Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Lots of stuff going on...in addition to the World Cup's games at 4:30 am, my usual baking time. I apologize for missing several Tuesdays with Dorie weeks, and hope to get back into the swing of things soon. And special thanks to a few readers who sent me emails asking if I was okay! That was so thoughtful!

Remember Team Dave and the Los Angeles Marathon? I brought this lovely dessert to the post-marathon party. It's a great summer cake for a casual dinner party or way to highlight beautiful strawberries!

I adapted the recipe from Sky-High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman. Man, you have to get this book. It is Delicious with a capital D.

This cake is light (made with cake flour) and just delicious. Get her book for the filling which includes rose water. I didn't do that for this version, just macerated some strawberries in sugar.

Here is the Sky-High cake in three layers...see post here.

I've make this in a 6" triple layer before and it is quite lovely, but does NOT travel well at all. So this time I decided to make two 8" layers and assemble it at the party. Nothing like pulling out a whisk at the party...makes you look like a baker! :)

Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman, page 89

Cake:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 - 2 cups heavy cream

Fresh Strawberry Filling (See the book for this recipe that includes rosewater...I just macerated some strawberries with sugar)

Whole strawberries, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I made mine with two 8" cake pans. The original recipes calls for three 6" pans.
2. Cream butter, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
3. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add dry ingredients to the batter, alternating with the buttermilk in 3 additions. Divide among the prepared pans.
5. I don't remember how long I baked my 8" pans. The 6" pans bake for 20-25 minutes. I pulled them out when a toothpick came out clean. I let them cool for 10 minutes and then cooled them on a cake rack.

Assembly:
1. In a large chilled bowl, whip the cream with the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar until stiff.
2. Assemble the cake with cake, strawberries, whipped cream and repeat. Finish with your best strawberries on top. Enjoy!
Again, the book has a recipe for fresh strawberry filing that includes rose water.

Tender Shortcakes with Raspberries - Tuesdays with Dorie

Tender Shortcakes

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Cathy of The Tortefeasor chose Tender Shortcakes on page 423 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Cathy is one of my favorite bloggers. She is hilarious and such a good chef and baker! Be sure to add her blog to your reader!

Since I made Strawberry Shortcakes recently, I made 1/8 of the recipe, used raspberries and made them really small. The shortcake is very simple to make and I could pretty much eat these biscuits all day! :)

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Recipe:
Cathy's blog, The Tortefeasor
Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours, page 423

Mini Strawberry Shortcakes

California strawberries are exploding all over the Farmer's Market. A three-pack of deliciousness runs $5 - $8. Yum!!

So what to do to showcase these lovely fruits?! Strawberry shortcake!

I used the Tartine (delicious San Francisco bakery...a must-go on any trip up North) recipe for the biscuits from their cookbook, Tartine.

These biscuits come together in no time! Cut in some butter, mix in heavy cream, pat out the dough, cut and brush with sugar. Easy peasy!

I split the biscuit, layered in some strawberries (macerated in sugar for 15 minutes), and some whipped cream (with a little sugar and vanilla).

The Tartine recipe makes 6 four-inch biscuits but I used a small circle cutter and got 15 minis. Serving them in cupcake liners makes it easier for my co-workers to grab (I did put out forks).

Mini strawberry shortcakes. Summer fruit delights. And isn't this cake stand awesome? I'm borrowing it from my cousin...who may never see it again! :)

Recipe:
Click here for printable recipe
Adapted from Tartine, page 116 (Amazon or WorldCat)
Mixed-Berry Shortcakes - Be sure to pick up the book to get their berry-caramel sauce!

Biscuits
2 1/2 C + 2 T (12 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 c sugar
3/4 t salt
7 T unsalted butter, very cold
1 C heavy cream, very cold
Extra cream and sugar for the tops

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
3. Cut butter into small pieces, and cut butter into dry ingredients. I used a pastry blender, but you can use 2 knives or your fingers to get pea size pieces of butter.
4. Make a well in the center and pour in the cream. Gently mix the dough together with a wooden spoon or your hands. Don't overmix...it'll look shaggy.
5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll out to 1-inch thick. I didn't have time for a roller so I just patted it out. Tartine uses a 4-inch circle cutter (for 6 circles). I used a small 2-inch circle cutter and got 15 biscuits.
6. Place biscuits on baking sheet (I placed on a Silpat) and brush tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.

For my shortcakes, I cut about a pint of strawberries and macerated them in some sugar - amount of sugar depends on the sweetness of your strawberries. I whipped some heavy cream (about 1 1/2 cups) and with sugar and vanilla (to taste). Assemble and serve immediately or within a few hours. I assembled mine at 6:30 am, drove to work, stuck them in the fridge and served them at 11:00 am for a coffeebreak/pre-lunch treat. :)

Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes & Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting

Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes with Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting

Sweet Valley High books started in 1983. I was 13 years old and made my mom buy countless books for me. Yeah, I've always been into chick lit and the RomCom. Anyway, in these novels, there is often the, as I call it, "electric moment." You know, when the girl sees the guy and it is electrifying. Or when their hands touch and she can feel the deep connection.

Well, I had that deep emotional connection. No, not with the Sweet Valley High guy, but with Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting.

We celebrated two birthdays at the library earlier this week and I made some mini cupcakes. The cupcake is Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate cake with added espresso, and JustJenn's Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting.

The Mascarpone Frosting was divine. I'm not a fan of super sweet, buttery frosting, so this was heaven. It is light, slightly sweet and did I mention light? One of the birthday people said she could eat a whole bowl of the frosting. It is dangerous and delicious. Make it. You'll find that electric moment too.

Recipe:
1. Martha Stewart's One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcake - Make the recipe here, but add 1 T instant espresso powder (I use this brand) to the warm water to dissolve. It isn't overpowering, but it brings out the chocolate flavor. I baked the mini cupcakes for 10 minutes.

2. justJENN recipe for Mascarpone Frosting. Make this. Save some for the cupcakes and grab a big spoon and eat the rest.

Whipped Cream Bundt Cake - Day #22 - I Like Big Bundts

Day 22 of I Like Big Bundts: 30 Days of Bundt Cakes
Whipped Cream Bundt

Have you seen Rose Levy Beranbaum's new book, Rose's Heavenly Cakes ? It is, like the name implies, heavenly! Just lovely. I picked it up at the library to preview and will be buying it today at one of my favorite independent bookstores, Book Soup!

Thanks to my friend JustJenn of JustJennDesigns for making the logo!

I'm making 30 Bundts in 30 days! November 15th is National Bundt Day and I hope you join me in making a wonderful yummy Bundt cake (or get someone else to make one and you just eat a Bundt...that counts too! :)

At first, I looked at the ingredient list and didn't see any sticks of butter. Then I saw the 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream...a precursor to butter! :) The resulting cake is light and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.

Top question of the past 22 days… Who is eating all these Bundts?!

Thanks for the concern…but I’m not eating them all. In fact, some of them I don't eat one bite.

They have been going to:
a. The library (cut into thin slices – each Bundt probably has about 30 slices when the directions say it serves 10)
b. Neighboring libraries
c. My friends and family
d. My roommate's workplace

And, don't worry...I'll be bringing in plates of fruit and vegetables to work after this month! ;)

Another thing I like about Rose's book is that it gives measures 10 different ways. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it does give you volume and weight measurements. Very handy indeed.

My shout out today consists of actual SHOUTING. Well, laughing out loud. Michelle of Je Mange la Ville made a lovely Sour Cream Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Streusel (it is stunning!) and wrote: While I am not delightfully crazy enough to make a bundt a day…
Which means...I must be delightfully crazy.

Cathy of the Noble Pig also made a Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt! Such a great idea...and each year's Bundt will be different!

And Happy Birthday to Caroline! Fellow Los Angeles food blogger...have a great day!

We are closing in on National Bundt Day (November 15th.) Come back tomorrow for another Bundt. Tomorrow is another Bundt (that I need to get making right now!!) and a parade of Bundts past!

- mary the food librarian

Whipped Cream Cake
Sift together and set aside:
2 1/4 c or 8 ounces cake flour
2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt

1 1/2 c heavy cream, cold
3 large eggs, room temp
1 t vanilla
1 c plus 2 T or 8 ounces superfine sugar

Adapted from Rose's Heavenly Cakes. She has more detailed instructions in the book and the story behind this cake.
1. Whisk cream, starting on low and increasing to medium-high, until stiff peaks are formed. Note: Don't chill the beaters or pan like you would with a traditional whipped cream. Use cold cream, but not cold equipment too.
2. In medium bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla just until lightly combined.
3. Add egg mixture into the whipped cream. Mixture will thicken to mayonnaise consistency. Gradually beat in the sugar (30 seconds).
4. Fold in 1/2 flour mixture into batter until most disappears. Fold in remaining mixture. Pour into 10-cup Bundt pan that has been coated with baking spray with flour.
5. Bake for 25-35 minute in a preheated 375 degree oven (lower 1/3 of the oven) until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool for 10 minutes and then depan.

Recipe:
Adapted from Whipped Cream Cake (page 29)
Rose's Heavenly Cakes

Here is Rose's beautiful new book on Amazon and in Worldcat (see if your library has it)

I Like Big Bundts recap:
The Food Librarian confesses: I Like Big Bundts
Day 1: Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing
Day 2: Chocolate-Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Mocha Icing
Day 3: Pumpkin-Apple Spiced Bundt
Day 4: Cinnamon Ripple Sweet Potato Bundt
Day 5: Chocolate Zucchini Bundt
Day 6: Cardamom Vanilla Bundt
Day 7: Monkey Bread in a Bundt
Day 8: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day 9: Coconut Bundt
Day 10: Sweet Potato Bundt
Day 11: Mom's Apple Cake Bundt
Day 12: Meyer Lemon Bundt
Day 13: Candy Corn Jello Bundt
Day 14: Spiced Cranberry Bundt
Day 15: Blueberry-Buttermilk Bundt
Day 16: Nutella Bundt
Day 17: Carrot Walnut Bundt
Day 18: Pear Ginger Bundt
Day 19: Persimmon Bundt
Day 20: Banana Chocolate Marble Bundt
Day 21: Martha Stewart Chocolate Bundt

Raspberry Blanc-Manger (Tuesdays with Dorie)

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy selected Raspberry Blanc-Manger on pages 398 and 399 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

The Blanc-Manger. I thought it was a cousin of the Mont Blanc fountain pen.

Turns out it's a cousin of the panna cotta with some almond meal, whipped cream, milk, raspberries and gelatin. It is pronounced: "blah-mahn-jhay"

Beyond simple to make, it's like eating sweet air.

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Recipe:
Find it on Susan's pretty blog or on this NPR piece, "It's never too hot in the Kitchen for Dessert" (June 22, 2007)

National Library Week Day 3 with Barefoot Contessa's Strawberry Country Cake

Barefoot Contessa's (California) Strawberry Country Cake

Raindrops on roses.
Brown paper bags tied up with string.
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes.

Favorite Things. Rock.

It's Day 3 of my week long celebration of National Library Week! Today, it's all about favorite things!

Up first, California Strawberries! They are delicious, delicious, delicious and the first sign of the soon-to-come onslaught of stone fruits and other lovely summer delights! Strawberries have always been my favorite!

This is the Barefoot Contessa's Strawberry Country Cake. It's Cake (my favorite). It's Strawberries (oh yes). It's Whipped Cream (come on, who doesn't love fresh whipped cream!?!)

You can find the recipe here on the FoodNetwork website. It makes two cakes and you freeze one for later in the summer!

One of my favorite shows is America's Best Dance Crew on MTV! Congrats Los Angeles Quest Crew! Not that I'm a hip hop dancer (remember, I have so little rhythm I can't do the rhythm method), I found myself txting in votes along with 14-year old kid next door. Sigh. One day I'll act my age.

People, check out that Head Spin!! These b-girl librarians are krumping, popping, locking, and gliding to a mix of Lady Gaga and Ne-Yo (you just can't see it in this photo :) Please note that the Librarian Action Figure don't do much action. Nothing moves on her except her arms...in order to do a Shushing motion!


It's National Library Week! All this week, I'm highlighting a library thing. Today, it's movies and music. I know some adults haven't been to their library since they were kids and think libraries only have books...but many libraries have current DVDs and music CDs in their collections. Sometimes you might have to wait a bit if there is a queue, but the check outs are often free or less than a rental store. In our current economic situation, libraries may be able to entertain you with movies, books, and music!

To celebrate Day 3 of National Library Week, I'm giving away the following to one lucky winner:

a. The Food Librarian's Favorite Things from Trader Joe's
b. Handmade beaded bookmark (designed by my friend Julie!)
c. Disneyland book bag (carry all your library books, DVDs and CDs in this cool bag)
d. $10 Starbucks gift card...okay, is this a bit of regifting or "sharing"? Ever 56 days or so, I donate a pint of blood at my local hospital and receive a Thank You $5 Starbucks giftcard. I don't drink coffee and the Starbucks near my work has closed...so I don't go often. I know Starbucks is a "favorite thing" of many people out there so I thought I would pass these along!

This is a crazy assortment of MY favorite Trader Joe's stuff. I love the whole store and unfortunately can't send you the refrigerated Mocha yogurt, goat cheese, thin spinach pizza, mochi ice cream and so much more. Included: Mini milk chocolate peanut butter cups (addicting), Japanese ginger cookies (soooo yummy), my favorite pretzel sticks, lemon curd (easier than making it from scratch and you can't see how many yolks you are eating), dark chocolate bars, chile spiced dried mango, tomato and roasted red pepper soup (I can live on this), and my new (childhood memory) favorite: Trader Joe's O's. (Librarian Action Figure not included)

To enter the Day 3 Giveaway, simply leave a comment below (one entry per person) and I'll pick the winner from a hat. Deadline: Monday, April 20, 2009 at midnight PDT. If your comment isn't linked to a blog where I can find you, please leave your email or check back on Tuesday, April 21st to see if you won. Shipping to U.S. addresses only.

Enter the Day 1 Giveaway for mini-cake pans and Day 2 Giveaway for mini-loaf pans, bookmark and bag. Deadline is also Monday, April 20, 2009! Coming up tomorrow...more miniature stuff giveaways!

Sky High Cakes - Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake (Cake Slice Bakers)

Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake

The Cake Slice Bakers voted to make the super delicious Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake!

The Cake Slice Bakers make one cake per month and we are spending one year using the terrific book: Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman.

Better get a chicken because this recipe uses 13 eggs! Eight in the 9" chiffon cake and 5 more in the lemon curd. I made mine with Meyer lemons.

The layers are filled with lemon curd and topped with a whipped cream with lemon curd frosting. Light as air.

Be sure to check out other The Cake Slice Bakers!

Seriously, celebrate the first day of Spring by purchasing the great cookbook!!! You won't be disappointed!!

Berry Surprise Cake (Tuesdays with Dorie)

Berry Surprise Cake

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen chose Berry Surprise Cake on pages 273-275 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Now, before I tell you about the cake, let me tell you about Mary Ann. Mare (as she signs her posts), is amazing!!! She posts practically everyday and her family eats GOOD. Everything she makes is fun, healthy (besides our tasty treats, but I'm sure everything is in moderation at her house), and yummy. If you don't subscribe to her blog, you definitely should!

Based on the comments from other bakers, people had some difficulty with the whole egg genoise cake. I'm in the club!! I thought I treated my eggs like the divas they are, but alas, I got a sinkhole.

Oh well, I made one 6-inch cake (froze that one) and two 4-inch cakes. I simply cut the sunken tops off the 4-inch cakes and stacked them together. I didn't have anything raspberry flavored so I just used a simple syrup of sugar and water.

I picked up some raspberries grown in Mexico at Trader Joe's. It was all very yummy! I'm interested in seeing what other fruits the TWD bakers used! Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers! And look for the recipe on Mary Ann's blog.

Sky-High Strawberry Shortcake

Sky-High Strawberry Shortcake
It's like eating a cloud of summer

I'm sad that summer is ending.

Okay, let me say that I live in LOS ANGELES. Yes, the land of beaches, Hollywood, too much Botox, and Disneyland. I'm a native and love it. I've seen snow about 15 times in my entire life. I went years without owning an umbrella because it rains only a few days a year. I think the average year-round temp here is 70 degrees. Thus, Summer moving into Fall doesn't really make much difference.

But my summer fruits, the ultimate symbol of summer, are going away and that makes me sad.

No more apricots around, and the peaches are getting a bit mealy. Last month, every stand had strawberries...now only two. I know the whole Lion King circle of life fruit thing, but I'm still sad.

Here is probably one of the last California summer strawberry desserts of the year...(and, omg, the most delicious and beautiful!!!)

Earlier, I made that awesome Chai Tea three layer cake. Today, I made the Sky-High Strawberry Shortcake from Alisa Huntsman's book, Sky High Cakes: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes (page 89). This book is so amazing. The Sky-High Strawberry Shortcake is on the cover - I mean, this is totally a cover girl cake, no?

My organic California strawberries were hulled, sliced and macerated in sugar, rosewater and vanilla for 1 hour before assembly. I love rose water and I especially like going to my local Halal store to buy it - I love the saffron ice cream and many guava and mango juices available at the market.

At first, I thought the vanilla was a bit too much when I ate a strawberry, but after it sits on the cake for a bit, it mellows out.

This is a 6" cake. I had one 6x3 MagicLine pan but this recipe sent me (very, very happily) back to Surfas for two 6x2 pans. This is an adorable size for cakes!

The cake uses cake flour and buttermilk for a nice vanilla cake. Next time, I might use vanilla paste so I can get those little flecks of vanilla bean in the batter. Filled with strawberries and fresh whipped cream (with sugar and vanilla), it is heaven on a plate.

My new Tupperware cake taker (whew, bought one of the last aqua ones - Tupperware has switched to an alarming yellow product) was too short for this literally sky-high cake. I had to dig out my old Rubbermaid carrier to hold this sky scraper of a cake.

The only problem happened 100 feet from work. I made a quick right-turn and then come upon a light...in front of the Sheriff station. I'm extra cautious and, not wanting to sit in traffic school again, I break for the yellow. And I look down at my little cake..and it is a study in fractions. 1/3 is on the plate and 2/3 is not. Ugh. But I got to work and pushed all back together!

Say farewell to summer!

Last time, the author actually commented on my blog! Her blog says "To see it for sale in stores and on the internet is incredible; to see it in use by other bakers, now that is a thrill."
So...Buy Alisa's book and thrill her with some cakes!