English Toffee

I also made one of our family favorites, English Toffee. If any of you have ever tried to make toffee before, you know that it is VERY easy to burn. You have to get it to just the right tempurature and color. My recipe is actually a little bit different from the one that my mom uses. When she started making toffee forever ago, she used a recipe that didn't call for Karo syrup, but said she was burning it a lot. But then she found a recipe with KS, and it didn't burn anymore. Well, the first batch I made, I used a Ghirardelli recipe that I found, and it didn't call for KS and it turned out perfect. But I wanted the toffee a little thicker, so I called my mom to see how much butter and sugar she used per batch, and she told me she added KS as well. Since she couldn't really tell me the purpose of the KS, I decided that since what I was doing was working, why change it?! I also like the idea of having one less ingredient that would add even more sugar than is already called for. So I will give you both recipes, and if one doesn't work for you, try the other one. But I have to say, toffee is so scrumptious, and it really is so fast and easy. It's perfect to make for holiday treats as it is pretty inexpensive, and it's so easy to make a ton of batches. So this will definitely be a holiday staple for me, for years to come! Really quickly, another weird thing about the 2 different recipes is that my mom only cooks her to 290 degrees, but I go to about 300-302 degrees, and it still doesn't burn. I don't know how that works, but in all the recipes I have seen, and even on the candy thermometer, it says the hard crack stage is between 302 and 305 degrees F. On my second batch, I even looked at it at about 290, and it clearly wasn't ready to come off yet. So again, maybe that's the KS thing, and again, do whatever works best for you! You may have to experiment a little to find out what that is.

Ghirardelli English Toffee (this is the recipe I like, I just double it for one batch for thicker toffee)
3/4 C pecans or almonds FINELY chopped
1 C butter (NOT margarine)
1 C sugar
2 Tbs water
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (i love semi-sweet) or 8oz baking chocolate

preheat oven to 350 degrees. toast chopped nuts 6-8 minutes or until fragrant

line cookie sheet with foil
in a heavy sauce pan, cook butter until just melted, then add sugar, water and salt. Clip candy thermometer to side of pan and stir occasionally until temp reads 302 degrees F. It will be a dark golden brown. Immediately remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Pour mixture onto foil, spread out then let sit at room temp until hard, about 45 min.

Melt chocolate according to instructions, then spread over toffee.

Sprinkle nuts on top, then let set at room temp for about 1 hour until chocolate is set.

Break into pieces. Store covered at room temp for up to one month. (I like to store it in the fridge)

*These pictures were taken during my first batch, so you can see that it is spread thin. My second batch was able to be spread over more of the pan and was thicker.
* Another tip, be sure to watch the temp very closely, especially when it is nearing the desired temp, as it goes very fast near the end. On my second batch, I actually added the vanilla around 290 degrees, and the temp didn't rise as fast, I don't know if the vanilla had anything to do with it, but my second batch was better, I think. I am making a third batch today, so we will see how that one turns out.

Mom's English Toffee Recipe
1 lb real butter
2 C sugar
3/8 water
2 Tbs light corn/karo syrup
1 tsp vanilla
about 3/4 C crushed almonds
3/4 C choco chips (semi-sweet)

Follow instructions above. Add KS when add sugar and water. My mom cooks hers to about 290 degrees.

On either of these recipes, you can also add nuts to the toffee before it hardens, as well as on top of the chocolate.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

These are the best sugar cookies that I have ever had. They are nice and thick and always soft and chewy, and delicious!










Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Dry
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tea salt
1 tea baking soda

Wet
1 cup butter
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tea vanilla

Mix and refrigerate overnight

375 degrees F 8-10 min.

frosting
1/2 cup butter
a little milk
3-4 oz creme cheese
1/4 tea of vanilla
3 cups powedered sugar
pinch of salt

Roll 1/4 thick lots of flour use ungreased sheet

Frozen Hot Chocolate

This is such a fantastic treat! I love LOVE lOvE it!! It is one of the recipes that Serendipity in NYC is famous for (you know the restaurant in the movie Serendipity with John Cusack?)! It is especially great around the holidays as a small, festive dessert.









6 1/2 oz pieces of chocolates
2 tsp store bought hot chocolate mix (it's fun to try the creative flavors like chocolate cinnamon or caramel de leche, or dark chocolate!)
1 1/2 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 C milk
3 C ice
whipped cream
chocolate shavings

chop chocolate into small pieces. Place in a double boiler over simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add hot chocolate mix and sugar and stir until melted completely (this part takes a little while). Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 C milk until smooth. Cool at room temp. In a blender, place remaining cup of milk, room temp chocolate mixture and ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into giant goblet (holiday ones to make more festive) and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this pumpkin cheesecake recipe a couple of weeks ago, and it was divine. It was actually really easy for a cheesecake, even though it looks long and involved. So you should definitely try it!


Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
This makes 1 springform pan or 2 nine-inch deep dish pies

Ingredients and Equipment
3 cups of fresh cooked pumpkin OR one can of commercial canned pumpkin (about 12
ounces total)
2 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
2 cup sugar (or 2 cups Splenda; or 1 cup of each)
A graham cracker pie crust in a springform cheesecake pan or in two 9-inch deep-dish pie plates, unbaked (make your own crust, easy and much better than store bought)
dash salt
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg* (or substitute 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice for these spices)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 eggs or Egg Beaters
2 cups evaporated milk (I use fat-free)


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
2. Make a graham cracker crust in one springform
cheesecake pan OR in two 9 inch deep pie dishes or use a purchased deep
dish graham cracker crust)

Graham Cracker Crust:
1.5 cups of crushed Graham Crackers (one sleeve)
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1/8 cup water

Recipe and Directions
Step 1 - Crush the Graham Crackers.
Put them in a plastic bag and roll over it with a rolling pin, or the bottom of a large heavy jar. Crush away until they are just crumbs!.
Step 2 - Melt the butter
Step 3 - Add the melted butter and water
Mix the crumbs, butter and water. Stir it up!
Step 4 - Press the mixture into the pie plate

Try to make it about 1/8 inch (1/3 cm) evenly all around. The crumbs should stick pretty well, without being wet. If they won't stick where you press them, just add another tablespoon of water to the mix.


Cream Cheese Layer:
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the 2 packages of cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract - mix well! (I used the fat free cream
cheese and it tasted GREAT, even my massive, junk-food junkie friends raved about it)
4. Beat in 4 eggs; (either beat them separately, or directly with the other ingredients). Again, I used Egg Beaters and they worked great and tasted great!
5. Pour the mixture in the pie crust.

Pumpkin Layer:
6. In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin, 1 cup of sugar, a
dash of salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4
teaspoon ground ginger and 1/2teaspoon ground
nutmeg (or, instead of these spices, separately; just
3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice).
7. Lightly beat 4 eggs(or use egg substitutes, like Egg Beaters or
Better ’N Eggs) and blend them in.
8. Mix in the 2 cups of evaporated milk.
9. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the cream cheese
layer that is already in the pie crust. Don’t stir it in,
nor worry about floating it on top. Just gently pour it
in. As it cooks, it will settle out just right!
10. Bake the pumpkin pie in
the oven at 350° for about
70 minutes; possibly another 10 minutes(until
it has firmed up). The cream cheese layer will
bubble up to the surface some; that's fine; it
gives it the characteristic appearance.
11.Cool the pumpkin pie and refrigerate it! It won't
really firm upunless you refrigerate it (it IS a
cheesecake!). It will take a while–overnight is best,
but at least a few hours.
It's great with a little whipped cream, I also used carmel sauce which was delish!

Pumpkin Brownies

Last night we had little get together with my sisters as Ben and Whitney are leaving this week to move to CA...sad!! Well, it was Sunday, and I didn't realize until later that we didn't have any cake or brownie mixes and only had one stick of butter, so most of my usual desserts were out. So I decided to use the pumpkin left over in the fridge and try some Pumpkin Brownies. They turned out so yummy. The only annoying thing is that I wasn't sure what kind of pan I was supposed to use, until I baked it for the suggested 20 minutes, and the middle was still liquid. I guess I was supposed to use a cookie sheet. I think they would have been even better if I would have. Here is the recipe, a definate Holiday must!

Pumpkin Brownies
1 C cooking oil 1/2 tsp cloves
2 C sugar 1 tsp nutmeg
4 eggs 1 tsp salt
2 C canned pumpkin 1 tsp baking soda
2 C flour 2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon

Beat oil, sugar and eggs until creamy. Add pumpkin and sifted dry ingredients. Mix well and pour into greased jellyroll pan (cookie sheet). Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Icing
6 oz cream cheese 2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C butter 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp milk 3 C powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until creamy, add milk, vanilla, and salt. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Spread on cooled bars. Can be kept in the refrigerator.

And we're back!

Ok, so as you can see, I have been horrible at updating this blog. Right after I finished putting it together, I got pregnant, and the thought of cake and buttercream frosting made me want to barf. So I decided that I was going to have to put my cake decorating classes on hold. I still get a little nauseated when I think about a certain cake that I made and buttercream frosting, but now that I am back to loving all other sweets again, I thought I should start this blog back up with fun holiday treats. Obviously, not everything will be chocolate, but I LOVE making treats for fall and winter holidays, and there are a bunch of new recipes that I want to try.

So since I haven't tried any yet, I will start with my pumpkin bread recipe. This recipe is super easy, but super delicious, and always turns out nice and moist.

Pumpkin Bread

3 C flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 C pumpkin
2 C sugar
1 C buttermilk*
2 eggs
4 Tbsp soft butter
2 C chopped nuts (opt)
1 12 oz pkg chocolate chips (opt)

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl. Beat until well blended. Spread into 2 well greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans. (this is why I love this recipe, just throw everything in and mix!!) You should be able to get 4-6 mini loaves with the same amount of batter. I usually still bake it for an hour, just check every now and then to make sure it's not getting too dry.

*As a substitute for buttermilk, place 1 Tbsp vinegar in 1 C full of milk

If you feel fancying up your bread a little bit, try this Spice Glaze recipe!

1/3 C butter, melted
2 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2-4 Tbsp hot water
Ground cinnamon and cloves to taste

Beat all ingredients until well blended. Add hot water as needed to make desired consistency. Pour over pumpkin bread when bread is still warm.

Stay tuned for Pumpkin Nutmeg Dinner Rolls and Pumpkin Cheesecake!

A weekend of cakes

This past weekend has been one full of baking and experimenting, failing, and decorating. Asher's birthday was Monday the 6th and I wanted to make an amazing cake for his 1st birthday. Well, that didn't happen due to some technical difficulties, but that's ok. That's what the learning process is all about, right?! I had this really cute, brightly colored, 2-tiered cake planned that I was going to cover with chocolate plastic. Well, this is my first time using that, so I knew it was going to be risky. Well, I made it fine and got it nicely rolled out, but couldn't figure out how to get it off the counter-top without it ripping. I talked to my wonderful sister-in-law Kacey about it, and she recommended using either wax paper, or one of those pastry mats...duh. So I think I will have to invest in one of those mats, hopefully that will help to remedy the problem. So anyway, I just ended up splitting the two tiers up into 2 birthday cakes (one for Kacey and the other for Asher) and frosted Kacey's with Buttercream and Asher's with the most delicious chocolate frosting ever. Here are the pictures of the cakes. Kacey's decor is really random, I was so bugged about my disaster, I didn't take much time to make it cute.









Now I also tried a new Buttercake recipe from Baking 911. It actually ended up being a little too rich for my taste (but maybe I was just "sweeted out" from tasting the batter and frostings) but every one else seemed to like it. Nate and Whit also said that they thought it was kind of dry, now I don't know if that is my doing, or just how the recipe turns out, but it is a denser cake, and so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Anyway...I recommend trying it for sure. The recipe calls for exactness in measurements and beating times, so if you are not into that, then maybe it's not for you. But it's gotten amazing reviews, so it might be worth a try. The other great thing about this recipe, is that you don't have to level the cake when it comes out of the oven, it was perfectly flat, crazy huh?!

I got a lot of compliments on the buttercream frosting that I used. It was much creamier than normal, and the best part is that it doesn't crust, which makes it harder to smooth out and decorate, but makes for a much tastier and creamier frosting. I definately recommend this recipe, which I actually can't find at the moment. But I will find it and post it along with a recipe that crusts, so it will be better for decorating.

The center for Kacey's cake was a white chocolate raspberry mousse filling, which is divine. It's not hard, although it is a little involved, but sooo worth it. Follow this link, it is the same mousse I used for the White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake, just use raspberries instead of strawberries.

Ok, now the recipe for the best chocolate frosting/glaze ever. This is so simple, and a Busath family favorite.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips (preferably semi-sweet)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 cup powdered sugar
4-5 TBS milk

Melt the butter and choco chips. Add vanilla and salt. Add one cup PS then about 2 or 3 TBS milk, mix until smooth. Then add the next q 1/4 C PS and the rest of the milk and stir until smooth. Frost immediately.

Ultimate Butter Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups (17.64 ounces - 500.09 grams) unbleached all purpose flour -- spoon into measuring cup and level to top
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk (use cold; does not have to be at room temperature)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract; optional 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or 1 teaspoon orange or lemon extract or 1 tablespoon grated orange or 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon peel or 1/4 teaspoon citrus oil

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter (use cold; does not have to be at room temperature )
2 cups sugar -- or superfine sugar
3 large eggs -- (use cold; does not have to be at room temperature )

NOTE: Cake is mixed using a 325 watt KitchenAid Mixer. If you are using a more powerful one, adjust the mixing times downward or use the descriptions rather than mixing times with the instructions, otherwise the baked cake will fall apart and/or crumble or dome in the middle from overmixing.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Position the oven shelf in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 9-inch, preferably light colored, heavy NOT nonstick pans. (If you use dark, nonstick baking pans or ovenproof, Pyrex glass pans, be sure to reduce the oven heat by 25 degrees F).

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Add the vanilla to the milk and set aside.

3. Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on low until softened. (If the butter is cold, it will warm quickly from the beaters - taking about 60 seconds). Add the sugar in a steady stream at the side of the bowl. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until light yellow and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the side and bottom of the bowl with a large rubber spatula.

4. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time and beat for 20 seconds after each addition. After the eggs have been added, increase the mixer speed to medium and beat the mixture for 2 minutes. (If the eggs are cold, the batter will curdle slightly. It's ok. It will come together as the batter warms from the beaters. ) Set the kitchen timer to help you keep track of the time. The mixture will become fluffy and aerated.

5. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in 3 equal portions, alternating with the milk in 2 equal portions, beginning and ending with the flour. (If the milk is cold, the batter will curdle slightly. It's ok. It will come together when you add the flour.)

Add the flour and liquid ingredients in increments quickly; do not wait in between additions too long as you don't want to overmix the batter.

After completing the last addition of flour, stop the mixer, and scrape the side and bottom of the bowl with a large rubber spatula. Then, let the mixer run for 30 seconds on LOW. The batter will be very thick. STOP the mixer. Do NOT overmix.

6. Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer. With a large rubber spatula, give the batter ONE or TWO quick folds to incorporate any stray flour or milk left at the sides and bottom of the bowl. Then, STOP!

7. Divide the batter in the prepared baking pans (should fill 1/2 full) and lightly smooth the tops. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top feels firm and gives slightly when touched and will shrink slightly from the side of the pan. The cake will be slightly browned. If you insert a toothpick in the middle and remove, there should be a few moist crumbs attached, but not batter. The cakes will have a slight dome and small cracks on top right when it comes from the oven, but as the cakes cool, they will flatten on top and the tiny cracks will disappear.

NOTE: The cake can be baked in a 9 x 13 x 2-inch, greased cake pan, taking 45 - 55 minutes to bake. Cupcakes take 20 - 30 minutes to bake.

8. Remove cakes to cool on wire racks for 10 to 15 minutes. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula or sharp knife, taking care not to scratch the cake pan. Invert onto cake rack and place upright to cool completely. Be careful, the cakes are delicate when warm.