Tarantula Cake

In honor of the traditional Cake Walk that occurs during one or two Halloween Carnivals this time of year, I wanted to donate a cake for those kids who enjoy both the spooky and sweet part of this holiday. I had a lot of fun creating this cake. I basically took a photo of a Tarantula and went to work. I admit, it still looks animated more than realistic but hey, it was my first try. My nephew actually thought I was creating one of the spiders that is on the game Mind Craft, but I needed to put a few more red eyes. This was all for fun really, so I thought I would tell you all how I did it.

 Hope you enjoy!

 

You can use any cake recipe you'd like and make it in a bunt pan. I like to use this quick and easy recipe that I got from my friend Stephanie Ashcraft, who is the author of 

"101 things to do with a Cake Mix":

Death By Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Sour Cream (I like to use all natural whole)

4 eggs

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup of oil (I use light Olive Oil or Canola)

1 chocolate cake mix (It works with Gluten-Free also)

1 small box of instant chocolate pudding ( I like to use Trader Joe's Instant Chocolate Pudding)

1 cup of chocolate chips (it recommends semisweet but, I went with milk chocolate this time)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven @ 350 degrees

Beat sour cream, eggs, water, and oil together in large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Add cake mix and pudding mix. Stir in chocolate chips.
For a bunt cake:

Place batter in a greased and floured bunt pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a fork inserted into cake comes out clean.

While the cake is cooling, start the rice crispy mix. You can make this anyway you'd like. I like to do mine on the stove top. For the this way of making rice crispy mix, click here.

 

Because I was taking this to a party, I folded some aluminum foil over a sturdy piece of cardboard for my cake plate.

After the cake cools, dig out the middle so that you have enough to fill it with a ball of rice crispy mix.

Make another ball for the head. To support the head, I used a bamboo skewer.

I'd like to say that you could use any kind of frosting, but I have come across recipes that are meant for cookies rather than cakes because they are not as strong. So, if it is a cake-like frosting, you are in business.

I used the Better Homes and Garden Frosting listed below for the frosting:

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening (I normally don't use Shortening, but in my experience, it is easy to work with when molding) 

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (Use clear Vanilla for a whiter frosting)

1/2 teaspoon of almond extract

4 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar (about 1 pound)

3 - 4 tablespoons milk

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl beat shortening, vanilla, and extract with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Slowly add half of the powdered sugar, beating well. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk. Gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar and enough remaining milk to reach spreading consistency. Makes about 3 cups.

1. I frosted the rice crispy mix first with my fingers that were wet with water. That way I could mold the frosting all over while creating a body for my tarantula. Yes, the body of the tarantula looks yellow compared to the frosting on the cake. I had some leftover butter cream frosting I used in this photo. 
2. Then, I frosted the cake with the white frosting. 
3. Next, I created the tarantula's black body by adding a few drops of black food coloring* to the rest of the icing, along with a half case of crushed Oreo crumbs.This created a lumpy texture to the frosting. With wet fingers again, I molded the black lumpy clay-like frosting all over the body and molded legs by rolling them out and pressing them into the body and white frosting to attach them.  

*If you don't have black food coloring, I have used blue food coloring and added cocoa powder to make it a black'ish chocolate frosting. Plus the Oreos help with the color too.

For the details on the tarantula, I took Hot Jaw Breakers for eyes and candy corns to look like fangs. The finished result (in the photo at the top of this post) I added some molded pedipalps out of the black frosting to surround the fangs.  

Finally, I sprinkled some black sprinkles to resemble a harrier specimen. I should have done that to the legs as well.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Austrian Sachertorte from Wolfgang Puck

 

Here is another updated post from back in 2008. I think it is the perfect time of year to share this delicious cake when chocolate season is in full bloom. It is very light yet flavorful dark chocolate cake with layers of Apricot filling and covered with a chocolate ganache. It is a little time consuming, but not a difficult process. It also requires only a small amount of flour which makes it easy to transfer to a Gluten-free version.
 

 

Story of Sachertorte Cake

This dark chocolate apricot filled cake originates in Austria and happens to be one of my favorites. The first time I tried it, was on my 20th birthday. It was made for me by an Italian woman named Sabrina, who I worked for in Austria at the time. The moment I tried it, I was hooked. I actually thought it was an Italian cake until I read about a man named Franz Sacher of Vienna who created it. In fact, only original Sachertorte can be found in Vienna or Salzburg Austria. It really is something special! I wish I had a recipe from my wonderful employer, but I do not. The next best thing would be from a well known local Austrian chef, Wolfgang Puck. I made his over and over again and it tastes almost identical to Sabrina's. I will even double the recipe to make a taller and more layered cake. It is worth it, if you like this cake. I hope you all enjoy.  

Wolfgang Puck's Sachertorte

 

Ingredients for cake:

6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (in small pieces)

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter

4 egg yokes

4 ounces of sugar

5 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup of all-purpose flour or Gluten free flour

Directions:

 

 

Step One:

Melt together chocolate and butter in a bowl over pre-boiled water that is now simmering. Remove from heat and let it cool down.
 

 

Step Two:

In another bowl whip egg yokes and 2 tablespoons of sugar together until you can see ribbons when you take the whisk out. (Like above)

 

Step Three:

Beat in melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.

 

Step Four:

In another clean bowl, whip egg whites and salt until you see soft peaks. Then gradually add remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar and whip until you see stiff peaks.

 

 

Fold in flour until you can't see any streaks.

 

 

Step Five:

Fold in 1/3 of egg white mixture into chocolate one until lightened and then slowly but, thoroughly fold in the rest of the mixture.

 

Step Six: Pour, Bake, and Separate

Pour into pre-buttered and floured 9 inch round pan or spring form pan.

 

 

 

Bake in a preheated oven until done (a toothpick should come out clean).
About 25-40 min depending on your altitude and oven. Check at 25 minutes and then every 5-10 minutes after.  

 

 

Let it cool in pan for about 10-15 minutes, place upside down on plate.

 

 

With a serrated knife, cut into 2-3 layers.

 

Step Seven: Make Apricot Filling

Ingredients for Filling:

1 cup of Apricot Preserves

1 tablespoon of Apricot Brandy. (I use juice or water)

Blend Apricot Filling in a food processor or blender until smooth.

 

 

 

Step Eight:

Spread Apricot filling on top of each layer. Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

 

 

Step Nine: Make Ganache

Ingredients for Ganache:

6 ounces of Bittersweet Chocolate in small pieces

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

2 ounces of heavy cream

 

Melt chocolate and butter together in a bowl over post boiled and now simmering water in a pot.

In a separate little pot, bring cream to a boil. Mix hot cream into chocolate mixture. Let it cool enough to pour and spread easily over cake.

 

 

Step Ten:

Spread chocolate glaze all over cake. Refrigerate again for at least 30-45 minutes until ready to serve.

 

 

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

 

 

Has anyone ever tried this or other Austrian Food?

Bean Flour (gluten free)

So I decided I wanted to expirement with different flours.  Our favorite berad mix (hodgson mill) uses fava and garbonzo beans in their mix.  In researching on the internet there is not a lot out there on bean flour. So here is my 3rd trial with bean flour.

These are Garbanzo beans also known as chick peas.  Below are Fava beans.

 The first step is I took 1-2 handfuls at a time and threw them in my dry container for my vitamix and turned it on 10 for about 15-20 seconds. Be warned it is LOUD.  It scared me the first time and my poor 18 month old ran screaming and shaking...   After the 15-20 seconds I turned it off and dumped the contents into my strainer (nothing fancy, a cheap one from ikea a few years back)  and shook it some.  What fell out went into a bowl and what didn't went back into the vitamix with another 2 handfuls of beans.  I did this process 44 times with the chick peas and 2 maybe 3 with the fava (sorry I lost count)  This is what it looked like after that.

 This is my nutramil grain mill and what I have it set on.

 I had to baby it a little bit as it doesn't flow as well as rice.  sometimes I had to pull stuff up so the chute was not clogged and other times I had to knock some in.it ended up making just over 6 cups.

This last picture is of the completed flour.  I mixed up some of the GF all purpose flour found here http://saltboxhouse.blogspot.com/2011/09/gluten-free-all-purpose-flour.html  So I did 6 cups sorghum flour, 6 cups rice flour (which was milled with equal parts rice, sweet and brown) 6 cups of the bean flour, 9 cups tapioca starch,4 1/2 cups potato starch or corn starch (I have switched to using corn because it is MUCH cheaper) 2T salt and 6T xanthan gum.

I have made cinnamon rolls ( a regular every day recipe just switched out this flour for wheat flour, no extra xanthan or anything) Cookies (Regular recipe again) and the classic white bread found here http://saltboxhouse.blogspot.com/2011/07/gluten-free-bread.html  For this one I used 4 1/2 cups of the all purpose flour replacing the flour,and the starches. and I did not add in xanthan gum since it is already in the flour.
They all have turned out well and have some added protein in them!

Oh and I made a really good coffee cake (I will post a recipe for that too) and pizza crust!

I feel this is till a little bit in the experimentation process though so if you find something that works well or something that does NOT work, please tell me!

Ice Cream Strawberry Shortcake

I decided a while back to make my own ice cream cakes because I didn't want to spend the money for one and I didn't really like them other than maybe the ice cream if I purchase them from an ice cream parlor. They weren't too hard to figure out how to make, plus anything homemade is wonderful. The hard part it taking the time depending on the kind I wanted to create. The easy part is that I can just make them up as I go and now; I can make anything from Cookies and Cream to Raspberry Moose ice cream cakes. For my mother's birthday, I prepped this ice cream version of a Strawberry Shortcake the night before (along with a gluten-free one) to finish on the morning of her birthday.

Ice Cream Strawberry Shortcake-

Ingredients for Ice Cream Cake:
Yellow cake (enough to make two round cakes). Make from scratch or a box.
1/4-1/2 gallon of strawberry ice cream
1 can of Sweet and Condensed Milk

Directions:
Make cake as directed into 2 round cake pans. Turn over both cakes onto a baking sheet to cool.

Pour half of a can of Sweet and Condensed Milk on each round cake.

Freeze at least 2-4 hours 

Scoop out strawberry ice cream and smash into one of your round can pans filling it to the top. Once filled, run warm to hot water on the bottom of it to loosen it and with a rubber spatula, scrap around edges of pan and pop out ice cream mold to sandwich between the two layers of cake.

Freeze again for at least another 2-4 hours

Ingredients for Cake Topping:
1 small box of Instant Vanilla pudding
1 cup of milk
1 (8- ounce) container of whipped topping or equal amount of heavy whipped cream.
About 12 vanilla cream cookies (or golden Oreos).

Directions:
Crush the 12 vanilla cream cookies. Combined pudding and milk and mix with a whisk. Stir in whipped cream and crushed cookies.

Spread over entire cake and freeze for at least another hour.

Add fresh Strawberries and about 6-8 cookies for garnish.

Let cake sit out about 10 minutes before serving to make it easier to cut.

Substitutions and Suggestions: 

You can always make this a day or two ahead. 

The longer you freeze (especially towards the end) the better your cake holds up.

You can freeze with garnished cookies and they will soften up this way.

Substitute instant pudding (at liquid stage) for Sweet and Condensed milk.
Omit crushed cookies for a smooth cake topping.
Cake mix and ice creams are interchangeable.
For a gluten-free version, use a gluten free cake mix or your own recipe.
Make into any shape so long as you can layer ice cream and moisten the cake with the Sweet and Condensed milk.
For a multi-layer cake, cut 2 part cakes in half for 4 layers.
You can also double up on the ice cream for a taller cake.

For all you Harry Potter nerds out there!

I couldn't help posting these links. Sorry, I haven't made these but they looked like fun and I am a true Harry Potter fan so good luck!

Butterbeer Cupcakes

Cauldron Cakes

Butterbeer 1

Butterbeer 2

Pumpkin Pasties

Ton Tongue Toffee

Pumpkin Juice

Multiple other recipe ideas1

Multiple other recipe ideas2

I'm sure if you do more searching the possibilities are endless but I thought this was fun. :)

Fast and Easy Banana Cake

This is another recipe re-do that I have used again and again. It is made with a yellow cake mix and has just the right amount of banana flavor. For those reasons, this has become one of my favorite fast and easy cake recipes. In addition to being fast and easy, it calls for very few ingredients but still retains that sweet, melt in your mouth texture. You'll can serve this as a dessert or as a complement with your breaskfast or brunch. It works as well in any form from cupcakes to buntcakes. Try it for yourself!

Banana Cake:
1 box of yellow cake mix (I have tried it with a gluten-free cake mix too)
1 small box of vanilla pudding
2 bananas (mashed)
3 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons of oil
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Smash bananas in a mixing bowl.

Combined: cake mix, pudding, eggs, sour cream, water , oil, and baking powder.

Blend together until well mixed.

Pour batter into greased and floured bundt pan.

Bake 40-45 minutes @ 350 degrees. turn over onto plate to cool and frost.

Frost and decorate as desired. It is delicious!

Here is the recipe for the cream cheese frosting I use regularly-

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8 oz box of cream cheese
1 cube of butter
(both softened at room temperature)
Milk as needed (canned milk or cream works well too)
up to 6 cups of powdered sugar
(taste and check out the consistency as you go)

Add food coloring if desired

Banana Cake Recipe from my friend Stephani Ashcraft's book 
101 Things to do with Yellow Cake Mix

Wexford Cake...Irish food is AlWAYS in season!

FOOD IDEA-WEXFORD CAKE (AKA BLACKBERRY-ALMOND CRUMBLE CAKE):

Based on original recipe from Margaret M. Johnson.

INGREDIENTS:

Topping:

-2 tbsp unsalted Kerrygold butter, melted

-1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

-1/2 cup granulated sugar

-2 tsp ground cinnamon

-4 large eggs, beaten

Cake:

-1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted Kerrygold butter at room temperature

-1 cup granulated sugar

-3 large eggs, beaten

-3/4 cup self-rising flour

-pinch of salt

-1/2 cup milk

-1 cup ground almonds

-2 cups FRESH blackberries (do NOT use frozen)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 inch springform pan. Tap out excess flour.

-To make topping: In a small bowl, combine the butter, sugars, and cinnamon. Cool slightly, then stir in the eggs with a fork. Set aside.

-To make the cake: Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Beat in the flour, salt, and milk. With a wooden spoon, stir until a soft dough forms. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle almonds on top., then sprinkle blackberries over the almonds. Spoon the topping over the blackberries.

Bake the cake cake for 70-75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Release the sides of the pan. Slice and serve warm with whipped cream or, as I used last week, lemon frozen yogurt.

Chocolate is a girls best friend...

I have always been intimidated by Lava Cake because it looks so complicated. Let me assure you, it is incredibly easy. A little too easy, in fact, because you will be tempted to make it again and again. I experimented with several recipes and this one, a Martha Stewart recipe, is not only the most simple, but it tasted THE best. Here is her recipe accompanied with some rather fuzzy pictures from my ultra-lame camera phone.:

Ingredients

Makes 6

• 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for ramekins
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for ramekins
• 5 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cacao), chopped (1 1/4 cups)
• 5 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Butter and flour six 6-ounce (2-inch-deep) ramekins.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and sugar until pale and thick, about 4 minutes. Sift flour and salt into another bowl.
3. Fold egg mixture into chocolate mixture. Immediately fold in flour mixture. Divide batter evenly among ramekins, filling each three-quarters full. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake until just set, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes. Turn out cakes onto plates.

(Just an FYI- the filled ramekins can be refrigerated for up to two days.)

From Martha Stewart Living, February 2011

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Molten Bittersweet-Chocolate Cake - Martha Stewart Recipes

1st Food Challenge of the Year: Light Lemonade Cheesecake

Happy New Year Everyone! Yes, we are off to a slow start but, we have a great schedule ahead of us. This month (and year) marks a new start for everyone who wants to renew and refresh. With that comes our 1st challenge of the year:

This month make something you love on the Lighter side!

I for one, love cheesecake and there is nothing I like better than whipping something like this up with little to no effort. This recipe was given to me by a friend years ago and it wasn't until recently that I found it was actually a recipe from Kraft foods. I've made this for a few of you out there already (tell us what you think!). Not only is it easy, it's lightly sweetened creaminess just makes you want to eat the whole thing (Not that you should ;).

Light Lemonade Cheesecake

by Kraft Foods

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Fat Free Cream Cheese, softened

1 tsp.  CRYSTAL LIGHT Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix

1/4 cup cold fat-free milk

1 tub  (8 oz.) COOL WHIP FREE Whipped Topping, thawed

1 ready-to-use reduced-fat graham cracker crumb crust (6 oz.)

Fruit for Garnishing

A few alterations that I like to do:

• Use Crystal Light Pure Fitness because it has no other artificial sweeteners.(made with Stevia)
• I use 1% milk (Just a little fat never hurt anybody)
• Sometimes, I will use real whipped cream or buy the Light Real whipped cream in a can
• Of course, you can always make your own Graham cracker crust but ready made is a lot faster

Directions:

BEAT cream cheese and drink mix in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Gradually add milk, mixing until well blended.

STIR in Cool Whip; spoon into crust.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm.

Fruits I recommend:

Mandarin Oranges, Kiwi, Bananas, Strawberries, Raspberries, Peaches, Mango, and coconut.
Fresh Mint is also a favorite garnish thanks to Salinda!

Enjoy!