I have to apologize for my absence from your blogs this week. Work had me on a different schedule than I'm use to and it really did me in. All I could manage all week was work, dinner, dishes and bed. I'll be caught up on your blogs soon. It amazing how much you miss blogging when you can't do it! Today Cyndy made a Boston Cream Cake Roll and I made Cherry Muffins. Here we go!
Bunny Made:
Cherry Muffins
I saw a recipe for The Best Blueberry Muffins on Art and Aioli. They looked scrumptious! My only problem...no blueberries, but I do have lots of cherries. I made them with my sweet cherries and they turned out great! These are a tender, moist muffin. The kids loved them! I had thought about putting mini chocolate chips in them too but didn't, I will next time. Cut your cherries into pieces and fold into your batter. I sprinkled a generous amount of sugar on top of them before baking, they were perfect! The recipe called for 1/2 cup of heavy cream but didn't explain when to add it to the batter, not that my sleepy little head saw anyway. So I just incorporated it into the batter with the sour cream. Oh yeah the sour cream...the recipe used Greek yogurt but I didn't have any so I substituted sour cream. Whew! Ok here's the recipe!
Blueberry Muffins Recipe
(Adapted from Simply Recipes)
1 Adjust the oven rack to the middle-lower part of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2 Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
3 In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each one. Beat in the grated lemon peel.
4 Beat in one half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again be careful to beat until just incorporated. Do not over beat. Fold in the berries. If you are using frozen berries, defrost them first, drain the excess liquid, and then coat them in a light dusting of flour.
5 Use a standard 12-muffin muffin pan. Coat each muffin cup lightly with oil using a pastry brush, or with a little butter. Or use one of those convenient vegetable oil sprays. Distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin and serve slightly warm.
Cyndy made:
Boston Cream Cake Roll
Carol and I have been batting around ideas on how to make something with a Boston Cream theme. Now, this may have been done by someone else already, but...we came up with this cake and it's really delicious.
I found a sponge cake that I liked on Recipes 4 Cakes. Carol sent me the recipe for the Cream Filling and the Ganache recipe is from Joy of Baking.com. This combination is a winner!
Of course my persnickety husband would be the judge of how it tasted. The smile said it all. Smooth and Creamy and all the flavors just melted together in your mouth. I used Grand Marnier in the Ganache, because it says you can, and I didn't even taste it! I think it boosted the chocolate flavor and made it more pronounced.
Don't let those long directions put you off, it's really easy...just go step by step. The cake does have to cool for a few hours before you spread the cream on. After it's rolled, roll the cake in waxed paper and tape closed; it will hold the shape better. I put it in the refrigerator over night and it was perfect for pouring the Ganache since you have to make sure the cake is cold when you apply it.
Gonna spread the joy tomorrow and share it with some friends!! Check out the note at the bottom, it tells you how to make Truffles from the ganache!
Cyndy
The sponge cake roll can be filled with cream or ice cream, or use your favorite filling.
Sponge Cake Roll
Adapted from Recipes 4 Cakes.com
5 egg yolks(separate and keep whites)
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
5 egg whites
2/3 cup cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbs melted butter
Oven Temp ~ 375°
Baking Time ~ 12 Min.
Pan Type ~ 10x15x1-inch jelly roll pan
Preheat Oven, Line your pan with waxed paper. Beat egg yolks until thicken and lemon colored; gradually add 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar, the lemon juice and the lemon zest. Beat egg whites until almost stiff then gradually beat in the remaining 1/3 cup sugar.Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold yolk mixture into whites. Sift dry ingredients into a separate container; add to egg mixture, folding in carefully. Fold in melted butter. Pour batter into pan. Bake. Bake until the cake is puffed, has lost its shine, and springs back when gently pressed. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Turn onto a clean kitchen towel which has been generously dusted with confectioners' sugar. Trim edges, if necessary; roll cake up, towel and all, while still warm. Let cool completely.
Unroll and fill with whipped cream or ice cream then re-roll cake.
CUSTARD FILLING
(Source: Carol)
2 c. milk, scalded
1 c. sugar
6 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Gradually add scalded milk to mixture of sugar, cornstarch and salt. Cook slowly over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
Stir about 1/2 c. mixture into the eggs, working quicky, until well blended. Carefully combine both mixtures and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and smooth, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Immediately cover surface of custard with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. Cool completely. (I usually make this the day before I need it and stick it in the fridge.)
Ganache Recipe:
Adapted from Joy of Baking.com
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
1 tablespoons cognac or brandy (optional)
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. If desired, add the liqueur. Makes enough ganache to cover a 9 inch (23 cm) cake or torte.
To Cover a Torte or Cake:
Note:
If covering a cake with ganache that is to be refrigerated, make sure the cake is cold before covering with the ganache. This will ensure that the ganache does not dull when stored in the refrigerator.Brush any loose crumbs from the cake and place cake on a wire rack. Put the wire rack on a baking sheet. In this way if the ganache drips it will end up on the baking sheet, which makes clean up easier. Using a cake spatula, cover the sides and top of the cake with about 2 tablespoons ganache. This is called a crumb coat and seals in any cake crumbs so that your cake will have a smooth finish. Refrigerate cake for 5 minutes to set the crumb coat. If you have any air bubbles or crumbs in your ganache, pour through a strainer. To cover cake, pour the remaining ganache into the center of the cake. Working quickly, spread with a spatula, using big strokes to push the ganache over the sides of the cake, to create an even coating of ganache. If there are any bare spots on sides of cake, cover with leftover ganache. Strain leftover ganache to remove any crumbs. At this point the leftover ganache can be refrigerated until cold so you can make truffles. Or it can be whipped with an electric hand mixer or whisk and then piped. In the above picture I used a Wilton 1M open star tip to pipe rosettes.
Note: Truffles can also be made with Ganache. Truffles are just small balls of chocolate that can be rolled into cocoa powder, powdered sugar or toasted chopped nuts. You can use your hands to form the truffles, or else a melon baller or small spoon. Make sure the chocolate ganache is very firm before forming into balls. Truffles can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or else frozen for a couple of months.
