Birthday Cake Fun

My sweet Miriam had her 5th birthday! I can't believe it. She is such a fun girl. Since Christmas she has been talking about having a rudolph (family) party and cake. I was kind of hoping that by the time May rolled around she might forget, but she did not. We have listened to Christmas music in the car nonstop for months. So I found myself having to make a rudolph cake. I am not the best at creative cakes in general. I am pretty proud of how it turned out. I went google images and just pulled up an image of rudolph from the movie and used it as an outline. She wanted brownies instead of cake. Awesome! Because I don't really love cake and Brownies were much easier to work with.



I made the extra pieces on top out of sugar cookies dough. I just traced the outlines of the ears, eye, and antlers onto the dough. I used a mini york mint for the eye and a red gumball was the perfect solution for the nose. It was a hit. Gone in seconds, because brownies are so much better than cake and so are sugar cookies. All the kids went crazy over the gumballs, so it is good I bought extra. I love that this girl thinks out of the box and is not afraid to follow through. She was teased by her sister for months that she wanted rudolph, but Miriam stuck with it without a care in the world. Love that girl



The hubby had a Birthday too. Just last week. He made it easy on me (so nice since I am 8 months pregnant and still not on a first name basis with my kitchen). He chose key lime pie, which I made, and a costco bought apple pie (awesome, I didn't have to slave over it, bless him).



The key lime pie recipe came from a Betty Crocker Cookbook that we got for a our wedding, I think it is even the Bridal edition (aka: non baking savvy people).

TWD: My Favorite Pecan Pie

I can hardly contain my excitement. Christmas is three short days away. Christmas is the beloved of all holidays in this house. I love it even more with kids. I love their excitement and cheer. My three year old has been belting frosty the snow man and Rudolph the red nose reindeer for a few weeks now. I love the songs, the dancing that surely accompanies the songs, the stories, the decorating, the parties, the crafts, the cold (when accompanied by Christmas only), and of course the TREATS. This house has been nonstop treat zone for a few weeks. This beauty of a treat is a Tuesday with Dorie treat. It was a fun make. Here is the short breakdown.

The making: So this awesome pecan pie is not your average. Some of the extras it calls for are cinnamon, bittersweet chocolate chunks, and espresso powder. I of course omitted the espresso powder. I think it would have been delicious and richened the taste, so I think I need to research non-caffeinated espresso powder. Do you think there is such thing? Dorie uses A LOT of espresso powder and it would be fun to add it to our dishes without the caffeine. Okay....I am rambling. I used cocoa powder in place of espresso powder (not a bad alternative, yum!).

The Tasting: Quote directly from my hubby after his first bite, "this is definitely the best pecan pie I have ever tasted." Chocolate makes all the difference. It was rich, but a different kind of rich than your average pecan pie. I LOVED the cinnamon after taste!!! The bittersweet chocolate made for some wonderful surprises. This may be my regular pecan pie recipe from now on.




This treat was a fun one, because we had a baking day at my house where Lizzie and KT came and enjoyed the fun. Liz made toffee which was amazing and KT was a great nut chopper (there were lots of nuts)



Beth of Someone’s in the Kitchen with Brina chose My Favorite Pecan Pie, page 327 of Dorie's book.

Some of our Christmas treats this year have included:
pumpkin roll
toffee
Big Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gingerbread men cookies
Apple cake
And I am sure there are more that I am not remembering, but I did tone it down quite a bit this year.

Please note that these gingerbread men where decorated by children

I hope everyone else is enjoying the baking season. What will we do when spring hits? (hopefully loose 10 lbs and stop baking)

Florida Pie

If you have ever lived in Northern Utah before, you will know what I mean when I say that the Winter months can drag on when there is no snow, no storm in sight and the nasty inversion has settled into the valley. That means that the mountains are clear and beautiful, but the valley is hazy and the air is horrible and it gets dreary and foggy. Well, last week we were going on 2 plus weeks of the inversion and I was beginning to think that Winter would never come to an end! I don't mind Winter when we have snow. I don't like Winter when it means inversion and dirty, old snow. 

So, upon learning that last Friday was National Pie Day I decided that I wanted to celebrate with a pie. Normally my pie of choice would be a lovely apple pie but I was in the mood for something that would take me away from the nasty weather and think about warmer weather. I thumbed through the pie section of Baking From My Home to Yours and decided that the Florida Pie was just what I was looking for. I must say, it did not disappoint. The graham cracker crust was a perfect compliment to the creamy coconut and the tangy lime filling. It was a delightful dessert and one that I will definitely make again. My dad stopped by on his way to the airport and enjoyed a piece and even asked for the recipe. In my book that means it is really good because Dad, and Mom for that matter, have discerning tastes when it comes to food. 

Florida Pie

from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

1 9-inch graham cracker crust, fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

4 large eggs, separated

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)

1/4 cup of sugar

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat.

Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk. Still on low, add half of the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the reaming juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust, and pour over the lime filling.

Bake the pie for 12 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:

Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch. Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown. (Or, if you've got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.) Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.