Monday, October 8, 2012

New Blog! New Business!

Hello!

It's been a while since I've posted on Pixie Crust and these last 6 months have been a whirlwind.  The reason I've been so M.I.A. is because I've started my own baking business with my sister-in-law.  We're L.A. Pastel Bakeshop and for those of you in the Los Angeles area, we will be coming to a Farmer's Market near you in the very immediate future.

As part of the new website, I just started a new blog.  I would be honored to have you keep up with me at L.A. Pastel Bakeshop's blog

Also, if you ever just want to buy a Caramel Frappuccino Cupcake, rather than make your own, you know where to find me!

-Heather

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Wilton Cake Course 3



Last Wednesday was my last class for Course 3 of Wilton’s Cake Decorating series.   It’s a bittersweet feeling.  I really enjoyed all of the classes, but I will also be really happy to have my Wednesday evenings back and to have more time to bake on my own.  

 I think that Course 3 was my favorite out of all of the classes because we learned how to cover a cake in fondant, as well as how to make all kinds of lovely, delicate gumpaste flowers.  Even though buttercream tastes better, I definitely enjoy making flowers out of gumpaste and fondant more than using buttercream.  It’s so much cleaner and easier to shape exactly the way you want it.
Our last class session was hectic and most of us didn’t have enough time to finish decorating our cakes after covering them in fondant.  I think that my cake turned out pretty well considering that it was my first time covering a cake in fondant, but  I did learn a couple of things:




  • 1.       Even though swiss meringue buttercream is beautifully smooth and delicious for a non-fondant covered cake, it’s not as easy to cover a cake with fondant that’s frosted with SMB because it doesn’t crust.  I had frosting all over my hands at the end of and my fondant looked bumpy because of the softness of the SMB.
  • 2.       Don’t be scared to take the plunge and cut the fondant once it’s smoothed and draped!  The longer you wait, the more chance it will tear.  Most of us had at least one tear in the fondant on our cake.
  • 3.       Use rubber gloves with handling fondant, or scrub, scrub, scrub your hands.  If you don’t, you will see every little fiber and speck on your fondant cake.  Fondant absorbs EVERYTHING when you work with it.
  • 4.       Don’t overuse shortening with your fondant, or else it will become brittle and hard to work with.  It will also dry less smooth. 



I think I will be making another fondant cake in the near future, but I will probably not use Wilton fondant.  I have not yet tried making my own cooked fondant- only marshmallow fondant.  I have heard that Satin Ice is sort of the go to fondant for professional cake shops, though.  

My favorite part of this cake is all of the flowers.  Out of all of the flowers we learned to make, I think I will use the rose the most.  They are beautiful, delicate and not that time consuming to make.  The daisies and mums were also pretty easy and really cute.  The most time consuming flower we made was the carnation (not picture) because it had so many layers.  

Overall, I would encourage anyone who is interested to take these courses.  Since I live in the Los Angeles area, I took mine at the Continuing Education center at Santa Monica College.  This was really great because each class session is actually 3 hours, versus 2 hours at Michael’s Crafts.  

Happy decorating and baking! 



Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Orange 50/50 Cupcakes


I'm so excited that summer is around the corner!  All except for the part about wearing a bathing suit...but Mr. Pixie Crust and I have started a new diet regime that I think will help prepare us for that part.


These cupcakes definitely will not help with getting you beach ready, but they are a really fun soda shop inspired treat.  


For the Cupcakes:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 
2 cups, plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar 
4 large eggs, plus 1 white at room temperature 
3 cups GF flour (3/4 cup white rice flour, 1 cup sweet rice flour,  3/4 cup potato starch, 1/2 cup GF oat flour) 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon kosher salt  
2 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature 
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tbsp orange zest
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.


Zest one orange and lemon onto a small cutting board or plate.  Set aside.


Sift baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flours together.  Set aside.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and egg white one at a time.  Mix until fully combined.  Add vanilla extract and citrus zest.


Combine juice and sour cream into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the bowl of the mixer, alternating with wet ingredients.  Mix until fully combined, but do not overmix.  Distribute batter evenly into each cupcake liner.  Bake for 16-20 minutes, until cupcakes spring back to the touch. 


For the Orange Curd Adapted from Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Curd Recipe

  • 2 oranges
  • 1 lemon 
  • 1 cup, plus 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup, plus 1 tbsp orange juice
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • Pinch of kosher salt
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest of 2 oranges and one lemon. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is fine and incorporated into the sugar.
Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the orange and lime juice and salt. Mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and cool.  Refrigerator until fully cold and thickened.  

For the 50/50 Swiss Meringue Buttercream 

4 egg whites 
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
3 sticks unsalted butter

1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
Juice from 1 whole orange and 1/2 lemon 


Combine egg whites and sugar in bowl of stand mixer.  Place bowl inside a sauce pan of simmering water (to create a double boiler effect).  Whisk mixture until egg white/sugar mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. 


Take bowl out of water and place on mixer.  Whisk on high for 8-10 minutes, or until mixture is completely cool. 

With mixer running, add butter in piece by piece until fully combined.  Switch to paddle attachment and mix for another 1-2 minutes.



Remove half of the buttercream and set aside in separate bowl.  Add vanilla bean paste to remaining buttercream and beat with paddle attachment.  Set vanilla bean buttercream aside.  Place other 1/2 of plain buttercream in mixing bowl and beat in orange and lemon juice until satisfactory flavor is reached.


To assemble:

Once cupcakes are cooled, core out the center of each one.  Fill a pastry bag with orange curd and pipe into center of cupcakes.  Fill a pastry bag with 1 vertical layer of vanilla bean icing and 1 vertical layer of orange icing (to create marbled effect) and frost as desired.





 

Monday, May 7, 2012

Churro Cupcakes






For the Churro Cupcakes (makes 2 dozen cupcakes)
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 
2 cups, plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar 
4 large eggs, plus 1 white at room temperature 
3 cups GF flour (3/4 cup white rice flour, 1 cup sweet rice flour,  3/4 cup potato starch, 1/2 cup sorghum flour) 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon kosher salt  
3 tbsp water 
3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature 
1/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
Pre-heat oven to 330 degrees.  Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.


Sift baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flours together.  Set aside.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and egg white one at a time.  Mix until fully combined.  Add vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds.


Combine water, buttermilk and sour cream into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the bowl of the mixer, alternating with wet ingredients.  Mix until fully combined, but do not overmix.  Distribute batter evenly into each cupcake liner.  Bake for 16-20 minutes, until cupcakes spring back to the touch. 


For the Browned Butter sauce and Cinnamon Sugar Topping:


- 1 stick butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
-1/2 cup sugar, 3 tbsp cinnamon 


Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tbsp cinnamon onto a small plate and mix together well.


Heat 1 stick of butter in a small sauce pan until it smells nutty and has a tan color.  Add 1/4 cup of sugar to the butter until dissolved.


While the cupcakes are still warm, use toothpicks to poke small holes into the top of each cupcake.  Dip each cupcake into butter sauce and then into cinnamon sugar mixture.  


Once all cupcake tops are covered, cut hole into each one and fill with dulce de leche or mexican chocolate pudding.  


For the Frosting :

-3 sticks butter, unsalted
-1/2 block cream cheese
-2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
-seeds from one vanilla bean

Combine butter and cream cheese in bowl of stand mixer and beat with paddle attachment until well mixed.  Add vanilla and confectioner's sugar.  Continue to beat for 3-4 minutes until frosting is a good, whipped consistency.

Pipe onto the top of each covered, filled cupcake and decorate as desired. 


PS: I know these cupcakes sound SUPER rich, but you will have leftover buttercream and you really need the butter sauce and cinnamon sugar to emulate the "frying" aspect of a churro.   Plus, they are super tasty.  :)  Treat yourself once in a while.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Flower Basketweave Cake and An Announcement


Hello Friends,

Today I'm sharing the cake I made for my last Wilton Cake Decorating Class (Course Two).  My brother-in-law took the super cool photos.

 



 

 

If you took the 1st Wilton Cake Decorating Class and were on the fence about taking two and/or three, I highly recommend course two.  We learned how to make all kinds of fondant, gumpaste, and royal icing flowers.

In addition to sharing this cake with you, I want to share an announcement.  Pixie Crust will soon be unveiling a new business name and I will be equipped to start taking orders from the public- not just friends. I don't want to jinx anything by saying too much, but suffice it to say that I'll be giving updates on Facebook and the blog regularly as they happen.

Lastly, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and I will be sharing a delicious recipe for Churro cupcakes.  See you then!



Monday, April 30, 2012

Dulce De Leche Macarons


Things have been pretty hectic for me as of late. I've been baking more than ever- just not posting about it!
Since Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner, I wanted to share these Dulce de Leche french macarons with you. I made my dulce de leche from scratch, but you can also buy it.
For the Macaron Shells (makes about 35 cookie shells)
Ingredients
3/4 cup almond flour
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 egg whites (separated and left on the counter for at least 24 hours)
Small pinch cream of tartar
A few drops of gold and one drop of orange food coloring


Directions:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Sift almond flour and confectioner's sugar 2 times. Set aside. Whisk egg whites on low-medium until foamy. Add a small pinch of cream of tartar. Whisk on medium-high until whites are whipped and have soft peaks. Slowly add in 1/4 cup sugar and food coloring, continuously whisking until whites form stiff peaks.

TIP: Whites should form a peak on the whisk attachment, but should not be whisked to the point that they are too stiff to fall off the whisk when tapped on the mixing bowl.

Sift dry ingredients over egg whites in three parts- do not stir, but fold gently with a rubber spatula into egg whites. Continue folding batter until it "ribbons" off rubber spatula. Scoop batter into a 14-16 inch pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe circles onto parchment paper lined baking sheets (or use silpat). After piping, hit baking sheet on the counter a few times to remove air bubbles. Allow cookies to sit for 15-30 minutes before baking so that they form a protective "skin." This step also helps to avoid cracking. Allow shells to fully cool before filling.
For best taste, allow macarons to meld with filling at least overnight and preferably 1-2 days.


For the Dulce de Leche filling:
Combine a generous cup of dulce de leche with 3/4 stick butter in bowl of stand mixer.
Using whisk attachment, beat on high until mixture is combined and is a whipped consistency.
 Using a pastry bag, pipe a small amount of filling on one side of each cookie and sandwich together

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Hello Kitty Cake





This week I made a Hello Kitty Birthday Cake for a friend of a friend's little girl.  I was pretty happy with how it turned out, since it was my first time making a gum paste figurine.  I tried and tried to find a tutorial on how to make a Hello Kitty one, but it seems to be a trend for cake artists to simply film YouTube videos of their finished cake!  Since after about 3 minutes of panning around and around the same cake, I was no closer to having a Hello Kitty completed, I set out and figured it out on my own.  I was quite pleased with the results.  I even made a mini fondant cupcake of her own.

The actual cake is chocolate filled with a light chocolate mousse and topped with a pink swiss meringue buttercream.  I am still nervous about and in the process of mastering writing on cakes, so you can see I mussed up the top a bit in the process.

I'm baking up some more Cinco De Mayo themed treats this weekend...stay tuned for Dulce de Leche Macarons.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Ombre Margarita Layer Cake



Have you ever seen this shower curtain from Anthropologie?  






It's called the Flamenco shower curtain and I fell in love with it at first sight.  Alas, I have yet to have purchased anything from Anthropologie at full price and, to my disappointment, our apartment shower has a single glass door and no need for a curtain.  


This cake is margarita flavored- margarita cake layers filled with an orange lime curd and topped with a slightly salty swiss meringue buttercream.  I thought this design would fit the flavor perfectly.  


For the Margarita Cake Layers (makes 3 7-inch layer cakes) 
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 
2 cups, plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar 
4 large eggs, plus 1 white at room temperature 
3 tbsp lime zest 
3 tbsp orange zest 
3 cups GF flour (3/4 cup white rice flour, 1 cup sweet rice flour,  3/4 cup potato starch, 1/2 cup sorghum flour) 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice 
2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice 
3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease three pans and line each with a circle of parchment paper.


Sift baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flours together.  Set aside.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and egg white one at a time.  Mix until fully combined.  Add lime zest, orange zest, and vanilla extract.  


Add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix, alternating with sour cream.  Mix until fully combined, but do not overmix.  Pour batter evenly into each pan, smoothing the top.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cake springs back to touch. 

For the Lime Orange Curd Adapted from Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Curd Recipe
  • 3 limes
  • 1 medium sized orange
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 4 extra-large eggs
  • 1/4 cup, plus 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp orange juice
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest of 3 limes and one orange. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is fine and incorporated into the sugar.
Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the orange and lime juice and salt. Mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and cool.  Refrigerator until fully cold and thickened.  
For the Margarita Simple Syrup:
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp Triple Sec or Cointreau Liquor 
3 tsp good quality Tequila (I used Milagro)
1/4 cup sugar
Combine sugar and liquids into small sauce pan.  Heat until sugar is fully dissolved. Cool and set aside.
For the Salted Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
5 egg whites
3 3/4 sticks butter, unsalted
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp Triple Sec or Cointreau Liquor
3 tsp Tequila
3 tbsp lime juice
Heat water in a saucepan until simmering.  Combine egg whites, kosher salt, and sugar in the metal bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer. Create a "double boiler" by placing mixing bowl inside pan with simmering water.  Whisk continuously until mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.  
Place bowl back onto stand mixer and mix egg whites/sugar with whisk attachment until fully cooled and thick.  While the mixer is running, cut butter into small cubes.  After mixture is cooled, add butter little by little, mixing well after each addition.  

Once butter is fully incorporated, switch to a paddle attachment and mix for another 2-3 minutes.  Add  vanilla, Triple Sec, Tequila, and lime juice.  Mix until fully incorporated.


To Assemble:
Once cake layers are fully cooled, brush each with simple syrup and divide curd evenly between two middle cake layers.  Refrigerate cake for an hour, or place in the freezer for 15 minutes prior to frosting.  Lightly frost entire cake with white swiss meringue buttercream.  Set aside a bit of white swiss meringue buttercream for frosting top of cake.

Using a toothpick, add a very small amount of Wilton "Leaf Green" gel food coloring (or another comparable shade of green).  Mix using stand mixer until desired light green color is reached. Fit a pastry bag with a coupler and petal tip.  Holding pastry bag perp straight down, with the narrow part of the petal tip facing you, make a side by side motion to create ruffles.  Once the light green ruffles have been formed around the cake, create the aqua shade.  Add a bit of blue food coloring until desired color is reached.  Repeat another layer of ruffles under the first, using the same motion.  Add a bit more blue and green food coloring until darker aqua color is achieved.  Do last layer of ruffles, finishing at the bottom of the cake.  

If desired, use  remaining white buttercream to create top layer ruffles.  Create the ruffles by making a side by side motion, with the wide part of the tip facing you this time.   I also sprinkled some white sugar sprinkles onto the center, unruffled white portion of the cake.  It created a cute effect and nice texture (very margarita-y).