Home made fondant from scratch

Now I have to admit, this is probably my proudest moment in my very tiny little career as an amateur cake decorator. I've made my own fondant from scratch and it tastes much better than the one you buy at the supermarket. It took me a couple of days, mainly due to the time it took the marshmallows to set but it was well worth it. When I say "I have made my own fondant from scratch", I mean I have made the marshmallows as well to be able to make the fondant. So here is the recipe I have found for the marshmallows. All the comments were very positive, saying those were the best marshmallows ever and it is true. They are light and fluffy like a cloud and when you put them on your tongue they feel like they are just floating. 

The recipe is from Alton Brown from the Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html. You can find a video on You Tube as well but it's the whole programme.

Ingredients

·         3 packages unflavored gelatin (21g of gelatin)

·         1 cup ice cold water, divided

·         12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

·         1 cup light corn syrup (or liquid glucose I've tried with one and then the other and it worked well both times)

·         1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

·         1/4 cup cornstarch

·         Nonstick spray

Directions

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

For miniature marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Line 4 half sheet pans with parchment paper, spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the confectioners' sugar mixture.

Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round piping tip. Pipe the mixture onto the prepared sheet pans lengthwise, leaving about 1-inch between each strip. Sprinkle the tops with enough of the remaining cornstarch and sugar mixture to lightly cover. Let the strips set for 4 hours or up to overnight.

Cut into 1/2 inch pieces using a pizza wheel or scissors dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining sugar mixture and store in an airtight container for up to a week.


Note: those are the ones I made yesterday. I used Raspberry jelly instead and at first it didn't work, I had to re start and play with the recipe a little. It shows you the quantity that the recipe makes though.

To make the fondant:

Easy Marshmallow Fondant (from Cake Central :http://cakecentral.com/recipe/easy-marshmallow-fondant)

Ingredients

·         1 16oz (454g) tub of Marshmallow fluff or actual marshmallows
6-8 cups of confectioners sugar
2 tsp of flavoring of your choice
paste colors (Optional)

Instructions

Empty contents of marshmallow fluff in large bowl. 

Add flavoring and stir with spoon.

 If you desire to color the fondant add your desired color at this stage. Since I wanted to make 3 colors I had to wait until the end of the process. 

Then add confectioners sugar two cups at a time and mix with spoon until no longer sticky, then place on large pastry board or mat lightly rubbed with vegetable shortening and knead until smooth and pliable. Roll out to desired size for covering cake.

I have not yet used mine. I read somewhere that when you make home made fondant you needed to leave it to rest overnight and I only need it in a week or so. I'll send an update on how it went covering the cake.

Happy decorating :)

Decorated cakes- 2010

Right I have a bit of time on my hands (that doesn't happen often) so I thought I would post some more decorated cakes before I head to the kitchen and bake some more.

This is a Birthday cake I made for a friend's Mother. She really enjoyed playing Tennis so I made this. The rackets are made in fondant and the cords are pipped with Royal Icing. The cake was chocolate covered with green fondant for the court and the lines are made out of Royal Icing.

Those were for one of my colleagues Birthday. It was a very last minute thing since we only decided to get something together the night before. I thought the theme of green and blue suited him.

This was for a very nice lady who used to work with my Husband. This was her Birthday and I'm not sure why but when I think of her I think "yellow" maybe because she looks so bright and happy every time I see her. This was a Banana cake (if my memory serves me right) covered in butter cream. The roses are handmade out of butter cream as well.

My Brother- in Law had to go overseas to work for a while. He is really into Kombi and since he has one, I tried to reproduce his as best as I could. Again that was a spur of the moment and it took me about 8 hours to make it from baking to the finish product. I finished with the pipping at around midnight. It was a lot of fun making it though. He liked it so much that he refused to cut it. It was a coffee cake with coffee butter cream.

One night I discovered Bakerella's website and I wanted to try those cupcake cake pops. I took them to work and they were a hit. They were made out of chocolate cake and cream cheese, dipped into dark chocolate and the top into Blue chocolate (Wilton). I added hundreds and thousands and a M&M's.

This was a chocolate cheesecake I made and decorated for my last day at work, the white layer is a home made chantilly and the flowers are hand made in Royal Icing. The pops are Apple pie pops.

Just as I was leaving work on annual leave, the lady who replaced me had a her daughter turning 1 so she asked if I could make her some cupcakes with a Princess crown on it. They were vanilla cupcakes with vanilla butter cream and the crowns were made out of fondant.

I will put up a few more later on. Happy Baking everyone :)

Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns

I LOVE Hot Cross Buns and I didn't want to be deprived of that tasty Easter Treat. So I set off on a mission to make some GF ones. There are numerous recipes on the Internet BUT nearly all the ones I have found were with store bought flour mixes and I didn't want to buy some since I have industrial quantities of GF flours in my own cupboard.
So I selected the recipe that I thought would be best from the Healtheries website: http://www.healtheries.co.nz/healthy-and-gluten-free-recipes/gluten-and-wheat-free-recipes/breads/gluten-free-hot-cross-buns and tried it out with my own bread flour mix. I actually had a first try on Sunday last week with the bread flour mix I used to make the bread recipe I sent a week ago (http://thebakingfrog.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/best-gluten-free-bread-i-have-tasted-so.html). This didn't quite work as planned. The buns were very dry despite not overcooking them and they got stuck to the pan (could have been my fault I didn't oil them).
So this week, I racked my brains (and that asks for a lot of effort) and thought that a very similar treat to the Hot Cross Buns are Cinnamon Buns. I looked up some recipes and chose a bread flour mix that I thought would be tasty and easy to mix at a later time of the day when things are a bit more hectic with Monkey's dinner, bath and bed routine.

So here is the whole recipe:
For the buns
Dried ingredients:
3 tsp of yeast
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup of toasted red rice flour
1 1/2 cup of tapioca starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp of baking powder
4 tsp of xanthan gun
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp of ground cinnamon
2 tsp of mixed spices (or 1 tsp of all spices and 1/2 cinnamon plus 1/2 nutmeg, I actually didn't have any mixed spices so I made up that mix)


Wet ingredients:
1 3/4 cup of warm milk
4 Tbsp of coconut oil
2 cups of sultanas ( I swapped for dried apricots and dried cranberries)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of sugar

For the crosses:
2 tbsp of rice flour
Enough water to make a paste. I used 8 Tbspns.

For the glaze: ( I used the one from the Edmond's cookbook)
1 Tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of gelatine
1 tbsp of boiling water

To make the buns
Place the yeast, milk and sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix to dissolved the sugar. Set aside for about 10 minutes.

Mix the flours, spices and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with the dough hook. Use your finger tips to mix rub the butter or coconut oil.

Add the dried fruit, eggs and the yeast mixture. Beat for 7 minutes.

Using a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop the mixture into generous mounds on a greased 30x20cm lamington pan, making 3 rows of 4 mounds each. Allow space for the dough to rise.
Note: I used a small ice cream spoon because I wanted mini hot Cross Buns (I feel less guilty after I ate half the pan... ).
Leave in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes.

Make the crosses:
Mix the flour and water into a paste. Place the paste into a ziplock bag and cut the corner. Before baking the buns in the oven, pipe the crosses.

Preheat the oven to 200 Degree C fan forced.

Once the dough has doubled in size, bake in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Make the glaze towards the end of the baking time by mixing all the ingredients and stirring until both the gelatine and sugar have completely disappeared.

As soon as you take the buns out of the oven, brush them with the glaze. Leave them to cool enough to handle and place them on a wire rack to fully cool.

Happy baking everyone :)... and Happy Easter :)

Chocolate cake for my sister- in- law's Birthday

It was my Sister-in law's Birthday last week end and I though I would make her a nicely decorated cake. I thought I would make a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and some simple yet elegant decorations. 
I got the recipe from one of my favourite baking sites: http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateBananaCake.html.

Chocolate Banana Cake:

2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (75 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or Dutch-processed)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)

1 cup (240 ml) warm water

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk

1/2 cup (120 ml) corn, safflower or canola oil (or other flavorless oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Banana Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, either a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan or in my case 2 small round cake pans. Set aside. 

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost with the Ganache.

For the Ganache

150ml of cream

2 cups of dark chocolate chips or pieces of chocolate cut in small pieces

1 teaspoon of butter (to make it glossy)

Prepare the chocolate in the medium size heatproof bag. Bring the cream just to the boil. Pour onto the chocolate. Add the butter. Let is all melt for a couple of minutes. Stir slowly until the mix is all smooth and shiny. Let it cool  until it gets thick enough to be easily spread.

Chocolate Banana Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan. Set aside. 

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost with the Ganache.

Assembly 

Once the cakes are completely cool. Cut horizontally in half. Pour some of the cold ganache and spread to about 0.5cm from the edges of the cakes. 

Ice the biggest cake fully. Place the smallest one over (I didn't use any dowels as the cakes were small and the ganache fairly sticky). Ice the top cake. You can let the ganache drip on the second cake as well. Put the cake in the fridge for about an hour.

Once an hour has past the ganache should be "hard"enough. Boil some water and place it in a bowl or a plunger. Using a palette knife, you will "hot knife" the ganache to make it look more even. Plunge the palette knife in the hot water, dry it with a paper towel or hand towel and smooth the cakes. The heat will make the ganache melt a little and you will be able to give your cakes a better finish.

Add the decorations of your choice. I just placed some Royal Icing roses I had made the night before.

Here are a few more pics of the one I made. 

Pate a pizza- Martha Stewart

Lorsque mon Fils et mon Mari aiment un plat, j'ai vraiment besoin de sauvegarder la recette, car elle est susceptible d'être fait encore et encore et encore. Je dois admettre, j'aime les recettes que Martha Stewart crée et j'ai passé les deux dernières jours à chercher sur son site Internet des recettes, des inspirations et des idées. J'ai trouvé la recette pâte à pizza et comme nous avions décidé de manger une pizza ce soir-là, j'ai pensé: "?! Pourquoi pas". Donc, voici la recette, (qui peut également être consultée sur son site Web: http://www.marthastewart.com/341925/pizza-dough).


Ingrédients

2 1/4 cuillères à café de levure sèche active (une enveloppe 1/4-ounce)
2 tasses d'eau chaude (105 degrés à 115 F ou 50 a 55 C)
5 à 5 1/2 tasses de farine tout-usage,

2 cuillères à café de sel de Guérande
Huile d’olive extra-vierge, pour le bol

Instructions

Dissoudre la levure dans l'eau chaude dans un grand bol et laisser reposer pendant 5 minutes. Ajouter 3 tasses de farine et le sel, en remuant jusqu'à consistance lisse. Incorporer les 2 autres tasses de farine; continuer à ajouter de la farine (jusqu'à 1/2 tasse), 1 cuillère à soupe à la fois, en remuant jusqu'à obtenir une pâte se détache du bol, mais est encore collante.
Mettre la pâte sur une surface de travail légèrement farinée, et pétrir avec les mains légèrement farinée. Commencez par laisser tomber la pâte sur le comptoir, le tirant vers vous avec une seule main et en le poussant loin de vous avec l'autre. Repliez la pâte sur elle-même (utiliser un grattoir ou un banc de couteau large pour gratter la pâte de la surface). Répétez jusqu'à ce qu'il soit plus facile à manipuler, environ 10 fois. Terminer en pétrissant normalement jusqu'à l’obtention d’une pâte lisse, élastique et douce, mais un peu collante, environ 10 minutes.
Façonner la pâte en boule et transférer dans un bol légèrement huilé.  Couvrir avec du film plastique, et laisser lever dans un endroit chaud jusqu'à ce qu'elle double de volume, 2 heures. Appuyez avec votre doigt pour voir si c'est fait, votre empreinte doit rester.
Grattez la pâte du bol sur une surface enfarinée, et le couper en 4 morceaux. Façonner en boulettes. Saupoudrer de farine, et le couvrir a nouveau de film plastique. Transfert au réfrigérateur, laisser lever pendant la nuit.

Je n'ai pas vraiment suivi la dernière étape car nous avions besoin de la pâte à pizza pour le soir même et c'était délicieux. Je voudrais simplement souligner que la pâte est comme le pain et donc je recommande de bien huiler le plat que vous allez utiliser. La notre est restée coincée. Malgré la plutôt grande pizza que j’ai faite (photo), j'ai encore suffisamment de pâte pour en faire un autre. Mon Petit n'aimait pas vraiment la pizza parce qu'il trouvait que c’était assez difficile a manger, mais cette fois il a fini son assiette!

Pizza crust- Martha Stewart style

When both Child and Husband like something, I really need to save the recipe because it is likely to be done again and again and again. I have to admit, I LOVE the recipes Martha Stewart comes up with and I spent the last couple of days looking at her website for recipes, inspirations and ideas. I have found the pizza crust recipe and since we had decided to have pizza that night, I thought: "why not?!". So here is the recipe, (that can also be found on her website: http://www.marthastewart.com/341925/pizza-dough.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce envelope)
• 2 cups warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
• 5 to 5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting, preferably organic
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for bowl

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups flour and the salt, stirring until smooth. Stir in an additional 2 cups flour; continue adding flour (up to 1/2 cup), 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until dough comes away from bowl but is still sticky.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead with lightly floured hands. Start by slapping the dough onto the counter, pulling it toward you with one hand and pushing it away from you with the other. Fold the dough back over itself (use a bench scraper or a wide knife to help scrape dough from surface). Repeat until it's easier to handle, about 10 times. Finish kneading normally until dough is smooth, elastic, and soft, but a little tacky, about 10 minutes.
3. Shape dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl; turn to coat. Cover with plastic, and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume, 2 hours. Press it with your finger to see if it's done; an indent should remain.
4. Scrape dough out of the bowl onto floured surface, and cut it into 4 pieces. Shape into balls. Dust with flour, and cover with plastic. Transfer to refrigerator, let rise overnight.

I have not actually followed the last step since we need the pizza dough for the same night and it was delicious. I would just point out that the dough is like bread so I would recommend to oil the dish you are cooking it in. Ours got stuck and we had to scrap it off, losing quite a bit of it. Despite having the big pizza pictured, I still have enough dough to make another one. My little one didn't use to like pizza much because he used to find it quite difficult to eat, this time he cleaned his plate!!!

Gluten Free Pizza Dough

About 2 weeks ago, I really wanted to have some pizza. So I looked into the book that my Husband got for  me from the library: "Complete Gluten- Free Diet & Nutrition Guide", by Alexandra Anca with Theresa Santandrea- Cull.

30 by 25 cm rimmed baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.

Pizza Crust:
1 cup of white rice flour
1/3 cup psyllium husks
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup of brown rice flour
1/4 cup of tapioca starch or potato starch
2 tbsp granulated raw cane sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup of grapeseed or olive oil
2 tsp instant yeast
1 cup of soy milk (at 50 to 50 Degree C)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Extra white rice flour for the baking sheet

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine the white rice flour, psyllium husk, sorghum flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, salt and oil. Beat on low speed until the oil is incorporated. Add yeast and beat for 1 minute.

With the motor running on low, gradually pour in the heated milk, beating until incorporated. Beat for 1 minute. Beat in eggs until incorporated. Beat for 5 minutes, stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides of the bowl and the beaters half way through.

Dust the prepared baking sheet with white rice flour. Scoop or spoon the batter onto the baking sheet. With floured hands, shape the dough into a circle. Lightly dust the dough and rolling pin with rice flour. Roll out the dough to evenly cover the sheet. If necessary, use your floured fingers to work the dough into the corners. Cover with a lint- free towel and let rise in a warm, draft- free place for 45 to 60 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned and a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.

I had one pizza the same night and it was delicious. We were going away for the week end so I took the chance of freezing the dough. I had one last night again (pictured) and the dough is delicious. It's crunchy and you have it as thin as you like. I still have enough for another one for later this week :)

Le meilleur pain sans gluten...

En Septembre 2009, sur les recommandations d'une Naturopathe (je l'avais consultée en raison de mon manque d'énergie constant) j’ai commencé une régime sans gluten.  Lorsque mon fils a eu un an, j'ai remarqué que la fatigue ne faisait qu'empirer. Je suppose que n'importe qui avec un enfant en bas âge vous diront que c'est normal mais pas pour moi. J'ai alors consulté un Acupuncteur qui m'a dit à nouveau que ma consommation d’aliments contenant du gluten et les aliments contenant des produits laitiers devait être contrôlée parce que j’y suis plutôt sensible. Donc, j'ai décidé d'éliminer les produits contenants du gluten et tous les produits laitiers de mon alimentation ... la seule chose dont j’ai vraiment besoin maintenant c’est une recette de pain qui va me satisfaire autant que le pain contenant du gluten. Je suis heureuse de rapporter que je l’ai finalement trouvée: (:http://simplysugarandglutenfree.com/perfect-bread/)

Parfait pain sans gluten 
1 tasse de farine de sorgho
1 tasse de farine de pois chiche
1/2 tasse de fécule de pomme (farine de maïs pour moi)
1/3 tasse de farine de tapioca
2 1/4 cuillerée à thé (7 grammes) gomme de xanthane
1 cuillère à soupe (12 grammes) de sucre de palme
1 sachet (7 g) de levure instantanée sèche
1 1/4 tasse (289 grammes) d'eau tiède
2 supplémentaires (113 grammes) gros oeufs, à température ambiante
1/4 tasse (50 grammes) d'huile de canola
1 cuillère à café (5 grammes) de vinaigre de cidre de pomme
1 1/4 cuillerée à thé (7 grammes) de sel fin

Préparer un plat en verre (je met seulement un morceau de papier sulfurisé dans le fond et le laisse dépasser sur les cotes, pour démouler le pain plus facilement). . Préchauffer le four à 350 ° F.(150 C Degré)

Fouetter ensemble le mélange de farine, la gomme de xanthane, sucre de palme, et de la levure instantanée. Mettez de côté.

Mettre l'eau, les œufs, l'huile et le vinaigre dans le bol d'un batteur équipé du fouet palette et mélanger jusqu'à obtenir un mélange homogène. Ajouter les ingrédients secs, sauf le sel et mélanger jusqu'à ce que tous les ingrédients soient incorporés. Augmentation la vitesse du batteur et mélanger pendant une minute. Éteignez, ajoutez le sel, et mélanger pendant deux minutes de plus.

Tournez la pâte dans le moule à pain préparé. Placer dans un endroit chaud pendant une heure pour se lever, ou jusqu'à ce que le pain à peu près double de taille. (Ne le laissez pas monter plus que doubler sa taille d'origine ou il pourrait s'effondrer dans le four.).

 Cuire au four pendant45 - 55 minutes, jusqu'à ce que le dessus soit doré et le pain sonne creux lorsque vous appuyez dessus. Laisser refroidir pendant 20- 25 minutes dans le moule. Démouler et laisser refroidir complètement sur une grille.

Se conserve 3 jours a température ambiante enroulé dans un papier film. Autrement ce pain peut se congeler.