Princess Cake

How to Make this Princess Cake
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For the princess dress bottoms you'll need this Wilton Mini Wonder Mold Pan, Found Here. 

Make your cake batter. I chose to doctor a white cake mix with fresh strawberry puree and strawberry oil.

Make sure you grease and flour the cups really well or the batter will stick!

For the first batch of cupcakes, I filled the molds a little too much (3/4 full) and they puffed over the sides. This wasn't a bad thing, but I did have to shave off more cake to get it level.

I did make a second batch and filled the molds about 2/3 full and they came out perfect. 

Unmold and let cool completely.

Trim off tops of cupcakes so they'll sit level on the cake.

For the dolls, I used my little girl's Disney Princess Favorite Moments Dolls. Found at Toys R Us, Target, etc. They're about three and a half inches tall and fit prefect in the mini wonder mold cakes.

I wrapped the doll legs in plastic to keep them fairly clean.

I used a knife to cut a small hole in the top of the cakes. I also scrapped out some of the filling to make room for the doll. Before inserting the dolls make sure you put their shirt tops on. Or you can pipe the bodice on with frosting.

After all the dolls were placed in the cake bottoms, I frosted each skirt to match the dolls bodice.

I baked two cakes. I used strawberry for the dolls skirts and then I baked one 9x13 chocolate cake to set the dolls on top of. I frosted the chocolate cake in white frosting and sprinkled it with silver sanding sugar for a pretty princess sparkle.

After the 9x13 cake was frosted and the skirts with the princesses in them were frosted, I placed the four princesses on the rectangle cake. I used wooden dowels to secure the dolls on the cake. Then I piped on the dress details and added candy flowers, etc. I finished by pipping a border and a few flowers on the rectangular cake. I used a star tip for all the designs.

Here's the finished cake. My little girl loved this! It wasn't too hard to make either. I baked the cakes the day before and did the assembly and frosting and piping the morning of the party.

Supplies Needed

Wilton Mini Wonder Mold Pan

9x13 baking dish

Piping bag and Star tip

Wooden Dowels

Food Coloring (I used AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste)

Candy Flowers

Glitter, Edible Sparkles

Favorite Moments Princess Dolls or Doll Picks

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

These cupcakes are loaded with shredded coconut in both the cupcake batter and the topping. After they're baked to a golden brown, they get a generous slathering of delicious cream cheese buttercream frosting. I decided to toast half the coconut for the topping to give them a little something extra. 

These are wonderfully decadent. Try them, you won't be disappointed.

Just for fun, I topped the cupcakes with both shredded coconut and flaked coconut. In texture and flavor it really made no difference.

Coconut Cupcakes

Source: Ina Garten

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

For the frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

*  Make sure you cream the butter and sugar on high speed for the 5 minutes recommended in the recipe so that the cupcakes turn out light and fluffy.

* The recipe makes a ton of frosting! You'll get about 2 cups more than needed.

* I made these for a smaller group, so I halved the cupcake recipe and got 16 regular-sized cupcakes.

Uber Moist Carrot Cake

I made this tasty and pretty carrot cake the other night for my husbands birthday. I've never made carrot cake before, but this turned out amazing and everyone at the party (and I mean everyone) commented on how delicious and moist it was. I thought it turned out really good as well. My only change would be to up the spices. You can never have enough spice in a cake like this.

The recipe called for a 9x13 pan, but I decided to bake the cakes in two 9-in round pans to make a pretty layer cake. I love tall slices of cake.

I decided last minute to add a cinnamon whipped cream filling in between the cake layers. I had some extra whipping cream on hand, so I beat the cream until stiff peaks formed, then added a sprinkle of cinnamon and powdered sugar. When the completed cake was cut into slices, the whipped cream layer had melted into the cake forming a yummy cinnamon layer.

After the cakes were stacked they got a nice slathering of rich cream cheese frosting.

Then to finish it off, toasted pecans are pressed on the outside of the cake giving it that carrot cake look. Decorate the top as desired or leave it plain.

If you like carrot cake, you must give this recipe a try!

* * * * * *

Carrot Cake
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (You can substitute 3/4 cup of applesauce for 3/4 cup of the oil, it's moist either way )
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup pureed pineapple
1 cup chopped pecans*, toasted

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans*, toasted

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan (I used two 9-inch round pans) 
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white and brown sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir in pineapple and carrots. Fold in pecans*. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes**, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.


To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans*. Frost the cooled cake.


* I didn't put the pecans in the cake or in the frosting. I pressed them on the outside of the cake once it was frosted. 




** I think I decreased the bake time since I used different pans. If you choose to use the round pans, check them at 30 minutes and see how they're doing.

Fresh Fruit Tart

As far as tarts go, this one is a whiz to put together and delicious too. A simple shortbread crust is filled with a yummy cream cheese mixture and topped with slices of fresh fruit. 

Confectioners' sugar, butter and flour are pulsed together until moistened then pressed into a fluted tart pan. I added vanilla and cinnamon to mine to give it a little kick, but it's tasty either way. The cream cheese filling comes together quickly in a mixture and is slightly tangy and pairs well with the cookie crust and fruit. 

You can use any fruit you like or whatever is in season. Once you have your fruit assembled on the custard, brush it with a glaze and you've got a gorgeous and delicious dessert.

Slice - Serve - Enjoy

Fresh Fruit Tart

Crust:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar*
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and sliced
1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of cinnamon

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

pinch of salt

Topping:
Fresh strawberries, kiwi slices, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, grapes...

Glaze:
Honey

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust: In a food processor, combine the confectioners' sugar, flour, butter, vanilla and cinnamon and process until the mixture forms a ball. With your fingers, press the dough into a 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, taking care to push the crust into the indentations in the sides. Pat until the crust is even. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

For the filling and topping: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, almond extract and vanilla together until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust. 

Cut desired fruit into slices and arrange in a circle pattern on custard.

For the glaze: Heat honey in a small bowl in the microwave until runny. Cool slightly.  Brush over fruit.

Keep the tart in the refrigerator. Remove about 15 minutes before serving. 

* I used a tablespoon of brown sugar in both the crust and cream cheese filling in place of part of the sugar called for. I thought it gave the crust a nice flavor and also worked well in the filling. 

* A very small pinch of cinnamon lent a warm note to the crust and I thought it was really tasty. 

Cooking Club: August 2010

Theme: Worldly Cuisine

Teresa and Denise: Almond Buns- Fyldte Mandelkager from Denmark 

Linda: Polish blintzes

Betty: Russian Potato salad 

Chris- Croatian dish, Stuffed Cabbage.

Summer- Vegetable Masala

Shanua- French and African Wines, Indian Beer

Susan- (wasn't able to join us, but sent along some tasty wines)

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Almond Buns

These heavenly buns were scented with cardamon and cinnamon (the kitchen smelled amazing when I arrived). They would have been delicious on their own, but the whipped cream and ground almond filling made them a nice dessert.

Teresa always decorates her house so cute. For this cooking club, she hung up flags from all over the country. Very cute!

Polish blintzes

These blintz were a special recipe handed down from Linda's Polish grandma. 

A simple filling of sauteed onions and cottage cheese is wrapped up in a crepe and lightly fried. These were so tasty and addicting. 

Russian Potato Salad

Betty, who made this salad, searched out an authentic Russian market here in Salt Lake to get Russian bologna just for this salad. The salad had a unique flavor that was garlicky and almost smokey. Everyone really enjoyed this dish! 

Indian Basmati Rice

Whole spices like cinnamon sticks, cardamon pods and cloves are sauteed in oil to bring out their spicyness then mixed with basmati rice.

Vegetable Masala

A mix of vegetables are cooked with indian spices, tomato sauce and cream. Very delicious and tasted like an authentic dish from Bombay House.

Stuffed Cabbage

A mixture of onions and ground beef is rolled up in cabbage leaves and baked with a tasty topping of tomato sauce. These were a hit!

All the food was delicious and everyone went back for seconds. It was fun trying all the different dishes with their unique ingredients and flavors. 

We also enjoyed wines from France, Chile and Africa. The delicate french wines were everyones favorites.

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I can't believe we're gearing up for our fall cooking clubs already!


Next month: Recipes from our favorite chefs

Host: Betty

September 12th at 5:00PM 

Vegetarian Masala
Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 potatoes, cubed, blanched
4 carrots, cubed, blanched

1 small head of cauliflower, blanched
3 tablespoons ground unsalted cashews
1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce 
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 bunch fresh cilantro for garnish


Directions
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until tender. Mix in ginger and garlic, and continue cooking 1 minute. Add in blanched potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, cashews, and tomato sauce. Season with salt and curry powder. Cook and stir 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Stir peas, yellow bell pepper, red bell pepper, and cream into the skillet. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro to serve.

• I added extra spices like garam masala, turmeric powder, ground fenugreek and cardamom to make the flavor more authentic. 

The rest of the recipes will be added shortly!