Pumkin Gooey Butter Cake

Continuing with my apparent theme of fall flavors, pumpkin gooey butter cake had been on my mind for awhile.  Several years ago I made Paula Deen’s version; but given that I haven’t purchased cake mix in over four years, I needed a new recipe.  While I was in the process of trying to come up with my own “cake mix” recipe, my friend, Tracie, found this recipe for from scratch pumpkin gooey butter cake for me.  Did I follow it?  Not exactly, of course.

One of Those Days

Do you ever have them?  Those days that, at some point, you realize the most challenging thing you should have endeavored was changing the channel?  Apparently, today was my day.  C’est la vie.

I Heart Cookies

Valentine’s Day can bring out the romantic sap in many of us.  Others, however, will often rant on about commercialization and another day to make corporate America more money.  I’m going to go the romantic sap route.  Whether or not I go overboard with it, I will leave to others to judge.  I can take it.

red hearts for the romantic saps

My first V-Day project was cookies.  Most of these will be boxed up and sent off to my dad tomorrow. 

Yesterday I made my favorite butter cookies from my Grandma’s recipe, using large and small heart-shaped cookies cutters.  The large hearts were brushed with honey and covered with cut outs of vanilla-flavored red fondant mixed with candy clay.  I used a Wilton imprint mat for the vines and flowers. 



it didn't take long to give up
this exercise in futility



The original idea was to pipe white confectionery coating in the imprints, but it was a little too chilly in our kitchen this morning and the coating kept solidifying in my piping bag.  I forfeited that battle. 

 

The smaller cookies were drizzled with honey and covered in Pettinice chocolate fondant.  I was really surprised when I opened the package.  This fondant was so dark it almost looked black - which was okay because I had planned on adding black gel color to it.

In both cases, but sure the fondant cut outs are where you want them before letting go.  Once they touch the sticky honey, they aren't easily repositioned.  For that reason, I usually cut a couple of extras for when I have to scrape off one I've completely skewed.



black hearts for the "others" or for romantic saps who also
happen to be die-hard Joan Jett fans (such as myself)



Today I made caramel filled molasses cookies.  This is the recipe that makes the stickiest cookie dough ever that needs to be piped.  I thought this a good opportunity to use a Wilton heart piping tip I had purchased years ago.  Not so much.  I've not used it for icing yet, but I hope it works better for icing than it did for the cookie dough.  I gave up and went back to my Ateco large round tip.  Since I still wanted hearts, I matched the cookies up in pairs and cut out tiny hearts in the middle of the tops before filling them with caramel filling. 

plan b

Tug and I have things to get done this weekend, so I’m not sure if any more baking will occur until next week.  For Tug – who could care less about cookies and sweets, but nearly swoons over bread – I’m going to revisit the focaccia recipe, but try baking it in a heart-shaped pan.  And maybe make a Caesar salad . . . with heart-shaped croutons.



I used vanilla extract this time instead of almond, but I prefer the almond on purely sentimental grounds.





20 Pounds of Butter

That's part of what was in my shopping cart yesterday.  Along with seven dozen eggs, a gallon of whole milk and two pounds of cream cheese.  And I'm not finished.  I still need about 20 pounds of sugar, 15 pounds of flour and a pound of cocoa powder.

Why do I need all of this?  At the end of May, I agreed to do the wedding cake for the sister of my dear friend, Alicia.  I really didn't know what I was getting myself into at the time.  The wedding cake has evolved into a bride's cake, a groom's cake, a sheet cake and cupcakes.  Cake for about 300 people.  I shouldn't be surprised.  Alicia asked me to do the cake for Kellie's bridal shower in September which was for 80 people.  I'd never heard of 80 people at a bridal shower.

Last year I did cupcakes for Alicia's wedding.  Initially she was going to have myself and someone else making the cupcakes and it was going to be 100 for each of us.  It became 200 for me when the other person backed out.  It wasn't that big of a deal.  Sans intricate decorations, cupcakes are much easier than cake and with some help from the Hubs in getting the cupcakes displayed, I managed to pull it off quite successfully.



Alicia's tropical tower of cupcakes

 And somehow I will pull off her sister's cakes and cupcakes.  It's going to require a lot of planning, being super organized, and working diligently.  Most importantly it's going to require that I squash these feelings of self-doubt and shut down that nagging voice in my head that's demanding to know, "what were you thinking?"  I will get it done.  I will also think twice in the future about what I'm capable of challenging myself with and what will be overwhelming.  It's a fine line sometimes, no?

Versatile Pâte à Choux

Yesterday it rained.  All day.  And while the cool, dampness began stirring within me the desire to turn on the oven, the desire to curl up on the sofa with a good cookbook and a marginally interesting movie was stronger.  Today, the sun is shining.  It’s a gorgeous day.  And I turned on the oven.  It was time to make some éclairs.  I’ve been thinking about these since making the vanilla-orange curd last week.  Today was the day to put thoughts into action.

The pastry part of the éclair is made from pâte à choux, which to me seems to fall somewhere in between a batter and a dough.  I don't know why I don't use it more often, because it's truly such a simple dough to produce such elegant results.  Pâte à choux is used not only for éclairs, but also for cream puffs, profiteroles and gougeres.  As a side note, I had to look up the difference between cream puffs and profiteroles.  Profiteroles are essentially miniature cream puffs which may have a sweet or savory filling.  Gougeres are piped in the same manner as cream puffs, but have cheese (traditionally Gruyere) and black pepper added to the dough, and are not typically filled.

The recipe I used for pâte à choux today is the one we used in school.  Because of that, the ingredients are by weight versus volume.  The volume measurements I have provided in parentheses may not be 100% accurate, but should be close enough as to not affect the final product.  Also, some recipes add sugar.  The recipe I previously used from Amy Finley calls for sugar.  Either is fine.  You’ll probably have better browning with the sugar.  I think I may one day try pâte à choux in terms of a ratio:  one large egg to each ounce of milk, water, butter and flour.  That would certainly make it easy to remember, providing that it works.

 

An important note on the quantity of eggs:  you may not need the entire 12 ounces of eggs.  Ambient humidity and the amount of evaporation while cooking can affect the dough and how much egg it will require.  Make sure to read the recipe through before beginning.  The recipe can easily be cut in half, keeping in mind that half of 1/4 cup is usually 2 tablespoons.

Pâte à Choux

6 oz (3/4 cup) milk

6 oz (3/4 cup) water

6 oz (3/4 cup or 1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed

Pinch salt

6-1/4 oz (1-1/4 cups) all-purpose flour, sifted

12 oz (6 large) eggs, beaten 

Combine the milk, water, butter and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Remove the pan from the heat, add the sifted flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough.  Reduce the heat to medium and return the pan to the heat.  Cook and stir the dough for 30 to 60 seconds or until a film begins to form on the bottom of the pan. 

Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on medium speed for about one minute to cool the dough.  Gradually begin adding the beaten egg in a thin stream, adding no more than a tablespoonful at a time.  The mixture will look “curdled” throughout much of the process.  Whenever that happens, stop adding egg and mix until it smoothes out. 

The "droop" test for medium peaks.

At the point when the dough begins to look more like a thick batter, stop mixing.  Scrape the sides and paddle and test the consistency of the dough by quickly dipping a spoon in the dough.  Hold it upright.  If the dough stands straight up, you’re at stiff peaks and more egg needs to be added.  The goal is medium peaks, which is where the dough will stand up but the very tip will droop slightly.

For éclairs:

Preheat oven to 425°F.  



The narrow space is for spacing in
between the rows of piped eclairs. 



Transfer the pâte à choux to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip.  I use Ateco 806.  You can also use a large star tip, but I prefer the more traditional, smooth tops.  On a parchment lined baking sheet, pipe the éclairs about three inches long and two inches apart.  I like to rule my parchment on the back to make sure I'm keeping the size consistent.  To keep from having a pointy end, release the pressure on the piping bag while quickly pushing the tip upward toward the piped éclair.  (This probably makes more sense when you look at the picture.)  After the éclairs are piped, run the tip of a sharp knife down the outside edge of each éclair.  Be careful not to cut too deeply.  This will help the éclairs keep their shape. 



Finishing the eclairs.



Bake the éclairs for 10 – 12 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool slightly and then pierce each end with a skewer to make holes for the filling.  Allow to cool completely before filling.  The éclairs can be filled with pastry cream, curd or stabilized whipped cream using a piping bag fitted with a small star tip.  When filled, dip the tops in melted chocolate (or drizzle the chocolate over them).  The full recipe of pâte à choux makes approximately five dozen mini éclairs.

For gougeres:

Preheat oven to 400°F. 



Placing the pastry bag in a cup with the tip folded will
help keep the batter/dough from oozing out of the tip.

When the pâte à choux reaches the proper consistency, add one cup of finely grated cheese (traditionally Gruyere, but I prefer Parmigiano-Reggiano) and coarsely ground fresh black pepper to taste.  Transfer the pâte à choux to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip, such as Ateco 806, and pipe quarter-sized mounds of dough about an inch tall.  Use the back of a spoon dipped in water to flatten out the peaks. 

Bake the gougeres 14 – 16 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.  When cool enough to handle, use a skewer to poke a small hole in the bottom (to release steam) and transfer to a wire rack.  I think these are best served warm, so if necessary reheat them in the oven before serving.  The full recipe of pâte à choux makes approximately five dozen gougeres.



The finished eclairs filled with vanilla-orange curd and drizzled with white chocolate.



The finished gougeres.  I thought it would be nice to do something savory for the hubs.