Day& Night Cake

Night & Day Cake, originally uploaded by razzieswirl.

Something I created this week in cake class.
Chocolate transfer clouds, stars, sun & moon.
All you have to do to create a chocolate transfer is to melt down some candy melts, and pipe over a template. Check out the Whimsical Bakehouse Cookbook for great tips on how to create beautiful transfers.

Clubbers Wanted!

Sarina Champagne Blur, originally uploaded by razzieswirl.

Cooking Clubbers that is!

I wish I could coral some of my lovely readers into coming over for a fabulous dinner or wine and cheese fest, but alas, I'm sure none of you are in Whatcom county.

Buuuut, if anyone who happens upon this is in Bellingham; I'm interested in starting a (Gourmet-esque) Cooking Club that would meet monthly for dinner (or something food related). I know it's slim shot but I figured what's the point of a website if you can't advertise this kind of thing!? So if you're interested, please, email me!

The Independence of One

The Cake One, originally uploaded by razzieswirl.

Wishing Rayne belated birthday wishes on the blog!
Here she is with her adorable self and the simple raspberry lemon cake (with raspberry whip cream "frosting") I made for her.
She turned 18 on June 18, 2008. She is legally an adult! Woot!

Independence for a sweet girl and independence for a country (today that is)! I hope everyone has the day off and is enjoying sunshine (it's grey here in the pacific northwest, of course!)

Eat something good and enjoy the fireworks!

xoxo
m.

Tartlettes

Raspberry Ganache Tarlette, originally uploaded by razzieswirl.

I heart tartlettes, not as much as I love cupcakes, but close!
I think I have an affinity for all things mini. In fact, sitting here typing I'm realizing I've had an obsession with tiny things since childhood, I loved polly pocket, my little ponies had to be of the small variety and and I was often obsessed (and I mean that quite literally) by small things the smaller it was the more I liked it. I remember I had this old Mickey Mouse book and in it he and his friends went on a picnic. For the picnic, Minnie Mouse made a chocolate cake with one small red cherry on top, I could care less about the book, but wanted to look at every page with the cake/cherry on it. I could probably give you an embarrassing number of examples but I'll stop there.

Onto the tartlettes. I really enjoyed these because I generally come across many recipes with strawberry/chocolate combinations, which, don't get me wrong, I love, but I wanted to try something new and different. Generally, I like to pair the flavor of raspberry with something light and citrus-y like lemon curd because I hate masking the flavor of raspberries with anything too overpowering, and I was afraid that chocolate would do just that. I got mixed reviews, I think it was a wonderful combination, a tartlette that was really not that sweet but extremely flavorful. Some agreed, others suggested a chocolate custard or pudding. I was happy with the results though, so I think I'll keep this recipe around.

I've got a a little something in the works, but I won't announce what just yet, in case it doesn't work out. It's sort of like being pregnant, you know, how women don't want reveal their pregnant until after the first quarter? I will say this, I recently catered a party and the reviews were overwhelmingly splendid and encouraging. It was great to hear people outside of my friends and family praise my culinary endeavors.

These tarts are simple, tasty and impressively beautiful. A light crumbly crust, a semi-sweet lightly kahlua spiked chocolate ganache filling, topped with tart fresh raspberries with a touch of sweet raspberry glaze.

Raspberry Tartlettes

Ingredients:

Tart Shells:

1 stick plus 1 Tb. butter, cut in small pieces
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk


Filling:
8 oz highest quality chocolate
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tablespoon Kahlua

Topping:

1 cup fresh raspberries
1/4 cup raspberry preserves
1 Tablespoon water

Directions:

For tart shells:

1. In a food processor, pulse all the dry ingredients.
2. Add the butter and pulse again.
3. Add the egg yolk and pulse until the mixture comes together in a ball.
4. Wrap ball in plastic and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
5. Roll between sheets of plastic wrap and cut out circles larger than your tart shells.
6. Fit the dough into the molds and cut out the excess.
7. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

The dough generally puffs up, so I usually take the shells out halfway through the baking process and pat the bottoms flat with the back of a spoon.

Filling:

1. Chop chocolate
2. Heat to heavy whip cream until hot and just boiling
3. Pour over chocolate and whisk to create a smooth chocolate filling
4. Add Kahlua (a splash of vanilla is optional as well)
5. Allow to cool a bit while tart shells bake

Topping:

1. Heat preserves and water in a pot until thickened
2. Assemble tarts, pour chocolate to fill, top with raspberries and then glaze raspberries with glaze.

Viola! A delectable dessert that's ready to serve!

The Godly "Egg Cup"

The Godly "Egg Cup", originally uploaded by razzieswirl.

This recipe is so easy, it's one of "those" recipes, if you can boil water you can surely make this. The amazing thing about it though, it tastes much better than boiled water, it's really flavorful, it tastes like something you would order for a lovely sunday brunch. However, it takes little to no work and bakes up quickly, making it a perfect choice for a rushed Tuesday morning breakfast, you can throw a few together put the muffin tin in the oven and have enough time to get dressed without worrying about what your going to eat before you leave the house. You can also make a batch of these and put any leftovers in the fridge for a later morning as they heat up fast and quickly. I place one egg cup on half of an english muffin that has been lightly buttered. So, so good! Even my boyfriend (who doesn't generally like eggs, unless it's crab cake eggs benedict) really enjoyed these.

So without further ado the recipe!

Egg Cups: (I am going to write this recipe for one egg cup, it's very simple so if you want to make five, just do this five times).

Ingredients:

One egg

One slice of deli ham (I used honey cured)

4 Tablespoons Cheese(s) of your choice (I used Asiago and Tintern a chive shallot cheese from England but swiss, cheddar, brie anything would be good)

Teaspoon chopped italian parsley

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1. Place one slice on ham in a buttered muffin tin

2. Sprinkle a Tablespoon or two of cheese in the bottom of the ham cup (more if you like)

3. Crack and drop egg into the cup

4. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and additional tablespoon of cheese

5. Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until egg whites are cooked thoroughly and yolk is still a light yellow (longer if you want your egg yolk hard).

6. Remove from oven and top with a sprinkling of italian parsley.

Enjoy!

Rollin' Roses

Roll-up Pink Fondant Roses, originally uploaded by razzieswirl.

I took a picture of the cake carcass, or remains, of Ashleys 24th birthday cake. We had a lovely, not so little, backyard dinner for her complete with fried chicken, wilted lettuce salad, mashed tatoes and of course this loverly cake. The theme was pink and green, thus the pink and green cake.

I'll post a few more party decor pictures after my homework is done this week!

To make fondant roses, simply whip up a batch of MMF (marshmallow fondant), dye it various shades of pink, roll thin strips out and roll up going left to right (or vice versa), it's very simple, but takes a little practice!

Enjoy!

Caught and Consumed

Caught and Consumed In One Day, originally uploaded by razzieswirl.

The Skagit Farmland has copious amounts of farm fresh produce, artisan cheeses, local wines, and yes, a ton of amazing fresh seafood. Many fishermen come through La Conner on their boats delivering the most beautiful seafood caught that day, including these gorgeous little gems. We don't get these shrimp up in Bellingham, unfortunately. They're so sweet, almost like lobster, but naturally salty because of the seawater they scuttle about in.

These shrimp also take me back. When I was a little girl I spent some time at my mothers friends cabin on Camano Island which was situated right on the beach. We'd all sit out in warmth of the sun and this little blue boat would float by, often we'd buy these shrimp right off the boat, they'd just throw a bag to shore and we'd all sit in a line popping the heads off and eating the sweet meat inside. I'm so lucky I got to spend parts of my childhood roaming the beach, eating the freshest seafood possible and sleeping under the stars listening to the waves roll. I have many fond memories of my time spent there and these shrimp are one of my favorites.

If you can locate these sweet tasty shrimp eat them as they come, they don't need anything at all, they just need to come out of their shell!