Puff Pastry Fail

Don't be fooled by all the pretty pictures here at To Bake or Not to Bake. Things don't always go smoothly in my kitchen. My kitchen is pretty much Food Experimentation Central. And it's the nature of the beast that experiments fail. 

Sometimes I get these crazy ideas in my head that I MUST try and I believe what I am about to attempt will be the simplest and best recipe ever. Oh, how naive I can be. 

I mentioned the filling above in my Mother's Day post. It's fantastic and since I had some leftover I was itching to create something with it. I decided to try some turnovers using puff pastry sheets. Two ingredients. Bam! "This will be so easy," I thought. (I am laughing at myself. Again.)

I bought some Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets. There are two in a box. Since I thought the dough seemed kind of thick, I thinned the first one out with my rolling pin. I wanted to make symmetrical turnovers but the edges weren't close to even so I just folded the dough over a few times and tried it again. Still crooked. That's ok, I thought. I'll just make cute little purses out of them! They will be adorable! I spooned some of the Strawberry Rhubarb filling onto each one....

...and sealed them up into dainty little bags. I brushed them with egg wash and put them in the oven.

And they turned out like this:

I can't even bring myself to make that picture bigger because it makes me sad. 

They came out of the oven pathetic, flat, lifeless patties with cracks. They oozed the delectable filling that was supposed to stay locked inside. They didn't taste much better. Though I cooked them longer than the box called for, they were doughy and tasteless, but for the filling. 

Then I realized, I cooked them at 350 not 400 like I was supposed to. D'oh! Or should I say, Dough!

Since there was another sheet of the dough, I got back on the horse and made another attempt.

This time I didn't roll the dough with a rolling pin. I just unfolded it, cut it into six squares and spooned in the filling.

I changed it up a bit and made pouches....

...And crimped the edges with a fork.

THIS time I baked them at 400 and they turned out better. I topped them with a simple powdered sugar glaze. (1 Cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk and 1/4 tsp vanilla)

So this was my first time with puff pastry and to be honest, I was not a big fan. I think going into this I had phyllo dough in my head so I was expecting super flaky results. The dough didn't "puff" at all, as it's name suggests. It was ready-made dough, after all. Maybe if I make my own it would turn out better. I plan on researching puff pastry to see what went wrong and find out what makes for great dough.

We can never learn if we don't make mistakes. So let's embrace our cooking disasters! As long as EVERY experiment isn't disastrous, I'll take 'em.

In a Few Days...

I have had a super busy last couple of weeks. I am going to take this weekend to relax and not do much at all. I will be back. And when I am, I will fill you in on how these turned out. 

Have a great weekend!

How to Pipe Carrots

I believe in cake mix.

I believe in store bought icing.

I believe in short cuts, as long as they don't skimp on taste or quality.

Some bakers would consider these statements blasphemy. That if you don't make a cake or icing from scratch you are breaking some kind of unspoken baker's code. 

I almost always use cake mixes. And every now and then, if a project doesn't call for a sturdy icing*, I use store bought. I work full time and have a toddler and husband to take care of, so some days I don't have time to make something totally from scratch. (I am sure you can relate.) It doesn't make the baking any less special. It still comes from the heart and it still has homemade touches. And I get just as many oooo's and ahhhh's in the end.

A friend of mine had a very special birthday and when I asked what kind of cake he would like, he requested carrot in a simple sheet form. I used Duncan Hines Decadent Classic Carrot Cake Mix.  It's not your normal bland carrot cake boxed mix. It comes with actual shredded carrots and raisins. It's most excellent.

Store bought icing can be a little thin, but for a sheet cake it works great. We all know cream cheese icing and carrot cake go together like Kathy Lee and Hoda. I am a fan of Pillsbury cream cheese icing. In fact, when I buy icing it's usually the one I choose. I have even had people request it saying, "Remember that cream cheese icing you used that time? I want that kind." (Take that, baker's code.)

Here's a trick when using store bought icing: whip it with an electric mixer for about a minute. It adds air to the icing which lightens it up, plus it almost doubles what you start with. It's a win win.

Since the cake and icing did not take as long as my usual endeavors, I wanted to do a bit of decorating. I had a carrot cupcake from Caramanda's a while back and there was a tiny carrot piped onto the top of it. It was adorable. I decided to try it out on this cake. 

I used two containers of icing for this cake, but reserved about a fourth of it for decorating. I tinted half of that reserved icing orange and the other half green.  I put a Wilton 67 leaf tip on the bag of green icing and a 12 tip on the orange. 

Wilton 67 Leaf Tip

Wilton 12 Round Tip

Let me preface all of this by saying, it is TREMENDOUSLY hard to photograph with one hand and pipe with the other. That is why there are not photographs of the whole process in action, AND why the pictures are not the best quality. My next step is to get a tripod and figure out the timer on my camera. I have a whole new appreciation for all my favorite food bloggers after this. You gals must have a third hand you're keeping under wraps.

So first, take the leaf tip and hold it at a 45 degree angle. Squeeze pretty hard and drag slowly so that you get a wide section of icing. Then, slow down the pressure to almost nothing and pull so that the icing forms into a point at the bottom.

Next, using the orange icing with the round tip, place the tip directly over the bottom pointed end of the leaf you just made. Again, apply a good amount of pressure and drag.

Once you get about that much orange icing, slow the pressure to almost nothing and slowly pull away to form the pointed end of the carrot.

It's that easy!! And what a cute addition to a carrot cake.

I piped that carrot at the wrong end of the leafy greens. The other carrots better not make fun of him.

Anyone on the receiving end of baked goods is going to feel extra special. He or she is not thinking about whether it took you 3 hours or  45 minutes to make that gift of food. They are simply thrilled that they were thought enough of for someone to go out of their way to cook for them. It really is the thought that counts. When you take the time to mix a batter, bake it and cover it with icing, you are telling someone that they are important and special to you. Ya know, cooking for others just may be the answer to world peace.

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*Because store bought icing is a bit on the creamier side, I usually make my own icing for cupcakes or goods where the icing needs to stand up and stay in place. However, I have had luck with pre-made icing for frosting cupcakes by mixing in some powdered sugar to stiffen up the icing a bit.

Can't Do Without...

Oxo Good Grips Food Scale

I love this gadget.

Seriously. Love it.

Remember when you were little and kids would say, "If you love it so much why don't you marry it?"

It's that kind of love.

This is the Oxo Good Grips Food Scale. I use so much more than I originally thought I would.

I initially bought it to measure precise portions for more accurate calorie counting, but it has since come in handy for tons of other jobs.

I buy meat in bulk so it's perfect for dividing it up before freezing. 

I buy butter for baking in 8 ounce blocks so when a recipe calls for two sticks I just weigh out 8 ounces. 

I use it for measuring flour and sugar when the recipe calls for an increment in weight rather than volume. 

I even use it when I am making burgers to make sure each one weighs exactly the same as the others for  more even cooking. 

In addition, I use it to measure out batter when I am making a layer cake. If all three cake pans have the same amount of batter, that means they are all baked to perfection at the same time AND they're all the same size.

I could go on all day listing the many jobs I have used it for. 

This gadget makes the perfectionist in me as giddy as a school girl.

And what's really great about this bad boy is...

...the display slides out for easy reading. That means if I am using a large bowl that sits too far over the display, I simply pull it into my view. And, when using a bowl or plate to measure your ingredients, you can zero out the scale so it doesn't count the weight of the dish. 

Pretty cool, huh?

I can say without hesitation this is one kitchen tool I can't do without!

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*All opinions on "Can't Do Without" are 100% mine and are not influenced by outside sources. I feature products I have a legitimate love for and that have truly made my life easier!*

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there! I hope you have a fabulous day and get spoiled to the max!    (Who's for bringing back "to the max?" Anyone?...No?... Yeah, it wasn't one of the best phrases to come out of the 80's. I prefer "gag me with a credit card and put me on layaway.")     

Baby Mac spent the night with her grandparents Friday night. Since I didn't wake up to my normal Mommy routine yesterday, I got an ambitious streak and decided to make cakes for some special women in my life as Mother's Day gifts. 

Because I am still learning, each time I bake I like to try something new. I had recently bought some 6 inch pans (so far I have only used 8 inch) and decided to break those out and make some smaller cakes. 

My mom really liked the ruffle cake I made earlier in the week. I wanted to replicate that style, but decided to try a different method. Instead of piping in a vertical fashion I piped horizontally. I still started at the bottom, but went around the cake in layers of ruffles instead of straight up in rows. Here is a video that shows the technique. 

I tried something else new this time around. A filling. I have used strawberries before but I really wanted to go with a curd type filling this time.  I found a strawberry rhubarb fruit filling at Kroger and it sounded delicious. And as it turned out, it WAS delicious.

It's so simple to fill a cake. Simply pipe a dam of frosting around the edge of the cake layer and spread the filling in the middle. The dam keeps the filling from seeping to the outside of the cake once it's frosted. 

That black spot is a strawberry, I swear. It's shape is very unfortunate and it scared me, too, at first.

I am all about taking advantage of ready made ingredients. There is something to be said for totally homemade food. However, when I come across something that helps me get done quicker, I go for and don't blink an eye. After all, the finished product is still homemade.

Also, between the cost for the ingredients and the time it would have taken me to make it, this filling was a steal at $4.89! (It was a Private Selection item. Have you tried Private Selection? So far I have never been disappointed with a single product.)

I recently ordered a bunch of gum paste flowers from Wholesale Sugar Flowers including the one above. I thought they added a nice touch to the cakes. They have such a fun site. If you are a baking geek like me you'll enjoy it. 

My next goal is to talk one of the recipients of these cakes into giving up a slice to this mom.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Something Blue...

I was bestowed the glorious honor of making a wedding cake and cupcakes for my friend Tracy. I was thrilled when she asked and my head was swimming with ideas.

She and Jody met at a University of Kentucky basketball game in New York. They are both from Kentucky. It makes for such a sweet "how they met" story being that they first laid eyes on each other in a whole other state.

For that reason, the bride wanted to go with a blue themed cake and cupcakes. My mind immediately went back to the gorgeous blue ombre petal cake made by The Hungry Housewife. Her tutorial was the one I used for my brother's birthday cake last month. Can I say again how FABULOUS she is? (I was singing the word "fabulous" right then just to emphasize the magnitude of her fabulousness.)

The technique is not hard, it just takes some time and patience. Making and tinting the different shades of icing took the most time. The decorating itself didn't take as long, but I was careful to take my time and not get ahead of myself. Once I got into a grove, it flowed pretty smoothly.

Though this technique has been around for a while, Leslie's tutorial made it doable for me. (Thank you, Leslie! I would have never tried this technique if it weren't for you!)

The bride also wanted blue cupcakes with white sugar pearls. I took the extra step and added some gum paste flowers.

The cake and icing are almond flavored. I used LorAnn Baking Emulsion for this. Emulsions work great because they don't bake off like regular flavorings tend to do. The flavoring is more concentrated. I found this flavor and some others at Hobby Lobby.

Congratulations, Tracy and Jody! I am so happy for you! You have such a wonderful and exciting road ahead of you!

Ruffled Lemon Cake

Some of my best writing comes to me at night while I am in bed. This is not a good thing because it usually occurs when I am in the comfort zone. 

Baby Mac is finally asleep.

I have my pillow fluffed just right.

The proper number of blanket layers has been determined and the extras have been removed or added.

I have established the optimum positioning for nice, cozy sleeping throughout the night.

I start thinking about the day. If I baked and took photographs of the goods, the pictures are floating through my head. Soon the wheels start turning and I have written the first paragraph of a post. I had no intentions of doing so, the words just come to me. And I am very happy with it.

Now, the responsible writer would grab her notebook and pen (that are literally 12 inches away from my head on the bed table) and jot down the words before they are lost. But not this gal. I am sealed into a relaxed, snug and contented wrap that took a while to get right and I simply cannot will myself to undo it all. So, I just keep repeating the paragraph over and over in my head thinking, "Oh, this is just too good. There is no way I will forget this by morning!"

And yet, here we are.

No funny, clever introduction about a ruffle-decorated cake. Just, well, a ruffle-decorated cake. But trust me on this one. Whatever that paragraph was, it was brilliant, entertaining, hilarious and free of spelling errors.

My dear co-worker Tracy is leaving us for her man and Florida. She and her fiance will marry this week and move to Florida the next. AND she just finished up her MBA! She has lots to be thrilled about and everyone in the office is extremely happy for her!

But we will miss her greatly! She always has a smile on her face and never a negative word to say. She is the type of person anyone would adore having around.

Tuesday we had a going away lunch for her and I made a lemon cake for the occasion, decorated in a ruffled effect. I have always wanted to try this style and, thanks to You Tube, I made it happen.

Rather than give you my own tutorial, I am going to stick with my usual "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality and direct you here. The video is short and simple. All you need is a Wilton 104 petal tip, a pastry bag, a cake and some icing and you're good to go.

It really is such an easy technique. It does take some time and a bit of patience, but the process is not difficult. And the results are are fantastic.

Congratulations, Tracy! I am incredibly happy for you and know that lots of good things will come your way!