberries and a bit of ginger for flavor.  I added brown sugar, lemon juice, salt and cinnamon as well.

The topping is a mix of white & brown rice flours, almond flour, oatmeal, almonds and even a little ground walnuts, because i am a wild person.  With gluten free crumble tops you can get away with a lot of different mixes of grain and nut combinations.

This all went into a small baking dish at 350 F for about 30 minutes.

I get to taste it today.  I can't wait!

Update: despite the cat STEPPING on it, it still tasted awesome (Lucky may be adorable 90% of the time, but occasionally his name ought to be Lucky-We-Don't-Throw-Him-Out-A-Window).  I need to be more brave when adding spices, as the ginger was not very noticeable.  Also, i think i want to up the ratio of nuts or oatmeal, to give the crust more chew.  Still, for a throw-together, this worked!

Muffin Experiments

Peach muffins

First off, although i didn't run yesterday because of the weather, i did make a rather crazy fitness choice - I signed up for the Warrior Dash.  This is a race that is around 3.5 miles, with a series of obstacles including climbing over walls, balancing on narrow boards, crawling through mud and jumping over fire.  Aimee, who is my running inspiration, as well as my brother will be joining me.  I've got until September to try and gain some upper body strength, as well as continue working on my running.

I did use the evening for productivity.  First off, i made a batch of peach muffins, using Alton Brown's muffin recipe from I'm Just Here for More Food, with a slight modification.  I used half whole wheat, half white flour (by weight).  I sifted the dry ingredients twice, to make sure things were incorporated.  I also used greek yogurt, because that's what i had.  I didn't measure, just went with what i had left in the container, which looked to be about a cup.  Because that's what i had.

I had wanted to use some raspberries in these, but sadly mine had gotten moldy, and the ones that were salvageable were too soft, and i didn't want pink muffins.

Blueberry muffin

I love the flavor the whole wheat added, but i think next time they will need a lower temperature, as the outside came close to being burned had i not turned off the oven and let them finish as the heat reduced.  These muffins were also a little more dense in comparison with the blueberry muffins i made several days ago using the same recipe except using only white flour.  I have done a little reading and learned there is such a thing as pastry whole wheat flour and may investigate such a product.  I don't believe white flour is the devil but any change to get a little better nutrition is nice.

Both batches were not sweet, nor cakey, but felt like something old-fashioned and comforting.  I'm interesting in trying a savory batch sometime soon, perhaps some sort of herb and cheese thing.

Because i made the blueberry muffins before leaving for a trip to Massachusetts for a family gathering, i froze them and found they were still great post-freezer.  They also defrosted quickly, which is handy.  I decided to freeze all but 3 of the peach muffins (two i ate for dinner, plus one for today's lunch, don't judge!).  We'll see if the flour choice has any impact there.

In related news, i recently read two posts from Food 52, one on Food Styling and the other on Food Photography.  Please bear with me as i try and learn (and also use my iPhone 4S as my camera).

Gluten-free, vegan lemon & raspberry cupcakes (AKA Baking without a net)

July 4th was an important day in the domestigeek's life.

See, there was a low-key bbq to attend, with the usual Olympus family.  The perfect opportunity to attempt the kohlrabi chips i'd been thinking about.  And make up some German potato salad, an easy crowd pleaser that is safe for most diets because the ingredients are so simple.  But of course, i wanted something sweet.

I'd just done the fat kids salty-sweet cookie day, and it's been hot here in CT.  Stupid hot.  And humid.  (And awful for spending time in the kitchen, but maybe i'm a little twisted). I'd been thinking about doing chocolate cupcakes with coffee icing and heath bar chips on top, to play on Duncan's favorite ice cream flavor, but it felt too hot for chocolate.

For whatever reason, lemon was calling to me, and i thought lemon squares, but that seemed too advanced, and most of the vegan recipes called for tofu, something i knew i wouldn't be able to get Duncan to even try.

But then i found inspiration!  Lemon and raspberry cupcakes!  But this recipe was complex and i didn't want to spend the small fortune on the various flours and whatnot, if they even all were available at Stop & Shop or Whole Foods (and who wants to make 2 grocery store trips?).

So i did some more research, looked at several gluten free cupcake recipes and went to town.

Although it's not perfect, the Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour is decent for a base flour.  I hope to experiment more and maybe come up with a better blend when Aimee and Ian and i do Science Day (stay tuned for that adventure!), but i was willing to dumb down the flours to that.

I then had to consider the vegan element.  A cake needs the proper proteins to get the right texture.  I hate using egg replacer, because there is something kinda sketchy about it in my head.  So what would work?  I decided that this gluten free vegan recipe would be my base, which has apple cider vinegar, baking soda and water.

So for the cupcakes, this is approximately my recipe:

2-3 cups gluten free all purpose flour
1 cup sugar (yes, i know, sugar can contain bone char, which isn't vegan, but the lovely folks i'm most often baking for are comfortable with sugar, if you want an alternative, i'd suggest researching your brands or using turbino sugar)
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
0.5 teaspoons salt
0.3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
zest of 1 lemon
squirt of lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Line a dozen cup muffin pan with paper liners. (i also used a silicone liner to make a 'test' cupcake, there was plenty of batter
3. Sift together the dry ingredients (start with 2 cups of flour and sugar, baking soda, salt).
4. Add the oil, extract, vinegar, and water, and zest. Mix together till smooth.  My batter was very loose and i ended up adding more flour until i liked the consistency.  You want something akin to a cake batter, loose, but not watery.  I also tasted it and decided to add some lemon juice to up the flavor.  
5. Pour into lined muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. These seemed to rise fairly well.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Test with a toothpick, if it comes out clean you're good. 

These had a dense, spongy but soft texture.  I think next time i may reduce the amount of water to account for additional wet flavoring (lemon juice).

As i waited for these to cool i made a raspberry filling.  This was definitely a little tart.  If you'd like something sweeter, add more sugar.

1 bag frozen unsweetened raspberries

1.5 cups sugar

1-2 cups water

1. Thaw the raspberries with about 1/2 cup sugar
2. Put the raspberries in a saucepan and cover with water, add another 1 cup of sugar.  Simmer, stirring often and allow mixture to reduce to a thick consistency.
3. Strain some of the seeds out with a strainer.  
4. Fill a pastry bag with the mixture.  Using a narrow tip, insert into the cupcakes and squeeze gently (Wilton has some pictures to explain).  

Mine weren't perfect, but it did work!  Expect some leakage on the tops, but you'll cover it with frosting, so it'll be ok.  Next time, more sugar and maybe something to thicken it up better?  I'll do some research and report back.

The last part was the frosting, after all, a nice creamy frosting is one of my favorite cupcake elements!  

I've grown up on Domino Sugar's buttercream frosting recipe (although now i know Aimee's secret of a little salt, it'll never be the same).  Of course, this relies on butter, which is not so vegan.  Here's where a little playing comes into effect.  Earth Balance is great for baking, so long as you can do soy, but it's texture isn't as hard as butter, so the frosting isn't quite right.  You need to up the ratio of sugar to get the right thick texture.  I can't exactly quantify this, but i tested it as i went by seeing how stiff the frosting was on the spatula.  When it held it's shape without melting, i decided it was thick enough.  Because of the heat in my kitchen i also suspect i had a harder time establishing the right texture.

3 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup earth balance (i usually get this at stop & shop in the butter/margarine area)

3-4 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon extract

zest of 1 lemon

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix on medium, adding sugar as necessary for a thick texture.  This isn't a strict recipe, you can alter the flavor elements to taste, just remember the more wet you add the more sugar you'll need for that thick creamy texture.  You want to minimize the amount of liquid you add, so start small and add slowly.  If it's too thin add more sugar, too thick, add more wet flavor in the juice or extract.  

I topped these with raspberries.  Ta-da!

Salty Sweet

This weekend i must have had a particular craving for salty-sweet, as i tried out two new recipes.  I had to alter each to make things edible for my gluten-free and vegan friends, but they were still SO delicious, i have to share.

Chocolate Chip Potato Chip Cookies - i used regular old Lay's chips which came out fine.  I substituted Earth Balance for the butter and used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour for the flour.  I could of been braver on the salt application on top, but these were awesome and very easy to make.

Salted Oatmeal Cookies - Again, i swapped out Earth Balance for butter and used Gluten Free flour.  I also substituted a few tablespoons of applesauce instead of using eggs.  I added a little more cinnamon than the recipe called for, but also let the raw dough sit for longer in hopes of getting the oatmeal softer, which worked.  They didn't get too puffy, like sometimes dough does, but these were a huge hit.

When i asked my friends which they preferred, they all asked if i could just put potato chips in the oatmeal cookies.  I'm pretty proud of both sets, since i felt i was working without a net in making these GF and vegan.  I love when my experiments create tasty results!!!

Farm Share Week 1

So here's what i did with my delicious produce from the first week of my CSA through Fair Weather Acres, a beautiful and delicious haul!

Spinach (1 lb)

• Omelettes with spinach and swiss cheese and Farmer's Cow eggs (see picture).  Pretty proud of actually making an omelette that didn't turn into scrambled eggs, but could of been more patient and cooked it a tad longer.
• Cut up a ciabatta roll and layered herbed goat cheese, fresh spinach and roasted red pepper as a fancy late afternoon snack.
• Threw some in a salad for Saturday & Sunday dinners
• Cut some up and ate it with slices of turkey for a lunch on Monday & Tuesday.

Strawberries (1 qt)

• Ate some straight out of the container they were SO GOOD i snacked on them consistently.
• Strawberry shortcake for Father's Day using home made Cream Biscuits from the Fannie Farmer cookbook and whipped cream from scratch.  I wish i took a picture of these, they looked so pretty in my mom's blue bowls!

Parsley (1 bunch)

• Looking to use it soon, if not will dry it.

Rainbow chard (1 bunch) 

• Pickled the stems with a modified version of this recipe.  They are not kidding in calling this rainbow chard!  They are gorgeous!
• Going to sautee the greens with the beet leaves maybe?

Turnips (2)

• Cut 1/2 of the larger turnips into french fry shapes and roasted with some herbs in the oven.  Came out tasty, but could of cooked longer.  Amazingly low cal!

Beets (1 bunch)

• Tried to make beet chips with the actual beet part, but they all came out burnt.  Looks like i'll have a chance at redemption this week as we'll be getting more.  The ones i didn't burn came out tasty!
• Pickled the stalks using this recipe.  
• Saute the greens with the chard?  Or just combine this week's haul with the next for a larger serving?

Romaine lettuce (1 head)

• Saturday & Sunday dinner salad with tomatoes, spinach, cucumber, peas and chick peas.

Bok choy (1 head)

• Slow Cooker Chicken with Pineapple and Bok Choy

Tomatoes (2)

• Saturday & Sunday dinner salad, basic but tasty!

Hungry Caterpillar Cake

My nephew recently turned 1, and my love-in-law, Aimee, decided to have a theme of The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the party.  If you haven't read the book, it's the adventure of a caterpillar who eats various things, including pears, strawberries, lollipops and chocolate cake before eating a leaf, forming a cocoon and turning into a beautiful butterfly.  Eric Carle's illustrations are fun and it's a cute read for children.

Aimee's skills are amazing, and made an entire spread based off of the foods in the book.  I had the joy of spending some time with her in the kitchen to make the birthday cake, or in this case, cupcakes.

We used 1 box of 1-2-3 Gluten Free Deliriously Delicious Devil's Food Chocolate Cake Mix and 1 box Yummy Yellow Cake Mix.  I can not rave enough about these mixes, by the way.  If you find yourself needing to bake Gluten Free on occasion, and want to be able to make more than just the basics, check this brand out (Stop & Shop often carries them).  They do not have other potential allergens, such as corn in them, and you can make them vegan or not.

For the head we used a cupcake cake mold, and the rest were baked in regular muffin tins with liners.  Inside the vanilla cupcakes we places a few butterscotch chips, and dark chocolate chips into the chocolate cupcakes.

After the baking was done, we make a mock-up to see how many we had and how much space we would need.

The initial rough layout

Yes, some of the chocolate ones caved in.  We decided to make up for it with frosting.

Aimee did the bulk of the frosting creation while i did the food coloring.  A tip i learned from Aimee was to add a little salt to the traditional buttercream frosting mix.  Wow, did it make a difference in flavor!

Eric Carle's illustrations are done by layering hand painted papers like a collage, and we wanted to imitate that style with our frosting.  This meant we needed several different colors of frosting.  We ended up with two greens (for the body), two reds (for the head) and a blue and yellow for accents.

Frosting cooling on porch

Of course, after everything cooled came the serious work of actually frosting all these cupcakes!  Aimee took on the head and we both worked on the cupcakes.  For the most part we chose a base of one green, and added accents of the opposite green as well as blue and yellow.  We used toothbpicks to sort of smear and mix the colors without them becoming fully blended.

A closeup of some of the cupcakes

When the caterpillar was fully arranged on the table, this is what it looked like:

Assembled

Because we had a day between the baking and the party, we wrapped everything up (carefully!) and kept the spare icing that Mike didn't eat for any last minute touch-ups.  Here is the final picture, fully assembled with other foods Aimee had made for the party:

Complete!

We had discussed using candles or pretzels as spines and ears, but decided this was good enough.  It really was an incredible sight and i'm very proud of our artistic baking abilities!  And it tasted awesome too!